Latin/Greek Discussion

 To be honest, I shouldn't care.....but it came up yesterday that the University of Princeton has dropped Latin and Greek as a language requirements classics major.  Reason?  Well....it's 'systemic racism.’

If you look around....most all universities in the US have dropped Latin/Greek in general, over the past hundred years.  It used to be a big deal....you went to a college and they mandated debate....they mandated geometry even if you were going for a degree in history....they mandated Latin, and so on.

The necessarily for Latin?  It basically goes back to knowing and understanding Roman history/culture, and how it interacts with our lives even today.  Some people will even say that it leads to linguistic problem-solving and opens your mind to true meanings of words.

Latin already gone in high schools?  If you look around.....it's down to a few private academies.  Back in the 1960s, there were around 700,000 kids in America studying Greek or Latin.....I doubt if you even get to 5,000 today.  

As for it causing systemic racism?  You might as well make the case that college basketball/football also triggers systemic racism, and end that.  Maybe even these basket-weaving classes might cause systemic racism, and you ought to end them as well.  Frankly, in general....all college is system racism, and you should just limit your educational path to air conditioning repair, plumbing, and carpentry.  

So, How Much Would You Spend to Save the World?

 It's a stupid thing to discuss.

First, the world is collapsing from global warming.

President 'Joe' says we need a climate agenda.  He says only by spending trillions (not billions)....can we save the world.

A poll got done by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, where people were asked how much would pay per month....to save the world.  

First off, almost one-third of the folks in this polling said....zero.  Not even a nickel.

Then you came to roughly fifteen-percent of folks in the poll kinda said in a way that they weren't willing to go past $10 a month on saving the world.  Yeah, basically three-quarters of a case of beer was the max on which these folks were willing to spend....per month. 

So half of the folks in the polling were either giving nothing, or ten bucks.  

The poll also included this odd question....how willing are you to replace your gas-car with a battery-car (E-car).  Majority of folks (53-percent) said they had no interest.  

The odds of the Biden administration getting any gains out of this chatter?  I would have my doubts.  

If you could save the world on $8.99 a month....maybe it'd sell well.  I just have this gut-feeling that $8.99 won't cut it.  

If you just said that 75-percent of the airports in the world would close and flight activity were only limited to the well-to-do or the political class?  I'm sure that would not sell well either.

Converting everyone over to vegan, to save the world?  That's probably not going to work either.

Maybe you'd be better off to send the Chinese back to the lab to build mega-Covid-20, and try to wipe out forty-percent of the people on Earth.  

Ten Things I Kinda Expect By the End of 2022

1.  This Wuhan lab leak business will play out, and China will just stall.  Nine out of ten people will believe the leak business, but you can't really punish anyone.

2.  People will get so deep into the 'woke-business' that that they start talking in a positive way about Nazis.

3.  Unemployment in the US will edge up to around 10 to 12 percent as inflation affects the nation.

4.  More than 250,000 Americans will have contracted the Covid-19 virus, after being fully vaccinated.

5.  VP Harris will have dissolved all of her chances to run in 2024 as President, with a large segment of the Democratic voter base now wondering.....if a 'old' Joe Biden can run a second time, or they have to find a newer group of possible candidates to pick from.

6.   The NBA will have commissioned a private group to find out why their viewing numbers are so dismal.  

7.  Lawsuits start up in Seattle as crime increases, and the police (in low numbers) are no longer able to protect businesses, private homes, or people walking in public.  The cases will mount, and be near half-a-billion dollars in damages.

8.  An upturn in UFO reporting will occur, but the bulk of these new reports turn out to be false.

9.  Some discussion will start up about replacing air travel via planes, with blimps.  It'll fail rather quickly.

10.  Thousands will be on a mental treatment plan because of Covid-depression.

New Homeless Wave Coming

 I sat and watched a piece off YouTube which chatted to a state by state problem....people basically using whatever law or situation possible to delay rent, because of their pandemic/Covid situation.

In the last couple of months....the court system has begun to catch up and landlords are on the offensive....evicting people who haven't paid, and this presents an interesting side-story.

The amount of rent from 2020/2021 which is in this bucket (maybe never to be paid)?  CBS says it's near $53-billion dollars.  

So the question in mind (there are three really):

1.  What happens if the majority of these are evicted and the $53-billion is never paid?  Doesn't a crisis come out of that?

2.  If you add it up and there's 30-million in this category (mentioned in this YouTube presentation), what exactly will happen on eviction day?  Do they just move out on the street, or into their car?

3.  Finally, this would all start to occur on 1 July, unless Biden and the House/Senate went to some extension.  At this point, I think it's too late. The question is....where do 30-odd million people go to hang out?

So my two general predictions.  First, if you live in a red-state and have access to a job....you are going to get employed....find cash-flow and maybe side-step this mess.  If you live in a blue-state, you are going to live out of the car for the next six months (probably moving to a warm state like California or Florida).  Second, on that angle to hyperinflation and serious political chaos....Biden's charm has hit the high plateau at this point in 2021.  

As for things looking a lot like the 1930s?  Well....yeah....that might be true.  

How I Got Addicted to 'Fear Porn'

 It was a dark and gloomy day, somewhere in the early spring of 2020, and 'fear porn' came on TV (German public news) and the thrill/gloom/cold sweat/uneasiness swept over me.  

My pulse picked up.  My anxiety level went from zero....to almost 1.5 (out of ten).  I would compare it to the grocery store being out of Pepsi, or the McDonalds lady telling me that the McRibs weren't possible for that particular day.

The spin?  There's a worldwide epidemic and countless people will pass from this Earth (sooner or later). 

Within a few days, these doctors (virus experts) began to appear nightly on German news and chat forums.  Gone were the gloomy financial idiots, the climate change 'porn' makers, and the people talking of fear of far-right extremism (Nazis, Nazis, Nazis).

Part of me wanted to ask stupid questions, but it didn't seem to really help.

Three months later, then came the 'mask porn', the '1.5-meter social distancing porn', 'no known source in China porn', and the 'cough porn'.  Just standing at a grocery and hearing 'Martin' (the whiny German clerk kid swiping the groceries over the scanner) cough....was enough to set off 'fear porn'.

Having to wear masks in public areas set off more bells and whistles.  My addiction level had gone past '5' on the scale of one to ten.  I started to stay in the house alot.  Just accepting mail or packages from the post-guy.....meant a serious handwash and alcohol doused on my face.  Oddly, I started ordering more things....sometimes worthless items (a Covid-medal from some Italian gift shop, which I gave myself).  This meant the post-guy and Amazon delivery folks came more often.

By mid-fall, 'higher-rate of infection porn' started up, with 'death porn' discussed almost daily.  'Old geezers dying porn' became a regular thing.

I came to appreciate the effort by German public TV, the BBC, CNN, France-24, NBC, MSNBC, ABC and CBS on their 'fear porn' efforts.

Some veterinarian guy came on one of the networks and actually talked 'dog-and-cat infection with Covid-19 fear porn'.  Some weeks later, another guy came on to talk 'lions-get-Covid-19 fear porn'.

In January, my 'fear porn' level dropped a bit....simply because a vaccine now existed.  A month later, it was now obvious that I would not get to the vaccination until mid-summer-fear porn.  

Around Easter, Covid-19 finally arrived on my door-step.  I had it.  For around ten days, I had a marginalized feel-bad....number two-level flu-like situation.  On fear-porn levels....this was a '2' out of a ten.

To be kinda honest, ever since that point (maybe 5 weeks ago)....my fear porn level.....not matter what I read or see on TV....doesn't rise much above a '1' on a scale to ten.

My addiction?  Well.....it just kinda sits there.  I admit, I'd like to watch some CNN Doctor-Doom talk about Covid-19, but in terms of enjoying the fear porn....it's not there.  Did the addiction just go away?  I don't even need rehab or to join some Covid-Anonymous club?  Probably not. 

Amazon Buying MGM Studios?

 What's it mean?

Well....MGM has this vault of literally thousands of productions (from 1920s to now), and Amazon could go off and create another streaming network (or two) that features OLD movies.

An example?  You could start a network that only features movies from the 1930s.  There's probably a thousand movies from that era alone.  Another network could feature only movies from the 1940s.  

Taking streaming video to a whole new level?  

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.