Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

In my day, never was longer.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

T R E 4 5 O N

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

A consequence of cucumbers

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

This fight is for everything.

Consistently wrong since 2002

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

The revolution will be supervised.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Joe Lieberman disappointingly reemerged to remind us that he’s still alive.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

The GOP is a fucking disgrace.

Don’t expect peaches from an apple tree.

Republicans in disarray!

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

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Open Thread

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Season #6 of BtVS, on second viewing, is quite a let-down. Although I enjoy the supervillains and laugh every time they have lines (Tom Lenk rules), the writing just wasn’t as good as the previous seasons (even with the idiotic Initiative storyline in Season #4).

Also, the death of Tara, one of the only truly innocent and fundamentally decent characters on the show (Buffy’s mother was another, but she got whacked in Season #5), was rather brutal, and still really upsets me despite the fact that it advanced the storyline. All in all, other than a few moments and the last 4-5 episodes, the season was not as good as others.

Dark Willow rocks, though, and makes up for a lot. I will leave you with this parting thought:

Warren had it coming.

I turn the thread over to you with this Andrew quote:

And then what? You think your little witch buddy’s gonna stop with us? You saw her! She’s a truck-driving Magic Mama! And we’ve got maybe seconds before Darth Rosenberg grinds everybody into Jawa-burgers, and not one of you bunch has the midichlorians to stop her.

Reader Interactions

105Comments

  1. 1.

    HH

    I always said that season 6’s big saving graces were the final two-part episode, “Once More with Feeling” and “Tabula Rasa.”

  2. 2.

    rilkefan

    We’re watching or rewatching season 3. Almost every single episode’s a winner. Earshot for example is such a heavy episode and yet so funny – Cordelia saying exactly what she thinks; Oz ruminating “I am my thoughts. My thoughts are in Buffy, thus she becomes me, and I am no one”; Giles getting treed. It’s just genius.

    Season six had nothing like that balance of elements or that control of material or that thematic deftness. Oh well.

  4. 4.

    iocaste

    Season 6 is widely considered to be the worst season overall. Still, even at its worst, it gives us gems like Once More, With Feeling.

  5. 5.

    Shygetz

    I always thought Season 6 was just very uneven. It has some of my favorite episodes, and also some of my least favorite. But The Trio was pretty funny.

  6. 6.

    Krista

    I only got into Buffy when a cousin of mine had a guest spot on it (he played Lyle Gorch). Great show, and I agree that Dark Willow totally rocked. It was heartbreaking that Tara died. What do you think of how the series ended?

  7. 7.

    Cyrus

    I know I’m in the minority, but I actually liked the Initiative. It gave us Adam, one of relatively few Big Bads had to be defeated not just by blowing it up (the Mayor) or smacking it with a hammer (Glory). It gave Spike his chip, and while some later parts of Spike’s story might have been pretty bad, that led to some truly hilarious moments. And it gave us the episode “Hush.”

    If nothing else, think of it this way: if Season 4 had never happened, all the SF elements of Season 6 would have come completely out of the blue and therefore wouldn’t have worked nearly as well.

  8. 8.

    Tim F

    Al Franken appeared on CNN this morning to promote this book. In four minutes he brought up ‘Fitzmas,’ quoted poppy Bush about treason and called for the leakers to be executed.

    On the one hand, holy shit. On the other hand, tossing grenades to promote a book is pretty much Franken’s MO. I don’t expect that Al will be called for any debate panels anytime soon.

  10. 10.

    Matt

    I suspect that a second viewing of Season 7 will also be a let down for you as well, although probably not as much as 6.

    Redeemed Spike just kills both seasons for me, personally. Though, as others have said, Season 6 has some fan-freaking-tastic individual episodes.

  11. 11.

    Matt

    I also see that Amazon has bumped up the price on the superultramega boxset. Glad I got in early.

  12. 12.

    Shygetz

    I thought Season 7 was similar to Season 6–some great episodes, and a lot of snoozers and “woe is me” episodes in the middle. Probably my two least favorite seasons with some of my favorite episodes. And I thought the finale absolutely rocked my socks.

  13. 13.

    Andrew Reeves

    “Normal Again” and OMWF almost redeem Season 6. Almost. Because the “magic as crack” element, especially in “Wrecked” was just too painful to bear.

    Why the dislike of The Initiative? It’s brilliant in that it presents the melding of Weberian bureacratization with the radical alterity that constant fighting with demons entails. Of course it is ackward: It’s ackward because you have two radically different worldviews impinging on each other, which is, I think, the whole point of the season.

    And it had Riley. Of all the characters in the Buffyverse, Gunn and Riley (pre- and post-Initiative treatments) were my favorites because they fought the powers of darkness without supernatural help. They were entirely self made. After all, Buffy was preternaturally strong, quick, fast-healing, etc. Riley and the initiative soldiers, though, were mere men who through a regimen of weight training, combat expertise, government drugs, and other things made themselves equal to the powers of the night.

    As with Gunn, fighting Vampires with only his street smarts, there’s something wonderfully humanistic about that.

  14. 14.

    Shygetz

    That’s why Xander is my favorite character. One of my favorite episodes is The Zeppo, where everyone else is too busy, and Xander has to stop evil zombies from blowing up the school. Xander is my nerd hero.

    And I’m with Andrew–you guys should lay off The Initiative. I had problems with Season 4 just because I loved Buffy as a high school horror dramedy. But the Initiative was a GREAT enemy, and it made Spike into an everyday regular (for which it has my eternal gratitude).

  15. 15.

    John Cole

    Shygetz- I thought season 7 was better, but I do remember thinking at one point in time that if Buffy gave another motivational speech, I was going to quit watching the series.

    Andrew- I liked Riley much more the second time through.

  16. 16.

    M. Scott Eiland

    My reaction after seeing the first episode that Warren appeared in (“I Was Made To Love You,” from season five) was “This guy needs to die–he’s seriously evil.” It was about the clearest reading I ever had on the conception JW had for a character–and he definitely had it coming.

  17. 17.

    Shygetz

    Yeah, Warren had it coming. The First did such a good Warren impersonation, I couldn’t tell the difference. If Giles hadn’t been in England through most of Season 6, he’d have snuffed that little turd himself.

  18. 18.

    dagon

    buffy and her motivational speeches is one of the main reason’s why season 6 was actually better than season 7, although the speechifying against willow’s ‘magic addiction’ became almost as trite and tiring.

    but fortunately for season 6, most of the heavy lifting in the self-righteousness depattment was handled by perhaps the most underrated and solid members of the cast, anthony stewart head.

    all of the above comments are correct. the last 2 seasons were unever yet included some the best single, genre defining eps. but let’s face it folks, when giles shows up all goku’d out at the end of first half of the season ender to blow dark willow out of the room just as she was about to lower the boom on our clearly overmatched heroes…..

    i nearly wept.

    peace

  19. 19.

    dagon

    one other thing,

    faith was entirely underused and dare i say misused when she finally arrived in sunnydale continue her redemption.

    see the preceding faith arc in angel for reference. wesley goes to see faith in prison to tell her that angel needs her help; faith busts out of prison by grabbing wesley and jumping out of the freaking window.

    nuff said

    peace

  21. 21.

    ThirdGorchBro

    Kimmit, you didn’t miss much, unless you’re an Anya fan. Season 7’s Anya-centric episode, “Selfless,” was the last time Whedon really hit one out of the park on this show.

    I too found Season 6 uneven, and in retrospect, you can see that the actors, writers, and probably Whedon himself were starting to get tired of the whole thing.

  22. 22.

    John Cole

    I disagree. Watch Season 7- it is better than season 6, and any way you look at it, a bad Buffy season still puts it in the top tier of television.

    And I liked it. Although the Buffy speeches got old.

    And you can never have too much Anya.

  24. 24.

    dagon

    don’t forget to get the complete season on amazon next month. I weep for those who bought the previous season compilations

    peace

  26. 26.

    schrodingers_cat

    I have rediscovered my interest in drawing, coloring. And when I am engrossed in one of my art projects I am in Zen mode. I know it sounds cliché but find something that gives you joy and allows you to forget the world around you

    ETA: On the other hand I returned from a 10 day trip and parts of my house are still a mess.

  27. 27.

    bbleh

    As an economist, I am happy to say that there often is ample support, both theoretical and empirical, for the “fuck it just buy a new one” alternative.  The “used car / new car” decision is the classic example, but there are many others, some running into (honestly) nine figures (without the decimal).  And that’s before you add in the emotional component.

    Plus you get to order a cool new pattern.  Get one with tropical fish.

  28. 28.

    currawong

    Many happy returns from Australia where we’ve just come through our shortest day and are looking forward to the days getting longer.

    BTW, tweets no longer resolve at all on my PC or phone. I have to click on them to see what they say if they contain a link or image. This isn’t just a problem with BJ, it’s every single site I visit. Is anybody else seeing this?

  29. 29.

    ColoradoGuy

    Your pergola has a beautiful new decoration on it. Just wait for a high wind and that problem, too, will be solved. Second the suggestion on the tropical fish.

  30. 30.

    Ohio Mom

    @schrodingers_cat: Pyschologists call that a “flow state.” There’s lots of research and writing about it.

    I didn’t know it was your birthday yesterday Cole. Belated good wishes for this new year of yours. Good luck with the shower set-up too.

  31. 31.

    satby

    We’re all pretty sick of adulting John. The last five (god, really 5?) years have taken a toll on everyone.

  32. 32.

    Ken

    @bbleh: Anyone know if they sell shower curtains with a pattern that looks like random splotches of mold? I figure it would save some time.

  33. 33.

    Immanentize

    John, that does not sound good. I and many others are in similar spaces, but a week of wet followed by rage toss is not a sign of returning happy head. I am exactly at that level right now. Sold something on Craig’s list but for six days have not mustered the wherewithall to turn off the ad. I hope you have a human friend to see f2f about curtain choices?

  34. 34.

    columbusqueen

    Whoa, and I thought I was in a salty mood lately.

    Happy belated birthday, BTW.

  35. 35.

    Another Scott

    Belated HBD young man!

    Did you see your horoscope yesterday??

    Cancer Horoscope Today: June 22, 2022

    It doesn’t matter what other people say. Your feelings are true and valid, Cancer, and your point of view deserves to be heard. Instead of gaslighting yourself into believing otherwise, have an open and honest conversation with yourself about the things that truly matter to you. Remember, eliminating what is no longer a vibrational match is the first step towards creating space for what will be supportive of your growth.

    Cosmic tip: Let it go.

    (Insert Frozen.gif here)

    Hang in there! :-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  36. 36.

    Immanentize

    @satby: Five years since my wife died. Five is enough and I, personally, am committed to not making it six!

  37. 37.

    MagdaInBlack

    Pretty much my head space lately too. I seem to be using up my daily allotment of “fuck this bs.” before I get to work.  At work I have to go with “fuck everything.”

  38. 38.

    cbear

    Happy Birthday, Cole!

    Thanks for all the good times (and everything else) over these last 18 years.

  39. 39.

    Starfish

    You are right. It has been rough.

    For the Balloon Juice historical record, Is it a naked mopping story if you are technically mopping the floor with a towel?

  40. 40.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @bbleh:

    The “used car / new car” decision is the classic example, but there are many others, some running into (honestly) nine figures (without the decimal).  And that’s before you add in the emotional component.

    Yeah, but that’s just NFL owners and their stadiums, right?

  41. 41.

    satby

    @Immanentize: Yours was an additional  personal hell on top of the hell of the election of 2016, the following 4 years, and the insanity of the right wing assault on *everything* since Biden got elected.

    I’m always impressed you’re still standing.

  45. 45.

    Spanky

    @bbleh: Yup! Today’s purchase of a new dishwasher being an example. Second time the pump has failed. We could go through the repair guy song and dance, waiting days for him to come, then days/weeks for the new $$$ pump. Or get a new d/w delivered Saturday. Guess which we chose.

    Of course, feel free to comment on how the manufacturers have set the system up to make this the inevitable choice.

  49. 49.

    SpaceUnit

    Don’t worry about being a year older.  If you’re ordering your shower rod and curtain from Amazon then you’re solid Gen Z.

  50. 50.

    brendancalling

    I accepted an offer in Philly, and will be corrupting young minds as a high school English teacher for the next two years

  51. 51.

    trollhattan

    @Spanky: We went through that with the clothes washer-n-dryer last year when the combination of increasingly expensive repairs and the lack of parts severe enough to require donor parts from boneyard machines, gently let us know “it’s time.” Because when you drop four-hundred bucks on a 20YO washer, it’s still worth zero bucks afterwards. The new machines are really swell, as a bonus.

    Am now eyeballing the HVAC system that has graduated from four-hundred buck repairs to two-thousand a pop. I’m a’skeert to begin shopping, however, because beyond the enormous cost there’s a lot of disruption at no extra charge.

  52. 52.

    realbtl

    I’ve found the “Screw it buy a new one” reaction increases with age. Coupled with I’ll pay someone else to do it.

  55. 55.

    AJ formerly of the Mustard Search and Rescue team

    Since Cole has kicked off the celebration of personal accomplishments, I’m proud that this week I threw out the open but not fully used box of Trader Joe’s turkey gravy that I bought for Thanksgiving.

    Go team!

  56. 56.

    geg6

    @brendancalling:

    Excellent news!

    As for Cole, I’m in a bad headspace, too.  My beloved BIL just passed away way too young and my sister is devastated.  My younger sister just started chemo and immunotherapy for a very aggressive form of breast cancer.  My niece was bitten very deeply by a 5 yo with autism having a meltdown at the Y summer camp she works at as a counselor and had to go to the ER.  Work is insane and I really just want to retire.  My John being fully retired is driving me crazy.  Thank the FSM for my dogs, cat and the J6 hearings.  The only pure joy I have right about now.

  58. 58.

    Jackie

    I got my first shingles shot Tues, and NO side effects – other than the bruised injection site. Number 2 planned for late Aug/early Sept.

  63. 63.

    Al Z.

    I made an appointment for my dog’s annual appointment today. Soonest they had was late September. Is this a nation-wide thing?

  64. 64.

    PeakVT

    I decided to more-or-less tune out national politics for the summer and I am happier for it. I might tune in for the election. But because I made up my mind on what party to vote for about 3 decades ago, I might not, and just vote.

  65. 65.

    trollhattan

    No step Florida ManSnek.

    Her last meal was an entire white-tailed deer, and she was on her way to a rendezvous with a male snake when the largest python ever found in Florida met her demise.

    Weighing in at 215lbs (98kg) and nearly 18ft long (5m), the female Burmese python was caught after researchers used a male “scout” to find her. She wrestled with biologists for 20 minutes before she was “subdued”, they said Wednesday.

    Pythons have become pests in Florida as invasive snakes with no major predators, out-competing native species. The serpents have been periodically found in the state since irresponsible pet owners released or allowed pet pythons to escape years ago, with many then going on to thrive in Florida’s subtropical climate. The record-setting Burmese female killed by researchers from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida was about the height of a giraffe if stretched out vertically, according to state biologist Ian Bartoszek.

    She had been slithering around the Florida Everglades forest when biologists, using a male python named Dionysus outfitted with a radio transmitter, found her.

    He stopped at a spot in the western part of the forest. “We knew he was there for a reason, and the team found him with the largest female we have seen to date,” Mr Bartoszek said. She was also discovered to have been pregnant with an astonishing 122 eggs.

    The largest male ever found there was 16ft and 140lbs.

    It is estimated that she was up to 20 years old when caught.

    Researchers have been hunting pythons in Florida for over 10 years in an effort to protect native species in the region’s ecosystem.
    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61916694

  70. 70.

    dww44

    @Spanky: do you mind sharing the DW brand whose pump failed twice?  We’ve had this issue.  Pump sometimes works but not at full strength. We’re still limping along

  72. 72.

    joel hanes

    @Ken:

    Hotels use fabric shower curtains instead of vinyl ones because you can just throw the fabric ones in the washing machine.

    Some years ago we switched to a hotel-style double curtain, plain white inner and patterned outer, and I will never again purchase a plastic shower curtain.

  74. 74.

    Quiltingfool

    I finished this quilt today, too.  The quilt top has been finished for some time, I got around to quilting it yesterday.  I like making Lone Star style quilts when I need a finicky project to do.
    https://pin.it/6F0EdIh

  75. 75.

    dww44

    @geg6: So sorry about your loss.  You do seem to have more than your fair share of stresses in your life right now.

  76. 76.

    tomtofa

    Re: shower curtains

    In Europe, especially in the Scandinavian countries (for some reason) they ofter don’t have any shower doors or curtains. Yes, mop up a bit when you’re done – it will dry anyway. Once you get past the inborn urge to keep everything dry it’s actually kind of liberating.

    p.s. Be careful where you keep the toilet paper…

  77. 77.

    NutmegAgain

    @Spanky: Ach. Appliances… won’t say more since I don’t want to jinx the appliance Gods. But holy cow they seem to cost a whole lot more than not even too long ago.

    I refitted a kitchen in a condo I sold about 3 years ago. I got a nifty stove with 2 ovens. The top one is shallow, but excellent for those of us who live alone and have bad backs. I’d love to replace my current stove, but the nifty ones go for a thousand bucks and up! And don’t even get me started on refrigerators…

  78. 78.

    Quiltingfool

    @trollhattan: Well, I had to put Patron in the quilt!  Actually, he was a bit of a last minute addition, and I’m glad I did it.  I see there is another dog, Malta.  If I had known about Malta a few weeks ago, I’d have made a block for her!

  81. 81.

    Jager

    After 4 delightful days with my daughter, grandsons, two dogs, and my lovely wife celebrating my birthday/Father’s Day in Santa Cruz, yesterday, my life companion heads to Trader Joe’s, as she enters the parking lot, her left front tire goes flat. Her Volt has no spare, just a can of the inflater stuff and a pump. She calls, I told her to call Liberty Mutual Roadside Assitance. She does, calls me back, and says they are arranging a truck. Cool. 30 minutes later they are still arranging, an hour later they are still arranging, two hours later…I jump in the Jeep and drive over to TJ’s. The tire is split, and the inflator isn’t going to work. She calls Liberty Mutual again, nothing. I say fuck it, it’s 90 degrees out, go get the groceries, worst comes to worst, take the Jeep, go home and I’ll deal with this shit. I talk to Liberty Mutual, the woman finally admits they put the service out for bids! I get on my phone, and call a local tow company, the truck is there just as my wife rolls out of TJ”s. The bill was 80 bucks, Liberty Mutual took care of it after she ripped them a new ass on the phone.

  83. 83.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    A belated Happy Birthday to you, John. I’m a slacker and I have a reputation to keep… :)

  85. 85.

    evodevo

    @Jager: Not unusual…we had a similar experience with State Farm’s “roadside assistance”…never showed up (they contract out too).  I now just call a local tow service whose owner I know, and take the bill into the State Farm rep’s office.  So far they pay up…much easier.

  87. 87.

    Suzanne

    I am similarly salty. Currently sitting in a plane at O’Hare, waiting to finish boarding and take off. Have been gone for a week on a family trip, seeing my in-laws for the first time since the pandemic started. I did not really feel good about going on this trip, because we didn’t get to have Spawn vaccinated before we left (her appointment is scheduled for next Friday).

    My FIL makes me crazy. He and my MIL have a very toxic relationship and they both wanted to hang out away from each other, so Mr. Suzanne spent much of his time with FIL and I spent time with my MIL. And my FIL planned the trip, and he is declining health wise bigtime. He has developed seizures, and he hates the medication he’s on, so he refuses to take it, and then he seizes and usually injures himself in the meantime. It happened again three weeks ago, but he didn’t want us to find out. He has broken his nose, burned himself, and other scary shit during the seizures, and yet he just will not take the stuff. Because he is a stubborn PITA.

    Anyway, the planning got somewhat fucked up and I am just ready to be home.

  88. 88.

    Nelle

    @brendancalling: Congratulations!  I’ve just been tossing away decades worth of teaching practice (literature and composition), most of it developed by myself.  It was hard to do…I kept thinking someone can use this stuff, but then realized no one really wants someone else’s ideas.  It is really shedding an identity that I hadn’t realized I still had buried within me.  (My last years of teaching were all online for a university in Montana – I was in New Zealand – which I found very unsatisfying.)

  93. 93.

    Mart

    @Jackie: The first one was sore at injection, the second knocked me out for four days. Just trying to make you feel better about the 2nd one…

  95. 95.

    NotMax

    ‘@trolhattan

    Don’t be disappointed if does not elicit reaction; given the full B-J treatment within the comments of this morning’s thread.

    ;)

  100. 100.

    cope

    Two intertwined tales of replacing the old with the new.  In Tale #1, our homeowner’s insurance gets cancelled and the company subsequently goes belly up.  Welcome to Florida.  To get new insurance, we have to mitigate the old electronics of the house:  a new breaker box and alumiconn connecters between the household aluminum wiring and all new switches and outlets.  In the midst of this process, our old dryer stops working leading to Tale $2.

    I have kept this dryer working for years.  It was the only thing that I could still work on because its parts were mostly mechanical but this time, I give up.  A new dryer from a big store shows up, I wire it up and plug it in to its 220 outlet.  No joy, just a slight buzzing sound from the control panel.  The big store replaces it a couple of days later.  I wire it up and plug it in and get the same lack of tumbling and the same low buzz from the control panel.  This is where I deviate from my normal, logical thinking self.  Against all odds, I reckon that I have been dealt two lemons in a row and arrange for dryer #3 to be delivered.

    Now, all this is leaving out the time on the phone and online drifting around, trying to connect with various “customer support” entities.  That’s a story in itself.

    Dryer #3 produces the same result: buzz, no work.  Finally,  I call the electrical company that did our new wiring and the guy they send out checks the voltage to the outlet (which I had also done) and its right there at 220 across the hot leads and 110 hot-to-neutral, a full 220 into the dryer.  No apparent problem on their end leads me back to the big store for dryer #4 and a different brand (spoiler:  almost all of them are actually made by the same parent company).

    Dryer #4 likewise fails to work but does give me a slight shock when I test the door switch.  I call the electric company again and ask for somebody creative and smart to come solve this problem.  By the way, the previous guy was so perplexed that he asked me to contact him when things were finally resolved.

    The smart, creative guy figures out there’s a problem when the 220 going into the dryer drops and starts acting, as he put it in technical jargon, “weird” when he turned the dryer on.  This directs him to diagnosing a ground problem that strangely never plagued the old dryer but he fixed it and we have been doing laundry for the past two days.

    The moral to the story?  There is no moral.  Sometimes strange things just happen and make life extra annoying.  Reading other people’s stories on here, I am doing pretty well if my biggest problem is having to schlep wet, dirty clothes to my sister-in-law’s house to dry them.

  101. 101.

    Sister Golden Bear

    I decided to be gentle to myself and be OK with not being OK this week.

    Earlier this week was first anniversary of finally being able to scatter my mother’s ashes (delayed due to Covid), as well as the anniversary a few years ago, to joining her for her last days with pancreatic cancer (six weeks from diagnosis to death). She died on my birthday, which is coming up in a week. I’ve resigned myself to that day being bittersweet and weird for the rest of my life — as well as probably the end of June in general. Also the anniversary when I was sexually assaulted by another women because I was trans.

    But it’s also the anniversaries of a happier memories from other years: finally having six months of near suicidal levels of pinched nerve pain subside, having an awesome meeting with HR to officially begin my transition. And it’s Pride Week here in SF.

    But Pride this year is tinged with an undercurrent of fear and anger. I’m going anyway to the Trans March, Dyke March and Sunday’s parade anyway, because I refuse to let the haters intimidate me. But I’m definitely in a “where’s my brick?” mood.

  103. 103.

    dilbert dogbert

    Back when rehabbing the bath I looked at shower curtain rods and they were all crap.  I bought a straight stainless steal tube from West Maine.  You can chin yourself on it.

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