Random Thoughts: Aquaman and Student Debt

The low charitable givings actually helps Democratic candidates. Giving your money away voluntarily is seen as disrespectful to government coercion.

I got Call of Duty Black Ops 4 with a new computer, and that game make me feel old. I think they Fortnited Call of Duty and I have absolutely no idea what’s going on.
I played Black Ops 1 & 2 multiplayer, and those made perfect sense to me. 4, though, has a million things to click on in its interface — all these events its advertising that I have no idea what any of them are or what they mean.
And every once in a while it says I unlocked something, but I’m not sure what or how to use it or where to get it. I’m just constantly confused. All I want to do is shoot people!

I hope the Mueller report is really simple—like one line that says “He did crimes!” or “He no do crimes!” Otherwise it seems boring and stupid and I don’t care.

To make this more exciting, they should hide the Mueller Report in Al Capone’s vault and have Geraldo open it and read all its findings.

The Mueller Report ends with the instructions to clap your hands and say, “I do believe in collusion!” over and over.

Now’s the perfect time for Trump to start colluding with the Russians.

On page 274, it’s revealed that Trump tried to give Mueller a “Get Out of Jail Free” card to end the investigation. This almost worked, but on closer inspection Mueller saw that card came from a game of Monopoly and was not an official one from the DoJ. More obstruction?

Trump must have thought the report was going to go the other way, because the subject of the fundraising email I got from him this morning was “BAIL MONEY.”

My sons pointed out something with Disney’s Snow White that I never even noticed: With all those gems, the dwarves should be filthy rich. What do they even do with them?

Kind of funny to me that my kids are, by request, watching a movie over a decade older than their grandmother.

My son just confirmed that he counted them and there are in fact seven dwarves. Another thing I never thought of while watching the movie.

Man, when Snow White first appeared in theaters, no one had even heard of Superman. Can you even imagine a world where no one knows who Superman is? That was always the biggest suspension of belief when watching Smallville.

Man, can you remember a simpler time before we even heard of Trump?
No. Wait. I can’t. He’s been pretty ubiquitous in my life time.

Decided to broaden my horizons by watching more cinema in between seasons of TV shows. Finished The Tick season 2, so tonight I’m watching Aquaman.

Anytime I see “Present Day” appear onscreen on a movie, I always say “That’s the day we all get presents!” And everyone laughs.

Man, there is so much exposition in this fish superhero movie.

My 5yo son asked, “Can I ask other people if they have peeps to make sure they’re boys?”
Yeah, not getting woke quotes from my kids.

I got Baba Is You for Switch thinking it would be a fun game to play with the kids, but those puzzles get up to genius level really quick.

“Okay, have to think outside the box for this one.”
“Now I have to get even further from the box.”
“I can no longer see the box.”
“Uh oh. I think I have to think inside the box for this one, but the box is but a distant memory and I don’t know if I can find it again.”

It would seem unfair if the Trump presidency ended without at least one impeachment hearing.

They did it. They ended with “I am Aquaman!” And they dared you to laugh.
And I did.

Well, that was a big dumb blockbuster filled with crappy pop music—but never boring. I never imagined spending $200 million on an Aquaman movie would be a good investment, but I guess that’s why I’m not a movie producer.

My son’s advice while playing Cuphead: “Watch out for EVERYTHING.”

“There aren’t black widow spiders near us, are there?”
“No, they live…”
sees on Wikipedia they live on every continent except Antarctica
“Where do they live, Daddy?”
pats daughter on head
“Not Antarctica.”

How about instead of college loan forgiveness, big bonus checks for those of us who paid off our student loans.

An impeachment hearing for Trump sounds like it would be a completely pointless and dumb spectacle and I feel like we’d have been cheated if we didn’t get to experience it.

I wouldn’t be for loan forgiveness until there’s admission there’s a criminal conspiracy between loan companies, universities, and the federal government to sucker teens out of money and they do something to stop that.

“Hey, colleges, what if we gave dumb teens who can’t think past next Tuesday $100k in spending power?”
“We’d be able to inflate expense like no other industry! But who would loan them the money?”
“We’ll make the loans inescapable!”
everyone laughs evilly

People entering the Democratic primary race would be a lot more exciting if each time a screen popped up “A New Challenger Approaches” like in Smash Bros.

Everyone knows the phrase “Hell is other people,” but I find it interesting that C.S. Lewis’s concept of hell is the opposite — it’s where you “win” against God and get to be all about yourself.
One thing I have learned is that if you want to be miserable, focus solely on your wants.

The universities could cancel the student debt by refunding the money.

All the politicians are so stupid and short-sighted and are just going to make things worse.
Get the government out of student loans. That’s the only solution that doesn’t contribute to the problem.

The cost of college has been skyrocketing — far outpacing even medical expenses in inflation. If your solution involves throwing more money at that, you are worse than Hitler.
(I have four kids I’m saving up for college for)

I don’t get donating money to politicians. You would literally get more value out of your money by burning it. That would at least produce heat.

I love how everyone reacts to “let’s just have the government pay for everything!” like that’s some bold, original plan and not the thinking of a child.

If student debt is forgiven, shouldn’t universities pay for most of that? Who do the people with debt think victimized them?

College should not be “free” and the government should have nothing special to do with loans for it.

I propose a rich populist tax: 90% wealth tax on any rich person using populist rhetoric. We’ll use the money to pay for… Eh. Just throw it in the river.
I want a punitive tax, but I don’t want to encourage more government spending.

Elizabeth Warren is the biggest phony in the race… and that’s saying a lot. It’s John Edwards all over again; I’m absolutely baffled not everyone sees it.

How about people in prison can vote so if you want 16 year olds to vote you need to put them all in prison.

“If Adolf Hitler was resurrected by black magic and snuck across the Mexican border into the U.S., should he be allowed to vote?”
BERNIE SANDERS: “Absolutely.”

The 2020 election will come down to do you want to keep the dangerous idiot you’re used to or do you want to roll the dice and try out a new dangerous idiot?

I have a super busy weekend of games for my 3 kids in tee-ball/softball. And then their final games are the weekend after. So maybe the weekend of May 11th I can see Endgame, so no one spoil it until then.
Oh, and I haven’t seen Captain Marvel. Anything I need to know from that first? She shoots lasers from her hands or something?

I guess in the next election we’ll get that Dukakis question but instead of being about whether one supports the death penalty it will be about whether you’d want that person to vote.

Why didn’t they just get Joseph Gordon-Levitt to play young Will Smith?

I used to like Looper, but after The Last Jedi I now hate and it ruined time travel.

“What do you think of the Breaking Bad episode Ozymandias?”
“Perhaps the greatest episode of television ever.”
“You know, it was directed by Rian Johnson.”
“That episode ruined Breaking Bad. It was left up to those last two episode to get the series back on track.”

Just accept the fact that whoever wins the 2020 presidential election is going to be horrible and then you can enjoy the show.

summit of Trump and Jack talking about Twitter
“People keep asking me to add an edit button to help with typos and…”
“What’s a typo?”

No one has a right to a 4K TV. That’s why you can get one for like $250 on Amazon.

“Hi. I’m Capitalism. I could make health care and college really cheap if you’d just…”
“No! You’re mean and ugly! Go away!”
“Aww…”

So has anyone polled convicted rapists and murderers to find out who their preferred candidates are?

See Also: ST:TNG “The Drumhead”

Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren said “The House should initiate impeachment proceedings“.

I don’t know about impeachment, since he didn’t do anything illegal. Maybe Democrats could just tax him, like they did to people who didn’t buy health insurance.

[title reference link]

Tuesday Night Open Thread

Old songs are the best.

[The YouTube]

What’s been on your mind? Got something you’d like to share? A topic to discuss? It’s Tuesday Night Open Thread.

Who wants to start?

At #0, Owner of a Dying Newspaper

USA Today released its list of the 25 worst jobs in America, with “cab driver” coming in at #1

Oddly, not making the cut: MSM talking head reading the Mueller report

I’d Was Hoping Lucas Would Make the Protagonist Likeable, But It Was Not to Be

[Star Wars: Episode II – Attack Of The Clones Pitch Meeting] (Viewer #308,234)

Yup, pretty much nailed all the major flaws. I’m surprised they got it done in under 10 minutes.

Link of the Day: How to Make a 4-Season Train Wreck

[High Praise! to Mental Floss]

15 Frakking Facts About Battlestar Galactica

They never knew what they were doing. And it showed. Doesn’t mean it wasn’t interesting, though.

And I had no idea about #12. I’m grateful for it, though. His gravitas saved the show from completely degenerating into self-mockery, despite its many attempts to do so.

Think you have a link that’s IMAO-worthy? Send it to harvolson@gmail.com. If I use your link, you will receive High Praise! (assuming you remember to put your name in the email)]

Trump Truths: Check

For the pure sadistic fun of watching liberal heads explode, instead of a spell checker, President Trump runs his tweets through software that randomly inserts errors.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/04/21/sri-lanka-explosions-donald-trump-says-millions-dead-easter-blasts/3533292002/

Spoke Too Fast (Song Parody)

[High Praise! to Oppo]

Spoke Too Fast (to the tune of “Heart of Glass” by Blondie)

Almost had Trump and he was aghast
Soon turned out we spoke too fast
Seemed a done-deal thing, only to find
Mucho disgust, wasted all our crime.

That Russian stuff, it was divine
Soon found out we had lost our mind
Seemed like the real thing, we were so blind
Mueller messed up, nothing to find.

In the media
What we found was pleasing, like we needed Time
Trump is so confusing
There’s no peace of mind
Now we feel like users used
It’s just no good, you reasoning like you do

Oooh-ooh-ooh–ooh-ah…

Once had him bugged, and it was a gas
Soon turned out — nothing to amass
It seemed like a good plan, only to find
Mueller mistrust, polls falling behind.

Lost insiders
Adorable illusions
But they could not find
Deplorable collusion,
Please don’t put us inside
We worked with GPS Fusion, yeah

La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la —
I can’t hear you —
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-…

Yeah, riding high on our true bluish lies

Once acted tough just to harass
Soon turned out, had a jaw of glass
Seemed like a sure thing only to find
Mueller missed Trump, covered his behind

In defeat
What we tried was treason, and we’re facing time
Truth is so confusing, there’s no pleas in mind
Now we fear we’re losing YouTube, just no good
You reasoning like you do…

Straight Line of the Day: Britain’s Queen Elizabeth Just Turned 93. For Her Birthday, She Got…

Works like this: I feed you Moon Nukers a straight line, and you hit me with a punch line in the comments.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth just turned 93. For her birthday, she got…

The Illustrated walruskkkch & zzyzx: #Resist!

[source 1, source 2]

Proud Member of the Angry Mob

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido called on supporters to take to the streets for what he called “the largest march in the history of Venezuela” to try to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

Maduro says he’s not worried since, thanks to socialism, there are severe shortages of torches and pitchforks.

[title reference link]

Monday Night Open Thread

Did you ever watch something and immediately go “What the heck did I just watch?” That happened to me recently.

I like classical music. The Symphony Hall channel is one of my presets on SiriusXM. So, when I saw a video entitled “Rossini – Figaro on Chicken – Il Barbiere di Siviglia ‘Largo al factotum'” I thought, “Ah. Figaro. Barber of Seville.” When I thought “Wait. What? On chicken? What?!” So I watched it. And now, so can you.

[The YouTube]

So, what’s on your mind? Got something you want to talk about? Something you’ve seen? Something you thought about? It’s Monday Night Open Thread, and you get to choose the topic.

Who wants to start?

Good People, Always Thinking of Others

Hunger strikes are now gaining popularity at ICE detention centers.

Well, if you weigh less, the deportation bus gets better mileage, and that lowers the carbon footprint. Way to save the planet, amigo!

The Movie’s Title is 80% Right

[Disney’s Dumbo (1941) Pitch Meeting] (Viewer #220,060)

Yeah, this was not a good choice for a live action remake, because the source material was just… well, not the good part of the 40s.

Link of the Day: Watching Government Like a Hawk Watches a Bunny. Specifically, the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog

[High Praise! to Ammo.com]

Right to Know: A Historical Guide to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

[title reference link]

Think you have a link that’s IMAO-worthy? Send it to harvolson@gmail.com. If I use your link, you will receive High Praise! (assuming you remember to put your name in the email)]