Depending on how Online you are, this may surprise you:
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That's a Scottish news site. Nothing on the BBC, either. Scottish Daily Express and Scottish Sun have the story. My favorite paper, the Telegraph, has nothing on the feed. |
I was watching a video that talked to Brits about the US, and what a rubbish place it was, they'd ever go, it's a dump, no health care. And then came a video that had UK citizens coming to the US and being astonished, because it was either A) exactly what they hoped and better, or B) they had no idea what it was really like.
I'll bet if you ask the people who know the Dundee Knife Girl story what they think of the UK, the response would be: stabby migrant hellhole. Not to minimize that issue, at all, but it's all a reminder of how social media amplifies and concentrates. As I've said for oh, two decades now: non-contiguous information streams are the bane of our discourse.
It’s been a while since we looked at the half-off rack, our occasional tour of product failures.
I’m guessing this coffee didn’t go over well.
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I wonder why. “Coffee Shop” may not have flipped enough switches. Yes, I guess you can get coffee at a coffee shop, and it tastes like coffee shop coffee. Which is? Dark roast? Light? Are they retrying to get in on the “Donut Shop” flavor idea some others have, which is supposed to make you think of Dunkin’? Or is Hill Brothers just too . . . basic in the public’s mind, so the idea of “whole bean” isn’t impressive? | |
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" | "Hot Pringles" sounds like a mild oath of surprise or anticipation. Hot Pringles are we gonna get some action tonight Again with the BBQ. I suppose it means “savory” or something like that. Didn’t sell well in suburban Minnesota. |
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Oh Lord no I have an automatic reaction to anything that is not Cinnamon Toast Crunch but displays the branding of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and insists it conveys the Cinnamon Toast Crunch flavor experience. There has to be a tablespoon of sugar packed into those things. |
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Cream Soup Downturn! Could it be a leading economic indicator? Just too heavy for summer? |
As long as we’re at the grocery store, let’s examine the range of ice cream packaging. It’s a wildly disparate genre. We start at the top.
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You know you’re paying $8.99 for this. Bespoke and hand-crafted, with a traditional look. Status flattering. Attractive. |
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Haagan-Daaz has been junky for years. They’re going for upscale, of course, but the pints now look cluttered and literal. |
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And here we have an uninspiring muddle-jumble. Glad they put a picture of ice cream on the label, though; contents would be a complete mystery otherwise. Premium Quality! Had to add that little flag, lest anyone wonder why you're paying more. |
Speaking of ice cream: it's a race to finish up the 50s site Ice Cream section before summer ends, because it just seems apt. Then we're off to the other decades.
At this rate I won't get the whole 50s site up until 2028. Seriously. And I haven't even started releasing the 90s site. But the year is young!
Actually, no, it's feeling a twinge in its back when it rises in the morn.
It’s 1930.
To my horror and suprise I find nothing finished for this week in the folder. I was supposed to have carved this up and written the text a year ago. Appalling. Well, let's make it up on the fly, then.
Everything I have is from May, and I try to match the month, at least. Let me crank up the machinery to see what was going on in August . . . oh. Big news, apparently.
The deposed:
Augusto Bernardino Leguía y Salcedo (19 February 1863 – 6 February 1932)was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru from 1908 to 1912 and from 1919 to 1930, the latter term known as the "Oncenio" after its eleven-year length.
Leguia was charged with crimes, of course, and died in captivity. The guy who overthrew him was assassinated in office in 1933.
Let's head to the opinion page.
I will be haunted by Elephant Tree for some time.
This, I know, is a lot. But it's interesting. To me, anyway.
Ur, of course, is the ancient city in Iraq. The Google AI reply saits "Beisan" is a Palestinian town with significant historical and archeological importance," and notes that it is in "modern-day Israel."
The link to the part about the town being "Palestinian" goes to an article from 1924. Meanings do shift from decade to decade.
The editorial goes on:
Mind you, this is 1930. You guys ain't seen nothin' yet.
Within living memory the great and baleful change was made:
I still feel as if it is some of my business.
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Quotes of the day. Silent Cal, wise as usual. As for Mencken, well, typical. | |
The editorial page ran a comic, Skippy. I think we've talked about this here before - scratchy quick improv style, cartoonist a raging alky, etc.
About the same time, a California food packer, Joseph Rosefield, began to sell his newly developed hydrogenated peanut butter, which he labeled "Skippy" without Crosby's permission. Years of expensive litigation followed, which Crosby's heirs have continued into the 2000s.
His finances, dire due to tax claims, the divorce settlement, legal fees, and alimony, Crosby sold Ridgelawn for a fraction of its value; his 1,500-acre farm and other Virginia real-estate were awarded to his second wife. His beloved strip Skippy suffered; as his biographer, Jerry Robinson, wrote:
The occasional diatribes in the Skippy strip became more frequent, more surreal. Some days were almost solid dialogue. In the past, Crosby had been able to move from one discipline to another—painting, writing, cartooning, and politics. Now, under extreme mental stress, the boundaries became blurred, and one intruded into the other to the detriment of all. … [A]fter long negotiations, Crosby and King Features were unable to agree on a new contract. On December 8, 1945, Crosby's fifty-fourth birthday, Skippy, aged twenty, died.
Crosby spent the last years of his life in Bellevue.
That will do for today. More ice cream in the 50s section, and outtakes for subscribers at the Substack. Thanks for dropping by! See you around.
