It’s sad how often “You can’t fix stupid” sums up any discussion of U.S. politics and elections.

Some obvious pockets in the table top into which the cards disappear. Also the ribbon retracts across the table in his direction like a tape measure pretty obviously at 5:20. I don’t know. He’s truly awesome, but I think I’m on the same page as the Gillian Jacobs character in Love when it comes to this stuff. It’s an…

Yep. With a semi-automatic firearm and 2 or 3 high-capacity magazines. in a large crowded room full of terrified people, a blind man could be an efficient killer.

I’d like to recommend Stephens and Brynner’s Dark Remedy: The Impact of Thalidomide and Its Revival as a Vital Medicine for more insights into the evolution of the FDA and the role of Dr. Frances Kathleen Oldham Kelsey in defending the American people from the introduction of thalidomide as a sleep aid for pregnant…

My mom, who passed away in September at age 96, wore a Phillips Lifeline bracelet or necklace 24/7. She lived alone in her own condo (her choice) right up until December of last year. A few times in recent years she stumbled at home—twice when she was alone and twice when I was there. Each time, the Lifeline folks…

I think in a lot of cases, the reader/viewer’s having no foreknowledge of the event (rape, murder, suicide) is essential to the writer/film maker’s intent to show just how shocking and devastating out-of-the-blue violence can be for the victim and her/his loved ones. I have a problem with the idea that artists have a…

You read my mind.

Corollary: There are also more than a few folks left-of-left-of-center who own guns and know how to use them. Assholes on the Right like to think they are very special cowboys, but any idiot can be taught to use a gun. To quote Ron Leatham:

ETA:

I’m fighting the urge to turn on the TV news; just starting my second big-ass Tervis tumbler full of vodka-tonic; and heading to the bedroom in about 90 seconds to melt a couple of Klonopin under my tongue.

Nah. I took back-to-back French courses in Summer school to fulfill the foreign language requirement. I loved German in high school though. Great teacher.

True story: My freshman year, I quit going to my second semester German class about 5 weeks in because it was so elementary, compared with what I already knew from my excellent high school German teacher. When I showed up for the final, I discovered my class had switched rooms about 6 weeks into the semester, and the…