Category: Rev. Joe Dirt’s Ramblings

The unsolicited, unreasoned, uninformed, unapologetic opinions of Rev. Joe Dirt

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Artifact or Angel

Robin was taking some pictures with her phone.  It has a function which can do a motion capture of 6 or 8 images.  This makes your still photograph act like it should be at Hogwarts.

There is an interesting phenomenon happening in the middle of the picture that we cannot explain.  I am pretty sure that this is some sort of artifact of lighting or camera movement, perhaps the light reflecting off a passing vehicle.

Señora, however,  is convinced it is an alien entering our space-time continuum from a rip in the fabric of the universe.  Or possibly an angel…

Anybody have a possible explanation?  You can appreciate it more  if your go to full screen.

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Polio Vaccination

If you are of a certain age…old now, you might remember these cards and the big push to get everyone vaccinated against polio.  I came across this immunization certificate going through a box of papers from my mother’s house.  I also have the cards for Type 2 and Type 3.  I think my mother must have filled in my name as it looks like her handwriting.

The card is from the Orange County Medical Society which is in New Jersey.  As there is a Navy base in the area Continue reading “Polio Vaccination”

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The Lottery by John Steinbeck

Okay, okay… I got the title a little wrong.  Steinbeck’s book is actually titled The Pearl. I started thinking about this book because the current value of the Mega Millions lottery is $850 million.  The current value of the Power Ball lottery is $730 million.

The Pearl is a wonderful, concise novel of about 90 pages.  It is not near as well known as Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, but it should be. The language and the imagery are captivating and the narrative is spellbinding.  If I remember the back story of this novel it is based on an old Spanish legend.

The story is situated somewhere in South America.  The primary protagonists of the story are an exceedingly impoverished indigenous couple, Continue reading “The Lottery by John Steinbeck”

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Thbbft…

As any semi-regular reader of my silly little blog will know, I have been studying Spanish for a while.  As part of that exercise I use a platform called, italki.com.  I use one professional teacher from Guatemala who is valiantly trying to improve my grammar and pronunciation.  As you can imagine, working with me, he does indeed have the patience of a saint.  I am also working with what italki calls tutors. These are generally folks not trained in teaching languages, but will converse with you and gently correct your errors.  Some will try to teach a little. I use them mainly for conversational practice.  I am currently using 4 tutors in 4 different countries to sample different accents.  I also occasionally do a language exchange. There is no cost to these.  You spend 1/2 your time speaking your language and 1/2 your time speaking their language. This last method sort of works and sort of doesn’t, at least for me.

I use Skype to take these lessons. My avatar on Skype is Bill the Cat going, “Thbbft“. Continue reading “Thbbft…”

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #9,340

yeah I know you did not ask!

I turned on the TV and watched about 10 minutes of the House “debate” on impeaching Trump for a second time.  This was about 9 more minutes than I could have stomached if I had not been doing other things at the same time.

I came to the conclusion that there are a lot of Republicans that I would like to play poker with.  They have no idea when to fold a losing hand.  I also suspect, given the analytical skills on display, that they would always draw to an inside straight.  Only thing that could be better would be a drunk poker player with lots of cash to bet.

I’m tired of this Irish blessing we are living.

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Me siento avergonzado

Or in English, I feel embarrassed.

Since the events at our national capitol that the Military Joint Chiefs  are calling sedition and insurrection, I have talked to two gentlemen in Central America.  The young Mexican man living in Honduras was just incredulous.  He could not believe such a thing could happen here. For many people in that part of the world, the United States is their dream.

The gentleman I talk to in El Salvador is a little more seasoned.  He asked me if I felt like I was living in the middle of a Mad Max movie, referencing the Viking helmeted man.  I told him I felt a little like I was living in a república bananera, banana republic.  He agreed that it did seem that way right now to a lot of people living in real banana republics.

The new face of America is a 33 year old, wanna-be actor living at home with his mother.  If you do an image search you will find this individual’s picture in a multitude of foreign news outlets.  How very distressing.

Supposedly Trump made a comment about the insurrectionist wishing they looked a little classier.  I immediately wondered, have you not been looking at your rally audiences for the last 5 or 6 years.  He is not that much different from many of the folks I have been seeing at them.

I’ve been saying for years that we have become a lowest common denominator society. I am beginning to feel we are trying to divide by zero.  As every programmer knows, if you do not handle this error it crashes the program.

What a sad, sad time for our country.

And so it goes.

Keep well.

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #4,293

yeah I know you did not ask!

I pulled into a convenience store the other night.  Alright, alright, alright… I pulled in to buy a lottery ticket.  Before I got out of the truck I put on my black pandemic mask.  I had on my usual ball cap. I did not have far to go, but it was very cold outside so I zipped my jacket up as far as it would go. Then as I stepped out of the truck I had the random thought that all I needed at this point was a gun in my pocket.

Surely, I am not the only one.

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Cynical Corporate Courage

I cannot begin to tell how glad I am that they are finally banning Trump from all these social media platforms.  However, the cynical part of me is not applauding these corporations.  They waited until it was obvious to even a blind, deaf and dumb Dungeons & Dragons wizard that  Trump was not going to be able to steal the election.  That is not my definition of courage.  It is not my definition of being socially responsible.  And so it goes…

Keep well.

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Revisionist History – Juanita Style       

My mother has been in a nursing home with Alzheimer’s for a while now.  Part of the process of the move was selling her house and dividing up her stuff.  From that time period I have a couple of cardboard boxes that I have never really gone through.  In an attempt to organize the closet in my man cave, I pulled out those two boxes.  In one I found my baby book.  I was the first child of a 50s’ mother who was married at 17 and had her first child when she was 18.  I don’t really know if she continued the tradition of a baby book with my 4 siblings, but I suspect not.  The last time I remember looking at this book I must have been in 4th grade.

What grabbed my attention this time around as well as in the 4th grade was the section recording the mother’s  and father’s first words on seeing the baby. For my mother’s first words, what is now written in the book  is, “My goodness, he looks like a Negro”.  These are not the words that I Continue reading “Revisionist History – Juanita Style       “

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How They Stormed Congress

If you got 30 minutes or so here is a very well done report and analysis of the mobbing of our Capitol Building from a New York Times podcast, The Daily. Spoiler alert it was not spontaneous.   They warn you and I will too, there is strong language in the podcast.

How They Stormed Congress

The other mind blowing thing I came across today was a poll by YouGov as reported in Newsweek.

45 Percent of Republican Voters Support Storming of Capitol Building: Poll

I have almost never agreed with Republicans, but I used to respect them even with their differing opinions.  That is not so anymore. We need to get back to teaching Civics and History.  Hell we need to get back to teaching manners.

Just as aside,  surely it is just not me? When I look at the Proud Boys and other MAGA mobsters in their paramilitary (and worse) grab with their phallic symbols dangling over their shoulders, I am reminded of a bunch of 12 year old boys playing army in an empty lot.  Time for the Lost Boys to grow up.

And so it goes.

Keep well.