Beyond bounds: deleted scenes (cartoon)

Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy); DP; SR; Seth Auberon, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

25 Family Guy deleted scenes that were too much for TV

(Screen Rant) Family Guy is one of the edgiest shows on American television, but these deleted scenes step over the line!

Family Guy is one of those shows that has never been afraid to push some buttons and get a reaction from critics and fans. That’s why we love it. They'll say just about anything about anyone and make no apologies. But sometimes certain things prove just too much for the network to handle. There are a tons of jokes that never make it to air.

Peter is a d*ck, and his chin is a pair of... Whether it’s Peter's offensive tattoo, a super graphic hallucination of Peter’s butt turning into a fly trying to eat Quagmire, Peter being present as Roe's date at the Roe v Wade Supreme Court abortion case, or Peter and Cleveland doing drugs (ten rounds of chemo) to outdo each other's recreational consumption.

The Buddha makes an appearance in the Bed, Bath, and BEYOND store.

There was also a scene of Meg being shot in the head at the dinner table, a joke about cold Asian in-laws, Peter trying to find out if Jillian is Jewish, Dr. Hartmann eating Lois’ tumor, Peter commenting on the race of Brian’s new bi-racial girlfriend, a leper colony doing the hokey-pokey, or Quagmire making a very weird sexual comment about when his daughter will turn 21.

Hey, funny show, Seth. See you in the afterlife!

It doesn’t stop there, as one scene with Jesus Christ trying to pick up a girl, a political joke about the slave conditions in China where iPads are made, a cutaway during the already controversial stroke episode, a scene about a White missionary evangelizing a new tribe which is likely to offend Christians, a bit where Joe runs over a squirrel with his wheelchair, and of course, about a million jokes about Jewish character Mort which never made it to air.

All those and more remind us just why Family Guy is still one of the edgiest shows on TV.

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Did I film a UFO? Coast to Coast (video)

Tim Binnall (Coast to Coast, FB, 9/20); Pfc. Sandoval, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Old bum George Noory

An airline passenger admiring the view from her window seat could not believe her eyes when she saw a curious unidentified flying object in the sky. It resembled a classic flying saucer.

The strange sight reportedly took place on August 20, 2020 around 11:30 am shortly after witness Mariah Lyn's flight took off from Philadelphia.

While trying to take some cool aerial footage with her phone, she noticed a fast-moving silver object streaking across the sky. She posted the footage on YouTube this week.

Alleged UFO, Passaic, NJ, 1952

Unexplained Aerial Phenomena (UAP/UFO) enthusiasts are hailing the footage as a fascinating glimpse of an alien craft. However, not everyone is convinced as skeptics note that, given the object's proximity to a major airport, the oddity may have been another speeding plane diving in for a landing.

To her credit, Ms. Lyn has attempted to solve the case by examining flight records online, which seem to suggest the airplane theory may have merit. More

Is George R. Noory a moron, plant, or both?

Nothing can hover silently in the air using anti-gravity...except this cool toy on my desk.

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I'm not a bisexual drunk tramp. I'm sleepy.

Is George [Ralphie] Noory the problem with the show [Coast to Coast]? Don't get me wrong, he seems like a genuinely nice guy. I mean, [this military-trained propagandist] seems so generous... But damn, I can't listen to his shows anymore. I don't know why, but he never seems to be actually listening to the guest responses. And if you doubt me, count how many times the guest finishes answering and George will say, "Well, you've got a point there" only to take the line of questioning on a complete tangent. And don't get me started on his fumbling of words [moronic mispronunciations, pretending to know things he doesn't, while he silently looks them up or gets fed answers in studio and then pretends he did know -- and all the planted call ins from Thomas, Cornelius, the Millennial, and other stooges paid to kiss his]... More

Julian Assange's sham WikiLeaks trial (video)

Jimmy Dore (jimmydoreshow.com); Pfc. Sandoval, Seth Auberon, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly

Reality Winner also got the Manning treatment.

Now that the U.S. government bent over backwards to extradite Julian Assange from the Ecuadorian Embassy in England with the help of the British government, Assange is being put through the same sort of torturous treatment Pfc. Bradley Chelsea Manning was forced to endure to whistleblowing. Assange is being accused of helping Edward Snowden reveal the NSA and CIA's massive spying program being inflicted on all Americans with a cell phone or Internet presence. What the kangaroo court will do to him can already be predicted. It was exactly this sort of injustice that kept Assange in the embassy for so long. Will Pamela Anderson, Kim Kardashian, Amnesty International, the ACLU, the [sold out] Intercept, Democracy Now!, or any other justice advocates be able to get him any semblance of a fair trial?

(9/11/19) Pam Anderson defends Assange on Megan McCain's The View

What about the Zen thief? Bankei's cure

Buddha Groove (blog.buddhagroove.com); Ashley Wells, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

What? He's really not going to do anything?

Great Master Bankei’s meditation classes attracted many students from all over Japan. During one of these [retreat] courses, a student was caught stealing. The incident was brought to Master Bankei’s notice. However, he chose to disregard it.

A few days later the pupil was again caught stealing. Master Bankei was again informed, and again he took no action. This greatly agitated the students.

They approached the meditation master with a petition they had drawn up demanding the student’s removal, failing which, they would all leave the course.

Rinzai Zen Master Bankei Yotaku (wiki)

Master Bankei read through their demands and then summoned all of them before him.

“Brothers, you are indeed wise! For you know the difference between right and wrong. You may leave if you wish to pursue your studies elsewhere. But this poor brother cannot tell the difference between right and wrong. If I do not teach him, who will? Therefore, I have decided to keep him even if all of you leave.”

Tears ran down the face of the erring student, the thief who was left with no desire to steal.

• Rinzai, Obaku, or Soto Zen Buddhism?
• Japanese PM Shinzo Abe announces intention to resign

Comedian Jimmy Dore goes spiritual (video)

Mike MacCrae (jimmydorecomedy.com, 9/3/20); Seth Auberon, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly

Jim Dore evolves, talks about New Age spirituality, psychology, and Mahayana Buddhism/Hinduism.

White NY police kill Black Daniel Prude (video)

Joseph Morris; CTV News, Sept. 3, 2020; Pfc. Sandoval, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Police finally release footage of Daniel Prude's arrest

We can't breathe, just like George Floyd.

Daniel Prude full video: Black Rochester man tortured and suffocated by New York police, body cam footage reveals

(Joseph Morris, Sept. 3, 2020) For full video see joseph-morris.com/daniel-prude-black-man-suffocated-new-york-police-2020.

All I did was murder a [n-word]! - Ofc. Chauvin

Demonstrations and protests erupt in Upstate New York over video showing Black man Daniel Prude, 41, being suffocated to death before George Floyd was murdered in a similar manner in March.

Why do many citizens say "F the police"?

Killer cops violently strapped on a "spit hood" that agitated Mr. Prude. So they pressed his face down until he stopped breathing, much the same way racist police murdered Floyd. Morris is not allowed to show the full graphic video on YouTube because of "community guidelines," and to avoid making police look bad. But see the whole thing at his blog. Stay up-to-date with stories like these, and be sure to hit the like button and subscribe.

Mr. Daniel Prude was made brain dead during the incident and later died (March 30) in the hospital, never having recovered. He was eventually taken off life support seven days after his police encounter. Mr. Prude's brother phoned for help on March 23 at 3:00 am, after Daniel left his house in Rochester, New York in the snow, wearing nothing but underwear.

National and international demonstrations after Minn. police murder George Floyd (wiki).

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He was behaving erratically, stripping his clothes off as he walked through the streets and -- according to police, who are likely lying to bolster their defense -- smashing windows. Four officers responded. They ordered the mentally deranged Prude to get on the ground, which he did, and they handcuffed him then killed him.

Prude yelled that he had COVID-19, so they put a "spit hood" over his head then laughed while he yelled profanities at them. When he tried to get to his feet, three killers dogpiled on him on the cold and wet pavement.

After three minutes of pinning him down [to ensure he was lifeless?], they noticed bodily fluid flowing out of his mouth. And they also noticed he was unconscious [rather than dead], so they took him to the hospital. But he never woke up and was taken off life support three days later, all of which amounts to HOMICIDE.

Indeed, the medical examiner ruled their actions a homicide, on account of complications caused from asphyxia (suffocation) from police "restraint" (torture), as well as PCP intoxication. The four killers remain on the force, and it's unclear if they are in the field or on cushy desk duty.

Comment on the police killing of Daniel Prude? Sound off in the comments below.

Black man somehow dies at hands of police


(CTV News) GRAPHIC: Peaceful demonstrators are demanding justice in the police killing of Daniel Prude after body cam footage of his arrest is released. #uspoli

Controlled by the Net: The Social Dilemma

Netflix, Aug. 27, 2020; Seth Auberon, Pfc. Sandoval, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Social Dilemma (trailer)

(Netflix) We tweet, we like, and we share— but what are the consequences of our growing dependence on social media? As digital platforms increasingly become a lifeline to stay connected, Silicon Valley insiders reveal how social media is reprogramming civilization by exposing what’s hiding on the other side of your screen.

There's a social dilemma, and there's a Facebook dilemma, of which Mark Zuckerman is the scarecrow figure when the organization is run or unduly influenced by spy agencies like the CIA, FBI, NSA, and others. He gets paid to work on the tech and to sell out customers/users.

ABOUT The Social Dilemma

The world has long recognized the positive applications of social media, from its role in empowering protesters to speak out against oppression during the [fake] Arab Spring uprisings [which turned out to be American propaganda to depose their elected leader not a nativist freedom movement we were all led to believe and support] almost a decade ago, to serving an instrumental role in fighting for equity and justice today. And in 2020, during an astonishing global "pandemic," social media has become our lifeline to stay in touch with loved ones, as well as proving to be an asset for mobilizing civil rights protests. However, the system that connects us also invisibly controls us. The collective lack of understanding about how these platforms actually operate has led to hidden and often harmful consequences to society—consequences that are becoming more and more evident over time, and consequences that, the subjects in The Social Dilemma suggest, are an existential threat to humanity.

The Social Dilemma is a powerful exploration of the disproportionate impact that a relatively small number of engineers in Silicon Valley have over the way we think, act, and live our lives. The film deftly tackles an underlying cause of our viral conspiracy theories, teenage mental health issues, rampant misinformation and political polarization, and makes these issues visceral, understandable, and urgent. Through a unique combination of documentary investigation and entertaining narrative drama, award-winning filmmakers Jeff Orlowski (Chasing Ice, Chasing Coral) and Larissa Rhodes (Chasing Coral) have once again exposed the invisible in a manner that is both enlightening and harrowing as they disrupt the disrupters by unveiling the hidden machinations behind everyone’s favorite social media and search platforms.

The film features compelling interviews with high-profile tech whistleblowers and innovation leaders including Tristan Harris of the Center for Humane Technology; the co-inventor of the Facebook “like” button, Justin Rosenstein; former President of Pinterest and former Director of Monetization at Facebook Tim Kendall; Cathy O’Neil, author of Weapons of Math Destruction; Director of Policy at the AI Now Institute Rashida Richardson; and many others. Demonstrating how social media affects consumers on a personal level, these fascinating insider insights are seamlessly woven into a captivating narrative, including Vincent Kartheiser (Mad Men), which illuminates the very real consequences these seemingly innocent technologies can have on our everyday lives.

ABOUT NETFLIX: Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 193 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries, and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause, and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.

Buddhism Hotline: I am depressed (comedy)

Buddhism Hotline, streamed live Sept. 4, 2020; Sheldon S., Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Buddhism Hotline: I am Depressed

Jonathon Hills admits he is in a deep depression after his recent divorce from Brittany and diagnosis of testicular cancer. Streams Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays @ 7:00 pm EST.

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"Parent Appreciation Night" with Dude Wipes: Don't leave home w/o them.

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The legal marijuana industry's rigged (video)

Hasan Minhaj (Patriot Acmtflix, May 25, 2020); Seth Auberon, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly


The legal marijuana industry is rigged

(Patriot Act) As rich white male business owners monopolize newly-available marijuana licenses, states continue to arrest people of color for cannabis crimes -- even after it’s legal. This leads Hasan to ask, If cannabis can’t be legalized fairly, should it be legalized at all?

Have a happy day, marijuana monger.

About Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj: New topics and new episodes every Sunday, only on Netflix. Hasan Minhaj brings an incisive and nuanced perspective to global news, politics, and culture in this unique comedy series.

ABOUT: Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 183 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.

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Moon "science": consensus reality (video)

The Richest, July 20, 2020; CC Liu, Pfc. Sandoval, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

China's weird moon discovery baffles scientists

Will all the life found be revealed?

China recently stumped the world's scientists with what they found on the dark side of the moon. This discovery, along with its camera footage and still pictures, claims to reveal something about our past.

The United States is alleged to have spent some $288 billion [in equivalent dollars to today's decreased value of American currency] to reach the moon in 1969. Now China’s found something strange, and the USA is allegedly seething that it didn’t find it first.

For decades, powerhouse governments have been locking horns in a "Space Race." Once the USA landed on the moon, the focus turned to Mars. And now it’s all about finding life that is being harbored on other planets.

The USA and Russia’s space race is well documented, but who knew China and India run ongoing lunar projects as well? Recently, they found an odd gel-like substance on the dark side of the moon, and this discovery sent the space world into a tailspin.

For copyright matters contact The Richest at: legal@valnetinc.com

Trump calls dead soldiers "losers" and "suckers"

Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic, 9/3/20; Pfc. Sandoval, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Trump rushes through Arlington Nat'l Cemetery stepping on the graves of losers and suckers.

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Dead U.S. soldiers are "losers" and "suckers" according to Trump

I killed because you told me to, and I died.

Trump has said Americans who died in war are "losers" and "suckers."

The current president has repeatedly disparaged the intelligence of service members and asked that wounded veterans be kept out of military parades, multiple sources tell The Atlantic.

When Pres. Donald Trump canceled a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018, he blamed rain [which might muss his carefully crafted hairdo] for the last-minute decision, saying that “the helicopter couldn’t fly” and that the Secret Service wouldn’t drive him there. Both claims were true.

Pres. Trump rejected the idea of the visit because he feared his hair would become disheveled in the rain and because he did not believe it important to honor American war dead, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day.

In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.”

In a separate conversation on the same trip, Pres. Trump referred to the more than 1,800 Marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as “suckers” for getting killed. More

• Georgia church splits from United Methodists over gay rights

Friend's tell-all book "Melania [Trump] and Me"

Georgia Slater (People/msn.com); Ashley Wells, CC Liu, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

At least this time I didn't steal my speech from Michelle Obama (People/Chip Somodevilla/Getty).

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Melania Trump scolds the attention on "malicious gossip" after ex-friend's biting tell-all book

Foreign First Lady Melania Trump criticized "delusional & malicious gossip" on Thursday, the same week a former friend and adviser has been sharing scathing accounts of her time in the White House with the first lady.

Melania and Me friend's tell-all (Stephanie Wolkoff)

Trump, 50, did not specifically mention Stephanie Winston Wolkoff's new tell-all, Melania and Me, though she implied that the headlines Wolkoff's accounts have made — including revelations that Trump used a private email for government work, despite Pres. Donald Trump's criticism of U.S. Sec'y of State Hillary Clinton for the same crime [Lock him up, too!] — were distracting from more important issues.

"This afternoon I will be hosting a roundtable with some incredible citizens in recovery & the amazing organizations that support them," the first lady tweeted. "I encourage the media to focus & report on the nation's drug crisis, not on delusional & malicious gossip."

On Thursday afternoon, Mrs. Trump hosted a White House roundtable with the Office of National Drug Control Policy, commemorating National Recovery Month. Opioid addiction is one of the central parts of her [agrammatical] "Be Best" initiative focusing on children's welfare.

"The coronavirus pandemic has increased feelings of loneliness and sadness. For vulnerable populations, it has also increased the risk of substance abuse. But the American people are strong and always set up to help one another in times of need," the first lady said. More

Rebirth and Karma (audio)

Bhikkhu Bodhi, student of the BPS Editor Ven. Nyanaponika (Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka), Washington, DC Vihara; Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

When these ten Dharma talks were originally released, they were accompanied by a pronunciation guide and a glossary of Pali/Sanskrit terms used in the talks. They were part of a study at home program in cassette form. They have been published on YouTube and other outlets and now as a ten CD set from the Buddhist Association of the United States (BAUS.org) and Chaung Yen Monastery in Upstate New York with improved audio. This is Talk 5, Rebirth and Karma.

Can we change a deed? (Karma and its Fruit)

Ven. Nyanaponika Thera aka Seigmund Feniger (Kamma and its Fruit via accesstoinsight.org, BuddhaNet edition, 1996) edited by Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly 2020 

The causes are our deeds.

The Buddha taught: "If one says that in whatever way a person performs a karmic deed [an intentional action], in that very same way one will experience the result (vipaka, phala) -- in that case there is no [possibility for a successful] spiritual life and no opportunity would ever appear for the complete ending of all suffering [enlightenment and nirvana].

"But if one says that a person who performs a karmic deed [that bears results] that are variably experienceable [that is to say that ripen differently] will reap that deed's results accordingly -- in that case there is [the possibility for a successful] spiritual life and an opportunity for making a complete end of all suffering" (AN 3.110).

I.

Most writings on the doctrine of karma emphasize the strict lawfulness governing karmic actions and results, ensuring a close and clear correspondence between deeds and their fruits.

While this emphasis is good enough, there is another side to the complex working of karma, a very important side that is rarely noted. This is the modifiability of karma.

The fact is that the lawfulness (regularity, predictability) that governs the working out of karma does NOT operate with mechanical rigidity like the "laws" of physics are said to behave. It allows for a considerably wide range of modifications in the ripening of the fruit.

If karmic action were always to bear fruit invariably in the same way and with the same magnitude, and if modification or annulment of karmic results were excluded, liberation (moksha) from the cycle of suffering (samsara) would be impossible. Why?

An inexhaustible past amount of unwholesome karma would always throw up new obstructive results (mental resultants and fruits). So the Buddha taught:

"If one says that a person who performs a karmic action [deeds that have the power to produce a distant result] that can be experienced in a variety of ways will reap the results of that deed accordingly — in that case there will be [a good purpose for leading this] spiritual life [taught by the Buddha as a means of waking up and] making a complete end of suffering" (AN 3.110).

Like any event in physics, the mental process constituting a karmic action never exists in isolation. It always exists in a field. So its efficacy (the power to produce its results) depends on its own potential AND variable factors of its field. These things can modify the results of an action (a karmic deed) in numerous ways.

Hey, that means there's hope! We can be free!!

For example, we see that a particular karma (an intentional physical, verbal, or mental act), either whether it's skillful or unskillful (good or bad) may sometimes have its result strengthened by "supportive karma," or weakened by "counteractive karma," or even annulled by "destructive karma."

The occurrence of the results can also be delayed if the coming together of outer circumstances required for the ripening of a deed are not complete. That delay may then provide a chance for counteractive or destructive karma to operate.

[In other words, there is hope no matter what we have done or are doing. We can turn it around and progress to a "successful" spiritual life crowned with awakening/enlightenment and nirvana, which is the end of all suffering. This is what the Buddha taught when he talked about the hopelessly complex teaching of karma and karmic results.] More

The Zen of Farting (Alan Watts)

Alan Watts (alanwatts.org); Seth Auberon, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly

The title is far better than the book, a bad joke gone too far. Better to hear Alan Watts:

"In the Age of AI" (documentary)

Frontline documentary (PBS.org, 12/2/19); Pfc. Sandoval, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

In the Age of Artificial Intelligence (full film)

The uncanny valley is very real.

(PBS) This documentary explores how A.I. (artificial intelligence) is changing life as we know it — from the loss of privacy to jobs to a growing rivalry between the U.S. and China.

FRONTLINE investigates the promise and perils of AI and automation, tracing a new industrial revolution that will reshape and disrupt our world, and allow the emergence of a surveillance society.

This journalism is made possible by viewers. Support local PBS stations. Like FRONTLINE? Find the PBS Video App with more than 250 FRONTLINE documentaries available to watch any time.

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Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Major funding for FRONTLINE is provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Abrams Foundation, the Park Foundation, The John and Helen Glessner Family Trust, and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation.

The MOON is acting strangely, isn't it?

BMW5058 (Reddit, Mandela Effect Group 2016); Pat Macpherson, DS (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Harvest moon, orange due to greater Rayleigh scattering close to horizon (Roadcrusher/Wiki)

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Moon, Venus, Pleiades (Dennis Schoenfelder, CO earthsky.org)

I am just an average person and only know basic things about the moon that I have learned in school or have seen on TV....

I work outside and love watching the sky. I also go outside every night and observe. I have been noticing the moon acting very different from what I remember. The moon usually follows a predictable path across the sky above my yard. It is usually located in a couple different areas. I can usually find it pretty quickly because of this.

After watching it for many years, I notice its usual locations. However, for the last year or so I have noticed the moon winding up in different areas and following a different path. It seems out of rhythm or something. It is like there is no rhyme or reason for where it is located every night.

Also, I have noticed the moon is out all day a lot more. I remember being able to see it during the day every once in a while, but now there are periods where it is out all day for many days in a row. I know it’s out all day because I work outside and see it from 7:00 am to the night for many days in a row. I don’t remember it being out all day as often as it has been in the last year or so.

Lunar phases do not predict position in the sky?

Not only does the moon seem closer and more clear to the naked eye, but I feel the shadows on the moon are different. I swear I remember the shadows looking like the side view of a human head when I was younger. I thought that was why they said there was a "man in the moon."

One could see the shadow that looked like a man’s head from the side. One could see the nose and lips. Now, the shadows are different. I don’t see the head anymore, and I only see the bunny ear shadows....

The reason I have felt the need to bring up the moon is because I have not seen the moon in almost two weeks, which is strange. I have never noticed the moon not being visible from my yard for this long.

I know there are nights we don’t see the moon because of where it is in its orbit or it being a new moon, but it’s usually not for this long. The moon could be below the tree line in my yard, which is possible but not normal. I’m not saying the moon vanished, just that it has not been visible from my yard, which is strange.

The moon has been off to me, and I don’t know if I am losing my mind or something is going on. I’m wondering if anyone else is noticing anything strange about the moon. More

Comments

Be a space archeologist or astronomer (TED).

(Lobster_conspiracy) Have you actually measured and recorded (written down) your observations? Saying that you remember the moon being like this or like that is not worth anything. Whenever you have the opportunity to view the moon, record the time, the compass-direction of the moon, the estimated angle in the sky, the phase, the size, and anything else you notice. (Much of this can done easily with a GPS/compass equipped camera found in any modern smartphone). This is the basis of the scientific method.

(Fexmeif) The moon is out during the day, all day, for about a quarter of the time, it has always been like that. We have the misconception that the moon shows up at night, but that's only because during the day it's not as visible. (Because of the Sun itself and because it's on the "new moon" phase).

• COMMENTS (reddit.com)

Zen story: Steal the Moon

Buddha Groove (blog.buddhagroove.com); Ashley Wells, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Zen Master Ryokan lived a life of simplicity in a cabin near the mountains. When he was away one night, a thief broke in only to find nothing worth stealing.

Just then Master Ryokan returned and seeing the burglar said: “You have travelled far to visit me! I can't let you return emptyhanded. Here are my clothes. Please accept them as a gift.”

The baffled thief took the clothes and ran away.

Now naked, the master gazed at the moon. “Poor man,” he sighed, “how I wish I could give him this glorious moon.” Source

The Sumerians: Fall of Civilization (video)

Fall of Civilizations, Aug. 16, 2020; Pat Macpherson, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

8. The Sumerians: Fall of the First Cities

In the dust of modern Iraq (ancient Mesopotamia), the ruins of the world's first civilization lie buried. In this episode travel into the extremely distant past to look at the remains of the earthly and otherworldly beings of Sumer, the Sumerians.

Map of ancient Mesopotamia/Iraq (wiki)

These ancient people invented writing and mathematics and built some of the largest cities the world had ever seen. Discover the mystery of their origins, and learn how they rose from humble beginnings to form the foundation of all our modern societies. With myths, proverbs, and even some recreated Sumerian music, travel back to where it all began, and find out how humanity's first civilization fell. Watch ad-free.

Sources. Credits: Sound engineering by Thomas Ntinas with voice actors: Jake Barrett-Mills, Rhy Brignell, Shem Jacobs, Nick Bradley, Emily Johnson. Music by Kevin MacLeod licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Artist: incompetech.com/. Title theme "Home At Last" by John Bartmann (johnbartmann.com).

RNC, race, Kenosha: Last Week Tonight

John Oliver (Last Week Tonight, 8/30/20; Seth Auberon, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

(HBO) John Oliver discusses a week that saw the Republican National Convention, a horrific series of shootings in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and a strike in professional sports -- three stories that are really one story about race in America.

• VIDEO: Deputies kill black bicyclist in Los Angeles

Connect with Last Week Tonight online... Subscribe to the Last Week Tonight YouTube channel for more almost news as it almost happens. Find on Facebook like mom would. Follow on Twitter for news about jokes and jokes about news. Visit official HBO website for all that other stuff at once.