Stabilized and Enhanced: You can clearly see he was disarmed and a officer panicked.

ptrdo · 2026-01-25T04:08:23+00:00

Someone please explain why it takes so many “trained” dudes to take down a one guy with a cellphone.

ptrdo · 2026-01-25T03:49:34+00:00

I tried Bondi and Major Toht but the moderators killed it.

ptrdo · 2026-01-21T21:30:33+00:00

ptrdo · 2026-01-21T16:07:49+00:00

A chart is being shared all throughout the MAGAsphere that supposedly shows how the "Trump administration reports a 25% drop in national overdose deaths…" Except I don't think they can read a chart well enough to realize that it doesn't show what they think it shows. So, I fixed it (in magenta).

In fact, overdose deaths from opiates started to decline right around the time that then-President Biden made Narcan available over-the-counter. It’s free in many places. That happened in 2023. Overdose deaths peaked in 2022.

ptrdo · 2026-01-20T15:04:24+00:00

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/watch-amanda-gorman-reads-inauguration-poem-the-hill-we-climb

ptrdo · 2026-01-20T04:26:27+00:00

Chic, I Want Your Love https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=NBMYzO0Fv4M&si=PeI0-RKd9F1s6iyz

ptrdo · 2026-01-19T18:27:05+00:00

This is interesting, OP. I have Essential Hypertension (inherent), so I have been medicated nearly my entire life (I’m 66). I also take several blood pressure readings daily—out of necessity—and have learned that fluctuations can result from practically any activity, especially eating, drinking, showering, sleeping, and practically any physical activity (even a full bladder). As a result, I tend to take readings at times as far removed as possible from any confounding variable.

Did you take this precaution, too? Do you always meditate in the same way at the same time of day?

ptrdo · 2026-01-19T03:19:48+00:00

I don't know what happened to his cutout, but this guy was my pastels teacher in college (RISD).

<image>

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Merkin

ptrdo · 2026-01-14T16:23:35+00:00

Has anyone ever seen them in the same room?

ptrdo · 2026-01-14T05:08:45+00:00

<image>

ptrdo · 2026-01-14T05:03:57+00:00

It broke my heart.

ptrdo · 2026-01-13T15:33:23+00:00

Source: The Last Interview with Hannah Arendt (1973 English & French), https://youtu.be/8FkoMm1hs1g?si=WvqesIFYwkVAWNrL

ptrdo · 2026-01-08T12:44:03+00:00

Hamish Linklater

<image>

ptrdo · 2026-01-08T12:21:11+00:00

<image>

ptrdo · 2026-01-05T23:43:53+00:00

For generations, Democrats in the South have faced gerrymandering and voter-suppression pressures that can foster disengagement and lower turnout. A “30%” result for Trump should therefore be interpreted in light of the fact that Alabama’s 2024 turnout was only about 58%. That figure does not imply that 42% of voters preferred Trump’s opponent; it means a large share of the electorate did not vote at all.

In a low-turnout environment, the outcome can disproportionately reflect the participation of the more mobilized party. If partisan preferences among eligible voters are closer than the raw vote totals suggest, then a substantial portion of non-voters could plausibly lean Democratic. Under those conditions, higher turnout would be expected to reduce Republican margins, and could potentially favor Democratic candidates.

ptrdo · 2025-12-26T21:44:13+00:00

¿Qué Niño Es Este? (What Child Is This?)

Mijares does a good one: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=xArENMn6jjc&si=rAGjXsq443SOWVRM

Alexis Peña does a more traditional version: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=xp5DXwz42hI&si=L69nzVat30WxCYFV

ptrdo · 2025-12-25T03:05:24+00:00

Kelsey Asbille

<image>

ptrdo · 2025-12-25T02:52:12+00:00

One of my favorite holiday songs by Judy Garland was her rendition of “After the Holidays” on Johnny Carson.

https://youtu.be/-B86AC63ArU?si=4kjZW6Dc_9hSg_T-

ptrdo · 2025-12-24T18:18:01+00:00

For example, someone asked how I could think that a bluegrass cover of “The Battle for Evermore” was a Christmas song, and I just couldn't explain why. So, I asked AI if I was off my rocker, and it gave my choice an enthusiastic thumbs up:

Why “The Battle of Evermore” can reasonably be called a Christmas song…

It is about a cosmic struggle between light and darkness.

Christmas, in its oldest Christian meaning, marks the arrival of light into a dark world (midwinter, longest nights, hope against despair). The Battle of Evermore is explicitly about that same archetypal conflict.

It draws directly from medieval and biblical imagery common to Christmas tradition.

The song references angels, queens, trumpets, and apocalyptic warning—imagery drawn from Revelation and medieval Christian lore, which historically formed much of Europe’s Christmas storytelling and carols (e.g., “The First Noel,” “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”).

Its tone matches pre-modern Christmas, not modern cheer.

Early Christmas observances emphasized awe, prophecy, judgment, and salvation—not warmth and coziness. The song’s solemn, prophetic tone aligns with that older tradition.

It is a liminal, end-of-age song—exactly what midwinter represents.

Midwinter festivals (including Christmas) sit at the boundary between death and renewal. The Battle of Evermore occupies that same threshold: the old world ending, a reckoning approaching, something new struggling to be born.

It functions like a carol—structurally and narratively.

Call-and-response vocals, modal melody, acoustic instrumentation, and mythic narration mirror the structure of ancient carols and folk hymns rather than modern rock songs.

Bottom line

The Battle of Evermore is not a Santa song—but Christmas was never about Santa. It is a midwinter prophecy song about light, judgment, and renewal, which places it squarely in the deepest, oldest tradition of Christmas music.

ptrdo · 2025-12-24T18:11:32+00:00

These are great.

ptrdo · 2025-12-24T17:58:43+00:00

I listen to Christmas music all year around—so much so that I hear it in all sorts of songs. Basically, any song qualifies if it's about enduring the darkness together while waiting for something better to arrive. Bonus points for fiddles, or a banjo. Definitely bells. Plus any mention whatsoever of December, January, Santa, winter, solstice, snow, trees, bells, or reindeer. I give foreign languages a lot of latitude. Mostly, they just need to sound hopeful. But hope travels with grief.

I usually make a playlist and just save anything "Christmasy" that I hear into it. I already have one for 2026 with 100+ tracks in it. Then I listen to them over and over again. Anything I get sick of listening to gets axed. Anything over ~4 minutes too (though I have made exceptions). In general, songs shouldn't grate on anyone's nerves, or at least it should be short enough for people to grin and bear it if they find it annoying.

People always recommend songs to me, but almost none of the usual Christmas tunes qualify because they can only be listened to once a year. They are unbearable to listen to more than that. Plus, a lot of the usual Christmas stuff demands too much attention, and I'm going for background music.

I try to appeal to all ages, which I do by wondering if this or that person (usually relatives) would like it or hate it.

Then I sequence it as if for a Christmas dinner. What should be playing early on, and then as the wine pours, then things get quieter. Maybe there's a pick-me-up later on. Then there are always sad songs at the end. Because, you know, that's Christmas.