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Random thoughts to spark the flame wars and other hostilities:
1. People who chew gum and think dropping it on the sidewalk is an acceptable means of disposing of it when finished should die by firing squad. And, no, you don’t get leniency for successful execution of the spit-kick. (Bonus: those that think it’s funny to stick their used gum on the subway hand rails should be forced to watch Alvin on the Chipmunks on a continous loop for seven days prior to the firing squad – which, after that cinematic nightmare, will come as some relief).
2. I know it’s been a few years, but I still can’t figure out how Broken Social Scene followed this with this. WTF?
3. I understand that for some people, their children are their lives. Fabulous. Endearing. Responsible. You’re a regular one man/woman village and all that. But please, no matter how interesting you think other people might find it, don’t tell me about the fact that your son had a little league game last night and went 3 for 3. Or that your daughter is leaving for camp tomorrow. That she likes to play the clarinet in the school band. I’m not trying to be a dick, but I’ve never met your kid, and even if I had, I still wouldn’t need daily updates on the minutiae of his/her life. I don’t even like cataloguing the banalities of my life, and those are my banalities damnit. Just trying to save us both from wasting our precious time together.
4. Relatedly, I don’t want to talk about your crappy job which you think is crappy (justifiably so I should add, at least judging by the stories you tell). I’ve already got one of those, and I’m intimately involved with it for around 50-60 hours a week. When I’m not so ensnared, the last thing I want to be doing is suffering vicariously through yours.
5. Cate Blanchett is on the short list for best actress currently in the game.
6. Wouldn’t it be fun to do an ObWi Con? (now that we’ve established some ground rules for proper gum disposal and conversation topics). Where? When?
Cate Blanchett IS
onthe short list for best actress currently in the game.Fixed.
From the Drew Carey Show: “Oh, you hate your job? Why didn’t you say so? You know, there’s a support group for that. It’s called EVERYBODY. And they meet at the bar.”
Wouldn’t it be fun to do an ObWi Con? (now that we’ve established some ground rules for proper gum disposal and conversation topics). Where? When?
Glasgow Central Hotel, 2010. It’s within 2 hours travel time of 3 international airports (Glasgow, Prestwick, and Edinburgh). It’s 15 minutes walk from one mainline train station and built right on to the other one.
(You might argue that the majority of ObWingers live within the borders of the US. True, but you can come visit our countries without running the risk of being kidnapped at the airport and shipped off to another country to be tortured, which is not true when we visit you.)
Did you get the Alvin and the Chipmunks idea from SERE? Was it used at GTMO?
Did you get the Alvin and the Chipmunks idea from SERE? Was it used at GTMO?
True, but you can come visit our countries without running the risk of being kidnapped at the airport and shipped off to another country to be tortured
Well where’s the sport in that?
Broken Social Scene followed this with this.
i like this, and it sounds a lot like the recent Kevin Drew solo record. never heard this.
I’m not sure if that BSS comment was an insult to YFIITP, an insult to the self-titled or a compliment to both… Only the 3rd possibility is correct.
Thank you for spelling ‘damnit’ with the ‘n’.
That is all.
(You might argue that the majority of ObWingers live within the borders of the US. True, but you can come visit our countries without running the risk of being kidnapped at the airport and shipped off to another country to be tortured, which is not true when we visit you.)
No, the US kidnaps people in other countries and ships them off to be tortured too, so you’ll just have to head this way.
The gum thing reminds me of one of my pet peeves: people who don’t seem to think their cigarette butts are trash. I have in-laws that will throw them into my mulch beds near my front steps after catching a smoke. They also like to put them out by scraping them on the step, leaving behind a streak of ash and unsmoked tobacco. The world is their ashtray. I can understand if you do such things when you’re good and drunk, but sober people should have more sense.
I’m not sure if that BSS comment was an insult to YFIITP, an insult to the self-titled or a compliment to both… Only the 3rd possibility is correct
It was a compliment to YFIIP, and an insult to the eponymous effort. At the risk of getting this one wrong.
The weather’s better in Southern California, and by then I’ll have the water running.
Jes, I know you’re English in that you reside, and I assume, were raised in the UK. If you’re also English in the sense that you’re of English ancestry, you’ve nothing to fear. You don’t fit the profile of a tairrist used here in the U.S. to round up evil doers.
One of my pet peeves is every single person who is on the road while I’m driving!! Get out of my way, damnit! Or at least don’t drive like a fncking moron.
More pet peeves:
cyclists who insist on using the road when there is a bike path right next to the road.
people who take five minutes to get into their seat on an airplane while blocking anyone else from getting by.
The entire Transportation Safety Administration.
Puns.
people who take five minutes to get into their seat on an airplane while blocking anyone else from getting by.
Up against the wall for the lot of em. Also: people on airplanes that try to get out first instead of letting you out of your seat despite the fact that you have the right of way.
Eric: Well where’s the sport in that?
Ask John Smeaton.
It was a compliment to YFIIP, and an insult to the eponymous effort. At the risk of getting this one wrong.
That seems like the most reasonable interpretation from the wording, but I don’t get how anyone could dislike the self-titled that much. I don’t think it was as good as YFIIP, and certainly nowhere near as consistent, but its not like the quality was that huge of a drop off.
and the reverse: people who stand in the aisle watching people in front of them getting off the plane and wait until the time when the person directly in front of them moves to start getting their bags together.
Is that a typo for Alvin and the Chipmunks or is there a porn version?
Here’s one: People who want to get on the elevator before you get off. (Jes, an elevator is the same thing as a lift, just in case you didn’t understand.)
Have we reached the point where I discuss how much I hate it when, after shaving my butt with a dull, rusty razor, I sit in a bowl of warm gin? Cause I really hate that.
One of my pet peeves is every single person who is on the road while I’m driving!! Get out of my way, damnit! Or at least don’t drive like a fncking moron.
A kindred spirit! At last!
Except, which of us gets the road?
“Alvin _on_ the Chipmunks”? I know it’s just a typo, but still: you just gave some really nasty inspiration to a hentai/anime pornographer somewhere.
Peet peeve: people who jog in the street when there’s a sidewalk available. Blacktop’s not that much softer than concrete ya idjits!
Except, which of us gets the road?
As long as we can mutually agree not to drive like fncking morons, I think we can share (for now).
Is that a typo for Alvin and the Chipmunks or is there a porn version?
That made me laugh out loud and startle my office mates.
but its not like the quality was that huge of a drop off
See, I think there was.
Have we reached the point where I discuss how much I hate it when, after shaving my butt with a dull, rusty razor, I sit in a bowl of warm gin?
Gin? That’s weird.
Wouldn’t it be fun to do an ObWi Con? (now that we’ve established some ground rules for proper gum disposal and conversation topics). Where? When?
How about the Creation Museum, say on Jan 22, 2009?
Puns.
Good enough for Will Shakespeare —
good enough for me.
David Neiwert has some observations about the anthrax case.
By Cate Blanchett, I’m sure you meant Kate Winslet. Easy mistake to make.
@Jes: I’ve heard that people here who have to travel to the US for work want their employer to provide them with a company laptop, in case the cutoms want theirs searched and/or seized.
I don’t want to travel to the US the next few years, for a long list of reasons. Canada is still on the list though, with added benefit of recognizing all partners of all possible posters/commenters.
LeftTurn- Any museum affiliated with Answers in Genesis is all right in my book! They taught me that that evil Charles Darwin is why men rule the world! Next time a woman complains about anything, I’m going to remind her that I’m missing a rib because of her half of the species!
D’ya think I can get my picture taken with Adam and Eve riding a dinosaur?
I never travel to the US, anymore.
That would require leaving. I can’t even get out of fricking Williamsburg airport, never mind the country.
Sorry. I’ve been stuck here since Tuesday, waiting for things to happen. What finally happened was that a crucial part of the airplane broke, so going home is all that’s left.
I’ve been stuck here since Tuesday, waiting for things to happen
Tuesday?????? How many days do they need to assume they want to transport people in a different plane or train or whatever?
One of my pet peeves is every single person who is on the road while I’m driving!! Get out of my way, damnit! Or at least don’t drive like a fncking moron.
One of my fantasies of karma working itself out is this:
After my death, I find my hungry ghost standing by the side of a highway in Nebraska in late November. It’s windy as hell, and it’s starting to rain.
I’m trying to catch a ride.
Every person I’ve ever cursed out, given the finger to, tail-gated in a fit of pique, or otherwise gotten in the face of on the road, passes, one by one, at the rate of maybe one a day. They smile, wave, say “f* you, pal”, and continue on their way.
Burning off this particular karma takes a long, long time. Some folks pass me by more than one time. A lot of days worth of one-per-day are involved.
In fact, mountains tumble into the sea before my debt is paid.
My wife thinks this is a weird little movie to play out in my head, but we all hammer our souls into shape in our way, don’t we?
As the buddha said, “Whatever works, pal”.
By Cate Blanchett, I’m sure you meant Kate Winslet
Each of the C|Kates has much to commend her, but I gotta say I’m in the Blanchett camp.
Thanks!
Let my comment through on the Edwards thread! I worked a whole 5 minutes on it and I think its pretty funny! It totally isn’t spam!
Is there a limit to the number of links in a comment before it gets flagged? Because I think Typepad has labeled me as a spammer now. ^.^;
What broke was actually a helicopter, and it only broke this morning. Up until then, it was just a variety of fnckwittery, mostly committed by people who are not me.
This time, anyway.
The helicopter was not my transportation out, either. It was work.
ObWi Con – The Creation Museum sounds good to me. Just an hour’s drive away, AND I get the senior rate. Which is why I had to google YFIIP to find out what that was all about.
HSH – do you wear your “shirt” while sitting in the gin? That would take your moniker to a whole new level.
O/T (or would be if this weren’t an open thread), but what does the hive mind think of the resignation of Mazen Asbahi from the Obama campaign?
Is this cowardice in the face of McCarthyistic smear tactics, or smart politics and avoidance of a unnecessary distraction and yet another round of negative attack ads?
I’m especially curious to know what OCSteve, who seems to be our resident expert on judging unforced errors from a somewhat GOP-ish perspective, thinks of this.
Shortlists with only one person on them don’t make much sense, so let me help out:
Blanchet
Winslet
Watts
Connelly
Theron
Bening
Portman
Foster
Ricci
Moore
McDormand
Kidman
Alright, alright, now it’s a bit of a long list, but they’re all awesome, even if they’re not in awesome movies all the time.
Oh, sweet. After a workweek of nearly uninterrupted fail, my flight into Atlanta is delayed, which means that I probably get to spend the night there.
Which would be fine, if I was, say, somewhere fun, instead of at the airport.
Delta is my least favorite airline, just now. Delay on the outbound leg, and fail-quality delay coming back.
Recent favorite summertime cocktails:
Pisco Sours (pisco, lemon, sugar)
Old Fashioneds (bourbon, lemon, sugar, bitters)
Pernod w/ splash of water
My juleps have been very disappointing, not enough mint flavor.
Unfortunately this airport is so small that there is no bar in the terminal area, so I have to walk out through security to get myself a beer. No. Something with tequila in it. Possibly something made only of tequila.
But then I’d have to endure another body-cavity search coming back through. They actually swabbed my shoes and laptop case, and I thought: wonder if JP-whatever will set off their spectral whatsis?
I may have to wait until I get on the plane. Wonder if I can pre-order a drink with the flight crew?
Is there a limit to the number of links in a comment before it gets flagged?
MeDrew, it seems to be up to 4, though I have always limited it to 3 and have been safe.
By the way, I’d love to have ObWiCon, so long as someone else organizes it. 😉
The obvious candidate to organize ObWiCon is Gary.
[nudge, nudge]
Every person I’ve ever cursed out, given the finger to, tail-gated in a fit of pique, or otherwise gotten in the face of on the road, passes, one by one, at the rate of maybe one a day.
Thing is, I’m not an especially aggressive driver. It’s just, well…I wish people would follow Ugh’s simple advice:
1. That No Left Turn sign is there for a REASON, a$$hole.
2. I know that the sign claims that the speed limit is 25 (or 35, 45, 55, whatever.), but, really, you could go between 30 and 35 no problem. Trust me. Honestly. BUT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ARE YOU TO CRUISE AT LESS THAN WHAT THE SIGN SAYS!
3. Mr. Tailgate Guy (and it is almost always a guy), I have almost no problem slamming on my brakes and claiming whiplash, and definitely no problem severely violating advice 2. above and going 15 in the 35 where you can’t pass me.
4. Hey you! In the left lane on the two lane interstate highway! You do NOT have the right to cruise in that lane at the posted limit.
5. Also, Mr. Left Lane Guy, the fact that your cruise control has you passing the person on your right at the rate of one inch per hour DOES NOT MAKE THE 28 CARS BEHIND YOU VERY HAPPY!
6. Putting on your hazards does not make it okay to stop in the “no stopping or standing” zone. Even just for a Starbucks. Or to double park. Or much of anything UNLESS YOUR CAR IS ACTUALLY BROKEN DOWN!
7. Making a left or right from the non-left or right turn lane? BAD IDEA! I will t-bone you.
8. Just because the red light had been red for just two seconds before you went through the intersection does NOT make it yellow. I doubt you were traveling near the speed needed to induce a color shift (though it looked like you were).
9. Mr. & Mrs. Pedestrian – crossing in the crosswalk against the light does not give you immunity should I run you over.
10. Mr. Bicycle Dude (also, certain Mr. Motocycle and Scooter Dudes): when I’m in the right lane and have my right turn signal on, I’m making a right. Trust me. Plus nothing in the law says I have to check my right mirror to make sure you’re not illegally trying to go straight.
11. Mr. Brights-On Coming My Way On The Two Lane Road, I MIGHT RUN RIGHT INTO YOU FROM SHEER BLINDNESS! Off, please.
12. It does NOT help when you turn your left-turn signal on only AFTER the light has turned green and you’ve pulled into the intersection.
13. Also, Mr. Left Turn Guy, when the light turns green please pull into the intersection SO AT LEAST YOU CAN COMPLETE YOUR TURN ON RED! Otherwise, we might be here all week.
That is all.
Ugh, +4, signing off.
Wouldn’t it be fun to do an ObWi Con? (now that we’ve established some ground rules for proper gum disposal and conversation topics). Where? When?
It’s going to be hard to find a date, because my kids are both in their school plays. One is doing an middle-school adaptation of Titus Andronicus (here’s the program — see? There he is. Oh, and look — there’s his friend, the one whose dad played a corpse on one of those CSI shows)…
“…but what does the hive mind think of the resignation of Mazen Asbahi from the Obama campaign?
Is this cowardice in the face of McCarthyistic smear tactics, or smart politics and avoidance of a unnecessary distraction and yet another round of negative attack ads?
TLTinABQ: Dunno about the hive-mind, but after reading up a bit on the Asbahi flap, I’m going to go with “both of the above”. On the one hand, I find this this sort of naked prejudice – based on nothing more, apparently, than Asbahi’s limited, short-term “association” (once) with a Muslim imam from Chicago who was later accused (once) of possibly sending funds to Hamas, maybe – disgusting: a priori bigotry which seems only to get applied to (any) Muslims.
That said, on the other hand, I’m not sure how big an “unforced error” this is (OCSteve may have his own thoughts) – it’s pretty much “insider” stuff; and hasn’t seemed to have made much of an impact outside political blogs (like this one!) – and I don’t think it will affect the campaign or election much, if at all.
Still stinks, though: I would have expected better from the Obama organization…
@Slarti: that still sucks, but is an other area of frustration. I wish I could send you some of the beer I’m currently drinking, from one of our really nice local breweries.
@LeftTurn: I’m with the other Steve.
We’re on Block Island, vacationing. We just got back from a fancy fancy meal at a fancy fancy restaurant. The children got dressed up, sat up straight, and ate fancy food.
The twelve-year-old was adjusting her napkin on her lap when she pulled a face and said, “someone stuck gum under the table.” We then had an educational family discussion about What Kind of People Chew Gum in White-Linen Restaurants, and Why We Aren’t Them.
What Ugh said at 7:53. Every word of it. Especially especially especially #s 4 & 5 (my ultimate high-blood-pressure-inducing bulging neck & forehead-vein poppers). If I had a hood-mounted bazooka…
Juleps with not enough mint flavor????? I have a solution for you.
Get some fresh mint — 2 cups of leaves (we grow ours but your supermarket should have it in profusion).
Make a simple syrup — boil 2 cups of water, with 2 cups of sugar. Boil it for 2 minutes.
Take it off the heat and put in the mint. When it’s all cool enough put it in the refrigerator for 2 days. Strain it.
Now you have mint-flavored syrup. You will get wonderful mint flavor in your julep. Just drizzle it over the ice before you pour the bourbon, to your taste, and stir it up.
Just remember “2” —
2 cups mint
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
2 minutes of boiling
2 days in the fridge
When I make my juleps, I coat the lip of the glass with confectioners sugar (wet finger). Then I take a mint sprig and roll it in the sugar as a garnish.
Sweet, minty, bourbony goodness.
And if you have a veranda to sip it on, good for you.
We then had an educational family discussion about What Kind of People Chew Gum in White-Linen Restaurants, and Why We Aren’t Them.
Good for you. And a gold star for having raised a 12-year-old you can comfortably take to a nice restaurant.
alea jacta est
I wish people would follow Ugh’s simple advice:
Ugh,
How do I put this?
ummm… we need to have a little talk about your rather distressing case of LTDS (Left Turn Derangement Syndrome).
;->
“Alvin on the Chipmunks”
Is that the gay porno version?
“Thank you for spelling ‘damnit’ with the ‘n’.”
If you check your OED, you’ll see that’s wrong. It’s “damn,” but “dammit.” If two words, “damn it,” but if one word, “dammit.” Ask any copyeditor.
Since I can’t link to the OED, see here.
This is one of the ones that trips people up a lot. (Not “alot.”)
“Is there a limit to the number of links in a comment before it gets flagged?”
4 is okay, 5 is too many. Once it flags you, it limits what you can do for some undetermined number of hours thereafter. Don’t use the word “s p a m,” in that time period, for instance.
If it won’t let you post at all, try deleting the Typepad cookie, and posting with a different email address and possibly name; it can be made up; it just needs to be a real domain.
If that doesn’t work, try rubbing your stomach and patting your head while posting, but only on Tuesdays and Thursdays during months with “R” in their names.
“The obvious candidate to organize ObWiCon is Gary.”
If my psyche and circumstances allow for it, I’m planning to, as I said when I first originated the idea a few months ago, get to work on it sometime after I’ve recovered from the election in November. Either we can celebrate or commiserate; I’d tentatively figure on sometime between February and May, and if I’m doing it, somewhere on the East Coast of the U.S., since that’s where I am again.
Others are perfectly free to organize their own versions, of course.
Thanks LJ and Gary. I should’ve stayed at 4 animal jokes and left out the boar. They’re close enough to hogs to make me look desperate for a laugh.
But could I have tried patting my stomach and rubbing my head, since its a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday? Or were the programmers just drunk when they put it that loophole?
CAPT. Bad language or abuse,
I never, never use,
Whatever the emergency;
Though “Bother it” I may
Occasionally say,
I never use a big, big D–
ALL. What, never?
CAPT. No, never!
ALL. What, never?
CAPT. Hardly ever!
ALL. Hardly ever swears a big, big D–
I don’t imagine it’s gone over well with the Muslim community, which is perhaps as large as the Jewish community but not as politically powerful. I was talking some weeks back with a Muslim at a happy hour (the sort of person BOB doesn’t believe exists) who’d been a Clinton supporter and was very unhappy about Obama’s repeated denials of being Muslim without enough saying that being Muslim isn’t a bad thing, about the headscarf incident, about perceived dissing of Keith Ellison, and about the fact that Obama hasn’t spoken at any mosques despite speaking at churches and synagogues. She’s probably even less happy after this incident.
Still, I doubt many Muslims are eager to see a continuation of Bush’s policies, so I’d hope they won’t vote for McCain.
Well, I seem to recall James Blish’s short-storyizations of the original Star Trek episodes have Captain Kirk saying damnit with an n. I’m just sayin’, is all.
If you check your OED, you’ll see that’s wrong. It’s “damn,” but “dammit.” If two words, “damn it,” but if one word, “dammit.” Ask any copyeditor.
This is one of the ones that trips people up a lot.
Another word people often misspell is … OK, I can’t actually show that word here, but it’s twelve letters long and begins with a family member. There’s a variant of it that’s a present participle; many people spell it with thirteen letters, when it should be twelve letters plus an apostrophe.
Hey, best actress short-listers, have y’all never heard of a certain Tilda Swinton?
ThatLeftTurnInABQ: I’m especially curious to know what OCSteve, who seems to be our resident expert on judging unforced errors from a somewhat GOP-ish perspective, thinks of this.
That’s OCSteve the unrepentant Islamophobic bigot to you sir…
This was hardly a blip. It came up at places like MM/Hot Air and Riehl, and only then in terms of him stepping down, not concern when he was appointed. Certainly there was no blogswarm type activity on the right. Frankly I think Karen Hughes has closer ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. And if serving on a board with radicals is a concern then I am much more concerned about William Ayers.
OTOH, what the hell is a “Muslim Outreach Director” in terms of the campaign? Oh, I see Obama does have a Catholic Outreach Director… Weird. I wonder if he has a “People who think religion has no place in all this Outreach Director”…
Kind of a cool local story.
A local man bought a winning $250,000 Maryland Lottery ticket in the resort after having a dreamed about winning the lotto.
Find “Streep” *word not found*
Are you people kidding me?
I wonder if he has a “People who think religion has no place in all this Outreach Director”
Man, I wish.
Washington, D.C. is the logical place for an ObWi con. Per Gary, it’s on the east coast. It’s close to several of the principle bloggers (IIRC). It’s easy to get there.
Recent favorite summertime cocktails:
the Sidecar : Cognac, Cointreau, lemon juice (or limoncello)
Wonder if I can pre-order a drink with the flight crew?
I doubt the flight crew would share any of their stash with you, but you might try the cabin crew.
Pet peeves:
Radio commercials that scream at you.
Waiters or waitresses that pay no attention to you or your order — or just “disappear.”
How you just know you could get the best hour or two of your sleep if you just didn’t have to wake up and go to work.
People who don’t want to hear about by 9-year-old boy (just kidding, E).
New York Mets fans.
My own stupidity for not listening to my wife when she tells me we’re lost and I insist on going another exist or two before “giving in.”
How every business in the world charges you some sort of surcharge. (And I don’t fly but once in a blue, blue moon but charging for one of those itty-bitty pillows?)
Seeing typos in newspapers.
Drivers who blare their sounds systems as loud as possible at red lights.
Speed traps.
Flies.
Dirty silverware at restaurants.
Getting old.
1. I went the other way with “Alvin on the Chipmunks.” I was thinking that perhaps he found a way to grind up the other two and smoke them. (I wonder what it says about me that I went there instead of the porn route that everyone else took…) But more importantly, I agree on the gum thing, but think that it should be expanded to include smokers who throw their butts on the ground, out the window of their car, etc. I don’t know what makes most smokers such a–holes that they think that their habit is somehow exempt from prohibitions on littering, but it has to stop!
2. Who/what is “Broken Social Scene?” Yet another way in which I learn that I’m tragically un-hip. (Hey, at least I can make a Canadian indie-rock pun… that has to count for something, right?)
3. & 4. Agreed! You’ve got a kid, I’m proud of you! It’s not like it’s happened a couple billion times before, or anything… As for the work thing, I generally only talk about work with the people with whom I work. When I leave work stays behind.
5. Would have to agree. A girl who can pull off Dylan? Them’s some chops. (Egad, I’ve spent too much time in the South…)
6. Would be lots of fun. If it were a weekend and reasonbly travel-accessible, I’d be in.
the Sidecar : Cognac, Cointreau, lemon juice (or limoncello)
My gf just had one last week that had Tuaca in it as well. Really smoothed it out without altering its fundamental flavor profile; definitely recommended.
I must be getting too old. For me, “Alvin on the Chipmunks” was an expose, with Alvin sharing the dirt about Simon and Theodore…
Who/what is “Broken Social Scene?”
BSS is to Feist as the New Pornographers are to Neko Case.
Who are the New Pornographers?
Who are the New Pornographers?
they sound like this.
you might recognize the end of that song from the University of Phoenix’s commercials.
Dude….I have tickets for the New Pornographers *tonight* in Philadelphia
I hope they sing me some Spanish Techno…
Gosh BBC is good. Just finished watching a half hour documentary on Darfur and the Chinese government’s role (and to a lesser degree Russia’s too) in supplying the killers and protecting the government.
It’s what journalism is supposed to be: short, compact information on the important events shaping out around the world. It’s not difficult. And yet 90% of the nightly news is just sensationalist, content free rubbish.
I have tickets for the New Pornographers *tonight* in Philadelphia
my jealousy is diminished only by the fact that i’m still psyched that i had 2nd row seats for Wilco, last night.
BSS is to Feist as the New Pornographers are to Neko Case
An analogy worthy of the SAT exam!
Recent favorite summertime cocktails:
Txakolina: txakolina and a glass
The Sazerac: go to Romolo in North Beach and say “A Sazerac please”. Scott uses a very nice Swiss Absinthe in his.
The Antidote: 8 oz. filtered water, 2 Motrin, 1 Tagamet
On another note, wouldn’t it be interesting if right this second Senators Obama and McCain wrote down what their response to the current Russia/Georgia mess would be, sealed them in envelopes and delivered them to say Glenn Reynolds, to be opened upon either the conclusion of the mess (which hopefully will not be too long in coming) or one month, whichever comes first?
“I wonder if he has a ‘People who think religion has no place in all this Outreach Director'”
Man, I wish.
I believe in American presidential elections this is traditionally managed by the candidates themselves. Recall G. H. W. Bush’s adroit, on-the-record handling of such concerns:
(This of course being pertinent ’cause, ya know, only filthy scheming Godless atheists worry about whether religion might somehow be considered a “guiding force” in government. I mean, c’mon, how silly and paranoid and evil and un-American can ya get?)
Phil —
As you probably know, Tilda Swinton was the female lead in “Michael Clayton” — and was excellent, as she is in most everything she’s in.
Cate Blanchett Alert: “Notes on a Scandal” with Judi Dench. Awesome.
Two of the best movies I saw in 2007.
Speaking of good female acting, does anyone else here watch “Mad Men” on AMC?
My favorite is Don’s wife Betty, played by January Jones, what a stage name. Betty is an ice queen who’s paying Don back in Season 2 for his Season 1 infidelity.
Betty/Jones give new meaning to the term “silent treatment.”
Jesurgislac said… You might argue that the majority of ObWingers live within the borders of the US. True, but you can come visit our countries without running the risk of being kidnapped at the airport and shipped off to another country to be tortured, which is not true when we visit you.
C’mon. Have a heart. With the value of the dollar (or, more to the point, lack thereof), a flight from the U.K. to New York would cost you about twice as much as a meal of fish and chips. A night in a nice hotel in Manhattan would cost about the same as a coke. For us, it’s more like the cost of a new car and a month’s mortgage payment.
BSS is to Feist as the New Pornographers are to Neko Case.
Woohoo, one out of four! I actually know who “Feist” is. Although I must admit to being tempted to pretend you’re talking about this guy…
Recent favorite summertime cocktails
I’m still stuck on the mojito, but under no circumstances should it ever be made with Bacardi…
As it happens, I just watched The Hours and besides it being incredibly sad, but at the same strangely invigorating, it also features a stellar female cast:
Nicole Kidman
Julianne Moore
Meryl Streep
Miranda Richardson
Toni Collette
Allison Janney
Claire Danes
(also Ed Harris and John C. Reilly)
I vote for more film threads.
Woohoo, one out of four!
all four are good, in different ways of course. Neko Case, especially (IMO), is worth checking out.
ohh… cocktails: The Dark And Stormy
dark rum (Goslings) and real, spicy, ginger beer/ale. it’s like the national drink of Bermuda. yum-o.
but, it just doesn’t work right with light rum and/or ginger ale. so don’t bother trying.
they’re all awesome
They’re also all white. You don’t even have Goldberg there. Now I’m sure it’s unintentional, but think about that list again in light of this.
=================
The obvious candidate to organize ObWiCon is Gary.
Then you wouldn’t have to worry about this little black duck.
I think a wiki id a better idea.
=================
You do NOT have the right to cruise in that lane at the posted limit.
You don’t have the right to make me speed. (I’ve been running at just under 60 mph and getting GREAT glass milage, so STFU, thanks.)
– – – – – – – –
the fact that your cruise control has you passing the person on your right at the rate of one inch per hour DOES NOT MAKE THE 28 CARS BEHIND YOU VERY HAPPY!
The 28 cars behind me are not my concern. As long as I’m driving legally, they can STFU, too.
(You’d be so much fun to do “Blue Angels” on. A friend would be in front of you and I would be on your side. The two of us would slow to 5 miles under the limit, and you’d have no where to go. Enjoy your ride, a$$hole!)
“Recall G. H. W. Bush’s adroit, on-the-record handling of such concerns”
I looked into this some years back, and absolutely no one confirms this quote. The only source is the super-atheist guy, Rob Sherman, who alone insists he heard it. I don’t consider this a reliable cite, myself, therefore. In fact, I consider it debunked. If you can find me a second person to verify that Bush ever actually said this, cool. Cite?
And how is that lawsuit going? Cite?
I don’t know about a Tractor Pull, seems a little high-falutin, but Motley Crue was a pretty cool way to spend a weekend…except for the 2 hours it took to get out of the parking lot.
I understand that for some people, their children are their lives. Fabulous. Endearing. Responsible. You’re a regular one man/woman village and all that.
Eric, I talk offense at children one step further and see them as snot-nosed little tax burdens. “Children are our Future”…seriously, what the hell have they done for us lately?
Sorry, please replace “talk” with “take” in the above comment. I suck at playing the internet game.
They’re also all white. You don’t even have Goldberg there. Now I’m sure it’s unintentional, but think about that list again in light of this.
No, I really don’t care. They’re also all actresses from english-speaking countries, because they get the most exposure. It was a list from the top of my head of well-known actresses that have impressed me more than once and not intended to be complete or politically correct. I don’t think Goldberg or Berry are such great actresses. And if it makes you happy, had it been a list of actors, it would have included Morgan Freeman and Forest Whitaker.
Uh, guys, Whoopi Goldberg is not a good actress. At all. “The Color Purple” was an anomaly. I’ll spot you Angela Bassett, though.
Alright Phil, you got me: I’m a subconscious racist because I’ve not included Goldberg for a performance she gave almost 25 years ago in a subjective list about favourite actresses “currently in the game”. I also failed to mention actresses from Asia, Africa, South America and continental Europe which just goes to show my general ignorance and bias.
“Children are our Future”…seriously, what the hell have they done for us lately?
If they had done something for us already, wouldn’t that mean “Children are our Past/Present”? I thought the whole point of using the word “Future” was that the little snot-nosed rugrats will have to earn their keep when they are older, but not right now.
Perhaps you’d prefer the less poetic but more direct: “Children to Older People: We will bury you”.
While a touch on the gloomy side, at least it has the virtue of being quite literally true.
:->
“While a touch on the gloomy side, at least it has the virtue of being quite literally true.”
I thought LT. Nixon was clearly making a joke, myself. But what do you have against cremation?
Also, note to Novakant that I’m fairly sure Jeff isn’t Phil, and Phil isn’t Jeff.
Enjoy your ride, a$$hole!
passive aggression is touching his soul
he knows what he wants
but he just don’t know
how to go about getting it
I thought LT. Nixon was clearly making a joke, myself.
It would never occur to me to reply to somebody else’s joke by making a joke myself. Serial jokes (especially the dry and ironic kind) are tedious and I take myself far too seriously for that sort of nonsense. Also, that sort of thing is frowned upon on blogs (not boards!), or so I’ve been told.
just sayin’
I looked into this some years back, and absolutely no one confirms this quote. The only source is the super-atheist guy, Rob Sherman, who alone insists he heard it. I don’t consider this a reliable cite, myself, therefore. In fact, I consider it debunked. If you can find me a second person to verify that Bush ever actually said this, cool. Cite?
Sherman is a bit of a zealot, yes. However, FWIW, he did manage to get White House staff to support the statement, and the associated correspondence is in Bush’s presidential library. Now, this is at best indirect support of the statement (the staff is not denying the alleged quote, and reiterate the general sentiment behind it). And Sherman freely admits that he has only his written documentation of the precise text of the alleged quote. And yes, he could possibly be making the supporting evidence up from whole cloth; I don’t care enough about this to submit a FOIA request for the relevant documents he lists (and provides scans of). But he is providing some substantiation, even if he does most certainly have an agenda.
And how is that lawsuit going? Cite?
Haven’t the foggiest, nor do I care.
…but since self-enlightenment is edifying, it looks like he lost quite nicely on appeal.
“However, FWIW, he did manage to get White House staff to support the statement”
No, he certainly did not. All that the statement says is “Your letter of December 19, 1988, to President Bush has been referred to me for reply. As you are aware, the President is a religious man who neither supports atheism nor believes that atheism should be unnecessarily encouraged or supported by the government. Needless to say, the President supports the Constitution and laws of the United States, and you may rest assured that this Administration will proceed at all times with due regard for the legal rights of atheists, as will as others with whom the President disagrees.”
Sherman then insists that “This letter was a clear admission by the President, through his counsel, that he had indeed made the remarks and was not backing down from them,” which is clearly insane. It’s not an admission of any kind, obviously.
“But he is providing some substantiation”
No, he’s provided absolutely 0. And the lawsuite supposedly has been going on since 2004, but there’s no trace of it in the public record. This is all obviously complete nonsense. There’s no record of it anywhere, beyond one guy’s fervid claims, and it therefore is obviously untrue.
Obviously, if it were true, someone else at that press conference would have heard these alleged remarks. It’s total nonsense.
“And the lawsuite supposedly has been going on since 2004, but there’s no trace of it in the public record.”
Sorry, law suit, not suite, and there’s no trace of him succeeding in getting his alleged documents. It’s all simply one guy claiming he heard a long statement at a public press conference, but somehow no one else there heard it: that’s crazy.
Hehe. He looks to be a bit further out there than I’d seen (which isn’t surprising, since I’ve not paid any real attention to folks like him for near to a decade). Fair enough. I’ll concede the “quote” to be a truthy concoction.