The Christmas letter …

I came upon the following lines from an obscure source, quoting Horace, among the many legends of ancient literature whom I have not read.

“Parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus.”

The line  translates to “Mountains will be in labor, and a ridiculous mouse will be born.” This phrase comes from Horace’s Satires (Book 1, Satire 8) and is often interpreted as a commentary on the disparity between expectations and outcomes. I am plagiarizing that last line starting with “This phrase…”.

Enough of that. It brought to mind a file I used to keep and update that I called “Wit and Wisdom”. I went looking for it, and sure enough it has survived all of the new computers that I have used over the past years. The W&W file is quite voluminous and reflects what I was doing and thinking at any given time. I’ll cite two of scores of quotes:

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Facial exercises

Kevin Starr recently suggested a strong facial resemblances between Earl Holliman (who just died a couple of weeks ago at age 96) and Paul Rudd. I thought there was something in Holliman that looked familiar, so I thought I would run him against the Bokonovsky Brats. But first, Holliman/Rudd:

They eyes, nose, ears, hairline, facial shape and chin all align quite well, but not the mouths. Struck out.

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Life before and after the 14th Amendment

One of the many atrocities that played out against us during Covid was the trashing of the Bill of Rights. Specifically, the following amendments were jettisoned:

First Amendment: Prohibition of the free exercise of religion. Churches were shut down.
First Amendment: Abridgement of freedom of speech. Facebook, YouTube, and even tiny Websites like NextDoor all forbade any criticism of the CDC or questioning of the existence of the virus.
First Amendment: Abridgement of freedom of the press, but don’t go there. It’s been a dead letter for ages.
First Amendment: The right of the people peaceably to assemble. Sports stadiums were shut down, along with indoor gathering spaces like concert halls and museums. Large gatherings were forbidden, along with even small family gatherings.
Ninth Amendment: Freedom to travel.

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On being woke, the Great Awokening

I started out reading a book called We Have Never Been Woke, by Musa Al-Gharbia, and finally, on page 50, I thought “I can’t do this.” I cannot finish the book. It is well-written by a new PhD who is also an intellectual, and I am reminded that I am neither of those things, and that I’ve never been curious about people who claim to be “woke.” I think it is all self-aggrandized posturing, large-scale virtue signaling. It’s made its way on to campuses, but then most campuses have long ceased to serve intelligent function, that is, producing critical thinkers who are hard-working  and serious adult humans. Instead (most) colleges offer a new kind of dumbed down.

Worse yet, Climate Alarmists have saturated campuses and schools, so that our graduating classes at all levels don’t know shit about climate and don’t know they don’t know shit. It is large-scale Dunning-Kruger. We’re in a new dark age. It’s quite a predicament.

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“Notable Death” Watch – (Earl Holliman)

Earl Holliman, a name every film buff should recognize, was one of those actors who seemed to pop up everywhere—movies, television, you name it. Born on September 11 (yep, even back then, the date existed), Earl’s biological father, William A. Frost, was a farmer. Now, here’s where it gets interesting—or awkward. Earl’s mom, Mary Smith (honestly, could her name sound any more like an alias?), already had six kids under her belt when Farmer Frost strolled into the picture.

But plot twist! Mary wasn’t married, and Frost apparently thought, “You know what this struggling, impoverished woman really needs? More drama!” According to Wikipedia, Mary had no choice but to give baby Earl up for adoption because, well, poverty and solo parenting don’t exactly scream “happily ever after.”

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Exploring psyops with Petra

Below is a video featuring our friend Petra Liverani. It is over an hour long, but she kept me interested throughout. She speaks mostly about 9/11, including stuff I did not know or even know to suspect, that the building collapses we saw on television that day were CGI. The reason, she and the host Brendan Murphy speculate, is that controlled demolition would be too easy to spot. (Continued beneath the fold.)
 
[If the video does not light up your screen, go to this link to view it.]
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My “notable death” Dossier (11/21/24)

Source-ery

Reggie Gibson, better known as the rapper Saafir, passed away on November 19. While no official cause of death has been released, it was reported that he had experienced ongoing health challenges since a severe back injury in 1992, sustained during his escape from the hard landing, crash, and subsequent fire of TWA Flight 843.

Details about Saafir’s early life and family are scarce. According to Wikipedia, he reportedly lived with Tupac Shakur during their youth. Given Tupac’s background as an effeminate ballet student at the time, some may speculate about the nature of their relationship, though this remains purely conjecture.

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The Olsen twins

This matter was brought up in a comment before now, and I am unable to locate it. It is in regards to Barbara Olsen, who was allegedly killed on 9/11/2001 when the aircraft she was on, American Airlines Flight 77, crashed into the Pentagon. I seem to recall that she was able to carry on a phone conversation until the moment of impact.

I am a no-planer, and so do not believe her story or her ending. She was 45 years old in 2001, and so would be 69 now. I will play with some photographs beneath the fold here, but note that her husband, Ted Olsen, remarried (several times), Barbara his third wife. He married his fourth wife, Lady Booth Olsen, in 2006, he 66 and she 45. I was surprised to find that he died just last week, on 11/13/2024 at the age of 84. Lady Booth Olsen is currently 63.

All very interesting, but the question is, what became of Barbara Olsen? The implication of the post and photos I saw was that she is one and the same person, both as Barbara Olsen, and Lady Booth Olsen. I have examined the photos, and my conclusion is that …

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Hugh Jass

Yesterday I had gotten no further than the title of this post when I came upon Kevin Starr’s delightful post on wokism. “I thought I can sit back now, he’s covered an important topic”, being “woke” versus “awake”. Here in the land of the free there is very little awakism going on. That’s always been the case.

Over a decade ago I was a fan of the NPR radio show Car Talk and its hosts Tom and Ray Magliozzi. Tommy sadly died of Alzheimer’s in 2012, and NPR reverted to reruns, and then relegated the show to podcasts only. It is still thriving even as the boys talk about cars of the 90s and before. The reason: Tommy and Ray were nice, honest, and funny. As Doug Berman, the show’s founder noted on Tommy’s death, they were “diamonds in the rough.” I lived in Billings at a time when Yellowstone Public Radio would host quarterly fund-raising drives, and I would contribute, but only tagging my money to Car Talk. Then and now I wanted nothing to do with NPR’s woke news and public affairs broadcasts, smug and humorless.

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Woke is Broke

What does it really mean to be “woke,” and how can you tell if you’ve experienced it? Can you even spot it in others? Awakening isn’t something that happens overnight. It’s not a quick fix, a flashy moment, or some energy rush up your spine. Ironically, people who loudly claim to be “awakened” often miss the point entirely. True awakening is more like peeling back layers—each realization uncovers more to understand.

Being truly “woke” isn’t about acting superior or forcing your views on others. It’s about living in a way that encourages understanding and inspires change. An awakened person doesn’t preach—they show through their actions and mindset. Real growth comes from stepping into the unknown, planting seeds of insight, and embodying the changes you want to see. Judging others or locking yourself into one way of thinking? That’s not awakening. True wokeness is about living fully and engaging with the world, not shutting it out.

Instead of pushing your beliefs onto others, stay present and open to learning from different perspectives. We’re all students and teachers for each other. Awakening isn’t about isolating yourself or critiquing everyone else; it’s about embodying the values you talk about. If you’re seeking genuine awakening, remember it’s rooted in love, connection, and growth. Ask yourself: are you here to lift others up and support them, or are you just enjoying the feeling of being “better” than them? Awakening means connecting with something beyond our senses and living that truth every day.

Case in point: What was supposed to be a simple birthday treat devolved into the latest flashpoint after “The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg implied that a New York bakery refused to take her order because of her liberal politics. It’s an accusation that the bakery has denied. Now, the store is claiming that an influx of orders has flooded its phone lines as local residents show their support for the small business.

I can’t help but wonder what cut Goldberg got from the spike in sales, all thanks to the free nationwide promotion.