Comments on America and the transactional marriage.

This is a comment I posted in Google+, and also a comment to America, Home of the Transactional Marriage, published in The Atlantic.

about not marrying

Marriage has become quite formalised, and it's wisely avoided by men (I think) simply to avoid divorces. If the coupling is amicable, then open marriages allow shared custody of children, and without the possibility of one of the parties adversely affecting the finances of the other through divorce proceedings. There's still alimony.

wrt family planning

If I recall correctly from the "Living Longer" episode of BBC's "People's Century" documentary, then one of the early XX _c._ proponents of family planning was one Dr. Denmark, whom I saw make her case in a black-and-white recording from the 1920s or 1930s.

If I'm not wrong, then this Dr. Denmark could have been the same lady, who eventually became the world's oldest practicing pediatrician. She died in 2012 at the age of 114 years and 60 days.

Solutions?

I read the article the other night, and the end offered a number of solutions that would offset the stresses that unemployment would place on the cohesion of families. These policies were long ago implemented by Canada. Ditto most of the EU.

Yet the article seems to have been left intentionally open-ended, stopping short of projecting what may happen in the future; because the present is not shiny, and there is no legislative movement to change anything for the better within the next three years and five months. — Not even in terms of marriage, but in terms of couples actually choosing to stay together as a cohesive unit.

(Even if the midterm elections fare well, the results will simply make the situation less worse.)

The article's pointing out the cultural differences is also salient: In the U.S. these are set remain deeply entrenched, and will not change until enough safety nets become implemented, and then given at least a generation to be in force.

There is re|post ruminating about 'Generation X/Y/Z killing this or that industry.'

The comments pointed out, that it's poverty.

Some even, that it's white middle-class poverty. Well, actually, poverty is pervasive, universal, and does not discriminate.

Despite the economic upturn and inspite of who is occupying the Oval Office, the U.S. shockwaves of the Great Recession have since not stopped reverberating into the present, and maybe even the future.

Maybe I'm too harsh here.

These rings in water have slowed down all right, yet the accumulated effects of the many crises in the U.S. are not at all likely to be undone or improved in the near-to-long-term, because many of the necessary safety nets are weak or non-existent. Apparently by design.

The Affordable Care Act (collectively dubbed "The ACA" and "Obamacare") offers some relief. The fact, that it could not be repealed after four times of trying, and that in a Republican-majority Congress, says a lot about the strength and force that the ACA possesses.

Xenomorph points of origin

This is |from| a reply to a comment under one of the more gruesome Alien/xenomorph expanded universe narratives.

As far as I've gathered, David learned of the xenomorph from one of the murals.

My best theory is, that the Engineers had captured a presumably xenomorph specimen in order to study it, and kept the xenomorph in stasis, appearing to the uninitiated as part of the mural.

Thence, if not that the outline of the specimen was in stasis, David seems to have become aware of xenomorphs, and seeks to recreate them from the outset; thinking maybe, that the black goo was extracted _from_ xenomorphs.

Thus it's not wrong for Ridley Scott to say, that 'David created the xenomorph.' It's only, that the wayward synthetic finalised this particular version of the species, per information he could gather from the black goo during his interaction with the Engineer ship and subsequent stay on "Paradise".

It could be a plausible claim, that the black goo that we know, was perhaps developed by the Engineers on LV-223 through the xenomorph specimen kept captured in the mural.

I actually like to think, that the black goo is of a different source, which the Engineers may simply have stumbled on. I think there's a hint to that in "Prometheus".

The conclusion of all this, is, that both the point of origin for the black goo and the xenomorph species should be much earlier than the "Prometheus" and "'Covenant" films would make us believe.

Mina ja muusika

Siin ma veidi avan ennast oma muusikamaitse suhtes.

Muusikat ma armastan.

| Hehee, 26 ja nooremad on Vabariigi lapsed :)

Ise 35, kuid AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, Jon Bon Jovi, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne ning alaline kõrtsibänd Smokie on kõik nagu mingid vanemast ajast pärit bändid. (Mäletab keegi Charismat ka?) — Selliseid nimetati kunagi peene sõnaga rokkansambliteks :-)

Miskipärast läksid just need kõik minust mööda. Või läksin mina neist... Aga ma ei kahetse. Erandiks on Queen.

Guns N' Roses on YouTube'is muuseas väga populaarne, st. vaatamisarvud on kaunis suured iga nende Vevo video all.

Veidi alternatiivset maitset, mida 18+ inimestel veel on:

Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, Chic / Nile Rodgers, David Bowie, Depeche Mode, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, Hole (Courtney Love ja Eric Erlandson), The KLF, Front Line Assembly, Nine Inch Nails / Trent Reznor, The Smashing Pumpkins, Rob Zombie, Skunk Anansie, Garbage, Filter, Edelweiss, Thomas D (Liebesbrief), Semisonic (Closing Time), The Notwist (Chemicals), Mahavok, HU?, Leslie Da Bass, Pedigree, Terminaator, 3Pead, Bon Iver, Greg Holden, Nick Mulvey, Fink, Pendulum, Michael Kiwanuka, Death Cab for Cutie, Kaleo...

Tõsi, nendestki pole lõviosa enam noored ja mitte kõik 100% rokkarid või rokipeerud.

United Federation of Planets and the EU

A reply to a comment in a YouTube thread.

I never wrote, that the Federation was weak by any means, but that Starfleet had many weak points, including the use of legacy hardware. It's okay to use older equipment during peacetime, when there is little to no incentive for accelerated defensive development.

In many of the Dominion battles, a single Cardassian phaser shot easily disabled a Miranda-cass vessel to the point of almost destroying it. The later Cardassian orbital weapons were even more deadly.

Recalling an earlier Federation-Cardassian War, then this was the state of ships between the powers: mostly Galor-class vessels vs. Miranda-class fleet, peppered with Excelsior-class and Constellation-class ships, and maybe an Ambassador-class vessel for stronger flavour.

That conflict ended up in a stalemate, because the Cardassian Union was exhausted, and neither did the Federation think it viable to keep it going like that.

The formation of the Federation was rather based on the idea of peaceful exploration and strength in numbers, which provided the basis for a strong defense.

Offense would have meant an intentional incursion into Klingon or Romulan territory.

The Federation works like the EU, but with a difference, that the Starfleet is as capable as the U.S. military now.

Each U.S. state is not as independent as each EU country, and seceding from the U.S. is almost impossible; whereas each Federation member world does maintain their independence to such an extent, that leaving the Federation is as "easy" as Brexit, with and without the quotes.

Tain and Garak on an Excursion to the Gamma Quadrant

This is a reply to a comment under a DS9 clip from "Improbable Cause".

Tain reveals to Odo and Garak his genocidal grand scheme. This is a warning sign, since Tain doesn't really want anyone to know much about his big beautiful plan, because the premise of the story is, that Tain wanted to off all of his former associates, including Garak.

Garak then expresses displeasure about the entire trip, and makes a correct assessment, that the mission is pointless by calling it an excursion. Garak apparently knows more about the Dominion than Tain.

Yet Tain does not, or chooses not to notice the analysis, dismissing it as Garak's throwing of shade. Another option could be Tain's magnanimity, and the fact, that the Obsidian Order and the Tal'Shiar as so far into the mission by then, that calling it off would discredit Tain.

Tain retorts, that Garak once betrayed him, perhaps asking, why should he spare the life of his former protégé, and so Garak pleads for his life by presenting an argument, that he came to save his mentor from the Romulans. Tain believes Garak for the first time in his life, suggesting, that it was the most honest thing he's ever heard Garak say.

Then Tain offers Garak an impression, that he will have Garak killed if Garak leaves, Odo confirms as much, to which Tain then offers a way out for Garak to work for him.

At the point where Garak looks at Odo, the simple tailor realises, that the Constable's warning was correct, so he makes a decision to side with Tain.

I also think, that Garak somehow gathers, that Odo is still on his side, despite Garak being a Cardassian, a former Obsidian Order operative, and Tain's former and soon-to-be right-hand man. This reverberates later, whereby Garak decides to be the one to interrogate Odo, and later on to go into the interview room to save the Changeling during the Battle of the Omarion Nebula.

I don't know exactly, if Tain changes his mind when Odo warns Garak, or if he wanted Garak by his side from the outset, given, that Garak still lives, and may prove himself a useful asset. Though, later on, Tain tells Garak, that he's missed him, so.

The story and dialogues are well structured, because all of those little actions have small reactions.

Garak's friend "Elim", and Cardassians

This is a reply in a thread to a DS9 YouTube clip

Now, about that daughter of a prominent Cardassian military official that Garak spoke of... here.

Then the follow-up story here,
and the conclusion here (with the 'Sons of Tain' comment here).

Interestingly, Garak places Tain's retirement to a point of time at which Tain, per Garak, could not protect him anymore.

There's a possibility, that Tain was duly informed of the scandal, and chose to retire to avoid being implicated in it, or having fingers suspiciously pointed at him, had he stayed as head of the Obsidian Order.

Effectively, Tain washed his hands off the matter, thereby forcing, or rather, allowing Garak to slip into exile. Dukat's return to Cardassia, and Tain's retirement meant, that Garak was without protection on Cardassia.

My suspicion is, that "Elim" was really that daughter of a prominent Cardassian military official, and she got blown up in the shuttle.

It appears to me from Garak's tales, that at one time, she was a close colleague of Garak, and she found out, that Garak might not have been entirely loyal to Cardassia, of which Tain felt, that Garak betrayed him. We learn in episode "Cardassians", that Garak at one point was boastful of his contacts with the Bajoran underground. Strange, is it not?

Garak most likely released the children, then his colleague (the daughter) discovered that, decided to report it, and Garak had to make sure she didn't.

---

I also have another theory:

This daughter of a prominent Cardassian military official may have been the same woman linked to Dukat, who brought Rugal, the lost-and-much-later-found son of Cardassian exarch Kotan Pa'Dar, to the Bajoran orphanage.

Note, that Pa'Dar was Gul Dukat's rival in Cardassian politics, and Pa'Dar was the one, who decided to end the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor.

Garak may have gathered, that this same woman linked to Dukat was about to expose the scandal around Pa'Dar on her departure from Bajor, so he chose to subdue the scandal by letting the shuttle explode.

Cardassians

Garak did not intend to expose Dukat, because during Dukat's reign over Bajor, Garak's life on the planet probably depended on him not telling about the affair of Dukat's associate bringing Rugal to the orphanage. And other things. Garak knew that about Dukat, and Dukat knew that Garak knew.

Dukat didn't have any need to humiliate Pa'Dar so long as Dukat was reigning over Bajor. What kept Dukat quiet, is, that Garak knew, too.

As the occupation of Bajor ended, the situation changed, and upon his return to Cardassia, Dukat may have intended to save his face by way of exposing Pa'Dar and undermining the politician who ended his occupation of Bajorans, and to simultaneously neutralise Garak's knowledge.

Garak, apparently, had enough foresight to make sure that there wasn't anyone else left to corrobarate Dukat's words.

Blanche in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, and comparable past acts

This is a comment reply in a YouTube video comments thread to Blanche's song "City Lights" (BE).

Blanche's advantage is, that her song in its nature is rather subdued, and so differs from the usual Eurovision fare of bawdy ballads, rappy rap, rocky rock, and flimsy folk.

In 2015, for example, my favourite was Boggie (Czemer Boglarka) from Hungary, but her beautiful and also comparably subdued "Wars for Nothing" was bogged down (if you forgive the pun) by the high-register voice of a background singer, and so the song did not quite make it as well as it should have — reaching No. 20 out of 26 entries in the final. I recall, that the other contenders in the 2015 ESC final were much stronger that year.

In 2009 (Moscow), "Is it True?" by Yohanna was superb and executed to perfection: Despite the high notes in important places (I think one of these is called the bridge), it was mostly moderate in terms of power, not too slow and not too fast. Alas, Yohanna lost out to Belarus-born Alexander Rybak from Norway.

In 2005, the Latvian duo Valters & Kaža charmed me with their poignant "The War is not Over", eventually reaching No. 5 in the final of that year. The duo even "sang" in sign language, which was a lovely stunt. The composition was written by Mārtiņš Freimanis, who died in early 2011...

ESC 2017
Several—if not most—songs are rehashes of previous motifs. With many, it's par for the course, but this time, the Italians are so unconfident about their own song this year, that they had to bring a "gorilla". I pity the poor bloke who has to perform in the animal costume, because these are always really hot inside.

Most others' live performances were weaker; either their song was weak, or was the presentation, and only a few performances are up to any standard.

For example, Switzerland's singstress was very, very professional, but didn't make it to the finals. Lithuania was great, but too eclectic for the peevy televoters and juries. And so it usually boils down to regional voting blocs.

Estonia
The 2011 local "Eesti Laul" competition had this beautiful and innovative "Valss" by Orelipoiss, which most unfortnately lost out to the garish "Rockefeller Street" sung by Getter Jaani. Ugh.

The 2015 "Eesti Laul" had a strong contender in Maia Vahtramäe with "Üle vesihalli taeva". She lost to Elina Born and Stig Rästa, who deservedly got to 6th place at the ESC final.

In 2016, Mick Pedaja and his quiet and serene "Seis" should have won the local "Eesti Laul" competition, but lost out to Jüri Pootsmann, and I was happy with glee, when Pootsmann thereafter got about the very last position at the Eurovision.

In 2017, Daniel Levi should also have won the local competition with "All I Need", but lost to local charmeur and chanceuse couple of Koit Toome and Laura. Much to my chagrin, Daniel Levi's live-action video was poor, too.

I mean, there's such a trove of great music that regretfully never made it to the ESC.