I don’t ask much of the Democrats

So why do they always disappoint me?

Top of the list: demand an end to the war in Iran, and stop giving Israel support for genocide. Is this too much to ask? It’s the bare minimum exercise of human decency. Stop killing people. But too many Democrats are in the pocket of AIPAC to take a forthright position on something so simple.

Next on the list, but still pretty important: disband ICE. I know it was pushing it too far to ask to defund the police in general, but ICE is nothing but a right-wing murder squad. They killed Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine yesterday, and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas last week. Their new excuse: they were fearing for public safety, so they were justified in gunning down a member of the public who was not threatening the public safety. That’s a damned fine excuse, one they could use to justify shooting me, because it’s so vague.

It’s all so nebulous that the goons who murdered Renee Good and Alex Pretti are still running free, the FBI has been stonewalling Minnesota authorities (sub-goal: fire Kash Patel and have him arrested), and they only recently allowed prosecutors to examine the evidence, more than 7 months after the murder of Good. ICE is basically an interstate assassination cartel operating on behalf of Donald Trump and Stephen Miller, specifically looking for an excuse to kill brown people and antifa.

If a candidate for office can’t pass those two easy hurdles, they will not be getting my vote. I’m fed up with politicians who refuse to address those two simple issues.

NOOO! TOO HOT!

I released this wolf spider onto a rock, and moved to take a picture. I immediately noticed that she was incredibly still and obliging, and got one quick photo before I noticed the problem — that rock was in full sunlight and was hot enough to melt lead, I think. She was in total shock. I immediately flicked her into a nearby patch of dirt, with shade, and she recovered, but another minute and she would have been baked. So this is the only photo you’re going to see of that spider.

Sam Neill does not satisfy the Rule of Three

I refuse to accept the sacrificial substitution of Sam Neill for far more deserving people.

Sam Neill, the popular New Zealand actor whose career spanned five decades and encompassed more than 150 film and television roles, has passed away in Sydney. The actor, best recognized for portraying paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant across multiple “Jurassic Park” installments, was 78.

Lindsey Graham, zombie Mitch McConnell, and then Sam Neill? That’s not a match in any way.

Also, Jurassic Park? Yuck, retch, bleh. To me, he will always be the cursed, damned villain/victim of the Lovecraftian horror, Event Horizon.

What an excellent brain exercise!

I had to fill in at the theater last night. I was not prepared for the exam.

I hadn’t realized how difficult this was going to be. I was handling concessions: there were 3 of us, Kate handling popcorn, Rowan at the pop machine, and me at the cash register and candy. People would come up, tell me what they wanted, I’d ring it up, call out the popcorn and pop order, and we’d instantly put their order on the counter, and I’d get their money. Sounds easy, right?

Typical experience: parent with 3 kids comes up. I push the buttons for 1 adult and 3 kids. Then they all want concessions. Kid 1 wants a kid box, which comes with popcorn, a small soft drink, and one candy. I ask what they want to drink and to pick a candy — this is a child, these are major life choices. Say they want gummi bears and pineapple fanta. I grab the gummy bears and call out the order and go to punch ’em in, and fumble a bit trying to find the gummi button, while Kid 2 tells me he wants a kid box with a Bueno bar — wait, he ordered the candy before the pop, the point-of-sale system wants the pop first, I have to back track and get the drink order before I can click through, so I mentally file “Bueno” in short term memory while I get that, meanwhile Kid 1 tells me he wants Pocky rather than a gummi bear, so I have to change his order, while Parent tells me he wants a large popcorn and a large root beer, and I still have to figure out what Kid 3 wants. It’s all piling up with the first family to come in.

We had 62 people come to the showing last night.

This was a cognitive test! I don’t think I passed. I struggled all night to keep up. I get to do this exercise every week until I get it right, which is probably good for me.

Bonus observation! A lot of teenagers came in without their parents. This seems to be a common behavior, with parents dropping off a clutch of offspring, each one clutching a $10 or $20 bill, and turning them loose for a couple of hours without supervision. The interesting phenomenon is that the groups of teenagers were either 3 or 4 boys, or a pair of girls, no mixed groups. I guess this is the courtship protocol for young teens — no pressure to ask a person out, the theater is just a safe space to mingle and maybe make a connection. There weren’t many connections made, though. Boys stayed apart in rowdy groups, while I’d see the girls occasionally dart into the lobby to giggle and whisper together and maybe disappear into the bathroom. It was a weirdly inefficient procedure.

I was thinking back to my youth, and I might have been a strange outlier. I always went to the movies alone and didn’t interact with the other kids who were there at all. Maybe someone should have told me it was a way to meet girls, it could have changed my life. When I started dating a girl, going to the movies was not a good option (later we figured out that her subtle hearing impairment, which has gotten more severe over the years, may have been a factor in her disinterest in movies.)

Again, I didn’t see the movies — too busy. It turns out my volunteer work isn’t about watching movies, it’s about a weekly cognitive test and getting a glimpse of young people’s behavior.

Do not taunt the bison

This old man did not taunt the bison at all, and was respectful and cautious, but that didn’t help him. Wild animals are scary; we’ve been to Yellowstone, and were extremely careful to avoid the beasts.

Yikes. That guy was spinning through the air; he survived, but apparently suffered some serious injuries.

Yellowstone officials warns on the park’s website that the animals in the park “are wild and dangerous, no matter how docile they may appear to be” – and the best way to view them is from inside a car.

Officials advise visitors to stay at least 100 yards (90 meters) away from bears, wolves and cougars – and a minimum of 25 yards away from all other animals, including bison and elk.

Here in Minnesota we’d add moose to that list.

Weird little warmonger & Trump bootlicker dies, suddenly

Lay down your bubble wand, faithful servant

Well, damn. We were so busy waiting for ghoulish news about Mitch McConnell that we’ve been completely surprised by the abrupt demise of Lindsey Graham.

He will be greatly missed by one man, and no one else.

His death is a personal blow to Trump, for whom he was a political cheerleader and frequent golf partner. The president posted on his Truth Social platform: Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead! He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!! DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENTS TO FOLLOW. So sad!

No, I shouldn’t say just one. Every Zionist in Israel will be mourning him.

I can’t honestly say that I regret his death, except to note that he was just two years older than I am. We’re all living in the death zone, and it gets more acute every year.