His Dark Materials

 Unsatisfying.  Audio is terrible; I could not understand most of the dialog.  Casting is mediocre, Lyra and Will Parry are too tall, and look to be 18 or 19.  They speak to each other, and I would enjoy hearing what they are saying to each other. The books, (which I have read) have both characters as 15 or 16.  Mrs. Coulter just looks plain, not romantic enough to attract Lord Asreal.  This made for TV version is nowhere near as good and the movie Golden Compass. 

TV is going crazy about a heat wave.

  I am getting old but I can remember summers going back maybe 75 years.  At home (New England) summer weather was mostly warm and pleasant.  We went swimming in Lake Cochichuate, we played with neighbor kids, and we ran around in the woods surrounding Lake Cochichuate.  Every summer we had a hot spell, a few days or even a week, of really hot weather, 90F and more.  Mother coped.  She would take us to an air conditioned movie, or out to eat somewhere, or just do a nice big steak on the outdoor fire place.  And the hot spell would be over.  And we didn’t have radio and TV commenting that this hot spell was global warming and would end the world.  It was just a hot spell. 

Really old science fiction writer. Edgar Rice Burroughs

Although Edgar ice Burroughs is best known as the creator of Tarzan, he started his writing career with “A Princess of Mars” way back before WWI.  The only reasonable science fiction author older than Burroughs is Jules Verne.  In this romance, Mars is habitable, with breathable air, little water, lots of strange animals, and multiple races.  All Martians go around armed, long sword, short sword and radium revolver. Red Martian princess Dejah Thoris meets up with Earthman John Carter.  They fall in love; they escape captivity by the Green Martians riding double on the back of a thoat. They lead the forces of Helium and Thark to the destruction of Zodanga. 

   Burroughs wrote another dozen Martian novels over his life.  The first three, Princess of Mars, Gods of Mars, and Warlord of Mars are the best reads. The later ones, not so much.  Burroughs influenced later science fiction stories.  For instance Star War’s Princess Leia owns a lot to Burrough’s Dejah Thoris. 

Men and Women

A woman is a human being who can get pregnant, bear live children and nurse them after birth.  A man is a human being who can impregnate a woman.  There are some men who wish they were women or think they are woman but I would merely call them men with delusions.   Likewise there are women who wish they were men or think they are men, but I would merely call them women with delusions.  It is beyond the capabilities of medicine to actually change a man into a woman or vice versa.  Attempts to do so can render the individual sterile or infertile, which can be a great sadness in later life.  I would call attempts to change a person’s sex by drugs or surgery to be medical malpractice, especially in the case of young persons.

   People with delusions about their sex are called “transsexuals” by some.  I will stick with calling them delusional. 

    I feel much of the talk about “transsexuals” comes from people who want another identity group to politic with.  We already have identity groups of whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and LGBTQs,  Adding “transsexuals”  expands the number of identity groups to politic with or for.

How do you tell when a Biden administration spokesperson is lying?

Ans.  When they talk about “Transition”.  “Transition” is the idea that the US economy can be made to run without using oil and gas.  Like magic Wind and Solar will pick up the load.  Yeah Right.  No way does wind or solar run my car or heat my house.  If we stop using oil and gas then we are back to the Hiawatha economy, no aircraft, no motor vehicles, no railroads, no central heating, no air conditioning, no fresh fruits or vegetables in winter, living in tepees and cooking over wood fires.  I get tired of camping out, especially during a New Hampshire winter.   

   In short, “transition” is extremely uncomfortable, and only works in the Deep South where you don’t get winter.  I don’t want it and no real voters want it.  Just because Administration spokespeople talk about it doesn’t mean it is going to happen. 

So who is gonna run for President??

 There are two answers, one for democrats one for Republicans. 

For the democrats anything goes.  Biden is saying he will run again but I think that is just talk to prevent him from becoming a lame duck early on.  As soon as Biden says he is not running in 2024 he becomes a lame duck, right then and there.  So far the only democrat who has expressed interest (he didn’t say he would run, he just sounded interested) is that Gary Somebody or Other from California.  Saints preserve us from a California democrat.  If the democrats have anyone else I have not heard.

 

The Republican have Donald Trump.  He is strong, a lot of people voted for him last time.  After a year and a half of Biden, Trump is looking pretty good.  One the other hand there are a lot of Never-Trumpers out there who won’t help.  And then we have Ron Desantis, Florida governor.  I know little about Desantis other than he got into a squabble with Disney a little while ago about that bill for parental rights, forbidding teaching about sex in grades three and below.  Actually had it been up to me, I would have made it grade 6 and below.  I am not sure just where parents stand on that bill. 

 

So, 2024 is up in the air as far as I can see right now. 

Biden says he would use US force to prevent Iran from getting nukes.

    Does anyone believe Biden?  I have my doubts that in the clutch Biden would order a couple of US armored divisions into Iran to do regime change.  I fear he would chicken out and back off.  What do you think the Iranians, the Russians, the Iraqis, the Saudis, the Israelis, and who ever else might care, think?  Would Biden have the stones to go thru with it?