Chiseled Bits: Lessons & Things
Brain shavings for a new tomorrow
Greetings and salutations, fellow travelers - what’s good with you? I was just wondering if anyone was interested in hearing some random thoughts, from an occasionally randomized mind?
If so, you have come to the right place.
This, of course, means I have decided to drop a fresh Chiseled Bits this week. I’ve got some things going as we head into the holiday weekend, things which I need to address. As such, it seems like a good time to lay one of these on you, especially since it has been a little over two months since I have done so.
So let us cast aside the frills, and get right to it…
Sunshiny Ugh
I know we are supposed to embrace the sun as the life-giving force that it is, and I really really want to, but… well, I seriously HATE it when it is too bright. For example, Sunday it seemed as if a nuclear reactor was exploding right outside my front door, and it just put me in a foul mood. It’s always been this way too, and - despite what I know about the vitality of our solar disk - when it is beating down like a boxer brutalizing his tiny opponent, it drains the life out of me.
Honestly, I prefer cloudy days, and tend to get my best work done when it is dark. Does this mean my circadian rhythms are wonky? Am I an unnatural member of the human species? Or am I just a nocturnal beast at heart?
Whatever the case, as we are in the midst of a thunderstorm warning as I write this (on Monday night, thank goodness for weather radio), the gloom outside has me feeling pretty chipper. I’ll take it for now, and leave the self-examinations for when I’m really bored…
All Glory To Bacon
Thursday night I dropped a Web-Only Post which people really seemed to enjoy. In case you missed it, here you go!
We’re celebrating Bacon here, so perhaps you will like it as well…
Remodeling My Time
One of the items on the agenda for the coming week is to shift how I spend my time online, especially with social platforms… and yes, that includes Notes. I hate to say it, folks, but it has become as bad as X these days, and in some ways worse. As such, I have been altering how I approach the platform, and am finally doing something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time: Work directly from email and The Stone Age… not the app.
I’m also seriously cutting back my involvement on other platforms, especially X, so that I have more time to focus on comments and restacks here (I have been negligent in that regard). I discussed a recent experience on the X-thingie in the latest drop of Written In Stone, the weekly newsletter for paid Members, and said-experience pretty much turned me off on using the platform.
Speaking of Written In Stone… if you’re not a paid Member, please consider joining me as one. The annual rate is $30, and you get a year’s worth of entertainment and enlightenment (and fun - we have fun, too) for the price. Right now I am offering a seven-day free trial, so it’s the perfect time to give it a go…
Norm!
In honor of George Wendt - who passed away today at the age of 76 - I offer one of my favorite scenes from ‘Cheers’…
Rest in peace, good sir, and thanks for the laughs…
Grocery Fun
I wish Piggly-Wiggly was a national grocery chain. It is not because I am enamored with the stores, or anything like that; in fact, I’ve actually never been in one. No, the real reason is… well, I just like saying the words “piggly-wiggly”.
Go ahead - say it out loud, and tell me it doesn’t bring a smile to your heart. If it did, you’re welcome…
Bye-Bye Gary
The BBC has ‘let go of’ sports-commentator (and arch Globalist) Gary Lineker for what is being referred to as a ‘disgusting antisemitic’ post on Instagram. His no-good terrible crime? He posted a rat emoji in response to a pro-Palestine video.
As I do not live in the UK, I care to the sum of zero what the BBC does with its talent. With that noted, from everything I can gather Lineker IS an offensively vocal scumbag, so - due to the UK's speech laws being as restrictive as they have become - I am not surprised by his departure.
But I cannot wrap my mind around this: The act which finally brought him down was posting a rat emoji. Of all the offensive things he has said over the years - and there have been a lot of things - this was the final straw? A rat?
[Don’t let our favorite rodent know.]
I guess Lineker finally overstepped his oversteps, and crossed the wrong ‘cabal.’ While there is a lesson to be learned here, the guy has been around 26 years - he really should have known better.
But still, an emoji cost him his career. A silly rat emoji. Unreal…
A Correction
In last week’s post about the selection of an American pope, I inadvertently left out the “Notes” section at the end of the drop. I corrected it in the web-post, but unfortunately what I sent out did not have it. Therefore, I failed to credit Nina Khosla for her editorial efforts on that piece.
As such, I am mentioning her here; gotta give credit where it’s due, and she does great work. By the way, if you are looking for an editor or proofreader, I strongly recommend her…
And Finally…
From December 6, 2021; never forget what they tried to do to us…
… no matter WHAT ‘do-overs’ they have insufferably requested.
Never, ever forget.
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Articles Sourced In This Edition
Previous drops for context…
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Notes
-- Special thanks to Nina Khosla, for her editing expertise.
-- Unless otherwise credited, all images were generated by the author via NightCafe, Grok 3 [X], or Substack’s AI Image Tool, with digital alterations when desired or needed.
-- Any memes created by the author will have a “The Stone Age” watermark attached; all other memes were snatched from various sources on the Internet.
Mr. Bryson I presume. Glad to see your publication has grown since its inception. Keep up the great work!
I haven't been inside a Piggly Wiggly since I was a child but I do believe that very same one is still there. I haven't actually seen one in a long time.