lucius septimius 6/23/2021 5:05:21 AM

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vxbush 6/23/2021 5:17:12 AM

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In #1 lucius septimius said: I don't get the entire Sondheim hagiography. 

Neither do I. 

Occasional Reader 6/23/2021 6:20:17 AM

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buzzsawmonkey 6/23/2021 7:06:14 AM

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And, for a little light diversion:

The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo

vxbush 6/23/2021 7:18:45 AM

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In #4 buzzsawmonkey said: And, for a little light diversion: The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo

You should make a playlist of all the interesting songs on YouTube that are around this time frame. I know virtually nothing of this music. 

buzzsawmonkey 6/23/2021 7:39:26 AM

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Reply to vxbush in 5:

Here are a few for "Pride Month":  

Masculine Women! Feminine Men! (1926)

I'd Rather Be Spanish (early '30s); this is the record that inspired the "French Mistake" chorus number at the end of "Blazing Saddles," since this song about "being Spanish" ends with a "Voila!"---i.e., a "French Mistake."

He's My Secret Passion---a "woman's song" sung by a male crooner as a male-to-male song.  There are others from this period, but the only other ones I can recall are a side of "Can't Help Lovin' that Man" from Showboat (I forget the band), and Bing Crosby singing There Ain't No Sweet Man That's Worth the Salt of My Tears.

buzzsawmonkey 6/23/2021 7:47:45 AM

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Reply to vxbush in 5:

Two other songs I've found of interest lately.  I've probably posted them before, but what the hell:

Don't Bite the Hand That's Feeding You---a patriotic song, pre-US entry into WWI, about ungrateful immigrants.

If It Wasn't For the Irish and the Jews---a "multicultural" song from the same era.

Occasional Reader 6/23/2021 7:51:59 AM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 4:

it’s featured in a great scene in “Lawrence of Arabia“.

buzzsawmonkey 6/23/2021 7:55:17 AM

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In #8 Occasional Reader said: it’s featured in a great scene in “Lawrence of Arabia“.

I don't think I've seen that film since it came out---if I have, it was probably several decades ago.  It's so long.  

I actually had a camp counselor who would sing it from time to time.

Occasional Reader 6/23/2021 7:58:28 AM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 6:

“As I walk along the Bois du Boulogne” could also have a connection to “pride month“, come to think of it...

Occasional Reader 6/23/2021 7:59:57 AM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 9:

Oh, do yourself a favor and allot the time to watch it again. It’s a fantastic movie. And yes, yes, I know David Lean was a commie. Enjoy the movie anyway.

buzzsawmonkey 6/23/2021 8:03:40 AM

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Interesting note about "If It Wasn't For the Irish and the Jews"; in James T. Farrell's stories of the Irish community on Chicago's South Side, many of the stores have the names of the two partners---typically, one Irish and one Jewish.  It was apparently a common way to try and appeal to both ethnicities, and thus lure them in as customers.  

If you've never read Farrell, who's all but forgotten today, I recommend it.  The Studs Lonigan trilogy gets a little heavy towards the end, but the short stories are easy diversions.  They detail the strengths, and weaknesses, of the Irish community from which Farrell came, the frictions with Jews and blacks---there are references to the Chicago race riot of 1919, which was like the Tulsa riot in that it was whites invading the black neighborhoods---and some dealing not only with the brothels of the time but the homosexual subculture too.  

In an era where the wokies are trying to eliminate any memory of the America that was, stories like Farrell's, which record that America, are---to me, anyway---priceless.

buzzsawmonkey 6/23/2021 8:05:23 AM

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In #11 Occasional Reader said: Oh, do yourself a favor and allot the time to watch it again. It’s a fantastic movie. And yes, yes, I know David Lean was a commie. Enjoy the movie anyway.

Lots of the film directors---and writers, for that matter---were commies.  That never stopped me watching their films.  Just as you can learn to appreciate good films by seeing what makes a bad film bad, you don't have to agree with a film's point of view to find it enjoyable.

JCM 6/23/2021 8:06:49 AM

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Five officers accuse UW Police Department of racism, demand $8 million

New claims of racism have emerged within the University of Washington Police Department.

Five Black officers have filed claims for damages totaling $8 million, saying they were routinely insulted and demeaned by co-workers as well as supervisors over the past several years.

The allegations go beyond stereotyping and name-calling. Some officers said they were unfairly disciplined and even denied promotions, all because of their race.

buzzsawmonkey 6/23/2021 8:07:28 AM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 11:

BTW, OR---I mentioned this the other day.  Since your Spanish is doubtless vastly superior to mine, could you try and jot down a translation of some of the lines of the song the Spanish singer performs in Casablanca?  The only line I can clearly catch is a reference to "la locura de amor," the madness of love.

Occasional Reader 6/23/2021 8:18:50 AM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 15:

this being daddy week, I don’t exactly have time to watch the movie. If you can find a video clip with the scene in it I’ll see what I can do.

doppelganglander 6/23/2021 8:18:53 AM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 12:
Wow, I read Studs Lonegan about a hundred years ago (okay, 40). I don't remember much but it would be worth revisiting. I'm quite sure I did not get most of the subtext as a teenager.

buzzsawmonkey 6/23/2021 8:19:46 AM

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There's an article over at PJM about Brandeis revising wokie language to make it even more woke.

Which prompted the following:

Academics tried
To impose Newspeak
And tell you what to say...
Brandeis!
Brandeis!
Compiling lists of words
What do you do when you're Brandeis?
You surpass the absurd...

---apologies to the "Branded" theme song

lucius septimius 6/23/2021 8:24:02 AM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 8:

The scene -- and it is marvelous.

buzzsawmonkey 6/23/2021 8:25:25 AM

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In #17 doppelganglander said: Wow, I read Studs Lonegan about a hundred years ago (okay, 40). I don't remember much but it would be worth revisiting. I'm quite sure I did not get most of the subtext as a teenager.

I read it in high school, and had to quit just before the end; not only was everything getting terrible for everybody in the novel, but one of the ongoing things was Mr. Lonigan (Studs' father) always promising to take his wife to Riverview Park (Chicago's Coney Island), and never doing so.  As I was drawing near the end of the book, Riverview announced that it was closing for good---and I was so into the book at the time, my first thought was, "Oh, how terrible---she'll never get to go."  Not that she would have in the novel anyway, but it gives you an idea of how invested in the book I was at that time.

Farrell went to the U of C around the same time my father did; I don't know if they knew each other, but for both of them it meant a certain break with the home and ethnic communities they'd grown up in.  And, since I knew a number of the neighborhoods that Farrell wrote about, it had particular resonance for me.

doppelganglander 6/23/2021 8:27:54 AM

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Reply to JCM in 14:
Like Me Too and hate crimes, there's a 90% chance it's complete bullshit. When people are disciplined or denied promotion, it's usually because of poor performance that's been well documented. 

buzzsawmonkey 6/23/2021 8:28:05 AM

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Reply to lucius septimius in 19:

Nice.  

Yeah, I guess I'll have to make the time to see it again.

doppelganglander 6/23/2021 8:32:14 AM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 20:
I understand being that invested in a novel. The first time I went to Asheville, I was startled that it didn't look like the circa 1900 city Thomas Wolfe had described so vividly. 

Occasional Reader 6/23/2021 8:54:36 AM

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Reply to lucius septimius in 19:

And in that scene, the “slow clap“ was invented…

Occasional Reader 6/23/2021 9:03:22 AM

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In #24 Occasional Reader said: the “slow clap“

(… which is also something you can pick up in the Bois de Boulogne if you’re not careful)

Occasional Reader 6/23/2021 9:20:50 AM

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Bill Whittle on “Coerced Cowardice”:

https://youtu.be/DO5rBNB_vx8

Occasional Reader 6/23/2021 9:24:12 AM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 26:

And in a similar vein: while driving my son to daycamp this morning through the rather insane traffic that one finds on I-270, it occurred to me that for contemporary people in industrial societies, other than the ones who are working dangerous jobs or who routinely engage in dangerous hobbies, practically the only thing we do that involves a decision matrix and reflex-generation along the lines of “if I fuck this up I might die“ is drive a car.

When cars all go autonomous, what will that *do* to us?

Kosh's Shadow 6/23/2021 9:43:04 AM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 27:

I am afraid we'll have autonomous cars before they are really ready. There is too much that goes on for them to watch everything and have the correct context (is that a bird? A pedestrian? A ball followed by a child?) Maybe more likely on controlled highways, but even  then, there are risks.

Plus there are going to be multiple ways to hack systems like that and cause accidents and traffic jams. 

JCM 6/23/2021 9:59:22 AM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 28:

While back on a busy street in Seattle, I'm coming up to a intersection, cross street has a stop sign. There is a hedge blocking my view of the cross street, there was a flash of something in a gap in the hedge.

Without really thinking about it I'm on the brakes.

A kid shoots across the street. What I saw was just a glimpse of his helmet.

No way a autonomous car catches that.

Kosh's Shadow 6/23/2021 10:13:14 AM

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Reply to JCM in 29:

Exactly. The time a car being tested in Vegas, iirc, hit a pedestrian or bicyclist, they talked about how they had to adjust the filtering.

You can't set a filter that will catch everything - that's small and moving slowly, could be a kid's head.

That's large and not moving - a boulder in the road. 

Or that's large and moving - a turkey that will take off if the car gets close? A deer? (I think a moose is big enough that it would be detected)

I had a phone screen with a company that had specialized hardware and software to figure out how robotic arms move and find the best path. They said that was also applicable to automated cars. The current ones can take several seconds to figure out what cars at an intersection can do - so long that by the time they do it, conditions have changed. And that's with a trunk full of GPUs. They had stuff that was specialized and could do it faster - and this is only one small part.

Maybe someday, with machine learning, but the amount of data that needs to be processed (wide-area video, radar, etc.) is vast.

I think there is pressure to deploy this prematurely, but given that I don't  hear of field tests any more, maybe they figured the technology isn't ready. Or maybe they couldn't get insurance.

Kosh's Shadow 6/23/2021 10:15:06 AM

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Reply to JCM in 29:

Another thing, there are subtle hints as to what a driver is going to do. We've all felt it - that car will cut me off, so we avoid it.

Can machines learn that? 

If the other car is automated but yours is not, you won't catch the signs.

And if they both are automated and communicate, that can be hacked to cause accidents and traffic jams.

lucius septimius 6/23/2021 10:21:04 AM

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JCM 6/23/2021 10:37:27 AM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 31:

I watch driver's eyes, or their heads... where are they looking.

Like you say subtle hints, which way are the front wheels point, is their a sudden puff of exhaust.

Then there are patterns, I'm watching the cars around me, well ahead and well behind. Which cars drivers are a bit erratic or aggressive, many times I've taken precautions when such a person is nearby and was able to predict an erratic move and avoid a collison.

Now that is real fuzzy logic and very difficult to impossible or any system to identify.

Kosh's Shadow 6/23/2021 12:03:08 PM

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Occasional Reader 6/23/2021 12:15:27 PM

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In #33 JCM said: and was able to predict an erratic move

Or… an *erotic* move…

/brown chicken brown cowwww

buzzsawmonkey 6/23/2021 12:38:11 PM

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In #34 Kosh's Shadow said: Get the sheriff and round up a fosse

"Let me see you dance!"

buzzsawmonkey 6/23/2021 12:38:58 PM

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Kosh's Shadow 6/23/2021 12:40:28 PM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 37:

I don't listen during work; I'll listen later

doppelganglander 6/23/2021 12:43:12 PM

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The abominable, unconstitutional voting bill went down to defeat. Lots of whining from Democrats who feel Biden and Harris didn't do enough to force it through. This quote is my favorite:

Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., meanwhile, said it's not clear to him the president is serious about voting reform. Biden "just sort of stared at me," Jones told the Associated Press about an interaction between the two men after Jones told Biden he needed to be bolder in lobbying for S.1. 

More comedy gold here.

buzzsawmonkey 6/23/2021 12:44:15 PM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 38:

Don't know how late I'll be on today---supposedly I have to be at the hospital between 6:30 and 7 AM tomorrow to get carved up.

Kosh's Shadow 6/23/2021 12:55:06 PM

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Reply to doppelganglander in 39:

Democrat admits this was a power grab

That’s the post.

Democrat Jamaal Bowman admits S.1 legislation is a power grab.

“If we deliver [S.1], we maintain power in 2022. If we don’t…we risk losing power.” pic.twitter.com/rksOQKxS08

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 22, 2021

buzzsawmonkey 6/23/2021 12:58:16 PM

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In #41 Kosh's Shadow said: "...If we don’t…we risk losing power.”

What about solar?  Or wind?

vxbush 6/23/2021 1:35:19 PM

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In #42 buzzsawmonkey said: What about solar?  Or wind?

Geez, even rubbing two sticks together gets you to a fire. 

doppelganglander 6/23/2021 1:38:03 PM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 41:
Of course, WE knew that. Freshman congresscritter says the quiet part out loud. 

buzzsawmonkey 6/23/2021 1:41:56 PM

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In #43 vxbush said: Geez, even rubbing two sticks together gets you to a fire. 

There's a "Pride Month" joke in there somewhere, but I'm busy now.

Actually, BTW, the "rubbing two sticks together" refers to using a piece of hardwood---e.g., an oak branch----which is used, with a bow, to drill into a piece of softwood (pine, for instance), and, after a time, the friction between the hardwood and softwood will cause the softwood to ignite.

Kosh's Shadow 6/23/2021 1:42:29 PM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 40:

Hope everything goes well. 

buzzsawmonkey 6/23/2021 1:43:11 PM

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In #46 Kosh's Shadow said: Hope everything goes well. 

Thank you.  It would be no mean feat to have no mean feet.

buzzsawmonkey 6/23/2021 1:53:26 PM

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For vxbush:  a contrast to Gene Malin's "I'd Rather Be Spanish":

South American Joe

buzzsawmonkey 6/23/2021 1:56:22 PM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 48:

There's a line in "South American Joe": "...And every home he puts his sandal in, he makes the lady play her mandolin...", which is a reference to this song:

Lady, Play Your Mandolin

buzzsawmonkey 6/23/2021 2:00:03 PM

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buzzsawmonkey 6/23/2021 2:14:11 PM

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Occasional Reader 6/23/2021 2:30:30 PM

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