I will be 68 next week. Being a PI for 4 decades I understand people better than almost all walking this planet. Regarding guilt; those who do not need guilt to do the right thing are often overwhelmed by guilt. And, those who need a a Big Gulp size portion of guilt, don't have a lick of it.
Holy shit. You've been a P.I. for 4 decades! "Those who do not need guilt . . . are often overwhelmed by it; those who need a Big Gulp size portion of guilt, don't have a lick of it."
On the "Big Gulp". I'll bet you've seen the inside of more than a few 7-11's eh?
I'm 63. Do you think I'm old enough to survive a ride-around with you sometime?
I'm sorry St Nick but I always do the right thing uh, because it's the right thing. No guilt involved. Don't you wonder (as a PI) that you, like cops, see or meet the worst in people so that would color your view? I feel bad for you. You need a mental colonic. Peace to you my brother in humanity.....
Peace to you as well. A little guilt for castigating and stereotyping an entire profession would be helpful to you. But then again, sanctimony and guilt seldom reside together.
The misunderstanding is that anyone who knows me will tell you I am a positive, glass half full, guy. I do understand on a profound level that we ALL have a dark side, w/ many shades of darkness. But even having dealt w/ those misdeeds of dissembling, greed, envy, hate, etc. professionally[and personally as we all do] I believe we are basically good as a species.
80% of all communication is nonverbal. For an important interview, I would always make every effort to conduct the interview in person, preferably in their home. A quick glance of the exterior and interior of the home gave me insights. But the most insights are gathered from body language. On the phone, I get voice inflections which are helpful. This venue is ripe for miscommunication. I surmise a large % of conflict online is miscommunication, not substantive. It appears that's the case here. I am happy to have gotten to exchange w/ you. I subscribe to both Taibbi and Greenwald. So we both have good taste and appreciate intellectual honesty.
I agree with comments below - your work is first class, Matt. We all look forward to you keeping it up. It does sound like you could use a drink, however. Merry Christmas everyone!
Re your comment on the Unabomber and technology, as well as various norms falling into sudden widespread disrepute: I wonder in particular whether we reached a kind of human pinnacle in terms of technology at some point in the past and now it's in the rearview mirror.
Paul Newman used to race Formula 1 cars and had a buddy who did the same. But the friend eventually switched to stock cars. Newman was mystified by this and asked his friend why he abandoned F1 for the comparatively slow and heavy NASCAR alternative. The friend replied that the speed and performance were at a more human level, one that could be appreciated. I suspect something similar is at work with, for instance, Tom Hanks' fondness for typewriters over computers and keyboards. Or with the widely shared romance with steam locomotives.
As for media, maybe we got as close to perfection as we'll ever get with radio, teletypes and broadsheet newspapers. Or maybe early television. Certainly once cable TV with dozens or hundreds of channels came along, something was lost.
The Amish are pretty parsimonious with technology. Personally, I believe they've stopped well short of the ideal mark (though perhaps not). In any event, at least they devote some serious thought to what they should collectively accept and reject. Maybe we can learn something from that.
That's interesting. I wonder whether they're smartphones with apps or just the basic cellphones that make calls and accommodating texting but nothing else.
Enjoy your real tree and don’t worry about vacuuming up all the needles. Leaving a few here and there will provide relief in good memories as you run across them throughout 2021.
Please take your own advice and enjoy yourself, Matt; you deserve it. Thanks for all you do. I'm looking forward to your insights, humor, and wisdom for years to come.
Gee Matt, it makes ya wonder how humanity made it this far doesn't it?
Or, as someone who is really hard to insult, it makes me wonder how humans became so amazingly whiny & self obsessed.
Personally I think some explanation can be found in virtual interaction. Human communication, I do believe, is somewhere around 10% verbal, the rest coming from body language, eye contact, gut feelings, etc. But humans, in their infinitely lazy, yet needy, wisdom now communicate primarily with blocks of words from a nice safe distance, thus starving the 90% of the brain that's usually used to judge whether something is true or not.
As far as aliens go, in the past, alien hunters used to postulate that the US government knows they're here but can't tell us because it would cause instant world panic. All religions & governments would instantly crumble.
In reality, the government now says the aliens are here and, for the most part, the information has caused a huge silent hum of complete disinterest.
It's similar to how all previous apocalyptic film & fiction, like the Walking Dead, completely missed the irrational fear of an unwiped bum that would grip a population of toilet paper hoarders at the world's end.
And the environment, always an interesting topic I suppose.
One of the shibboleths of the new religion of Scientism.
Every time I think of someone doing their best end times Chicken Little I'm reminded of a commercial from my youth. Some say it kick started the environmental movement.
In it, a Native American man canoes down a stream. Both banks are covered in trash.
The commercial ends with a close up of the Native American man's face as a lone tear runs down his face.
Powerful stuff.
The Native American was played by a man named Iron Eyes Cody. Mr. Cody was a character actor who also worked as an advisor on Native American culture for Hollywood westerns.
Sadly, Mr. Cody's Native American heritage was, much like Elizabeth Warren's, completely in his head. In reality Mr. Cody was born in Louisiana to Italian parents. His real name was Espera Oscar de Corti. While his real heritage eventually became public, venerable newspapers like the Guardian & the Observer portrayed him as a genuine rarity in his obituary. An actual Native American who made his living in Hollywood westerns.
Except he wasn't & he didn't. So much for fact checking eh?
So now, whenever I think of the environment, I think of a movement that was kickstarted with complete & total bullshit. And I can't help wondering how much of today's environmental concern/fear mongering smells equally as stinky.
But hey, Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas to you & yours.
I hope your quick, easy and superficial rejection of anything regarding the environment based on one fake symbol of it isn't duplicated in other areas, such as say, the flag waving, gung ho willing to fight and die for the country mentality as personified by Marion Morrison, who, even before WWII had started, had already ditched his hetero wife and two small boys for the sexual genius and lifelong bisexual Marlene Dietrich, a lefty, to boot, and managed to cram in 18 movies during the years 1942-1945, wearing make up, saying the words of others and shooting blanks, but not in the bedroom, let's be clear.
Otherwise, I agree entirely with your first sentiment, as I was granted the ironic gift of being booted off YouTube comments because I had violated the rules about protecting the butt hurt, snowflake, bone spur feelings of the digital community, both "left", centrist and right, and have not only not missed it, but feel immensely the better for it.
Enjoy the Holidays, Christmas, New Years and 2021, even though nothing will likely fundamentally change, especially if we keep voting for either of the duopoly.
Ummm...it doesn't take an Einstein to figure out that the only wars The Duke fought in were entirely sound staged & imaginary. He was an actor after all. Does anyone actually believe that Sly Stallone is an Expendable living weapon?
You'd be surprised to find out how many people think Marion was an actual war hero, and not on the soundstage, either. Even in many US military barracks, his picture still hangs as some kind of representation of US military heroism. Looking the part is in some instances preferred to being it, e.g. George W. Bush on the deck of the aircraft carrier announcing 'Mission Accomplished" or Rock Hudson, who couldn't look or act any more hetero if he tried, starring in one romantic comedy after another. Years ago, Andre Agassi did commercials for some camera, where the pitch was "Image is everything".
Agreed, we will not be the last living species on this planet, a godsend for those that outlast us.
Actually I probably wouldn't. I was being a bit snarky.
I have some audio of a drunken speech the Duke gave at USC or UCLA maybe, where the Dukester is telling the football players to beat the shit out of the hippies and malcontents.
The Duke didn't sound like his elevator went very high up the shaft.
While I understand why people at the top of the food chain manipulate those near the bottom of the food chain, especially where voting exists, what chaps my knickers is the way those at the bottom make their manipulation so damn easy.
I'll always show up for a John Wayne takedown. That said, STAGECOACH and THE SHOOTIST are objectively good due in no small part to his performances.
Weird how Hollywood prefers to shuttle overtly fake "war heroes" (Wayne, Schwarzenegger) into militaristic propaganda. Guys like Lee Marvin, who were actually in the shit, seem to have had a tendency to pick grimier, more morally ambiguous roles, and didn't mind being cast as villains. C'est la vie, c'est la guerre, c'est la cinema.
I once had a really nice parka from LLBean that had a coyote fur ruff on the hood. Can’t get that anymore. Now you get some synthetic that itches and whose manufacture has a serious environmental impact. To save coyotes, who are really plentiful and wreak havoc even in urban areas. And we have fleece now which was supposed to reduce the need for plastic recycling but now we know that every time you wash a fleece garment you release millions of tiny particles that now make up a certain percentage of our bodies. We can’t win. But thank you for the tree article. I always get a real one and don’t think about the consequences, even though thanks to you, I now know I am actually doing something good. But , I really wouldn’t care: I love Christmas for the traditional reason and for the food, drink, and company that I hope will return next year. Merry Christmas to you too.
I also feel guilt for every decision I make. A friend of mine is obsessed with decreasing plastic waste and started using bar soap for everything - including to wash dishes. Her dad told her to stop taking the joy out of everything.
"Her dad told her to stop taking the joy out of everything.". The Joy? Intentional? Did he also tell her to stop taking the Dawn out of everything? Sorry, couldn't resist.
Great work this year, Matt. As a longtime liberal who cares about journalism and free speech, who sees groupthink making "my team" dumber and less honest every day, I think you're doing work that is utterly essential. I think that journalism is screwed in this country, but that's A concern for 2021. Enjoy your holiday, and keep fighting the good fight.
Interesting comment Matt about micro aggressions. I'm a minority, a liberal and I just don't get it. Sometimes a person has to put on her big girl pants and just suck it up. Or he does. Micro aggressions? What's next!!?? Micro dirty looks? Humans are different to each other, there is no perfect fit. There will be micro misunderstandings. If someone is focused on micro stuff, they need to get a life.....
Unfortunately, this is the decade of the busybody. Instead of minding their own business, an increasing number of these tortured souls live to loudly point out our flaws, and tell us how to live our lives.
When I read your articles I get the same feeling I get when listening to Bob Dylan. It is a sober kind of acceptance of a screwed up world because at least some sense it made of it.
Real trees smell good. I always thought that accounted for their popularity.
I can imagine our next president as a boy leaning in to take an inappropriately long lingering moment with one back in 1952, an audible gasp as he exhales almost losing his gum, his mother calls him to a Christmas table heavy with food, "jeepers mom this sure smells swell."
I'm lucky. Just paid $10, and was able to drive up in the mountains an hour away, walk up a slope, and cut my own little tree (must be under 10 ft, mine a tabletop.) I enjoyed the pristine air, snow filled with a variety of animal tracks.
During the holidays, I hope you can also enjoy the great American outdoors. Our society is in shambles, but we still live in one of the most beautiful countries on the globe, the 48, Hawaii and Alaska. And it's free to wander in. It's a gift to be simple!! Happy 2021!!
I will be 68 next week. Being a PI for 4 decades I understand people better than almost all walking this planet. Regarding guilt; those who do not need guilt to do the right thing are often overwhelmed by guilt. And, those who need a a Big Gulp size portion of guilt, don't have a lick of it.
Holy shit. You've been a P.I. for 4 decades! "Those who do not need guilt . . . are often overwhelmed by it; those who need a Big Gulp size portion of guilt, don't have a lick of it."
On the "Big Gulp". I'll bet you've seen the inside of more than a few 7-11's eh?
I'm 63. Do you think I'm old enough to survive a ride-around with you sometime?
There are actually only a few 7-11's in my area, and they just came in recently. Local convenience stores rule in my parts.
Ah! I keyed on your reference to a Big Gulp, which is part of 7-11’s proprietary branding, I think.
tf is a Pi?
Is it some sanctimonious group of cunts who judge everyone?
Happy New Year, Scott.
Hahaha you mean p i... private investigator.
HNY
I'm sorry St Nick but I always do the right thing uh, because it's the right thing. No guilt involved. Don't you wonder (as a PI) that you, like cops, see or meet the worst in people so that would color your view? I feel bad for you. You need a mental colonic. Peace to you my brother in humanity.....
Peace to you as well. A little guilt for castigating and stereotyping an entire profession would be helpful to you. But then again, sanctimony and guilt seldom reside together.
OK, I will try. I must be misunderstanding the issue at hand. It wouldn't be the first time! May your holidays be bright and safe!
The misunderstanding is that anyone who knows me will tell you I am a positive, glass half full, guy. I do understand on a profound level that we ALL have a dark side, w/ many shades of darkness. But even having dealt w/ those misdeeds of dissembling, greed, envy, hate, etc. professionally[and personally as we all do] I believe we are basically good as a species.
80% of all communication is nonverbal. For an important interview, I would always make every effort to conduct the interview in person, preferably in their home. A quick glance of the exterior and interior of the home gave me insights. But the most insights are gathered from body language. On the phone, I get voice inflections which are helpful. This venue is ripe for miscommunication. I surmise a large % of conflict online is miscommunication, not substantive. It appears that's the case here. I am happy to have gotten to exchange w/ you. I subscribe to both Taibbi and Greenwald. So we both have good taste and appreciate intellectual honesty.
Long as you're not 86ed.
Buy a real, live tree with a root ball, in a pot. Plant it in the spring.
I agree with comments below - your work is first class, Matt. We all look forward to you keeping it up. It does sound like you could use a drink, however. Merry Christmas everyone!
Re your comment on the Unabomber and technology, as well as various norms falling into sudden widespread disrepute: I wonder in particular whether we reached a kind of human pinnacle in terms of technology at some point in the past and now it's in the rearview mirror.
Paul Newman used to race Formula 1 cars and had a buddy who did the same. But the friend eventually switched to stock cars. Newman was mystified by this and asked his friend why he abandoned F1 for the comparatively slow and heavy NASCAR alternative. The friend replied that the speed and performance were at a more human level, one that could be appreciated. I suspect something similar is at work with, for instance, Tom Hanks' fondness for typewriters over computers and keyboards. Or with the widely shared romance with steam locomotives.
As for media, maybe we got as close to perfection as we'll ever get with radio, teletypes and broadsheet newspapers. Or maybe early television. Certainly once cable TV with dozens or hundreds of channels came along, something was lost.
The Amish are pretty parsimonious with technology. Personally, I believe they've stopped well short of the ideal mark (though perhaps not). In any event, at least they devote some serious thought to what they should collectively accept and reject. Maybe we can learn something from that.
I live in an area with a sizable Amish population. Many have cell phones.
That's interesting. I wonder whether they're smartphones with apps or just the basic cellphones that make calls and accommodating texting but nothing else.
You remind me of my brother. Fir or Pine? Or?
Enjoy your real tree and don’t worry about vacuuming up all the needles. Leaving a few here and there will provide relief in good memories as you run across them throughout 2021.
Please take your own advice and enjoy yourself, Matt; you deserve it. Thanks for all you do. I'm looking forward to your insights, humor, and wisdom for years to come.
Gee Matt, it makes ya wonder how humanity made it this far doesn't it?
Or, as someone who is really hard to insult, it makes me wonder how humans became so amazingly whiny & self obsessed.
Personally I think some explanation can be found in virtual interaction. Human communication, I do believe, is somewhere around 10% verbal, the rest coming from body language, eye contact, gut feelings, etc. But humans, in their infinitely lazy, yet needy, wisdom now communicate primarily with blocks of words from a nice safe distance, thus starving the 90% of the brain that's usually used to judge whether something is true or not.
As far as aliens go, in the past, alien hunters used to postulate that the US government knows they're here but can't tell us because it would cause instant world panic. All religions & governments would instantly crumble.
In reality, the government now says the aliens are here and, for the most part, the information has caused a huge silent hum of complete disinterest.
It's similar to how all previous apocalyptic film & fiction, like the Walking Dead, completely missed the irrational fear of an unwiped bum that would grip a population of toilet paper hoarders at the world's end.
And the environment, always an interesting topic I suppose.
One of the shibboleths of the new religion of Scientism.
Every time I think of someone doing their best end times Chicken Little I'm reminded of a commercial from my youth. Some say it kick started the environmental movement.
In it, a Native American man canoes down a stream. Both banks are covered in trash.
The commercial ends with a close up of the Native American man's face as a lone tear runs down his face.
Powerful stuff.
The Native American was played by a man named Iron Eyes Cody. Mr. Cody was a character actor who also worked as an advisor on Native American culture for Hollywood westerns.
Sadly, Mr. Cody's Native American heritage was, much like Elizabeth Warren's, completely in his head. In reality Mr. Cody was born in Louisiana to Italian parents. His real name was Espera Oscar de Corti. While his real heritage eventually became public, venerable newspapers like the Guardian & the Observer portrayed him as a genuine rarity in his obituary. An actual Native American who made his living in Hollywood westerns.
Except he wasn't & he didn't. So much for fact checking eh?
So now, whenever I think of the environment, I think of a movement that was kickstarted with complete & total bullshit. And I can't help wondering how much of today's environmental concern/fear mongering smells equally as stinky.
But hey, Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas to you & yours.
The same to everyone typing here.
I hope your quick, easy and superficial rejection of anything regarding the environment based on one fake symbol of it isn't duplicated in other areas, such as say, the flag waving, gung ho willing to fight and die for the country mentality as personified by Marion Morrison, who, even before WWII had started, had already ditched his hetero wife and two small boys for the sexual genius and lifelong bisexual Marlene Dietrich, a lefty, to boot, and managed to cram in 18 movies during the years 1942-1945, wearing make up, saying the words of others and shooting blanks, but not in the bedroom, let's be clear.
Otherwise, I agree entirely with your first sentiment, as I was granted the ironic gift of being booted off YouTube comments because I had violated the rules about protecting the butt hurt, snowflake, bone spur feelings of the digital community, both "left", centrist and right, and have not only not missed it, but feel immensely the better for it.
Enjoy the Holidays, Christmas, New Years and 2021, even though nothing will likely fundamentally change, especially if we keep voting for either of the duopoly.
Ummm...it doesn't take an Einstein to figure out that the only wars The Duke fought in were entirely sound staged & imaginary. He was an actor after all. Does anyone actually believe that Sly Stallone is an Expendable living weapon?
I think the environment will be fine.
Once it dispenses with us.
No loss really.
You'd be surprised to find out how many people think Marion was an actual war hero, and not on the soundstage, either. Even in many US military barracks, his picture still hangs as some kind of representation of US military heroism. Looking the part is in some instances preferred to being it, e.g. George W. Bush on the deck of the aircraft carrier announcing 'Mission Accomplished" or Rock Hudson, who couldn't look or act any more hetero if he tried, starring in one romantic comedy after another. Years ago, Andre Agassi did commercials for some camera, where the pitch was "Image is everything".
Agreed, we will not be the last living species on this planet, a godsend for those that outlast us.
Actually I probably wouldn't. I was being a bit snarky.
I have some audio of a drunken speech the Duke gave at USC or UCLA maybe, where the Dukester is telling the football players to beat the shit out of the hippies and malcontents.
The Duke didn't sound like his elevator went very high up the shaft.
While I understand why people at the top of the food chain manipulate those near the bottom of the food chain, especially where voting exists, what chaps my knickers is the way those at the bottom make their manipulation so damn easy.
I'll always show up for a John Wayne takedown. That said, STAGECOACH and THE SHOOTIST are objectively good due in no small part to his performances.
Weird how Hollywood prefers to shuttle overtly fake "war heroes" (Wayne, Schwarzenegger) into militaristic propaganda. Guys like Lee Marvin, who were actually in the shit, seem to have had a tendency to pick grimier, more morally ambiguous roles, and didn't mind being cast as villains. C'est la vie, c'est la guerre, c'est la cinema.
People love that shit.
Illusions I mean.
So much easier to maintain than reality which is often ambiguous & messy.
I live down the road from a guy with a giant Trump as Stallone in First Blood banner hanging in his yard. The irony on display there is epic.
You have a draft dodging president with the buff body of a draft dodging actor who played an imaginary hero from the war they both dodged.
Your columns have kept me at least somewhat sane this year, so thanks for that.
I once had a really nice parka from LLBean that had a coyote fur ruff on the hood. Can’t get that anymore. Now you get some synthetic that itches and whose manufacture has a serious environmental impact. To save coyotes, who are really plentiful and wreak havoc even in urban areas. And we have fleece now which was supposed to reduce the need for plastic recycling but now we know that every time you wash a fleece garment you release millions of tiny particles that now make up a certain percentage of our bodies. We can’t win. But thank you for the tree article. I always get a real one and don’t think about the consequences, even though thanks to you, I now know I am actually doing something good. But , I really wouldn’t care: I love Christmas for the traditional reason and for the food, drink, and company that I hope will return next year. Merry Christmas to you too.
I also feel guilt for every decision I make. A friend of mine is obsessed with decreasing plastic waste and started using bar soap for everything - including to wash dishes. Her dad told her to stop taking the joy out of everything.
Love this and looking forward to TK 2021!
"Her dad told her to stop taking the joy out of everything.". The Joy? Intentional? Did he also tell her to stop taking the Dawn out of everything? Sorry, couldn't resist.
Great work this year, Matt. As a longtime liberal who cares about journalism and free speech, who sees groupthink making "my team" dumber and less honest every day, I think you're doing work that is utterly essential. I think that journalism is screwed in this country, but that's A concern for 2021. Enjoy your holiday, and keep fighting the good fight.
Interesting comment Matt about micro aggressions. I'm a minority, a liberal and I just don't get it. Sometimes a person has to put on her big girl pants and just suck it up. Or he does. Micro aggressions? What's next!!?? Micro dirty looks? Humans are different to each other, there is no perfect fit. There will be micro misunderstandings. If someone is focused on micro stuff, they need to get a life.....
Kids are watching the Marx Bros. in the other room even now. Still holds up.
Unfortunately, this is the decade of the busybody. Instead of minding their own business, an increasing number of these tortured souls live to loudly point out our flaws, and tell us how to live our lives.
When I read your articles I get the same feeling I get when listening to Bob Dylan. It is a sober kind of acceptance of a screwed up world because at least some sense it made of it.
Have a good holiday and New Year. And thanks.
"The Vandals Took The Handles".
Real trees smell good. I always thought that accounted for their popularity.
I can imagine our next president as a boy leaning in to take an inappropriately long lingering moment with one back in 1952, an audible gasp as he exhales almost losing his gum, his mother calls him to a Christmas table heavy with food, "jeepers mom this sure smells swell."
Thanks Matt, we have so much to look forward to.
I'm lucky. Just paid $10, and was able to drive up in the mountains an hour away, walk up a slope, and cut my own little tree (must be under 10 ft, mine a tabletop.) I enjoyed the pristine air, snow filled with a variety of animal tracks.
During the holidays, I hope you can also enjoy the great American outdoors. Our society is in shambles, but we still live in one of the most beautiful countries on the globe, the 48, Hawaii and Alaska. And it's free to wander in. It's a gift to be simple!! Happy 2021!!