DShomshak

It came and went quickly, and with good reason judging by the trailer. The House now has a closet door that flies open to disgorge glowing CGI tentacles. No creeping realization that something is Very Strange and Very Wrong. Tart it up! Hit the audience over the head! Because we think kids are stupid! Typical Hollywood: They know it's a classic, but can't understand what made it so. Dean Shomshak

It's not that old, but "Eve of Destruction" is a fairly obvious tune to play on the radio. You mention the "Harry Potter" series, but I also get vibes of The House with a Clock in its Walls (book, haven't seen the movie and won't), or The Face in the Frost, also by John Bellairs. For old radio, "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows! <sinister laugh" Though since The Shadow was a hero, this might not function well as a warning. It might hint at a power Shadow Boxer might develop, though. "The Chicken Heart that Ate the World," for old radio warning of apocalyptic danger? Or anything from Lights Out. I will give this more thought.

It's pretty common in conspiracy theories. For instance, I am told that in the Middle East it's not unusual to find people who believe simultaneously that the USA is an all-powerful overlord that controls everything their own government does, and a cowardly, decadent country that folds like a cheap suit as soon as troops start dying. Conspiracy paranoia is a defense mechanism to puff up the paranoid's ego. The more powerful and dangerous you proclaim the Enemy to be, the braver you must be to dewfy them. So why hasn't the Enemy killed you to shut you up? They must also be cowards. Also, courage is a virtue, and the Enemy must be completely lacking in admirable traits. <shrug> People are funny. Dean Shomshak

It's pretty common in conspiracy theories. For instance, I am told that in the Middle East it's not unusual to find people who believe simultaneously that the USA is an all-powerful overlord that controls everything their own government does, and a cowardly, decadent country that folds like a cheap suit as soon as troops start dying. Conspiracy paranoia is a defense mechanism to puff up the paranoid's ego. The more powerful and dangerous you proclaim the Enemy to be, the braver you must be to dewfy them. So why hasn't the Enemy killed you to shut you up? They must also be cowards. Also, courage is a virtue, and the Enemy must be completely lacking in admirable traits. <shrug> People are funny. Dean Shomshak

The article also suggests that observing a third class of event means gravitational astronomy has come of age as its own branch of science, rather than just an oddball technique for detecting one or two very specific types of events. But the real prize will be when gravitational astronomers detect some event that can't be mapped onto any known entity. Primordial gravitational waves from the Big Bang? Cosmic strings cracking the whop? Something even the wildest theories have not yet imagined? Gravitational astronomy might also enable testing of general relativity under conditions far more extreme than can be achieved on Earth. Heady stuff, at least for science nerds. Dean Shomshak

The article also suggests that observing a third class of event means gravitational astronomy has come of age as its own branch of science, rather than just an oddball technique for detecting one or two very specific types of events. But the real prize will be when gravitational astronomers detect some event that can't be mapped onto any known entity. Primordial gravitational waves from the Big Bang? Cosmic strings cracking the whop? Something even the wildest theories have not yet imagined? Gravitational astronomy might also enable testing of general relativity under conditions far more extreme than can be achieved on Earth. Heady stuff, at least for science nerds. Dean Shomshak

Since this doesn't actually harm the NRA, the designation is mere moral posturing to please the base. It also plays into the far right's hands by supporting their narrative of persecution by the evil and tyrannical (but weakling) urban liberals. Now, a racketeering investigation might turn up something prosecutable, which could be useful. Dean Shomshak

Why Nations Fail included an illustrative bit of Robert Mugabe history. Zimbabwe had a national lottery. The drawing was held and the winner was... can you believe the luck... Robert Mugabe! Mr Mugabe was already a billionaire from looting the economy and the government, but I guess you can never be too rich or be seen to win too many times. Dean Shomshak

Harlan Ellison was right: Reality and fantasy have traded places. Speaking of Fake News, whether spoof or malign, the Septembe issue of Scientific American is devoted to "Truth, Lies and Uncertainty." Some articles are relevant to this thread, such as the ones about "Contagious Dishonesty" and "How to Defraud Democracy." Dean Shomshak

Harlan Ellison was right: Reality and fantasy have traded places. Speaking of Fake News, whether spoof or malign, the Septembe issue of Scientific American is devoted to "Truth, Lies and Uncertainty." Some articles are relevant to this thread, such as the ones about "Contagious Dishonesty" and "How to Defraud Democracy." Dean Shomshak

All Things Considered asked this question. Apparently it would not have blocked John McCain's citizenship. (One can only speculate whether anyone thought it might have done so.) But I suspect that just by complicating the requirements of birth citizenship, it would increase fear and discourage those who hope their children would be born citizens.Dean Shomshak

"...Occasionally we saw the corpses of dwarf stars,glistening balls of stuff so heavy that a speck outweighs an Earthly mountain. I saw such objects no more than ten miles across, containing the matter of a sun like vast Kerkaju. Inside these dead stars, the archveults told me, were to be found the IOUN stones." --"Morreion," in Rhialto the Marvellous, p. 207 Sounds like a neutron star to me. But yes, it was sloppy not to include that in the story the stones were obtained by other means than a black hole. Having a neutron star ripped apart by a black hole presumably would also work, but would likely be even more dangerous to collect. Dean Shomshak I'd trust what your palindromedary says. It may be two-faced, but it's still more trustworthy than an archveult.

Even if the policy is walked back, it serves the spiteful purpose of cruelty and fear. But as Ranxerox says, it's also deeply stupid. The radio report I heard noted that it could affect noncitizens who serve in the US military, of which there are more than a few. If I understood correctly, existing law says if their children are born on US military bases, they are considered born on US soil. Well, we can't have that, now can we? Those cunning foreigners, taking advantage of our laws by following them! So we're going to frighten, anger and alienate people who have shown by their deeds that they want to bind themselves to this country. As I have said before in this thread, the desire of people from other countries to become American citizens -- and their belief that this is possible -- is power for the US. It is a power our most dedicated enemies lack and cannot obtain without abandoning fundamental aspects of their own identities. Like, they'd have to stop being tyrannical kleptocracies or religious dictatorships. To give up such an advantage is just, well, stupid. Dean Shomshak

Even if the policy is walked back, it serves the spiteful purpose of cruelty and fear. But as Ranxerox says, it's also deeply stupid. The radio report I heard noted that it could affect noncitizens who serve in the US military, of which there are more than a few. If I understood correctly, existing law says if their children are born on US military bases, they are considered born on US soil. Well, we can't have that, now can we? Those cunning foreigners, taking advantage of our laws by following them! So we're going to frighten, anger and alienate people who have shown by their deeds that they want to bind themselves to this country. As I have said before in this thread, the desire of people from other countries to become American citizens -- and their belief that this is possible -- is power for the US. It is a power our most dedicated enemies lack and cannot obtain without abandoning fundamental aspects of their own identities. Like, they'd have to stop being tyrannical kleptocracies or religious dictatorships. To give up such an advantage is just, well, stupid. Dean Shomshak

The August 24, 2019 issue of The Economist also has a good article about the black hole-neutron star detection. Astronomers especially want to observe such an event in other ways, too, because it might give a glimpse of what's inside a neutron star. Astrophysicists have theories -- including blobs, threads and sheets of neutronium they've dubbed "nuclear pasta" -- but without some way to probe inside a neutron star, they can never test the theories. A black hole, however, can rip a neutron star apart so its insides become briefly visible. (According to Jack Vance, this is where ioun stones come from. See, IIRC, the short story "Morreion" in the "Dying Earth" cycle.) Dean Shomshak

I haven't seen this, and I won't, but the NY Times tells me a movie adaptation just came out of The Banana Splits. The kid's show from around 1970, not the dessert. Only-- get this -- it's edgy! The four figures in the funny animal costumes go on a murderous rampage! The Times notes: Who is the intended audience for this film? No one under 50 or so is likely to have heard of the original show; and I would like to think that no one over 30 still thinks it's original and "edgy" to take kid-vid and add homicide. (Though I'm likely to be disappointed there.) Dean Shomshak

I haven't seen this, and I won't, but the NY Times tells me a movie adaptation just came out of The Banana Splits. The kid's show from around 1970, not the dessert. Only-- get this -- it's edgy! The four figures in the funny animal costumes go on a murderous rampage! The Times notes: Who is the intended audience for this film? No one under 50 or so is likely to have heard of the original show; and I would like to think that no one over 30 still thinks it's original and "edgy" to take kid-vid and add homicide. (Though I'm likely to be disappointed there.) Dean Shomshak

I'm at the library now, so I was able to check the On the Media transcript: I thought I might have conflated WW2 with casualties from the Philippine-Amnerican War, so I first checked that: Wikipedia gives estimated Filipino casualties of at least 200,000, ranging up to 3 million, but these all include famine and disease (esp. a cholera epidemic). But no, Immerwahr did mean WW2: DANIEL IMMERWAHR: That's right. So one of the more dramatic events in World War II is the Japanese conquest of the Philippines. And this becomes the single bloodiest thing ever to happen on U.S. soil. World War II in the Philippines ultimately kills 1.5 million people. BROOKE GLADSTONE: Wow. DANIEL IMMERWAHR: About 1 million of whom are Filipinos or U.S. nationals. That's two civil wars. I don't know where he gets his numbers, since I haven't read his book. As the PAW shows, estimates can vary. But yeah, it doesn't have to be exactly twice the Civil War to be deep in "Holy Crap" territory. Dean Shomshak

Aw, shucks, I'm blushin'. Being so poor that I'm stuck with dial-up sucks. ISP and forum software become erratic, and fixing anything takes a long time if it's possible at all. Everybody out there? Try not to be poor. Incidentally, All Things Considered said yesterday that Hawaii has the highest life expectancy of the 50 states, a shade over 81 years. What's your secret? Dean Shomshak

It's possible I misheard or misremembered what Immerwahr said. Thank you for checking! Dean Shomshak

It's possible I misheard or misremembered what Immerwahr said. Thank you for checking! Dean Shomshak

Triple post? This is insane.

Oops, I clicked the wrong button?

On other matters, te latest ep of the public radio program On The Media interviewed historian Daniel Immerwahr, author of How to Hide an Empire, on the history of US overseas impeialism from guano mining in the Caribbean to today's "pointillist empire" of far-flung military bases. Fascinating stuff. Of particular interest to me: The debate around the turn of the 20th century about the US' sudden new colonial empire gained through the Spanish American War (among other things). Notably, until the Afghanistan campaign the war to subjugate the Philippines was the longest in US history; and twice as many Filipinos -- American nationals, though not American citizens -- died in WW2 as Americans of any sort died in the Civil War. Also, the nature of the debate the US had about that empire. People did implicitly recognize the US had reached an existential choice: * It could expand overseas; * It could be a democratic republic; * It could be white-dominant. Pick two of three. All three were not possible. The debate was between people willing to abandon democracy by having colonies of people who were not citizens, and people who wanted to abandon imperial expansion. As Immerwahr points out, nobody suggested abandoning white supremacy by extending citizenship to conquered peoples. Indeed, much of the anti-imperial rhetoric was explicitly racist. EDIT: The outcome of the debate was... mixed. Alaska and Hawaii became states; The Philippines and most of the territory seized in WW2 were eventually let go, sort of, but still hosting military bases; and Puerto Rico, Guam and a few other places are still under US sovereignty without their inhabitants being full citizens. Perhaps this should be resolved. Dean Shomshak

And then won the popular vote by a respectable margin, which kiboshes the "Une3lectable Hillary" trope. NOVA actually did an episode on this, looking at the election as an exercise in statistical analysis. General forecast was that she had something like a 3/4 chance of winning, IIRC. 75% is not 100% As one statistician put it, would you get on a plane that was 75% likely not to crash? While there's a danger in politics of re-fighting the last election, there's also a danger of drawing the wrong lessons. I hear some Democratic grandees think the lesson is, "Don't nominate a woman." Oy. Others say the lesson is to throw minorities under the bus to pander to the white working class. Not sure that's much better. The lesson I draw is how deeply the electoral college distorts elections. Consider that in 5 presidential elections since 2000, Republicans won the popular vote only once (W's second term), but received three terms in office. The reasons are not complex, though the causes behind them may be: The electorate has polarized between liberal/urban and rural/conservative, and the parties likewise. Most states are predictable based on the urban/rural percentage. I am not sure what Dems need to do to beat the Party of Trump in 2020. Clearly it isn't enough to win the popular vote overall: The point spread matters too, and the locations won. I am open to suggestions. But they do need to win: Given the former Republicans I have heard who are aghast at how Trump has changed the party and abused the office, I am confident that my own distaste for the man and his party is not mere partisanship. Dean Shomshak