Free Association Thread 5

[Tio_Narratore]

We only lived a block and a half from the public library, but the really nice thing was it was only another four blocks to the college library too. Being a liberal arts college, they had a wide variety of books the public library didn't.

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When my grandson was in Grade 5, he and his friends wrote/drew a comic strip. In one episode, the protagonists went to the library to read "all the books in the world." The school principal was proud of them until he realized that by reading "all the books in the world," the kids had managed to read the ones he had banned. He gave them detention for the rest of the year, but they concluded "it was worth it."

 

[MagicaPractica]

When my grandson was in Grade 5, he and his friends wrote/drew a comic strip. In one episode, the protagonists went to the library to read "all the books in the world." The school principal was proud of them until he realized that by reading "all the books in the world," the kids had managed to read the ones he had banned. He gave them detention for the rest of the year, but they concluded "it was worth it."

How do you get a reluctant reader to read a book? Tell him he's not allowed to.

 

[JKendallDane]

How do you get a reluctant reader to read a book? Tell him he's not allowed to.

Back in the early 1970's, my little ultra-conservative small town went through the book banning insanity. At a public school board meeting, an extensive list of books that were to be removed from the high school library was read off. Yes, it included many classics such as Tom Sawyer and the crowd was out for blood. After about a half hour of ugly discussions about having "trash like that" where moldable minds could get access to it, a prominent local doctor ask if he could speak. Since he was both a respected professional and had children in the school also, he was more than welcomed to speak.

Dr. K went up to the podium and explained that before the meeting had started, he checked the library shelves and found a book that wasn't on the list. He solemnly told that it included such things as child abandonment, infanticide, mass murder, detailed descriptions of the cruelest of public executions, and even incest and people coming back to life like zombies.

Needless to say, the do-gooders were now in an uproar and demanding that book also be pulled from the shelves. "Our kids don't need to be reading garbage like that."

Dr. K just smiled, opened his briefcase, and pulled out the book the crowd was ready to not just ban but also burn. He calmly but firmly stated as he lifted it in the air for all to see, "Be careful what you judge as unsuitable because what you have just decided is trash and garbage is the same one you use in church on Sunday."

He was holding up the school library's copy of the King James Bible.

The meeting ended pretty quickly without any books being banned.

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[Mister_Song]

Back in the early 1970's, my little ultra-conservative small town went through the book banning insanity. At a public school board meeting, an extensive list of books that were to be removed from the high school library was read off. Yes, it included many classics such as Tom Sawyer and the crowd was out for blood. After about a half hour of ugly discussions about having "trash like that" where moldable minds could get access to it, a prominent local doctor ask if he could speak. Since he was both a respected professional and had children in the school also, he was more than welcomed to speak.

Dr. K went up to the podium and explained that before the meeting had started, he checked the library shelves and found a book that wasn't on the list. He solemnly told that it included such things as child abandonment, infanticide, mass murder, detailed descriptions of the cruelest of public executions, and even incest and people coming back to life like zombies.

Needless to say, the do-gooders were now in an uproar and demanding that book also be pulled from the shelves. "Our kids don't need to be reading garbage like that."

Dr. K just smiled, opened his briefcase, and pulled out the book the crowd was ready to not just ban but also burn. He calmly but firmly stated as he lifted it in the air for all to see, "Be careful what you judge as unsuitable because what you have just decided is trash and garbage is the same one you use in church on Sunday."

He was holding up the school library's copy of the King James Bible.

The meeting ended pretty quickly without any books being banned.

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Sounds like he used "facts" to win the day.

That wouldn't have the same impact in the US currently, as "fact" has come to mean "anything that one chooses to believe is true."

 

[Handley_Page]

Sounds like he used "facts" to win the day.

That wouldn't have the same impact in the US currently, as "fact" has come to mean "anything that one chooses to believe is true."

In terms of "politics", I think 'truth' is whatever we are told is true.

 

[MagicaPractica]

In terms of "politics", I think 'truth' is whatever we are told is true.

Spin City was a great sitcom with Michael J. Fox a few years back. "Spin" of course meaning we twist the facts to suit our purpose, and every group seems to do that anymore. Just a tweak here, just a nudge there. It drives me nuts. Finding a news article that lays out the facts got a bit harder over the years. There are only a few news sources I check but I look at both sides of the fence to see what "facts" they agree on.

 

[Handley_Page]

Spin City was a great sitcom with Michael J. Fox a few years back. "Spin" of course meaning we twist the facts to suit our purpose, and every group seems to do that anymore. Just a tweak here, just a nudge there. It drives me nuts. Finding a news article that lays out the facts got a bit harder over the years. There are only a few news sources I check but I look at both sides of the fence to see what "facts" they agree on.

Every now and again, I have to go to http://www.aljazeera.com/ which has a good reputation for accuracy, particularly if our BBC is suffering from an attack of the vapours.

 

[JKendallDane]

Every now and again, I have to go to http://www.aljazeera.com/ which has a good reputation for accuracy, particularly if our BBC is suffering from an attack of the vapours.

I've found there are far too many people, both left and right, that seem to only be interested in finding news (or "news") that will agree with their predetermined mindset and will totally ignore any reporting that contradicts those beliefs.

That's not wanting to understand facts but rather wanting to have their beliefs vindicated by anything with the word "journalism" attached to it...no matter how tenuous that connection may be.

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[MagicaPractica]

I've found there are far too many people, both left and right, that seem to only be interested in finding news (or "news") that will agree with their predetermined mindset and will totally ignore any reporting that contradicts those beliefs.

That's not wanting to understand facts but rather wanting to have their beliefs vindicated by anything with the word "journalism" attached to it...no matter how tenuous that connection may be.

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Hoping this works - it's a nice little infographic that generally seems fairly accurate on where news sources fall in political spectrum.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

Hoping this works - it's a nice little infographic that generally seems fairly accurate on where news sources fall in political spectrum.

This sentence is false.

 

[JKendallDane]

This sentence is false.

That statement could be seen as misleading.

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[Handley_Page]

That statement could be seen as misleading.

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It was announced last night that the Swiss spaghetti harvest had not reached expectations and "there may be shortages this spring", according to official sources.

 

[JKendallDane]

It was announced last night that the Swiss spaghetti harvest had not reached expectations and "there may be shortages this spring", according to official sources.

That's not going to work out well for the expected record crop of tomato sauce.

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[Handley_Page]

That's not going to work out well for the expected record crop of tomato sauce.

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Rumours of tomato sauce adulteration by Beetroot have been strenuously denied
by the Beetroot Growers Federation..

 

[MagicaPractica]

Rumours of tomato sauce adulteration by Beetroot have been strenuously denied
by the Beetroot Growers Federation..

GMO beets have been developed to withstand liberal dosing with glyphosphate pesticides. Don't eat beets? There's a whole lot of sugar derived from beets. So, the million dollar question is - just how bad are pesticides for you?

 

[Mister_Song]

GMO beets have been developed to withstand liberal dosing with glyphosphate pesticides. Don't eat beets? There's a whole lot of sugar derived from beets. So, the million dollar question is - just how bad are pesticides for you?

And for natural pollinators. I watched a documentary recently on bee decline called More Than Honey. There's a scene where the Chinese government has paid workers to pollinate orchards by hand, because all of the local bees have died. It's among the most dystopian things I've ever seen.

More Than Honey trailer

 

[SamScribble]

And for natural pollinators. I watched a documentary recently on bee decline called More Than Honey. There's a scene where the Chinese government has paid workers to pollinate orchards by hand, because all of the local bees have died. It's among the most dystopian things I've ever seen.

More Than Honey trailer

Yep. We're certainly going to miss the little chaps when they are gone.

 

[Handley_Page]

GMO beets have been developed to withstand liberal dosing with glyphosphate pesticides. Don't eat beets? There's a whole lot of sugar derived from beets. So, the million dollar question is - just how bad are pesticides for you?

Bloody Monsanto again ?

 

[MagicaPractica]

Bloody Monsanto again ?

Yes, but they're not the only company developing such.

In a similar vein, with all we still face, we've made some good strides in dealing with pollution. (Though I believe people don't have any concept of the pollution around them. New car smell? A.K.A. plastic off gassing. ) It looks like there are some people over here who want to turn back the clock in the name of profits on environmental regulations. It concerns me.

 

[Handley_Page]

Yes, but they're not the only company developing such.

In a similar vein, with all we still face, we've made some good strides in dealing with pollution. (Though I believe people don't have any concept of the pollution around them. New car smell? A.K.A. plastic off gassing. ) It looks like there are some people over here who want to turn back the clock in the name of profits on environmental regulations. It concerns me.

Frankly, Mags, it concerns EVERYONE who thinks even a little bit.
If I remember correctly, there was enough of a fuss when the idea of "environmental" Rules and Laws first popped up in the USA (it was widely reported over here).
I won't quote some of the more vociferous, not to say, bloody-minded reactions
but suffice it to say that the US firms doing the squawking were rather well
criticised.
The EU were reckoned to have gone too far at the time, but as with all new laws, it was absorbed a little later.

Incidentally, 'plastic' in the new car ?
With leather seats ?

 

[MagicaPractica]

Frankly, Mags, it concerns EVERYONE who thinks even a little bit.
If I remember correctly, there was enough of a fuss when the idea of "environmental" Rules and Laws first popped up in the USA (it was widely reported over here).
I won't quote some of the more vociferous, not to say, bloody-minded reactions
but suffice it to say that the US firms doing the squawking were rather well
criticised.
The EU were reckoned to have gone too far at the time, but as with all new laws, it was absorbed a little later.

Incidentally, 'plastic' in the new car ?
With leather seats ?

Everything is plastic these days - the doors, the dash, etc. I actually wouldn't want to purchase a new car if I could afford it. Three to five years old with about twenty-five thousand miles is optimum to me.

 

[TiredFingers]

...I actually wouldn't want to purchase a new car if I could afford it. Three to five years old with about twenty-five thousand miles is optimum to me.

I have never purchased a new car, and despite never having purchased a lemon, the combined price of all 10 of my cars/trucks is less than what most new cars sell for today. I feel I have done well.

 

[MagicaPractica]

I have never purchased a new car, and despite never having purchased a lemon, the combined price of all 10 of my cars/trucks is less than what most new cars sell for today. I feel I have done well.

Sounds like it. Now, the real test - repair bills? The car I currently have is costing me WAY too much on wheel hubs and rotors. Thank goodness for a kind mechanic. I'd estmate this last repair bill would have cost me a third more anywhere else.

 

[JKendallDane]

Sounds like it. Now, the real test - repair bills? The car I currently have is costing me WAY too much on wheel hubs and rotors. Thank goodness for a kind mechanic. I'd estmate this last repair bill would have cost me a third more anywhere else.

After 45 years of owning a bunch of different cars, I've decided there is one rule you can depend on 100%...they know when you've made the last payment on them.

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[SamScribble]

After 45 years of owning a bunch of different cars, I've decided there is one rule you can depend on 100%...they know when you've made the last payment on them.

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I think that I always did quite well on cars - more by good luck than good judgement. But then, quite early one morning, the boys and girls in white coats got me to put my head in a machine that made a hell of a lot of noise. And by lunchtime they told me that my licence had been cancelled.