Thursday: Hili dialogue (and Leon monologue)

December 17, 2020 • 6:30 am

Good morning on another chilly day: Thursday, December 17, 2020. It’s National Maple Syrup Day, and here’s a tip from one who loves the stuff.  Maple syrup used to be graded A, B, or C, depending on how much flavor they took out of it (C, the darkest kind, was the best). Now it’s ALL grade A, but they have substituted adjectives describing the categories. Always get the “very dark color, strong taste” kind; it’s not only the cheapest, but also the best. (The “dark color, robust taste” is less intense.) This is getting harder to find, but is well worth the search; here’s an example from Amazon.

It’s also Wright Brothers Day, celebrating their first successful flight on December 17, 1903, and Pan American Aviation Day.

Wine of the Day: Forget the chardonnay and pinot grigio: there’s better value for money—and nicer wines— in sauvignon blanc and chenin blanc. This bottle of  2019 Matetic EQ sauvignon blanc, from Chile, is one of the finest specimens I’ve had at any price, and was under $15. Used to wash down a chicken dinner, it was a tad off-dry and had a lot more citrus in the aroma than the classic “grassy” nose customarily described for this grape. A very complex and powerful aroma leaps at you from the glass, urging you to have another. If you can get this, do so; it’s drinking very well.

News of the Day:

It’s been almost six years since the terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris, and, finally, the trial of the accused has concluded. All fourteen defendants were found guilty of criminal conspiracy or terrorist complicity, though the two shooters were killed shortly after the 2015 attack. The heaviest sentence was given to one defendant who provided weapons to the shooters: 30 years in prison with a minimum of 20 years before the possibility of parole.

And French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for Covid-19 after showing symptoms. He’ll isolate himself for a week but still plans to work remotely.

And remember, this astronomical conjunction is TONIGHT:

Nabisco has announced the upcoming release of a new flavor of Oreo to celebrate the release of Lady Gaga’s new album, “Chromatica”, the new cookie announced by Gaga herself (below). The NYT describes the diversity of Oreo flavors, whose avowed purpose is not to make a profit but to keep attention on their classic brown-and-white cookie:

Since releasing the Birthday Cake Oreo in 2012 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its signature cookie, Oreo has introduced 65 flavors, including, in the last three years alone, Hot Chicken Wing Oreos, Wasabi Oreos, Crispy Tiramisù Oreos and Carrot Cake Oreos. (Certain flavors are only available in specific markets; the Wasabi and Hot Chicken Wing Oreos were released in China.)

Over the years, there have been Blueberry Pie Oreos; Waffle & Syrup Oreos; Jelly Donut Oreos; Mississippi Mud Pie Oreos; Key Lime Pie Oreos; Piña Colada Oreo Thins; Banana Split Oreos; PB&J Oreos; Root Beer Float Oreos; Neapolitan Oreos; Peeps Oreos; and “Mystery Oreos,” which were eventually revealed to be churro flavored.

I’ve tried several of these novelty flavors, including carrot cake (meh), mint (ok), and peanut butter (ok, but not as good as mnt), but the only one I really liked were the green tea Oreos, a package of which was sent by a kind reader in Japan.

Here’s Gaga touting Oreos (oy!):

Has Trump’s insanity been any more evident than now, when he’s continuously tweeting about the “stolen” election? Even Mitch “666” McConnell—and an increasing number of Republicans—admit that Joe Biden won.

and

Finally, today’s reported Covid-19 death toll in the U.S. is 307,295, a big increase of about 3,400 from yesterday’s figure, with deaths occurred at about 2.4 per minute. The world death toll is 1,657,385, a huge increase of about 13,400 over yesterday’s report—about 9.3 people dying per minute.

Stuff that happened on December 17 includes:

  • 497 BC – The first Saturnalia festival was celebrated in ancient Rome.
  • 1790 – The Aztec calendar stone is discovered at El Zócalo, Mexico City.

Made between 1502 and 1521, the stone isn’t really a calendar. The excellent Wikipedia entry says this:

The sculpted motifs that cover the surface of the stone refer to central components of the Mexica cosmogony. The state-sponsored monument linked aspects of Aztec ideology such as the importance of violence and warfare, the cosmic cycles, and the nature of the relationship between gods and man. The Aztec elite used this relationship with the cosmos and the bloodshed often associated with it to maintain control over the population, and the sun stone was a tool in which the ideology was visually manifested.

I saw this remarkable stone in 2012 when I visited the fabulous National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City. I wasn’t allowed to take photos, so here’s one from Wikipedia:

  • 1862 – American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant issues General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky.

WTF? Ulysses S. Grant expelled the Jews from the South???? Wikipedia says this:

General Order No. 11 was a controversial order issued by Union Major-General Ulysses S. Grant on December 17, 1862, during the Vicksburg Campaign, that took place during the American Civil War. The order expelled all Jews from Grant’s military district, comprising areas of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky. Grant issued the order in an effort to reduce Union military corruption, and stop an illicit trade of Southern cotton, which Grant thought was being run “mostly by Jews and other unprincipled traders.”

The “running the world” trope never ends.

Here’s a remarkable photo of the first flight (there were three that day): the plane went 120 feet in 12 seconds. Orville is at the controls, while Wilbur runs alongside. The first flight captured on film! And 65 years later the Concorde was flying!

  • 1933 – The first NFL Championship Game is played. The game was at Wrigley Field between the New York Giants and Chicago Bears. The Bears won 23–21.
  • 1938 – Otto Hahn discovers the nuclear fission of the heavy element uranium, the scientific and technological basis of nuclear energy.

Hahn won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1944, but, since he was a German in custody of the British when the prize was awarded the next year, couldn’t give his lecture. He did so in 1946.  His collaborator, Lise Meitner, a Jew who had fled to Sweden, should have shared that prize.

  • 1944 – World War II: Battle of the Bulge: Malmedy massacre: American 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion POWs are shot by Waffen-SS Kampfgruppe Joachim Peiper.
  • 1989 – The Simpsons premieres on television with the episode “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire“.

Here’s that first episode:

  • 2014 – The United States and Cuba re-establish diplomatic relations after severing them in 1961.

Notables born on this day include:

  • 1778 – Humphry Davy, English chemist and physicist (d. 1829)
  • 1853 – Pierre Paul Émile Roux, French physician and immunologist, co-founded the Pasteur Institute (d. 1933)
  • 1908 – Willard Libby, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1980).

Libby got the Prize for developing radiocarbon dating, and he did so at The University of Chicago. Here he is at the U of C:

  • 1936 – Pope Francis
  • 1987 – Chelsea Manning, American soldier and intelligence analyst

Those who made their final exit on December 17 include:

  • 1830 – Simón Bolívar, Venezuelan general and politician, 2nd President of Venezuela (b. 1783)
  • 1833 – Kaspar Hauser, German feral child (b. 1812)

Well, he wasn’t a feral child, and his own story is full of holes. Still, it’s worth reading about Hauser.

Before she wrote books, Sayers worked in advertising, and she wrote this jingle for Guinness:

Why did an Irish stout use a toucan as advertising? You can read the story here.

  • 2008 – Sammy Baugh, American football player and coach (b. 1914)
  • 2011 – Kim Jong-il, North Korean commander and politician, 2nd Supreme Leader of North Korea (b. 1941)
  • 2012 – Daniel Inouye, American captain and politician (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Janet Rowley, American geneticist and biologist (b. 1925)

Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Today’s Hili dialogue also needs an explanation from Malgorzata. “Hili sees her reflection in the window. So she talks about illusions. When Andrzej doesn’t want to approve of her very general statement she demands food for herself and for her reflection – if it’s not an illusion, the other cat should get food as well.”

Hili: The world is full of illusions.
A: Don’t exaggerate.
Hili: Fill the bowl for both of us.
In Polish:
Hili: Świat jest pełen iluzji.
Ja: Nie przesadzaj.
Hili: Napełnij miseczki dla nas obu.

And in nearby Wloclawek, Leon comments on a Polish tradition. Malgorzata explains: “Before Christmas, all proper women are cleaning their houses from top to bottom or the other way around. It’s as if they expected a sanitary inspector instead of family and friends.”

Leon: Oh, all this cleaning!

In Polish: Ach, te porządki!

From Facebook (perhaps from a reader, but I’ve no record):

A meme from Nicole:

From the Internet:

 

Yes, Titania’s irony is over the top on this tweet, but the renaming of Abraham Lincoln High School is real. In fact, San Francisco is renaming 44 of its 125 public schools, including those bearing the names of Thomas Edison, Herbert Hoover and—Dianne Feinstein, the latter because when she was mayor of S.F. 36 years ago, she allowed the Confederate flag to fly over City Hall. Cancel her IMMEDIATELY!

From Simon, who wonders if this is a real video. So do I!

From Barry: I’ll be damned if this cat isn’t enjoying the bovid tongue bath:

Tweets from Matthew. Look at this mimic! It is likely a Batesian mimic, repelling predators because it resembles a bumble bee, but it could be a Müllerian mimic if the beetle is toxic and the predator has learned to avoid both convergently evolved warning patterns.

I don’t think the analogy is really good here, as an empty bottle is useless, but one can reread books you’ve already read and benefit from it:

Talk about stealing the joy from Christmas!

Beautiful metro stations, with many in the thread. Only one in the US and none in the UK, though!

35 thoughts on “Thursday: Hili dialogue (and Leon monologue)”

  2. Has Trump’s insanity been any more evident than now, when he’s continuously tweeting about the “stolen” election? Even Mitch “666” McConnell—and an increasing number of Republicans—admit that Joe Biden won.

    We are seeing the Republican Party rupture, between those who wish to live on to fight another day and the Trump deadenders, the Meine Ehre heißt Treue Trumpers, the ones whose only allegiance is to the Great Man himself. We’ll see the first test of how much electoral damage this split may be doing to the GOP with the January 5th US senate run-offs in Georgia, a pair of contests Republicans should win easily, but which now seem up for grabs.

    I see Trump has the time to send out tweets pissing’n’moaning about Chris Krebs, the patriotic former Director of Cybersecurity who protected our recent election from foreign hacking, making it the most secure in US history, then got fired by Donald Trump for having the temerity to say so publicly. You know what Trump hasn’t said a word about yet (and likely never will)? The recently exposed massive hacks of US security by Russian teams under the direction of Vladimir Putin. In four years in office, Trump has said not a single disparaging word about Putin, or any other Russian, and I suspect in the coming weeks and months, after a new administration takes office, we may finally find out why.

    1. I think there will be pressure from pragmatists to let DT off the hook on this. Biden wants to be a uniter and get the political divide under control. I would expect Biden to go hard on Putin though.

      1. I think Trump’s Deutsche Bank records (which are already in the possession of the Manhattan DA’s office) may be the Rosetta Stone to the Trump-Russia relationship. Even if Trump can forestall federal charges with a self-pardon, I think he’ll still have legal problems in NY. The rule of law — and, in particular, the principle that “no man is above the law” — must still stand for something.

        If Trump gets a pass, what disincentive will there be to keep future presidents from engaging in even more egregious behavior?

    2. From the article.

      “President Trump must get past his grievances about the election and govern for the remainder of his term. This moment requires unity, purpose and discipline. An intrusion so brazen and of this size and scope cannot be tolerated by any sovereign nation.”

      This sort of thing irritates me. It is ridiculous to suppose that it would be possible for Trump to do any such thing. Given the daily demonstrations, for the past 4 years or more, of what Trump is, many people still don’t seem to get it. Trump has no interest in and no ability to perform the job of POTUS.

      1. And as evidence that he hasn’t performed the job for the last four years, just look at him. Empirically, every past POTUS has notably aged over the term. Dolt45 does not look much the worse for wear. I’ll take that as clear evidence that he hasn’t been doing anything.

      2. After the first year, it just wasn’t fun anymore. And all those irritating rules that he eventually figured out he could flaunt with impunity.

  3. So now it is official – the white house strategy of lets infect everyone and get this herd immunity thing going. 3400 dead yesterday is a nice start but we can do better. Maybe someday the experts will tell us just how many of the dead will point directly at the psychopath in charge and his republican left overs. Maybe that Nobel is in order.

  4. I’ve seen that Twitter plans to label incorrect vaccine information. My question is, who are they trusting this too, and what are their bona fides for doing this? I am not aware that Twitter has any scientific or medical staff.

    1. How about considering the qualifications of the moron putting out the twitter….doctor

    2. The Snopes article is itself misleading about Lincoln’s “mass murder.”

      As local publication SFist notes, “Lincoln, whose own grandfather was killed by a Native American, commuted the sentences of hundreds of Santee Sioux warriors who were sentenced to death following a violent uprising in Minnesota in 1862. Critics point to the fact that Lincoln still oversaw the mass hanging of 38 of the warriors, which was done in horrifying fashion in front of a large crowd of white settlers — but that was one tenth of the 303 men who were sentenced to die, and Lincoln’s mass commutation is seen by historians as his acknowledgement of the abuse suffered by the Santee Sioux over years of white settlement in the area.”

      In other words, Lincoln saved far more lives than those he (or the government) took. Had Stephen A. Douglas been President he would have likely hanged all 303. And do the deaths of those 38 really cancel out the fact that Lincoln saved the United States from breaking apart and ended slavery? I guess it does if you’re a first grade teacher heading a useless committee devoted to performative wokery, but fortunately our Mayor has rightfully called out this committee. I hope its efforts will come to nothing beyond joining the dustbin of history.

  7. Grant did indeed issue his infamous order No. 11. The Jewish Virtual Library discusses the issue. The order expelled Jews from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi. Grant blamed Jews for engaging in illegal cotton speculation. However, Lincoln order Grant to rescind the order, which he did. The article goes on to note that “after the war, Grant transcended his anti-Semitic reputation. He carried the Jewish vote in the presidential election of 1868 and named several Jews to high office. But General Order No. 11 remains a blight on the military career of the general who saved the Union.”

    https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/general-grant-s-infamy

    Another article on the incident notes that though Grant tried to atone for his action, he contributed to anti-Semitism in the 19th century. As president, “he named more Jews to public office than ever before, and promoted the human rights of Jewish people abroad, protesting pogroms in Romania and sending a Jewish diplomat to object.”

    https://www.history.com/news/ulysses-grant-expulsion-jews-civil-war

      1. Dom’s “Lunnon” is from his native Norfolk, where he’ll be spending a lonely Yule (never Christmas!) eating sprout pizza on December 25th. (He spurned an invitation to stay here, but we’re about to go into Tier 3 “Very High” so perhaps it was a wise decision.)

  10. An astronomer observes: the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn is actually on 21 December, although they are already less than a Full Moon’s width apart.

  11. I was fortunate to see Jupiter and Saturn a couple nights ago. Quite a sight even then, but it will remain challenging where I am since its pretty low in the sky at sunset and this time of year we get a lot of clouds or haze.
    Still, y’all ought to look for it.

  13. Is there really a passive verb in the boxed section of the edited carol? I see a negative imperative and a simple past, both inverting customary word order, but not passive.

  14. I have been eating maple products from Richard’s Maple Products in Chardon, Ohio my whole life, but have not been back there since my mother died. I still have one bottle of their syrup. They sell online and their site says they have 4 grades of syrup but I don’t see it on the website, so I guess you have to call. I know they have different grades in the store. I love their maple cream candy. Funk’s Grove, not too far south of Chicago also has decent maple syrup, but I don’t know if they have different grades. They are a small operation, so will not have anything to sell until next spring.

    The waterfall video is real. There is a pool at the edge of Victoria Falls where you can sit in safety, just as that woman is doing. I have seen people doing that on various travel shows on PBS. I would think you need a guide to show you how to get there.

    Guinness is now owned by an English company, Diageo, but yet is still very popular in Ireland. The craft beer trend is spreading across Ireland and there are much better stouts than Guiness.

  15. One of the hallmarks of incipient Alzheimer’s is incessantly repeating the same thing. I don’t think there’s any chance of the Boss Tweet running again, but this may help.

    And tangentially re. Otto Hahn, when Swedish biochemist and Nobel Laureate (1955) Hugo Theorell (2x my academic grandfather) would be asked what he attributed his success too, he would give Adolph Hitler credit for sending so many talented scientists fleeing Germany to his lab.

    De-naming Herbert Hoover High: Srsly?? Have they asked any Belgians or other Europeans on whose behalf he rallied food transports during/after WWI? I once read that there was once a word in Finnish (which seems now to have become archaic), “Hooveri” meaning Generosity. And that Harry Truman recruited him to do the same in the wake of WWII. Or that his wife had the boldness to invite the black wife of a black congressman to the WH for tea along with all the other white wives, to the great horror of many southerners (search term Jessie dePriest on that). Or that the hallowed programs of the early New Deal were actually Hoover programs that the Democrats refused to vote for, and that such as his Treasury Secretary Ogden Mills stayed around after the interregnum to informally help FDR;s gang implement some of these programs? (“The First New Deal” by FDR’s finance guy and Columbia Professor Raymond Moley on that). Or that the name Hoover Dam, on which HH had had a keen interest as an engineer and construction of which began under his admin was changed to Boulder Dam by FDR’s petulant Interior Secy Harold Ickes, only to have that name changed back to Hoover Dam by unanimous vote of Congress in 1947, “to the intense chagrin of Mr. Ickes.” as HH once wrote. GMAFB.

    But very good: I know that station at T-Centralen, Stockholm. There are other nice ones, too.

    1. Also, Hoover’s VP, Charles Curtis, was 3/8 Native American. I read somewhere that Curtis’ office was decorated in a way that let you know that, too. I’ve never been able to find a pic of it, tho.

  18. The anthropological museum in MX City is incredible. I’ve been there on all 3 trips to that city.
    And I loved the cool subway stations. There are two in Pyongyang, NK along those lines and they are about the most beautiful things in the entire country.
    D.A.
    NYC

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