The Future Has Arrived. Really.

 

Even better than the "I have black friends" excuse

Elon Musk's father is somehow, SOMEHOW, more clueless than Elon. Elon is trying to dismantle "D.E.I" initiatives for the Trump Ego Administration. This has turned into getting rid of anything that mentions any minority (and women - albeit they are not technically a minority). They swear it has nothing to due with racism.

Well, when many people explain they are not racist, they will often say, "I can't be racist; I have lots of black friends." It is the telltale sign of a lie or cluelessness.

Elon Musk's day, however, took a parallel but even weirder turn. Let us quote.

Errol Musk the father of America’s first play cousin, Elon Musk, claimed that all this talk about his son being racist is just “political nonsense.”

When asked about his son’s blatant assault on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, Errol Musk claimed in an email to the Washington Post, “We had several Black servants who were their friends.” 

Because nothing says, “I’m not racist” like making friends with the indentured servants working in your South African home during apartheid. 

That’s because American racism pales in comparison to South African racism. Imagine racism being so embedded in your DNA that you believe “servants” like you. Imagine being so racist that you actually believe the relationship that paid workers had with your son was real. Imagine being so racist that you don’t even have enough self-awareness to call them “Black friends”–the go-to phrase for white Americans. 

So, see! Black servants as friends. Scarlett O'Hara had Mammy, Prissy, and Big Sam as her servants. So the Confederacy wasn't racist.

Presumed lost River Otter found in Nepal.

It's always great to find out a species people thought were lost in a place have been rediscovered. 

In this case, it is an Asian Small-Clawed River Otter. It was found in Nepal, where it hadn't been seen since 1839. River Otters are terrific at taking care of river ecosystems, so this great.

A juvenile found in Nepal

A Simple Explanation of March Madness for the Brits

Around this time every year, much of the United States falls into March Madness. No, this is not a political, full moon, or mental illness issue. It is a supernatural phenomena that takes over most of the country.

You see, last Sunday, some experts gathered together and picked 68 college basketball teams to be in a playoff system to define "the best" college basketball team. It is like the single-game knock-out stage of the World Cup. Lose 1, and you're done. The better you are in the pre-season (before March Madness) defines if you go in as a guaranteed champion or as an at-large bid.

However, college affiliation is not the big thing in this case. No, the big thing is the betting pools. Almost the entire country selects a "bracket" to bet. And often, the people who know the least win.

And you start early. My niece Dora first picked her favorite mascot for each team as the winner. (This year say the Arizona Wildcats vs. the Akron Zips.)

The tourney goes over 3 weekends, but most people's brackets are "busted" after week one, and then it is just hate-watching against the people in the lead. But for nearly a month, it is the bees' knees. And it makes a great distraction this year.

I don't know if you ever watched YOU on Netflix.. But if you have this is for you!

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Netflix US (@netflix)

I'm not sure this is a housedress....

Once in a while—maybe once every six weeks—my Grandmother Zela would put on a house-dress, and we all would help clean the house. I vividly remember this, and not in a good way.

No disrespect to my grandmother. As long as I can remember, she wore a Jane Russell 18 Playtex full-body girdle. It went from just above her knees to the two big straps holding her bodice. It was something you usually only saw in glimpses. However, on these days, she threw a house-dress over it, and we all cleaned for at least 1/2 the day.

The one on the far right or left.

Again, no disrespect to Zela, but I can remember these days so much because on these days, she didn't shower in the morning, and after hours of work, it was obvious she was sweating. These were the house-dresses that didn't always cover everything up.

1960s House-dresses like Zelas

I say all this to note that the idea of a housedress is burned into my mind. And I can confidently say THESE are not house-dresses.

The idea of two of these dresses thrown over an 18 Playtex Full Body Girdle is an image I don't want to think of.

Yeah - This....

 

Here's a more detailed explanation:

• Definition:

  Learned helplessness occurs when someone repeatedly faces uncontrollable, stressful situations and, as a result, they stop trying to change the situation, even when change becomes possible. 
• How it develops:

  • Initial Uncontrollable Events: The person experiences situations where their actions have no impact on the outcome, leading to a sense of powerlessness. 
  Cognitive Shift: They begin to believe that they are unable to control or influence the events in their lives. 
  Behavioral Change: This belief leads to a passive and apathetic behavior, where they no longer attempt to change or avoid the situation, even when they could. 

Great Hike Through Indian Canyons

 I've never been to the most southern point of Palm Springs. You go past where South Palm Springs Road ends, and you get to the road to the Indian Canyons. Now, these are the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, so they have money. The roads are great.

You go up to a gate, pay to visit and there are a few parking lots. One of the cool things, is that the Indians strictly number the amount of people they let in. Therefore, although they place may be "full" for parking there are still a lot of places to hike without a lot of people.

We did not do this. We hiked the most popular and easy trail the first time. It was stunning (and short!)

Here are some pictures of Andreas Canyon:

Jack Draper - Indian Wells

 

Well, Jack Draper beat Holgar Rune. To celebrate, a few magazines are running great pictures of him. He is the new heartthrob of England. Now, he is no Holgar Rune, but he is cute. And the glamour shots are great.

Here are some shots of why England is in a tizzy.

He is about as cute a Brit as your going to see.

Our Hypothetical just became Our Reality

To date, one of the most challenging hypothetical questions has been: What if the court orders something and Donald Trump ignores it?

Well, we are about to find out. (And my guess is that nothing will happen.) Oh, the courts have been hyperventilating about it, but the administration has been playing along the edges so far. They have been filing appeals and delaying until the rulings are moot.

But last week, the administration just chose to ignore the courts. They deported a Professor who had a green card and taught at an Ivy League School - because she was Lebanese. The court said not to, and they just ignored it.

Then, this week! President Trump declared us at war with Venezuelan gangs. He had to actually say it was a war to declare his own powers. Well, the court almost immediately put a hold on this as he was sending two flights of Venezuelan gangs to El Salvador (we are paying El Salvador to put them in super-max prisons there instead of keeping them). The court said they couldn't do it, but the Administration did it anyway.

They now claim that the flights were over international waters when the court order was processed, and since they were, US courts had no jurisdiction. This is a change from their first excuse, which was that they didn't know.

We are now in territory we haven't been in since the 1830s when a different President ignored the Supreme Court. So that's fun.

Snow in the Mountains

 Snow, where it should be, on a picturesque mountain. This is interesting because these mountains are actually to the south of us, towards San Diego. This range almost never gets snow, but the "atmospheric river" dipped lower than usual and here it is.

Pretty

Vent - do not proceed.