Blergh

One thing occurred to me re Laura and the wheelchair: even though Nellie had been cruel to Bunny and deceptive to Laura (and everyone else) via faking paralysis, Laura DID literally put Nellie's actual mobility if not her life at risk via shoving her down that hill in that breakaway wheelchair- yet at NO point did Laura ever show the slightest contrition for having risked Nellie's literal limbs and life that way! Even when retelling the tale over Christmas NO ONE calls Laura on having done that to Nellie not even Caroline 'We don't HATE anyone' Ingalls! Yeah, awful to fess hating someone but shoving someone down a hill in a wheelchair is fine and dandy!

Yep, and her crush on 'Mike' wasn't solely due to the script. Miss Stewart and Tim Considine were starting their bond which would wind up with them getting married, divorced . ..then airing out their misunderstandings and eventually becoming platonic friends (along with his 2nd wife). Miss Stewart was upset over his unexpected death (which she said happened after a fall at his home)!

If it weren't for his ONE saving grace of having had a bond with his late dog, Bosworth would be more like the Warren Ferguson (Barney's replacement who NOBODY in Mayberry liked- not even Andy). At least Barney Fife had some likability. .

Thank you for your thoughts on this. I'm not sure what the whole thought process was re this edict. However, THE most important thing for our hospital is patient care and making sure that it's the best care possible. Alas, this does require a good amount of $$$ for medicine, research, equipment,etc. and I imagine that the hospital's PTB were worried that if the fed funds got abruptly cut off, this could cripple the patients ( figuratively and possibly literally) . THAT is the bottom line. Legal suits might possibly result in a court ruling in health care providers' favor. ..or said suits could boomerang resulting in no fed funds AND being more in the hole re legal fees. In any case, I can imagine that this possibility has been at least discussed but I have no idea if it got shot down in administration. ..or the option may yet happen but they're not showing all their cards just yet. Regardless, it's despicable that health care itself has been needlessly targeted (and I agree that it's horrible that ANY qualified, competent and vital employee of any position would get axed just to appease #45 and MAGA)!

Since I mentioned Emperor Franz-Josef of Austria-Hungary (1830-1916), in another thread, I thought I might as bring up one of the most impressive structures in Vienna inspired by the Emperor's survival- the Votive Church! Back in 1853, the 22-year-old Emperor liked to take strolls around the City of Vienna where he'd often meet and greet everyday folk. Anyway, during one particular stroll, a would-be assassin attempted to do him in by trying to stab him in the neck. Luckily his usual uniform had a very thick collar which deflected a good part of the blow but he did suffer a deep wound that would need tending. The Emperor knighted one of the two men who helped save him from the assassin on the spot and promoted the other to a higher rank of nobility. He even went so far as to give the executed would-be assassin's mother a small pension! But that wasn't the end of this incident. His younger brother, the Archduke Maximilian (1832-ex.1867) felt rather shaken that his elder brother had an attempt on his life and was grateful he had survived. Hence, Maximilian started a campaign to build a church right on the very spot where this attempt had taken place - the Votive Church. The Emperor himself would lay the cornerstone for the foundation [made of stone from Jerusalem's Mount of Olives] the next year. And it wound up being completed in 1879 in time for the Silver Anniversary of Emperor Franz-Josef and Empress 'Sisi'. The sad irony is that Maximilian himself never got to see it completed for he had been executed a dozen years earlier after he had been Emperor of Mexico from 1864-1867. Poignantly, one of the chapels within the grand Votive Church was dedicated to Maximilian's memory -a Shrine to the Virgin of Guadalupe (Mexico's own patron saint)! IOW, the church that was originally built to give thanks for the sparing of one emperor's life spurred by the efforts of his younger brother wound up also being a memorial to that younger brother who himself would become a slain emperor! Yes, it's quite a beautiful and moving building well worth visiting if one ever ventures to Vienna!

All that fuss over a box of cans dumped out of an airplane and him racing through the streets as though a NAZI invasion was imminent! Someone needs to tell Bosworth that there's a reason why the Boy Who Cried Wolf has been passed down for centuries (at least)- and to consider what happens the credibility of those who get hysterical over the tiniest things!

Well, we employees got just a message from the CEO of my Southeast US hospital and boiled down to essentials due to Executive Orders, our hospital has been told to discontinue to have Diversity, Equity and Inclusion if it wants to keep receiving federal funds- although the CEO DID stress that we still welcome will our patients and each other. Yep, if I'm reading this correctly, it seems that despite our hospital running like a well-oiled machine having done its best to seek out the best, most qualified and most competent to take care of our patients- regardless of pigmentation,ethnicity or skin shape, now we're being told to stop that! Does this mean that there will be no new hires of folks who aren't WASP males regardless of their qualifications, record or competence and what about the administrators, medical directors, doctors, researchers, managers,etc. who already work here who don't fit this myopic criteria? We have folks from virtually every background imaginable working together and things are doing well for our patients as a result! We've also been told that support from NIH [National Institute of Health] grants is being reduced. OK, I just hope everyone who will have need to go to hospitals or clinics for treatments or checkups will somehow be okay despite the extra hoops the hospital and clinic staffs are now going to have to jump through that do absolutely NOTHING to improve health care or treatment. I wish I could say I was surprised and I'm trying not to stress out (and doing all I can to support and encourage my fellow employees) but I'm downright APPALLED that folks' livelihood are being put in limbo- to say nothing of patient care!

IMO, it would have worked better had let's say the late father's relatives deemed the mother unfit due to her illness and blindness and the courts agreed THEN the paternal relatives dumped her in an orphanage because they didn't want to be bothered with her. .then(with no other information) the girl grew up thinking that ALL of them had dumped her there.

As much as I'm sorry to see Carmody go, I can't say I'm entirely surprised since it wound up James had virtually nothing to do this episode besides try to operate on a ferret and put together a play pen! However, I think that since Siegfried told Carmody that 'there'd always be a place' for him at Skeldale House, I wouldn't be surprised of Carmody made an appearance for a Christmas holiday [no spoilers please]! Somewhat sad that it seems that his own parents just dumped him in a boarding school as a young boy and never looked back so he essential HAD no place besides Skeldale where he'd feel at home much less welcomed! Interesting that Persian scholar who Siegfried seems enthralled with.I'm not sure she'll do more than have a vague flirtation with him since she not only seemed to reclaim her original surname (and go by 'Miss. ..') after her husband's early death in the Great War but she even said she barely remembered him. This was somewhat rare but not unknown for widows to do- especially if there had been no children.

OK, but what a horrible mess for every single person and their families involved. First of all the Crown Prince Rudolf (1858-1889) had been married to the former Princess Stephanie of Belgium (1864-1945) but after the birth of their daughter the Archduchess Elisabeth (1883-1963), he not only badly neglected her but was so blatantly adulterous that he wound up giving her a venereal disease that made her unable to bear any more children after Elisabeth. Oh, yes, poor Stephanie had named her daughter after her mother-in-law 'Sisi' in the vain hope that this would impress her mother-in-law but Sisi shared her son's disdain for Stephanie believing her to be too plain[tagging Stephanie 'the hideous dromedary'] - despite herself having dealt with a difficult mother-in-law. Anyway, Rudolf himself had had at best a rocky bond with both his parents and he suffered from intense mood swings and depression- none of which was helped by his morphine addiction. He even tried to persuade his regular mistress one Mizzi Kaspar to join him in a joint suicide pact but Fraulein Kaspar refused and tried to alert the authorities but they blew her off. He evidently express suicidal ideations to Stephanie herself who tried to plea with the Emperor but he also didn't her seriously. Rudolf found a more pliable participant in the 17-year-old Baroness Mary Vetsera who had had an unhappy family life and seemed enthralled with the Crown Prince [despite him being married and there no chance of a divorce]! Anyway, January 30,1889 after a family dinner with himself, Stephanie and his parents the Emperor Franz-Josef making a rare joint appearance with his adored but estranged wife Empress 'Sisi', he excused himself then retreated to the hunting lodge with Baroness Vetsera . .after which both which both died suddenly and violently. In a grotesque footnote, when one of his aides broke down the locked room where their remains were found, they tried to alert the Emperor straight away. However, the aides were told that news concerning his son and heir could only be conveyed to him by the Empress herself so it wound up that they had to tell one HER ladies-in-waiting so SHE could tell the Empress to tell the Emperor! Despite the young Baroness Vetsera's written wish to be buried with Rudolf, instead her remains where deposited and buried far away [and hidden away in a series of adventures for over a century] and it wound up that by the time anyone examined her remains, so much time had elapsed that they were skeletal and it couldn't be determined whether she had been shot or whether Rudolf had had the only bullet. As for Rudolf, the Emperor wanted him buried in the Imperial Crypt but knew that a murder-suicide would have been barred from consecrated ground so the Emperor pressed the case that it was a 'mental breakdown' that had caused that horrific double death! Poor Sisi who had both doted on him but frequently distanced herself from him, felt horrible guilt and would only wear black the rest of her life. One of her daughters was afraid that Sisi herself would take her own life but Rudolf's mother survived until her own assassination nine years later. As for Stephanie, about a decade later she would remarry someone whom both her own father and daughter considered to be too low rank for an Austrian crown princess dowager and she wound up estranged from her daughter. Yet, somehow she DID have a much happier 2nd marriage than her first had been. As for the Archduchess Elisabeth? Due to that annoying Salic Law that the Hapsburgs had been tethered by that forbade a woman or even a male heir of a female line from inheriting the throne, she was ineligible for the Imperial throne. Instead her well-meaning grandfather wanting her to have security, would have a marriage arranged by her paternal grandfather that had a wobbly start mainly due to the fact that her new husband had already been engaged to someone else but His Imperial Majesty had ordered his potential grandson-in-law to break that engagement and marry Elisabeth. They would have four children before a lengthy separation before Elisabeth was finally able to obtain a divorce then marry her longtime companion. One last footnote to this is that Stephanie had not only been born a Belgian princess but she happened to have been the paternal niece of Princess Charlotte of Belgium (1840-1927) who would go down history as the Empress Carlota of Mexico and after her return from Mexico, Carlota became somewhat unhinged even before her husband Emperor Maximilian's 1867 execution ! Maximilian had been Franz-Josef's younger brother. Carlota would live the rest of her long life well-cared for in a castle in Belgium with her caregivers doing their best to shield the emotionally fragile Carlota from outside upheavals. where her niece/niece-in-law Stephanie visited her shortly after Rudolf's evident suicide. Carlota wound up upsetting poor Stephanie almost immediately with her pointing to the younger woman and proclaiming 'They killed him, TOO!'!

Ok, here's a 1970's kids show I used to catch that I've been thinking about a great deal in recent months: Ark II ( 1976). This was a Filmation live production in which this team of scientists traveled the now-ruined land of what had once evidently been the United States in a solar powered souped up camper van in the year 2476 to try to help the struggling,ignorant surviving populace re-learn how to start to progress again. It was led by the Commander Jonah ( Terry Crews), along with the physician [but no known surnames] Ruth (Jean Marie Hon), the teen Samuel ( Jose Flores) and Adam (Moochie the Chimp[!]) who tried to do good works against incredible odds! Yes, the crew had Biblical names and were multicultural (and even dual species of primates- though it never was explained whether Adam was uniquely intelligent amongst future chimps: remember this was shortly after the original Planet of the Apes movie series had played out). It also never really explained how the three humans had somehow had become educated and technologically advanced. Anyway, Commander Jonah would set up the episodes via narrating the impending mission at the beginning as well as the wrap-up closing [the episode's moral] at the end- and it had some interesting onetime stars such as Jim Backus and Jonathan Harris guesting as 'unenlightened' characters. Alas, only fifteen episodes were made and even then it was tough to imagine how their intended mission was going to work out! Still, it might be worth catching if one wants to consider how to hold onto and pass on knowledge in challenging times!

I miss the credits and even the closing themes of old shows that now get spliced and diced to being zoomed together in a big rush over the closing scenes, if shown at all!

OK, I've been thinking about this for some time but I think this needs to be said. For those who have loved ones struggling with addiction genuinely trying to get clean and seek help, I apologize in advance if the following upsets you. However, I have to say that I do not consider President Biden's surviving son Hunter to have been a pure victim or a total scapegoat of #45 and his minions. From his onetime wife's account as well as his dubious interactions with his brother's bereft widow,etc., it appears to me that Hunter Biden had been using his status as a survivor of the tragic car crash that took the lives of his mother and sister as a means to tug on his father's heartstrings to manipulate his father. While overall, I have supported President Biden's policies and believe that he DID do a great deal of good despite unwarranted criticism and flak in very trying circumstances, I think he truly has had a blind spot re his son in never wanting to see him as anything but that little boy who survived that horrific crash and as such treated Hunter as though he could do no wrong. Alas, as most folks who are treated that way (as I've seen re extended family and others), it appears that Hunter used that as a license to DO wrong not just to his bereaved father but his wife, bereaved sister-in-law and many others down the decades. Oh, and even when knowing that #45 and his minions were watching him like buzzards, he STILL kept doing foolish and selfish things (e.g. evidently trying to smuggle cocaine into Camp David of all places) COUNTING on his father to bail him out! IMO, he was guilty as charged and deserved the initial sentence - and that's putting aside what he seemed to put every single one of his loved ones through! However, inasmuch as #45 seemed bound and determined to wound Hunter JUST to crush President Biden somewhat like shooting cannons to swat at a flea, I [reluctantly] understand WHY President Biden pardoned Hunter even though on a strictly legal level, IMO he didn't deserve it. Also, via doing so, this may deflect that focus of #45 and his minions to go after WORTHY folks that President Biden pardoned [up to and including the January 6th Committee who weren't just doing their jobs but were doing their DUTY to our nation and all it stands for- regardless of how others failed to support them to say the least]. Maybe. Alas, even WITH President Biden going the extra hundred miles to spare the [IMO] undeserving Hunter from facing the [IMO] needlessly vindictiveness of #45,etc., I'm not entirely confident that Hunter will use this chance to truly make a fresh, clean start despite his claims to want to do so. Folks can change for the better but only if they truly want to and its foolish to count on them having done so as though they HAVE changed for the better without actual proof via actions regardless of words.

I would agree but, thankfully, he missed the entire Japanese Occupation by two years (which the Singaporeans by and large still recall with angst).

I know! It's not unlike when someone tells me a racist 'joke' then gets upset when I don't 'get' it and coolly let them know that just because I share their pigmentation doesn't mean I automatically share their views about those with differing pigmentation. Thankfully, it hasn't happened to me in some time but still ..

Let's remember that not all South African whites are like Musk nor are all US American whites are like (or like) Trump-regardless of what they'd each want to believe and/or have others believe!

OK, that makes sense! If your father was born before 1935, I'll bet he could remember a LOT of change from childhood on. Thanks for clearing that up and I hope things go well for you all!

Curious, is your family background more Mandarin [northern] than Cantonese [southern]? IIRC, Mandarin is somewhat considered to be 'proper' Chinese while Cantonese is more . .slangy (at least that was my impression from the Chinese community when I was in Singapore)?

I urge everyone to take some deep breaths, say a few [hundred] prayers/affirmations and do one's best to keep calm instead of throwing up one's hands and believing the worst case scenario is happening/has happened. Unbridled panic and paranoia just plays into manipulators' hands! I'm not pretending that there's not reason to be concerned (and one should keep close tabs on one's holdings regardless) but we need to focus on what we know actually has transpired so we can deal with and help others to deal with it rather than presume the worst! I say all the above due to having been a natural worry-wort for a good part of my life but having clear,sober heads is VITAL in times like these when we may be on our own having to deal with setbacks,etc.

Let me say that as a Christian, AFIAC, the ones waging war against us are those who bastardize Scriptures, ignore Gospels (and Commandments) to elevate false prophets while behaving as Pharisees to treat one cruel, false witness bearing, unrepentant, profane individual as someone to venerate if not outrightly worship while being oblivious to those innocents suffering due to being needlessly and unjustly persecuted (all of which flies directly in the faces of what we Christians are supposed to believe)!

Well, the War IS what the vets, their human families, friends, clients- and even their animal patients had to deal with during that time (and none of the above didn't have to contend with things beyond their control that had only transpired due to said War).

One thing that I've never seen discussed is whether the RL Almanzo Wilder considered his very unusual given name to have been a burden to him even considering how it somehow supposedly hearkened back to his family's medieval past. I mean, I had an African-American friend whose sister had been named for an Inuit character in a children's book- and the poor sister wound up having to explain her name origins for the zillionth time at my friend's funeral to a somewhat nosy congregant. Yes, imagine having to explain one's name origins virtually every time one would be introduced, etc. (and why this congregant felt the need to pester that poor sister at the funeral on top of having to deal with her grief,etc., is beyond me). Then again, my own mother has a rather unusual given name that's a family surname but is tricky to spell (even though it's easy to pronounce). FWIW, Mr. Wilder's middle name was James so I suppose he could have opted to ask others outside his immediate family to have called him that had he wanted.

And being willfully ignorant does require quite a bit of effort to keep the blinders on to maintain one's delusions that one feels is a comfort to them despite how counterproductive they may be!

I'm not sure Her Late Majesty sincerely believed her 3rd born child was honest but just wagoncircled. Let's also not forget that the late Mr. Epstein and Miss Maxwell attended his elder daughter's Princess Beatrice's 18th birthday party- and didn't get thrown out on their ears by the Duke of York. BTW, if Princess Beatrice or any other member of the York nuclear family ever called out the Duke for having at the very least allowed these two (who had a record of badly exploiting underage girls) to have attended her party, I've never heard of it.

Yes, in the countryside they could grow produce in victory gardens and have beef, pork, lamb,chicken,etc. 'hit by a car' more readily than in the city. However, such things as sugar,coffee, tea and flour were hard to come by- and often homemakers would have had to have gotten together with their friends and family to pool their rations for such treats as cakes. Many times even wedding cakes were tiny fruitcake deals but they'd camouflage them under painted boxes in traditional wedding cake shapes for the photo shoot- often times they'd take pictures with the gigantic fake cake- then take other pictures of them lifting it to reveal the tiny real cake beneath! Then, too, even wealthy and connected folks like Mrs. Pumphrey would have at least tried to make the appearance of sticking to their fellow citizens' tiny official rations even if they COULD still eat high on the hog (literally and figuratively) since ostentation in times of sacrifice and frugality for the common good was somewhat frowned upon [e.g. even the Royals at Buckingham Palace scrupulously stuck to having baths no more than 5 inches deep with a taped line to show the maximum depth and the bathtub ring belong BELOW it as proof]. I just wish this show would attempt to depict how the characters would have had to have dealt with the realities of rationing and fave foods in short supply if not altogether unavailable. Still, even though rations got rather lean and unpalatable towards the end of the War (and so many commodities were dependent on being imported across hostile seas), British subjects DID fare better than so many other citizens on the Continent as well as in many parts of Africa and Asia during the War where rations were sparse if nonexistent and there was widespread starvation.