Sorry for the lack of real posts this week- just a lot going on and it is getting nice out, so I have been spending a bit more time out and about.
I did spend an hour at AAA today getting some titles and license plate stuff taken care of, and it was really weird. It was like being transported back in time to 1982. It was staffed by a bunch of plump and elderly women, and there was only one old IBM computer in the entire joint. I was the only client this side of 70 at the place, and they filled everything out by hand and I even got a hand written receipt, and I can’t remember the last time that happened. There was no music playing, an old fashioned clock on the wall like I have not seen since middle school, and all the old industrial strength furniture that was modern in the 80’s. I guess everyone just goes to the DMV to do this stuff, but I always went to AAA in the past and see no reason why I should change. I have no idea if the AAA is dying off, not that everyone can google maps and there are satellites directions in cars and whatnot, so the triptik is not that valuable anymore, but for some reason I found it oddly comforting that the AAA office was still there, still in the mall where no one else is anymore next to the Super K-Mart, and still doing things just the way they have for the last 40 years.
Alright, off to the couch to test drive that new cop show on NBC- Southland, I think.
*** Update ***
There are a lot of “I’s” in this post. ME ME ME ME ME ME ME.
*** Update #2 ***
Southland looks really promising. They have the guy who played Bull Randell in Band of Brothers in one of the roles- always like him in these kinds of parts. I still have never forgiven NBC for canceling Boomtown.
Ricky Bobby
GOT to start talking about Rep. Bachus and his secret list of House Socialists, this is just too good to led slide.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/09/spencer-bachus-socialists_n_185364.html
gbear
He’s going to sing!
Just Some Fuckhead
I’ve never been inside a Triple A. They have a reputation here locally for treating their employees poorly. Once I needed a AAA diamond parking pass to park near the entrance at Disneyworld* so I bought it off of eBay.
*The trams make me queasy. Pretty bad when yer sick to yer stomach before you even get in the park, huh?
ed
Triple A is for sucks (among other things–lobby against public transportation). You can do better:
http://www.betterworldclub.com/
Tell your friends.
Laura W
Insightful.
Stop apologizing. You should be out and about more. Christ…you’re young, healthy and virile. (I’m assuming.)
You still wanna be entertaining all of us when you’re in your late 40’s?
(Just say "No", even if you don’t really mean it tonight.)
Mission to Marzipan B&J’s Ice cream anyone?
gbear
Ummm, way to make a guy feel old, young Laura W.
mgordon
Just one step closer to the all Werewolf Congress.
Laura W
@gbear: Oh no. I’m not young. John is. Was I not clear there?
Unless you are referring to YOU being older or in your late 40’s, in which case I apologize. I meant to
insultinspire John, not you, gbear.cyntax
@mgordon:
It only takes one to get in there and start biting Reps…
kommrade reproductive vigor
@Ricky Bobby: Bachus – The God of Huffing Sharpie Markers.
Fencedude
@Ricky Bobby:
…so do they just have no knowledge of history, at all?
kommrade reproductive vigor
Surely you mean I, I, I!
robertdsc
Moar Tunch, plz.
Rick Massimo
No names, of course, because he clearly pulled that number out of his ass when pressed.
AAA beats hell out of the DMV up here in Rhode Island, at least. In and out in 15 minutes tops, as opposed to hours at the DMV (unless you’re in line when it opens).
Lee
I’ve been a member of AAA since I started driving…I’m in my 40’s now.
I look at it as towing insurance. The flip-chart triptiks are still great even in this day of google maps.
El Tiburon
Kings is pretty good, a bit predictable, but what are you gonna do.
Left Coast Tom
@Ricky Bobby:
I’m represented by the House’s only athiest…is he also one of these 17 Soci*alists? Because then if I met someone from Vermont I could hold my own.
Brian J
I didn’t watch "Southland," but I think it’s being recorded on the DVR, so perhaps I’ll watch it later. I did think there were some pretty decent episodes of "The Office," the new show "Parks & Recreation," and "30 Rock" on tonight. Do you still watch "30 Rock," John? For some reason, whenever I think of that convoluted chart that shows how NBC, Universal, and General Electric in general are owned by the government of North Korea, I think of this blog.
Glenn Fayard
Boomtown was awesome. I liked the episode where the one cop took down a bunch of Russians by his lonesome.
KRK
I love Boomtown. It was the first TV show I bought on DVD.
Not a great week for me. Despite having a backup hard drive and backup CDs it seems that five years’ worth of photos and documents stored on my computer are gone for good. Of course, I was able to recover a bunch of work-related documents I don’t really need, but nothing else. Our IT guy referred to it as a "perfect storm" of fail. Charming. Wish I could think of something to smash that would improve my mood.
Jrod
I thought everything and everyone that wasn’t explicitly Rock-Ribbed Republican was by definition sockalist?
FYWP
The Moar You Know
Don’t know about the rest of the country, but the California DMV sucks so bad that AAA does a raging business here – simply because the alternative is too nightmarish to contemplate.
But yeah, old ladies, 80s furniture, all that. I guess some things are universal.
gbear
@Laura W:
I’m about to head into the second half of my fifties. I was MUCH more entertaining in my late 40’s. But that’s OK. I’m tough… I can take it….sniffle…
LD50
Of course. As anyone can tell you, atheists and soc1al1sts are one and the same thing. And ACORN. Also.
Peter J
NBC has pulled it from Sundays, the last eight episodes of it will air on Saturdays. So while not yet formally cancelled, it’s cancelled.
MM
I’m not sure if someone has posted this yet John, but you and Balloon Juice get namechecked in Barry Eisler’s new novel (along with a bunch of other bloggers including the Jane Hamshers of the left).
gbear
can a black islamofascist legislator from Minneapolis be considered a socia!ist too? That’s some pretty awesome multi-tasking.
John Cole
@MM: What book?
Left Coast Tom
I think it’s essential that he be a soci*alist. Also, too.
AnneLaurie
AAA will never die until Google will send a tow truck out to the boonies at 4am on New Year’s Day to start a dead battery, or onto the turnpike during a monsoon because someone forgot to get gas.
Southland, incidentally, is available on Hulu. I don’t think I ever thanked Bad Horse’s Filly for turning me on to Hulu… but then again, I also haven’t told my less-than-thrilled Spousal Unit which BJ commenter gave me a reason to watch more TV shows…
gbear
1. @MM: What book?
2. ???
3. Royalties!!
MM
@John Cole
Faultline
Fictional John Cole broke a woman’s heart, as did fictional Josh Marshall.
Wini
Daily Show. Wow.
James F. Elliott
I still have never forgiven NBC for canceling Boomtown.
Damn frigging skippy!
MM
@gbear
It’s pretty interesting really. It’s like DVD eater eggs in book form. So far the book has had characters named Hilzoy, Josh Marshall, John Cole, Jane Hamsher and Scott Horton.
Oh and a law firm named Sullivan and Greenwald.
Without being spoilery, the characters later start talking about political blogs and mention TPM, Unclaimed Territory, No Comment, Hullabaloo, FDL, The Daily Dish and BJ.
I’m only about 1/3 through, so I’m not sure what else will come up.
MikeJ
Or link whoring on dead trees.
(The author I mean. Not you.)
Andrea
Major damn skippy. There is one (!) DMV office for the entire city of San Francisco. I wish AAA did drivers license renewals. I can’t find the pink slip for my ’97 Acura, but I called AAA and I can start the paperwork with them.
Just Some Fuckhead
@MM: Tell me the villian is "Markos" or I’ll just die.
Scott de B.
AAA is great, and still doing okay as far as I know. I’m a happy member. The services they provide are really useful.
MM
@Just Some Fuckhead
Ha ha. Haven’t had the villain revealed yet. I’m hoping it’s the robot body of Glenn Reynolds, who when the main character asks if he is going to die replies with, "Heh. Indeed." If he tries to kill him by smothering him with tea bags, even better.
clone12
AAA’s HQ is in Southern California and from what I’ve seen, they adopt a super cash-cow system. They don’t upgrade anything ITwise and they refuse change anything. We’re talking about green screen in the age of windows.
That turned out to be a good thing. Because these green screen nerds didn’t try anything else crazy either, like trying to get higher yields by parking their funds in CDO land. They were actually hiring last year because they didn’t go over the cliff like every other financial institutions. In some ways they were the old beat-up Battlestar Galactica while all the other shiny space ships were brought low by a single virus.
I don’t think everyone should adopt their model, but it worked for them, and good luck trying to convince upper management there they should attempt anything remotely new-fangled.
John Cole
I was reading and not paying too close attention, but I swear to FSM I think Anderson Cooper just informed his audience that Alan Greenspan is going commando these days.
Dennis-SGMM
Never thought I’d write this: Eminem’s new video "We Made You" is hilarious – in a good way. Who knew that the little bastard was such an excellent satirist?
jnfr
@Litlebritdifrnt:
I’m so sorry about Max. Best wishes to you.
AhabTRuler
Does Greenspan get into the pants of every CNN reporter?
I want pictures of Greenspan dressed up as a Leather Daddy! Also.
Just Me
I still have never forgiven NBC for canceling Boomtown.
Agreed, but in the two or three eps that they aired of season 2, they’d messed with the winning formula of multiple viewpoints so badly (to make it seem more "mainstream" to the masses?) that it was just as well.
We’ll always have the DVD.
Ella in NM
John, you do know that there are no "I’s" in team, but if you work really hard, there’s a "me" to be found in there….; )
Mike
Thought I was the only person who remembers Boomtown. That show was great. But also agree that the few eps of season 2 that aired displayed substantial drop-off.
I’m always evangelizing about Friday Night Lights, the TV show. After a fantastic 1st season, season 2 started out a mess but got better. Season 3 has been fantastic.
Wini
@Mike: Love, love, love FNL… and am also an evangelizer about it :-)
MountainBike
Having used the same AAA office that John wrote about, (It used to be downtown till they moved it to the mall), I think you’re forgetting the two best things about a TripTik. On the route the AAA ladies will have highlighted the current construction areas and know speed traps. I don’t think the new electronic versions have that.
Miriam
I love, love, love AAA. They came and got me one night when I got locked out of the car while it was running at 10:30 PM in the middle of winter.
asiangrrlMN
@Ricky Bobby:
Ooooh, I got a name he can add to the list! It took forever for me to uncover this secret, but, (looks furtively both ways), BERNIE SANDERS from Vermont is a socialist! Don’t tell anybody!
Sheesh. Socialist has become the new liberal.
mr. whipple
?
dood can rot in hell, as far as I’m concerned.
Paul
I thought Southland was pretty good and shows a lot of promise. Especially as an antidote to the Bruckheimerization of TV police dramas: no manipulative musical soundtrack, and the characters were well-developed, not designer clad cartoons/buffoons. The dialogue was a little hammy at times, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Comrade Kevin
@clone12:
AAA is kind of like something like Visa, in that there is a series of regional organizations which collectively own the AAA. For instance, in Northern CA there is CSAA, and in Southern CA is the Automobile Club of Southern CA.
The "national" headquarters is actually in Orlando, FL.
randiego
okay, the DMV isn’t great, but it’s not as bad as going to the dentist. I never thought it was anything other than expected.
Make an appointment – it makes everything easier.
PS: AAA (car insurance) is WAY overpriced.
asiangrrlMN
Hey, John! What am I doing wrong that I’m getting caught in moderation? I don’t want to be unwittingly breaking board rules. Thanks.
Mr Furious
Boomtown was indeed and excellent show. NBC has a terrible track record with their best material…
Oh, and I’ll be spending plenty of time at the DMV—need to get my NC license and register a couple cars…
Tattoosydney
@asiangrrlMN:
The usual tip is to avoid any sentences which contain the word "so cial1s t" or "v1agra" or (oddly) "sh0es", because that will get you sent straight to moderation…
There may be other words that trip it…
Comrade Kevin
I was just watching Reese Witherspoon on Leno. OMG , she is so awesome.
asiangrrlMN
@Tattoosydney: Thank you kindly, Sir. I will make sure never to type the sentence, S0cialistic Vi-agral Sh0es, then. Wouldn’t want to piss off the moderation program!
asiangrrlMN
Which, apparently I did, even in snark. Oh well. I will live with being moderated, then.
D-Chance.
TBegg’s partnerette at FDL is still posting whiny "What about us? Where’s our money?" rants.
God, she sounds like a pathetic jilted girlfriend… "But, but I LOVED him! I gave him my all! And now that’s he’s a success, he won’t even return my phone calls. I thought he loved me, too! We were going to be together forever and forever and watch the rainbows and flying unicorns and puppies and starbursts! And now I’m here all alone with not a dime to my name. It’s unfair!"
Alex
AAA’s Canadian cousin CAA (which gives you access to all the towing stuff in the US as well) has actually stayed reasonably modern. Last time I went in, they had newish computers and relatively modern decor, and even a big, rainbow-flag-decorated display on gay travel.
I was never a triptych person, but I like to get road maps of major cities before I visit.
p.a.
I don’t have a GPS system yet. Do they have real-time info on highway construction allowing you to avoid it the way triptiks do?
JL
@AhabTRuler:
Mr. or Mrs.?
El Tiburon
Peter J, thanks.
oh well.
Better off Ted is really good me thinks.
WereBear
I’ve been burned too often.
Network TV dangles good shows, begging for commitment… only to move them around the schedule, dump them in and out of hiatus, and randomly revamp them, only to think better of it.
And there’s at least 20 minutes of commercials to every hour of programming…
Hulu does change that. But the SO has a headlock on that. He’s watching Hill Street Blues.
Kirk Spencer
@asiangrrlMN: Because you didn’t confuse it sufficiently. It isn’t socia1ist that’s the problem. It’s what’s in the middle –
socia1ist.The Grand Panjandrum
The GOS embedded a "teabagging" video from Youtube. It’s pretty funny and probably not NSFW.
gnomedad
sh0es??? My imagination fails me.
The Other Steve
Rode the Scoot to work this morning. 35 degrees out. Boots, overpants with insulated liner, sweatshirt over my shirt covered by my teknic jacket with the liner in it… neck gaiter, full faced helmet with respro foggy installed. 23 miles on the highway at 70 mph. I looked like Neil Armstrong when he first touched down.
My little pinky got a bit cold though. Need to work on that. :-)
AhabTRuler
Just keep the big pinky safe, ‘kay?
The Grand Panjandrum
@gnomedad: Remove the first "s" and whaddya got?
Augie
There are already a lot of comments so I apologize if this ground has been covered already but can I say "hallelujah" to John’s Boomtown shout-out … that show rocked! At least it did before the retooling. I had a huge crush on Nina Garbiras and I am well passed the age where I should be getting crushes.
AhabTRuler
hoes?
@The Grand Panjandrum: That’s what I thought. "Hoes" does not set off the filter. Hoes, hoes, hoes!
I swear to god that Cole got the spam filter at some ex-soviet black-market arms sale. James Bond will be by in a minute to blow shit up!
timb
Since this is an open thread, could anyone join with me in urging John or DougJ to give an opinion on the "State secrets" dust up currently occupying Glenn and Olbermann. Personally, as an ACLU member, I am outraged at my President, who promised me change in this arena, but instead has doubled down on Bush. I am disgusted by his actions.
I was hoping DougJ or John would castigate Obama too….which is weird because it makes me sound like a concern troll (check my previous posts, I am not one). It’s just that I’ve gotten used to these guys making so much sense about politics.
Also, normally, I wouldn’t beg a host to dance for nickels as it were, but to me this is vitally important and it has me wondering if Evan Bayh’s email regarding the creation of the Blue Dogs (I did it with Obama’s blessing) is more ture and less fait accompli than I originally believed.*
*If John thought his post contained a lot of "I’s", imagine my consternation at seeing how many "I’s" and "me’s" appeared here.
JK
I don’t forgive FX Networks for cancelling The Riches. Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver were outstanding and there were many great supporting performances.
At least, we still have Breaking Bad, Damages, Mad Men, and Rescue Me.
I still miss The Shield and wish it were on the air.
I think it was the most underrated and underappreciated tv drama of all-time. I can’t count the number of articles and blog posts written about the final seasons of The Sopranos and The Wire. There was hardly a peep about the final season of The Shield. I never watched The Wire, but I think The Shield was right up there with The Sopranos.
JK
I want to see someone compile a list of morons currently serving in the House of Representatives.
I’ll start the list with Spencer Bachus and Michelle Bachmann.
asiangrrlMN
@Kirk Spencer: Ah, thank you. I get it now. Soclialist.
Let’s see if that works.
Hoes? Hoes?
Hoes? Shoes?
Weird. Sh0es did make it go through moderation, but not hoes.
Shoe. Shoe did not. So Sh0es it is.