Yahoo needs editors

The screen grab is from Yahoo yesterday. Malapropism though this is, it almost fits the context, because Penn's penchant might well affect any pension he has.

 

A soundtrack life

Driving through a lightning storm the other night was entertaining. It came with a smattering of rain, but not so much that I had to keep the windshield wipers agitated for 35 miles, so that was good. The car radio kept me company, although I bopped back and forth between two different stations, as is my habit:

• Ray Charles, You Win Again
• Aerosmith, Sweet Emotion
• Green Day, Basket Case
• AC/DC, Highway to Hell
• Commodores, Night Shift
• Huey Lewis and the News, Power of Love

Bonus track: Jefferson Starship, Miracles

On the way to chemotherapy early the next morning, Lisa and I had a chance to sing along with Simon & Garfunkel while they were singing "Mrs. Robionson." 

And Lisa passed her chemo test, which meant she could actually receive treatment. Intimidating as that toxic cocktail of chemicals is, that it was successfully administered means we're one big step closer to finishing her 20-week treatment regimen (not counting surgery).

Sweetheart is winning her fight against cancer smack in the middle of covid-19, and for that we are profoundly grateful.

The man is not also a malady

 I had some fun debunking the idea that "Trumpism" is an actual condition that people suffer from. The same piece has a few thoughts on which Republicans might become party standard-bearers after Donald Trump leaves politics.

This news item from Neo about Trump's recent use of executive orders seems related. POTUS created a payroll tax holiday and mandated the continuation of enhanced unemployment benefits.

Kudos to grammarians at Pep Boys

"We go further to help you go farther" seems to be their new slogan. The distinction between those two adjectives is often missed, but those purveyors of after-market automotive equipment did not miss it. Well played!

UPDATE: I'm also partial to mondegreens.

Serious questions for WRAL

Hello, news producers! I'd like to believe your station's "facts, not fear" tagline with respect to the story of the year so far. I really would. But how come I haven't heard a single anchor or reporter talking about covid-19 statistics in our state ever question Governor Cooper's medical honcho, Dr. Mandy Cohen, about methodology, or mention what I now know that doctors call "co-morbidities"? 

How many covid-19 deaths are really covid-19 deaths? Is there anyone around the property who remembers enough philosophy to ask  about the difference between "necessary" and "sufficient"? Would (or do) any of you consider the possibility that even science might be (or has been) politicized?

Not just a fine band name

"Pandemic Overreaction" has given us a multitude of reasons to believe in the law of  unintended consequences, especially in this strangest of presidential election years. Five months into panicked municipal response to the Wuhan coronavirus, and we've already seen the demise or crippling of all of the following things:

• Public houses (aka Pubs)
• Printed church bulletins
• Smorgasbords
• Self-serve soda fountains
• Honest journalism
• Children's theatre
• Concert venues
• Gymnasiums
• Spectator sports
• Team sports
• Historical memory
• Public education
• Freedom of speech, press, and peaceable assembly
• Free exercise of (congregational) religion
• Bar tending
• Martial arts studios
• Music festivals
• Campaign rallies
• Air shows
• Home and garden tours 
• Law and order
• Summer camps
• Reflexive allegiance to expert opinion

Art smarts

School Teacher / Jon Havickszoon Steen (circa 1668).
Favorite comments:
"So THIS is the 1619 Project" / 

"Cupcake Mommy is late today" /
"He's about to pop that kid in the head with the Great Spoon of Knowledge" / 
"We don't need no education; we don't need no thought control." /
"No one is writing with their left hand. Where are all the sinister children?" /

"No, no! It's I before E except after C." /

"You can write a story about every character there." /

"Homeschooling?"