Signs the economy is bad: July 27, 2018 edition

Welcome to another edition of "Signs the Economy is Bad" here at The Itinerant Librarian. This is the semi-regular (as in when I have time and/or feel like doing it) feature where I scour the Internet in search of the oh so subtle hints that the economy is bad. Sure, pundits may say things are getting better, but what do they know? And to show not all is bad, once in a while we look at how good the uber rich have it.


Another week, and another set of signs the economy is bad. This week, the big news is the Pendejo In Chief announced he is getting $12 billion dollars to "help farmers" minimize the impact of the tariffs he imposed and the Chinese retaliated on. Story via BBC. So for, starters, here is a bit of humor on that; actually, this is barely satire basically:

So let's see what else is going on in the bad economy:

• News related to the Pendejo in Chief and the Party of Stupid: 
• Naturally, the suckers casualties are those supporters of the Pendejo In Chief and the Party of Stupid. Story via AlterNet. However, those folks are holding on firm to their man, so sympathy for those people is going to be scarce around here. They are getting what they voted for.
• Well, the trade conflict with Mexico is speeding the process of toppling the U.S. as a top wheat supplier. The Mexicans like much of the world just figure they can get their wheat someplace else. Story via Reuters. 
• As for much of the rest of Latin America, they are seeking closer trade ties. Story via Al Jazeera.  Again, don't get mad. Just work around the assholes trying to impede business and progress.
• Like drinking Coca Cola? The price may be going up thanks to the Pendejo In Chief's tariffs on aluminum and steel according to Coca Cola. Story via UPI. 
• Like lobsters? You may want to consider eating something else if you live outside the  U.S. since the Pendejo In Chief is also working to destroy the lobster industry. If you live  in the U.S., lobster could get cheaper, at least until those fishermen start going out of business. Story via The Boston Globe. A hat tip to Juanita Jean's.
• Some tariffs may be hurting the Chinese. Here is a story of a soybean importer declaring insolvency as a result. Story via UPI. However, the Chinese are patient overall, and let's be honest, they've been around the block a lot longer than the U.S. So odds may be in their favor long term.
• And speaking of China, the tariff wars also mean China may cool down on investing in the U.S. Read why this is a big deal over at The Conversation.
• Having a hard time keeping score in the tariff wars? Here is a handy guide to the disputes, via UPI.
• On the  positive, because you can often find a silver lining someplace if you look hard enough, the U.S. will have a 2.5 billion surplus of meat (and that is on top of the already existing surplus of dairy being turned into a surplus of cheese). Why? Well, thanks to the tariffs war, the U.S. is not able to export as much beef as before. Story via Vox. So, what's the positive? Maybe the prices on things like meat and cheese go down in U.S. grocery stores, and you might be able to finally afford buying steak instead of chuck once in a while. 
• At the end of the day, even the Pendejo In Chief gets at least a small sting out of this. Turns out that Mr. "America First" has his campaign flags made in China, and again, as a result of the tariffs war, those flags and banners are about to get more expensive. Story via The Guardian. 
• Fuck, the Pendejo In Chief is so hooked on China that even when he holds a celebration of American made products at the White House he still features spoons made in China for the snacks. Story via Inc.
• Layoffs this week: 
•  Mattel is laying off 2,200 workers. Story via UPI.
• The New York Daily News is laying people off too. Story via Lexington Herald Leader.
• In airline fuckery news, American Airlines offers some good news, but it depends on what you define as "good news."  Story via Inc. I am still avoiding flights.
• In other signs the economy is bad: 
• Walmart is trying yet another way to pay workers less, or rather have even less workers than they do now, by testing self-driving cars for grocery pick up service. Story via NPR.
• Teen summer jobs are not what  they used to be. Story via NPR. 
• The white middle class in the U.S. is sliding down in social and economic mobility. Story via AlterNet. Gee, I wonder why. It is so bad, even Connecticut, a state often seen as "America's country club" is having issues. Story via Center for Public Integrity.
• In California, Facebook can no longer offer a subsidized cafeteria to their workers. Why? Because local government worries those workers will not eat lunch at local eateries, and it turns out those local eateries have a lobby, so they lobbied to get the city to make Facebook discontinue the service in the hopes of forcing those workers to eat  in town. I think they need to learn to brown bag it . Story via The San Francisco Chronicle.
• Did you know that, on average, LGBT students carry $16K more in debt than straight students? Story via The Advocate.
• Millennials, whatever that is these days, are mostly delusional. 53% of them expect to be millionaires (this is where you laugh). However, they are a generation that saves less, earns less, and overall has more debt. Story via Big Think.
• Thinking about becoming  a  trucker so you can  get paid  and see the open road? Not so far. Turns out they are overtired, overworked, and seriously underpaid. Story via The Conversation.  By the way, more reason to give truckers plenty of space and distance on the highway. 
• Having a baby in the U.S. is costly, expensive, and confusing. Story via The Conversation. You may want to seriously consider being born someplace more civilized.
• Now, there have been some small news that some parts of the economy are good. Don't believe the hype. The reality is that the bottom half of people are the ones actually making the economy stay alive, and they are mostly doing it with debt and credit. Story via Reuters.
•  So, who is doing well in the bad economy? The defense and war industries are: 
• BAE won a $78 million contract for F-35 software. Story via UPI.
• And Raytheon got a $64.4 million contract for missiles. Story via UPI. 
• In the bad economy, sometimes you have to really hustle and get creative, like this guy who makes memes to help pay his student loans. Story via VICE. 
• Also big this  week, a stupid story about some economist at Forbes making shit out of his ass about how libraries should be closed to save tax money.  The pushback was so bad that Forbes was shamed, and they deleted the article and made a half ass not really an apology. However, you can read about the whole soap opera via Big Think here, and you can see a good sample reply here via Vox.

 Finally, for this week, I am trying out a new feature: "Great Debates of Our Time."

 Today's question is: are milks like soy milk and almond milk really "milk"? Read about it via the Food Politics blog.

Booknote: Big Nate: Revenge of the Cream Puffs

Lincoln Peirce, Big Nate: Revenge of the Cream Puffs. Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2016.  ISBN: 978-1-4494-6228-4.

Genre: comics and graphic novels
Subgenre: humor, children/YA
Format: paperback
Source: Berea branch of the Madison County (KY) Public Library

This is a collection of Big Nate comics. The main storyline in the collection is about Nate and his baseball team, known by the embarrassing name of Cream Puffs. When the big game comes, they lose their star pitcher. Their hopes now lie in their most unlikely player. In addition, the book features other stories such as Nate and his friends attempting to write a romance novel, Nate doing Yo Mama jokes, and him trying to enjoy his summer away from school.

This is a light and entertaining collection with good humor and amusing moments. It is easy to read, and it will often make you smile. If you enjoy the comic from newspapers, you'll likely enjoy the book as well.

4 out of 5 stars.

Signs the economy is bad: July 20, 2018 edition

Welcome to another edition of "Signs the Economy is Bad" here at The Itinerant Librarian. This is the semi-regular (as in when I have time and/or feel like doing it) feature where I scour the Internet in search of the oh so subtle hints that the economy is bad. Sure, pundits may say things are getting better, but what do they know? And to show not all is bad, once in a while we look at how good the uber rich have it.

We made it to another Friday, and here we go again. Let's see what has been going on:

The Pendejo In Chief, the Party of Stupid, and the Bad Economy, or how are those guys fucking up things this week:

•  They got the IRS to basically no longer require political nonprofits to disclose their donors, making it harder to follow the money. Via AlterNet. 
• The Pendejo In Chief is crying poverty as he says the U.S. cannot afford to take care of its veterans, unless there are more tax cuts for the wealthy. Story via The Daily Intelligencer.
• The Pendejo In Chief's tariffs means others retaliate, like the Chinese. Yet another example, the Chinese retaliated with their  own tariffs on U.S. pork. One part of the pork that was very good for the U.S. was selling offal (things like snouts, pigs' feet, hearts, entrails, etc., which Americans usually do not eat but the Chinese love to eat) to the Chinese. Well, with  tariffs, all of a sudden those offal sellers, many of whom were likely very happy to vote for the Party of Stupid, are now up the creek trying to find where to sell their wares.  Story via Reuters.
• By the way, the Chinese are also putting in  tariffs to energy imports from the U.S. Via The Rural Blog.
• In more federal Party of Stupid fuckery, Ben Carson, the Pendejo In Chief's HUD secretary, wants to raise rents for people in public housing, including the elderly and disabled, because. . . fuck 'em, that's why. Story via  Boing Boing.
• Meanwhile, back in the U.S. colony, FEMA is rejecting thousands of appeals for housing aid in Puerto Rico. Reason? Many people cannot prove they owned a home. Gee, that  would not  have anything to do with  that hurricane, would it? Oh, and by the way, a year later, it is hurricane season again. Story via The Week.
• The GAO reports that summer food programs face challenges, especially  in rural areas. Story  via The Rural Blog.

The bad economy in education:

• Odds are good kids in your schools have lead in their water. According to this story via Mother  Jones, nearly 2/3 of American schools have no idea if their water has lead or not. As usual in the U.S., there is  not exactly a sense of urgency about this. 
• Meanwhile, the Vermont Law School basically canned most of their tenure track faculty, and the one or two remaining may not be there  much longer. Oh, and did we mention they gagged the faculty  with  a non-disclosure agreement? Story via Lexington Herald-Leader. If I was looking for a law school, Vermont would not be my destination. 

The bad economy in health and medicine:

•  As usual, Americans get gouged by the health care system as well as  by health insurance companies. Meanwhile, those same companies' priority is to make profits for their shareholders. Story via Salon. If a few people need to die to make a buck or two, hey, it is the American way. Americans firmly believe they cannot have universal health care  because it would mean having to  help some poor person who is less fortunate. We can't have that shit happening. Fuck that deadbeat Americans say. 
• And if you want to complain about bad service from a doctor or hospital, well fuck you too. Doctors and hospitals do not want that, and they will sue you if you dare post a  negative review online. Story via USA Today.
• Not only are  health insurance companies ripping you off, they are scooping  up all the private data and personal information on you they can find anywhere from social media to your shopping habits. Why? So they can better discriminate against you in terms of health coverage later. Story via AlterNet. 

The Bad Economy in the business world:

•  Apparently, the latest fuckery is businesses deciding they want to go cash-less. It is a blend of laziness, discrimination, not caring about the poor or those who have no access to credit or  debit cards all combined with fuckery. Well, in Washington D.C., they are trying to pass legislation to prevent this discrimination. Story via Big Think.
• Amazon keeps growing as a monopoly. Its share of e-commerce in the U.S. is almost at 50%. That is right, they are getting close to controlling half of every online commerce transaction. Story via The Daily Intelligencer.
• Meanwhile, Dairy Queen is closing locations all over Texas, especially in rural areas. Story via The Rural Blog.
• In yet more reasons to avoid flying, United Airlines just found another way to get get their flight attendants to annoy you more. Story via Inc.
• However, business is not all bad. For U.S. weapons makers and sellers, business is good. In fact, arms makers recently praised U.S. weapons export policies. Story via Reuters.

Finally, a couple of Bad Economy trivia items:

• Did you know that testosterone makes guys buy more luxury and fancy products? It's their way of preening basically. Story via The Washington Post.  So the bigger the car, the watch, the jewelry, likely the bigger the douchebag. I must not have inherited that gene because personally I do not give a shit about luxury goods. 
• And finally, turns out that the group least likely to use the Ashley Madison philandering service are liberals. Who is MORE likely to use it? Conservatives, with Libertarians ranking the  highest. Imagine that. Story via Pacific Standard.

Book Review: Uncle John's Old Faithful 30th Anniversary Bathroom Reader

Bathroom Reader's Institute, Uncle John's Old Faithful 30th Anniversary Bathroom Reader. San Diego, CA: Portable Press, 2017.  ISBN: 978-1-68412-086-4.

Genre: nonfiction
Subgenre: trivia, miscellaneous, bathroom reading, humor
Format: e-book galley
Source: NetGalley

The series is 30 years old, and it remains strong and entertaining. As with  other book in the series, the contents are arranged by length to meet your bathroom reading needs.

• Short: a quick read
• Medium: 2 to 3 pages
• Long: for the extended visits
• Extended: for those leg-numbing experiences

Subjects covered in the book include:

• New York City
• Toilet tech
• Good squirrels gone bad
• Teaching awards
• Celebrity couplings

 The above subjects are only a small sampling of what the book offers. The authors strive to provide a vast range of subjects and topics from serious (but not too serious) to entertaining to funny. Through it all, you also learn a thing or two along the way. As the authors state:

"Speaking of  fun, that's the main ingredient we try to put in every one of our books. Sure, we love to pass along interesting facts and odd stories-- and a few of our articles tend to fall on the 'serious'  side-- but in the end, our job is to entertain you. If  you become smarter along the way then. . . you're welcome."

The authors are successful in this regard. You'll feel your time in the bathroom was amusing as well as productive on reading this book. It is a book you can pick up and read here or there when you need a little something to read. Overall, I really liked it is a good addition to the series.

4 out of 5 stars.

Booknote: The Man Who Made Lists

Joshua C. Kendall, The Man Who Made Lists: Love, Death, Madness, and the Creation of Roget's Thesaurus. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 2008.   ISBN: 978-0-399-154621.

Genre: nonfiction
Subgenre: biography, history, bibliophilia
Format: hardcover
Source: Berea branch of the Madison County (KY) Public Library

This is a biography of Peter Roget, the creator of the book we know as Roget's Thesaurus. Roget basically spent his life in and out working on the book. Roget suffered much in life losing his father early on; he had an extremely controlling mother, and there were other issues. As a way to escape his reality, he created his own world in lists. Since childhood, he wanted to classify the world around him. He would continue working on those lists throughout his life, and those lists of words and concepts would be the basis of his thesaurus. Roget would grow up, go on to college, become a doctor of medicine, and eventually a lecturer.

Roget's life was interesting at times, but it was not really that remarkable. There are parts of the book that  can be very slow and monotone. However, the book also provides a great look at the times he lived  in. In addition, over time, Roget meets various interesting people as well. We also get a look at how science progressed over time. Charles Darwin was a contemporary of Peter Roget, and eventually Roget would live to see Darwin's works published and the new theories of evolution rise to prominence (he himself remained a creationist sadly).

Overall, the book has its strengths and weaknesses. It is strong in showing the history of its time. It's weak because often there is too much minutiae that is just not so interesting. Still it is an interesting book overall culminating with the publication of the Thesaurus, the book that would eventually make him famous. In the end, I liked the book.

3 out of 5 stars.

* * * * *

Additional  reading notes:

A bit on what Roget was doing:

"With his word lists, Peter simultaneously created both a replica of the real world as well as a private imaginary world-- what contemporary psychologists call a 'paracosm'" (40).

Thomas Gray's six Latin maxims. Roget relied on these in writing his travelogue in adolescence"

1. "See whatever is to be seen.
2. You should see whatever I have not seen.
3. Write down and describe, as faithfully as possible, whatever you see.
4. To write is not to admire, since you are not a painter, paint everything with words.
5. Whenever you can, abandon the footpaths, the worn crossroads of travelers.
6. Correct whatever can be corrected" (62-63). 

Booknote: Quackery

Lydia Kang and Nate Pedersen, Quackery: a Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything. New York: Workman Publishing, 2017.  ISBN: 978-0-7611-8981-7.

Genre: nonfiction
Subgenre: history, medical, health, humor
Format: hardcover
Source: Berea branch of the Madison County (KY) Public Library

This book is an entertaining and interesting history of quack cures and outlandish medical procedures. The book may not be the most comprehensive history, but it presents a great sampling of the many crazy and outrageous things people did and believed about medicine and health.

The book is organized into five major sections:

• Elements. Using things like mercury and arsenic for cures. 
• Plants and soil. This includes opiates (which to an extent are still used today), tobacco, and even eating dirt. 
• Tools. Procedures like bloodletting, lobotomies, and cold water cures. 
• Animals. Using leeches, fasting, and cannibalism among other things. 
• Mysterious powers. Using things like electricity, magnetism, and radionics. 

In addition, the book includes Hall of Shame sections on topics such as women's health, men's health, and weight loss.

The book is very accessible and easy to read. The authors describe the cures and procedures in detail, and they balance the narrative with a good dose of humor. The light jokes throughout the book make the subject interesting and amusing. Additionally, the book features a variety of illustrations, diagrams, and photos that enhance the book. The stories range from disturbing to ridiculous; it just draws you in and makes you want to read more.

As the authors states, the book is not comprehensive. It focuses mainly on past treatments, and the authors add that some topics not covered deserve books of their own. Overall, what this book does cover it covers very well in an amusing and informative way. Readers who enjoy history, medical trivia, and a bit of humor will enjoy this book.

The book is definitely a great choice for libraries. Overall, I really liked this one and recommend it.

4 out of 5 stars.

Signs the economy is bad: July 13, 2018 edition

Welcome to another edition of "Signs the Economy is Bad" here at The Itinerant Librarian. This is the semi-regular (as in when I have time and/or feel like doing it) feature where I scour the Internet in search of the oh so subtle hints that the economy is bad. Sure, pundits may say things are getting better, but what do they know? And to show not all is bad, once in a while we look at how good the uber rich have it.
 

We made it to another week. It may be Friday the 13th today, but the bad economy is terrifying no matter what day it is.

In "reasons to avoid flying" news:

• TSA screeners basically just got a free pass to abuse you even more at the airport. Story via Reuters. 
• The FAA just basically passed the buck, told airline passengers they can go fuck themselves, and they could not care less if airlines keep shrinking seats. Story via Inc.
• It could get worse. You could be stuck in a 7 hours flight in a crappy, dirty seat with no cushion. Story via Inc.
• Not even the uber rich can't catch a break. Even luxury airlines are now starting to charge for seat assignments. Story via Travel and Leisure. 

In higher education news:

• Since salaries in college are fairly fixed, especially for faculty who may be lucky enough to be on a tenure line, one way to try to increase it is  by bluffing and saying you got a better job offer elsewhere. Idea is your employer then at least matches the offer so you stay. This is one of those little ugly truths in higher ed that people know about, talk maybe in hushed voices, but is not spoken about otherwise. Until someone has their bluff called and gets caught. Story via Inside Higher Ed.  
• Meanwhile, in First World Problems, some people got their knickers in a bunch of the University of Wyoming's slogan of "the world needs more cowboys." Story via Inside Higher Ed. 
• And we get closer to Thunderdome when the only hope for a college graduate to ever pay off college loans is to win a game show. Story via VICE. 

In assorted corporate fuckery:

•  Amazon is now entering the government procurement business (i.e. supplying stuff like office supplies to government offices) in contracts that are barely audited if at all. Your tax dollars at work. Story via In These Times.
• Pay Pal meanwhile threatened a dead cancer patient to sue for non-payment of some bill or other. The company eventually apologized (barely). Story via Boing Boing.
• Walmart, in its quest to exploit workers as much as possible to keep "low prices always," recently patented new technology to better eavesdrop on their workers. Story via TruthDig.
• In horror of horrors, Costco is taking away their Polish hot dogs from the food court in favor of acai bowls. Story via The Washington Post.

And finally for this week, in miscellaneous signs the economy is bad:

• Did you know that an ER (emergency room) bill in the U.S. can cost as much as $50,000? Story via TruthDig. Let me be clear. If you see me bleeding on a street, just let me bleed out and die.  Believe me, I will be better off than getting that hospital bill later.  
• Turns out farmers make more money by NOT farming. Their latest schtick? Getting paid for oil and mineral rights on their land. However, it does depend a lot on what kind of deal they can strike. Story via The Rural Blog.
• And speaking of farming, thanks to the Pendejo In Chief and his tariff war, there is all sorts of wrangling deals in the soybeans trade as importers buy up cheap soybeans from the U.S. Why are they cheap now? Because China, the biggest buyer, seriously cut back (again, thanks to the Pendejo In Chief's tariffs), so everyone else is swooping in as U.S prices fell. Story via The Rural Blog. 
• Associated Press reports that detaining immigrant children is becoming a big business. 
• In some trivia, did you know  if you eat at Arby's you are more likely to be liberal? Read about the latest study via The Week.
• Another study finds that fast shipping times appeal to last minute shoppers. Via Inc. 
• And to end this week on a high note, the Pendejo In  Chief and the Party of Stupid are declaring that the War on Poverty is over, and apparently it was won. Story via The New York Times. However, no one told the poor people still suffering and about to suffer even more. 

Reading about the reading life: July 13, 2018 edition

Welcome to another edition of "Reading about the reading life" here at The Itinerant Librarian. This is where I collect stories about reading and the reading life. Basically, these are items related to reading, maybe writing and literacy, that I find interesting and think my four readers might find interesting as well with a little commentary. As with other features I do on this blog, I do it when I have time or feel like it. Comments are always welcome (within reason). 

It has been a while since the last time I made one of these posts. Let's see what interesting things we have for this week.

• The German publisher Taschen enters the Hong Kong book market. They are planning on  really making a mark as among their offerings is a Ferrari book that costs HK $250,000. Story via South China Morning Post.
• A profile of Colombia's "lord of books." Via The Christian Science Monitor. 
• Interesting piece on Tarot's rising popularity, especially in Great Britain. Part of the reason? Worries over Brexit. Story via BBC. 
• Via The Toronto Star, a story explaining why Canadian libraries have difficulties adding audiobooks to their collections. This is not just Canadian libraries. U.S. libraries face the issue too thanks to some racketeering on part of book publishers (that is a polite way to put it). This happens in Canada just as Canada overall is having a boom in people reading audiobooks.
• The story of how once Los Angeles was a destination for rare books. Via Lit Hub.
• Also via Lit Hub, some stories of interesting and amazing finds of rare books in various places.
• Via Atlas Obscura, a story on the old practice of binding old books with  scraps of even older books. 
• An item more to remember Anthony Bourdain. Via Open Culture, read about and find links to watch Bourdain's free show Raw Craft.

A couple of items in Spanish, via Lecturalia:

• The mystery of Ivan the Terrible's lost library. 
• On the origins of bookmarks. 

Media Notes: Roundup for June 2018

 These are the movies and series on DVD and/or online I watched during June 2018.

Movies and films (links to IMDB.com for basic information unless noted otherwise). Some of these I watched via TubiTv.com. The DVDs come from the public library (unless noted otherwise):

• Samurai Cop (1991. Action. Police. Martial Arts). Joe Marshall is the Samurai Cop, trained in martial arts in Japan. He is brought over to Los Angeles from San Diego to help bring down Fujiyama and his Katana gang that are dealing drugs in the city. Frank Washington is his cop detective buddy and partner in Los Angeles. The dialogue is seriously painful, stiff at times, and there is a good amount of swearing that seems gratuitous. The overall acting is not that much better. Joe is the tough guy who ogles any cute woman he sees (never mind he has a female cop as an apparent girlfriend, who by the way gives sexual banter as much as he does when working). Washington is the black cop who can smooth talk but also is a man of action. Their captain is a cranky commander. All very formulaic. The movie is also not always politically correct. Alfonso, the Costa Rican waiter who is gay is played very flamboyant, more for comic relief than anything else. Today, the stereotype would seem quaint to put it mildly, but back then it was mainly for giggles. And some Joe's moves with the ladies could be borderline sexual harassment today. By the way, the martial arts sequences are pretty minimal and not that good neither. The movie was made in the 90s, but at times feels more like a 70s flick without the disco. Plot does not always seem to make sense, as in there is a scene or two, such as an ambush in some small movie studio (looks like an old time porn studio) that happens just out of nowhere. All leading to the obligatory showdown between Joe and the bad guy. Stiff and a bit ridiculous at times. Via TubiTv.

Television and other series (basic show information links via Wikipedia unless noted otherwise). Some of these come in DVD from the public library. Others may be via YouTube, which I keep finding all sorts of other old shows in it, often full episodes. 

• Hannibal (television series. 2013-2015. Horror. Drama. Crime. Thriller. Season One, 2013). The series based on the characters created by Thomas Harris in his novels. Will Graham is a special FBI investigator, on the autistic spectrum it is revealed, with a gift of seeing what happens in crime scenes and feel it. He is paired up with a brilliant forensic psychiatrist to aid in his work. The doctor is Hannibal Lecter. This is the early days, so to speak, of Will Graham working for the FBI. I love how they characters were made different from the books or the films yet remain familiar. I also like the casting of Laurence Fishburne as Jack Crawford. The series begins right away in the middle of a crime, and just draws you right in. Very suspenseful, atmospheric, and yes, it can be horrifying at times. Series is continuous, i.e. episodes follow one after the other, and while some elements are standalone, overall, it is a serial. DVD via the Berea branch of the Madison County (KY) Public Library. 
• Season 1, Episode 4, "Oeuf" was never shown on American TV. It was shown overseas. It deals with manipulated children killing their families. At the time it was to air, one of the usual school shootings had happened (Sandy Hook that time), so you know, Americans being "sensitive" and all (because school shootings are fine, killer children on television, "disturbing"), episode not shown. However, it is a very well made episode that does raise some questions about the nature of family as well as move the main plot at all. Glad it was included in the DVD.  
• Hannibal (Season Two, 2014).  A new season starts as Will Graham is imprisoned accused of murder. Dr. Lecter moves in to be Crawford's new consultant. The suspense, atmosphere, and horror continue to be done well. The series overall also has some surreal moments that make it more interesting. This second season also introduces the Vergers, who are also present in Harris' novel Hannibal. Some of the episodes do not seem as strong, in part because they are packing a lot into the story.There is less emphasis on cases, and much more on the psychological mind games everyone is playing against each other. Result is this season feels a lot slower. The ending is shocking, but the impact is reduced by the narrative technique in the first episode I mention below.
• Season 2 Episode 1, "Kaiseki" starts in a way I tend to dislike in narratives: it showed us an ending, then did the "X amount of time before" device. In this case, it showed us a reckoning of Crawford and Lecter, and then did "twelve weeks earlier." While if you are familiar with the overall story of Hannibal Lecter and can anticipate where things go, I would have much preferred not been told beforehand where things are going. It is a technique I tend to dislike in fiction overall. That aside, the episode does draw the viewer in right away with a new case even as we wonder Will Graham's fate. 
• Hannibal (Season 3, 2015). As season starts, Hannibal is on the run in Europe. They are weaving elements from the novel Hannibal as well as Red Dragon. The FBI, Graham, Verger, they are all looking for Hannibal. The story in the first four episodes is fairly slow as they spend a lot of time in flashbacks, and at times you find out someone who seemed alive was not, that it was a delusion or dream. Overall, the story initially does more slow. However, it the show is very atmospheric and it keeps the suspense as well as surreal elements pretty well. After the first four episodes or so, the pace does pick up, in part because they do the Red Dragon plotline, and bring the show to what seems a very certain end (I would have preferred something different, but it is what we got). In the end, as a whole, the series is excellent despite some minor flaws here or there. I may even go back and reread the books.
• Supermarket Sweep (Game show. 1965-2003). Though this show started back in 1965, most people likely know the 1990s run hosted by David Ruprecht on Lifetime Channel, which is the run I have been watching on YouTube this month.  This was a show the Better Half and I enjoyed watching together when it was on the air back then, as it was an easy form of entertainment that required minimal concentration, and it was just silly good fun. You can find many of these 1990s episodes on YouTube. (Watched 3 this month)
• Mobsters ( documentary. true crime. biography. 2007-2012). Found this via YouTube. It caught my interest initially because some of the first episodes I saw featured people from books and films I had read and seen. Series overall is presented in a very noir, dark style, but it is interesting. Most of the episodes have a narrator with a seriously raspy voice, the kind of voice you might get if you smoke half a carton of cigarettes a day. I have to admit it adds to the noir mood of the series. I watched these in no particular order. (Episodes list via IMDB.com)
• "Jimmy 'The Gent' Burke" (Season 4, Episode 8, 2012). The story of the assassin and mobster who was portrayed by Robert DeNiro in the film GoodFellas. 
• Henry Hill (Season 1, Episode 15, 2007). The story of Henry Hill, the guy at the center of the story in the film GoodFellas. In the film, he is portrayed by Ray Liotta. Overall, of all the guys in the GoodFellas story, he managed to outlive them and tell the story.
• "Mob Cops" (Season 3, Episode 1, 2010). Story of Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, two NYPD detectives who were hired guns for the mob.  I had previously read their story in the book Friends of the Family (link to my review). 
• "Anthony 'Gaspipe' Casso" (Season 3, Episode 5, 2011). The mobster who had the mob cops on his payroll. However, in addition to that, Casso was a Lucchese family underboss.
• "Tony Spilotro" (Season 1, Episode 26, 2008). The enforcer for the mob in Las Vegas. He was one of the inspirations for the film Casino. In the film, he was portrayed by Joe Pesci. Physically, Spilotro was very different than Pesci; Spilotro was a big, tall, strong guy (at about 6'2" tall) in contrast to Pesci, but Pesci still got the portrayal very well. 
• "Paul Castellano" (Season 1, Episode 20, 2008). Boss of the Gambino Crime Family until John Gotti had him killed.  
• "Greatest Hits" (Season 2, Episode 7, 2009). A compilation of great murders and hits from the 1920s starting with Masseria and Maranzanno to Paul Castellano.  
• "The Iceman: Richard Kuklinski" (Season 4, Episode 5, 2012). Now this was a seriously scary and monstrous killer. Amazing how he managed to keep a double life from the home to his "workplace" as a killer for hire. 
• "Genovese: Portrait of a Crime Family" (Season 1, Episode 7, 2007). The rise and fall of the crime family Charles "Lucky Luciano started along with Frank Costello and Vito Genovese. From the rise of the crime family to its decay with its last major don Vincent "The Chin" Gigante. The family still exists, but like the other major New York City mob families, it is now a shadow of what it was, and the fall started with Vito Genovese's excessively violent ways.
• "James 'Whitey' Bulger (Season 1, Episode 17, 2008). In the 1970s to the 1980s, Bulger ran the Irish mafia in South Boston. A big reason he could do that was his deal with an FBI agent, a scandal that rocked the agency to this day. Bulger's life is the basis of the book and film Black Mass (link to my book review, where I also comment a bit on the film).
• Mafia's Greatest Hits (documentary. true crime. biography. 2012-).  Another series I found online in YouTube by serendipity. Unlike Mobsters above, this one relies more on recreations with actors, and it also uses dramatic music to greater effect. In fact the music can range from seriously dramatic instrumental music to some music of the time (say '70s music) to just a bit ridiculous in some instances (like more heroic when the cops do something good for instance). The use of music has its amusing moments in this series.
• "Tony Spilotro: The Las Vegas Enforcer." (Season One, Episode 5). Another look at Spilotro, with the touch of this series. As I mentioned, the series relies more on recreations, so you get an actor portraying Spilotro at times. Many of the experts that give commentary have appeared in other documentaries. Still interesting. 
• Iron Chef  (Japan, 1993-1999, plus some specials up to 2012). I continued watching this via YouTube here and there during June. (See May's round up for additional comments on this show).
• Umeboshi battle. Iron Chef Michiba had been ill and out of the show for two months at the time. This battle was his comeback battle. 
• Udon Battle 2. Iron Chef Japanese Michiba has retired, and the search is on for the second Iron Chef Japanese to replace him. Hattori, the show's color commentator and head of the Hattori Nutrition College, recommends his right hand man, chief instructor at the college Kenji Motai to go battle in hopes of replacing Michiba. That part of the plan did not quite work out for Hattori as Komei Nakamura had been appointed to be the second Iron Chef Japanese, but the battle went on and was still good. 
• Tuna Battle. A sommelier challenges the Iron Chef Italia Kobe. 
• Turkey Battle. The manager of the Swallows Baseball Team, a noted finicky eater, brings in his favorite chef to challenge. It is the holiday (Christmas) season, so turkey is the theme. The challenger is a Cajun cuisine specialist. Naturally the show will use every baseball pun and phrase they can during the commentary.
• Turkey Battle 2. As the show states,  this was the last battle for 1998. It is still holiday season, so naturally turkey is the theme. The challenger, Jiro Ogue, is considered one of the successors of the great French chef Alain Chapel. Iron Chef Japanese Masaharu Morimoto is appointed to answer the challenge, in part because 1998 is also the year he debuted in the show. 
• Turnip Battle. The challenger is a "college dropout." He did take the entrance exam to Tokyo University (notoriously difficult), passed it on his first try as a science major (a rare achievement. I guess people often have to retake it or else), then decided to pursue his culinary career dream. Trained by Honorary (retired) Iron Chef French Ishinabe, then studied in France, and now a strong chef.  Needless to say, college puns and references will abound like this battle being the guy's "final exam." 
• Udon Battle. 

Signs the economy is bad: July 6, 2018 edition

Welcome to another edition of "Signs the Economy is Bad" here at The Itinerant Librarian. This is the semi-regular (as in when I have time and/or feel like doing it) feature where I scour the Internet in search of the oh so subtle hints that the economy is bad. Sure, pundits may say things are getting better, but what do they know? And to show not all is bad, once in a while we look at how good the uber rich have it.

Well, it is Friday once more, and here we go again. I will say that having the Fourth of July holiday (or any holiday) in the middle of the week feels weird. I would suggest we make July 4th like any other holiday, having it first Monday of July or such, but someone wiser than me than said, "but then it would not be '4th of July.'" I am still not convinced. At any rate, let's see what has  been going on in the bad economy.

• Let's start with a little 4th of July trivia in honor of the holiday we just had. According to this story out of VICE, here are 11 companies that pretty much have a stranglehold on the holiday. Odds are good if you are having a picnic, cookout, tailgating party, outing to the lake, etc., you probably bought at least one if  not all of these products. 
• In news from the front in  the War of Tariffs: 
• Last week or so, Harley Davidson was whining they were taking jobs overseas due to tariffs. This week we get General Motors saying  they are cutting more jobs due to the tariffs. Story via The New York Times, with a hat tip to Juanita Jean's. At this point, I have no sympathy for those workers since this is exactly what they voted for. The Pendejo In Chief said exactly what he would do, which is in fact a big reason they voted for him, the "he says what he means and means what he says." So, you reap what you sow. 
• Then again, fuck those people. They may be getting screwed, but they are STILL happy to support the Pendejo In Chief and the Party of  Stupid, like these nail factory  workers in Missouri. Story via The Rural Blog. Some people are just beyond salvation. I say when they go claim unemployment, they should get rejected. I mean, they are so proud and all to deny government assistance to the  needy, I say they should suffer the fate they wish  on others. 
• In other Pendejo In Chief and Party of Stupid bad economy news: 
• Lo and behold, it turns out those big tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations DO NOT increase middle class  incomes. I did not need a fancy academic paper to tell me that, but here is said fancy academic paper anyhow via Harvard's Working Knowledge.  
• The Pendejo In Chief's administration is engaging in extortion that would make the Mob blush as they demand payments to allow immigrant children to be returned to their parents. Story via Daily Intelligencer. At this point, I'd rather take my chances on the Mafia. They at least have rules about not harming children. 
• However, it is not all that bad under the Pendejo In Chief and the Party of Stupid. Wells Fargo, J.P. Morgan among others stand to make profits from the anti-immigrant policies and imprisonments. Story via Latino Rebels. 
• In education news: 
• There is a trucker shortage. There are also shortages of jobs in higher education. What the real issue boils down to is simple: neither trucking companies nor higher education wants to properly compensate those workers they need. Story via Inside Higher Ed. Higher education is particularly notorious for things like adjunctifying faculty so they do not have to pay for a full tenure line and hiring part timers to one full time job, again, so as not to have to pay  a decent wage and benefits. 
• For some unknown reason (stupidity likely), more states are adopting robo-grading for academic papers in college. Story via Inside Higher Ed.
• It is a well known fact that Americans are notoriously stingy when it comes to funding public education. They want their brats educated,  they just want someone else to pay the taxes for it. This  gets so bad that teachers, already underpaid, have to use their own money to buy school supplies. So, how bad is it? Well, the most recent story I found has one teacher who died asking for backpacks and school supplies for her kids in lieu of flowers at her funeral. Story via Good.Is. Now THAT is a serious commentary on American fuckery. 
• In assorted corporate fuckery: 
• Here is a situation update on the fuckery of debt collection technology. Even if you do not owe anything, odds are good some of this harassment may come your way at least once. Because they are getting seriously more devious, and they have  no shame in lying and cheating. In the end, know your  rights and if need be sue them so they stop harassing you. Story via Dumb Little Man. As I often say, if the revolution comes, and by some miracle I am in charge, these vultures are among the first I am putting against the wall. 
• Yet another story reinforcing why you need to avoid flying. Here we have an angry American Airlines gate agent engages in poor customer service AND even takes the customer's phone away, tossing it on the ground, because. . . fuckery. Story via Inc.
• And finally for this week, some assorted signs the economy is bad: 
• Is there such a thing as eating too much at an all you can eat restaurant? Turns out there is, and this Chinese restaurant found out when they went broke after only two weeks of being open. Story via Boing Boing.  
• In another illustration of the selfish nation the U.S. is, a woman who got trapped and injured  by an NYC subway car begged for folks nearby NOT TO call the ambulance. Why? Because she said she could not afford the ride. Story via AlterNet. So while the rest of the civilized world has universal care, and this would not be an issue, this is the good old U.S. of A. 
• In "what can we blame Millennials for this week?" segment: Kenyan farmers are exchanging cultivation of coffee for avocado trees. It's all that avocado toast Millennials seem to enjoy. Well, not totally that. The reality, joke aside, is a bit more complex. Coffee prices have been seriously fluctuating, more recently downwards, meaning farmers get less for the coffee. Avocados have good demand, prices have  been more stable, and so they can make better money. Story via The Christian Science Monitor.
• In Japan, time is of the essence. Taking time out to pay your respects at a funeral is hard. As a result, drive-thru funerals are becoming more popular. Story via VICE. 

Booknote: The Mammoth Book of Dracula

Stephen Jones, ed., The Mammoth Book of Dracula: Vampire Tales for the New Millennium. New York: Carroll and Graf, 1997. ISBN: 0786704284.

Genre: fiction
Subgenre: horror, short story collections, Dracula
Format: paperback
Source: Berea  branch  of the Madison  County (KY) Public Library

Overall this is a nice anthology with  a bit of everything. If you like the character of Dracula or vampires in general (and I mean real vampires, not the ones that sparkle), you will likely enjoy this collection.

The book contains 33 stories that look at Dracula in various ways from his beginnings to life in our modern times. This anthology was published in time to coincide with the turn of the millennium, a look at Dracula over time, and I'd say the Old One has held his own rather well and keeps on going today and into the future.

As with most anthologies, the story quality does vary. Some tales are better than others. A highlight for me is often finding various pop culture and cultural references throughout the stories. In the end, I liked it.

3 out of 5 stars.