Las Leaders

Posted on 27 April 2024 by Larry Russwurm

Los leaders of Los Angeles and Las Vegas have just started to build a high speed train line between the two cities. The bullet train that it could carry, would exceed speeds of 300 km/ h. This would be a first for the entire United States. They hope to have it up and running by the 2028 Olympics which are in Los Angeles.

This new los line is estimated to cost 12 billion dollars. Why do I insist on calling it a las line? I do because it’s the first of its kind in the United States and such projects usually go over budget. I don’t see why this would be an exception.

Las Vegas, especially, might strongly object to my calling it the los line. Especially when its reason for existence is gambling. Potential gamblers might see this as a bad sign for their gambling and might not go there. The big casinos in Vegas might see it as a bad sign for business.

But then again, Las Vegas has always had las in its title and has done just fine for itself. Superstition, because of the name, might be why cool people shorten the name to Vegas. It gets rid of the las.

In California, a high speed rail line had been approved by voters in 2008, linking Los Angeles to San Francisco. But disputes and unforeseen costs have tripled the cost to 105 billion dollars. We’ll see if they actually make this work. If they do, they might call this the saint line. Mainly because the usual taxpayer has to be a saint to end up paying for this.

Since I’m now on the topic of Spanish saints, is it a coincidence that Santa Claus could mean a female Spanish saint with the name Claus? That’s right, Santa Claus may be non binary. Certainly Santa hits most of the notes that would make him a saint. Maybe he’s telling us with his name that he is feminine in ways, too.

You may ask, what about Mrs. Claus? Look if we don’t know Santa’s deal, then how are we to know Mrs. Claus’s deal?

So there you go. I am trying to end more than one fairy tale for you in this post.

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Punch Up

Posted on 20 April 2024 by Larry Russwurm

I keep shaking my head when I hear comedians lamenting the idea of political correctness. They are worried about being cancelled for coming up with a joke that is not politically correct. Note also that political correctness comes from a spot of authority and that these comedians are punching up whenever they lambaste political correctness. So they can punch up if they want to.

Punching down has been done for millennia and is rarely novel or even nice. Punching down is something someone who fancies himself as a wit would do. Not only that but this method of comedy has basically been mined out. Jokes like this are just minor variations on the same old themes. I don’t know why some comedians see this as a now forbidden gold mine for jokes.

So how do these comedians punch up? Political cartoons have been anti authority for many years. Some of it is indeed punching down. But the majority is anti politician, or those who have real power, and is punching up.

Chris Rock does a wonderful job of punching up when he takes on the old “There’s just a few bad apples in policing” line. He basically says we don’t tolerate a few bad apples in piloting airplanes. You can view the original video here. That’s an excellent example of punching up and being funny while doing it. Punching up may have just as much comedy gold as punching down ever did.

Plus you can also try to punch sideways and maybe get some of your peers. Warning, they may try to get you back. That’s the thing about your peers.

And what about comedy where no one is punched. Uranus may be tired of being the butt of all jokes about the solar system, but really, Uranus could care less and will continue to function just the same as always.

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How to Make Yourself Look Sunburned

Posted on 13 April 2024 by Larry Russwurm

I sometimes watch daytime television and sometimes it is interesting. Sometimes it is about things I don’t care about – like makeup tips. So why do I watch this anyway? I like to see the before and after and rate whether the model looks hotter or less so after the makeup transformation. I would like to share one with you that I think does the model a disservice in making her look less hot.

This is a makeup transformation that I’ve just seen recently, and seen worn just recently. I want to advise against it. Perhaps my criticism will be early enough that this doesn’t become a big trend.

This is the so called how to wear blush if you have a round or square face. This is like half the faces out there. The only other ones they mention in the article are heart shaped and long faces.

In a nutshell they say to apply the blush above the apple of the cheek, as the bottom of the C that goes around your eye and the top of the C is on your forehead,

Do you know what else touches these areas of the face? Sunshine from above. From the title of this post, you can guess that I think this looks like a bad sunburn. You would be correct.

Perhaps you would enjoy having the make believe power to very lightly touch a woman’s face and she winces in pain and pulls back from you?

I don’t want this power. And I especially don’t want to kiss a woman on the cheek and have a layer of her cheek stick to my lips because of peeling. I guess I’m just not Jeffrey Dahmer enough for this style of makeup.

Maren Morris just wore this style of makeup to the Kelly Clarkson show, She is married so perhaps it is a bid to keep her husband off of her. “Can’t you see that I’m sunburned and can’t have anyone touching me right now?” I imagine her saying.

I hate this style and hope it dies a swift death, By the way, if some women are really trying to keep their husbands off of them, the only way this could possibly look like more of a sunburn is if the nose had blush on it, too.

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April 2024 Grab Bag o’ Humour

Posted on 6 April 2024 by Larry Russwurm

In many activities, it is common to celebrate with champagne. Sure you can use sparkling wine but most people are a slight bit snobbish and must have the more expensive, brand name champagne. Why is this?

Well I can’t speak for other languages since, alas, I don’t speak another language. But I know in the English speaking world it’s because champagne has champ right in the name.

Despite not speaking a second language, I live in Canada where food labels have French on the other side. So I can say with some confidence that champignon, or mushrooms, are the side dish of champions for the same reason.

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Conservatives all across Canada are howling against increases to the carbon tax, They always call it the carbon tax and never talk about the rebate part. Most Canadians receive a rebate with their taxes, that is worth more than they spend on the carbon tax. Funny how that never makes it into Conservative talking points about the carbon tax.

I think the government should start calling it the carbon tax and rebate. It’s a more complete name. Yes, I do think that conservatives are counting on Canadians to not know there is a rebate part to it. They are counting on our ignorance to score points against the government.

This is kind of like the time a McDonald’s competitor tried having a 1/3 pound hamburger to compete against the McDonald’s ¼ pounder. They priced it the same but most people didn’t go for the deal. They believed a ¼ pound was bigger than a 1/3 pound.

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It is my belief that horses are negative Nellies. I’m sure many people will think differently because they like the look of its mane and tail. Or they love to see horses race, either with a jockey or harness racing.

There are even those undeniably positive attributes. Like petting and grooming a horse and riding it can lead to positive psychological outcomes. It’s been proven that horses help people with their mental well being.

I don’t deny these things. I just think horses are negative Nellies because they are all naysayers.

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Creative Accounting

Posted on 30 March 2024 by Larry Russwurm

It was just said in the news that Donald Trump’s wealth has reached 6.5 billion dollars for the first time ever. This is enough to put him in the top 500 wealthiest people list for the first time. Just don’t expect that figure to stay at 6.5 billion dollars for all circumstances.

For instance, if some socialist put in place a wealth tax in the US, expect that 6.5 billion dollars to inexplicably become 78 cents. If you asked him to transfer all that wealth to you for a dollar, he’d say he can’t because there are too many liens against all that he owns.

If he wanted to take a loan out against all that capital, expect his net worth to suddenly grow. Suddenly he would be worth 15 billion dollars which would receive excellent loan rates.

He wants to be known as one of the wealthiest people in the world. That strokes his ego and also suggests some business acumen. But he had to eat crow when he was ordered to pay a bond above 500 million dollars by the court. Imagine his embarrassment that he could not pay this amount.

Lucky for the Donald, the appeal court changed the amount to 175 million dollars. An amount he says he can pay.

By the way this comes as a merger is completed. An amount that had been disclosed to be worth 22.5 million dollars is now valued at 4 billion dollars. How something can become worth 175 times what it was originally I will leave for you to decide.

Notice how his worth picks up just before he is in a federal election? Suddenly his business acumen looks just fine. That 175 times multiplier looks almost wizardly. Instead of what I choose to call it. I call it creative accounting. After the election, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Donald slipped out of the top 500 richest people. But that might be too late.

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Plunder Wonder

Posted on 16 March 2024 by Larry Russwurm

A trickle of repatriation of artifacts of particular value has already started. That is where the museums of the west and in particular Europe give back artifacts that are known to be from other countries. Because of this we are also learning more about some artifacts.

Before returning a mummy now believed to be Rameses I, there were tests conducted on the artifact. The Atlanta museum that purchased it from a museum from Niagara Falls agreed to return it if the evidence agreed. It did, so Egypt got their Rameses I mummy.

There are many more valuable artifacts to be returned. Egypt wants its Rosetta Stone that was instrumental in translating the ancient hieroglyphs. Famously it has a long passage in Greek and the same passage in Egyptian hieroglyphs. When discovered, this led to the deciphering of a lot of Egypt’s past.

Greece wants its Parthenon Marbles back. These sculptures once stood on Athens’ acropolis and at the Parthenon. There is a deal to exhibit them in Greece. But many Greeks want full ownership. And eventually, I think they are going to get it. And stop calling them the Elgin Marbles, Britain. Elgin wasn’t responsible for any of the creating of these artifacts. Elgin just took them. He didn’t uncover them as they stood for millennia on the famous acropolis.

Which brings about the prime lesson of plundering from others. Just take silver and gold and other hard to claim valuables. Why? So you can melt them down and otherwise make them untraceable. With jewels you can cut them in pieces. Which may not be as valuable as they were originally, but this makes them very hard to trace back and have it repatriated from the injured country.

This is all on you, the west, if you wanted to preserve the culture for the future generations. You must realize by now that you were also preserving it for the future generations of the country that had it taken from. It’s time to give this easily traceable loot back. However I wouldn’t do this all willy-nilly. Make sure the looted country is going to preserve it as well as you would have.

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Things the Religious Might Be a Front For

Posted on 9 March 2024 by Larry Russwurm

Recently it was discovered that a Methodist pastor was dealing meth. Now we can’t all be in the glamourous business of drug dealing, but here are some other things the religious might be a front for.

If you guessed that a yogi might be a gateway religious icon for yoga, you would be very right. The words are very similar for a reason and lends credence(creedence?) to the rest of our examples.

Have you ever thought that Presbyterians were a bit too nosy for their own good? Well, they might be a front for the press of the world. Always searching for that big scoop that will make a big name for themselves.

Many protestant clergymen are known as ministers. This word is also a verb as to minister to the sick. These twisted people might rejoice in giving service. That’s sick, itself, needing more ministering.

Lutherans could be a front for luthiers, you know, those who make and fix stringed instruments. So if you hear a hoedown coming from behind a Lutheran church, you know what is what.

Monks could be a front for Monkees lovers. They do their awesome chanting until no one is within earshot, then break into, “Hey, hey, we’re the Monkees, and people say we monkey around, but we’re too busy singing to put anybody down.”

The priesthood could mean any criminal priest. Maybe he sells meth like his methodist friend. Or perhaps he’s known for other crimes.

Rabbis could be a front for selling rabbits. Do you have a petting zoo? Go see the rabbi for your rabbits and other small, yet cute, mammal needs.

No matter how much you give to nuns, they are giving none away. After all, they are too busy being married to Jesus.

Anglicans may think they are a front for angels. But they are too busy eyeing the angles for their best advantage.

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Manufactured Battle of the Bands

Posted on 2 March 2024 by Larry Russwurm

I don’t know of any big feuds involving any bands at the moment. However that doesn’t mean I can’t manufacture one. So we at Many Rants, would like to introduce The Who- Dire Straits feud to the world.

A long, long time ago, when CDs were new, I noticed something quite striking with my friends and our stereos. If you kept the volume the same and put on any CD, then leaving the settings the same you put on a Who CD, the Who were always louder.

I personally had Who’s Next and Face Dances, but this was also true for the Who’s greatest hits and other studio albums. If you are having a battle of stereos with another person and you both have it on 10 and are about the same volume, put on The Who. It’s the equivalent of turning it up to 11 on your stereo.

So almost every other CD is recorded at the same volume. That is except Dire Straits. Now I’ve only ever had the Brothers in Arms CD by Dire Straits so I can’t vouch for their other albums. But Brothers in Arms is notably quieter than other CDs. So I figure that Dire Straits is the anti-Who.

If anyone has the equivalent albums on vinyl please tell me if The Who is louder and Dire Straits is quieter than other records.

Possibly Dire Straits’ biggest song was Money For Nothing. But the younger of you wouldn’t know this song because even on classic rock stations it’s not played any more. That’s because of three F-slurs in the song. “That little F-slur with the earring and the makeup, yeah buddy that’s his own hair, That little F-slur got his own jet airplane, that little F-slur is a millionaire.”

Pete Townshend, The Who’s guitarist, was known to have gay sex and some may even have called him the F-slur for this very reason. He has come out and said he was once pansexual. I could see Pete at least being offended by the Dire Straits lyrics to this song.

The Who is also known as the loudest rock band in the world. Guinness attests to this brag. Pete Townshend is partially deaf from all this loud music and never wore ear protection back in the day. He also has severe tinnitus from those years of playing rock music too loud.

Now I’ve never attended a Dire Straits concert, but suspect that singer/guitarist Mark Knopfler either keeps the music volume down or wears ear protection like earplugs when he is performing. Or both. After all he might still want to be able to hear his quiet Brothers in Arms album at home.

So, in short, Dire Straits and The Who have reasons to have a feud. Whether they will in actuality remains to be seen.

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Elon Musk Wants to Change the Name of Tesla

Posted on 24 February 2024 by Larry Russwurm

In what would be a surprise move, Elon Musk wishes to change the name of Tesla. He much prefers the name Ground X which would fit in with his stable of companies. This way his trio of companies would be known as Space X, X, and Ground X.

His shareholders may not have a stomach for such a change. Especially considering his change of Twitter to X has come along with a lowering of value of that company. Still, Musk marches to his own drummer and may force the change on his company.

After such a change, Musk may finally have an innocent reason to demand the giving of the xxx domain just for his stable of companies. Pornographers may be taken aback by this for awhile. But through force of character, determination and the exchange of lots of money, the xxx domain will become Musk’s at last.

Of course he will start with his innocent reasons. But he will start delving into pornography, first as a side hustle and as he makes more and more money, as the main thrust of his activities.

I believe Musk wishes to be the king of smut. And as such he would like to be addressed by the phrase, your royal smuttiness. Then finally he would be at the place he wants to be. A place where Prince Andrew would be jealous of his title.

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Summiting Everest

Posted on 17 February 2024 by Larry Russwurm

While driving one day on the plains of Asia, I was surprised to come up to a lineup of people. The finish of the line was over the horizon. They all had large packs with them, so you knew they were prepared.

Puzzled, I asked a man in line what it was that was so important to wait in this obviously long, slow moving line. He said simply, “We’re in line to summit Everest.”

“But we’re on the plains!” I shouted in disbelief.

“If you want to summit Everest, too, get to the back of the line,” he said.

I had more questions. “Are your packs full of food and water?”

“No, they’re full of mountaineering equipment.”

“How do you eat and drink and go to the bathroom?” I asked.

He looked at me as if I was daft. “Sherpas of course. Why, there is the provisions van now. You can see it near the horizon.”

Finally I asked him about the crux of the matter. “Why do you want to summit Everest so badly?”

“Well, a few years ago a speaker came to my town. He had summited Everest and had stories about it and made me want to do it, too.”

“You were inspired by his stories, then?”

“No. I was inspired by the way he was lording it over everyone else, I wanted to join him and do that also.”

Now that I knew his rationale I had something to suggest to him. “Even if you do this, there will be people who can still lord it over you. The seven summits people for instance.”

“You mean climbing the highest peaks on 7 continents? Well this is number 1. I could do the rest after this.”

“Then there are the 2nd highest peaks on 7 continents club, too.”

“Well I’m not ridiculous. Besides I have my own plan. I just may be able to lord it over everyone.”

Unsure of what he was talking about I asked, “I’d like to hear this plan.”

“You’re sure you’re not going to summit Everest?”

“Oh I’m sure.”

“Well let me whisper this in your ear.”

He whispered, “Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain in the world. It’s just that most of it is under water. I need one of those tough round submersibles but mine will have more glass. I’ll submerge to the base of Mauna Kea and roll it like a hamster in their hamster balls, all the way up to the ocean surface. Then I will emerge and climb the rest of the mountain. I’ll be the first and will possibly be knighted. Then I can literally lord it over almost anyone!”

He was done and pulled away from me. “Good plan,” I said.

I got back to my car and said, “I guess all you people are dying to climb Everest so have at it.”

I tried to get past the line in my car but it kept going. Finally I took a right and the line became just a memory.

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