Oh the news. Oh the commercials. For a moment tonight, I thought that maybe Joe Namath’s water heater really had exploded. Because there was George Foreman, shilling for some Medicare (Advantage? Supplement?) plan. But no. Joe Namath (still) represents the Medicare Coverage Help Line. And George Foreman, who’s long been selling Choice Home Warranty, now (also?) represents Select Advisor. Foreman is competing with Namath in the Medicare biz, not replacing him. May the better spokesman win.
Monday, November 1, 2021
Today’s xkcd
Title: “Wirecutter.” The mouseover text is what makes it:
This was always going to be a controversial Wirecutter post, but what really got them in trouble were their “budget” and “upgrade” picks.
“The Attack”
“For 187 harrowing minutes, the president watched his supporters attack the Capitol — and resisted pleas to stop them.” A monumental effort of reporting by The Washington Post on the events of January 6, before, during, and after: “The Attack.” And here is a great summary by Heather Cox Richardson.
Someone needs to buy Merrick Garland a copy of the paper.
[For some reason the link to the full report is not available on the Post main page. I’ve deleted an earlier post that linked to just one part of the full report.]
A 2022 calendar
Free to good home: a 2022 calendar in Gill Sans, three months per page, with minimal holiday markings (MLK Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas). It’s a PDF, right here for downloading.
[The future.]
That 2021 calendar you’ve been using? It’s going to run out soon. Be prepared — fully prepared — for the world of the future.
I’ve been making calendars in the Mac app Pages since late 2009. It’s good cheap fun.
Sunday, October 31, 2021
Trust
Larry David, in “Angel Muffin,” tonight’s episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm:
“Who am I supposed to trust, the maintenance guy, or Don Junior?”[“Don Junior” is a Netflix exec. In Curb, as in life, the name is a standing joke.]
Masks
[“Brinks Holdup.” Photographs by Ralph Morse and Yale Joel. January 1, 1950 (?). From the Life Photo Archive. Click any photograph for a larger mask.]
Something is off here: these photographs are dated January 1, 1950, but the Boston Brink‘s robbery took place on January 17. The FBI says “five to seven gunmen,” masked; the Life Photo Archive has photographs of at least twenty masks. Were the photos meant to suggest what the gunmen may have worn? None of these photographs appear in the January 30 Life article about the robbery.
Also — Happy Halloween.
A UCSB mega-dorm
Hey, University of California at Santa Barbara: Franz Kafka called, and he wants his idea for a dorm back.
It’s worth creating a free Chronicle of Higher Education account to read the details of this monstrosity.
*
November 3: Here’s a letter of resignation from Dennis McFadden, architect, and adviser to the UCSB committee for design review. And here is an opinion piece that McFadden published in the Los Angeles Times.
Goodbye, Mongol
News from penciltalk: Newell Brands has canceled its trademark for the Mongol pencil.
Related reading
All OCA Mongol posts (Pinboard)
Saturday, October 30, 2021
Not from The Onion
“I got the new iPhone, and I can’t tell the difference really.”Less Onion-y: a quick diss of
“I got the new watch, I can’t tell the difference.”
“I got the new computer. I’ve been so busy I haven't had time to open it.”
Today’s Saturday Stumper
Today’s Newsday Saturday crossword is by Stan Newman. It’s an easy puzzle by Stumper standards. I found my way with two toeholds, 23-D, three letters, “Informal ‘exceedingly’” and 29-A, three letters, “Petition.” And I was off.
Some clue-and-answer pairs I liked:
3-D, eight letters, “Ducks glide there.” Is it okay to call this clue cute?
9-A, five letters, “Breaks into a vault.” The kind of clue that doing crosswords teaches you to understand.
10-D, seven letters, “Canine coats.” See 9-A.
17-A, nine letters, “Pancake purveyors.” Feels very ‘80s to me. But I still like it.
30-D, nine letters, “Étude embellishment.” Three in a row. (Alliterative clues, that is.)
45-A, nine letters, “Heating system component.” Takes me back to earlier abodes.
52-A, nine letters, “Navigational hobbyist.” I didn’t know about this hobby.
53-A, five letters, “Earliest-born Poker Hall of Famer.” I’m out.
If you, too, are having difficulty with the Newsday paywall, you can access the Stumper at GameLab. And if Newsday is listening: please consider offering a crossword subscription. The Stumper has a national audience, and you cannot expect non-Long Islanders to pay $363 a year for a crossword.
No spoilers; the answers are in the comments.
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