I adore the Scarlet Pimpernel. In 1905 Fred Terry developed it into a play, despite the scathing reviews, the public loved it and Sir Percy Blakeney became one of his signature roles. It was revived a number of times and he used to send notices of the various revivals to the critics...
Here
The BBC has just issued its report into Gregg Wallace, the presenter who claimed autism made it impossible for him to wear underwear and this is why he kept appearing with a sock over his member... Over half the complaints were upheld against him. The BBC admits they could have stopped him earlier. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3endz88k2qo
It is the start of a bad week for the Beeb as the report into its handling of Gaza will also be released.
Trump's 2nd state visit will be on the 17 -19th September. Parliament is in recess at that time because it is party conference season. It was planned this way and works for Trump's busy schedule. https://x.com/RoyalFamily/status/1944681019069665433
In the cricket -- India need 193 to win with five wickets remaining. I suspect they will do it as they are probably the better side. Today is the last day so if India don't manage the runs before the close play and England don't manage to bowl them before then, the match will be a draw. It is a best of five series. The series is currently level. England has just taken an early wicket. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/live/cp8jxyxnep1t
Happy Birthday RWM! And many more, Weirdly, during my Swedish Death Cleaning yesterday I found an old box of cassettes from Junior High and High School, one of me reading a report about the invention of the guillotine (Doctor, may I have a French razor, please?)
No wonder I feel all off with their heads lately! Well not just lately, as that is a sort of normal state of affairs for me. Perhaps I was the guillotine master in a previous life........
So the guy with the sock (which I assume covered it at full staff) couldn’t wear outerwear like pants either? And this was at a cooking show? So a pot of boiling something couldn’t didn’t accidentally spill in the vicinity to keep the pervert away?
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have an album cover where they’re just wearing socks on their members. I used to live on the hill above Flea in Los Feliz and one time I was walking down and saw his trash can overflowing with fan letters. Read a few and thought “wow, people are crazy 😜 “ Great bass player
And the BBC have had their knuckles firmly rapped over the Gaza film that they had to pull. It breached editorial guidelines and the use of a child narrator was not appropriate.
It is going to be interesting if heads roll -- Tim Davie was on thin ice before...
And England v India is finely poised. India only have 3 wickets left, and all their batters have gone so it is just the tailenders (aka the bowlers) but they only have92 runs to get. There will be a result in this game as there seems no likelihood of rain. Even the gammon faced MCC members have abandoned their blazers (but not their Panama hats or ties)
On days like today when it is finely poised, it is actually very exciting and interesting.
You had Archer clean bowling Pandt to begin with -- the ball took the stump right out of the ground.
Then Stoke took a leg before wicket (lbw) on review -- the ball had hit the back pad and the batter had not played the shot. You can't use your leg to block the ball in that fashion.
Finally Archer did a bowled and caught with a fantastic diving catch. It is very hard to do. I was surprised he didn't break his hand.
The balls are v hard and are being bowled v fast. There are reasons why the batters wear helmets and indeed boxes over their family jewels.
And yes the jargon is used all the time.
It is also good to see the BBC on a sticky wicket re Gaza.
If a wicket is wet or damp, the ball turns unpredictably and it makes it difficult to bat on or score runs on.
It normally means people are in a spot of bother...and it could be tricky for them.
Wickets are best for batting when they are dry and predictable.
England took a wicket just before lunch. India are now 81 runs behind with only two wickets remaining. England have 2 more sessions -- the afternoon session and the after tea session to try and bowl them out.
They might actually do it. This is v exciting as England are often a triumph of hope over experience for the dedicated fan.
England still could mess up and India's remaining batters (you are supposed to call them batters instead of batsmen) could get the 81 runs required. The remaining batters are not known for their batting ability, but rather for their bowling.
Lunch for the players at Lord's is supposed to be exceptional btw. The MCC members also have their own room for lunch. The ordinary spectator will most likely bring their lunch in. It can be quite the production. You are not supposed to bring alcohol in, but can buy it.
Tea is also a proper English tea.
Batters often get out after lunch and tea...
There are a lot of cricketing metaphors in English.
Each side has 11 players. One side bats and the other fields. You have two batters, each defending a stump.
The bowler pitches 6 balls at the stump for an over. The next bowler pitches 6 more balls at the opposite end stumps for the next over and so on.
The batters try to keep the stumps from being hit while trying to make as many runs possible (they are running between the stumps) If a batter hits the ball and it goes out of the boundary -- it is an automatic 4 runs. If it doesn't touch the ground and goes out of the boundary, it is an automatic 6.
Batters can be out if the stumps are knocked out of the ground, if the ball they have hit is caught before touching the ground, or if they are caught outside their crease/batting area when the ball is in play and the fielding side is able to reach the undefended stump (sometimes called a run out).
A lot depends on the condition of the wicket and indeed the ball. As a ball gets old through use, it is harder to get it to bounce. The bowler is aiming to hit the ground with the ball, so it bounces up unpredictably.
India at the moment are standing their ground and slowly making the runs. At the moment, England want to bowl to Bumrah who is not as good a batter as Jadeja. Jadeja wants to keep the strike (ie being the one facing the bowler) as he has more chance of hitting the ball.
It is all finely poised. I still think England can throw it all away.
In other news, you may recall in 2023, an aristocrat and her boyfriend went on the run for 2 months with their newborn baby. The baby was discovered dead. They have just been convicted of manslaughter.
Michelle: I am sorry to keep bothering you but I think I represent JBell (though she hasn’t put me on retainer (🤵♂️) and confused Americans everywhere when I ask these questions:
1. Are the bowlers and batters 2 separate positions or can and do the bowlers bat? 2. Each side has two batters per “play” and their job on offense is to hit the ball then run repeatedly between the two stumps; however, on defense, their job is to protect the stump and/or catch the ball? 3. What constitutes an “out” if reaching the unattended stump means a “run out”. That’s enough for the moment but I’ve been confused about cricket for over 40 years. Freshman year we had a clutch of kids from the American high school in London (UT Austin, 15th Floor, Castilian) and they acted British (gin and tonic, the accents and phrases, etc) so I’d occasionally watch cricket through the years. I even tried to decipher the box scores once in the free Herald Tribune they give you on International flights and that made me even more confused. I’d tell folks afterwards: everything is understandable over there but don’t try to read the Sports section. 🙀
Thanks for your assistance in the matter. KHJ Attny etc
1. All bowlers will bat, but not all batters will bowl. Some people are just better at batting or bowling. Some are call 'all rounders' which means they can do both. The openers are always good batters. There is the middle order who can do both and then the lower order who are the bowlers. Sometimes it is enough for them to simply survive.
It is hard work bowling as there is a run up (a sprint) and then you release the ball. They only bowl a few overs before having a rest and letting another bowler take over from that end.
At the moment India's bowlers are batting. Jadeja is the last even semi-batter and he is doing remarkably well. We have now reached tea with one wicket remaining. It is on a knife's edge.
2. Each partnership is between two players. It is why there are 10 wickets. You always have the last man standing, left out on the crease with no one to form another wicket with. This is why you will sometimes see a batter's figures with (N O) or not out after them.
3. To get out -- 1. the ball is caught in the air. 2. the ball is played on to the stumps, knocking the bail (the cross piece off) 3. the ball hits the pad which is in front of the stumps (leg before wicket). It depends on if it came off the bat or the pad. 4. a batter is caught outside their crease/batting area.
A batter can play offensively --trying to make runs or defensively trying to survive and taking the singles and easy shots when they are offer. Currently India are playing defensively.
The match is incredibly tense because India have played such a brave innings, particularly Jadeja. Who is going to win after tea? No idea. But today is a great advert for a test match.
I had the same thought. That’s why I logged back in. I just got off the phone with a probation officer-my client is an idiot- but I figured this chain might be my chance to finally understand cricket 🏏
Rooting for England, always. I have English, Scots, and Welsh blood. Where we touring somewhere I told that to the elderly female tour guide she said “you’ve got all of that blood fighting up in you,don’t you?” 😹
I will be in the UK during Trump's visit! Will be interesting to see how the locals react. I'll be in Yorkshire, where I'm from originally, but haven't been back to visit since 2019.
Undoubtably there will be a lot of eye rolling and grumbling. There always is. It is a chance for a certain section of people to behave badly and most will just try to ignore the whole thing.
I hope Trump enjoys himself. I understand he is going for a private visit to Aberdeen in August -- to one of his golf courses.
Several of my best friends in the UK commented on my last visit that they really liked Trump and were impressed with how he was running the country. I think it's mostly the liberal elites in the London area who are hostile. Hopefully they don't do the silly "baby Trump" parade in London - maybe they have more serious things to deal with at the moment with the illegal immigrant situation?
Do not get me started about the illegal immigrant situation. It is going to get worse because Iran (and Pakistan) have kicked over 1 million Afghans out. The numbers coming are unsustainable. A court in France has just ruled that all Palestinians should have refugee status.
Because accommodation is so expensive in London, they dump the asylum seekers in the poorer areas which means places like Middlesborough and W Yorkshire.
There are a lot of trustifarians in London who like performatively protesting.
I subscribe to Matt Goodwin's substack so I hear a lot about the immigration chaos. Hopefully they don't ruin West Yorkshire before I get over there! I'm from Bradford which has sadly gone downhill.
Since Dec, 1949, the UN has granted refugee status to Palestinians, both born and unborn. The victimhood has been baked in for over 75 years (and counting). France is late to the game, or rather continuing the game if in fact the UNRWA is being defunded by more than just the USA.
I was surprised at the number of Algerians in Naples. Rome was full of Bangladeshi. The Italian tour guide warned us about them. They were bold and insisted we buy whatever goods they were peddling. As soon as we walked out of the hotel(s), there they were, a few yards away, waiting to pounce on tourists. I was traveling without my husband. I missed him in more ways than one.
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a long time favorite. Hadn't heard this song before --it adds an extra depth tp Chauvelin. Thank you Celia for the continuing education and thanks to all for the good birthday wishes. I go out into the world fortified this am!
The book was my favorite back in the day. I should reread it
Disney had some great shows for young people which activated imaginations. Anyone remember the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh? Then there was Ivanhoe on Saturday mornings along with Sky King and The Cisco Kid and the Lone Ranger. Life was good
Always an early riser, I'd paddle down to our basement where the old console TV stood, its knob missing, and so I'd take my skate key out to turn the dial and tune into my favorites: "Modern Farmer" and "American Agriculture," one of them introduced by a thrilling bi-plane spewing a white cloud over verdant orchards -- probably, I realize now, DDT.
Then came "Rocky & Bullwinkle," "Sky King," and then "Fury" and "My Friend Flicka."
If I had a dime for every insignificant fact I remember . . . .
I remember Boris and Natasha, Mr. Peabody and a Professor, Fractured Fairytales. Something like that? The actual names of those cartoons escape me. Does anyone know of what I am referring to?
Thanks B.! Yes, Boris and Natasha were the antagonists in "Rocky and Bullwinkle." I would have never remembered Dudley Do-Right, the Royal Mountie, but when you mention it, I instantly remember. I can recall exactly where I sat watching cartoons with my father and younger sister in our home in Flushing, NY.
LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Dudley Do-Right. I always insisted on directing at least one old-time melodrama every four years, to pass on the tradition of Do-Right to each new generation I taught. Great stuff!
My mother, who had a lovely contralto voice, used as a child to reenact Nelson Eddy movies with her little friends in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She always played the Nelson Eddy roles, and to her dying day knew all the words to all his songs. Her favorite was "Give Me Some Men Who Are Stouthearted Men."
Remember Murphy Brown? There was an episode where she’s talking with someone with a heavy Russian accent and says to them in a Russian accent, “you sound like you should be having conversation with Moose and Squirrel”. I still use that line.
This whole thing reminds me of Harvey Weinstein who for decades was a sexual predator and most of Hollywood knew about it. How did he so blatantly avoid charges? Powerful friends and massive wealth. He too was hobnobbing with the likes of the Clintons et al, as was Epstein. Power and money is an effective shield against perverse criminality of all kinds.
Agree. People knew about Harvey. But the thought of risking their film careers wasn’t a chance they wanted to take. That was his leverage.
Epstein had even more potential to do harm to the wealthy and powerful he associated with. The silence of Les Wexner, who left billions of dollars in money and assets in Epstein’s hands, is a good example of the fear and vulnerability he could induce on these folks.
Wexner’s philanthropy has done so much good in our community. He has and continues to donate massive sums of money to OSU hospitals and has built medical facilities all over the greater Columbus area where he opened his first business many years back. If you throw a rock in any direction here and around Cbus you’re sure to hit a building with his name on it. He managed to keep his personal life remarkably private despite his humanitarian efforts. Though he is married, rumors of his sexual orientation have been circulating for quite a long time and who knows what Epstein had on him in addition to that. We’ll probably never know it seems.
Yes, around Columbus (I lived in Granville) rumors of Wexner's peculiarities were "known". It's interesting that Wexner seemed to be Epstein's one and only "investment" client. What was that relationship? How did they meet? It's also interesting that in everything Epstein, Wexner has really never been mentioned. He was essentially Epstein's benefactor. Another thing: where were all the #MeToo crowd to scream down Weinstein, Epstein and Maxwell? Didn't seem to be too important for the movement rallying for "women's rights". And why is nobody demanding answers from Merrick Garland as his DOJ investigated the whole thing?
Wexner even gave Jeffery Epstein Power of Attorney over him in 1991, thereby giving Jeff total financial power over Lex and his wealth. Wexner owned Victoria Secrets. Think of all the young, teen and pre-teen models you've seen in their ads. Fertile hunting grounds for a trip to Little St. James island for a poke with some powerful Boomers.
The whole thing is so bizarre that it's almost difficult to comprehend its depravity. We probably will never know how far and wide this story goes. I'd like the government to convince Maxwell to testify as to her own knowledge of events. She was there the entire time enabling the whole thing. And living like a queen while doing it.
I'm disappointed Trump won't allow a 'real' investigation by his new FBI. That is a part of the swamp he doesn't want to drain. My personal opinion on why there will never be a Maxwell interview. Because it might expose the Deep State. Ghislaine's dad was deeply in bed with MI6, KGB and the Mossad. People don't like to talk about the Maxwell Israel connection as it relates to Epstein and if you do, you're sometimes labeled an antisemite. But Rob Maxwell is buried in Jerusalem Mount of Olives and the prime minister of Israel at time of this death, Yitzhak Shamir gave the eulogy at Robert's funeral. Amid reports that Robert worked for intel Shamir stated (in 1991) that Robert Maxwell "has done more for Israel than can today be said". Robert, like Epstein' live a very flamboyant lifestyle and like Trump, was 'sue happy' against his opposition. He also left all his $$ to his daughter. It could be the undermining of the US-Isreal relationship that is at heart of Epstein case, and why it can't/won't be investigated. It's sad that we have to speculate this way, as I do support Israel and its right to exist and flourish. Just like I want America to be Great Again.
The Jew haters are getting bolder imo. Just learned that at the Univ of WA law school graduation- one of the graduates wearing a Kaffeiyah stood on stage for a full 10 minutes holding a very large pro-hamas sign calling for armed resistance. The UW claims none of the staff noticed her and didn't know her name, even tho her name had just been announced as she received her degree.
I don't see it, but I sure do hear about it. My daughter (38) has followed the "Dave Matthew's Band" for over twenty years. She recently flew to Chicago to see them in concert. She told me upon her return, "I'm done with Dave! Between every set they made a political statement -very woke and pro-Palestinian."
That's just too bad, but sadly not that suprising. This endemic normalization of Jew hate is very concerning. It's not just the aggressive protestors anymore, it's filtered down to ordinary, everyday interactions. In other words, it is now taken for granted that 'everyone' should agree with this. Aayan said that an ordinary hair salon stylist she went to in the UK, randomly started talking about how the Jews were taking over the world. That kind of thing scares me more even than the riots and protests because it means the hateful messages have been absorbed and normalized at a much deeper societal level.
It's funny you mention a hair salon. Not long ago, a Jewish client was complaining about antisemitism. I overheard a black stylist saying, "Now they know what it feels like!" I couldn't believe my ears.
That was very good. I totally agree with the theory that these influencers, who don’t influence me, are only in it for clicks. Basically they are doing the dems dirty work, inadvertently or not.
I’ll link soon but I thought I’d share about my one act play 14 Si! about the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein haunting a pedophile island developer. Might be time for a revival 🤔
Thanks JBell. These days anything that Tucker and/or Candace say or support is suspect for me. Listened to recent Glenn Beck interview on J-TV and he expressed his concern that the right is becoming more and more divided quite quickly. His own listeners are now turning against Beck for supporting Israel.
JBell, I also share your point of view. That was a good article, so thank you for sharing. I've only heard of Jupplandia through JiP. I wish people wouldn't use curse words, the "F" word in particular. It's standard operating procedure nowadays, but I still cringe. I grew up in a household where you weren't allowed to say, "Shut up!"
Jupp’s post is on point, although I’m not a fan of his writing style. I really do hate that the moment Trump makes a decision that doesn’t align with some of his loudest supporters’ wishes, they turn rabidly against him, threatening a midterm victory. Jupp is right, it’s all about them as individuals. Selfish and short sighted.
It’s exactly what drives me crazy about the anti-Trump crowd. Trump does something, such as when he announced his tariff plan and people called or wrote me and wanted to hear me agree that it was the worst thing he’s ever done (fill in anything he’s done: shutting down USAID, laying off workers, firing DOJ prosecutors, deporting gang members, etc.) and not even considering that maybe it’s a good idea to see what the outcome is after a week or two passes, not a minute or two.
Tom Seibert attacking Bruce Miller in the comments was ugly. I’ve subscribed to Tom for a few weeks and he can sound like he’s a barrel of undiluted sulfuric acid, but he’s generally pouring it over somebody or group that deserves it. I’m wondering what triggered him to attack so quickly. Makes me dislike social media even more than I already dislike it. It’s the biggest reason I’ve never committed to writing my own substack (that and my dwindling brain power!).
The knee-jerk hysteria is very reminiscent of covid: lots of doing without much thinking. Why has it become problematic to change one's mind? Trump's willingness to shift his prerogative and responses accordingly is a good thing. This is what the dems refuse to do as they continue to triple-down on every bad policy they've pushed and every tanturm they've thrown.
I consider Steve Bannon the godfather of MAGA and he called Epstein “the key that picks the lock on so many things — not just individuals, but also institutions.”
I think Trump unwillingness to investigate Epstein and its control / non control over our body politic is due to fear.
Several weeks ago Billiamo shared with us @ JIP some favorite Yiddish proverbs. The one that is stuck in my head over the Epstein gaslighting by Trump is this one:
“Truth never dies, but it lives a wretched life”
Did you all catch the story by Wired magazine on Friday claiming the Epstein jailhouse hallway video uploaded by DOJ last week and claimed to be ‘raw video footage’ — was actually manipulated? Weird, just like the last 20 years of the Epstein story.
I personally can handle the truth. Whatever it might be. I wish there was an actual investigation led by the Patel/Bongino led FBI that would be allowed to do it.
The re-direction to ‘boogeymen’ like Tucker Carlson or Candace Owens and away from Trump administration unwillingness to investigate how Epstein became an overnight billionaire, who he worked for and why he ran a child sex ring for rich /elites — is also, IMO, a form of gaslighting.
I am not in any way shape or form a Jew hater. I’m MAGA and just awaiting the Retribution and Transparency that my vote was promised.
Why Bastille Day is celebrated evades me completely. The French Revolution was utter madness. When the worst elements of society were allowed to run riot in an orgy of revenge, murder and depravity. Just like the "progressives" of today, they swept aside everything tried and just in society, imposing their death cult and evanescent views of a "just and new" society. And, just as today, the most ardent reformers were culled from the very worst of society - including, as today, a healthy dollop of leftist lawyers. And after all had been swept aside, and the king and nobility beheaded, what resulted? Well a new maximum leader, of course, the Corsican shrimp, who wasted the flower of French manhood in a mad quest of conquest, stopped dead by the Russian winter. Is there anything to celebrate in the loosing of criminals onto the streets of Paris and the mindless bloodshed that ensued?
The only good thing about 14 July is it's the birthday of our dear Rainbow. Happy birthday, my friend.
Well, they invented cool new names for the months of the year and Delacroix’s Liberty Enlightening the World and the Marat bathtub stabbing painting are fantastic. So there’s that (just kidding)
I will hold that thought Bruce! I agree about Bastille Day. For me it is an object lesson in how quickly the mob can turn on a lauded hero trying to create freedom. Also how effectively a revolution can get completely co-opted and reversed from it's original aims.
You have to nip it in the bud (Mamdami). The real problem are the zombie followers educated/indoctrinated by our schools. The Russian Revolution should not have happened, but it did despite the odds. The Mensheviks looked more powerful than the Bolsheviks on paper. As always, countries and empires fall from within. Good refresher:
Fascinating that three-months prior to the ignition of this hellacious calamity, the US was settling its second revolution in less than 15 years. Our first federal constitution - the Articles of Confederation — had proved itself so unworkable that the not-so-united states of America were about to relegate themselves to the trash heap of history. Instead, a bunch of guys got together, scrapped the Beta version, and came up with The Constitution, capital T, Capital C. Over the course of two years, each state weighed the wisdom of this new document, mostly on paper, and then ratified it. The Revolution, such as it was, was short and bloodless. As the Jacobins stormed the Bastille, our nation was getting comfortable with a new code of governance designed to manacle federal authority. How did that happen? Was the average American any different from the average Frenchman? Humanity is encoded to fight for what it believes is right. How did we suppress that predisposition?
I wonder if America was different from France in that we had a clear outward enemy, the British Crown, in our original fight to create freedom and autonomy. France was fighting it's own corrupt leaders and aristocracy from within. Even when the states began to fragment, they still had the pretty recent experience of all being united against a common enemy.
Perhaps. But the vast majority of the colonists, including many of the writers of the Declaration, considered themselves British subjects, and they believed the Monarchy had become too oppressive in the administration of their affairs. Initially, they just wanted George to back off.
As hopeful as the preceding sentence about our inalienable rights was in the Declaration, what follows should cause us to break out in a cold sweat:
“to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,—That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."
As the document says, people will put up with a lot of abuse from its government, including confiscation of our money, property, livelihoods, and pursuit of truth/happiness. How close are we to the “abolish” stage? If and when we reach that stage, who will win? I sure hope God is still with us.
Yes, Americans were British subjects, but Britian was far away and America was still a fairly wild untamed country, chock full of valuable resources and still influenced to some degree by Native American culture which gave a very different framework of understanding democracy imo. France was already broken and war torn from centuries of struggles, poverty, plagues, corruption, hoarding and depletion of resources and starving masses etc. We just didn't have that same situation in America at that time. I see America now as more like how France was back in their revolutionary era---a country divided against itself with corrupt leaders entrenched on all sides, a restless frightened populace with too many out of touch ivory tower pundits. I think being native, I just never invested fully in the US government, so I don't necessarily see changes in government as the solution. Part of the answer yes, but what I really fear is the insanity of the mob which is now so controlled by media, not just government, although of course government controls and heavily influences much of media. But I think there are more global controllers behind the scenes right now than we are aware of. Imo, we need a clear cut enemy to unite us as it has become nearly impossible to effectively battle the many headed hydras we are being strangled by these days. Thus the finger pointing and endless scapegoating which gives the illusion of relieving social pressure and fear. It's not just a left and right scenario anymore as imo and that of folks like Glenn Beck, the right is being aggressively co-opted just as the left has been.
I’ve heard of but never seen the musical and as usual your choice of lyrics is excellent new grist for my mill, so I’ll listen after I finish emails as when I click on links I have to sign in again. Not sure anyone read the FP yesterday but a Millennial posted a poetry essay mentioning some old classics wishing people would appreciate the platitudinous wisdom found when newspapers published poetry regularly. It struck me as solipsistic, apologetic, with the usual woke digs at Kipling and Tennyson etc, and a completely wrong approach to turning people on to poetry. So I made a fairly biting but not out of line critique, suggesting that poetry goes far beyond exhausted exhortations to “moral behavior”, then referenced some of my influences: the 18th Century work of Swift and John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester. and the Beats such as Ginsburg and Ferlinghetti (I was fortunate enough to be included in a Texas Beat Poets anthology a few years back). A guy immediately replied the article “wasn’t about poetry” (then why use it as the exemplar?) and that I obviously “didn’t understand the message”. Still on the site, I zinged back something like “I spent many seconds pondering the Olympian heights of his message but I must return to naval gazing stray lint”. Then came the real trolls, accusing me of ignorance, one claiming “anyone with your opinion has never read Tennyson or Longfellow” (Lady, I memorized Charge of the Light Brigade in Junior High and won my city’s UIL prize). I’ll stop now as I really just wanted to ask again how to unsubscribe to the FP because honestly, I’ve been skipping it or regretting reading it and yesterday broke my camel’s back. My Swedish Death Cleaning is consuming most of my time now and I’d rather spend what I do have on JIP than be insulted by middlebrow morons. Sorry about the rant; have a nice week, everyone! 🙋♂️
I think its under your profile... manage subscription. My understanding is that if you are signed up yearly, you first have to change to monthly - then cancel - so that a refund is possible.
I canceled mine a few months ago and have been very happy with that decision!
Thank you J and Unwoke-Y’all told me how to unsubscribe a few months ago but I have a lot on my plate and have had off and on again communication issues. I’m going to do it right now and come back here later. Peace ✌️
Beyond these tiny walls of JiP, the virtual world is a pestilent jungle inhabited by denizens of the left side of the bell curve, or maybe it’s just that the Howler Monkeys are the most annoying.
Again, many thanks to Celia for creating this sanctuary!
Parts of this song remind me of the various “fight” songs we used to sing @ summer camp when the camp was split in two for Olympics or Color war. Thanks for the memories Celia.
Thank you Celia, for your post and for the reminder of the Bastille Day. Though, in all honesty, as a person who survived and escaped socialism, I hold no warm feelings towards bloody revolutions. The best book I have ever read about the French one is “The place of Greater Safety” by Hillary Mantel. It is absolutely great, and I highly recommend it. I wish the younger generation had the patience to get through it ( it is not an easy reading). It would inoculate them and eliminate any romantic notion of the revolution. Because whatever noble ideas they have, it inevitably leads to the Reign of Terror.
It is almost invariably the case that when the ‘oppressed’ rise up and take over, they immediately become oppressors themselves. The fantasy that a revolution will result in a splendid utopia is the most false promise that activists make.
I only know the Scarlet Pimpernel from Black Adder (I'm sure you've seen it, Celia!). This was a great song! I am not able hige musical fan, but I would like to see this one. Thank you!
I saw the first Broadway touring production of SP and hated it. Some years later, I was reluctantly dragged to a regional production and fell in love. There had been revisions, yes; but the main difference was the level of investment into the reality of the characters. I had hoped to end my career with a production of Pimpernel - even had an amazing guillotine designed, constructed and stored for years in preparation. Unfortunately, life happened.
I’ve attended thousands of theatre productions in my life. With four exceptions, I have much preferred a regional or community theatre production of shows I have seen multiple times.
Broadway and official touring productions are more and more just gloss and glimmer, message and ego, inside jokes and - dare I say it - disdain for the audience (not their money, just their intelligence).
I've actually never seen a really bad Les Miz, but that was included in my four exceptions! Can't beat that revolving stage!
However, the originators actually came in and shut down the Broadway production for awhile because it had become hackneyed and dull. That's a common problem with other long-running Broadway and touring shows: the performers lose vitality as the production becomes "just a job."
On the New York City NBC affiliate, perhaps in a deliberate contrast to rural life, there was a public service ad relating to the loneliness of big city life, possibly for the ywca, after Modern Farmer. It went way over my head of the time.
I adore the Scarlet Pimpernel. In 1905 Fred Terry developed it into a play, despite the scathing reviews, the public loved it and Sir Percy Blakeney became one of his signature roles. It was revived a number of times and he used to send notices of the various revivals to the critics...
Here
The BBC has just issued its report into Gregg Wallace, the presenter who claimed autism made it impossible for him to wear underwear and this is why he kept appearing with a sock over his member... Over half the complaints were upheld against him. The BBC admits they could have stopped him earlier. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3endz88k2qo
It is the start of a bad week for the Beeb as the report into its handling of Gaza will also be released.
Trump's 2nd state visit will be on the 17 -19th September. Parliament is in recess at that time because it is party conference season. It was planned this way and works for Trump's busy schedule. https://x.com/RoyalFamily/status/1944681019069665433
In the cricket -- India need 193 to win with five wickets remaining. I suspect they will do it as they are probably the better side. Today is the last day so if India don't manage the runs before the close play and England don't manage to bowl them before then, the match will be a draw. It is a best of five series. The series is currently level. England has just taken an early wicket. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/live/cp8jxyxnep1t
Wonder what I could get away with by claiming autism......
Clearly NOT what he did! lol
Happy Birthday, Rainbow!
Clearly not! Thanks again.
Happy Birthday RWM! And many more, Weirdly, during my Swedish Death Cleaning yesterday I found an old box of cassettes from Junior High and High School, one of me reading a report about the invention of the guillotine (Doctor, may I have a French razor, please?)
No wonder I feel all off with their heads lately! Well not just lately, as that is a sort of normal state of affairs for me. Perhaps I was the guillotine master in a previous life........
I hope you are having a wonderful day, full of cake and all manner of good things.
They also used the guillotine in Scotland (1564 -1715). The Maiden resides in the National Museum of Scotland now.
Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday RMW !
😂😂
So the guy with the sock (which I assume covered it at full staff) couldn’t wear outerwear like pants either? And this was at a cooking show? So a pot of boiling something couldn’t didn’t accidentally spill in the vicinity to keep the pervert away?
It is a novel excuse...and particularly reprehensible because his son has non verbal autism.
Wallace blamed his downfall initially on women of a certain age.
Of course he did! What a creep.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have an album cover where they’re just wearing socks on their members. I used to live on the hill above Flea in Los Feliz and one time I was walking down and saw his trash can overflowing with fan letters. Read a few and thought “wow, people are crazy 😜 “ Great bass player
…and hilarious in “The Big Lebowski”
And the BBC have had their knuckles firmly rapped over the Gaza film that they had to pull. It breached editorial guidelines and the use of a child narrator was not appropriate.
It is going to be interesting if heads roll -- Tim Davie was on thin ice before...
Nandy, the culture secretary called the failures catastrophic. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cn7dpvee4gkt
And England v India is finely poised. India only have 3 wickets left, and all their batters have gone so it is just the tailenders (aka the bowlers) but they only have92 runs to get. There will be a result in this game as there seems no likelihood of rain. Even the gammon faced MCC members have abandoned their blazers (but not their Panama hats or ties)
Cricket.
I'm literally hanging on every sticky wicket.....
But I suppose baseball has the same effect on Brits.
On days like today when it is finely poised, it is actually very exciting and interesting.
You had Archer clean bowling Pandt to begin with -- the ball took the stump right out of the ground.
Then Stoke took a leg before wicket (lbw) on review -- the ball had hit the back pad and the batter had not played the shot. You can't use your leg to block the ball in that fashion.
Finally Archer did a bowled and caught with a fantastic diving catch. It is very hard to do. I was surprised he didn't break his hand.
The balls are v hard and are being bowled v fast. There are reasons why the batters wear helmets and indeed boxes over their family jewels.
And yes the jargon is used all the time.
It is also good to see the BBC on a sticky wicket re Gaza.
Bruce great minds think alike. I just asked Michelle for clarification on that metaphor. Cricket confuses the hell out of me.
Watching paint dry is more like it.
I always thought a “sticky wicket” had a negative connotation much like “a tar baby” (how un PC of me). Is that correct?
If a wicket is wet or damp, the ball turns unpredictably and it makes it difficult to bat on or score runs on.
It normally means people are in a spot of bother...and it could be tricky for them.
Wickets are best for batting when they are dry and predictable.
England took a wicket just before lunch. India are now 81 runs behind with only two wickets remaining. England have 2 more sessions -- the afternoon session and the after tea session to try and bowl them out.
They might actually do it. This is v exciting as England are often a triumph of hope over experience for the dedicated fan.
England still could mess up and India's remaining batters (you are supposed to call them batters instead of batsmen) could get the 81 runs required. The remaining batters are not known for their batting ability, but rather for their bowling.
Lunch for the players at Lord's is supposed to be exceptional btw. The MCC members also have their own room for lunch. The ordinary spectator will most likely bring their lunch in. It can be quite the production. You are not supposed to bring alcohol in, but can buy it.
Tea is also a proper English tea.
Batters often get out after lunch and tea...
There are a lot of cricketing metaphors in English.
I think that I am even more confused than before!
Each side has 11 players. One side bats and the other fields. You have two batters, each defending a stump.
The bowler pitches 6 balls at the stump for an over. The next bowler pitches 6 more balls at the opposite end stumps for the next over and so on.
The batters try to keep the stumps from being hit while trying to make as many runs possible (they are running between the stumps) If a batter hits the ball and it goes out of the boundary -- it is an automatic 4 runs. If it doesn't touch the ground and goes out of the boundary, it is an automatic 6.
Batters can be out if the stumps are knocked out of the ground, if the ball they have hit is caught before touching the ground, or if they are caught outside their crease/batting area when the ball is in play and the fielding side is able to reach the undefended stump (sometimes called a run out).
A lot depends on the condition of the wicket and indeed the ball. As a ball gets old through use, it is harder to get it to bounce. The bowler is aiming to hit the ground with the ball, so it bounces up unpredictably.
India at the moment are standing their ground and slowly making the runs. At the moment, England want to bowl to Bumrah who is not as good a batter as Jadeja. Jadeja wants to keep the strike (ie being the one facing the bowler) as he has more chance of hitting the ball.
It is all finely poised. I still think England can throw it all away.
In other news, you may recall in 2023, an aristocrat and her boyfriend went on the run for 2 months with their newborn baby. The baby was discovered dead. They have just been convicted of manslaughter.
I hadn't heard that last story. Yikes!
This is the background from the Telegraph. The man in question did a stretch in the US for rape. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/story-why-constance-marten-fell-rapist-mark-gordon/ or https://archive.ph/LHfsR
Michelle: I am sorry to keep bothering you but I think I represent JBell (though she hasn’t put me on retainer (🤵♂️) and confused Americans everywhere when I ask these questions:
1. Are the bowlers and batters 2 separate positions or can and do the bowlers bat? 2. Each side has two batters per “play” and their job on offense is to hit the ball then run repeatedly between the two stumps; however, on defense, their job is to protect the stump and/or catch the ball? 3. What constitutes an “out” if reaching the unattended stump means a “run out”. That’s enough for the moment but I’ve been confused about cricket for over 40 years. Freshman year we had a clutch of kids from the American high school in London (UT Austin, 15th Floor, Castilian) and they acted British (gin and tonic, the accents and phrases, etc) so I’d occasionally watch cricket through the years. I even tried to decipher the box scores once in the free Herald Tribune they give you on International flights and that made me even more confused. I’d tell folks afterwards: everything is understandable over there but don’t try to read the Sports section. 🙀
Thanks for your assistance in the matter. KHJ Attny etc
1. All bowlers will bat, but not all batters will bowl. Some people are just better at batting or bowling. Some are call 'all rounders' which means they can do both. The openers are always good batters. There is the middle order who can do both and then the lower order who are the bowlers. Sometimes it is enough for them to simply survive.
It is hard work bowling as there is a run up (a sprint) and then you release the ball. They only bowl a few overs before having a rest and letting another bowler take over from that end.
At the moment India's bowlers are batting. Jadeja is the last even semi-batter and he is doing remarkably well. We have now reached tea with one wicket remaining. It is on a knife's edge.
2. Each partnership is between two players. It is why there are 10 wickets. You always have the last man standing, left out on the crease with no one to form another wicket with. This is why you will sometimes see a batter's figures with (N O) or not out after them.
3. To get out -- 1. the ball is caught in the air. 2. the ball is played on to the stumps, knocking the bail (the cross piece off) 3. the ball hits the pad which is in front of the stumps (leg before wicket). It depends on if it came off the bat or the pad. 4. a batter is caught outside their crease/batting area.
A batter can play offensively --trying to make runs or defensively trying to survive and taking the singles and easy shots when they are offer. Currently India are playing defensively.
The match is incredibly tense because India have played such a brave innings, particularly Jadeja. Who is going to win after tea? No idea. But today is a great advert for a test match.
And this is the final wicket. You can see Siraj playing on.
https://x.com/SkyCricket/status/1944787783647727901
It was truly one of the great test matches of recent times.
I had the same thought. That’s why I logged back in. I just got off the phone with a probation officer-my client is an idiot- but I figured this chain might be my chance to finally understand cricket 🏏
Most criminals are idiots which is why they are criminals.
I will try to answer as much as I can about cricket. It is a fascinating game
England win! Finally. 22 runs ahead.
Sijar tried to defend but hit the ball backwards on to the leg side stump. Brashir was the bowler.
It was a nerve wracking match. I was certain India were just going to win it, but no, England came through.
Thank you for indulging me.
Rooting for England, always. I have English, Scots, and Welsh blood. Where we touring somewhere I told that to the elderly female tour guide she said “you’ve got all of that blood fighting up in you,don’t you?” 😹
Thanks for indulging me with that lucid explanation.
I will be in the UK during Trump's visit! Will be interesting to see how the locals react. I'll be in Yorkshire, where I'm from originally, but haven't been back to visit since 2019.
Undoubtably there will be a lot of eye rolling and grumbling. There always is. It is a chance for a certain section of people to behave badly and most will just try to ignore the whole thing.
I hope Trump enjoys himself. I understand he is going for a private visit to Aberdeen in August -- to one of his golf courses.
Several of my best friends in the UK commented on my last visit that they really liked Trump and were impressed with how he was running the country. I think it's mostly the liberal elites in the London area who are hostile. Hopefully they don't do the silly "baby Trump" parade in London - maybe they have more serious things to deal with at the moment with the illegal immigrant situation?
Do not get me started about the illegal immigrant situation. It is going to get worse because Iran (and Pakistan) have kicked over 1 million Afghans out. The numbers coming are unsustainable. A court in France has just ruled that all Palestinians should have refugee status.
Because accommodation is so expensive in London, they dump the asylum seekers in the poorer areas which means places like Middlesborough and W Yorkshire.
There are a lot of trustifarians in London who like performatively protesting.
I subscribe to Matt Goodwin's substack so I hear a lot about the immigration chaos. Hopefully they don't ruin West Yorkshire before I get over there! I'm from Bradford which has sadly gone downhill.
Bradford has severe problems. It is suspected that their grooming gang problem is huge.
But I suspect you will find a lot which is the same. It all depends on what you are doing and who you are seeing.
Since Dec, 1949, the UN has granted refugee status to Palestinians, both born and unborn. The victimhood has been baked in for over 75 years (and counting). France is late to the game, or rather continuing the game if in fact the UNRWA is being defunded by more than just the USA.
I was surprised at the number of Algerians in Naples. Rome was full of Bangladeshi. The Italian tour guide warned us about them. They were bold and insisted we buy whatever goods they were peddling. As soon as we walked out of the hotel(s), there they were, a few yards away, waiting to pounce on tourists. I was traveling without my husband. I missed him in more ways than one.
The scale of illegal immigration is becoming v noticeable.
Huge problems in Spain this weekend after a Spanish man was discovered beaten by some illegal Moroccans.
Greece and Italy are points of entry.
It is about limiting the pull factors, something which Starmer has not been good at.
I will look for the chance to see "The Scarlet Pimpernel."
(I fondly remember Daffy Duck's cartoon stage turn as "The Scarlet Pumpernickel.")
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a long time favorite. Hadn't heard this song before --it adds an extra depth tp Chauvelin. Thank you Celia for the continuing education and thanks to all for the good birthday wishes. I go out into the world fortified this am!
Happy birthday 🎁!
And many mooorrree! On channel fooouurr!
Happy Birthday RMW!
Happy birthday to you
Chachacha
Happy birthday to you
Chachacha
Happy birthday dear RMW
Chachacha
Happy Birthday to you
Chachacha ooh la la
Cut the cake and say HAI-YAH!!!
EAT MOR CHIKIN!!!
(Kudos to the crew at my daughter’s 5th birthday party for this version of the most sung song in the world)
Oh fun! Thanks for sharing.
Happy birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊!
I hope you have a great birthday!
The book was my favorite back in the day. I should reread it
Disney had some great shows for young people which activated imaginations. Anyone remember the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh? Then there was Ivanhoe on Saturday mornings along with Sky King and The Cisco Kid and the Lone Ranger. Life was good
I certainly remember "Sky King."
Always an early riser, I'd paddle down to our basement where the old console TV stood, its knob missing, and so I'd take my skate key out to turn the dial and tune into my favorites: "Modern Farmer" and "American Agriculture," one of them introduced by a thrilling bi-plane spewing a white cloud over verdant orchards -- probably, I realize now, DDT.
Then came "Rocky & Bullwinkle," "Sky King," and then "Fury" and "My Friend Flicka."
If I had a dime for every insignificant fact I remember . . . .
My Friend Flicka - yes! And Rocky was good. And merry melodies
Mighty Mouse, Underdog. We had a plethora to choose from
Right -- "Merry Melodies"!
I bought a DVD set of old cartoons some years ago. NOT politically correct -- they even came with a disclaimer -- but very funny.
Even when I was a kid, I liked the Hollywood spoofs best. Remember Greta Garbo in a tiny boat afloat somewhere, saying "I vant to be alone"?
I remember Boris and Natasha, Mr. Peabody and a Professor, Fractured Fairytales. Something like that? The actual names of those cartoons escape me. Does anyone know of what I am referring to?
Of course. That was "Rocky & Bullwinkle"!
And do you remember Dudley Do-Right, the Royal Mountie? A dead-ringer for Nelson Eddy in "Rose Marie."
(There's an Eddy Street in Providence, Rhode Island. That's right.)
Thanks B.! Yes, Boris and Natasha were the antagonists in "Rocky and Bullwinkle." I would have never remembered Dudley Do-Right, the Royal Mountie, but when you mention it, I instantly remember. I can recall exactly where I sat watching cartoons with my father and younger sister in our home in Flushing, NY.
Rocky & Bullwinkle was great fun.
LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Dudley Do-Right. I always insisted on directing at least one old-time melodrama every four years, to pass on the tradition of Do-Right to each new generation I taught. Great stuff!
My mother, who had a lovely contralto voice, used as a child to reenact Nelson Eddy movies with her little friends in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She always played the Nelson Eddy roles, and to her dying day knew all the words to all his songs. Her favorite was "Give Me Some Men Who Are Stouthearted Men."
Remember Murphy Brown? There was an episode where she’s talking with someone with a heavy Russian accent and says to them in a Russian accent, “you sound like you should be having conversation with Moose and Squirrel”. I still use that line.
In Supernatural, Crowley ends up calling Sam and Dean 'Moose' and 'Squirrel.'
Cartoons meant for kids, but written for adults! Big part of my youth.
Taught irony, sarcasm, satire, history, and why it’s important to laugh when the world goes crazy!
If you were an early riser like me, you were tormented by Davey and Goliath before the fun started.
I actually liked "Davey and Goliath."
Ha! I couldn't wait for it to end, and the good stuff to begin.
We had Speed Racer
That was one of my favorites!
Penny.
I think it went …”out of the blue of the western sky comes Sky King”. And his daughter Penny.
Loved Rocky & Bullwinkle! And Natasha the Russian spy 🕵️♀️
I just referenced Song of the South but that was a movie
Jupplandia was brilliant this morning. A refreshing view of the current Epstein situation.
I have been waiting for others to see my point of view on this, and am very happy to have read this!
https://jupplandia.substack.com/p/you-cant-be-maga-and-trying-to-bring?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1761987&post_id=168270951&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=15nx69&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Jupp is flat out brilliant.
This whole thing reminds me of Harvey Weinstein who for decades was a sexual predator and most of Hollywood knew about it. How did he so blatantly avoid charges? Powerful friends and massive wealth. He too was hobnobbing with the likes of the Clintons et al, as was Epstein. Power and money is an effective shield against perverse criminality of all kinds.
Agree. People knew about Harvey. But the thought of risking their film careers wasn’t a chance they wanted to take. That was his leverage.
Epstein had even more potential to do harm to the wealthy and powerful he associated with. The silence of Les Wexner, who left billions of dollars in money and assets in Epstein’s hands, is a good example of the fear and vulnerability he could induce on these folks.
Wexner’s philanthropy has done so much good in our community. He has and continues to donate massive sums of money to OSU hospitals and has built medical facilities all over the greater Columbus area where he opened his first business many years back. If you throw a rock in any direction here and around Cbus you’re sure to hit a building with his name on it. He managed to keep his personal life remarkably private despite his humanitarian efforts. Though he is married, rumors of his sexual orientation have been circulating for quite a long time and who knows what Epstein had on him in addition to that. We’ll probably never know it seems.
I dated his bodyguard "back in the day" (late 90's). He was so gorgeous and Irish and had a leprechaun tattooed on his bottom - loved it!
He probably knows a few things
Yes, around Columbus (I lived in Granville) rumors of Wexner's peculiarities were "known". It's interesting that Wexner seemed to be Epstein's one and only "investment" client. What was that relationship? How did they meet? It's also interesting that in everything Epstein, Wexner has really never been mentioned. He was essentially Epstein's benefactor. Another thing: where were all the #MeToo crowd to scream down Weinstein, Epstein and Maxwell? Didn't seem to be too important for the movement rallying for "women's rights". And why is nobody demanding answers from Merrick Garland as his DOJ investigated the whole thing?
Yes!!! All good questions with no good answers. Darkness will remain in the dark I suppose.
I'm always skeptical of the explosive outrage that seems to always come out of nowhere.
Sometimes darkness should remain in the dark.
Wexner even gave Jeffery Epstein Power of Attorney over him in 1991, thereby giving Jeff total financial power over Lex and his wealth. Wexner owned Victoria Secrets. Think of all the young, teen and pre-teen models you've seen in their ads. Fertile hunting grounds for a trip to Little St. James island for a poke with some powerful Boomers.
https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/2019/07/26/how-jeffrey-epstein-s-relationship/4592242007/
The whole thing is so bizarre that it's almost difficult to comprehend its depravity. We probably will never know how far and wide this story goes. I'd like the government to convince Maxwell to testify as to her own knowledge of events. She was there the entire time enabling the whole thing. And living like a queen while doing it.
I'm disappointed Trump won't allow a 'real' investigation by his new FBI. That is a part of the swamp he doesn't want to drain. My personal opinion on why there will never be a Maxwell interview. Because it might expose the Deep State. Ghislaine's dad was deeply in bed with MI6, KGB and the Mossad. People don't like to talk about the Maxwell Israel connection as it relates to Epstein and if you do, you're sometimes labeled an antisemite. But Rob Maxwell is buried in Jerusalem Mount of Olives and the prime minister of Israel at time of this death, Yitzhak Shamir gave the eulogy at Robert's funeral. Amid reports that Robert worked for intel Shamir stated (in 1991) that Robert Maxwell "has done more for Israel than can today be said". Robert, like Epstein' live a very flamboyant lifestyle and like Trump, was 'sue happy' against his opposition. He also left all his $$ to his daughter. It could be the undermining of the US-Isreal relationship that is at heart of Epstein case, and why it can't/won't be investigated. It's sad that we have to speculate this way, as I do support Israel and its right to exist and flourish. Just like I want America to be Great Again.
Harvey was one of hundreds - maybe thousands - in the line of Hollywood perverts and casting-couch creeps. They just chose him as the goat.
I would be totally surprised if his prosecution made any real difference in how business is done in The Business at all.
And Roman Polanski as the King Pedo!
Not the first and not the last.
See also Eve Barlow and particularly Sasha Stone. There's an antisemitic angle that had escaped me.
I’ve received a couple antisemitic rants by email and promptly shut them down. Perversion knows no religion.
The Jew haters are getting bolder imo. Just learned that at the Univ of WA law school graduation- one of the graduates wearing a Kaffeiyah stood on stage for a full 10 minutes holding a very large pro-hamas sign calling for armed resistance. The UW claims none of the staff noticed her and didn't know her name, even tho her name had just been announced as she received her degree.
I don't see it, but I sure do hear about it. My daughter (38) has followed the "Dave Matthew's Band" for over twenty years. She recently flew to Chicago to see them in concert. She told me upon her return, "I'm done with Dave! Between every set they made a political statement -very woke and pro-Palestinian."
That's just too bad, but sadly not that suprising. This endemic normalization of Jew hate is very concerning. It's not just the aggressive protestors anymore, it's filtered down to ordinary, everyday interactions. In other words, it is now taken for granted that 'everyone' should agree with this. Aayan said that an ordinary hair salon stylist she went to in the UK, randomly started talking about how the Jews were taking over the world. That kind of thing scares me more even than the riots and protests because it means the hateful messages have been absorbed and normalized at a much deeper societal level.
It's funny you mention a hair salon. Not long ago, a Jewish client was complaining about antisemitism. I overheard a black stylist saying, "Now they know what it feels like!" I couldn't believe my ears.
That was very good. I totally agree with the theory that these influencers, who don’t influence me, are only in it for clicks. Basically they are doing the dems dirty work, inadvertently or not.
I agree. It seems the Dems have found a way to undermine Trump. By turning a portion of his bases against him. So bizarre. Psychological warfare.
I’ll link soon but I thought I’d share about my one act play 14 Si! about the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein haunting a pedophile island developer. Might be time for a revival 🤔
That sounds fun!
That sounds fun!
JBell , thank you for the link. Outstanding piece.
Thanks JBell. These days anything that Tucker and/or Candace say or support is suspect for me. Listened to recent Glenn Beck interview on J-TV and he expressed his concern that the right is becoming more and more divided quite quickly. His own listeners are now turning against Beck for supporting Israel.
JBell, I also share your point of view. That was a good article, so thank you for sharing. I've only heard of Jupplandia through JiP. I wish people wouldn't use curse words, the "F" word in particular. It's standard operating procedure nowadays, but I still cringe. I grew up in a household where you weren't allowed to say, "Shut up!"
It’s unfortunate that his writing has typos and he uses the f* word.
I really lose respect for writers like that because it detracts from the otherwise valid points.
I agree with this essay.
Epstein is a distraction from the real reforms that Trump is seeking.
Steve Bannon disagrees with you, Brian.
Jupp’s post is on point, although I’m not a fan of his writing style. I really do hate that the moment Trump makes a decision that doesn’t align with some of his loudest supporters’ wishes, they turn rabidly against him, threatening a midterm victory. Jupp is right, it’s all about them as individuals. Selfish and short sighted.
It’s exactly what drives me crazy about the anti-Trump crowd. Trump does something, such as when he announced his tariff plan and people called or wrote me and wanted to hear me agree that it was the worst thing he’s ever done (fill in anything he’s done: shutting down USAID, laying off workers, firing DOJ prosecutors, deporting gang members, etc.) and not even considering that maybe it’s a good idea to see what the outcome is after a week or two passes, not a minute or two.
Tom Seibert attacking Bruce Miller in the comments was ugly. I’ve subscribed to Tom for a few weeks and he can sound like he’s a barrel of undiluted sulfuric acid, but he’s generally pouring it over somebody or group that deserves it. I’m wondering what triggered him to attack so quickly. Makes me dislike social media even more than I already dislike it. It’s the biggest reason I’ve never committed to writing my own substack (that and my dwindling brain power!).
Your brain power is impressive as is!
The knee-jerk hysteria is very reminiscent of covid: lots of doing without much thinking. Why has it become problematic to change one's mind? Trump's willingness to shift his prerogative and responses accordingly is a good thing. This is what the dems refuse to do as they continue to triple-down on every bad policy they've pushed and every tanturm they've thrown.
I consider Steve Bannon the godfather of MAGA and he called Epstein “the key that picks the lock on so many things — not just individuals, but also institutions.”
I think Trump unwillingness to investigate Epstein and its control / non control over our body politic is due to fear.
Several weeks ago Billiamo shared with us @ JIP some favorite Yiddish proverbs. The one that is stuck in my head over the Epstein gaslighting by Trump is this one:
“Truth never dies, but it lives a wretched life”
Did you all catch the story by Wired magazine on Friday claiming the Epstein jailhouse hallway video uploaded by DOJ last week and claimed to be ‘raw video footage’ — was actually manipulated? Weird, just like the last 20 years of the Epstein story.
I personally can handle the truth. Whatever it might be. I wish there was an actual investigation led by the Patel/Bongino led FBI that would be allowed to do it.
https://www.wired.com/story/metadata-shows-the-dojs-raw-jeffrey-epstein-prison-video-was-likely-modified/
The re-direction to ‘boogeymen’ like Tucker Carlson or Candace Owens and away from Trump administration unwillingness to investigate how Epstein became an overnight billionaire, who he worked for and why he ran a child sex ring for rich /elites — is also, IMO, a form of gaslighting.
I am not in any way shape or form a Jew hater. I’m MAGA and just awaiting the Retribution and Transparency that my vote was promised.
Another subscription. Arrgh!
Why Bastille Day is celebrated evades me completely. The French Revolution was utter madness. When the worst elements of society were allowed to run riot in an orgy of revenge, murder and depravity. Just like the "progressives" of today, they swept aside everything tried and just in society, imposing their death cult and evanescent views of a "just and new" society. And, just as today, the most ardent reformers were culled from the very worst of society - including, as today, a healthy dollop of leftist lawyers. And after all had been swept aside, and the king and nobility beheaded, what resulted? Well a new maximum leader, of course, the Corsican shrimp, who wasted the flower of French manhood in a mad quest of conquest, stopped dead by the Russian winter. Is there anything to celebrate in the loosing of criminals onto the streets of Paris and the mindless bloodshed that ensued?
The only good thing about 14 July is it's the birthday of our dear Rainbow. Happy birthday, my friend.
I was married to my lovely wife 41 years ago today.
Happy Anniversary!
Happy Anniversary!
Happy Anniversary !
Well, they invented cool new names for the months of the year and Delacroix’s Liberty Enlightening the World and the Marat bathtub stabbing painting are fantastic. So there’s that (just kidding)
I will hold that thought Bruce! I agree about Bastille Day. For me it is an object lesson in how quickly the mob can turn on a lauded hero trying to create freedom. Also how effectively a revolution can get completely co-opted and reversed from it's original aims.
Good summary Bruce. To me the French Revolution is what happens when the left gets all of its wishes, chaos ensues and society falls apart.
You have to nip it in the bud (Mamdami). The real problem are the zombie followers educated/indoctrinated by our schools. The Russian Revolution should not have happened, but it did despite the odds. The Mensheviks looked more powerful than the Bolsheviks on paper. As always, countries and empires fall from within. Good refresher:
https://open.substack.com/pub/conundrumcluster/p/elon-musks-reddit-retard-rebellion?r=o30r9&utm_medium=ios
Fascinating that three-months prior to the ignition of this hellacious calamity, the US was settling its second revolution in less than 15 years. Our first federal constitution - the Articles of Confederation — had proved itself so unworkable that the not-so-united states of America were about to relegate themselves to the trash heap of history. Instead, a bunch of guys got together, scrapped the Beta version, and came up with The Constitution, capital T, Capital C. Over the course of two years, each state weighed the wisdom of this new document, mostly on paper, and then ratified it. The Revolution, such as it was, was short and bloodless. As the Jacobins stormed the Bastille, our nation was getting comfortable with a new code of governance designed to manacle federal authority. How did that happen? Was the average American any different from the average Frenchman? Humanity is encoded to fight for what it believes is right. How did we suppress that predisposition?
I wonder if America was different from France in that we had a clear outward enemy, the British Crown, in our original fight to create freedom and autonomy. France was fighting it's own corrupt leaders and aristocracy from within. Even when the states began to fragment, they still had the pretty recent experience of all being united against a common enemy.
Perhaps. But the vast majority of the colonists, including many of the writers of the Declaration, considered themselves British subjects, and they believed the Monarchy had become too oppressive in the administration of their affairs. Initially, they just wanted George to back off.
As hopeful as the preceding sentence about our inalienable rights was in the Declaration, what follows should cause us to break out in a cold sweat:
“to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,—That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."
As the document says, people will put up with a lot of abuse from its government, including confiscation of our money, property, livelihoods, and pursuit of truth/happiness. How close are we to the “abolish” stage? If and when we reach that stage, who will win? I sure hope God is still with us.
Yes, Americans were British subjects, but Britian was far away and America was still a fairly wild untamed country, chock full of valuable resources and still influenced to some degree by Native American culture which gave a very different framework of understanding democracy imo. France was already broken and war torn from centuries of struggles, poverty, plagues, corruption, hoarding and depletion of resources and starving masses etc. We just didn't have that same situation in America at that time. I see America now as more like how France was back in their revolutionary era---a country divided against itself with corrupt leaders entrenched on all sides, a restless frightened populace with too many out of touch ivory tower pundits. I think being native, I just never invested fully in the US government, so I don't necessarily see changes in government as the solution. Part of the answer yes, but what I really fear is the insanity of the mob which is now so controlled by media, not just government, although of course government controls and heavily influences much of media. But I think there are more global controllers behind the scenes right now than we are aware of. Imo, we need a clear cut enemy to unite us as it has become nearly impossible to effectively battle the many headed hydras we are being strangled by these days. Thus the finger pointing and endless scapegoating which gives the illusion of relieving social pressure and fear. It's not just a left and right scenario anymore as imo and that of folks like Glenn Beck, the right is being aggressively co-opted just as the left has been.
Great comment.
Agree, Rainbow. We are distracted by the left/right trope and are missing the bigger picture.
🎯🎯
I’ve heard of but never seen the musical and as usual your choice of lyrics is excellent new grist for my mill, so I’ll listen after I finish emails as when I click on links I have to sign in again. Not sure anyone read the FP yesterday but a Millennial posted a poetry essay mentioning some old classics wishing people would appreciate the platitudinous wisdom found when newspapers published poetry regularly. It struck me as solipsistic, apologetic, with the usual woke digs at Kipling and Tennyson etc, and a completely wrong approach to turning people on to poetry. So I made a fairly biting but not out of line critique, suggesting that poetry goes far beyond exhausted exhortations to “moral behavior”, then referenced some of my influences: the 18th Century work of Swift and John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester. and the Beats such as Ginsburg and Ferlinghetti (I was fortunate enough to be included in a Texas Beat Poets anthology a few years back). A guy immediately replied the article “wasn’t about poetry” (then why use it as the exemplar?) and that I obviously “didn’t understand the message”. Still on the site, I zinged back something like “I spent many seconds pondering the Olympian heights of his message but I must return to naval gazing stray lint”. Then came the real trolls, accusing me of ignorance, one claiming “anyone with your opinion has never read Tennyson or Longfellow” (Lady, I memorized Charge of the Light Brigade in Junior High and won my city’s UIL prize). I’ll stop now as I really just wanted to ask again how to unsubscribe to the FP because honestly, I’ve been skipping it or regretting reading it and yesterday broke my camel’s back. My Swedish Death Cleaning is consuming most of my time now and I’d rather spend what I do have on JIP than be insulted by middlebrow morons. Sorry about the rant; have a nice week, everyone! 🙋♂️
I think its under your profile... manage subscription. My understanding is that if you are signed up yearly, you first have to change to monthly - then cancel - so that a refund is possible.
I canceled mine a few months ago and have been very happy with that decision!
You just go to your account and stop subscribing. If you pay by the year, it doesn’t renew. Same with a monthly sub.
Then do like I did. Stop any emails. I guess I overlooked Bari’s suggestions because I ended up getting one recently. So I unsubscribed from that.
PS. I can’t believe you’re still there.
Thank you J and Unwoke-Y’all told me how to unsubscribe a few months ago but I have a lot on my plate and have had off and on again communication issues. I’m going to do it right now and come back here later. Peace ✌️
Beyond these tiny walls of JiP, the virtual world is a pestilent jungle inhabited by denizens of the left side of the bell curve, or maybe it’s just that the Howler Monkeys are the most annoying.
Again, many thanks to Celia for creating this sanctuary!
The level of anti-smart is stunning.
Parts of this song remind me of the various “fight” songs we used to sing @ summer camp when the camp was split in two for Olympics or Color war. Thanks for the memories Celia.
Thank you Celia, for your post and for the reminder of the Bastille Day. Though, in all honesty, as a person who survived and escaped socialism, I hold no warm feelings towards bloody revolutions. The best book I have ever read about the French one is “The place of Greater Safety” by Hillary Mantel. It is absolutely great, and I highly recommend it. I wish the younger generation had the patience to get through it ( it is not an easy reading). It would inoculate them and eliminate any romantic notion of the revolution. Because whatever noble ideas they have, it inevitably leads to the Reign of Terror.
It is almost invariably the case that when the ‘oppressed’ rise up and take over, they immediately become oppressors themselves. The fantasy that a revolution will result in a splendid utopia is the most false promise that activists make.
I only know the Scarlet Pimpernel from Black Adder (I'm sure you've seen it, Celia!). This was a great song! I am not able hige musical fan, but I would like to see this one. Thank you!
I saw the first Broadway touring production of SP and hated it. Some years later, I was reluctantly dragged to a regional production and fell in love. There had been revisions, yes; but the main difference was the level of investment into the reality of the characters. I had hoped to end my career with a production of Pimpernel - even had an amazing guillotine designed, constructed and stored for years in preparation. Unfortunately, life happened.
I’ve attended thousands of theatre productions in my life. With four exceptions, I have much preferred a regional or community theatre production of shows I have seen multiple times.
Broadway and official touring productions are more and more just gloss and glimmer, message and ego, inside jokes and - dare I say it - disdain for the audience (not their money, just their intelligence).
I don’t know about that. I saw Les Miz with the original cast. Absolutely fantastic, although I do think the last song was anticlimactic.
I've actually never seen a really bad Les Miz, but that was included in my four exceptions! Can't beat that revolving stage!
However, the originators actually came in and shut down the Broadway production for awhile because it had become hackneyed and dull. That's a common problem with other long-running Broadway and touring shows: the performers lose vitality as the production becomes "just a job."
On the New York City NBC affiliate, perhaps in a deliberate contrast to rural life, there was a public service ad relating to the loneliness of big city life, possibly for the ywca, after Modern Farmer. It went way over my head of the time.