Ahoy there, Waferinos!
This blog was launched in April of 2006. 13 years and one month later, it still survives, pulling in about 45,000 hits a month. The total hits for the 13 years is now nearing 4 million. It survives as a rare oasis of reality in a nation wallowing in utter and total bullshit. We have stayed the course, insisting on "truth in advertising," while providing book revs and film recs, and above all, humor in troubled times. We have crushed the trollfoons, held Wafer Summit Meetings, survived brief periods of absence (with the help of Haldol etc.), and demonstrated the Ultimate Fact: There just isn't any other blog worth bothering with. All but one of our predictions have proven to be correct, the exception being the election of Trumpola; and never were we more delighted to be wrong. So onward, I say, onward to the next 4 million. As I approach my 75th birthday (August), I realize I will probably live to 101, at which time we will proudly display a history of 10 million hits. God looked down on all the blogs in the blogosphere, saw the Waferblog, and said: "This, this is the blog I'll put my money on." No fool, He.
-GSWH
75 years young! Here is something Mick Jagger posted today, he too is now 75. Not sure if you, MB, can match these moves, but I’m also fairly certain Mick doesn’t know quite as much about Wittgenstein:
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/mickjagger/status/1128631879844933632?s=21
What the United State's suez moment will be has been speculated on quite a bit on this blog, and I'm wondering if its going to be a meaningless war (or attempt at war) with Iran.
ReplyDeleteHow could any reasonable person, regardless of political affiliation, still think that starting a war in the middle east is a good idea? ISIS, Iraq, Syria....is this not enough evidence? Trump is just a dodo but what exactly is Bolton's motivation here, just looking for an excuse to blow shit up, its incredible.
Greetings MB and Wafers,
ReplyDeleteMB-
Congratulations on reaching another blog milestone! I wish I could send you a pastrami sandwich w/coleslaw and Russian dressing. A side of potato salad and a Cel-Ray wouldn't hurt either, of course. Indeed, the trollfoons have been systematically decimated, yet I hope there will be a few more who will be crushed like cockroaches in the future. Long Live The Wafer Blog (LLWB).
MB, Wafers-
Day In The Life dept.:
https://www.npr.org/2019/05/15/723183103/facing-homelessness-and-crushing-medical-debt-a-renowned-jazz-guitarist-reaches-
Playing beside Coltrane to a GoFundMe campaign over crushing medical debt and possible homelessness. Jesus, this is the sad reality in America.
Miles
Long live MB, Wafers and Waferettes.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile:
"More than half of Europeans believe the EU is likely to collapse within a generation.
Europeans are also concerned about faltering prosperity. The survey found that just a third of Germans and a quarter of Italians and French typically had money left over at month’s end for discretionary spending."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/15/majority-of-europeans-expect-end-of-eu-within-20-years
Kanye
Congratulations on the record!
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, The Empire reduces one of its few artists of international stature to penury and begging in old age:
"One of the jazz world's most enduring artists, the influential 87-year-old guitarist and composer Kenny Burrell, is facing financial ruin and homelessness."
https://choice.npr.org/index.html?origin=https://www.npr.org/2019/05/15/723183103/facing-homelessness-and-crushing-medical-debt-a-renowned-jazz-guitarist-reaches-
Hey, congrats on the 4 million views! That’s nothing to scoff at. I have been feeling a bit of wanderlust as I’ve been on a serious hamster wheel over the last few years without rest or respite. In California the rents are insane with studio apartments in Santa Barbara where I live averaging at $1400/month.. for a studio!! I’m ready to abandon ship. Modern day slavery. Mexico here I come! Viva!
ReplyDeletehttps://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/09/donald-trump-iran-nuclear-deal-blame
ReplyDeleteI really don't want this to happen. I think it will. There are so many more people than in Iraq. Ugh....
Is a college education necessary? Where does the sun go at night? Have you seen my stapler? These and other questions will be the subject of enquiry of a new commission, driven by an insatiable American curiosity to know the value of everything.
ReplyDelete“The Gates Foundation is poised to disrupt American higher education with a new Postsecondary Value Commission. As its name suggests, the commission aims to define the value of a college degree.”
Among other things, the commission plans to “aid policymakers in gauging what the public gets for its investment in higher education.” If Congress listens to the commission, it could become harder for students majoring in the liberal arts or humanities to secure a federal loan or grant.”
http://theconversation.com/new-gates-funded-commission-aims-to-put-a-value-on-a-college-education-116930
Dan Henry-
ReplyDeleteCdn't run it. We have a half page max rule here. Pls compress and re-send. Thanks.
Pol-
Well, at 75 Mick still has women throwing themselves at him. Me, not so much. I tell ya, there is no justice in this world.
mb
ATROCIOUS!! The helicopter hovered outside the house next to their bedroom in order to take pictures! How Fucked Up is that? That’s one if the many downsides of Capitalism....Greed and GAIN at ALL COSTS!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cnn.com/2019/05/16/europe/prince-harry-meghan-helicopter-pictures-gbr-intl-scli/index.html
jj-
ReplyDeleteIt might have been OK if the pics were published under the headline, "Turkeys at Play." On the other hand, look what happened to Diana. Not much of a paparazzi learning curve here, I guess.
mb
The UK is now experiencing deaths of despair and increasing inequality.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2019/may/14/britain-risks-heading-to-us-levels-of-inequality-warns-top-economist
This is not surprising since the UK is so similar to the US. However, as important as the economic factors are, you have to wonder why Southern European countries are not experiencing this epidemic of deaths of despair despite also having major economic problems like very high unemployment. For example, countries like Italy, Portugal and Spain are in the low mortality group for drug overdose deaths.
https://news.usc.edu/154484/american-drug-overdose-death-rates-the-highest-among-wealthy-nations-usc-study-finds/
I think culture plays a big role here. Anglophone countries seem to be much more individualistic. In Anglophone countries, if you are doing badly it is entirely your fault and most people will simply refuse to help you because you will be labeled as a hopeless loser. I have not noticed this attitude among the Greeks, Italians and other Southern Europeans that I know. Southern Europeans assume that if somebody is in a bad spot, you should try to help them. For example, there is less shame in living with your parents if you are an adult and cannot afford your own place.
Liquid Death == punk water
ReplyDeleteStick it to The Man... by buying water in tallboy aluminum cans instead of plastic bottles?
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/liquid-death-and-the-nonsense-of-packaged-water
Re: Mick still having women throw themselves at him. Professor Berman, this problem is easily solved! With a simple trip down to the crossroads you too can ink a deal with Mephistopheles and enjoy all of the perks that come with having done so: money, women, fame, unnaturally long vitality. As a bonus, you’ll also find yourself suddenly able to play a mean blues guitar!
ReplyDeleteJust be sure to read the fine print, lest you find yourself unexpectedly bedazzled by the caveats.
Wudu - The increased threat, of course, is coming from us, not Iran - from our beloved nation and its ridiculously idiotic leaders, followed unquestioningly by millions of idiotic, head-in-the-sand human-ostrich hybrids. As if the Great Orange Circus Clown had not caused enough chaos throughout the country and the world, he yearns for yet another rodeo to entertain the folks in the stands and slaughter the bulls in the ring. Time to get out the boots and kick some Irani ass.
ReplyDeleteMost Southern states (and some northern ones that should know better) have voted to make almost all abortions illegal. Not to be outdone, a female MI state senator responded to those sympathetic to women who would be forced to carry a rapist's child with the kind of empathy one " might expect from a good Christian like her: “Of course it should be hard! And the procedure should be painful! And you should allow God to take over!! And you should deliver that baby!” Fundamentalist Christians make up close to 40% of the American population and voted for Trump in masses? Ignorance is ignorance, even (especially?) when it is clothed in white robes.
https://www.alternet.org/2019/05/michigan-republican-with-her-own-abortion-story-says-the-procedure-should-be-painful-and-god-should-take-over/
MB & Wafers - Greetings from Switzerland! Congrats on the milestone! Best blog out there! Household goods have arrived, we are surrounded by boxes needing to be emptied. We've found the people here to be very nice and helpful, AND - when you step into a crosswalk, all drivers immediately stop to let you go by - imagine that!
ReplyDelete@Cole: Re Iran - agree, a very distressing situation. You might want to read Ray McGovern's piece in Consortium News about it - he's succinct and to the point, and unfortunately, I think his analysis is right on. https://consortiumnews.com/2019/05/15/pretexts-for-an-attack-on-iran/
@Kanye: re the EU - I can tell you that the conversations I've had with the Italians in our little town bear this out. The well-off crowd is all for the EU. But when you talk to folks earning much less, there's a lot of resentment about EU decrees by unelected bureaucrats, and about globalization in general. These are the folks who are fueling La Lega/Matteo Salvini. (For the first time we saw a stand at the Friday market for La Lega (formerly the Northern League) - the far right nativist party in Italy.)
Pol-
ReplyDeleteExactly where is this? My bags are packed.
mb
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/90641.The_Hidden_Injuries_of_Class
ReplyDeleteThe rule to follow is: NO jive at age 75. At that age you remember when
America was great: all were considered to be middle class; women and children
were obedient; the finest cars ever made were the '55, '56' and '57 Chevies;
colored people were invisible; God protected us all; we could afford both
guns and butter since we were the economic king of the world after WWII.
Such was the world of those considered in the above book, and they will
simply have to age out of existence to end the deep split in American
social thought.
Book review: Tripping his brains out-Eric Bulson on Michel Foucault and LSD in Death Valley
ReplyDeletehttps://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/public/michel-foucault-lsd-death-valley/
I might be wrong but I think Foucault is one of the last people I'd like to consume hallucinogens with.
Art-
ReplyDeleteYou see what an abs. nerd I was. At 10, I was worried about McCarthyism; my compatriots (male) were into tail fins, and the girls (later) into Elvis. I didn't stand a chance.
mb
Horay for the greatest blog on Earth! It's the only place that doles out the truth on the regular.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I have hope that if America starts a war with Iran, at least the military machine gets bankrupted and the elites running this shitshow get exposed/embarrassed for the lies they peddle and run out of town.
But then I remember just how many morons in America have their heads stuck up their asses. Supreme Leader Trump seems like a real possibility as this collapse reaches new speeds!
Krak-
ReplyDeleteNothing can wake up Americans. If the Bay of Pigs fiasco didn't, nothing will. And then Chile, Viet Nam, etc. Personally, I think Iran is the wrong target. As of late, the penguins of Antarctica have been voicing some very anti-American sentiments. I can't think of a single reason for us not to nuke the shit outta them. I hope Trumpi is rdg this. Various commentators have said he doesn't really know what he's doing. Nuking Antarctica shd clear up that misconception.
mb
MB - Congrats!
ReplyDeleteCole - Iran will kick our asses, and may well gain some allies, as the US is making itself very hard to be friends with.
James Allen - College is an utter waste with a few exceptions: You're rich and it's a fun way to drink away 4 years; or your un-rich but can get into an Ivy where you can drink with the rich kids and if you tell good jokes or are good at an "Ivy" sport like rowing you're set for life, or lastly, if you can self-educate and fake up records so it looks like you went, without the wasted time and lifelong debt.
Art Baker - Great link! I was born into a house with 1000s of books, where English (and Latin and any other language) were to be pronounced correctly (except when we were out with the neighbor kids and spoke Pidgin most of the time) where learning was held in esteem. Economically I'm now in the underclass but culturally I can't join 'em.
Wafers-
ReplyDeleteA quirky, interesting film: "Roman J. Israel." I never realized how brilliant an actor Denzel Washington was. His ability to imitate the body language of a well-intentioned schlemiel whose life is unraveling is uncanny.
mb
http://blog.apaonline.org/2019/05/09/philosophy-in-the-contemporary-world-the-mcdonaldization-of-philosophy/
ReplyDelete"We must not allow the field of philosophy to become permanently McDonaldized by powerful administrators, ritualistic bureaucrats, profit-seeking entrepreneurs and political hacks."
Great conversation with Tom Holland. “If you want an analogy [for the Roman Republic], it’s not the West Wing that provides it, it’s the Sopranos. The Roman state was a kind of mafia state.”
ReplyDeletehttps://play.acast.com/s/talkingpolitics/deathoftherepublic?autoplay
It’s OVER folks...COMPLETELY OVER.
ReplyDeleteA missing pregnant woman has been found dead. Her baby was forcibly removed from her womb...
https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/16/us/chicago-missing-pregnant-woman/index.html
An Alaskan man is behind bars after he was caught on surveillance camera raping an unconscious woman inside a local police station because he thought it would “be adventurous.”
https://www.foxnews.com/us/alaska-rape-police-department-unconscious-woman-boredom
Massachusetts teen found guilty of beheading classmate over a girl...tried as an adult
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/05/15/beheading-lawrence-massachusetts-mathew-borges-lee-villoria-paulino-high-school-tried-as-adult/3679758002/
Health care worker charged with 11 more murders
https://abcn.ws/2JpKE7c
Neocolonialism is your friend. Yes, Trump's new immigration ratings seek
ReplyDeleteONLY talent immigrants, those with college degrees, and those with money
to create jobs for the growing underclass in the US. This way talent can
be stolen from countries that need them and be used to compete for wages
against domestic talent and college educated working in fast food. As if
US corporations do not have enough money, the moneyed immigrants are the ones
to have the money to create these jobs.
MB had his worries about my very good friend Senator Joseph McCarthy while I
was worried that he would find out that my mother spoke Russian and was a
member of a known Jewish communist union, ILGWU, International Ladies Garment
Workers Union headed by self-confessed Marxist-Leninist Dave Dubinsky.
Mention to Alex Carter that while Joe was around, it was not a good idea to have
books in one's home.
Hi Dr. Berman and Wafers:
ReplyDeleteI grew up during the height of the Cold War actually believing that when our leaders and media called a developing country's regime 'communist'(i.e. Central American countries, Chile, Venezuela, Vietnam, etc.), that country was totalitarian and was trying to control what its people thought and did, not knowing that this degree of control is more true of American society - not so much because of policy and propaganda but due to societal consensus as you say in your essay, Dr. Berman. Governmental attempts to improve the lives of its people goes against what Americans and their leaders want for themselves, for the most part. The resistance to US foreign intervention espoused by American liberals in the past has, according to Matt Taibbi, pretty much disappeared.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/venezuela-united-states-war-trump-836344/