ATHF -- 'The Story of Christmas'

"It wasn't a holly jolly Xmas for all that year!" 

Merry Xmas to all!

Charlie Munger -- The Psychology of Human Misjudgement

The vid is basic but the audio is worth a listen. This is (pretty much) a complete talk he gave at Harvard in 1995. 

Someone on You Tube (good work, internet) even gives the Cliff Notes:

Timestamp for 24 standard causes of human misjudgment: 1) 3:00 - Bias from reinforcement and incentive 2) 5:08 - Man with a hammer syndrome 3) 6:09 - Psychological denial (reality is too painful to bear, so you just distort it until it’s bearable) 4) 6:57 - Agency cost (too trusting of advisors who don't know more than you) 5) 10:18 - Bias from consistency and commitment tendency / Self-confirmation tendency (hard to change your mind once emotionally committed to an idea) 5.5) 11:28 - (Related to previous point) - Bias from cognitive dissonance (caused by echo chambers) 6) 12:31 - Bias from pavlovian association / past correlation for decision making 7) 19:49 - Bias from reciprocation tendency (ask for a lot and then back off to a lower offer) 8) 24:04 - Bias from over-influence of social proof 9) 26:48 - Bias from contrast (lowering/distorting your standards by comparing two options that are equally bad - or having a "grass greener on the other side" mentality by comparing to an unrealistically high standard) 10) 30:13 - Over-influenced by authority 11) 31:50 - Bias from deprival super reactions syndrome (sunk cost fallacy) 12) 35:00 - Bias caused by envy 13) 35:51 - Bias from chemical dependency (addictions) 14) 36:15 - Bias from mis-gambling compulsion (I made the choices so the odds must be better) [numbering gets confusing at this point] But these are my personal breakpoints 15) 38:36 - Bias from liking distortion (over-influence/mislead by someone we like - including ourselves) 16) 38:48 - Bias from disliking distortion (under-influence by someone we dislike - especially if they are right and we are wrong) 17) 42:19 - Bias from the non mathematical nature of the human brain (too stupid to understand maths and too lazy to learn) 18) 44:00 - Bias from fear of scarcity 18.5) 45:50 - Don't trust someone who says "I've never done it before and I'll never do it again" 19) 46:34 - Bias from sympathy 20) 49:48 - Bias from over-influence and extra evidence 21) 51:00 - Bias caused by mental confusion caused by information not arrayed in the mind to create sound generalizations (you memorized new information, but you haven't learned it or know how to make it useful. Test new information by answering "why") 22) 50:49 - Starts at 53:16 - Stressed induced mental changes (small/large, temporary/permanent) 23) 54:20 - Common mental illnesses and declines temporary and permanent and quitting the tendency to lose ability through disuse (Charlie skipped this explanation: says he doesn't have time for it) 24) 54:28 - Say-something syndrome (difficult to explain new concepts to others who lack "first principles") Questions: 1) 55:45 - What happens when these standard tendencies combine? 2) 1:01:01 - Isn't this list topological (meaning is there overlap and some item is a combination of other items) 3) 1:01:15 - Are these (biological) tendencies generally good or bad? 4) 1:07:31 - What special knowledge problems lie buried in the thought system indicated by the list 5) 1:09:00 - How should the best parts of psychology and economics interrelate in an enlightened economists minds Extra 11:56 - It's very important to not put your brain in chains too young by what you shout out (by joining echo chambers) 1:05:54 - Confirmation bias

Phil Hartman

Dang, these bits are hard, man. Closing with Jimmy Swaggart? Good stuff.

Simpsons-- 'A Guide to Your Restraining Order'

Am I the only one that thinks all of Gary Busey's career highlights are animated?

Bacau Symphony Orchestra w/Alexander Denisov -- Bach concerto D-moll BWV 1052

Nice work, kid.

John Lowe (1984)

Good god! I'm not really a darts guy but, fuck, man...shit.

Meatwad -- ' Chicken and Beans'

Skiing

I'm not a connoisseur of go-pro vids but this is some cool stuff. Some sweaty palms kinda stuff. 

A Collection of Rodney Dangerfield Bits

Thank god there was a Rodney. Still one of the best ever, this is just a taste. "He told me to have a few drinks and get some rest."

Useful Idiots meet Morning Joe

Watching Matt Taibbi watch MSNBC reminds me of hanging out with my parents. Speeding it up is the only thing to make it bearable. 

Fake Punt (Arkansas v Alabama (11.20.21))

Nice.

Peter on a CNN Panel Show

"...I've tried all the herbs!..."

Tokyo Groove Jyoshi -- 'Funk #1'

Stays wild and dynamic when you can feel it wanting to drift into NPR territory, Deftly done. 

The 1969 Memphis Country Blues Festival

Cool! Surprising variety, a little bit of everything in there.

Denis Pauna -- 'Master of Puppets' (1960s style)

Weird but a game effort. This why God invented the internet. 

St. Petersburg Chamber Choir, Leningrad Military Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy -- Overture from Tchaikovsky's "1812"

A mind blowing ride. This is amazing from beginning to end. 

DJ Shadow -- 'Total Breakdown'

Shweet!

Bob Dylan -- 'The Hurricane' (Live 1975)

Whoa, check this out: the lyrics are different! Not uncommon for artists (especially Dylan) to be creative/sloppy with the melody or vocal phrasings when playing live but you wouldn't expect Mr. Nobel Prize to change the words just for PBS (especially since he doesn't take out 'shit', 'ass' and 'n*****''). Apparently the song, which had just been recorded, was felt to have the potential for a defamation lawsuit, so Dylan was cagey upon the release of this as a single. Interesting curio from arguably Dylan's peak as a live performer. (The sound here is not optimal but that's not why you're watching this, so don't sweat it)

The Last Farewell/That Hamilton Woman

The internet, for whatever reason, has set Elvis Presley's "The Last Farewell" to scenes from the film That Hamilton Woman. So...uh...this exists. This is utterly pointless in every way but honestly my only criticism is that I found the opening and closing credits intrusive and clumsy.

Did Elvis Presley imagine that his songs would live on in this way? Did Olivier and Leigh realize their mock romance would be re-purposed to suit the short attention spans of future masses? Indeed, did Horatio Nelson realize that in the future his imperial awesomeness, which was nothing but an albatross for him in his homeland, would inspire people to create homemade pieces of art about him? That people would create plastic-based mechanized operas about his sex life? Why haven't we made movies about Olivier's sex life? Elvis knew that he was built to be a sex symbol and Olivier had many high profile relationships in the public eye, so how is it that instead we get a movie about a dude that died well over a century before this movie was made (which is 4/5 of a century old right now)? Is it that in Nelson's time naval heroes (and their whispered extramarital exploits) were the best celebrity culture available? 

What is time marching toward? Will people decades from now be re-purposing this blog post in the name of something I could never even conceive of? Probably not...but not definitely not.

Kids in the Hall -- 'Minimum Wage'

 

(Aired 1991)

Norm Macdonald (RIP)

When someone dies, especially someone as ever-present as Norm Macdonald, everyone gushes about what a genius the guy was, how flawless, etc. I wouldn't say Norm was a genius or that he was always brilliant with a joke. Indeed, quite the opposite: the key to Norm was quantity not quality, he was a comedy workaholic, every day he put the hard hat on and went to work in the comedy mines. And he hit plenty of fool's gold, indeed, he made a cottage industry of flailing. He was an experimenter in a world where everyone is too afraid to make a move. It is his fearlessness that will be missed.

Everyone had their favorite Norm line. Mine: "They say gambling is a disease....well, its the only disease where you can make a shitload of money!" 

His final video and, of course, it is not for the faint of heart. And if you don't like it, well, you don't have to. 

Vivian Maier

Bob Landers with Willie Joe (and His Unitar) -- 'Cherokee Dance'

Peter Tries Crossfit

"I mean...you said...your words...you said 'pizza'..."

Mdou Moctar -- 'Live in Niamey'

This is good stuff! Nice work, internet.

 

Family Guy -- Gregory Peck and Sons

 I don't even understand wtf is going in this scene. But it makes me laugh anyway. 

The Last Hurrah (1958)

Aaron Grooves -- Bach Cello Suite, Prelude in G

 I love Bach's cello suites and I love the vibes. The two go well together. It helps that this guy's a badass.

Kids in the Hall -- 'I Sell Shoes'

"I am quite well stocked in the color of cowards."

Margaret Dumont

A scene from 'No Country for Old Men'

 You know, this woman is perhaps the most underrated badass in the history of cinema. She stares down the devil and sends him away frustrated. Nice work.

The Suicidal Tendencies -- 'Join the Army'

 Ahhhhhh...never gets old. 

Built to Spill -- 'Car'

I Wake Up Screaming (1941)

BB King's tribute to Yngwie

 This is pretty amazing. Nice work, internet.

Chick Corea (RIP)

Park No-Yong's observations of USA (circa 1950)

A few choice quotes: "(White people) are beyond redemption...they eat with knives and prongs.  It makes a civilized person quite nervous."

"I hope that it will be read by...my American friends to help them get a better understanding of their own rich enviable heritage."

Americans have "boundless enthusiasm for work." Shaves, eats, runs to work to arrive just in time.  "Grabs a sandwich and throws the whole business into his big mouth and he would've choked to death long ago without coffee."

"He is born to work, he lives for his work."

"Heaven is a sort of workshop.  Hell is a place of rest, where there is nothing for a man to do."

"The average Americans is....exhilarated by the remote chance of success which may never come."

"It is doubtful if America could get the wholehearted support of the East for freedom, without getting rid of this cancerous disease: race prejudice."

"All the loose talk that there is no more freedom in America than in the totalitarian areas is outright Communist propaganda or the foolish utterances of the ignorant and irresponsible Americans who have enjoyed freedom and democracy for so long and so much in this blessed country that they have forgotten the meaning of tyranny and despotism."

"Even the rich people are sued, defeated, fined or jailed by the common man, who is supposed to be a common slave to his master."

"....To call the president whatever one wishes without fear, makes the US the freest country in the whole world."

"Certainly few decent men on earth could think of admiring a people that lie and cheat as the American campaigners (politicians) do....but the way they accept the result of the election arouses the highest respect...."

"Americans waste little time on history...they study history only to find the faults of their ancestors....The old fashioned Chinese revered their ancestors...and resolved to never do anything that they didn't do." 

"The only class of underfed, undernourished and starving people I've seen in 25 years of traveling in America is the class of women, who voluntarily submit themselves to starvation maintain slender figures....(in China it is a compliment) to say you look fatter...(in America) corpulence is no sign of honor...if you call a lady a fat cow, oh boy, you are sure to get in trouble" (*)

"All their work...has been motivated by love....I'm sorry you people have nothing better to fight for."

"What they have built has served both as a target of attack and an object of worship." 

I wish Americans could learn to love the country half as much as this guy loves it. We're so good at everything that we don't realize how god damn wasteful we are, how we could be doing so much more! Oh well. Even half-assing, we still get a lot done in a day. 

(*) Park writes that in China only the rich people have enough to grow fat, therefore corpulence is a sign of high esteem. I would add that was pretty much true everywhere on the globe all throughout history until USA in the 20th century. Our obsession with thin-ness is entirely unique in civilization, for there has never been such abundance that forces one to avoid eating. Gotta admit: his 'bag of bones' comment made milk shoot out of my nose.

Scene from 'Shadow of a Doubt'

 "....Are they?...."

SNL -- 'So You're Willing to Date a Magician'

 

Ha!

Abbott and Costello -- 'Jonah and the Whale'

This is from a time when movie stars strove to be TV stars. Now movie stars want to still be movie stars on your TV and (preferably even) your phone. If the medium is the message, then all stars will be phone stars in the future. And eventually just chip stars. Movie star still sounds the best and always was the best. This is the first bit on the first episode of "Abbott and Costello Show" which debuted in 1952. 

"It's clean." 

Frank Zappa -- 'Hot Guitars Out of the Box'

Random dude personally re-edited and re-mastered Zappa's guitar solos just to hear them better. I applaud. This is why god invented the internet. 

Svengali (1930)