Scott Adams

Scott Adams, the man most known for his Dilbert comic, died this morning.  I first became aware of Adams when Dilbert appeared in the comic section.  Of course, I didn't much like Dilbert.  I preferred The Far Side and Calvin & Hobbes.  More than 20 years later, I encountered his blog.  He had taken up political writing, which fell right into my field of interests.  Though I often disagreed with his views on subjects, he was quite engaging and often came at topics from an interesting angle.  He would often preface his opinions by saying "I'm a trained hypnotist."  To him, persuasion was the most important thing, while being right or wrong was often secondary.  Not that it wasn't important to be right, but an unpersuasive right will lose every time to a persuasive wrong.  This was keen observation, especially when facts are weak persuasion compared to emotion.

During the 2016 campaign, Scott became a key source for me.  His analysis frequently annoyed me, but all too often proved more accurate than I expected.  He and I were looking at things differently, but his views tracked better.  So I bought his book, How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big.  Then I bought God's Debris.  Loserthink and Reframe Your Brain also joined my library.  He switched from blogging to streaming.  I watched his stream and was a paying member of his Locals channel for a while.  Though clearly a fan, I still couldn't get into Dilbert.  But that's okay.  He was so much more than the Dilbert guy.

RIP

Perfect Blue (1997)

Mima Kirigoe was a member of a pop band, but her agent wanted her to switch to acting.  Her friend, Rumi, was not so keen on switching.  Nonetheless, Mima switched.  She got a small part in a TV thriller and was also called upon to pose nude for a photoshoot.  Her TV character was raped, which transformed her into an avenging angel in the show.  Is it only the show?  She had crazy dreams.  Or were they memories?  She was soon haunted by her old self, the pop icon in a pink dress.  Then there is the stalker with dead eyes, the webpage that knows her every move and thought, and a series of murders.  Was she going insane?

This is not the sort of story one expects from Anime.  In fact, the script was originally intended as a live-action movie.  The movie has a dream quality to it.  There are some things that don't make sense in retrospect.  Mima sure seemed to be losing her marbles, but she was being gaslit.  Could she have dreams of murders that she did not commit only to find they happened as she dreamt?  When Ghost Mima is revealed to be an actual person, one wonders how she bounded from the second floor and fled on top of light posts.  Was Mima just hallucinating?

Though highly-rated (8 stars on IMDb, 84% Rotten Tomatoes), it missed the medium.  This isn't a story for Anime.

Flight Risk (2025)

Somewhere in rural Alaska, Winston (Topher Grace) was cooking a cup of noodles in his motel microwave when the door burst in.  Two local cops and US Marshal Madolyn Harris arrest him.  A couple of days later, Madolyn loaded Winston into a barebones charter plane.  The pilot, Daryl Booth (Mark Wahlberg) was a chatty fellow, who offered a history of how he found his way from Texas to Alaska.  Shortly after takeoff, Madolyn learned that both the radio and the GPS were offline.  Then Daryl talked about them going to Seattle; he's only taking them to Anchorage.  It turned out that Daryl was an assassin dispatched to kill Winston before he could testify against a mob boss.  Neither Mandolyn nor Winston can fly a plane.

There is a lot of inadequate securing of Daryl when he is subdued.  Repeatedly!  By the same token, Daryl had subdued Madolyn and then failed to secure her.  Everyone is needlessly reckless and it costs them again and again.  To add to the tension, it becomes clear that Daryl got information from within the Marshals, making her question her allies on the other end of the actually working radio.  Is she just flying into a trap?

A Mel Gibson film, it is just okay.  I'm sure that Wahlberg enjoyed the opportunity to play a bad guy and Michelle Dockery is a long way from Downton Abbey's Lady Mary here.  Far off type, which is cool and they are good in their roles.  No, it is the script that fails.  In order for the flight to have several fights, the characters must leave the opponent in a position to escape or fight back.  The characters must be dumb or the story would end after the first fight.  Meh.

The Changing Demographics of a Syrian Refugee

In this clip, Professor Casagranda states that Greek fire was invented by a Syrian refugee.  There is no further context to that.  Well, everyone knows what a Syrian refugee is, right?  We just had thousands upon thousands of them flee the Syrian Civil War and flood into Europe.  They are mostly Arabic Muslims.  Anyone watching this clip will mistakenly conclude the same of the refugee who invented Greek fire.  Why would you not?  Unless you actually know history, like Professor Casagranda.  A 7th century Syrian refugee is quite different from a 21st century one.  In fact, Callinicus of Heliopolis was a Greek-speaking Jewish architect who fled the Muslim conquests of that Christian nation.  Huh.  I'm sure that omission was unintentional.

A Minecraft Movie (2025)

Steve yearned for the mines as a child but was chased away by old man miner.  Years later while slaving away at his boring job, adult Steve (Jack Black) remembered his dream.  He returned to the mine, but this time, he cleverly outmaneuvered old man miner and got to digging.  In almost no time at all, he discovered a magic orb that granted passage to the blockish realm that all Minecraft players know.  Here, he mined, crafted, and built.  Then, he found his way to the Nether, a dark realm ruled by a pig witch named Malgosha (Rachel House).  She imprisoned him.

Meanwhile, in our world, Garrett (Jason Momoa) was on the brink of bankruptcy.  He had won a video game championship in 1989 and was still coasting on that 'achievement.'  In desperation for money, he bid on the contents of storage unit.  He thought it was a bust.  However, the magic orb was part of his loot.  Garrett was soon joined by Henry (Sebastian Hansen), Natalie (Emma Myers), and Dawn (Danielle Brooks).  All of them were transported to Minecraft World, where they joined the quest to foil Malgosha's dark plans.  Oh, and also get back home.

Jack Black goes far beyond William Shatner levels of overacting, emoting where no man has emoted before.  Jason Momoa joins the embarrassment by wearing a pink jacket and whining like few leading men have ever whined.  Impressive commitment to the role.  Henry, who proves to be a genius kid with poor people skills, is generally the central character, Steve and Garrett playing goofy mentors.  Natalie is his older sister, though it is hard to tell.  Wow, when she first appeared on screen, I wondered why a 14-year-old was driving a car.  No, she's well into her 20s but sure doesn't look it.  Lastly, there is Dawn, a realtor who has a side gig of a mobile petting zoo; there is a llama in her car.

There is no pretense to seriousness.  This is slapstick silliness in a crazy unbelievable world.  Good popcorn fun!

Presidential Sons

Might it be the case that a lack of sons among most of the early presidents led to a more orderly transition of power?  Washington established the peaceful handoff, but the lack of sons may have aided in keeping the tradition going.

Founding Fathers

George Washington had no children of his own.  Martha had been widowed at age 26 and brought 2 children with her when she married Washington: John and Martha.  John became ill during the Siege of Yorktown (1781) and died shortly after the British surrendered.  Had Washington become a monarch, he had no progeny to benefit.

By contrast, John Adams had three son who survived to adulthood.  The eldest, John Quincy Adams, pursued a career in government and eventually became president during his father's lifetime.

Thomas Jefferson had only daughters.

Like Washington, James Madison had no children.  However, his wife, Dolley Payne Madison, had a child from her previous marriage.  John Payne impoverished his mother after James Madison died.

James Monroe's only son died in infancy.  Monroe is the last of the Founding Fathers to serve as president.

Antebellum Presidents

Almost 50 years after the Declaration of Independence, John Quincy Adams became the first to follow his father's footsteps into the White House.  Like his father, he had three sons.  Two died tragically and young (suicide and alcoholism), but Charles Francis Adams sought the Vice Presidency in 1848.

Andrew Jackson had no children, nor did his wife, Rachel, who had been previously married.  They adopted a nephew who proved to be a lot of trouble.

Martin Van Buren had two sons: Abraham and John.  Abraham served as personal secretary while his father was president.  John became the Attorney General of New York, an office his father had held.

William Henry Harrison had 10 children, but only 1 son outlived him.  Interestingly, that son, John Scott Harrison, was the father of President Benjamin Harrison.

John Tyler had the most children of any president, but he and his sons joined the Confederacy during the Civil War.

James Knox Polk had no children.

Zachary Taylor had one son, Richard, who went on to be a general in the Confederate Army.

Millard Filmore had one son, also named Millard, who a became a lawyer.

Franklin Pierce had 3 sons, all of whom died before he was inaugurated.

James Buchanan never married, earning his title as the bachelor president.

Abraham Lincoln had 4 sons, only 2 of whom survived him.  Of those, only Robert lived beyond the age of 18.  Robert became Secretary of War for President Garfield and Minister to the UK under Benjamin Harrison.

Post Civil War Presidents

Andrew Johnson had 3 sons, 2 of whom predeceased him and all of whom died of alcoholism.  Yikes.

Ulysses S Grant had three sons.  The eldest followed his father's footsteps by going to West Point and joining the military.  The younger two did pursue politics but without success.

Rutherford Hayes had 4 sons who survived him, none of whom pursued politics.

James Garfield had 3 surviving sons, one of whom went on to be Secretary of the Interior for President Theodore Roosevelt.

Chester Arthur had two sons, only one of whom made it to adulthood.  Chester Jr. proved to be a playboy, a man who lived a life of leisure.

Grover Cleveland had 2 sons by his wife.  As he married late in life, the boys were only 11 and 5 at the time of his death.

Benjamin Harrison's only son, Russell, became the US Consul for Mexico and Portugal.  Though he did become a politician, it was only at the state level in Indiana.

William McKinley had only two daughters, both of whom died by the age of 3.

20th Century Presidents

Theodore Roosevelt had four sons.  The youngest was shot down during WWI.  Two others died (heart attack & suicide) while in the military during WWII.  The last lived until 1979.  None followed their father into politics.

William Howard Taft had two sons.  Robert Taft became a noted Senator and sought the nomination for president several times but never won it.

Woodrow Wilson had only daughters.

Warren Harding had no children with his wife but did have a daughter by his mistress.

Calvin Coolidge had 2 sons, one of whom died during his presidency.  When Coolidge said that the business of government is business, his son, John, took it to heart and became a businessman.

Herbert Hoover had 2 sons, neither of whom pursued elective office.

FDR had several sons.  Two pursued elective office but never achieved anything close to their father's success.  The youngest son, John, did not seek office but he did become a Republican.  Yes, the youngest is usually the rebel.

Harry Truman had only one child, a daughter.

Dwight Eisenhower had two sons.  One died of scarlet fever at the age of three.  The other, John, followed his father example by joining the military but not politics.  John's son, David, would go on to marry Richard Nixon's daughter.

JFK had one son survive to adulthood.  JFK Jr. died in a plane crash when only 38.

LBJ had only daughters.

Richard Nixon had only daughters.

Gerald Ford had 3 sons, none of whom pursued politics.  Steven Ford is an actor.

Jimmy Carter had three sons. Jack Carter was the nominee for the Senate from Nevada but lost to the Republican.  The other sons have not pursued politics.

Ronald Reagan had two sons.  Michael was adopted with his first wife.  He followed his father into entertainment, notably talk radio.  I listened to his show a few times when I lived in Southern California.  Ron Jr. is his son with Nancy.  Ron is the rebellious son who became a Democrat.  Though he went into entertainment like his father, he didn't parley that into political office.

George Bush had four sons, two of whom became governors of major states (Texas and Florida).  George W Bush became the first son of a president since John Quincy Adams to become president.  JEB sought the Republican nomination in 2016.  George Bush himself was the son of Senator Prescott Bush.  Yes, here is the makings of a family dynasty to rival the Adams.  That's not a good thing, BTW.

Bill Clinton has only a daughter.

21st Century Presidents

George W Bush has only daughters.

Barack Obama has only daughters.

Donald Trump has three sons, 2 of whom followed their father into business.  Both Donald Jr. and Eric have also become activists since their father jumped into politics.  His third son, Barron, is still in college.

Joe Biden had two sons.  The older son, Beau, died while his father was Vice President.  The younger son, Hunter, has been one long source of scandal for his father.

One thing to note is how many of these presidential sons became alcoholics or drug abusers.  Several committed suicide.  It must be quite hard to live in the shadow of a presidential father.

Reconquista

In this short video, Professor Casagranda once again tries to mislead the viewer.  Oh, how can a different people reconquer a region?  You aren't the Germanic people who were kicked out by the invading Arabs.  It was never yours, so this is just a landgrab.  Casagranda has chosen the framing of Germanic people being displaced by Arabs rather than Christian people displaced by Muslims.  With that change in framing, the previously Christian Iberian Peninsula was once again Christian.  Hey, now Reconquista makes perfect sense.  I could figure that out and I don't have a PhD.