Have You Heard About...?

Welcome!

A lot is happening in the world today so I'm going to take you on a brief tour.

Have you heard about Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano erupting for the first time in nearly 40 years yesterday?

Sidebar

Did you know that Marin County, California claims to have the highest concentrations of hot tubs in the world?

Back to current events

Have you heard about the turnout surge in Georgia for early voting in the runoff election between Rev. Warnock and Hershell Walker?

Have you heard about the good news for a small-town college in McPherson, Kansas? An anonymous donor offered $500 million to McPherson College's (800 undergraduate students) Car Restoration program.

Have you heard that California Food Stamp costs have reached record highs?

Have you heard about the two men seriously injured in a small plane crash into high-voltage power lines near Washington D.C.?  

Have you heard about Jay Leno who is back on stage after suffering serious burns to his face and hands weeks ago?

Have you heard that 2.2 million people in Houston, Texas who have to boil their water to make sure it's safe?

It's impossible to keep up with all the daily news so I've selected the above stories randomly (taking into account limited space). 

As a reader what would you like to see me write about? Do you have preferences like parodies or just straight news?

Email me at richarddavestancliff@gmail.com with your reply. I reply to all emails respectfully.

After last month's record readership of over 14,000 average views daily, I'm happy to report this month's readership has increased to 15,000 average views daily.

I'll be straight forward with you. I have no idea why readership has swelled over the last six months. I've made few changes to this blog since starting it 20 years ago.

As it stands, thank you for stopping by and tell a friend about my humble blog. Cheers!

It's Come Down to This: Is Reality Real?

Who ever thought they'd ever see such a direct challenge in our society to reality? 

I certainly didn't.

It's bad enough that we live in the era of Trump where facts are swatted down with lies and misinformation daily without a group of cool cat neuroscientists and philosophers questioning reality.

What is reality they're asking? Perhaps it's just a simulation created by our brains they opine. Or as literary figures have claimed throughout societies for eons, life is just a dream.

Neuroscientists don't stop there as they take us down a rabbit hole where reality is something that exists independent of our minds. Neuroscience and philosophy have joined hands in trying to explain that reality is not real.

I can't help but thinking that this denial of reality should be codified for the Trump wing of the republican party. They're already reality-deniers.

But I digress.

Philosophy tells us that reality is something that exists independent of our minds. It exists outside our brains and can be known through reason and observation. 

Neuroscience tells us that our brain creates our reality. It takes input from our senses and creates a model of the world we experience.

Not surprisingly this controversy over reality goes back to the early civilizations like the Greeks. Plato and Aristotle chimed in on the subject. 

Plato believed that reality was made up of abstract ideas. In contrast, Aristotle believed that reality was made up of material things.

It's apparent that academia's questioning of reality has slipped into real world politics at a time when truth has to defend itself daily and democracy is fighting against right-wing lunacy.

As it stands, truth is a reality in my world.

New Frontiers for Tourism Revealed

Like everything else in the 21st century traditional tourism has been upended in favor of a new and crazier breed of tourist.

For example, you can go to Cuba to the remote beach town of Playa Santa Lucia and hire a shark guide to take you out for a swim with the bull sharks.

Shark tourism is becoming more common with lots of countries because experts say it has the potential to bring in millions of dollars to the local economy 

Let's pause and consider what a bull shark looks like and its nasty disposition. They have more than 350 teeth, a muscular appearance and have the occasional propensity to attack boats and people.

Enough said. It would be a nightmare for people like me who fear sharks more than anything and that includes my wife's wrath when I piss her off!

New Tourism Sites

If you ever go to Florida (for some strange reason) you should check out its newest entertainment destination - TrumpLand.

Young Republicans have been slithering to the new site in greater numbers this season because Trump is making more appearances since announcing he's running for president again. 

The most popular attraction takes place beside a penis-shaped swimming pool where Trump (dressed up as a carnival barker) orders his minions to perform tricks in seal costumes. The highlight of the act is when the "seals" flap their flippers in tune with the QAnon anthem. 

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Tourists like going to Bubblegum Alley in California. 

The attraction is a wall that runs for 65 feet that is completely covered with used bubble gum. Pretty exciting don't you think?

Want something more exotic for your vacation destination? Go to India and check out the Karni Mata Temple.

Your hosts will be 20,000 plus rats! Karni Mata is also called the rat goddess by the faithful. The temple was dedicated to her, and rats have been encouraged to hang out there for eons. 

In recent years Trump supporters have been gathering at the temple to see who's the biggest rat of the year among them.

Don't Miss This

Have you ever seen "toilet themed art" or gone to a Golden Poop Festival? 

If not book a ticket to the Toilet Theme Park in Suwon, South Korea.

New frontiers for tourism are being explored every day around the world in the hope of improving economies.

As it stands, I can go the rest of my life and not see one of the tourism destinations mentioned here and still be a happy man.

The Benefits and the Fine Art of the Nap

We need naps.

The problem is Americans don't seem to understand that like other countries who actually celebrate a good nap.

Instead, we "don't have time" and/or we have a negative impression of taking a nap during the day.

Do you like naps? Millions of people like naps.

The benefits of a good nap are too numerous to list here in this post. Here's a link explaining sleep disorders and the advantages of taking a short nap every day.

The Art of the Nap

Best demonstrated by cats, naps can be a work of art. 

Have you ever watched how comfortable they look when napping (a favorite pastime in the feline community)? The internet is full of photos and videos of cats sleeping in oddly comfortable positions.

Artists worldwide throughout the centuries have painted pictures of slumbering felines.

From the literary world here's some quotes about naps.

"I don't feel old. I don't feel anything until noon. That's when it's time for my nap."

Bob Hope

"Laziness works. And the simple way to incorporate its health benefits into your life is simply to take a nap."

Tom Hodgkinson

"I have a nap every afternoon like a little boy. Or an old man. Depending on how you look at it."

Gino D'Acampo

Astute regular readers have probably noticed that I've talked about naps two days in a row now. (See yesterday's post.)

You might even be thinking, "Dave, you're losing it. Maybe you better take a nap."

My feeble defense is "I'm not losing it, because I never had it!"

As it stands, full disclosure; I don't take naps because I'm not able to sleep at night if I do.

Feeling Sleepy After Your Thanksgiving Meal? Don't Blame it all on the Turkey!

Happy holiday!

I've been elected by the National Turkey Union of America to dispel the myth that turkeys are the only one to blame for sleepiness when you eat your thanksgiving meal.

They also asked me to shoot down the myth that they are so stupid that they drown in the rain by looking up at it.

Done and done.

Let's start with the science.

While it's true that turkeys contain tryptophan, which scientists say acts as a natural sleep aid and a good mood, it's also true that you'd have to eat about twenty servings of turkey to get the knockout effect!

Allow me to explain.

A few slices aren't going to knock you out. You would have to eat 20 servings of turkey which would provide about 410 milligrams of tryptophan to equal one dose of tryptophan pill form. 

Adults who take tryptophan supplements take doses of 5 grams before bed to help improve sleep. By comparison, two servings of turkey contain 410 milligrams tryptophan which is considered an important daily nutrient dose.

Therefore, as the turkey's told me, there are other culprits that slip tryptophan into that Thanksgiving meal.

They are (in no particular order) milk, cheese, beef, chicken, nuts and soybeans. 

Throw in the fact that it gets dark earlier at this time of the year and your body naturally gears up its melatonin (the sleep hormone) and you get the picture.

Couple that with booze which is a common feature in most holiday feasts, and you're ready for a short winter nap.

I'm honored to have been selected as this year's National Turkey Union's representative.

There's a rumor going around that the National Pig's Association is going to ask me to discourage people from eating ham this Christmas. Their president suggests eating turkey this Christmas.

As it stands, if you fall asleep during the football games don't blame it all on the turkey!

Musk Releases Hounds from Hell into Twitterverse

Every day now a new devil gets his/her pitchfork since billionaire bad boy Elon Musk bought Twitter and restored them to the platform.

The worst of the worst - former TV host, former president, Florida retiree known for rabid rants, Donald Trump, led the line of losers getting a second chance to rave again on Twitter. 

Marjorie Taylor Greene and other white Christian supremacists who were banned have got their claws back and their rejoicing.

But for how long?

As Musk passes out megaphones to further pollute the Twitterverse advertisers are fleeing from the site. The writing may be on the wall right before us.

After firing half of the folks at Twitter when he bought the platform, only a skeleton staff remains under intense pressure to please Musk. Breakdowns are already occurring in the worldwide system. 

I'm not sure Musk thought the deal over that much. It seemed like an impulse at the time when he agreed to purchase Twitter. Afterall, it was already losing money. Maybe he actually believed he could make a profit by stripping his human resources to the bone.

That's not the way things like this work.

So, what then?

The whole thing was just a lark for a bored billionaire? He took bad advice? He wouldn't take any advice? 

There are too many billionaires openly and contemptuously displaying their power in public these days without restraints.

Because Musk's space satellites help the United States see what's happening on the ground between Russia and Ukraine, Congress doesn't have enough incentive (or guts) to challenge Twitter's content - even if it does cause riots and raging racism.

When Congress does get exasperated and calls Musk in to face a committee nothing - let me repeat this - NOTHING ever happens.

Moonface Musk can toy with the American people all he wants because he's wealthy beyond measure.

It used to be that billionaires kept a lower profile, preferring to keep their agenda behind closed doors with the use of dark money. Don't get me wrong, they still do, but this new generation of billionaires are without shame or conscience.

As it stands, the last thing this country needed right now was an avalanche of more vile and violent rhetoric into the public discourse.

In Case You Wondered: Pooping in Public is Not Covered Under the First Amendment

Just about everything these days is covered under the First Amendment but pooping in someone's yard isn't.

I can't imagine the country's founders claiming it's okay to crap where you want to in public places when writing the First Amendment.

What brought the subject up?

In 2017 a Colorado Springs neighborhood was plagued by a "mad pooper" defecating on their front lawns and sometimes right in front of their children.

From what little authorities have gathered the mad pooper is a woman jogger. Numerous blurry amateur videos that have surfaced on the internet proves that much. To this day she hasn't been caught.

A while back some clown came forward claiming to be the jogger's spokesman. According to him her actions were protected under the First Amendment, and therefore the government cannot control when and where she relieves herself. He actually compared her actions to breastfeeding in public.

Needless to say, authorities weren't playing that game and were intent on finding her and charging her for indecent exposure.

But they have to catch her first. 

The toilet paper company Charmin recently offered her a year supply of toilet paper if she turns herself in. 

Apparently, she's not that stupid to trade a year's supply of toilet paper to be registered as a sex offender because there's been no reply.

As for her spokesman, no one has seen him for years. If authorities did interview him after his announcement, no one reported on it. I understand it's still an open case.

Related: Another Mad Pooper in Denver Has Struck - It Was a Man this Time. (2021)

As it stands, there's a neighborhood in Colorado Springs where people are still on the lookout for the return of the mad pooper! Parents use her as a boogeyman who might crap in their kid's room if their bad!

Animal House in the House: Creature Features for Everyone's Entertainment

I know democrats are feeling blue right now because the GOP gained control of the House of Representatives during the midterms.

Skip the pity party people!

It's not the end of the world. As a matter of fact, it could be the best thing that could happen by driving democratic voters to turn out in record numbers in 2024.

Two years of republicans turning the House into an Animal House is going to motivate millions to vote the democratic ticket.

Upcoming sideshows

With MAGA morons becoming committee chairman you can expect a despicable and vile assault against the president of the United States and his son Hunter.

Fox News will gorge on the daily drama of GOP lawmakers on the loose in the House badgering democratic lawmakers.

Investigations into Trump's political rivals will spring up like poisonous toadstools in the congressional committees. Everyone knows the long-awaited Revenge Tour (it's not been a secret) starts in January.

There's a wrinkle in the plan.

The animal factor.

Republicans have devolved into an in-house collection of animals that are motivated by different agendas. Maggots' have no agenda beyond revenge for perceived slights. 

The (Ironically named) Freedom Caucus will find itself fighting with their colleagues over nearly every issue in the next two years. No political pundit would bet it'll be kumbaya among House republicans. 

You can count on those MAGA lawmakers for laughs. From (I don't have to wear a jacket like everyone else) Jim Jordan, to crazy Marjorie Taylor Greene and her Jewish space laser collection, it's going to be entertaining.

I understand it's not going to be easy watching lunatics mangle the Constitution and violate every law in Congress for the next two years.

As it stands, it helps to remember that we have a democrat for president and a democratic Senate to counter some of the madness.

A Warning Sign I Never Thought I'd See

Have you ever heard the fairy tale about a prince that was turned into a frog by an evil magician and could only break the spell if a beautiful princess kissed him?

I got one better than that and it's not a fairy tale.

People are going out into Arizonia's Sonoran Desert and are licking toads! No shit. It's true and the National Park Service has had to resort to putting up signs everywhere imploring tourists not to lick toads, banana slugs, and unfamiliar mushrooms.

What going on there? I've never seen a public sign warning people not to lick toads. Are people that stupid nowadays? You don't have to answer. We both know there are strange and disturbing people among us.

Are the toad lickers hoping to be turned into princes or princesses? 

Seriously (for a moment) there are nimrods that have discovered that the toad's toxic secretions contain a powerful hallucinogenic known as 5-MeO-DMT. 

Apparently getting really sick by touching or licking poisonous toads doesn't deter some crazy tourists or drug pilgrims.

Authorities say that in recent years, smoking the toad's secretions has grown in popularity putting the amphibian on the endangered list in New Mexico (one of two states the toads live in.) The Department of Game & Fish says collectors want them for drug use. At least they don't kill them.

I've read reports that public figures have been experimenting with the toad's extracted toxins. Not the brightest bulb in any room, boxing legend Mike Tyson has spoken about using it.

There's potential hope, according to some researchers, that 5-MeO-DMT might offer therapeutic benefits.

I think it's interesting to know that Hunter Biden has written about using 5-MeO-DMT therapy as a form of addiction treatment.

Back to the clods walking through the Sonoran Desert at night (the best time to catch them) searching for toxic toads.

Stop it you clowns!

As it stands, I never thought I would see a sign warning people not to lick animals on public lands. I guess there's a first for everything.

Hug a Turkey Instead of Eating it this Thanksgiving

Well, why not?

Hug a turkey this year instead of eating it.

I must admit it's a fascinating concept. Theoretically the same idea could save thousands of pigs, cows (they do have some at Gentle Farms), and other assorted living things we eat if it catches on which I wouldn't bet on.

Power to the turkeys! Host a turkey cuddling event at your home this year. Where did this crazy idea come from in the first place? 

There's a farm in California (Gentle Farms) that's having an event to display their "reverence for all life" this year and it's featuring turkey hugs (for $50 visitors can spend 90 minutes getting to know a turkey better by hugging it, feeding it treats and making small talk).

If you ask me the biggest turkeys are the people paying $50 a pop to pet and hug a big bird!

But the owners of the Santa Clarita-based farm (The Gentle Barn) believe turkeys are affectionate and are really helping people in therapeutic sessions.

There are two other farms associated with the Santa Clarita farm that also charge for turkey hugs. One in Nashville, Tennessee, and the other in St. Louis, Missouri.

Needless to say, this new humane concept of celebrating Thanksgiving without eating a turkey, has spread far and wide among turkeys in America who are seeking to enlist at one of the three farms.

Personally, I had no idea that turkeys have been cherished throughout history for their intelligence, affection, and dynamic personalities. At least according to the folks at Gentle Barn.

It's probably a good time to correct some gobble gossip. Turkeys looking up at the sky during a rain fall don't drown. It's an old wives tale that needs to be shot down.

So, I guess we can agree that turkeys aren't dummies and they have a soothing effect on humans.

As it stands, the word has been getting out to other animals we eat during the holidays, to organize hugging events if they want to live longer!

Festive Weekend in Washington DC: Hunter Biden's Daughter to Marry in the White House and Joe Biden Marks Historic Birthday

Photo - President Joe Biden, Naomi Biden, granddaughter Naomi Biden and fiancé Peter Neal walk to the White House from Marine One in Washington D.C. 

Photo by Pete Marovich/Getty Images

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What a weekend!

Hunter Biden's daughter Naomi is getting married on the White House South Lawn (a first by the way) on Saturday, and Sunday is Joe Biden's 80th birthday making him the oldest sitting president ever.

I can't help but think about the crazed members of the so-called Freedom Caucus who are probably incensed at seeing their #1 enemy enjoy a day of celebrations at the White House.

I think the marriage between Naomi and Peter Neal symbolically kicks off a fresh life chapter by putting a youthful spin on Joe's 80th birthday on Sunday.

Insiders say the wedding date was no coincidence with the president's day - noting the "age issue" is never something Joe wants to highlight.

Be that as it may the White House will be filled with music this weekend in a rare show of dancing and fun.

Political pundits are gushing that the wedding will be the social event of the White House this year, perhaps of the entire Biden administration.

Wedding watchers are babbling about who's putting on the gala event. It's Bryan Rafanelli if that means anything to you. They're also speculating on other such important issues as,

-- what flavor the cake will be and who made it?

-- who designed Naomi's wedding gown?

-- who'll be the official photographer?

-- and a host of other ridiculous details that the media eats up like pot brownies.

The word among reporters covering Joe Biden is that he'll be going back to his house after this weekend and will hold a family meeting on the subject of running for a second term. I'd sure like to be a fly on the wall during that conversation!

As it stands, the bottom line is it's great to see such a positive event during these stressful times. Even if you're not an avid wedding watcher (like me) you can appreciate a weekend of hilarity!