A BIRD in the HAND

by Andrew Roller

Just in time, Holy Joe appeared again, to comment on the news:

ARSE:  Joe!  You’re in our dumpster again!

Joe:  A man’s gotta eat.

ARSE:  What do you think of Luigi Man(gione)?

Joe:  The guy who shot the healthcare CEO?

ARSE:  Yes.

Joe:  He makes great T.V.

ARSE:  The corpse, or the killer?

Joe:  Both.  But since the killer’s still alive, we can look forward to new episodes from him.

ARSE:  The news isn’t a T.V. drama.

Joe:  No.  It’s better.  No one knows for sure what will happen.

ARSE:  I know what will happen.  Man(gione), and his gorgeous body, will be locked up forever.

Joe:  That’s true.  I may eat out of a dumpster, but I’m not behind bars.  

ARSE:  Girls should keep that in mind.

Joe:  That’s right!  I mean, I have a cap gun.  And I’m happy to say, “Down with healthcare!”

ARSE:  And your ass isn’t locked up.

Joe:  My dick isn’t locked up either.  See?  My trouser fly is open.  

ARSE:  I’ll post your offer on the Internet.

Joe:  Do that!  ( Firing cap gun )  Blam!  Blam!  Down with healthcare!  Girls!  Get laid today!


AMERICA Ascendant

by Andrew Roller

Some wonder why females are drawn to alleged killer Luigi Man(gione).  After all, whatever his virtues ( including his physique ), he isn’t the acme of morality.

Since America left Afghanistan, America has been adrift.  Domestic troubles have included inflation and immigration.  America’s foreign friends, like Israel and Ukraine, are mired in wars.  Yemenis disrupt global shipping.

Until now.  An unleashed Israel, armed with American weapons, has trounced multiple foes.  Repercussions from this may turn the tide of global events as far away as Ukraine.  Taiwan, another American friend, may feel safer.

Americans often credit their success to superior morals.  In fact, the reason America is ascendant is this:

America can kill more people faster than anyone else.

Similarly, Israel, armed with American weapons, can kill more people faster than anyone else.  ( Anyone, that is, who would be likely to oppose Israel. )

That’s why females are drawn to alleged killer Man(gione).  Sure, he shot just one guy.  Man(gione) shot the guy in the back.  But Man(gione)’s youthful audacity, combined with his good looks and vigor, are catnip for females.  There are echoes of Alexander the Great in Man(gione).

Civilization began in 9,000 B.C.  But fully functional humans have existed for over 200,000 years.  And humans didn’t just pop into existence.  We carry within us the survival instincts of pre-humans as well as humans.

What can a female deduce from seeing Man(gione)?

1.  If he means to, he’ll get me pregnant.

2.  He’ll protect my babies.

There’s a reason that a given male is usually stronger and faster than a given female.  A male has one job:  to fuck females.

A female has a job too:  to get fucked.

For most of history, a female of reproductive age spent most of her time being pregnant, and nursing.  That was her purpose in life.  A male’s job was to protect her - for the sake of her young.

Hence, it’s no surprise that females are drawn to Man(gione).  He doesn’t have to be moral.  He just has to be able to kill more people than the average guy, or seem to possess that ability.

Like America and Israel do. 


DRONE Mystery SOLVED

by Andrew Roller

Here’s a transcript of a call we received at ARSE news.  Fortunately, our reporter was standing near the pay telephone on our street when it rang.

Q:  Hello.  Is this CNN?

ARSE:  It’s ARSE.

Q:  I’m calling to reassure you.

ARSE:  You are?

Q:  Yes.  I’ve been watching your newscasts.  On them, people keep saying, “Why are drones flying over New Jersey?”

ARSE:  Why are they?

Q:  Do you have little girls in New Jersey?

ARSE:  Sure.

Q:  So, duh!  That’s why drones are flying over New Jersey.

ARSE:  Why?

Q:  To look at little girls!  Especially at night.  We peek in their bedrooms.

ARSE:  Why?

Q:  Because we gotta jerk off!  Duh!

ARSE:  Who are you?

Q:  Aliens.  Our drones are from Venus.

ARSE:  You’re a Venusian?

Q:  We call ourselves perverts.

ARSE:  You’d better be careful.  Someone might shoot you.

Q:  That’s why I’m calling.  If you shoot us, we’ll use nuclear weapons.

ARSE:  Nuclear weapons?!  That would be World War III!  With aliens!

Q:  So mind your manners.

ARSE:  Yes sir!

Q:  We may need to borrow some of your girls.

ARSE:  Borrow them?

Q:  To take back to Venus.

ARSE:  Why?

Q:  We need sex slaves.

ARSE:  Whoa!  You’re kidnapping our little girls?

Q:  Not kidnapping.  Just borrowing.  We’ll return your girls when they’ve had lots of babies, and are old and loose.

ARSE:  Whew!  That’s a relief.

Q:  We figure, if you aren’t using your little girls as sex slaves, then we will.  We don’t want them to go to waste.

ARSE:  Definitely not.  Especially since you’ve got nuclear weapons.


AND IN THE END…

“Nothing remotely untoward or discomfiting should stain the product!”

- Edwin Frank, on the reaction of nineteenth century “guardians of public decency” to the art form called “the novel”.

Source:  Stranger than Fiction:  Lives of the Twentieth-Century Novel.  By Edwin Frank.  Farrar, Straus and Giroux.  New York, New York, United States of America.  Copyright 2024.  Page 29.


dec 10 - dec 13

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The magazine that Big Tech BANNED multiple times… lives!

ET 274

Editorial Thunder presents...

LIVE News NOW

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Plus:  Podcast Update.

And:  Great pedophiles of history.

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LIVE News NOW

by Andrew Roller

I don’t own a T.V.  However, I have an intense interest in news.  Real news.  Not Tucker Carlson’s claim that an advertisement for a women’s handbag is “child pornography”.  Not the repetitive blather of Fox News.  Not “we hate Trump” leftist smears.

This weekend, Syria’s government fell.  I wanted to find out more.  Here’s what worked for me:

1.  The British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC ).  This is an app on my iPad.

Every day, I have to pull on my socks.  Before I do, I tap on the BBC app.  It boots up.  The BBC app displays a half dozen news stories.  As I pull on my socks, I scan these stories.  This gives me a good idea of what is happening in the world.

If I want more information, I tap on one of the half dozen news stories.  The app then tells me more.

When Syria’s government fell, the BBC app displayed a single story at the top of its home page.  ( Other stories were present, but you had to scroll down to see them. )

The story about Syria included this word:  LIVE.  By tapping on “LIVE”, I was taken to a new page in the app.  There, I was able to watch live T.V.!  Much of the live coverage was about Syria.


2.  nbcnews.com.  This is a website.

NBC News provided live T.V. about Syria.  The live feed was actually from Sky News, in England.  Though Sky News is British, it’s owned by an American company:  Comcast.


Here’s what didn’t work for me:

1.  abcnews.go.com.  This is a website.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, abcnewsgo.com provided better coverage than nbcnews.com.  However, with regard to Syria, ABC remained focused on local news ( i.e. American news ), while NBC told me about Syria.

2.  cnn.com.  This is a website.

I found nothing useful here.  CNN was determined to make me pay for their content.  After a short time, what news they were providing ended.  CNN told me that my “free preview” was over.

3.  cbsnews.com.  This is a website.

I either didn’t access this, or found nothing useful.  As I write this ( a day later ), CBS is providing live T.V. about Syria.

4.  foxnews.com.  This is a website.

Fox dropped the ball.  It didn’t offer any live T.V. about Syria.  It didn’t even offer much in the way of ( stale ) video clips.


PODCAST Update

by Andrew Roller

In the past, I used Amazon’s Audible app to listen to podcasts.  However, the Audible app can be clunky to use.  I eventually abandoned Audible.  I abandoned it as a way to listen to podcasts.

I decided to try Apple’s “Podcasts” app.  Since I have an iPhone, an iPad, and an iMac, the question is, “Which one is best for podcasts?”  Let’s explore this:

1.  The iPhone:  I’ve had two iPhones.  My first iPhone died after three years.  The same problem has plagued both of my iPhones:  if I use an iPhone for awhile, it overheats.

Some years ago, I reported this problem to Apple.  What was Apple’s response?  Apple said, “You perceive your phone as being hot.”  In other words, my phone wasn’t actually hot.  The problem was that my sense of perception was erroneous.

When I took my dead phone to the Apple store, the employee told me:  “Your logic board got roasted”.  In other words, excessive heat killed my iPhone.


2.  The iPad.  I bought my iPad several months after my iPhone.  I bought it in 2019.  It has been to hell and back.  

My iPad has never left my residence.  I’ve never subjected it to physical abuse.  However, for some years, my iPad was my primary computing device.  An iPad isn’t meant to do the work of an iMac.

My iPad has been well behaved since I bought an iMac.  That’s because I no longer subject my iPad to intensive use.

Today, I booted up “Podcasts” on my iPad.  I looked at the podcast called “Ukraine:  The Latest”.  A new episode of “Ukraine:  The Latest” is released every weekday.  On my iPad, “Podcasts” told me that there wasn’t any new episode of “Ukraine:  The Latest”.  That’s wrong.


3.  The iMac.  Today, I booted up “Podcasts” on my iMac.  I looked at the podcast called “Ukraine:  The Latest”.  On my iMac, “Podcasts” told me that there was a new episode of “Ukraine:  The Latest”.  That’s correct.


Conclusion:  the best way to listen to podcasts, using Apple’s “Podcasts” app, is to listen on your computer.  In my case, that’s an iMac.


Postscript:  As I typed this article, my iPad updated its “Podcasts” app.  “Podcasts” now tells me that a new episode of “Ukraine:  The Latest” is available.

Hence, if you only own an iPad, do the following:  boot up “Podcasts” about 20 minutes before you want to listen to anything.


Note:  I’ve subscribed to a lot of podcasts.  This may be a reason why, on my iPad, “Podcasts” takes so long to update.


TWO More PODCASTS

by Andrew Roller

In prior issues, I’ve mentioned two shows:

1.  PBS Space Time.

2.  PBS Eons.

Unfortunately, the “Official Site” for both of these shows is youtube.com.  I detest You Tube.

If you want to watch PBS Space Time, or PBS Eons ( but not on You Tube ), enter the name of the show in your browser.  Your browser will take you to a site for the show.

You can’t save the website to your home page.  Here’s what happens if you do:

1.  The website gets saved as an icon.  The icon’s label reads, “PBS Video”.

2.  If you boot up “PBS Video”, you’re taken to a page featuring many PBS videos.  However, NONE of them are PBS Space Time.

The same is true for PBS Eons.  NONE of the videos at “PBS Video” are PBS Eons.

Hence, to watch PBS Space Time, you’ll have to type “PBS Space Time” into your browser each time that you want to watch it.  

The same is true for PBS Eons.  You’ll have to type “PBS Eons” into your browser each time that you want to watch it.

Which raises this question:  can you listen to either show in Apple’s “Podcasts” app?

For PBS Space Time, the answer is “no”.

For PBS Eons, the answer is “yes”.

With caveats.

In “Podcasts”, PBS Eons is no longer known by that title.  Its new title is:  Palaeocast.

A sister podcast is now available:

Eons:  Surviving Deep Time.  “About”, for this podcast, reads as follows:

“[ This ] podcast [ is an ] exploration of a question we’re often asked in the comments section of our YouTube videos:  how long could a human survive if [ he was ] dropped into a particular period of the geologic past?”

I can speak to this question.  Some years ago, I was reading an article on Earth’s past.  In that era, gold was lying on the ground in South Africa.  You didn’t need to dig it up.  It was lying on the surface of the earth.

“Wow!” I exclaimed.  “If only I could go back to that era, I’d be rich!”

I investigated this matter further.  ( I’m unemployed. )  It turned out that there was a problem.  In the past era of Earth’s history, when gold lay on the ground, Earth had no air.  So, if I’d had a time machine, I’d have been rich, and asphyxiated, in the same moment.

Enjoy PBS Space Time or PBS Eons with your browser.

Enjoy “Palaeocast” and “Eons:  Surviving Deep Time” in Apple’s “Podcasts” app.


Note:  In “Podcasts”, there’s a podcast called “SpaceTime with Stuart Gary”.  This may be a fine podcast.  However, it’s not PBS Space Time.  PBS Space Time is hosted by Matt O’Dowd.


The ARSE ( interview )

RAISING our BIRTHRATE

At ARSE, we pride ourselves on speaking with people of note.  Folks such as movie stars, artists, writers, and statesmen.

Pride, alas, isn’t sufficient to produce the interlocutors that we crave.  But we did catch Holy Joe in our dumpster again.  So we interviewed him.

Joe:  Mind if I eat?  You folks threw out some tasty treats!

ARSE:  Those aren’t from us.  We share our dumpster with others.

Joe:  Mmmm!  This just looks like dog poop…

ARSE:  America’s fertility rate has been falling.  Last year, America’s fertility rate hit a historic low.

Joe:  Folks prefer dogs.  Yuck!  This IS dog poop!

ARSE:  You don’t think Americans should have more babies?

Joe:  I didn’t say that.  I love little girls!

ARSE:  So you’re pro-natalist.

Joe:  Absolutely!  I don’t like playing alone.  Especially with my penis.

ARSE:  Do you think America can raise its birth rate?

Joe:  Yes!  Trump should make me his Baby Czar.

ARSE:  If he did, what would you do?

Joe:  First, we must inculcate in our children a pro-natalist viewpoint.

ARSE:  How?

Joe:  Hold community orgies.  They’d encourage people to fuck more.  The more people fuck, the more likely it is that someone will get knocked up.

ARSE:  So, as Baby Czar, you’d build brothels?

Joe:  No.  I’m a supporter of DOGE.  Except for welfare, I’m against government spending!

ARSE:  An orgy might attract lots of—

Joe:  Fuckers.  Especially since we’ll hold the orgies outdoors.

ARSE:  Where?

Joe:  On playgrounds.  That’ll help even our youngest become pro-natalist in their views.

ARSE:  And their bodies.

Joe:  Exactly.  But there’s more that we can do.  For instance, if you’re a girl, and you want to graduate from school, you can’t just use your mind.  You must use your womb too!

ARSE:  You’re saying-?

Joe:  Yes!  We’ll tell every girl, when she’s done with school, “No baby, no diploma.”  

ARSE:  What if she quits school early, because she’s pregnant?

Joe:  Do you want to raise America’s birth rate, or not?

ARSE:  Raise it.  This website needs more views.

Joe:  There’s more we can do.

ARSE:  Boys don’t get pregnant.

Joe:  No, but they like porn.  Do you recall taking Sex Education in school?

ARSE:  It was boring.

Joe:  Exactly.  The world is full of great porn, and yet they don’t show any of it in Sex Ed.  So, in addition to orgies, we’ll hand out porn.

ARSE:  On playgrounds?  

Joe:  Everywhere.  Especially in nursery schools, where they teach no Sex Ed at all!

ARSE:  I’m glad I caught you at lunch.  I knew you’d be great to talk to.

Joe:  I’m great at other things too.  This dumpster’s a fine place to jerk off.

ARSE:  Goodbye!

Joe:  If you see a girl, tell her I’ll have something for her to eat in a minute…


PHANTOMS Resurrected

by Andrew Roller

You’ve surely seen him.  His performances are often very brief.  He may not have any lines.  Yet his image is memorable.  Especially since he resembles a dirtbag.

Recently, I was dwelling on him.  I lamented ever finding out who he was.  I couldn’t recall the name of a single movie that I’d seen him in.  I felt haunted by him.

Then, I saw him!  He had a bit part in a movie on T.V.  Sitting on dialysis, I stumbled into the film “Night at the Museum:  Battle of the Smithsonian”.

His role was hardly memorable.  The film was worse.  But, thanks to “Museum”, I found out who he is!

Clint Howard is the “younger brother of actor and director Ron Howard”.  ( Wikipedia. )  Ron Howard had the starring role in the T.V. show “Happy Days”.

In the prior century, I reviewed low-budget indie films for Joe Bob Briggs.  Clint Howard had a secondary role in one of these films.  It was one of Clint’s finest performances.  Sadly, I have yet to figure out what the film was called.  That’s because, although I reviewed films for Joe Bob, I wasn’t allowed to keep them.  Each film arrived as a VHS tape.  I watched it at home, and reviewed it for free.  Then I mailed it on to another one of Joe Bob’s reviewers.

If you’ve got one foot in the grave, as I do, then you likely first encountered Clint Howard in the 1960s.  His “first prominent role was as a regular on the [ T.V. ] series ‘Gentle Ben’”.  The series ran from 1967-1969.

Clint Howard was in a 1966 episode of “Star Trek”.

I’ve felt haunted by more than Clint Howard.  Recently, I tried to recall a song that I’d heard thirty years ago.  I’d imbibed the song as a music video.  It appeared on the T.V. show “120 Minutes”.  That program aired late on Sunday nights, on Music Television.  ( MTV; a cable T.V. channel ).

My reflections had narrowed the song to the band “Stabbing Westward”.  Or so I supposed.  But, with regard to “Stabbing Westward”, I kept getting hung up on their song that’s called, “What Do I Have to Do”?  However, “What Do I Have to Do” wasn’t the song that I remembered.

Or so I supposed.  That’s the problem with living so long that you’re full of half-formed memories.  If something big happens, good or bad, you’ll recall it in detail.  But each of us swims in a sea of cultural inputs.  Recalling, or even identifying, each input is impossible.

Tonight, I found the half-remembered song.  I likely never knew its name before, but I do now.  The song is “Shame”.  It’s on the 1996 album by Stabbing Westward that’s called, “Wither Blister Burn + Peel”.

In 1996, I watched the music video for “Shame” in a state of rapture.  I became convinced that the singer in the video, and the images that he conveyed, were aimed right at me.  

I still find “Shame” impressive.  Whether it’s meant to send me on a mission from God remains to be determined.


AND IN THE END…

GREAT Pedophiles of HISTORY

“[ Antoine-Laurent ] Lavoisier [ rescued ] the innocent thirteen-year-old daughter of his friend Jacques Paulze from a forced marriage. … [ The ] twenty-eight-year-old Lavoisier [ did so by marrying ] her himself.”

- David Bodanis.

Modern feminism claims that female virginity is a social construct.  ( Despite the hymen. )  We find, above, that the “social construct” is, in fact, modernity’s claim of “child rape”, “pedophilia”, and male “predation”.

Bodanis on Lavoisier and his wife:  “It turned out to be a good marriage.” 

Source:  E=mc2:  A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation.  By David Bodanis.  Bloomsbury Publishing.  New York, New York, United States of America.  Copyright 2000.  Page 28.


ARCANA

1.  On the owner of Sky News:  Article:  Sky News.  Website:  en.wikipedia.org.  ( Via google.com. )

2.  The newly-minted term DOGE, as related to the United States Government, stands for the “Department of Government Efficiency”. 

3.  The film “Night at the Museum:  Battle of the Smithsonian” was released in 2009. 

4.  “Clint Howard” is an article at en ( dot ) wikipedia ( dot ) org. 


5.  The T.V. show “Happy Days” infested the airwaves from 1974 to 1984.  Its toxicity continues.  Jesse Watters, of the Fox News Channel, admits to modeling himself on the “Happy Days” character known as “The Fonz”.

Henry Winkler’s character of “The Fonz” fucked, in G-rated fashion, every underage minor female child on “Happy Days”.  That didn’t stop Winkler from releasing a pedophobic video tape in the 1990s that was called, “Strong Kids!  Safe Kids!” 


6.  Joe Bob Briggs hosted “Joe Bob’s Drive-in Theater” on The Movie Channel from 1986 to 1996.

It was during this time that I reviewed movies for him.  “Joe Bob Briggs” is an article at en ( dot ) wikipedia ( dot ) org.


7.  More on Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier:  Article:  Antoine Lavoisier.  Website:  en ( dot ) wikipedia ( dot ) org.


——————————————————————————————————————————


Copyright 2024 by Andrew L. Roller.  ET, Editorial Thunder, and ARSE, Andrew Roller Stories and Essays, are trademarks of Andrew L. Roller.   

I am http://andrewroller.com    

Earlier posts by me are at https://asstr.xyz/files/Authors/Roller/ 

asstr.org has the same content as asstr.xyz

“asslr ( Alt.Sex.Stories Lazy Rubes? ) is “an upcoming story repository to replace asstr”, according to xefig.com.   

I’m on paper at:  https://www.abebooks.com > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 

and https://www.abebooks.co.uk > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 

If you visit an “AbeBooks” website, you’ll be presented with a large square “Search” box.  In the box labelled “Author”, type in “Andrew Roller”.  In the box labelled “Title”, type in “Andrew Roller Presents”.  This will bring up some of my pamphlets.  I have not yet figured out how to bring up other pamphlets by me, under other titles.  I don’t recall all the titles I published under.  

I have no financial involvement in these resale items. 

Other references:

1.  https://zinewiki.com/wiki/Factsheet_Five

Article:  “Factsheet Five”.

Article subhead:  “Andrew Roller’s Factsheet Five controversy”.

2.  poopsheetfoundation.com 

Search for:

Writers / Artists:  Andrew Roller

3.  yandex.by

Search for:

Andrew Roller

4.  xefig.com

Search for:

Index of/files/Collections/ASSTR_Collection/Andrew_Roller/

( I accessed xefig.com via yandex.by )

5.  Apple Music

Search for:  @andrewroller666


On August 18, 2022, Apple Computer banned my Apple I.D.  Apple did this abruptly.  Apple gave me no warning of any displeasure, on its part, with me.  ( I’ve been an Apple customer since the 1980s. )

The effect of Apple’s ban was to destroy my content.  The vast bulk of my content was “safely” stored with them, in iCloud.

I complained to Apple.  Apple’s reason for their ban of my Apple I.D. was “Apple Policy”.  No further information was given.  Apple told me to apply for a new Apple I.D.  

You can read more about this in prior issues of ARSE.


Support NAMBLA!  The North American Man / Boy Love Association:  https://nambla.org/


This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 274

Arcana:  This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 274, version 1.0

Date Written:  December 1 - December 9, 2024.          Live for the day that censorious Big Tech is dead. 


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The magazine that Big Tech BANNED multiple times… lives!

ET 273

Editorial Thunder presents...

WHY T.V. will DIE

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Plus:  Requiem for a classic.

And:  When losing is winning.

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WHY T.V. will DIE

by Andrew Roller

Some years ago, a cover of The New Yorker featured a small boy.  Prone on his living room floor, he was holding, and viewing, an iPhone.  Nearby was a large flat screen T.V.  The T.V. was off.  Despite the T.V.’s offer of a huge image area, and theater-quality sound, the boy had no interest in it. 

About three years ago, I moved.  I had been living in a residential hotel.  The hotel provided a T.V., and “extended basic” cable T.V. service.  These were free.  At my new residence, I had neither.  Did I want to buy a T.V.?  Did I want to pay for cable?  

The price of televisions on amazon ( dot ) com was reasonable.  However, I’m not a big guy.  Hefting a T.V., even one that Amazon delivered ( to my building ), was not an attractive prospect.  Worse, I had no space in my new apartment for a T.V.  The cost of “extended basic” cable was prohibitive.  I decided against buying a T.V.

Instead, I joined Amazon’s Audible service.  There, I quickly fell afoul of Amazon’s relentless sales pitches.  I had to learn, the hard way, to avoid Audible’s ( endless ) sales of ( mostly second-rate ) audio books.  I found the Audible app to be clunky.  I often have to quit out of Audible, and relaunch it, to make it work.

As of late 2024, I’ve mostly abandoned Audible.  

In 2019, Apple’s “Podcasts” app wasn’t very appealing.  The “Podcasts” app didn’t work very well.  I found little content on “Podcasts” that I liked.  

Now, that’s changed.  I use “Podcasts” every day.  There are many podcasts that I like.  There are many podcasts that I yearn to listen to, but haven’t tried yet.

I still don’t have a T.V.  I follow what’s happening in the world by listening to podcasts.  Three times a week, I go to a hospital.  There, I have access to a T.V.  That’s because I’m on dialysis.  On dialysis, I watch T.V.  However, I have no desire to take the T.V. home with me.  ( Metaphorically; the T.V. is attached to a long mechanical arm. )

The T.V. at the hospital has “extended basic” cable.  It’s crap.  Yes, there are many channels.  However, each T.V. show is riddled with ads.  

It gets worse.  An old network T.V. show ( like Seinfeld ) has been “stripped for syndication”.  This means that small parts of each episode have been removed.  That leaves more room for ads.  

The channel called “TV Land” plays each show at a speed that’s 1/8 faster.  This was discussed, some years ago, on the Fox News Channel.  There, a stupid woman praised the faster speed.  She claimed that the faster speed caused a show to conclude more quickly.  That’s wrong.  The show still takes 30 minutes to air.  What does TV Land do with the extra time?  They show more ads.

If news is breaking, it’s helpful to have cable T.V.  However, despite the frequent claims of the cable news channels, news ( that matters ) is rarely breaking.  Fox News features the same “news” subjects every day.  

In 2021, I went without television for three months.  Then, I saw Fox News at the dentist.  I was stunned.  The same news topics that Fox News had been discussing three months ago were still on the menu.  “Our broken border” was one of the topics. 

I don’t watch sports.  A year has 365 days.  Here’s a question:  how many days in the year are without a major sporting event?

The answer is:  three.  This tells us that, like religion, sports is the opiate of the people.  It’s a useless activity designed to palliate the masses.  It’s especially useful to palliate dumb people who would otherwise be out in the street causing trouble.

Podcasts are for people of mid-range intelligence, like myself.  So what podcasts do I like?

1.  Ukraine:  The Latest.  By The Telegraph.  

Often, this is the best source of daily news.  Dominic Nicholls, ( “F-Bomb” ) Francis Dearnley, and others cast a wide net with their reporting.  I pray that this podcast continues after the war on Ukraine ends.


2.  Battle Lines.  By The Telegraph.  

This once weekly show is now published more frequently.  It covers contemporary warfare.  For the last year, its focus has been the various wars on Israel.  It is the sister podcast of Ukraine:  The Latest.


3.  The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg.  By The Dispatch.  

This podcast is published two or three times a week.  Jonah Goldberg has a highly compelling voice.  His expertise is the application of contemporary philosophy to current affairs.  Goldberg does this with an informed ramble.  The longer his ramble goes, the better it gets.  At least, that’s true most of the time.  I’ve sometimes quit an episode after listening for awhile.

“The Remnant” refers to “Never Trumpers”.  That is, the few people who are Republicans, but who loathe Donald Trump.


4.  The Dispatch Podcast.  By The Dispatch.  

This is a sister podcast to The Remnant.  It often features Jonah Goldberg.

The Dispatch Podcast is a roundtable discussion.  It features many smart people ( mostly reporters, acting as pundits ).  No matter who’s on the show, only one man is “the heavy artillery”.  That’s Goldberg.

At least, that’s true most of the time.  Goldberg sometimes has stiff competition.


5.  Advisory Opinions.  By The Dispatch.  

This is a podcast that I don’t have time for.  It discusses contemporary legal disputes, often at the level of the U.S. Supreme Court.  The host of this podcast is Sarah Isgur.  I often hear her on other podcasts that are produced by The Dispatch.  She’s an excellent speaker with an excellent mind.  I often agree with her.


6.  The Five.  By Fox News Radio.  

No, I haven’t lost my mind.  Compared to the folks on The Dispatch, the folks on The Five are ( mostly ) dunces.  Nonetheless, by midafternoon ( Pacific Time ), I want to know what ‘the daily rundown’ of the news is.  I listen to this audio version of The Five to find out.  I don’t necessarily listen to the entire show.


7.  Media Buzz Meter.  By Fox News.  

The host of this podcast is Howard Kurtz.  Each day, he spends about a half hour speaking, alone, about the news.  He addresses the news from a ‘media perspective’.  That is, he assumes that you know what the news is.  He talks about how the media covered the news.  I find Kurtz’ informed rambling to be quite useful.


8.  Potomac Watch.  By The Wall Street Journal.  

I’ve often said that “Journal Editorial Report” is the smartest show on Fox News.  “Journal Editorial Report” refers to The Wall Street Journal, which is an American newspaper.  Billionaire Rupert Murdoch owns both The Wall Street Journal and Fox News.

Paul Gigot is the host of “Journal Editorial Report”.  I regard him as the host of Potomac Watch.  However, he only hosts the podcast once or twice a week.  Like “Journal Editorial Report”, Potomac Watch is a roundtable discussion among reporters who are acting as pundits.


9.  The Chris Wallace Show.  By CNN.  

Chris Wallace hosts.  This is a weekly roundtable discussion among reporters who are acting as pundits.  Chris Wallace is leaving CNN.  He’s planning to become a podcaster.


10.  The Bret Baier Podcast.  By Fox News.  

Bret Baier hosts.  Sadly, this is not the audio version of “the panel” that appears every weekday on Bret Baier’s show on Fox News.

Bret Baier’s show on Fox News is called “Special Report”.  No podcast version is available of this show.

As for The Bret Baier Podcast, it’s only marginally useful.  The podcast is published ( more or less ) once a week.  Sometimes, Baier interviews a politician.  I have no interest in that.  Recently, he reran an episode from mid-July ( in November )!  That was a waste.  

On November 6, Baier had a roundtable discussion with his “panel” from “Special Report”.  That was worth listening to.  The episode lasted 25 minutes, which is much longer than the time given to the panel on “Special Report”.

Baier has yet to find a replacement on his “panel” for the late, and stellar, Charles Kraut ( hammer ).


11.  Post Reports.  By The Washington Post.  

This is another roundtable discussion show.  It features reporters who are acting as pundits.  

The same content is repackaged by The Washington Post as another podcast.  That podcast is called “The Campaign Moment”.

“The Campaign Moment” claims that it will expire when Trump is inaugurated as president.  What does that mean for ( the identical podcast ) Post Reports?  I don’t know.  I see no reason why Post Reports should ever end.  It’s a fine show.


12.  The Ezra Klein Show.  By The New Dork Times.  

This is another podcast that focuses on current affairs, from a political perspective.  It’s a fine show.


13.  What the Hell is Going On?  By AEI Podcasts.  

More than one podcast bears this catchy title.  Make sure you get the right one.  This is another fine podcast on current affairs, from a political perspective.


14.  Ink Stained Wretches.  By Nebulous Media.  

More fine “news commentary” by reporters.


15.  Perino on Politics.  By Fox News.  

Dana Perino “broke through” into public consciousness decades ago.  She did this as the lovely press secretary for President George W. Bush.  Her latest replacement, as presidential press secretary, is the lovely Karoline Leavitt.  ( Yes, I love blondes. )

I don’t always agree with Perino, but she’s a smart woman.  I listen closely to what she says on The Five.  Her brilliance extends to this podcast, where she interviews someone every week.  Thankfully, she doesn’t interview politicians.  Rather, she interviews a smart reporter ( who is acting as a pundit ).


16.  Mediaite’s Press Club.  By SiriusXM Podcasts.  

God knows what the back story is to such a tortured podcast name!

Like “Perino on Politics”, this podcast features an interview with a reporter, who’s acting as a pundit.  So far, I prefer Perino’s show.  But this show’s good too.


17.  Channels with Peter Kafka.  By Vox Media Podcast Network.  

This show is similar to “Mediaite’s Press Club”.  I sometimes listen to it.


18.  Kudlow.  By Fox Business.  

This is the audio version of Larry Kudlow’s weekday show on the cable T.V. channel that’s called “Fox Business”.  Here’s how to handle this show:

A.  Open the “Podcasts” app.

B.  Use the “Search” function to find the podcast “Kudlow”.

C.  Start the show.

D.  A small bar appears at the bottom of your iPad’s screen.  Tap on this bar.

E.  Whoa!  The bar expands into a box.  It fills your iPad’s screen.

F.  Look at the bottom right corner of your iPad’s screen.  There, you see a dialogue bubble ( like in a comic book ). 

G.  Tap on the dialogue bubble.  Whoa!  The entire script of the show that you’ve just started to play appears!  

H.  Scroll down through the script.  When you find something you like, tap on it.  The podcast will begin playing there.

I.  To get rid of the dialogue bubble, tap on it again.

Note:  Not every podcast offers a script.

Probably, you want to know who is on Kudlow’s show.  You want to know this before you bother with the dialogue bubble.  What to do?

A.  Find the show.

B.  Tap on the show’s icon.  A new page appears.

C.  On this new page, look under the word “Episodes”.  The latest episode is directly under the word “Episodes”.  Tap on it.  A new page appears.  This new page lists which people appear in this episode.

The same is true for earlier episodes. 

I look for people like Newt Gingrich on Kudlow.


19.  Fox News Sunday Audio.  By Fox News Sunday Audio Podcast.

This is the audio version of Shannon Bream’s show on Fox broadcast, and on Fox News.  I mostly listen to this podcast to hear the “Sunday panel”.  That’s a roundtable discussion, among reporters, at the end of Fox News Sunday.


20.  PBS News Hour Brooks & Capehart.  By PBS NewsHour.  

Perhaps you don’t want to watch traitor Brooks, and brat Capehart.  If so, listen to this audio version of their blasphemy.  I listen every week.


21.  PBS News Hour Politics.  By PBS NewsHour. 

I listen to the “Politics Monday” episode every week.  It features Tamara Keith and Amy Walter.  They’re smart women reporters who are acting as pundits.


22.  PBS News Hour Supreme Court.  By PBS NewsHour.  

I haven’t listened to this.  But I will when the goddamn U.S. Congress further restricts the rights of so-called “children” on the Internet.


23.  Washington Week with The Atlantic.  By Washington Week.  

This is the audio version of the T.V. show.  In the 1980s, Washington Week starred sensible newsmen who gave erudite opinions.  The modern Washington Week struggles to be more than propaganda.  The propaganda is the usual sort from the liberal media.  

On its most recent episode ( November 15 ), the “reporters” of Washington Week struggled with accuracy.  Puppy killer Kristi Noem ( who’s hot ) was made governor of both North and South Dakota by Washington Week.


24.  Guy Benson Show.  By Fox News.  

Gay Benson is very smart.  I listen to this podcast when the topic appears relevant.

This podcast is an audio version of a radio show.  Here’s the problem:

A.  One of Benson’s aims is to pass the time.  ( As one does on a long radio show. )  


B.  In a later hour of his show, Benson replays content that aired earlier in the same show!

Use the podcast’s dialogue bubble to skip unneeded content.


25.  The Ben Shapiro Show.  By the Daily Wire.  

In the past, I enjoyed listening to Shapiro mock President Joe Biden’s senility.  

This show is a “rah rah for our ( Republican Party ) side”.  I don’t listen to such shows. 

Shapiro plays many clips from daily newscasts.  That is, he doesn’t just talk about an event.  He plays the event on his podcast.  If you pay money, you can both listen to and watch Shapiro.  In that way, you can watch what is happening in the clip.

By contrast, Mark Levin just talks about an event.  He doesn’t play a clip from it.


26.  Mark Levin Podcast.  By Cumulus Podcast Network.  

I don’t listen to this podcast.  I don’t listen because it’s simply a “rah rah for our ( Republican Party ) side”.  I do enjoy watching Levin scream on the Fox News Channel.


27.  The Megyn Kelly Show.  By Sirius XM.  

Here’s my offer:  I’ll let you shoot off your mouth every weekday on my top rated cable news channel.  I’ll let you do this for an hour.  If you promise to do this for the next four years, I’ll pay you $100 million dollars.  I’ll also feature you as a top personality during big news events, like presidential inaugurations.

Do you accept?  No?  Then you must be moron Megyn Kelly.

The offer ( above ) was made to Kelly by Fox News.  Kelly was, at the time, a prime time pundit on Fox.  Kelly told Fox “No.”.  She left Fox.  Kelly went to the “cool kids’ table”, otherwise known as the liberal media.  She took a job with the National Broadcasting Company ( NBC ).

NBC put Kelly on network television.  They put her on in the morning.  It was a bad fit.  Kelly delivered serious news and commentary to women who’re stuck at home with small children.

Such women want light entertainment.  Kelly bombed.  She left NBC.  Now, this once prominent person is yet another talking head on SiriusXM.

If I were Kelly, I’d have killed myself, once I realized how dumb I was to leave Fox.  I admire Kelly for not killing herself.  

On Fox, Kelly strayed too often into pedophobic bombast.  Nonetheless, she’s smart.  I sometimes listen to her podcast. 


28.  Morning Joke.  By MSNBC.  

When it comes to liberal propaganda, MSDNC is the Heart of Darkness.  Morning Joke is its soul.  

The good news about traitor Joe Scarborough’s podcast is that it’s released early.  I discovered today’s episode at an hour when no other news-oriented podcast was available.

I still remember Zbigniew Brzezinski as an advisor to then-President Jimmy Carter.  His daughter, Mika Brzezinski, is Joke’s co-host.  In 1976, Mika was 9 years old.  I’d have loved to have seen her in her ( much discussed ) topless bikini at that time!  Now, I throw virtual rocks at her.

The podcast version of Morning Joke is truncated.  On T.V., the show lasts for three hours.  Today’s podcast episode lasted 41 minutes.

You’d think any topic that a podcast mentions would be discussed.  However, as best I can tell, today’s podcast version of the T.V. show teased, but didn’t discuss, Ukraine.  ( I searched for Ukraine using the podcast’s dialogue bubble. )


29.  Washington Today.  By C-SPAN.  

This is a truncated version of the daily T.V. show on C-SPAN.  I have yet to listen to this podcast.  Presumably, the quality material from the T.V. show is included in the podcast.  I pray that the senile, homebound seniors who call the T.V. show are excluded.   


30.  The Ben Domenech Podcast.  By Fox News.  

Need more vanilla punditry on the news?  Try this.  I don’t.


31.  The Trey Gowdy Podcast.  By Fox News.

Gowdy came to prominence as a Republican congressman.  He’s since left congress.  Prior to that, he was a federal prosecutor.  My guess is that, if you were an accused, and facing Gowdy, you became courtroom roadkill.

Each week, I go to foxnews ( dot ) com/shows.  There, I watch video clips from Gowdy’s T.V. show, “Sunday Night in America”.

Years ago, I wrote that Gowdy’s then-new T.V. show would be ‘yet another vanilla crime show’.  Thankfully, it’s not that.  Gowdy’s show sticks to political commentary.

I haven’t had time to listen much to Gowdy’s podcast.


32.  The Untold Story with Martha MacCallum.  By Fox News.  

This is another podcast that I haven’t had time for.  But it looks good!


33.  Ruthless Podcast.  By Josh Holmes, Comfo … n and John Ashbrook.  [ sic ]

This is a “bro” podcast.  It can be fun to listen to.  However, the hosts fuck around too much.  I’ve had to abandon this podcast more than once, which pissed me off.


34.  The Tucker Carlson Show.  By Tucker Carlson Network.

This podcast can be worth a listen.  Or it can be crap.  If you find Tucker repeatedly telling a crowd that they, and he, are the mortal incarnation of God, quit listening.


35.  The Hugh Hewitt Show:  Highly Concentrated.  By Salem Podcast Network.  

Hewitt is a smart guy.  But his podcast can be summed up as “rah rah for our ( Republican Party ) side”.  I mostly don’t listen.


36.  System Update with Glenn Greenwald.  By Rumble.

I haven’t listened to this podcast yet.  However, I’ve heard Greenwald on other podcasts, and on Fox News.  He’s a very bright guy.  This podcast covers current affairs.


37.  Daniel Davis Deep Dive.  By Daniel Davis.

I saw Lieutenant Colonel Daniel L. Davis today on Fox News.  His podcast looks good.  It covers current affairs from a military perspective.


38.  Judging Freedom.  By Judge Napolitano.

If you watch Fox News, you might recall Judge Andrew P. Napolitano.  He was a regular guest on Fox News some years ago.  His podcast looks good.  It covers current affairs.


39.  Booknotes+  By C-SPAN.

Every episode of Booknotes+ features an interview with an author.

I had a goal:  to listen to every episode of this podcast.  It’s the audio version of the long-running T.V. show on C-SPAN.

I didn’t achieve my goal.  Why?  In the episodes that I heard, C-SPAN injected an ad into the podcast.  C-SPAN did this without warning.  The ad was much louder than the rest of the podcast.  C-SPAN did this so many times that I quit listening to this podcast.


40.  Q & A.  By C-SPAN.

This is the audio version of the long-running T.V. show on C-SPAN.  Each week, an author, or person of note, is interviewed.


41.  The Book Review.  By The New York Times.

“The world’s top authors and critics … talk about the week’s top books.”  - The New York Times.


42.  Fresh Air.  By NPR.

This is the audio version of a radio show.  The radio show has been on the air for decades.  The host interviews authors, and people of note.


43.  New Books in Ancient History.  By New Books Network.

Each episode features an interview of an author of a book about ancient history.


44.  The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart.

A podcast by the host of The Daily Show.  This podcast is not an audio version of The Daily Show, but a separate program.  It covers current affairs.


45.  Beyond Barbarossa.  By Scott Bury.

A podcast about Nazi Germany’s infamous march to the east, in World War II.


46.  Geology Bites.  By Oliver Strimpel.

A podcast about geology.


There are other podcasts about geology.  In Amazon’s Audible app, I find new books by entering keywords.  I use keywords like “geology”.  The same strategy is useful in Apple’s “Podcasts” app.


In a previous issue of ARSE, I discussed other quality podcasts.  A new podcast is worth noting:

1.  The Duncan & Coe History Show.  By Duncan & Coe.

Co-host Mike Duncan is in the pantheon of great podcasters.  That’s why I’ve included this podcast.  So far, this podcast is crap.  My opinion is seconded by the reviews of this podcast in the “Podcasts” app.

I get the impression that co-host, and historian, Alexis Coe is a smart woman.  However, in a November 6 episode, she pissed me off.  She gave a review of Erik Larson’s book, “The Demon of Unrest”.

“The Demon of Unrest” is about antebellum America, just before the Civil War.  Coe says:

“When you are reading the words of an enslaver, you quote them, you do not adopt their language.”

Fair enough.  I agree with Coe on this point.

Then Coe says, of Larson:

“[ Larson ] talks about how Hammond [ an enslaver ] bought a woman and made her, quote, his mistress.

“And then when her daughter turned 12, he made her his mistress as well.  That’s the word that Hammond uses in his will.  You know what word we use?

“Rape.

“You just say rape.  And that followed … pages about how Hammond had, quote, a four-way affair with his underage nieces, also called rape.

“It’s not a four-way affair.”

( Source:  “Alexis’ Full Contact History”. )

To Coe I say:  Wrong!  

Hammond’s affairs are only called “rape” because America, in 2024, has made such relationships malum prohibitum.  That is, the relationship is unlawful because a statute declares this.  The relationship is not malum in se.  That is, the relationship is not wrong in itself.

Radical feminism seeks to make intergenerational relationships malum in se.  Doubtless, with many people, the radical feminists have succeeded.  But the traditional view is that statutory rape is merely malum prohibitum.  

In the 1990s I read an issue of Playboy.  In it, Playboy listed the “age of consent” for each American state.  At the time, the “age of consent” in Hawaii, and in Pennsylvania, was 14 years old.  Hence, if you were Humbert, and Lolita was 14, you violated no law if you and she had sex together.

Today, in England, the “age of consent” is 16.  So we see that “rape” remains a matter of statute.  It is malum prohibitum, not malum in se.

I thank Sarah Isgur for reminding me of these latin phrases.  She mentioned them in the November 15 episode of The Dispatch Podcast.

( In my analysis ( above ) I am omitting the slavery aspect.  That’s because Coe would call Humbert’s relationship with Lolita “rape”, even though Lolita isn’t his slave. )


2.  Revolutions.  By Mike Duncan.  

This is a podcast that Mike Duncan is famous for.  He has re-released this podcast.  Duncan stripped out the old ads, and replaced them with new ones.  He’s added a new season to Revolutions.

Season 12 of Revolutions details a revolution on the planet Mars.  This revolution is fictional.  Duncan uses it to provide a “meta” narrative of revolutions, in a general sense.  

With so many great podcasts, I have no time for T.V.  Goodbye, boob tube!


REQUIEM for a CLASSIC

by Andrew Roller

“Crossfire … it ended up getting taken off the air due to the actions of a rogue comedian.”

- Ezra Klein.

Source:  Podcast:  The Ezra Klein Show.  By The New York Times.  November 4, 2024.

Crossfire was a T.V. show on the Cable News Network, Inc. ( CNN ).  According to Wikipedia, Crossfire debuted on June 25, 1982.

On October 15, 2004, comedian Jon Stewart appeared on Crossfire.  He criticized Crossfire.  As a result, CNN cancelled Crossfire.

Such is the myth.  ‘Stewart killed Crossfire!’  Reality is a bit different.  Crossfire continued to air until June 3, 2005.  That’s eight months after Stewart appeared!

Nonetheless, the myth remains.  On November 4, 2024, Ezra Klein interviewed Jon Stewart.  Klein said:

“Crossfire … it ended up getting taken off the air due to the actions of a rogue comedian.”

Stewart defended his criticism of Crossfire as follows:

“What it started out as was this idea of good faith argumentation between people of differing political viewpoints. … What it turned into was … a Kabuki theater version.  [ The arguments were not ] in good faith.”

Wikipedia reports the following:

“The concept [ of Crossfire ] began in 1978 when Tom Braden and Pat Buchanan co-hosted a radio show on … WRC radio in Washington [ D.C. ].  The program, on which the two men debated political issues, was highly praised, but its ratings were low and, in 1982, it was cancelled.”

CNN then hired Braden and Buchanan to do Crossfire on CNN.

What Stewart argued for ( above ) is what Braden and Buchanan were doing on the radio.  ( So, anyway, it seems to me.  I never heard the radio show. )  

What Stewart argued for ( above ) got cancelled!  So Crossfire ( on T.V. ) had to be different.

And it was.  I began watching Crossfire in the summer of 1984.  ( Prior to that, I didn’t own a T.V. )

By the summer of 1984, Buchanan was absent from Crossfire.  He was working as a speechwriter for President Reagan.  Robert Novak was Crossfire’s ( guest ) host “on the right”.  Novak was on Crossfire every night.  Braden was Crossfire’s host “on the left”.

Crossfire was great.  It wasn’t what Stewart claimed ( in 2004 ) that it had once been.  Crossfire, in 1984, was not a boring show that rehashed tired political ideas.  It was an intellectual boxing match.

Crossfire had two hosts ( Braden and Novak ) and two guests.  One guest was “on the left”.  One guest was “on the right”.

Let’s say that you were the host “on the right”.  You had two jobs:

1.  Protect your guest, who is “on the right”.  ( Using verbal combat. )

2.  Destroy the guest “on the left”.  ( Using verbal combat. )

If you were the host “on the left”, then you had to protect your guest who was “on the left”, and destroy the guest who was “on the right”. 

Both hosts had one other job.  It was to destroy each other.

Novak, nicknamed the “Prince of Darkness”, may have changed Crossfire.  Here’s how:

CNN would schedule a guest to be “on the left”.  The guest would appear.  The guest believed ( for some reason ) that Crossfire was a pleasant debate show, where he would be at leisure to air his commie pinko views.

Not with Novak around.  Every night, Novak would annihilate the guest who was “on the left”.  I found it entertaining to see how surprised the guest was by Novak’s attacks.  By the show’s end, the guest “on the left”, and his views, were demolished.

Crossfire aired three times per weekday.  I watched each airing.  Since I was in Hawaii, the first airing of Crossfire was at 4:30 p.m.  The last airing of Crossfire was at about 11:30 p.m.

In 1984, or perhaps in 1985, CNN ceased to air Crossfire at 11:30 p.m.  Instead, CNN aired a trial, in a courtroom.  The trial involved some sort of scandal.

I was upset at being deprived of the third airing of Crossfire.  Fortunately, the trial eventually ended, and CNN restored the third airing of Crossfire.

Stewart to Klein, on Crossfire:

“[ Crossfire ] was an intention of having really interesting argumentation that could be illuminating and articulate differences.

“[What Crossfire ] turned … into was a perverse exercise in cynical weaponized divisive conversation.”

Since time began, our media has been plagued by what Stewart wants:  an illuminating articulation of differences.

Crossfire was unique.  With Novak present, it was boxing without head injuries.

What’s wrong with that?  There is a lot of real boxing.  Why can’t there be a boxing match where all that gets bruised is someone’s ego? 

I often hear folks claim that there is too much verbal combat on news-oriented T.V. shows.  In fact, there’s very little.  Two guests might argue, but they do so before a single host.  That host, who controls the T.V. show, ensures that a certain paradigm prevails.  If the show is on ( the modern ) CNN, or on MSNBC, the paradigm “on the left” prevails.  The reverse is true for the Fox News Channel.

Disaster befell me in the fall of 1985.  My parents failed to see the merit in watching three episodes per day of Crossfire.  They sent me to an institution where argumentation would surely be taught better than on T.V.  They sent me to a law school.  Sadly, the law school had little to do with argumentation.  It was yet another societal variant of “Shut up and obey!”

I was ( again ) without a T.V. until the spring of 1988.  By then, Crossfire had faded.  Here’s why:

Wikipedia:  “In 1987, Buchanan returned to the show, replacing Novak.”

Buchanan is viewed as someone who can argue well.  I suppose that he can.  However, he was no Novak.  Novak was far superior in verbal combat.

At times, Novak reappeared as a guest host on Crossfire.  But age was stalking him.  His ability to argue was dissipating.

By 1988, the guest “on the left” was wise to Crossfire’s purpose.  The guest “on the left” came prepared to verbally box.  

Braden remained.  He had been a weak host in 1984.  Novak had taken full advantage of that.  However, in 1989, “Braden was replaced by Michael Kinsley”.  ( Wikipedia. )  Kinsley was an abler defender of his guest who was “on the left”, and of the commie pinko viewpoint.

However, a common refrain of Kinsley was:

“Oh, please!”  

Kinsley said this often, on Crossfire, when he was frustrated by the host, or the guest, who was “on the right”.

Novak wasn’t the only thing on Crossfire that faded.  The show itself underwent changes.  Crossfire expanded from 30 minutes to an hour.  No one can sustain a verbal boxing match for an hour.  Worse, no subject is worth an hour, when the sole goal is televised humiliation.

Perhaps, by expanding Crossfire to 60 minutes, CNN was hoping to make it what Stewart would later demand:  an illuminating articulation of differences.  But that was like trying to turn a sports car into a station wagon.

According to Wikipedia, Crossfire was resurrected in 2013.  It was cancelled, again, in 2014.  I never saw that version of Crossfire.

( If you’re wondering, I am again without a T.V. )

There should be a place for Crossfire on T.V.  Or, if not on T.V., on the Internet.  But it must be the ‘real’ ( 1984 ) Crossfire.  At least one of the hosts must be very good at making arguments.  He should be a verbal attack dog.

And, frankly, the dumber ( and more well meaning ) the guest is, the better.  It’s rather like a ‘help’ show on cable T.V.  The premise of a ‘help’ show is ‘let’s help these good people who have suffered misfortune’.  In fact, the show then features ‘good people’ who are gigantic fuck-ups.  They’re the authors of their misfortune, and they don’t want to change.  Such is the stuff of great T.V. ‘help’ shows.

Thirty minutes ( minus commercials ) is the appropriate length of time for a verbal boxing match.

What was my favorite episode of Crossfire?  I don’t recall, but I do know what the most memorable episode of Crossfire was.  

Both Braden and Novak teamed up against a guest.  The guest was in Canada, and he was a Holocaust denier.  He appeared on T.V. wearing a hard hat.  It was bright red.  Braden asked the Holocaust denier why he was wearing the hard hat.

“So I don’t get hit on the head!” the man replied.

Such is the stuff of great T.V. shows. 


WHEN losing is WINNING

by Andrew Roller

Comedian Mark Russell “admitted that most of his jokes and songs are very topical and have ‘a shelf life shorter than cottage cheese’”.  ( Wikipedia. )

The same is true of comments on the presidential election of November 5.  Nonetheless, I’ll risk making a stink.

A dunce on the T.V. show called “The View” ( which I call “Pee You” ) said,

“She ran a flawless campaign.”

The dunce was speaking of the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, Kamala Devil Harris.

Years ago, I saw the comedian Jay Leno on the T.V. show Charlie Rose.  Leno told a true story.  In this story a comedian asked Leno a question.  The question was:

“If I tell a joke, and the audience doesn’t laugh, is my joke still funny?”  ( Paraphrased. )

In other words, can a joke still be good even if nobody laughs?

The question shocked Leno.  He was, at the time, being paid to make people laugh.  If his jokes didn’t “land”, he’d wind up unemployed.

Leno’s answer to the question was “No”.

Sitting alone and writing, I sometimes make up a joke.  I assure myself that my joke is funny.  However, I’m not being paid to make people laugh.

The dunce on The View was wrong.  Harris didn’t run a flawless campaign.  Why?  Because your campaign isn’t flawless if you don’t win.

Or, as has often been said, “Politics ain’t beanbag”.  In the game of beanbag you can get credit for throwing your beanbag close to the goal.  You don’t have to actually land on the goal.

If you’re the presidential candidate of a major political party, you’ve got to win.  If you don’t, you ran a flawed campaign.

That’s not true for third party candidates.  A candidate of, say, the Libertarian Party knows he’s not going to win.  He’s not running to win.  He’s running to espouse libertarian principles.

Had Harris been a third party candidate, she could have won praise for running a flawless, if losing, campaign.  As a major party candidate, she was obliged to win.


AND IN THE END…

“I don’t mind [ a ] strong man [ as president ] as long as it’s my strong man.”

- Jon Stewart.

Source:  Jon Stewart.  Podcast:  The Ezra Klein Show.  By The New York Times.  November 4, 2024.


ARCANA

1.  Wikipedia web site:  en.wikipedia.org.  Article:  “Crossfire ( American TV program )”. 


2.  “Shut up and obey!”  Tucker Carlson often uses this phrase to describe contemporary America.


3.  All references to ‘Ezra Klein and Jon Stewart’ are from the following source:

Podcast:  The Ezra Klein Show.  By The New York Times.  November 4, 2024.


4.  While conversing, Ezra Klein and Jon Stewart imply that “Michael Kinsley and Patrick Buchanan” were the original hosts of Crossfire.  This is not correct. 


5.  Jon Stewart ( to Ezra Klein ):

“None [ of my criticism of Crossfire ] had much to do with Tucker Carlson. … [ The ] person I really didn’t like … was Novak. … He [ Novak ] just wasn’t on the show that day.”


6.  Jon Stewart ( to Ezra Klein ): 

“I didn’t get Crossfire canceled.  Crossfire’s ratings sucked.”

And you thought Crossfire would get higher ratings if it was an illuminating articulation of differences?!

What Stewart wants is, in fact, shown ( in various ways ) on PBS ( the Public Broadcasting Service ).  The ratings for PBS can’t match those of less high-minded fare, on other channels.

What Stewart wants is also shown on community channels, on cable T.V.  No one watches those shows.


7.  Community channels are also known as PEG channels.  PEG doesn’t stand, in this case, for getting something shoved up your ass.  It stands for “public, educational, and government access television.”


8.  Availability of Crossfire videos:

A clip of Jon Stewart damning Crossfire ( on Crossfire ) is extant.  Little, if anything, else is available.  I have found nothing from the ‘real’ Crossfire. 


9.  Google.com writes:  “[ Pat ] Buchanan served as White House Communications Director from February 1985 to March 1987.”

This implies that Buchanan was co-hosting Crossfire in the summer of 1984.  However, I don’t recall him being present much on the show.  The ( guest ) host “on the right” was almost always Robert Novak.


10.  On Tom Braden:  On an episode of Crossfire, Braden walked off the set.  He was a tall man.  He stood up from the table.  It took him some moments to disencumber himself from his broadcasting earpiece, microphone, and power pack.  Then he left the set.  The show continued ( visibly minus its co-host ) without him.

“Tom Braden ( 1917 - 2009 ) was an American journalist and newspaper columnist who wrote [ the book ] ‘Eight is Enough’ in 1975.”  - Google AI ( Artificial Intelligence ).

“Eight is Enough” became an American T.V. show.  It ran for a number of seasons.  In keeping with America’s attempt to promote radical feminism by squashing men, the father in the T.V. show was a wet noodle.


11.  On Robert Novak:  Novak starred in three T.V. shows on CNN:  Crossfire, the Capital Gang, and Evans & Novak.

The Capital Gang was a weak tea version of a ( non CNN ) T.V. show called “The McLaughlin Group”.  Originally 30 minutes, Capital Gang later became an hour-long show.  As with Crossfire, the hour length made Capital Gang less enjoyable to watch.

Evans & Novak was always 30 minutes in length.  Rowland Evans, like Novak, was a reporter and a pundit.  On Evans & Novak, the two men interviewed a single person.  That person was always, or nearly always, a politician.

Evans & Novak was fairly boring.  I watched it with the hope of seeing Novak “go nuclear” on a guest.  Novak did this with sufficient regularity to keep me watching.  My best recollection of the show is when Novak said to a guest ( with his trademark display of angry frustration ):  “It didn’t come from Heaven!”

According to tvguide ( dot ) com, Evans & Novak was renamed in 1998, and then again in 2001.  For whatever reason, I was unaware of these changes.

Novak became less fiery as he aged.  This happened as guests on CNN became savvier.


12.  The American presidential election of November 5, 2024 has been called “a bro election”.  Young men, dismissed in all previous elections that I’ve witnessed, were deemed crucial ( post election ) to Donald Trump’s win.

When I was a young man, I reveled in the verbal fireworks of Novak on CNN.  Today, I know of no show that offers such fun.  There’s a market for a ‘real’ ( 1984 ) Crossfire.  There’s also a market for a ‘real’ McLaughlin Group.

Note:  The ( contemporary ) CNN show called “The Chris Wallace Show” is consciously modeled on The McLaughlin Group.  This is according to Chris Wallace.  However, The Chris Wallace Show lacks the stinging insults of The McLaughlin Group.  Also, Chris Wallace is leaving CNN.


13.  Amazon’s Audible service produces fine audio books.  However, what Audible offers in its near-daily sales is usually second-rate.


14.  I like the cable television channel Turner Classic Movies ( TCM ).  However, when I’m on dialysis, TCM is usually showing an ancient black and white film.

If I had cable T.V. in my living quarters, and sufficient space, I’d play TCM ( and the C-SPAN channels ) on multiple T.V.s 24 hours a day.

Years ago, in another apartment, I kept my T.V. on and tuned to C-SPAN 24 hours a day.  That wore out my T.V.’s screen.


15.  The podcast called “The Duncan & Coe History Show” has released a new episode.  It’s dated November 20.  This episode isn’t crap.  It’s one level above crap.  

In Apple’s “Podcasts” app, a reviewer slams this podcast as “Self important”.  Another reviewer tells Duncan and Coe to “get a room”.  A third reviewer says “‘Excited for the substantive episodes to start”.  This is a polite way of telling Duncan and Coe to quit fucking around. 

Mike Duncan is in danger of degrading the fine reputation he’s built.


16.  The Wikipedia article about Mark Russell is titled “Mark Russell”.


——————————————————————————————————————————


Copyright 2024 by Andrew L. Roller.  ET, Editorial Thunder, and ARSE, Andrew Roller Stories and Essays, are trademarks of Andrew L. Roller.   

I am http://andrewroller.com    

Earlier posts by me are at https://asstr.xyz/files/Authors/Roller/ 

asstr.org has the same content as asstr.xyz

“asslr ( Alt.Sex.Stories Lazy Rubes? ) is “an upcoming story repository to replace asstr”, according to xefig.com.   

I’m on paper at:  https://www.abebooks.com > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 

and https://www.abebooks.co.uk > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 

If you visit an “AbeBooks” website, you’ll be presented with a large square “Search” box.  In the box labelled “Author”, type in “Andrew Roller”.  In the box labelled “Title”, type in “Andrew Roller Presents”.  This will bring up some of my pamphlets.  I have not yet figured out how to bring up other pamphlets by me, under other titles.  I don’t recall all the titles I published under.  

I have no financial involvement in these resale items. 

Other references:

1.  https://zinewiki.com/wiki/Factsheet_Five

Article:  “Factsheet Five”.

Article subhead:  “Andrew Roller’s Factsheet Five controversy”.

2.  poopsheetfoundation.com 

Search for:

Writers / Artists:  Andrew Roller

3.  yandex.by

Search for:

Andrew Roller

4.  xefig.com

Search for:

Index of/files/Collections/ASSTR_Collection/Andrew_Roller/

( I accessed xefig.com via yandex.by )

5.  Apple Music

Search for:  @andrewroller666


On August 18, 2022, Apple Computer banned my Apple I.D.  Apple did this abruptly.  Apple gave me no warning of any displeasure, on its part, with me.  ( I’ve been an Apple customer since the 1980s. )

The effect of Apple’s ban was to destroy my content.  The vast bulk of my content was “safely” stored with them, in iCloud.

I complained to Apple.  Apple’s reason for their ban of my Apple I.D. was “Apple Policy”.  No further information was given.  Apple told me to apply for a new Apple I.D.  

You can read more about this in prior issues of ARSE.


Support NAMBLA!  The North American Man / Boy Love Association:  https://nambla.org/


This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 273

Arcana:  This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 273, version 1.0

Date Written:  November 4 - November 23, 2024.          Live for the day that censorious Big Tech is dead. 


——————————————————————————————————————————

-—————————————————————————————————————————

The magazine that Big Tech BANNED multiple times… lives!

ET 272

Editorial Thunder presents...

DEATH of the MIDDLE

——————————————————————————————————————————

Plus:  Angry at PayPal.  

And:  The value of pedophiles.


——————————————————————————————————————————


DEATH of the MIDDLE

A book review

by Andrew Roller

The Big Sort:  Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart.  By Bill Bishop.  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.  New York, New York.  United States of America.  Copyright 2008.

‘We live in a divided nation.’  This has been said so often, of America, that it’s become a cliche.

America has been politically split since at least the presidential election of the year 2000.  That election, featuring Bush vs. Gore, starred chads hanging from ballots.  

The following has been said about America’s revolution in 1775:

‘One third of Americans favored the revolution.  One third opposed it.  And one third didn’t give a damn.’

Americans who favored the revolution in 1775 eventually won ( in 1783 ).  Some Americans who’d opposed the revolution moved to Canada.  ( Where, today, these traitors luxuriate under the tyranny of Justin ( not justice! ) Turdeau. )

I regard America’s revolution of 1775 as having been a civil war.  

America’s next civil war began in 1861.  It ended in 1865. 

America flirted with civil war in the 1960s.  Bill Bishop, author of The Big Sort, says that this flirtation began in 1965.  It’s never ended.

Until 1975, Americans remained politically intermingled.  In any given neighborhood, there were, roughly speaking, an equal number of Republican Party voters, and an equal number of Democratic Party voters.

Bishop says the following:

‘Since the year 1975, Americans have been separating themselves into two opposing camps:  the red ( Republican Party ) camp, and the blue ( Democratic Party ) camp.’  ( Paraphrased. )

Today, any given neighborhood consists mostly of Republican Party voters.  Or, it consists mostly of Democratic Party voters.

The 2024 movie called “Civil War” is a testament to the fact that America continues to flirt with an armed civil conflict.

Often, political pundits say the following:

‘In a primary election, a candidate plays to his base.  Then, in a general election, a candidate moves to the middle.’

A “base” electorate consists of voters.  They’re said to favor right-wing Republican Party views.  

Or, alternatively, they’re said to favor left-wing Democratic Party views.

( A Republican Party voter might say, ‘We need to lock up more criminals.’  A Democratic Party voter might say, ‘Our criminal justice system is unfair.’ )

( Both parties say:  ‘Child molesters!  They’re the worst!’ )

( Which is why, if you want to be a renegade, you shouldn’t be a Nazi or a communist.  You should be a pedophile! )

As a candidate, you win your base in the primary election.  Then, in the general election, you win over voters who are neither right-wing in their views, or left-wing.

That is, in the example above, you’d win over voters who want to lock up criminals, but who, at the same time, fear that the criminal justice system may be unfair.  You can no longer campaign simply by saying, “Lock up more criminals!”  Also, you can no longer just say, “People are being unfairly convicted.”

Bishop says the following: 

‘Today, there is no middle.’  ( Paraphrased. )

The number of voters who are neither right-wing or left-wing is vanishingly small.

Note that Bishop wrote his book in 2008.  Whatever political middle existed then has since gotten smaller.  That’s why, in this election, some pundits say:

‘It’s a base election.’

A base election is the following:

Assume that you’re a candidate for a political office.  ( Like U.S. President. )  In the primary election, you win your base.  Then, in the general election, you win your base again!  That is, you do not try to win over voters in the “middle”.  Instead, you strive to ensure that all of the people in your base actually vote.

Today ( October 18, 2024 ), I voted.  I’m a registered Republican.  However, I didn’t vote for any Republican candidates.  

The presidential candidate for the Democratic Party is Kamala Harris.  She’s certain to win the state where I live:  California.  

In the year 2020, I voted for the Republican Party’s presidential candidate.  That was Donald Trump.  I didn’t vote for him today.  Why?

1.  Trump has taken to speaking of Americans who are ‘creeps and perverts’.  Undoubtedly, this refers to pedophiles ( and others ).  Had I voted for Trump today, I would have been like a Black man who votes for a Ku Klux Klan member for president.  

( I do not think that Trump is a racist. )

2.  Trump has failed to adequately support Ukraine.  There was a time ( when I was regarded as an adult ) that I didn’t know where Ukraine was.  President George W. Bush once spoke of his former ignorance of a Taliban leader.  Of that man, Bush said,

‘I’ll bet he wishes to hell that I hadn’t found out who he is.’  ( Paraphrased. ) 

Bush, learning of the Taliban leader, set out to kill him.

I now know where Ukraine is, and who’s responsible for its travails.  It isn’t Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as Trump has implied.  The person responsible for the war in Ukraine is Russia’s president, Vladimir Pukin’.

Were I a Russian, I might support Pukin’s war aims.  However, I’m not a Russian.  Also, I’d never support Pukin’s genocidal conduct in Ukraine.  Little girls belong in string bikinis, not in coffins!

Democratic Party presidential candidate Kamala Harris began her campaign, this summer, with a political platform of “joy”.  That was a fine theme for a new candidate in mid-summer.  I knew that such a theme wouldn’t survive into the fall.

And it hasn’t.  Harris may be a politician who mostly wants to please everyone.  That’s fine with me.  However, she’s proven herself to be an undefined candidate, in terms of her views.  To put it another way, she’s proven that she’s ‘not ready for prime time’.  I fear that, were she president, she’d be taken advantage of by America’s enemies.  She would surely be tested by them.

So who did I vote for, for president?

I voted for the candidate of the Libertarian Party.  I don’t agree with all of his views.  ( He’s opposed to helping Ukraine. )  I don’t recall his name.  However, I support the Libertarian Party’s political platform of limited government and individual rights.

It is possible that the Libertarian Party could fail to get a candidate on a future ballot in California.  Why?  If too few people vote for Libertarian candidates, California will deny ballot access to the Libertarians.  I don’t want that to happen.

So, since I don’t favor either Trump or Harris for president, I voted for the Libertarian candidate for president.  I did so to keep Libertarian candidates on future ballots.  Given my support for Ukraine, I’m glad that this year’s Libertarian candidate for president will lose.

Politically, both the red and blue sides in America fear that November’s election will result in violence.  That would sort Americans even more.  It could even sort them into opposing armies that go to war.  In that case, ‘the inhabitants of America’ ( to paraphrase a British critic ) would embark on their third civil war.


ANGRY at PAYPAL

by Andrew Roller

I had money in my PayPal account.  Now, my money is gone.

Some years ago, I was attacked by Apple Inc.  ( Apple computer. )  You can read about Apple’s attack on me in prior issues of ARSE.

As a result of Apple’s attack, I wound up with the following situation:

Each month, Apple billed PayPal for certain Apple services that I use.  Then, PayPal billed my credit card.

As a result of using PayPal, I built up a credit of six dollars, and some cents, in my PayPal account.  

Last month, my credit of six dollars, and some cents, was present in my PayPal account.  Now, my credit is gone.

I have no idea what happened to my PayPal credit.

I have a theory:

Last month, I changed how Apple bills me for Apple services.  I stopped using PayPal.  Instead, I had Apple bill a credit card directly.

Perhaps this is why my credit of six dollars, and some cents, at PayPal is now gone.

I did not make any change to my PayPal account.  The only change that I made was at Apple.  Using my iPad, I changed how Apple bills me.

I asked Google where my PalPal “reward” went.  This search produced complaints from PayPal customers.  PayPal customers complained that their PayPal “points” disappeared.

I had a high opinion of PayPal.  Now, I don’t.

The above article was written on October 4, 2024. 

October 15 update:  I found a PayPal credit of seventeen dollars, and some cents, in my PayPal credit card account.  I don’t know if this is my prior credit of six dollars, and some cents ( plus some new, extra dollars ), or not.

The point of this article remains:  before discontinuing any aspect of your PayPal account ( even on your iPad ), redeem any PayPal “points”.


UCSD’s Service:  NON-EXISTENT

In 1984, I was on active duty in the United States Air Force.  I was told that 60 percent of my kidney function was gone.  Told that I would lose all kidney function, I was medically retired from the Air Force.

Since then, I’ve had three kidney transplants.  I’ve spent years on kidney dialysis.  A medicine that’s prescribed for my condition is Prednisone.  A side effect of Prednisone is that it blinds the patient with cataracts.

Some years ago, a UCSD doctor told me that I would go blind in my left eye.  I would go blind with a cataract.  This has now happened.  On October 8, 2024, this doctor told me to schedule an appointment with UCSD’s Shiley Eye Institute.

I called Shiley.  The first person that I spoke to was unable to help me.  She directed me to someone named Nancy.  Nancy is the scheduler for Shiley.

There’s a problem with Nancy.  She never answers her phone.  I called Nancy numerous times during business hours.  Each time I called, I left a detailed message.

I called on the following dates:

November 14, 2024.  Monday.  10:00 a.m.

November 15, 2024.  Tuesday.  9:45 a.m.

November 15, 2024.  Tuesday.  12:18 p.m.

November 16, 2024.  Wednesday.  3:26 p.m.

November 17, 2024.  Thursday.  12:25 p.m.

November 18, 2024.  Friday.  10:08 a.m.

I am a disabled veteran.  In 2023, I tried to be seen at the Naval Medical Center [ in ] San Diego.  ( Nicknamed “Balboa Hospital”. )

Balboa refused to see me.  I complained about this to my Congressman, Scott Peters.  I complained because, in past decades, my status of being a military retiree entitled me to be seen at military hospitals.

Congressman Peters launched an inquiry.  He received a reply from the Navy’s Admiral Valdez.  Admiral Valdez told Congressman Peters that my “point of contact” for medical care was UCSD.

Yet Nancy, at UCSD, refuses to answer her phone!  I am continuing to go blind in my left eye.

Update:  I called Nancy, and she answered, on October 18, 2024.  This was a Friday.  The time was 11:40 a.m.  I am now scheduled for surgery on my left eye.


AND IN THE END…

The VALUE of PEDOPHILES

“It’s hardly possible to overstate the value, in the present state of human improvement, of placing human beings in contact with other persons dissimilar to themselves, and with modes of thought and action unlike those with which they are familiar.”

- John Stuart Mill.

Source:  The Big Sort:  Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart.  By Bill Bishop. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.  New York, New York.  United States of America.  Copyright 2008.  Pages 281-282.  ( Amazon Kindle. )


ARCANA

1.  I have always regarded 1776 as being the date that America’s Revolutionary War began.  However, google.com states that the war began in 1775.


2.  Trump implies that Zelenskyy is responsible for the war in Ukraine.  

Source:  the podcast “Ukraine:  The Latest”.  October 18, 2024.


3.  The term “Prime time” applies to television viewing in the United States.  It is 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., seven days a week.  More people watch television during prime time than at any other time.

Source:  thefreedictionary.com

( I bought the app of this product. )


4.  “[ The Libertarian Party candidate for president ] calls for … ending of military support to … Ukraine.”

Source:  Article:  “Libertarians pick Chase Oliver for US president as Trump, Kennedy rejected.”

Web site:  aljazeera.com 


5.  ‘the inhabitants of America’

The actual quote is:

“The English and not the inhabitants of the United States are the greatest power”.

- Barbara W. Tuchman, quoting Morley Roberts.

Source:  The Proud Tower:  A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914.  By Barbara W. Tuchman.  Random House Publishing Group.  New York, New York.  United States of America.  Copyright 2014.  ( The original copyright is 1962. )  Page 55.  ( Amazon Kindle. )


6.  How do you remember which political party is red, and which party is blue?  I do so as follows:

Red-meat Republicans.

vs.

Cool blue Democrats.


7.  In my article “Death of the middle”, I speak of “Republican Party” voters, and “Democratic Party” voters.  Not all people belong to a party.  A person might be deeply conservative in his political views, but not be registered with a political party.  He might never vote.  But, likely, he would live among conservatives and Republicans.

The same is true for a deeply liberal person.  She might not register, or vote, but she’d likely live among liberals and Democrats.


8.  Many of my readers appear to be Slavs.  They appear to be citizens of places like Belarus.  ( A country that I didn’t know existed, until I saw Milana of Minsk on YouTube! )  Hence, I consciously wrote the article “Death of the middle” for foreign readers.


9.  Shiley Eye Institute.  9415 Campus Point Drive.  La Jolla, California.  United States of America.  92093-0946.


——————————————————————————————————————————


Copyright 2024 by Andrew L. Roller.  ET, Editorial Thunder, and ARSE, Andrew Roller Stories and Essays, are trademarks of Andrew L. Roller.   

I am http://andrewroller.com    

Earlier posts by me are at https://asstr.xyz/files/Authors/Roller/ 

asstr.org has the same content as asstr.xyz

“asslr ( Alt.Sex.Stories Lazy Rubes? ) is “an upcoming story repository to replace asstr”, according to xefig.com.   

I’m on paper at:  https://www.abebooks.com > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 

and https://www.abebooks.co.uk > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 

If you visit an “AbeBooks” website, you’ll be presented with a large square “Search” box.  In the box labelled “Author”, type in “Andrew Roller”.  In the box labelled “Title”, type in “Andrew Roller Presents”.  This will bring up some of my pamphlets.  I have not yet figured out how to bring up other pamphlets by me, under other titles.  I don’t recall all the titles I published under.  

I have no financial involvement in these resale items. 

Other references:

1.  https://zinewiki.com/wiki/Factsheet_Five

Article:  “Factsheet Five”.

Article subhead:  “Andrew Roller’s Factsheet Five controversy”.

2.  poopsheetfoundation.com 

Search for:

Writers / Artists:  Andrew Roller

3.  yandex.by

Search for:

Andrew Roller

4.  xefig.com

Search for:

Index of/files/Collections/ASSTR_Collection/Andrew_Roller/

( I accessed xefig.com via yandex.by )

5.  Apple Music

Search for:  @andrewroller666


On August 18, 2022, Apple Computer banned my Apple I.D.  Apple did this abruptly.  Apple gave me no warning of any displeasure, on its part, with me.  ( I’ve been an Apple customer since the 1980s. )

The effect of Apple’s ban was to destroy my content.  The vast bulk of my content was “safely” stored with them, in iCloud.

I complained to Apple.  Apple’s reason for their ban of my Apple I.D. was “Apple Policy”.  No further information was given.  Apple told me to apply for a new Apple I.D.  

You can read more about this in prior issues of ARSE.


Support NAMBLA!  The North American Man / Boy Love Association:  https://nambla.org/


This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 272

Arcana:  This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 272, version 1.0

Date Written:  October 4 - October 18, 2024.          Live for the day that censorious Big Tech is dead. 


——————————————————————————————————————————

-—————————————————————————————————————————

The magazine that Big Tech BANNED multiple times… lives!

ET 271

Editorial Thunder presents...

Rock Out With Girls

——————————————————————————————————————————

Plus:  Interview with the author. 

And:  Improving our language.

——————————————————————————————————————————


ROCK Out With GIRLS

by Andrew Roller

In 2019, I joined youtube.com.  ( We all make mistakes. )  YouTube asked me what sort of music I liked.  My answer:

Girl rock bands.

YouTube had no idea what I was talking about.

I still like girl rock bands.  I’ve created a playlist of this music.  It’s not an ultimate playlist; it’s only 48 minutes long.  I’ve omitted songs that I’ve heard too often.  

If you like music that’s fast, with feedback and distorted sounds, plus screaming girls, this playlist is for you!

bikini kill me

A playlist by:  @andrewroller666

At:  Apple Music

1.  Take It or Leave It.  By The Runaways.  Album:  The Best of the Runaways.

Our era ( circa 2024 ) is pedophobic.  The 1970s weren’t.  The film Pretty Baby was released in 1978.  It starred 11-year-old Brooke Shields as a child prostitute.

The girl band called The Runaways “recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979”, according to Wikipedia.  The Runaways’ signature song is “Cherry Bomb”.  ( Yes, it means what you think. )  I found a publicity photo of The Runaways on google.com.  It was the first photo that Google gave me.  A caption on this photo reads, “Little Lost Girls”.

Today, The Runaways is regarded as the Ur girl rock band.  A girl in this band was Joan Jett.  She co-wrote “Cherry Bomb”.  Today, Joan Jett is often called “The queen of rock ’n roll”.


2.  Rebel Girl.  By Bikini Kill.  Album:  pussy whipped.

Once, I read about a girl rock band on the music streaming service that’s called Pandora.  Of the band, Pandora wrote, “The girls could barely play their instruments, but they did so with great enthusiasm.”  ( Paraphrased. )

I don’t recall what band Pandora was commenting on.  However, I always think of what Pandora wrote when I hear Bikini Kill.

Bikini Kill has been recording and performing since 1990.

There is a publicity photo of Bikini Kill on Apple Music.  In this photo, the girls of Bikini Kill look wonderfully young.


3.  New Radio.  By Bikini Kill.  Album:  The Singles.


4.  Statement of Vindication.  By Bikini Kill.  Album:  Reject All American.


5.  Finale.  By Bikini Kill.  Album:  Reject All American.


6.  Capri Pants.  By Bikini Kill.  Album:  Reject All American.


7.  Jet Ski.  By Bikini Kill.  Album:  Reject All American.


8.  Reject All American.  By Bikini Kill.  Album:  Reject All American.


9.  Distinct Complicity.  By Bikini Kill.  Album:  Reject All American.


10.  Shitlist.  By L7.  Album:  Bricks Are Heavy.

Songs by L7 have a “heavy” sound.  ( As if they’re carrying bricks. )  This makes their songs a bit slow.  It was said of Black Sabbath that they “stomped into town”.  ( Paraphrased. )  L7 continues this tradition.  

L7 recorded and performed from 1985 to 2001.  They reformed in 2014.


11.  Victrola.  By Veruca Salt.  Album:  American Thighs.

The band Veruca Salt formed in 1992.  Their first single was called “Seether”.  It blew me away.  The song is full of amplifier feedback, and the girls of Veruca Salt sound very young!


12.  Rebel Girl.  By Bikini Kill.  Album:  The Punk Singer, A Film About Kathleen Hanna:  The Soundtrack.  

This is a different version of Rebel Girl.  The song isn’t as overwhelmed by odd sounds and distortion.  ( Too bad! )  However, you can hear the girls’ voices more clearly.


13.  Candy.  By Bikini Kill.  Album:  Revolution Girl Style Now.

The song Candy makes up for what Rebel Girl ( in the above version ) lacks.  It has a marvelously dirty guitar sound, and lots of feedback.  The singer caterwauls.


14.  Lt Tour Theme.  By Le Tigre.  Album:  Feminist Sweepstakes.

Sometimes, on Apple Music, a playlist I’ve made will come to an end.  Apple Music then chooses a song for me.  Usually, what Apple Music chooses is awful.  I like fast hard rock songs.  Apple Music tends to choose a song that’s slow.

The song Candy ( above ) is a bit slow.  So is Lt Tour Theme.  What I like about Lt Tour Theme is the lead singer’s very distorted voice.  Also, she and her bandmates sound young!

Apple Music suggested Lt Tour Theme to me.  As yet, I know very little about Le Tigre.  They began recording and performing in 1998.


15.  Dresses.  By Betty Blowtorch.  Album:  are you man enough?

Can you guess what my favorite song is?  I’ll give you a hint:  Alice.  As in, Wonderland.

My favorite song is White Rabbit, by Jefferson Airplane.  ( Album:  Surrealistic Pillow. )

My next favorite song is Dresses, by Betty Blowtorch.  Betty Blowtorch is the ultimate “kick ass” girl band.  Betty Blowtorch “was formed in 1998 by three members of Butt Trumpet.”

The lead singer of Betty Blowtorch “was killed in a car crash” in 2001.  “The remaining group members disbanded.”


16.  Take It Off.  By The Donnas.  Album:  Spend The Night.

The Donnas recorded and performed from 1993 to 2012.


17.  Not an Addict.  By K’s Choice.  Album:  paradise in me.

To paraphrase the film American Graffiti, “Where were you in ’97?”

In the year 1997, I was watching the comet Hale-Bopp.  To see it clearly, I left the city.  I drove into the country.  Driving home, I often heard the song Not an Addict.

The author Norman Mailer wrote a book about ancient Egypt.  He called it Ancient Evenings.

Hale-Bopp was last seen “approximately 4,200 years ago, roughly the year 2215 BC.”  In 1997, a newsmagazine mentioned this.  It added that when Hale-Bopp returns, a writer in the year 6197 might speak of “our own ancient evenings”.  ( That is, the year 1997 A.D. )

For decades, I thought the lead singer in the band K’s Choice was a girl.  In fact, he’s a boy.  Given that we now live in an androgynous era, I added this song to my girl rock bands playlist.

K’s Choice has been recording and performing since 1994.


18.  Seether.  By Veruca Salt.  Album:  American Thighs.

I’ve listened to this song many times.  I wasn’t going to include it.  Then temptation struck, and I couldn’t resist.

I’d like to add another Veruca Salt song to my playlist:

Sick As Your Secrets.  By Veruca Salt.  Album:  IV.

Unfortunately, Apple Music has deleted this song, and its album, from their streaming service.  This isn’t the only song that Apple Music has deleted, or failed to include. 

I favor music that other people don’t like.  In the 1990s, I adored the T.V. show called “120 Minutes”.  It aired late on Sunday nights on MTV.  

What sort of music videos did MTV play on “120 Minutes”?  “Low rotation videos.”  That is, videos that nobody wanted to watch.  Thanks to “120 Minutes”, I knew about such shit bands as Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins months before anyone else did.  Or, at least, months before anyone who didn’t watch “120 Minutes”! 

Recently, Apple “became the first company in the world to reach a market value of $3 trillion [ dollars ]”.  Yet Apple Music fails to include various songs in their streaming service.  They do this to save money.  Apple doesn’t, however, mind increasing the price of Apple Music.  Last year, my monthly bill for Apple Music went from a ( somewhat ) reasonable price of $29.95 to a shockingly high price of $37.95.

( Admittedly, that’s actually my bill for Apple One.  But, in Apple One, I only use Apple Music and iCloud+ storage. )


A Word to PEOPLE in CHINA and TURKEY

by Andrew Roller

Please do not use my Apple Music account to try to break into my computer!  I’m a publisher.  If I have something of value, I’ll share it with you on the Internet.


INTERVIEW with the AUTHOR

Recently, ARSE interviewed the author named holy joe.

ARSE:  For decades, you’ve been accused of writing rants.

holy joe:  I don’t write rants.  God inspires me, and I write what she tells me to.

ARSE:  God is a little girl?

holy joe:  Yes!  I see you’ve been reading my rants.

ARSE:  What about your reading?  Do you read widely?

holy joe:  You betcha!  Everything from Taboo to Barely Legal.

ARSE:  I’ve been reading Russian literature.  Consider this:

“Russian writers, including Akhmatova and Nabokov, have often worked with pencil and eraser rather than pen, in order that their first, second, and forty-fourth thoughts should not become the property of posthumous disillusion and of meddlesome scholarly enquiry.”

holy joe:  I like Lolita.  Especially in person!

ARSE:  But how do you write?

holy joe:  Reading widely, with one hand, I spend a lot of time on the toilet.  So I write on what’s handy:  toilet paper.

ARSE:  Are you concerned about “meddlesome scholarly inquiry?”

holy joe:  Not at all!  If I had more readers, I might be able to live off my rants.  I’d be pleased if every scholar studied my work.  If someone would use my words to write hymns, people could worship me.  I’m not called holy joe for nothing.

ARSE:  So you’re saving your work?  That you write on toilet paper?

holy joe:  Absolutely!  Admittedly, given the poop stains, some of my words may be obscured.  But I find parts of the Holy Bible to be obscure, so…

ARSE:  I understand that you’re running for president.

holy joe:  Yes!  Would you care to donate to my campaign?

ARSE:  What is your view of America?

holy joe:  America is a great country.  America has given me a toilet to poop in, a dumpster to sleep in, and trash cans to eat from.  That’s why I want to give something back.

ARSE:  What is your party?

holy joe:  The Cocktail Party!  Vote for me, and I’ll lower the drinking age to age eight.

ARSE:  That’s ridiculous.

holy joe:  It’s not.  In tort law, so-called children are divided into three groups:

1.  From birth to age seven, a person has no responsibility for her actions.

2.  From age eight to age fourteen, a person is presumptively responsible for her actions.

3.  From age fifteen to age twenty-one, and beyond, a person is responsible for her actions.

ARSE:  You’re speaking of traditional tort law.
holy joe:  Yes.  Modern law has corrupted itself to infantilize people throughout their youth.

ARSE:  So the Cocktail Party’s platform is lower the drinking age, plus free love, and youth liberation?

holy joe:  Yes!  It sounds like you’re the first of my meddlesome scholars.

ARSE:  Can I use your toilet?

holy joe:  Sure.  Just don’t use the toilet paper.  I’ve written my next magnum force opus on it.


AND IN THE END…

“We must have the courage to reject the phrase ‘child molester’.”

- Vice President of the United States of America Kamala Devil Harris.  ( Slightly modified. )

Source:  Vice President of the United States of America Kamala Devil Harris.  Fox News Channel.  September 3, 2024.  


ARCANA

1.  Runaways sources:

A.  Website:  en.wikipedia.org.  Article:  The Runaways.

B.  Website:  google.com.  I obtained a photo of The Runaways by using this search term:  the runaways. 


2.  Bikini Kill source:

Apple Music.  To see the Bikini Kill publicity photo, use the search term “bikini kill”.  Results appear.  Select “Bikini Kill Artist”. 


3.  Black Sabbath source:  unknown.


4.  Betty Blowtorch source:  en.wikipedia.org.  Article:  Betty Blowtorch.


5.  Hale-Bopp sources:

A.  en.wikipedia.org.  Article:  Comet Hale-Bopp.

Wikipedia abbreviates B.C. as BC.  At least they don’t refer to the era with the awful abbreviation of B.C.E.

B.  Time or Newsweek magazine.


6.  “120 Minutes” source:  unknown.


7.  Apple market value source:  google.com.

Search term:  is apple a 3 trillion dollar company?


8.  Source for:  “Russian writers, including…”

The book Russian Literature:  A Very Short Introduction.  By Catriona Kelly.  Oxford University Press.  New York, New York, United States of America.  Copyright 2001.  Location 548.  ( Amazon Kindle. )


——————————————————————————————————————————


Copyright 2024 by Andrew L. Roller.  ET, Editorial Thunder, and ARSE, Andrew Roller Stories and Essays, are trademarks of Andrew L. Roller.   

I am http://andrewroller.com    

Earlier posts by me are at https://asstr.xyz/files/Authors/Roller/ 

asstr.org has the same content as asstr.xyz

“asslr ( Alt.Sex.Stories Lazy Rubes? ) is “an upcoming story repository to replace asstr”, according to xefig.com.   

I’m on paper at:  https://www.abebooks.com > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 

and https://www.abebooks.co.uk > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 

If you visit an “AbeBooks” website, you’ll be presented with a large square “Search” box.  In the box labelled “Author”, type in “Andrew Roller”.  In the box labelled “Title”, type in “Andrew Roller Presents”.  This will bring up some of my pamphlets.  I have not yet figured out how to bring up other pamphlets by me, under other titles.  I don’t recall all the titles I published under.  

I have no financial involvement in these resale items. 

Other references:

1.  https://zinewiki.com/wiki/Factsheet_Five

Article:  “Factsheet Five”.

Article subhead:  “Andrew Roller’s Factsheet Five controversy”.

2.  poopsheetfoundation.com 

Search for:

Writers / Artists:  Andrew Roller

3.  yandex.by

Search for:

Andrew Roller

4.  xefig.com

Search for:

Index of/files/Collections/ASSTR_Collection/Andrew_Roller/

( I accessed xefig.com via yandex.by )

5.  Apple Music

Search for:  @andrewroller666


On August 18, 2022, Apple Computer banned my Apple I.D.  Apple did this abruptly.  Apple gave me no warning of any displeasure, on its part, with me.  ( I’ve been an Apple customer since the 1980s. )

The effect of Apple’s ban was to destroy my content.  The vast bulk of my content was “safely” stored with them, in iCloud.

I complained to Apple.  Apple’s reason for their ban of my Apple I.D. was “Apple Policy”.  No further information was given.  Apple told me to apply for a new Apple I.D.  

You can read more about this in prior issues of ARSE.


Support NAMBLA!  The North American Man / Boy Love Association:  https://nambla.org/


This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 271

Arcana:  This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 271, version 1.0

Date Written:  September 15, 2024.          Live for the day that censorious Big Tech is dead. 


——————————————————————————————————————————

-—————————————————————————————————————————

The magazine that Big Tech BANNED multiple times… lives!

ET 270

Editorial Thunder presents...

SITE CLOSING

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Plus:  This is the end. 

And:  From trash to treasure.

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SITE CLOSING

by Andrew Roller

You know you want it:  your own web site!

First, you need to register a domain name.

Then, you need a company to host your web site.

The company that hosts my web site sent me the following e-mail.  The company sent it to me on August 13, 2024.

“Important Notice:  Discontinuation of … Website Builder [ program ].

“Dear Andrew,

“We regret to inform you that our website builder [ program ] will be discontinued as of September 9th, 2024. 

“After this date, users will encounter a license message when attempting to access their websites.

“We understand this may come as a surprise, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. If you wish to continue using [ the current website builder program ], you can purchase a license directly from [ a separate company ].

“However, we strongly recommend transitioning to our new, free [ web site builder program ]. While we understand the time and effort you've invested in creating your website, we suggest removing your current site and starting fresh with [ our new, free web site builder program ]. 

“Unfortunately, there is no way to migrate your website from [ the existing program ] to [ our new program ], so we encourage you to copy as many details as possible to help you rebuild your site.

“To ease this transition, we will credit any overpayments you may have made. 

“…We truly understand how much effort you've put into building your website, and we deeply regret that we have no choice in this matter.  We are committed to supporting you during this transition and will do everything we can to make the process as smooth as possible.

“Thank you for your understanding.

“[ The ] Customer Service Team [ of the company that hosts my web site ].”

To build my web site, I use a web site builder program.  The program is for someone like me, who doesn’t know how to write computer code.

I thought that the company that hosts my web site owned the web site builder program.  In fact, it doesn’t.  They were renting some other company’s program, and then letting me use it.

I plan to remain a customer of the company that hosts my web site.

I have no idea how much it will cost to license the web site builder program that I’m using now.  $50.00?  $5,000.00?

Let’s say I license the web site builder program that I’m using now.  Then, a problem occurs.  I complain to the company that hosts my web site.  They may say:

‘Don’t complain to us.  Complain to the company that you’re licensing your web site builder program from.’

The other company might say:

‘Don’t complain to us.  Complain to the company that is hosting your web site.’

You may have experienced a problem like this.  You have a problem accessing a web site.  It’s a web site that you pay money to.  You complain to the web site.

What does the web site say?

‘It must be your router.’

So, you complain to your cable company.  What does the cable company say?

‘It must be the web site.’

It took me awhile to figure out how to use the web site builder program that I’m using now.  I don’t know if I’ll be able to figure out how to use a new web site builder program.

Apparently, as of September ninth, you will no longer be able to see the content on my web site.  I myself won’t be able to see the content on my web site.

Years ago, I got kicked out of wordpress.com.  It took me a considerable amount of time to re-load my content into my current web site.  

Back then, I had all day, every day, to launch my new web site here.  I no longer have that kind of time.

So, enjoy my content at this web site while you can.  It may be awhile before I have a web site with loads of content to share with you again.

Andrew Roller

Publisher of ARSE


THIS is the END

A book review by Andrew Roller. 

“Success in Vietnam would keep the United States from having to fight the communists ‘on the beaches of Hawaii’.”

- Peter Arnett, quoting United States Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Source:  Saigon Has Fallen, by Peter Arnett.  Page 23.


Saigon Has Fallen:  A Wartime Recollection by the Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist.  By Peter Arnett.  The Associated Press.  ( No country, state, or city. )  Copyright 2015 - 2018.

The year was 1977.  I lived on the island of Oahu, in the state of Hawaii.  Every night, at 5:30 p.m., I watched the “CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite”.

The news was a week old.  It originated in the continental United States.  Then, a tape of the newscast was shipped, by boat, to Hawaii.  It aired in Hawaii a week later.

Months passed.  At some point, a second evening newscast appeared in Hawaii.  This was the “NBC Nightly News with John Chancellor and David Brinkley”.  It too was a week old.  Someone in Hawaii must have decided that week-old news had a limited audience.  The “NBC Nightly News” aired when the “CBS Evening News” ended, at 6:00 p.m.  The two newscasts aired on different local channels.

I watched both newscasts, back-to-back.  ( I didn’t have a girlfriend. )  There was no CNN, MSNBC, or Fox News.

By 1991, I was living in California.  Evening newscasts still existed, but I’d ceased to watch them in 1980.  I still liked watching the news.  I watched the Cable News Network, CNN.

In 1991, America went to war in Arabia.  This was called “The Gulf War”.  If you’re old enough to have watched that war ( doubtless, on CNN ), you recall a reporter named Peter Arnett.

Arnett was described, in 1991, as having a “pre used face”.  Perhaps this was because the Gulf War wasn’t the first war that Arnett had reported on.  Arnett was also accused, in 1991, of being ‘a communist’.  Such is the life, I suppose, of a reporter who insists on telling the truth as he sees it.

Arnett covered the Vietnam War for 13 years, from 1962 to 1975.  ( Pages 14, 17. )  Chapter one of his book has the title of the book itself:  “Saigon Has Fallen.”  The year is 1975.  Arnett recounts the collapse of authority in Saigon as enemy forces moved in.  

Chapter two is titled “Assignment to Saigon”.  It’s 1962, and Arnett is a newly arrived reporter in South Vietnam.

The subsequent chapters proceed in chronological order.  In each, Arnett tells of one or more of his experiences in Vietnam.  Arnett meets everyone who matters on the American side of the war, from “Hal” Moore, the future author of “We Were Soldiers Once”, to Norman Schwarzkopf, who was a major in Vietnam, but a four-star general in the Gulf War of 1991.  In North Vietnam, Arnett meets that country’s prime minster:  Pham Van Dong.

When South Vietnamese secret police beat up Arnett, reporter David Halberstam saves him.  Arnett shares experiences with reporter Neil Sheehan and reporter Bob Schieffer.  Even photographer Tim Page, immortalized in Michael Herr’s book “Dispatches”, makes an appearance.

The book “Saigon Has Fallen” is not a thorough assessment of the Vietnam War.  Rather, it’s like a friend who occasionally enters your life, and tells you what he’s been up to.  Otherwise, such a friend is absent from your experience.

Arnett’s book is useful in two ways.  It makes a fine primer in an undergraduate course on the Vietnam War.  Or, it can be used in a graduate course as primary source material.  In both cases, another book, or the professor, will need to supplement Arnett’s book.

Arnett’s book is a quick, compelling read.  Nonetheless, America’s loss in Vietnam continues to astound me.

In World War II, America defeated two empires:  Germany’s, and Japans.  Vietnam is a small, skinny country.  It consists of a beach, with jungle to its rear.  There are massifs ( compact groups of mountains ) along Vietnam’s western border.  

South Vietnam was even smaller than Vietnam.  Yet Americans failed to hold it.  At times, for Americans, the Vietnam War was a nightmare:

“The only way to tell who was alive and who was dead amongst the exhausted men was to watch when the enemy mortars came crashing in.  The living rushed unashamedly to the tiny bunkers dug into the red clay of the hilltop.  The wounded squirmed toward the shelter of trees that had been blasted to the ground.  Only the dead didn’t move, propped up in the bunkers where they had died in direct mortar hits, or face down in the dust where they had fallen to bullets.”  ( Page 85. )


From TRASH to TREASURE

A book review by Andrew Roller

Art of Atari Poster Collection.  By Tim Lapetino.  Dynamite Entertainment.  Mount Laurel, New Jersey, United States of America.  Copyright 2017.

It was the 1960s.  My parents owned a large black and white television.  This despite the fact that color televisions were now in vogue.

I was in an early grade in elementary school.  Every school day, I watched “Captain Kangaroo” in my pajamas.

“Captain Kangaroo” was a national program.  However, it allowed the local broadcaster to insert locally sourced material.

At some point in the show, a cartoon adventure would occur.  During this adventure, the protagonist would need help.  He needed your help!  Right now!

I ran to the television.  I put a sheet of pink plastic on the T.V. screen.  Then, using crayons, I drew something ( suggested by the show ) to help the protagonist.  As in, ‘Draw a box so the protagonist can stand on it.’

The protagonist, saved by me, completed his adventure.

The sheet of pink plastic had been purchased for me by my parents.  The same was true of the crayons.  The plastic and crayons were part of a kit.

One day, my brother ( five years my junior ) destroyed the kit.  I was crestfallen.  My parents refused to buy me another kit.  However, my mother suggested that I write to our local station, and explain what had happened.  I did.

Some days later, the local broadcaster ran its local insert during “Captain Kangaroo”.  A local man read my letter.  He said, on the T.V., that the station would send me a new kit, free of charge.  I was elated.  That morning, at school, I was God.  All the pupils watched “Captain Kangaroo” at home.  All of them had watched the man as he read my letter.

You may wonder what the above has to do with Atari art.  In his article, “The Absurd Pleasures of Atari 2600 Box Art”, Alexander B. Joy writes:

“The gulf between the [ Atari box art and ] the actual game … creates comparisons so outlandish [ that ] they beg for ironic enjoyment. … Nowadays, we might be tempted to call Atari’s [ box art ] false advertising.”

Somewhere around the year 1980, I bought an Atari 2600.  I plugged it in to my [ color ] T.V.  I inserted a game into the game console.  The result was astounding.  The graphics on my T.V. were primitive.  What amazed me was that I could control something on my T.V.

Throughout my life, the T.V. had been disparaged as a “boob tube”.  The modern term of “couch potato” captures this meaning.  You could sit and watch your T.V.  But, other than adjusting the volume, or changing the channel, you had no control over it.

Now, you did!

Video games at the mall quickly outpaced the quality of the Atari console.  I was too old for both.  What I soon came to love was the Atari 2600 box art.  I filled a bag in my attic with empty Atari boxes.  I cherished their art.

My parents did not.  Throughout my life, my parents have been cultural morons.  For them, culture ended in The Great Depression, or in World War II.  That was the epitome of American culture.  Anything after that point was immoral.

So, with no notice to me, Dad threw out my bag of empty Atari boxes.  I should have guessed that he would do this.  In the 1960s, our family stopped at a McDonald’s in Washington, D.C.  The manager gave us a box.  It held about 100 identical McDonald’s posters.  

The posters were gorgeous.  Each showed the various McDonald’s characters in McDonaldland.  I have never seen such a fine depiction since.

So, of course, Dad threw out the box of posters.  I recall Mom telling me this a decade or so later:  “Dad threw out the posters.”

“All of them?” I asked, aghast.

“All of them,” my mother replied.  Dad hadn’t saved a single one.

A decade or so after that, Mom threw out our large collection of National Geographic magazines.  At that time, National Geographic occasionally included a map in its issue.  This wasn’t the centerfold-style map of later decades, that had to be ripped out of the magazine.  It was an insert.  You simply took it out, and unfolded it.  Any National Geographic map was gorgeous.

It was also easy to find.  By simply picking up an issue of National Geographic, I could tell whether it held a map, or not.

In reply to Mom, I gasped, “You didn’t throw out the maps?”  She had.

In 2024, the maps are allegedly available at National Geographic’s web site.  They have been digitized.  But you must pay to see them.

I’ve never found a replacement for the McDonaldland poster.  But there’s now a replacement for the Atari box art.  It’s the book called, the “Art of Atari Poster Collection”! 


AND IN THE END…

TRADITIONAL VALUES

“Roman women, or should I say Roman girls, were eligible for marriage at [ age ] 12.”

- Mike Duncan.

Source:  Mike Duncan.  Podcast:  The History of Rome.  Episode 69:  “As [ sic ] History of Rome Wedding”.

More:

“Often, an older man, marrying for the second or third time, would choose a much younger wife. …There was [ sic ] no real legal restrictions to this, or even very strict social taboos.”

Source:  Ibid.


ARCANA 

1.  “This is the end” is a lyric in the 1967 song “The End”, by an American band.  The band is The Doors.

Francis Ford Coppola’s legendary 1979 film, about the Vietnam War, is titled “Apocalypse Now”.  The film’s soundtrack begins with “The End”.

A You Tube customer contributed an awesome version of “The End” to You Tube.  As the song plays, the You Tuber provides a stunning montage of clips from “Apocalypse Now”.

The You Tuber’s contribution has ceased to be on You Tube.  Doubtless, You Tube’s censorious staff “terminated” the You Tuber’s account for some reason.

The You Tuber’s version of “The End” was available in 2019.  Other, inferior versions are now on You Tube.

You Tube is owned by Google.


2.  “The Absurd Pleasures of Atari 2600 Box Art” is attributed to this web site:  “Unwinnable”.  The article is also attributed to issue number 48 of the magazine “Exploits”. 


——————————————————————————————————————————


Copyright 2024 by Andrew L. Roller.  ET, Editorial Thunder, and ARSE, Andrew Roller Stories and Essays, are trademarks of Andrew L. Roller.   

I am http://andrewroller.com    

Earlier posts by me are at https://asstr.xyz/files/Authors/Roller/ 

asstr.org has the same content as asstr.xyz

“asslr ( Alt.Sex.Stories Lazy Rubes? ) is “an upcoming story repository to replace asstr”, according to xefig.com.   

I’m on paper at:  https://www.abebooks.com > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 

and https://www.abebooks.co.uk > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 

If you visit an “AbeBooks” website, you’ll be presented with a large square “Search” box.  In the box labelled “Author”, type in “Andrew Roller”.  In the box labelled “Title”, type in “Andrew Roller Presents”.  This will bring up some of my pamphlets.  I have not yet figured out how to bring up other pamphlets by me, under other titles.  I don’t recall all the titles I published under.  

I have no financial involvement in these resale items. 

Other references:

1.  https://zinewiki.com/wiki/Factsheet_Five

Article:  “Factsheet Five”.

Article subhead:  “Andrew Roller’s Factsheet Five controversy”.

2.  poopsheetfoundation.com 

Search for:

Writers / Artists:  Andrew Roller

3.  yandex.by

Search for:

Andrew Roller

4.  xefig.com

Search for:

Index of/files/Collections/ASSTR_Collection/Andrew_Roller/

( I accessed xefig.com via yandex.by )

5.  Apple Music

Search for:  @andrewroller666


On August 18, 2022, Apple Computer banned my Apple I.D.  Apple did this abruptly.  Apple gave me no warning of any displeasure, on its part, with me.  ( I’ve been an Apple customer since the 1980s. )

The effect of Apple’s ban was to destroy my content.  The vast bulk of my content was “safely” stored with them, in iCloud.

I complained to Apple.  Apple’s reason for their ban of my Apple I.D. was “Apple Policy”.  No further information was given.  Apple told me to apply for a new Apple I.D.  

You can read more about this in prior issues of ARSE.


Support NAMBLA!  The North American Man / Boy Love Association:  https://nambla.org/


This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 270

Arcana:  This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 270, version 1.0

Date Written:  August 12, 2024.          Live for the day that censorious Big Tech is dead. 


——————————————————————————————————————————

-—————————————————————————————————————————

The magazine that Big Tech BANNED multiple times… lives!

ET 269

Editorial Thunder presents...

Poop with Pleasure!

——————————————————————————————————————————

Plus:  America:  as bad as Soviet Russia.

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POOP with PLEASURE!

Great Podcasts.

by Andrew Roller

In his book “The Singularity Is Near”, Ray Kurzweil speaks of ‘tedious bodily maintenance’.  I give this phrase a broad interpretation.  Under ‘tedious bodily maintenance’, I include everything from brushing my teeth to cleaning my toilet.

It’s amazing how much of modern human survival still depends on doing mindless work.

What to do?

I listen to podcasts.  Here are the podcasters that I currently follow:

1.  Mike Duncan.  Duncan’s academic achievement consists of graduating from college.  This isn’t an impressive achievement.  To graduate from college, you need the following:

A.  Parents who are willing to pay some of your bills.

B.  Show up for class.

C.  Turn in paperwork ( college assignments ) that take a perfunctory stab at appearing credible.

As a result, I was skittish about listening to Duncan’s podcasts, or reading his books.

Wow!  Was I surprised!

I have listened to nearly all of Duncan’s podcast, “The History of Rome”.  It is exceptional.  Duncan often gives away the plot of his narrative.  Yet he has held my interest throughout the many episodes of his podcast.

Duncan has a podcast called “Revolutions”.  It covers a variety of revolutions.  I’m looking forward to listening to it.

I read Duncan’s book, “The Storm Before the Storm”.  It is very well written.  There is an Audible version of this book.

Duncan has also written the book “Hero of Two Worlds”.  I haven’t read this book yet.


2.  Patrick Wyman.  Patrick has a Ph.D., so I had no qualms about listening to him.

Wyman’s first podcast was “The Fall of Rome”.  He apparently did it on his own initiative.  By the time the podcast concludes, Wyman has been hired by the podcast company that is called “Wondery”.

Duncan’s “History of Rome” podcast has music, but only when the podcast starts.  The same is true of some of the episodes of Wyman’s podcast “The Fall of Rome”.  Later episodes of “The Fall of Rome” have music throughout the podcast.

At first, I liked hearing music throughout “The Fall of Rome”.  Then I tried using this podcast to go to sleep.  That didn’t work.  The music woke me up.

This is especially true of Wyman’s podcast, “Tides of History”.  The music is, at times, wonderful.  However, at other times, it overwhelms what Wyman is saying.  Every episode of “Tides of History” ends with triumphalist music.  It will wake you up.

When you’re done listening to “The Fall of Rome”, listen to “Tides of History”.  Wyman continues to release ( not “drop” ) new episodes of “Tides of History”.

Has Wyman released other podcasts?  Yes.  He released the podcast that’s called “The Pursuit of Dadliness”.  I listened to every episode of “The Pursuit of Dadliness”.  It is utterly worthless.

How do I listen to podcasts?  I am a “Premium Plus Annual” subscriber to Audible.  I say this to avoid misleading you.  I don’t want to say that you can hear something on Audible, and then be proven wrong.  What you can hear on Audible depends on the level at which you subscribe.  ( i.e. how much money you pay. )

The good news is that you can join Audible for a low price.  If you just use it to listen to podcasts, you can listen to a lot of quality narratives for free.

Audible offers “Ad-free” versions of “The Fall of Rome” and “Tides of History”.  Look for these versions when you do a search on Audible.

Wyman wrote a book:  The Verge.  I bought a Kindle version of his book.  However, I didn’t buy the Audible version.  Why?  I felt that Wyman’s voice sounded bad.  There was nothing wrong with Wyman himself.  However, whoever recorded his voice did a poor job.

Wyman’s grasp of history is astounding.  This is especially noticeable when he interviews a historian.  Wyman interviews many historians.  Wyman’s mind can move effortlessly from obscure aspects of prehistory to modern theses.  He’s also a good source for topical academic jargon.  Wyman uses this jargon in a way that I can understand.

I found another podcast by Wyman.  I found it some time ago, on Apple’s “Podcasts” app.  However, that podcast is now gone.  I don’t remember what it was called.  It had just a few episodes.

Wyman, and other authors, may have content on You Tube.  However, I refuse to use You Tube.

Some episodes of podcasts are missing from Audible.  I find them on Apple’s “Podcasts” app.  Apple’s “Podcasts” app is probably better than Audible.  However, I use Apple products as little as possible.  That’s because, some time ago, Apple did its utmost to destroy ALL of my content, including content that I’ve never shared.  You can read about this in prior issues of ARSE.

You may think I’m a history buff.  In fact, I prefer current affairs.  To follow current affairs, I listen to the following podcast:

“Ukraine:  The Latest”.  What is the best way to listen to current affairs?  It’s when a group of correspondents are discussing something that’s happening now.  This is equivalent to listening, live, to a baseball game.

“Ukraine:  The Latest” features a group of correspondents.  They discuss the latest news from Ukraine.  The podcast takes a broad view of this subject.  It includes such things as coverage of international affairs as they relate to Ukraine.

Someday, the war in Ukraine will end.  My hope is that “Ukraine:  The Latest” then transforms itself into a global news podcast.  I would hate to lose the daily updates from David Knowles, Francis Dearnley, and Dominic Nicholls ( plus others ).  

A new episode of “Ukraine:  The Latest” is released at 10 a.m. Pacific time every weekday.  ( Except on British holidays. )

A sister podcast of “Ukraine:  The Latest” is called “Battle Lines”.  A new episode is released every Friday.

“Ukraine:  The Latest” and “Battle Lines” are owned by a British newspaper.  It’s called “The Telegraph”.  If you can’t find the right podcast called “Battle Lines”, use the keyword “The Telegraph” to do a search.

Doing a search, you’ll come across this podcast by “The Telegraph”:  “Off Script”.  Author Antony Beevor is interviewed in the March 1, 2024 episode of “Off Script”.  However, no new episodes of “Off Script” have been released since March 4, 2024.

I listen to other podcasts about current affairs:

1.  The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg.  Goldberg is a “never Trump” Republican.  I despise such people.  Nonetheless, Goldberg has an utterly compelling voice.  If you want to be seduced, and informed, listen to Goldberg.

Goldberg calls himself a ‘mid-range philosopher’.  ( Paraphrased. )  That is, he doesn’t scale the heights of philosophy.  ( Which are, today, unintelligible to the layman. )  Nor is Goldberg a dunce.  He doesn’t traffic in stupid theories that are click-bait.

I don’t recommend listening to all of every episode by Goldberg.  He tends to pontificate at considerable length.  When you understand what he’s saying, turn him off.  Then look forward to the next episode of his podcast.

The same is true of the following podcasts:


2.  The Dispatch Podcast.  Jonah Goldberg often appears on this podcast.  Both “The Remnant” and “The Dispatch Podcast” are produced by a web site.  It’s called, “The Dispatch”.

“The Dispatch” can be viewed as a magazine.  Here’s how it got started.  Once, there was a magazine called “The Weekly Standard”.  It was a magazine for vanilla Republicans.  ( Some of whom have since become “never Trumpers”. )

“The Weekly Standard” was the definition of boring.  Fortunately, thanks perhaps to Donald Trump’s rise, it went broke.  Most Republicans wanted more than vanilla politics.

Goldberg saw an opening.  He solicited the donors who’d funded “The Weekly Standard”.  They agreed to fund his replacement project “The Dispatch”.  As best I can tell, “The Dispatch” is more interesting than “The Weekly Standard” was.

“The Dispatch” has a third podcast.  It’s called “Advisory Opinions”.  It covers the intersection between law and politics.  I don’t listen to this podcast much.  I didn’t flunk out of law school to listen to crap about the U.S. Supreme Court.

More podcasts about current affairs:

1.  The Ben Shapiro Show.  Ben Shapiro releases several podcasts a week.  He provides blow-by-blow commentary on American politics.  Shapiro is at his best when he’s mocking President Biden’s infirmities.

Shapiro doesn’t just talk.  He includes many “actualities” in his podcast.  An “actuality” is a news clip from an event.  You’ll hear Biden talk, and then Shapiro will comment.

Shapiro’s podcast is owned by “The Daily Wire”.  If you pay money ( somehow ), you can watch Shapiro.  You don’t just have to listen to him.  I am mostly satisfied by listening to Shapiro.  I haven’t paid to watch him as he speaks.  ( And shows his “actualities”. )


2.  Mark Levin Podcast.  If you watch Fox News, you’ve seen Mark Levin.  He’s at his best when he’s yelling.  Unfortunately, he tends to yell too much.  Levin talks about politics.  He doesn’t provide actualities.

Both Shapiro and Levin are Trump Republicans.  Prior to Trump, they were conservative ( Reagan ) Republicans.

Audible is an awkward app.  In the Audible app, on my iMac, I go to a podcast.  I click on “View all episodes”.  The podcast has a lot of episodes.  When I try to scroll down to see them, Audible gets stuck.  It won’t let me scroll down very far.

In my Audible app, on my iPad, I can usually scroll down.  However, there are other problems.

If I click on a podcast, I can’t proceed to its list of episodes.  This happens when I do a search in the Audible app.  To escape this problem, I switch to the “Library” page in my Audible app.  

Let’s say that I use my iPad to listen to something in Audible.  I finish listening.  I want to listen to something else.  Remaining in the Audible app, I attempt to listen to something else.  Audible prevents me from doing so.  How?  After struggling for several minutes, Audible gives me the following notice:

“No network connection”.

This is bullshit.  There’s nothing wrong with my network connection.  

( The last refuge of a tech support scoundrel is this:  “It must be your router”.  Bullshit. )

What to do?  Quit out of the Audible app.  Then, relaunch it.  You’ll now be able to listen to ( one item ) in Audible.

If you want to listen to something else, quit out of Audible again.  Then relaunch it again.

Eventually, my Audible app becomes useless.  It doesn’t play anything.  What to do?  Delete your Audible app.  Don’t save any part of it.  Delete the whole app.

( You’ll have to do the same thing, at times, with your Kindle app. )

I can hear your howls of pain.  Delete the whole app?  I’ve spent lots of money on content for my app!

Don’t worry.  Your content is, in fact, at Amazon.com.  ( Which owns Audible, and Kindle. )  Delete your app.  Then, go to the App Store.  Download the app again.  ( Both the Audible app, and the Kindle app, are free. )

Launch the app.  Amazon.com will require you to sign in.  Once you do, the app will load your content back into the app.  This happens instantly in Kindle.  Audible takes several minutes to load in the content.

None of the content will be downloaded.  Click on whatever item you want to download it.

Apple banned my Apple I.D.  This meant that I could no longer use Apple’s “App Store”.  Every app that I’d bought from the “App Store” could no longer be updated.  Nor could it be renewed.

If this happens to you, you’re in luck.  At least, you’re in luck with regard to your content in Audible, and in Kindle.  Use your browser to go directly to Amazon.com.

Your Kindle books are at this web site:

read.amazon.com

They’re also at:

amazon.com

My page at this web site reads:

“Andrew Roller’s Books”.

Your Audible content is at this web site:

audible.com

My page at this web site reads:

“Library”.

You may have to poke around, with your browser, before you find the web pages that I’ve listed above.  Once I find the correct page, I do the following:

I use my Safari browser to “Add to Home Screen”.

In prior issues of ARSE, I explain how to “Add to Home Screen”.  

( In Safari, look for the box that has an arrow sticking out of it.  The arrow points up. )

I listen to Audible content with Apple headphones.  They’re wireless “Beats Studio Pro” headphones.  These fit over my ears.  ( “Beats Solo” headphones rest on your ears;  they press against them. )

Apple headphones are expensive.  On the Internet, I found a pair of over-the-ear headphones by Koss.  These earphones are currently on sale for $79.99.  That’s much less expensive than Apple’s “Beats Studio Pro” headphones, which Apple sells for $349.99.

I bought my current pair of Apple headphones from Amazon.com.  Amazon sells Apple products for less money than Apple does.  For a simple item like “Beats Studio Pro” headphones, it’s a good idea to buy from Amazon.com.

At Apple.com, I’m seeing all sorts of headphones for sale.  Apple sells “AirPods Max” headphones for $549.00.  These are an expensive version of “Beats Studio Pro” headphones.  I see no reason to buy them.

I don’t take my “Beats Studio Pro” headphones out of my apartment.  In other locations, I use my old wired ‘earplug’ headphones that came with my iPhone 6.  They work fine.  I have listened to many podcasts and songs with them.  I did not suffer any noticeable loss of audio quality.

A warning:  If you listen to podcasts by Mike Duncan, or Patrick Wyman, they will recommend many books.  I tried, for a time, to buy whatever books that they recommended.  That was a big mistake.  I spent way too much money.

At Amazon.com, you can download a sample of any Kindle book.  Is there a benefit to this?  Yes!  If a book has maps, they’re often in the front of the book.  So you get all of the book’s maps for free.

However, I mostly use the following free apps to find locations:

1.  Apple’s “Safari” browser.  For historic places, favor the word “ancient”.  As in:  ancient rome.


2.  Wikipedia.  People have complained about Wikipedia articles on current affairs.  The accusation is that such articles are biased.  ( They certainly are, with regard to pedophiles! )  However, this problem doesn’t exist with articles about history.  I have no complaints about Wikipedia articles on subjects such as “ancient rome”.

If I like a Wikipedia article, I save it to Apple’s “Books” app.

( See prior issues of ARSE to learn how to do this. )  

( In Safari, look for the box that has an arrow sticking out of it.  The arrow points up. )


3.  Apple’s “Maps” app.

4.  Google’s “Maps” app.

There you have it!  You can now perform ‘tedious bodily maintenance’ and educate yourself too.  Civilization does have, as Freud said, its discontents.  But a benefit is that you can become a genius as you take shit on your toilet!


AND IN THE END…

AMERICA:  AS BAD as SOVIET RUSSIA

“The abuse of psychiatric institutions for the confinement of dissidents and ‘anti-social elements’ continued into the 1970s.”

- Max Hastings, on Communist Russia.  Page 83.

( Sadly, in America, so-called “pedophiles” are subjected to ongoing abuse, including by psychiatrists, psychiatric institutions, and the American government. )

Quote source:  Max Hastings.  The Abyss:  Nuclear Crisis Cuba 1962.  HarperCollins.  New York, New York.  United States of America.  Copyright 2022.


ADDENDUM

1.  On ‘tedious bodily maintenance’:  This is a paraphrase.  To see references to this topic, do a search in a Kindle version of Kurzweil’s book.  Keyword:  maintenance.

The Singularity Is Near:  When Humans Transcend Biology.  By Ray Kurzweil.  Penguin Books.  New York, New York.  U.S.A.  Copyright 2005.


2.  Episode 24 of “The Fall of Rome” is called “Tides of History”.  To hear it, however, you must click on the icon for “The Fall of Rome”.

“The Fall of Rome” continues through episode 31.


3.  When I finish listening to Duncan’s podcast, “The History of Rome”, I plan to listen to this podcast:

“The History of Byzantium”.  The “host” of this podcast is Englishman Robin Pierson.

If you’d asked a citizen of Byzantium what he was, he’d reply with the following:

“I’m a Roman”.  Rome fell in 476 A.D.  But Byzantium lasted until 1453 A.D.  “Byzantium” is a term that we use to describe something from our perspective.  Much as, for instance, we may one day be called, “the ancient Americans”.


4.  I may have more non-American readers of ARSE than Americans.  Thank you!  Unfortunately, I’m incapable of writing from an amorphous perspective, that isn’t anchored in a particular region.


5.  I refuse to use C.E. and B.C.E.  ( “Current Era”, and “Before the Current Era”. )  These are yet more terms invented by White ex-hippies in America.  ( Such as “African Americans” ( with or without a dash ) for “Black”, “Ms.” for “Mrs.” and “Miss”, and “child molester” for an ordinary man who likes girls.

A.D. and B.C. are distinct.  They’re derived from Latin words.  “A.D.” and “B.C.” were described to me, by a Christian, as follows:

“B.C. stands for ‘Before Christ’.  A.D. stands for ‘After ( the death of ) Christ’.”  This left me puzzled.  Wasn’t Christ born in ( about ) zero A.D.?  Didn’t he live until ( about ) 33 A.D.?  What do we call the years between zero A.D., and 33 A.D.?

“The Free Dictionary” defines A.D. as starting when Christ was born.  Christ is presumed to have been born in one A.D.  The year prior to 1 A.D. is 1 B.C.  No segment of time is called “zero A.D.”.

Of course, the people who lived in one A.D. did not call it that.  “One A.D.” is a term that we use to describe something from our perspective. 


6.  The Free Dictionary has the following web site:

www.thefreedictionary.com


7.  I highly recommend the following web site:

wordhippo.com


8.  I recommend the following web sites:

A.  reversedictionary.org

B.  dictionary.reverso.net


——————————————————————————————————————————


Copyright 2024 by Andrew L. Roller.  ET, Editorial Thunder, and ARSE, Andrew Roller Stories and Essays, are trademarks of Andrew L. Roller.   

I am http://andrewroller.com    

Earlier posts by me are at https://asstr.xyz/files/Authors/Roller/ 

asstr.org has the same content as asstr.xyz

“asslr ( Alt.Sex.Stories Lazy Rubes? ) is “an upcoming story repository to replace asstr”, according to xefig.com.   

I’m on paper at:  https://www.abebooks.com > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 

and https://www.abebooks.co.uk > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 

If you visit an “AbeBooks” website, you’ll be presented with a large square “Search” box.  In the box labelled “Author”, type in “Andrew Roller”.  In the box labelled “Title”, type in “Andrew Roller Presents”.  This will bring up some of my pamphlets.  I have not yet figured out how to bring up other pamphlets by me, under other titles.  I don’t recall all the titles I published under.  

I have no financial involvement in these resale items. 

Other references:

1.  https://zinewiki.com/wiki/Factsheet_Five

Article:  “Factsheet Five”.

Article subhead:  “Andrew Roller’s Factsheet Five controversy”.

2.  poopsheetfoundation.com 

Search for:

Writers / Artists:  Andrew Roller

3.  yandex.by

Search for:

Andrew Roller

4.  xefig.com

Search for:

Index of/files/Collections/ASSTR_Collection/Andrew_Roller/

( I accessed xefig.com via yandex.by )

5.  Apple Music

Search for:  @andrewroller666


On August 18, 2022, Apple Computer banned my Apple I.D.  Apple did this abruptly.  Apple gave me no warning of any displeasure, on its part, with me.  ( I’ve been an Apple customer since the 1980s. )

The effect of Apple’s ban was to destroy my content.  The vast bulk of my content was “safely” stored with them, in iCloud.

I complained to Apple.  Apple’s reason for their ban of my Apple I.D. was “Apple Policy”.  No further information was given.  Apple told me to apply for a new Apple I.D.  

You can read more about this in prior issues of ARSE.


Support NAMBLA!  The North American Man / Boy Love Association:  https://nambla.org/


This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 269

Arcana:  This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 269, version 2.0

Date Written:  July 14, 2024.          Live for the day that censorious Big Tech is dead. 


——————————————————————————————————————————  

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The magazine that Big Tech BANNED multiple times… lives!

ET 268

Editorial Thunder presents...

Trump is Unbeatable

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Plus:  Apple’s “Books” vs. Readdle’s “Documents”.

And:  Scared to “molest”?

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TRUMP is UNBEATABLE

by 

Andrew Roller

I don’t own a television.  As a result, the chance of me seeing an assassination attempt, on a U.S. president, is minimal.

However, today, I was at a kidney dialysis unit.  The unit has televisions.

I have to sit on dialysis for four and a half hours.  In that amount of time, you can almost fly across the entire United States, or from California to Hawaii.

I don’t actually sit in my dialysis chair.  I lie in it.  ( The chair can recline. )  Since my kidneys don’t work, anything that I drink pools in my legs.  This causes the skin in my legs to swell.  My skin then breaks down, and I get deep depressions in my legs.  ( Near my ankles. )

Gravity is what pulls anything that I drink into my legs.  So, on dialysis, I lie back to allow the fluid to leave my legs.

Reclining in a chair can be relaxing.  However, it’s not relaxing when you have to do it for four and a half hours.  Worse, since I have two dialysis needles in my right arm ( big ones ), I’m not allowed to move my right arm.

Sometimes, I’m given orders like, “Uncross your legs.”  I can’t eat on dialysis.  The reason I can’t eat is because, lying back, I might choke on what I eat.

So, four and a half hours of dialysis isn’t relaxing.

Saturday is the worst day for dialysis.  I like watching the national news on television.  There is rarely any national news on the television on a Saturday.

Today, former President Donald Trump was scheduled to speak in Butler, Pennsylvania.  He was to speak at a campaign rally.  I was looking forward to it.  If I were at home, I wouldn’t spend much time watching Donald Trump speak at a rally.  However, on dialysis, Donald Trump is fun to watch.

In fact, he’s a godsend.  

The rally in Butler began.  Trump appeared, and began to speak.  He had been speaking for about 15 minutes ( it felt like five minutes ) when he reached up to his ear, and cringed.

“That looks strange,” I thought.  Trump has considerable talent as a comedian.  But this didn’t look like the start of one of his comedy routines.

Then Trump ducked to the ground.  In the ensuing seconds, I wasn’t sure whether Trump had in fact ducked, or fallen down.  He remained down.  By now, I was aware of popping sounds.  Could they be gunfire?

Trump remained on the ground.  ( Actually, on the floor of a stage. )  Then the Secret Service agents appeared, and got on top of Trump.  ( To protect him. )

I was shocked.  Was Trump dead?  Had he perhaps been wounded, in a way that would end his campaign?  Would I be able to hear the rest of his speech?

The Secret Service agents lifted Trump to his feet.  Trump looked disheveled.  That worried me.  Trump might be mortally wounded or, as I said above, unable to continue his campaign.

Then Trump began gesturing to the crowd.  That raised my hopes that he would continue his campaign.

However, his speech in Butler was clearly over.  I spent the next two hours hearing the same paltry nuggets of news about the assassination attempt.

Trump is now unbeatable.  No one will have another shot ( literally ) at him.  Once someone is killed, or nearly killed, he becomes a demigod.  We don’t just recall Julius Caesar, or worship Christ, because those men did important things.  They have prominence because they were taken from us in the prime of their lives.

The same is now true for Trump.

Even worse, for Joke Bidet, is the fact that Trump gestured to the crowd after being shot.  Trump is fighter.  Biden is a doddering old fool.

Even Biden’s supporters admit that his mental faculties have declined.  However, traitors like David Brooks say the following:

“Biden’s judgement is sound.”

Biden’s judgement is only sound until it isn’t.

Put another way, Biden’s judgement is sound until he does something stupid, like withdrawing abruptly from Afghanistan.

It could be worse.  What if Russia or China launches an attack on the U.S., or on U.S. allies?  Will Biden’s judgement be sound then?  We have no way of knowing.  Like I said, Biden’s judgement is sound until it isn’t.

So a traitor like David Brooks is leading us down a primrose path that could destroy America.

Yes, our democracy is at stake - if we reelect a moron.

You may think I’m a Trump diehard.  I may be, now, after seeing Trump nearly get killed.  In fact, I strongly support Ukraine.  Biden strongly supports Ukraine and so, on this subject, I strongly support Biden.

Biden supports people who are sexually different.  So, on this subject, I strongly support Biden.

America has a plethora of vicious laws against so-called pedophiles.  Biden is letting innumerable people into the U.S., without making sure they’re not “pedophiles”.  Let’s see America enforce its vicious laws against “pedophiles” when there are lots of them in this country.  

I’m agnostic about illegal immigration into the U.S.  So, on this subject, I’m partial to Biden.

I think Biden’s “green energy” initiatives are ridiculous.  “Green energy” is fine if it works, and costs no more than fossil fuels.  But Biden’s plan is to increase the cost of fossil fuels, until they’re as expensive as “green energy”.  I don’t favor that.  I prefer Trump’s policy of “Drill, baby, drill.”.

Mars has polar icecaps.  If you were going to Mars, would you choose to live in a polar icecap on Mars?  Probably not.

Earth also has polar icecaps.  Most of the U.S. is within Earth’s ( northern ) polar icecap.  We need a warmer Earth so that the U.S. is no longer plagued by winter.

Earth has been much warmer in its past.  Antarctica once had no ice, and dinosaurs roamed that continent.  Did that result in the end of Earth?  No!  

I mentioned above that I like to watch the national news.  I like to watch foreign news too.  I’m especially interested in news about Ukraine.

Some of Trump’s supporters say that the U.S. shouldn’t help Ukraine.  They cite America’s failures in Afghanistan and Vietnam.

That’s comparing apples with oranges.  The ordinary folks in Vietnam wanted all interfering foreigners out of their country.  The same was true in Afghanistan.

Ukraine is utterly different.  Ukraine wants to be part of the West.  Currently, I’m reading the wartime speeches of Winston Churchill.  He makes numerous references to helping any country that wants to be free.  ( i.e. part of the West. )

U.S. President John F. Kennedy said:

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”

( Kennedy was a Democrat.  As president, in 1963, he was assassinated. )

Trump is very lucky to be alive.  Less than a quarter inch separated him from a minor injury, and a mortal one.  An assassin should not be allowed to determine the outcome of a candidate’s political campaign.  The Secret Service should have had its agents on the roof of any building within shooting distance of where Trump was speaking.

The attempt on Trump’s life, that nearly succeeded, has now made him the next president of the United States of America.  For good or ill.


APPLE “Books” VERSUS “Documents” by READDLE

by Andrew Roller

Like everyone who owns an Apple device, or computer, I have Apple’s application called “Books”.  I also have an application called “Documents”, by a company called Readdle.

Which is better?

I find articles on the Internet.  Then, I try to save them.  “Documents”, by Readdle, does a great job of saving articles.  ( And photos. )  Apple’s “Books” application isn’t as good as “Documents”.

Sometimes, when I try to save an article with “Books”, most of the article doesn’t appear.  Sometimes, “Books” saves the article, but not any photos that are in the article.

Is there any downside to “Documents”?  Yes.  Recently, my iPhone died.  I bought a new iPhone.  Then, I put my old iPhone’s files onto my new iPhone.  ( Using Apple’s iCloud service. )

The “Documents” application appeared on my new iPhone.  However, there was nothing in it!  All of my valuable articles, and super-valuable photos of naked girls, were gone!

( Fortunately for my dick, I had other copies of the naked girls, on other devices. )

“Documents” is great.  Just make sure that you make copies of whatever you put into it. 


AND IN THE END…

SCARED to “MOLEST”?

“Constantine’s morality laws followed the Augustan precedent in that they established an idealized model of family life and then rigidly demanded adherence to the model, with draconian punishments doled out to the wayward.”

- Mike Duncan.

Source:  Mike Duncan.  Podcast:  The History of Rome.  Episode 138:  “The New Rome”.

( Constantine’s morality laws failed, as did those of Augustus. )



ARCANA

1.  On Antartica:  “Antarctica hasn’t always been covered with ice - the continent lay over the south pole without freezing over for almost 100 million years.  Then, about 34 million years ago, a dramatic shift in climate happened at the boundary between the Eocene and Oligocene epochs.”

Source:  Google, citing the web site “Amgueddfa Cymru”.  

Keywords:  was antarctica ever ice free?


2.  Kennedy quote:  From a website called “Parade”.  ( Presumably, this is the Sunday newspaper supplement called “Parade” magazine. )

Article:  “100 Powerful JFK Quotes That Still Ring True Today”.  ( Take note, J. D. Vance. )


3.  I consider David Brooks, like Joke Scarborough, to be traitors to the Republican Party.  Nonetheless, I watch David Brooks every week on the PBS NewsHour.  

I used to watch Joe Scarborough ( at 3:00 a.m., Pacific time ) until he became a propagandist for the Democrats.

( I blame Mika Brzezinski for that.  Never doubt what a woman can do to a man. )


4.  The company called Readdle is a Ukrainian company.


——————————————————————————————————————————


Copyright 2024 by Andrew L. Roller.  ET, Editorial Thunder, and ARSE, Andrew Roller Stories and Essays, are trademarks of Andrew L. Roller.   

I am http://andrewroller.com    

Earlier posts by me are at https://asstr.xyz/files/Authors/Roller/ 

asstr.org has the same content as asstr.xyz

“asslr ( Alt.Sex.Stories Lazy Rubes? ) is “an upcoming story repository to replace asstr”, according to xefig.com.   

I’m on paper at:  https://www.abebooks.com > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 

and https://www.abebooks.co.uk > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 

If you visit an “AbeBooks” website, you’ll be presented with a large square “Search” box.  In the box labelled “Author”, type in “Andrew Roller”.  In the box labelled “Title”, type in “Andrew Roller Presents”.  This will bring up some of my pamphlets.  I have not yet figured out how to bring up other pamphlets by me, under other titles.  I don’t recall all the titles I published under.  

I have no financial involvement in these resale items. 

Other references:

1.  https://zinewiki.com/wiki/Factsheet_Five

Article:  “Factsheet Five”.

Article subhead:  “Andrew Roller’s Factsheet Five controversy”.

2.  poopsheetfoundation.com 

Search for:

Writers / Artists:  Andrew Roller

3.  yandex.by

Search for:

Andrew Roller

4.  xefig.com

Search for:

Index of/files/Collections/ASSTR_Collection/Andrew_Roller/

( I accessed xefig.com via yandex.by )

5.  Apple Music

Search for:  @andrewroller666


On August 18, 2022, Apple Computer banned my Apple I.D.  Apple did this abruptly.  Apple gave me no warning of any displeasure, on its part, with me.  ( I’ve been an Apple customer since the 1980s. )

The effect of Apple’s ban was to destroy my content.  The vast bulk of my content was “safely” stored with them, in iCloud.

I complained to Apple.  Apple’s reason for their ban of my Apple I.D. was “Apple Policy”.  No further information was given.  Apple told me to apply for a new Apple I.D.  

You can read more about this in prior issues of ARSE.


Support NAMBLA!  The North American Man / Boy Love Association:  https://nambla.org/


This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 268

Arcana:  This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 268, version 1.0

Date Written:  July 13, 2024.          Live for the day that censorious Big Tech is dead. 


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The magazine that Big Tech BANNED multiple times… lives!

ET 267                                  

Editorial Thunder presents...

The Wages of Sin

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Plus:  Readdle’s “PDF Expert for Mac”:  Not Ready for Prime Time.

And:  Married at Age 12.

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“Where did all that money go?  The answer was:  nowhere.  It was still there.”

- Michael Lewis, on FTX.

Source:  Going Infinite.  Page 248.


THE WAGES of SIN

A Slob Screws Himself

By Andrew Roller

Going Infinite:  The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon.  By Michael Lewis.  W. W. Norton and Company.  New York, New York.  United States of America.  Copyright 2023.  First Edition.  Amazon Kindle.

I fault my parents for a number of things.  However, I’m obliged to credit them for this:  they instilled discipline in me, and a willingness to work.

I may have stumbled upon work and discipline on my own.  However, my parents made sure that I could engage in mundane, brainless activities that are necessary to life.

Sam Bankrupt Fraud’s parents failed to teach him discipline, and a work ethic.

Sam Bankrupt Fraud is, of course, Sam Bankman-Fried.  Fried has managed to fry himself.  How?  Fried was the billionaire owner of FTX, a crypto exchange.  He is currently being prosecuted, in the United States of America, for fraud.  The government accuses Fried of cheating his customers out of billions of dollars.

According to Michael Lewis, Fried may not have cheated anyone.  It’s possible that no money went missing from FTX.  ( Page 248. )  So why is Fried on trial?  Because Fried was such a slob that he failed to keep track of his customers’ money.  

Fried was pushed into declaring FTX bankrupt on November 11, 2022.  Subsequent sleuthing by outsiders has since found much of the money that FTX “lost”.

Fried found endless time to play video games, and to eat.  He was notorious for failing to bathe.  He left uneaten food lying about the places that he inhabited, along with dirty clothes.  Fried’s sloth extended to his “management” of his company.  He didn’t hire a sensible person to watch over his company’s money.

As a boy, Fried was gifted in mathematics.  He had no other obvious gifts; he disliked reading books.  But, since our society values math skills, Fried’s parents decided that he was a genius.  Fried was sent to math camp.  ( Page 35. )  He went to “a fancy private high school”.  ( Page 27. )  He never did anything that he didn’t feel like doing.  Physically, Fried grew to adulthood.  But, in terms of his lifestyle, he remained a small boy.

The seven deadly sins are:  lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride.  At trial, and in the court of public opinion, Fried is accused of being greedy.  He is accused of stealing his customers’ money. 

According to Lewis, Fried was not greedy.  Nor did Fried suffer from any of the other seven deadly sins.  Except one:  sloth.

You might wonder where the “missing” FTX money is.  Lewis answers:

“The customers’ deposits that are supposed to be inside FTX are actually inside Alameda Research.”  ( Page 248. )  Fried owned both FTX and Alameda Research.

Any great biographer paints a sympathetic portrait of his subject.  This allows the biographer to get inside of his subject.  John Toland’s biography of Adolf Hitler paints a sympathetic portrait of the young Hitler.  Ian Kershaw’s biography of Hitler, by contrast, is a diatribe. 

Lewis paints a sympathetic portrait of the young Fried.  I feel Lewis may have spent too many pages discussing the young Fried.  I did, however, zip through this book.  It kept my interest.

There is a dramatic center to Fried’s life:  the accusation of fraud.  This keeps Lewis’ biography of Fried interesting.  By contrast, I am laboring through Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk.  Musk is an engineering genius who is doing interesting things.  However, as yet, Musk’s life lacks a dramatic center.  As a result, Isaacson’s book is long and boring.  

Lewis’ book becomes more interesting when Fried moves to the Bahamas.  If you follow the news, you know that Fried was in the Bahamas when FTX went “bankrupt”.  So, the book becomes more interesting.

But the best part of Lewis’ book is the ending.  In the book’s final section, Lewis analyzes FTX’s “bankruptcy”.  As stated above, FTX may never, in fact, have gone bankrupt.  Fried was such a sloth that he screwed himself.  He failed to keep a proper account of his customers’ money.  This allowed the government, and others, to accuse Fried of stealing money.  Money that, in fact, Fried never stole.  The money that Fried is accused of stealing remains in FTX-controlled assets.

Since the book’s publication, top lieutenants at FTX have pleaded guilty to various crimes.  All of the crimes are related to the notion that Fried defrauded his customers.  Lewis addresses this phenomenon in the last section of his book.  Lewis writes:

“When the social pressure reached a certain point, it was easier for people to cave to it than to preserve their true identities.”  ( Page 251. )

Lewis has written a brilliant biography of Fried.  Lewis’ book remains up to date even in the light of current courtroom revelations.


READDLE’S “PDF Expert for MAC”:  Not Ready for Prime Time.

To:  rdsupport@readdle.com

From:  Andrew Roller

Subject:  “PDF Expert for Mac” needs an Extension!  ( And other improvements. )

Dear Readdle, 

You write:

“Hello Andrew,

“Thank you for getting in touch with us! Please let me note that the macOS version of the app uses a native file manager (Finder), so all files are stored there and there's no My Files section.

“To create a new folder, please open Finder > three dots > New Folder.

“Let me assure you that I’ve added your suggestion on adding a separate file manager as in the iOS version to our list of improvements and forwarded your feedback to the team.”

My response:

I use your “Documents” app on my iPhone, my iPad, and on my Macintosh.  The “Documents” app looks the same on all three platforms.

“PDF Expert for Mac” needs to have the same look and feel as “PDF Expert for IOS”.  Anything less is a surprise to the user, and a disappointment.

“PDF Expert” ( on any platform ) seems like a poor relation compared to your “Documents” app.  I get the impression that “PDF Expert” is some earlier product that you invented.  You keep it going because it still has some users.  If I were starting fresh today, I would only buy your “Documents” app.

Why do I own “PDF Expert”?  

I was using my iPad.  With my iPad, I was trying to copy photos from the Internet.  

Sometimes “Documents” was able to copy a photo from the Internet.  Sometimes, “Documents” was not able to copy a photo from the Internet.  

Let’s say that “Documents” was not able to copy a photo from the Internet.  I discovered the following: 

Sometimes, “PDF Expert” could copy that same photo from the Internet! 

Then I encountered a problem.  Your free version of “PDF Expert” allowed me to open the photo.  However, “PDF Expert” did not allow me to save the photo, UNLESS I bought “PDF Expert”.  So I bought “PDF Expert”.  ( I subscribed to it, as I do to your “Documents” app. )

What do I use your “Documents” app for?  I use it to look at photos.

Sure, I can open Apple’s “Photos” app.  But what if I want to look at two photos at once?  ( Or switch back and forth between them? )  In that case, I open a photo in Apple’s “Photos” app.  Then, I open a photo in your “Documents” app.  I can now switch between the open photo in Apple’s “Photos” app, and the open photo in your “Documents” app.     What if I want to look at a third photo?  I open a photo in your “PDF Expert” app.  Now I can switch quickly between all three photos!  I can switch quickly between Apple’s “Photos” app, your “Documents” app, and “PDF Expert.”

“PDF Expert for Mac” is not ‘ready for prime time’.  It’s essential that you improve it immediately.  Here’s how:

1.  Create a “My Files” page.

What does “PDF Expert for Mac” do right now?

Currently, you are having me save photos into a folder that is buried deep in my Macintosh.  The photos go into a folder that is labelled “T”.

Let’s say that I quit out of “PDF Expert for Mac”.  Now, using Apple’s “Finder”, I try to find the folder that is labelled “T”.

I can’t find the folder that is labelled “T”.  It’s a folder that Apple created before it sold this Macintosh to me.

Let’s say that I am, again, within “PDF Expert for Mac”.  I am presented with the option of saving a photo to the folder that’s labelled “T”.

When I toggle away from the folder that’s labelled “T”, I see other strange folders that I can’t find.  You are giving me access to a strange part of my Macintosh that I should not be tampering with.

Here’s what I finally did with “PDF Expert for Mac”:

I saved a photo to the “PDF Expert” folder in iCloud Drive.  This is not very helpful to me.

Why is this not very helpful?  Because every photo that I want in “PDF Expert for Mac” ( the app ) is ALREADY saved to iCloud Drive!  

How did I do this?  Some months ago, I made a folder in iCloud Drive.  ( It is a folder that I created using Apple’s “Finder”. )  I put my favorite photos there.  I don’t need the photos saved yet again to the “PDF Expert” folder in iCloud Drive.

2.  I need to be able to create a folder WITHIN the ( nonexistent ) “My Files” page in “PDF Expert for Mac”.

3.  Assume that “PDF Expert for Mac” is open.  I try to grab hold of its window, and move the window to one side.  I can’t.  The window reduces greatly in size ( which is unnerving ).  Then, when I let go of the window, it again fills my Mac’s screen.

I need to be able to grab hold of the “PDF Expert for Mac” window and move it to one side.

4.  Please create an Extension for “PDF Expert for Mac”.  

Let’s say that I have photo in Apple’s “Photos” app.  Now, I drag that photo onto my Mac’s desktop, or into a connected hard disk.  ( A separate disk that is connected, by a wire, to my Macintosh. )  

When I drag this photo out of Apple’s “Photos” app, it becomes a new file.  This file is labelled IMG ( numbers ) .PNG.

I open “IMG ( numbers ) .PNG”.  I look at the top of this photo.  There, I see the “Share” tool.  I click on it.

A Menu opens.  What does the Menu contain?  It contains this:  “DocsShareExtension”.  

“DocsShareExtension” gives me the option of sending this photo to your “Documents” app.

Where is “PDFExpertShareExtension”?  There isn’t any!

Please create an Extension for “PDF Expert for Mac”!

5.  I drag or drop a photo into “PDF Expert for Mac”.  What happens?  The photo explodes in size.  It obliterates any prior photo that I put into “PDF Expert for Mac”.

This is bad.  I want to put about 70 photos into “PDF Expert for Mac”.  I want to see all of my photos at one time inside of “PDF Expert for Mac”.  Then, I want to be able to click on whichever photo I like, and have it expand to a large size.

6.  I did the following with “PDF Expert for Mac”:

I saved a photo to the “PDF Expert” folder in iCloud Drive.

Using my Macintosh, I went to iCloud Drive.  In iCloud Drive, I saw the “PDF Expert” folder.

Next, I used my iPad.  In my iPad, I went to iCloud Drive.  I looked for the “PDF Expert” folder in iCloud Drive.  There wasn’t any such folder!

I kept looking.  I kept looking with my iPad.  I found the photo that I saved with “PDF Expert for Mac”.  Where was this photo?  It was in a folder that’s labelled “Documents” ( by Readdle ).

Then, I went back to my Macintosh.  Using my Macintosh, I went to iCloud Drive.  I looked for the “Documents” ( by Readdle ) folder.  There isn’t any such folder!

This is goofy.  If a user has your “Documents” app on both platforms ( Mac and IOS ), you MUST provide a “Documents” folder in iCloud Drive on both platforms ( Mac and IOS ).

Similarly, if a user has “PDF Expert” on both platforms ( Mac and IOS ) you MUST provide a “PDF Expert” folder in iCloud Drive on both platforms ( Mac and IOS ).

To conclude:

1.  “PDF Expert for Mac” must have a “My Files” page.  I don’t want to be saving photos to strange places on my Mac that I can’t find.

2.  I should be able to create a folder within the ( nonexistent ) “My Files” page in “PDF Expert for Mac”.  I then want to put all of my 70 photos into this folder.

3.  When I grab the “PDF Expert for Mac” window, I need to be able to move that window to the side of my screen.

4.  “PDF Expert for Mac” must have an Extension!  I should be able to open any “IMG ( numbers ) .PNG” file and then send it to “PDF Expert for Mac”.

5.  When I drag or drop a photo into “PDF Expert for Mac”, that photo must not explode in size.  It should simply be added to my existing photos in “PDF Expert for Mac”.

6.  iCloud Drive must contain a “PDF Expert” folder AND a folder for your “Documents” app.  iCloud Drive must contain these folders on each platform:  

A.  On iCloud Drive as accessed by a Mac.

B.  On iCloud Drive as accessed by an iPad or by an iPhone ( the IOS system ).

“PDF Expert for Mac” is a disgrace.  I was shocked to find that it lacked all of the functionality of your IOS version of “PDF Expert”.

The only thing “PDF Expert for Mac” is useful for is the following:

Importing a single file to “PDF Expert”, and then screwing around with that file.  ( Altering the file. ).  I have never used “PDF Expert” or your “Documents” app for this purpose!  I use “PDF Expert” and your “Documents” app to:

1.  Get photos from the Internet.

And / Or

2.  Look at those photos.

A further recommendation:

Your “Documents” app allows me to watch videos at a slow speed.

Unfortunately, the slowest speed that you offer is 50 percent.  ( Playback Speed 0.5x ).  I would like the following:

1.  I want to watch a video in your “Documents” app at 25 percent speed.  ( Playback Speed 0.25x ).  ( At one quarter of normal speed. )

2.  I want to watch a video in your “Documents” app on a ‘frame by frame’ basis.

What does ‘frame by frame’ mean?  

Use your iPad.  ( Not your Macintosh. )  In your iPad, do the following:  

Open Apple’s “iMovie” app.  You are now on the “Projects” page of iMovie.  There, you see a number of films.

Tap on a film.  It opens.  Under the box that contains a movie, you see a button.  The button is labelled “Edit”.  Tap on the “Edit” button.

A new page opens.  A large box occupies the upper half of your iPad’s screen.  The movie is here.

What’s under the movie?  A filmstrip.  You can put your finger on this filmstrip.  You can drag the movie back and forth, as slowly as you like, and watch it!

Your “Documents” app should provide this same functionality.  I want to be able to watch movies on a ‘frame by frame’ basis in your “Documents” app.

I follow the news on Ukraine every day.  I do this by listening to the following podcast:  “Ukraine:  The Latest”.  The podcast is produced by a British newspaper with this title:  “The Telegram”.

Best wishes for Ukraine!

Sincerely,

Andrew Roller


AND IN THE END…

MARRIED at AGE 12

“Women seem to have married much younger than men.  According to one New Kingdom instructional text, women were socially mature and marriageable by [ age ] 12 or 13 but men only at age 20.”

- Patrick Wyman.

Source:  Patrick Wyman.  Tides of History.  “Daily Life and Common People in Egypt’s New Kingdom”.  August 18, 2022.


Publisher’s Note:

A normal human body has two kidneys.  I have five.  ( My two natural kidneys, plus three kidney transplants. )  None of my kidneys work.

In order to stay alive, I must go to a Kidney Dialysis Center.  I must do this often.  In my life, I’m either on dialysis, going to dialysis ( using mass transit ), or recovering from dialysis.

When I’m on dialysis, I have two large needles in my right arm.  I’m not supposed to move my right arm.  Otherwise, this may disturb the angle of one or both needles.  Or it may kink the dialysis lines that the needles are connected to.  ( My blood runs through the dialysis lines, to a dialysis machine. )

As a result, I’ve had little time for this web site.  Today, I was thrilled to see that people are still visiting my web site.  Thank you!

In the Fall of 2023, something happened to my web host provider.  The result:  When I pasted text into a page on this web site, all of the spaces disappeared!   

It didn’t matter how many extra spaces I put into my original document.  When I pasted the text into a page on this web site, all of the spaces disappeared.

I complained to my web host provider.  Their response:  they didn’t notice any problem.  I guess they eventually found the problem, since it has now vanished.

Uploading photos to this web site has always been a slow, troublesome process.  That’s why this issue, as of this writing, doesn’t have any photos.

I hope to eventually upload some photos of Whitney Bjerken. 


——————————————————————————————————————————


Copyright 2023 by Andrew L. Roller.  ET, Editorial Thunder, and ARSE, Andrew Roller Stories and Essays, are trademarks of Andrew L. Roller.   

I am http://andrewroller.com    

Earlier posts by me are at https://asstr.xyz/files/Authors/Roller/ 

asstr.org has the same content as asstr.xyz

“asslr ( Alt.Sex.Stories Lazy Rubes? ) is “an upcoming story repository to replace asstr”, according to xefig.com.   

I’m on paper at:  https://www.abebooks.com > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 

and https://www.abebooks.co.uk > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 

If you visit an “AbeBooks” website, you’ll be presented with a large square “Search” box.  In the box labelled “Author”, type in “Andrew Roller”.  In the box labelled “Title”, type in “Andrew Roller Presents”.  This will bring up some of my pamphlets.  I have not yet figured out how to bring up other pamphlets by me, under other titles.  I don’t recall all the titles I published under.  

I have no financial involvement in these resale items. 

Other references:

1.  https://zinewiki.com/wiki/Factsheet_Five

Article:  “Factsheet Five”.

Article subhead:  “Andrew Roller’s Factsheet Five controversy”.

2.  poopsheetfoundation.com 

Search for:

Writers / Artists:  Andrew Roller

3.  yandex.by

Search for:

Andrew Roller

4.  xefig.com

Search for:

Index of/files/Collections/ASSTR_Collection/Andrew_Roller/

( I accessed xefig.com via yandex.by )


On August 18, 2022, Apple Computer banned my Apple I.D.  Apple did this abruptly.  Apple gave me no warning of any displeasure, on its part, with me.  ( I’ve been an Apple customer since the 1980s. )

The effect of Apple’s ban was to destroy my content.  The vast bulk of my content was “safely” stored with them, in iCloud.

I complained to Apple.  Apple’s reason for their ban of my Apple I.D. was “Apple Policy”.  No further information was given.  Apple told me to apply for a new Apple I.D.  

You can read more about this in prior issues of ARSE.


Support NAMBLA!  The North American Man / Boy Love Association:  https://nambla.org/


This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 267

Arcana:  This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 267, version 2.0

Date Written:  October 9, 2023 - May 6, 2024.          Live for the day that censorious Big Tech is dead. 


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-—————————————————————————————————————————

The magazine that Big Tech BANNED multiple times… lives!

ET 266                                  

Editorial Thunder presents...

Condemned to Die

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Plus:  Conquering Neptune.

And:  Best books ever.

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CONDEMNED to DIE

UCSD discriminates against a disabled veteran.

by Andrew Roller

In May of 1984, I was medically retired from the United States Air Force.  I was retired due to kidney failure.

Since then, I have had three kidney transplants.  The first transplant was done at Wilford Hall Hospital ( since closed ), and lasted six years.

I received my second kidney transplant at UC Davis, a hospital in Sacramento, California.  My second transplant lasted nine years.

In January of 2005, I received my third kidney transplant.  It was done at UC San Diego Hospital.  This hospital is in San Diego, California.  My third transplant lasted 19 and one half years.

My third kidney transplant was an “extended cadaver” transplant.  It was only expected to last seven years.  However, it lasted for a third of my life!

All transplants eventually fail.  None of my transplants were lost due to acute rejection ( which could indicate that a patient didn’t take his prescribed medications ).

I am now on dialysis.  I need another kidney transplant.

I received all of my care for my third kidney transplant at UC San Diego.  Unfortunately, the kidney transplant program at UC San Diego has undergone massive staff changes.  The current, new director is Dr. Mita Manhar Shah, CA License number A71739, DEA number BS6795465.

In February of 2023, I met with Dr. Shah.  Our meeting was billed as routine, but it turned out to be anything but.  Dr. Shah, on her initiative, told me that she didn’t want to give me another kidney transplant.  She said that I didn’t have a caregiver.  ( See a previous issue of ARSE for more. )

I promptly obtained a caregiver.  He’s a successful local businessman.

On June 12, 2023, I met with Dr. Moussa Jabbour, CA License number A148314, DEA number FJ7167415.  This meeting was a “kidney transplant evaluation”.  My caregiver accompanied me to this meeting.  The meeting was routine.

Dr. Jabbour is a relatively new doctor at UC San Diego.  He, along with Dr. Shah, is likely the one who determines who will get a kidney transplant at UC San Diego.

You might wonder why I am being seen by UC San Diego, instead of at a military hospital.  Read the letter, below, from Rear Admiral Valdes.

The relevant portions of Valdes’ letter are as follows:

“According to [ Andrew Roller’s ] record, his enrollment site is University of California San Diego ( UCSD ).  … Mr. Roller’s referral was timely returned to the TRICARE network ( specifically UCSD ) for his continued nephrology care.”


DEFENSE HEALTH AGENCY SAN DIEGO MARKET 4170 NORMAN SCOTT ROAD STE 5 SAN DIEGO CA 92136-5521

IN REPLY REFER TO 6300 Serial 00S/0151 April 24, 2023

The Honorable Scott Peters U.S. House of Representatives 4350 Executive Drive, Suite 105 San Diego, CA, 92121

Attention:  Samantha Keosoukanh

Dear Representative Peters,

This is in response to your inquiry dated March 24, 2023, regarding your constituent, Mr. Andrew Roller, and his request for assistance to be placed on the Walter Reed National Medical Center Kidney Transplant List.  Thank you for the opportunity to review and address his request.

In review of Mr. Roller’s medical record, it does not appear that he has previously received care from NMCSD Nephrology.  According to his record, his enrollment site is University of California San Diego ( UCSD ).  His UCSD Primary Care Provider ( PCP ) placed a referral to Nephrology for a kidney transplant, which was inadvertently captured by MNCSD through the TRICARE directed Right of first Refusal process.  Since NMCSD does not have kidney transplant services, Mr. Roller’s referral was timely returned to the TRICARE network ( specifically UCSD ) for his continued nephrology care.

As Mr. Roller desired placement on the Walter Reed National Medical Center Kidney Transplant List, his UCSD PCP will need to place a referral specifically requesting for this location and service.  A member from NMCSD Nephrology contacted Mr. Roller to address any further concerns.  In the future, should Mr. Roller require assistance with this referral or other concerns, he may contact Mr. Twigg directly at (619) 532-6418 or at thomas.e.twigg.civ@health.mil.

Thank you for your interest in the Military Health System and its beneficiaries.  The Defense Health Agency is proud to serve our Nation’s military heroes and their families and is committed to providing them the best possible health care.  If you have any additional questions, you may contact Mr. Jeff Apana, the NMCSD Customer Relations Officer at (619) 532-6369 or via email at jeff.apana.civ@health.mil

Sincerely,

G.F. VALDES Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy  Director


Hence, I ( Andrew Roller ) am seeking a kidney transplant from UC San Diego.

Today, I received the following letter from UC San Diego:


UC San Diego Health

Andrew Lawrence Roller | MRN:  19509454

8/15/2023

Andrew Lawrence Roller 501 A W Broadway Apt 404 San Diego CA 92101

Dear Andrew Lawrence Roller,

When you first came to see us at UC San Diego Health's Center for Transplantation, we discussed how the evaluation process would help us to decide if kidney transplant is right for you. We want to thank you for consulting with our Team about your options for transplant and partnering with us throughout the evaluation process. The Kidney Transplant Selection Committee had the opportunity to meet and review the recommendations made by our Team and the results of your evaluation on 8/15/2023.

Although there are many benefits, there are also risks to kidney transplant. When deciding whether kidney transplant is an option for someone the Selection Committee carefully weighs the risks - including surgery and the lifelong daily immunosuppressant (anti-rejection) medications - with the benefits transplant may have on their life. After careful review and thoughtful consideration, the Selection Committee agrees that you do not currently meet our minimum criteria and are not a candidate for transplant at UC San Diego Health due to:

You lack the physical strength required to safely undergo kidney transplant, and Lack of adequate post-transplant care plan [ No period. ]

Although you are not a candidate at UC San Diego Health, we will make every reasonable effort to help you get the referrals for any necessary care or resources that you need for alternative treatment options to transplant.

Additionally, every transplant center has different selection criteria for transplant candidacy so you also have the option to get a second opinion from another center. Talk to your nephrologist, dialysis center social worker or PCP about getting a referral. We would be happy to provide copies of your records upon request. If you have any questions or concerns about your care here at UC San Diego Health, you can contact us directly at (858) 657-7728. UCSD Medical Center offers the patient services line "We Listen" (619-543-5678) for questions and comments you may have regarding our services. Also attached is a letter from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) which describes additional information and services available for transplant patients through UNOS and the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN).

Thank you, UCSD Kidney Transplant Selection Committee

UC San Diego Health - Center for Transplantation UC San Diego Heath Center for Transplantation 9300 Campus Point Drive #7376 La Jolla, CA 92037


The relevant part of the above letter is:

“You lack the physical strength required to safely undergo kidney transplant, and Lack of adequate post-transplant care plan [ No period. ]”

( “Lack” is capitalized in the original. )

My strength is fine.  In July, I went through kidney failure.  However, now that I again have an appetite, and am receiving dialysis, my strength is excellent.

I don’t have a car, so I walk everywhere.

TRICARE does not provide transportation to dialysis.  I take two trolleys and a bus, every other day, in order to report to dialysis.

No one at UC San Diego discussed any “post transplant care plan” with me.  I was simply told to get a caregiver, which I promptly did.

The above letter, from UC San Diego, simply arrived in the mail.  No one at UC San Diego discussed my “strength” with me.  And, as stated, no one at UC San Diego discussed my “post transplant care plan” with me.

In fact, no doctor signed the letter that I received from UC San Diego.  The letter is simply from the “UCSD Kidney Transplant Selection Committee”.

UC San Diego is not providing any credible reason for denying me a kidney transplant.  I am being denied a kidney transplant because UC San Diego is choosing to discriminate against me.

It is disgraceful that UC San Diego discriminates against America’s “military heroes” ( quoting Admiral Valdes ).  I, a disabled veteran who served in the Cold War, am being consigned, for life, to dialysis by UC San Diego.  As anyone who has undergone prolonged dialysis knows, dialysis is slow death.  UC San Diego is condemning me to die.

NOTE:  In addition to omitting a period, and unnecessarily capitalizing a word, UC San Diego failed to put two spaces after every one of the periods in their letter.

Did UC San Diego lack the strength to add the additional spaces in their letter?  Or is UC San Diego ignorant, or lazy?  Should doctors who can’t proofread a letter be operating on people?


CONQUERING NEPTUNE

A book review by Andrew Roller.

“It was naval gunfire that saved the day for the Allies.”

- Craig L. Symonds.

Source:  World War II at Sea:  A Global History.  By Craig L. Symonds.  Oxford University Press.  New York, New York.  United States of America.  Copyright 2018.  Page 439.

World War II at Sea:  A Global History.  By Craig L. Symonds.  Oxford University Press.  New York, New York.  United States of America.  Copyright 2018.  Amazon Kindle.  Amazon Audible.

Review:  A history of World War II is often a history of armies.  Sea battles are given only secondary consideration.  “World War II at Sea” reverses this situation.  Symonds’ story is about the nautical struggles of World War II.  Events on land are mentioned in passing.

Symonds gives a full account of the war.  He doesn’t overlook events on land.  I was thrilled that Symonds spent an appropriate amount of time, throughout the war, to report on important events that occur on the land.

The exploits of each combatant’s navy are covered.  Germany holds the foreground at the war’s start.  Then Japan enters the war, to great success.  Finally, America assumes the prime role in this story, as the war turns America’s way.  ( There are also some mentions of the Royal Navy. )

If you’re a blighted student, headed for, say, Annapolis instead of your local college’s Department of Communist Propaganda and Political Science, I recommend this book.  It will make you an expert in America’s last war that mattered.

“World War II at Sea” is a litany of battles.  If you like battles, this is an exciting book.  You’re never far from another description of action and carnage.  As Beavis and Butt-Head once said, of a scene of destruction,

“Now we’re getting somewhere!”

I like a book that requires me to get out a map.  You’ll find yourself resorting to a map often, to track locales from the Western Pacific to Africa.

On amazon ( dot ) com, “World War II at Sea” is an “Editor’s Pick”.  I liked this book, so I decided to look up more “Editor’s Picks” on Amazon, in the area of history.

Here’s what I found:  books about African-Americans, women, and Jews caught in the Holocaust.  These are fine subjects.  However, sometimes one wants to read something else!

Symonds is an excellent author.  I looked him up on Amazon.  He has written many books about nautical wars.  So, I’ll be reading more books by him!

The narrator for “World War II at Sea”, Eric Martin, is excellent.  So is the recording’s audio quality.  On Audible, “World War II at Sea” is rare, in that its rating consists of five solid stars.  ( Not, say, four and a half stars. )


BEST Books EVER

by Andrew Roller

Like everyone, I thrilled to Bradbury, Asimov, and Tolkien.  Those authors’ books need no introduction.  Leaving them aside, here are great books that you may have missed:

1.  On the Beach.  By Nevil Shute.  A Signet Book.  Copyright 1957.  

The Kindle version of “On the Beach” that I bought is no longer on Amazon.  However, another Kindle version is.

Synopsis:  A global war reduces mankind to its last remnants.  Is death their only future?

The concept of “Nuclear Winter” had not been developed at the time that “On the Beach” was written.

“Nuclear Winter” does not make “On the Beach” out of date.  The concept doesn’t alter the events and plot of the book.  For more on “Nuclear Winter”, see the following:

Article:  “‘Nuclear winter’ from a US - Russia conflict would wipe out 63 percent of the world’s population”.

By:  Ben Turner.

Date:  August 19, 2022.

Web site:  livescience ( dot ) com.  ( Live Science. )

Link:  https://www.livescience.com/nuclear-war-could-kill-5-billion-from-famine#:~:text=They found that small-scale,just one or two weeks.


2.  The Drowned World.  By J. G. Ballard.  Liveright Publishing Corporation ( Norton ).  New York, New York.  United States of America.  Copyright 2013.  Original copyright:  1962.  Amazon Kindle.

Synopsis:  Global warming has returned Earth to a flooded, primeval past.  Can humanity survive?  Does it want to?

I recommended “The Drowned World” to someone.  When he heard the phrase “global warming”, he groaned.  He assumed that I was recommending a political tract.

“The Drowned World” was penned decades prior to the imposition of the climate change agenda.  It is but one of Ballard’s visions of a strange Earth.  ( His next book was about a global drought. ) 


3.  City.  By Clifford D. Simak.  Peddled by “Early Bird Books.  Fresh Deals.  Delivered Daily.”  Amazon Kindle.

Copyright ( via Google ):  1952.

Synopsis:  The first chapter is crap.  Then, a humble robot remains on an Earth whose population is slowly transforming its state of being. 


4.  A Canticle for Leibowitz.  By Walter M. Miller, Jr.  

Published by the international division of Roller Global Industries, Inc.  ( Formerly owned by Christian Grey. )  

My Kindle copy of “A Canticle for Leibowitz” is without any publisher or copyright information.  There is, currently, no Kindle copy for sale of this book!

Copyright ( via Google ):  1959.

Synopsis:  A medieval religion reigns centuries after the collapse of our civilization.


5.  Brain Wave.  By Poul Anderson.  Amazon Kindle.

Synopsis:  The animals are getting smarter.  So are the people.  Can humans survive the enhancement of their intelligence?


6.  Tao Zero.  By Poul Anderson.  Published by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.  New York, New York.  United States of America.  Copyright 2018.  Original copyright:  1954.  Amazon Kindle.

Synopsis:  Is a spaceship really a flying coffin?  A spaceship’s crew, bound for a destination beyond time, will find out. 

The concept of “Black holes” was in its infancy when Anderson wrote “Tao Zero”.  It’s possible, given developments late in the book, that Anderson’s spaceship was unaffected by black holes.

Leaving black holes aside, “Tao Zero” is a fine science-based narrative.  


7.  Dark Star.  By Alan Dean Foster.  Ballantine Books ( Random House ).  New York, New York.  United States of America.  Copyright 1974.  

When I last checked, “Dark Star” was only available as a used paperback book.

Synopsis:  A spaceship’s crew endures an ever-longer voyage.  Then one of their bombs disobeys them.

Foster’s book is an excellent novelization of the movie “Dark Star”.  The movie “Dark Star” was filmed as a student project.  Its quality got it distributed as a major motion picture.

There is a fine documentary about the making of “Dark Star”.  It’s called:  “Let There Be Light:  The Odyssey of Dark Star”.  Year of release:  2010.

The movie “Dark Star” was released in 1974.

To enjoy “Dark Star”, it’s best to be aware of the following cultural reference points:

A.  The long, seemingly pointless Vietnam War.  This war lasted from 1955 - 1975.

B.  The duplicity of America’s government, revealed in the Watergate scandal.  This scandal lasted from 1972 - 1974.

C.  The fashionable appeal of the Hippie movement.  This movement peaked in popularity in 1969.

D.  The clean, polished appearance of all prior space videos, notably “2001:  A Space Odyssey” ( 1968 ), and ( the original ) “Star Trek” ( Not “Star Dreck”! )  ( 1966 - 1969 ).  “Dark Star” presents a visual counterpoint to these.  It precedes the visual counterpoint of “Star Wars” by three years. 


8.  Orphans of the Sky.  By Robert Heinlein.  Baen Publishing Enterprises.  Riverdale, New York.  United States of America.  Copyright 2013.  Original copyright:  1963.  Amazon Kindle.

The actual title of the Kindle book that I bought is:  The Man Who Sold the Moon / Orphans of the Sky.  ( Two novels sold together. )

Synopsis:  The inhabitants of a spaceship think that it’s the whole universe.  Meanwhile, their spaceship, lacking a pilot, flies on…

This novel predates, by a decade, the T.V. show called “The Starlost” ( 1973 - 1974. ).


9.  Flowers for Algernon.  By Daniel Keyes.  HarperCollins Publishers.  New York, New York.  United States of America.  Copyright 1966.

Synopsis:  A moron becomes a genius.  But for how long?


BEST Comic Books EVER

by Andrew Roller

I read many fine comic books.  Thanks to my parents, I lost them all.  Here are some that you might not have read:

1.  Kamandi.  By Jack Kirby.  DC Comics.  Start date:  1972.

Synopsis:  The film “Planet of the Apes” ( 1968 ) was a success.  ( My parents didn’t let me watch it. )

Jack Kirby’s “Kamandi” appears, at first glance, to be a blatant rip-off of “Planet of the Apes”.  But Kirby’s imagination soon transcends ( in true comic book style ) the film’s constraints.

Kirby’s “Kamandi” peaks at about issue 10.  By issue 20, the series is beginning to fade.  By issue 25, Kirby is producing material that I regard as blasphemous; it violates the basic norms of his series.  

In terms of its quality, “Kamandi” is dead by about issue 32.  However, the comic book struggles on, snatching reader’s coins, for many issues to come.


2.  Uncle Scrooge.  Start date:  1947.

A list of publishers of “Uncle Scrooge” is available at:

Article:  “List of Uncle Scrooge comics”.

Web site:  en ( dot ) wikipedia ( dot ) org.

Link:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Uncle_Scrooge_comics

Synopsis:  Don’t be fooled.  The name “Walt Disney” appears, prominently, on the cover of the “Uncle Scrooge” comic books.  But “Uncle Scrooge” was created, written, and drawn by Carl Barks.

Barks used copies of “National Geographic” magazine to aid him in is work.  The money-grubbing ( but rich ) Uncle Scrooge, Donald Duck, and nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie go on globe-trotting adventures.  They also go into outer space.


3.  Dennis the Menace.  Start date:  1951.

A list of publishers of “Dennis the Menace” is available at:

Article:  “Dennis the Menace ( U.S. comics )”.

Web site:  en ( dot ) wikipedia ( dot ) org.

Link:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_the_Menace_(U.S._comics)

Synopsis:  The domestic adventures of a rambunctious boy.

Dennis the Menace was originally a newspaper cartoon.  “Dennis the Menace” was created, written, and drawn by Hank Ketcham.

Like the newspaper cartoon “Peanuts”, there is a quality arc to “Dennis the Menace”.  That is, the quality of the newspaper cartoon varies, over time.  I regard the early one-panel “Dennis the Menace” cartoons as being the best of Ketcham’s work.

As for the comic books, their authors and artists are not given credit.  The quality of the comic books vary over time.

The best access point that I have found to “Dennis the Menace” are the comic books.  Specifically, they are comic books that were published in 1969.  These are called, “Pocket Full of Fun”.

Link:  https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=dennis+the+menace+in+pocket+full+o+fun&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

The “Pocket Full of Fun” comic books are, apparently, reproductions of earlier comic books.  I say this because the “Pocket Full of Fun” books are small.  They are not the size of actual comic books.

“Dennis the Menace”, in “Pocket Full of Fun”, was hilarious.  The artwork was outstanding.  

If you like preserving culture, “Dennis the Menace”, as presented in “Pocket Full of Fun”, needs immediate attention.  This high quality material is no longer available.  As such, it may soon be lost.

“Dennis the Menace” continued as a comic book series for many years.  When I last read it ( in 1976 ), the comics were being written and drawn in Northern Europe.  The consensual nature of that region’s people did “Dennis” no favors.  It was akin to having the Pope publish Playboy.

As best I can tell, the “Dennis the Menace” T.V. shows and films were of unexceptional quality.


4.  Man-Thing.  By Steve Gerber.  Marvel Comics.  Start date:  1971.

Synopsis:  Man-Thing is a counter-point to the traditional comic book star.  If you were a dateless nerd who wound up in a swamp, you’d be Man-Thing.  Such was Steve Gerber’s vision for every alienated male reader.

Instead of prowling a city, Man-Thing wanders in a swamp.  I, like many readers, loved Gerber’s silent, lonely, natural settings.


5.  Swamp Thing.  By Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson.  ( Not ‘wrong, son!’ )  DC Comics.  Start date:  1971.

Synopsis:  Two months after “Man-Thing” appeared ( from Marvel ), DC produced “Swamp Thing”.  Great minds may not think alike, but they know how to copy!

Swamp Thing is a counter-point to the traditional comic book star.  In the case of Swamp Thing, it’s a jock who wound up in a swamp.  ( This is my assessment of Swamp Thing as a character. )

I liked both Swamp Thing and Man-Thing.  “Man-Thing”, as a series, is moody.  “Swamp Thing” tends toward the heroic. 


A COMPLAINT

by Andrew Roller

When reviewing a book, I attempt to give credit where credit is due.  Often, I’m reviewing an Amazon Kindle version of the book.  These Kindle editions are plagued by the following problems:

1.  In the past, many Kindle books lacked a cover.  This was because the publisher wanted to force the reader to buy a hardback or a paperback version of his book.

2.  Many Kindle books lack a copyright page.  When was the book written?  Who was the publisher?  The book doesn’t say.

A Kindle book will often have an advertisement where the copyright page should be.  The publisher can make space for the ad, but not for the copyright page!

Sometimes, the copyright page is at the back of the book.  This presents two problems:

1.  I may be using a free sample.  I have no access to the back of the book.

2.  When I go to the back of the book, to find the copyright page, I read the book’s ending!  I do this by accident.

This is why future historians will conclude that the publisher of most books in our time must have been Andrew Roller.


THE Simple LIFE

by Andrew Roller

I’m trying to simplify my life.  One way to do this is to change how I view time.  I was educated on analog time.  Digital time is a still more precise way to keep time.  Today, the time isn’t, “A quarter to nine”, but 8:47 a.m.  Some digital clocks even display the passing seconds.

As in:  ‘Oh my God!  Only twenty-four seconds remain before it’s 8:48 a.m.!’

What to do?  Switch your life to canonical time.  In the past, people had no idea what the exact hour was.  However, they could usually figure out where the sun was.  In this way, knowing the sun’s movement, they could determine what part of the day they were in.

Canonical time doesn’t divide time into hours that hold sixty minutes.  Each canonical hour holds 180 minutes.  That is, one canonical hour equals three of our hours.

I researched canonical hours.  There is a problem with the canonical hours.  “Matins” and “Lauds” are said to occur during the same time at night.  Worse, the Church holds a religious service, called “Matins”, at dawn.

I am a night person.  The hours of the night are at least as important to me as the hours of the day.  The canonical hours that I share below aren’t those of the Church.  Rather, they are the canonical hours of the new, and greatest, global religion of all:  Temple of Pan.

Temple of Pan believes that God is a little girl.  Therefore, every little girl on this Earth is the God incarnate.  Far from being shunned, or ignored, every little girl must be worshipped!  

Not everyone believes that God is a little girl.  That’s because there aren’t just angels in our world.  There are devils too.  They spread pedo-phobia.  Fortunately, God created Hell for these people.  While pedo-phobes may torment believers on Earth, they will roast their butts for the rest of eternity.

Salvation remains available to all of us.  By living according to canonical time, you can advance your journey toward belief in, and toward everlasting life with, little girls!


CANONICAL TIME

As revealed to God’s holy messenger, Pope Roller, by God.

Midnight - Matins.

3 a.m. - Lauds.

6 a.m. or sunrise - Prime.

9 a.m. - Terce.

Noon - Sext.

3 p.m. - None.

6 p.m. or sunset - Vespers.

9 p.m. or bedtime - Compline.


OVERHEARD

The people who are bright go to college.

The people who aren’t bright go to trade school.

The people who just want to loaf around become the politicians. 


AND IN THE END…

“He wrote what he thought the American public should hear.”

- Stephen Matterson ( Not Antimatterson! ) on Walt Whitman.

Source:  The Complete Poems of Walt Whitman.  Wordsworth Poetry Library.  Hertfordshire, Great Britain.  Copyright 2006.  Original copyright:  1995.  Page v.


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Copyright 2023 by Andrew L. Roller.  ET, Editorial Thunder, and ARSE, Andrew Roller Stories and Essays, are trademarks of Andrew L. Roller.   

I am http://andrewroller.com    

Earlier posts by me are at https://asstr.xyz/files/Authors/Roller/ 

asstr.org has the same content as asstr.xyz

“asslr ( Alt.Sex.Stories Lazy Rubes? ) is “an upcoming story repository to replace asstr”, according to xefig.com.   

I’m on paper at:  https://www.abebooks.com > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 

and https://www.abebooks.co.uk > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 

If you visit an “AbeBooks” website, you’ll be presented with a large square “Search” box.  In the box labelled “Author”, type in “Andrew Roller”.  In the box labelled “Title”, type in “Andrew Roller Presents”.  This will bring up some of my pamphlets.  I have not yet figured out how to bring up other pamphlets by me, under other titles.  I don’t recall all the titles I published under.  

I have no financial involvement in these resale items. 

Other references:

1.  https://zinewiki.com/wiki/Factsheet_Five

Article:  “Factsheet Five”.

Article subhead:  “Andrew Roller’s Factsheet Five controversy”.

2.  poopsheetfoundation.com 

Search for:

Writers / Artists:  Andrew Roller

3.  yandex.by

Search for:

Andrew Roller

4.  xefig.com

Search for:

Index of/files/Collections/ASSTR_Collection/Andrew_Roller/

( I accessed xefig.com via yandex.by )


On August 18, 2022, Apple Computer banned my Apple I.D.  Apple did this abruptly.  Apple gave me no warning of any displeasure, on its part, with me.  ( I’ve been an Apple customer since the 1980s. )

The effect of Apple’s ban was to destroy my content.  The vast bulk of my content was “safely” stored with them, in iCloud.

I complained to Apple.  Apple’s reason for their ban of my Apple I.D. was “Apple Policy”.  No further information was given.  Apple told me to apply for a new Apple I.D.  

You can read more about this in prior issues of ARSE.


Support NAMBLA!  The North American Man / Boy Love Association:  https://nambla.org/


This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 266

Arcana:  This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 266, version 8.0

Date Written:  June 16 - August 23, 2023.          Live for the day that censorious Big Tech is dead. 


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The magazine that Big Tech BANNED multiple times… lives!

ET 265                                  

Editorial Thunder presents...

This is War

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Plus:  College Girls account cancelled at once.

And:  I am on Yandex.by.

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THIS is WAR

The United States Marines in the Pacific.

by Andrew Roller

“World War II.  The big one!” Archie Bunker proclaimed, when asked what war he’d been in.  Archie Bunker was a character in the T.V. show “All in the Family”.  It aired from 1971 to 1979.

Have you heard of the battle of Peleliu?  I hadn’t.  Peleliu is an island in the Western Pacific.  Vietnam wasn’t America’s first wasted war effort.  The battle of Peleliu was pointless.

World War II lasted from 1939 to 1945.  The battle of Peleliu occurred in the fall of 1944.

In a later war, the Korean War, an American commander went to great lengths to prepare a trap for the enemy.  He was then asked what his worst fear was.

“I’m afraid that the enemy won’t attack,” he said.  In fact, the enemy stupidly attacked.  They were slaughtered.

In the fall of 1944, America dominated the Pacific Ocean.  However, the tiny island of Peleliu was still occupied by the Japanese.  The Japanese turned Peleliu into a big, deadly trap.  Their worst fear was obvious.  They were afraid that the Americans wouldn’t attack.

The Japanese who were on Peleliu were surrounded by America’s Pacific fleets.  They were stranded, and destined to starve.  The Japanese didn’t want to starve to death.  They wanted to die fighting the Americans.

General Douglas MacArthur demanded that America attack Peleliu.  He was an Army general.  However, he didn’t want to attack Peleliu with his army.  He preferred to use U.S. Marines as his cannon fodder, in the pointless Peleliu campaign.

MacArthur got his way.  The U.S. Marines invaded Peleliu.  According to the books that I’ve read, Peleliu was the bloodiest battle that the Marines fought.

They won.  The cost in lives, in young American men who were killed and maimed, was considerable.  MacArthur went on to botch the Korean War, where he got many more Americans killed.

Today’s raw recruit is tomorrow’s seasoned veteran.  He may write a book.  If you treated him badly, you may appear in his book, in an unflattering way.

Three young men who fought in the Pacific, in World War II, are Jim McEnery, E. B. Sledge, and Robert Leckie.  ( Not Lickie! )  Below, I review each of their books:


Hell in the Pacific:  A Marine Rifleman’s Journey from Guadalcanal to Peleliu.  By Jim McEnery, with Bill Sloan.  Simon and Schuster.  New York, New York, United States of America.  Copyright.  2012.  ( Amazon Kindle, Amazon Audible. )

Review:  This book is billed as being “the last memoir to be published by a living veteran of … Guadalcanal.”  ( Location 12. )

“Hell” has nothing to do with 1968 movie of the same name.

“Hell” is the first of the three books ( reviewed here ) that I read.  It has a whiff of an old man’s memoir, which does it no harm.

When “Hell” opens, Jim McEnery is a U.S. Marine.  He’s on a Higgins boat.  A Higgins boat is a landing craft.  It’s sailing toward Guadalcanal. 

McEnery writes:

“I shifted my eyes from the island to glance at PFC William Murray, a pint-sized kid of eighteen who served as a scout in my platoon.  He was crouching next to me and fidgeting with one of the two hand grenades that each rifleman had hooked to his belt.  Then, just as I turned toward him, I saw a look of total terror flash across his face. 

“‘My God!” he blurted.  ‘I think I dislodged the pin.’”

( Page seven. )

To which, a modern reader might say, 

“Duh.  You put a bunch of teenage boys in a boat, with a bunch of hand grenades; what do you think will happen?!”

But, this is war.  Men who’re told that they’re too young to drink beer are given deadly weapons.  

McEnery soon disembarks from the boat, with his fellow Marines.  I won’t spoil the story by saying what happens.  McEnery is absent from some battles, and describes them.  He’s present at others.

McEnery provides an interesting account of what it’s like to be an ordinary Marine.  Every day is not a John Wayne moment.  Rather, all manner of things happen, from an absent enemy, to liberty in Australia.  This is not to say that his story is boring.  The most memorable part of his book occurs on the island of Pavuvu.

Pavuvu is a tiny island in the Western Pacific.  It had been turned into a plantation of coconut palms.  When Japan conquered the Western Pacific, the plantation’s owners fled.  The result was an island with lots of coconut palms, and no one to harvest them.

No human, anyway.  McEnery writes:

Pavuvu was “a wasteland of oozy mud littered with millions of rotten coconuts and besieged by armies of rats and land crabs.”  

( Page 187. )

Pavuvu was selected as a vacation location for McEnery and his battle-weary Marines.  Some vacation.  They were forced to spend their days making Pavuvu habitable.  

Worse, Pavuvu had so source of fresh water.  There was only an afternoon rain.  The men had no warning when the rain would begin, or end.  In both instances, Nature acted abruptly.

I have experience with tropical rainstorms, on both Guam and on Hawaii.  In both places, such rain is called “liquid sunshine”.  That’s because the sun can shine brightly during a downpour.

On Guam, I had to walk three miles home from school.  I was often caught in “liquid sunshine”.  Some minutes after being soaked, I would find that the spaces between my toes were dry.  This despite the fact that I was wearing shoes and socks.  In Guam, the “feels like it” temperature, combining the humidity with the heat, is over 100 degrees.  Every day.

( Which is why I regard San Diego, California, as being a fucking freezer. )

After their vacation of hard labor on Peleliu, the Marines are rewarded.  Their reward comes from General Douglas MacArthur.  He sends them to the pointless slaughter of Peleliu.  McEnery got his John Wayne moment.  Right in the middle of it, this occurred:

“I HAD to stop.  I had to stop NOW.  Because I had to GO! 

“So I dropped my britches and took a crap right there in the middle of the runway while my platoon mates ran past, hardly seeming to notice me, and bullets smacked the tarmac a few feet away.”

( Page 217. )

McEnery’s book includes at least one map, and a number of photographs.


With the Old Breed:  At Peleliu and Okinawa.  By E. B. Sledge.  Ballantine Books / Presidio Press / Random House.  New York, New York.  United States of America.  Copyright 1981.  ( Amazon Kindle, Amazon Audible. )

Review:  I visited Okinawa in the 1970s.  I did so more than once.  During my first visits, a slot machine was present in the U.S. military’s Officers’ Club.  A wave of U.S. puritanism soon got the slot machine removed.  The machine, and its kin from other facilities, were smashed under a bulldozer.

Which is why, in today’s America, you can gamble at the grocery store, at a state-funded lottery machine.

( This is why I fail to salute every time America alters its culture, and demands conformity. )

On Okinawa, I also went to a U.S. military resort.  There, I bought a comic book.  The clerk, upon taking my money, took out a big rubber stamp.  He stamped the glossy cover of my comic book.  This ruined the comic book’s cover.  The stamp declared something to the effect that my 20 cent comic book was to be regarded as duty free.

I, of course, had no choice in this matter.  I was now out my 20 cents, and had a ruined comic book.

I went to a civilian resort on Okinawa.  It consisted of a giant slide.  Going down this slide, I landed in a pool.  

The pool was full of salt water, from the nearby sea.  Using the slide multiple times, I wound up giving myself a saltwater enema.  This was because my butt was, generally, the first thing off of the slide.  It splashed with great force into the salt water.  The resulting diarrhea wasn’t pleasant.

Sledge’s book doesn’t begin on Okinawa.  It starts with his life before becoming a Marine, and follows him through boot camp.

As a young man, Sledge was supposed to become a military officer.  Instead, he became enlisted “cannon fodder”.  ( To use his description. )  Had Sledge done what others expected of him, this book would not exist.

In the slaughter on Peleliu, Sledge tripped and fell.  As a result, he lived.  A piece of shrapnel that was fated to kill him flew over him as he fell.

Sledge’s account of the Battle of Peleliu is horrific.  He winds up on the same runway, at apparently the same time, as Jim McEnery.  While McEnery was taking a crap on the runway, amid the battle, Sledge was running across it.  Both men won this very deadly lottery by surviving.

Before being sent to Peleliu, Sledge was sent to Pavuvu.  That’s right:  he went to the same island as McEnery.  By the time that Sledge arrived on Pavuvu, men like McEnery had made the place habitable.  It is for this reason that I recommend reading McEnery’s book before reading Sledge’s.  You’ll have a fuller grasp of the situation by going to Pavuvu with McEnery, and then going there with Sledge.

Modernly, we’re told that the men who fought in World War II are “the greatest generation”.  That was not society’s view of them at the time.  Young men like Sledge were regarded as wholly expendable.

If you’re in a tense situation, you’ll learn something fast:  such a situation makes you thirsty.  When the Marines were sent ashore at Peleliu, each man had two canteens of water.  They went into combat, which made them thirsty.

The U.S. Navy belatedly gave the men water.  It arrived in oil drums.  There was just one problem:  the oil drums had been sent to the Pacific with oil in them.

On Pavuvu, men like Sledge had been told to clean out the oil drums.  It isn’t clear if the men were told why the drums needed to be cleaned.  The men were not, according to Sledge, given the correct “method” to clean out the drums.  Sledge writes:

“I was amazed that the water looked brown in my aluminum canteen cup.  No matter, I took a big gulp—and almost spit it out despite my terrible thirst.  It was awful.  Full of rust and oil, it stunk.  I looked into the cup in disbelief as a blue film of oil floated lazily on the surface of the smelly brown liquid.  Cramps gripped the pit of my stomach.”

( Page 77. )

I have two things to say about this:

1.  A newly manufactured oil drum doesn’t have oil in it!  The U.S. Navy should have sent a shipload of new, empty oil drums to the Pacific.  These could then have been filled with fresh water.

2.  It is very easy to clean out an oil drum.  Do the following:

A.  Tether it.

B.  Drop it in the ocean.

The ( used ) oil drums could have been put into the ocean off of the shore of Pavuvu, and left in the water for a number of days.  The motion of the tides would have cleaned their interiors.

Alternately, each tethered oil drum could have been thrown overboard, from a ship that was underway.  Such a drum, in the ocean, would have been cleaned out quite quickly.

Here’s more evidence that the “greatest generation” was regarded as wholly expendable:

Sledge and his men engaged in a landing exercise, on a beach.  This was not part of a battle.  It was an exercise.  When the exercise was over, a Higgins boat picked up Sledge and his men.  Two Higgins boats should have been sent for this task.  ( In my opinion. )  Instead, only one Higgins boat was sent.

Sledge and his men boarded the Higgins boat.  The boat was to transport these men out to sea, to a U.S. Navy fleet.  There was just one problem:  the fleet had forgotten about this particular Higgins boat.

Worse, the fleet was sailing away from the beach.  The Higgins boat set off after the fleet.  Unfortunately, this boat was heavily loaded with Sledge, his men, and all of their gear.  Just as the Higgins boat arrived by a ship, it began to sink.  It was dumb luck that the ship had, by then, secured the Higgins boat to itself.  As best I can tell, the Navy never learned of its error.  Sledge writes:

“Just as the [ ship’s ] hooks were fastened to [ the boat’s ] rings in the floor, our Higgins boat seemed to start sinking.  Only the cables held it up.  A cargo net was lowered to us, and we scrambled up and aboard the ship.”

( Page 180. )

In World War II, if a man fell overboard, from a ship, he was left to drown.  This was the case even if the U.S. Navy knew that a man had gone overboard.  This policy continued into the Vietnam War.  This was the case even though, in the Vietnam War, the U.S. Navy was simply sailing in circles off of the coast of Vietnam.

Sadly, this view of expendability remains in effect.  I have learned, as a veteran, the the U.S. military has no concern for my welfare.  In the military, I became sick with kidney disease.  I’m still sick with it; in fact, I’m currently dying from it.  The military, including the U.S. Navy, is doing everything that it can to avoid providing me with medical care.

Sledge was sent into combat on Okinawa.  He traded the heat and hard coral ground of Peleliu for the cold, mud, and rain of Okinawa.  

Prior to joining significant combat in Okinawa, Sledge patrolled parts of the island.  Doing so, he had some adventures.  Two examples:

1.  A patrolling Marine fell into a cesspool.  

2.  The Marines watched as a mother breastfed her baby.  This mother, plagued by a second child ( a toddler ), shooed that child away.  She did so by squirting him in the face with her breast.

Historian Victor Davis Handjob ( okay “Hanson” ) writes:

“The author [ Sledge ] was not a formal stylist.”

( Page Two. )

I don’t understand what Hanson means.  Sledge is a brilliant writer.  I have read few, if any, books with the quality of prose that Sledge provides.  By comparison, Stephen King’s prose style is awful.  An example ( NOT from dialogue ):

“That thar’s a mesa, pardner.”

Just After Sunset:  Stories.  By Stephen King.  Scribner ( Not Scribbler! ) / Simon and Schuster.  New York, New York.  Copyright 2008.  Page 21.

I highly recommend Sledge’s book.


Helmet for my Pillow:  From Parris Island to the Pacific.  By Robert Leckie ( Not Ickie! ).  Arcadia Press.  www.arcadiapress.eu.  Copyright 2019.  Original copyright 1957.  ( Amazon Kindle, Amazon Audible. )

Review:  If E. B. Sledge wasn’t a “formal [ prose ] stylist”, according to Victor Handjob, Robert Leckie was.  Leckie writes like a poet.  He joined the Marines in early 1942.  Leckie gives a detailed account of his time in boot camp.  

I don’t like reading about boot camp.  Or, I thought that I didn’t.  Leckie’s account of boot camp was interesting.  So were the accounts by the other authors ( above ).

The boot camp experience of World War II puzzles me.  Recruits were required to “prove” themselves in boot camp.  Yet America soon found that it needed every man that it could get hold of, in order to put him in uniform.  Once such men were committed to the war, they were regarded as expendable.

So, you “prove” yourself in boot camp, as a young man, to be killed or maimed, while being used in an expendable way.  What kind of a bargain is that?  The only justification for such use is that America may have been overrun.  But, in its subsequent wars, America has faced no such danger.

This quandary has been written about by authors.  Americans are willing to expend themselves in a crusade for the nation’s survival.  America is not an imperial power that sends troops to die on distant frontiers to maintain a “global order”.

Yet, America has fought both wars of survival and wars to maintain “global order”.  Which do you prefer?  

It has been said that a sane man cannot hold two opposing beliefs at the same time.  Yet I find myself supporting both America’s wars of survival, and her wars to maintain a “global order”.

Having proven himself in boot camp, Leckie gets his reward.  He is sent to the killing fields of the island of Guadalcanal.  It’s an island in the Western Pacific.

Leckie lands on Guadalcanal.  Soon, the U.S. Navy is beaten by the Japanese.  It flees.  This leaves Leckie, and his fellow Marines, stranded on Guadalcanal.  They are left with whatever happened to be landed with them during their arrival.  They can expect no resupply from America.

They’re on their own.

Of this situation, a Marine remarks:

“‘But they [ the Japanese ] got it all their own way,’ [ the Marine said. ] … ‘’cause we ain’t got no ships and we ain’t got no airplanes ’cept a coupla Grummans that cain’t get off the ground half the time because we ain’t got no gasoline.  They got the ships and they got the airplanes and it looks like they got the time, too.  So Ah’m telling you’ … ‘they’re gonna whittle us [ down to nothing ].’”

( Page 81. )

The Marines on Guadalcanal are tormented by mosquitoes, flies, heat, cold, rain, and crocodiles.  Later, during their stay, they’re forced to steal food from other U.S. troops on the island.  “Washing Machine Charlie”, a Japanese plane, is a nightly visitor.  His main goal is to disrupt the Marines’ sleep.  To make sure that he does so, he always drops a number of bombs.

Leckie is eventually sent to Australia.  There, he goes on “the Great Debauch”.  ( Page 119 and infra. )  This consists of enjoying women and alcohol.  Of this period, Leckie writes: 

“[ I was ] lying beside a lake while the breath-taking southern sky curved vastly away in a velvety star-dusted night.”

( Page 124. )

Leckie writes about “payday” in the Marines.

“It was payday.  A desk had been set up in the company street, behind which sat the company commander, who would pay us once we had signed the pay roll books spread out before him. 

“‘All right,’ bellowed Gunnery Sergeant Straight-Talk, lapsing into the pay call formula, ‘line up in alphabetical order, irregardless of rank — regulars first, reserves last.  Sign the book first-name-middle-initial-and-junior-if-you-are-one.’”

( Page 137. )

Napoleon Bonaparte said,

“In war, the moral is to the physical as three is to one.”

By “moral” he meant “morale”.  A man with high morale fights harder, and is more likely to win.

If I were a commander, I would rotate who gets paid first on payday.  One week, it would be the “regulars”.  The next week, it would be the “reserves”.

Why?  The enemy does not distinguish between shooting “regulars” and shooting “reserves”.  Since the Marines face death on an equal footing, they should be paid in the same manner.

I have not been happy with my treatment by the U.S. Navy.  How did the Navy treat the Marines?  

In Australia, Leckie boarded a U.S. Navy vessel.  It was named the “Manoora”.  Here’s what happened aboard the “Manoora”:

“There is candy to be bought from the ship’s canteen; but this is even more infuriating.  To get it, one must stand in line, perhaps for three hours, while the storekeeper attends to the wishes of the sailors in the ship’s company, and then, when the time has arrived for the troops to make their purchases, risk the exasperation of an exhausted stock.  

“The supply of candy seemed to give out each day, just as the marines prepared to buy, and then, miraculously, as though associated with the mysteries of some awesome sun god, to be replenished for the ship’s company with a new sunrise.  

“( But at night, we could perceive the votaries of the canteen deity sneaking from bunk to bunk down in the hold, offering to sell the marines five-cent bars of candy at a dollar a bar. They also sold us sandwiches at somewhat unfriendly prices. )”

( Page 167. )

The U.S. Navy denigrated, humiliated, and, in effect, stole from the Marines.

Google states that the U.S. Navy has no “official motto”.  However, the U.S. Navy has an unofficial motto.  It is:

“Not self but country.”

Obviously, this motto needs to be changed.  It should read,

“Not country but self.”

I am an officer.  ( Air Force, not Navy. )  Sadly, Marine officers proved to be worse, in their behavior, than the U.S. Navy men did.  Marine officers literally stole from their enlisted men.  Leckie writes:

“An insane rage swelled within me.  [ Officer ] Ivy-League stealing cigars, [ Officer ] Major Major-Share taking all the bacon out of the battalion ration, the officers kidnapping Kolo, and here, [ Officer ] Big-Picture stealing my chest.”

( Page 207. )

This raises a question:

Why does America have an officer corps?

Traditionally, officers are the sons of noblemen.  Aristocrats wanted two things:

A.  They didn’t want their sons to die.

B.  They wanted their sons to be in charge.

Of course, the aristocracy still wanted to share in the glory ( and ensuing power ) of being veterans of a war.  So, they created an officers’ corps, and put their sons in it.  The officers usually didn’t face as much danger as the enlisted men.  Also, the officers got to boss the enlisted men around.

One can see why Great Britain’s army has an officer corps.  Great Britain has an aristocracy.
America expressly forbids noble titles.  America has no aristocracy.  So why does America have an officer corps?

The reflex answer is:

America has an officer corps because officers are inherently smarter than enlisted men.

However, according to the books that I’ve read ( reviewed here ), the officers are not smarter than the enlisted men.  The enlisted men are smarter!

In fact, if you want to be a good officer, here’s what you do:

Ask the opinion of your enlisted men.  Do what they tell you to do.

Obviously, an officer has to assess each source of information, including what he learned in school.  Somebody has to make the decision about what to do next.  That’s the officer’s job.  But his decision should always include the opinions of his enlisted men.

I became an officer by enrolling in the Reserve Officer Training Corps ( R.O.T.C. ) in college.  It was simply another college course.  What did my teacher in R.O.T.C. say that we would learn in his class?  

“Shine your shoes and study management.”

I was given no instruction in management.  Thanks to my father, I’d been pestered to shine my shoes since I was in kindergarten.  I learned nothing about military strategy, tactics, or the global political situation.

All that R.O.T.C. did was determine whether I could show up on time, and in a presentable uniform.  That did not give me any advantage over even a modestly experienced enlisted man.  In effect, I entered R.O.T.C. as a moron, and I graduated as a moron.  I was simply a moron who’d taken some college courses in history, literature, and political science.

To the extent that I learned anything, pertaining to leadership, I learned it on my own initiative, and on my own time.

Leckie got a hernia on Guadalcanal.  He eventually reported it, but the doctors chose not to operate.  He was sent back into combat.

Leckie developed a condition whereby he peed in his pants.  He did so whenever he was asleep.  Leckie eventually reported his condition.  The doctors were unable to cure him.  He was sent back into combat.

Leckie was put in a psychiatric ward for a month.  ( For no meaningful reason. )  Hence, the one medical treatment that Leckie didn’t need ( psychiatric care and confinement ) he got.  Medical care that he needed ( a hernia repair ) was denied.  He was given no discharge for his awful condition of peeing in his sleep.

Leckie found his temporary classification as a nut useful.  He writes:

“I learned … to embrace such a designation, for it made one an untouchable, almost, and automatically excluded one from dirty duty and the more prosaic forms [ of duty ] such as falling out for calisthenics at reveille.  

“My having spent four weeks in the [ Psychiatric ] Ward on Banika made me the Asiatic [ nut ] par excellence.  In my case, it was official.  

“So none of the officers objected when I took to sealing the envelopes every morning for Lieutenant Liberal, avoiding all other duty, or when I clothed myself in a pair of moccasins and a khaki towel wrapped around my waist like a Melanesian’s lap lap.  They shrugged and tapped their heads and called me Asiatic.”

( Page 229. )

Meanwhile, Leckie’s father had been shipping books to him.  Note that Leckie actually wanted books, and he read them.  This would not have been the case with every man.

Leckie writes:

“The books belonging to the Scholar and me — most especially, the almanac and the dictionary — made our tent a meeting-place for the battalion literati.”

( Page 228. )

Hence, far from being a nut, Leckie was the intellectual center of his battalion!

You may say, “That’s all very well, Roller, but you’re just giving us Leckie’s perspective.  Of course he’s going to paint himself in a positive light.”

On Google, I counted 38 books by Robert Leckie, on a variety of topics.

Where are the books by the officers who stole from their enlisted men?

Where are the books by the U.S. Navy men who, in effect, stole from the Marines?

Where are the books by the people who committed Leckie to a psychiatric ward?

Probably, there are none.  Leckie was stolen from, exploited, denied medical care, and subjected to medical malpractice.  Fortunately, he survived to tell us about it.

He almost didn’t.  With his hernia and peed-in pants, he was sent to the bloodiest battle of the Pacific:  Peleliu.  There, he was wounded.  He was sent home.

I was reluctant to read “Helmet for my Pillow.”

“That’s some dusty relic from the World War II era,” I told myself.  America’s view of itself and the world changed during Vietnam ( 1955 - 1975 ), and during Watergate ( 1972 ).  While I’m happy to read historical literature, I flinch at reading mid-century accounts by Americans.  I was force-fed that view by my parents.  I’m reluctant to ingest more.

Leckie’s book is outstanding.  However, he has a literary, shorthand method of presentation.  This sometimes interferes with his narrative.  ( At least, it does if one is listening to his book on Audible. )

The book with the clearest, most gripping narrative is Sledge’s “With the Old Breed”.

“Hell in the Pacific” is a good, conversational introduction to the Marines in the Pacific, in World War II.

A memorable quote:

( The Marines, upon leaving Australia: )

“They dug from their pockets and wallets those rubber balloon-like contraptions [ condoms ] for which they had no longer any use, and they inflated them.  These they set adrift on the currents of wind whipping about the fantail.  

“Soon the space between the docks and our departing transport was filled with these white and sausage-shaped balloons — dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of them — dancing in the breeze, bouncing up and down, seeming to flutter even on the wind of noise raised between the ever-separating camps, the hoarse and vulgar hooting of the marines and the shrill and pseudo-shocked shrieking of the [ Australian ] girls — answering one another like rutting beasts in the forests, counterpointing one another like the coarsest concerto grosso.”

( Helmet for my Pillow, by Leckie.  Page 164. )


RELIEF!

by Andrew Roller

Amazingly, I like to control what my computer keyboard does.  I don’t like it typing things without my permission.

If I copy content from my iMac’s Kindle app, into my iMac’s Pages app, my keyboard pastes in data about the book, author, Kindle, etc., without my permission. 

However, if I copy content from my iPad’s Kindle app, into my iMac’s Pages app, my keyboard does NOT paste in data about the book, author, Kindle, etc.!

Thank God!  

I do not desire such relief for Kindle’s owner, Jeff Bozo.  Whenever he types something, on his keyboard, his keyboard should add a commercial for my web site.


THE STINKLINGS

by Andrew Roller

“[ Tolkien ], there is too little of what we really like in stories.  I am afraid we shall have to write some ourselves.” 

- C. S. Lewis.

Source:  The Inklings.  By Humphrey Carpenter.  Pages 65 - 66.

The Inklings ( Not “The Stinklings!” ):  C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams and their friends.  By Humphrey Carpenter.  Harper Collins Publishers.  London, Great Britain.  Copyright 2006.  Original copyright 1978.  Paperback.

Review:  J. R. R. Tolkien’s book, “The Lord of the Rings”, was written to be a single volume.  His original publisher was Allen and Unwin.  Allen felt that, as a single volume, “The Lord of the Rings” was too big.  Allen broke “The Lord of the Rings” into three volumes.  That’s why many readers regard “The Lord of the Rings” as being a trilogy.

Allen did not publish Tolkien’s “trilogy” all at once.  Allen published each volume in turn.  Allen planned to print fewer copies of each successive volume.  That’s because Allen felt that the later volumes wouldn’t sell.

The opposite happened.  Allen found that there was increasing demand for “The Lord of the Rings”.  Allen had to print more copies of each successive volume.

I discovered “The Lord of the Rings” in 1976.  By then, Tolkien was becoming a commercial megastar.  In addition to “The Hobbit”, and “The Lord of the Rings”, he was selling books he hadn’t written.  These were books by other people that were about Tolkien and his invented world.  A Tolkien calendar appeared.  There was soon an animated movie of volume one of “The Lord of the Rings”.  All this was happening despite the fact that Tolkien had died in 1973.

Tolkien continues to be a commercial megastar.  Today, there is a huge, and growing, body of literature on Tolkien and his invented world.  It seems as if every Tom, Dick, and Harry has banged out a book about Tolkien.  

In the 1970s, I was in high school, and then in college.  As a student, I was tasked with reading various works of literature.  I told my teachers, in both high school and in college, that we should be reading authors like Tolkien, Isaac Asimov, and Ray Bradbury.  I always got the same answer.  My teachers scoffed at reading such authors.  Instead, we were made to read crap like William Shakespeare.  I have read a considerable amount of Shakespeare.  I have found little merit in his works.

Humphrey writes:  “[ Oxford undergraduates ] who opted for early and medieval studies … had to spend a good deal of time - wasted time, thought Tolkien … reading Shakespeare and Milton.”

( Page 26. )

Tolkien was a member of a writer’s group.  This group called itself “The Inklings”.  It met at Oxford University, in England.  It consisted of a small group of men.  

“The Inklings’” most notable members, known to today’s public ( or not ), were Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and Charles Williams.  Lewis wrote such books as “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”, and “The Screwtape Letters”.  Williams was, by comparison with Tolkien and Lewis, a nonentity.

The presence of Williams in this book caused me great irritation.  “What’s he doing here?!”  I thought.  I bought “The Inklings” to read about Tolkien.  On page ix of “The Inklings” Humphrey writes:

“This book is largely concerned with C. S. Lewis.  … Of J. R. R. Tolkien’s life and work … I have said very little, because he has been the subject of an earlier book of mine.”  ( “J. R. R. Tolkien:  A Biography”. )

Then, after some pages on Lewis, Humphrey begins a long section on Williams!  I guess the subtitle of “The Inklings” should have served as my warning.

I finally warmed to Williams.  He was never an Oxford don like Lewis and Tolkien.  Williams was always in the position of the dog chasing after the family car.  Williams wanted to join the ranks of Lewis and Tolkien, but couldn’t.  He did some lecturing at Oxford, in a subordinate role.  He sold books, but not in the amounts that Lewis and Tolkien did.  Nonetheless, though acutely conscious of his inferiority, Williams always referred to himself in the third person:  as “we”, rather than as “I”. 

Lewis is no joy to read about.  Humphrey’s book begins with Lewis’ early life.  This part of the book is captivating.  Lewis, an avowed atheist, then becomes, in effect, a Christian fundamentalist.  A reader of “The Inklings” is then given many pages of Lewis’ minute theological arguments.  I was left thinking the following:

“If the reader lacks a graduate degree, such as a Master of Arts, he won’t finish this book.”  The danger is that one will get lost in Lewis’ theological hairsplitting. 

I read “The Inklings” on the toilet.  The type in this edition is tiny.  At least, it is for someone my age.  I found that my toilet, in my bathroom, was the only place that I had sufficient light to read a book with type that’s so small.  I will say:  for whatever reason, this book always moved my bowels.  And, had I run out of toilet paper, I could have put Lewis’ printed arguments to good use, wiping my ass.

Or, as publisher and fry cook Rick Howe once said,

“When is a Bible useful for wiping your butt?  When an American flag isn’t available.”

If you’re a Tolkien completist, you’ll have to buy “The Inklings”.  That’s because there is a lengthy poem by Tolkien in it.  Sample lines:

1.  “Byzantium! … To me she only seems one greater hive, rotting within while outwardly alive.” 

2.  “Vast drilled armies beating neighbors down to drag them fettered through New Order’s town.”

Of Ron DeSanctimonious, Tolkien writes: 

“Rule that strangles and … Laws that kill … Man that says his Pride is Heaven’s will.”

Tolkien did write the line ( above ), but DeSanctimonious wasn’t yet born.  Perhaps Tolkien was thinking of Adolf Hitler.

If you’re willing to wade through dense prose and small type, you’ll like “The Inklings”. 

A memorable quote:

Lewis, of his home:  “We were afraid to move the bookcases, in case the walls fell down.”  ( Page 241. ) 


ON J. R. R. TOLKIEN

by Andrew Roller

“Good Morning!” said Bilbo.  ( Note that Tolkien capitalizes ‘morning’.  ‘Morning’ does not need to be capitalized. ) …

“What do you mean?” [ asked Gandalf ].  “Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?”

- The Hobbit, pages 5 - 6.

What was Tolkien’s inspiration for the above wordplay?

The answer ( in my opinion ) is in Humphrey Carpenter’s book, “The Inklings”.  Pages 6 - 7:

“W. T. Kirkpatrick, tall and muscularly lean, was a strict atheist who nevertheless put on his best suit to dig the garden on Sunday. …

“His life was ruled by strictly rational principles.  He was fearsome in conversation, for no sentence passed his lips that was not ruthlessly logical.  When [ C. S. ] Lewis first met his new teacher on arrival at the railway station, the boy attempted some small talk, remarking that the Surrey countryside was more wild than he had expected.  

“‘Stop!’ shouted Kirkpatrick.  ‘What do you mean by wildness, and what grounds had you for not expecting it?’  Jack did his best, but answer after answer was rejected as being the product of inadequate thought.

“‘Do you not see’, Kirkpatrick concluded, ‘that your remark was meaningless?’

Under the [ tutelage ] of ‘Kirk’ in the two years that followed, the boy learnt to phrase all remarks as logical propositions and to defend his opinions by argument.  Not that ‘opinion’ was a term admissible in that household.  ‘I have’, Kirkpatrick would exclaim with raised hands, ‘no opinion on any subject whatsoever’.

Soon, [ C. S. ] Lewis was learning to match his teacher’s mind with dialects of his own, especially in his letters to a Belfast friend, Arthur Greeves, who was prone to vague and illogical statements and who in consequence found himself on the receiving end of Kirk-like arguments.”

Let’s try Kirkpatrick’s method:


SALVATION ACHIEVED

by Andrew Roller

1.  The world is not perfect.  Unpleasant things occur.

2.  Why does God allow unpleasant things to occur?

3.  Little girls sometimes make mistakes.  As a consequence, unpleasant things occur.

4.  Therefore, God is a little girl.  This is because unpleasant things sometimes occur.

You must believe that God is a little girl.  If you don’t, God will punish you, and send you to a place where, by intent, unpleasant things occur.

Seek salvation while you can!  


ON KAY J

by Andrew Roller

Kay J is a nude model who has mostly lived in Ukraine.  This article is about her content on the metartnetwork ( dot ) com.

In her video “Wet Dreams”, Kay appears on a bed.  The same bed is present in her photo gallery called “Astier”.  ( Photo number 112. )

With regard to the bed, note the following:

1.  The headboard is white.  

2.  The railings in the bed’s headboard are long rectangles.

3.  The striped pillow printed with the words, “Happy Place”.  ( The stripes on the pillow resemble a beach, under a blue sky. )

You may wonder, “So what?”  In “Wet Dreams”, Kay bears whip marks and bruises.  This despite the fact that “Wet Dreams” is simply meant to display her nude beauty.

The question, then, is:

“Did Kay bear these same whip marks and bruises in ‘Astier’?  Did Alex Lynn, her photographer, airbrush away her whip marks in ‘Astier’?

No known photo gallery accompanies Kay’s video “Wet Dreams”.  Such a state of affairs is unusual.  Is “Astier” the ‘missing’ photo gallery, that was meant to accompany “Wet Dreams”?

Kay’s video, “Dreaming”, was filmed about a day after “Wet Dreams”.  In “Dreaming”, she bears the same whip marks as in “Wet Dreams”.  However, due to the passage of time, some of her whip marks have vanished by the time that “Dreaming” was filmed.

The photo galleries that are meant to accompany “Dreaming” are “Lacy Pink” and “Maru”.  In both of these photo galleries, the real Kay had whip marks on her body.  However, Alex Lynn airbrushed her whip marks away.

( It is impossible to airbrush out whip marks in a video.  That’s because a video has too many frames of film. )

( At the now defunct web site called “alex-lynn ( dot ) com”, Kay’s photo gallery, called “Lacy Pink”, was called “White”.  Free samples from “White” are available all over the Internet. )

On Kay J’s page at onlyfans ( dot ) com, there are a half dozen or so photos of her in bondage.  These photos are scattered across her page ( over time ).  All of these photos appear to have been photographed in a single photography session.

Kay J’s only fans page is:  ukaybb.  ( No period. )


COLLEGE Girls Account CANCELLED at ONCE

by Andrew Roller

On June 28, 2022, I subscribed to the following web site:

collegegirlsgonebad ( dot ) com

I subscribed for a year.

On June 2, 2022, I cancelled my subscription to collegegirlsgonebad.com.  I did so by calling the phone number for collegegirlsgonebad ( dot ) com.  There, I spoke to Jacob.

Jacob told me that my account would remain valid, and usable, until my subscription renewal date of June 28, 2022.

I then wrote a confirming e-mail to collegegirlsgonebad ( dot ) com.  I wrote my e-mail to:

help@cgbhelp.com

( The address can be divined as standing for:  help at college girls bad help dot com. )

Collegegirlsgonebad ( dot ) com sent me a confirming e-mail.

Their e-mail reads, in part:

“Your user-name and password will expire on COLLEGEGIRLS Wed 2023-Jun-28 17:40:45 PDT.”

On June 3, 2023, I logged in to collegegirlsgonebad ( dot ) com.  Was I still able to watch the videos at collegegirlsgonebad ( dot ) com?

No.

I tried to play many videos.  None of the videos would play.  Instead, I received the following message:

“Error loading media:  File could not be played.”

Conclusion:  Collegegirlsgonebad ( dot ) com did not tell me the truth.  When I cancelled my account, it was cancelled at once.

During my membership, collegegirlsgonebad ( dot ) com did not allow me ( or anyone ) to download their videos.  In order to obtain a copy of a video at collegegirlsgonebad ( dot ) com, you must make a screen recording of it.  

Some videos freeze; you wind up recording no motion beyond a certain point in the video.  I assume that this point, at which the video freezes, should be considered as being the end of the video.  ( The video itself plays on, to an end point, but the image remains frozen. )

The videos at collegegirlsgonebad ( dot ) com run from half an hour to an hour and twenty minutes.  When I recorded the 50 or so videos at collegegirlsgonebad ( dot ) com, I used up a lot of memory on my Apple iPad.  This is because a screen recording is saved in the iPad’s “Photos” app.

The videos at collegegirlsgonebad ( dot ) com date from about the year 2012.  The web site never changes.  Nothing is added.

The e-mail that I got from collegegirlsgonebad ( dot ) com, verifying the cancellation of my subscription, came from “Bangbros Support”.

( This can be divined as standing for Bang Brothers Support. )

Collegegirlsgonebad ( dot ) com contains a handful of brilliant videos.  Many, or all, of these videos are available as free clips at free Internet sites, like xvideos ( dot ) com.  ( Last I checked, xvideos ( dot ) com allows downloads. )

The video quality of the free clips is similar to that of the videos at collegegirlsgonebad ( dot ) com.  ( The videos at collegegirlsgonebad ( dot ) com are probably crisper than that of the free clips. )  

I had to move most of my ( paid for ) collegegirlsgonebad ( dot ) com videos off of my iPad.  As a result, in my Apple iMovie app, I watch the free clips.

Many of the videos at collegegirlsgonebad ( dot ) com are, in my opinion, filler.  Then again, when I go to web sites like the metartnetwork ( dot ) com, and to femjoy ( dot ) com, I get pissed off.  Those sites work fine ( and allow downloads ).  However, I regard the women there as being too old.


I AM on YANDEX.BY

by Andrew Roller

For years, I have had the following complaint.  My web site, http://andrewroller.com, is not listed in any search engine.

“Andrew Roller” is listed in the various search engines.  The “Andrew Roller” who is listed includes corpses, complete with gravestones, who died a century and a half ago.  None of these dead people appear to have had remarkable lives.  They simply got listed in a grave registry.

Lately, my web site has been getting visitors from yandex.by.  Yandex is a Russian search engine.  I now get the bulk of my visitors from Yandex.  I wondered why.

I used Google to go to Yandex.  On Yandex, I typed the following into its search field:

Andrew Roller

I typed my name.  I did not type the name of my web site.

Whoa!  On Yandex, my web site is listed first.  The next listing is for a collection of my stories at asstr.xyz.  This is a curated collection of my stories, that was gathered by someone in the 1990s.

The third listing is for this same curated collection of my stories.  However, this collection is at:

xefig.com

Conclusion:  Yandex is superior to Google, Duck Duck Go, Bing, Yahoo, and to every other search engine.  None of those search engines know that I exist.

I have no quarrel with some other “Andrew Roller” topping me in a search engine’s results.  However, it’s galling to not be included, when corpses from antiquity are.

What does this mean for you?  If you publish on the Internet, try to get on Yandex.by.  Yandex believes in free speech.  Western search engines relentlessly censor and shadow-ban their search results.  That’s why, though I’ve been publishing since 1972, Google “doesn’t know” that I exist.


AND IN THE END…

GOD and COUNTRY?

The state is a fiction.

There is no God.


ARCANA

1.  I broke some quoted material into additional paragraphs for readability. 


2.  On Stephen King:

My quote by Stephen King is taken from his short story called “Willa”.  This is the only King story that I like.  


3.  As of June 2, 2023, the phone number for collegegirlsgonebad ( dot ) com is:

1-877-566-8328


4.  On search engine results:

Some xeroxed pamphlets that I published in about 1990 are listed on Google, and on Western search engines.  However, my guess is that these pamphlets are considered to have been made by some other “Andrew Roller”. 


5.  The .by in Yandex.by stands for the country of Belarus.


6.  On June 12, 2023, I was ordered to report to an emergency room for emergency kidney dialysis.  Or I could die.  

I did not go to the emergency room.  Nor did I start kidney dialysis.  ( Kidney dialysis kills off the functioning of the kidney, or kidneys, that are inside of your body. )

As you can see, I’m not dead yet.  In fact, I’m feeling good.

Nonetheless, one fact remains:

A.  For my web site to exist, I must pay for it.

B.  I will not be able to pay for my web site when I’m dead.

C.  If you value the content on my web site, I recommend that you use the app, “Documents by Readdle”, to make copies of its pages.

D.  Please check your copies.  “Documents by Readdle” works well, but no app is perfect.

E.  Apple’s “Books” app gives the illusion of making a copy of my web site’s pages.  However, Apple’s “Books” app often malfunctions.  I do not recommend relying on Apple’s “Books” app to make copies of my web site’s pages.


——————————————————————————————————————————


Copyright 2023 by Andrew L. Roller.  ET, Editorial Thunder, and ARSE, Andrew Roller Stories and Essays, are trademarks of Andrew L. Roller.   

I am http://andrewroller.com    

Earlier posts by me are at https://asstr.xyz/files/Authors/Roller/ 

asstr.org has the same content as asstr.xyz

“asslr ( Alt.Sex.Stories Lazy Rubes? ) is “an upcoming story repository to replace asstr”, according to xefig.com.   

I’m on paper at:  https://www.abebooks.com > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 

and https://www.abebooks.co.uk > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 

If you visit an “AbeBooks” website, you’ll be presented with a large square “Search” box.  In the box labelled “Author”, type in “Andrew Roller”.  In the box labelled “Title”, type in “Andrew Roller Presents”.  This will bring up some of my pamphlets.  I have not yet figured out how to bring up other pamphlets by me, under other titles.  I don’t recall all the titles I published under.  

I have no financial involvement in these resale items. 

Other references:

1.  https://zinewiki.com/wiki/Factsheet_Five

Article:  “Factsheet Five”.

Article subhead:  “Andrew Roller’s Factsheet Five controversy”.

2.  poopsheetfoundation.com 

Search for:

Writers / Artists:  Andrew Roller

3.  yandex.by

Search for:

Andrew Roller

4.  xefig.com

Search for:

Index of/files/Collections/ASSTR_Collection/Andrew_Roller/

( I accessed xefig.com via yandex.by )


On August 18, 2022, Apple Computer banned my Apple I.D.  Apple did this abruptly.  Apple gave me no warning of any displeasure, on its part, with me.  ( I’ve been an Apple customer since the 1980s. )

The effect of Apple’s ban was to destroy my content.  The vast bulk of my content was “safely” stored with them, in iCloud.

I complained to Apple.  Apple’s reason for their ban of my Apple I.D. was “Apple Policy”.  No further information was given.  Apple told me to apply for a new Apple I.D.  

You can read more about this in prior issues of ARSE.


Support NAMBLA!  The North American Man / Boy Love Association:  https://nambla.org/


This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 265

Arcana:  This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 265, version 14.0

Date Written:  June 3 - 14, 2023.          Live for the day that censorious Big Tech is dead. 


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The magazine that Big Tech BANNED multiple times… lives!

ET 264                                  

Editorial Thunder presents...

USA no JOBS ( dot ) GOV

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Plus:  Telegram girls!

And:  Worshipping little girls.

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USA no JOBS ( dot ) GOV

Why usajobs ( dot ) gov is “a fraud”.

by Andrew Roller

His name was Bunky Tamura.  He sat at the desk that was behind mine.  We were both draftsmen.  I was a Student Aid Draftsman Trainee.  Bunky had been a draftsman for decades.

Both Bunky and I worked for the United States Coast Guard, as civilian employees.  In about 1982, a man began paying visits to Bunky.  The man was from the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ).  He wanted Bunky to stop working for the Coast Guard.  Why?  This man wanted Bunky to switch his employment to the FAA.

Bunky was reluctant to leave the Coast Guard.  He mentioned to the man that any employment decision, by the United States government, had to be advertised to the public.  What if the FAA hired someone other than Bunky?

“Don’t worry!” the man from the FAA told Bunky.  “We’ll limit the hiring window to a brief period.  We’ll tell you about this position but, other than the fact that it will be posted in the federal hiring office, no one will know that the position is open.  You apply.  The window for turning in a job application will expire.  We’ll hire you!”

In other words, the FAA would be required to make their job offer to the public.  However, the FAA already knew who they were going to hire:  Bunky Tamura.

Bunky left his job with the Coast Guard.  Sure enough, he was then hired by the FAA.

Recently, I learned of the following web site:

usajobs ( dot ) gov

All of the jobs that I saw at USA Jobs were being offered by the United States Navy.  These were all jobs for civilians.

I’m a civilian.  I’m also a disabled veteran, with a disability rating of 100 percent ( due to kidney failure ).

At USA Jobs, I found a job that I felt I could do.  It was called:  MWR Snack Bar Operator.

The job was ( as best I could tell ) part-time.  It paid minimum wage.  The job description said that this job would only ever pay minimum wage.  No pay raise would ever be offered.  There was no possibility of being promoted.

The job involved selling popcorn in a theater.  Bizarrely, the Navy only said that the job was in San Diego.  The Navy did not say WHERE in San Diego the job was.

I don’t have a car.  I rely on mass transit.  Where mass transit ends, I must walk the remaining distance.  Therefore, it’s essential for me to know where a job is.  San Diego is a huge city.  The Navy has many locations throughout San Diego.  None are close to where I reside.

( I do not live in the porn theater on fourth avenue.  It closed some years ago. )

I applied for the MWR Snack Bar Operator job.  Since two jobs were, in fact, available, I figured I had a good shot at being hired for one.

I had difficulty getting the USA Jobs web site to work.  Worse, the Navy did not make clear what documents it wanted from me.

In a description, the Navy demanded a host of documents.  But in an upload section, only a resume was required.

In the upload section, I uploaded my resume, plus several documents.  Unfortunately, the Navy’s description ( printed elsewhere ) spoke of more documents than I could upload in the upload section.   

( The upload section of USA Jobs limits the number of uploaded documents to five. )

I e-mailed the following person:

nadine.r.taisacan@navy.mil

Nadine Taisacan

NAVBASE San Diego

750 Pacific Coast Highway

San Diego, CA 92132-0058

US

I then read the following:

“DON is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.  All qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, genetic information, reprisal, marital status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, or any other non-merit factor.  The DON provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities.  Applicants with disabilities who believe they may require reasonable accommodation(s) should email their request to MILL HO NAF HR.FCT@navy.mil to ensure proper consideration is given.”

I did not find any definition for “DON”.

I e-mailed:

MILL_HQ_NAF_HR.FCT@navy.mil

What did I tell Nadine, and DON?

1.  I explained the discrepancy between the forms that the Navy, in a description, said that it wanted, and what the upload section said was required.  

2.  I mentioned that I was a 100 percent disabled veteran.

3.  Since I was new to the field of popcorn, I told Nadine and DON that I’d bought eight books about popcorn.  I’d also bought, and read, various books on the making and selling of food.  ( I’ve listed all of these books in ARCANA, below. )

I bought more:

A.  A clown horn ( to draw attention to my popcorn stand ).

B.  A colorful hat ( to draw attention to my popcorn stand ).

C.  A dinner bell ( to draw attention to my popcorn stand ).

D.  An orange bunny ( to draw attention to my popcorn stand ).

E.  A bluetooth speaker ( to play music, to draw attention to my popcorn stand ).

I did not mention these additional items to Nadine or to DON.  Why?  I wasn’t sure what the policy of the theater would be with regard to my using them.

4.  I e-mailed every document ( in the Navy’s description ) to Nadine.  Then, I e-mailed every document to DON.

5.  I sent several follow-up letters to Nadine, and to DON.

How did the Navy ( in the persons of Nadine, and the organization called DON ) respond to this disabled veteran?

I heard nothing.  All I got from the Navy was an auto-reply e-mail.

Otherwise, I heard nothing.

I began to suspect that I would not get the job.

The hiring window closed on April 20.  It is now April 27th.  I have heard nothing at all from the Navy.  That is, I’ve heard nothing from Nadine.  I’ve heard nothing from DON.

In their auto-reply e-mail, the Navy writes:

“We will assess your qualifications based upon your resume, the responses you provided in the questionnaire, as well as all other materials requested in the job opportunity announcement.  When this evaluation is completed, you will be notified of the results with another e-mail message.”

I have not received any e-mail message.

The originating address of the auto-reply e-mail is:

usastaffingoffice@opm.gov

That is:  USA Staffing Office.  “opm” stands for the Office of Personnel Management.  

My conclusion regarding the above is as follows:

The web site known as USA Jobs is a fraud.  It is not a fraud in the sense of not being real, or of trying to steal your money.  However, if USA Jobs doesn’t have the courtesy to reply, in any way, to a 100 percent disabled veteran, then, in effect, USA Jobs is a fraud.

USA Jobs is a fraud in the same way that the FAA job opening was a fraud.  The FAA only intended to hire Bunky Tamura.  It never intended that its public notice, regarding a job opening, would be filled by anyone but Bunky.

Clearly, Nadine was holding both popcorn jobs open for a family member, a friend, or a relative who arrived last week from Mexico.  Nadine never intended that a disabled veteran ( me ) would get the job.  If Nadine isn’t at fault in this matter, then the person who supplied the job notices to Nadine is at fault.  SOMEONE, employed by the Navy, intended that both jobs would go to favored people.  My job application was thrown in the trash.

DON is a fraud.  The purpose of DON is to help the disabled veteran ( me ).  As best I can tell, DON consists of lazy bastards who get paid a large salary, but who do no work.  

I am not God.  ( After all, I applied for a job selling popcorn. )  If Nadine, DON, or any other nepotistic lazy bastard in the Navy wishes to reply to this article, he can.  He can at least have the courtesy to fulfill the auto-reply e-mail’s promise, and tell me that I didn’t get the job.



AVENUES for ACTION!

by Andrew Roller

Here are three ways to advocate on behalf of pedophiles and their loved ones ( little girls ):

1.  Join Temple of Pan.

People ask whether God is a man or a woman.  Why can’t God be a little girl?

If God is a little girl, shouldn’t we worship her?

Isn’t every little girl, in effect, an Earthly incarnation of God?  Hence, it is our duty, as believers, to worship every little girl that we meet!

( There is no formal organization to join.  You join in your mind. )


2.  Join The Lolita Alliance.

Advocate on behalf of pedophiles and their loves ones.

( There is no formal organization to join.  You join in your mind. )


3.  Make August 18th a holiday.  August 18th is the birth date of film director Roman Polanski.  Polanski was famously jailed and maligned, in America, for having a relationship with a 13-year-old girl.

America has shown its belated respect for African Americans by making Martin Luther King Junior’s birthday a holiday.  More recently, America made “Juneteenth” a holiday.

It’s time for America to show respect to pedophiles, and to their loved ones, by making Roman Polanski’s birthday a holiday.


TELEGRAM GIRLS!

by Andrew Roller

1.  A reader writes:  

“I'm glad you discovered Telegram.  It’s full of beautiful girls.  There are thousands of groups [ on Telegram ] like the ones you mention, not just the ones [ by or about ] Ustina [ Abramova, and ] Dana [ Taranova. ].  

“Virtually any girl who has an Instagram [ channel ] also has a Telegram channel.  Telegram has become something like a refuge for them.  Models, gymnasts, cheerleaders, all of them, have found a refuge in Telegram.  … [ On ] some channels you can interact with [ the girls ] and [ with ] other fans.”

See prior issues of ARSE for more about Ustina Abramova, and Dana Taranova.


2.  A reader writes:

“I have some Telegram groups to pass on to you:

A.  https://t.me/+ekg4i58cwCk5MjJk 

B.  https://t.me/+yZVHiEZEyDg1Y2I0  ( Several ).

C.  https://t.me/pubuny  ( Several ).

D.  https://t.me/PuviCut  ( Several ).

E.  https://t.me/+12yoGzqrhHExNDYx 

( The reader’s message ends here. )

Due to multiple medical issues, I haven’t had time to view these Telegram groups.

The above letters were lightly edited for readability.


AND IN THE END…

GOD is a little girl, and MUST be WORSHIPPED!

1.  “The first element in worship is adoration.”

- H. H. Rowley.


2.  “A glimpse of God will save you.  To gaze at [ Her ] will sanctify you.”

- Manley Beasley.  ( Not Beastley! )


3.  “Worship is our response to the overtures of love from the heart of the [ little girl ].” 

- Richard J. Foster.


4.  “We only learn to behave ourselves in the presence of God.”

- C. S. Lewis.  ( “C. S.” does not stand for “Cunt Sucker”! )  


5.  “We must never rest until everything inside us worships God.”

- A. W. Tozer.


6.  “The whole person, with all his senses, with both mind and body, needs to be involved in genuine worship.”

- Jerry Kerns.


7.  “Worship is the believer’s response of all that they are – mind, emotions, will, body – to what God is and says and does.”

- Warren Wiersbe. 


8.  “If you come to worship for any reason other than the joy and pleasure and satisfaction that are to be found in God, you dishonor [ Her ]. … God’s greatest delight is your delight in [ Her ].”

- Sam Storms. 


9.  “Without worship, we go about miserable.”

- A. W. Tozer.


10.  “No man gives anything acceptable to God until he has first given himself in love and sacrifice.” 

- A. W. Tozer.


11.  “Our entire being is fashioned as an instrument of praise.  Just as a master violin maker designs an instrument to produce maximum aesthetic results, so God  tailor-made our bodies, souls, and spirits to work together in consonance to produce pleasing expressions of praise and worship.  When we use body language to express praise, that which is internal becomes visible." 

- Lamar Boschman. 


12.  ““Worship is our response to the overtures of love from the heart of the [ little girl ].”

- Richard J. Foster. 


13.  “Surely that which occupies the total time and energies of heaven must be a fitting pattern for earth.”

- Paul E. Billheimer. 


Source:  experiencing worship ( dot ) com.

( The above quotes were very lightly edited, for readability. )

( Either the quote didn’t “copy” correctly, or it was in need of further editing in the original document. )


ARCANA

Here is the list of books that I sent to Nadine and to DON.

1.  Popcorn.  By Patrick Evans-Hylton.  Sasquatch Books.  Copyright 2008.


2.  Party Popcorn:  75 Creative Recipes for Everyone’s Favorite Snack.  By Ashton Epps Swank.  Harvest [ Books ].  Copyright 2014.


3.  Gourmet Popcorn:  100 Recipes for any Occasion.  By Georganne Bell.  Front Table Books.  Copyright 2020.


4.  Popcorn!:  100 Sweet and Savory Recipes.  By Carol Beckerman.  Universe [ Books ].  Copyright 2013.


5.  Hello!  200 Popcorn Recipes:  Best Popcorn Cookbook Ever for Beginners.  By Mr. Appetizer.  “Independently published”.  Copyright 2019.


6.  Popcorn Cookbook for Both Kids and Adults:  Easy Popcorn Recipes That Wil [ sic ] Be Loved by Everyone.  By Angel Burns.  “Independently published”.  Copyright 2019.


7.  100 Popcorn Recipes:  Discover how to make Chocolate Popcorn Pecan, Caramel Popcorn, Fire Grilled Popcorn and Much More!!  By Kirk Castle.  CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.  Copyright 2013.


8.  Popcorn Lover’s Recipe Book:  A Cookbook Full of Sweet, Savory and Spicy Popcorn Recipes.  By Laura Sommers.  CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.  Copyright 2016.



I have read the following books:

1.  Grinding It Out:  The Making of McDonald’s.  By Ray Kroc.  St. Martin’s Press.  New York, New York.  Copyright 1977.

Kroc was a former paper cup salesman when he obtained the franchise rights to McDonald’s restaurant.  The rest is history.


2.  In-N-Out Burger:  A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules.  By Stacy Perman.  HarperCollins e-books.  Copyright 2009.

I went to In-N-Out Burger one time.  “Here’s your grub,” the clerk told me, as he handed me my food.  That did not endear me to the ensuing gastronomic experience.  ( Which I found unexceptional. )  Nonetheless, this book is a fascinating history of the development of the fast food industry in Los Angeles.  I looked up place names in Google Maps while reading this book.


3.  The Burger King:  A Whopper of a Story on Life and Leadership.  By Jim McLamore.

McLamore was the co-founder of Burger King.


4.  All About the Burger:  A History of America’s Favorite Sandwich.  By Sef “Burger Beast” Gonzales.


I have acquired, and I am in the process of reading, the following books:

1.  Restaurant Success By The Numbers:  A Money-Guy’s Guide to Opening the Next New Hot Spot.  By Roger Fields, CPA.

Fields demonstrates that a food service business can be quite profitable!


2.  The Food Lab:  Better Home Cooking Through Science.  By J. Kenji Lopez-Alt.

Lopez-Alt questions every aspect of food preparation.  The result?  Science-based descriptions of how to prepare wonderful meals!


3.  Dave’s Way:  The Story of Wendy’s and its Founder.  By Dave Thomas.


4.  The Hamburger:  A History.  By Josh Ozersky.


5.  Around the Corner to Around the World:  A Dozen Lessons I Learned Running Dunkin’ Donuts.  By Robert Rosenberg.


6.  Hamburgers and Fries:  An American Story.  By John T. Edge.


7.  Fried Chicken:  An American Story.  By John T. Edge.


A decade or so ago, a television show posed this question:  who is the most recognized person, alive or dead, in the world?  The answer:  Harlan Sanders.  ( The iconic face of Kentucky Fried Chicken. )  Books about Sanders include:

1.  The Life of a Kentucky Colonel.  By Dr. Edward DeVries.

Harlan Sanders founded Kentucky Fried Chicken.  His biggest mistake?  He sold Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Sanders spent his final years as a paid spokesman for the brand.


2.  Colonel Sanders and the American Dream.  By Josh Ozersky.  ( Not Odersky! )


Other books interest me:

1.  The Inspirational Life Story of Colonel Sanders.  By Gregory Watson.


2.  Flameout:  the Rise and Fall of Burger Chef.  By John P. McDonald.

McDonald ( no pun intended ) writes:  “In 1971 … it seemed [ that ] Burger Chef would overtake McDonald’s to become the industry leader. … But by 1982 the Burger Chef name fades into history.”  ( Location 57. )


3.  A History of Howard Johnson’s:  How a Massachusetts Soda Fountain Became an American Icon.  By Anthony Mitchell Sammarco.


4.  Onward:  How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing its Soul.  By Howard Schultz.


5.  From the Ground Up:  A Journey to Reimagine the Promise of America.  By Howard Schultz.


6.  Time to Make the Donuts:  The Founder of Dunkin’ Donuts Shares an American Journey.  By William Rosenberg.


7.  Fast Food Nation:  The Dark Side of the All-American Meal.  By Eric Schlosser.  ( Not loser! )

This book begins well, but soon mires itself in a critique of advertisements on children’s television shows in the 1970s.  I was watching children’s television shows in that era.  I turned out okay.


8.  Chew On This:  Everything You Don’t Want to Know About Fast Food.  By Charles Wilson and Eric Schlosser.

This is a sequel to Schlosser’s first book.


9.  On Food and Cooking:  The Science and Lore of the Kitchen.  By Harold McGee.

An excursion into food by an author steeped in the liberal arts.


10.  Salt Fat Acid Heat.  By Samin Nosrat.  This award-winning book reduces food to its essential elements.


11.  The Man Who Ate Everything:  And Other Gastronomic Feats, Disputes, and Pleasurable Pursuits.  By Jeffrey Steingarten.

The author cites Harvard College, Harvard Law School, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in his curriculum vitae.  His book promises to be a travelogue as well as a discussion of food.


12.  It Must’ve Been Something I Ate.  By Jeffrey Steingarten.


Modernly, no discussion of the restaurant industry is complete without the contribution of someone who killed himself:

Kitchen Confidential:  Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly.  By Anthony Bourdain.

There are additional books by, and about, Bourdain.  Bourdain was known as a food and travel host on CNN, and the Travel Channel.


——————————————————————————————————————————


Copyright 2023 by Andrew L. Roller.  ET, Editorial Thunder, and ARSE, Andrew Roller Stories and Essays, are trademarks of Andrew L. Roller.   


I am http://andrewroller.com    


Earlier posts by me are at https://asstr.xyz/files/Authors/Roller/    


I’m on paper at:  https://www.abebooks.com > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 


and https://www.abebooks.co.uk > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 


If you visit an “AbeBooks” website, you’ll be presented with a large square “Search” box.  In the box labelled “Author”, type in “Andrew Roller”.  In the box labelled “Title”, type in “Andrew Roller Presents”.  This will bring up some of my pamphlets.  I have not yet figured out how to bring up other pamphlets by me, under other titles.  I don’t recall all the titles I published under.  


I have no financial involvement in these resale items. 


Other references:


https://zinewiki.com/wiki/Factsheet_Five


Article:  “Factsheet Five”.


Article subhead:  “Andrew Roller’s Factsheet Five controversy”.


AND


poopsheetfoundation.com 


Search for:


Writers / Artists:  Andrew Roller


On August 18, 2022, Apple Computer banned my Apple I.D.  Apple did this abruptly.  Apple gave me no warning of any displeasure, on its part, with me.  ( I’ve been an Apple customer since the 1980s. )


The effect of Apple’s ban was to destroy my content.  The vast bulk of my content was “safely” stored with them, in iCloud.


I complained to Apple.  Apple’s reason for their ban of my Apple I.D. was “Apple Policy”.  No further information was given.  Apple told me to apply for a new Apple I.D.  


You can read more about this in prior issues of ARSE.


Support NAMBLA!  The North American Man / Boy Love Association:  https://nambla.org/


This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 264


Arcana:  This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 264, version 2.0


Date Written:  April 27, 2023.          Live for the day that censorious Big Tech is dead. 


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-—————————————————————————————————————————

The magazine that Big Tech BANNED multiple times… lives!

ET 263                                  

Editorial Thunder presents...

Victory!

——————————————————————————————————————————


This article is a voyage of discovery.  You can accompany me as I discover Telegram.  

In my article, I refer to “You Tube girls”.  These are girls that I watched some years ago on You Tube.

In fact, many “You Tube girls” are on Instagram.  ( As best I can tell.  See below for more. )

Don’t spend any money on Telegram.  You might have a chance to spend money at a separate web site that features Ustina Abramova.  This is discussed below.

My article begins with a letter from a reader:


“Hello!  How is everything?  Me here, lamenting and suffering from internet censorship.  Know?  Some time ago I was following a teen model, Ustina Abramova, on her YouTube channel.  She did gym and ballet videos, you know, like a lot of Russian girls.  After a while, I realize that they had deleted her channel, throwing away all her work.  All the videos deleted from one day to the next, with how important it is for these girls to spread their art, given the poverty of the countries where they live, in this case Ucrania.  [ Ukraine. ]  I didn't hear from her again until after a while I found by chance that she had created a Telegram channel, where she shares short videos and apart from herself sometimes talks with the members of the channel.  She now has her own page, where she shares her deleted channel videos and new ones, charging subscription in bitcoins.  And here you realize everything this girl had to do to be able to continue disseminating her art, spending money on a website and doing everything almost secretly, as if she were doing something illegal or prohibited.  This is what hypocritical censorship forces us to do.  To deprive ourselves of beauty and not let us make our lives peaceful.  Anyway, good luck, I just wanted to tell you about this.  Greetings.”

- A reader.


VICTORY!

Telegram kicks You Tube’s ass.

by Andrew Roller

In 2019, I joined Facebook.  I wrote several articles on my Facebook page.  My activity on Facebook was confined to writing non-fiction news articles.  I don’t recall communicating with anyone.

I added people to my Facebook page.  I did this because Facebook demanded that I do it.  Everyone that I added was 18 years or older.  This was because Facebook didn’t offer anyone who was younger.  I only recall adding men to my Facebook page.  They were all strangers.  ( None were “friends”. )

As a result, my Facebook page was swamped, daily, by posts from my new “friends”.  ( The men. )  I wearied of this.  I didn’t want to ‘unfriend’ these men.  However, I needed to get their content off of my Facebook page.  So, I figured out a way to do this.  ( Which was allowed under Facebook’s rules. )  

The result?  Facebook’s staff went nuts.  I guess, in going nuts, Facebook’s staff read some of my articles.  As a consequence, Facebook’s staff banned me from Facebook.

Facebook owns Instagram.  Since I was banned from Facebook, I was banned from Instagram.  ( Which I hadn’t joined. )

Subsequently, I was banned by Google’s You Tube, and by WordPress.  You can read more about this in prior issues of ARSE.

You Tube banned many young girls.  ( For no legal reason. )  The social media platform called Boosty banned Milana from Minsk.  ( Again, for no legal reason. )  I witnessed censorship of young girls by You Tube, and by Boosty.  Such abuse, of myself and others, upset me.

That’s why I publish this magazine!  Today, thanks to a reader, I learned that some You Tube girls have content on Telegram.

Below, I reconstruct, as best I can, how to join Telegram.  

To join Telegram, I used my iPad.  ( I know my iPad better than I know my iMac. )

Using my iPad, I went to the Apple “App Store”.

The “App Store” has a “Search” field.  In it, I typed “telegram”.

I downloaded the Telegram app.  

Telegram asked for my name.

Telegram asked for my phone number.

Telegram called my phone, and left a text message there.  The text message contained a code.  I had to enter this code into the Telegram app.

That’s it!

Telegram did not ask for my birthdate.  Telegram did not ask for my e-mail address.  Telegram did not require me to invent, and input, a password.

Note:  Facebook asked for little more than the above information.  However, when Facebook’s staff decided to get rid of me, they lied.  They told me that “suspicious activity” had occurred.  Facebook asked me to provide additional information, about myself, to verify who I was.  I did so.  Facebook then kicked me out of Facebook.  Facebook used the additional information that I had provided to ensure that I could never join Facebook again.  

Note:  At the time, I had just begun to publish on the Internet.  Facebook had no idea who I was.  They simply didn’t like my handful of articles.  

( I suppose.  Facebook never gave me any meaningful reason for why they banned me.  There was no appeal.  Facebook destroyed my content. )

If, for any reason, Telegram asks you for more information about yourself, don’t provide it.  Let Telegram’s staff suspend or delete your Telegram account.  Then, simply create a new account, if possible, using some piece of information other than your phone number.

Unfortunately, I did not see an alternative to using one’s phone number to join Telegram.

As far as I know, you can join Telegram using any name.  You don’t have to use your own name.

I now continue my discussion of Telegram.  I have joined Telegram.  That is, I have completed the membership process.

The Telegram page opened on my iPad.  It consists of two columns.  There is a left column, and a right column.

The left column is skinny.  If you do a search on Telegram, the result of your search will appear in the left column.

The right column is large.  Content will appear in the right column. 

As a virgin member of Telegram, I saw little more than a “Search” field.  The “Search” field was in the upper left corner of my iPad.

I know the names of many girls who were on You Tube.  

( Below, I write the name of each girl’s Telegram channel exactly as it appears on Telegram.  As a result, I omit the punctuation marks that an editor would add to this article.  ( I omit the period. ) )

Several You Tube girls aren’t on Telegram:

1.  La Princesse Didi

2.  Milana from Minsk  ( I searched for “Milana”. )

Now, I’ll discuss each You Tube girl who is on Telegram. 

Since “a reader” wrote to me about Ustina Abramova, I’ll use her as my example of how to do a search on Telegram.  

Type “ustina abramova” into the “Search” field on Telegram.

A small rectangle will appear on the left side of your iPad’s screen.  This will be the result of your search.  Tap on the small rectangle.

Content will appear in the right column.  This is content in a channel.  If you like the content, look to the bottom of your iPad’s screen.  There, you’ll see this word:

“Join”.

Tap on “join”.  You’re now a member of this channel!

I now discuss, in more detail, what happens when you type “ustina abramova” into the “Search” field in Telegram.

You get multiple search results.  This means that you’ll get several little rectangles in the left column.  

I’ll now discuss each rectangle: 

1.  Ustina Abramova

This channel features Ustina wearing a red hat.  Tap on the little rectangle.  ( Your search result. )  The big column on the right side of your iPad changes.  It delivers a web site link:  

https://t.me/Tina_flexible 

Tap on the web site link.  This will put content into the big column on the right side of your iPad.

Wow!  There’s Tina!  ( Ustina Abramova. )  Her most recent content appears.  It might be a photo, or it might be a video.

If you scroll up, you can ( eventually ) go all the way back to the content that she first posted on Telegram. 

Tina is about 13 years old.  Her birthday is October 11th.  My guess is that Ustina is Ukrainian.


2.  Ustina Abramova  ( Again. ) 

This channel features a single photo of Ustina Abramova.


3.  Tina_flex

This is another Telegram channel that stars Ustina Abramova.  It has a lot of content!


4.  MARI KRUCHKOVA 18+

Mari was born on May 8, 2006.  She is Russian.  Mari formerly lived in Kaliningrad.  Then, when she was about 13 years old, she moved to Moscow City.  Amazingly, Mari will be 18 years old in 2024!  She turned out to be as buxom and lovely as I supposed she would be.

Mari looks similar to the nude model called “Alisa I”.

( For more on “Alisa I”, go to:  indexxx ( dot ) com. )

At Mari’s channel, you’ll be told about a channel called:

@girls14bot

@girls14bot functions as a link.  I tapped on this link.  An informational box appeared.  It reads as follows:

“Plan:  Kristina Shmidt

“Cost:  10.00  USD.

“Validity:  indefinitely.  

“Select a Payment Method:

“PAYPAL

“BANK CARD

“FOR MEXICO

“BACK”.  

( If you tap on “BACK”, you get rid of the informational box. )

Kristina Shmidt is not “Mari Kruchkova”!  

Tapping elsewhere, I encountered the following:

An offer that ran something like:  “All three channels for $25.00”.

I also found the following:

“Send private ( direct ) messages for $29.00”.

As I tapped elsewhere, someone reached out to me.  She did this with a direct message.  I replied.  I told her that I’d encountered several prices, and didn’t understand which was which.  I told her which girls I liked.

The female stranger responded.  She said she was selling all the girls that I liked in a $25.00 package.  This would, presumably, be an indefinite membership.

I gave my female interlocutor my e-mail address.  I told her that I was writing an article about Telegram, and would like more information.  Unfortunately, while my female interlocutor sent me several more direct messages, they confused me.  She did not send anything to my e-mail address.

As a result, I didn’t pay any money on Telegram.  A human learns a great deal through pattern recognition.  Telegram remains so new to me that I have yet to learn its patterns.  I may feel confident joining a pay channel on Telegram in the future.

My discussion of the ( free ) Telegram channel “Mari Kruchkova 18+” continues:

Writing my article, I returned to Telegram.  This time, when I tapped on “Mari Kruchkova 18+”, I again received the invitation to “@girls14bot”.

I also received a new invitation.  It invited me to join:

“t.me/+ [ The rest of the link is too long to copy ]”.

This new link is billed as “Our Main Channel”.

I tapped on this link.  An informational box appeared.  It read as follows:

“UNLOCK-search @myof1 / MyOF

“48,501 subscribers

“Private link to this channel [ the link that is too long to copy ].

“Request to Join Channel

“This channel accepts new subscribers only after they are approved by its admins.” 

I requested to join the channel.

Here’s my interpretation of the above:

“Admins.” stands for “Administrators”.  It means the person, or people, who run the channel.

“OF” probably stands for the separate web site that is known as “Only Fans”.  Only Fans limits participants to those who are 18 years or older.

( I don’t approve of the limit.  I’m just reporting the fact. )

On You Tube, a channel manipulated its stated subscriber count.  The channel had few subscribers.  However, the channel stated that it had many subscribers. 

Mari Kruchkova will be 18 years old next year.  Perhaps she’ll join Only Fans.  In that case, you’ll probably want to watch her on Only Fans, rather than on Telegram.  Only Fans likely censors less than Telegram.  

In its “Terms of Service”, Telegram states that it doesn’t allow “pornographic content on publicly viewable Telegram bots, groups, or channels”.  Telegram does not define “pornographic content”.

I was allowed to join “UNLOCK-search @myof1 / MyOF”.

What happened next?  I was taken, via several questions, to Only Fans.  However, the site was not, in fact, Only Fans.  It turned out to be a Chaturbate type of web site.  

Chaturbate is awful.  I accidentally joined Chaturbate in 2019.  As a result, my iPad was flooded with messages from various women who were streaming videos of themselves.

I was unable to turn Chaturbate off.  Fortunately, Chaturbate eventually decided that I wasn’t yet 18 years old.  Chaturbate kicked me out of Chaturbate.  ( Thanks! )

I pray that this new Chaturbate type of web site does not contact me.  I tried to delete their information from “Settings”, on my iPad.  However, I could not find the relevant web site information in “Settings”.

Some minutes later, I tried, again, to join “UNLOCK-search @myof1 / MyOF”.  Telegram told me the following:

“This channel can’t be displayed because it was used to spread pornographic content.”

Conclusions:  

A.  Enjoy the free Telegram channel called “MARI KRUCHKOVA 18+”.

B.  Look for Mari Kruchkova on Only Fans starting on May 8, 2024.  She might be there!

C.  “@girls14bot” may be a library of Mari Kruchkova photos and videos.  I don’t know why it is listed as “Plan:  Kristina Shmidt”.

With regard to “@girls14bot”, I found a message in the Telegram channel “MARI KRUCHKOVA 18+”.  The message reads:

“There are more than 120 photos and 100+ videos of Mari Kruchkova in the private channel!  It is constantly being updated.  There are all deleted videos of her workouts, and her deleted HOT photos  [ No period. ]

“You can pay with Paypal cashapp or CRYPTO.  Just select Mari in the bot @girls14bot and pay 10$ [ $10.00 ], I will immediately add you to the channel.  Or text me @mrmonopoly to choose another payment method”.

I tapped ( again ) on the “@girls14bot” link.  Unfortunately, there is no way to “select Mari”.

I don’t know what “@mrmonopoly” refers to.  Is it a Twitter account?

Is “@girls14bot” a Twitter account?  If it is, why would I join it through Telegram?  ( Unless, of course, I’m someone who got kicked out of Twitter. )

D.  “UNLOCK-search @myof1 / MyOF” will take you to a Chaturbate type of web site.  I assume that, if you want junk videos from adult women, you’re:

a.  Not wasting your time reading ARSE.

b.  Already signed up to the innumerable Chaturbate types of web sites.  ( Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. )


5.  MYOF VIP

Here, I’m beginning to solve the mystery of “UNLOCK-search @myof1 / MyOF”.

“MYOF VIP” contains a message.  It reads as follows:

“Hello!  You are now in the best private channel in Telegram!  We have three products:

“1.  VIP CHANNEL  ( There are more than 750 bloggers in the private channel, there are all popular ones, as well as unpopular, but very interesting girls ).

“SAMPLE


“2.  PRODUCT 2

“SAMPLE


“3.  VIP ONLYFANS ARCHIVES with more than 1TB of content with popular models from OnlyFans  [ No period. ]  The total cost of all content is $5000+  [ No period. ]


“[ No number ]  ANGEL POLI

“The hottest content with Angelina Polikarpova!

“SAMPLE

“Problems with payment?  Write @mrmonopoly

“FEEDBACK

“Enjoy

“Bot was created on the platform @Nemiling”.

Two separate videos appear with this message.  Each is of a woman who is 18 years old, or older.  Neither video features a You Tube girl.

Note the word “SAMPLE”, above.  I tapped on this word earlier today.  A notice appeared.  The notice said that I couldn’t view “SAMPLE”, because I hadn’t paid any money!

A “sample” is supposed to be free. 

Now, when I tap on “SAMPLE”, the following notice appears:

“This channel can’t be displayed because it was used to spread pornographic content.”

Conclusions:

1.  “MYOF VIP” is a junk channel.  I didn’t find any You Tube girls there.

2.  Telegram may be beset with specious offers.  Someone may be using the You Tube girls to sell content featuring adult women.

If this is so, the You Tube girls aren’t involved.  


6.  Poly

“Poly” is the administrator of “@girls14bot”.  She sent me stickers of Angelina Polikarpova.  ( I’m not sure what I can do with the stickers, but thanks! )  Perhaps “Poly” is Angelina Polikarpova?  

I doubt that “Poly”, of the Telegram channel “Poly”, is Angelina Polikarpova. 


7.  Your Angel

This channel sent me to the Chaturbate type site.  Bummer.


8.  Lord of the Cuties ( The Hub )

This channel doesn’t have much content.


9.  GOOD GIRLS

This channel has an advertisement for “Kristina Shmidt”.  It’s the same ad that shows up at the channel called “MARI KRUCHKOVA 18+”.  The ad is for “@girls14bot”.


10.  Angel Poli, Dana Taranova, Ustina Abramova, Kate Beib, s, Milanka K [ Milanka Kudel ], Mari Kruchkova, Valeria Neg…

This channel has a lot of content.

When I was looking at photos of Mari Kruchkova, I saw the following under her photo:

“Deleted Channel”.

Later, I read a ( posted ) message.  Someone asked why Mari’s channel had been deleted.  An answer was posted.  The answer said that Mari had deleted her channel.  Other  You Tube girls had done the same.  The You Tube girls had then combined their channels into the channel called:

“Angel Poli, Dana Taranova, Ustina Abramova, Kate Beib, s, Milanka K [ Milanka Kudel ], Mari Kruchkova, Valeria Neg…”

I don’t think this is true.  My latest conclusions are as folliows:

Conclusions:

1.  Few You Tube girls are on Telegram.

2.  Photos, and videos, of You Tube girls are on Telegram.  However, most of this content is posted by people who have nothing to do with the actual girls.

3.  Let’s dig deeper into this:

Tap on the channel “Ustina Abramova”.  I’m speaking of the channel where she is wearing a big red hat.

The following link appears:

https://t.me/Tina_flexible

Click on the link.

You are taken to the channel called:

Tina_flex

However, the second to last posting, by Tina, features Tina saying:

“I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2023!”

Huh?  It’s April.  Tina has only posted a single photo since she wished her fans a “Merry Christmas”.

There is one other channel featuring Tina.  It has just one photo of her.

It gets worse.

The channel “Ustina Abramova ( red hat )” was last updated on February 27, 2022.  That’s 2022, not 2023!

The channel “Ustina Abramova” ( with just one photo ) was last updated on August 27, 2022.

The channel d”Tina_flex” was last updated on February 25.  No year is given.  Apparently, if no year is given, the current year is the one that applies.  Hence, “February 25” means “February 25, 2023”.

Tina is not currently active on Telegram.  She may have been active some months ago, but she isn’t active now.


4.  The channel “Milanka Kudel” was last updated today.

Unfortunately, at the bottom of my iPad, the following is written:

“Sending messages is not allowed in this group”.

People sent Milanka messages in the past.  However, it is no longer possible to send messages to her on Telegram.

Somehow, I managed to tap through from Telegram to Instagram.  I was only able to view Milanka on Instagram as a guest.  ( My access was blocked after about a minute.  I could see very little while I was there. )

Apparently, it is possible to send messages to Milanka on Instagram.


5.  “Lord of The Cuties ( The Hub )” was last updated on April 11.  ( I assume this means:  April 11, 2023. )  A message on this channel states that its owner has moved it to Instagram.


6.  “Angel Poli, Dana Taranova, Ustina Abramova, Kate Beib, s, Milanka K [ Milanka Kudel ], Mari Kruchkova, Valeria Neg…” 

This channel is being updated several times an hour.  However, I don’t think that this channel is jointly owned by the You Tube girls.  I think the owner of this channel is just a fan.  My thanks to him for his work.  

What is the owner of the channel “Angel Poli ( etc. )” posting today?  Photos, or videos, of various girls.  However, none of them are You Tube girls.

( Older content posted to the channel “Angel Poli ( etc. ) does feature You Tube girls. )


SUMMARY

In his novel “The Go-Between”, L.P. Hartley wrote:

“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.”

Before You Tube ruined itself, it was great.  All the girls that I met there were between the ages of 11 and 13.  I watched their videos.  I sent them messages.  They wrote back to me.  They sent me “thumbs up” emojis, and “heart” emojis!

Today’s Telegram is not the You Tube of the prior decade.  Here are the worthwhile channels that I found on Telegram:

1.  Milanka Kudel.  

Milanka is now age 13 or 14.  Her channel has plenty of content.  Sadly, it does not have any of her preteen videos.  I’m speaking of videos that she had on You Tube.  You Tube’s staff destroyed all but one of these videos.  ( The videos were innocuous. )

You can’t write to Milanka Kudel on Telegram.


2.  Angel Poli, Dana Taranova, Ustina Abramova, Kate Beib, s, Milanka K [ Milanka Kudel ], Mari Kruchkova, Valeria Neg…

This channel is probably owned by a fan.  It’s a worthwhile channel.  Just don’t fall for the notion that you’ll be in contact with the girls on this channel.

The more that I study this channel, the more that I reach this conclusion:

It’s a channel for fans of young girls to post what they like.  The channel has a “Pinned Message” that cautions fans to post only legal content.  ( The “Pinned Message” is in Spanish. )


3.  Tina_flex.  

This is the only active channel that features Ustina Abramova.  The last time that she posted content here was in February.  Her second to last posting wishes her fans a Merry Christmas.

I have discovered new information:

On Tina_flex, I found a message from Tina.  It’s dated October 4, 2022.  It states the following:

“Tina

“Hello everyone, my name is Tina!

“You can watch all subscriptions and videos on the site, nothing is deleted there and you will have permanent access.  All questions can be resolved with the site administrator tinaflexible2021@gmail.com  ( There are different payment options )


“1.  https://tinaflexible.com/product/sponsor/

“Sponsors - new workouts”.

The cost is “$55 for one month”. 

Note that this offer is for “one month”.  This contradicts Tina’s statement, above, which reads:

“You will have permanent access.”

In other words, you will have permanent access if you keep paying $55 each month!  


“2.  https://tinaflexible.com/product/tina-flexeveryday/

“Flexible video for every day”.

The cost is “$100 for one month”. 


“3.  https://tinaflexible.com/product/relax-en

“Relax Video - Workouts in beautiful places and Tina on vacation

The cost is “$65 for one month”. 

“On the site you can see a cut [ sample ] of the videos that are posted on Tina’s website in different versions of her subscriptions

“https://tinaflexible.com/en/tina/“

I clicked on the last link ( directly above ).

It took me to the following web site:

tinaflexible.com

At the top right of my iPad, I saw “Monthly Plans”.  I clicked on “Monthly Plans”.  A new page displayed.  It’s titled, “Tariffs”.  “Tariffs” lists the various subscription plans that Tina offers.  I’ve written about some of these plans above.  Here are the rest:

“1.  All inclusive - Videos from all subscriptions.  $190 for one month.


“2.  For Friends - old workouts.  $35.00 for one month.”

My hunch is that you’ll find Tina’s preteen videos here, if they still exist.


“3.  Sponsor + FlexEveryDay - video [ sic ] from two subscriptions.  $120 for one month.”

This subscription is to both Tina’s “Sponsor” videos and her “FlexEveryDay” videos. 

At last, a girl has:

1.  Saved her videos.

2.  Set up her own web site!

You Tube’s staff abused Tina, by censoring her innocuous videos.  Then, she vanished completely from the Internet.  Guys were writing to me, with desperation, asking what had happened to Tina.  I didn’t have an answer.  I was banned from You Tube three months before Tina was.  

( You Tube banned many young girls, including Tina, in May of 2021. )

Now, Tina is triumphant.  She is the only You Tube girl whom I know of who has her own active web site.  


MORE TINA!

by Andrew Roller

I entered the following search term in Google:

ustina abramova

My search produced a number of web site addresses.  At least one address sent me to a virus site.  

( I didn’t get infected. )  

( The site that tried to infect me is:  morinistudioodontoiatrico.it )

( morinistudioodontoiatrico.it contains racy language that I won’t repeat here.  It’s meant to suck you into their virus site. )

The best web site that features free photos of Tina is:

imginn.com

At imginn, if you click on a photo of Tina, it will get bigger.  The new version of the photo will show more of Tina.   

Unfortunately, if you click on the photo, to make it bigger, Imginn will put a big white arrow in the center of the photo.

I did not download anything from imginn.com.

At imginn.com, the best way to ( try to ) capture the entire image of Tina is to turn your iPad sideways.  Then, take a screenshot of Tina.


MORE About TELEGRAM

by Andrew Roller

Telegram divides your iPad’s screen into two columns.  Look to the bottom of the column that’s on the left side of your screen.

You see three icons.  I’ll explain each of these:

1.  Contacts.

Tap on “Contacts”.

( Yes, you can curse me. )  

Telegram is desperate for access to your contacts.  I have no interest in giving Telegram my contacts.

But how do I get out of this “Contacts” box?!

Look up ( on your screen ).  Tap on the “+” sign.  An informational box appears.  It reads:

“Please Allow Access

“Telegram does not have access to your contacts

“Not Now

“Settings”.

Tap on “Not Now”.  That will get rid of the “Contacts” box.

Oops!  That didn’t work.  Instead, tap on:


2.  Chats.

You now see the little rectangles.  I’m speaking of the little rectangles that appeared when you searched for “Ustina Abramova”.  ( Or anyone on Telegram. )


3.  Settings.

You now see the “Settings” for your account.

Somewhere on Telegram, a notice told me to go into “Settings”.  I was told to go into the area of “Settings” titled,

“Privacy and Security”.  I was told to turn off a filter, inside of “Privacy and Security”, so that Telegram would not censor the content that I could view.

I did not find any such filter.


Here are some items to click on in “Settings”:

1.  “Telegram FAQ”.  When I tapped on “Telegram FAQ”, a ( big ) informational box appeared.  It contained questions and answers about using telegram. 


2.  “Data and Storage”.  If you click around in here, you’ll find a way to clear your cache.  My iPad is very low on memory.  Therefore, I cleared my entire cache.  According to Telegram, the content that interested me will remain in the “cloud”, on Telegram.


3.  “Privacy and Security”.  I found the following here:

“Automatically delete my account if Away For six months”.

I changed this to “One year”.  That was the maximum amount of time allowed.


TINA’s Web SITE

by Andrew Roller

Ustina Abramova’s web site is:

tinaflexible.com

( Ustina Abramova has been known as “Tina” since her days on You Tube. )

You can go to tinaflexible.com directly.  You do not have to get there by going to Telegram first.

I did not subscribe to tinaflexible.com.  However, as best I can tell, tinaflexible.com is an excellent web site, with fine content.

Ooops!  I pressed on the big circle at tinaflexible.com that was marked “Subscribe”.  The result?  I was taken to a page that reads:

“404  

“Looks like you are lost.  

“We can’t seem to find the page you’re looking for.

“Back to home.”

I clicked on “Back to home”.  That took me back to Tina’s home page at tinaflexible.com.

The site administrator for tinaflexible.com is:

tinaflexible2021@gmail.com


DISABLE Telegram FILTERING

Above, I mentioned that I went into “Settings” in my Telegram app.  In “Settings”, I went into “Privacy and Security”.

In “Privacy and Security”, I did not find “Disable filtering”.

Later, I found the notice again.  This time, I read the notice more carefully.

Here’s what to do:

With your browser, go to:

web.telegram.org

( This is the web version of your Telegram app. )

Sign in at web.telegram.org

You will enter your phone number.

Then, Telegram will send you a code.  It will send this code as a text message.

Telegram will tell you that they sent the code to your “other device”.  That is not correct!

I was using my iPad’s browser to access web.telegram.org.

I checked my text messages on my iPhone.  Nothing was there.

I checked my text messages on my iMac.  Nothing was there.

Then, on my iPad, I went to my Telegram app.  The code appeared at the top of my iPad’s screen.  

I memorized the code.  Then I went back to my iPad’s browser ( which was at web.telegram.org ).  There, I input the code.  

I was admitted to my Telegram account.

At web.telegram.org, “Settings” is not at the bottom of your iPad’s screen.

“Settings” is in the top left corner of your iPad’s screen.  Here, the icon for “Settings” resembles a hamburger.  That is, it’s three lines, stacked atop one another.

I went into “Settings”.

I went into “Privacy and Security”.

I scrolled to the bottom of “Privacy and Security”.  There, I found the following:

“Disable filtering

“Display sensitive media in public channels on all your Telegram devices.”

A small blank box is to the left.  I clicked on the small box.  This colored the small box blue. 

I will now be able to view “sensitive media” on Telegram.  I will be able to do this at web.telegram.org, or in the Telegram app.


——————————————————————————————————————————


Copyright 2023 by Andrew L. Roller.  ET, Editorial Thunder, and ARSE, Andrew Roller Stories and Essays, are trademarks of Andrew L. Roller.   


I am http://andrewroller.com    


Earlier posts by me are at https://asstr.xyz/files/Authors/Roller/    


I’m on paper at:  https://www.abebooks.com > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 


and https://www.abebooks.co.uk > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 


If you visit an “AbeBooks” website, you’ll be presented with a large square “Search” box.  In the box labelled “Author”, type in “Andrew Roller”.  In the box labelled “Title”, type in “Andrew Roller Presents”.  This will bring up some of my pamphlets.  I have not yet figured out how to bring up other pamphlets by me, under other titles.  I don’t recall all the titles I published under.  


I have no financial involvement in these resale items. 


Other references:


https://zinewiki.com/wiki/Factsheet_Five


Article:  “Factsheet Five”.


Article subhead:  “Andrew Roller’s Factsheet Five controversy”.


AND


poopsheetfoundation.com 


Search for:


Writers / Artists:  Andrew Roller


On August 18, 2022, Apple Computer banned my Apple I.D.  Apple did this abruptly.  Apple gave me no warning of any displeasure, on its part, with me.  ( I’ve been an Apple customer since the 1980s. )


The effect of Apple’s ban was to destroy my content.  The vast bulk of my content was “safely” stored with them, in iCloud.


I complained to Apple.  Apple’s reason for their ban of my Apple I.D. was “Apple Policy”.  No further information was given.  Apple told me to apply for a new Apple I.D.  


You can read more about this in prior issues of ARSE.


Support NAMBLA!  The North American Man / Boy Love Association:  https://nambla.org/


This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 263


Arcana:  This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 263, version 3.0


Date Written:  April 19, 2023.          Live for the day that censorious Big Tech is dead. 


——————————————————————————————————————————

-—————————————————————————————————————————

The magazine that Big Tech BANNED multiple times… lives!

ET 262                                  

Editorial Thunder presents...

Long Day’s Journey Into Night

——————————————————————————————————————————


LONG Day’s JOURNEY Into NIGHT

by Andrew Roller


1.  “To the Marines, there was something almost crazed about [ Major General Ned ] Almond, … as if he were commanding an Army still on a great victory march, when in fact [ his Army ] was facing total annihilation.”  ( Page 438. )

2.  “[ America’s General ] MacArthur ‘had been outsmarted and outgeneraled by a “bunch of Chinese laundrymen” who had no close air support, no tanks and very little artillery, modern communications or logistical infrastructure.’”  ( Page 440. )

3.  “The last orders [ Colonel Paul ] Freeman gave were ‘Get the hell out of here, and don’t stop!’”  ( Page 459. )


The Coldest Winter:  America and the Korean War.  By David Halberstam.  Hachette Books.  Copyright 2007. 

Available on paper, Kindle, and Audible.

The Audible narrator, Edward Herrmann, is superb.


The Korean War is called “The forgotten war.”  I took this as gospel.  Doing so, I paid no attention to the Korean War.  World War II was important, I told myself.  Since I was alive during the Vietnam War, that was obviously important.  But Korea wasn’t.

I was wrong.  The Korean War is important.  In fact, it merits continued study.  America screwed up in Korea.  Then, failing to learn from Korea, America screwed up in Vietnam.  I see no reason why America couldn’t screw up again.  If a great power, like America, screws up enough, it ceases to be a great power.  Just ask Rome.

America did more than just screw up in Korea.  It might have triggered a nuclear holocaust.  Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in 2022, carried with it the danger of a nuclear holocaust.  That danger remains.

When World War II ended, America had a powerful military.  Russia’s military was the only one that could rival America’s.  However, Russia could not match America’s technological ability, or its productive capacity.  Russia could put innumerable men into its military.

The Korean War put America into direct combat against China’s military.  America had greater technological ability than China.  America had greater productive capacity.  However, China could put innumerable men into its military.

When World War II ended, America demobilized much of its military.  What military it had left, in Asia, was located mainly in Japan.  America conquered Japan in World War II.  It then proceeded to occupy Japan.  America’s General, Douglas MacArthur, was the de-facto ruler of Japan.

Japan lies off of the east coast of Asia.  Korea is to the west of Japan.  Korea is a peninsula that sticks straight down from China, which is part of Asia.

World War II ended in 1945.  By 1950, Korea was divided into two political entities.  There was North Korea, and there was South Korea.  North Korea was communist, like China.  South Korea was, in theory, a democracy, like Japan and the United States.

In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea.  If you have any knowledge of post World War II warfare ( pre-Ukraine ), you can guess what happened next.  South Korea collapsed.  

America was unprepared for the invasion of South Korea by North Korea.  America sent troops from Japan to South Korea.  However, the American troops were unprepared for battle.  They were soon confined to an area at the tip of the South Korean peninsula.  This area was known as “the Pusan Perimeter”.

Then, something happened.  I don’t want to give away what occurred.  Suffice it to say that General MacArthur was responsible for what happened.  The tide of war turned.  American troops were soon advancing up the Korean peninsula.  Their objective was to conquer all of Korea, right to the border with China.

China regarded North Korea as a buffer between itself and the West.  That is, between its new Communist government, and the West that had occupied much of China in China’s past.

As America’s troops marched north, along the Korean peninsula, China signaled that it wasn’t happy.  If the West didn’t leave some part of Korea as a buffer, China might enter the war.  That is, it might attack America’s troops in Korea.

Technically, America’s troops were fighting as troops of the United Nations ( U.N. ).  Some American troops reached the Yalu River.  The Yalu River forms the border between the Korean peninsula, and China.  The U.N. troops didn’t just reach the Yalu River.  They pissed in it.

Can you guess what happened next?  Yep.  China attacked the U.N. troops in Korea.  Worse, China was stealthy.  It managed to sneak lots of its troops into Korea before its attack began.  

The U.N. troops found themselves vastly outnumbered.  They were routed.  Eventually, the U.N. troops regained their confidence, but only after America brought in new leadership to command them.

The Korean War continued until 1953.  It ended in an armistice, which is still in effect.  America still stations troops in South Korea, to protect it from North Korea.

The Korean War changed nothing.  The country remains “divided much as it had been since the close of World War II at the 38th parallel,” according to Google.  South Korea is a democracy that is allied with the West.  North Korea is Communist.  It’s allied with ( Communist ) China.

What aspects of the Korean War did I find to be of the most interest?

1.  The Pusan Perimeter.

2.  The U.N.’s march north, as China prepared to attack.

It’s fun to read about a confident army that marches to a triumphant victory.  However, I have always found it more interesting, and more instructive, to read about military disasters.  The Korean War contains two disasters, each involving America’s troops.  

Sadly, America went from the debacle in Korea to the rout in Vietnam.  Lately, America was routed from Afghanistan.  Whether America will prevail in Ukraine remains to be seen. 

America has received plenty of lessons on losing.  It’s time for America to learn from them, and to win.


——————————————————————————————————————————


Copyright 2023 by Andrew L. Roller.  ET, Editorial Thunder, and ARSE, Andrew Roller Stories and Essays, are trademarks of Andrew L. Roller.   


I am http://andrewroller.com    


Earlier posts by me are at https://asstr.xyz/files/Authors/Roller/    


I’m on paper at:  https://www.abebooks.com > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 


and https://www.abebooks.co.uk > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 


If you visit an “AbeBooks” website, you’ll be presented with a large square “Search” box.  In the box labelled “Author”, type in “Andrew Roller”.  In the box labelled “Title”, type in “Andrew Roller Presents”.  This will bring up some of my pamphlets.  I have not yet figured out how to bring up other pamphlets by me, under other titles.  I don’t recall all the titles I published under.  


I have no financial involvement in these resale items. 


Other references:


https://zinewiki.com/wiki/Factsheet_Five


Article:  “Factsheet Five”.


Article subhead:  “Andrew Roller’s Factsheet Five controversy”.


AND


poopsheetfoundation.com 


Search for:


Writers / Artists:  Andrew Roller


On August 18, 2022, Apple Computer banned my Apple I.D.  Apple did this abruptly.  Apple gave me no warning of any displeasure, on its part, with me.  ( I’ve been an Apple customer since the 1980s. )


The effect of Apple’s ban was to destroy my content.  The vast bulk of my content was “safely” stored with them, in iCloud.


I complained to Apple.  Apple’s reason for their ban of my Apple I.D. was “Apple Policy”.  No further information was given.  Apple told me to apply for a new Apple I.D.  


You can read more about this in prior issues of ARSE.


Support NAMBLA!  The North American Man / Boy Love Association:  https://nambla.org/


This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 262


Arcana:  This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 262, version 1.0


Date Written:  April 18, 2023.          Live for the day that censorious Big Tech is dead. 


——————————————————————————————————————————

-—————————————————————————————————————————

The magazine that Big Tech BANNED multiple times… lives!

ET 261                                  

Editorial Thunder presents...

Better Than McDonald’s

——————————————————————————————————————————

Plus:  Satan’s app.

And:  Hypocrisy on parade.

——————————————————————————————————————————


BETTER than McDONALD’S

by Andrew Roller

Grinding It Out:  The Making of McDonald’s.  By Ray Kroc.  St. Martin’s Press.  New York, New York.  Copyright 1977.  

( Available on paper, Kindle, and Audible. )

Review:  I’m looking for work.  This makes me akin to the dog who chases the car.  If he catches the car, he’s dead.

Every job that I’ve applied for is, as best I can tell, moronic.  The last thing that I need is to go somewhere every day, to do work that a robot will be doing in a few years.

Let’s assess the human race.  Two things are obvious:

1.  Most people are employed.

2.  The intelligence of most people is middling.

Let’s assess robots.  In other words, let’s assess artificial intelligence:

It’s getting smarter.

The average business doesn’t want to employ people, unless it has to.  A robot doesn’t have ego needs.  It doesn’t call in sick when it’s not.  It doesn’t need a vacation.  It can’t go on strike.

How will society organize itself, in a future where most people aren’t needed?  People will still need food, clothing, shelter, and satisfaction.  They’ll still have ego needs.  But, since the intelligence of most people is middling, most people won’t be employed.  Robots will do the work that most people do today.

As a society, we’re likely facing a future that will be tumultuous.

Such concerns remained at a distance when Ray Kroc wrote his book.  Kroc’s book puts me in the position of judging the very company that refused to hire me to clean its toilets.  McDonald’s refused to hire me when I was 16 years old.  McDonald’s refused to hire me at age 62.  I can’t help but ask:  Has McDonald’s lived up to the standards that Ray Kroc set for his company?

I first ate at McDonald’s in the 1960s.  Going to a McDonald’s was akin to going to Oz.  It was a treat.  My family ate our McDonald’s food in our car.  That is, we parked our car in the McDonald’s parking lot.  The food arrived.  ( Or, perhaps, my father went and got it. )  We sat in our parked car and ate.  A McDonald’s restaurant of that era did not have indoor seating.

I don’t recall eating at McDonald’s again, on a regular basis, until the late 1970s.  By then, McDonald’s’ quality was beginning to slide.  Any food that I bought at McDonald’s was old and cold.  It was impossible to buy food at McDonald’s that was freshly cooked.

McDonald’s disappeared from downtown San Diego decades ago.  Before it vanished, I sometimes bought food at McDonald’s.  Doing so, I had two objectives:

1.  I wanted my food freshly cooked.

2.  I did not want excessive amounts of salt on my food.

Ordering, I’d ask for my cheeseburger to be made “without salt”.  I placed my order in person.  ( That is, face to face with the employee; not from a car. )  What did I receive?  A cheeseburger that had been salted.  What did my cheeseburger not have?  Sauce.  I was given a cheeseburger that had nothing in it, except the slab of meat and the slice of cheese.  When I complained, the employee told me, 

“You ordered it without sauce.”  This happened to me more than once.

A chronic problem with McDonald’s is the soda.  It doesn’t matter what size of soda you order.  What you get isn’t a soda.  It’s a big cup of ice.  This big cup of ice holds a teaspoon of soda.  Drinking, you empty your cup of soda very quickly.

I tried ordering my soda with “no ice”.  This can irritate the employee.  I get a cup of soda that’s half full of soda.  If I complain, I’m told that it’s my fault, since I ordered my soda with no ice.

Let’s summarize this:

1.  The food may be great at McDonald’s.

2.  However, the employee stands as an intermediary between you and the food.  As a result, you can never get the food as you want it to be.  The intermediary ( the employee ) ruins the food.

Recently, I was in a McDonald’s.  There was a big sign.  It said that any customer could only spend 30 minutes inside the McDonald’s.

Can you eat in 30 minutes?  I can’t.  So McDonald’s, already burdened with the aforementioned problems, has added a new problem to the customer’s experience.

I read reviews of various McDonald’s locations in San Diego.  I did this recently.  Three problems were reported by customers:

1.  The employees were rude.

2.  The employees screwed up my order.  ( And didn’t make it good. )

3.  The restaurant wasn’t clean.

Looking for work at McDonald’s, I experienced two of the three problems mentioned above.  A McDonald’s manager was rude to me.  A McDonald’s general manager was rude to me.  A bathroom that I used was dirty.  

( No once screwed up my order.  That’s because, since I was looking for work, I felt that it would be unprofessional for me to eat and drink during this process. )

Kroc demands the following of his employees:

1.  Quality - The food has to taste good.

2.  Service - The food has to be served properly.

3.  Cleanliness - The restaurant must be clean.

4.  Value - The food has to be fairly priced.

Since I didn’t buy at McDonald’s, I can’t judge its current pricing.  Historically, as mentioned above, the quality of McDonald’s food, as delivered, is middling.  The service is middling.  The cleanliness is middling.

Every McDonald’s that I read reviews of, in 2023, had a score associated with its reviews.  The score was three stars out of five.  In other words, McDonald’s is middling.  It’s far from the great experience that Ray Kroc envisioned.

I would eat at McDonald’s if:

1.  There was one nearby.  ( There isn’t. )

2.  I could find a way to enjoy the experience. 

One of the reasons that I wanted to work at McDonald’s is this:  I felt that, if I worked at McDonald’s, I could control, or at least monitor, the quality of the food that I ate.  

Since McDonald’s refused to hire me, I have no sure way of controlling the quality of the food that I eat at McDonald’s.  As a result, I don’t eat at McDonald’s.

Is Kroc’s book worth reading?  Yes.  In fact, it has migrated from being a business book to literature.

“I was born in Oak Park, just west of Chicago’s city limits, in 1902,” Kroc writes.  ( Page Nine. )

The most interesting part of Kroc’s book, for the lay reader, is his early years.  He writes of a time that is long gone.

Some excerpts:

Of his father, Kroc writes:

“My father, Louis Kroc, was a Western Union man.  He had gone to work for the company when he was twelve years old and slowly but steadily worked his way up.”  ( Page Nine. )

Kroc writes of Chicago:

“I admired the piano players in the big Woolworth and Kresge stores in Chicago’s Loop.  They would play and sing to attract customers into the music department.”  ( Page 12. )

When I was in college, I took a course in a department called “American Studies”.  I suppose that, nowadays, “American Studies” is a swamp of feminist and ethnic idolatry.  However, at the time, “American Studies” was an unbiased assessment of American history and culture.  From that point of view, Kroc’s book is a valuable resource.

Kroc held many jobs.  He soldiered with Walt Disney.  He sold “ribbon novelties” for women’s garters.  He spent a night as a piano player in a whorehouse.  He worked as “a board marker on the New York Curb, as the market that became the American Stock Exchange used to be called”.  The firm that employed him turned out to be “a bucket-shop operation that was selling watered stock all over the place”.  ( Page 18. ) 

Kroc moved, for a time, to Florida.  He sold land that was underwater.  The land was sold for use as housing.  It was, in time, raised above sea level.  Of it, Kroc writes:

“People who purchased those lots really got a bargain, even though the prices were astronomical for those times.”  ( Page 27. )

Kroc was briefly jailed for working in a nightclub that was illegally selling liquor.  Kroc was a pianist in the nightclub.  Prohibition was in effect.

Kroc sold paper cups.  Later, he sold a machine that made milkshakes.  It was as a milkshake salesman that he discovered the McDonald brothers, and their highly successful restaurant.

The McDonald’s restaurant was in San Bernardino, California.  Kroc bought the right to franchise their concept.  He spent the years thereafter achieving remarkable success.  He was also, most of the time, on the brink of bankruptcy.

I have read a number of books about fast food.  Kroc’s is the best.  Most other men who found success with fast food, and who wrote about it, cite Kroc at some point. 

McDonald’s makes several items whose quality can’t be beat:

1.  French fries.

2.  The hot apple pie.

3.  Chicken McNuggets.

Some items that McDonald’s makes can be made better by you.  For example, A hamburger tastes best if it’s grilled.  McDonald’s doesn’t grill its hamburgers.  I like lots of onions with my hamburger.  McDonald’s doesn’t offer this.  I like my hamburger with dill pickles.  McDonald’s doesn’t offer this.  I like my hamburger with Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese.  McDonald’s doesn’t offer this.  I eat my hamburger with fresh spinach.  McDonald’s doesn’t offer this.

Consider the following, when making a burger:

Don’t use mustard.  Burger King puts ketchup and mayonnaise on its Whopper.  I tried this at home.  It’s delicious!

Another option is to put Thousand Island dressing on your burger.  I’ve tried this.  It’s delicious!

Hence, McDonald’s signature product, the burger, can be made better at home.  A McDonald’s hamburger is 80 percent beef, and 20 percent fat.  That’s a lot of fat!  When I buy beef at the grocery, I usually get beef that’s 92 percent beef, and eight percent fat.

At home, I don’t bother making a burger out of my beef.  I cook it on top of my stove, loose, making it look like a “sloppy joe”.  I then scoop the beef onto a plate.  I add shredded Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese to the beef, plus other condiments.

When I cook my beef, I do so with sliced onions, and with pepper.  Hence, I’m a better burger chef than anyone at McDonald’s.

To succeed in fast food, with a restaurant, it’s best to make the following:

1.  Something that can be eaten while being held in the hand.

2.  Something that’s a little too messy, or difficult, to make at home.

Hence, McDonald’s retains a competitive advantage with its French fries, its hot apple pie, and its Chicken McNuggets.  However, if you have a stove, you can eat a burger more enjoyably at home.  And you can have as much soda as you like!


ICED Tea HEAVEN

by Andrew Roller

An item that’s as common as the hamburger is iced tea.  Historically, Nestea is the worst tasting iced tea.  ( I haven’t drunk it in decades. )

The iced tea that tastes best is Brisk Lemon Iced Tea.

When I lived at the YMCA, there was a vending machine.  It sold Brisk Iced Tea in plastic bottles.  There were two flavors:

Lemon.

Raspberry.

The man who stocked the vending machine was supposed to segregate the Lemon iced tea from the Raspberry iced tea.  He didn’t.  As a result, when I attempted to buy Lemon iced tea ( by pushing the button marked “Lemon” ), I’d get Raspberry iced tea!  I didn’t like the Raspberry iced tea.

At that time, I had very little money.  I would often get several bottles of Raspberry iced tea ( pressing the button marked “Lemon” ) before I received a bottle of Lemon iced tea.  As with my experiences at McDonald’s, the product ( Lemon iced tea ) was great.  However, the intermediary ( the Brisk employee ) ruined my experience.

Perhaps the world will be better off when robots do all the work, and humans of middling intelligence are left to starve.  ( Or revolt, and kill each other. )


SATAN’s APP

by Andrew Roller

She was at the bank.  Ordinarily, I encountered her at her workplace.  The woman mentioned to me how she monitored her bank account.

“If anything is wrong with my bank account, the bank sends me a text message,” the woman told me.  She was smugly proud, and confident, of this means of communication.

I remained unconvinced.  It’s only in April of 2023 that I began to deal, regularly, with text messages.  I had to do this to try to obtain employment.  I sent my first text message.  I began to check my text messages on a daily basis.  

I made a discovery.  It may not be possible to go to Hell while one is alive, but your text messaging app can give you a window into it.

Here’s the latest text message in my text messaging app:

“We regret to inform you that your Netflix membership has been placed on hold due to issues with your billing information.  We kindly request to update your billing information as soon as possible to continue using your account without any interruption.

“To update your billing information, please follow the instructions by click [ sic ] on link [ sic ] below :

[ The link is here. ]

“Netflix Services”.

I have never been a member of Netflix.  Nonetheless, I am receiving, on a regular basis, text messages of this sort.  Many of the messages relate to my alleged Netflix account.  Some messages reference other Internet companies.

Often, a spelling or grammatical error is present in such a text message.  To recognize such an error, of course, one must be competent in the English language.  If one’s knowledge of English is limited to writing text messages, and saying such things as “Hey, dog,” you may not spot such errors.

In my experience, the primary purpose of my text messaging app is to defraud me.  I use it as little as possible.  If I could, I’d throw it away. 


HYPOCRISY On PARADE

by Andrew Roller

I read a law case.  In it, a man gave a 14-year-old girl a lift in his car.  As a result, the man was deemed to be a perverted criminal.

In fact, the law case described the 14-year-old girl as a “little girl”.  As if she were in diapers.

But note how a still younger girl is described below:

Question:  “When you have sex, do your hips get wide?”

Answer:  “Having sex doesn't make your hips get wider.  In fact, there's zero connection between sexual activity and body growth.  Changes in your body like your hips or breasts growing are things that often happen naturally during puberty.  It's true that some young women start having sex around the time that those changes take place, so they make [ sic ] think that having sex causes those changes - but it's just by chance that [ the ] timing worked out that way.”

- Planned Parenthood.

According to healthychildren ( dot ) org, a girl begins puberty “between the ages of eight and thirteen years old”.

Planned Parenthood describes such a girl as a “young woman”.

Hence, if a girl is deemed to have been violated by a man, she’s a “little girl”.  But if a girl is asking about her sexual activity, or wants an abortion, she’s a “young woman”.


THE TRUTH At LAST!

by Andrew Roller

In recent decades, feminists have preached the following:

Girls are entering puberty at an ever-younger age.  This is due to: 

1.  Pollution caused by capitalism.

2.  Evil men.  Meaning:  White men. 

Today, I found that someone has stumbled upon the truth:

“It's clear that the starting age for puberty has decreased over the last 150 years, likely related to improved nutrition.”

- Healthy Children.

Girls are entering puberty at an earlier age because they are eating regular meals.  If you don’t want your daughter to enter puberty, send her to a death camp.

Hitler can be criticized for many things.  However, he was a genius at preventing girls from entering puberty.


ARCANA

1.  Regarding my article, “Hypocrisy on Parade”:

The web site for Planned Parenthood is:

plannedparenthood ( dot ) org.

The relevant Planned Parenthood article is called, “Does having sex make your hips get wider?”


2.  Regarding my article, “The Truth at Last!”:

The web site for Healthy Children is:

healthychildren ( dot ) org.

The relevant Healthy Children article is called, “Physical Development in Girls:  What to Expect During Puberty”.


——————————————————————————————————————————


Copyright 2023 by Andrew L. Roller.  ET, Editorial Thunder, and ARSE, Andrew Roller Stories and Essays, are trademarks of Andrew L. Roller.   


I am http://andrewroller.com    


Earlier posts by me are at https://asstr.xyz/files/Authors/Roller/    


I’m on paper at:  https://www.abebooks.com > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 


and https://www.abebooks.co.uk > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 


If you visit an “AbeBooks” website, you’ll be presented with a large square “Search” box.  In the box labelled “Author”, type in “Andrew Roller”.  In the box labelled “Title”, type in “Andrew Roller Presents”.  This will bring up some of my pamphlets.  I have not yet figured out how to bring up other pamphlets by me, under other titles.  I don’t recall all the titles I published under.  


I have no financial involvement in these resale items. 


Other references:


https://zinewiki.com/wiki/Factsheet_Five


Article:  “Factsheet Five”.


Article subhead:  “Andrew Roller’s Factsheet Five controversy”.


AND


poopsheetfoundation.com 


Search for:


Writers / Artists:  Andrew Roller


On August 18, 2022, Apple Computer banned my Apple I.D.  Apple did this abruptly.  Apple gave me no warning of any displeasure, on its part, with me.  ( I’ve been an Apple customer since the 1980s. )


The effect of Apple’s ban was to destroy my content.  The vast bulk of my content was “safely” stored with them, in iCloud.


I complained to Apple.  Apple’s reason for their ban of my Apple I.D. was “Apple Policy”.  No further information was given.  Apple told me to apply for a new Apple I.D.  


You can read more about this in prior issues of ARSE.


Support NAMBLA!  The North American Man / Boy Love Association:  https://nambla.org/


This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 261


Arcana:  This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 261, version 3.0


Date Written:  April 16, 2023.          Live for the day that censorious Big Tech is dead. 


——————————————————————————————————————————

-—————————————————————————————————————————

The magazine that Big Tech BANNED multiple times… lives!

ET 260                                  

Editorial Thunder presents...

You Need A Corpse

——————————————————————————————————————————


YOU Need A CORPSE

by Andrew Roller

Something was wrong with my liver.  That, at least, is what I’d been told.  Or so I thought.

In 1984, I was a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force.  One day, I felt ill.  I wasn’t terribly ill, just ill enough to want to skip work.

If you’re in the Air Force, you’re not allowed to skip work.  If you feel ill, you have two choices:

1.  Go to work.

2.  Go to the hospital.  ( In my case, this was the office of the flight surgeon. )

I went to the flight surgeon.  There, a sergeant took my blood pressure.  He didn’t like the result.  He took my blood pressure again.  The sergeant still didn’t like the result.  My blood pressure was very high.  The sergeant thought that his blood pressure machine was broken.

In fact, it wasn’t.  What was broken?  Me.  Thirty-nine years later, I’m still broken.  My blood pressure is often still high.  And, I’m still a second lieutenant.  ( The Air Force medically retired me in 1984. )

My immune system killed my kidneys.  Both of them.  I got a kidney transplant.  My immune system killed my kidney transplant.

I got another kidney transplant.  My immune system killed my second kidney transplant.

I got a third kidney transplant.  My immune system is now killing my third kidney transplant.

Each of the transplanted kidneys that I received came from a corpse.  In my life, I’ve needed a lot of corpses.

Modern medicine can transplant more than a kidney.  There are liver transplants, heart transplants, etc.

In order to get such a transplant, you need a corpse.

You may have heard of a “living donor”.  In this case, someone donates his bodily organ to you.  I’m against obtaining a bodily organ from a living donor.  Why?

You have two kidneys.  Let’s say that you decide to give me one of your kidneys.  Thanks!

Except:  how many kidneys do you have now?  One.

When I was diagnosed with kidney failure, 60 percent of my kidney function had been killed by my immune system.  Imagine if, in the past, I’d donated one of my kidneys to someone!  In that case, I would have lost all of my kidney function more swiftly than I did.

Let’s say that you decide to give me one of your kidneys anyway.  Thanks!  Will I be set for life?  No.  Any transplanted kidney only lasts for some years.  After awhile, I’ll need another kidney!

Hence, I need corpses to stay alive.  Someday, you may need corpses too.

People die every day.  There are a lot of corpses around.  However, most people don’t agree to donate their bodily organs.  A person dies.  He’s buried.  He takes all of his bodily organs with him, to the grave.

We need to change that.  Here’s how:

Currently, in America, we have an “opt in” system.  You don’t donate any bodily organ, after you’re dead, unless you’ve agreed to do so.  In advance.

( I tried hooking up with some corpses in the graveyard.  However, every corpse gave me the cold shoulder.  Not a single one spoke to me! )

Let’s change the world.  Or, at least, let’s change America.  Let’s switch to an “opt out” system.  How would this work?

You’re alive.  Your bodily organs are yours.

Until you’re dead.  When you’re dead, society can have your bodily organs.  For the common good.

Or, to quote former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi:

“For the children.  For the children.  For the children!”

Kids need corpses too.  I saw a little girl in a kidney dialysis clinic.  She was receiving kidney dialysis, which was keeping her alive.  She needed a kidney.

Assume that you’re against donating anything to anyone.  Especially your bodily organs.  That’s not a problem.  You “opt out” of organ donation.  When you die, you take all of your bodily organs with you to Hell.  ( For being an ingrate. )

Remember:  the “opt out” system only applies to corpses!

Also:  you can “opt out”, while you’re alive, and donate nothing when you die.

Here’s another way to change America:

Let a person sell his bodily organs.

“Wait!” you cry.  “That’s immoral!  Poor people would sell their bodily organs!”

They would not.

No one who’s alive would sell his bodily organs.

However, if someone died, his next of kin could agree to sell his bodily organs.

“Wait!” you cry.  “That’s immoral!  Someone will kill himself, in order to sell his bodily organs!”

That won’t happen.

How do I know?

Have you ever heard of life insurance?

You buy life insurance.  How do you “cash in” on your life insurance policy?

You die.

However, if it’s determined that you killed yourself to “cash in” on your life insurance policy, you get nothing.

That is, the life insurance company won’t pay your next of kin.

The same restriction would apply to the donation of your bodily organs.

If you die, but you didn’t kill yourself, your next of kin can sell your bodily organs.

If you die, but you did kill yourself, your next of kin cannot sell your bodily organs.

Makes sense, huh?  There is, to quote former President Barak Obama, not a “smidgeon” of immorality.


SUMMARY

Let’s help our fellow Americans stay alive!  ( Including children. )

1.  Change America’s “opt in” organ donation program to “opt out”.

2.  Let a person who has died sell his bodily organs.  ( That is, let the corpse’s next of kin sell his bodily organs. )

Hopefully, you’ll agree that my proposals benefit you, and your loved ones.  In that case, change is coming soon!

At first, a corpse’s next of kin will merely be “compensated” for donating his bodily organs.  

Later, capitalism will exert its full effect.  That’s when I plan to drop dead.  My next of kin won’t merely be “compensated” for my “third leg”.  I expect there to be a bidding war for it!  


——————————————————————————————————————————


Copyright 2023 by Andrew L. Roller.  ET, Editorial Thunder, and ARSE, Andrew Roller Stories and Essays, are trademarks of Andrew L. Roller.   


I am http://andrewroller.com    


Earlier posts by me are at https://asstr.xyz/files/Authors/Roller/    


I’m on paper at:  https://www.abebooks.com > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 


and https://www.abebooks.co.uk > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 


If you visit an “AbeBooks” website, you’ll be presented with a large square “Search” box.  In the box labelled “Author”, type in “Andrew Roller”.  In the box labelled “Title”, type in “Andrew Roller Presents”.  This will bring up some of my pamphlets.  I have not yet figured out how to bring up other pamphlets by me, under other titles.  I don’t recall all the titles I published under.  


I have no financial involvement in these resale items. 


Other references:


https://zinewiki.com/wiki/Factsheet_Five


Article:  “Factsheet Five”.


Article subhead:  “Andrew Roller’s Factsheet Five controversy”.


AND


poopsheetfoundation.com 


Search for:


Writers / Artists:  Andrew Roller


On August 18, 2022, Apple Computer banned my Apple I.D.  Apple did this abruptly.  Apple gave me no warning of any displeasure, on its part, with me.  ( I’ve been an Apple customer since the 1980s. )


The effect of Apple’s ban was to destroy my content.  The vast bulk of my content was “safely” stored with them, in iCloud.


I complained to Apple.  Apple’s reason for their ban of my Apple I.D. was “Apple Policy”.  No further information was given.  Apple told me to apply for a new Apple I.D.  


You can read more about this in prior issues of ARSE.


Support NAMBLA!  The North American Man / Boy Love Association:  https://nambla.org/


This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 260


Arcana:  This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 260, version 1.0


Date Written:  April 12, 2023.          Live for the day that censorious Big Tech is dead. 


——————————————————————————————————————————

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The magazine that Big Tech BANNED multiple times… lives!

ET 259                                  

Editorial Thunder presents...

No Dogs or Whites

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Plus:  The death of Candydolls.

And:  Girls needed!

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NO DOGS or WHITES

The True Story of Jobs in America

by Andrew Roller

A prime purpose of ARSE is to tell the truth about the world that we live in.

If you watch the news, you’ve heard the following, many times:

“We can’t get enough workers!”

You hear this from employers.

You also hear:

“Americans are being paid too much money in government benefits.  Cut off their government benefits, and they’ll want to be employed.”

The employers are lying.

Recently, I decided to seek employment.  I was willing to work for minimum wage.  I was willing to work part-time.  ( A part-time job has limited hours, and no benefits. )

I was willing to comply with an employer’s grooming and clothing requirements.  I was willing to wear a nerdy uniform.  ( Like they do at the chain that celebrates fucking:  In-N-Out Burger. )

I was willing to clean toilets, or do whatever the employer required.  

( Assuming it was not injurious.  A McDonald’s manager asked if I could unload 50 pound boxes.  I told him that I’d have to unpack them; I can’t lift 50 pounds.  He did not like my answer. )

Here is the truth about employment in 2023:

You must fill out your job application online.  However, the online portal is not the company.  It is also not the store.

For example, consider McDonald’s.  If you apply online, you’re not applying to McDonald’s.  You’re applying to a third party contractor.  The contractor works for McDonald’s.  It is not McDonald’s.

What does the third party contractor do?  It delivers a live body ( yours ) to whatever McDonald’s store that you want to work at.

There is no relationship between the third party contractor and the store!

For example, I applied for a job at a McDonald’s store.  I was told ( by the third party contractor ) that I passed McDonald’s’ “initial screening”.  The third party contractor arranged for me to be interviewed at the McDonald’s store.

From now on, I’m going to call the third party contractor “the app”.  

The app sent me multiple reminders about my appointment at the McDonald’s store.  When the day for my interview arrived, I went to the McDonald’s store.  None of the employees at this McDonald’s store had any information about me.  As far as they were concerned, I was an interloper who’d wandered into their store.

A store manager gave me a paper application to fill out.  I did so.  The manager spoke with me for a few minutes.  Then the interview was over.

Several days later, I went through the same process for an In-N-Out Burger store.  The app sent me multiple reminders about my appointment.

However, when I arrived at the In-N-Out Burger store, it became clear to me that nobody was expecting me.  I was, again, an unwanted interloper.  A manager spoke with me for a few minutes.  Then the interview was over.

I was interviewed at two McDonald’s stores, and at one In-N-Out Burger Store.  One McDonald’s store had two rude managers.   The other McDonald’s store, and the In-N-Out Burger store, had nice managers.  I was, nonetheless, an unwanted interloper.

It gets worse.  I applied to far more than two businesses, and to three stores.  I filled out online job applications for many businesses.

Most businesses gave me no response.

Some McDonald’s store managers were flakey.  A manager texted me late in the afternoon.  He told me to report to his store in an hour and twenty minutes.

When I saw the text, I texted the manager back.  Then, after two attempts, I reached the manager by phone.

I told the manager that I didn’t have a car.  I couldn’t show up at his store on such short notice.  ( The store is an hour from where I live. )  I told the manager that I’d never been to his store.  I’d need time to figure out what buses to take.

I asked the manager to reschedule my appointment.

The manager said that he “needed to check his schedule”.  When the call ended, I realized that I’d never hear from him again.  I haven’t.

Some McDonald’s managers send interview invitations that are useless.  Here’s how:

1.  Two interview times are offered.  When I try to pick one, I’m told that both invitations are “already booked”.  

2.  There is an offer to select other interview times.  However, this is useless.  Why?  No other interview times are offered.  I’m simply referred back to the original times, that the manager chose, and then I’m told that those times are “fully booked”.

3.  This sort of interview invitation doesn’t say which store has sent it.  Even if an interview time were made available to me, I wouldn’t be told where to go!

( Other than, I guess, to Hell. )

I’m going to tell you a hard fact about San Diego.  Everywhere I went, to get a job, the store was staffed by Mexicans.

What do I mean by a “Mexican”?  I mean that the person either came from Mexico, or his parents did.  Likely, the entry into America was illegal.

Once a store has a Mexican manager, that Mexican manager only wants to hire Mexicans.  There are two reasons for this:

1.  He understands Mexicans best.

2.  He wants to help his fellow Mexicans.  ( Who are, like him, in the country as a result of an illegal entry. )

How does this Mexican manager view a White person?  In his mind, a White person is rich.  If a White person isn’t rich, that White person is a loser.

Would you want to hire a loser to work in your store?  No.  

When I apply for a job, as a White person, at a McDonald’s, the Mexican manager can’t understand why I’m there.  Aren’t all White people rich? he thinks.  If this White guy wants a job in my store, he must be a loser.  Therefore, I’m not going to hire a loser.  So, he doesn’t hire me.

Most Mexicans refuse me in a nice way.  After all, Whites, in America, still hold a lot of power.  I’m seen as a befuddled White loser who wandered into the wrong place.

Occasionally, a Mexican will relish the chance to humiliate a White loser.  I experienced this.

I realize that some “Mexicans” have lived in America for many generations.

I realize that large parts of the United States of America were once part of the country of Mexico.

I am not trying to damn Mexicans, or to praise Whites.  I’m simply reporting what I experienced.  In San Diego, there are no ordinary jobs for a White applicant.  

The percentage of Whites in America continues to decline.  This generation of Mexicans is still willing to be nice to White people.  However, such a situation will not continue.  As the White race subsides into a larger immigrant population, Whites will increasingly face unemployment and poverty.

History views Adolf Hitler as a demon from Hell.  But here is who Hitler was:

1.  He was a citizen of Austria, who was of German ethnicity.

2.  Ethnic Germans had ruled Austria.

3.  By the time that Adolf Hitler was born, ethnic Germans no longer ruled Austria.

4.  Adolf Hitler was pissed that his ethnic group no longer ruled Austria.

5.  What to do?  Ethnic Germans should slaughter everyone, everywhere, who isn’t an ethnic German.

The same fate could befall America.


LETTERS

Subject:  Youtube and its stupid censorship.

Hello, I have recently discovered your blog.  I want to tell you that I totally agree with what you say about censorship on YouTube.  I believe that we are deprived of the beauty of models like Dana Taranova, Ustina Abramova, or Stefania Deriabina due to prejudices and perverse ideas that are only in the heads of those who impose these prohibitions.  Likewise, and for the same reason, they closed portals such as Angels Story or Candydolls.  Pure hypocrisy.  I send you greetings and congratulate you on your bravery.

- A Reader.

Dear Reader,

Thank you for your informative letter!

I’m sad to learn that Angels Story and Candydolls have been closed.  I caught one or two of their videos on You Tube before they vanished from You Tube.  The girls, and their videos, were wonderful!

- Andrew Roller

The Reader ( above ) used the “Contact” form at andrewroller ( dot ) com to send me his letter.  ( An e-mail. )

Here are some tips about my “Contact” form.

1.  I don’t list my e-mail address on my “Contact” form.  Why?  In the 1990s, my e-mail address became known.  I was flooded with so much SPAM that my e-mail address became unusable.  The SPAM was sent by a handful of people who wanted to prevent me from communicating.

An example:  “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs:  The Real Story!”  This same item was sent to me thousands of times.

2.  The buttons called “Button Primary” and “Learn More” do not work.  They came with the pre-formatted page.  I can’t get rid of them.

3.  The “Contact” form template was created by my web hosting company.  I’m using it as-is.

4.  The “Contact” form asks for your “Full Name”.  As far as I know, you can enter any name that you wish.

5.  The “Contact” form asks for your e-mail address.  As far as I know, you need to enter your real e-mail address.  Otherwise, the Internet won’t send me your e-mail.

( These types of forms instantly check to see if an entered e-mail address is real. )

6.  The “Contact” form asks for your “Message”.  Write whatever you like.

If I feel your letter is relevant, I’ll probably publish it.

Your message will be edited in the traditional manner.  ( That is, for style, substance, etc. )

If you send me a scathing letter, I’m not going to correct your spelling, punctuation, and grammar.  I will likely point out your errors.

7.  The “Contact” form asks for a “Subject”.  This is the thesis of your message.  Think of your “Subject” as being like a newspaper headline.

8.  I may publish your letter.  Tell me what name you want me to use.  Your published name can be different from your real name.

9.  I don’t recall publishing a reader’s e-mail address.  Hence, it’s unlikely that I’ll publish your e-mail address.

10.  If you want your real name published, or your real e-mail address published, I’m happy to do that.  

You can piggyback on my blog to publicize yourself.  However, your message must be relevant to my readers.

The primary purpose of ARSE is to celebrate young girls who want to be seen on the Internet.


GIRLS NEEDED!

by Andrew Roller

I need legal photos of the following:

1.  Attractive girls.

2.  Between the ages of eight and fourteen ( inclusive ).  That is, girls who are age 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14.

The ideal age is Eleven.

Please send your photos “in the clear”.  That is, please don’t send:

1.  Attachments.

2.  Videos.

Probably, a single e-mail will only be able to include a single photograph.

Please include any information about the girl that is useful to the average reader.

If you don’t know the girl’s name, just say so.

It’s best if the photo is of the girl “doing her thing”.  That is, avoid posed professional model photos.

The best photos tend to be screenshots that are captured from videos.

The photos should be intended for Internet distribution.

Send your photo to:

cyclosporine666@gmail.com


AND IN THE END…

If you’re wondering:

I’ve been sick all day from being interviewed outdoors by a manager at In-N-Out Burger.  I guess his freezer was unavailable.


ARCANA

In my article, “No Dogs or Whites”, I use “Mexican” in the colloquial sense.  That is, a “Mexican” is not strictly someone from the country of Mexico.  A “Mexican” could be from any number of countries that are to the south of the United States of America.

“Non-Anglo” might be a better term.  But it’s clunky to use.


——————————————————————————————————————————


Copyright 2023 by Andrew L. Roller.  ET, Editorial Thunder, and ARSE, Andrew Roller Stories and Essays, are trademarks of Andrew L. Roller.   


I am http://andrewroller.com    


Earlier posts by me are at https://asstr.xyz/files/Authors/Roller/    


I’m on paper at:  https://www.abebooks.com > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 


and https://www.abebooks.co.uk > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 


If you visit an “AbeBooks” website, you’ll be presented with a large square “Search” box.  In the box labelled “Author”, type in “Andrew Roller”.  In the box labelled “Title”, type in “Andrew Roller Presents”.  This will bring up some of my pamphlets.  I have not yet figured out how to bring up other pamphlets by me, under other titles.  I don’t recall all the titles I published under.  


I have no financial involvement in these resale items. 


Other references:


https://zinewiki.com/wiki/Factsheet_Five


Article:  “Factsheet Five”.


Article subhead:  “Andrew Roller’s Factsheet Five controversy”.


AND


poopsheetfoundation.com 


Search for:


Writers / Artists:  Andrew Roller


On August 18, 2022, Apple Computer banned my Apple I.D.  Apple did this abruptly.  Apple gave me no warning of any displeasure, on its part, with me.  ( I’ve been an Apple customer since the 1980s. )


The effect of Apple’s ban was to destroy my content.  The vast bulk of my content was “safely” stored with them, in iCloud.


I complained to Apple.  Apple’s reason for their ban of my Apple I.D. was “Apple Policy”.  No further information was given.  Apple told me to apply for a new Apple I.D.  


You can read more about this in prior issues of ARSE.


Support NAMBLA!  The North American Man / Boy Love Association:  https://nambla.org/


This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 258


Arcana:  This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 259, version 2.0


Date Written:  April 7, 2023.          Live for the day that censorious Big Tech is dead. 


——————————————————————————————————————————

-—————————————————————————————————————————

The magazine that Big Tech BANNED multiple times… lives!

ET 258                                  

Editorial Thunder presents...

MISSING “Pages” Folder

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Plus:  Unions for all.

And:  How rights are born.

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MISSING “Pages” Folder

by Andrew Roller

Today I applied for a job.  Here is what the job entailed:

1.  Minimum wage.  ( As in, “We’d pay you less, but it’s illegal.” )


2.  Part-time only.  The general manager made a point of telling me that “There are no full-time jobs here.”.  ( Of course, since he’s the “general manager”, I’m sure that he’s employed full-time. )


3.  The job’s duties included dooty:  cleaning toilets used by slum-dwellers, and by homeless people.  

( “Not that there’s anything wrong with that!” to quote Seinfeld. )

It became clear to me, by the end of the job interview, that the general manager had no interest in hiring me.  The “tell”, to quote current lingo, was when the general manager proved almost unwilling to tell me his first name!  ( Which turned out to be an abbreviation of his first name. )

Perhaps the general manager didn’t like my clothing.  Not having much money, I’m short on clothing.  For instance, I don’t own the following T-shirts:

1.  Black is Beautiful.

2.  Proud to be a Man who’s really a Woman.

3.  Proud to be a Woman who’s really a Man.

4.  Gay and Proud.

5.  Proud to be Illegal, And Reconquering America for Mexico.

6.  Proud to have Killed All My Children.  ( Abortion Now! )

I just own one T-shirt.  It reads:

Proud to be a Pedophile.

Though I’m unemployed, I’m using my time productively.  For example, do you own an iPad?  How about an iPhone?  You might want to see if you have the following in the “Files” app, on your device:

Your “Pages” folder.

Today, I made a shocking discovery.  In my “Files” app, my “Pages” folder was gone!

Using Google, I looked for help on the Internet.  I found none.  

Here’s how I recovered my “Pages” folder on my iPad:

1.  I restarted my iPad.


2.  A “Pages” icon is in my iPad’s “Dock”.  There, I tapped on the “Pages” icon.

I was taken, at once, into my “Files” app on my iPad.  My “Pages” folder was there!  All of my “Pages” documents were inside of my “Pages” folder!

Probably, I fixed this problem when I restarted my iPad.  But it didn’t hurt to tap the “Pages” icon in my iPad’s “Dock”.

I decided to cease using my “Pages” folder.  I created a new folder on my “iPad”.  I called it, “My Pages Folder”.

Then, I tried to copy my documents that were in my ( Apple ) “Pages” folder into my folder that I’d created, and called, “My Pages Folder”.

Guess what?  Apple refused to allow me to copy my “Pages” documents from my “Pages” folder into my new “My Pages Folder”.

I then created another folder.  I called it “My Stuff”.

Guess what?  Apple DID let me copy my “Pages” documents from my “Pages” folder into my “My Stuff” folder.

As soon as I copied my “Pages” documents into my folder called “My Stuff”, my ( Apple ) “Pages” folder disappeared!  It disappeared from the “Files” app in my iPad.

NOTE:  I have had, and continue to have, a “Pages” folder in my iCloud Drive.  


MORE “Pages” TROUBLE

I’m writing this article on my Apple iMac computer.  Previously, when I created a new “Pages” document on my iMac, the document was saved to my iMac’s desktop.

Any new “Pages” document is now saved to the “Pages” folder in my iCloud Drive.  

( Where Apple’s employees can, without warning, destroy it. )

When you choose to save a new “Pages” document, do the following:

1.  Click on “Untitled”.  This is at the top of any new “Pages” document.


2.  ( A box appears. )  Create a title for your document.  


3.  Look ( slightly ) down in the box.  If you want to save your new document to your iMac’s desktop, click on “Desktop”.


4.  Look to the right of “Desktop”.  To deprive yourself of your work ( because you’re a perverted terrorist gangster ), click “Locked”.  This will ensure that you have no access to your new document!

Thanks, Apple!


CONCLUSIONS

1.  On an iPad or on an iPhone, don’t keep any “Pages” documents in the “Pages” folder!  Create your own folder, outside of the “Pages” folder.  Keep your “Pages” documents in your own folder.

( Your own folder will be in your “Files” app. )


2.  On an iMac, be sure to save your new “Pages” document to “Desktop”.


3.  Back up your iMac’s hard drive to another hard drive.  


4.  Don’t rely on your iCloud Drive.  Apple’s employees can destroy your contents in iCloud Drive at any time, without warning.  They won’t even tell you that they destroyed your contents in iCloud Drive!


5.  Always wear a “Proud to be a Pedophile” T-shirt to any job interview.  This will ensure that:

A.  The welfare office has a record of you applying for a job.

B.  Your welfare benefits won’t get cut, since no one will hire you!


UNIONS for ALL

by Andrew Roller

A little girl thinks she’ll be a princess, and live in a castle.  She assumes that she’ll accomplish this by marrying a pirate.

There’s a little boy’s variant of this dream.  It’s that he’ll be a military hero, who’s also a fireman.  He’ll drive a Hot Wheel.  He’ll be worth millions of dollars.

When I was in high school, I had a history teacher.  He was a rock-ribbed, Reagan-loving Republican.  This was in the school year of 1975, and 1976.  In the summer of 1976, Ronald Reagan attempted to become the presidential nominee of the Republican Party.  I watched some of this event live.  ( As usual, my parents prevented me from watching it in full. )  The Republican Party told Reagan “No”.

My history teacher influenced me.  He caused me to shift from being a supporter of George McGovern ( in 1972 ), to a supporter of Ronald Reagan.  I voted for Reagan in 1980, and in 1984.  At that time, and for many years after, I regarded myself as a Republican.  I’m still registered as a Republican.

I spent part of my high school years in Hawaii.  ( Note:  Hawaii is not a version of the Jersey shore, or of a beach in Los Angeles, as so many in America assume. )  

One day, in Hawaii, I had a substitute teacher.  I have no idea what class I was in.  The substitute teacher may have had no idea either.  Or, he didn’t care.  He used the entire hour to proselytize to the class about Libertarianism.  In that hour, the teacher convinced me to think like a Libertarian.  In the 1990s, I was a registered and dues paying member of the Libertarian Party.  I voted Libertarian for two decades.

If you’ve ever wondered why “children” are forced to go to school, now you know why.  It’s so the state can implant its ideas into the minds of people who have yet to form fixed opinions.

When Donald Trump ran for president, in 2015, I found him to be a breath of fresh air.  By 2020, I decided to vote for him.  This broke my long streak of voting Libertarian.

However, Donald Trump has since changed.  He is not, in fact, in favor of removing illegals from America, unless the illegal is a “pedophile”.  Trump does not support helping Ukraine.

As best I can tell, many in the Libertarian Party are against helping Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the Republican Party, as represented by such people as Florida Governor Ron DiScrimination, and Missouri Senator Joke Hawley, has gone “woke”.  It’s the Republican version of “woke”.  It consists of the following:

1.  Scream that children are being ( somehow ) violated by America’s culture.

2.  Oppose any help for children in Ukraine, who are being maimed, killed, raped, starved, dehydrated, and frozen.

Recently, I’ve begun looking for work.  A school teacher isn’t the only purveyor of lessons.  Life teaches lessons too.

For instance, I applied for a minimum wage job at a franchisee-owned fast food restaurant.  The restaurant is part of the largest, and most successful, fast food chain in history.  The restaurant chain is worth billions of dollars.

The general manager of this restaurant told me the following.

“There is no full-time work here.  We only hire people as part-time employees.”

He then told me:

“Currently, we have 120 employees.  We want to have 150 employees.”

Think about that.  As you do, here’s a fact:

If someone works full-time, they’re entitled to good pay, and to work-related benefits.  A part-time employee is not entitled to those.

Such entitlements are not provided to the worker because the employer feels generous.  The worker only gets those benefits because of the law.  And why does such a law exist?  Because, in the past, workers fought for such a law, and won.

( Similarly, the hundreds of riots in the summer of 2020, on behalf of George Floyd, are now resulting in needed judicial reforms in America. )

Let’s return to the topic of the restaurant, and its general manager.  The general manager doesn’t need more employees!  He needs to permit the employees that he has to work more hours.  He needs to permit them to work full-time!

How can we, as workers ( including as unemployed workers ), force such change?

We could demand that every employer provide part-time workers with full-time pay, and with full-time benefits.  An employer would no longer be able to cheat his workers by forcing them to work part-time.  

( A part-time worker doesn’t spend his “time off” recreating.  He’s usually forced to take on two or three jobs, and commute between them. )

There is another solution.  Recently, California’s Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law.  It allows all fast food workers to unionize.

I applaud this development.  However, it’s not enough.  ALL workers should be allowed to unionize.  Only then will every worker be able to get adequate pay for his work.

Even then, such a worker will still sometimes get sick.  Or he’ll get injured.  His injury might not be work-related.

Therefore, I advocate the following:

1.  Unions for all.

2.  Medicare for all.

It is time for the Democratic Party to adopt these planks in its platform.  As the Republican Party regulates people in bedrooms and in bathrooms, the Democratic Party can continue to advance worker’s rights.


AND IN THE END…

HOW Rights are BORN

“As we celebrate Labor Day, we honor the men and women who fought tirelessly for workers’ rights, which are so critical to our strong and successful labor force.”

- Elizabeth Esty.


ARCANA

The quote by Elizabeth Esty is from Google, which credits “Everyday Power”.


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Copyright 2023 by Andrew L. Roller.  ET, Editorial Thunder, and ARSE, Andrew Roller Stories and Essays, are trademarks of Andrew L. Roller.   


I am http://andrewroller.com    


Earlier posts by me are at https://asstr.xyz/files/Authors/Roller/    


I’m on paper at:  https://www.abebooks.com > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 


and https://www.abebooks.co.uk > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 


If you visit an “AbeBooks” website, you’ll be presented with a large square “Search” box.  In the box labelled “Author”, type in “Andrew Roller”.  In the box labelled “Title”, type in “Andrew Roller Presents”.  This will bring up some of my pamphlets.  I have not yet figured out how to bring up other pamphlets by me, under other titles.  I don’t recall all the titles I published under.  


I have no financial involvement in these resale items. 


Other references:


https://zinewiki.com/wiki/Factsheet_Five


Article:  “Factsheet Five”.


Article subhead:  “Andrew Roller’s Factsheet Five controversy”.


AND


poopsheetfoundation.com 


Search for:


Writers / Artists:  Andrew Roller


On August 18, 2022, Apple Computer banned my Apple I.D.  Apple did this abruptly.  Apple gave me no warning of any displeasure, on its part, with me.  ( I’ve been an Apple customer since the 1980s. )


The effect of Apple’s ban was to destroy my content.  The vast bulk of my content was “safely” stored with them, in iCloud.


I complained to Apple.  Apple’s reason for their ban of my Apple I.D. was “Apple Policy”.  No further information was given.  Apple told me to apply for a new Apple I.D.  


You can read more about this in prior issues of ARSE.


Support NAMBLA!  The North American Man / Boy Love Association:  https://nambla.org/


This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 258


Arcana:  This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 258, version 2.0


Date Written:  April 4, 2023.          Live for the day that censorious Big Tech is dead. 


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The magazine that Big Tech BANNED multiple times… lives!

ET 257                                  

Editorial Thunder presents...

Tolkien’s Mistakes

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Plus:  Great T.V.!

And:  Is “Wonder Club” now “Plunder Club”?

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Tolkien’s Mistakes

by Andrew Roller

“The Hobbit was first published in September 1937.  Its 1951 … edition … [ was ] revised.

“Tolkien made some further revisions … in 1966.

“For the 1995 … edition … the text of The Hobbit was … further [ corrected ].

“For the present text … a number of further corrections have been made.”

- Douglas A. Anderson.  [ Year ] 2001.  The Hobbit.  Page unnumbered.

The Hobbit:  or There and Back Again.  By J.R.R. Tolkien.  William Morrow ( Harper Collins ).  New York, New York.  United States of America.  Copyright 1995.  ( Original copyright 1937. )

Recently, I applied for a job.  I applied for a job at a local Barnes and Nobel store.  The job that I applied for was a part time, minimum wage job.  It was limited to four hours per day.  However, I was expected to show up at this job every goddamn day.  

Fortunately, I did not get hired by Barnes and Nobel.  As a result, I was spared the chore of traveling many miles per day to earn a paltry $60.00.

I consider myself an expert on books.  I also buy lots of books.  In the 1990s, my prime source for books was Barnes and Nobel.  Their catalog arrived in the mail on a regular basis.  Barnes and Nobel had cracked the secret of selling to me.  You might wonder what this secret is.  It applies to anyone.  It is as follows:

“I like myself better when you’re here.”

I liked myself better when the Barnes and Nobel book catalog arrived in my mailbox.  Barnes and Nobel sold me many books.

Today, I never buy from Barnes and Nobel.  I still buy lots of books ( far more than I read ).  However, I buy my books at amazon ( dot ) com.  Amazon has been selling me books since the late 1990s.  As Amazon rose, with myself and with many others, Barnes and Nobel collapsed.

Barnes and Nobel died some years ago.  Fortunately, for Barnes and Nobel, a daft Englishman bought the company.  It lingers on as his company.

In 1976, I turned 16 years old.  ( Chronologically.  Socially, I’ve never left the second grade. )  My mother gave me a birthday gift.  It was a boxed set of books by J.R.R. Tolkien.  The set included “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings”.

I had never heard of J.R.R. Tolkien, or of his books.  I devoured them.  I even read the appendices.  The set that my mother gave me has since become legendary.  It remains “the true cross” of Tolkien memorabilia for fans.

( This is my opinion.  I was going to survey girls in grade schools for their opinions.  However, I got caught up in learning about Ron DeSanta’s drinking party with underage girls. )

In 2023, I have begun re-reading “The Hobbit”.  I’m reading the latest version.  Nonetheless, I’m finding errors in the text.  I’m also discovering other interesting items.

Below, I show what I’ve found.  

For each item, I write down the relevant page number of “The Hobbit”.  I also write down where, on a given page, I found the item.  My notations are as follows:

T - This is at the top of the page.

UM - This is at the upper middle of the page.

M - This is at the middle of the page.

LM - This is at the lower middle of the page.

B - This is naked Brooke Shields’ bottom, at age 10.  ( Okay, it’s actually the bottom of the page. )

Note:  I go by the whole page.  When a new chapter of “The Hobbit” begins, the text begins at the upper middle of the page.  Hence, if I cite a line from here, I cite the line as being at the upper middle of page ( UM ).  I do not cite the line as being at the top of the page ( T ).

1.  How can Bilbo’s hobbit-hole have windows?!

3 UM  Tolkien describes Bilbo Baggins’ house.  Bilbo’s house is a hole in the side of a hill.

“The door opened on to a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel.”

3 M More.

“The tunnel [ went ] fairly … straight into the side of the hill.

3 LM  Here is the error:

“The best rooms were all on the left-hand side ( going in ), for these were the only ones to have windows.”

If the “tunnel” goes “straight into the side of the hill”, how can any room have a window?  The tunnel would have to run along the side of the hill for the rooms on the left side of the tunnel ( going “in” ) to have windows!

At 3 LM, Tolkien describes the windows as being “deep-set”.  Yet, this hardly provides an adequate excuse.  

Does Tolkien mean that Bilbo owns the front of the hill, plus the side of the hill?  That would mean that each window would open onto a long tunnel that stretched all the way back to each room.  Anyone who tried to look down the tunnel, to the world outside, would see very little.

The best excuse that I can invent, on Tolkien’s behalf, is the following ( by me ):

Just beyond Bilbo’s front door, the hill wraps severely to the left.

However, this excuse is undermined by the following:

3 M  Tolkien on “the hill” where Bilbo lives: 

“The Hill, as all the people for many miles round called it - and many little round doors opened out of it, first on one side and then on another.”

From this, one can divine the following:

A.  There are no other hills in the vicinity.

B.  Many different Hobbit households inhabit The Hill.

For Bilbo to live as Tolkien describes, Bilbo would have to own a unique habitation.  It occupies at least two sides of The Hill.  The front door is at the front of The Hill.  Bilbo’s windows are along the side of The Hill.

Tolkien provides himself with an excuse that makes such a house possible.  He does this below:

4 B - 5 T  “Bungo, that was Bilbo’s father, built the most luxurious hobbit-hole … that was to be found either under The Hill or over The Water.”

5 UM   “Bilbo … was … living in the beautiful hobbit-hole built by his father.”

( Bilbo’s house is first described as “a hole” at 3 UM. )

Some may argue the following:

“The Hobbit” is a story for children.  It doesn’t have to make sense.

I reject such an excuse.  Why?

A.  Tolkien took his work very seriously.  He did not regard it as being invented by himself.  Rather, he regarded it as being a forgotten history that he had unearthed, and was tasked with interpreting.

B.  A story should always make sense to the layman.  The hero can occupy a flying toilet, and poop on his enemies.  Such a toilet is aerodynamically impossible.  But, so is Superman.  Nonetheless, an author is allowed to conjure a flying toilet.  

What an author can’t do is say that the toilet is “round”, and then later say that the toilet is “square”.  The author’s description must possess internal consistency.

In my opinion, Tolkien screwed up.  He never bothered to fix his error.  Or, noticing it, he hoped to excuse it away with later prose in “The Hobbit”.


2.  Tolkien invents a word.

11 UM  “Bilbo rushed along the passage … altogether bewildered and bewuthered.”

I do not have access to the Oxford English Dictionary.  ( Thanks to their incompetence at selling their product. )

I looked up “bewuthered” in The Free Dictionary, by Farlex.  There is no such word.

I applaud Tolkien for inventing “bewuthered”, in this context.  Shakespeare invented new English words, so why not Tolkien?

I have not invented any new English words.  However, I have a new use for an old word:  god.

Consider the following sentence:

“He’s a child molester.”

Does that make you happy?  Probably not.  Here’s my new use for the word “god”:

“He’s a god”.

( Replacing “child molester”. )

On Sundays, you can tell folks,

“I’m going to worship god.”  

Meaning, quite sensibly, that you’re going to worship your local child molester.

That, at least, is my contribution to English.

I will continue to enlighten you about “The Hobbit” as I find new errors, and items of interest, in the text. 


GREAT T.V.!

by Andrew Roller

You Tube kicked out many of its customers.  These included girls who were age 12, or younger.  You Tube also kicked out me.

As a result, I avoid You Tube.  Just as I would not go to an amusement park run by Adolf Hitler, I don’t want to patronize You Tube.

I have a similar opinion about Apple, Inc.  Necessity forces me to use Apple’s products.  But I avoid using Apple as much as I can.  That’s because, in August of 2022, Apple did its utmost to destroy all of my content. 

Below, I provide updated information on some of the best T.V. shows on the Internet.  This information is in regard to how you can access these T.V. shows, without resorting to You Tube, or to Apple’s “Podcasts” app.

All of these T.V. shows are free.

1.  The Early Middle Ages, by Paul Freedman.  

A.  Enter the following Google search term:  the early middle ages by yale.

This brings up the following search result:

https://ocy.yale.edu > history > hist-210

The Early Middle Ages, 284 [ A.D. ] to 1000 [ A.D.]  Open Yale Courses.


B.  “The Early Middle Ages” is a link.  Click on the link.

You will go to the following web page:

oyc.yale.edu

Yale University

Open Yale Courses


C.  Look farther down on this page. 

“ABOUT” is highlighted by a blue line.  The blue line is above the word “ABOUT”.


D.  Look to the right of “ABOUT”.


E.  You will see “SESSIONS”.  Tap on “SESSIONS”.

This web page is transformed.  Under “SESSIONS”, you now see 22 separate lectures.


F.  Click on whichever lecture is of interest to you.

For example:

Click on:

Lecture 1    Course Introduction:  Rome’s Greatness and First Crises.

You are taken to a new web page.  This web page is ( still ) at the following address:

oyc.yale.edu


G.  Scroll down on this page!


H.  You see a video box.  Tap on the video box.  “Lecture 1” will begin to play.  If you let it run, the entire lecture will play.


2.  PBS Eons.

A.  Enter the following Google search term:  pbs eons.

This brings up the following search result:

https://www.pbs.org > show > eons

Eons | PBS


B.  “Eons | PBS” is a link.  Click on the link.

You will go to the following web page:

pbs.org

A pop-up box will overlay this page.  If you’re in San Diego, the box reads as follows:  “Is KPBS San Diego your local station?  Yes.  Change”.

If you respond to this box, it will take you to a useless, irrelevant destination.  ( The web page for your local PBS station. )  Hence, do the following:

Quote Arnold Schwarzenegger, in the film, “The Terminator”.  Say:

“Fuck you, asshole.”

C.  Click on the “X” in this pop-up box, to get rid of it.

You are now at the web page for “Eons”, by PBS.  It is easy to click around on this page to get what you want.


3.  PBS Space Time

A.  Enter the following Google search term:  pbs spacetime.


B.  This brings up search results.  Scroll down on this page!  ( Otherwise, you’ll wind up at You Tube. )


C.  Scroll down to the following search result:

https://www.pbs.org > show > pbs-space-time

PBS Space Time

“PBS Space Time” is a link.  Click on the link.

You will go to the following web page:

pbs.org

If a pop-up box overlays this page, shotgun your iPad.  That will definitely get rid of the pop-up box.

You are now at the web page for “Space Time”, by PBS.  It is easy to click around on this page to get what you want.


KENTUCKY Fried MIX vs. FAMOUS Dave’s

by Andrew Roller

Downtown San Diego is a food desert.  There is no McDonald’s.  There is no Kentucky Fried Chicken.  There is no Burger King, Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, Round Table Pizza, Taco Hut, or Taco Bell.

This hurts San Diegans in two ways:

1.  We can’t eat at McDonald’s ( etc. ).

2.  We can’t work at McDonald’s ( etc. ).

What eateries are in downtown San Diego?

1.  Subway.  It’s a fine place, but I’ve eaten at Subway 1,458,269,820 times.

2.  Subway copycats.

3.  Sandwich joints.

4.  Expensive yuppie restaurants.

Hence, if I want chicken at a reasonable price, I buy it at Ralphs grocery store.  Ralphs chicken, however, is not Kentucky Fried Chicken.  What to do?

I found the following powder on amazon ( dot ) com:

Kentucky Fried Mix.  By Gloriously Global Seasoning.

I found the following powder at Ralphs grocery store:

Famous Dave’s Country Roast Chicken Seasoning.

I staged a contest.  Sadly, no girls in bikinis ( who were age 11, or younger ) were available as judges.  Hence, the only judge in this contest was my mouth.

Who won?  Kentucky Fried Mix, or Famous Dave’s?

The answer is:

Famous Dave’s!

NOTE:  This was not a contest between Kentucky Fried Chicken purchased at a Kentucky Fried Chicken store, and a chicken sprinkled with Famous Dave’s power.  It was a contest between Kentucky Fried Mix powder, purchased on Amazon, and Famous Dave’s powder.

The Kentucky Fried Mix powder had no taste.  It’s worthless.

Famous Dave’s powder is good!  I recommend it.


THANK YOU, Congressman SCOTT PETERS

by Andrew Roller

“Scott Harvey Peters is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative from California’s 50th congressional district since 2023.  [ Peters ] previously represented the 52nd congressional district from 2013 to 2023.”

- Google.

I ( Andrew Roller ) am a disabled veteran.  I live in Scott Peters’ district.

Recently, I was denied service at Balboa Naval Medical Center.  Balboa failed to give me any meaningful reason for their denial of service.

I contacted the office of Scott Peters.  I have received excellent help from Scott Peters’ office.  As best I can tell, the difficulty that I encountered at Balboa is in the process of being resolved.

Scott Peters also helped me with another medical-related problem, on a prior occasion.

My thanks to Scott Peters!


WONDERCLUB:  Now PLUNDERClub?

by Andrew Roller

In many places in ARSE, I mention the following web site:

wonderclub ( dot ) com

Sadly, I no longer recommend this web site.  Here is my latest letter to Wonder Club:

E-mail:  info@wonderclub.com

E-mail:  hellosean@wonderclub.com

E-mail:  complaints@wonderclub.com

Subject:  I am still waiting for my refund.

Date:  March 28, 2023.

Dear Sean Ross,

On January 24, 2023, I attempted to purchase the following from you:

Tight magazine.  January 2001.  Digital Format.  [ A PDF file. ]  Price:  $149.99.

The magazine turned out to not be available.

On March 17, I spoke directly with you.  You agreed to give me a refund, to my credit card, in the amount of $149.99.

Today, on March 28, I checked my credit card statement.  There is NO REFUND from you!

Please issue a refund to me immediately.

Sincerely,

Andrew Roller

[ My address. ] 

[ NOTE:  Ross’ web site lists my address as being in the wrong state.  This is irrelevant, since I attempted to purchase a PDF file.  Nonetheless, I note this error. ]

[ My phone number.  My e-mail address. ] 

My transaction with you was billed as:

01/24    HOBBYWONDER 514-6940060 QC    149.99

My letter to Wonder Club ends at this point.

Further information:

Sean Ross

WonderClub Enterprises

46 Shediac  [ Not Shitiac! ]

Kirkland, QC, H9J 2J9

Canada.

[ Alleged ] phone hours for Wonder Club:

1.  Monday - Friday:

9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  [ Quebec, Canada time. ]

2.  No phone service on Saturday.

3.  Sunday:

9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Lately, Ross is mostly absent from his telephone whenever I call.

I complained about Ross to my credit card company.  My credit card company:

1.  Gave me a provisional credit of $149.99.

2.  Said that they would contact Ross.

I am waiting to see what results.

Ross has a bad habit of failing to acknowledge my e-mails.  

Ross has never e-mailed me saying that he will give me a refund.  

Ross has never written to me saying that he will give me a refund.


AND IN THE END…

“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises.  He is not dependent on us.  We are dependent on him.  He is not an interruption in our work.  He is the purpose of it.  He is not an outsider in our business.  He is part of it.  We are not doing him a favor by serving him.  He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.”

- Mahatma Gandhi.


ARCANA

1.  On Barnes and Nobel:

“In August 2019, Elliott Management Corporation acquired [ Barnes and Nobel ] for approximately $683 million dollars. … 

“James Daunt, the managing director of London-based Waterstones Booksellers Ltd., [ became the Chief Executive  Officer of Barnes and Nobel.  He is also the Chief Executive officer of ] Waterstones.”

Source:  Google, citing en ( dot ) wikipedia ( dot ) org.


2.  On Ron DeSantis’ drinking party with underage girls:

Website:  foxnews ( dot ) com/shows.

Show:  Media Buzz.

Video:  “DeSantis must ‘push back’ against Trump’s attacks without ‘alienating’ his base:  Susan Ferrechio”.

Date:  March 26, 2023.

The Media Buzz video includes a photo of DeSantis with so-called “underage” girls.  ( That is, girls who are worth knowing. )  A blonde in the DeSantis photo is astoundingly lovely.  She has a beautiful face, and gigantic bosoms.

Conclusion:  DeSantis meets cuter girls than Trump!  ( And younger girls, too! )


3.  Regarding my article, “Great T.V.!”  I added a period, where needed, to some of the lines of text that I quoted.


4.  The quote by Mahatma Gandhi is from Google.

Google search term:  quotes on “the customer”.


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Copyright 2023 by Andrew L. Roller.  ET, Editorial Thunder, and ARSE, Andrew Roller Stories and Essays, are trademarks of Andrew L. Roller.   


I am http://andrewroller.com    


Earlier posts by me are at https://asstr.xyz/files/Authors/Roller/    


I’m on paper at:  https://www.abebooks.com > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 


and https://www.abebooks.co.uk > AbeBooks > Roller, Andrew 


If you visit an “AbeBooks” website, you’ll be presented with a large square “Search” box.  In the box labelled “Author”, type in “Andrew Roller”.  In the box labelled “Title”, type in “Andrew Roller Presents”.  This will bring up some of my pamphlets.  I have not yet figured out how to bring up other pamphlets by me, under other titles.  I don’t recall all the titles I published under.  


I have no financial involvement in these resale items. 


Other references:


https://zinewiki.com/wiki/Factsheet_Five


Article:  “Factsheet Five”.


Article subhead:  “Andrew Roller’s Factsheet Five controversy”.


AND


poopsheetfoundation.com 


Search for:


Writers / Artists:  Andrew Roller


On August 18, 2022, Apple Computer banned my Apple I.D.  Apple did this abruptly.  Apple gave me no warning of any displeasure, on its part, with me.  ( I’ve been an Apple customer since the 1980s. )


The effect of Apple’s ban was to destroy my content.  The vast bulk of my content was “safely” stored with them, in iCloud.


I complained to Apple.  Apple’s reason for their ban of my Apple I.D. was “Apple Policy”.  No further information was given.  Apple told me to apply for a new Apple I.D.  


You can read more about this in prior issues of ARSE.


Support NAMBLA!  The North American Man / Boy Love Association:  https://nambla.org/


This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 257


Arcana:  This is ET, Editorial Thunder, issue number 257, version 1.0


Date Written:  April 1, 2023.          Live for the day that censorious Big Tech is dead. 


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