July 25 Link Log

These are the last few links that came in on Friday, that I had time to open before going offline, and read from the cache on Monday.

Animals

Bears! Yes, this species are also found in eastern Tennessee, occasionally in the southwestern point of Virginia. They don’t usually try to kill more than they want to eat, so (unless you happen to get between a female and her young) they seldom attack adult humans. Babies are a different story. However, bears can go into feeding frenzies when they smell sugary things (most definitely including “natural” non-cane products like fruit and honey) and/or fresh blood. 

https://wendywelchbigstonegap.wordpress.com/2016/07/22/black-bears-in-the-black-hills/

Etiquette

The part of this story I find hard to believe is that an adult comedian made fun of a child, in public, 230 times…I mean, he had that many chances to use that routine? People listened? And…I don’t know…none of them had a rotten tomato? Forty-two thousand dollars, even Canadian dollars, may be a bit steep…but obviously people on this guy’s circuit are starving for entertainment, and somebody had to do something. Some humanitarian organization should rush more tasteful comedians to this guy’s audience, fast.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/07/22/blame-canada-human-rights-tribunal-orders-comedian-to-pay-42k-for-offensive-jokes/?

Green

Bit of cognitive dissonance here…aren’t cat people carnivores partly because of the cats? I’ve not seen or heard as much horrible stuff about ASPCA as I have about HSUS and PETA, but animal haters, whose real goal is to deprive people of any opportunity to own land or bond with animals, have sneaked into all of these organizations. Be wary. Nevertheless, here’s this summer’s pitch for common decency toward cows and chickens:

http://www.mochasmysteriesmeows.com/2016/07/farm-animals-deserve-better.html

Language

From Australia, the land of wonderful exotic creatures and wonderful exotic slang…I’ve heard most of these, because some of The Nephews have friends from Australia. My cat Bisquit liked “bic-bic” or “bicky” (she recognized those as pet forms of her name) but I think my favorite is just “Oz.”

http://www.itsjustlife.me/more-aussie-terms/

Politics (Election 2016)

Melania Trump…Last week I thought of my official line about her: If our votes are based on First Consorts, then we should vote for Trump, because it’s easier for Melania to pass for a lady (at least among those who don’t know that she married a man who’s old enough to be her father and ugly enough to stop a clock, and who has two living ex-wives) than for Bill Clinton to pass for a gentleman. But Scott Adams really went too far with this blog post. Jackie Kennedy? Jackie Kennedy? I think I could have watched young Melania on TV for another five years without being reminded of Mrs. Kennedy. (For one thing, Jackie Kennedy didn’t make speeches.) Melania doesn’t really remind me of anybody, strongly, but if I had to choose, it’d be a toss-up between Natalie Portman playing Anne Boleyn, and my college friend who flamed out on LSD, also an actress, playing Mary Magdalene.

Meh. Bad as it was in Gate City, I’m sure the hot air was even worse in Cleveland.

http://blog.dilbert.com/post/147798324931/my-opinion-of-trumps-convention-speech

Hmm. I mentioned The Other Boleyn Girl. I don't physically have a copy for sale, but a friend does. If you like the bawdy bits of history, you'll love the novel version of how Anne Boleyn, poster girl for easy divorce, stole her sister's lover...and her sister lived happily ever after. (In real life Mary Boleyn didn't write a memoir but she did live longer than Anne. Another fun fact: we know that's Natalie Portman, not Anne, in the picture because in real life Anne Boleyn started a fad for extra-long sleeves to hide her six-fingered hands, which some people considered creepy.) Click the title for the hardback, Kindle, or first paperback editions; click the image used in the movie trailer for the paperback that came out with the movie. 

Thank a Veteran

Teaching an old man a computer game, and treating him to dinner… “selfless”? Bosh. This young lady is bragging because she found a rare opportunity to do something that is fun, that a lot of young people might spend a lot of time at urban missions before they’ll get to do. In terms of emotional rewards for mission work (or just being bold enough to talk to strangers in safe places in cities) she’s won the jackpot. Shared because other readers should be so lucky. (But beware of hugging veterans. Many of them are still sexy, and some have jealous mates. For example, much as college chicks might want to hug my Significant Other, they do not want me to catch them looking as if that thought had crossed their minds.)

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/07/21/this-womans-selfless-act-for-vietnam-veteran-restores-his-faith-in-young-people/