The Immigration Ban is a Headfake, and We’re Falling For It – Medium

by philrw
333 words - 2 min read
Rants and Raves
Folks, Jake here is right on the money. The new administration distracted us with some big hullabaloo over immigration while using the opportunity to do the more strategic, long-term move of removing the military from the National Security Council and permanently putting in a brilliant, extreme-right strategist called Steve Bannon. And when I say “extreme,” I’m not hyperbolizing. Forget the immigration deal, it was a ploy. A chess move designed to deceive. It’s not a long game they’re playing, but it doesn’t have to be. The administration has the media so turned around and shaken up that soon people will become weary to news alerts and fatigued to the “outrageous” things that Trump is allegedly doing.
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...and the world {?} with you.

by philrw
77 words - 1 min read
Rants and Raves

Trump fake grinning

I looked at this picture and a thought popped into my head: It’s like the guy honestly doesn’t know how to smile; it’s all a façade to him. He appears to experience very little joy. You can tell a lot about what’s going on in somebody’s mind by what’s on their face. There’s very little honesty in this guy.

Source: As Trump tries to build bridges, efforts overshadowed by lie about voter fraud – The Denver Post

Say Hello to Hollywood

by philrw
120 words - 1 min read
Rants and Raves
Today is the last day of the United States of America as you and I know it. Cherish these memories, and do not forget the great nation that once was. Tell your children the stories of how, for one brief shining moment in history, people of good conscience tried to make the world a better place for everyone, against a deteriorating system that punishes conscience and rewards sociopathy. If this next POTUS is to be the end of all of us, we can at least take solace in the fact that we will all go together when we go.
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Phoneways

by philrw
68 words - 1 min read
Film/TV/Theater Rants and Raves

When taking a video on your cellphone, hold it sideways. Nobody likes to watch videos with a vertical aspect ratio on a horizontal screen. And it looks ridiculous on the front page of the New York Times when somebody’s cell phone video has gigantic black bars on either side of it, making it completely tiny and unwatchable.

Sincerely,

Film Production M.F.A.

P.S. Do this for still images, too.

Money Time

by philrw
83 words - 1 min read
Personal

I’m good at managing my finances. I wanted to know how much time I spent on it, so over the last year I’ve tracked every minute working on finances: scanning receipts, entering transactions, reconciling accounts, budgeting, tracking tax-related things.

It turns out that during 2016 I spent 65 hours, 56 minutes, and 2 seconds related to financial matters.

So there you have it. There’s nothing special to getting good at money. You just have to spend a lot of time actually doing it.

Probably Not. Because "We" Chose It.

by philrw
129 words - 1 min read
Rants and Raves
As mentioned in The DSA, the rest of the media are now starting to catch up with the idea that our next Presidente may be our last. I wish I were hyperbolizing, but my perception remains that American society as a whole is on the decline. We have devalued intelligence, education, and compassion for too long and now we are starting to see the results. Hate and fear now rule supreme, fueled by our mind-numbing and complacency-inducing opiates (both literal and figurative), race to the bottom, and general idea that the American People are stupid, ignorant, arrogant, selfish, and greedy.
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Phil's Tips for Surviving Planet Hotbox

by philrw
502 words - 3 min read
Rants and Raves

Let me tell ya something: it doesn’t matter if our next Executive branch believes in anthropogenic climate change. The next head of the EPA can burn all the methane that he personally emits for all it will matter. We’re way beyond thinking that anything we do now will stop these effects within our lifetimes, or those of our children or grandchildren. What we need to be doing now is preparing for the world that we have inherited from the consequences of our collective and individual action and inaction.

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