http://thenewstalkers.com/wheel Mon, 09 Nov 2026 15:04:59 -0500 http://thenewstalkers.com/wheel/blog/2973/david-and-me http://thenewstalkers.com/wheel/blog/2973
This is me and my grand nephew, David. 
]]> Fri, 05 Sep 2025 17:57:47 -0400 http://thenewstalkers.com/wheel/blog/2972/pretty-men-and-pretty-women-in-myth-and-legend http://thenewstalkers.com/wheel/blog/2972 (link opens in a separate window)
Recently saw an article here about AI. I use AI to help me clarify and define story ideas. Usually I start with some random thing I think of and see where it goes. This is a discussion I had with Meta. 

This starts with a discussion of the idea of the "Man that all women love" trope. It's a standard in certain types of anime but the idea is much older. The first time I encountered it was in the book The Well At The World's End.  Ralph, the hero, is a young, spoiled, rather callow and self centered youth. He's also a man that all women love. I started with a discussion of Ralph. But it proceeded to a discussion Endymion, Narcissus, Echo, and Medusa. It touches on elements of consent, of deprivation of agency and patriarchy, then and now. 

Trying to get a discussion started. Tell me what you think.  ]]> Thu, 04 Sep 2025 12:29:43 -0400 http://thenewstalkers.com/wheel/blog/2970/about-me http://thenewstalkers.com/wheel/blog/2970
I am bugged by slightly obsolete technology in tv shows and movies. For example, the detective is riding in the taxi and tells him, "Pull over at the next phone." He hops out,drops in a dime and makes a call. Cool. It was the times, it was the tech then. Now, I'm watching some show I used to really like 30 years ago in re runs on Hulu. The up to the minute main character, dressed up, hair done, just so jewelry and every accessory on point. She gets a phone call and pulls out...a Blackberry!!!  What the hell? Why not just send smoke signals?!  That seems very silly considering my aversion to even owning a cell phone but there it is. The concept of the separate keyboard didn't stand the test of time. And not really all that much time. 

I've always been interested in figures of speech. Lately I've been noticing people using litotes more. Litotes is not a plural, it's a Greek root. Litotes are a way of faintly expressing a feeling. For example, you went to a movie with your significant other who was 'less than pleased' with the movie. (hated it). That's an example of a litotes. The counter from you, who liked the movie, "I didn't hate it." (Loved it) Another litotes. Here's the thing, people use this figure of speech, some of us a lot. But hardly anyone knows they're doing that. Somehow that both comforts and annoys me at the same time. It comforts me to know that ya'll are doing it without meaning to. It annoys me that you don't understand.  Not entirely unrelated side note: damning with faint praise is a subset of litotes. 

As some of you who've known me for a long time know I like/hate/feel compelled sometimes to write. It's not something I'm proud of but I can't seem to stop. Even though getting paid has involved me in a couple of class action lawsuits, I persevere. Full reveal, in total I've made less than 1200 dollars for a LOT of work. Obviously not doing it for the money. Don't t know why I do it at all, just do.  No danger of quitting my day job. My current WIP is a manga/anime plot. I've got most, nearly all, of my main line plot worked out but I've got some side quests to figure out yet. Anyway, just something else I'll spend hours on and not get paid. At least I have a lot of fun researching. Another figure of speech, metonymy figures prominently in the plot. 

What is metonymy you say? I'm so glad you asked. It's a figure of speech in which an object or place stands in for a person. For example, "The Crown issued a statement today." Yeah, crowns can't talk, but the word crown is being used in place of the king, the queen, a spokesman, whatever. Saying "the House of Mouse" instead of Disney corp is a form of metonymy. Let's just say that it can be used in ways that are ambiguous and misleading, especially if I have anything to say about it! ]]> Wed, 03 Sep 2025 19:19:51 -0400 http://thenewstalkers.com/wheel/blog/2837/dirty-words http://thenewstalkers.com/wheel/blog/2837 Thomas Benjamin, a man with 2 first names and a lot to say, most if it dirty.

Well This Is Shit


In case there was any doubt he will say what he thinks.

I've No More Fucks To Give


 He's not the only one who doesn't give a fuck. Chip Taylor and The New Ukrainians don't either.

Fuck All The Perfect People



So. Here's a chance for you terminally constipated thoroughly benighted and fully fucked up folks to say what you really mean..with music.

]]> Fri, 14 Jun 2024 10:16:08 -0400 http://thenewstalkers.com/wheel/blog/2575/the-media-is-the-message http://thenewstalkers.com/wheel/blog/2575
Media is a funny word, funny concept too. The type of media does influence the message. Not going to get into newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, etc.  This isn't about that kind of media.  I thought we might try something different.  We've done videos with smoking, animation, men's names, cover songs, and cheating songs. (I'm working up a new slant on the cheating songs thing, maybe I'll have it ready for the next time.)  Let's share videos with media in them. Any type of media, phonographs, radios, tape decks, walkmans, etc.  Hell, let's go ahead and throw in print media.  Just like with the smoking thing, anything goes.  We're here to have fun, not nitpick.

Let's start with an old favorite of mine. It's hard to believe that Paramore has been making music for almost 20 years.  I've been a fan since they started.


  Yes. Pictures are media too. Album covers, they're media too.


]]> Wed, 23 Feb 2022 09:08:36 -0500 http://thenewstalkers.com/wheel/blog/2502/smokin http://thenewstalkers.com/wheel/blog/2502
A couple weeks ago I watched an old movie, The War Between Men and Women. The male lead, played by Jack Lemmon, was loosely based on the artist, James Thurber. It was a good movie, bit dated, but one thing really struck me about it.  All the smoking!!  People were smoking everywhere, trains, cars, in public, in buildings, while others were eating, as they were eating,  around children.  I was born in '52 and grew up in this time period.  It was the norm for me, as a kid.  But it's been years since that kind of thing was outlawed and it just gave me a start at how ubiquitous it was back then.
Point is, I thought it might make an interesting thing to see if we played, Music videos with smoking in them. Any kind of smoking, tobacco, pot, hash, smoking tires and smoking engines and smoking guns. You all know me, I don't believe in limiting our entertainment with the hobble of consistency.
Let's start with a classic, french girls smoking in bed. Peter Sarstedt, Where Do You Go To My Lovely:

Black Stone Cherry, Me And Mary Jane

This one is sneaky, I happened to spot one person in the background with a ciggie and cup of coffee at about 1:42 seconds. Ram Jam, Black Betty


You get the idea, let's have fun.  I've been looking around here and you folks definitely need a little fun!
]]> Tue, 14 Sep 2021 08:43:05 -0400 http://thenewstalkers.com/wheel/blog/284/crack-whore-crack-whore-crack-whore http://thenewstalkers.com/wheel/blog/284 Tue, 16 Dec 2014 08:52:00 -0500 http://thenewstalkers.com/wheel/blog/101/lethologica http://thenewstalkers.com/wheel/blog/101 Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:20:34 -0500