Robot Jazz

  I'm back! After a two-week break, I have returned to blogging. The cause of my disappearance is the usual suspect: real life.  In addition to that, I just needed a break as fitting in a blog entry every few days started to feel less like a hobby and more like a job. It helped that politics quieted down a bit.  I mean, this admin was as nuts as ever, but the last few weeks were more about Trump and his minions embarrassing themselves than it was about actively destroying the nation.   But now, with the help of a rainy day (writing weather!), I am back at it.   🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻 We have a new pope! And he is American! I was stunned when we learned he was an American because I agreed with the mindset that America, being a superpower, would never be given even more power by having 1.4 billion Catholics come under the sway of an American pope.  So much for that logic! The reasons why an American pope was picked are still much debated. Of course, there has b...

  I'm one of those annoying people who takes pride in enjoying entertainment from other shores.  I don't do it just for some sense of cultural superiority - okay, maybe a bit of that - but because I find much of American entertainment to be juvenile. And I don't mean actually juvenile in the way that Michael Bay's endless Transformer  flicks are targeted at a young, after-school audience, but in how even serious filmmakers tackle adult topics with a juvenile mentality. Be that as it may, I am always on the lookout for a new experience from beyond America's shores. Recently, a friend of mine who knows my love of British television ( Inside No. 9  is a recent favorite of this Twilight Zone  fan!) recommended Fawlty Towers  to me. I heard of this classic bit of late 20th-century British television before but had never gotten around to watching it. Seeing how most of the episodes were available on YouTube , I sat down this past weekend to watch it.  I love...

  So, how are you doing America? Enjoying all that winning? As NBC News reports: The U.S. economy contracted 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025, the first negative reading since 2022, according to an initial measurement released Wednesday by the Commerce Department. The decline in gross domestic product was fueled by a massive surge in imports, while other parts of the U.S. economy showed signs of slowing. Consumer spending climbed 1.8%, the weakest pace since mid-2023. The report also showed inflation remained firm. But, as long as it brings down those egg prices, right? Oh... Retail egg prices, or the prices paid by shoppers, have climbed over the early months of Trump’s term, meaning household budgets have been slammed by worsening egg costs, the economists said. 🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻 The sad thing is that I know how the worsening economic picture under Trump will play out. Indeed, I got a glimpse of this recently when an acquaintance complained about the price of eggs but blamed it on Bide...

  Southern trees bear strange fruit Blood on the leaves and blood at the root Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees Pastoral scene of the gallant south The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh Then the sudden smell of burning flesh Here's a fruit for the crows to pluck For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop Here's a strange and bitter crop - Strange Fruit  by Billie Holiday Did you know April is Jazz Appreciation Month , with April 30th being International Jazz Day ? Probably not, sadly. Despite jazz being America's contribution to the world music scene, most Americans have since moved on to other musical genres more easily monetized by the large music mega-corps. It's a shame that this uniquely American art form isn't more widely celebrated.  However, for those of us who know the way to the back alley speakeasy and remember the secre...

  >10 Print "I am a sucker" Things are not going well in Trump land. Like with any grift, eventually, the mark's patience wears thin and begins to demand results.  That is usually when the grift starts to crumble, forcing the conman to fall back from prevarication to prevarication until, ultimately, he is forced to take the money and run.  Such is the case with Trump. Have you seen Trump's recent polling? It is awful and reflects a wholesale rejection of the first one hundred days of this regime. When looking at these numbers, remember that this is supposed to be the "honeymoon" period for a new administration when the American people are most tolerant.  Here are some snapshots from today's New Zork Times : It's not often that an American president is described as "chaotic" and "scary," but these terms seem to apply to the Trump regime. (Only a MAGA jackass would call it "exciting".) But it gets worse. On an issue bre...

  I've been thoroughly enjoying reading Mary Chesnut's Diary from Dixie . While she and her family were staunch supporters of the slave-holding South, she was also a witty and intelligent woman who I suspect could have effortlessly charmed me into writing her love letters by candlelight.  Putting that aside, I was struck by an insightful observation she made about the various cults of personality that were forming in the confederate government, and the effect it was having on the cult leaders: Much love, admiration, worship hardens an idol’s heart. It becomes utterly callous and selfish. It expects to receive all and to give nothing. It even likes the excitement of seeing people suffer. When I read that, various people in this regime instantly sprung to mind, but first amongst these was the South African idiot savant himself, Elon Musk. This is why I rejoice in the news that Musk's pride and joy, Tesla, is suffering grave economic consequences from his destructive personal...

  Breaking News {SATIRE} Embattled Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has once again become embroiled in scandal.  It has been uncovered that Hegseth has been using a game's clan chat system to discuss classified war plans with his online gaming buddies.  According to an anonymous source, Hegseth would often talk about ongoing military operations while playing Activision's popular battle royale shooter,  Call of Duty: Warzone . An informant, whom we shall refer to as "BBalls" to preserve his anonymity, recently contacted this publication with startling allegations. "We'd often be in the middle of a match when 'Hegmeth' - that was our nickname for him - would say something like, 'I just fragged some guy with a SKS, just like when I ordered a SEAL sniper to whack General Hubuti in Yemen. I'm awesome!'" recounted the source. "He would flex his SecDef muscles like this all the time, usually right after some noob downed him for the um...