Friends, Romans, Countrymen; Lend Me Your Ears

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Mark Antony’s eulogy of Julius Caesar.  Everyone has heard the first few words.  They’re in my title.  But have you ever watched a dramatization?  Many years ago I saw a small production in the Berkshires.  And in its bare bones presentation; no fancy costumes or sets, it was well done.  But I do not remember Antony’s speech impressing me.

Here are three versions.  Two are Hollywood spectacles.  One with Marlon Brando and one with Charlton Heston.  The third is a solo recitation.  See if you can guess which one I favor.  And I’ll give those who care to watch them a chance to provide their own judgement on which is best.  Lend me your ears.

 

 

Which Version of Mark Antony's Speech is Best?

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Import – Export

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I open up Word and stare at the white space and wonder, “What the hell can I write at midnight?” But there is always something to say (or write, or whatever I do) and I might as well find out what is lurking in my subconscious. The news is all over the place

Today there was a shooting on the NYC subway. Someone was shot in the head. Now this is just days after the wholly useless Governess of New York State Kathy Hochul sent the National Guard into the subway to stop the homeless from assaulting and murdering the straphangers. So, my first thought was, did a National Guardsman shoot a perp? I thought, “Nah. They probably weren’t given bullets.” Then I thought, “Maybe one of the gangbangers shot a Guardsman!” Now that seemed much more likely.
But honestly when all is said and done it was probably just gangs shooting at each other. So, all’s right with the world. Or, mission accomplished or whatever. After all, Haiti has just lowered the bar for everyone in the Western Hemisphere. If your gangsters aren’t butchering, roasting and eating their rivals then all you’re dealing with are “first world problems.” And in fact, just to show Haiti that the challenge has been accepted, Mayor Adams of New York proudly claimed that New York City is considered the Port au Prince of America. Now that’s remarkable. Port au Prince has always been a paragon of dysfunction. Back in Hait’s glory days in the 1970s there were two thriving industries that went on in Port au Prince. They had a brisk export business in medical cadavers and human blood.
Now considering that Haiti had a real problem with AIDS I’m guessing the blood business went bust. I’m guessing the cadavers were also impacted by the AIDS problem. After all, how many future doctors wanting to be dipping their hands in AIDS virus? So that’s probably why things have gone awry down in the New York City of the Caribbean. But now that powerful anti-viral drugs are all the rage, I think it’s time for all this discriminatory behavior by Americans to end and restore the trade lifeline that Haiti needs so badly.
That’s right. Haiti can now offer a new product line. Instead of medical cadavers they can provide a better option for all of those dearly departed that are cluttering up the streets of Port au Prince. Haitian Strongman Jimmy Chérizier, can bring his culinary skills to the fore and share his barbecue recipes with the right businessmen and begin exporting a whole line of smoked and cured Haitians to the US.
I mean can’t you just see it? Of course, everything will be most tastefully and delicately handled. Nothing recognizably human will be seen. No heads or hands or feet. Just meat on the bone or fillet. Why, what a perfect way for Americans to support Haiti in its hour of need. And some entrepreneurial Haitians could even emigrate up to New York and open up some barbecue joints in Manhattan. And if supply of prime Haitian runs low, I’m sure the subway shooters could provide some Northern barbecue meat in the meantime.
I always joked about cannibalism breaking out in America. I guess I was just slightly ahead of my time.
There. There’s my post.

ZMan’s Farewell Tribute to Baltimore

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In ZMan’s parlance Baltimore is Lagos on the Chesapeake.  And today he wrote his swan song to residency in that troubled urban hell.  He moved to the country.

Missing Lagos

Now he jokingly titled it “Missing Lagos.”  But in a real way, he is feeling a loss.  Obviously the overwhelming emotion you feel when you escape a hellhole like Baltimore is relief.  All of the large and small problems and even existential dangers are essentially gone.  And with them goes the tension and stress that takes a continuous toll on your body and mind.

But you can’t live somewhere for decades without it becoming a part of you.  Leaving it produces something like that “phantom limb” experience that amputees experience.  There’s a feeling that something isn’t right.  Of course that eventually subsides but never entirely disappears.  I remember when I moved out of New York City.  It took me months to get used to the sound of frogs and crickets.  It took me a couple of years to stop locking all the car doors.

But reading his account which was mostly disparagement of the dysfunctional residents of his former residence, I could still detect a certain pride in being a member of a club.  The pride is that he has proven that he can survive and even thrive in a war zone.  It’s an odd kind of a badge but a real one none the less.

Congratulations on your escape ZMan.  Enjoy the crickets.  They’re very soothing.

Macron Panics the French Military with Talk of Boots on the Ground

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Emmanuel Macron has as much as declared that France would be putting troops into Ukraine.  This provoked a firestorm in the French defense establishment.

“What happened to the president when he considered sending troops to Ukraine? Several confidential defense reports explain the “panic” at the Élysée, where party leaders are invited this Thursday, March 7, to discuss the issue. On the front, the Russians are in a position of strength. However, was it necessary, in the face of Putin, to brandish an untenable threat?”

Now whether this threat was with or without American support is less clear.

“By not ruling out sending troops to Ukraine , Emmanuel Macron caused an outcry in Europe and received American disavowal. Several French soldiers, interviewed by Marianne, say they “fell out of the closet” . “We must make no mistake, facing the Russians, we are an army of cheerleaders!, mocks a senior officer, convinced that “sending French troops” to the Ukrainian front would simply be “not reasonable””

It sounds like the West is trying to convince Ukraine that they can frighten Russia into some kind of deal or at least a cease-fire while the hope for more American aid is on hold in Congress.  The only problem is that talk of sending American troops into Ukraine would finish off Joe Biden’s hopes of re-election even with the assistance of massive voter fraud.  The Millennials and Zoomers would not like the army.  Too many micro-aggressions during a shooting war.

Guest Contributor – TomD – 13MAR2024 – Astrophysics Reconsidered

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Tom | Flickr

TomD

Thought you’d like this quote from: https://www.yahoo.com/news/may-misunderstood-universe-nobel-prize-213014590.html

For a long time, scientists believed they understood how fast the universe is growing — but the more they learn, those theories seem to be expanding as fast as the universe itself.
Basically, the “Hubble constant” measures the speed at which the universe is expanding. The only problem? Different instruments keep providing different values for it, giving rise to what’s known as the “Hubble tension.”
It raises an interesting possibility: that, as Nobel Prize-winning physicist Adam Riess explains in a NASA blog, much of what we thought we knew about the universe may have been wrong.

No fooling!