SoINeedAName

Friday Fun: He HATES Being Called “Bunker Boy”

 Posted by at 3:30 pm  Politics
Jun 052020
 

Hey, Ivanka – Where’s Your Pa?

Hiding in the Bunker! HA! HA! HA!

Turning off all the lights and heading down to the basement to avoid Trick-or-Treaters might work on Halloween. But when the country you’re supposed to be leading is facing a global Pandemic that has killed over 100,000 Americans, leading to near Depression level unemployment and economic catastrophe – hiding in a bunker will simply not work in trying to ignore the racial chaos that you yourself helped create.

And yet the man who thinks a mask makes him look “weak” is now cowering … errr, I mean “inspecting” the White House Bunker.

In fact VP Pence snapped a candid shot of him giving the floor a close-up examination:

It’s clear that this new “Bunker Boy” sobriquet is driving him crazy! So let’s give him a shove in that direction!

In heading down to the Bunker and turning out the lights in the White House, Trump was able to set a couple of records:

And who could imagine that the Simpsons TV show would be able to actually predict history? Other than for a president’s funeral, the lights of the White House remain lit all the time … except when Bunker Boy is cowering.

Fortunately, Melania was there to help him down those scary stairs …

And he at least did bring his Bunker Inspector hat with him …

But his only real concern was his own personal safety …

In fact, here he is peeking out to see if the coast is clear …

Looks like we’re not the only ones who got a good laugh from Bunker Boy’s cowardice …

And I think we can all imagine John McCain voicing these closing thoughts up in heaven …

BONUS

I’ve seen what’s described as a great song parody of Bunker Boy. Obviously I’ll have to take other folks’ word for it – but I’m sure you’ll enjoy it:

 

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Saturday Smiles: An Artist Who Found the Key(s) to Success

 Posted by at 2:38 pm  Politics
May 302020
 

Most of us have probably seen George Seurat’s well-known example of Pointillism: “A Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte” (1884-1886).

Artist Erik Jensen has updated this process using computer keys from discarded keyboards instead of dots of paint. Employing a flathead screwdriver, he wedges it under the edge and then “peels” them off the board.

(He actually now pays his Mom to strip the keyboards.)

Jensen refers to his art technique as “Tech-Pointillism” with each key becoming a pixel, like on a computer screen. A single project can take up to 40,000 keys – that’s about 460 keyboards! But since he possess over 8,000 discarded QWERTYs, he’s pretty well set “paint-wise”.

He was inspired by a college art class assignment where students had to transform something nobody any longer wanted into something they did.  Realizing that we all are familiar with a keyboard and its myriad of applications, he decided to use old and discarded keyboards to transform them into a piece of art.

Since he doesn’t cut any of the keys, each piece must adhere to a strict grid pattern. This makes recreating curves and circles the most difficult part of the creation.

To begin, after stripping the keyboards, he soaks the keys in a soapy solution for at least 24 hours to get rid of dirt, grease, grime, food and cat hairs.  Then to stock his palette, he dyes the lighter colored keys in a multitude of colors and shades.

He has a secret dye recipe that the keys are soaked in for varying lengths of time. The longer they stay in the dye, the darker the shade of that color.  And he stores all the varying shades of that one color in a plastic bin.

The special feature of his secret dye recipe is that it does not obscure the letters.  That’s important to Jensen because if you stand back, you’ll see a masterpiece reproduction.  But if you look closer, spelled out with computer keys, you’ll find quotes from the great masters.  Like Van Gogh’s quote of “I dream of painting and then I paint my dreams” found in Jensen’s “Starry Night”.  (There’s an example in the YouTube video)

Jensen was born deaf (he has since had a cochlear implant) and at one time taught high school art and American Sign Language (ASL).  He said that because of his deafness he learned to communicate through his art.  Consequently, he believes art is his first language, and English is his second.

He always turns his cochlear implant off when he’s creating: “I love silence. Silence is my music.”  And clearly he gets a big kick out of his unique brand of creativity.  Why, some of his creations are even edible – like this Pablo Picasso portrait:

To enjoy more of this unique artist’s work, take a look at his funky Facebook page – or his more serious website.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/Erikjensenart/posts/

https://www.erikjensenart.com/computerkeyart

 

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Friday Fun: Life Imitates Art … No, Really!

 Posted by at 2:50 pm  Politics
May 222020
 

Like other similar venues across our nation, the world-famous J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles was closed to visitors because of COVID-19. So its staff decided to engage the public with an actual “Life Imitates Art” challenge. And the results were pretty amazing!

There were so many creative and wonderful ones it was hard to choose. Some of them were quite abstract, so I limited myself to ones that a non-arts aficionado could enjoy.

But even that left me with over 40 selections. So I decided to group them in very broad themes. There will be some overlap as one submission could qualify for more than one theme.

Let’s start with Animals. Proving yet again that cats are free-spirit critters (and confirming the old adage that they cannot be herded) there wasn’t one employing a kitty cat.  A ferret – YES, but no cat.

One popular painting was “Girl with a Pearl Earring” by Johannes Vermeer.  But I decided to go with “Male with a Pearl Earring”.

I was a bit surprised that Frida Kahlo self-portraits was such a popular subject. I thought these were the two best.

There were a few of the “Ugly Duchess” by Quentin Matsys which were quite well done. (One wonders if the subject knew the title of the painting they were portraying – although the two I picked were both males.)

Far away the most common theme simply involved people. Because there were so many, I made three GIFs; but I didn’t do a very good job dividing them up.

There were a couple cute Rockwell ones.

And I thought we should end with a selection memorializing what generated this “Life Imitates Art” challenge – the Coronavirus Quarantine. So the last one features artworks employing Toilet Paper and Masks.

I’m not sure if all those submitted are at the above Tweet – but there are quite a lot more there for your viewing pleasure.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: I always select “Do NOT Stack Frames” – but have never been successful in getting it applied.  So I apologize that there are remnants of previous ones that annoyingly hang around.]

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Saturday Smiles: The Mother of Invention

 Posted by at 11:17 am  Politics
May 162020
 

When China was the epicenter of the coronavirus, until Trump’s bungling mismanagement stole their title (“We’re #1! – We’re #1! – We’re #1!”) … like here in the USA now, masks we’re in short supply.

In fact they became so valuable, they took the place of poker chips!

But as the saying goes: “Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention!” And it appears that the Chinese were quite inventive.

Far away the most popular transformer was those giant water bottles:

Of course there always a show-off who takes the water bottle to a whole other level:

But not far behind water jugs was the Produce section of your local market, with cabbage, lettuce and oranges leading the way:

Then there always are those who follow the “Out of an abundance of caution” dictum, and take no chances:

Not sure exactly how this one functions, but it does look quite comprehensive – if a little too Tin-Foil-Hatish:

And there was one who compromised virus safety by accommodating his smoking addiction with a closable port:

I suppose anything in a pinch will do – I just hope it was a new sponge:

It seems that women’s products could also serve a double purpose. I thought I was being cautious by inserting a coffee filter between the layers of my homemade mask – but I guess you use what’s at hand:

And a farmer here in the USA used part of his wife’s bra:

In fact there were quite a few How-To videos on repurposing a bra for a mask. But sadly, this nurse’s efforts fell hilariously short:

 

And one just because I found it so cute:

Most of us are now weeks and weeks into self-quarantining, and are suffering from “Quarantine Fever”.  So I want you to be honest, and confess what stage you now find yourself:

 

 

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Friday Fun: “Free Rude Questions” – NSFW … But FUNNY!

 Posted by at 4:59 pm  Politics
May 012020
 

Over at Daily Kos, Kossack Noah Veil posted a Diary this week dispensing “FREE RUDE QUESTIONS” to share regarding actual “NASTY” queries that Trump should really be asked. To help in that endeavor, I’m “borrowing” a few from a very, VERY long list that I encourage you to enjoy at the link.

They tend to not follow a linear path, and I’ve scattered a few new suggestions along the way, but it deservedly earned its 474 Recommendations! And I can just envision John Cleese of Monty Python fame asking them.

NSFW Due to Language

They employ a GREAT deal of … ahhh … hmmm … “salty” language that I have elected to leave as is. (Not only would they lose their punch, but otherwise I’d be spending hours cleaning them up). So considered yourself WARNED!

When were the streets of Washington D.C. emptier: During your Pandemic, or during your inauguration?

Since you claim testing isn’t necessary, why does everyone who comes near you get a test?

What kind of fucking asshole lies to people about whether they can get tested for a potentially fatal virus?

Can you define corruption and explain how many ways it applies to you?

What do you have to say to the vast majority of Americans who think you are the biggest fucking idiot to ever hold political office?

Have you ever told the truth about anything? Prove it.

Hold up a stopwatch and say …

REPORTER: “Starting now, how long can you go without telling a lie?”

Click.

TRUMP: ”I don’t tell lies….”

Click.

Well, that was quick!

This cat turd in my pocket has a higher IQ than you. Would you like to ask it a question?

Why aren’t there any graduates from Trump University in your cabinet?

If you were created in God’s image, how come we can see you?

Can you list the Ten Commandments, and tell us how many of them there are?

Nobody gives a shit what your TV ratings are. Why do you keep mentioning it?

Do you know what the word “sociopath” means, and how is it possible it does NOT apply to you, you fucking shithead?

Do you have any Neanderthal DNA?

The worst medical crisis in over a century that the US has ever faced is happening at the same time as the worst president the US has ever had is in the Oval Office.  Do you think this is a coincidence?

How disappointed are you that NO student will EVER plagiarize a SINGLE word of your incoherent rambling speeches?

Have you ever in your entire life used a dictionary?

That MIT uncle of yours who is alledgedly so smart? Tell us one single, solitary actual thing you learned from him….

That wasn’t an actual thing….

Neither was that…

Do you actually NOT know what the word “actual” means?

We are now a bigger shithole country than all the countries you called shitholes. Don’t you think they deserve an apology?

Could you please repeat your oath of office? You’ve violated it so many times that America thinks you need a refresher.

Everybody on earth recognizes that you don’t have a shred of human decency. As the worst human being who has ever lived, this is your last chance. Can you say one single empathetic thing?

By what metric are you NOT the most incompetent leader on earth … EVAH?

What’s it like being impeached?

How far have you gotten on drafting your concession speech?

When you leave office, you will obviously be arrested for your endless crimes against humanity. Do you have any preference for what prison you will spend the rest of your life?

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/29/1941430/-FREE-RUDE-QUESTIONS-FOR-REPORTERS-He-already-thinks-you-re-rude-Show-him-what-the-word-really-means

My “Take Home” Conclusion:

 

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Friday Fun: Where to Begin …

 Posted by at 2:34 pm  Politics
Apr 242020
 

(Hmmm – Let me see if I remember how to do this …)

To commence, I’d like to start off on the right foot with a beautiful photo courtesy of Webshots …

KIDDING

In the interim I’ve been able to restock my larder with topics.  But I want to begin with a timely one, courtesy of Dr. Donald Trump.  And to lay the groundwork, here are his actual words from yesterday’s proxy rally Coronavirus briefing, directly from the White House Transcript:

THE PRESIDENT: So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous — whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light — and I think you said that that hasn’t been checked, but you’re going to test it. And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way, and I think you said you’re going to test that too. It sounds interesting.

And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning. Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that. So, that, you’re going to have to use medical doctors with. But it sounds — it sounds interesting to me.

White House Transcript

There you have it – Dr. Trump is now switching from Hydroxychloroquine to powerful ultraviolet light and/or injection of disinfectants.  So we can all imagine how Hydroxychloroquine is feeling right about now …

There is some concern about bringing the UV “light inside the body” as Trump suggests. Here is one of its more disturbing side effects:

But I want to focus more on his suggestion of directly injecting a disinfectant into the body. I was confused about where this idea came from – until someone provided a snapshot of Trump’s old pharmacy:

The good news is that there are options beside IV administration.

For us pediatricians, that is great news. We all know how scary needles are to most children – so the good news is that Clorox now comes in a chewable tablet.

And for those adults who also don’t like needles, but are not fond of taking kids’ medicine – you can use an inhaler. But to date, only Lysol has developed this delivery mode:

So it appears there are lots of modalities available for administration of disinfectants.

Well, obviously all this goes to prove that we have an EFFING IDIOT in the Oval Office.

As a physician, I truly hope that these “Thought Bubbles” for Dr. Birx, based on her reaction at yesterday’s briefing, are accurate

 

 

 

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Saturday Smiles: COVID-19 Potpourri

 Posted by at 8:56 am  Politics
Apr 042020
 

To begin, I want to share an important and helpful PSA video of how to put away your groceries to avoid contamination. It’s by a family physician, and although long, it’s well done.

Having done my good deed for the day, let’s enjoy some amusing aspects of the impact of Coronavirus – as it’s always good to see the humor in things.

Who knew that Shakespeare would have a take on this pandemic:

And we wouldn’t want the visual fine arts to feel left out, so here’s Albrecht Dürer’s famous “Praying Hands” sketch– but with a timely update.

But there’s an obvious downside to overdoing it. My aunt sent me this picture of her hands after washing them 73 times yesterday:

I went to Costco today (wearing my red “Cowboy” bandana for a face-covering – and over half of the people were wearing a face-covering of some type), and it looks like we’re seeing at least some relief from the TP shortage. But one never knows – it could rear its ugly head again with scenes like these:

In the Meat section of your grocery store:

A grocery store in Denmark or Finland (I forgot which) developed a clever way to stop the hoarding of hand sanitizer:

Now that folks are stuck at home, tempers can become short – even involving our beloved Critters

But for some, it’s given them time to develop a real talent for creativity.  (I like the second one better):

If you’ve decided you’d rather test your creativity in the kitchen with some new gourmet recipes, you just might want to start following Justine on her Twitter account. While she’s no Julia Child, she does have a flair for the innovative:

I’d be remiss if I didn’t take a parting shot at the A$$hole in the Oval Office whose gross incompetence has literally cost lives.

As you probably know, the CDC is now recommending that everyone wear a facemask of some type when they go out.  They asked *Rump if he would agree to appear in a PSA photo promoting the wearing of facemasks.

As you know, if you say “photo” and “promote” in the same sentence, Donnie will jump at the chance.

Unfortunately, the CDC forgot to factor in that *Rump is dumber than a bag of rocks:

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