Here’s Dolly Parton’s:
Before:
After:
Author: Kim du Toit
Finally, Autumn
Our temperatures here in north Texas will finally (!) be seasonally adjusted this week from Broil to Simmer and finally, Acceptable:
(I left the silly Celsius things there for the benefit of my Furrin Readers)
My laptop’s wallpaper reflects that mood, although fall in Texas is never that pretty:
(right-click to embiggen and save)
I don’t know where that is; my instincts say New Hampshire because of the granitic boulders, but I’ll be persuaded otherwise.
Root Cause
I really need to visit Britishland again, not just for personal reasons but to do my bit to reverse an alarming trend.
This is the most depressing article I’ve read all week, and it may explain a whole lot about the nation that Britishland has become:
Brits are eating less meat, potatoes and bread than ever before, according to data tracking the nation’s food purchases over the last six decades.
Red meat consumption has plunged by up to 81 per cent since the 70s amid health fears, the steady rise of veganism and growing concerns about climate change.
Then again, perhaps it’s the slow brain death caused by a low-meat / vegan diet that has allowed a nation of skeptics to become a nation of fearful wussies: where the .Britgov can pass a law that makes ownership of cars illegal by a certain date without said .Britgov being sent en masse to the gallows, and where Brits can not only get arrested for posting mean tweets, but allow themselves to be arrested therefor.
But all this has just made me want to add a little something to my morning breakfast (and it’s not a second gin, shuddup):
Excuse me…
About Those Duracell Cars
It seems as though at least one car manufacturer is thinking straight:
“It is regular users who are the ones who suffer” when government regulations try to shoehorn buyers and automakers into EVs, according to Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda. Speaking publicly as the head of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Toyoda said, “People are finally seeing reality” as sales growth sputters. “I have continued to say what I see as reality… if regulations are created based on ideals,” instead of real-world conditions, “it is regular users who are the ones who suffer.”
All true, of course.
As an aside, I would love to see the sales figures for EVs that excludes those in California, because I’ll bet that state skews the whole thing. Why do I say that?
Anecdotally, the Son&Heir just got back from a business trip to SoCal, told me that regular gas there is currently costing $7 per gallon (!!) and that just about every Uber or Lyft driver now uses an EV.
Monday Funnies
So just to make sure you’re awake:
And speaking of chasing tail, here’s Ewa Sonnet, suitably armed:
Poetry in motion, by any definition.
Classic Beauty: Brigitte Bardot
People who weren’t around at the time, or who weren’t aware of Brigitte Bardot probably cannot understand the effect she had on the world in the early 1960s. She literally defined the term “sex kitten”, and many of those who followed her in that appellation simply don’t compare.
Consider:
She simply exuded sex appeal, and was the object of many a callow lad’s fantasies. And I was no exception.