snow in rome

This is totally cool -- a snowstorm in Rome. The two times I've been to Italy were both in winter but I never saw any snow except in the Italian Alps.

Rome has a climate like Santa Barbara, where accumulating snow also is a rarity. Nonetheless, as the photos below and through the link show, Romans took to snow like polar bears and had a ball.

Of course, freak weather like this may not be a good thing. It could be a sign of worsening climate change -- colder colds, hotter hots, wetter wets, dryer dries, windier winds, stormier storms, etc.

If we see accumulating snow in Sydney, then we'll know things are really out of whack. There are only four known occurrences of accumulating snow here, and all of those were in the freakishly cold winter of 1836.

Right click both photos for screensaver-sized enlargements.

how are the mighty fallen

I found this to be a thought-provoking article about Harvey Weinstein in exile. I can't help but wondering what's running through the head of a man who was in a castle on top of the mountain and suddenly found it all tumbling down around him.

I've always wanted to be a fly on the wall and observe how famous, powerful people who suddenly were rendered powerless dealt with the situation immediately after the disgrace. But, of course, even if you were a secret spectator, you couldn't read the subject's mind unless he or she spoke aloud his or her thoughts.

The ranks of history, politics, business, entertainment, sports, and more will probably always have people like this. Some disappear. Others fall further into disgrace. Some choose suicide. Some rise like a phoenix from the ashes.

If I had to pick anyone throughout history who had a mighty fall and then visit that person for a few hours or days or weeks, I think I'd choose Napoleon Bonaparte after his second fall and exile to Saint Helena, a tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. To go from emperor of Europe to a shipwrecked castaway on a flyspeck oceanic rock cluster in a falling-down farmhouse -- now that has to be somebody who might have a thought or two to share about how he was feeling.

a cautionary story

This is probably the best thing I've ever read if you need a reason not to take drugs -- in particular, meth.

The story in a sentence: a twenty-year-old woman in the United States recently gouged out her own eyes while reportedly high on tainted methamphetamine. She will now be, of course, blind for the rest of her life.

What makes the story all the more tragic is that several strangers tried to stop her self-mutilation, which happened in public.

The drug made her delusional and she thought the world was upside down. Thus, she wrongly believed she needed to gouge out her own eyes in order to reach heaven.

Of course, most people on meth don't do this to themselves. Their self-mutilation is slower and more gradual. If you've ever seen anyone after they've been using meth for a while, you'll know what I mean -- they resemble scabby zombies who used to be people.

When I lived in LA and Vegas, I would occasionally see people when I was out in public who obviously were meth heads. The signs are unmistakable. I also knew some girls slightly who danced in the clubs where I worked who eventually ended up fired when their drug abuse interfered with their work.

I guess I'm just too much of a fraidy-cat or a square to understand why anyone would be tempted to use hard drugs. If you need to get high, get drunk or smoke some weed and leave it at that.

the leonardo book

Someone left a comment and another reader sent an email asking what I thought about the the new biography of Leonardo by Walter Isaacson that I mentioned. The book currently is on the New York Times bestseller list.

I liked it quite a lot with one rather important exception. I've read several other popular Leonardo biographies in the last decade or so, and I do think this one was better because it presented a picture of the whole man -- artist, thinker, innovater, scientist, engineer and more -- whereas the other books focused primarily on his artistry and relegated his other interests to unproductive destractions.

The Isaacson biography also nicely groups many of the chapters into subjects and tells the story in less than a narrative timeline and more with a subject orientation. Leonardo's anatomy studies are their own chapter, for instance, as is his water studies while another is devoted to his painting experients to still another about his rivalty with Michaelangelo and so on.

In contrast, I thought the fact that the author inserted his personal opinion and subjective analysis into the artwork discussions was a real drawback. He'd write things like "the viewer can't help but conclude" something about a particular painting.

Opinion and subjective chatter doesn't belong in a biography. That belongs in art criticism. I found this part rather glaringly amateurish. I can't imagine why a book editor didn't red pencil this out, but then Isaacson might be someone with whom they can't tangle.

So I definitely recommend but with the cavaet that the spoonfed opinions may strike other readers as annoying.

their finest

My husband and I continue to make our way through the box of award screener DVDs my Hollywood friend sent to me. Last night we watched Their Finest, starring Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy, and Jeremy Irons.

The movie tells of a story about a very green writer teamed with a jaded veteran hack who must collaborate on a patriotic war movie designed into luring Americans out of neutrality. These are funny bits as well as some pathos with healthy servings of corn and cliches. The script featured a few really memorable lines and a lot that weren't.

We both enjoyed it but were left feeling it was something of a soufflé -- it looked like it might have more substance than it actually did. Nighy was superb. Arterton and Claflin both seemed to go out of their way to play understated. Irons's role was barely more than a cameo and the performance nothing extraordinary.

The art direction and photography were fantastic. The movie had a great look. The set and prop people really knocked themselves out.

Make-up and hair had a lot of problems IMHO. Some of the women were so overly made up they looked like vaudeville tarts. Arterton and Claflin are both very attractive people but they were made up to look boringly ordinary. Arterton had all the color washed out of her face, whereas Claflin looked unwashed with glasses and a greasy hairstyle.

The film had quite a few inserts of what was supposed to be 1940s movie footage but was not. Nonetheless, it had the look and feel of an actual period movie, a feat not many filmmakers are able to achieve successfully.

So not a home run but a decent effort overall. Very much a movie to watch at home on a night you want something harmless but heartwarming.

the white rose

In honor of yesterday's seventy-fifth annivesary of the White Rose leaders' execution, the New York Times is running an article about the group's importance to history.

If you're not familiar with the White Rose, it was one of the very few resistance groups within the Third Reich during the Hitler era. Sadly, almost all members were arrested and ultimately executed, as was the fate of most who openly defied the dictatorship.

In hindsight, such people seem hopelessly innocent and even naive. Their courage, however, cannot be ignored.

More moderated defiance did exist, but it was subtle and largely hidden. One of the most memorable books I've ever read was Victor Klemperer's memoir I Will Bear Witness, 1942-45, A Diary of the Nazi Years, which provides glimpses of everyday resistance.

Klemperer was a baptised Christian of Jewish heritage who was spared deportation to a concentration camp because he earned an Iron Cross in World War I and was married to a gentile. He wrote a detailed, near daily diary of everything he saw and experienced from 1933 to 1945.

Nonetheless, he was forced to wear a yellow star and sometimes experienced open contempt when he was outdoors in wartime Dresden. On occasion, however, people were kind to him and offered food or words of support or spoke of the Reich's defeat.

I find stories about dissenters like the White Rose fascinating, but I don't know exactly why. Perhaps it's the idea of living vicariously through their heroic experiences, because I'm sure I couldn't be anywhere near as corageous had I lived in wartime Germany.

Seen below is a period photograph of the three primary White Rose leaders taken the year before their arrest and execution: Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl, and Christoph Probst.

syntax pet peeve

It's not uncommon to read or hear people who use the phrase hoi polloi to describe important people. That, of course, is not correct.

The hoi polloi are the unwashed masses, the rabble, the plebeians. They are the opposite of the elite.

I suspect this confusion stems from the somewhat similar-starting phrase hoity-toity -- those who are pompous and self-important.

I know this erroneous use of hoi polloi is international among English speakers. I remember an American woman I knew who misused it regularly. Here down under, I've heard both a Canadian and an Aussie I know who both misuse it.

The easiest way to remember is it can be considered insulting and never complimentary to label someone as hoi polloi.

a spider on caffeine

The outfit seen below (enlargement) was shown by designer Dilara Findikoglu yesterday at London's Fashion Week.

I am reminded of those photographs of what happens when a spider weaves a web under the influence of various drugs. The worst is when on caffeine -- the result is a disorganized mess.

Findikoglu's outfit is a disorganized mess in its own right. The model's makeup and exaggerated lipstick are straight out of the 18th century court of Versailles. The hairstyle looks like something caused by an industrial accident involving a spinning machine.

The strapped-on suit is actually nothing new. Plenty of designers have been doing this for several years. It also looks like broken luggage that must be held together with a belt. The untucked blouse makes it appear she overslept, dressed in the dark, and raced out the door.

If a woman showed up to a job interview outside the rag industry wearing this, what would be her chances of landing a job?

authoritarian

Since I finished the Leonardo da Vinci biography, I have been reading both on and offline about Cesare Borgia, an absolutely brutal Renaissance duke who knew both the famous artist and also Niccolò Machiavelli, who modeled his famous book The Prince on him. The biography included a chapter about how Leonardo did some military analysis work for Borgia.

That led me to thinking about how some people throughout history quest for power at all cost and often are authoritarians once they seize that power. Many people submit to them willingly while still others do so grudgingly. This continues through modern times with individuals like the kleptocratic dictator Vladimir Putin.

I imagine this tendency for some people to try and grab power is ingrained in the human DNA, and that it will be a long time, if ever, before humans evolve past this. And too many ordinary people will be content to let them do so -- I am reminded of a post I wrote last year about a declining support for living in a democracy.

IMHO, democracy is one of the greatest human advances of modern times. I can't imagine how I would ever support a dictator and I know my husband feels the same way.

If Australia suddenly became a dictatorship and I was trapped here with my husband and children, I know I wouldn't be some kind of resistance fighter out of fear that could bring harm to my family. But I would be as contemptuous of the dictator as was safely possible until my children were grown. Then who knows?

Perhaps in some far future, humanity will know how to edit bad shit like dictatorial thirst straight out of our DNA.

porn nannies strike again

The Washington Post is running an article about how Utah is at the forefront, if it can be called that, of anti-porn efforts right now.

They haven't done anything as clumsy as trying to outright ban porn, as that almost certainly would be struck down on First Amendment grounds. But state legislator have succeeded in getting "porn addiction" considered a public health crisis, notwithstanding mental health professionals largely agree no such condition agrees.

The state also may require ISP providers to include an anti-porn filtering option with their service. Utah has a high internet connectivity per capita compared to other states and also the highest per capita consumption of porn of any state.

I'm no lawyer, but I have to think ISPs would spend a bundle to try to have filter proposals like this struck down to discourage similar measures in other states. But even if such filters are upheld, IMHO this effort is like trying to stop a tidal wave with a fly swatter. If Johnny's parents opt for a porn filter with their internet service, Johnny will simply file share with his friends or surf pirate sites online for unlimited porn.

There are are greater problems facing society and kids in particular than porn. I think state legislatures would be better served, for instance, trying to curb school shootings. Johnny won't die if he watches sex online. But a day at school could be deadly.

cunnilingus art

I was looking around online for images to use to illustrate an entry a few days back and stumbled on this review from 2016 about a cunnilingus-themed art exhibit in Los Angeles.

I'm not squeamish about graphic sex but, based on the examples in the review, I wouldn't want that on my walls. They had a hasty, amateurish look to them.

I'm certainly not opposed to sexually graphic art in a private home where children won't see it, but if you're going to hang that, put up something noteworthy. I think of artwork as almost like a tattoo -- you need to be sure you'll love it for many years before spending money on it.

I think a talented, clever artist could create something spectacular on this subject, but if you're not going to hit it out of the park, why bother? Don't expect people to buy mediocrity.

Ironically, the gallery that showed this exhibition is called "Junior High." That's a perfect comment about the quality of the works seen in the review.

sexy talk

I've written here before about how I'm an audiobook listener as well as a regular print reader. So I found this article interesting about some popular recorded book readers and, in particular how they react to material they find funny that really isn't supposed to be.

I don't listen to romance audiobooks and rarely read the printed versions, so I was only familiar with one of the narrators, Jim Frangione, who also does a lot of thrillers. I'm neither here nor there about him; he's not a favorite but not an active dislike, either.

A narrator absolutely makes or breaks the whole audiobook experience, IMHO. A mediocre book seems much better when read by a great narrator. At the same time, a great book read by a mediocre narrator is an unpleasant experience.

The biggest problem with bad narrators is they grossly overact. That's not entirely their fault, because audiobooks also have directors, and one of their jobs is to restrain and guide the actors.

When I see a book is narrated by one of these scenery-chewers, I just skip it and decide to read the print version. Life's too short to endure something unpleasant if you don't have to.

the slop towel

I have another one of my hopefully helpful household hints today. It's what I call "the slop towel."

In any bathroom in your home that you use regularly, keep an old towel or washcloth on the counter next to the sink for little messes and wipedowns. That's the slop towel. Save the nice handtowels for only one thing -- drying clean hands and faces.

Have a little toothbrush mess? A bit of water to clean up? Some spilled cosmetics? A shaving whoopsie? Use the slop towel.

Yes, you can keep a sponge in the bathroom, but that will quickly get grungy and have to be replaced, which costs money. Alternatively, you can use facial tissues, but those aren't free, either. The slop towel can be thrown in any load of laundry and you costs you nothing.

I started doing this as soon as my husband and I moved in together to keep the better hand towels nice. He immediately liked and adopted the idea, too. And, with small children in the house, a slop towel is a particuarly handy.

australia's own sex scandal

Move over Washington. Canberra now has its own homegrown sex scandal.

The Deputy Prime Minister became separated from his wife last year after reports surfaced he was involved in a sexual relationship with one of his former staffers. Now the media is reporting that his lover is visibly pregnant, a fact corroborated by published photographs of the woman in question.

The American and British media have commented about how the whole thing has garnered some but limited and polite news coverage of a widely known fact in high government offices. Some of that reportage correctly notes that Australia has much stricter libel laws than the United States, so the standard of proof is higher when the media exposes a politician's failings.

But I think there's another reason, too: a deputy official's indiscretions just aren't as interesting to the public. He does not have a high enough profile for a national scandal.

Compare, for instance, Missouri's current governor, embroiled in a sex scandal all of his own. That's big news in St. Louis but not much elsewhere.

IMHO, for something to be a huge scandal, it needs to involve a huge name. The bigger the name, the greater the coverage.

Five people have been impeached since Richard Nixon's days, two of them since Bill Clinton's time in the White House. The reason no one can identify any of them is because they weren't big names.

Nonetheless, I think media coverage of a politician's personal life is warranted when that person runs as a "values" candidate and has governed as such.

Hypocrisy should always be exposed, and nowhere is that more true than when an elected official is involved.

candidate parent trap

Kevin Nicholson is running for the Senate in Wisconsin, hoping to unseat Senator Tammy Baldwin, who is running for re-election.

Nicholson's parents maxed out their political donations in the race last year. But they didn't give the money to their son's campaign.

They gave the maximum donation to his opponent.

The parents had no public response when contacted by the media. For his part, the candidate simply said his mom and dad have very different political views than his.

My first thought on seeing this news was "there's a movie comedy in that." A serious candidate son is estranged from his goofy hippie parents who still have a chip on their shoulder about something they misconstrue he did years ago.

The parents try to sabotage the son's campaign. Hijinks ensue. But that has the parents and son speaking again, albeit quite tersely.

Then the son has some kind of personal crisis during the campaign and the parents feel compelled to help. The hatchet is buried. The parents do something foolish in a vain attempt to save their son's campaign, which accidentally backfires on his opponent.

The son wins unexpectedly. The parents are happy to be back in touch with their son but annoyed he'll be their senator. So they immediately start causing problems again, setting up sequels galore. The final scene reveals the parents being arrested for protesting during their son's swearing-in ceremony.

Maybe I missed my calling as a movie mogul.

anonymously rich

Later today, a New Hampshire court will begin hearing the case of a woman who won $560 million but wants to remain anonymous.

State law requires a lottery winner's name be made public unless that person has established a trust which can collect the prize. In this particular case, the winner unfortunately signed her ticket before contacting an attorney, and a signed lottery ticket cannot be transferred to a trust or any other third party by law.

This is a perfect example of why you should always look before you leap.

It is 100 percent understandable why the winner does not want her name made public. She lives in a small town and doesn't want her life turned into a fishbowl. And there lottery winners have also been targeted by criminals recently.

Her haste in signing the ticket is understandable, too, because that gave her a greater sense of security. It's infinitely harder to fraudulently attempt to redeem a winning lottery ticket than an unsigned one.

But.

The instant she won, before doing anything, before signing the ticket, she should have called an attorney who specializes in lottery winnings. Reputable ones are easily found on the internet. They have the experience to know how to deal with situations like this.

And signing really gave her a false sense of security. What if the ticket was later lost? Damaged? Accidentally destroyed?

With her suit, the winner is asking for a do-over. She's asking that the law be ignored and a special case made for her. That is malarkey. If an exception is made for her, then why not for anyone else who wants one?

She probably won't be so rash as to turn down a half billion dollar prize if she's compelled to reveal her name. She'll reluctantly deal with the public annoyance and then hope to get on with her life. Hundreds of millions of people have far worse problems than that.

This was a half-billion-dollar lesson. But at least she didn't throw out the lottery ticket accidentally.

drawn and quartered

I'm continuing to read the Leonardo da Vinci biography I mentioned in my Saturday entry and went off on a research tangent when I reached a mention of a man named Giacomo Andrea Da Ferrara. He was a friend and collaborator of Leonardo who met his end as a resistance fighter in 1499 when the French invaded the Duchy of Milan. They captured and executed him by hanging, drawing, and quartering.

This article provides some good background about the life and horrible death of Maestro Andrea.

Based on what I learned searching around the Internet, hanging, drawing, and quartering seemed to be primarily reserved for two general types of crimes: treason and heresy. Arguably the most famous person to be executed this way was William Wallace, whose life was dramatized (and highly fictionalized) in the movie Braveheart.

Wikipedia seems to have a fairly decently researched entry on the practice and describes it in detail. Typically, the condemned were strangled near to the point of death, then disemboweled, castrated, and cut into four quarters, with those remains then put on display upon places like a city's walls, gate towers, and more.

While I would imagine people fainted somewhere during the ordeal before the process was completed, it nonetheless must have been horrible, particularly the waiting in advance and witnessing fellow prisoners executed this way before you. The crowds that gathered for this spectacle could also be horrendously cruel.

No animal is this vicious to itself or any other species, save for humans. How people even conceived of such a horrible punishment, let alone performed it, reveals we may not be the higher form of intelligence we sometimes think we are.

History can sometimes seem like a long slog through chronicles of shitty people doing shitty things to each other.

stupid teen fad

I thought at first I was getting old when I reacted when reading with disgust about a trending teenage fad -- eating Tide Pods, a form of highly concentrated laundry detergent.

But then I realized I would have had the same reaction when I was a teenager. I was not into dares. I think most girls are not. Boys, on the other hand, are an entirely different story.

When I was a teenager and still in school, my brother was doing his internship/residency at a nearby hospital where he and his colleagues were rotated through the emergency room. He would regularly entertain me with stories of bizarre things people -- and particularly teenagers -- had done to themselves that warranted a trip to the ER.

If memory serves me correctly, the top three most common bizarre human self-harm accidents involved minors eating something they shouldn't have, people shoving things up their ass they couldn't get out, and men who had serious mishaps with household tools, in that order.

So that made me wonder, why hasn't anyone come up with the fad of stuffing a Tide Pod up their bunghole?

renaissance penis

Yesterday I started reading this book, which is quite intriguing. I found this passage that Leonardo wrote in one of his famous notebooks to be highly amusing:

The penis sometimes displays an intellect of its own. When a man may desire it to be stimulated, it remains obstinate and goes its own way, sometimes moving on its own without the permission of its owner. Whether he is awake or sleeping, it does what it desires. Often when the man wishes to use it, it desires otherwise, and often it wishes to be used and the man forbids it. Therefore it appears that this creature possesses a life and an intelligence separate from the man.

The most interesting fact I've learned so far reading the book is the fact that the famous artist did not write backwards as code to hide his text, as urban legend holds, but simply because he was left-handed and didn't want to smudge his ink as he wrote. When he needed to submit something written of more than the briefest length, he paid someone else to copy out what he wrote in "normal" writing.

cast away

While surfing around the news, I happened to see this pretty scary story. My husband spends a lot of time in watercraft but very rarely alone, so I'm thankful I don't have his being marooned alone to worry about. At least I don't think so.

What's amazing about the linked article is that this is not the first time this guy has been stranded in a boat recently. You'd think after being shit out luck for three days, he'd be more careful.

Will a full two weeks and then some lost at sea finally wake him up? Maybe he needs to take up a safe, land-based hobby like birdwatching or coin collecting.

At least he sounds like he was able to handle the stress of being marooned for so long. I think after a day or two I'd be pretty much of a festering ball of anxiety.

I don't think I'd freak out and go apeshit because I have remained outwardly calm in the few major stressful events I've experienced in my life. Inside, though, I couldn't stop thinking I'm going to die a horrible, painful death ... I'm going to die a horrible, painful death ... I'm going to die a horrible, painful death ...

Karma has given this guy two second chances, the most recent an incredible one at that. He better make good on this.

synchronized rocket dancing

This is pretty amazing. Chances are you've seen it already, but if not, have a look -- two SpaceX rockets landed Tuesday in perfect synchronicity. While this may just seem like a gimmick, it could have an actual application when landing a large payload on a planetary surface.

The first time I saw this, I was reminded of old 1950s scifi movies where rockets routinely landed on their base. That was thought impossible until the technology was perfected by SpaceX.

I have to think that SpaceX is still operating in the red, but they nonetheless are currently earning hundreds of millions a year for transporting satellites and material into space. They reportedly have several dozen contracts for future gigs in the near future.

As an investor, I have never put any money into IPOs. If SpaceX went public, however, I might change my mind, but they have no plans soon to go down that path.

To infinity and beyond!

bubble tits

Could this woman's tits look any more unnatural than they already do? They look like somebody blew them up with an air pump they couldn't figure out how to turn off.

It's like that old joke -- she could ring a doorbell while holding two pizza. In a porn directory, I found where she says she has dimensions of 34FF 23 32. I imagine with freakish tits like that you need custom-made bras and swimsuits.

She also claims to be 36 years old. I'm not convinced. Maybe she was 36 a decade ago and she forgot how to do addition. I'd be willing to bet she's had a good bit of facial plastic surgery, too, and also some recent botoxing. I wonder what she'd look like without all of the modifications.

I know some men find this very sexy, but I can't understand why. How can something so fake be a turn-on?

But, hey, if she floats your boat, have at her. Here's a whole set of her photos from the same shoot.

the sense of an ending

The husband and I continue working our way to the very big box of Oscar screeners my Hollywood friend sent to me. Last night we watched The Sense of an Ending, based on the Man Booker Prize-winning novel by Julian Barnes.

I had read the novel several years ago and liked it but I didn't know what to expect about the movie. Long story short: the husband and I absolutely loved it.

Everything about the movie works magically. The cast is superb, particularly Jim Broadbent, Charlotte Rampling, and Harriet Walter. The look, feel, pace, and style of the film are all beautiful.

The movie is significantly different than the book but not substantially. The core of both are the same, but in many ways, I think the film did a better job at conveying many elements that were more distanced and reserve in the book.

The book has to "big reveals" near the end, and the movie uses both of those, but I think they're set up and work better in the movie. The book is very internal and character-specific, one of its strengths, but that wouldn't play well on the big screen, so the screenplay writer fashioned clever ways to convey the same essential core of key scenes.

This is definitely a wait-for-DVD or digital movie because it's not a sweeping epic, but when it's available on a small screen near you, don't miss it.

masturbatory fantasies

I'm currently reading a novel where the college-age central character masturbates regularly while fantasizing about his girlfriend who he believes is still a virgin. Is this common for young men to masturbate to women they know but have never seduced?

I asked my husband -- when you were twenty and out to sea without female companionship, did you fantasize and/or masturbate about women who made you hot and bothered? He couldn't remember. "The questions you ask, kitten."

This type of inquiry is a bit too personal to ask any other males I know. It's also too personal for women I know unless one of them would happen to bring it up, but I don't usually talk about this sort of thing with real world friends.

I've had an active sex life throughout my teens and adult years, so I never was much of a masturbator. While I know many people think differently, I can only really get into self love if I'm not getting any actual sex, like when the husband is out of town for half a week or something.

Before I was married, I don't think I ever fantasized about any many I actually knew when I diddled myself. I think it was just some generic attractive male, but the setting and story was always more important, like the hunky pirate who planned to sell me into slavery but I seduced him into changing his mind. I seem to remember a pretty steamy hunky Viking scenario that was a fantasy, too.

I think there's a certain amount of desperation in fantasizing about sex with someone during masturbation when you're not fucking that person in real life. It's a scenario that is at least in part pathetic.

Unless, of course, it's okay if the lack of sex is caused by a temporary separation due to illness, business travel, or even death. Then it's not a little weird but instead kind of sweet.

For every arbitrary rule, there are arbitrary exceptions.

$100 billion lost

Nearly a month ago, I wrote an entry about how I thought Bitcoin was a risky speculative bubble. The day that appeared, I received several emails about what an idiot I was for mocking cryptocurrency.

That also happened to be the day Bitcoin reached its all-time high of $17,252.85.

But then the emails stopped. Why? Bitcoin was falling. Hard.

On Friday, Bitcoin closed at $8,264.11, less than half what it was less than a month ago.

Tell me again what an idiot I was.

Yes, some people are making money on Bitcoin. Big money. And some people are losing money. Big money.

Bitcoin is just like a casino table. There are winners. And there are losers.

But that's not investing. That's called gambling.

This article made me chuckle. "Over $100 billion wiped off global cryptocurrency market in 24 hours." Ouch.

muzzling freedom

For the last several months, Australians have been debating a proposed law called The Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Bill 2017.

Proponents have said the measure is necessary to prevent meddling in the Australian government by foreign actors like China and Russia. Opponents have said the proposed bill is a draconian and overbroad legalization of government censorship.

Recently, The New York Times published an excellent overview of the proposed law.

My husband and his family and friends all think the bill is horrible. As an American who holds our First Amendment dear, I resoundingly agree.

To use American examples, the law would allow for the criminal prosecution of the journalists who reported on things like the Pentagon Papers, Watergate, and Abu Ghraib had they happened in Australia. The way the law is written, they probably would have been convicted.

I hope the measure does not pass because censorship a slippery slope. Next, someone might try introducing something like a 21st century version of the Alien and Sedition Act where it would be a criminal act to criticize the government and its officials.

In other words, I could be prosecuted for writing something like this: "Fuck you, Malcolm Turnbull, and your fascistic Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Bill 2017."

groundhog day forecasts

Today in Western Pennsylvania, a semi-tame, corpulent rodent was forced out of its den and observed as to whether it cast a shadow. This was evaluated by a committee of self-appointed and absurdly dressed "experts" who then declared when winter will end.

Groundhog Day is fun but it's all a superstition. Nonetheless, the otherwise forgettable town of Punsxutawney has milked this fake holiday into a fake tradition about how their local groundhog somehow is the definitive source of determining whether or not winter will end early.

Here in Australia, winter is still months away and, if it wasn't for the movie, people here would probably not know about Groundhog Day. They're not even sure what a groundhog is -- a swine or related to a wombat?

Reading news from back in the States last night, I had to laugh at articles predicting what the groundhog's alleged prediction would be. Talk about fake news.

This left me wondering, at the risk of sounding like a curmudgeon, whether it's a disservice to publicize things like Groundhog Day or Friday the 13th. Would it be better to do pieces about how too many people who believe in superstitions yet don't believe in real science?

squirrelly dreams

The last two nights, I went to sleep and awoke at my usual times. Both nights, however, I had a lot of very active dreams that left me feeling exhausted in the morning, like I hadn't had any sleep.

They were not nightmares, but I was constantly in motion, traveling to changing but unspecific destinations or searching in large buildings for unknown objects in rooms that had altered each time before I entered them. Sometimes rooms would subdivide or merge and corridors would suddenly appear or disappear and staircases would not open onto floors where I knew they had entered before.

The dreams were also very populous with people constantly coming and going, ignoring me without exception. I could hear them talking and often loudly but rarely did they seem to notice me. Sometimes people seemed to be known to me, but then when I drew closer, I would see they were actually different people but closely resembled acquaintences.

My husband said that both nights I was very active in my sleep, moving and thrashing, while whispering phrases he could not hear. Several times I woke up suddenly and sat up, and I remember a few of those times because I got up to use the bathroom.

I don't have anything more stressful in my life and no upsets of any note. I haven't been feeling sick nor have I been sick otherwise.

So why my subconscious decided to go into hyperdrive the last two nights remains unknown. I was wondering if could possibly be pregnant, but during my last two pregnancies, I experienced nothing like these squirrelly nights. I am a little late, so it's possible.