When I was a young boy, living in Bridgeport, Connecticut, my father would sometimes take we with him and my mom as they were still a young married couple, and still “going out”.
One day, they took myself and my sister, and went for a long drive to the center of town. Perhaps Hartford, or some other similar city. And we got out of the car and entered this small restaurant, or coffee house kind of establishment.
We piled into a corner and mom and dad seemed so out of place.
Everyone there was dressed so oddly. Many were wearing sunglasses, and it was dark outside. There was a couple of women playing bongos, and lots of people chain smoking cigarettes. There were a lot of guys with black pointy goatees, and wearing berets. And there was a raised stage where others took turns strumming guitars and singing, or reading poetry.
Lots of guys wore black plants with loafers.The girls all seemed to wear these ridiculous wide pants, and tight striped tops. Lots of black turtleneck tops.
Yup. You guessed it.
My folks took me to a beatnik hangout.
We all are well aware that the late 1940s and early 1950s epitomized conformity, with dullness in everything, from food to clothes. Significantly, men’s fashion suffered typical neutral-colored suits, cardigan sweaters, or button-down shirts. Where there is conformity, rebellion is inevitable, bringing the 60s beatnik fashion. A radical transformation by artists, musicians, and novelists took America by storm, and their effortless yet non-conformist fashion style was coined “Beatnik” by a news columnist in 1958.
It wasn’t ground breaking or anything like that. In fact, I just wanted to go home as I was bored out of my mind. But my parents apparently thought that it was good to endure three or four hours of this pompous environment. And so we did.
This was a long time ago, and I don’t remember much, but it was a bunch of fake people pretending to impress other fake people about imaginary chips on their shoulders.
And that is all that I have to say about that.
Today…
What offends Germans the most?
I am not German but my partner is and based on observing him, his friends, family, etc I can say that an underlying theme of fairness pervades German values.
Therefore, rules are followed in Germany because the premise is they were designed to be fair. Break rules and you are being unfair to someone else who follows them.
Sell something to a German which is priced higher than its perceived worth, they will be furious and demand a refund. It’s about the principle not the money (many people stereotype Germans as being cheap, I see it as wanting a fair price. They don’t typically haggle if what is being sold seems to hold up to a qualitative test).
Show up late and you’ve wasted their time that they can’t get back. That’s unfair.
Go on a date and expect a German man to pay (looking at my fellow American ladies), that’s not egalitarian….or put another way: it’s unfair. Everyone should be able to take care of him or herself.
I could go on but you get the idea. Germans like fairness and that manifests in frugality, lawfulness, equanimity, punctuality, cleanliness, spirited debate, and order. If you want to offend a German, propose something that is unfair and you will get an earful and a (likely organized) laundry list of why they don’t agree!
EDIT: Because some people were writing xenophobic comments and/or broad generalizations about contemporary German people and trying to associate them with Nazism I closed the comments on my answer. It is unfortunate that a few rotten, hateful people ruined the discourse but I don’t have the time, energy, or interest to moderate bigots and I will not provide a platform for them to share their ignorant and vile opinions. If you want to say something stupid or go on a “whataboutism” tirade, do it on your own time on your own response to this question.
Have you ever completely snapped? If so what did you do?
I don’t know if you mean it in this sense, but many years ago I was about 13 I was short, overweight, no good at sports and not very skilled at self defense. One of the other boys in my class had been busy tormenting me for most of the day. We were walking past the male teachers lounge on our way to the gym and he flicked my ear, it wasn’t really painful but it was the last straw. I grabbed the collar of his blazer and threw him against the wall. He was about 6 in taller than me fitter and one of the up-and-coming young rugby stars of the school. As the slid down the wall I jumped on him and grabbed his throat and started to strangle him, I might even have been bouncing his head off the floor, I don’t really remember, according to the games master who was in the staff room it took him and the other games teacher plus the German master to pull me off him, I don’t remember that either, not really, they actually had to pick me up and I was gripping him so strongly that I dragged him with us for a couple of yards. After we were separated, again from the games masters testimony I went absolutely limp. Two things I do know about the ear flicker, he was taken to the hospital and he never ever bothered me again.
What happened to me? I was taken to the sick room to calm down in the company of two of the teachers and from there to the headmasters office. That is where I was told what I had done. I was kept out lessons for the rest of the day and after school there was, I guess you could call it a trial, the game’s masters told what had happened, other teachers were there as character witnesses I suppose you would call them and testified as to how completely out of character that behavior was. I said what had been happening for most of that day and that I had no real recollection of what I had done. I was let off with a warning due to my previous good conduct. When I got home my parents knew what had happened so I suppose there must have been a phone call. But apart from that I think I got off pretty much got off Scott free.
Piers Morgan Gets SCHOOLED Like A Child On Ukraine By Jeffrey Sachs!
In China, can you look at the Sun? The air is so polluted.
First time I went to China I brought some dust masks. However, I was a bit surprised when I arrived and saw none of the signs of the terrible smog I had been warned against.
There was a clear blue sky over Shanghai and I thought I had been lucky to arrive on one exceptionally clear day.
Since then I have travelled a lot in China and visited tens of both large and smaller cities. Some places like Beijing and some industrial cities have polluted air especially in the winter, but my impression is that this problem has been much exaggerated in the western media. I do not bring dust masks anymore.
The air pollution I have seen is comparable to what we experienced in the west in the 1970-ties, and I think it is not as bad as it was in East-Europe in the 1980-ies.
Can a sailor go AWOL on a ship, and has anyone done that (some ships are pretty big)?
When I was a Division Officer in USS John F. Kennedy (CV67) one of my enterprising sailors did just that.
He had been assigned to S2M Division for a tour of Mess Cooking. The protocol was to check IN to the Supply Department, then check OUT of the parent division. With this particular transfer happening on a long weekend, my genius convinced the Duty Engineer to let him check OUT of the Engineering Department first. He then went on his merry way, not bothering to check into the Supply Department.
For the next three months, he came to the Division Office to pick up his paycheck every two weeks, and the Supply Officer frequently complained that Engineering was not supplying the requisite number of Mess Cooks. Eventually the Supply Officer and the Chief Engineer compared rosters and noted that they didn’t match.
The jig was up; my guy was busted. The Captain wanted to send him to a Special Court-Martial. The hero of the story got a smart lawyer, and pointed out that in court he would emphasize that the sailor slept in his own bunk every night, picked up his paycheck every payday, and would have performed whatever duties assigned to him.
CO cancelled the court-martial, and took the sailor to mast.
Failing to show up for duty, but not actually leaving, is unauthorized absence, or UA. Leaving the premises without leave is AWOL. Both situations are covered by UCMJ Article 86.
Sailor Moon – 1950’s Super Panavision 70
A evil woman
A woman who k’illed her husband for his wealth was met with the shock of her life after she discovered her husband had wittingly transferred his wealth to a trust.
Kouri Richins, a 33-year-old widowed mother of three, wrote a children’s book to help her bereaved sons deal with grief in the aftermath of their father’s sudden d’eath.
image: Pictures of Kouri Richins, and her husband
Now, only months after the book was published, she’s been charged with her husband’s m’urder. She is accused of poisoning his Moscow Mule with five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl.
Kouri was due to get access to his estate valued at $3.6million after his d’eath, according to the terms of a prenup. Under its terms, on Eric’s d’eath, pretty much everything would pass seamlessly to Kouri.
But fearing his wife might ‘k’ill him for the money’, he transferred his assets into a trust that he placed in control of his sister.
Footnotes:
Kouri Richins Charged With K’illing Husband After Writing a Book On how To Grief
From a 1-10 scale, how stupid are people who believe The Lost Cause of the Confederacy?
About an…. 8?
The Lost Cause of the Confederacy was pretty much standard U.S. history until very recently, and there’s still a strong undercurrent to preserve that in education in the American south even as university programs pretty much abandon it as a course of study.
The first serious academic works on the Lost Cause were published in 1866 – one year after the war ended. The author was Edward A. Pollard, who published a series of books on the theme from 1866 to 1868.
Everything Pollard put in his books was meticulously researched. The problem was that Pollard didn’t research anything that happened before 1866. Instead of relying on contemporaneous works from the start of the Civil War, he interviewed Confederate leaders and focused on their far more moderate post-war views, which were tempered by a large amount of ex post facto justification for their actions.
Pollard and his contemporaries established several themes that lasted over a century, such as:
- The war wasn’t about slavery.
- The South was fighting to preserve a way of life against overwhelming odds.
- The antebellum South was a place of civility.
- That slaves were content with their place in southern society
- This situation actively facilitated the reunification of the country
- Reconstruction, particularly giving blacks political rights, was an unmitigated disaster.
These writings largely led to the formation of the Southern Historical Society in 1869. Ostensibly an organization committed to preserving records and publishing memoirs, it soon started publishing only uncritical promotions of the Lost Cause, seeking vindication for the actions of the Confederacy.
Another influential author and lecturer was Thomas Dixon Jr., a racists and white supremacist whose allegations were accepted uncritically although nowadays it appears they were pretty much all fabricated. He wrote the book that was adapted into the film “Birth of a Nation”.
Southerners continued to publish works about the war well into the mid 20th century, and in pretty much every case they paved over the negative and accentuated the positive.
And a lot of this not only made it into standard history textbooks, but into serious academic work.
It’s really only been in the last 20 years that the Lost Cause has pretty much been challenged at every turn. One of the turning points was the 2003 film “Gods & Generals” which one critic called the most racist film since “Birth of a Nation”.
COST of LIVING in CHINA? 🇨🇳 INSANE APARTMENT TOUR in Chengdu (You won’t believe the price)
Have you ever eavesdropped and heard a conversation that terrified you?
When I was a teenager I lived with my mom and dad (before they divorced). Times got hard and for a while we stayed in a trailer that had no electricity or hot water. We lived in a swampy forest in Mississippi, no neighbors, lots of mud and trees. My dad worked about an hour away at an airport, so he was gone most of the time, leaving me home alone with my mother. She was extremely mentally ill- in and out of institutions, she had vivid hallucinations and delusions, and the darkness didn’t help. We never got along, and I was often the subject of her abuse and frustration. One night I was sitting in the living room with her waiting for my dad to come home from work. He called to see how we were doing and to tell us that he would be bringing home food, and then asked if I was home because sometimes I would go for walks (the room was so silent I could actually hear him on the other end). Instead of telling him that, yes, I was home and I was sitting right in front of her, she told him “No, she’s not home. The back gate is open. She must have run off somewhere.” It was like some scene from a horror film- she was sitting in a dark corner and all I could see of her was the reflection of her eyes staring at me darkly. I had the immediate sense that I was in danger, and thoughts of being actually murdered by my own mother raced through my mind. I got up and walked slowly to my room, shut the door, and called my dad to tell him what had just happened. He said “She’s really dangerous. You need to lock the door and hide under your blankets until I get home. I’ll be there soon.” He got home less than an hour later. Everything turned out fine and we never mentioned it again.
How would China react if the United States strategically missiles in Taiwan?
That is a “Red Line”.
Direct placement is a “Red Line”, as is funding the placement, actively preparing for the placement, or making treaties involving the placement. This was all clearly specified in the Biden Xi talks in November 2022 in Bali, Indonesia.
It would be a terrible move initiated by the United States and would result in horrific consequence.
This would result in the well and clearly specified consequences that China has repeatedly stated over and over again.
To the credit of the United States, the talk between President Biden and Xi Peng reiterated this stance, and additionally, the USA said that it will not do this. This was repeated by President Biden and Anthony Blinken in the “five Nos” statement repeatedly reiterated by President Biden.
However…
The United States has a reputation of lying, telling untruths, doing one thing and saying another, all the time while fomenting wars and breaking treaties. Truthfully, China welcomes the dialog, but has no illusions as to what a monster the United States has become, and what a real threat it actually is.
Now THIS TIME, if the USA (yet again) breaks it’s promises, it’s treaties, and it’s contract with China then the result will be clear… It’s already been explained to the American “leadership”. Quite clearly. Very clearly. So clear than a mentally retarded three year old can understand it.
There would be a very large and massive war between the United States and China.
Ah.
But maybe you heard that before. But you really don’t have any idea what it means. For if you are an American you think of war as being police actions in far-away distant places. Like Yemen, Syria, Cambodia, Somalia, Ukraine, Iraq, Angola, Iran, etc.
Well, this time it won’t.
Of course, everything being said so far sounds like screeching chalk on a blackboard to Americans. It makes no sense at all. America is gifted by God with Democracy (TM) and is formidable nuclear power; a shining city on a huge white hill.
That’s great Hollywood.
Makes great sound bytes.
But has zero effect on actual reality.
For starters, consider Taiwan; a province of China. Much like Texas is a state of America. China would of course, take care of this “matter”. Those of you who have zero experience in actual real China, but instead watch movies, and play first-person shooters, and read neocon journals would think that this is some kind of a fantasy.
It’s not. China is DEAD SERIOUS.
For starters, all of the placed missiles would be destroyed, with no concern for collateral damage or civilian causalities. China doesn’t give a fuck.
China would then take over Taiwan with hours. China is ready, well trained, and doesn’t give a fuck.
Though “mop up” operation might last as long as a week. Taiwan’s “soy soldiers” will not die for American democracy (TM). Of course. The idea and hope in the Pentagon is for a long drawn-out Vietnam, Afghanistan or Ukraine. Not. Going. To. Happen. China will be ruthless. Lethal. Dirty and the result will be nasty.
Spill-over? You bet-ya.
Simultaneous to this would be the destruction of ALL of the USN military presence in the Pacific. No carriers would remain. Guam would be gone. Hawaii would be in rubble as would be San Francisco. Australia want’s to join in the cluster-fuck. Good bye Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide. Anyone else wants to join in the fray? Any takers?
Which would ALONE probably trigger an American nuclear counter-response.
Then of course, you would see (again) what China has done to the pitiful attempts that the United States in trying to suppress it. Freak Geomagnetic storms will mysterious suddenly cause constellations of satellites to tumble out of orbit. There will be massive submarine accidents accidentally ramming undersea mountains. American VTOL carriers will catch fire by Navy personnel burning trash in the munitions lockers, and so on and so forth.
Even if things did not get HOT, things will be very uncomfortable for the United States and it’s proxy nations. What ever happens; hot war, or cold war, lit it be well understood that all trade would stop…
- The few remaining American factories would stop, and close.
- American medicines will be all gone. Fully 98% are made inside of China.
- Shelves would be empty. All consumer goods would become a rare commodity. Including socks, shoes, pantyhose, toothbrushes, and cellphones.
- The US dollar, already worthless, would suffer from astounding inflation.
- No diesel. No batteries. No electricity. A war would EMP the living shit out of the USA. This is a reality, and whatever potential that the Untied States has for oil, gas, resources will need to start from scratch with a massive handicap.
Then things will get really bad. Because you all have no idea how powerful and formidable China is today.
Anyone who thinks that violating Chinese “Red Lines” is a good idea is a suicidal idiot.
The EU Is Already Begging China For Mercy
What’s the biggest double life you’ve ever personally seen revealed?
Here’s a photo from the 1990s of a man called Josef Fritzl, vacationing in Thailand without a care in the world. Fritzl was a businessman, married, father of seven, from Austria. He’d frequently travel the world. One year he’d be in Thailand. Another year he’d go to Africa. At times his friends would join him, they would drink, swim, lounge around resorts and float in the swimming pools of resorts…
Fritzl was a doting grandfather of twenty. Three of his grandchildren lived with him and his wife — his youngest daughter Elizabeth, their mother, had ran away from home and joined a cult. So Fritzl and his wife raised their grandchildren. By all means, Josef had a charmed life. What no one knew? The three grandchildren he was raising were also his own biological children… their mother Elizabeth hadn’t joined a “cult”, she lived in a dungeon Fritzl had built inside his own basement. With three other children Fritzl also fathered there by his own daughter.
Fritzl was arrested in 2008, at the age of 73. Because he had brought one of the “dungeon kids” to the hospital along with Elizabeth, his captive daughter, who then alerted authorities. Josef Fritzl remains in prison in Austria of this writing. He believes he should be freed, famously telling a judge: “I am just one man. But look inside the basements of other people… you would be surprised what you find!”
Glazed Ham with Dried Cherry Caramelized Onions
Perfect for a late lunch or dinner. This cooked, boneless ham is glazed with a mixture of honey, mustard and cider vinegar. Serve with sugar snap peas and roasted new potatoes.
Yield: 10 servings
Ingredients
- 3 pounds cooked boneless ham
- 4 tablespoons honey, divided use
- 1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
- 5 medium onions, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup dried tart cherries
- 1/3 cup cider vinegar
- 5 medium onions, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 cup almonds, sliced or slivered and toasted
Instructions
- Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Place ham on rack in shallow baking pan and roast 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a meat thermometer registers 140 degrees F, about 15 to 18 minutes per pound.
- In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons honey, 1 teaspoon cider vinegar and mustard. Brush ham with glaze during the last 5 minutes of baking.
- Sauté onions over medium heat in a Dutch oven in butter for 12 to 15 minutes or until onions are just tender, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in dried cherries, 1/3 cup cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons honey and 1/2 teaspoon cardamom. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir in toasted almonds.
- Serve ham slices with onion mixture.
What are the top ten craziest facts you know in psychology?
- Psychopaths say “um” more frequently in order to appear like a normal person.
- It is incredibly easy to pass a Polygraph Test if you trick yourself into thinking that everything is fine and that everything you say is the truth, no matter what.
- When you lie, you may shake your head. This is your body saying that it doesn’t believe you.
- If someone accuses you and threatens you about a wrongdoing relentlessly, you will eventually find that it is in your best interest to fess up to the crime, making you guilty of something you never did. This is a minor form of brainwashing.
- The closer you are in a relationship, the more you can read the other’s mind.
- We disregard our morals if a person of higher power takes responsibility for your actions. Essentially just obeying authority.
- 1/5 people in France have depression, making it the saddest country in the world.
- It is impossible to stay angry at a loved one. If you are able to do so for more than 3 days, then you may not love them.
- You never truly value a moment before it becomes a distant memory.
- Crying reduces stress and causes you to feel better.
- The people you most often think about are the ones you love or the ones who cause you pain.
- Music can bend and shape the way you see the world, or life in general.
- Your favorite songs are decided by the emotional events you attach to it.
- Narcissists think they’re brilliant while most have a below-average IQ.
- Long periods of isolation may cause you to hallucinate, but they consist of mostly auditory hallucinations.
- Ignorance of your feelings causes them to swell and essentially just take over your thoughts.
- Fast-thinkers tend to have sloppy handwriting. Thoughts are fleeting, so they must be written down almost immediately.
- When choosing a romantic partner, look for how they treat their inferiors or pets. That says a lot about their nature.
- Speaking other languages may cause someone to shift their personality as well. (I am more secluded when speaking Spanish and more confident when I speak Italian.)
- We care more about the death of one than the death of many. It feels more personal when one human dies, yet when multiple perish, we feel as we don’t know any of them.
- Some people just love to see you angry. The solution? Relax the muscles in your face and watch as theirs visibly deflates.
- We believe what we WANT to believe.
- Extensive loneliness is just as bad as smoking 15 cigars.
- The human brain is always searching for a problem or a flaw. Perfection is always key for many, and some just can’t let it go.
- The more power you gain, the more empathy you lose.
My First Week in China
What is the craziest thing a car salesman said to you?
My husband took me to Silver Spring to buy a 2 door Ford Explorer back in the 90s.
It was really late at night (11 pm) and we barely got the title to the car given to us before they had to close.
We were told to come by the next day after work to finish up some of the other paperwork.
When we arrived the next day, the salesman told us he had made a mistake.
He had forgotten to add taxes to the price of the car he sold us. So we owed them an additional $1000.
We were tapped out and couldn’t afford another $1000. I told him to take the car back.
The salesman lost his cool and started screaming at my husband.
He insisted we pay this extra $1000 or he would call the police on us.
My husband stood up and they went nose to nose. Hubby called his bluff and invited him to call the police. We already had the pink slip (title). There was nothing he could do about it.
The salesman turned beet red and started hurling personal insults.
We were in a private room but I’m positive the entire showroom floor heard the commotion. It was that loud.
I plastered myself against the wall, as I feared their proximity would escalate to either physical violence or a stroke.
The salesman finally stepped back, adjusted his tie and became silent.
He realized he wasn’t getting any more money from us.
He announced, “Never mind. I’ll just get it from some other customer later on.”
His callousness in thrusting his mistake onto the next unsuspecting customer took me aback.
No wonder car salesmen have such a bad reputation.
Prof. Mearsheimer REVEALS: the FATE of Humanity May Hang on the 2024 US and European Elections
In this video, Prof. John Mearsheimer discusses the results of recent European elections, public vs. elite opinion on Ukraine, the divided European Parliament, country-specific analysis of France and Germany, the importance of the US election perspectives, Biden vs. Trump foreign policy approach, Russian strategy, and internal NATO divisions.
Uncle Arthur’s Many Secrets
Submitted into Contest #251 in response to: Dream up a secret library. Write a story about an adventurer who discovers it. What’s in the library? Why was it kept secret?… view prompt
TE Wetzel
From: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)
To: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)
Time/Date: 7:48pm, July 18, 2024
Subject: Re: This weekend
Hey Jamie,
Sorry you can’t make it this weekend. Me and the guys will look forward to the next poker game after you score your big inheritance. Crazy news, man. Barely known rich uncle dies and leaves you a possible fortune? The stuff of legends…or daydreams? LOL. Anyway, good luck there. (Don’t forget your old college roommate when you strike it rich!)
See you when you get back. Talk soon man.
Andy
—————————————————-
From: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)
To: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)
Time/Date: 6:12pm, July 20, 2024
Subject: Re: This weekend
Hey Andy,
Greetings from gloomy Albany! Hasn’t stopped raining since I got here. Also, I’m fairly certain these cats are plotting my demise. Other than that, things are fine and the house is basically a smallish mansion.
Listen to this, while searching for the documents that my Aunt Bonnie asked me to find for her in the library I found some really interesting old books. I think we might have some pretty rare first editions here, plus some other really strange stuff. I need to do a little web research tonight to try to figure out what I’m looking at but I’ll let you know.
As a newly-minted Ivy League literature professor I thought you would be interested. Maybe I will come home with a copy of In Cold Blood signed by Capote for you?
– Jamie
—————————————————-
From: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)
To: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)
Time/Date: 11:22am, July 21, 2024
Subject: Re: This weekend
Hey Jamie,
Very interesting! Bring home a signed Capote first edition for me and we can totally forget about that $80 Venmo request I sent you for golf last week. Seriously though, that sounds really amazing. Looking forward to hearing more.
Andy
p.s. The guys all say hello and they missed your “easy money” at the poker game last night. (Their words, not mine.)
—————————————————-
From: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)
To: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)
Time/Date: 9:52pm, July 22, 2024
Subject: Re: This weekend
Andy,
In addition to Capote’s In Cold Blood, so far I have already found four more signed first edition iconic novels; Heart of Darkness, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Illustrated Man and – hold on to your hat here – A Tale of Two Cities! No telling if the autographs are legit but I don’t know why my uncle would be hoarding counterfeit-signed copies in his home library. More research necessary here but I have attached photos of the covers, bindings and the author-signed pages in each.
The library has floor-to-ceiling shelves full of books on three walls and I have only checked out about a third of them so far. Stay tuned!
– Jamie
—————————————————-
From: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)
To: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)
Time/Date: 9:36am, July 23, 2024
Subject: Re: This weekend
Hey Jamie,
Okay listen. Just give me the Dickens novel and not only will I cancel the $80 Venmo request, but golf is on me for the rest of the year. I think that’s a fair deal.
Seriously man, I just did a quick bit of Googling here and those books do look like legit first edition copies and the signatures look right too. Usually people take these sort of things to Sotheby’s or Christie’s, where they employ rare book experts who can authenticate them properly. Even if they’re not going to be put up for sale this is probably a good idea, just to officially document these historical items.
Can’t wait to hear what you find next. I’m seriously on the edge of my seat here!
Andy
—————————————————-
From: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)
To: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)
Time/Date: 11:45pm, July 24, 2024
Subject: Okay, this is getting weird now…
Andy,
Forget about the signed first editions. I am into some strange new terrain here.
Yesterday I found a number of extremely interesting books way up on one of the top shelves I hadn’t explored yet. Listen to this. I found a copy of For Whom The Bell Tolls by William Faulkner. Yes, William Faulkner! And it wasn’t just a different author’s name transposed onto the cover. It was the same third-person omniscient narrative of the Spanish Civil War, only it wasn’t written in the short staccato sentence styles and brief paragraphing of Hemingway but the long, leisurely prose of Faulkner. I’m not even a fan of Faulkner and I couldn’t put it down!
Similarly, I also found a copy of The Catcher in the Rye by Dalton Trumbo and The Iliad by EE Cummings! (Seriously, I can’t make this up.) Still so many more books to look through. I am simply overwhelmed here. Stay tuned.
– Jamie
—————————————————-
From: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)
To: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)
Time/Date: 7:51am, July 25, 2024
Subject: Re: Okay, this is getting weird now…
Jamie,
Okay. You’re just fucking with me now, right? You had me going with the thought of all those rare, signed first editions, but that’s at least within my fathomable universe. What you just described has to be a joke. Come on, man.
What about the funeral plans? Isn’t that a big reason why you are there?
Andy
—————————————————-
From: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)
To: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)
Time/Date: 11:56pm, July 28, 2024
Subject: Okay, this is getting weird now…
Hey Andy,
You’re right. I have been negligent in my funeral arrangement duties of late. I accidentally let my phone battery die out, not sure when. The truth is that I haven’t slept much in the last few days. This continues to get more and more fascinating.
And no, I wasn’t kidding about those strange books I mentioned in my last message. But never mind that. I am into some truly bizarre territory now. I found some old 3-ring binders filled with dot matrix printed files listing the daily opening and closing numbers of each of the stocks contained in the Dow Jones Industrial Index running from January 1, 1977 through December 31, 2026. Andy, it has accurate stock performance data through the end of 2026! I’m sure you think I am kidding again (or maybe just crazy) but I have been watching those stock prices over the last few days and my God man they are accurate right down to the last decimal point!
You think I’m joking? Here’s a random selection for tomorrow for you to check out. Merck & Co. (ticker symbol NYSE: MRK) will open the trading day at $154.34 and it will close at $156.12 per share with a total of 7.126 million shares in overall trading volume. I’m sure you won’t but you can literally bet the house on it. I guarantee it.
– Jamie
—————————————————-
From: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)
To: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)
Time/Date: 9:41pm, July 29, 2024
Subject: Re: Okay, this is getting weird now…
Jamie,
I don’t know what to say at this point. I have been thinking about this since the market closed about 5 hours ago and I have no idea how you were able to make that prediction with such accuracy. I would call it dumb luck but I actually opened up Excel and took the time to do a little statistical modeling and what I found was that a stock prediction with that level of precision is basically like calling out the next day’s lottery numbers. Not quite that improbable but close enough that I am simply baffled.
I need answers, because I just can’t believe you found an old set of stock market printouts from almost 50 years ago that can perfectly predict what will happen tomorrow. I’ve tried to call you several times but it goes straight to vmail every time and your mailbox is full. You gotta get back to me asap. I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep until you do.
Funeral plans? Still a concern?
Andy
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From: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)
To: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)
Time/Date: 2:13am, August 1, 2024
Subject: Whole new level
Hey Andy,
Forget about the stock market. Forget about the rare first edition signed books. Those things are trivial. At least for now.
I just found a medical manual that seems to contain advanced diagnostic techniques and curative/surgical treatments for most common, and some uncommon, forms of cancer and various other deadly diseases. I am only about halfway through it and without the benefit of a medical background it is taking me forever to research the basic terminology needed just to understand this even on a rudimentary level, but if it’s true it’s an incredible discovery and I owe it to the world to get this into the right hands once I can at least confirm its basic legitimacy.
I can’t say when I will be able to call you or even write back since my time is so limited now. I don’t see this changing anytime soon. Who knows what I will find next? So much more to still be explored. I can’t worry about the funeral arrangements right now either. Before my phone died I got a message from my Aunt Bonnie saying that she had some health problems that were preventing her from flying in. I can’t remember the details but that’s just going to have to wait for now. I have far more important concerns at this point.
– Jamie
p.s. I have discovered a number of old hand-written notes, presumably penned by my late Uncle Arthur, warning anyone who comes across these documents against sharing them in any way. The writing is rambling and paranoid in nature and some of the warnings give me pause but how could anyone possibly just sit on all this? It would be immoral, no?
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From: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)
To: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)
Time/Date: 8:51am, August 2, 2024
Subject: Re: Whole new level
Hey Jamie,
I just hope you are all right. Maybe it’s time to take a break? You were supposed to be back here a week ago. Are the cats okay at least?
Andy
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From: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)
To: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)
Time/Date: 3:45am, August 5, 2024
Subject: Re: Whole new level
Hi Andy,
I let the cats out a few days ago when all of the remaining cat food ran out. Don’t think I’ve seen them since. Not sure. They should be okay. It’s summer.
Dude, you wouldn’t even believe what I’m looking at now. No time to explain but I will get back to you when I can. Not planning to head home anytime soon.
– Jamie
p.s. Please see the attached file containing stock market data for the next two years. I just ask that you don’t share this with anyone else. “Law of Unintended Consequences” and all that.
—————————————————-
From: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)
To: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)
Time/Date: 7:51am, August 6, 2024
Subject: Re: Whole new level
Jamie,
I‘m really getting worried about you man. Please call me.
Your Friend,
Andy
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From: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)
To: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)
Time/Date: 4:37pm, January 1, 2029
Subject: Re: Whole new level
Andy,
Happy New Year! Don’t worry about me. I am well. Not sure if I will ever see “you” again (that is, the “present day” you) but that is primarily a temporal and theoretical question. I have a set of guidelines to follow and I will soon find out where all the boundaries lay. I will fill you in (whatever version of “you” that might be) whenever I see you next!
Stay healthy. It might be a while…for you anyway.
– Jamie
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From: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)
To: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)
Time/Date: 7:01am, August 9, 2024
Subject: Re: Whole new level
Jamie,
How did you change the timestamp on your email like that? Seriously, stop messing with me. What’s going on? I am really having a hard time with all of this. Can we please just talk?
Andy
p.s. They announced that a potential breakthrough cure had been found for various types of cancer and other diseases on the news today. I really don’t know what to think at this point.
p.p.s. Thanks so much for the stock market data you forwarded. I plan to pay off my mortgage before the end of this month!
—————————————————-
From: mailer-daemon@gmail.com
To: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)
Time/Date: 7:02am, August 9, 2024
Subject: Delivery Failure Notice: Re: Whole new level
Sorry, we were unable to deliver your message to: <jben****@gmail.com>
The email account that you tried to reach does not exist. Please try double-checking the recipient’s email address for typos and try again.
THE END
Washington DC is messed up
Shorpy
Thomas
Does your family have a legend that sounds near impossible?
During the Depression, my grandfather took one of the very few jobs that paid well – because it was so hard to find someone to do it. He drove a gravel truck up the side of the mountain, every morning, to take the day’s allotment of dynamite and nitro to the quarry. It was a one lane track with a lot of curves but not enough switchbacks, so it was very steep. It was barely a road and almost not quite wide enough for the truck.
There were two trucks, and the way the system worked, every morning a truck went up the mountain, and was sent back down in the evening full of gravel. Once the day truck was at the bottom of the mountain, the night truck went up with their load of dynamite for the night shift. In the morning, it came down before the day truck went up.
One day, signals got crossed. A truck that looked like the night truck pulled into the lot, and my grandfather saw it, so he started up the mountain track. About halfway up, he heard a horn blasting and realized it was the night truck, signaling that his brakes had failed. That happened at times, and was dangerous, but usually the truck would make it to the bottom and roll to a stop. Only THIS time, my grandfather’s truck was on the road. There was nowhere to pull off or turn around … so he laid on the horn of HIS truck, to tell the other driver he was there.
He tried backing down the mountain, but that wasn’t really going to be fast enough. Realizing there was no hope for it – and not wanting to be near the truck when the impact came (and the dynamite blew) he jumped out of the truck and started running down the mountain.
He had been a track star when in college, and before the Depression hit, had been a track coach for the local college and high school, so he was in shape and known to be a fast runner.
According to the story, my (atheist) grandfather learned to pray on his way down the mountain. He loudly promised the Lord that if he was not killed that day, that he would attend church faithfully for the rest of his life. As he came off the mountain and was on flat land, he realized he had not heard the expected explosion, but was still running hard. So he changed his prayer to say he would attend church once a week for the rest of his life. Then as he got closer to town, it was to attend church for ten years. By the time he reached the church in the center of town, he “bargined down” to attending church for the rest of the year.
He was praying so loud to the Lord that everyone he passed heard his promises. Finally, he reached the church and collapsed. (Still no explosion). By some stroke of luck (or as the townspeople would say – by the Grace of God) the driver of the other truck had been able to use the gearshifts and emergency brakes and managed to stop his truck before it could ram the day truck.
Granddad reverted to being an atheist almost immediately, however my grandmother was a formidable woman. He had made his promise to the Lord in public and it was witnessed by the community. She would not allow him to back out of the promise.
So, every Sunday, for the rest of the year, as soon as services were done, my grandfather would round up the oldest sons, and they worked on the church. They replaced the roof, repaired the stairs in the back, painted the church and school, and basically did all kinds of maintenance work. Every Sunday. The last thing they did was carve new end pieces for all the pews, and installed a prayer rail so that elderly or infirm members could hold it when then knelt for communion.
After it was done, he still did not attend church, but any time something needed to be repaired, the pastor would call and remind him of his promise to the Lord.
I Left America And You Should Too. Here’s Why !
The cost of living is unbearable in the USA. There is no reason at all why you should stay there.
This is a MUST watch video. This is really good. He talks about FAMILY and lifestyle. Loving and caring families.
What is the coolest line a pilot has said to the passengers?
Originally Answered: What is the coolest line a pilot has said to his passengers?
This was a flight from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. For those of you unfamiliar with the geography of that area, that place is entirely void of any bodies of water (or at least our flight path was). The pilot was a pretty hilarious guy.
During the safety presentation:
“In the highly likely event of a water landing during our trip over the Mojave Desert, you can use the seat cushion as a flotation device.”
“Okay, I know most of you have got your seatbelts on already, take them off again so I can feel like my safety presentation actually did something.”
“If you are traveling with a child or someone who acts like one, please secure your mask first before assisting others.”
And after that:
“Hey people in the front, would you please sit down for a moment? I’m trying to back up here.”
“The policy on this flight is no smoking indoors. We have plenty space on the two wings if you would like to smoke.”
Mediterranean Chopped Salad
Try packing this salad into a Mason jar, and take your salad to go. Add dressing immediately before eating.
TIPS
Use a mixture of red and yellow cherry tomatoes for added interest. Prepare with canned red or white kidney beans instead of the chickpeas if desired.
Substitute fresh basil for the parsley, or skip the fresh herbs and make dressing using 1 to 2 tablespoons prepared basil pesto. Dressing can be made with fresh lemon juice instead of the red wine vinegar, or with a combination of both ingredients.
Ingredients
- 6 cups packed chopped romaine lettuce hearts
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup chopped cucumber
- 1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1/4 cup pitted quartered Kalamata olives
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon each finely chopped fresh parsley and chives
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 hard-boiled large eggs, cooled to room temperature, peeled and quartered
Instructions
- Combine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, chickpeas and olives in large bowl. Top with feta cheese.
- Whisk together vinegar, parsley, chives and mustard in small bowl. Add olive oil slowly, whisking until combined.
- Toss salad lightly with dressing and DIVIDE evenly among 4 dinner plates. Top with eggs.
Prep: 20 min | Yield: 4 servings
Easy 12-Minute Method for Hard-Boiled Eggs: Place eggs in saucepan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Add enough cold water to cover eggs by 1 inch. Heat over high heat just to boiling. Remove from heat. Cover pan. Let eggs stand in hot water for 12 minutes for large eggs. Drain. Cool completely under cold running water or shock eggs in a bowl of ice water.
You can refrigerate unpeeled eggs for several days if not using immediately. Hard-boiled eggs are easiest to peel right after cooling.
They have managed decline to unacceptable levels to average citizens
What can I learn in one minute that will be useful for the rest of my life?
- The smarter you become, the crazier you’ll seem to “dumb” people.
- Nobody literally wants you to tell them the truth. Rather, we all want you to reaffirm our beliefs.
- Today’s saint was yesterday’s sinner.
- Most people spend a lifetime trying to be like someone who is trying to be like someone else.
- “Reality is for people who can’t face drugs and drugs are for people who can’t face reality!” —Genius Turner
- You know a man is really smart when you forget to notice how cheap his clothes are.
- “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” —Albert Einstein
- Your own siblings will “sell you out” if the price is right.
- You might as well stop caring what others think about you because they seldom do! After all, everybody is knee-deep in their own troubles.
- A wise person knows: if you think you can, you can; if you think you can’t, you can’t! Either way—you’re right.
- Being normal has become abnormal.
- If by chance you browse the Law Book, notice the fine print that states: Here lies one law for the rich and another for the poor!
- “Genius is 1% talent and 99% hard work…” —Albert Einstein
- Few people are wise enough to recognize when the price of money costs too much! Be wise, then.
- A heterosexual telling a homosexual that being gay is “wrong” is no different from someone born right-handed telling a left-handed person to write with the “right” hand.
- How can you ever declare to “know someone” when most of us have yet to Know Thyself?
- If you become too successful, your own friends will succumb to jealousy and envy.
- Because a billionaire is, by definition, equivalent to 1,000 millionaires—in light of world hunger—every billionaire is by definition selfish.
- The only thing separating the dreamer from the dream is a bridge called WORK!
- Last but not least: you might as well be yourself, dahling, because everyone else is already taken!
Why I left America and why you should too!
If you think that the USA is the “best” then you really need to step outside and see just how ridiculous the USA actually is.
Spending just to live. It’s the American way.
What’s the most expensive thing you’ve gotten for an insanely cheap price?
I once went to a property sellout auction, when a three ton truck came up for sale, the auctioneer wanted to start the bidding off at $5000, he couldn’t get a bid, so kept reducing the starting price by $100 at a time, still no bids so I sang out $100 dollars, he ignored me at first I sang out again so he started at $100, another bloke thought it was to cheap so he also started bidding, he gave up when it got to $1000, so I bought three a ton truck for $1000, a bit later I felt a tap on my shoulder and a chap asked me if I was the one that bought the truck I said yes I was, and he asked me if I would take $3000 for it? BLOODY OATH! so I made $2000 profit without doing a thing,
one other thing, at the same auction, the auctioneer, held up a jar of pebbles’ I recognised them as sapphires, Because I used to dig for them as a hobby, also no bid, I got it for 5 dollars, I took it with me the next time I went to the gem fields, and took them to an Indian buyer, they were only small stones but he still gave 500 dollars for them, so that was also a good profit margin, from 5 to 500, not bad at all.
What is the most satisfying passive-aggressive thing you have ever done to a really mean or rude person?
This occurred while I was still married to my second husband in New Hampshire. We lived on top of a hill we called “Heck’s Hill” and for many years, ours was the only house within several miles.
A builder in town, known for his arrogance, bought a huge parcel of land behind and beside us on the right. His intention was to build a road around us, ending in a cul de sac to the right of our hill, where he would build eight homes.
Since the road would go up the left side and wind around behind our property before continuing on to the cul de sac, the builder claimed an easement for some of our property for a cut through the hill to make it level enough for his road. Otherwise, he would have to curve his road much more to go further out away from our hill for level ground and it would cost him more.
We were told by the Planning Board this would take about 150′ from the back of our property to allow for the slope. Then his road would be cut into our hill with a 25′ drop. It seemed like a lot, but we had to agree according to the Planning Board.
Our home was totally surrounded by woods, including the trees to be removed for the road. Most of the trees were old, huge, and established. Just inside the tree line on top of our hill in back, was a rock/stone wall, which went almost entirely around our home. The stone wall was only a couple of feet from our in ground pool. In the photo, you can see the concrete deck that goes around the pool and under the slide, and just outside of the deck, you see the dark rock/stone wall. You can also see the wall to the left in the photo behind the cabana and house.
“In the State of New Hampshire, it is against the law to destroy, or remove, an existing stone or rock wall as they are deemed to be historical.”
On the day the bulldozer and other machinery arrived to make the cut into our property, the bulldozer operator came to the house to let me know he would start cutting trees in an hour and if we had a pet, to make sure it was kept indoors.
When they left, curious me went out to the back of our property where they had placed orange ribbons around the trees to be bulldozed. Two of the largest trees were within a foot of the rock/stone wall and only a few feet from the pool. The dozers had already taken three trees down they weren’t approved to remove which used to be beside the white birch in the photo.
Horrified, I called the builder on his cell phone and told him that was NOT what we had agreed to when we met with the Planning Board —it was not even close. I told him, per our agreement, okayed by the Planning Board, he would have to move his road further out, because he was NOT approved to make his cut that close to the existing stone/rock wall.
(By already taking out the three wrongly marked trees, and more that were planned, it was obvious he would take part of the stone wall, too). His plans would make the 25′ cut down to his road within a foot of the rock/stone wall —we would have a 25′ drop off (a cliff) there? I had eleven grandchildren that also swam in our pool!
He said, “Plans change. The additional feet of moving the road further out would make it cost prohibitive. Get over it, lady. The road is going in where I say it’s going in.”
I told the builder we were going back in front of the Town Planning Board and let them decide. We would leave it to them to make the determination, because there was no way my husband and I would allow the builder to take even more than the 150′ easement just on his say-so.
He said the Planning Board wasn’t going to be meeting for another three weeks and he didn’t have time to take shit like this from me —he had a job to do and the equipment was already there. Then he hung up on me.
Now I was pissed. I went inside, got a rifle, loaded it, and planted myself on the rock/stone wall behind our pool and I waited with the rifle laying across my lap.
When the drivers came back, I told them to get off our property or I would shoot. They complained and I told them to go call their arrogant employer and tell him I was going to sit right where I was until the Planning Board met and I didn’t care how long it took.
I’m normally an introvert, but I said it with all the bravado I could muster. (Oh boy, I was thinking. The police will be here any minute and I’m going to be in so much trouble …)
No police ever came and when the builder called the Planning Board to complain, they put an immediate hold on the whole project. They decided to convene and review both sides of the agreement again in two days’ time.
The Planning Board heard both sides and the arrogant bully was forced to move his road further out.
Satisfying … oh yes, it was very satisfying.
I Left America & I Don’t Plan To EVER Go Back !
What was the most satisfying way you saw a defense get derailed in a courtroom?
The defendant was guilty. The mountain of evidence against him was the size of Everest. He was a white-collar criminal — an educated professional with a high six-figure income who apparently believed the criminal laws only applied to the “little people.”
He refused to hire a lawyer to conduct his defense, although he had been charged with a major felony, and insisted on representing himself. He expected to succeed. From what I saw of the guy, it looked like he was so accustomed to always having people kowtow to him and getting his own way, it never occurred to him that his experience in a federal courthouse might be different.
The guy adopted a defense strategy of trying to bully the judge into dismissing the case.
For more than a month, he was the most belligerent, obnoxious, uncooperative defendant imaginable. The only reason he didn’t get thrown into jail for contempt of court was because his case had been assigned to the nicest, most patient judge in the courthouse.
The defendant had also made several requests to have his case transferred to a different judge.
Although judges rarely reward obnoxious defendants by granting their motions to have the case transferred to a different judge, the nice judge decided to make an exception in this defendant’s case. She “rewarded” the defendant’s bad behavior by granting his motion and intentionally transferring the case to the toughest judge in the courthouse.
Shortly thereafter, the defendant received a lesson in some of the strategies no-nonsense judges use to deal with defendants who try to turn the courtroom into a three-ring circus. The guy sat like a statue through most of his first hearing with the tough judge and then decided to hire a lawyer.
Moral of the story: Be careful what you ask for. You may get it.
Graham Handcock
“everyone will be WIPED out in 21 days”
What has been your biggest surprise while being married to someone?
My parents did not have a good marriage. My father was cold, distant and absent. My mother was a stereotypical 90s Indian wife who served food to him and picked up after him. They didn’t communicate, didn’t understand each other. My father outbursts would often result in throwing plates across the room while my mother cleaned every bit of food off the floor without saying a word. Later, she confided in me that she was scared. She didn’t want him to cross boundaries and hit her. Keeping silence was her plea. Needless to say, I grew up with very distorted sense of marriage.
I jumped from one relationship to another all my life. When things got tough I moved to another until I met my husband. My husband is an American and grew up in Texas. We were in a long distance relationship for 4–5 years until we decided to get married. In the beginning of our relationship, I was skeptical. When I realized I had feelings for him, I did what I know best. I started to push him away but he stayed. Regardless of being in a long distance relationship I never had to second guess his feelings. He was always there, emotionally if not physically.
Once we got married, I kept waiting for the marriage to crash and burn, kept waiting for the pain to return which I’m so used to, but it never happened. He made sure of it. My husband did everything he could to make me feel comfortable in the new country. He even learnt to cook Indian food so I don’t feel home sick. Being in a new country where I knew no one, isolated and away from friends and family took a toll on me. I have been dealing with depression and severe anxiety for years but he stood by me through it all. He accepted me for who I am without trying to change anything about me. Every time we had an argument, I waited to see glimpse of my father in him but he proved me wrong each time.
I always thought that marriage makes one miserable. I once found a poem written by my father dedicated to my mother. I couldn’t believe it. I had to ask my mother several times to be sure because they were never happy, never in love, as long as I could remember. That was the perception of marriage I grew up with until this beautiful man walked in my life and changed it forever. I’m still haunted by the dysfunctional marriage my parents had but then I look at him and know everything will be okay.
Compilation: Ancient Mysteries vol 1
Great stuff. Enjoy this one.