Binge Series

 Over the past five days, I've done a 'binge-watch' of a South Korean series (1-season so far made) of '100 Days My Prince'.  

Netflix in the past four or five months put it up and I decided to watch one segment, and then I was hooked.  

So, here's the thing....it's entirely in Korean....with English sub-text.  Some folks may have a problem with that.

The script?  Five star and it kinda surprised me on the angles to the story.  There's plenty of twists and turns.  

Landscape?  Interesting, and they made a lot of effort to convince you of a period from 500 years ago.

Acting?  Well....it goes from four-star to two-star.  The story carries the bulk of this series.  A second season?  The hint is that they will produce another year.  I should note it's from the 2018 season.  

So if you were sitting around and wanted a binge-worthily program....I'd strongly recommend it.  

Trump-Harris Polling

 It's basically a 3-line story with no real shock value.

A poll was done....Donald Trump in 2024, against Kamala Harris.

Trump wins easily.

Why?  That's mostly left out.  I suspect if you asked people about Harris's first 100 days in the VP chair and what she did.....there's not much other than attending meetings and being recognized as the 'border-guru'.

Did most Democrats expect anything otherwise?  I seriously doubt it.  I don't think she was selected for talents, skills, or past achievements.  She was the female of color among a dozen women, and Biden simply picked her.  Beyond that....on the VP lists of the past hundred years.....she's just not that well noted at this point.

Is this leading to a problem?  Well....if we get to November 2022 and the Republicans win the House back....it's going to be a five-star issue.  I can't see Joe Biden running again, and it's a fair short list for replacements.  

Ten Observations

 1.  Looked at gold prices today?  $1880 per ounce....probably highest of past four months.

2.  Rather odd....some admitting in the Democratic Party that house seats they lost in Novembers election....came because of 'defund-the-police' efforts.  Shocking, huh?

3. Total student college debt is $1.4-trillion presently.  Wouldn't shock me if it reaches 2-trillion by the end of 2022.

4.  Back in 2017....some journalists in Japan started to discuss openly....a 'mask addiction'.....where no mandate or rule existed, but people wore the mask because they were addicted to it.  

It's rather odd....we are reaching this point in the US now.

5.  ABC (the network) came up this week and kinda admitted....they are not that sure about advertising income for the Oscar Show.  Between the lecture business and impact statements made during the shows of the past decade....no one really cares to watch it. 

So the income from the Oscars telecast is crap.  It'll probably still go on in 2022, but if the trend holds....it wouldn't shock me if the three networks all decline it in 2023.

6.  This idea of a permanent National Guard presence in DC?  It's a hard sell to Congress in general.  There's enough votes to get up and running for the next two years.  I anticipate in 2023....with the GOP running the House....the concept will be dumped.

7.  US government hiring 'care-givers' for new Latino kids who arrived?  Yes, starting off with 250.  I would take a guess that by December...it'll be up near 3,000 of them.  Who is really qualified as a 'care-giver'?  That's not clear.  

I would go and suggest that half of the first 250 hired....will be gone within six months....too much stress and chaos for the pay-scale.

8.  Stacey Abrams writes novels?  Well....yeah.  Political thrillers.  Apparently, new contract coming up and she'll write two more political thrillers.  

How people get all excited or hyped with political novels?  Beyond me.  Course, people probably said this over Fred Gipson when he wrote Old Yeller. 

9.  Some people are talking over the quality of TV programs and suggest it's the lowest creativity point since the 1950s.  It wouldn't surprise me if we end up with a talking dogs show, or bringing back Password for prime-time.

10.  NBA ratings seriously down, and not expected to resolve anything.  

Struggle Sessions?

 Almost a hundred years ago....in the newly proclaimed Soviet Union....the communist folks came up with this idea to introduce their method of running things, and it meant arriving in towns, village and cities....convincing people that they needed to confess to certain thing (self-humiliation really)....to rise out of the ashes.

As the years passed, and Mao arrived to remake the Chinese government....this idea of self-humiliation came up and they redesigned it....calling it 'struggle sessions'.

The basic idea?  You'd take general public opinion and just destroy the hell out of it....getting people humiliate themselves, their relatives, friends, and co-workers. Everywhere....there would be enemies of the public.

The idea here?  Everyone was a victim as they exited the struggle session.  And they stayed victims....in order to appear 'in-tune' with the game being played out.

Struggle sessions were held at work, in the local neighborhood, and even at large arenas/stadiums.  

If you stand back today.....wokeness is basically the struggle sessions in a modern day society.  

Funny how history repeats itself.  But if you asked college professors about the struggle sessions....I doubt if you'd find more than a thousand in the entire US who know of the Chinese history, and how it changed society.

Usefulness of Useless Knowledge

 I was sitting and reading a piece yesterday, which led to the idea that there is value or useful purpose....if you were going out to gain useless knowledge.

This actually came out of a book from late 1930s, and it was an open discussion that maybe some experiment or project led to a simple report of zero value today, but sat around for an era and is picked up....to  advance some highly valued project in decades to come.  

It'd be like you doing a garage experiment to find some other type of air conditioning 'element' that was workable but less toxic.  You wrapped this up successfully but found that this was ten times more expensive....so you published the idea but it just sat there.  Years later, the cost factor drops by 90-percent and it suddenly has value.

Out there in the bold world we live in....there's probably tens of millions of people across the globe....working to gather useless knowledge.  To be honest....some of what they work up....WILL NEVER have value and be terribly wasted efforts.  Some will have marginal value, and some will have tremendous value (coming maybe years after the guy's death).

So it is in our best interest to be 'kind' to these individuals and urge them on....even if we see the value of this today as totally wasted.  

I know it goes against our very nature....to discourage stupid work, or work without value.  But you just can't tell....that crazy cousin of yours might come up with some idea that might make Pepsi an actual healthy drink to consume, or get the magic formula to eat 10,000 calories per day but get the body to burn that intake as quickly as it comes in.  

Ten Questions

 1.  Will there ever be a point over the next decade where you walk around and no one is wearing a mask?

No.  That day will not exist, unless you confine yourself to some ultra-rural area where you just get out to buy gas, pick up mail at some rural post office, and avoid civilization entirely.

2.  Is the Pentagon going to 'spy' on military members social media?

Well....the suggestion is there.  But the obvious question....if you have people monitoring....who are monitoring the monitors?  

3.  Could people get so dependent on the government....that they could survive without 'free money'?

That probably occurred in the 1970s, and has been on the agenda ever since.

4.  Did Obama basically admit UFOs are real?

Well....he gave a statement and just said stuff to prepare you for the next reality.

5.  Could 12-year-old kids successfully (using fake ID) trade stock?

First, you'd ask 'why', and after you settle that question....the rest of the answer is 'yes'.

But if the 12-year-old kid figured futures and trends....there's nothing holding him back from being a millionaire by age 21.  

6.  Why are more nutcases showing up at airports and on planes....triggering fights and assaults?

Mostly a trend with drugs and alcohol.  I might even go and suggest the trend will envelop churches eventually.

7.  Talk of this 4th stimulus check?

Yep, it continues on.  I'd prepare for another $1k to $2k each by August.  

8.  With home prices escalating....aren't we building up a problem with mortgage loan companies?

Absolutely.  But no one wants to deny the circus atmosphere from existing.

9.  Does anyone really care what Jeb Bush thinks?

I doubt it.

10.  Lumber prices going downward?

Well....lumber futures are trending downward....which means something is going on and prices should shift in the next month.  

Award Chatter

 Somewhere in the mind of Bill Gates....he had this ambition to get the Nobel Peace Prize.  Now, if you lined up a million Americans....typically, 99.99-percent would tell you this was on their priority list....way down to like item number 7,889.  

To reach this type of status, for whatever reason....Bill Gates got friendly with Jeffrey Epstein.  No one says what favor Bill did for Jeffrey, but around 2013.....Bill had this idea that Jeffrey knew the right people (Thorbjorn Jagland, then head of the committee who'd decide stuff like this), and some meeting was arranged.

No one says what was discussed at this meeting.  I would figure that Bill walked in and jabbered away for a full hour on his foundation.  In the end, Bill (of course) did not get the Nobel Peace Prize.

I sat and pondered over the story.  Across the US, there's probably ten-thousand folks walking around and in some mindset that they ought to win the Nobel Peace Prize for 'something'.  

Barak Obama, I think, really didn't have this ambition, and some idiots with the committee just wanted to say their appreciation that George Bush was gone.  After that episode....a number of folks made the observation that the award was generally worthless.  

If you did the statistical analysis....out of the ten-thousand Americans....there might be one every ten years who gets something done or just fakes enough people to say they deserve it.  

Bill Gates?  I admit....he did well with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.  Beyond that, there's not much that I'd give him credit for.  

The thing you are left to ponder.....to get this meeting arranged....Bill had to do something for Jeffrey.  It might be curious to know what Bill did or arranged.