BSR

I think a lot of gays claim to hate homophobia when really they hate Christianity, and Christians’ opposition to gay marriage or drag queen story hour gives gays justification for their anti-Christian hatred. As for Anita Bryant, she very publicly campaigned to repeal gay antidiscrimination laws for a year or so, then quickly faded from political activism. Her career fell apart due to the controversy, although one could argue since she was never that big or popular to begin with, there wasn’t much of a career to destroy. Her personal life also unraveled: a painful divorce, bankruptcy, tax liens. It sounds like she died broke and in obscurity. I get no joy from hearing that, but I’m guessing plenty of others do.

Whenever someone writes a stevenkesslaresque post, I can respond to only one point at a time. Dwindling snowpacks? California ties 1952 record for all-time Sierra snowpack (the article refers to the winter of 2022-23) Oops, I read @mike carey’s post just now … I’m reading preliminary reports that at least one of the fires was set by an arsonist. Criminal gangs are taking advantage of the evacuation to loot houses, but unknown if the gangs are the arsonists or are just taking advantage of fires set by someone else. But I’m sure the looters’ fundamental motivation is that they’re angry about climate change (sorry, I couldn’t help myself, teehee).

If state & local governments fix the water-pressure problem after this tragedy, that means they could have proactively fixed it beforehand. The risk of massive wildfires is hardly new.

How silly of me to forget the axiomatic truth that climate change is the fundamental cause of every single problem on the planet: functional illiteracy, workplace discrimination, the Kardashians, etc. California hasn’t built a single new reservoir since 1979, when the state’s population was 23 million. Today’s population is 39+ million. Plenty of the annual Sierra Nevada snowmelt simply runs into the ocean to save the delta smelt, a fish nobody really cares about but some people like to pretend. All the major factors that caused this tragedy — drought, high winds, dry chaparral — have plagued Southern California for decades. State and local leaders (would love to name names, but no politics) have betrayed the people in devastated areas because they failed to proactively take on these chronic issues. These same failed leaders are the first to scream, “but climate change!” Oh, shock.

Droughts have chronically plagued Southern California since (I’m guessing) forever. If this most recent drought is to blame for waterless fire hydrants, then the question becomes why did California fail to prepare for drought?

Yes, I know. I never claimed the Menendez murders were recent.

So many things went so wrong to cause this fire, but the one question that bothers me most: why do the fire hydrants have no water?

I can’t name “several” others but do remember all the women throwing themselves at Erik & Lyle Menendez, neither of whom I found attractive. As much as I hate what Luigi Mangione allegedly did, gotta admit, the guy makes my eyes pop.

Perhaps the window has passed on this 5-month old topic, but I will be going to Manila on Feb 11 and will post my thoughts on visiting there. I’ll try to look into the scene (escorts, masseurs, dancers), but since I’ll be spending most of the time with family, naughty-fun opportunities will likely be limited. Meanwhile, some food for thought: here is a video on pag pag, food “recycled” from fast-food garbage. Yup, people literally sort through McDonalds & Jollibee (Filipino KFC) garbage bags, pluck out the scraps, either boil or fry it to (hopefully) kill the bacteria, then sell it. Yikes, I knew poverty was bad in the Philippines, but people actually make a living by selling dumpster scraps??

I'm sorry, but this is disgustingly inappropriate. *snort* (I didn't snort, that was my evil twin)

#20 Arthur Fils giving the crowd what they want ...

Thank you for all the suggestions. I have Ted Lasso next in my watch queue. Since I wasn’t quite ready to break my Spanish-language viewing habits, I started with You Would Do It Too, a series about 3 people who try to rob passengers on a bus but are killed when 1 of the passengers goes vigilante. At first it looks like the passengers are covering for the vigilante, but of course, things are not as they appear. Some crazy twists and turns caught me by surprise, made the limited series (8 30-min episodes) a lot of fun. Great cast and production values. Available with English dubbing and subtitles. I highly recommend.

I got 3 free months of AppleTV for buying an iPad but gotta say, I wasn’t thrilled by the offerings. All the stuff I wanted to watch, you had to rent/buy or sign up with another streaming service. Come on, surely there must be some free movies/series worth watching. So please, give your recommendations. A few words about why you liked it would be appreciated.

I see a difference between a moral and a legal obligation. While I agree we have a moral obligation to help the homeless, I don't think we should be forced to pay for housing for all homeless. In contrast, I view a trial by jury and legal representation as legal obligations. I could expound on my reasoning but shan't for 2 reasons: doing so will inevitably become a (prohibited) political discussion (collective responsibility-->collectivism-->communi ... oops, better stop!), and perhaps more important, I am quite sure that nothing I say will change your mind even one iota.

I never understood this argument, nor do I agree. Food isn't a fundamental right, clothing isn't a fundamental right, housing isn't a fundamental right, no other human need is a fundamental right. Yet so many believe that healthcare is.

Tommy Paul, all grows up & deliciously furry …

Yup, the bulge is nice, but zoinks! as a legs fan, WOW!!

One obviously fabulous high school grad’s yearbook quote: I like my coffee like I like my women. I don’t like coffee.

Mickey Rourke in Body Heat, “you got fifty ways you're gonna fuck up. If you think of twenty-five of them, then you're a genius - and you ain't no genius.” Actually, this guy was a genius, or pretty damn close. He finished both his bachelors and masters in computer science at the University of Pennsylvania in just four years. So long on book smarts, terribly short on common sense.

The assassin’s use of a suppressor baffles me. It served no useful purpose (far cheaper and more easily acquired earplugs would have done just as well), but it did cause his gun to malfunction and might increase the chances he gets caught (because suppressors are more traceable). The gun+suppressor combination malfunctioned because it needed a booster, the lack of which required the assassin to manually rack the slide in order to eject the spent cartridge and to load the next round. In other words, the assassin didn’t test his equipment beforehand and more significant, didn’t even know that most suppressors need a booster. By the way, what most people call a “silencer” is really a suppressor because it merely reduces the gunshot’s decibel level but falls far short of silencing it. A suppressor reduces a gunshot from an ear-shattering 160-170 dB to a merely ear-damaging 130-140 dB. For reference, an ambulance siren registers 120 dB and a jackhammer 110 dB. That movie scene where the killer using a “silencer” fires shots that sound like a kitten landing on a silk pillow, yup, pure Hollywood fiction.

I very much doubt that insurance companies’ greed will disappear or even diminish because one CEO was murdered.