Pattern Ghost

Zoo (Netflix) Seasons 1-3. Pretty bad, full of Hollywood-isms, but I kind of liked it anyway. Third and final season really jumped the shark, and also had a cliffhanger ending. I guess they didn't foresee their inevitable demise. Premise is animals evolving in unexpected ways, and turning on humanity, so it's a pretty good watch if you're nostalgic for killer animal movies from the 80s. Umbrella Academy (Netflix) Season 2. Easier to follow than Season 1. Pretty decent, but the new has worn off compared to Season 1.

And sometimes younger people go off on tirades at the least provocation. Reading this article, I think we may have a case of a little bit of both: https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/george-rr-martin-hugo-awards/ So far, I'm seeing him mispronouncing names, even though he was supposed to have had been provided a pronunciation guide. The horror. Then he's being accused of ". . . continually name-dropped John W. Campbell, a writer who had a Hugo Award named after him until 2019, when the title was changed to the Astounding Award on the heels of a scathing speech given by winner Jeannette Ng." Ng, apparently, gave a damning speech condemning Campbell as a fascist, while accepting the award named for him. Here's an excerpt from said speech, from the linked article: “John W. Campbell, for whom this award was named, was a fascist,” Ng said at the time. “Through his editorial control of Astounding Science Fiction, he is responsible for setting a tone of science fiction that still haunts the genre to this day. Sterile. Male. White. Exalting in the ambitions of imperialists and colonisers, settlers and industrialists." I don't have any polite words for this nonsense. I'll say that the reason the best new writer Hugo was named after Campbell was that he was noted for nurturing new talent. I corresponded briefly with him before he passed, just asking a question about his book on fiction writing, and found him to be polite and generous with his time. Didn't seem too bad for an old white guy. I just found out from this article that his name was removed from the reward, and I'm fairly disgusted by that. So, I'm thinking this may be a bit on each side. Martin likely knew Campbell and possibly regarded him as a mentor or at least respected him as predecessor -- and keep in mind, Martin has a TON of editing projects under his belt, and up until AOIAF, was better known for editing -- so, I can see him being a bit annoyed. And I see a hell of a lot of hypersensitivity in that word diarrhea from Ng. You'll notice that article has a lot of interpretations of what Martin meant, but no direct quotes from Martin's speech. To me, that's a pretty big red flag. But what do I know, I'm just an old white guy. Here's an article by Cory Doctorow on Campbell's racism and weirdness. Much better context than the Ng speech, which was brief: https://locusmag.com/2019/11/cory-doctorow-jeannette-ng-was-right-john-w-campbell-was-a-fascist/ So, it looks like Ng was right. I still would like to see these things in Campbell's words, but haven't been able to dig them up. Doctorow has been in the field for long enough to be a trusted source, though. I think there's still a lot of hypersensitivity here (decrying colonialism, etc. in a genre about exploration and yes, colonial expansion which used to be pretty mainstream fare), but Doctorow gives some solid examples that cast Campbell in a bad light, especially on matters of race.

Whoever wrote that headline needs to learn to use punctuation.

The reason was that the trial was in the same city that he bombed. Which is a fair call, to be honest. I'd just as soon leave it up to the aggrieved community, but our system is supposed to try to be as neutral as possible and have decisions made on the facts of a case rather than emotion.

Finished Season 1 of All Rise. Still mediocre, but some good performances. I like the cast, don't like the show much. I'll probably keep watching it as a guilty pleasure. Watched The Magicians, Season 4 (Netflix). Pretty good. The usual off color humor and dialog, and hairy situations. Has fallen into a pattern. Still liking it, but thinking that ending it with Season 5 (not on Netflix yet, but has aired on SyFy) was probably a good call.

There are plenty of supporting documents from the time of the writing of the Constitution to clarify the intent behind the document's wording. I think the biggest issue is that a revision would require an immense level of control by one party or the other. I don't know if I'd like a revision framed by a single, and these days likely extremist, viewpoint, no matter which side of the aisle it fell to.

Not all laws are secular. 😉

Finished Season 2 of Discovery. Actually liked it a lot. Upped their game from Season 1, really enjoyed the cast dynamics. Watching All Rise, a few episodes in. Courtroom drama/feel good show starring Simone Missick. Writing is pretty bad, but I like Missick and some ot the other cast members (Reggie Lee from Grimm in a supporting role, and the girl that played Gypsy on Flash). I really don't recommend this one, but I'm watching it anyway.

I wonder if this is going to be seen as an affirmative defense (we did it, but we had to because of X reason that exempts us from charges), thus shifting the burden of proof to the defense, or as a straight up not guilty plea (we didn't commit the crime because the gun wasn't capable of being fired on that particular day). It seems like the prosecution wants the former while the defense is angling toward the latter.

I think the appropriate response would have been to get inside, call 911, and observe. It seemed to me the crowd was making their displeasure with the mayor very loudly known, so if I wasn't the mayor, I wouldn't worry too much.

I just read the article, including the documentation. I don't see any malfeasance. The crime lab clearly documented the condition the firearm was received in, and investigated why it couldn't be fired. They then reassembled it to see if it could be made to fire. Though I wouldn't consider removing the firing pin "field stripping," that's splitting hairs. (It's not too hard to get at on a PPK/S anyway.) In any event, as Bolo points out, their attorney turned over the gun after the fact. It's hardly valid evidence at this point, as the defendants have had ample opportunity to tamper with it.

Finished Season 1 of Star Trek: Discovery. I liked it. Really didn't mind the more alien-looking Klingons. I do wish they'd speak in English to each other so that I could play games on my other screen easier, though.

Found this on a Delta Rae (indy band I like) playlist: Upload date: 2015 .

Finished Season 1 of Cursed (Netflix): Not bad, but has some plot convenience going on in a couple of places. Will watch a Season 2. Good casting for Nimue and Merlin. Not over-excited about the rest of the cast, but no complaints either. Oh, and Squirrel. I liked Squirrel. Watched Outsider (Netflix), a movie about a white veteran (possibly AWOL, played by Jared Leto) jailed in post-war Japan who joins the Yakuza. Nicely-shot, good acting, and absolutely zero exposition. If you don't like exposition, this is the movie for you. It could have used just a little exposition, though. Pretty average fare, you won't miss much if you never see it. Starting Star Trek Discovery (CBS All Access). Wife watched it already, and what I overheard from the other room didn't sound too bad. I'm not going to get bent out of shape if it colors outside the lines a bit on Trek continuity, since the franchise has never been a bastion of continuity anyway.

I don't want to pile on, but best wishes from me, too, Archer.

McCain shot himself in the foot with his VP pick, but I think nobody realized how bad that pick was at the time.

Thank you! There's nothing new about frilled sharks, despite the headline implying that they've been rediscovered off of Portugal. They have a wide range, and off the coast of Portugal was already part of that range. I guess that headline gets more clicks than, "Look at this picture of a weird-looking shark!" though.

Thanks for the context, Michael.

I was wondering if there was something more specific. I'm not really familiar with the PNW's history of settlement, or what forms any displacement of local first nations took.

Why?

'88, had to bust out of 98G school first.

Yep.

Not it! I'm a former (way former) Military Police officer, which is a slightly different flavored beast. Though most murders are people who know each other is still true AFAIK.

That contributed, but stuff has been trending toward scarce since the start of the pandemic. After TP, that is.