She comes up with this beauty:

Meet . . . well, I don’t think she has a name. In fact, I’m not even sure it’s a “she,” but it kind of looks like one. So let’s just assume it is, and call her Babe. We do know that she’s from the Taklamakan Desert in northwest China, and that she’s about 3,600 years old. And the reason we know her age is from . . . get ready . . . the cheese that was found around her head and neck — perhaps, as surmised by the experts, as a snack for the afterlife.

Really.

Oddly, scientists seem to be more interested in the cheese than in the mummified remains of the newly-discovered Xiaohe people. I’m not even clear on how they can be sure it is cheese, and not some disgusting blob of . . . well, whatever. But they are; and they say their studies will “show the way humans harnessed microbes to improve their food and how microbes can be used to track cultural influences through the ages.” [Katie Hunt, CNN, September 25, 2024.]

While I can certainly see the importance of those studies in relation to the future preservation of the Earth’s food supply, I’m not a scientist. I’d be much more interested in knowing where she got that hat.

*. *. . *

And while we’re digging into the past — literally — let’s talk about this big fellow — a woolly rhino who has been preserved in the Russian permafrost for more than 32,000 years, and was found with its skin and fur still intact. The paper published in the journal Doklady Earth Sciences also revealed that the woolly rhino had a large fatty hump on its back and that its fur changed color as it grew older. [Issy Ronald, CNN, September 25, 2024.]

Actually, everyone I know over the age of 75 complains about the same thing, so perhaps we homo sapiens are distantly related to the woolly rhino and just never knew it.

I’m sure the scientists who have been working on this unique find know what they’re doing. But looking at the artist’s rendering above, I can’t help wondering whether they might accidentally have stumbled upon the remains of former Communist Party General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev. All he needs is the horns:

*. . *. . *

Now from the ridiculous to the merely amusing, a new study has found that the octopus — normally a solitary creature — can actually work with other fish to hunt. And if the fish-assistants don’t work hard enough, the octopus will punch them to get them moving. [CNN, September 25, 2024.]

That’s clearly harassment. But I guess there’s no such thing as OSHA at the bottom of the sea. Too bad, little fishies.

*. *. . *

And finally, this one simply scares the bejeezus out of me. It has nothing to do with any form of animal life, but takes place several billion light years from Earth, in one of those terrifying black hole things.

This rendering is said to illustrate “massive jets of material shooting from a black hole [that] dwarf even the largest galaxies.” [Ashley Strickland, CNN, September 25, 2024.]

Holy crap!

Again, this is advanced science, so I can’t pretend to comprehend what these things mean. But the report speaks of such terrors as a “megastructure [that] spans 23 million light-years in length, making these black hole jets the largest ever seen.” And: “Black holes are viewed as the garbage disposals of the universe, gobbling up nearly everything that comes close to them.” [Id.]

Okay, I want to know: Just how close is “close”? Or maybe I don’t want to know . . . not about that, or any of the rest of the report. I’m already dreading falling asleep tonight; this is a nightmare just waiting to happen.

Thanks a lot, Ma Nature. I liked it better when we knew less about you.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/26/24

That’s what they are — those people who call themselves Members of the U.S. Congress. They’re Grinches.

Both houses yesterday passed yet another budget stopgap bill, just four days before the end of the fiscal year. And they are no doubt congratulating themselves for averting a shutdown of the government.

Well, hold the congratulations, folks. Because what they’ve really done is ruin Christmas . . . yet again. This week’s action just carries us to December 20th, which means another knock-down-drag-out fight over what to keep and what to slash from the proposed budget. And if they can’t pass it in time, and the majority of government workers get sent home just before Christmas, and their salaries get held back until they return to work, then . . .

It’s not a pretty picture, is it? And it’s even uglier when you think about the fact that those very Members of Congress who created the problem will continue to be paid without interruption, because their compensation is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. And changing that would require a Constitutional amendment, which would have to be ratified by . . . any guesses? . . . right you are:

Both houses of Congress.

WHAT??!!!

You read me correctly. Some people may not realize that, but it’s true. Check it out. It’s Article I, Section 6, Clause 1, and the 27th Amendment. And if your Senator or Congressperson is running for reelection this year, you might want to find out how they voted on the budget yesterday before checking that box on the ballot in November.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/26/24

Boy, some people really know how to take the joy out of life.

Beautiful, isn’t it? But it’s also turbulent, a little frightening: the artistic outpouring of a tortured soul. It is a priceless work of art, hanging in New York’s Museum of Modern Art for all to see, for each to interpret in his or her own way.

Or is it, instead, a depiction of “the mathematical structure of turbulent flow”? [Katie Hunt, CNN, September 19, 2024.]

What was that again? What on earth is “turbulent flow”?

Well, damned if I know. After reading Ms. Hunt’s rather lengthy, very informative article on the subject, I have no clearer understanding of the concept than I had before. Science is not my thing. In fact, I had never before even heard the term.

And I wish I hadn’t heard it now, because it has altered the way I look at Van Gogh’s masterpiece — in fact, all of his works. I don’t think that art should be viewed from a scientific point of view, which is apparently what some physicists in China and France have done with this particular painting.

As described in the article:

“As a common natural phenomenon observed in fluids — moving water, ocean currents, blood flow, billowing storm clouds and plumes of smoke — turbulent flow is chaotic, as larger swirls or eddies, form and break down into smaller ones.

”It may appear random to the casual observer, but turbulence nonetheless follows a cascading pattern that can be studied and, at least partially, explained using mathematical equations.” [Id.]

The article goes on to explain more of the study headed by one Yongxiang Huang of Xiamen University, China, and how,

“Using a digital image of the painting, Huang and his colleagues examined the scale of its 14 main whirling shapes to understand whether they aligned with physical theories that describe the transfer of energy from large- to small-scale eddies as they collide and interact with one another.” [Id.]

Enough!! I don’t want to know how they “precisely measured the brushstrokes and compared the size of the brushstrokes to the mathematical scales expected from turbulence theories,” or that “they used the relative brightness or luminance of the varying paint colors.” [Id.]

The article goes on to discuss the “fluctuations in a flow’s speed and the rate at which its energy dissipates,” as described in the 1940s by Soviet mathematician Andrey Kolmogorov’s theory of turbulence. And something about weather forecasting; the “plasma between galaxies”; “algae blooms being swept around by ocean currents, or dust and particulates in the air”; and the Great Red Spot on the planet Jupiter.

I’m sure that is all fascinating — and possibly even of some scientific importance — to experts in the various fields of science. But to me, it is a joy-killer.

All I want to do is lose myself in The Starry Night in all of its dark beauty. Don McLean knew what he was doing when he wrote the haunting music and lyrics to the immortal “Vincent.” That, to my mind, is how you pay tribute to a work of art and its creator.

The next thing you know, someone will be telling us that Mona Lisa’s smile is crooked, indicating the probability that she suffered from some debilitating illness. And I definitely do not want to know that.

Just sayin . . .

Brendochka
9/25/24

Meet Pesto, the celebrity king penguin from the Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium in Australia. His keepers describe him as a “walking feathery poop machine” . . . but that’s not why he’s famous. It’s his size.

I love penguins — all penguins — and this big fellow has really stolen my heart. He’s just six months old, and it seems that, at three feet tall, he’s already looking down at his dad. The average height of a full-grown king penguin — the second-largest breed of penguin next to the emperor — is anywhere from 28 to 39 inches, usually reached at 14 to 16 months of age. So Pesto has at least another 10 months of growth to look forward to, and he’s already within three inches of the usual maximum height.

He’s also a voracious eater, already consuming twice as much as the average adult, and currently weighs in at about 50 pounds — some 10 pounds above the average adult range of 21 to 40 pounds. And with all of that food comes a lot of work for the keepers, since penguins poop every 15 minutes. (Kind of like prepping for a colonoscopy . . . every single day of your life.)

Some of his bulk is feathers, which he will lose when he fledges and achieves that “tuxedo” look; but he’ll always be the biggest kid on the ice block.

All I can say is, that must have been some gigantic egg his parents had to take turns sitting on for nearly two months! And just the thought of momma laying it . . . Well, never mind; it’s too painful to contemplate.

One of his keepers has said that he has already started losing some of his baby feathers, and will soon be starting his swimming lessons with his dad. “Sometimes they become quite independent teenagers, so maybe he’s ready for his bad boy phase,” she said. [Lilit Marcus, CNN, September 22, 2024.]

I say, hand that bad boy a basketball and get him on the neighborhood team. Give him a nickname like Shaq or Magic, and teach him to dribble and shoot. Might as well put that height to good use.

When he isn’t busy pooping, that is.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/25/24

I know what writer’s block feels like . . . I’ve been through a recent bout of it myself. Staring at that blank screen, hour after hour. Searching the internet for fascinating news items; searching my brain for amusing memories to pass along in the hope that others will find them interesting. And nothing clicks.

Can that also happen to people who speak, rather than write, for a living or a pastime?

Could the always eloquent Dmitry Peskov — the adorable front man for the Kremlin leadership — be running out of new ways to say . . . well, anything?

Or maybe he just didn’t have time to come up with something fresh and new to start the week when asked on Tuesday whether the Russian government might be thinking of altering its stance on nuclear arms control. Instead, this is what he had to offer:

“Please re-listen and re-read the statements that the president has made on this issue — I mean on the topic of possible permission for the use of Western weapons deep into the territory of Russia. The statement that the president made in St. Petersburg. The position of the Russian Federation is very clearly stated there.” [Dmitry Antonov and Guy Faulconbridge, Reuters, September 24, 2024.]

The statement to which he was referring was one made by Vladimir Putin on September 12th:

“If this decision [on missiles] is taken, it will mean nothing less than the direct involvement of NATO countries, the United States and European countries in the war in Ukraine. this will be their direct participation, and this, of course, will significantly change the very essence, the very nature of the conflict.” [Id.]

Perhaps there was just no better way to say it. Some words are so clear, so memorable, so eternal in their message, they cannot be improved upon — such as Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, Mark Antony’s speech at Caesar’s funeral, Lady Macbeth’s mad scene, or Nikita Khrushchev’s incomparable “We will bury you.”

Or perhaps Dmitry suddenly recalled his boss’ use of the word “war” in that statement on September 12th, and was anxious to change the subject lest someone ask what happened to the “special military operation.”

Whatever the reason, I am quite sure our ever-dependable Dmitry Peskov will be back with more of his famous bon mots in short order.

Looking forward to hearing from you as always, Dima.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/25/24

This message is addressed to presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and his entire campaign staff, but especially to his publicity team. For all other readers, it’s just for laughs.

PLEASE NOTE: There are two Georgias.

One is right here in the southeastern corner of the United States, just north of Florida: the great State of Georgia. Its capital is Atlanta. This Georgia figured prominently in both the U.S. Revolutionary War and the U.S. Civil War. Jimmy Carter lives here. I also live here. It is very pretty — lots of Spanish moss hangin’ from the live oak trees. It is also known for its fantastic peaches and peanuts, and a lot of genuinely nice people. What it doesn’t have is real winter weather. But no place is perfect.

The “other” Georgia is an actual country. It has a much older history than the U.S. Georgia, is located in the Caucasus Mountains of Europe, and borders on Russia, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Black Sea. Its capital is Tbilisi (you don’t have to pronounce the “T”). It so happens that I have visited there, and I have a good friend who is from there, so I know the difference. It is also very beautiful, but in a more rugged, free-spirited way. And they speak a whole different language, with a whole different alphabet. It would be difficult to mistake it for the U.S. Georgia.

But somehow, Donald Trump — or his publicity team — did just that, posting a new ad for his campaign with a picture of “Georgia” — but the wrong one:

Analysis of the photo has shown that it is a stock image of the views of Upper Svaneti in the Caucasus Mountains of northwestern Georgia (the country). [Cameron Henderson, The Telegraph (UK), September 23, 2024.]

Okay, it’s a little thing, and some would say it’s not worth mentioning. But for a bunch of people who play fast and loose with the truth on a regular basis, it’s just one more indication of their general disregard for facts.

And it’s really irritating to the people of Georgia . . . both Georgias! So, it’s bad for the campaign, and bad for international relations.

In closing, to the researchers and/or writers responsible for this particular boo-boo, a word of advice: Google is only as good as the information you feed it in your questions. Details, people. Details.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/24/24

There is no joy in Moscow — the Russian chess team has struck out.

At a general assembly meeting of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in Budapest last week, a vote was passed to maintain sanctions against both Russia and Belarus, banning them from international competitions.

Actually, they were both booted from the Federation in 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This most recent action merely extends that ban. Those members who supported the extension say that chess in Russia is controlled by Vladimir Putin, and that some of his people — including the ubiquitous Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov — sit on the board of the Russian Chess Federation (CFR), which operates the game domestically. [Will Vernon, BBC News, September 22, 2024.]

In the overall scheme of things — an ongoing war costing tens of thousands of young Russian lives, economic problems, sanctions, drones hitting Russian territory — you would be forgiven for thinking that chess should be the least of Russia’s worries. But it isn’t — not for a country with its history of excellence . . . and winning. Just think of a few of the past masters — Boris Spassky, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov . . .

Chess was especially a source of pride during Soviet times, when the USSR lagged behind the West in so many areas of achievement. And it was not only the realm of the intelligentsia. Those pictures you see of people playing chess at tables in parks throughout Russia are not fake. I even encountered a pair of elderly gentlemen at just such a location in Kyiv in 1993. (Yes, that is in Ukraine; but remember that until 1991 it was part of the Soviet Union.)

So it must be especially painful for them to lose the opportunity to beat the rest of the world at something . . . anything . . . when they have lost so much credibility already.

But that’s the price you pay for playing dirty.

Check. And mate.

Just sayin’ . . ..

Brendochka
9/24/24

An article by RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty (rferl.org) caught my eye yesterday. The header read:

“Punishment for ‘Russophobia’ To Be Added To Russian Criminal Code.”

Well, that sounded as though the Russian people were now going to be punished for being afraid of . . . whom? . . . themselves? That made no sense. And reading on, hoping for clarity, I found only further obfuscation:

“Russian authorities plan to amend the Criminal Code by adding punishment for ‘Russophobia,’ defined as discrimination against Russian citizens and residents of the Russian Federation by foreigners and foreign officials abroad or calls for such actions.” [RFE/RL, September 23, 2024.]

Did you catch that: “ . . . by foreigners and foreign officials abroad . . .” ??!!!

So I wondered whether that meant that, by sitting here in the comfort of my own home in the United States and writing the truth about the Putin regime, I could be tried in absentia in Moscow and convicted of something that is not and never has been a crime where I “committed” it. And it turns out, that is exactly what it does mean.

Well, when that law goes into effect (as it almost certainly will), add one more point of pride to my resume: Wanted Criminal (but only in Russia).

Me . . . and countless millions of others.

But the language of the proposed new law hasn’t been finalized yet. For one thing, the draft as approved by the Cabinet said that the punishment for this new crime would be the “barring of convicted individuals from occupying certain posts and conducting certain activities in Russia.” But someone in the government realized that didn’t make sense, as the law was meant to affect only individuals living outside of Russia. [Id.]

Glad they caught that one, since the Cabinet apparently can’t tell a local from a foreigner.

As presently drafted, the law also fails to specify what is considered “discrimination” of Russian citizens and residents. Perhaps that was left intentionally obscure to allow maximum latitude to the courts in determining guilt.

Did I say “perhaps”?? Hell, just look at the people who have been convicted of high treason for “insulting the Russian military,” or simply criticizing the government. One dual U.S.-Russian citizen, Ksenia Karelina, a legal resident of Los Angeles, California, is in a Russian prison now for having contributed — in the United States — $51.80 to a charity that offers assistance to victims of the war in Ukraine. (She made the mistake of going to visit family in Russia, where she was promptly arrested.)

Who needs specifics when you have a president who seems to have a phobia of Russophobia?

Vladimir Putin has publicly spoken of the West’s “cancellation of the Russian culture”; and officials in the Foreign Ministry, among others, have labeled Western sanctions imposed since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine an “expression of Russophobia.” [Id.]

So we — that would be everyone outside of Russia — are now to be judged by the Russian government for being critical of any member of the government, from Putin on down to the Kremlin cleaning staff, or presumably of any and all things that might be considered part of the “Russian culture.”

*. *. *

I think I’m in big trouble. Because I believe Putin is as corrupt a despot as ever lived; Dmitry Medvedev is a crazed, war-mongering lunatic; Sergey Lavrov needs a facelift; the war in Ukraine is illegal; and I hate borshch. In fact, I hate beets. Period.

So sue me.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/24/24

Mea culpa! I lost track of the days — a common hazard shared by the unemployed and retired population. And mercifully, there have been no new names to add to our list this week.

So here — one day late, for which I again apologize profusely — is my weekly tribute to the eight American hostages being held in Vladimir Putin’s prisons. All eight are still there, as far as I know. And so we must remember them once again, and encourage them to stay strong and never give up hope — hope that negotiations for their release are moving forward behind the scenes.

In no particular order, they are:

Ksenia Karelina, dual U.S.-Russian citizen, recently convicted of espionage and sentenced to 12 years in prison for contributing $51.80 to an American charity providing aid to Ukraine.

*. *. *

U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Gordon Black, who was stationed in South Korea when he fell into a Russian “honey trap.” He was on his way back to his home in Texas, on two weeks’ leave, when he was lured to Vladivostok by the Russian girlfriend he had met in Korea. He was arrested in May of 2024 on charges of alleged larceny and murder threat, and sentenced the following month to a prison term of three years and nine months.

*. *. *

Marc Fogel, a schoolteacher from Pennsylvania, was arrested in August of 2021 for possession of 0.6 ounce of legally-prescribed (in the U.S.) medical marijuana. In June of 2022 he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

*. *. *

Robert Romanov Woodland, a dual US-Russian citizen, was teaching English in Russia when he was arrested in January of 2024 for allegedly attempting to sell drugs. In July, he was sentenced to 12-1/2 years in a maximum security prison.

*. *. *

Robert Gilman, already in jail in Russia serving a 4-1/2-year sentence (later reduced to 3-1/2 years on appeal) for kicking a police officer in 2022, found himself facing added charges in 2023 of punching prison staff in the head, and later also attacking a criminal investigator and another prison guard.

*. *. *

David Barnes, an American citizen and resident of Texas, was arrested in January of 2022 while visiting his children, who had been taken to Russia from Texas by his Russian wife. He was charged and sentenced in the fall of that year to 21 years in prison for child abuse (allegedly occurring while in Texas), on his wife’s accusation. I really wish I knew more of this story!

*. *. *

Eugene Spector, a dual US-Russian citizen already serving a four-year sentence handed down in June of 2021 on a bribery conviction, received additional charges of suspicion of espionage in August of 2023. No other details have been found, as the evidence is labelled “classified.”

*. *. *

Michael Travis Leake, a rock musician and former paratrooper, was sentenced in July of this year to 13 years in prison on drug charges — specifically, suspicion of selling mephedrone, and organizing a drug trafficking business “involving young people.”

*. *. *

And again I ask: Are any of these prisoners actually guilty of the charges leveled against them? I don’t know. But I do know that the recent timing of a number of the arrests, and the speed with which they were brought to trial, is a clear indication of Russia’s intentional roundup of American citizens to be used as (what I call) Putin’s Pawns.

What they are, quite simply, are HOSTAGES. And they will not — MUST not — be forgotten. Let’s shorten this list to zero.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/23/24

If the original group consists of, say, 100 people, then I suppose that losing a third of its population could be considered a mass exodus. But 34 people from the entire United Kingdom suddenly deciding to ditch the “woke” society of their homeland and seek a better, more “spiritual” life in Russia . . . I think I’d be more inclined to label that as a localized outbreak of delusion . . . resulting from the confusion . . . caused by an illusion . . . created by . . . I’d have to say stupidity here, even though it doesn’t rhyme. Sorry.

Add to this number a Canadian family of ten (the Feenstras) and an American family of five (the Heyers) (see my previous posts), and you’ve got 49 people — eleven of them minors dragged along by their parents — moving to a place about which they obviously know absolutely nothing, but believe to be a land of opportunity, morality, and security.

And how did this happen? Well, somehow this handful of people got the word that Vladimir Putin has offered to “save” the folks in the West who identify with Russia’s “spiritual and moral values [from Western] destructive neoliberal ideological attitudes.” [Kieran Kelly, The Telegraph, September 23, 2024.]

And in order to expedite his humanitarian undertaking, Lord Putin even had the immigration laws changed by Executive Order on August 19th, removing the former requirements that applicants for permanent residence must speak Russian and have knowledge of the “history and fundamentals of Russian legislation.” [Id.]

Of course, the Russian propaganda machine jumped right into action to take advantage of this boon. According to a report on Kremlin-connected Tsargrad TV:

“In the West, it seemed like they were just waiting for Putin’s document to appear … Tired of the liberal agenda — that’s how everyone who contacted the Russian diplomatic mission explained their decision.” [Id.]

And Major General Irina Volk, speaking for the Russian Interior Ministry, said that such moves are the result of “the abolition of traditional moral and family values in American society, as well as the low level of education.” [Id.]

(The above is shown as the official photo of the Interior Ministry. But am I the only one who think it looks more like an AI-created picture? Check out the hands, and the Adam’s apple, the too-perfect eye makeup, etc. Or maybe I’m just super-sensitive to the recent AI bombardment.)

Anyway, back to the subject at hand . . .

*. *. *

Consider the contrast: 878,500 immigrants from around the world who became citizens of the United States in 2023; 202,000 new citizens of the U.K. in the same year; and . . . what was that number again? . . . oh, right . . . 49 applicants in Russia thus far in 2024. They’re just beating on the doors over there, aren’t they?

And as an added incentive, Putin has said that any of these misbegotten souls who might be insane . . . er, eager enough to consider joining the Russian fighting forces in Ukraine would be welcome to do so. It seems that at least two from the U.K. already have: Ben Stimson and Aiden Minnis.

British historian and Executive Director of Mayak Intelligence, Mark Galeotti, said that Russia would have “no qualms” about accepting these immigrants into the military to fight in Ukraine, and would consider it to be “a great PR advantage.” But he feels that the greater advantage is the propaganda that would be directed at the Russian populace:

“It is not the same as recruiting a bunch of Nepalis whom you can pay peanuts to. This is more about the propaganda, which is about being able to say, ‘Look, these Westerners are so sick of wokeness in the West that they recognise Russia is much better.’” [Id.]

I wonder how many of those Russians — the ones trying to find a way out of the country, or whose relatives or friends are in prison for speaking out against the Putin regime — are actually buying that sh*t.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/23/24