Culture

[Black Irish]

You want nice-looking penmanship? Learn cursive under the eye of a mean old nun ready to whack your knuckles with a ruler.

 

[dshans]

... and be forced to use a fountain pen.

Don't you dare smear the ink ...THWACK!

I remember this being extremely difficult for the lefties. They had to slant their letters as though they were righties, thus risking dragging their hand across what they'd written.

I knew a number of left-handed kids who trained themselves to write with their right hand to avoid the dreaded ruler.

In about third grade I broke my right wrist (I'll leave that story for another day) and the cast made it impossible for me to grip a pen with my right hand.

Sister Tekla Marie made me take a penmanship test with my left hand. She flunked me.

Her ruler left a dent in the cast when I presented my right hand for punishment.

 

[drayer54]

I only write in cursive. It's like a code language with half my co-workers.

 

[wizards8507]

New Cigna Study Reveals Loneliness at Epidemic Levels in America

 

[zelezo vlk]

Oh bother

 

[dshans]

Oh bother

Pish Posh.

 

[Old Man Mike]

If I were interested in the psychological health of American (non) society going forward, I'd "bother."

This lack of interpersonal connection (that every study sees growing) is widely known to be indicative to increased incidence of sociopathic and psychopathic behavior. Increasing lack of connectivity is almost equatable with increasing lack of empathy. That easily translates to (depending which way the mental energy takes it) greater self-absorption, crime, suicide, violence, .... anything which points solely inward rather than communally outward.

Viewing an attitude as "weak" doesn't solve the concomitant problems. Also, many persons caught in genuine aloneness are candidates for Catholic Beatitudes actions, not judgements. Every time I listen to the Beatles sing Eleanor Rigby, the plight of the truly alone practically crushes me. The ultimate curse is: may you die alone and unloved.

Aloneness and loneliness are not the same thing, but this study was worrying about true loneliness not the often cherished aloneness of the meditator, book scholar, or the monk.

I take such matters seriously, just as I hope for a better "neighborly" interactive world.

 

[zelezo vlk]

Matthew Walther with another great piece. The death industry

"Mrs. Bush spent her last day of terrestrial existence being held by her husband of some 73 years and drinking bourbon."

What a dame

Two weeks ago, millions of Americans mourned the death of Barbara Bush, one of our greatest first ladies and an exemplar of virtues this country has lost or forgotten. Mrs. Bush spent her last day of terrestrial existence being held by her husband of some 73 years and drinking bourbon. Not very long before, a near-contemporary of hers, a former model named Rebecca Zeni, died in rather different circumstances at a nursing home in Georgia, according to a report in The Washington Post.

Parasitic mites had burrowed under her skin, living and laying eggs all over her body. By the time she died, vesicles and thick crusts had formed on her skin. Her right hand had turned nearly black, and … her fingers were about to fall off.

The scabies that infected Zeni's body had become so severe that bacteria seeped into her bloodstream. [The Washington Post]

This is almost unfathomably gruesome. But similar cases are hardly unheard of in the sinister world of privately owned for-profit nursing homes like the one in which Zeni had been living. Shepherd Hills in LaFayette, Georgia, had been home to several outbreaks of scabies and been charged with numerous health violations in the years before Zeni's death. Study upon deflating study has shown that under every conceivable metric the "care" received in such places is inferior to that provided by charitable institutions. Federal regulators have a special category of so-called "special focus facilities" that, due to repeated lapses, require increased oversight for a period of 15 months. According to a New York Times report, of the 524 homes subject to this designation before 2014 and since returned to normal status, more than half have gone on to harm their patients.

The idea that one might be able to profit from the painful fact of senescence is inherently grotesque. But these companies' business models, like any other, depend upon the minimization of costs and the maximization of revenue. In practice what this means is that the owners of many of these facilities do their very best to meet the minimum standards of conduct necessary for their businesses to remain open, going through the motions and paying out fines when necessary, while raking in as much cash from patients' savings or trusts or younger relations or, failing that, Uncle Sam, as they possibly can.

They are parasites that feed, literally, on decay and death.

While it goes without saying that more should be done to ensure that nursing facilities, including those not run for profit, operate in accordance with federal guidelines concerning the health and safety of their residents, there is something to be said for the idea that millions of Americans now living in them would be better off being taken care of by their families. Much of this cruelty could be avoided if more of us found it in our hearts to look after our parents and grandparents in our own homes.

Why this has not happened more often is difficult to say. Modern nursing homes, for-profit and otherwise, are the successors of the almshouses that existed from colonial times until the Depression, when their frequently appalling conditions became fodder for journalists. At the risk of painting with too broad a brush, I would suggest that there is something to the reality of the stoical Greatest Generation not wanting to be a burden and allowing their typically feckless boomer children to send them off to the outer darkness so that they can continue agitating for legalized marijuana and buying Bob Dylan boxed sets with their generous pensions.

I know many people who have made the decision to look after one or more of their parents in old age. One is a retired bank teller. Another is an archbishop. While their experiences differed greatly in many respects, what both of these individuals had in common was a feeling that it was their responsibility to love and care for their aged mothers no matter how difficult it became. There is something rather touching about the idea that the same people who held us on their laps and gave us treats while we babbled might one day receive from us something similar in return, not in a spirit of cold quid pro quo but out of mutual self-giving.

Taking care of one's own relations rather than entrusting them to the hands of strangers for whom their lives, whether dignified or wretched, are a mere source of income is a humbling expression of gratitude and a quiet acknowledgement of the fragile beauty of old age.

 

[MNIrishman]

Matthew Walther with another great piece. The death industry

"Mrs. Bush spent her last day of terrestrial existence being held by her husband of some 73 years and drinking bourbon."

What a dame

This sort of thing makes me very sad. I don't own a home yet, but when I do, it's my intention to install a MiL apartment in part so that my parents don't have to go through this. I'm grateful that, so far, the elderly members of my family have not had to go through this process. Even my grandfather with advanced Alzheimer's was taken care of at home until he entered hospice care.

 

[zelezo vlk]

This sort of thing makes me very sad. I don't own a home yet, but when I do, it's my intention to install a MiL apartment in part so that my parents don't have to go through this. I'm grateful that, so far, the elderly members of my family have not had to go through this process. Even my grandfather with advanced Alzheimer's was taken care of at home until he entered hospice care.

Good on you. It's something I've wanted to do as well, though I don't know how realistic it is. Luckily I have a sister close to my parents that can help if something comes up.

 

[wizards8507]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">CEOs of big tech companies: You almost certainly have incels as employees. What are you going to do about it?</p>— Ellen K. Pao (@ekp) <a href="https://twitter.com/ekp/status/991817194987114496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2018</a></blockquote>
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[ulukinatme]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">CEOs of big tech companies: You almost certainly have incels as employees. What are you going to do about it?</p>— Ellen K. Pao (@ekp) <a href="https://twitter.com/ekp/status/991817194987114496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2018</a></blockquote>
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One of the replies:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">China is experimenting with a possible solution:<a href="https://t.co/RPi5SQm6It">https://t.co/RPi5SQm6It</a></p>— Tyto Alba (@euneaux) <a href="https://twitter.com/euneaux/status/992095906349563904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
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[Bishop2b5]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">CEOs of big tech companies: You almost certainly have incels as employees. What are you going to do about it?</p>— Ellen K. Pao (@ekp) <a href="https://twitter.com/ekp/status/991817194987114496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2018</a></blockquote>
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$10 says ACamp is already buffing up his resume to make himself look qualified for an IT job and is now taking Mandarin lessons.

 

[wizards8507]

$10 says ACamp is already buffing up his resume to make himself look qualified for an IT job and is now taking Mandarin lessons.

His resume isn't the only thing he's buffing.

Ayo.

 

[ACamp1900]

$10??? Put some big money on it y’all posers!!!

 

[connor_in]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The looney Left now wants us to ask for consent - from babies - before we change their diapers. <br><br>Leftists, children aren’t in charge. Parents set the rules and regulations. <a href="https://t.co/cQjASixcBX">pic.twitter.com/cQjASixcBX</a></p>— Based Monitored 🇺🇸🇮🇪 (@BasedMonitored) <a href="https://twitter.com/BasedMonitored/status/994558938929561601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2018</a></blockquote>
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[ACamp1900]

 

[ACamp1900]

It's all one coordinated plan... "Sure, we all have ID scanners branded into our wrists now but at least we stopped the whole 'diaper changing consent' thing ".......

 

[Irish#1]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The looney Left now wants us to ask for consent - from babies - before we change their diapers. <br><br>Leftists, children aren’t in charge. Parents set the rules and regulations. <a href="https://t.co/cQjASixcBX">pic.twitter.com/cQjASixcBX</a></p>— Based Monitored 🇺🇸🇮🇪 (@BasedMonitored) <a href="https://twitter.com/BasedMonitored/status/994558938929561601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2018</a></blockquote>
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[Ndaccountant]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The looney Left now wants us to ask for consent - from babies - before we change their diapers. <br><br>Leftists, children aren’t in charge. Parents set the rules and regulations. <a href="https://t.co/cQjASixcBX">pic.twitter.com/cQjASixcBX</a></p>— Based Monitored 🇺🇸🇮🇪 (@BasedMonitored) <a href="https://twitter.com/BasedMonitored/status/994558938929561601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2018</a></blockquote>
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[Whiskeyjack]

Here's the "baby expert" at issue:

 

[connor_in]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Proposal to ban archery in NY schools <a href="https://t.co/4AKjlgTpm9">https://t.co/4AKjlgTpm9</a></p>— NEWS10 ABC (@WTEN) <a href="https://twitter.com/WTEN/status/994649649091923968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Manhattan Democrat Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal says they promote “gun culture.”

First they came for Hawkeye and I said nothing...

 

[Old Man Mike]

I'm REALLY no fan of handguns/NRA/CharltonHestonites et al, but this idiot needs to be shunned if not fired. Archery is one of the ancient forms of meditation (even a semi-famous book about that.) If anything, archery classes stand to teach students to better respect the bow and learn responsibly the good and bad it might do.

In a much saner world (which would bear little resemblance to the one we have) one could imagine all students learning Martial Arts, proper weight training, Tai Chi and Yoga, archery, and even gun handling by very serious "master" type teachers, who would use these clear opportunities to instill respect for power and others in each student. (My brother does this within his weight-training program for Olympic lifters.) Unfortunately, the real world we have smashed together would surely take the guns and fighting parts of this and "employ" them immaturely before the wisdom element had a chance to settle in.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Walther just published an article titled "The tyranny of optimization":

We are all familiar with the image of the worthless bureaucrat, the proverbial fussbudget whose real job it is to inflict tedium on the rest of us. The more pointless the mandated task, the more turgid and logic-defying the ad-hoc instructions, the longer the period spent by the unwilling client of the state in anxious befuddlement, the better. Every well-meaning liberal will say that DMV lady is a right-wing myth, not realizing that they say this only because they are incapable of recognizing in themselves her quasi-sexual need to inspire boredom in others.

But grumbling about bureaucrats increasingly looks passé, not because they are not frequently awful people to deal with but because the DMV lady is a vastly less powerful person than that other bringer of official misery: the data-obsessed corporate manager.

The Guardian reported recently on the extraordinary efforts undertaken by Amazon to police the underpaid employees at their warehouses — those latter-day sweatshops for whose fools' gold mayors and governors across this country are fighting, whooping and shoving one another in a reckless competition to see who can give away their citizens' future patrimonies to the world's wealthiest man. In February it was announced that Amazon had patented a new wristband technology capable of tracking employees' actions at all times, down to their humblest movements. This is seemingly a replacement for the handheld devices currently worn by their workers.

According to James Bloodworth, a journalist who spent half a year working undercover in an Amazon warehouse, the latter work like this: First, the devices tell you where you have to go; as soon as you select the correct item from the shelf, a timer begins; the amount of time it takes you to bring the object to wherever it's headed is recorded, measured against the thousands of other times you and your coevals have performed a similar task, and rated. If your percentages begin to dip a bit or you wind up in the bottom of the rankings, you get chewed out by management; even visits to the bathroom are counted against you as "idle time."

Just as the passive-aggressive bureaucrat has always had his defenders among a certain segment of the class of persons from whom he tends to be drawn, so too does the tyranny of data-driven optimization find a readymade cadre of defenders in the wider tech industry. For years now tech companies have been experimenting with the possibility of implanting computers chips in the hands of their employees, devices that can be used for everything from entering a secured area of a building to ordering snacks from a vending machine to — naturally — recording the amount of time someone spends at a work-issued computer. To the meliorist nerds of online startups, no doubt the whole thing sounds very cool, like being a neat robot in a video game but, like, in real life. Among ordinary working people the whole business will be seen for what it is: a needless intrusion into their lives that brings a negligible value to their employer at the expense of their human dignity, another vicious attempt by capital to put labor in its place.

To say something like 30 seconds wasted in a day adds up to 125 misspent minutes over the course of a work year and to an untold number of weeks or even months of vanished productivity when multiplied across thousands of employees is nonsense. Human activity doesn't work that way. One person's action or inaction is not an undifferentiated input that combines coolly and mechanically with identical inputs from hundreds of others. We are all different people doing different things at different times. The fact that we are able to coordinate our actions in order to accomplish the infinite number of things our bizarre species gets up to is remarkable enough.

This all-consuming obsession with joylessly monitoring every conceivable human activity, quantifying and assigning variables to tasks as various as walking and making small purchases and attempting to draw profitable conclusions from this vast accumulation, is one of the most distinct characteristics of modern life. It's also, amusingly enough, a complete waste of time.

This is the great lie behind the relentless collection of data going on uninterrupted as you read a newspaper article, purchase a book, or buy a coffee. There is so much information sitting around in servers that nobody knows what to do with it. The answer is, or should be: nothing. Information is not the same thing as knowledge. The alchemical process that transmutes the former into the latter is not always worth undertaking. Knowing that over the last year Jim has performed an average of 7 percent slower on Wednesdays is not useful to anyone — and even if it were, the process by which we arrive at it is inherently degrading.

Like Larkin's coastal shelf, tedium compounds tedium. Our cultural obsession with health and exercise begets the craze of hooking our bodies up to tiny computers that measure our steps, our heartbeats, the calories we have spent and turning these numbers into graphs and charts in the hope of maximizing the utility of what are, allegedly, tasks undertaken for pleasure. Similar technology exists for readers who wish to record the amount of time it takes them to finish a page, a chapter, a book, a cycle of novels. Why? The only thing worse than the use of these quasi-scientific management techniques in the workplace is their colonization of our leisure.

Not everything in life needs to be "optimized." In fact, most really valuable things cannot be by definition. In their ludicrous quest to ensure that we are not upsetting the potty break golden mean, companies like Amazon and Fitbit are in their not-so-different ways doing something far more sinister than boring us. They are denying our humanity.

 

[zelezo vlk]

I wanted to share that yesterday, but got too lazy. A very relevant article

 

[Whiskeyjack]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Boomers: The Photo <a href="https://t.co/KqsZku9dze">pic.twitter.com/KqsZku9dze</a></p>— Coach Finstock &#55356;&#57332; (@RevengeCoach) <a href="https://twitter.com/RevengeCoach/status/996741532333076481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2018</a></blockquote>
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[zelezo vlk]

Here's a tweet I found from Ross Douthat's Twitter feed

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">1. delay financial independence by forcing a generation to pay 10x the tuition their parents did<br><br>2. make family-sized housing totally unaffordable in desirable metro areas for people who didn't buy decades ago<br><br>3. make childcare unaffordable<br><br>4. (see below) <a href="https://t.co/5pDHxFVeyE">https://t.co/5pDHxFVeyE</a></p>— Michael T Sweeney (@mtsw) <a href="https://twitter.com/mtsw/status/996801225160052738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Here's a tweet I found from Ross Douthat's Twitter feed

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">1. delay financial independence by forcing a generation to pay 10x the tuition their parents did<br><br>2. make family-sized housing totally unaffordable in desirable metro areas for people who didn't buy decades ago<br><br>3. make childcare unaffordable<br><br>4. (see below) <a href="https://t.co/5pDHxFVeyE">https://t.co/5pDHxFVeyE</a></p>— Michael T Sweeney (@mtsw) <a href="https://twitter.com/mtsw/status/996801225160052738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The metro housing rant is pretty annoying. Owning a fedora doesnt make owning a flat in Manhattan your birth right.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Here's a tweet I found from Ross Douthat's Twitter feed

Stone has done some good work, but he's utterly convinced that the precipitous decline in TFR is explained solely by economic factors, and that birth control, cultural factors, etc. play no role. I've had some pretty unpleasant interactions with him on Twitter.

 

[zelezo vlk]

The metro housing rant is pretty annoying. Owning a fedora doesnt make owning a flat in Manhattan your birth right.

No, but paying employees enough money that they can afford housing for a family should be a pretty damn high priority.

Stone has done some good work, but he's utterly convinced that the precipitous decline in TFR is explained solely by economic factors, and that birth control, cultural factors, etc. play no role. I've had some pretty unpleasant interactions with him on Twitter.

Some people take time to see the light