Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Pay Attention, Folks!


“There’s a sucker born every minute.” – unknown

Yes, I know. Everyone thinks P.T. Barnum said it. Yet his biographer has been unable to find any evidence the great showman ever uttered those words.

Others – including fellow blogger Jim Wright (Stonekettle Station) – attribute the phrase to Barnum’s contemporary and competitor David Hannum, who perpetrated the Cardiff Giant hoax. Still no proof.

But with the advent of Facebook and other social media, the phrase is more true today than ever. 

Yesterday, a friend shared a video on Facebook purported to be young Prince George reciting the alphabet. To each letter was attached a Bible verse. It has been traveling the internet for a while now.


Long enough for the Captain to look into it.

No, it is not Prince George.

For one, the boy in the video has a pretty distinctive Texas accent.

For two, Prince George is blond. 


And this sort of thing makes him sad.

The boy in the video attends a Church of Christ in Tyler, Texas. The pastor challenged the children and youth of the church to memorize this version of the alphabet. Surprisingly, the young boy took up the challenge and excelled. 

Captain’s Note: Be not misled. This video does not demonstrate great faith, but rather simply a remarkable ability to memorize. A gift your Captain does not possess.

This morning, I also discovered someone is sharing a photo of a young woman beating the side of a pick-up truck with an umbrella.


The accompanying caption says the woman is Emma González, the teenager who has become the icon of the Parkland, Florida shooting and the resulting “March for our Lives”. She is supposedly attacking a 2nd Amendment supporter.

This is Emma González.


This sort of thing makes her sad too.

Turns out, the other photo is of Britney Spears from her turbulent years back in the mid-2000s, throwing a tantrum.

Now, in the first case, it is possible that somebody just did not do their research and assumed (or wanted to believe) that the boy is Prince George.

We can perhaps chalk that up simply to ignorance.


You're welcome, Granny!

But when I pointed out to my friend who shared it that this wasn’t Prince George, her response was “Looks sort of like him” and “It doesn’t matter; it’s still precious”.

No, it doesn’t really look like him… Unless you’re saying that all 4-year-olds look alike… "Seen one, seen 'em all"...

It does matter!

Truth!

Truth matters!

And in the second case, where someone obviously intentionally created a mean-spirited meme to promote a particular political viewpoint, well, let’s just chalk that up to ignorance too! 

Captain’s Note: Mates, lean in here a moment, would ye? When arguing a particular position or belief, if you have to stoop to insulting your opponent or making up lies about her, you have already lost your argument.

And when you do that to a teenager, well, you’re just pathetic!

Your Captain has said it before, but I’ll say it again: before sharing something on any social media, check it out!

Look it up! It’s not that difficult.


This is one reason the Russians were able to so easily infiltrate the past election. They simply posted suggestions on social media. Too often it was accepted by the great unwashed masses without checking to see if it was true.

Truth matters! Check it out!

That way you won't look so stupid!

Oh, and here’s another one.


Some people on the internet insist that this old lady is Steven Tyler.

Wait.

What?

That really is Steven Tyler?

Well… hell!




Friday, March 23, 2018

So Now What...?


So, the Captain was surfing Facebook last night when I came across a video on a pirate page.


I follow several, so I don’t remember which it was. Sorry.

The video was about a lovely couple in Ohio, Jeff & Rebecca MacCay, who have devoted themselves to the pirate lifestyle.


Captain’s Note: Actually, they have filled their home with pirate-type gee-gaws and POTC stuff. It’s not like they bought a ship and are the scourge of the seven seas.

In real life, they are the proprietors of Captain Jack’s Pirate Hats, making authentic (or not) tricorn hats for pirates. And that’s pretty cool. So there.

Anyway, as I watched the video and listened to their story, I suddenly focused in on a startling surprise.


For those who didn’t make the connection, his tattoo is amazingly similar to the Captain’s pirate flag, which I created four years ago.


I had plans of one day having it tattooed on my body (somewhere), but now that Jeff has one, suddenly the novelty is gone.

Sigh.