Saying Good-Bye to Cyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper is on her (first) farewell tour. We went to see it because:

1. We love her songs and voice and her in general

2. She may not be Cher. This might be her only farewell tour. I have seen on 2 of her many, many farewell tours. In fact, the first time I saw Cher's Farewell tour, Cyndi was the opening act.

It was an entertaining show. Although she's getting older, and some notes don't quite hit right, her slow songs, Sally's Pigeons, Time after Time, and True Colors, hit just like before.

The arena (there is one picture of that) is an intimate venue of about 11,000 built for hockey games. And, yes, the desert has a hockey team. The Coachella Valley Firebirds - a feeder team for the Seattle Kraken.

Word of the year pronounced in-shit-if-e-ca-tion

 

Curbing Freedom of the Press

One of the first things authoritarian governments try to do is muzzle the freedom of the press. I did not capitalize freedom here for a simple reason. They don't attack Free Speech but use pressure and coercion to stifle the impartiality of the press.

Consider these actions that have already happened:

1. Billionaire owners stopped the endorsement of Kamala Harris for President - to keep on Trump's good side.
1. Jeff Bezos stopped the editorial staff at the Washington Post 
2. Patrick Soon-Shiong stopped the editorial staff of the LA Times
2. A judge (a Trump appointee) stopped the sale of Alex Jones's right-wing site, Info Wars, to The Onion, a satirical site. This happened AFTER the sale was approved.
3. Elon Musk bought "Twitter" heretofore, an open site that took down posts by Nazis and posts with misinformation. Under the new owner, the rebranded "X" has thrown open the site to misinformation, right-wing threats, and foreign propaganda.
4. Left-wing news source MSNBC is being sold now. Proposals have been floated to have Elon Musk by that as well.
5. Morning Joe, a news-adjacent site that was pretty anti-Trump, made the "Trump kiss the ass ring" trip to Mar-a-lago. Mika Brzezinski, is the daughter of Zbigniew Brzezinski - a foreign policy expert who served LBJ and Jimmy Carter. He would be appalled. ON the other hand Mika told us all it was no big deal.

It's not much, but it is a start. Most of these occurred in the month before the election. It isn't a hopeful start.

The subtitle is now ironic

The Guardian asked its readers to send in pics from their fall walks

 Here are some of my favorites.

Awhhhh... Pup

 From the We Rate Dogs account.

Remember simpler times?

I got up at a reasonable hour today to watch some football.

And then it dawned on me: I used to get up early and watch Saturday morning cartoons, knowing that millions of other kids were doing the same. 

Now, we've all just gotten older and watch Saturday Morning Football warm-up shows, complete with jokes, slapstick, putdowns, and then someone putting on a cartoon head.

My Favorites:

Bugs and Marvin

Elmer and Daffy

Lee Corso and his Buckeye head.

Once must say...

 "No? Really?"

Are you saying that by opening drilling further - at a time when we are actually exporting fossil fuels - might NOT drop the worldwide energy market cost by half? 

I don't think you understand the brilliance of Trump's willpower. He is manifesting this outcome, folks!

Now - I don't WANT to correct them, but serously

 If you have known me for a while, you know I love the Yule Cat from Iceland. Love him, named Jólakötturinn in Icelandic. But I do have a problem with the explanation given in the article. You see, the web site (and other English sites) explain - incorrectly- that the Yule Cat will eat children that don't wear their new clothes. That is stilly. You can't wear your new clothes on Christmas - and that is when Jólakötturinn is out and about.

No, despite what this article says, you will hear the real story if you go to Iceland. Jólakötturinn eats only those children who do not receive either socks or underwear.

After the article, there is the image of our Yule Cat ornament that will go on our tree soon.

Ho Ho Ho

I LOVE the hood ornament here

 This last weekend, we took Kev (Angie's husband) to look at "exotic" cars. He is a car enthusiast, and he loved it. I generally wandered around as he looked. There are a few car places out here that sell exotic and "classic" old cars. It works here because there is no rust, and a lot of retired people have kept cars for a long time.

Anyway, look at the hood ornament on this old Oldsmobile. Gorgeous.

Man Overboard (throw him a concrete life saver)

Trump is stocking his cabinet in such a manner as to make me think he is just trolling us. Most of them are incompetent or have no experience in their field. Many of them are Fox Opinion Hosts or Fox Commentators - which is apparently enough of a qualification for the Second Season of Trump.

Four of his picks have problems with sex scandals. 

Pete Hegseth is his choice for Secretary of Defense. Although he has no experience managing a team of over 2.3 million, he was a Fox News Host. He is under scrutiny for a sexual abuse claim that was settled out of court with a sealed settlement, and that is coming back to bite him.

Robert F Kennedy Jr is the choice for Health and Human Services. Aside from thinking vaccinations cause autism, fluoride causes people to turn gay, and AIDS is not spread by HIV, he also has a bit of a history of affairs and semi-consensual sexual encounters. Maybe the brain worm made him do it.

Linda McMahon, the owner of World Wide Wrestling, is the pick for Secretary of Education, and no, she has no experience with education. She and her husband are in the midst of a lawsuit by men being trained at the WWF in the 90's. The men were sexually abused by trainers and doctors.

And then there's Maude (in-joke for me). Matt Gaetz, the worst of the choices, this one for Attorney General - the lead lawyer for the United States. Matt was set to fight for the job and try to skim past his drug and prostitute days. He successfully buried the House Report on his sexual adventures and parties. But one prostitute came out that he had taken her to New York to visit Fox Studios and see the play Pretty Woman, which is about as ironic as one can possibly be.

Well, it came out that he slept with a second minor - this one in a three-way party that included cocaine. Apparently, there is a line Republicans won't cross. Sex with a minor might have been it. Or transporting a prostitute across state lines with the intent of paying her for her services is a felon - one that drove New York Governor to resign in 2008.

He pulled out today (pun intended).

If you were wondering about their Transsexual Lies...

Many of us noted that the lies they used against transsexuals were garbage.

Republicans noted that middle school was providing gender surgery on school kids. Huge ass lie.

They also often referred to their worry that men "pretending to be women" would rape women in restrooms. As well as men "pretending to be women" would dominate in school sports.

Well, a transexual has been elected to Congress. The Republicans are not worried she will play sports. The Republicans are not worried she will rape women in the restroom. They are just nasty, horrible people whose life mission is to destroy others.

Clearly a danger to all women in Congress. Because she has assaulted (checks notes) nobody. Ever

If you're wondering how it is going... (1)

Now that Trump won, his political supporters have told Democrats to "relax, unify, and work with them".

Trump's voters, not so much playing nice. They have responded with a variety of text messages and slogans:

From a conservative YouTube Star:

"Your Body, My Choice" This is a new saying that has been reported on campuses from high school to graduate university. It references the end of Roe - the woman's right to an abortion - and how now men get to make the choice of a woman keeping a baby and disallowing preventative care which saves the mother.

In anonymous texts: 

Orders for Black people to report for Plantation Work

Orders for LBGT to report to re-education camps

Orders for Hispanics to report to concentration camps to ready for deportation to Mexico

So yes, of course, Democrats should swallow all this crap and be the bigger people.

Hot Frosty - Maybe Funnier than expected

Ed and I watched Hot Frosty last night. Don't Judge!

It was pretty much as expected. Frosty was hot, and the townspeople ultimately believed he was a snowman come to life. The sheriff was perplexed, but Craig Robinson, who played him, was funny as hell. The deputy was goofy but a necessary sidekick.

Katy Mixon-Greer, Molly's little sister, was all grown up with a brand new facelift. She played the doctor who helped diagnose "Jack" as a come-to-life snowman.

I hear Lacey Chabert is the queen of Hallmark Christmas Movies, and it isn't hard to see why. She is cute in a non-threatening way and handles the inanity of the details easily.

And now to Dustin Mulligan, Hot Frosty himself. Dustin is kind of the chameleon of actors here. I heard he had only a few weeks to prepare for the role after the original lead dropped out. He had to starve and work out to get into the role, and it worked for his body, but his face is noticeably thin. (A reason why the "perfect male form" is a bunch of bullshit.)

Anyway, here are some pictures of him from Schitt's Creek where he played Alexis' fiance. He played a loveable puppy-dog there too, but not as wide-eyed.

I have been going through old reviews and Krapp, 39

I was going through old reviews, and I found this, "Krapp, 39". It was a very well-reviewed show that I hated. I didn't remember quite how much. I have edited out mistakes from the review, but otherwise, it is as I wrote it.

Here it is, in all its glory.

Krapp, 39

1 Star

Krapp, 39, just extended at the So Ho Playhouse, is an interesting idea that never extends to a theatrical experience you want to watch.   The play references Samuel Becket’s play “Krapp’s Last Tape,” an assumed semi-autobiographical show in which the character of Krapp at 69, plays tapes of himself through the years, particularly at age 39.  The idea behind this play, then, is this actor/ writer looks so forward to performing the show Krapps Last Tape at age 69 that he wants to record the 39-year-old monologues now, in his own voice.  As I said, an interesting idea.

However, as written and performed by Michael Laurence, the show is a self-referential, naval gazing exercise that pretty much defines narcissism.   I suppose that this show could be very “touching and meaningful” for those among us who are self-defined “artists” who suffer for their craft versus “everyone else” who are heathens doomed to never understand the world as they do. The lead character, who is the only character for a reason, is oblivious to anyone else except as an audience.  

If you have ever been forced to spend 15 minutes at a party listening to one of these people explain how much better, deeper, and more alive they are than you could ever imagine, you have experienced a small moment of this show.  Now expand this awkward party moment to 90 minutes, and you have a pretty good handle on “Krapp, 39.”

The writer of this show acknowledges that he is willful, selfish, and short-sighted.  However, the admission of imperfection is used only to show the audience that the author is more honest about himself than the audience could ever hope to be.  The author revels in his imperfections.  He loves them; he worships these character flaws, which ultimately means they aren’t flaws at all.

It might not be a biographical work, but the fact that Mr. Laurence wrote and performed it invites the expectation that it is.  If the play is not biographical, it would still be annoying, but the blame could be shared.

Let me acknowledge that I seem to be in the minority here.  Reviews of the show have often been excellent, and the show won the “Outstanding Solo Show” at the 2008 New York International Fringe Festival.  Michael Laurence performed the piece beautifully, and I couldn’t stand him.  Perhaps if the viewer has already seen “Krapp’s Last Tape” by Samuel Beckett, the play is more meaningful, and there are references to the show throughout Krapp, 39.  But to the casual viewer, this piece is a 90-minute self-indulgent trip through a life celebrated for being shallow.  I did not enjoy it.

I will say that the staging and use of a hand-held video camera with a large monitor was excellent.  But towards the end, even the images it projected were trite and used only to provide visual confirmation of the writer/performer/character’s uniqueness.

Wow! I did not like it!

Ho Ho Ho - fooled you

 This is kind of a humorous ad.  Find the sweater from the headline.

None of the "stylish looks" are seen in the image. But it does catch one's eye.

Animal pic of the Day

 

A female jaguar named Patricia with her cub, Makala, take a dip at Encontro das Águas State Park, Mato Grosso, Brazil. The tropical wetland there, called the pantanal, is home to one of the world’s largest jaguar populations, although it is threatened by wildfires

Photograph: Sergio Moraes/Reuters

We saw Next To Normal in the desert

 Ed and I went to see Next to Normal, the musical at the Coachella Valley Rep. I was prepared to be underwhelmed, but I was very pleasantly surprised. 

The voices were very good. The sets were unique and interesting. They also added back in a lot of expository, asides, and song snippets that had been in the Off-Broadway show, but cut for Broadway. It really improved the show.

It was fun.

Vistors

 Our friends Sam, Angie, and Kev are staying over for a couple of nights. It should be a kick. Although tomorrow is the coldest day since we moved to Palm Springs, 63 F (17 C) !?!?!

But we will have fun.

One of the funniest things I heard Ed say recently...

 Just in case you have missed it, President-elect Trump has appointed Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to head up a new "Department of Government Efficiency."

What cracked me up is that Ed said, "I don't think it is efficient to have TWO heads of the "Department of Government Efficiency." It's just efficient. 

Good News / Bad News

 Bad News:

Good News: Mmm... What a Tan

(note: my cheer partner was the TV "Mmm, what a tan" girl.)

Welcome to the new World

The rise of despicable behavior.

First, the message that launched 36,000 reposts! 

This charmer is actually more apt to be screamed than posted.

And finally, messages that tell Blacks to report for slavery

What, were they out of cute men?

 Look, I may have to go out on a limb here, but People's Sexiest Man of the Year title doesn't seem to be the choice of a sexy man, but a man they haven't used yet.

No one looks at Krazinski and says, "Wow! I want me a piece of that." If anything, you look at him and think, "Now, that is the kind of person my niece/daughter/sister ought to marry. Comfortable and reliable.

You know what is not sexy? Overly comfortable and reliable. And it isn't like you are bereft of choices.

Better choices: Jesse Williams, Jonathan Baily, Nicholas Galitzine, Matt Bomer, Taylor Zakhar Perez

In my opinion, Nicholas Galitzine is the Sexiest Man. 

I would give it to Nicholas because he is not only sexy, but he also looks sexy in his movies. And he has chemistry with his co-stars. He is straight, but he and Taylor Zakhar Perez (also straight) made it look real in Red, White, and Royal Blue. To say nothing of making Anne Hathaway look like a real person, and giving total Mother and shady son vibes in Mary and George.

Stoic Quote

I thought about Stoic content today. Could it help me weather the storm - okay, dumpster fire - that engulfs my thoughts right now.

I saw this quote. You might think I mean it as a diss on Trump. It is not. It is a reminder to myself that giving in to anger is not the way forward. I mean, I am still pissed, and that won't change. But I am giving it a shot.

"How much worse are the consequences of anger than that which caused it" - Marcus Aurelius.

"Quanto peggiori sono le conseguenze dell'ira di quelle che l'hanno provocata" - Marco Aurelio.

And you thought the noise was over, Scott! ha ha hah

 Well, I have tuned out, and yet the constant barrage of Trump news is on 24/7. Even more fun, the "Why did the Democrats lose?" opinion pieces are produced WAY out of proportion.

I still strive to check out of news.

Well This is funny!!!

 So there is a fun article in the NY Times if you can access it. LINK. It has videos of actions called out below.

The story is about an elephant who has learned to use the hose. In a German zoo, the handlers wash the Indian Elephants daily. One day, an animal behavior expert watched and found that the handlers were washing all the elephants except Mary. When they get to Mary, they just give her the hose, and she washes herself.

The expert was very surprised but didn't think the elephants "learned" much. A hose is very much like a trunk and they assumed Mary understood that tool quickly. Elephants have been known to use tree leaves as flyswatters and other simple "tools". 

But then they saw another elephant totally prank (or screw with) Mary. While washing, a younger elephant learned how to kink the hose to shut off her water (or reduce to a trickle). It is the first time they have seen this type of play behavior in elephants. 

Fascinating.

I gotta say - Papua New Guinea is right.

Papua New Guinea gave a big f*ck off to the Cop29 conference. What is a Cop conference. I have pulled the item below from google.

Azerbaijan is a petrochemical state where 40+ percent of their money comes from fossil fuels. 

This the second conference in a row for Cop conferences in a petrostate.The idea of massive emitors of fossil fuel countries tell poorer countries to stop using fuel, in a state where fossil fuel production is the #1 industry, seems more than hypocritical.

Papua New Guinea pulled out because the Cop conferences lead to no action. PNG is correct. And because PNG is tired of all talk and less than zero action - in fact negative progress - that accompanies the conference.

As for emissions per capita - they have a massive point:

1. Papua New Guinea 2.2 tons per person per year
2. UK: 4.7 tons 
3. China: 9.2 tons
4. US: 13.83 tons
5. Australia 22.0 tons