Not to love the Fuehrer is a great disgrace

Events earlier in the week inspired Ken White, one of the Law Bluesky people I follow (a resident of Pasadena), to rewrite the old classic, “Der Fuerher’s Face”. Viz. his new verses:

So it seems appropriate that I give you the Walt Disney original, which for some unaccountable reason, is still available on YouTube, even though the Disney organization has entirely caved to the Kleptocrat. (You'll note the racist tropes—this is a propaganda film from 1943. What's remarkable is how appropriate it is for today.)

But we take our opportunities as they arise, because if I didn't laugh, I'd be sobbing constantly.

 

©2026 Bas Bleu

 

Chirp

I pulled into the cluster the other morning to note that one of my neighbors might be having plumbing issues—viz. the well-branded van.

But what I noticed first was the license plate.

Nice use of the state bird plates.

 

©2026 Bas Bleu

 

 

Moving messages

Given what’s going on right now, I think it’s time for another installment of Vanity Plates Around Town.

Because I’m running out of words.

 

©2026 Bas Bleu

 

 

Product-market fit

I suppose that signs for services (and events like “government auction—Rolex!”) that pop up around the neighborhood are distributed by people hired for the purpose, not by actual representatives of the company being advertised.

And my point about this is that the people hired to drive around areas and jam the sign prongs into the ground are exactly like the ones who walk around neighborhoods and stick flyers for commercial services on doorknobs or in mailboxes: they’re paid by the number of units distributed, not for the specific locations that might represent bang for the buck.

Witness this one for GC Moving:

It’s at the entrance to the “luxury” townhouse development behind me; the development where the units start north of $1.2M.

I mean—it’s possible that, after you’ve signed a mortgage in the seven figures, you might want to save a few bob by hiring a flat-rate moving company. But I’d really question the wisdom of trusting your high-end furniture to such a venture.

Also—Bit Defender won’t even show me their webpage without me signing a risk waiver, so...

 

©2026 Bas Bleu

 

Gratitude Monday: not alone

I got this totebag maybe a year ago.

It comes from The Barnraisers Project, a group I joined sometime in mid-2023, because I needed help with the concept of community. (And very grateful indeed am I that I discovered this group.) Their leader, Garrett Bucks, writes a really powerful and inspirational newsletter/blog called The White Pages. I strongly urge you to subscribe.

But it’s this tote that inspires my gratitude today because it was central to a lovely encounter I had last week—you know, the week that stripped all pretentions of law-abidingness and decency from the administration and its supporters.

I was at Trader Joe’s, buying milk, carrots and peas. In the past, one cashier (who’s from South Africa and used to be a flight attendant—some years ago we got talking because I’d just been to Singapore) had noticed the bag and gave me a verbal high-five.

(Interestingly, no other cashier at any other grocery store mentioned it, not even at Whole Foods. I suppose in that job you get to the point where you don’t even notice what the customer is handing you.)

Different guy this time, a Black man wearing a face mask (because we’re in the midst of a major flu outbreak, not to mention measles and still Covid-19). He was zipping through my purchases and then said, “What does this bag say? I have to see.”

When he did, he looked up at me and nodded. And he said that he appreciated seeing that message, especially on that day (Thursday), because we can feel so alone with all this shite (I paraphrase), but we’re not.

“No, we’re not alone,” I replied. And we’re not; we are a community, and it’s important that we are reminded of that.

So that’s my gratitude for today: for the message on a totebag I was using that inspired relief in someone I met, and that he reflected back to me.

Now—here’s another one for my shopping arsenal:

 

©2026 Bas Bleu