Things that make you go.......WTF? Part II

[think positive]

[think positive]

[What'sinaname]

[David]

No doubt some of the organisations he’s associated with have done some good work, with Starlink’s Ukraine operations being the gold-star example in recent years. But the way some people talk about it, you’d think Musk was running Tesla and SpaceX single-handed and was personally responsible for all of their achievements. In this case, SpaceX saw a big PR opportunity and took it, and helped a lot of people out along the way. Good for them.

And while I don’t think much of Musk as a person or as a businessman, I have no issue with giving him credit where it’s due. There’s a big distinction between that and being sucked in by his hype machine, as his cheersquad on Twitter have been.

[stui magpie]

his "cheersquad" on twitter voted for him to stand down as CEO.

[What'sinaname]

I'm not sure who's at fault here. The performers or the parents for taking children.

While promoted for all ages, I think "tits in a box" is testing the boundaries of what is appropriate and what isn't for kids.

https://floridianpress.com/2022/12/drag-queen-christmas-comes-to-florida-gets-shamed-by-local-desantis-supporter/

[David]

As much as I can't take any of these Helen Lovejoy-style Republican hand-wringers seriously, I have to say that I've always found the whole notion of "drag queen story hour" (and other attempts to turn drag shows into family entertainment) a little perplexing ... like, I don't even know where the impulse to put these events on comes from?

My understanding of drag queen shows was that they have traditionally functioned as transgressive and raunchy entertainment – which makes perfect sense in a gay club, stand-up comedy gig or whatever. That's the point, and that's what makes it fun. And the videos posted in that link are certainly in keeping with that vibe. But why advertise it as an all-ages show then?

I guess it depends on how young these "children" (none of whom I actually saw in the videos I skimmed through) actually are. If they're teens, then they've almost certainly seen much more full-on stuff already in movies, TV and the internet, and this is a massive storm in a teacup. But I can't imagine you'd bring, like, a five-year-old to something like this, and I assume most parents – no matter how much they may personally be into drag shows – would exercise that judgement accordingly.

Whether or not there's a serious debate to be had here, it doesn't help that the guys complaining about these shows are the worst people in the world. You can be sure that this is all part of a broader conservative American hysteria about elite paedophile cabals, plots to turn all the kids trans and so on, and those sentiments shouldn't be given the time of day. And equally, I understand the impulse – if indeed this is the reasoning – among libs to double-down on these shows, make the survival of "drag queen story hour" a hill to die on (maybe even the next frontier of gay rights), and keep trying to trigger the wingnuts in the process in the knowledge that this stuff drives them crazy. But one can't help but wonder if some common sense has been lost in the process.

[think positive]

[What'sinaname]

So Netanyahu is back, the West's version of Putin.

[David]

Where does the West begin and end? Because those two (countries as well as leaders) have a lot in common, I reckon, particularly the new coalition government that's come in:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-resumes-role-as-pm-as-israels-most-hardline-government-ever-takes-office/

[What'sinaname]

^ good point. Israel isn't really the West.

And in only a few days, there is already talk about Israel establishing illegal settlements in the Golan Heights.

[LaurieHolden]

[What'sinaname]

Rolling Stone Top 200 singers was released with Celine Dion being overlooked. Apparently Bob Dylan is a better singer 😳 than Celine. So speaking lyrics makes you a better singer than someone who actually sings!

[stui magpie]

If "best Singer" was purely about rating vocal skills, Dylan wouldn't make the top 1000.

If it's about "Singer" as an artist, Dylan craps on Dion from a great height.

[David]

Correct weight. And as with many of these things, entirely likely that different respondents to the poll had entirely different criteria in mind.