I was walking through a Waikiki hotel lobby in 1964, and saw Ethel Waters sitting on a couch, probably waiting to be picked up for a ride to the airport. Ethel was wearing a fur stole, which I thought was a bit peculiar, given the tropical climate. Anyway, Ethel was a force way back when, and it was nice to hear her sing.
A more consistent statement would be either "When I learn of something previously concealed by my ignorance, I change my mind." (Which is wisdom, but hardly pithy,) or, "When the facts change, I abandon empiricism as a valid epistemological basis."
Given that the shelf life of the new French Prime Minister was that of a potato, they could have just made a potato Prime Minister instead: https://peppapigworld.co.uk/pages/mr-potato
(In about two years, Jeff, you will either thank me for introducing your kid to Peppa Pig or curse my pseudonymous ass up and down the Eastern Seaboard. I happen to think the realism of the parents' reactions makes the show)
On social pressure to never change your mind, the '70s and '80s were rife with culture that told us *not* to just "go with the flow", which was itself reiterating culture from the '50s and '60s with that same message (The Twilight Zone being the most long-lasting, I'd say; try to find the episode from the remake in the '80s about shunning, it still gets me even today). All of that culture was thrown in the trash by the Social Media Left (not just Twitter, but places like Tumblr), and it has been an all-around shitshow ever since. Craigslist was another nail in the coffin, since it was what exposed *all* news to the profit motive (remember the "Chinese Wall" the press had between ad revenue and reporting? Now that its subscription based, that's *long* gone. Oh, and thanks, Investopedia for lecturing me on "Chinese Wall": https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/chinesewall.asp So glad you don't have anything better to do like tell me where I can park my money now that Trump has given us the finances of a "shithole country")
You know, pre-Election Day 2016 Code Switch was actually interesting. Gene Demby did a piece about the bombing of MOVE in Philadelphia in 1985 (the neighbors hated MOVE, didn't want anyone firebombed): https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/05/13/406243272/im-from-philly-30-years-later-im-still-trying-to-make-sense-of-the-move-bombing Another piece was just before the election, about Apu and Indian accents where they simply asked two comedians from India what they thought (they didn't think it was authentic, but weren't bothered much at all): https://www.npr.org/transcripts/492073698 All this went down the toilet when #Resistance was called to the battlements. BTW, I think Season 1 of The Simpsons *did* treat Apu as a caricature (when it was basically "Roseanne, but animated"; Homer sounded like Walter Matthau to my ear); some reporting claims that Hank Azaria said they asked if he could do an Indian accent as offensively as possible, and those first episodes are a little nasty about Apu. But by the time Hari K got Apu removed he was as humanized as any Simpson's character.
Speaking of nuclear power and The Simpsons, I wonder if they'll apologize for the three-eyed fish like the way South Park apologized to Al Gore for pooh-poohing global warming. At this point it might not matter ("You mean they still make episodes of The Simpsons? New ones? Good ones? Oh, OK. I guess that was too much to ask for.")
Not a question of "correct" or "not correct"...you, together with everybody else with a superficial understanding of French history and French context like to make fun of that of which you nothing, unthinkingly relying on unexamined received ideas. You impose an American lens for judging another country thinking that the French are frankly ridiculous, temperamental, excitable, maybe "artistique" but certainly not reliable allies à la Germany or Great Britain. Mind you, the French do exactly the same thing when making sententious pronouncements about the culture and politics of the USA. I'm an American (born in NY and raised in Philadelphia) but have lived in France and studied its history for more than thirty years. There is much to criticize, but your casual characterizations are more annoying than trenchant parody.
I sort of agree with this, but I know I'm not the target audience. What you describe is the stereotype Americans have of the French (along with the "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" thing which probably comes from World War 2), so Jeff is playing with a stereotype his audience will recognize and find funny even if you or I don't find it accurate.
As a Quebecer, what's more annoying is that when Americans try to understand what we are, they mix their "French" *and* "Canadian" stereotypes. "Oh, so you're incredibly huffy and arrogant *and* you say sorry all the time?"
In response to Mr. Adderholdt, do you think the US is "a reliable NATO ally"? In response to Monsieur Ethier, I sympathize with the plight of Les Quebecois...they get it from both sides...from the Americans who think they are "French" and from the French who know they are not and find l'accent quebecois hilarious (but would never make impolite jokes about it).
The French find our accent funny, but they've learned to appreciate our contribution to francophone culture, so they typically don't have an issue with it. It's anglophone Canadians who (not always, but sometimes) claim that we "don't even speak real French" and that the French supposedly can't understand us. As a means of dismissing our cultural identity (and this, of course, is also grounded in Canadians' cultural insecurities).
One thing that is apparently true, and that I've seen first-hand, is that the French can sometimes be fussy about what is "correct" and "incorrect" French. In contrast to Americans who pride themselves on English having borrowed words from every other language on Earth. But the reason why the French are like this is that until recently, French was not the native language of most people in France, but the language of the Republic that was learned in school. So in order to "become" French, you learn to use "correct" French as essentially a second language.
I think changing one's mind is easy and you will never convince me otherwise
Hey Jeff, Lena Horn died in 2010
AT AGE 92! She waited as long as she could for you to have a podcast but you took your sweet ass time.....
I was walking through a Waikiki hotel lobby in 1964, and saw Ethel Waters sitting on a couch, probably waiting to be picked up for a ride to the airport. Ethel was wearing a fur stole, which I thought was a bit peculiar, given the tropical climate. Anyway, Ethel was a force way back when, and it was nice to hear her sing.
I truly do not understand what is salutory about even the "actual" part of that Keynes quote.
A more consistent statement would be either "When I learn of something previously concealed by my ignorance, I change my mind." (Which is wisdom, but hardly pithy,) or, "When the facts change, I abandon empiricism as a valid epistemological basis."
Given that the shelf life of the new French Prime Minister was that of a potato, they could have just made a potato Prime Minister instead: https://peppapigworld.co.uk/pages/mr-potato
(In about two years, Jeff, you will either thank me for introducing your kid to Peppa Pig or curse my pseudonymous ass up and down the Eastern Seaboard. I happen to think the realism of the parents' reactions makes the show)
On social pressure to never change your mind, the '70s and '80s were rife with culture that told us *not* to just "go with the flow", which was itself reiterating culture from the '50s and '60s with that same message (The Twilight Zone being the most long-lasting, I'd say; try to find the episode from the remake in the '80s about shunning, it still gets me even today). All of that culture was thrown in the trash by the Social Media Left (not just Twitter, but places like Tumblr), and it has been an all-around shitshow ever since. Craigslist was another nail in the coffin, since it was what exposed *all* news to the profit motive (remember the "Chinese Wall" the press had between ad revenue and reporting? Now that its subscription based, that's *long* gone. Oh, and thanks, Investopedia for lecturing me on "Chinese Wall": https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/chinesewall.asp So glad you don't have anything better to do like tell me where I can park my money now that Trump has given us the finances of a "shithole country")
You know, pre-Election Day 2016 Code Switch was actually interesting. Gene Demby did a piece about the bombing of MOVE in Philadelphia in 1985 (the neighbors hated MOVE, didn't want anyone firebombed): https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/05/13/406243272/im-from-philly-30-years-later-im-still-trying-to-make-sense-of-the-move-bombing Another piece was just before the election, about Apu and Indian accents where they simply asked two comedians from India what they thought (they didn't think it was authentic, but weren't bothered much at all): https://www.npr.org/transcripts/492073698 All this went down the toilet when #Resistance was called to the battlements. BTW, I think Season 1 of The Simpsons *did* treat Apu as a caricature (when it was basically "Roseanne, but animated"; Homer sounded like Walter Matthau to my ear); some reporting claims that Hank Azaria said they asked if he could do an Indian accent as offensively as possible, and those first episodes are a little nasty about Apu. But by the time Hari K got Apu removed he was as humanized as any Simpson's character.
Speaking of nuclear power and The Simpsons, I wonder if they'll apologize for the three-eyed fish like the way South Park apologized to Al Gore for pooh-poohing global warming. At this point it might not matter ("You mean they still make episodes of The Simpsons? New ones? Good ones? Oh, OK. I guess that was too much to ask for.")
Jeff...with all due respect, your understanding (to put it charitably) of French politics, is not correct and not even funny.
Which part is not correct?
Not a question of "correct" or "not correct"...you, together with everybody else with a superficial understanding of French history and French context like to make fun of that of which you nothing, unthinkingly relying on unexamined received ideas. You impose an American lens for judging another country thinking that the French are frankly ridiculous, temperamental, excitable, maybe "artistique" but certainly not reliable allies à la Germany or Great Britain. Mind you, the French do exactly the same thing when making sententious pronouncements about the culture and politics of the USA. I'm an American (born in NY and raised in Philadelphia) but have lived in France and studied its history for more than thirty years. There is much to criticize, but your casual characterizations are more annoying than trenchant parody.
I sort of agree with this, but I know I'm not the target audience. What you describe is the stereotype Americans have of the French (along with the "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" thing which probably comes from World War 2), so Jeff is playing with a stereotype his audience will recognize and find funny even if you or I don't find it accurate.
As a Quebecer, what's more annoying is that when Americans try to understand what we are, they mix their "French" *and* "Canadian" stereotypes. "Oh, so you're incredibly huffy and arrogant *and* you say sorry all the time?"
You think that Americans consider modern Germany a reliable NATO ally?
In response to Mr. Adderholdt, do you think the US is "a reliable NATO ally"? In response to Monsieur Ethier, I sympathize with the plight of Les Quebecois...they get it from both sides...from the Americans who think they are "French" and from the French who know they are not and find l'accent quebecois hilarious (but would never make impolite jokes about it).
The French find our accent funny, but they've learned to appreciate our contribution to francophone culture, so they typically don't have an issue with it. It's anglophone Canadians who (not always, but sometimes) claim that we "don't even speak real French" and that the French supposedly can't understand us. As a means of dismissing our cultural identity (and this, of course, is also grounded in Canadians' cultural insecurities).
One thing that is apparently true, and that I've seen first-hand, is that the French can sometimes be fussy about what is "correct" and "incorrect" French. In contrast to Americans who pride themselves on English having borrowed words from every other language on Earth. But the reason why the French are like this is that until recently, French was not the native language of most people in France, but the language of the Republic that was learned in school. So in order to "become" French, you learn to use "correct" French as essentially a second language.
Comme disait le Général, "Vivre le Quebec libre !!" (within limits of course and always subject to the interests of Marianne).
Is the John Ganz retrospective (he basically says 1930s France reactionaries rhyme with MAGA, historically) more accurate?
No