44 thoughts on “May 21, 2020: Tree Day”

  3. I mentioned this article to Rhu_Ru & SBG in the call on Sunday, but forgot to share it earlier in the week. Definitely worth a read:

    I began to wonder: had anyone ever studied what real children would do if they found themselves alone on a deserted island? I wrote an article on the subject, in which I compared Lord of the Flies to modern scientific insights and concluded that, in all probability, kids would act very differently. Readers responded sceptically. All my examples concerned kids at home, at school, or at summer camp. Thus began my quest for a real-life Lord of the Flies. After trawling the web for a while, I came across an obscure blog that told an arresting story: “One day, in 1977, six boys set out from Tonga on a fishing trip ... Caught in a huge storm, the boys were shipwrecked on a deserted island. What do they do, this little tribe? They made a pact never to quarrel.”

    The real Lord of the Flies: what happened when six boys were shipwrecked for 15 months | The Guardian

    1. The pandemic has proven yet again that people become prosocial in crisis rather than antisocial, as the article notes at the beginning.

        1. Most of the angst is from restaurant owners.
          I've been wondering how zoom is doing. I notice he's been scarcer than a few weeks ago. Really really hoping he's hanging in there.

            1. As did you, by the way. Thanks.

              FZ-ish? SelectShow
              1. Actual Spoiler SelectShow
              2. FZ for Both Kinds (Religion & Politics) SelectShow

            2. Yours was very thoughtful, Philo. Do you mind if I forward your contact info to Theresa from Victoria so she can explain to you that Gates started this virus to make money on vaccines?

              1. Only if you can also get her to tell me that her google search for "constitusion of the Us.A." is worth as much as my law degree.

              2. Only if you will first send him a copy of the Constitution. And something about Dershowitz?

            3. Thanks for pointing it out. Just read it. Hurts to think of and keeps me well aware of the fortune of my current situation.
              I can't imagine how I'd respond if my whole livelihood was at stake. Hopefully with as much dignity as him.

            4. Thanks for pointing out zooomx’ post, Philo. I keep as far away from FB as possible these days, but logged in to see what he had to say. Very thoughtful, indeed.

              1. I don't have much to add to the discussion except to further concur about Zoom's post

    1. I saw this when DW fired it through the Tweeter. I noticed that his nephew chimed in to confirm (see thread):

      1. I want to be sent home with the line that my vocabulary was a “gravely patois of wisecracks, mangled metaphors, and inspired profanity”.

        I’m swearing up a motherfucking storm just trying to get to that kind of send off.

    1. That was a pleasant surprise this morning. I almost bought the Switch version during a recent GameStop sale but am glad none of the stores around had it in stock.

    3. I have never played a multi-player game of Civ, but would be willing to learn with the right group, and the citizens seem like a right enough group?

  7. Out of morbid curiosity and ignorant optimism I clicked on a link for premium steakhouse meats.
    I've been to a few fancypants steakhouse places, but nothing near what it looks like it would cost to eat these suckers in a restaurant.

    1. Okay. Fine. I’ll bite. This is some garbage bullshit designed to separate fools from money. Yes, absolutely, without a doubt there is a difference between grass fed, grass finished, and Walmart brand steaks, but this is something just so fucking absurd I almost can’t even. But I will. Eat a bucket of turds with your marketing gambit that this steak / burger / beef product is so good it’s like drinking from the cup of Jesus. Now piss off.

      1. what about Kobe? My dad has a rich friend who bought him a $500 steak last year. My dad said it was amazing. But is it really a thirty dollar steak overpriced?

        1. Was that Kobe steak flown in on a private plane that disregarded us import law on beef from Japan? That may explain the cost. Beef quality marketing is a thing because we have access to the most beef products on the planet. A 99 cent cheeseburger isn’t a sustainable thing (and most likely isn’t 💯 beef, more likely beaf) though most of us have consumed one from a fast food joint recently enough. We’re so meat bathed that marketing agencies have stepped in to drive up demand for humanely Raised, grass fed, beer finished animal muscle. Shit, we’re now touting sodium laced smoked infused beet juiced tofu as the next premium burger.

          Okay though, to take on the question more directly there is a huge difference in quality when you get a meat product from a farm that raised the animal on site from birth to slaughter responsibly as opposed to a factory farm that fattens hundreds of heads of (cattle, chickens, hogs) in the quickest way possible. Choosing the former raises the price of the steak considerably, so you’d better not burn it on the grill.

      2. I...uh...yowza. I‘m sorry to do that to you, meat.
        I had read about folks trying to keep that supply chain functional, but I don’t know that wagyu was referenced when I first heard of it. In fact, I’m not sure the fancypants places I’ve tried even had wagyu. Whatever that is.
        Guess I’ll see if I can find some ‘Berta beef...

        1. Nothing done, just firm opinions. I’m also not above ordering a Wendy’s cheeseburger when required. #winks.

Comments are closed.