“Dusty bottles pour a finer glass of wine
An old beat-up guitar just sounds better
And wisdom only comes with time
I can spot mistakes before they happen
Separate the BS from the truth.”
Shano, bouncing Czech, Imro, accomplice, propagandist: Whatever you call Jozef Imrich, the sole survivor of the Iron Curtain crossing, he had a remarkable knack for survival
“It’s the difficult and the sad things in life that test your mettle, and test your emotional strength, sometimes in tragic ways,” Weaver says.
“But that’s what makes you stronger, ultimately, I think.”
Father Stu - From Boxing to Blessing
U.S. police trainers with far-right ties are teaching hundreds of cops Reuters
In Praise of Anxiety, by my blogging mate Tracy Dennis-Tiwary of Hunter College fame Future Tense: Why Anxiety Is Good for You (Even Though It Feels Bad) (2022))
EVER WONDER WHERE THE WORD ‘DISINFORMATION’ CAME FROM? Well, J. Michael Waller points to the Soviet KGB as the inventor of the term:
“’Disinformation’ is not a word from the English language. It is a direct translation of the Russian word dezinformatsiya. It is a KGB form of tradecraft from the Red Banner Institute of the KGB First Chief Directorate, otherwise known as the KGB foreign spy academy.
“Disinformation is definition 159 in the KGB’s ‘Lexicon of KGB Terms,’ published internally by the Soviet foreign intelligence service before 1984. Here it is: ‘Misleading by means of false information; A form of intelligence work in the Active Measures field, which consists of the secret channeling towards an adversary of false information, especially prepared materials and fabricated documents designed to mislead him and prompt him to take decisions and measures which fit with the plans and intentions of the Intelligence Service.’”
Ya think our leaders know … or would care if they did?
"In old age, Twain seemed savvier, angrier, and more embittered than just about any other prominent writer of his generation Surviving 64 years on earth
Geoff Dyer, 63, fears becoming a "creepy" old man and worries about his neck. Oh, the cruel toll of time. Ticking Time
'If I die under mysterious circumstances…,' Elon Musk posts cryptic tweet an hour after he shares a post in 'connection with Russia'
One indication that you've entered a venerable bookstore is that the proprietor is cranky and eccentric Back to Time
“Capital ‘T,’ ‘the Truth’ … I don’t think it’s interesting,” says Carlo Rovelli. “The interesting thing is the small ‘t’ Truth behind Pravda
Everything Starts With Purpose
For Russian diplomats, disinformation is part of the job
Washington Post: “As governments and social media companies have moved to suppress Russia’s state media and the disinformation it spreads about the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin’s diplomats are stepping up to do the dirty work.
Russian embassies and consulates around the world are prolifically using Facebook, Twitter and other platforms to deflect blame for atrocities while seeking to undermine the international coalition supporting Ukraine. Tech companies have responded by adding more labels to Russia’s diplomatic accounts and by removing the accounts from its recommendations and search results.
But the accounts are still active and are disseminating disinformation and propaganda in nearly every nation, in part because their diplomatic status gives them an added layer of protection from moderation. With hundreds of social media accounts on every continent, Russia’s diplomatic corps acts as a global network for propaganda, in which the same claims can be recycled and tweaked for different audiences in different nations. And, so far, steps to substantially curtail that effort have fallen short…”
From seawater to drinking water, with the push of a button MIT News
Why does swearing make us stronger? Big Think (fk). Funny, I picked up the habit of the regular use of profanity when on Wall Street. The use of bad language outside contexts like that was less acceptable than now.
The Ever-Present Origin: Swiss Poet, Philosopher, and Linguist Jean Gebser’s Prescient 1949 Vision for the Evolution of Consciousness The Marginalian
The Spanish city where water defies gravity BBC
10 Beautifully Surreal Forests Fit for a Fairy TaleTreehugger
Washington Post: “…Beyond using good passwords from the get-go, using two-factor authentication — or 2FA — is one of the best ways to make sure your accounts don’t fall into the wrong hands. Think of it as an extra layer of security, one that forces you to prove your identity by sending a code to a device only the real deal would have access to. Frequently, that means our phones. And take it from me: Forgetting to set it up can be costly…Lots of companies and services try to verify your identity via codes sent to you in text messages or in phone calls. (In my experience, this is especially true of banks.) That means regaining control of your phone number is crucial. If you’ve lost track of your phone and are fairly sure you’re not getting it back anytime soon, your first step should be to contact your wireless carrier.
Calling a customer service line is a good start, but if you can, we recommend going directly to a carrier store for more immediate help…If that lost device is a smartphone, there’s a quick way to prevent anyone from prying: Lock it down when you notice it’s missing. That will force whoever has your phone to punch in whatever PIN code or password you’ve already set up before they can access any of your data. Here’s how to do it…”
Millions of bees used in pollination die in airline shipping ABC News. Kevin W: “To go from California to Alaska you have to go through frikkin’ Georgia?”
67 Wild Horses Die of Highly Contagious Illness in Federal Care Treehugger
The surprising afterlife of used hotel soap The Hustle