Passings

[BO]

Dan Folgelberg dies of prostrate cancer. 56 years old.

http://www.danfogelberg.com/news.html

I loved this guy--sappy music and all.

[waldopaper]

The Better Mousetrap Paradigm.  

[waldopaper]

"It's Everybody's Business (1954)" cold-war propaganda filtered thru a Reaganite fantasy machine. 
This 62-yr-old meme has had a long career and it's time to retire. 
Tired are the cheap-labor knock-offs saying the same thing over and over and over and... stop. Labor isn't a commodity. It's people. And if you're going to have a "level playing field," you're going to have regulation. Deal with it.

Soylent Green Capitalism is a crock.

[BO]

Them were the days: get rich by building a better mousetrap. Then came the financial fraudsters during the Reagan years. Get rich via extorsion and fraud. Making better shit  became a fools errand compared to placing your bets on a rigged game. Money for nuttin.'

The rule of law means nothing to the mafioso. But they may have discovered recently that you can't support an economy by simply printing endless amounts of money. That system is unsustainable, and it's definitely showing signs of a breakdown.

Every gilded age ended badly -- usually with a war. But those were the days of nation states and wars were fought between countries. Now it appears we're starting wars over religious ideology.

The new crusades look a hell of a lot like the crusades of old. And the social backdrop looks surprising similar as well.

[waldopaper]

I miss those days meself.  Not sure if they existed or not... but believe they did when I was young and cute.  These days I could give less than a shit... which i thought was impossible... even for me.  But I still dream:  

[BO]

Who's the babe in der lederhosen? 

[waldopaper]

"Survival Lilly"  

ein Heissmadel (fur mich)  

[pan]

Am I a bad person because this makes me happy?

Antonin Scalia

[BO]

Nope. Unless, of course, Obama appoints someone even worser.

Could happen.

[BO]

[Mouse]

more hatless mortals here, a choir at rest..
http://youtu.be/2Rjyo3UjGhY

don't suppose I told you about that time the Welsh choir

[Cal]

Loved it Mouse!

[waldopaper]

Plan (so far) is to arrive at Southampton early in 2017.  Britrail pass, and explore East Anglia etc. for 30 days to find a good place to stay out of Eurozone for 90 days (if possible) as I can only stay 90 days on continent on standard US pass.  Then to Deutschland (Swabisch Hall)  30 days to study German... then to Madrid to learn Spanish.  Then, on to Cuba... perhaps by Trans-Siberian rail to China.  From there to Cuba.  Plan to stay out of US for a year.  May never come back- either because I 1. don't want to, or 2. can't (for other reasons).  Going to avoid flying completely.  Cunard runs to Capetown.  Rail there looks dodgy so far...