Snowflake's Forum

 Consider, if you will, that you had the opportunity to travel back in time and correct or change course on a decision you had once made that you wish you had made differently. Would you? Or would you leave well enough alone? Considering the Time Travel Paradox of unseen consequences of changing the past that might effect your present. Would you go back and pick a different career, or save a relationship you let die, or help a friend who later on took a wrong path in life, or something loftier, try and stop a dictator from coming to power? In Star Trek "The City on the Edge of Forever" that theme was explored. As it was in "Back to the Future" when Marty McFly goes back in time and accidentally stops his parents from meeting, putting his own existence in jeopardy. BUT LATELY, new theories have popped up, suggesting that Time has a way of self-correcting despite your interference with the past. Paradox-Free Time Travel Is Theoretically Possible, Researchers Say https...

  What should Christians be doing to get ready for the cataclysmic events preceding the end of the Age and the Second Coming of Christ? Given the current state of affairs in the world, it's hard to avoid the conclusion that the Lord may be returning soon. I'm trying to hold on to my confidence in God and live by faith, but some of my friends and relatives tell me that's not enough. They're selling their homes, moving to remote desert or mountain locations, stockpiling food, buying weapons and ammunition  –  the list goes on and on. Is this right? Are we really supposed to run and hide as things get worse? Or should we stay where we are and continue to minister to the people around us? The Bible clearly instructs us to be vigilant. But it also teaches that no one can say for certain that we are living in the “end times.” This is at best a debatable proposition. Jesus Himself repeatedly said that no one knows or  can  know the day or hour of His return (Matthew 24...

  'Sesame Street' Celebrates 50+ Years on Air in ABC Pandemic Special '50 Years of Sunny Days' Any human who has ever been a child knows how to get to  Sesame Street .  Elmo , Big Bird, and Cookie Monster wrote the soundtrack to most of our childhoods and more than 51 years later, the gang is still going strong.  https://www.distractify.com/p/is-sesame-street-still-on-pbs ALAS, Another Children's favorite is coming to an end: Arthur, children’s animated TV series, to end after 25 years The final season of the longest running animated series in the US will air in 2022 https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/jul/29/arthur-childrens-animated-tv-series-to-end-after-25-years What children's TV shows did YOU grow up with and miss? I miss:

It's estimated over a million Japanese live as "hikikomori," recluses totally withdrawn from society. Some hikikomori may even go for decades without leaving their house. While in the past the phenomenon was most commonly associated with young men, recent data has revealed a much wider demographic of people whose confidence in themselves, and in society, has been shattered. As the parents or relatives hikikomori so often depend on entirely become too old to care for them, many now face a dire situation, left alone and unable to cope. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/4001383/ Take a break from our daily annoyances and troubles. Perhaps like Japan’s hikikomori, there’s someone suffering in silence under our noses.  Presented by Jamie B.

  RIGHTWING MEDIA ALL OVER THIS: https://www.rightjournalism.com/did-joe-biden-really-pinch-8-year-old-maria-piacesis-nipple-in-2015-she-says-yes-photos/ YET - NO MSM is carrying this story, not even Fox, so is it real? Consider: Maria Piacesi is the headline article on /r/conservative and other right wing social media locations over screenshots from a TikTok account that there is no way to verify even existed. Maria Piacesi's family has also made no statements to support these claims. The TikTok screenshots could have easily been faked and the TikTok account is questions has zero caches or links to it proving it's existance. Even sites like rightjournalism aren't standing by the story with a disclaimer of OPINION: This article contains commentary which reflects the author’s opinion If evidence exists of these claims it certainly doesn't exist in those articles and the video from 2015 doesn't prove what they claim. I mean, look at the video, do YOU see a pinch?

  The latest   2024 presidential election odds   show Vice President   Kamala Harris   as the favorite over President   Joe Biden   and former President   Donald Trump . The thinking is that Biden may opt to let Harris take the reins in the next Presidential election cycle, due to the fact that Biden will be 81-years-old three years from now. That said, in late March 2021 Biden said that his plan is to run for re-election in 2024. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION ODDS 2024 (JULY 23) Here’s a look at the current US Presidential Election odds at a top UK book. You can also see markets involving many of the candidates below.  https://www.thelines.com/odds/election/ A few questions arise: Should Biden run for a 2nd term? Is Kamala popular enough to beat whoever the GOP candidate is? Should the Democrats be looking at a 3rd option? If Trump decides to run again (he says he will, but I am dubious), how will THAT effect the race?

 

After all these years and endless arguments, the storied Cleveland Indians have changed their name.  We can all bid goodbye to this guy: That's "Chief Wahoo," for those not in the know.  The one on the right is the original version.  The guy on the left was officially retired a year or so ago.  And now the Indians have a new name: Why the Cleveland Guardians?  Because back in the 1920s, two 43-foot tall art deco statues were sculpted for a bridge that leads right to the city Stadium.  They're known as, yep, the Guardians: And now we're seeing all sorts of negative commentary about it.  From Donald Trump.  From Joe Concha, who runs The Hill.  But you know who seems just fine with it?  Clevelanders.  But, hell, what do we know?  We just live here. Although, me, I'd have preferred reviving the name of a long-gone Cleveland baseball team from late in the 19th century: So tell us what you think! --Alex the (yes, I'm back) Kay

  The spoof clip — titled “Death Wish: Coming To An Unventilated Theater Near You” — features clips of  Fox News  personalities and GOP lawmakers sowing doubt about the shots, which have been shown highly effective at preventing severe infection.  “In a world where effective vaccines are being pushed by the nanny state, one band of vigilantes is all that stands between America and herd immunity,” says the narrator. “This summer, who needs vaccines when you’ve got a death wish?” the voiceover mockingly continues. “They’re cleaning up the streets so COVID can spread safely.” https://worldnewshere.net/2021/07/22/right-wingers-have-a-death-wish-over-covid-19-vaccines-in-daily-show-spoof/

 Something a little lighter for today. Acting. Everyone has a different notion of what "good" acting is, but I have a list of what I consider superb examples of quality acting. For this one, I am picking on male performances, maybe another time will do a thread on female performances. (OR maybe one of my other authors will). First of all, my taste is a bit eclectic and maybe off mainstream, I consider some of the "best" rated performances a bit lame while there were others that didn't get much attention but were nevertheless superb. The question I ask myself, am I seeing the ACTOR in the performance, or the CHARACTER? That is why I never thought much of John Wayne, he was always John Wayne, ditto for most "action" heroes and many of the comic actors, though on my list is ONE by a comic actor who is a horrible actor (in my humble opinion) but absolutely knocked one performance out of the ballpark. Here is my list of convincing performances by a male act...

A woman said to be the oldest working nurse in the country has retired from a Tacoma, Washington, hospital at the age of 96, according to NBC affiliate  KING-TV . Florence "SeeSee" Rigney served more than 70 years as a nurse at the MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital. She began her career as an operating room nurse, just getting started as penicillin was introduced to the health care world. Since then, she's had very few "breaks" from her work, only taking a hiatus or two to care for her children, and one not-so-successful attempt to retire, which lasted only six months over 30 years ago, according to the local news station. "I don’t like to sit around — I’ve always got to have something to do. That’s my nature,” Rigney told the local affiliate. “I don’t know exactly what made me want to become a nurse, but it was something that I always wanted to do. I love to interact with patients and give them the help that I can." She is recognized by her peers as s...

Vocabulary Plink (verb): to shoot at a can, bottle, human being, or similar target (OK, not human targets) Happy stick (noun): described in the video The binary gun trigger The famous gun expert, 22 Plinkster, has produced a splendid 6 minute video about the new binary gun trigger. The binary trigger hit the US market on July 4, 2021. What could be more patriotic?  Plinkster demonstrates this advanced technology from Franklin Armory using the Ruger PC Charger. The weapon he uses is a pistol (I think), but some ignorant folks might mistake it for some sort of assault rifle or other WMD (weapon of moderate destruction). The way Plinkster giggles after he unleashes happy vibes (9 mm rounds) from his happy sticks makes quite clear what a great technical advance in civilian weaponry this really is.  As the Plinkster says, "It's not about the sights, it's not about how well I can shoot, it's about havin' fun." The ANBA (American National Bowling Association) cracks ...

 MY partner, common-law wife, or significant other (still haven't figured out which title best fits her) has left me. OK, take a deep breath, just temporarily to take care of a family matter, she will be back in a couple of weeks. Since being together one of her refrains has been that I would lose my head if it wasn't attached to me. There is a lot of truth to that because I have found that lately I have been losing or misplacing things, only to have her find them for me. Yesterday was a perfect example, I was doing some dusting, then put the rag down somewhere, later wanted to put it in the laundry and couldn't find it ANYWHERE! Finally did find it only after turning our apartment upside down. SO, is this just age? Are my regulars on here who are getting "up there" finding the same problem? Or is this just me? Seems more and more people I know around my age tell me similar stories, they just don't know where their minds are at. Not talking about those who are...

Ivermectin COVID-19 Scandal Shows How Vulnerable Science Is to Fraud Haruko Obokata published  two papers  in January 2014 that  described  how regular blood cells could be turned into pluripotent  stem cells . At the time,  this was a coup  – it dramatically simplified a previously complicated process and opened up new vistas of medical and biological research, while neatly sidestepping the bioethical considerations of using human embryos to harvest stem cells. Moreover, the process for this was straightforward, and involved applying a weak acid solution or mechanical pressure – oddly similar to how you'd clean a rust stain off a knife. Within a few days, scientists noticed some of the images in the paper were irregular. And a broader skepticism began. Could it really be that simple? As the experiments were simple and the biologists were curious, attempts to replicate the papers' findings began immediately. They failed. By February, Obokata's institut...

  Englishwoman Amanda Lee, 50, has been convicted 15 times dating back to 1996 A woman in England is up sh**’s creek with local police. Amanda Lee, 50, from Crewe, Cheshire, has been treating her town like it’s her very own private bathroom for years, and has been ordered by police to stop. Lee has been convicted 15 times dating back to 1996 for offences including anti-social behaviour, harassment, public order, and abusing the emergency system, reports  news outlet Cheshire Live . Police issued her a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO), which prevents Lee from doing these five things in the “exclusion zone” around her town: She can’t be in possession of alcohol in an open container. She can’t use abusive language or threatening behaviour in a public place nor use a dog to threaten or intimidate people. She can’t contact police on the emergency numbers 999 or 101 unless she has a genuine reason for doing so. She can no longer “urinate or defecate” in any open space, public or priva...

Perhaps I should first make clear that I like opera and have attended many live performances over the years. But in pondering the question, why confine ourselves to opera? How about symphony orchestras, string quartets (hate those), classical theatre, and any other art form which can’t survive without subsidy. We could argue that the arts have always been subsidized in some way; the Catholic church and its prelates have always been big buyers of art. Michelangelo lived on church money. On the other hand many if not most artists have lived on the proceeds of their paintings and some have become wealthy. Rembrandt, the wonder of the age, was wealthy until he went out of fashion and became bankrupt. No one subsidized him and he produced some of his most moving self portraits when he was old and poor. Most of our entertainment from sport to art to literature gets no public money but it can be said that without subsidy much art would be lost; The Phantom of the Opera, rock groups, Willie Ne...

MAGA-Branded 'Freedom Phone' Is a Black Box That Should Be Avoided at All Costs Nobody can blame GOP voters for wanting a phone that prioritizes privacy and autonomy, but the Freedom Phone can't be trusted. Be it Parler, Gab, or GETTR, recent times have seen no shortage of dollar-sign-eyed entrepreneurs looking to capitalize on conservative America’s disdain for “liberal” Silicon Valley. It was only a matter of time before someone tried to invent the MAGA phone. Er, make that...the “ Freedom Phone .” The device, which launched Thursday, is the product of Erik Finman, a 22-year-old crypto-millionaire who says that he wants America’s patriots to take “back control” of their lives from the tech oligarchy. Finman’s phone, which costs $499, claims to offer conservatives a way to be free of Big Tech’s “spying” and “censorship”—though it is radically vague on the details. Like a random handgun, the phone should be treated as if it were loaded and dangerous because we simply don’t ...

  https://theconversation.com/incels-are-surprisingly-diverse-but-united-by-hate-163414 Incels ( involuntary celibates ) are a  misogynistic  online community  linked  to  terrorism  and several mass killings, including those committed by  Elliot Rodger  in California and  Alek Minassian  in Toronto. Incels are caricatured as  NEETS  ( Not in Education, Employment or Training ),  basement dwelling , unkempt and  socially isolated   white men . However, my research with bioinformatician and data scientist Finlay Maguire, psychologist Norann Richard and sociologist Kayla Preston suggests that  incel discussion boards are surprisingly diverse . Despite this diversity, we find that incels are united by their  hatred of women . Lookism, and new technology​ Incels share a belief that they are victims of “lookism.”  Lookism means that  attractive people receive advantages, while unattractive peo...