Category: Fourre-tout

Yes, I subscribe to Facebook and I am not ashamed of it. It might look puerile, but part of my daily routine is logging in and finding out what my “compadres” are up to.

In these days of globalization, some of my friends are living far away and this is the best way to keep in touch with all of them in a single swoop.
Be it the US, France, England, Spain or Russia, I can communicate with them globally and feel the pulse of things abroad. Because yes my fellow Americans, there is life outside the United States.

I am not a troll, and I seldom rant about politics, but data mining would definitely indicate where I politically stand.
And there lies the danger. In a repressive regime, I would probably be classified as an “enemy of the state” and it would not be long before “security” people would knock at my door and bring me in for “questioning.”
Have you ever heard of the telephone book method?

Can you imagine for a minute what the Nazis would have done with Facebook?

But let’s not fool ourselves; our private data cannot be called private anymore. Just about anybody can find out in a few minutes who you are, where you live, if you are married, if you are gay, what your political affiliation is, if you own your house and even if you are having an affair with your next door neighbor.
And despite indignant claims to the contrary, businesses are using this gamy data on a regular basis.
So don’t ever volunteer any superfluous information on social media.  Just name, rank and serial number, according to the Geneva Convention.

Am I going to cancel my subscription to Facebook because of the Cambridge Analytica scandal?
No. You cannot live in fear; otherwise, you would never leave your lair.

I am a fatalist! Que sera, sera!
The Greek philosopher Aeschylus was told that he would die when a house would fall on his head, so he decided to never sleep inside.
He died when an eagle dropped a tortoise (a house) on his head and killed him.

Despite anything you will do to protect yourself, the Gods will eventually decide what your fate will be. Sacrifying a virgin might help a little, but not much.

So, what should I do?

Keep your head in the sand and continue pretending that all is well on the Western Front.

Alain

Like it or not, the world is awash in Fake News and the trolls are having a field day. Incidentally, our Twitter in Chief did not invent the term; few people believe that he is capable of conceiving something that original.

Nazi Germany used the term lüegenpresse extensively in the 1930’s before it became fashionable again in the US. As today, anything that did not walk in step with the Führer was labeled Fake News.

At about the same time (1938) Orson Wells terrorized America with some Fake News of his own. According to his infamous radio broadcast (The War of the Worlds), a Martian invasion was taking place in New Jersey prompting widespread panic.

Now, with the Internet’s ubiquity, any Dick Tom or Harry can create some “News” and post it on social media. And unfortunately, Fake News travel at light speed while Facts use snail mail; depending on your political affiliations, you are going to swallow it whole or reject it.

When you read something outrageous on the Internet, check the source. Is it a right-wing outfit or a liberal publication?
Before swiftly dispatching the scandalous news to your bosom buddies, scrutinize the facts. And fortunately, there are a few impartial sites that will help you to debunk some stories and set you straight.

My mother used to say, “if it is in the newspaper it must be true.” Similarly, many people will quote the Internet as gospel truth. It ain’t so! The distinct line between fabrication and truth has become so blurred that it has become somewhat difficult to assess anything you read or anything you hear.

Instead of labeling something Fake News, any politico would be much more convincing if he/she came up with credible arguments proving that it was not so.

Before believing what you read, think impartially and the scales will fall from your eyes.

Alain

Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that can happen to a man. James Thurber

Age, the number of years that you probably misspent, is a peculiar thing. It is a sneaky varmint somehow akin to cancer. It stays dormant for a long time until one day it stirs and demands attention.

Because age is like a loan, a fairly short-term loan. And when the creditor shows up, it always surprises you. Is my balloon payment already due? Really? I totally forgot…

Aging is not a universal process. Some people age faster and some slower;  it might have something to do with their lifestyle. I read somewhere that “The story of your life is written on your face.”
I believe that, especially for people in the entertainment industry.

Aging is a normal process, but it always surprises me to see movie stars getting old. Shouldn’t all the beautiful people always remain beautiful? Shouldn’t they remain frozen in time, the way you remembered them in their prime?
Elisabeth Taylor, Kirk Douglas, Rock Hudson, Brigitte Bardot, Carrie Fisher (whatever happened to delicious Princess Leia?), Burt Reynolds, Pamela Anderson… all these people sadly failed the test of time, and there is nothing more pathetic than an old face held together by cosmetic scaffolding.

One morning, when my mind was in neutral, I caught myself aging.  This guy in the mirror…  is it me? Really? What happened? I never noticed anything…
That’s right, Time (Age’s cousin) and Age are cat burglars artists. They operate with stealth, never attracting attention. When you notice the damage, it is too late… Time and Age are already having a pint of Guinness celebrating their savoir-faire.

But you cannot agonize over senescence. So far there is no cure for it.
Age is a state of mind. If you think old, you will act old… Therefore act like a baby if you don’t want people to think of you as old… and many do it!

Try to keep your soul young and quivering right up to old age. George Sand

So listen up antiqued people

“Age is no place for sissies”… so if you are a sissy, you better shape up to stay out of the twilight zone.
Mature as slowly as possible. “Age is a number, maturity is a choice.”

Alain