This sad week

I was going to put up another funny post, but not tonight. 

This week I read the books Nomadland and Snakes in Suits so I was a little bummed out to begin with. 

 And then we got the terrible news about the Kamloops Residential School graveyard, with the certainty that there will be more graves found across Canada. 

A few years ago, when the Truth and Reconciliation Report was released, their use of the term "genocide" was disputed -- I do hope now that that type of  self-righteous and hurtful residential school denialism will not happen again.

I have a Twitter list, Indigenous Twitter, which I set up so I can more easily follow Canada's most prominent Indigenous voices and important news. Here is some of the most useful commentary from today:

People knew better back then and people know better now. Watch this 8 min. documentary on why so many First Nations, Metis and Inuit children died from preventable disease, abuse and neglect and what Dr. Bryce did to stop it:https://t.co/bX0EFMxg6O

— Cindy Blackstock (@cblackst) May 29, 2021

If you had no prior knowledge about Residential Schools until you heard about the 215 children’s remains that were uncovered recently.... you should absolutely be outraged by the level at which you were lied to; by the secrets kept from you about the true history of “Canada”.

— Chief Lady Bird 🦅 ᐅᑮᒪᑫᐧᐱᓀᐢ (@chiefladybird) May 31, 2021

"For Indigenous ppl, this is no surprise. It was genocide. Thousands of children lost their lives in a place where they should have been safe. Abused, murdered, left to die."@DaveAlexRoberts, Conor Kerr, and Jo-Ann Saddleback on #RealTalkRJ: https://t.co/MIhoWwdHwd #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/993hFFn1bc

— Ryan Jespersen (@ryanjespersen) May 28, 2021

Niagara Falls will be lit orange in honor of the 215 Indigenous children who lost their lives at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in Canada. Big thanks to @KenCosentino & @Frankenstein716 We must not hide the horrors. Read the full story -> https://t.co/MoTCpI0xC2 pic.twitter.com/LOYGf06c3m

— lastrealindians.com (@lastrealindians) May 31, 2021

Seven tweets in May

Enjoying his life to the fullest#dogs #dogsoftwitter #DogsofTwittter pic.twitter.com/HOq8cWKGyl

— dog lover (@10_Ilovedogs) April 21, 2021

There are 2 types of dogs.. 😅 pic.twitter.com/RtyNme0rHe

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden_) May 10, 2021

If you’ve already seen a meerkat chillin on the back of a turtle today just keep on scrolling...pic.twitter.com/sOoOn2aAZO

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) May 8, 2021

Today I saw the impossible pic.twitter.com/GXc8RO1eyQ

— The Feel Good Page ❤️ (@FeelGoodPage11) April 24, 2021

It's a windy tinkling spring morning in my neighbourhood; do you know how to tune wind chimes? It's easy!

1) Get a ball-peen hammer;
2) Gently tap until you hear the note clearly;
3) Keep tapping until it is a flat noiseless disk;
4) Bury it and don't ever buy wind chimes again.

— John Wear-Your-Mask-Like-a-Badge-of-Honour Roscoe (@JohnCRoscoe) April 30, 2021

pic.twitter.com/nqrbD5A0j3

— John Aquino (@DrJohnAquino) April 17, 2021

And read the whole thread for this one:

A professor of mine went to go hear Derrida speak once. The entire talk was about cows; everyone was flummoxed but listened carefully, and took notes about...cows. There was a short break, and when Derrida came back, he was like, “I’m told it is pronounced ‘chaos.’”

— Phil Gentry (@pmgentry) April 5, 2021

Does anyone still remember "Seven Days in May - which was a 1962 novel and then a film with Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster -- when the US government was threatened by a military takeover? 

 Seems sorta quaint now, doesn't it.

   

And I had not realized Rod Serling wrote the screenplay!

Happy Friday

I'm back - turned out my keyboard had somehow disconnected itself from my laptop operating system and they needed to find each other again. Sorta like this:

The great escape

Nothing can keep this cat away from his best friend 😻 pic.twitter.com/6W3PP7L0uc

— ༺❆ᗙ Martin 🏳️‍⚧️ ᗛ❆༻ ¸.•*´¯*⊱• ⁛҉ (@KlatuBaradaNiko) April 29, 2021

So now I've got my laptop back and I'm feeling like this:

Enjoying his life to the fullest#dogs #dogsoftwitter #DogsofTwittter pic.twitter.com/HOq8cWKGyl

— dog lover (@10_Ilovedogs) April 21, 2021

Laptop woes

Sorry my laptop is being looked at-all of a sudden the keyboard wouldn't work. Not sure how long I will be without it. So - later, dude!

We don't deserve dogs, do we?

After breaking his ankle — Russell Jones noticed that his dog Billy was limping too. After an exam, X-rays, and a $400 vet bill Billy presented no injuries.

He was just sympathetically limping like his hooman...pic.twitter.com/8mvmNpwMNR

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) April 2, 2021

Teaching the new guy 😍👍 pic.twitter.com/JoBRa1EOpe

— Madeyousmile (@Thund3rB0lt) April 2, 2021

Never give up on your dreams. 🎾🐾🎾🐾🎾 #ballislife #beachboy #beachvibes #thursdaymood #tbt @humorandanimals pic.twitter.com/Pfavj4HcJ7

— Hudson Mason (@hudsonbegood) March 25, 2021

- apparently caught ❤️🐶🤗 pic.twitter.com/IfG8L3xOON

— Köksal Akın (@newworlddd555) March 26, 2021

The Boat as Metaphor

everyone's anti-godzilla until there's a 200,000 ton boat that can't be moved

— Emma Berquist (@eeberquist) March 27, 2021

So now the world is following the tale of the boat stuck in the Suez Canal, there's even a website Is The Ship Still Stuck?

And all the pundits are engaging in their favorite indoor activity - coming up with "takes" on how the situation illustrates the ridiculous and profound nature of life in these pandemic days, etc etc. 

At the Atlantic, Amanda Mull writes about how we're going to need a smaller boat:

For people who don’t work in shipping, these problems have reared their heads over the past year in an endless and seemingly random series of consumer-goods shortages, affecting products as varied as sofas and spandex bike shorts. Now, though, these problems—and the persistent frailty of the global system on which corporations have built our physical world—have a singular visual metaphor in the Ever Given. She is huge, and she is stuck, like I am when I wake up with a hangover. Right now, there’s not enough ibuprofen and red Gatorade in the world.

I’ve spent many hours thinking about the boat stuck in The Suez Canal and I’m pretty sure they need more than one tiny excavator.

— Molly Jong-Fast🏡 (@MollyJongFast) March 27, 2021

The most interesting takes, however, aren't the metaphysical ones, but the economic ones. 

Here's Matt Stoller talking about what the stuck boat is telling us about the constructed fragility of our economic supply chains:

What is new isn’t the vulnerability of the Suez Canal as a chokepoint, it’s that we’ve intentionally created lots of other artificial chokepoints. And since our production systems have little fat, these systems are tightly coupled, meaning a shortage in one area cascades throughout the global economy, costing us time, money, and lives. 

It’s a dumb way to organize a global supply chain system, just as it was dumb to build ships that are too big to fit into canals. And that’s why the "big boat stuck in canal" is such a great illustration of the problem, it shows our policymakers and corporate leaders couldn’t even think through what would happen if Really Big Thing Got Stuck In Important Canal.

Yes, the stuck boat has definitely revealed some problems in world commerce, just as the pandemic revealed problems in public health.

Once again, in spite of all our society's attempts to anticipate and prepare, we just don't seem to be able to really get a grip on an issue until something actually goes wrong.  

But never fear, then its Canada to the rescue!

Canada is sending its top specialist to help with #EverGiven container ship in #SuezCanal pic.twitter.com/0kFCGVBx5S

— robot of the sea (@robotofthesea) March 25, 2021

UPDATE: Fascinating article today in The Guardian about how they got that boat free.

Sunday Night Sock Hop

Funny stuff

 

When you don't have time for this crap. pic.twitter.com/JzfWuh8dEz

— 𝖠𝖺𝗋𝗈𝗇 𝖶𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖾𝗋 (@Wieneraaron) March 13, 2021

Never has there been a better introductory paragraph to a textbook, nor will there ever be. #higherEd https://t.co/e8TAuwJLGa pic.twitter.com/zp2HRmSszR

— Dr. Alec Couros (@courosa) March 7, 2021

Prince George and Princess Charlotte after the monarchy is abolished. pic.twitter.com/W8s984Ensq

— Rohita Kadambi 🍾 (@rohitak) March 8, 2021

And one more - its hilarious:

I’m never letting this video die pic.twitter.com/QAOXjNLAqk

— Best Videos 🎬🍿 (@30SECVlDEOS) February 7, 2021

Patsy Cline: She holds you in her heart when she sings

On March 5, 1963, 30-year-old singer Patsy Cline was killed in a plane crash - one of the first musical losses I can remember, though far from the last. 

Here is a pretty good documentary about Patsy Cline and her music:

I love this!

And this happened here, in Saskatoon:

Meanwhile in Canada:

A 10-year old boy wanted to do something nice for the dogs in his neighborhood.

So he built them a stick library.

He now has two locations and is already expanding to more.

🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/fzC4poTpXj

— Goodable (@Goodable) March 2, 2021

Tweet of the day

Meanwhile in Canada, please remember social distancing is still in effect. 😶 pic.twitter.com/y5RgTrN8AB

— Terry Small (@terrysmall) February 25, 2021

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sort of a lousy day, really -- stupid cold, and Trump is found GUILTY but he skates away without any penalties so far. Well, anyway, here's some funny tweets just to lighten the mood for Valentine's Day:

Just fit in to some of my old clothes from 20 years ago. Feeling pretty proud.
It's a scarf by the way but its a start.

— mariana Z (@mariana057) January 29, 2021

Just gonna leave this here... pic.twitter.com/VZ8wXkOOVS

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) February 10, 2021

😂😂
pic.twitter.com/sESspGCxxs

— Mystery Solvent (@MysterySolvent) February 11, 2021

Cats, y’all...pic.twitter.com/cmIhWmeGmJ

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) February 10, 2021

Well well, how the turntables...

📹: Imgur user Chingelmarie pic.twitter.com/kHWvi0OkxO

— Paul Bronks (@SlenderSherbet) February 11, 2021

Life goals: Find someone who loves you even half as much as this dog loves opera. 🔊 🆙

📹: Imgur user MonStar1203 pic.twitter.com/neVHObBNzc

— Paul Bronks (@SlenderSherbet) February 1, 2021

Cute.🐯🐾⛄️ pic.twitter.com/XAl5hQ1EAJ

— Andrei (@AndreiAndrei63) January 24, 2021

Back to normal

What a relief it is to just have normal politics-as-usual going on everywhere these days - blaming Trudeau for stuff that isn't his fault, blaming O'Toole for stuff that IS his fault, watching Biden taking over the US government, its all good these days. 

I don't wake up and doom-scroll twitter anymore. 

Here's some of the recent funny stuff: 

I guess the Bernie meme is finally over:

Inuit Facebook needs to chill out pic.twitter.com/qX2X0qwVxX

— Muktuk fingers (@ChrystieElle) January 26, 2021

This is the greatest thing ever. pic.twitter.com/aFWa46xeuh

— jamie (@gnuman1979) January 26, 2021

"when the pandemic is over" is starting to sound like "when the browns win the super bowl"

— Funny Or Die (@funnyordie) January 26, 2021

It’s probably because schools have been closed for a while https://t.co/mGGntyFtpa

— Mohanad Elshieky (@MohanadElshieky) January 15, 2021

Too soon?

Nah nah nah nah Goodbye

Cartoon for @chronicleherald #trump #BidenHarrisInauguration #BidenHarris #TrumpTreason pic.twitter.com/t5Wm5V3OSX

— Michael de Adder (@deAdder) January 19, 2021

And so after four years as a failed president, tomorrow Donald Trump will return to his previous career as a failed businessman.

— Victor Laszlo (@Impolitics) January 19, 2021

It feels a bit like Christmas Eve, but you already know what you’ll get when you open the present. A restoration of American democracy, decency, and hope.

— Dan Rather (@DanRather) January 19, 2021

I'm like a little kid on Democracy Eve

— Tom and Lorenzo (@tomandlorenzo) January 19, 2021

would he settle for me launching water balloons filled with cat piss at him as he’s wheeled out of town in a garbage can https://t.co/QtqNmum4ri

— kilgore trout, brad r’s brother (@KT_So_It_Goes) January 15, 2021

What happened on 1/6, and what will happen next

Here's a map I found that illustrates the Jan 6 Trump Insurrection:

The New York Times has an excellent interactive article which describes how the attack on the US Capital building went, and here's an article from the Washington Post describing what Washington police went through that day:

These police leaders talked of battles using metaphors typically reserved for wars, describing fighting on three fronts, including the West Terrace, one of the few places where police prevented rioters from breaking through. Had those rioters succeeded, authorities said, thousands more people could have poured into the Capitol, with possible catastrophic consequences. Nearly 60 D.C. police officers and an unknown number of Capitol officers were hurt in the siege, with injuries that included bruised and sprained limbs, concussions and irritated lungs. 

Here are Twitter threads which describe what happened at the Trump Insurrection on Jan 6, 2021, and why it happened, and who likely planned it.

First, how it was planned:

On January 6, armed Trumpist militias will be rallying in DC, at Trump's orders. It's highly likely that they'll try to storm the Capitol after it certifies Joe Biden's win. I don't think this has sunk in yet.

— Arieh Kovler (@ariehkovler) December 21, 2020

(THREAD) Over the past week, this feed has compiled over 250 major-media reports about the January 6 insurrection Trump incited. Evidence of a four-pronged seditious conspiracy has emerged. I summarize this evidence—all previously posted—here. I hope you will read on and RETWEET. pic.twitter.com/oSFZLbycln

— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) January 12, 2021

Second, the day itself;

In regards to the #CapitolCoup, I’m in a unique position. I monitored forums ahead of time and then was present for the coup itself.

These are my observations based on what I saw and the evidence that’s been collected so far. I reserve the right to adjust my analysis as needed.

— Melissa (she/her) (@LiteraryMouse) January 9, 2021

Officer Eugene Goodman insulted and poked the Capitol building terrorists, so they’d chase him instead of entering the Senate chamber. He’s Black and he did this knowing they were white supremacists. Made himself live bait. He deserves all the awards:

pic.twitter.com/BBcQdZP0ir

— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) January 10, 2021

Okay so the President incited an attack on Congress and it would've killed a bunch of members except:
* there are some seriously tough and clever capitol police officers
* a Rep happened to know the JCoS Chairman
* an aide knew a guy who used to work with the FBI Deputy Director https://t.co/LZFTgnyQpd pic.twitter.com/TDmO2U98fe

— Max Kennerly (@MaxKennerly) January 11, 2021

 And third, what is next:

My thoughts on the coming days and months. We're paying too much attention to an unlikely repeat of 6 January, and not enough to the broader, ongoing threat of radicalized MAGA-inspired violence and terror. https://t.co/UKVJCY76Si

— Arieh Kovler (@ariehkovler) January 11, 2021