Mark Manoli-Smith

Printing Specialist who loves classic movies, classic rock and anything wierd.
I like being called a Weirdo. It's a term of endearment. 👻 Always keep it wierd!

[Mark Manoli-Smith @smith_mark73]

@Bunny_Bennett You sounded great last night, and you and the band put on an amazing show! We left feeling so happy and energized. I'm sorry you weren't feeling well at the end, but you pulled through. Stay positive and know that there are thousands of people who LOVE YOU!

[Mark Manoli-Smith @smith_mark73]

@TheeTedSmith GO HAWKS!

[Mark Manoli-Smith @smith_mark73]

@amybruni That's easy! Ouija board any day!

[Mark Manoli-Smith @smith_mark73]

@AdamJBerry @TheBennyBerry Happy Birthday Ben!

[Mark Manoli-Smith @smith_mark73]

@AXSTV Labyrinth

[Mark Manoli-Smith @smith_mark73]

@Gorgon_Katie We used to play Risk at a coffee shop here in Seattle in the 90s. Good times!

[Mark Manoli-Smith @smith_mark73]

@AdamJBerry Ghost

[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

[Mark Manoli-Smith @smith_mark73]

@999KISW @TheeTedSmith @TarynKISW We have one at work that takes bits of the doughnuts so she can save them for later, knowing nobody else would take them.

[Mark Manoli-Smith @smith_mark73]

@courtneymblock If you ever need a book to suggest about accepting others for who they are, please check out TJ Klune House on the Cerulean Sea. It's amazing and heartwarming.

[Mark Manoli-Smith @smith_mark73]

@JohnELTenney When I was around 9 or 10, we were out in the PNW Cascades snowshoeing and came across a deer carcass. I brought home one of the legs to make hoof prints at the show and tell. My teacher was mortified and thought I had serious issues.

[Mark Manoli-Smith @smith_mark73]

@amybruni @TheBennyBerry Please share! That sounds great.

[Mark Manoli-Smith @smith_mark73]

@NikkiSixx Sorry dude, I wasn't paying attention to you. I was watching Mick Mars play live while I was in the merch line to get Def Leopard t-shirts.

[Mark Manoli-Smith @smith_mark73]

@ryandic My doctor told me I was going deaf.

That was hard to hear.

[Mark Manoli-Smith @smith_mark73]

@Glamdalf1 We've always wanted to go investigate Mackinac Island. That's on my bucket list with Penn state. I like the smaller investigations and not really into the big cons. I hope you have fun either way. We have some great places here in WA if you ever get a chance to get out west.

[Mark Manoli-Smith @smith_mark73]

@Glamdalf1 I would do both but if I would choose one I would do Strange Escapes. You get real time investigation with the pros and a vast amount of knowledge from the many talks throughout the weekend. Strange Escapes provides the all inclusive paranormal weekend.

[Mark Manoli-Smith @smith_mark73]

@wendeeluvz I'll take both!

[Mark Manoli-Smith @smith_mark73]

I had to catch this amazing sunset from Shilshole Marina in Seattle on my way home tonight. It was too beautiful to pass up.

[Mark Manoli-Smith @smith_mark73]

I had to catch this amazing sunset from Shilshole Marina in Seattle on my way home tonight. It was too beautiful to pass up.