Uncle Tom’s Cabaña, An MGM Cartoon directed by Fred “Tex” Avery, released July 19, 1947. That was 80 years after the Civil War, and it’s been 70 years since then! Politically correct this cartoon is not. Little Eva, played by Red Hot Riding Hood, was animated by Preston Blair.
This post’s alternate title is, “Trump the Real Estate Mogul.” 😉
After the latest school shooting that has so far left ten people dead, saying “responsible gun owner” is no longer acceptable. Saying “law-abiding gun owner” is okay, if no federal or local laws have been broken, but don’t say “responsible.” Who defines what is considered acting responsibly?
The NRA’s definition of a responsible gun owner would undoubtedly include making sure that a teenage son has access to, and knows how to handle, the weapons that are in the house. In this case it’s a teenage son who was rejected by a girl he likes in school, which was apparently at least one of the triggers for the tragedy in Texas.
At the end of the 10th grade I was rejected rather cruelly by a girl I was crazy about. I felt extremely humiliated — her friends laughed at me — and I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Or at least stay in bed for the rest of my life. At no time did I consider committing any sort of act of violence, but what about a kid who does experience that compulsion? A kid like that should not have access to guns. A responsible father would realize that his son has adjustment problems, and take reasonable measures to prevent him from getting hold of a weapon.
In the context of a mass school shooting, are a teenage boy’s feelings of loneliness and rejection going to be categorized as a mental illness? If you’re a boy, and you aren’t a good-looking jock — especially in a place like Texas — you’re going to have trouble fitting in, let alone being at all popular. Adults likewise experience personal failures — job loss, for example — and they get drunk, etc., and do stupid things, one of them being picking up a gun. There are any number of reasons why someone who is otherwise considered normal, and who has easy access to a gun, might use it.
The NRA’s argument that “the more guns the better” is simply ludicrous. More guns = more shooting. Duh.
An oversupply of guns, and easy access to them — helped by a lack of meaningful regulation — is the problem. The only way the NRA will agree to compromising its position is if it sees a serious possibility of gun ownership becoming a privilege, rather than a right. And why should we be listening to the NRA anyway? It’s not a government agency, it’s a lobbying group.
Playing around again with posting my own video. Not trying for HD rips or anything fancy. Just want the ability to post an occasional clip of my own choosing when it isn’t conveniently available elsewhere, and to do it as cheaply as possible. Which means not buying an expensive video editing suite. This time around I wanted to see if I could get the 16:9 aspect ratio working.
Joshua knows his Beatles!
John Oliver as Paul McCartney, the equivalent role that Eric Idle played in The Rutles. Further proof that Oliver is, as I have always suspected, Idle’s bastard son!
I missed getting this post done in time for Mother’s Day, but here it is anyway. The “double A-side” single “Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane” was a familiar sound in my house in 1967. Not only was it played frequently on Musicradio 77WABC, one of my sisters had the record. The world had changed quite a lot in the short three years since the Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show!
One time when I was playing the record (without permission), my mother stopped and listened. Then she said, “This is the most original and creative music I have ever heard.” Her offhand comment has always stayed with me as a favorite memory. Six months later she threw out my comic books, which is my least favorite memory!
Audio from the original Capitol mono single that my mother heard is below, followed by the restored music videos that were released in HD a couple of years ago.
Here’s something to consider. This is the Strawberry Field Manor that was a fixture for John Lennon when growing up.
Thanks to his Aunt Mimi taking him in after he was abandoned by his parents, John did not have to live there, as it was an orphanage that began accepting boys in the 1950’s. Here is the Dakota Building, where John spent his final years, and where Yoko still lives.
Betty or Veronica?
Mary Ann or Ginger?
Anni-Frid or Agnetha?
Kate or Cindy?
Kristel or Karen?
But like the Scarecrow said…
