The Little Thread Which Grew - the Apollo '73 to Everything But

[lkwdblds]

I emphasize items 3, 6 and 7.

Search "fractal" on the "Oh! God!!" thread. Vin was very much aware of this subject already.

[I hate this needless whining and wanting of credit.]

My personal policies are as follows:

(1) Investigate, observe and learn... no experience is small or not worth examining.
(2) State my truth as clearly as possible to get feedback from others.
(3) Observe and learn from the feedback. Modify my truth and not keep it fixed unnecessarily.
(4) Never get into an argument on the feedback.
(5) Maintain integrity as to the perception and statement of truth despite agreement or disagreement.
(6) Always look, and encourage others to look.
(7) Ignore those who deal with blame, make wrong and whining. They have other fish to fry than an honest discussion.

.

Vin, I emphasize items 3 and 6 and adhere to item 7. Entering late into a long chain of discussion as I have done, merely observing and giving feedback is the best option. Sometimes, I will make an effective and even inspiring comment and other times my comment seems to be off topic and/ or too elementary. I am willing to miss the mark and have "egg on my face" because if I do mention something clever, which has occurred on occassion, it gives you and other participants a chance to reiterate their #3's.

The most blatant example of a contributor who needed number 7 applied to him was my old friend Finishedman. Talk about making others wrong, he was the master of that tactic.

I am amazed at how loyal to LRH most of the participants of Vin's linked to thread are. One party, Valkov, there is sort of the corresponding figure to our Veda, Valkov is an LRH historian on advanced thinking into models of the universe. He is a master of his game and can site all sorts of obscure LRH references and frequently does so when he is challenged. Amazing that two hisorians, one pro LRH and one anti LRH both have their screen names starting with the rare letter "V".
Lakey

 

[lkwdblds]

A "mensch", wouldn't he be an "unmensch"?

What it means to be a mensch, even when you have just fucked someone over really badly:

Robbed! Blown call costs Armando Galarraga a perfect game
By 'Duk


It was a bang-bang play that left two victims dead.
The first was the masterful perfect game bid of Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga(notes).
The second was the reputation of Major League umpire Jim Joyce.
Galarraga will likely move on with his major league career with the stinging Harvey Haddix-type knowledge that only one of the worst blown calls in baseball history prevented him from becoming the 21st pitcher to throw a perfect game — and, even more incredibly — the third perfecto this season and second in four nights.
You can't say the same for Joyce, a 23-year veteran who coupled his name with Don Denkinger when he inexplicably called Cleveland's Jason Donald(notes) safe at first with an infield hit. Replays clearly showed that Galarraga's foot beat Donald to the bag by a full step and Tigers manager Jim Leyland chewed Joyce out — deservedly so — both directly after the play and right after Galarraga retired the next Indians batter for what basically amounted to a 28-out perfect game.
Unreal.
Watch the controversial play here
It's not hard to see why Joyce's Wikipedia page was vandalized within seconds or why FireJimJoyce.com sprung up soon after that.
Galarraga was cooler than you or I might have been, but even Joyce knew he screwed up big time.
"I just cost that kid a perfect game," Joyce said afterward. "I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay."
“I don’t blame them a bit or anything that was said. I would’ve said it myself if I had been Galarraga. I would’ve been the first person in my face, and he never said a word to me.”
Joyce is only human and you can bet that this call will spur another heated debate over expanded instant replay in baseball that might actually go somewhere. (It should.)
Joyce will also get plenty of rightful criticism over why he was ruling such a close play safe considering the circumstances. Yes, tie does go to the runner ... except when there is no actual tie and there's a perfect game on the line.

But what's done is done and Joyce's latest black eye for his profession prevented the following from occurring:
• Fewest pitches (88) in a perfect game since Addie Joss' 74 in 1908
• Shortest perfect game (1:44) since Koufax's 1:43 in 1965
• The third perfect game in the 2010s, which would have put them one behind the 1990s for most perfect games thrown in a decade — one year into it.
Don Denkinger? You have company.

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=8616789

I just viewed the video of the play at first base and it was not even that close. The first baseman touched the bag when the runner's foot was about 3' from the first base bag. I figure a fast runner is going about 20 miles per hour or about 30 feet a second so though he was 3' from the base, it took him only one tenth of a second more to reach the bag. This gives the apparency of the play seeming close. Still many plays in baseball have a runner and the ball arriving at the base only inches apart and not 3 feet.

I am told that the way umpires work it is that they watch the base and LISTEN for the impact of the baseball hitting the leather padding of the first baseman's mitt. By hearing the sound of the ball hitting the glove and watching the base intently, the ump can make accurate calls down to just inches. The 3' margin he had to deal with should have been very easy to call correctly unless he was screened out from seeing the base. He claims he had a good view and was not screened out.

I think the League Office should over rule the Umpire and declare the runner out and classify the game as a perfect game. Why should the perfect game by taken from the pitcher by an obviously faulty umpire's call?
Lakey

 

[CarmeloOrchards]

I just viewed the video of the play at first base and it was not even that close. The first baseman touched the bag when the runner's foot was about 3' from the first base bag. I figure a fast runner is going about 20 miles per hour or about 30 feet a second so though he was 3' from the base, it took him only one tenth of a second more to reach the bag. This gives the apparency of the play seeming close. Still many plays in baseball have a runner and the ball arriving at the base only inches apart and not 3 feet.

I am told that the way umpires work it is that they watch the base and LISTEN for the impact of the baseball hitting the leather padding of the first baseman's mitt. By hearing the sound of the ball hitting the glove and watching the base intently, the ump can make accurate calls down to just inches. The 3' margin he had to deal with should have been very easy to call correctly unless he was screened out from seeing the base. He claims he had a good view and was not screened out.

I think the League Office should over rule the Umpire and declare the runner out and classify the game as a perfect game. Why should the perfect game by taken from the pitcher by an obviously faulty umpire's call?
Lakey

my answer to the boldend question:

Baseball is a mind game 75% and physical 25%. I think that it is a very slippery slide. First using instant replay to over rule an ump call on one of the last plays of a game. Next using instant replay throughout games. Then using radar to track balls and strikes and foul balls and home runs.

Soon the umps are not part of the game.

Part of the game for pitchers catchers and hitters is the ever changing strike zone based on different umps, different emotions. Having a cold blooded radar judge all of the calls takes a huge bite out of the emotion of the hgame.

The part of the game I enjoy the most is the charged emotions.

With Vin Scully or Jon Miller calling a game I feel the emotions of the players and crowd.

 

[lkwdblds]

Well stated post!

my answer to the boldend question:

Baseball is a mind game 75% and physical 25%. I think that it is a very slippery slide. First using instant replay to over rule an ump call on one of the last plays of a game. Next using instant replay throughout games. Then using radar to track balls and strikes and foul balls and home runs.

Soon the umps are not part of the game.

Part of the game for pitchers catchers and hitters is the ever changing strike zone based on different umps, different emotions. Having a cold blooded radar judge all of the calls takes a huge bite out of the emotion of the hgame.

The part of the game I enjoy the most is the charged emotions.

With Vin Scully or Jon Miller calling a game I feel the emotions of the players and crowd.

Nice analysis, you make good points. Vince Scully is sort of a superhuman figure. I think the man started out announcing with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949 as a "boy wonder". He was a back up announcer to a famous announcer of that day. Here we are 61 years later and he is still announcing for the Dodgers. He still has that silky resonant voice and that excellent announcing style. Talk about Natural Clears, Vince would certainly be one. For 61 years he's had no case on post, everyone likes him, I have never heard a bad word said about him.

The only other announcer in has class that I know of was Chick Hearn of the Lakers. He was so much more than an announcer, he was sort of a team ambassador. Over 45 years at the Mike and I think he only missed 2 games and from 1965 or so on, he had a streak of over 3000 straight games without a miss, he never got sick enough to miss a came in 45 years at the Mike and he coined so many basketball expressions and contributed to its jargon.

Of course, another local basketball legend is John Wooden of UCLA, now nearly 100 years old, he is still active and vibrant.

As for the modern group, there are many good ones but I agree that John Miller with his back up man, Joe Morgan, are by far the best announcing team on the major networks.
Lakey

 

[Mark A. Baker]

Search "fractal" on the "Oh! God!!" thread.

For the math & geometry phobic, the basic principle of a fractal can be summarized very simply by the old metaphorical metaphysical aphorism: as above, so below.

The mathematical concept for this is: self-similarity.

This latter term betokens the fact that phenomena on a very small scale often possess strong similarities to the same phenomena viewed at a very large scale. The details of the mathematics however tend to be a bit "complicated".


Mark A. Baker

 

[afaceinthecrowd]

Catchin' Up

Rog…thanks for the reference and learner.com…good stuff.

Vin…thanks for you scnforum thread reference.

Lakey…thanks for your info re: Vin’s reference.

MAB and Enthetan thanks for your stuff, too.

And Carmelo, just plain thanks for your eclectic excellence.

Yall are keeping me busy with stuff to digest…I like it!

I liked Lakey’s, what countries do what best, post even with the Kiwi poop.

I heard this years and years ago,

The Difference Between Heaven and Hell

In Heaven:

The waiters are Italian
The chefs are French
The railroads are run by Germans
The British are the Police

In Hell:

The waiters are French
The chefs are British
The railroads are run by the Iltalians
The Germans are the Police



I heard “live” Scully call Kofax’s perfecto…there were two perfecto’s that night.



15 years ago I read a book called , “Poetry of the Universe”, by Robert Osserman…it’s still one of the best “Primers” I’ve ever read on Self Ordered Criticality, Fractal Geometry, etc. A number of my friends liked it, too.

Here’s a website on 10 Dimensional Space that I find fun and interesting http://www.tenthdimension.com/flash2.php.



"Don't fight forces, use them." Buckminster Fuller...that's the quote that leads off my next "Reader's Digest" installment.

Face

 

[FoTi]

This is the most interesting thread. Thanks to all of you for all of the interesting and useful info you've posted here. I love it!!

 

[lkwdblds]

Rog…thanks for the reference and learner.com…good stuff.

Vin…thanks for you scnforum thread reference.

Lakey…thanks for your info re: Vin’s reference.

MAB and Enthetan thanks for your stuff, too.

And Carmelo, just plain thanks for your eclectic excellence.

Yall are keeping me busy with stuff to digest…I like it!

I liked Lakey’s, what countries do what best, post even with the Kiwi poop.

I heard this years and years ago,

The Difference Between Heaven and Hell

In Heaven:

The waiters are Italian
The chefs are French
The railroads are run by Germans
The British are the Police

My added comments in red:

There are no Police needed in heaven
The wines are French
The beers are German
The movies are made in Hollywood, USA
The beaches are Australian
There is no Army or Navy
There is no telelevision

In Hell:

The waiters are French
The chefs are British
The railroads are run by the Iltalians
The Germans are the Police

The Army is French
The Navy is Mongolian
The television is permanently set to MTV



I heard “live” Scully call Kofax’s perfecto…there were two perfecto’s that night.



15 years ago I read a book called , “Poetry of the Universe”, by Robert Osserman…it’s still one of the best “Primers” I’ve ever read on Self Ordered Criticality, Fractal Geometry, etc. A number of my friends liked it, too.

Here’s a website on 10 Dimensional Space that I find fun and interesting http://www.tenthdimension.com/flash2.php.



"Don't fight forces, use them." Buckminster Fuller...that's the quote that leads off my next "Reader's Digest" installment.

Face

I added a few more entries in red for the fun of it.
Lakey

 

[Leon]

For the math & geometry phobic, the basic principle of a fractal can be summarized very simply by the old metaphorical metaphysical aphorism: as above, so below.

The mathematical concept for this is: self-similarity.

This latter term betokens the fact that phenomena on a very small scale often possess strong similarities to the same phenomena viewed at a very large scale. The details of the mathematics however tend to be a bit "complicated".


Mark A. Baker

Well spotted. Another hint at it is tucked into the Our Father prayer we we learned as children: "on earth as it is in heaven".

I've been planning to write an article for a thread on the Fractals in Scio. My week has been very busy. I'll get onto it this weekend - it's a three day weekend for us in New Zealand.

 

[RogerB]

For You Guys Interested in the Economic Scene

The little extract below is from Gary Dorsch a piece titled:

Euro-zone Credit Crunch & Shanghai Shakeout​

Here's the link for those interested . . . it's a good read
http://www.kitco.com/ind/dorsch/jun032010.html
____________________________________

Until mid-April, few traders knew much about the credit default swap (CDS) markets. They’re traded on an unregulated, over-the-counter market, and far from the public’s view. Yet nowadays, the CDS market has become a major battleground between high-stakes speculators and Euro-zone politicians, with the fate of the Euro currency hanging in the balance. In turn, the violent swings in the CDS markets are having a profound impact on the global bond, commodity, currency, and stock markets.

Credit default swaps have existed since the early 1990’s, but the volume of trading began to increase dramatically in 2003. By December 2007, the CDS markets had grown in size to $62-trillion of contracts outstanding, before shrinking to $38-trillion by the end of 2008. Huge throngs of “naked” short sellers were wiped-out in the CDS market following after Lehman Brothers defaulted on $365-billion of liabilities, which were settled at just 8-cents on the dollar.

Fourteen months later, the obscure CDS markets were again at the center of another major financial crisis, this time, raising the specter of a sovereign debt default. CDS traders were among the first to recognize that the government of Greece was technically insolvent, and unable to repay its €300-billion of outstanding debt. The size of Greece’s debt rivals the size of Lehman’s, when it defaulted, and is almost four times of the size of Argentina’s debt, when it defaulted in 2001.

Typically, a bond-holder can hedge against the risk of default by purchasing a CDS contract, and making quarterly insurance payments to the CDS seller. If a company or a national government defaults on its debt obligations, seeks a restructuring, or declares bankruptcy, the CDS seller is obligated to pay the CDS buyer the par value of the bond, in exchange for physical delivery of the bond. Most CDS contracts are in the $10-to-$20-million range with maturities of 1-to-10-years.

However, speculators can buy “naked” CDS contracts without actually owning the underlying bond. Likewise, sellers of CDS contracts might not have sufficient funds to cover their obligations, in the event of a default. These “naked” credit default swaps constitute the majority of trading volume, and permit banks and hedge funds to place bets on whether or not a company, or even a country, will default on it debts.

The nature of CDS trading, - which doesn’t require reporting of transactions to a government agency, - is such, that CDS speculators have an incentive to push companies or countries toward bankruptcy. CDS traders nearly toppled the Greek finance ministry, and are now betting on defaults in Euro-zone junk bonds. Attracted to the highly indebted Greek bond market like vultures to a decaying corpse, the CDS traders at major banks and hedge funds moved in for the kill in April

 

[afaceinthecrowd]

The little extract below is from Gary Dorsch a piece titled:

Euro-zone Credit Crunch & Shanghai Shakeout​

Here's the link for those interested . . . it's a good read
http://www.kitco.com/ind/dorsch/jun032010.html
____________________________________

Until mid-April, few traders knew much about the credit default swap (CDS) markets. They’re traded on an unregulated, over-the-counter market, and far from the public’s view. Yet nowadays, the CDS market has become a major battleground between high-stakes speculators and Euro-zone politicians, with the fate of the Euro currency hanging in the balance. In turn, the violent swings in the CDS markets are having a profound impact on the global bond, commodity, currency, and stock markets.

Credit default swaps have existed since the early 1990’s, but the volume of trading began to increase dramatically in 2003. By December 2007, the CDS markets had grown in size to $62-trillion of contracts outstanding, before shrinking to $38-trillion by the end of 2008. Huge throngs of “naked” short sellers were wiped-out in the CDS market following after Lehman Brothers defaulted on $365-billion of liabilities, which were settled at just 8-cents on the dollar.

Fourteen months later, the obscure CDS markets were again at the center of another major financial crisis, this time, raising the specter of a sovereign debt default. CDS traders were among the first to recognize that the government of Greece was technically insolvent, and unable to repay its €300-billion of outstanding debt. The size of Greece’s debt rivals the size of Lehman’s, when it defaulted, and is almost four times of the size of Argentina’s debt, when it defaulted in 2001.

Typically, a bond-holder can hedge against the risk of default by purchasing a CDS contract, and making quarterly insurance payments to the CDS seller. If a company or a national government defaults on its debt obligations, seeks a restructuring, or declares bankruptcy, the CDS seller is obligated to pay the CDS buyer the par value of the bond, in exchange for physical delivery of the bond. Most CDS contracts are in the $10-to-$20-million range with maturities of 1-to-10-years.

However, speculators can buy “naked” CDS contracts without actually owning the underlying bond. Likewise, sellers of CDS contracts might not have sufficient funds to cover their obligations, in the event of a default. These “naked” credit default swaps constitute the majority of trading volume, and permit banks and hedge funds to place bets on whether or not a company, or even a country, will default on it debts.

The nature of CDS trading, - which doesn’t require reporting of transactions to a government agency, - is such, that CDS speculators have an incentive to push companies or countries toward bankruptcy. CDS traders nearly toppled the Greek finance ministry, and are now betting on defaults in Euro-zone junk bonds. Attracted to the highly indebted Greek bond market like vultures to a decaying corpse, the CDS traders at major banks and hedge funds moved in for the kill in April

Good find, Rog.

I’ve got a friend of 25 years or so (one of the 3 truest friends of my life) that is a Chartered Financial Analyst (not a gimmie and a very prestigious certification) and has his own boutique Broker/Dealer, Financial Advisory and Money Management firm…his firm manages over 3 Billion $US. He’s been tellin’ me for years about how dangerous all that shit is.

Face

 

[afaceinthecrowd]

I added a few more entries in red for the fun of it.
Lakey

I like it, Lakey.

In my heaven the only TV is History, Discovery, National Geographic, PBS, TCM, College Football and March Madness, with a little HBO (when I'm in the mood).

Face

 

[SweetnessandLight]

They're Rioting in Africa (The Merry Minuet)

They're Rioting in Africa (The Merry Minuet)
(Sheldon Harnick)

Intro:
There are days in my life when everything is dreary
I grow pessimistic, sad and world weary.
But when I'm tearful and fearfully upset
I always sing this merry little minuet:

They're rioting in Africa
They're starving in Spain
There's hurricanes in Florida
And Texas needs rain.

The whole world is festering
With unhappy souls
The French hate the Germans,
The Germans hate the Poles

Italians hate Yugoslavs
South Africans hate the Dutch
And I don't like anybody very much

But we can be grateful
And thankful and proud
That man's been endowed
With a mushroom shaped cloud

And we know for certain
That some happy day
Someone will set the spark off
And we will all be blown away

They're rioting in Africa
There's strife in Iran
What nature doesn't do to us
Will be done by our fellow man.

Ooooooh, I grew up singing this song! Kingston trio? It's funny, but some days lately, it does seem very appropriate....sadly...things will get better! I have hope, and am working towards improving conditions locally!

 

[SweetnessandLight]

Rog, thanks for the new tip! BTW, I did not post from inside ESMB, I went to my regular email site on AOL, logged in and hit the "compose" button and wrote a brand new email on AOL. Still, I got that message. Well, I will try your new suggestion and report back what happens.

Yes, I'm in total agreement with your analysis with European birth rates, by the way. The way it is going, it may take many decades but most of the EU countries will be dominated by Muslims and when they are in the majority they can vote in Sharia law. Just think, Germans instead of sinigng with "Deutschland uber Alles" will be wailing "Allah Akbar" instead. In France, "Viva le France" will be supplanted by daily praying to Mecca.

You kinow, in the USA, the Mexican populations in the Sourthern border states are growing so fast that they are now almost in the majority over whites in many states. This has an enormous effect on the elections and is really the main reason that neither major polictical party wants to enforce our borders. Both parties are afraid of alienating the Latino voters and that is reall what is keeping our borders pourous.
Lakey

Seems like the "service" they don't like or aren't compatible with is AOL???

And for the record, despite certain surface differences, scientifically, we ARE all one race! (Not a Marcabian amongst us! )

 

[SweetnessandLight]

Bad Call!

I just viewed the video of the play at first base and it was not even that close. The first baseman touched the bag when the runner's foot was about 3' from the first base bag. I figure a fast runner is going about 20 miles per hour or about 30 feet a second so though he was 3' from the base, it took him only one tenth of a second more to reach the bag. This gives the apparency of the play seeming close. Still many plays in baseball have a runner and the ball arriving at the base only inches apart and not 3 feet.

I am told that the way umpires work it is that they watch the base and LISTEN for the impact of the baseball hitting the leather padding of the first baseman's mitt. By hearing the sound of the ball hitting the glove and watching the base intently, the ump can make accurate calls down to just inches. The 3' margin he had to deal with should have been very easy to call correctly unless he was screened out from seeing the base. He claims he had a good view and was not screened out.

I think the League Office should over rule the Umpire and declare the runner out and classify the game as a perfect game. Why should the perfect game by taken from the pitcher by an obviously faulty umpire's call?
Lakey

Galarraga is perfect in my world! What a mensch!

 

[SweetnessandLight]

I like it, Lakey.

In my heaven the only TV is History, Discovery, National Geographic, PBS, TCM, College Football and March Madness, with a little HBO (when I'm in the mood).

Face

Me too, Facey! Except take out the sports and add antiques roadshow!

 

[CarmeloOrchards]

Ooooooh, I grew up singing this song! Kingston trio? It's funny, but some days lately, it does seem very appropriate....sadly...things will get better! I have hope, and am working towards improving conditions locally!

The Kingston trio

and the author of the song went on to write the Broadway musical, Fiddler on the Roof

 

[lkwdblds]

Seems like the "service" they don't like or aren't compatible with is AOL???

And for the record, despite certain surface differences, scientifically, we ARE all one race! (Not a Marcabian amongst us! )

What about Tom of Helatrobus who posts here on ESMB, isn't he Marcabian?


LaUser Name Instant Messaging Home Page Join Date Posts Avatar
2008 2
Tom of Helatrobus
Patron with Honors 23rd March 2008 438
key

 

[lkwdblds]

I like it, Lakey.

In my heaven the only TV is History, Discovery, National Geographic, PBS, TCM, College Football and March Madness, with a little HBO (when I'm in the mood).

Face

I've gotta go there with you Face. I just love the History Channel. I am a World War II freak and watch all the WWII stuff on the History Channel. Also I liked their take on the JFK assinination and also the series on Wild West Tech, some of the major technical engineering achievements of the 19th century. They had a series called the Swastika and the Samurai. What a series it was!!! Did you ever wonder how the Nazi's and Imperial Japan ever hooked up? It is an incredibly interesting story whose central figure is a guy name Erich Hausholder or something like that. He lived in Japan prior to WW I and learned the way of the Japanese Warriors - Bushido. He suggested fashioning such a group in Germany which became the SS.

Hauseholder was a genius. After World War I, he saw that the balance of power in the world was going to go to the Ango Americans, the USA and Great Britain. He saw Germany being swept away and being relegated to the status of a vassal of the U.S.A. He decided that the only group on Earth big enough to resist being taken over by the Ango Americans was an amalgam of Germany, Japan and the Soviet Union.

He went to Hitler and explained his ideas to Hitler. Hauseholder arranged the link up between Germany and Japan and Hitler enthusiastically agreed to that. Hauseholder then said that Germany and Japan had to meld into a three party axis with the Soviet Union. This was hard for Hitler to accept because he viewed the Russians as Slavs, which were mainly farmers and workers and who were inferior to Germans racially. Nevertheless, Hitler was talked into the merger with the Soviet Union and the Alliance was formed shortly before WWII started.

This alliance was Hauseholder's brainchild and it worked. Had it been followed, world power would have rested in two camps, the Axis and the Anglo Americans. It would have been a stalemate between these two powerhouses.

Suddenly out of nowhere, Hitler attacked the Soviets and broke the alliance. Householder went crazy and realized that Germany was doomed to defeat. He tried to see Hitler and reason with him to reestablish the alliance with Russia and Hausholder was arrested and put in a concentration camp. He died there during the war but his Son carried on his goal of trying to reconnect with Stalin. For a couple of years, Stalin was interested and feelers were put out to Hitler that Stalin and Hitler should form an alliance along with Japan and aid Japan in their attack on the West. Hitler refused and finally, in 1943, Stalin turned his full force on Germany along with the Anglo Americans and Germany was annihilated.

The story is extremely interesting and the two Hauseholders, Father and Son, had an excellent and accurate world view and tried to use it to Germany's advantage but in the end, Hitler could not stand forming an alliance with Russia and chose to fight them, thus leading to Germany's demise as a first class military power.

HBO - Well Curb your Enthusiasm is the funniest thing I have ever seen. Having Jewish blood and having been raised amongst the "tribe", I think that the West L.A. Jewish type scene is extremely funny. Larry David is the epitomy of a well to do Jewish late middle aged man in L.A. His supporting cast is really funny too. The cuss words and all the shtick and comedy which they indulge in is extremely funny if one has any reality on that type of scene.
I like your choices about watching TV - sorry if I got carried away on the WWII story but maybe someone will find it interesting.
Lakey

 

[Vinaire]

I came across this interesting and funny definition.

EGOTIST:
Someone who is usually me-deep in conversation.

.