White Lie vs Big Lie

Had to look it up, dear worst-reader. Had to look up what a white lie is. Reason? National (or is it media) gaslighting can be confusing. Or? Don’t you know. That thing that has turned my beloved & missed united mistakes of #Americant into a hellhole of mass shootings, train wrecks, bridge failures, shooting down a twelve dollar balloon with a four hundred million dollar anti-aircraft missile, potholes galore and last but certainly not least, the #Americant BFF, #Trump.

When I was a kid, a white lie was told when you got caught, crumbs on your face, with your hand in the cookie jar, and you deny having taken a cookie. It‘s simple form of defence, don‘t you know, against the tyranny of parents—or whatever authority is watching over you and your broken family life. Now. According to the definition above (pic), I‘m wrong. The definition above relegates a white lie to being unimportant or trivial and does no harm, etc. Let‘s see about that.

Today’s worst-post is about former prez pee-pee-hair vs what‘s left of rational thinking people in the LAND OF FREEDOM TO BE STUPID. For #Trump, rational thinking people could be the same as tyrannical parents—which I‘m sure he had. The problem is, as is the case with most peoples struggling to cope with the reality of consuming-to-survive, just like Mango Mussolini btw, all think that lying is relative. And so. Does it really matter if a lie, white or not, is trivial? If so. Can a white lie be as trivial as a big lie? Obviously—it sure can.

Think: corporal vs capital punishment.

The reality is, dear worst-reader, most of us are forced or coerced, in one way or the other, to kick the lie habit that childhood, broken or not, forces upon us. And that’s a good thing, right? For it should be common sense, from the get-go, that lying can, when pushed to the limits, make life difficult. But we’re #Americants, eh. Wait. Did I just worst-write common sense with the mention of a certain nationality? #Nomatter.

Lying effects relationships whether friend, lover or foe. It can ruin careers and burn bridges. And it can certainly ruin ones taste for cookies—out of Mom‘s cookie jar. Then again. If the lying life doesn’t or can‘t change, should it provide a lavish and luxuries life—for those who can pull it off because they know nothing else? You know. People like #Trump and most #OKBoomers. The privileged ones. The ones who have lived the lie that is meritocracy. Or. If you are reared in a world of lies, should it be a surprise to anyone that a new generation is falling for it? You know. George Santos or the physical manifesting of Beavis, Matt Gaetz? And let‘s not forget the daily use of lying (and cheating) that is a corporation—who are people too.

I no longer think about how or why #Trump and his kind aren‘t prosecuted. It‘s obvious that between the DOJ and moneyed interests, something has gone beyond being simply über wrong. #Americant! The only question I have is when will enough people wake up? Enough being more than a political majority. And that‘s where the ticket is, eh, dear worst-reader. The genius of #Trump is not his abilities to lie and cheat and grift. No. He‘s obviously been caught with a hand in the cookie jar his whole life. And so. It‘s the genius of the moneyed interests combined with political ideology that facilitates and enables lying and grifting and buffoonery at a cultural, social, political, WWE way of life—which so many are coerced, forced to assume.

Considering the recent evidence released from a defamation lawsuit filed against FoxNews can it be more obvious how a cultural of lies and grifting and scamming has permeated every aspect of life? Or is this the best evidence ever that it‘s time to stop via regulation—severe regulation—the political propaganda laid out for all to see twenty-four seven on the TV that turns so many people into complete and utter dunces? Indeed. Life can be a cookie jar even when the jar is empty.

#Americant, baby!

Rant on.

-T

Links:

How Not To Kill The Little Blue Birdy

I’m referring, of course, dear worst-reader, to my twitter account. Been on twitter since 2009–at least with (at)worstwriter. A few years back, when the right-wingers and #Trump started taking over the minds of THE LAND OF FREEDOM TO BE STUPID lost in social-media, I deleted all my tweets. Better get off this $hithole, I thought. It’s not as though worstwriter couldn’t be (mis)interpreted as a crazy. Or? Anywho. Long before that I got off facebag. As far as the other social-media thingies, I’m just not interested. But twitter. Twitter! I really wanted to somehow continue using it, even hoping that it could save itself. Reason? It’s a great source for newz. IMHO it’s also the best example yet of online connectivity (forget the whole social thingy). As far as all the bat$hit crazy goes, I think I’m pretty good navigating unscathed through it all.

Then I came across this article.

The effort was sparked when a tweet from the president, who has 37m followers, generated nearly 29m impressions while a similar tweet from Musk – who has 128m followers – generated little more than 9.1m impressions. -Source: see link below

Ok. Ok. I get it. Musk made a huge mistake NOT by buying twitter but buying it so overpriced that the only way to save himself from his own crazed antics is to either bankrupt it and then try to recoup some of his money selling it or go full throttle on turning it into a über bat$hit bat$hit $hithole of right-wing mindlessness galore that includes the dreams and strawberry flavoured nightmares of Ayn Rand.

Is this article chronicling yet another example of how rich people might, just might, not be as smart as some think they are? Delusions run amok? I mean. Seriously. Musk is gonna solve his bat$hit problems by reacting to his own personal inadequacies because POTUS (Biden) got more attention with a Super Bowl tweet than he did? This is jealously, right? Or is it spite? Stupidity–at the hands of the world’s richest man? This is how to run a business? #Nomatter

When I read this article my immediate reaction was: enough. It’s time to quit the online little blue birdy. But then I went online and only ended up cleaning out my follow list. Since I only use twitter for finding newz–and I made the mistake of following Musk–I’m gonna continue using it without following Der Führer of bat$hit and then reevaluate.

Rant on.

-T

Link: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/feb/15/elon-musk-changes-twitter-algorithm-super-bowl-slump-report

PS What’s the deal with calling people who design a website engineers? WTF.

Toy Soldiering Politikiness


Can you believe it, dear worst-reader. Don‘t you know. Am I wrong. A newly elected house of mis-representative brought granades to work and dished them out as symbols to his compatriots. WTF. Indeed. Or. I guess. He did such a thing to celebrate his entering the sanctimony of the united mistakes of #Americant house of–you-know-what. Again. WTF. According to other worst-sources, this person is a child of my beloved & missed #Americants waroftheworlds. That is. He is part of a world that has given-in to the narrative of 9/11. Yet he (as so many others) have never asked… WHY would they do this? In other worst-words, this is what happens when you raise your boys NOT with education and cultivation but with guns and toys and tanks and toys and games and submissive wives, and and and, etc., etc.


Granades. Inert granades.

This is a person whose only solution to any political issue is… You guessed it. That‘s right. Violence. And we‘re not talking corporal punishment here. You know. The/that form of punishment that has, shall we say, influenced so many young people in my beloved & missed #Americant. Add to that. This is a war-child reared… You guessed it again. In/on war. And I’m worst-sure he served well. Then again. He knows NOTHING else. Such a gesture of gifting inert granades, made in the state he represents, proves that. Or? The saddest part? Technically he was never in a war. A declaration of war never happened in this mans life. The armies he fought against? Rag-tag criminals with a seriously ill-bent religious ideology. Is that an enemy? Well. Sure, it is. At the least. It was an enemy in the Middle Ages. And here we are.

The Middle Ages.

The thing is, dear worst-reader, I don‘t know what to be more sad about. All the death and destruction taking place because a once really, really cool nation-state was cool but has since been relegated to poverty galore aka consume-to-survive or the wanton ignorance of NOT rising above–all the above.

And there you have it.

Good luck suckers.

-T

Stupidity Weaponization Galore

It is, dear worst-reader, the greatest LAND OF FREEDOM TO BE STUPID ever. Oh, how I miss it. As in. You know. This expat misses home–even though I‘ve obviously found another home. A home away from home. A home that it is, only, a few hundred kilometers away from Europe‘s greatest war since, well, since you should know when. And what do I miss from my beloved & missed #Americant? The guns? No. The fake teets? Yes. The illusion of greatness? Indeed. That said, did you read that recent NYT article? You know. The article that kinda dropped the bomb on former prez pee-pee-hair‘s claim that his whole world, a world that he slimes around in and devours from the inside, not unlike an excrement parasite, with the claim certain things have been weaponized all in the name of crucifying him? Oh man, dear worst-reader. Just when you thought it couldn‘t get any worst. That it couldn‘t devolve beyond the rampant, useless murder-death-kill that is the 2nd Amendment rum amok. Right before your eyes and the mirror you refuse to look in–because dead souls have no reflection–all that is left is the utter uglies of disgusting old men who have carried that/a chip on their shoulder since the moment their disgusting and vile mothers birthed them. The grand old party, baby.

But before I get too far off worst-topic. The NYT article, baby.

On one of Mr. Barr and Mr. Durham’s trips to Europe, according to people familiar with the matter, Italian officials — while denying any role in setting off the Russia investigation — unexpectedly offered a potentially explosive tip linking Mr. Trump to certain suspected financial crimes. -Source link below

Wow. Where to begin. On a trip to Europe, Italy provided US government weaponized goons with tips regarding possible financial wrong doing by former prez Mango Mussolini. The key thing to keep in mind here is that these goons were working for Mango Mussolini. That is. They were working for him to try, through obvious and dubious means, to discredit the Mueller Report, aka the Russia Investigation. In other worst-words. Government cronies of former prez piss-hair were not only bathing themselves but lathering themselves to the hilt with conflicted interests. I guess they thought that lathering things might cover up the stench of their obvious corruption. Drain the swamp anyone? Or? It continues.

Ok. Ok. I get it why the Italians might know something about the former orange vomit president and his Mediterranean conniving. Keep in worst-mind, dear worst-reader, the Mediterranean is awash in Russian oligarchy $hit money. Where was it? Cyprus? Since the fall of the Soviet Union, hasn‘t Cyprus been the oligarchs island of choice when it comes to turning Rubels into Dollars? How much of Trump‘s foreign so-called golf assets were part of Russian oligarch money laundering–via The Med? How was he able to finance being able to put his vile name on Scotland’s oldest golf course? But on that note I should die-gress.

But that’s not all.

The memos were part of a trove provided to the C.I.A. by a Dutch spy agency, which had infiltrated the servers of its Russian counterpart. The memos were said to make demonstrably inconsistent, inaccurate or exaggerated claims, and some U.S. analysts believed Russia may have deliberately seeded them with disinformation. -Source see link below

The NYT article continues by referencing Dutch spies and how Europe‘s wooden-shoe people may or mayn‘t have information that either discredits or legitimizes the infamous Steele dossier. Ok. Hold a sec. The article doesn‘t do that directly. But. Based on what I‘m reading from this article, there is obviously some very salacious stuff that I‘m sure a lot of powerful people don‘t want revealed–and this article skirts around all that stuff ingeniously. For example. You remember the Steele dossiers, right? You know. It‘s the one where former prez Cheeto jeezus partook in turning a Moscow hotel bed, where Barak and Michelle Obama had once slept, into a urinal. Worst-writer‘s only question regarding this activity is three fold–and wouldn‘t it be great if the truth were someday revealed?

  1. Did Trump pay hookers to do the peeing?
  2. Did Trump do the peeing?
  3. Is Trump one of those men who likes being peed on?

But. Again. I die-gress.

The most shocking thing about this article, in my worst-opinion, is how the authors are probably holding back the majority of significant stuff–due to the disgusting, vile, salacious nature that is Donald Trump– because it may or mayn’t be better to hide The Swamp than to lay it bare. I mean. This level of corruption–the highest level no doubt–is beyond blatant and obvious. It’s as though it’s so in-your-face that you can’t see it anymore. But then again. STUPID and STUPIDITY is proving itself more and more to be a very useful thing–for those in power–as #Americants continue voting for them in droves. And so…

Good luck suckers.

Rant on.

-T

Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/26/us/politics/durham-trump-russia-barr.html

Pseudo-Review 3 – iPad Air 5, A While Later

Pseudo-Review 3 – iPad Air 5, A While Later

Alternative worst-title: Solving iOS 16.2‘s biggest problem

Previous pseudo-review here and here.

Well. Don‘t you know. Dear worst-reader. Worst-writer is still pretty tickled with the new iPad Air 5. In fact. Since the iOS 16.2 update, where there are significant improvements to driving a second monitor, I haven‘t touched my 2017 twelve inch MacBook. This iPad not only blows the MacBook away–even as a replacement for running my MacBook on my desktop in clamshell mode–every time I use it I can‘t get over how fast it is. That worst-said. I’m almost full-in on the iPad replacing the/my Mac. For example.

Using Apple’s StageManager means that I can easily integrate my entire workflow on two screens and at times it feels like I have three monitors. The thing is, I rarely used my MacBook monitor when on my desktop, hence clamshell. Even though the twelve inch MacBook is Apple’s smallest, the iPad has a much more useable desktop footprint. Again. Space saving clamshell mode. Obviously I also don’t have a very large desk, so space saving is important. As far as multi-monitor performance, the only issue I’m having is adapting to the differences between MacOS and iOS. As an old Mac user, the differences are not unsubstantial. But I think I’m making progress.

The main issue I‘m having with the iPad right now is, would you believe, that someone at Apple thought it a good idear to not make AirPlay available when the iPad is connected to an external monitor (see screenshot above)? WTF! I mean. This is/has to be an error. Or? #Nomatter. The work around I‘ve found for this, well, is to not use Airplay. Instead I’m connect via using Bluetooth to a Raspberry Pi 3b that has a Hifiberry DAC hat that is connected to a stereo and it works great. For those not in the know, the RPi3b has to have a USB bluetooth dongle, since it doesn‘t have BT onboard. There are still some issues with bluetooth connectivity but I‘ve worked them out by just sticking with Hifiberry‘s in-house OS for music play I’ll continue to work on them until Apple gets it together with Airplay. My pay-grade means that I can‘t get bluetooth working on any minimal Linux distribution on the RPi3b. HifiberryOS works like a charm, though.

A few other minor issues I‘m having? I‘m using the Keychron K2 version 2 external keyboard and for whatever reason it seems to disconnect out of the blue. It doesn‘t do it often but every once-a-once, usually after the Keychron recharges, things get hairy. Although it indicates that it reconnects right away once it‘s charged, typing doesn‘t work. Solution? Lot‘s of iPad restarts. Hopefully I don‘t have to replace this keyboard because I really dig typing with it. Might I eventually move to an iPad keyboard case? Maybe. Recent travels with the iPad haven‘t convinced me I can go without a physical, external keyboard.

Then there’s the issue of a Terminal app. Unlike MacOS, which comes with a Terminal app, that I need to manage all the Raspberry Pi‘s I have around my house, iOS doesn’t have one. Although I’ve tried a few via the AppStore, I’ve not been able to get any of them to work/connect. Again. WTF! Ok. Since I’m on a worst-roll. Another minor issue. And this relates to me getting used to iOS. The world of apps is really weird. The thing that kept my away from iPads through the years was the fact (idear) that Apps are not programs, at least they‘re not to me. Are they written/coded like programs? Sure. But I don‘t care. The thing is. Apps are nothing more than a way to make a webpage standalone–and look like it ain‘t a webpage. But. Again. I reckon I‘ve got a bit more iOS acclimating in front of me. Oh. Before I forget. The iPad as a desktop machine works really well with Apple‘s Magic Mouse. You know. Since I hate touchscreens. Who‘d a thunk it.

So there you have it, dear worst-reader. Worst-writer is on the verge of giving up on MacOS. This little iPad with only 64gb is flat-out stealing the thunder out of my Mac world, even though it still has a few flaws. Considering how I‘ve used iPads for only a short period of time and the significant improvements Apple‘s done with iOS, I can‘t praise it enough as a worst-writing work-horse.

Rant on.

-T

You Can Make This Stuff Up, Just Go For It

As the saying goes: you can‘t make this stuff up. Perhaps it‘s time to rethink. You know. As in. Who could make up the story that a two-bit, spoiled rotten inheritor kid, from a disgusting family of money earned as a slumlords in New York, who himself could never achieve ANYTHING on his own abilities, who then resorts to skirting the law in order to maintain whatever wealth he hasn‘t managed to squander, and then to rise to the office of president of the united mistakes of #Americant. WTF. Not shocked yet? Reason you‘re not shocked is the same as you wouldn‘t/couldn‘t smell the feces on account you live in a world of feces. Blah. Blah. Blah. Indeed. #Americant skillfully allowed this filth, of which, obviously, the country is awash, to rise to new heights. And why? Politics? Cynicism? Bigotry? Greed? Your capitalism got a snag in it? All the above? Again. Indeed. It‘s time to rethink. You can make this stuff up.

Take for example a repub nutjob that was recently elected to the people‘s house. George Santos. I mean. Come on. Is this guy really the reason that #Americants are gonna start questioning the legitimacy of resumes–as he lied about everything on his? Since Reagan resumes have been a lie. Since Nixon, the concept of meritocracy is a joke. Since Lincoln racism is American as apple pie. Since Washington the fascism has been alive and well. So what‘s the deal with now? Why has the $hitshow taken such a turn for the obvious worst? Again. Indeed. Indeed. Welcome to your world of all things worst. There is nothing else. But the lie.

If the likes of former prez pee-pee-hair can rise to the top as a scammer, why can‘t Santos? It‘s a $hitshow where the audience has been so dumbed down it can‘t tell the difference between rot, more rot and the image in the mirror it avoids on account, like Dracula, there is no image. It‘s about being so dead on the inside there‘s nothing to reflect. And so. #Trump rises. Santos rises. The entirety of the GOP rises like a magical flying feces spreading droplets of poop everywhere and the #Americant masses gobble it all up as an alternative to opioids. So if I sound a bit awash in Schadenfreude, dear worst-reader. You are correct. This Santos thing, including the rot that is New York politics, where nothing is being said about the political vacuum left with the downfall of the Coumo dynasty, I‘m laughing my arse off. This is hill-Larry-us.

But enough of all my pseudo, inverted optimism. Good luck suckers.

Rant on.

-T

Links:

Two Out Of Three Ain‘t Bad

Don‘t worry, dear worst-reader. I‘m not gonna go there. Well. Not gonna go deep there. For. Don‘t you know. After what happened in Brazil the other day, there‘s a bit too much comparison and contrast going on. I mean. The worst-thing is, there need not be ANY comparison—or contrast—here. Reason? It is the same friggin thing. In fact. If you ask worst-writer–and you obviously should not, the only thing that differentiates Jan 6, 2021 at the united mistakes of #Americant Capitol building and what took place the other day in Brazil, is how authorities–in Brazil–immediately started arresting the nutbags. Of course, let‘s not forget the Germans in this Spiel. Or have you already forgotten about the Reichsburger? If so. No worries. Before these nutbags could even attack the Bundestag, they were friggin arrested. How long did it take to arrest the #Americant nutbags.

But I die-gress.

Rant on.

-T

Links:

Telling It Like It Is

But the second result of junk politics is more insidious. It solidifies the cult of the self, the amoral belief that we have the right to do anything, to betray and destroy anyone, to get what we want. The cult of the self fosters a psychopathic cruelty, a culture built not on empathy, the common good and self-sacrifice but on unbridled narcissism and vengeance. It celebrates, as mass media does, superficial charm, grandiosity and self-importance; a need for constant stimulation; a penchant for lying, deception and manipulation; and an inability to feel guilt or remorse. This is the dark ethic of corporate culture, celebrated by the entertainment industry, academia and social media.

Source link below

As the $hitshow of my beloved & missed #Americant enters yet another phase of greed-mongering galore in the aftermath of recent House Speaker debacle, worst-writer relaxes in the semi-retired luxury of shinny nothingness that is chronicling everything WORST. Obviously there are those who can do it better, dear worst-reader. For example. Chris Hedges. The only worst-question remaining is: who is gonna read Hedges and thereby have their world turned around?

Rant on.

-T

Link: https://scheerpost.com/2023/01/08/chris-hedges-americas-theater-of-the-absurd/

First Audio Book

Pseudo Review: Al Franken, Giant of the Senate

Another example of how worst-writer is no early adopter, dear worst-reader. Took till recent drive up and down the boot of Italy to finally listen to what‘s known as an audio book. Which book? Well. Don‘t you know. I‘ve always been an Al Franken fan. Since his days on SNL to his amazing Minnesota Senate win in 2008, I‘ve always payed attention to Franken. In fact. I was hoping, in the fifteen or so hours this audio book takes to end, which, btw, is a great way to deal with a more than four thousand kilometer drive, he would say something about how/why he quit the Senate after a bunch of ridiculous accusations of sex harassment surfaced. Accusations, by-the-buy, that were at best out of context and at worst part of a life-time of writing #Americant comedy. But then I realized that he published this book before resigning. Oh well. More on that here.

The thing is, dear worst-reader, Franken should have never quit the Senate. In fact. He should run for president. No. Serious. After reading/listening to this book, which I don‘t consider all-that great, for worst-moi, he is an American gem. What a guy. Is that enough audio book buttering? Yeah. Let’s move on.

This book, at times, drags on and on and on. It is filled with filler and more Senate filler. The parts about his comedy career are fine, especially the stories he has from working on SNL. The latter chapters of the book, though, deal with a tick too many uninteresting if not boring details about the politics of being in the Senate. Let me worst-restate that. Franken rambles on and on about the internal politics of the Senate. Not only that. This book has one other weakness. Even though I don‘t think he should have resigned, especially considering the likes of Bill Cosby, who drugged women for sex or Louis C.K., who jerked off in front of women for kicks, Franken was/is nothing more than a old school #OKBoomer practical joker stuck in a collective society that is sexually repressed. Oh. And. He definitely crossed the line with writing and/or creating comedy. That worst-said, he obviously never abused anyone. Franken should have fought all the accusations on that basis. Then again.

Franken tells the story of how, during his first campaign for the Senate, the media tried to portray him negatively by bringing up his comedy writing past which is full of atypical #Americant sexual repression humour. You know. The whole reason one of the greatest yet unrecognized accomplishments of technology is dick pics. Anywho. While working at SNL during a late night last minute rewrite session Franken wrote a joke that he calls a bridge. A bridge is supposed to be a method not for writing a joke but instead for rewriting or finding a better joke. This particular bridge he references details how he crossed the/a line. It was a rape joke. Now. As I listened to him explain the context of this bridge, I do not agree that joking about rape in any context is funny. And he continues to try and explain it that way. Nor do I think rape jokes can or should lead to better, more acceptable humor. He then explains what the result of the bridge joke was, which didn’t include reference to rape but instead something about homosexuality. WTF? What I realized listening to him explain all this was that Franken is, of course, part of a generation #OKBoomer that is obsessed with sex. Hence. Sexual repression galore equals #Americant. You know. Dick pics. Or. Lots and lots of sexual repression jokes that may or mayn‘t include rape–locker room banter here or there.

She: Say! Is your fly open or are you just happy to see me?

Ha. Ha. Anywho. For Franken, if this bridge method was how he worked, what other bridges didn‘t make it to press? Then there‘s the issue of his Playboy Porn-o-Rama article.

In May 2008, the Minnesota Republican Party released a letter about an article Franken had written for Playboy magazine in 2000 titled “Porn-O-Rama!” The letter, signed by six prominent GOP women, including a state senator and state representative, called on Franken to apologize for what they called a “demeaning and degrading” article. His campaign spokesman responded, “Al had a long career as a satirist. But he understands the difference between what you say as a satirist and what you do as a senator. And as a Senator, Norm Coleman has disrespected the people of Minnesota by putting the Exxons and Halliburtons ahead of working families. And there’s nothing funny about that.” -Source: see link below

Is there a better example of sexual repression than Playboy or right-wing politicians? As an #OKBoomer I‘m sure the Playboy article was funny. That worst-said. I’m surprised staunch, sexually repressed right-wingers couldn‘t find more dirt on Franken. The reason they can‘t? All this stuff, in comparison to real abusers, is harmless. Anywho. As boring as sexually repressive humor is, this book was worth a listen. And so.

Franken should spend the rest of his life fighting against the reason he was forced, by Democrats, to quit the Senate. At the same time he should run for president. What he shouldn‘t do is write another book about the internals of the Senate. Another book about how to be a comedian I‘ll definately read. I mean. Does anyone really want to read/listen to how the sausage is made in the Senate? Especially the Senate dick sausage? But working on SNL? Yeah. That‘s the ticket.

She (on the phone): I‘m on my way. You want me to bring anything?

He (on the phone): Bring beer, arrive naked.

Ha. Ha. Duh.

Rant on.

-T

Links:

Just When You Thought…

Alternative worst-title:

It’s New To Me: Accelerationism.

Wow, dear worst-reader. As if there’s not enough to busy the worst-mind. You know. Enough mindfcuk bat$hit that turns the head(s) of MAGA aka THE LAND OF FREEDOM TO BE STUPID aka my beloved & missed #Americant. Oh. It is everywhere. Namely. There’s former prez Cheeto-jeezus. Forgotten him yet? Talk about right-wing bat$hit looney run amok. Yeah, he’s a doozy, eh. And what about flatearthers–which has obviously been around for a while–unless you consider, I worst-suppose, there might be little difference between flatearthers and deep state believers. By-the-buy, the deep state is nothing more than two sides of the same financial and economic authoritarianism fighting for top or bottom on a bed of rotten roses, underneath hideous and flaky bedsheets. Oh! And let’s not forget that the moon landings were faked. Yeah, baby! Fake newz galore. And the Illuminati? That’s a classic one, right? But what about the new bat$hit stuff? Like the last generation. Oh wait. No. They’re actually kinda cool, kinda real, not bat$hit. Moving on.

Here in Germany there’s the Reichsbürger which has somehow connected itself to Qanon. Go figure! Yet. For those in the less slightly-bat$hit-know, let’s not forget libertarianism. The king and queen and monarchy of twenty-first century bat$hit. Libertarianism, according to worst-writer, is a conservative system of thought that, for whatever worst-reason, you have because you lost, at some point or other, your balls, which is the reason why your true calling, aka darwinism equates with economics, confuses the bee-jeezus out of you to the point that you can’t tell the difference between right and wrong, left or right or who/what you attempted to rape the previous night. Blah blah blah.

Oh yeah. Accelerationism.

On a pod-cast the other day, dear worst-reader, I got thrown for a loop. And don’t you know, just when you think the bat$hitters can’t come up with something new, you sneeze and look up at what you just heard and bam! The new kid on the bat$hit block, dear worst-reader, at least for worst-writer, is Accelerationism. In worst-short, according to the #Interwebnets, it is thus:

Accelerationism is a range of Marxist and reactionary ideas in critical and social theory that propose that social processes, such as capitalist growth and technological change, should be drastically intensified to destabilize systems to create further radical social change referred to as “acceleration”. -Source: see wiki link below

According to my worst-research, Accelerationism has been around a while but perhaps not as long as, say, The Illuminati. Ha. Ha. Ha. With that in worst-mind, and with such a comparison, it’s easy for worst-writer to categorise this new faith/belief/ideology as not only bat$hit but right-wing. If the above wiki quote doesn’t sound bat$hit enough or is a bit misleading, allow worst-writer to worst-illuminate.

Accelerationism, in short, is the idear that bat$hitters, as mentioned throughout this worst-post, in order to marginalise those who would question the legitimacy or merit of wealth, can only be controlled or subjugated by increasing social and political pressures that serve the wealthy. Now. That may or mayn’t sound contradictory because Marx is also mentioned as a proponent of Accelerationism. But. The reason it sounds contradictory to worst-writer is because many of those who attach themselves to Accelerationism obviously have no idear who/what Marx is–or they’ve found yet another new way to re/un/dis/label him–as has been the case for the last century or so. These people have all been reared in a world where political and social issues rely on propaganda as opposed to any understanding of history. If you read the wiki article (link below) it is clearly assumed that there is a left and right form or Accelerationism. Of course. The left form is Marxist. For worst-writer this connection is no different than both-sideism. In worst-short, IMHO, Marx and Accelerationism would be better connected if one understands the concept of counter-revolution–which can only happen after a revolution. Where has there been a revolution–that would cause Accelerationism to reach its current popularity? Neo-liberalism ring a bell? Austerity? Economic turmoil? Political bat$hittery? The greed $hitshow? But I die-gress.

I’m gonna go out and on a limb here and make an assumption–just like one needs to do when considering the differences between Antifa and right-wingers as they have been labeled in my beloved & missed united mistakes of #Americant. Marx would have used Accelerationism for revolution, I’ll give it that. The bat$hitters of today, libertarians & co., right-wingers, etc., have attached themselves to Accelerationism as a form of counter-revolution. Which is a form of, who’d a thunk it, fascism. With that in worst-mind. I think. It begs this worst-question: what was/is the revolution being countered?

-Rant on.

-T

Links:

Sorry. We Serve Our Reichsbürger Rare!

Sorry. We Serve Our Reichsbürger Rare!

Anyone surprised z’Germans arrested a bunch of conspiracy loving right-wingers–who are not unlike #Americant right-wingers–without them having mobbed the Reichstag, which was supposedly part of the reason for the arrests? I worst-mean, dear worst-reader, how long after the #Americant right-wingers stormed The US Capitol did it take to finally bring some of those treasonous bastids to justice? One year? Two years? Still ongoing? Shouldn’t Mango Mussilini be tried for treason? Yeah. Whatever. And. That’s the thing. These German nutbags who actually think they can reinstall a monarchy or something were raided by z’German Polizei and… bam! Game over. Well. It’s game over until they get arrested again. I suppose. And so. In #Americant the department of justice continues to twiddle its thumbs while former prez pee-pee-hair continues his grift of THE LAND OF FREEDOM TO BE STUPID. So what does this say about z’Germany? Are they better at arresting treasonous bastids than #Americant is? WTF. #Nomatter.

Rant on.

-T

Link that motivated this worst-post: https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-failed-coup-plotters-yearning-for-the-german-reich

Battle Of The Worst-Writing Apps

Worst-Alternative title: iaWriter vs. Ulysses or the battle for writing minimalism

For worst-writer, dear worst-reader, it all started with some kinda tex-edit program or what today would be called a note app. Or maybe not. Yeah. Anywho. So it started. As in the late friggin 1980s. I’m worst-writing, of course, about writing on computer machines back when they were, indeed, glorified typewriters. Still are? #Nomatter. Seriously. They all sucked and still suck. On top of that. What happened to the idear of word-processing? But. Wait. I have to worst-admit. Now that I worst-think about it. I kinda dug WordPerfect back in the day. Again. #Nomatter. WordPerfect too was a bloated behemoth of lingering nothingness within the masterbatory-wings of windows-98 über-software krapp. Moving on.

The thing is, dear worst-reader, writing apps–software–are still struggling to not be krapp. With that in worst-mind. They’ll always be krapp. And so. No. Seriously. For most of my worst-writing life I’ve relied on apps that are, more or less, über-minimum when it comes to the $hitshow that is/should be worst-writing on a computer-machine. And so. Don’t you know. For. I can’t spell. I don’t even know what grammar is all about. And I really worst-hate the idear that when I’m writing something that something has to technically reside within the confines of the software I’m using. Hence. I haven’t written a thing in Microsoft Word in twenty years. The .doc file format sucks bat-balls. Although I like Apple’s Pages, for the same reason, I don’t use it. Then again. WTF! All worst-writer has ever wanted is to be able to worst-write and, get this, store what I worst-write in a folder on my computer–that is in a file format that isn’t dependent on any particular software. What a crazy thought, eh. Which brings me to… Scrivener.

There was a short stint where I thought Scrivener was the writing app I needed. Heck I even bought it. But you know what? I’ve never written anything in Scrivener that I’ve then published on my blog. Although my novels drifted in and out of Scrivener, I’ve since stopped using it. Everything on my blog is written in one of three apps. Apple’s Notes, TextEdit or iaWriter. Why iaWriter? For $hits & giggles, I guess. The thing is, I could use the Macs Note app to write a novel. Then again. While we’re on the subject of $hits&giggles, I gave Ulysses a test the other day. It’s always been on my radar but I haven’t used it cause of its subscription business model. Subscription business models suck. And guess what? I fiddled with it and immediately deleted it. Reason I dumped it? The same reason I dumped Scrivener–above and beyond the business model. It’s just too complicated. The thing is, with TextEdit, Notes or iaWriter, I don’t care about all the snappy software gimmicks that are supposed to make writing less worst. All I really want is some spell and grammar checking and whatever file/document/text I create I can then open in any other app or in any other operating system. Yeah. That’s the ticket. I don’t want files corrupted by dependencies from an app. Indeed. Worst-writer simply wants his worst-writing to be pure, uncorrupted, and accessible via whatever app or operating system I use. Yeah. That’s the ticket.

Rant on.

-T

Screenshot From Almost Hell

Alternative worst-title: iPad Air 5 pseudo-review number 3 or how I might lose my worst-mind

Was so looking forward to iPadOS 16.2 update, dear worst-reader. Reason? As noted here, worst-writer is kinda enamoured with the new iPad Air 5 (M1). In fact. I’m so impressed with this glass slate of tech I’m on the verge of ending my relationship with Macintosh. What is the thing that has made this such a decisive device for worst-moi, you ask. Unlike my trusty MacBook, a laptop a few years back I never thought could be replaced by a tablet, this thing can do just that. Well. It kinda can.

It’s the external monitor support that’s got me. Keep in worst-mind, I already have an external keyboard and mouse, which accompanies my MacBook when in clamshell mode. These two things are (kinda) required when connecting an external monitor to an iPad. Also. I worst-mean. Even though the speed of M1 iPad Air overwhelms—it is literally blazing fast when it comes to loading webpages and puts my 2017 i5 MacBook Air, with the faster 500gb HDD, to shame—its portability and the fact that I’m really coming around to iPadOS, is the real magic. But I’ve already worst-said most of that.

When I received the iPad about three weeks ago it immediately updated to iPad OS 16.1. I quickly learned that I’d have to wait for 16.2 to get the full benefits of what, from the specs indicated, sold me on this device, namely the iPad’s ability to drive a separate monitor. Even though the monitor mirroring it has with 16.1 was totally cool, I checked almost every day for the release of 16.2–because it was/is supposed to support full dual monitor connectivity. And it does. Now. I’ve always used my MacBooks with a separate monitor when at my desk. Which means there are a few things I’m gonna have to get used to with the iPad. That worst-said. I don’t fear the learning curve here. I’m impressed with 16.2’s monitor support and can only wonder at the reason it’s taken Apple so long to do this. This being providing real world applicability to a product that, for worst-writer, I never thought would/could replace Macintosh.

Stop the worst-presses.

Which brings me to the screenshot above. Turns out that Apple doesn’t quite have iPad OS 16.2 under control. Or is there a reason that when driving a separate monitor I cannot use airplay? WTF! Hopefully this is a bug and not a feature. That Apple would include such a warning (pic above) does seem to indicate something more than a bug, though. Or? Ok. Wow. Can you imagine, dear worst-reader, getting all productive and giddy with your new apple product and suddenly when you want to listen to some tunes to hold your mood(s) you get this message? Yeah. WTF–double.

Rant on.

-T

Don’t Panic

So. Like. This happened the other day. I’m in town approaching the bio-market and out of the blue sirens start going off all around me, even on my phone. At first I startled, thinking it was a bank robbery on account I was at that moment walking past a bank. Then I remembered. Oh yeah! It’s that new fangled wireless emergency alert test. Yea, that’s the ticket. It goes something like this. In Germany they still use those über-loud sirens every once-a-once that is supposed to wake up Das Volk to batten down the hatches, trouble is coming. But now, with these changing times, z’Germans are finally getting their $hit together as those old sirens need replacing. I guess. The new siren, which is supposed to provide a more efficient warning, is based on embedded sim technology known as CellBroadcast. And that’s fine and dandy. It worked on December 8, as promised (see pic above). But here’s worst-writer’s question: How is it that the German government is able to send a message to my phone like this? Obviously the cellular phone network, that all our phones are attached to, is being used for this. But. Again. Fine and dandy. It’s just… How did they get my phone number to send me this message? Ok. Wait. I’m not asking the right questions.

The thing is, dear worst-reader, they don’t need a phone number to send this message. Which says a lot about what this technology is all about. But we’ve known that already, right dear worst-reader? Our digital life is not a one-way street. Or is it a one-way street–just not in the direction we think it is? Wow. And so. Beyond this being kinda invasive, what other surprises await us. You know. What else can the government push our way?

Buckle up.

Rant on.

-T

Links:

The Land Of Fluff

Alternative worst-title of this post of worst: Crime does kinda pay or definitely costs less nowadays.

Who’s celebrating, dear worst-reader? Or is it not worth celebrating that former prez pee-pee-hair kinda was found guilty on tax fraud? I worst-say kinda guilty because, well, he’s not called teflon Donny for nothing. In other worst-words, only two of his so-called organisations were found guilty. Who even knows how many organisations he has? With the recent verdicts, though, it seems that some penalties will be levied on Cheeto jeezus. And so. It’s kinda sad-hill-larry-us how the system that is the united mistakes of #Americant just can’t seem to ever-never do the right thing when it comes to all-things #Americant, especially #Americant crime. Then again. I reckon it can do the right thing when it comes to controlling poor people. Jails are full of poor people. But the rich? The privileged? The Haves and the Have-Mores? Man-o-man. What a scam life really is. The good news? Mango Mussolini is facing a few more legal troubles. The other news? Come on. He’ll never spend a day in jail. I know. I know. I’m laughing too.

Giggle giggle.

Rant (and steal) on.

-T

Link: https://crooksandliars.com/2022/12/trump-organization-found-guilty-all

Terminate Everyworstthing

Worst-alternate title: Conservative conservatorium of spite and hate and chip on shoulders and THE FREEDOM TO BE STUPID

No. Seriously. Dear worst-reader! I try. I really try. Heck. I even read one of Matt Taibbi‘s books. But then. Somehow. Something. Somewhere… Yeah. I had to stop admiring this guy. This talented word-smith dropped off my radar years ago. Why? Matt Taibbi has gone to the dark-side. Such a worst-statement, of course, begs a worst-question:

Is the dark-side a right or a left dark-side?

Put another worst-way: is the dark-side some masterbatory idyllic city on a hill also known as libertarianism-ville or free market plumb money village or just plain old welcome to John Galt Ville where everything, including the air, is for sale, etc? #Nomatter.

Just to recap my worst-confusion with Matt Taibbi, here’s a few worst-thoughts. Why would this guy give up such a great gig like writing for Rolling Stone Magazine? I mean. I get it if he feels he needs to move on. But. Is it such a bad thing to play by some rules? Rules… I‘m worst-guessing, is the reason he left Rolling Stone. Rebellious #OKBoomer children, don’t you know. Then there‘s his short stint at The Intercept. Ok. It‘s not so mysterious why he would abruptly leave the world‘s most expensive blog run by the most expensive over-paid bloggers. Since then he’s been freelancing, I guess. Oh wait. He‘s now basting in comfort behind a blog paywall known as Substack. Which is great. And so. Other than reading about him or hearing his name in a podcast here or there, I‘ve lost all interest in what Matt Taibbi has to say. But then. Suddenly. Stop the presses.

Matt Taibbi hit my radar the other day. Yeah. For. You see. Dear worst-reader. Matt Taibbi was given a bunch of emails that are supposed to contain a political news worthy smoking gun. And what does Matt Taibbi do? He preps everybody via two dozen or so tweets that most certainly do not rock anyone’s world. Except. Of course. Former prez pee-pee-hair. And when you can provoke former prez mango-Mussolini…? Indeed. And so.

Based on Matt Taibbi‘s smoldering-gun tweets, #Trump thinks he has enough proof about election fraud that it‘s time to get rid of the united mistakes of #Americant constitution. And so so. Indeed-deed. My curiosity was peeking so I followed up on a few of Matt Taibbi‘s tweets. One of those tweets lead to a pseudo-debate hosted by some libertarian (I‘m worst-guessing) debate society in Canadiastan known as Munk Debates. Matt Taibbi, along with some pro British brexit dippy, were debating two NYT writers about whether the the mainstream media can be trusted. That’s it. A debate by the THE MEDIA about whether or not the media can be trusted. That such a debate exists is proof enough of it being surely organized by Ayan Randian $hitbags. That worst-said, I watched the whole thing (see link below) because I love Malcolm Gladwell. Long worst-story short, Matt Taibbi and his dippy but British brexit-witty comrade won the debate–that The Media is corrupt and can‘t be trusted. For. In case you‘re not in the now. These Munk Debates are about not just who wins the debate but who the audience thinks wins the debate. The trick here is to get the audience to vote on the issue before the debate and then to vote again after the debate is over. But none of that matters because the only thing I got out of the debate was how heavy that chip is on Matt Taibbi‘s shoulder. In fact, it may have gotten bigger since I gave up on him years ago. Worst-wow.

Keep in mind, dear worst-reader, it was just after this debate that Matt Taibbi received the Twitter emails which may or mayn‘t hurt his brand. Why? Matt Taibbi was gifted email correspondence that took place between Twitter execs during the 2020 presidential campaign. I‘m assuming, considering the depths that political campaigns will sink, that someone–from Twitter that is now owned by you-know-who–thought there was something interesting in these emails and only the likes of Matt Taibbi can be trusted to publish that info. The problem is, the only thing interesting that I can find is how these emails show Twitter execs actually putting some worthwhile effort into moderating content. I mean. Ain‘t that a good thing when the content their moderating are dick-pics? It turns out that the material that was supposed to appeal to right-wing-nuts was just more of the same-same from the debunked Joe Biden‘s son‘s laptop story from 2020. And so. Matt Taibbi, I guess, also thinks that these emails prove how a private company can censor speech and thereby infringe on first amendment rights–which, for him, is ultimately what his begrudged The Media do all the time. Need I remind you, dear worst-reader, that a private company does not in anyway have to abide by the first amendment. Only the government has to do that. And so. Some right-wingers, including those ever fake smiling libertarians, especially those on the darker-darkest-side, think, because Twitter censored Joe Biden‘s son‘s dick-pics, the 2020 election is invalid. Former prez Cheeto jeezus now thinks that the constitution should be „terminated“. Go figure.

Wow. You can‘t write this stuff, dear worst-reader. But Matt Taibbi can.

Rant on.

-T

Links that helped with this post:

Could The Devil Make Him Not Do It

In the ordinary moral universe, the good will do the best they can, the worst will do the worst they can, but if you want to make good people do wicked things, you’ll need religion. -Christopher Hitchens

Alternative worst-title of this worst-post: The troll conundrum.

Been worst-contemplating, dear worst-reader. Or. Like you. Should I just blow it off? You know. Blow off the troll conundrum that some unknown (to me) rap singer is spewing due to his skewed, distorted view of life? I mean. Is this guy trolling someone, something or somehow? Is he trolling Alex Jones? In other worst-words, dear worst-reader, did an African-American male, who is relatively young, it should be noted, go down to the white-man devil‘s liar in Maga-Lard-O, FL, and bring with him a white supremacists cohort, in order to troll former prez pee-pee-hair? WTF is going on with Ye?

Some have said he’s ill, as in: sick in the head. Others say he doesn’t take his medicine, as in: like so many #Americants should–or probably should stop. Or. Maybe. He’s going through a midlife crisis. Actually, I just came up with the midlife crisis thing. #Nomatter. The worst-thing is, the stuff this guy is spewing is pretty much bread & butter #Americant. No. Seriously. Worst-writer is almost sixty. The stuff Ye has been saying the past few weeks I’ve heard all my life. Hitler this, Hitler that. He talks about the invention of Autobahns. I’ve heard (old) Germans talk about, back in the day, how they could leave their bike unlocked, which is referring to how safe their Nazi communities were. Of course. I’m not sure what Ye‘s microphone reference is supposed to be about. You know. Ye thinks Hitler invented the microphone. Seriously? Adolf Hitler, the failed artist and wounded WW1 veteran, inventing a/the microphone? Again. #Nomatter. The stuff he‘s saying, as commonplace as it is, has one major caveat and/or worst-question. When did this kind of talk become common place… outside the white man’s world of greed-galore? Does such a worst-question make me naive? Ok. But. Which brings me back round to the idear that Ye is/might be ill. The thing is. I don‘t think he‘s ill at all. I think this is the reaction of any #Americant male reared among the disease that is being #Americant male–especially in these times of the greed $hitshow that has turned the world upside down, inside out, this or that–all based on the amount of $hit you can buy, consume. Which begs yet another worst-question: how the fcuk does this deplorable-ness get passed on to an African American or, perhaps, should be more concerned with white supremacy?

Could it have anything to do with consuming-to-survive?

Perhaps there‘s another worst-explanation for Kanye West‘s slash Ye‘s behavior. As stated in the quote above, religion makes good people do evil stuff. Even though Ye‘s Hitler mouth vomit isn‘t about religion, isn‘t the new & improved greed $hitshow aka #Americant, not unlike a religion? I mean. The country is awash in conspiracy theory. It’s drowning itself in greed. A huge swath of the population (half?) believes elections, according to one side of the political spectrum, are stolen. Greed is such a huuuuuge part of #Americant life, most know nothing else. Jesus was white–and he was a Christian. If you fold a dollar bill the right way you can decode symbols that reveal the true nature of the Illuminati and how it controls EVERYTHING. Did I mention greed? Oh wait. How bout more conspiracy-theory krapp. Right? Wait. Did I mention chemtrails are what make the greed? #Nomatter.

My worst-point is kinda this. Ye, like so many others in #Americant right now, due mostly to cultural, social and economic mental and behavior issues, as opposed to merit, i.e. the fallacy of meritocracy, which determines success or failure, is in a world of trouble. First. He‘s gone through a terrible divorce, which looks more and more like he was dumped because his wife somehow found out he’s a moron. How do most men deal with being dumped? Second. He owes something like fifty million in back taxes. These are taxes that he may or mayn‘t be able to pay on account he‘s lost so much money recently–due to his inability to shut his mouth and just make music. And third. In order to fit in, I guess, he‘s aligned himself with everything that‘s proven itself to be #Americant. And once you do that, it seems, there‘s no turning back. And so. Like (a) religion, he has no choice but to do evil.

Yeah.

Rant on.

-T

Links that motivated post:

Call In Sick, Everyone

What is #Americant? That’s the worst-question of the worst-day. And what a question it is, eh, dear worst-reader. That being worst-said. Of all the examples of what makes #Americant, which one stands out the most regarding how the minions, the suckers, the morons, the submissive ones and the compulsive behaviourists… Notice, dear worst-reader, that worst-writer doesn’t refer to #Americants as slaves. Reason? Well. Suckers and minions and morons make it ever-more clear how behaviourism and submission lead so many to a life of compliance. That’s what it is, right, dear worst-reader? #Americants, young and old, hip or goofy, thick or thin, well, don’t you know, they/we comply. Hence, #Americant is, depending on time of day or season of the year, an experiment tirelessly traversing the historical anomalies somewhere between feudalism and capitalism–all the while being very confused about a life of compliance. In other worst-words, where there was once feudalism–and slavery–there is now capitalism–where slavery is no longer condoned, accepted, tolerated. And so. As we all know, capitalism has its cycles–as some like to say, or its ups and downs. Where is that cycle now? My beloved & missed #Americant is obviously on route to another new & improved nadir. How does worst-writer know? Just check out the recent hobnobbing around what should be an inalienable rights issue for not just rail workers but for all workers. When I first got wind of the rail-workers story, I didn’t give it much thought. What’s the point, I worst-said to my worst-self. The minions, the suckers, the morons have gotten themselves into such a quagmire of worker-rights-$hit, why would they all suddenly think government is gonna save them–or give them a few paid leave days for being sick? I mean. Hence. Here’s the best example there is of #Americant. Why in the bee-gee-zees would workers of any kind, whether you make coffee or drive trains, think that you have any say in the goings and comings of the Haves and the Have-Mores? All of you have spent your entire lives–heck your parents have spent their entire lives–being walked-over, snubbed, cheated, duped–and for what? So that you can suddenly come to terms with the idear that maybe, just maybe, it’s time you stood up for yourself so you can make your employer give you a few sick-days? Seriously? This is gonna make #Americant greater again?

Too little too late, baby. This whole issue should have been taken care of a hundred friggin years ago.

Good luck suckers. Now go buy something while you still can.

Rant on.

-T

Links that motivated this post:

Worst Dual Citizenship?

As you may or mayn‘t have noticed, dear worst-reader, worst-writer is an expat. Reason(s) for that is covered through out this worst-blog. In short, worst-writer found a way to jump the greed $hit-ship thereby avoiding a life of minimum wage poverty known as the #Americant dream. That was the end of the 1980s. And so. For more than thirty years I have been living in a foreign country. I speak a foreign language (although not perfectly). I have a foreign driver‘s license, foreign ID card, which doubles as my visa. I have foreign health insurance, a pension plan and a foreign dog named Beckett, the killer pug. My wife is a native of my adopted country and when she was young she protested my beloved & missed United Mistakes of #Americant because of its Cold War policy of stationing short range ICBM nuclear missiles in her country. With all that in worst-mind, after all these years living as an expat in Germany, when asked the question: what‘s your nationality? I always answer: American. Also. After more than thirty years, when asked, why don‘t you become a German citizen? I respond: because Germany won‘t let me. In other worst-words, even though I am technically qualified to become a German citizen, I consider the offer mute due to the fact that German law doesn‘t allow me to do so without giving up my US citizenship. In other worst-words, for me, German law doesn’t allow dual citizenship. That’s not the case for my son who has both German and American citizenship. Now. Let me worst-add this. I still am required, yes, even after more than thirty years, to get a visa to legally live in Germany. That visa has to be renewed every five years. Actually, until the last visa I got, it had to be renewed every two years. I believe, when I get my next visa, it will be for ten years. Or maybe not. For you see, dear worst-reader, the newly elected government, following the infamous Angela Merkel years, is trying to ease Germany‘s strict citizenship laws. Although the law won‘t change my status of being born to a former German citizen, my mother, who has since given up her German citizenship, and is now an American citizen, it will finally recognize my efforts, at the least, to bring some fresh blood into twenty-first century German procreation. Accordingly, if all goes well, this loosening of citizenship laws will allow me to finally have dual German and American citizenship. And so. Will I become a German citizen if the law allows it, without having to give up my US citizenship?

Fcuk yea!

Rant on.

-T

Link: https://apnews.com/article/europe-germany-immigration-european-union-naturalization-8bd95a58d8e2b1a0dc152dd7d312c61d

Wisdom Bumper Stickers

Had to worst-post, dear worst-reader. Found this the other day on the back of a Smart (car) while walking Beckett, the killer pug. FYI. Schwachkopf is wordplay with Schwarzkopf which is a German hair shampoo. The entire image parodies the shampoo brand. Schwachkopf literally translates to weak-minded but IDIOT or dunce is most applicable here. Of course, the silhouette works perfectly.

Rant on.

-T

Pseudo-Review – iPad Air 5, One Week Later

MacBook (clamshell) left, RPi4 (under table) right. New iPad Air 5 center.

Previous pseudo-review is here.

So. First. For some worst-context, here‘s a rundown of worst-writer‘s tech.

  • MacBook 12“ (2017), i5/8gb/500gb
  • iPhone 11
  • iPad Air 5 (2022), M1/64gb
  • Raspberry Pi 4, 4gb

For the past year or so I‘ve been using my better-half‘s hand-me-down iPad. She has since moved on to an iPad Pro. Although her old iPad sat around unused for a while, it eventually became my go-to device for e-book reading, newz reading/scanning, YouTube and VLC for viewing movies and TV from my home media server. In short, I worst-guess, the iPad has become my main gadget for media consumption. Also. When we‘re traveling in our wunder-van (see pic above), that old iPad quickly replaced me having to take my MacBook which has also lead to me reconsidering my daily-driver computing needs. Of course. The iPad Pro I inherited is over five years old. But that’s not the problem. In fact, it works fine, updates n‘all. No. The big problem is it can‘t go more than an hour without hanging on a charging cable. What good is an iPad if it always has to be plugged in? And so. My better-half surprised me last week with the new M1 iPad Air.

As noted in my previous post, I‘m not a fan of touch screen computing. When others thought that Apple should make MacOS a touchscreen operating system, as was done with Windows, I was in the wings preying it would never happen. With that in worst-mind, once I hooked up a keyboard and sometimes a mouse to the old iPad, I quickly realized that working (worst-writing) on a tablet might not be a bad idear–touchscreen n‘all. And even though my MacBook has the smallest footprint since the MacBook Air 11“, as far as mobility goes, the MacBook can’t compete with the iPad.

Having fiddled and giggled with my new iPad for over a week now… Boy oh boy am I sold on this slate of wunder-glass. In fact, other than it not having a terminal app, or at least one that I‘ve figured out how to get working like the MacOS terminal app, there‘s nothing on this iPad Air that makes me miss my MacBook. Plus. Oh. In case you‘re not in the know. The speed of the M1 CPU in this iPad is amazing. Surprise. Surprise.

As far as my work flow goes, I‘m obviously not a power user. I don‘t do any video work and the photo work I do is minimal, including nothing more than cropping and resizing pictures I take with my iPhone. Other than scanning a document every once-a-once, I don‘t see a need for a camera on an iPad. But I guess it is nice to have just in case. As far as the iOS learning curve is concerned, compared to MacOS, iOS very different indeed. What I thought was cumbersome at first, like various settings or the entirety of a touch screen, I‘m sure I‘ll eventually adjust. Of course, there is the issue of storage since I only have 64gb. I haven‘t yet downloaded anything but I‘m considering trying out Apple Arcade–once I figure out, as a non-gamer, what games I might want to try. I use my iPhone 11 for audio podcasting so I don‘t have to worry about downloaded files cluttering up my iPad. With all that in worst-mind, I don‘t see having the minimum spec as an issue. We‘ll see how that goes.

To protect it I‘m using the ESR magnetic case but am considering getting a keyboard case. The Apple keyboard case is waaaaay to expensive so I’ll probably get one from Logitech. As far as the Apple pen goes, I’ve fiddled with the first gen Apple pen and although I find the pen a better input method than fingers on glass, I don‘t know what else to use it for. I don’t draw and would rather type than transcribe handwriting. My Keychron keyboard works great on it, which means I‘ve finally got three separate bluetooth connections for typing: 1 MacBook (clamshell), 2 iPad, 3 RPi4.

All in all, I‘m impressed with the new iPad Air. Not only does it cost significantly less than a new MacBook, it blows my 2017 MacBook out of the water when it comes to opening webpages or apps. That it could possibly be the device that replaces a Mac in my life is a bit of a surprise but so far not a disappointing surprise. This may mean that I can finally start considering a laptop solely for my Linux needs. Indeed. I‘m seriously considering buying a Framework laptop and going full Linux. Again. We‘ll see.

Rant on.

-T

Fake It Till You Make It

It is the new & forever improving/changing #Americant creed, don‘t you know, dear worst-reader. Fake it till you make it. Considering how things are going, of late (on this planet), or at least since the beginning of the twenty-first century, if you don‘t live a life of fake it till you make it then you must face the reality of an unambiguous choice between two sides of the same dirty, rotten, greed coin: are you a Have or are you a Have-Not? Indeed. Then again. For those in the worst-know, there are the Have-Mores–but they‘re so friggin rich, like gods, I worst-suppose, their world(s) need not be contemplated. Or do you worst-wish to think about how they ALL got so rich? Am I wrong. Then again again.

The thing is, dear worst-reader, as I scan the newz ungloriously in search of all-things worst, it‘s never been easier to spot fake it till you make it. BTW, some refer to fake it till you make using a pejorative. Perhaps you know it? Bull$hit. Or, perhaps, you now the bull$hit meter. And so. Is your BS meter off the charts? Or do you, unlike worst-writer, refrain from the newz?

Obviously the current greatest fake it till you make it persona has to be former prez pee-pee-hair. I worst-mean. He‘s been faking it since the day his mother‘s bouffant fell into his warm glass of chocolate buttermilk pudding the night after his hideous father whipped his arse so bad that it caused his hair to start falling out and he was only three. Of course. There are numerous other personas of fake it till you make it. Ain‘t history awash with them? The likes of Anna Sorokin, though, is too obvious. Or what about that German who claimed to have found Hitler’s diaries? Yeah. Those people are obvious. Fake it till you make it is more than conmen and grifters, don‘t you know. Or is it? #Nomatter.

The real fake it till you make it people are cut from another slate, dear worst-reader. Again. The best living example, or most successful, has to be former prez mango Mussolini. But what about ALL the #Americant mega-church preachers? And what of all of the CEOs running #Americant corporations for the past fourth or fifty years? Aren‘t they part of this ship of greed? With that in worst-mind, what‘s with all the fake it till you make it wannabes? You know. Like the Elizabeth Holmes or the FTX guy? Wow. How bout Elon Musk since he bought twitter? I mean. I really thought he had the potential to be one of the great ones. You know. One of the great ones that didn‘t fake it till you make it. But I suppose the jury is still out on that one.

Oh. Before I forget. While catching up on this stuff I came across a an article that has a new name for fake it till you make it. It‘s called behavioral activation. Not sure about you but there are rare moments when the old ways are sometimes better than the new ways. Then again, worst-writer is a big fan of renaming, if not redefining, the word career. It should be called compulsive behaviorism. Yeah. That‘s the worst-ticket.

Rant on.

-T

Links that motivated this post:

My Severance Was A Bit Different

Alternative worst-title: Pseudo-Review of Severance, the tv show

Disclaimer: I‘m writing this pseudo-review after viewing the first two episodes only. No spoilers. So buckle-up buttercup.

Having recently purchased a new iPad Air 5, I‘m once again on the AppleTV+ rodeo–on account I get the service for three months for free. For. In case, dear worst-reader, you‘re not in the know. I don‘t dig subscription media services. For the most part, when it comes to consuming-to-survive media, I don’t mind paying as I go, which is why I prefer the Apple TV. Also. As with everything Apple, one has to be prudent with expenses just to be able to afford all this krapp, which means I do all I can to avoid paying stupid-money for AppleTV+. And so. Long live corporate monopolies and unregulated capitalism and forced obsoletism, etc. (Sarcasm off.) That said, here‘s a shortlist of what worst-moi and my better-half are currently subscribed to:

  • Netflix
    • As of the fall 2022 we‘re subscribed to the cheapest service rate, which I think is 7,-€; if Netflix pushes ads through this price-point we will be canceling.
  • Apple Music
    • Although I started this last summer on subscription I‘ve since changed it to the yearly 100,-€ flat rate, on account there‘s a bit of money to be saved. Still a subscription in my worst-book.
  • Amazon Prime – JUST CANCELLED
    • For the last few years we‘ve been subscribed to Prime. After Amazon‘s rate hike announcement I immediately cancelled it. Since we never really dug the movie offering and it‘s cheaper, we moved to Netflix. BTW, Amazon‘s Music service sucks. Will I miss Prime shipping? Now that‘s a good worst-question. I am gonna miss Star Trek Picard though!

With three months of free AppleTV+ there‘s quite a bit to catch up on. I’m looking forward to See, The Morning Show (season 2) and whatever else I missed since 2020, the last time I got this service for free. To start, my better-half and I watched the first two episodes of Severance last night. And get this. After the first few minutes of episode one I knew I was in for something good. With that in mind, to make things short-n-sweet, here the gist of everything I have to say about this show after only two episodes.

Gosh darnit I wish I had written that.

The thing is, dear worst-reader, I wrote a play called The Good Criminal. It was about not only corporate abuse but the willingness of corporate employees to play along with the $hitshow that is corporate #Americant. The way the first episode of Severance begins, with a lone woman laying on a corporate conference room table, being woken up by a conference room speaker, and the subsequent animosity she shows for her corporate situation, fit perfect into worst-writer‘s mindset of corporate Mise en scène. By the end of the second episode my better-half and I agreed that the writer (Dan Erikson) and director (Ben Stiller) have created a masterpiece of duality that spans exactly the same-differences between Orwell and Huxley. Bravo!

For those not in the know, here‘s worst-writer‘s short-take on the same-differences between Orwell vs Huxley. Orwell (1984) writes about coercive and violent authoritarianism. Huxley (Brave New World) is about authoritarian power recognizing there is no need for violence because coercion can be achieved through mental manipulation, which includes drugs, advertising, emotions, etc.

Although surely this tv show will steer in the direction of entertainment as I continue watching it, I‘m particularly interested in how its creators, satirically or not, maintain the same-differences that abound when depicting social and political issues in this worst-world. Will the show take me in the satirical direction of movies like Starship Troopers or Robocop? Or what about Don‘t Look Up, Network or Blazzing Saddles? And there‘s my all-time favorite socially critical film: Heaven‘s Gate. For, dear worst-reader, if you want to see a depiction of the origins of #Americant watch Heaven‘s Gate.

#Nomatter the direction Severance takes, my only hope is it doesn‘t stray with typical Hollywood appeasement. You know. Hollywood can only take social and political issues so far, which, IMHO, is why Heaven‘s Gate was such a colossal failure as it literally took down a movie studio. Then again, today‘s entertainment industry doesn‘t seem to be lacking in funding? Am I wrong. Anywho. As long as Severance remains steadfast and adheres to the premise that corporatism, in all its forms, is no different than fascism, totalitarianism and is in total opposition to human freedom and dignity, I‘ll keep watching it.

Or maybe not. Whatever.

Rant on.

-T

Links:
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severance_(TV_series)?wprov=sfti1
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldous_Huxley?wprov=sfti1
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell?wprov=sfti1
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven’s_Gate_(film)?wprov=sfti1

Michelin Star In Cologne

Six course meal, galore.

Ten year anniversary dinner, dear worst-reader. Also, first time in two and half years (covid) we went out. Köln’s La Société has left me disappointed in the past. High-end catered food, I‘ve said. But not this time. Starting top right > left. Shrimp wraps, jelly wrapped goose liver, wolfsbarsh filet, baby calamari, venison filet and some kind of custard on a bed of sautéed fruit slices. Six course magic.

Rant (and eat) on.

-T

Pseudo Review: iPad Air 5 2022

Alternative worst-title: Has worst-writer purchased his last Macintosh (laptop)?

One week later pseudo-review here.

Took a few years, dear worst-reader. You know. Took a few years before I came round. Round to what, you ask. Well. The biggest reason I never really liked iPads and barely tolerate iPhones is because of one piece of modern tech that bugs the bee-gee-bees out of me: touch screens. Having been swept away long ago with the Macintosh, a magnificent alternative to Windows, this not only makes me old school, it makes me a bit weary when it comes to big (tech) changes. The thing is, I dig keyboards and command line interfaces. And so. The biggest move I’ve made so far with distancing my worst-self from Apple‘s hideous and monopolistic product politics, that began with Macintosh, has been to embrace Linux. And so. I‘m digging ARM based SBCs. As you can see in the pic above, I have been sharing the right half of my work space with a tried & true RPi4 for going on a year, not to mention that all my music and video and file server needs in my little townhouse are fulfilled with other raspberry pi SBCs. But this worst-post ain‘t about my having seen the light. Or is it the dark? #Nomatter. Moving on.

For years now worst-writer has been a perturbed Apple fanboy. Whether dazed and confused about hardware, software or its baked-in product obsoletism, IMHO the company has taken the fun/thrill out of its stuff—other than unboxings, of course. Even though I know how technically powerful Macs and iPads are, there‘s something about what money grubbing monopolists do that just makes things… un-fun. And I have a lot of un-fun, boring Apple stuff, don‘t you know. So. The question for worst-moi for the past few years has been simple. Will my frustration with Apple make me give up on Apple?

Discovering the joys of worst-writing on a slate of glass that glows and talks and plays music/videos and connects to the world may have turned things upside down.

The thing that has sent me over the edge over the past few years is Apple‘s new Silicon. You know. The new CPU/GPU it supposedly developed to replace the burden of having to buy over-priced chips from Intel. I‘m probably a bit naive in making this assumption but hear me out for a worst-sec. Why is it, after developing completely new Silicon and thereby not having to pay Intel‘s monopoly chip prices, are Macs as expensive if not more expensive than ever before? Keep in mind, dear worst-reader, Apple Silicon is based on open-source chip architecture. The development and manufacture of chips is supposed to be a huge part of the cost of chips. Again. Perhaps I‘m not well enough informed but to worst-moi, at the least, anything with Apple Silicon should be substantially cheaper because a big chunk of chip development doesn‘t cost Apple a thing. Then again. We no longer live in times where capitalist innovation could/should benefit consumers. It’s all about the shareholders. Am I wrong. Moving on.

As usual, worst-writer is off subject. This worst-post is supposed to be about reviewing my latest Apple purchase which could have been a new Mac–cause I‘m due for a new one. So. Thank you for indulging me. Again. Moving on.

As mentioned above, I was never an iPad fan. I hate touch screens. But. My better-half has been using iPads for years. I can’t deny the fact that she’s also been very productive with her iPad. This has lead me to look over her shoulder once or thrice which then lead to a few YouTube videos and before I knew it, she hand-me-downed her second generation iPad Pro about a year and a half ago. At first, I only used the iPad to read the newz in the morning with coffee. I then started reading books on it–having long since giving up on Kindle and Amazon. Once I figured out how to browse the #Interwebnets with it I started to find myself casually reaching for it more and more instead of putting my 2017 MacBook (the twelve inch one) on my lap. Long worst-story short. This past summer, as my better-half and I began our vanlife, I became more and more hesitant to camp in remote places with an abundance of expensive tech krapp. I mean. It‘s bad enough that we have our iPhones, iPads, Apple Watch, etc. Even though our van has a lock-n-key safe in it, my MacBook does not fit in that safe. But I‘m rambling. The worst-thing is, the more I used that old, second generation iPad Pro, the more I dug it and only took it on our vanlife trips.

My aging iPad‘s battery has been at its end for a while now. It lasted under constant use for almost five years and that‘s more than I can say for my MacBook or any iPhone. I started to complain that I had to plug it in every hour after any significant use. Complaining enough meant that my better-half was also getting bored (of my complaining). Surprise. Surprise. She bought the new iPad Air 5th gen with the caveat it‘s my early Xmas present. Tickled to death as I waited for it to be delivered, and after informing her about all the research I’d done about which iPad I wanted, I made a plan to turn it into my daily driver. Yeah. Since last summer (2022) I am digging the iPad, touch screen n‘all. Who‘d a thunk it!

Will this new iPad Air replace my aging 2017 12“ MacBook? I mean. I had the MacBook battery replaced last summer. Because it has i5 processor and a 500GB HD, it‘s also, unlike the i3 MacBooks, still quite useful. In fact, unlike the i3 MacBook, mine runs MacOS Ventura. But that‘s all neither here nor there. The thing that blows my mind with my new iPad Air is how much faster it is at opening apps, browsing the #Interwebnets and multitasking. Of course, the question remains, as my daily driver, as I have to rely on it for all my computing needs, will the Air deliver? We‘ll worst-see. This worst-test is ongoing.

So. The question now is: what in worst-writer‘s computing world will replace my Mac laptop? Keep in worst-mind, dear worst-reader, I didn‘t say, by potentially giving up Macintosh for an iPad (iOS) that I‘m also giving up on using a laptop. I don‘t think that‘s the case. What I‘m really doing is searching for a path to reduce my dependency on Apple. That worst-said. If things go as planned, I may finally replace Macintosh for iOS for all my ecosystem needs but for my other computing needs, it‘s Linux all the way.

Ever heard of a Framework laptop?

Rant and review on.

-T