Steve Goodman

ESL teacher in Vietnam, former marketing executive, traveler, photographer, guitarist, philosopher, writer, thinker of fine thoughts.

[Steve Goodman @mythicaldude]

Hey @meijer any coupon codes available? https://t.co/TiRUccQiZx via @couponfollow

[Steve Goodman @mythicaldude]

You can find me on Bluesky. @stevegoodman1.bsky.social

[Otto English @Otto_English]

This man - is the President of the United States of America.

It's like National Lampoon's

[CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism]

A British writer penned the best description of Donald Trump I’ve ever read:

“Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?”

A few things spring to mind. Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem. For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed. So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.

Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever. I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman. But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.

Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers. And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.

There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface. Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront. Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul. And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist. Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that. He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat. He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.

And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully. That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead. There are unspoken rules to this stuff – the Queensberry rules of basic decency – and he breaks them all. He punches downwards – which a gentleman should, would, could never do – and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless – and he kicks them when they are down.

So the fact that a significant minority – perhaps a third – of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think ‘Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:

• Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.

• You don’t need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.

This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss. After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum. God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid. He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart. In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws – he would make a Trump.

And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish: ‘My God… what… have… I… created?' If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.”

-Nate White

[The Jazz Estate @thejazzestate]

Remembering the great Charlie “Bird” Parker who was born on this day in 1920. Considered the greatest jazz saxophonist of all time, Parker was the principal stimulus of the modern jazz idiom known as bebop, and he was one of the primary revolutionary geniuses in jazz.

Parker was a blazingly fast virtuoso and introduced revolutionary harmonic ideas into jazz, including rapid passing chords, new variants of altered chords, and chord substitutions. Primarily a player of the alto saxophone, Parker’s tone ranged from clean and penetrating to sweet and somber.

Here, he is performing “Celebrity” with saxophonist Coleman Hawkins and drummer Buddy Rich live in 1950.

[Steve Goodman @mythicaldude]

“There aren’t a lot of freelance philosophers in the world anymore. I can wake up in the morning, dream up any text I like of any length and any degree of complexity, in any style and on any topic, and just sit down and write it.”
https://t.co/wAdj9D6FE7

[Saturday Night Live @nbcsnl]

Andy and Pee-wee's Night Out
Paul Reubens ❤️

[Jamie Clark @XpatEducator]

A collection of word-diagrams on explicit instruction inspired by the book, ‘Explicit Instruction: Effective & Efficient Teaching’ by Anita Archer & Charles A. Hughes.

📙 https://t.co/dBfKLMrUZQ

📥 https://t.co/FWSSzYUvUB

[Joe Cummings @joecummings]

@qandrew There's an irony to the fact that there's a trend to clear Bangkok streets of food vendors, yet this govt dept wants to bring in food trucks, which potentially take up more space and add to traffic. Traditional vendor carts are usually stored close to where they operate.

[Steve Goodman @mythicaldude]

Quite an interesting piece about the Indigenous Thai-Muslim culture in Southern Thailand.
https://t.co/NWf2S2f3ll

[EFF @EFF]

The future of your Twitter account isn't guaranteed. Our guide will help you make a fediverse account on Mastodon. https://t.co/DouUnsKPVN

[Steve Silberman @stevesilberman]

Delft Vader. [via IG: vintage_scifiart and infiniteodyssey.mag] #starwars

[David Crosby @thedavidcrosby]

This the best response by a government agency I’ve ever seen

[Tech Burrito @TechBurritoUno]

Satisfying

[Keith Edwards @keithedwards]

Remember: the GOP wants to pretend this never happened.

[Tech Burrito @TechBurritoUno]

Making sound effects at Disney Studios in 1941.

[Dave Winer @davewiner]

Why voting Republican is bullshit.

#nopaywall

https://t.co/n4X01bpqk0

[bluesharp @bluezharp]

Frank Zappa 'guitar🎸solo' '88. 🎶'Enema Bandit'

[VANITY FAIR @VanityFair]

Khruangbin pairs their eclectic sound with an equally vibrant live show, led by the group’s aesthetic director and bassist, Laura Lee. Following their sold-out run at Radio City Music Hall earlier this year, Lee dishes about life beneath the wig. https://t.co/ptXFI7gCyU

[No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen @NoLieWithBTC]

Wow. This dismantling of Herschel Walker by Pastor @jamalhbryant is incredible.