Month: October 2024

The Lincoln Project: Living rent-free in Trump’s head

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn People, Politics, Social Media

Growing up as a member of the Commonwealth, the 5th of November has always been synonymous with the Gunpowder Plot, in the form of Guy Fawkes Night, Bonfire Night or Fireworks Night. 419 years later, people still remember it.

If you haven’t already guessed or been living in Worzel Gummidge’s hat, this 5th of November is also unique, because it’s the date for the United States presidential election. At the time of writing this blog post, the polls are tighter than Uncle Scrooge’s wallet, between Kamala Harris and everybody’s favourite bankrupting casino owner, Donald Trump.

Over the years, you don’t have to do a lot to incur Trump’s wrath, by getting under that beautiful orange skin or living rent-free in his head. And nobody does it better than the Lincoln Project. For the uninitiated, the Lincoln Project was founded by former Republican Party members and moderate conservatives, who publish and release anti-Trump content. And they are very good at what they do. They oppose Trump and his policies, along with his Dick Tracy villain doppelgangers.

I can’t remember the first Lincoln Project video I saw, but I was stunned and confused to learn that it was Republicans and conservatives bashing Trump. Even though I’m a New Zealander and not a US citizen, I thought this was weird; however, I thought it was so brilliant that I subscribed to them.

Whether it’s because their origins are based on right-leaning politics or they have some extremely driven people, they seem to have an uncanny way of pissing Trump off. Whenever I hear the phrase, “If you can’t say anything nice, say something clever and devastating,” I will always think of the Lincoln Project.

The ‘Lincoln Project’ is made up of Republicans dissatisfied with the direction the party has taken under Trump. Credit: Reproduction/Facebook.

Their videos fall into several groups. Some videos have focused on promoting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, by encouraging people to vote for them. Other videos highlight American values and how Trumpism and Republicans are against it. There are also videos highlighting the shenanigans of some Republicans, comparing Harris to Trump, and talking about the January 6th riots.

The irony is that these videos are created by conservatives. Additionally, the ones directed at Trump can be described as “beautiful nightmares.” They are devastating, accurate, intelligent, funny, and sharp. I often show them to my wife while doing my geek dance, saying, “Oh, you need to see this; it’s amazing!”

In my opinion, all of the anti-Trump panels, videos, columns, podcasts, and articles combined, pale in comparison to the humiliation that the Lincoln Project has inflicted on everybody’s favourite 78-year-old convicted felony.

Below, I have collected several of my favourite recent Lincoln Project videos that directly attack Trump and his policies. And damn, these are burns! Some honourable mentions are the recent Things Fascists Say videos, highlighting Trump’s love for dictators and strong male leaders. It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so serious.

Without any more delay, let’s look at some of my favourite Lincoln Project videos that belittle Trump’s age, cognitive ability, intelligence, morals, and just about anything. Please enjoy!

The next two videos are not humorous, but they are very effective at highlighting how dangerous Trump is. As for that last one, well, it’s my favourite.

What’s your favourite Lincoln Project video? As always, please let me know. If you haven’t already subscribed to the Lincoln Project, I suggest you do so. They are exceptional at what they do.

That’s another rant, for another week. Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. And just like last week, please remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, and if you’re a US citizen, please vote for Kamala Harris. I want to witness Trump whine about losing and how difficult his life is being a 78-year-old white male billionaire. Please!

Take care and I’ll see you next week.

We Didn’t Start the Fire: 1954

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn History, Music, People, Politics

Because of various reasons, I got distracted last month, which to be fair, was the constant statement throughout my school reports. This distraction meant we didn’t have a We Didn’t Start the Fire blog post, which will soon be fixed. I’m not sure if Billy Joel would approve.

Just like an ejection seat in a helicopter, my We Didn’t Start the Fire references are a bad idea. Nevertheless, it’s back for another month. Previous chapters in this ongoing mess include:

If you’ve been keeping score, we looked at 1953 last time, so we’re moving on to 1954. So, strap yourself in because it’s going to be a bumpy ride! And away we go!

Credit: Jay Blotcher/Twitter

1954

Roy Cohn:

We’re going to kick 1954’s references off with Roy Cohn, who was an American prosecutor and lawyer. To me, Cohn is famous for a few odd things. Hopefully you remember Joseph McCarthy, the communist-hunting senator from the 1950 list. It may not come as a surprise, but not only did Cohn and McCarthy know each other, Cohn worked as chief counsel for McCarthy in the 1954 Army–McCarthy hearings.

The hearings were a political embarrassment for McCarthy and his anti-communism policies, so after the hearings had finished, Cohn fell on his sword and resigned from McCarthy’s staff. This caused a minor scandal across the country, which led Cohn to work as an attorney in New York City.

Do you remember the Rosenbergs (Julius and Ethel Rosenberg) from the 1951 list? Take three guesses to name one of the prosecutors involved in their case. That’s right, it was Cohn.

For a modern context, I previously referred to Joseph McCarthy as everybody’s favourite convicted felony and ex-president, Donald Trump. So, if Trump is McCarthy, then Cohn would be Michael Cohen; if you follow my logic.

Roy Cohn speaking at the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954. Credit: Everett/Shutterstock.com

Juan Perón:

Juan Perón served as President of Argentina from 1946 to 1955 and then again from 1973 to 1974. He is a significant figure in the history of Argentina and Latin America, with a complex legacy. His policies, known as Peronism, evolved, and he eventually became a dictator. Additionally, he provided refuge to wanted Nazi war criminals, contributing to the ongoing crisis.

During his second term in 1954, Perón was becoming less popular, while Argentina faced economic problems like high inflation, huge debt, and a decrease in productivity. Perón was also having trouble with the Roman Catholic Church. He pushed for the decriminalisation of divorce and prostitution; deported two Catholic priests; promoted a constitutional amendment to separate State and Church; publicly accused bishops and priests of sabotaging his government; and suppressed religious education in schools. He was a busy guy.

Perón was finally deposed in a coup d’état in 1955, mainly because of the bombing of Plaza de Mayo by Argentine military aircraft, which killed over 300 people.

A modern equivalent is somewhat difficult because sadly, we have many choices to select from, like Alexander Lukashenko, Bashar al-Assad, Kim Jong Un, Slobodan Milošević, Vladimir Putin, Augusto Pinochet, Pol Pot, Francisco Franco, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Muammar Gaddafi, or Idi Amin. Take your pick, because they all suck.

President Juan Perón. Credit: Unknown

Arturo Toscanini:

The beloved Arturo Toscanini was one of the most famous conductors on the planet. After years of working around the world, Toscanini moved to the United States. He worked with several symphony orchestras before securing a position with the NBC Symphony Orchestra, which was a radio orchestra.

This job lasted from 1937 to 1954 when Toscanini stepped down from the position of conductor and retired at 87 years old. That was his last live public performance.

For a modern conductor, I don’t want to start a fight about which conductor is the best in the world. This is outside of my lane, but some examples could be Sir Simon Rattle, Marin Alsop, Gustavo Dudamel, Seiji Ozawa, Nathalie Stutzmann, Sir Neville Marriner, Daniel Barenboim, Sir Antonio Pappano, Susanna Mälkki, Carlos Kleiber, or maybe Bernard Haitink.

The conductor Arturo Toscanini. Photograph by Bettmann / Getty

Dacron:

This is the first non-human entry on the list, and it is very useful. In 1954, Polyethylene terephthalate, also known as PET, PETE, and Dacron, was released to the public. Dacron is an artificial fibre that changed the way people live and interact with the world.

It’s recyclable plastic number 1 and was mainly trademarked as a synthetic polyester fabric, but it expanded to all facets of modern life. The demand for this product is insane. The annual production of PET was 56 million tons in 2016, with 30% being made up of bottle production worldwide.

I would give you a modern version, but Dacron is still being used today.

Credit: Wikipedia Commons

Dien Bien Phu falls:

We are continuing with another non-human entry because this one is a city or rather a battle. Dien Bien Phu, or Điện Biên Phủ, is a city located in Vietnam. Back in 1946, Vietnam was known as French Indochina, and it was supported and controlled by…wait for it…the French.

This resulted in the First Indochina War, with the French fighting the Viet Minh, aka the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the newly minted nation.

In 1954, the French Far East Expeditionary Corps fought the Viet Minh, at the French encampment in Dien Bien Phu, between 13th March and 7th May. History remembers this as the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. The size of the armies, along with the casualties, vary to different records, but whatever the case, the Viet Minh claimed victory.

This was a humiliating defeat for the French, as it was the decisive battle of the war. The legacy of this battle resulted in the creation of North Vietnam (the Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (the Republic of Vietnam). Eventually, the Second Indochina War started a year later, though it’s known by another name; The Vietnam War.

An image of Viet Minh troops planting their flag over the captured French headquarters at Dien Bien Phu, 1954. Credit: Vietnam People’s Army Museum System.

Rock Around the Clock:

One, two, three o’clock, four o’clock, rock
Five, six, seven o’clock, eight o’clock, rock
Nine, ten, eleven o’clock, twelve o’clock, rock
We’re gonna rock around the clock tonight

Dubbed as the first rock-and-roll song, Rock Around the Clock was a smash hit. Released in May 1954 by Bill Haley & His Comets, Rock Around the Clock only lasted 2:08 minutes, but it changed music history.

The single sold 25 million copies and became the unofficial anthem for the growing rebellious youth around the world, and brought this developing sound of music to mainstream audiences.

It defined a generation, much like Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”, Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, and Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.”

So for 1954, we covered a prosecutor, a dictator, a conductor, an artificial fabric, a battle, and a song. This was a strange and mixed list, but we will have seven entries for 1955, so I need to start planning for next month. I mean, maybe the writing will get better.

And that’s it for another week. Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, and if you’re a US citizen, please vote to send a certain 78-year-old into retirement. Take care and I’ll see you next week.

Surviving the School Holidays Again

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Children, Parents

As you can tell, we have just finished and survived another round of school holidays. Among kiwi taming and hobbit searching, public school children in New Zealand operate on four terms during the year, with two weeks of holidays separating the terms. Of course, Term 4 ends with a six-week holiday covering the end of the year and Christmas, but we are way ahead of ourselves!

Term 4 started today, with UMC1 and UMC2 having mixed feelings about it; I sense much conflict in them. They wanted to see their friends again, but you can’t beat the school holidays! Well, from their perspective, you can’t.

So, how did the school holidays go? I have to be honest with you, we went into the holidays dealing with Indy’s death, so my wife and I put in extra effort to make these holidays fun for UMC1 and UMC2, but manageable for us. And when I say manageable, I mean our ability to survive the threats without starting divorce proceedings.

Without any more time-wasting, let’s discuss the threats we faced and see if you can relate to any of them.

Image by Mirka from Pixabay

Lego Invasion

This threat is an old one, but it’s still serious. UMC1 and UMC2 love working and playing around the house with Lego, but during the school holidays, this obsession gets taken to the next level.

Every room in the house, except for the bathroom, was invaded by their Lego, whether they were figures, vehicles, or everything in between. They even covered the window frame of the back door with newly designed Lego droids, so every time you opened or closed the door, droids and tears would fall.

The dining room table was the scene of multiple Lego construction sites throughout the holidays. These included on the table, under the table, on three different chairs, and the foot railings. Apparently, Lex Luthor, Boba Fett and Foot Clan Ninjas like to loiter under the table.

It’s also a hell of a thing to consistently find Lego that does not belong to you on your bed, then to be lectured about moving things that don’t belong to you.

As for the base plates, the boys created several buildings that stayed in the lounge. This meant every morning, the base plates were taken off the table and placed back onto the floor, then moved to the table again at night time, so just it could start again the next day.

Using the vacuum cleaner was a nightmare because every scrap of carpet needed to be checked for Lego, which proved to be problematic. I was also delightfully reminded of the dangers of walking shoeless in the house during the school holidays, because of the amount of Lego impaling my feet.

Pyjama Days

I don’t mind pyjamas at all, but during the school holidays, my children practically live in them. There have been numerous battles over the idea of UMC1 and UMC2 wanting to go out in their pyjamas, despite logical and reasonable arguments against it, assuming they even want to leave the house in the first place.

Their philosophy was that since it was their school holidays, they should be able to choose their clothes, meaning they were choosing to remain in their pyjamas for the whole day.

I can’t tell you the number of times I called my wife to see how things were going, just to be told that the boys were still in their pyjamas; but they were going to get changed because they were all going out. Fast forward to me seeing them in the car when they had picked me up, or when I got home, they were still in their pyjamas. I would ask about it, but my wife would just shake her head and admit defeat.

It was also funny and tragic explaining to them, that yes, it’s time to have a shower, so they needed to remove the pyjamas so they could be washed.

And yes, they could choose another pair to wear afterwards. I have no idea how many times I’ve said pyjamas over the last two weeks, but it would have been more times than The Brain has tried to take over the world.

Star Wars: Rebels

This one was not a threat, but it was weird. We had previously mentioned to UMC1 and UMC2 that they could watch Star Wars: Rebels, during the school holiday this year. Everybody had forgotten in the past holidays, so the boys were not going to miss out this time.

This involved the boys asking for Star Wars: Rebels, before and after breakfast, before and after lunch, before and after dinner, and every other time in between. Because of this, it gave my wife and me some leverage for the boys to do things, like removing pyjamas, leaving the house, buying the groceries, having showers, or tidying up, which were the prices the boys had to pay to watch the show.

A lot of negotiations occurred during the last two weeks, with Star Wars: Rebels acting as the dangling carrot to the boys. And when they did get to see it, they were fixated on it, to the point they were quiet and absorbing it all.

After watching a collection of episodes, UMC2 would also retell the plot to you, completely forgetting that you were sitting next to him throughout the show. Their role-playing started to centre on Star Wars: Rebels, which resulted in many over-enthusiastic lightsabre battles.

I have rediscovered my appreciation for sleep-ins over being woken up at 5.30 am, because UMC1 and UMC2 are recreating lightsabre battles in our bedroom. Not cool guys, not cool.

We made it through the two weeks of school holidays thanks to various forms of caffeine. Now we have about 10 weeks to recover before the six weeks of the Christmas/Summer holidays begin. During this time, I have two weeks off, so I will need plenty of energy drinks to keep up with UMC1 and UMC2. Good times!

If you have school-aged children, how to manage and survive the school holidays? As always, please let me know. Ok, that’s another rant for another week.

Thanks for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, watch The Wild Robot, and I’ll see you next week when we travel back to 1954. Cool bananas!

Jobs that I would suck at: Vol 1

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn People

I want to talk about jobs today, but before I get into my rant, how is everybody doing? I think there’s a polite answer, and there’s an honest answer, with the truth lying somewhere in the middle. Whatever the case, I hope you’re doing well.

Because you’re attentive readers, you would have noticed the title of today’s blog post. Jobs can be important for multiple reasons. They can provide you with money, so you can continue living and existing by paying for the rent and mortgage or buying food, clothes, Salt and Vinegar chips and anything else you have set your heart on.

Jobs can also give you stability, purpose, direction, status, and experience, and for many people, a job is a lifeline. It could be the only thing keeping someone’s head above the water because jobs and life are tough.

The quantity of money you receive is subjective because the same wage or salary could be a godsend to one person, while it could be a bane for someone else.

It’s also true about the quality of the job, which is subjective. A particular job could be a nightmare for one person, while being a dream job for someone else. Of course, some people are just trying to get by, and a job is simply a job.

I suppose there is the trap that you are defined as your job, and that’s how you are known to the world. You’re a nurse, musician, painter, road worker, or a builder, so that’s what your identity is versus whether you’re a good or happy person.

I believe if you’re lucky enough, you can find a job that pays well and makes you happy. But there is a tiny flaw in that plan; you need to be qualified, or at the very least, actually good at it. This painfully long introduction finally brings us to the point of this rant.

This is the first volume of a series detailing three jobs each time that I believe, I would suck at. Whether I describe myself at being terrible, horrible, ill-suited, unqualified, or just wrong, these jobs would not be for me. I would suck at them.

I’m going to add a disclaimer here before I continue. Any job that makes this list does not by definition, make it terrible. Your job may appear here today or at a later date, and that’s fine for you because I’m not saying your job sucks. I’m just saying your job would suck for me because of several reasons.

Sweet as? Cool bananas and away we go!

Image by kalhh from Pixabay

Real Estate Agent

This job is one of the easiest to explain why I would be terrible at. I’m awful at making small talk, let alone having and creating a salesperson personality. I’m such a bad salesperson, I wouldn’t be able to sell lifejackets to the Navy. I would probably end up buying merchandise from them instead.

I once had a job as a street talker, and it lasted one day. Even though it was for a charity, I couldn’t approach people on the street and convince them to sign up for monthly donations. I was awful.

So the concept of me trying to convince people to buy a big-ticket item like a house seems ludicrous, because as I would be showing off the house’s advantages, I would also be discussing the disadvantages.

I wouldn’t be able to lie because it would weigh on me too much. Also, I would be too honest and suggest the house would not suit the potential owners, coupled with the fact that I’m sure I would not be meeting my monthly quota of sales. I would give my sales manager daily headaches.

These factors would completely condemn me in this profession. I can’t stress enough on how greatly I would suck as a real estate agent. I would be terrible.

Receptionist

Receptionists always seem to have a friendly, positive and calm demeanour, which is quite impressive. Put me in that job, and you would get the opposite. Scheduling appointments, answering the phone, dealing with angry customers, and all with a smile on my face? Forget it.

After dealing with the phone ringing every three minutes, I can only imagine I would be answering the calls by saying, “Please stop ringing! I’m trying to eat my lunch!” It would also mean my small talk would include discussing a new movie trailer, asking what that smell was, and laughing at Trump’s new criminal charges.

I would transfer calls to the wrong department, schedule a booking on the wrong day, accidentally cut the call off, and also sound like I would be much happier if I was lying on my couch reading, instead of dealing with random people.

I have so much trouble scheduling appointments for my family, talking to my wife on the phone, and dealing with my hungry and angry children because the last chocolate biscuit has been eaten, that I couldn’t possibly do it for a living.

And even if I could handle those things, I would have to play host to people entering the workplace. I’d have to offer tea, coffee, and whatnot. I’m a terrible host. I would eat all of the biscuits and stuff the orders up. Besides, who in their right mind would want me?

Even if the job was at a book shop, that sold pizza and Salt and Vinegar chips, I would glare at everybody that walked in, because they would be giving me more work to do. I wouldn’t be able to hide the disappointment on my face.

I would suck at being a receptionist.

My wife’s job

The grass is always greener on the other side, isn’t it? Take my wife and I, because we often talk about swapping roles. She would like to get back to paid employment by working at a full-time job and being the primary breadwinner.

As for me, I think it would be great to leave the paid 40-50 hour work week behind and concentrate on the house and family.

However, the reality of it is far scarier. For one thing, I enjoy cooking and making food for my family, whether breakfast, lunch or dinner. The sad part is that my recipe skills are limited since I can only make a few meals in several different ways.

If I had my wife’s job, I would need to improve my cooking skills to accommodate my family’s dietary restrictions and allergies. I would also have to introduce new foods to UMC1 and UMC2. I wouldn’t be able to rely on weekend cooking anymore; I would have to cook like Julia Child to satisfy and nourish my family.

I’m a chicken/fish and three vegetables man, so I would have to learn how to make new meals that everybody could eat. All of my time would be taken up with thinking, “Can I add tomato sauce to this?” I doubt anybody would want the same dinner five times each week.

It would also mean that I would have to design and build, all of my children’s wild and creative ideas, using limited resources and money. This would involve being able to papier-mâché, but also painting, cutting, drawing, sewing, designing and building various things.

I would be left floundering to understand and follow different recipes, as well as trying to figure out how to make a papier-mâché helmet or functioning catapults. If my wife and I had both started projects at the same time, based on ideas from UMC1 and UMC2, she would have finished three weeks before me, because I would still be in the planning stage.

If my wife’s amazing creative skills were compared to the Joker, mine would be Condiment King. If you haven’t heard of Condiment King, I rest my case.

Are there any jobs you feel you would be terrible at? As always, please let me know. Alright, that’s another pointless rant for another week, but before I go, I’d like to mention that today marks the first anniversary of the Israel–Hamas war.

This conflict and the media seem to have created a narrative where if you support Israel, that means you’re anti-Islamic. If you support Palestine, that means you’re anti-Semitic. People are calling for the destruction of Israel, while others want Palestine’s annihilation.

You can debate the moral, political, and ethical reasons behind this war, but Hamas were wrong to attack Israel on 7th October 2024. However, Israel’s response was also wrong. For me, there needs to be more people calling for a cease-fire, because over 16,000 children have been killed.

Martyrs are becoming made on both sides through this endless cycle of violence, which just fuels it for the next time. Nobody can honestly say to me, that to have security for either side, over 16,000 children needed to die because I would call you a liar.

Here’s hoping on 7th October 2025, we will be talking about peace accords, the rebuilding of Palestine and the real options working towards the Two State solution, and not another year of dead hostages and children.

Thanks for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, eat some bananas, and I’ll see you next week.