R.J. is enjoying time with his family, as I hope everyone here is. I share here now a movie based on a book series that is very dear to me, this is the penultimate story of the Death cycle (my second favorite, Vimes and the Watch reign supreme).
So tonight, I present Hogfather. In a world where the planet is a disc carried on the back of four elephants on the back of a giant turtle (the great A’tuin) and things are a twisted fantasy reflection of Earth, the Auditors of Reality have a plan to destroy humanity. This starts with an assault on the Hogfather (their version of Santa Claus), Death (mortal enemy of the Auditors) takes his place to keep humanity alive. It contains something that hits me to this day:
“All right,” said Susan. “I’m not stupid. You’re saying humans need… fantasies to make life bearable.”
Hogfather – Terry Pratchett
REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.
“Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little—”
YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.
“So we can believe the big ones?”
YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.
“They’re not the same at all!”
YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET—Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME…SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED.
“Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what’s the point—”
MY POINT EXACTLY.
I want to believe in the big lies.
Merry Christmas you miserable bastards, I love you all.
I will First on yet another non-RJ movie post, but I won’t be happy about it.
Where yinz cunts at?
Accidentally opening the WSJ.
Merry Christmas, here is your present of high explosives.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-announces-christmas-day-strike-against-isis-in-nigeria-5881a344?st=jVfy8H&reflink=article_copyURL_share
Have we ever been at war with Africans? North African skirmishes were with Germans and maybe Italians.
Leave no continent untouched, Greenland, we’re looking at you, even if you’re not a real continent.
Somalia. But “military action”.
Great song Neph,
Cheers!
Thanks Neph!
I’ll queue this up for later viewing.
I got a new pistol today. Neener, Neener.
Merry Christmas to you!
I think I am literally the only one on my team working tomorrow. Even the Eastern Europe consultant bunch won’t be around. Maybe I will accomplish something useful.
We should play BlackJack on the GlibZoom.
That’s useful!
My goodness the teevee is thicker with starving dogs and sick kids commercials than usual this year.
When combined? Those two kinda take care of themselves.
*shrug*
Tried to zoom.
Not enough signal here. Indians must have cut the telegraph wires again.
You mean “Guardians”.
You will respect Brother Fish, or else.
I have no idea what this means. Party on.
I just want to point out for Straff and Pope Jimbo that the Packers clinched a playoff birth today without playing because the Vikings beat the Lions. Good job getting your hated rivals into the playoffs before you even play the 2nd game against them. Maybe Green Bay with rest some players and the McCarthyists will be able to win a meaningless game to end the season.
Nobody is dumb enough to try and cross this raging river that has overtaken this California road, right?
Right?
https://x.com/TheKevinDalton/status/2004422899088916492
I mean if you bought a truck and never really got to use it it can be tempting
I expected more drama, tbh.
I was expecting the jeep to try it.
Europe has Rosie O’Donnell. ’nuff said.
lol wtf
Fetches coffee
Stefan MNL 🇪🇺
@stefan_mnl
Why is Europe better than the United States?
Uhh well,
Europe has a welfare system.
Europe has free higher education
Europe has great public transport.
Europe has a higher life expectancy.
Europe has a much lower cost of living.
Europe has good and cheap healthcare.
Europe has a much higher standard of quality of life than the US in almost every measurable category.
So…how exactly are Americans more “free” than Europeans
https://x.com/stefan_mnl/status/2004180904927797296
Also much better christmas food and superior plum brandy
It’s a war torn shit hole. Sorry Pie. That’s why my grandmother’s generation fled from it.
Which is bankrupting the countries through punitive taxation to the point where it is about to collapse.
For a small number of people, most cannot get in as there are a limited number of spaces.
How is public transport a positive?
Statistical shennanigans and a more homogenous population already inclined towards longevity. Do a breakdown ethnicity sometime.
You must be ignoring taxes and prices, and what you get your your monpoly money.
Europe has good and cheap healthcare.Bull fucking shit. It has expensive healthcare paid for somewhere other than the point of consumption, and people opt out of the “free” system when they can afford to because it provides lesser outcomes after longer waitlists.
What are you measuring, because it sounds like you’re only measuring “How much of a communist death camp is it?” rather than actual quality of life metrics. You have people getting arrested for insulting people who violently attacked them. You are unfree to defend yourselves, unfree to speak, unfree to hold an unapprove opinion, unfree to move, unfree to live.
Don’t forget the rape gangs!
You’re right, I didn’t mention all the cultural enrichment.
Happy Friday everyone!
Good morning, Ted’S., U, R C, Sean, rhy, homey, and (((Jarf, and good afternoon, Pie!
Mornin’.
How are you today, rhy?
How goes?
It goes OK. Had a quiet day at home yesterday. I’ll need to get out to run some errands later today, but in the meantime, Ninja Cat just realized I was up and sitting here with a heretofore unoccupied lap. 🙄🐱👤
Are you feeling a little more with it after some breakfast?
*scritches*
I’m feeling okay.
But every place I care about is closed today around here, so I can’t run errands.
Mornin
Happy Kwanzaa, bitches!
😧🎄🤦♂️
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCN7XaWHUyU
🎶🎶
I don’t celebrate holidays made up by racist commies in the 1960s.
suh’ fam
yo whats goody
TALL KWANZAA CANS!
I am out of it this morning.
I start by making my first comment on the wrong article. Then I try to open my car with my house key. Then when I reach the office, I forgot to put the car in park before trying to turn it off.
Today is off to a great start.
Dr. Tres prescribes caffeine. Or just turn around and go back to bed.
I’m in my office, I’m better off staying here for a while than trying to get back to bed.
Did you at least get a good breakfast?
I’m in the middle of eating it now.
Someone stole my office bottle of hand lotion.
With the soap here and the 16% humidity, I need that to keep my hands from bleeding.
Who the fuck does that?
I know it’s not the janitors, they never clean this place, and they empty the trash cans in the middle of the workday.
Government does it.
Someone with a pressing need to rub one out on the NY State clock.
Taxation is, after all, theft.
har dee har har har.
/unamused
“In a world where . . .”
I read the rest of that in Movie Trailer Guy Voice.