Monday Monday...isn't that a song?

[shadowkat]

1. Well, if I want to fly to Hilton Head in December - it will have to be via Savannah, either that or take dreaded American Airlines and stop over in Charlotte. Do not want. Either way - pay extra. I prefer Jetblue - it's safer and more reliable than American - and I have mileage program with it.
I don't have to do it this minute. I have until October 1.

[I've finally convinced Breaking Bad that taking time off in December isn't an issue any longer. This is after three years. So it will be the first Xmas spent with mother since 2022. And the second since my Dad died. It was either Xmas or her birthday. We chose Xmas. I can't really afford both - time wise. I need to continue to reserve days for doctor's appointments.]

Also, in desperate need of a haircut. Breaking Bad's hair and mine are about the same length. Also almost the same color (except I think his is whiter/grayer as it should be - he's eleven years older than me). We had a discussion about Retirement today - and why we're both terrified to take it. Why? Crazy agency has made the process convoluted and confusing. (Trust me - if there is a way that Crazy Org can make something more confusing and convoluted - it will find it.) There's all these rules, and none of them make sense? It's like a convoluted word puzzle or logic riddle?)

Breaking Bad: the best way to understand it is to set up an appointment with Railroad Retirement out in Central Islip and have them walk you through it face to face..
ME: Can I even get out there?
Breaking Bad: Not easily. But there are trains, you just have to find your way to the office.

Breaking Bad: the way they have this set up - you almost need to bring your attorney and your accountant with you to the meeting.
Me: I've neither.
Breaking Bad: I don't have them either.
ME: I can see why people don't retire - they are afraid to. Stupid organization has made it so confusing - everyone is scare to leave.
Breaking Bad: Exactly.

Breaking Bad and I have kind of bonded over our mutual confusion. Oh well, it's better than trying to bond with Bright Young Thing - which was akin to attempting to bond with a cobra.


***

2. I am forever indebted to Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 3: Carl's Anarchist Cookbook. Why? It provided me with the name of a book and the author of said book - that I've been trying to remember and hunt down for over 20 years. (It's out of print - hence the problem locating it. And it's a lesser known book.)

As a kid, I read and loved a weird Andre Norton sci-fi novel with a cat on the cover. Took me a long time to figure out it was by Andre Norton.
(No, it's not Cats Eye). Andre Norton aka Alice Andre Norton - was a prolific sci-fi writer of the mid-late 20th Century. She wrote hundreds of books, famously the Witch World series. My Aunt, who was a school librarian and a fan of genres such as Westerns, Science Fiction, Fantasy and Romance, introduced me to Andre Norton, Anne McCaffrey, JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Zelphia Keatley Snyder, among others. I discovered science fiction and fantasy in the fifth and sixth grades, and fell in love.

Name of book? Breed to Come by Andre Norton (female writers often used male names in the 1960s, particularly in male centric fields like science fiction.)

I managed to find a cheaper edition? The Iron Breed - People Saga Book 1

"Two best-selling novels of science fiction adventure from the People saga of legendary storyteller Andre Norton together for the first time.

Iron Cage: Johnny has always loved and been protected by the People, the bearlike inhabitants on the planet he calls home. But when a star ship arrives carrying Johnny's original species, humans—humans who seek to exploit the People for their own ends—Johnny is forced to choose between loyalty to the creatures he considers his family, and the need to reconnect with his long lost heritage.

Breed to Come: On a distant future Earth, humans have polluted the planet and departed, leaving their pets behind to inherit a blasted world. But from that devastated past, a new breed of intelligence arises: the catlike People. Now humans return and the People are in no mood to deal once again with the ''demons'' who abandoned them to fate so long ago. "

That's two books for $5.99.

Dungeon Crawler Carl is interesting? It references Louis L'Amour Westerns, and Classic Sci-Fi writers. I will warn folks. The book is sci-fi horror, and gory. It is a biting satire of video game culture, reality games, ogliarchy/authoritarianism. I'm enjoying the heck out of it. But it is not for everyone. It may appeal to the Kurt Vonnegurt/Douglas Adams crowd? I like Vonnegurt better than Adams? And this is more Vonnegurt. Vonnegurt was a lot darker than Adams in his satire.

I'm enjoying the heck out of Carl's Anarchist Cookbook - since it's a satire on the subway systems around the world. It calls the twisted subway system in the dungeon that the game has recreated - the Iron Tangle. And I thought - that's actually a fitting name for NYCT, which I curse most of the time.

I'm listening to them on audio book. Some nitwit on Threads worried that audio books were increasing our literacy crisis. (sigh, it's actually better than it was 20-30 years ago. More people are reading now than they were ten to fifteen years ago? NYC certainly is - they have 100 person book swaps and book parties in various parks now.) So, no, it's not having any affect on the literacy crisis, if there is one, and I find that doubtful.

Threads has a lot of chicken littles whining on it? It's very whiny platform, prone to hyperbole.

3. There's this one annoyingly self-righteous woman on Threads from Denmark who keeps wondering about the US. She's clearly never been to the US, and only knows what she sees in the news media. And worse, she keeps comparing Denmark to the US. Denmark is about the size of Wisconsin? (One of the US's smaller states?) Denmark has 5.28 million people, is a monarchy, with a parliamentary government - it has more in common with Britain? The US is a Republic, with a checks and balances system, with over 380 million people, and Denmark could fit into one of its 50 states. To put this into perspective? NYC has 12 million people and New York is bigger than Denmark.

What a lot of Europeans don't appear to understand is - every State in the US has it's own individual Constitution, and that Constitution for the most part "proceeds" Federal statute and laws. The only thing that proceeds State Constitution is the US Constitution (which is so deliberately vague - that it doesn't for the most part.) Example? The US Supreme Court could rule that the US Constitution does not grant the right to abortion...as part of the protection of privacy, but a State Constitution can remedy that by stating "abortions are legal as a woman's right to choose" under that State's Constitution. The US could send ICE agents to NYC declaring they can wear masks, but NYC can pass an ordinance that it is illegal for any law enforcement agency, Federal or State, to wear masks, and ICE is not exempt. This is different than Germany - who could pass a law that ICE can round up immigrants and wear masks, and that's that. Germany doesn't have individual states. The US is a country with 50 states, 50 state governments, local governments, and a centralized Federal Government with checks and balances spread across three branches, the Executive, the Legislative and the Courts. It's a really hard system to turn into a dictatorship - there's a lot of moving targets and balls in the air. It's easier to turn a European Country into a dictatorship than the United States, because you don't have as many moving parts. I'm not saying it can't be done? Just that as a practical matter - it is really hard to do. Particularly in the information age?

Dane: Americans always think size matters.
ME: Well, geographic and population size does? It's easier to provide universal health care to 5.8 million than 380 million. Also easier to track immigration and tax payers. And, how long does it take to see all of Denmark? The US - it takes years, and even then...

I get the desire to compare the two? But...they aren't really comparable?
Any more than Germany and the US are?

Germany went from being a monarchy to a Republic (lasted less than a year) to authoritarian socialism, back to a Republic. It's actually closer.
But it is smaller. And doesn't have the population density. There are granted similarities, but you need to factor in variables such as size, population density, geographical considerations, etc. I mean the US spans two oceans, and has multiple mountain ranges, multiple deserts, among other things.

Immigration is different. The US also is a country made up of 50 states. Denmark is a just a country - no states. It's one state. You can control immigration and taxes much easier in one small country than in say a country with 50 separate states, who disagree on everything. There's also an assumption abroad that the US doesn't take care of its citizens? That's not exactly true and a huge generalization? It does, but it depends on where you live within it, and what state you are in? All States are not created equal, and have different laws and welfare systems. Some State's have health care (NY has it's own health care system for those who can't afford it), and we do have the affordable health care act, Medicaid, and Medicare. Is it perfect no. But we also have 380 million (plus a bunch of people who aren't counted.).



4. I found out, while discussing the character of Wolverine on Threads, that Hugh Jackman has a long lasting friendship with Rupert Murdoch, and is friends with Trump's daughter and son-in-law. So is Nicole Kidman. They are godparents to Murdoch's kids.

Sigh.

I feel validated for choosing not to see Jackman in concert - something about what I'd seen of his concerts bothered me?

I don't believe he's a bad person. But damn. Murdoch? He also has been very vocal about supporting Murdoch.

Murdoch was yellow journalist in Australia, who began his career with the Tabloids in Australia.

[Note: The discussion was a validating one about Wolverine. Apparently I'm not alone in not wanting the character recast, in the X-men, or involved with Jean Grey. Considering the 200 year age difference and she's 22 and he's well over 100. Also Wolverine is supposed to be messy, unattractive, short, and crazy - more Tom Hardy than Hugh Jackman (who was miscast as the character and ruined the X-men films, and the character as a result). Wolverine went from a favorite to my least favorite - because Marvel over-exposed the character, and how Jackman played him. Wolverine isn't supposed to be charismatic.]

5. Was a lovely day. But alas, my knee was bothering me. So only went to Whole Foods - and picked up, three mousses - two chocolate, and one caramel panetta, gluten free spinach and artichoke ravioli with cashew cheese (it's really hard to avoid vegan when getting gluten free - they go hand in hand), gluten free Beechers World Famous Mac and Cheese.

I rarely go to Whole Foods. But was craving chocolate mousse today. It's pricey, so won't be getting it again. Cost $4.99 per 1 serving of mousse.
See? Pricey.

Comments

[kazzy_cee]

It is hard for Europeans to understand the US. There are so many differences, and the States being set up (almost) like individual countries within the country is hard to grasp. There's also the huge differences in how the legal systems and education systems work. I don't think anyone in the US or Europe can understand the differences either way.

[shadowkat]

Agree. To even begin to wrap your head around any of it - you'd need a background in international law, and international politics and diplomacy.

To understand the intricacies of European system of government and laws - you almost need to have a degree in the history of the country, the political system, and the economics. And possibly reside there? Same is true of the US. The US's system of laws and regulations is so convoluted that you need a law degree to understand it. And the political system? Equally so - you need a political science/policy making background. (Because the devil is in the details so to speak - see our immigrant discussion in a previous post as just one example?)

Even the individual States aren't comparable. Kansas for example is fairly straight forward, it has less regulations, etc. While NY has regulations at the local level, state and federal level. NYC has different regulations and laws than the State, and they conflict. They also have their own agencies - NY State has the Environmental Conservation Agency, while the City has the Environmental Protection Agency, and they don't get along or agree on anything. Add to that the Federal Environmental Protection Agency. And which law governs? Depends on the situation and a tangle of jurisdictional laws and regs.

That's why I think that while it is tempting to compare and analogize US politics/laws and its current situation to say 1930s Germany, it is disingenuous at best? Because there's too many differences that kind of throw the analogy out the window. Same with Denmark compared to the US - it doesn't work. The countries are too different, they don't really have anything in common?

[rebeccmeister]

Okay, I also love the idea of calling a subway system the Iron Tangle! Quite fitting.

[shadowkat]

Isn't it? ;-) He even has the characters try to figure out where all the lines go, and make sense of the numbering system and stations on a map and get confused. LOL!

[iddewes]

Germany does have individual states with their own local seats of government, and some things are nationwide while others are decided by the states.
There are definite differences between the people and cultures of the states as well. Of course in the US you mostly just get Bavarian everything.

[shadowkat]

There are definite differences between the people and cultures of the states as well. Of course in the US you mostly just get Bavarian everything.

What do you mean by "Bavarian" everything?

Because the meaning I found doesn't compute? ""Bavarian" means anything related to Bavaria, the largest state located in southeastern Germany, or its distinct regional culture, people, and language"?

**

Interesting Germany has 16 states, reminds me of Arizona - we have States that have territories or separate states within them. Keep in mind? The US has Native American Reservations. (US has 50, plus Puerto Rico and Guam).

Here's a size comparison -

United States: About 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million square kilometers)

.Germany: About 138,000 square miles (357,000 square kilometers).

US State Comparison: Germany is closest in size to the state of Montana or New Mexico. Montana is slightly larger, while New Mexico is slightly smaller.

We do have districts within each state and counties. So, NY has counties, I'm in Kings County, and each County has it's representatives, and school districts, and courts, etc. That sounds closer to maybe what Germany has?

Still I don't think the two are remotely comparable or analogous? One major difference?

Here's the number of German immigrants to the US as of 2025: 190,000
The number of US Citizens of German descent: German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the United States, which is approximately 12% of the population

Germany has a little over 83 Million. With 21.8 million immigrants.

We're just too different to compare? I see similarities here and there? But I think comparing the two is kind of unfair to both? And it's kind of hard to compare Nazi Germany to Trump US - because they are very different in other ways? Hitler wanted authoritarian socialism, Trump wants authoritarian capitalism. Both going towards fascism, but differently in regards to economics. Also in the 1930s - there was a movement from capitalism and feudalism towards socialism, and now there's a fight between socialism and capitalism on economic grounds. It's very complicated?

Add to all of that? Germany is surrounded by Western Europe, while the US just has Canada and Mexico.

The differences are staggering.

Even though you have states within Germany, it's still not comparable to the states within the US?
Our histories are too different.

[iddewes]

I meant like restaurants etc in the US and even language classes etc it’s all about Bavarian culture. Everyone has heard of Krampus and thinks that’s all over Germany but he’s actually only in Bavaria, (and Austria) the Oktoberfest is Bavarian, my friends are taking German classes in the US and practically everything they are learning about culture wise is Bavarian. But then also here the Bavarians are the loudest. 😉
I know there are a lot of differences between the US and Germany and Trump is certainly going about his dictatorship in a different way, I just wanted to point out that Germany does have states with their own local governments. There are counties here too. We also follow EU law which obviously the US doesn’t have to follow laws set by a group of countries.

[shadowkat]

That's not entirely true in the US? It's just what you see media wise. My mother's father was German. His mother spoke German and barely any English. A good portion of the Upper Midwest - Iowa, Nebraska, the Dakotas, were populated by German farmers. We didn't have any of the Bavarian culture. There are areas in the US that everyone speaks German, and it's not Bavarian. My relatives came from Northern Germany. We're all very tall. We immigrated from Northern Europe. The US has areas where everyone speaks Korean, Bengali, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, French, Cherokee, Navjaho etc. Just in NYC alone - we have that.

I just wanted to point out that Germany does have states with their own local governments. There are counties here too.

Except I don't think it is the same thing?? Think of the States in the US as their own separate countries? With dialects, immigration issues, laws etc? It's kind of like comparing a grape vine with an apple orchard? Germany has states like a grape vine, while the US has states like an orchard has apples? Or a better analogy? The US has states like Europe has countries? The US stands for United States of America, that's the full name, and Europe has the European Union.

We also follow EU law which obviously the US doesn’t have to follow laws set by a group of countries.

Actually a better analogy? Is the US is similar to the European Union. The US has to follow the rules of the centralized Federal Government similar to Germany following the rules of the European Union.
This is a better analogy or comparison than Germany to the US. Particularly if you add all the Native American Nations which are their separate entities.

***

The problem with comparisons is human beings like to turn it into a competition or pissing match?
I'm trying to avoid that with not a lot of success. ;-)

I'm not saying one is better than the other? Just that the two countries are VERY different, as are the cultures and languages. There are similarities, of course, we're all human. But our countries developed differently?

[shadowkat]

I forgot to mention? Language classes in public schools and private in the US are atrocious. French class is mainly Parisian French. German is Bavarian German. Russian is Moscow. Etc.

It's not that different from how English is taught in France, Africa, etc - which is British English and not American English. Which is why folks from other countries struggle when they come to the US and our English is different than what they'd been taught.

The culture they learn in schools tends to be the popular or well known one. It's similar in Europe where the culture and information you get on the US is truncated.

Sigh. Our educational systems continue to fail us, too many evil marketing people in the mix. ;-)

I have no idea how you insert emoticons.

[trepkos]

I used to love Andre Norton. I remember the Tripods trilogy.