At least she’s down for anole.

Still haven’t abandoned that “dream” of nuclear family of four. Same dream, different venue. And if that’s your dream; great, you found your spot. But there’s no one dream.

Faraday car wrap.

King of Australia sounds like a title some half-crazed drifter Mad Max encounters gave to himself.

Byproduct of the US educational system. They can’t handle reading much more than a sentence before immediately posting their opinion about what they think the article is about.

Also, this article verifies what seems like it should have been a predictable cause/effect problem. Plenty of places have deforested their land and suffered mudslides, desertification, erosion. The US destroyed its prairies and got a dust bowl. The failure to predict that foresting grasslands and other areas not previously forest would result in ecological disruptions seems shortsighted. But, live and learn, do better next time.

Grass is always greener. They expected their hate and bigotry to be validated by MAGAts only to find out MAGAts hate immigrants regardless of whether or not the migrant looks like them and shares their values. The conservative idea that refugees get a “free ride” on their tax dollar and are “stealing jobs from real Americans” has been so ingrained by decades of those narratives to vilify legitimate refugees that xenophobes aren’t going to flip overnight. Bigots are gonna bigot, plus the South Africans aren’t getting any love from the section of society that would normally welcome refugees because we know it’s bullshit.

Even if you failed to believe the government telling you so.

People chose to smoke not because they don’t understand the risk, they find the reward outweighs the risk. Why they think that varies, some like the stimulation, the ritual, the escape, same as the use of any drug (or other “vice” like overeating, sex, gambling). It’s what makes confronting these things difficult, not everyone has the same reason for indulging.

Personally, I’m well aware of the risks of smoking, and that the likelihood I might have a reduced lifespan due to that choice is higher than that of a non-smoker. But it is my life to live, same as it is everyone else’s own lives to live. The information is out there, most of us have seen or know someone who’s experienced the consequences of smoking, alcoholism, drug abuse, reckless sex, gambling, food addiction. If they want help to stop and change, be there for them. If they don’t, no amount of coercion, force, or external consequence is going to make someone who doesn’t want to change do it. No amount of vice legislation has ever thwarted vice, it just turns regulating it into a revenue stream for the state because they’re in the business of law enforcement, not crime prevention.

Names only stick if history validates you. Plenty of other rulers ended up getting remembered through the lens of discontent, bad press by who came later, and sometimes mistranslation. Ivan IV Grozny was a ruthless dude, but “Grozny” meant awe-provoking or imposing, whereas in English “Terrible” tends to imply evil. Æthelred II Unræd meant “good counsel”, but as that word fell out of use in English he got stuck with “Unready” because it just happens to be similar in form but not meaning.

Donnie probably wishes he’ll be remembered as something special, but informally Diaper Don will outlive him and I don’t foresee history being gentle with its performance review.

Guys have told me these incidents were mortifying to them as teenagers.

Unintentional boners are the bane of being a teenage boy. There was one dude who did this elaborate “will you go to prom with me” in the middle of the lunch room and when she said “yes” he got a little too excited. We laughed but it’s more sympathetic laughter because it happens to everyone.

I’d bet it’ll have a good draw out of the Xennial crowd that grew up with these characters Saturday mornings and were the right age when Roger Rabbit and Space Jam came out. I’m 44 and thought both the Rescue Rangers live-action/animation and Day the Earth Blew Up were fun nostalgia trips.

All we are… is dust in the wind, dude.

Works best if it’s next door to a Spirit Halloween shop. The cults of bad religion and consumer spook night are the last decomposers to show up on the carcass of a dead suburban intersection.

You get a copy of the coveted 1977 Topps Star Wars #207

Did you forget she was Naboo royalty?

Neutering is what you do with something you want around but not making more of itself. Techbros get sent to “live on the farm with grandma”.

Beastmaster is one of my all time favorite sword and sorcery flicks, with location shoots and big sets made to look “ancient”. Then they made the sequel and said “fuck that, he takes a portal to modern LA”. It’s even better now because it’s an unintentional time capsule of 90s LA.

Mine’s 82 and been in some sort of office since 1974, senator since ‘09. And he’s running again. I’m kinda surprised the MAGAts haven’t primaried him. He’s not anti-Trump, but also not really invested in the vision, more of a classic “good old boy” Republican.