Get-Me-Through-the-New-Year Links: Secret Santa Zoom Superspreaders, Moynihan’s Fourth Watch, Bad Political Lying, and Lots of Weird History
Happy New Year, pals! It may be a bit crummy around the edges, but it’s our very own. Without any further ado, here’s a tweet by beloved listener Sandy Balzer, that I’m sure makes sense to somebody: “Only in #fifdom does an Orthodox Jew throw a Secret Santa zoom call that ends up being a super spreader event. Anything is possible in Fifdom. @FifthCommunity @wethefifth.”
Probably!
* Moving on, in a race against Moynihan to see whose Patreon post goes up first (I’m totally gonna win), here is something that you are either just learning about now, or have recently heard reference to: Ol’ Hollywood this week went on The Fourth Watch podcast with host Steve Krakauer to talk about “diversity of thought and geographic bias, what the media gets wrong about Trump supporters, COVID fear porn, echo chambers of stupidity, the conspiracy of the powerful, consequences and protections of some in the media, how to fight back against cancel culture, jealousy of the media class, road-tripping across Texas, how ‘The Fifth Column’ got started, fighting back against the uptight snowflakes on both sides of the aisle, and more.” Listen up!
* Me & Moyney were talking about the late Joan Didion on SD #98. Here’s me & (mostly) Nancy R. talking about Didion, Nancy writing about her, that “Trouble in Lakewood” piece Didion wrote in 1993 about my (and Leslynka’s!) high school, the great Lakewoodite D.J. Waldie’s perhaps uncharitable remembrance, and…why not, here’s me interviewing Waldie 10 years ago.
* I wrote (and read) a lot this week, about topics discussed on the pod, please clap! (Or at least click.) In order: “RIP, 'Pandemic of the Unvaccinated,'” “Fauci Wants To Kick the Unvaxxed Off of Airplanes,” and “Joe Biden Would Be a Better President if He Stopped Saying Things That Aren't True.”
* On the last episode (#340), we babbled at the end about wanting to hear about more weird/wonderful/terrible/lesser-known bits in history. Thus beginneth a Twitter flood; hopefully I’m catching most of ‘em:
* Pensmore
* The Nisei Soldiers
* March 14, 1891 New Orleans Lynchings
* The Greenbrier Ghost
* The Toledo War
* The Red Summer of 1919
* The never-surrendering Seminole
* The bender that began America
* The Wilmington insurrection of 1898
* The Dorr Rebellion
* The Japanese occupation of Kiska
* The Battle of Athens
* The Narváez expedition
* The Anti-Rent War
What will we do with these? Who knows! Suggestions welcome. In the meantime, enjoy the new epi (curses, Moynihan!), and Happy New Year!