A meow

Slightly blurry photo of northern lights. Red curtains of light fringed with pink. Below the red are a few clouds tinged with a greenish white light. I think that's light pollution from a nearby village and not part of the aurora. Below the green white band of light is the black horizon. A single tree breaks it up. Next to the tree are a line of powerline poles. Also as black as the horizon.

Kansas. Standing by the old quarry. Heard owl hoots. The occasional coyote yip. Fortunately, did not hear any footsteps. That's the sort of place where Hitchhiker would show up. Ask you for a light. And then no one would ever see you again.

Vietnam made everyone pause & think twice for 25+ years. It's less than five years since the last flight out of Kabul and they're all ready to do it again. I don't even remotely understand this level of amnesia.

And this time under a president who makes Dubya look like the height of competence.

I'm a strong believer in gadgets for birthdays and xmas so I think you should get one with Mario Kart. Or maybe a Steam Deck instead?

Ironically, Kansas went 60% for a direct pro-choice referendum, and has a two term governor who is steadfastly pro trans rights. Head and shoulders above Newsom.

These pundits have no idea what would actually be tolerated in Kansas.

If it's like any other cult I've seen, there won't be a big exodus all at once. Each new crime or indignity will peel off a few. Majority of those leaving won't announce their departure. Support will seem stable among the core believers until suddenly everyone notices it isn't.

It's funny. I was raised in an IFB hellhole. When I wrote that comment, I was remembering an IFB "rock music seminar". Where they tried to convince us Journey enjoyed eating children and Ozzy was the most evil person on the planet.

Wouldn't be surprised if you are correct.

You are 100% good. Mice could be behind the television. Humans never look back there. You're the only one who does. If you're not allowed behind the tv, then a colony of mice will set up camp. And then there will be no cheese left in the house.

You deserve extra treats for saving the cheese.

I'm not old-fashioned about much but I do think it's a shame rock and roll is no longer blamed for all the ills of the world.

Just a quick test with a random mp4 to see if I had the problem too.

On a Mac, latest Firefox, fair number of addons but none that relate to video specifically.

Thanks to a retired Swedish diplomat who chatted with me on a flight, I'm one hop away from Idi Amin.

The diplomat was not a fan.

Able Archer always makes me think of a sunny day in 1983. It was recess. On the playground doing usual stupid kid stuff. Then the sirens go off. Not a tornado warning. I'm old enough to know what nukes are and I start freaking out.

I know this had nothing to do with Able Archer but just reminded me

I was just making a casual observation based solely on what you said. I meant nothing hostile. On the surface to someone not knowledgeable on this topic, it seemed like a strange disconnect to allow on civilians but not soldiers.

Thanks for your extended explanation. Makes much more sense.

It's just strange to me that they say these weapons are too much to be used on enemy soldiers, but it's just fine to use them on your own civilians.

Not disagreeing with you. Just find the disconnect a little odd.

Little surprised not to see ASMR as a category in the list. But maybe Z / Alpha guys aren't watching it as much as others are.

It's the best form of background videos for me. Put it on the second monitor and it somehow helps me focus.

I love conveyor belt games. But they always give me a headache after a while.

In part because that rep hasn't been sworn in yet. And probably because it would need the speaker to call the House back into session? Not sure if that's a requirement.

But if the AZ rep wins her lawsuit and gets a judge to swear her in, then maybe we could have some good chaos.

The one weird thought I had was the Democrats + the handful of GOPers, who want to release the Epstein Files, could get together. Vote to replace Johnson with one of those Republicans.

That would be a bare majority of the House (including the new rep from AZ). Probably wouldn't work though.

That's quite amazing to pull off a tat during a mission. Those guys usually have zero privacy and very little alone time. Wonder if his partner helped?

SCS, makers of American & Euro Truck Simulators, also has the right idea. Releasing a steady stream of new territories for about $15 per state / region.

This funds a small company that's pulling off something amazing: a reasonably detailed driving simulation of entire continents.

Considering all the horrors afoot these days, seeing sirenhead would be a bit of a relief.

Going further back, I wonder if there were conspiracy theorists who blamed the plagues on the vibrations from church bells?

The ironic thing about "No King but Jesus" from people like Roy is how Jesus said: "My kingdom is not of this world."

Jesus is ignored by conservative Christians much of the time but that's probably the most ignored statement.

Arguably, they've already bolted. Even Fox News, the most popular "news" channel, has loads of reverse mortgage and gold seller ads. That's the bottom of the barrel ads stations wouldn't run if they had anything else to fill the time.

That's quite accurate. When I first saw that specific photo, it didn't have a caption. I thought it was from Kyiv or Odesa. That a missile had hit an old building. Took me a minute to realize this was the White House and not a bombed place.

Thanks for the title! As I was posting this, I realized I never knew the title. It was a Sunday afternoon movie on a local station that I randomly watched in the 80s. I'll have to hunt it down now.

And yes, it would still be relevant. I remember the dystopian aspects as much as the twin moons.

Reminds me of an old movie I loved as a kid. Astronaut comes back to Earth. Accident on landing. He's put in a windowless hospital. Not allowed to leave. Eventually becomes suspicious and escapes. Steps outside into the night. There's two moons in the sky.

Was a very creepy moment.

Does anyone know what church this is? The minister is yelling in the traditional Baptist way. But he's wearing a collar which isn't typical of Baptists or evangelicals in general.

That's quite surprising. Be interesting to see if that's a trend in smaller evangelical churches going forward.

I say "small" because I find it difficult to imagine the megachurches abandoning their "wealth is great!" theology. But maybe one of them will take a populist bent.

My beloved boy Canoe would lure the hand in. Give a few kicks when the trap was sprung. But he was not devious. And he adored a good belly rub. Kicks would quickly melt into purring. And he'd just stretch out into bliss.

One religious scholar started referring to it as the "American Heresy". That really stuck with me. Think that'll be how this time of American Christianity will be remembered.