An honest political ad from the Australien government

It comes from a political satire group in Australia on the eve of their elections to be held on May 18. It is part of their series called Honest Government Adverts. Hard as it is to believe, it looks like the Australian political leadership is as bad as the one we have here in its corruption, devotion to the oligarchy, climate change denials, lying, and religious pandering. (Language advisory)

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The express line conundrum

We are familiar with the ‘express checkout lines’ at supermarkets and elsewhere meant for those with fewer that a certain number of items. People who violate this rule can arouse a great deal of hostility. Some violate the spirit of the rule by claiming that multiple items of the same product should count as one. But there is a difference between ten cans of tuna and ten bananas in a single bunch. Most people would think that the former consists of ten items and the latter one item. But what if you have ten bananas in two bunches? Should that be considered one item or two? Would it matter if the two bunches are weighed and rung up separately or both placed on the scale at once and rung up as a single item.
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Game of Chairs

For those of you like me who do not watch Game of Thrones, here is my favorite Sesame Street character Grover to explain what the story is about and who wins the game.

And here is my least favorite Sesame Street character Elmo trying to play the role of peacemaker.

I am pretty sure there are allusions in both clips that only those who have followed the series closely will get.

This is Spinal Tap – again

Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer, the three guitar players in the 1984 cult film that featured the loudest rock band ever (it went up to 11), are actual musicians and a few days ago, the trio performed live with Elvis Costello at the Tribeca Film Festival at a screening for the 35 anniversary of the film. (The drummers in the band had a habit of dying mysteriously.)

Here’s the trailer for the original film from back in 1984.

The center is where politics goes to die

So says faux journalist Jonathan Pie, in response to the attempts of defenders of the status quo to marginalize anyone who challenges the dominance of the oligarchy and constantly urge political leaders to move to the so-called ‘center’. Although he was speaking in the context of the Brexit debacle where there were defections from both the Conservative and Labour parties, his message applies to the US too. (Language advisory)

John Bercow is not leaving the building anytime soon

It appears that I am not the only one taken by John Bercow, the speaker of the British House of Commons. As a result of the intense attention paid to the parliamentary maneuverings over Brexit, he has apparently become a cult figure in Europe and Der Spiegel interviewed him, where I was relieved to hear him saying that the rumor of him stepping down this summer was unfounded.
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