Time Magazine chose Donald Trump as the 2024 Person of the Year. Time explains that they choose the most consequential person, not their favorite person. For people who aren’t a fan of Donald Trump, note that Hitler and Putin have also been featured.
Mysterious drones over New Jersey
More than three weeks after dozens of mysterious drones began popping up in the New Jersey night sky, the public has still been offered no clear insight on what the phenomenon could be.
This is a huge story that reveals that corporate media and the federal government have failed. Finding the whole story is difficult, so I’ll pull from a few reports.
College Fix: Race-based programs at Ohio law schools
Five public law schools in Ohio are ending their scholarships and programs based on race following a conservative think tank’s investigation.
The Buckeye Institute, based in Columbus, Ohio, launched the investigation this year into five law schools at Ohio State University, Cleveland State University, University of Akron, University of Cincinnati, and University of Toledo.
It’s great that the Buckeye Institute got law schools to drop racist programs, but why did those programs even exist? Ohio has a Department of Higher Education intended to advise the governor and General Assembly on higher education issues. What have they been doing?
Ohio has a Republican governor with a General Assembly that looks like this:
If Ohio can’t address divisive progressive policies and eliminate DEI in state universities, then what are Republicans even good for?
Sparky and I are watching Isle of Dogs from 2018. We are enjoying it, but it may not be for everyone. Being directed by Wes Anderson would be quirky enough, but it’s filmed in stop motion animation. It looks like an indie film, but has loads of voice talent. The dogs are voiced by Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray , Yoko Ono, and others.
A corrupt government wants to get rid of all the dogs in the city. To get citizen support, a government bio lab spreads snout fever and dog flu. All dogs are confiscated and transferred to Trash Island. A 12 year-old boy won’t stand for it, and flies to Trash Island to rescue his dog. He faces danger and struggle, but won’t stop until he finds Spot.
It’s a poignant movie about loyalty and friendship. Sparky and I were having a moment when I told him that I would always come looking for him, no matter what. Sparky wanted to hear more about Trash Island. He wanted to know if dogs could eat garbage whenever they wanted, and did I think there were raccoons there.
I don’t know how I’d rate Isle of Dogs since it’s so stylized. I liked it, so 8/10, but many people wouldn’t enjoy it.
If Sparky was a SAG member, he’d be the Billy Bob Thornton of dog actors.
Billy Bob Thornton has a great range.
Sparky can do that.
We need you to be a greyhound or one of those skinny runners.
Can you do a thoughtful St. Bernard or one of those softball thick kind of dogs?
You’re a vampire, ready to strike.
The doctor says, “Say, ahhhhh.”
Give me inscrutable Asian dog.
Sparky can go all day.
On our walk yesterday, I tricked Sparky into taking the path through the woods. Instead of going over the land bridge and through the orchard, we did a parking lot walk, then into the woods. We didn’t get far before we came upon what looks like coyote scat on the path. Sparky checked it out, and noped out of there. It looked pretty fresh.
Coyote scat photo from the NY State Parks Department.
In July, Sparky chased a coyote. In November, I started thinking that Sparky was concerned about something in the woods, then a week later, saw the coyote on the highway side of the fence.
If the coyote stays around, I may have to do something about it.
Mary and I visited the Notre Dame cathedral in 1991, back when you could still do fun stuff like hang from the clapper of a giant bell.
Our tour guide was impressive. He switched from English to German to French so smoothly, often in the same sentence, that everyone could follow what he was saying without having to repeat himself.
Converting malls to apartments should be easier than it is, and living there should be better than it seems to be.
Sparky likes to say that old dogs don’t need new tricks, because they’ve got plenty of tricks up their sleeves.
Tonight, Sparky proved it. It’s game over, man. I don’t care how clever your dog seems, Sparky has them all beat. [I’m only counting dogs IRL, not those tricky dogs on Youtube.]
It was like watching Penn and Teller. You’re looking right at them, and you didn’t even know a trick was happening, much less how it was done.
Sparky pooped on top of a snow ball.
Dogs leave messages through smells. Poop is typing in all caps. Sparky pooped up on top of a snow ball because he’s a boss.
Don’t be dismissive, and consider this to be a futile gesture because the snow ball will melt. Dogs don’t understand phase change. That would be missing the point.
I don’t know how he did it and I was looking right at him. Sparky and I have a mutual agreement not to watch each other poop, but it looked like he was just standing there. He was backed up to the snow ball, and what I thought was his tail, wasn’t. It was evening, but not so dark that a flashlight was needed to walk around.
When he walked away, I realized what happened. Thinking quickly, I included my boot in the photo for scale. A short time later, I took the photo at the top for reference. The top of the snow ball looks to be at the same height or above Sparky’s butt.
Sparky doesn’t poop haphazardly. This was intentional and done subtly. I’m impressed.
It’s tricky recommending Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but that’s a shame, because it’s a great TV show.
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