. . . is at worst a peccadillo. Philosophers place a premium on precision. Get used to it.
Category: Humor
Friday Cat Blogging Three Days Late: A Puzzling Image
When I travelled in China, I saw not one pussy cat. But I had a Chinese student at CWRU who said that the Chinese eat anything with four legs except the kitchen table. And now I recall eating something in Wuhan that tasted like chicken but a tad gamier. Now North Korea is not China. But I understand there's a lot of hungry people in the Land of Little Rocket Man. That suggests that the following image is fake:
Chess Players Commiserate on their Failed Marriages
A: "We were bishops of opposite color."
B: "Sorry to hear that. In our case the union ended when she discovered I had insufficient mating material."
C: "We just couldn't get it together. Whenever she wanted to make love, I was busy making Luft."
D: "She blew her stack when I gingerly brought up the topic of back-rank mate."
E. "She got tired of my excuses, especially 'Sorry, honey, not tonight. After a hard day at the office I'm weaker than f7.'"
F. "The bitch had a way of putting me in psychological Zugzwang: no matter what I said or did, I only dug my hole deeper."
G. "In bed one night she called me a perv when I muttered something about the Lucena position.
H. "Her frigidity did us in. She'd allow a check but never a mate."
I. "She said I lacked ambition citing my penchant for underpromotion."
J. "We fought like knights and bishops."
How a Leftist Gains Perspective
Here:
Yet even as [Lisa] Bloom was still coming to terms with the [Weinsteinian] events of the past month — she attended the post-Burning Man gathering L.A. Decompression over the weekend in an attempt to gain perspective— she seemed focused on some of the smaller details of what went wrong.
Be careful not to bust your gut laughing.
Lefties are risible in both senses of the word: like all human beings, they have the ability to laugh, but unlike most human beings, they are appropriately laughed at.
Jewish Humor
Here:
Rabbi Altmann and his secretary were sitting in a coffeehouse in Berlin in 1935. “Herr Altmann,” said his secretary, “I notice you’re reading Der Stürmer! I can’t understand why. A Nazi libel sheet! Are you some kind of masochist, or, God forbid, a self-hating Jew ?”
“On the contrary, Frau Epstein. When I used to read the Jewish papers, all I learned about were pogroms, riots in Palestine, and assimilation in America. But now that I read Der Stürmer, I see so much more: that the Jews control all the banks, that we dominate in the arts, and that we’re on the verge of taking over the entire world. You know – it makes me feel a whole lot better!”
I’m a Racist Because I Like Chess
I left the house at 5:15 this morning, hiked 45 minutes over the local hills to arrive at 6:00 sharp at Gecko Espresso where I met up with Lowell S. a local chess aficionado. We played under the influence of caffeine for a solid two hours, one game, recorded, to be analyzed when next we meet. I checkmated the old man.
Chess is a delightful game, especially when you win. An oasis of sanity in an insane world. But we must admit that it is a deeply racist game and that all who play it are racists. The following excerpt from a cognate post explains why.
Another proof that chess is racist and oppressive and ought to be banned is that blacks are woefully under-represented among its players. This evil can have only one explanation: racist suppression of black players. For everyone knows that blacks as a group are the equals of whites as a group in respect of intelligence, interest in chess, and the sorts of virtues needed to play the undemocratic and reactionary 'Royal Game.' Among these are the ability to study hard, defer gratification, and keep calm in trying situations.
For these and many other reasons, we must DEMAND that chess be banned.
We must manifest solidarity with our oppressed Taliban brothers who have maintained, truly, that chess is an evil game of chance.
If Narcissus Had a Blog . . .
. . . what would it be called?
Facebook.
National Security Agency
I was joking with somebody recently about blog backup.
"Why do I need to back up my blog?" said I. "The NSA has every word."
Joking aside, the underlying issue is a vexing one. There is no true liberty without security, but a security worth wanting must make allowance for a large measure of liberty.
It is a case of competing values. One of my early posts (13 May 2004) explores the dialectic. I gave it the catchy title, Liberty and Security. Damn, if it's not good! By the way, one of the many pleasures of blogging is re-reading and re-enjoying one's old writings.
The Gastroenterologist Waxes Philosophical
When asked about the value of life, the gastroenterologist sagely observed that it all depends on the liver.
A Realist Walks into a Bar . . .
. . . looking glum.
Bartender: "What's the matter, pal?"
Realist: "My nominalist girl friend says we have nothing in common!"
Russian Dressing
Friday Cat Blogging a Day Late
And then there is Schroedinger's troll.
Disproportionate Impact
Laws against the destruction of public and private property have a disproportionate impact on leftist thugs. Such laws are obviously discriminatory, discriminating as they do between leftist thugs and decent folk, and are therefore unfair. They should be repealed. We need to work together to build a society in which all are treated equally regardless of color, creed, national origin, or behavior. Leftist thugs are who they are, and you must never criticize a person for who she is.
Past, Present, and Future Walked into a Bar . . .
. . . and things began to get tense.
Stupor Bowl Prediction
V. Putin will hack the scoreboard the way he hacked the voting machines in November, tilting the tabulation of the vote in favor of fellow fascist, Donald J. Trump. (Adapted from a Dennis Miller riff.)