Dream Piece, 2018

An early lucid dream, originally posted on July 4, 2018, re-upped.

Statue of Wilson in Tirana, Albania, via wikimpia.

Upstate, kept waking up before dawn to some extraordinary bird call, and then ended up sleeping until 8:00. Dreamed Trump decided to name Woodrow Wilson to the Supreme Court.

I was on 84th Street, at PS 9, only in the middle of a vast and empty parking lot with a statue of Wilson—you couldn't see anything else, not even the school itself, it was as big as Kansas—waiting for my wife, who was in there applying for a job, which is in itself bizarre, if she were looking for a job it wouldn't be at an elementary school. I had my phone and was looking at Twitter and gradually began to realize it was trending that Trump had picked Wilson.

My first thought was spitefully noting that he'd gone back on his pledge to stick to the Federalist Society list. The man never keeps his promises! Only then did I realize it was much worse than that. "But he's been dead since 1919!"

It may have been making this error or realizing it was an error—his stroke was in 1919 but he stayed alive till 1924—that woke me up. Happy Independence Day.

 

Annals of Derp: Brooks Stabs at an Answer, Answer Fights Back

 Independence Day 2017, reposted

The new Brooks backyard.

Happy Independence Day! Here's former New York Times columnist David Brooks to celebrate by swallowing 50 hot dogs' worth of American history in ten minutes, without once mentioning any of the things we traditionally think about on the Fourth of July, like self-evident truths, or letting facts be submitted to a candid world, or fireworks.  Instead he wants to know, "What's the Matter with Republicans?", in the context of the fact that as Trump and the Republican Party work to take away benefits from the American working class, Trump's base of 40% or so remains faithful to him and Republican candidates win special elections in Kansas, Montana, Georgia, and South Carolina:

What’s going on? Why do working-class conservatives seem to vote so often against their own economic interests?

Let's see, how can we think about this question without addressing any of the discussion that has taken place since Thomas Frank asked it 13 years ago? I know! Put it down to the good old frontier ethos!

Fourth of July

The third movement of Charles Ives's symphony New England Holidays, depicting a small-town Connecticut Fourth from early morning to a collision of at least two parades (one of the great things about this video is the two conductors), takes its time getting where it's going, and by the time it arrives it's practically over, but it's a wondrous piece of music.



And here's the whole symphony (couldn't find one with any video worth looking at though)

For the Record: Bribery

Me, yesterday:

Donald's making something out of this. Maybe just increased business at the DC hotel with guests looking for administration favors, but something for sure https://t.co/lsHwu0qWxg

— Impeachment Agnostic (@Yastreblyansky) July 3, 2019

Steve, this morning:

The Constitution doesn't limit the reasons for impeachment to "high Crimes and Misdemeanors" - the full phrase is "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

This is bribery.https://t.co/uWa3OI8G0C

— Steve M. (@nomoremister) July 4, 2019

I knew there'd be something sleazy. And then, via Crooks & Liars (my bold):

As HuffPost noted, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, found that Trump’s nearby Washington, D.C. hotel, which he still owns and profits from, is sold out for the 3rd and 4th despite charging double what the other luxury hotels are charging around the holiday.

How neatly that works with the fact that, as even Fox correspondent Ellison Barber reported, “The White House is reportedly giving some VIP tickets to Republican donors.”

Gee, where might those donors dine or stay if they’re from out of town?

Annals of Derp: Brooks Stabs at an Answer, Answer Fights Back

The new Brooks backyard.

Happy Independence Day! Here's former New York Times columnist David Brooks to celebrate by swallowing 50 hot dogs' worth of American history in ten minutes, without once mentioning any of the things we traditionally think about on the Fourth of July, like self-evident truths, or letting facts be submitted to a candid world, or fireworks.  Instead he wants to know, "What's the Matter with Republicans?", in the context of the fact that as Trump and the Republican Party work to take away benefits from the American working class, Trump's base of 40% or so remains faithful to him and Republican candidates win special elections in Kansas, Montana, Georgia, and South Carolina:

What’s going on? Why do working-class conservatives seem to vote so often against their own economic interests?

Let's see, how can we think about this question without addressing any of the discussion that has taken place since Thomas Frank asked it 13 years ago? I know! Put it down to the good old frontier ethos!

Cheap shots and skyrockets

Happy Independence Day!

And more below the fold!

Happy Independence Day

Kiss me Kate, London 2001. Dr. Google tells me that the star of the number is an English guy called Nolan Frederick.

Just sublime, from The Gay Divorcée, 1934. Try to watch it once through with your eye focused on Ginger, who is more than usually incandescent in her silent role.

Ballet Paula Gasparini, São Paulo, 2011. The video is not very good and the orchestra seems to be having some trouble here and there, but I like the special spelling of the title and the Balanchinerie of the women's arms.