I’m listening to The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathon Haidt. He is a social psychologist and what I’d call a public intellectual. His books are for a general audience and address the research relating to culture, moral and philosophy. I’m enjoying the book so far, and wanted to post some interesting ideas he presents.
What do people have against Monday mornings? The sun is shining, my coffee is hot and Sparky has Mr. Moose right where he wants him.
Sparky is distracted by some promising news. Chipmunks have been spotted operating near the house.
WSJ: Taylor Swift says to suck it up.
WSJ: Taylor Swift says to suck it up.
A clear sign hustle culture is coming back is how quickly America’s office set has glommed onto Swift’s upbeat dance hit, “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart,” released in April as part of her 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”
I don’t know or care about Taylor Swift, but if she is telling people to get to work, rather than wallow in sadness, I am all for it. Her message of resilience is much more appealing than the teachers taking a mental health day because they just can’t.
They can’t even finish the sentence to explain what is so untenable.
Being naturally lethargic, marijuana isn’t for me. Being naturally libertarian, I don’t care what other people do so long as it doesn’t ruin things for everyone else.
The “marijuana is good for everything and has no downsides” angle that shows up most in media sounds too much like propaganda. The Reefer Madness side isn’t convincing either.
A 2022 survey sponsored by the National Institutes of Health found that 28.8% of Americans age 19 to 30 had used marijuana in the preceding 30 days—more than three times as many as smoked cigarettes. Among those 35 to 50, 17.3% had used weed in the previous month, versus 12.2% for cigarettes.
Marijuana is everywhere. People should be a little more concerned.
For starters, she says, the “addiction potential of marijuana is as high or higher than some other drug,” especially for young people. About 30% of those who use cannabis have some degree of a use disorder. By comparison, only 13.5% of drinkers are estimated to be dependent on alcohol. Sure, alcohol can also cause harm if consumed in excess. But Ms. Madras sees several other distinctions.
Professor Madras sounds scientific, impartial and alarmed. I don’t know if she is correct, but more actual scientific research and informed policy would be prudent.
Instead of bankrolling ballot initiatives to legalize pot, she says, George Soros and other wealthy donors who “catalyzed this whole movement” should be funding rigorous research:
George Soros seems evil and only funds chaos in order to undermine civilization, so this is troubling. Maybe I’m wrong.
Guardian: Woman living in sign
Contractors curious about an extension cord on the roof of a Michigan grocery store made a startling discovery: a 34-year-old woman was living inside the business sign, with enough space for a computer, printer and coffee maker, police said.
I think about living in cubbyholes like this all the time.
The woman, whose name was not released, told police she had a job elsewhere but had been living inside the Family Fare sign for roughly a year, Warren said.
Living in a sign, a person could bank pretty good money. Get a Planet Fitness membership for $10 per month to shower, and it isn’t so bad.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama, NBA icon Lebron James and Olympic gold medal swimmer Michael Phelps were some of the blockbuster names recommended by students, staff and faculty for the Spring 2024 Ohio State commencement.
Those three guys have the national prominence and stature appropriate for a commencement speaker at the third largest university in the country. For the pedantic, I mean by student enrollment at a single campus.
The last Spring commencement speaker to be recommended by the advisory committee and be chosen in the same year was Apple CEO Tim Cook, who delivered the speech virtually in 2020.
The last university president was incompetent and had an agenda, so chose speakers who weren’t suggested by the advisory committee. All the speakers recommended by the advisory committee aren’t winners, but it’s a plausible list. I don’t know what Morgan Freeman would have to say, but it would sound terrific.
A friend’s daughter graduated from OSU last weekend, so we made it a camping trip to Alum Creek State Park. I didn’t attend commencement, but the graduate came out to the campground afterward.
I graduated from OSU a long time ago, and know it’s a big and tedious affair. It usually isn’t so bizarre. While the graduates were processing in, someone fell from the stadium and died. Some of the graduates saw it happen. That doesn’t usually happen.
Ohio State is a big and well-regarded university. Commencement speakers are occasionally important people, but they are always competent and boring. Not this year. When the graduate told me there were two sing-alongs, that clinched it.
The commencement speaker for Ohio State University’s graduation this past weekend admitted to being high on psychedelic drugs, including ayahuasca. It’s why his speech went quickly off the rails.
I asked the graduate if OSU’s president was a diversity hire. Clearly the speaker was a bad choice and the speech hadn’t been vetted. The graduate said, “No, the last president was, but this one is pretty good.”
Yesterday, OSU President Carter said that he had nothing to do with selecting Pan as the speaker and that the process was “underway before he became President.”
“I did not review his speech. I did not know what he really was going to speak about, and again, it wouldn’t matter because once he gets the microphone, he’s got the microphone. It was certainly an interesting speech. I would say very nontraditional. There were some that liked it and a lot that didn’t,” Carter added.
I like how OSU’s president doesn’t try to defend the speech and wants to be clear that he had nothing to do with it. He sounds competent.
President Biden may not be on the ballot in Ohio, and it isn’t easy to find unbiased reporting on this significant issue.
TL: DR: In Ohio, there is a law that presidential nominees must be submitted 90 days before the election to be on the ballot. Democrats screwed up, so Biden won’t be on the ballot unless something is done really soon. Ohio Republicans have to pass a waiver today, or the Ohio Democrats will have to figure this out on their own.
Unfrosted was written and directed by Jerry Seinfeld and is currently playing on Netflix. The movie is set in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1963 and provides a fictional account of the development of the Pop Tart. It shouldn’t be watched by anyone born after 1963.
On IMDB, Unfrosted isn’t rated highly, because it’s a tricky movie to categorize. It isn’t a satire or a parody, or even especially funny, but it is fun to watch, for people born before 1963. Imagine an episode of Seinfeld where Jerry and George have to explain how Pop Tarts were invented to Kramer. Jerry and George make up an elaborate tale while Kramer asks questions about superfluous details.
It’s hard to imagine how this movie was made. The cereal companies, Kellogg and Post, are in a race to develop a new breakfast product. Both companies and their actual products are mentioned dozens of times. Neither company is portrayed favorably, but it’s clear that everything is fictional except for the details. The details are what make the movie fun. Characters, products and music are all from the era, and familiar to people of a certain vintage. It isn’t nostalgia, because the story is absurd, but it’s entertaining to hear a bunch of shout-outs and references that we understand.
This is a pop culture movie that covers two eras. I’ve never seen Jack Lalanne referenced in any contemporary TV show or movie, but people of a certain will enjoy the shout-out. I also liked seeing Bill Burr play JFK. It seemed like every actor was recognizable from a TV show or movie.
Unfrosted isn’t a great movie, but for people eligible for Social Security, it’s a comfort movie. There is no strong language or message, just the joy of watching familiar actors playing long-gone characters to a good soundtrack. I’d give it a 9/10 for what it is.
Friends invited me to attend a talk by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, last night, at the State Theater. Our group represented half of North Royalton High School’s Science Department. The half that attends a lecture by an astrophysicist is the same half that is actively disdained by the high school administration. Two of us retired early, one is retiring in a month, one is engaged in a district dispute due to unfair treatment by the principal and one was passed over for department chair so an administration shill could be installed.
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