Althouse

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• Artisanal comments.
• Sunrise — 5:18 to 5:26.
• A man in shorts and his wonky ram.
• "I don’t believe in seedless watermelon — that is against my religion."
• "This article is from three years ago. I don’t know how you came across it unless you were digging in the New York Times for the 'worst of the NYTimes articles.'"
• "In fact, Wallace [Idaho] is the self-declared 'Probable Center of the Universe,' and according to its citizens, for good reason."
• "The archive’s drawings, which date to between 1905 and 1920, range from self-portraits to pictures of other people and quick sketches..."

Artisanal comments. Posted: 11 Jun 2021 05:39 PM PDT A reader, John Henry, emails: I was a prolific commenter, probably too prolific, previously. I was really upset when you stopped allowing comments. But now that I am getting over my withdrawal symptoms, I am kind of liking it, especially now that you are bringing back curated, artisanal, commenting via email.

Sunrise — 5:18 to 5:26. Posted: 11 Jun 2021 07:41 AM PDT

A man in shorts and his wonky ram. Posted: 11 Jun 2021 06:54 AM PDT  I approve of this one: @williamyoungs A cast ram #HAIRFOODHYPE #ukfarming #willandlambs #viral ♬ original sound - King Of All Farmers

"I don’t believe in seedless watermelon — that is against my religion." Posted: 11 Jun 2021 07:31 AM PDT Said Gabrielle E.W. Carter, "a multimedia artist and gardener in Apex, N.C.," quoted in "Summer's Greatest Prize: Watermelons, With Seeds, Please/For many Americans, juicy, scarlet watermelon is a must for Juneteenth. The heirloom varieties are a sacred summer fruit" in The New York Times. I did not know that it was possible to write an article about black people and watermelon, but here it is. All season long, you'll find watermelon eating in its purest form — palms clenching the rinds over gingham tablecloths; all pleasure and no tropes — at family reunions, at get-togethers on terraces and around patio fire pits. Consuming the fruit is a sacrament of an American summer, and, for many Black Americans, a must for Juneteenth, the Texas-born holiday gaining national recognition that's celebrated with red punch, strawberry spoon cake and dry-rubbed ribs. On the received wisdom that it's racist to discuss black people and watermelon, here's "How Watermelons Became a Racist Trope" (The Atlantic).  [T]he stereotype that African Americans are excessively fond of watermelon emerged for a specific historical reason and served a specific political purpose. The trope came in full force when slaves won their emancipation during the Civil War. Free black people grew, ate, and sold watermelons, and in doing so made the fruit a symbol of their freedom. Southern whites, threatened by blacks' newfound freedom, responded by making the fruit a symbol of black people's perceived uncleanliness, laziness, childishness, and unwanted public presence. This racist trope then exploded in American popular culture, becoming so pervasive that its historical origin became obscure.... In the early modern European imagination, the typical watermelon-eater was an Italian or Arab peasant. The watermelon, noted a British officer stationed in Egypt in 1801, was "a poor Arab's feast," a meager substitute for a proper meal.... Many slave owners let their slaves grow and sell their own watermelons, or even let them take a day off during the summer to eat the first watermelon harvest.... [S]outhern whites saw their slaves' enjoyment of watermelon as a sign of their own supposed benevolence. Slaves were usually careful to enjoy watermelon according to the code of behavior established by whites... the watermelon-craving, juice-dribbling pickaninny.... D. W. Griffith's white-supremacist epic film The Birth of a Nation, released in 1915, included a watermelon feast in its depiction of emancipation, as corrupt northern whites encouraged the former slaves to stop working and enjoy some watermelon instead. In these racist fictions, blacks were no more deserving of freedom than were children.... [T]he truth is that there is nothing inherently racist about watermelons.... Whites used the stereotype to denigrate black people.... See also, "On eating watermelon in front of white people: 'I'm not as free as I thought'/Racism has a powerful, sneaky way of inflicting shame" by Cynthia Greenlee (in Vox).  ALSO: The pop star Lizzo ate watermelon (with mustard) on camera on TikTok recently and got over 5 million hearts, so there's some kind of repositioning — un-shaming or reclamation — going on.  AND: Lizzo is eating seedless watermelon.

"This article is from three years ago. I don’t know how you came across it unless you were digging in the New York Times for the 'worst of the NYTimes articles.'" Posted: 11 Jun 2021 06:20 AM PDT  A reader named Mary emails me about a post I did yesterday, riffing on a NYT article that, I see now, came out in 2018. The article is titled "Some L.G.B.T. Parents Reject the Names 'Mommy' and 'Daddy'" and it really does seem to be vying for the title of Dumbest NYT Article (especially since it had an atrocious math error).  The NYT will push old stories in its sidebar or at the bottom of whatever article you are reading, and the linked headline looks fresh. I think that's happening more lately, so I'll be more vigilant going forward. The policy I'm trying to follow is to say something about the date whenever the story isn't new, unless the subject is something that's clearly old. The quote in the post title is the first item on a list of 4 observations from Mary, so let me give you the rest of her list here rather than put it in the comments at the original post (though I encourage you to go back to that, because I've posted many excellent comments there): 2. If you look at the Readers Picks [in the comments at the NYT] you will see that a majority of readers have a problem with what's being written here, example: "So let me get this right: Mx. Schankler thinks using the Hebrew name for father, from a culture that is much more patriarchal than our own, is more neutral and has less baggage than Daddy? Not if you are Jewish or know Hebrew! This sounds like anything to be different or unique. Feeling sorry for the kid!" "I think I'm pretty open minded. I have friends across the ethnic and gender continuum, but the made-up pronouns and the expectation that others remember them all lest they be criticized as insensitive. Now layering it on children...It just strikes me as incredibly entitled. You're not preaching to the choir; you're alienating the choir!" "As a middle aged gay women, I find these new 'queer' non-binary pronouns exhausting, confusing and at times silly. I know several lesbian couples who have kids and one is momma and the other is mommy. What's the big deal?" "This exercise in narcissism and self-absorption does not contain one word about the welfare and well-being of the children involved. A baby is not a blob of meat or a pet or a subject of a social science experiment. He is a human being. Please consider him." 3. Bottom line. This article is heard as patriarchal, entitled, silly and narcissistic. 4. I have had my difficulties with the New York Times over the years (decades at this point!) although I love it and go to it, but you brought this to my attention, as if it were new and important, when it was old and an article nobody cared for at all. Why stir up frustration when it's something old and disliked? Or is it? maybe I missed something? Was this connected to something else? Well, I didn't do it on purpose, but it's still an interesting question: Why stir up frustration when it's something old and disliked? It makes me wonder: Why stir up frustration when something is new and disliked? Why not ignore it and let it get old where it's even easier to ignore? This blog is an exercise in not ignoring things, in finding things to forefront and say: Hey, look at this! Now, every day there is also a good lot of things I am declining to call attention to. Right now, I can see what I'm being nudged to think is what's important, and I resist so many things. If I still had comments that you could put right up, rather than the new system of reviewing emailed comments, there would be so many extra comments referring to current news stories that I've chosen not to blog. Oh! William Barr's in trouble at the moment! That sort of thing. We'll see if it doesn't blow over. Toobin's back. Eh...

"In fact, Wallace [Idaho] is the self-declared 'Probable Center of the Universe,' and according to its citizens, for good reason." Posted: 11 Jun 2021 07:20 AM PDT "A proclamation given by then-mayor Ron Garitone on September 25, 2004, avowed, 'Our government-contracted scientists...have, after years of diligence, been unable to unearth one scintilla of [proof] that Wallace is NOT the center of the universe.' This year Wallace is celebrating the centennial births of two native Hollywood elite: Doris Houck, known for her roles in several Three Stooges films, and The Postman Always Rings Twice star Lana Turner, whose childhood home at 217 Bank Street still stands, and is in the midst of a renovation."  From "THE 15 BEST SMALL TOWNS TO VISIT IN 2021/From Alabama's music capital to the self-proclaimed 'center of the universe,' these American towns are calling your name" (Smithsonian). Why not proclaim yourself the center of the universe? Everybody is a star. That's a song title.  By the way, do you know that "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" has been on TV for 20 seasons? Here's a promo for the finale episode of their 20th season:   Despite years of diligence, scientists have been unable to unearth one scintilla of proof that the Kardashians are not the center of the universe. FROM THE EMAIL: Wince writes: Doris Houck may be best known as the girl who tried to mash Shemp Howard's head in a vice in BRIDELESS GROOM in an attempt to persuade him to marry her.  Famous Stooges line: "Hold hands you lovebirds..." Wow, these are some tough dames:

"The archive’s drawings, which date to between 1905 and 1920, range from self-portraits to pictures of other people and quick sketches..." Posted: 11 Jun 2021 05:07 AM PDT "One is an intimate portrayal of Kafka's mother, who wears her hair in a high bun and dons small, oval-shaped spectacles. Another ink drawing titled Drinker shows an irate-looking man slumped in front of a glass of wine.... Among the newly digitized papers is a scathing, 47-page letter to [his father] Herman; never delivered, it describes Kafka as a 'timid child' who cannot have been 'particularly difficult to manage.... I cannot believe that a kindly word, a quiet taking by the hand, a friendly look, could not have got me to do anything that was wanted of me.'" Smithsonian reports. View the archive here. Here's "Drinker":

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