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The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI."

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as 'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”

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Friday

Jan262024

Homo Trumpicus

By Akhilleus

Reading through a chapter on human evolution examining the adaptations that allowed the species to go from Homo Erectus to early Homo Sapiens, about 200,000 years ago, and then to Homo Sapiens 2.0 (us, basically) roughly 70,000 years ago, I was struck by how important certain developments were for both the survival of the species and its rise to dominance, and then I thought about how few of those developed traits are present in the MAGA tribe.

Actually, none.

Prominent among the traits promoting survival and success as a species was the ability to collaborate, to work together developing ideas, habits, and technologies benefiting the entire group.

This trait is entirely absent in MAGA world. Homo Trumpicus, in fact, believes that collaborative efforts to benefit everyone are grounds for immediate expulsion from the tribe (see border policy, eg).

Another trait vital to the species’ success was (and is) curiosity, that is, the impulse for discovery, a by-product of which is the ability to learn new things, which of course requires sharp discernment, an absolute need to understand what’s factually true and what is absolute nonsensical bullshit. Two guys go off into unknown territories. They come back and each has a map. The first guy shows his group the actual way to go to new hunting grounds and landmarks denoting bad stuff to avoid. The second guy shows his buddies a map he just made up. The two groups go out exploring. The second group is never seen again. Facts matter.

But not to Homo Trumpicus.

Another interesting biological development that allowed Homo Sapiens to turbocharge its success (and which led, partially, to the extinction of Homo Erectus) was the reduction in testosterone in the males. This allowed for less chest thumping, unnecessary, violent confrontations, and pointless dick measuring, and more fruitful collaboration, further development of the arts, and greater intellectual advancement and innovation.

Here is yet another trait Homo Trumpicus lacks. Here’s where the tribe’s leader says “Punch him in the face!” The other tribe says “Let’s figure out a better solution”. One tribe succeeded. The other went extinct.

So, the traits that allowed Homo Sapiens to dominate the planet, collaboration, advanced intellect, a belief in facts, have served the species well. It allowed us to leave the confines of the planet and set foot on a different astral body.

Now, a show of hands, class. How many think Homo Trumpicus could put one of their tribe on the moon?

Answer (from them): Huh? The moon is made of cheese. That’s stupid. I should punch you in the face!”

Extinction can’t come too soon for me.

Marie: Related text and illustration, via RAS:

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