The elegant simplicity of the three per cents. (Note: “The three per cents” (or “Three Per Cents”) was the common name for Britain’s consolidated annuities—perpetual
What is called artificial intelligence or more specifically LLMs (Large Language Models) that can generate images and even video directly from text (Generative AI) is
Of course in Canada they may be able to jail hockey players for not wearing the ribbon. They have even fewer rights up there than we do. But maybe, just maybe we have reached maximum pride. Perhaps the drum beat of adulation for people whose identity is based on being sexually abnormal has crested and now we can start getting back to celebrating functional and normal things, like people raising families where the “gender” of the children isn’t a mystery and a medical problem.
Most of the Media are blaming the victims and excusing the psychopath who gunned down nine year old children. Well, here’s an essay that takes the opposite tack and places the blame squarely on the killer and the elements in society that attempt to portray transgender identity as normal and healthy.
I find I agree with the author on many points. “Affirming” irrational and dangerous ideas about ourselves and others is madness and leads to destructive and even criminal behavior. These people are delusional and desperate to force everyone around them to agree with their madness. That is how you end up with a young woman who thinks she’s a man murdering children in a religious school in order to get attention to her plight and commit suicide by cop in order to end her own miserable existence.
I listened to a report from Andy Ngo who stated that the violent ANTIFA radicals had as much as 20% transgendered or similar gender dysphoric individuals amongst their ranks. These are hopelessly confused people who are a danger to themselves and those around them. They need to be prevented from working with children and states need to provide resources for parents to make sure they know what kind of people are being employed around their children.
Matt Taibbi is testifying before the House sub-committee on the weaponization of the federal government. And what better proof of the existence of this problem than the IRS picking this time to show up at Taibbi’s house in person to confront him on his possible problems with his taxes?
Well, at least you can’t claim that the IRS doesn’t have a sense of humor. It’s a morbid sense of humor but obviously heart felt. You see? These folks don’t work clandestinely they are openly contemptuous of any attempt to rein in their abuses.
I’d heard a good deal about this movie from a friend of mine who was of old Yankee blood and a sailor. I finally got a chance to see it last week.
(Spoiler Alert – Skip down to last paragraph to avoid spoilers and read recommendation)
The story follows the adventures of the crew of the HMS Surprise during the Napoleonic Wars as its captain, Jack Aubrey, (played by Russell Crowe) chases a French privateer, the heavy frigate Acheron, from the coastal waters of Brazil, around the Cape Horn and into the tropical waters of the Pacific.
Because the Acheron has a much more substantial hull the Surprise is heavily damaged during their first engagement off Brazil while the Acheron is virtually undamaged. Aubrey foregoes a lengthy refitting in port and instead makes hasty repairs at sea while doing his best to pursue the Acheron. But because of the Acheron’s superior battle capability it becomes a cat and mouse game where the Surprise is sometimes the pursued.
And while all this goes on, we meet the rest of the crew. The ship’s surgeon, Stephen Maturin is played by Paul Bettany. The doctor not only can saw off a midshipman’s arm as needed but he’s also the captain’s accompanist in their musical string duo. I kid you not. The crew and the officers have a complicated relationship with strict discipline and primitive superstition both playing a part.
Eventually through luck and guile Aubrey engineers the attack on the Acheron and we get an epic sea battle with the Surprise’s crew boarding the Acheron. And the Surprise is victorious and captain and crew prepare for the business of bringing the captured Acheron to port.
So, what’s the story with this movie? Why do some people rave about it? The first thing I noticed was that the movie successfully captured the claustrophobic crowdedness of these sailing ships. You can feel the lack of air in the hold where the crew sleeps cheek to jowl. It feels real. Less like Hollywood’s version of the 19th century English navy. Right down to some of the midshipman being essentially boys of twelve years or so. Then there’s Russell Crowe’s portrayal of Aubrey. Crowe is a damn good actor. He makes the captain a real figure. You can believe in him. And Aubrey and Maturin’s friendship and clashes also ring true. The man of action and the man of science confronting their conflicting priorities as best they can. And lastly, the battle scenes are very well done and highly exciting. The only part of the story that I had trouble with was the final battle. The boarding scene was intentionally chaotic. Such an event would have to be. But honestly at many points I couldn’t tell which side was doing what to whom. It didn’t ruin the film but I thought it could have been a little less indecipherable. I enjoyed the movie and would recommend it to lovers of adventure and students of history.
