Kamala’s Mysterious Promise

Right? It’s like her account was hacked by some other Kamala who isn’t in the WH right now and hasn’t been the vice-president for years.

That there are still people who want to vote for this will never be not funny.

Also:


As Vice President, there wasn’t a single thing that I did that she couldn’t do and so I was able to delegate her responsibility on everything from foreign policy to domestic policy.

Joe Biden, 9/25/2024

Just in case people begin to argue that Biden didn’t let her do all this fantastic stuff.

Voting in Canada

In Canada, young people went overwhelmingly conservative after observing the Left in power:

It’s going to be really funny when only the most irredeemable oldsters vote liberal (or far-left, which is the NDP).

Family Art

We went to an art fair today. I bought this piece:

Loved it at first sight.

Klara chose these little plants made out of Japanese clay:

The funny thing is that the artists who made these very different products turned out to be husband and wife.

Trump and Zelensky

After all the bluster and unpleasantness, somebody persuaded Trump to meet with Zelensky and make nice. Trump had the perfect reason not to that even I would respect. But the meeting still took place.

I’ve noticed a long time ago that there’s somebody very pro-Ukrainian close to Trump and that person has influence. I’m fascinated to know who that is and what his endgame and reach might be. We know the name of Trump’s pro-Israel pressure point but who is the engineer of the pro-Ukraine bent?

I’m also glad that Zelensky chose not to reveal the real war plan to the Biden administration. It’s useless, as we’ve seen many times, and often counterproductive. Also, we are all seeing how Israel, the developed country that is holding on to the nation-state model more strongly than any other, is achieving massive victories. It’s way too early to hold the funeral for the nation-state.

Creamy Coleslaw

After 17 years of a very intense relationship, I discovered that N shares my love for creamy coleslaw. Why this never came up until now is a mystery. I’m off to the store to buy a tub.

Uncontrolled Migration

“Released” means “released into our country.” This is the inevitable consequence of processing immigration cases of illegal migrants on the territory of the US. There is simply no money and space to keep all border crossers locked up while their applications get processed. So they are allowed to roam around freely while they wait in line for their case to be heard.

We hear about immigration a lot these days but one thing we never hear is that this problem could be solved cheaply and immediately by simply not processing any of these immigration applications inside the country. Let’s take a break from the joys of political partisanship that are costing us everything and ask, “why does nobody even mention this possibility?”

The election is a month away. If there is ever a time for us to get something we want is now. But we’ll get nothing whatsoever besides the feeling of being part of a team. These teams are an utter and complete fiction used as a pacifier to keep us on mute while we are being dispossessed. But we embrace the lie, so whose fault is it? The politicians simply pursue their rational self-interest. We are the ones who don’t.

Robert Glenister

There’s an actor called Robert Glenister. I’ve never seen him in anything but he narrates the audio versions of all the Cormoran Strike novels by JK Rowling. He’s incredibly talented. These novels are 1,000-page doorstoppers with a large cast of characters each. Glenister makes every character sound distinct. He makes women sound female. JK Rowling loves regional accents, and he does every one. He switches between all the voices so easily and integrates all of the “side Irene with a scoff” or “Matt sighed” into how the characters speak.

An unbelievably talented actor. I’ve listened to a few audiobooks where a talentless actress murdered the story, and JK Rowling books are much more complicated. They’d be easy to mess up. Glenister, though, really brings them to life.

It’s very enjoyable to see people who are excellent at what they do.

Q&A about Menopause

Everybody is different, of course, but I have a friend who just turned 75, and it’s still going strong for her. It’s kind of getting tedious, to be honest, because we can barely settle down at a restaurant before she starts hitting on everything that moves. I feel like an exasperated mother of a flirty teenager around her. 

This is not the same 75-year-old friend who’s gotten romantic with a 26-year-old handyman. These are different people. Sexuality isn’t tied to fertility, as I said before. One of these women has 5 grown children. The other never had any.

Yes, I love hanging out with friends in their seventies. They are fun.

So, I guess, once it switches on, it doesn’t need to go off.

Book Notes: Victoria Kielland’s My Men

I’m very conflicted about this novel by the young Norwegian writer Victoria Kielland. It’s beautifully written. Kielland is a major talent. At only 39, she delivered a seriously impressive work of art.

However, there is something that is giving me serious creeps about My Men. It’s based on the life and experiences of the first known female serial killer in the US, Belle Gunness. And it’s not just loosely based or vaguely inspired. The main character is called Belle Gunness, and all the relatives and victims and events are like those of the real Belle.

I’m probably a major prude but I can’t get over it. Imagine if somebody wrote a novel about Ted Bundy, portraying him as this sad, tender, wounded, misunderstood victim who didn’t really want to murder anybody but he was kind of provoked into it against his will. We’d all be repulsed. But then why is it less repulsive to romanticize a woman who chopped up a couple dozen men and children all over the Midwest?

As I said, brilliantly written, major talent. And I do understand that Kielland is trying to show that even the worst piece of garbage evildoer perceives herself as a long-suffering, sweet little lamb. I get it. But I can’t get over, this bitch left behind a pile of corpses and you are making it sound cute? I’m probably a bad literary critic if I can’t place myself completely above these mundane considerations and value art above all. It is what it is, though. I loved the writing but quite hated the book.

The Why of amor in Un Amor

Here’s a question for those who are reading Un amor.

Why does Nat fall in love with Andreas? What makes her so attached to him?