Another Mystery Model

Friday, September 18, 2026

Raise the Kennedy Center?

I recently saw a video on YouTube that claims that the Trump Administration has threatened to "Raise the Kennedy Center to the ground," if they aren't allowed to do various things, like put Trump's name on it, alongside that of JFKs.

They clearly mean raze it to the ground.  That's what they did in the old days, to Carthage, for instance (and plowed salt into the fields, which was sorta mean).  So yet another pair of homonyms: raise, and raze.

Kay

Thursday, September 17, 2026

"Kids are starving in Japan?"

Weird Al Yankovic.  I don't know whether he actually penned that line, which is in his spoof "Eat it!", of Michael Jackson's hit Beat it.

There are so many fantastic spoofs by Weird Al, but I only know a few:

  • I lost on Jeopardy
  • Eat it
  • Fat
  • My Bologna
  • Another one rides the bus
  • I love Rocky Road
  • Ricky
  • Stop dragging my car around
  • (Yo-yo-yo-yo) Yoda
That first one might be a bit obscure; it was inspired by Our love's in jeopardy [.Greg Kihn Band].
"Fat" was a parody of Bad, by Michael Jackson, of course.
"My Bologna" parodies My Sharona.
"Another one rides the bus" takes off on Queen's Another one bites the dust.
"I love Rocky Road" spoofs Joan Jett.
"Ricky" spoofs Toni Basil.
"Stop dragging my car around" parodies Stevie Nicks.
"Yoda" parodies The Kinks's Lola.

Another great parody is "It's Christmas at Ground Zero", which is clearly a parody.  I heard it in a Dr. Demento CD, but I can't figure out the original. 

K

P.S. Wait!!  It appears that "Christmas at Ground Zero" is a spoof of—of all things—Winter Wonderland!  One of my (few!) friends pointed that out.

I'll try to get the lyrics to you!

K

OK, lyrics:

Christmas at Ground Zero
Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic ‧ 1986
It's Christmas at ground zeroThere's music in the airThe sleigh bells are ringing, and the carolers are singingWhile the air-raid sirens blare
It's Christmas at ground zeroThe button has been pressedThe radio just let us knowThat this is not a test
Everywhere the atom bombs are droppingIt's the end of all humanityNo more time for last-minute shoppingIt's time to face your final destiny
It's Christmas at ground zeroThere's panic in the crowdWe can dodge debris while we trim the treeUnderneath the mushroom cloud
You might hear some reindeer on your rooftopOr Jack Frost on your windowsillBut if someone's climbing down your chimneyYou better load your gun and shoot to kill
Oh, it's Christmas at ground zeroAnd if the radiation level's okayI'll go out with you and see all the newMutations on New Year's Day
It's Christmas at ground zeroJust seconds left to goI'll duck and cover with my Yuletide loverUnderneath the mistletoe
It's Christmas at ground zeroNow the missiles are on their wayWhat a crazy fluke, we're gonna get nukedOn this jolly holidayWhat a crazy fluke, we're gonna get nukedOn this jolly holiday
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Al Yankovic

Thursday, September 3, 2026

Tomatoes

Oh, wow.  I was visiting my friend in town, and had just been reading a FaceBook post that MSG (monosodium glutamate) should not be avoided, because it is naturally found in our food, e.g. in tomatoes.  Now that I find hard to believe, but there's no doubt that it isn't the most synthetic chemical we eat.  I shouldn't condemn that statement (that it's found in tomatoes) without evidence, but it's Thursday, and I don't have the energy. 

Anyway, my friend had obtained a tomato from somewhere, and we decided to slice it up and èat it, while the leftovers were heating in the oven.  Oh man; that was one fantastic tomato!  It wasn't bright red, like we would expect a fantastic tomato to be; it was just, you know, red.  I ate four pieces, and I could still eat more!

I happened to drink some diet Pepsi after my third piece of tomato, and then ate the fourth piece.  To my surprise, the tomato actually tasted salty!  I think that was due to the Pepsi, but still.  I had always known that a good tomato had a balanced taste, with tartness, sweetness and a little salt.  But this chunk was definitely salty.  I do love salt, so I was really pleased. 

The tomatoes are in peak flavor, around here, so if you live near north-central PA, go out and get some tomatoes, and just eat them.  You'll thank me later. 

Kay

P.S. Oh dear.  I learned that my friend had actually sprinkled a tiny bit of table salt on the tomato chunks!!!  Boo!  Salting fresh tomatoes is sort of SOP in many homes, and I had simply forgotten.  Oh well.

Kk

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Iran

Dear citizens of Iran.
It is treason to provide comfort to the enemy.  However, there is no consensus among US citizens about whether Iran is an enemy to our nation.  Many of us shudder to learn about the death tolls from this latest round of attacks.

Arch

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

OMG. Peak / Peek Strikes Again

Not one but TWO instsnces of authors who haven't screwed up anything else, confusing Peek with Peak!!!

Peak is a hight thing.  Peaks of mountains.  Peak of someone's fame.  Peak of popularity.

Peek from behind a curtain.  Peek-a-boo.

Come, people, it's not that hard. 

Kay

P.S.  Jeeze.  'Gate' and 'Gait'.

Gate: a door set into a garden fence, or garden wall.

Gait: the style of motion, of a person, or a horse.  Gallops, and Trots, are two gaits of a horse.

I'm so depressed. 

Sunday, August 30, 2026

Position Paper

Just this morning, I saw a post under Ron Howard's image; that implied that he supported what it said—and I thought he had written it, until someone clarified that it was written by a woman in 2018.  I have forgotten her name, but it really is a wonderful piece of writing.

It clarified a lot of the loose terminology that MAGA politicians like to throw around; especially what liking and supporting various Government services would, or would not imply.  Gratitude and admiration to both the original author, and Ron Howard for bringing the piece to our attention.

Kay

Added later:

I am a liberal, by Lori Gallagher Witt - by Nat Pernick https://share.google/BlNWJ0a5MXbeh2gIb

Friday, August 28, 2026

Death Tolls

I'm typically insensitive to large losses of life.  Though I feel sadness at deaths in school shootings, they don't set me back to the point of being unable to function.  But somehow, the news of deadly floods in Nepal are horrifying. 

In retrospect, I'm beginning to feel the scope of the killings in Gaza.  Israeli soldiers are responsible for these massacres, and they are terrible to contemplate.  The psychic consequences for the adults are going to be vast.  I'm not an expert in psychology, but I know that inflicting cruelty and horror is traumatic for the culprit as well.

I know that I'm conflating two types of disaster: natural, and human-inflicted.  But they're horrors anyway, and we feel the pain.

K