Just got off the phone with an old buddy from undergrad (prolly the best left-handed long-stick d player I ever played with) who I hadn’t talked to for years. Had some good laughs, and both of us wondered how we had not died on several occassions. Good times.
Also, at what point did HBO become AARP approved- every channel is something about alzheimers or a rerun of Grey Gardens. If I see a show about corns or liver spots and I am dropping that channel.
Laura W
I heard Maria Shriver will next focus her documentary talent on the trauma of dry feet and copious nose hairs in the elderly.
Nice yellow teeth ad there over there on the left.
Wile E. Quixote
I was at the big REI in Seattle yesterday looking at bicycles and decided to take the stairs down to the second floor instead of being a lazy cripple and taking the elevator. On my way downstairs I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen in four years and who I had lost touch with and we ended up talking for almost an hour. I’m sure that I could spin this into some parable about the virtues of exercise over laziness, but fuck that, I’m just glad that I ran into her.
JenJen
To be fair, I don’t think “Grey Gardens” is or ever will be directed at the AARP crowd.
LauraW… did you end up watching the Farrah thing?
Incertus
I watched the original Grey Gardens and thought it was terrific. I’m not sure how a remake could improve it.
BTW, Dahlia Lithwick’s column for Slate has become my new favorite for Saturday reading.
JL
The UCMerced graduation ceremony is being streamed online. So far there are just pictures of the graduates and I’m not sure what time Michelle is going to speak. Here’s the link
I’m not sure whether the 24/7 will carry her speech since their main story appears to be pro-choice Obama at Notre Dame.
Laura W
@JenJen: Plus, Drew Barrymore is in Grey Gardens and I thought Mr. Cole sort of digs her?
Yeah, I watched Farrah. Like I probably said in last night’s open thread, I don’t think it warranted two hours of teevee time, but you know. People have the right to their own motivations when dying, like Elizabeth Edwards as well. Guess it gives some measure of peace or feeling of contribution?
I’m posting this again here in the open thread because it’s kyooot and is as close as I can come to Photoshop.
Ben & Jerry’s newest flavor. Nutty Goodness!
I’ve got another one all queued up but their damn site won’t accept photos today. You can make your own flavor, 5 per person, here:
Do the world a flavor
Although you’ll probably want to wait for the site to de-bug.
kommrade reproductive vigor
T.M.I.
JenJen
@Laura W: That’s almost exactly the way I view it, and parts of it were interesting, especially the travel to Germany for treatments considered “too experimental” here. I didn’t really want to watch, but it certainly reiterated what a horror cancer is, as if people needed reminding. I also thought the scenes with her father were, especially, touching.
Love the new flavor! Mmmmm, Tunch Crunch! :-)
JL
Sounds fattening.
John Cole
@Laura W: I do so like Miss Barrymore, for whatever reasons, and have watched any number of otherwise intolerable movies because of her. This, however, was one I couldn’t.
Robertdsc-iphone
I had an ex blast me this morning for me finding out that we had many mutual friends in common, connections I was unaware of when we were together. Funny how that works.
JL
The real Little Edie reminds me of a former sister-in-law. I don’t have HBO so I can’t judge Drew’s performance.
For those not watching the UCMerced graduation, Michelle is wearing a lovely robe. The man walking behind her is also wearing a matching robe but he is talking into his wristwatch. Don’t you find it rude when someone talks to their wrist watch?
HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker
I can top your story. I just got an email … the first communication ever … from a half brother I have never met.
Im a little verklempt. The contact was not a surprise, I knew he was looking to contact me and I sent him an email yesterday.
I wish I could tell the whole story of my family and its many twists and turns, maybe someday I will do that here. Until then all I can tell you is, it’s …. not like anything you ever heard before.
Laura W
@John Cole: Speaking of ads, if this isn’t too nosey (nose hairy) for a thread, are you doing better financially with your various ad and affiliate programs than you were back in the PJ day? Or is too early to say?
John Cole
@Laura W: PJ was better by a fair bit, but not having you all bitch is fine.
Laura W
@JL: CNN is gonna show it live. Can you believe that? And it’s Don Lemon, so I’m
thinkinghoping maybe not so much talking over it.HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker
@John Cole:
I can’t decode this message.
Brick Oven Bill
The purpose of my roadtrip was to relocate myself in order to interact with a government and process a permit. This past week has been spent doing exactly that. In this line of work, many consider me to be similar to Tarantino’s ‘The Wolf’.
The nature of government is to grow. Many people do not understand this. I myself as a child looked to license plates with ‘US Government’ with deep respect, and as a professional starting out, assumed that the government would always act in the best interest of the population which it serves.
I have found that, while there are many good government employees, there are many others whose primary motivation is to accumulate power and secure their own position and importance. You can view this natural human behavior as you look to the history of the United States.
Increasing the power and importance of public officials is not always consistent with the interests of those people whom they represent. The Founders wrote about this extensively in The Federalist Papers, which are recommended reading.
JL
@HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker: We’ll be here if you want to share.
Laura W
@HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker: Phew! I thought maybe I was too sober to grok it.
HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker
@Brick Oven Bill:
You’re sort of a passive aggressive sumbitch, aren’t you?
JL
@Brick Oven Bill: Hey Bubba, it’s not just government officials who want to accumulate wealth and power. That’s what capitalism is. There is not trickle down without rules.
Just Some Fuckhead
I speak fluent John, I can help here. John is saying PJ ads brought in more money but it’s worth the revenue loss not having you fuckers bitch about PJ ads all the damn time.
magisterludi
We worked in the garden today, hung out sheets on the line, worked on getting the older motor scooter started again, baked cookies and made ice cream. Now, I’m gonna walk the beasts and then sit at the sewing machine and do some mending.
Did I mention we don’t have cable?
HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker
@Laura W:
Whew likewise. I thought maybe you guys had some secret code going. Which is, you know, okay with me.
John Cole
@Just Some Fuckhead: Word.
Brick Oven Bill
I only resort to passive-aggressive behavior when challenged HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker. Perhaps a better phrase would be ‘civil disobedience’. But this is always done within the strict constraints of local, state, and federal rules and regulation.
In my opinion, a fascistic government would be good, but only if I were in charge of it. Or perhaps Sully Sullenberger, or Captain Phillips. This Obama guy doesn’t know what he is doing. Windmills are a really bad idea.
Since there is no guarantee of the government being run by me, Sully, or the Captain, I would prefer to stick with a Strict Constructionist interpretation of the United States Constitution.
JL
@Laura W: I’m listening online. Unless you have a connection, most graduation speeches are b.o.r.i.n.g and UCMerced is no exception.
HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Ah.
I didn’t bitch much about the ads. I am too busy bitching about twenty other things.
Just Some Fuckhead
@HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker: John was talking about the other fuckers.
HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker
Sure you would. I have never met anybody who used that phrase yet who didn’t mean “I want the Constitution interpreted my way.” Sorry, already been to that rodeo.
I think the Constitution only works if it is a living document. If you want a country frozen in the 18th century, you should have one, just not here. We have other things to do.
HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Ah. Now I feel left out, and all alone.
opium4themasses
@JL: No, they are boring even when you do have a connection. I finally got a degree myself last night. Only 10 years for a 2 year degree, yay.
Just Some Fuckhead
BOB, I understand Pitcairn Islands is lovely this time of the year.
Laura W
@Just Some Fuckhead: I don’t recall once bitching about the ads. At least nothing compared to how I’m gonna start bitching about the disgusting yellow teeth google ad that is debuting today.
I’m so delusional* that I actually thought John was trying to say something nice like: “That’s OK, ‘cuz having you guys run your ads here is worth more to me than the little bit more money PJ brought me.” (Yes, I wrote that sober.) I clearly do not speak fluent John.
*I know you know that. Shaddup.
SGEW
Federalist Papers, “Strict Constructionist,” “Original Intent,” founding fathers, etc. etc. blah blah blah.
There was this thing called the Civil War, pal. One side lost. Too bad, so sad. Then a bunch of amendments were passed; amendments that have the same force of law as the Constitution itself. There have been many fine books written about the past hundred and forty years of history: I recommend that you read those, and try and leaven your anachronistic love for Madison’s pre-Constitutional essays with a healthy dose of modern thinking.
Oh, fer the love of . . . why even bother? Keep on fighting for the poll tax and the repeal of women’s suffrage, why not.
JL
Diane Feinstein’s husband is speaking at the UCMerced graduation.. What a terrible speaker he is. A telepromter would not help him.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Laura W: As I mentioned to Teez, John is talking about the other fuckers. He used your reply to take a swipe at his ex-tormenters. And honestly, he can’t really remember who was saying shit.
JL
Michelle is up for those wanting to watch on CNN.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Laura W:
I think someone needs a hug.
Brick Oven Bill
I would argue that it is unhealthy for the man who is the largest shareholder of Moody’s and a large bank owner to be an economic advisor to the President. For that matter to have a media corporation that makes windmills and medical devices and owns banks to be another economic advisor to the President. Or for Geithner’s chief of staff to be a lobbyist for Goldman Sachs.
When people are given too much power, they tend to end up using that power for their own benefit. Even on a local level, where government is forced to be somewhat responsive to the population, there is in my opinion a significant degree of unethical behavior between regulators and the regulated. I witnessed some of this over cocktails last night.
Be very cautious about putting too much faith in your government. Your faith should be in yourself, your community, and your belief system, so long as your belief system does not entail killing, converting, or subjugating all of the world. That would be a bad belief system.
Laura W
@Just Some Fuckhead:
…sniff…
Laura W
@Brick Oven Bill:
Bill, did the Grand Poo-Bah touch you in a private part?
Your body belongs to you!
JGabriel
Word Salad, A New Example:
.
JGabriel
The Wisdom of the BOB:
Ok, to be fair that might have been intentionally humorous. If so, BOB, kudos. I LOL’d at that one.
.
Brick Oven Bill
The grand pooh-bah was Thursday night Laura. Cocktails and deals were last night. The grand pooh-bah did not touch me in any untoward way, however a cocktail waitress did brush up against me. I have been good however. A neighbor, to my suprise, is a member of the same organization.
Writing today from what Homeland Security would no doubt term a compound, largely isolated from neighbors. This pleases me as there is no need to dress in the mornings. There is a medium sized lizard that just left the screen door and is now working his way across the patio.
I am bored out of my skull this Saturday and it is too early to open a bottle of wine.
Just Some Fuckhead
BOB, it’s yer lucky day, Pitcairn Islands is accepting applications for settlement. And they have internet!
eemom
Probly everyone is tired of talking about Pelosi, but I must say Somerby has a fine takedown of the mauling she is getting by the emmessemm that causes me to reassess my prior opinion of him as an obsessed semi-lunatic:
http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh051609.html
Also see TBogg for some excellent dark humor on the same subject. There is something really profoundly fucked up about all this. Everyone, including many on “our side,” are buying into this scapegoating of this woman which is so fucking OBVIOUSLY being used to distract attention from the real crimes and the real criminals. WTF??
srv
John, what did your left handed pal think of your radical political departure?
Or were you just to drunk in college to hold rememberable political views?
And where are the videos of your band?
HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Uh, I think what they have is an Etch a Sketch(tm) and two girls who will shake it for you. So to speak.
Laura W
@Brick Oven Bill: Sorry I confused your schedule, Bill.
I guess you weren’t around last night and I was really all up into Farrah’s anus (even for me, that was crass), so I got confused. Plus, I had horrible stomach pains all day yesterday and all last night, so was pretty much out of it.
If you live in EST, it is certainly not too early for wine. Unless you have to feed your kids, bathe them, and put them to bed first. In which case, you have my sympathy.
Brick Oven Bill
Those Pitcairn Islands look pretty nice Just Some Fuckhead. I like the part about new arrivals needing a sponsor who is financially responsible for them, we used to have something similar here. I did a project with the 7th Day Adventists one time though, and really think I would go nuts being on an island with them for long periods of time.
So I will stay here in my compound with my high-desert lizard-friend. That bottle of wine is starting to wink at me.
HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker
@eemom:
Yes, you have that all mostly right, but the Dems have brought this on themselves. (I speak to you as a registered Dem since 1967). It’s a little late to be “outraged” over using abusive intel and cooked information and lies to get us into a war that none of these people could find outrage for when it counted.
bago
Obedient disobedience, in other words.
bago
How many people are playing BoB? This is either just easy troll pickins or schizophrenia. Having a friends’ brother develop schizophrenia we were amused when he kept talking about how Elton John was king of the gays. It wasn’t so funny when he wound up living underneath an overpass.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Brick Oven Bill: One of the main geographical features of Pitcairn Island is Bob’s Valley. Tell me that isn’t God’s doin’. You could be a pizza missionary, set up stone pizza ovens all over the island. Years from now they’ll call you Bob Ovenpizza and regale you in folklore.
Brick Oven Bill
Not Exactly Bago; When you are compelled to do something that is above and beyond the requirements to obtain the blessing of the public official, and then stick by the codified requirements, this is seen as an act of personal disobedience by the public official. In many cases, power leads some to believe that they can work outside the law. They attribute this to the ‘greater good’, but it is 9 times out of 10 to expand their own power.
In this instance, this public official was preaching about how it was his duty to follow the rules. When I asked him what rule he was referring to, he became confused and handed me a book to find it. I read his book this morning in conjunction with our ‘912 hotties’ discussions, and it was on the wrong subject.
Everybody should have to write their own checks as a method to pay their taxes. Everybody also should have to seek government permits, at least three times in their lifetime. This would make us better Citizens.
JGabriel
Brick Oven Bill:
When the bottle is winking at you, BOB, it’s time to stop licking the lizard.
.
Laura W
@bago:
At least two.
Tonight’s is my favorite.
;-)
bago
@Brick Oven Bill: Shorter Bob:
1. People in power have power.
2. ???
3. Profit!!!
I mean there’s no way a company holding your debt would alter the rules of your holdings after the fact.
OriGuy
Michele Obama’s speech at UC Merced.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
If you haven’t heard the story, it’s pretty neat. Merced is the newest campus in the UC system. This is the first year that students entering as freshmen will graduate. Most of them are the first college graduates from their family; Merced is in the Central Valley. The students staged a letter-writing campaign to get her to come to the graduation.
Edit: That was supposed to be a bulleted list. WordPress broke it real good.
Robertdsc-iphone
FLOTUS is magnificent.
Wile E. Quixote
@Brick Oven Bill
Uh, I’ve got some bad news for you sunshine, that’s true in every organization. My first real grown-up job was working at a university research lab at the U of W (the real one in Washington state and not any of those pseudo ones in Wyoming, Wisconsin or any other states that start with a “W” {in case I missed any}). I witnessed plenty of empire builders there who were more interested in accumulating power and securing their own position and self-importance than they were in actually doing their fucking jobs and being helpful and useful to those who were doing research, teaching students or trying to get an education.
After seven years I left the UW and went to work for a certain large electronic retailer who shall remain nameless but which is named after a large river in South America. Ultimate capitalism right? A startup company right? Dog eat dog, a real ‘every man for himself and God against us all’ meritocracy, right? Just the kind of thing that makes Randroids cream in their jeans. Well guess what, I saw almost as much pointless empire building in an ultra-competitive segment of the private sector, one that was more competitive and tougher than anything you’ve ever been involved in, as I did when I worked for the government.
As for your contention that increasing the power and importance of public officials isn’t always consistent with the interests of those whom they represent. No shit, the same thing applies in the corporate world as witness the number of CEOs who backdate options, renegotiate compensation packages when the stock price tanks, demand massive golden parachutes so that even if they’re completely incompetent and run the company into the ground they still make a huge amount of money and the incestuous corporate boards who go along with this sort of thing.
I mean perhaps you thought that you were stating something profound here, but the way you stated it, ignoring the fact that the behavior you decry isn’t solely the domain of government, is just stupid and dishonest.
Wile E. Quixote
@Brick Oven Bill
Hmmmm, I’m trying to reconcile that statement with…
Should I even bother? Or am I risking madness in attempting to do so?
Wile E. Quixote
@Brick Oven Bill
Yes, this is called “regulatory capture” and it’s been studied by lots and lots of people who are called “public choice theorists”. You should read some books on it. It’s fascinating stuff and was one of the more interesting things I studied for my political science degree, but you have to be abysmally stupid to buy into the argument advanced by some libertarians that the existence of regulatory capture means that all government regulation is invalid and corrupt.
josefina
Ultimate capitalism right? A startup company right? Dog eat dog, a real ‘every man for himself and God against us all’ meritocracy, right? Just the kind of thing that makes Randroids cream in their jeans. Well guess what, I saw almost as much pointless empire building in an ultra-competitive segment of the private sector, one that was more competitive and tougher than anything you’ve ever been involved in, as I did when I worked for the government.
See, my theory is that the real problem is scale, not public/private. I worked for several years at a small, neglected, and marginally profitable division of an international company. We were the lichen on the corporate tree. We contributed (modestly) to the overall profits but we were so small and so neglected that no one noticed when one employee used the corporate account to book a fleet of cars to move said employee’s belongings from one domicile to another, five blocks away. Cost to the company: nearly $10K. That’s just the most easily recounted example of the lax financial oversight that persisted through three (3) sales of the overall corporation. Public or private, massive size allows for all sorts of hidden ridiculousness and waste.
For me, the distinguishing factor between public and private is the fact that once your company is sold, you become a cost on the books. Your pay is no longer compensation for services rendered; it’s an impediment to making those loan payments. Never mind that you had nothing to do with the decision to take on a ridiculous degree of debt that makes the previous modest ROI/NPV/WTF no longer sustainable. Square that each time there’s another sale.
For over 20 years, my mother worked for the state government, which had its own horrors. But when she told me that a consultant was coming in to shake things up, improve all the systems, increase efficiency and accountability, and generally improve things by making her department operate “more like the private sector,” I laughed like a hyena. And now that she’s retired, she has a guaranteed pension, something that no longer exists in the private sector. So odd that she’s a rabid Republican…
Steeplejack
@Laura W:
Hilarious! I’m in for a case.
Michael D.
@Brick Oven Bill:
Would you argue that it is probably a bad idea for the CEO of a company that would profit most from a large scale, multi-front war to be the president’s second in command? Especially when it is clear now, in hindsight, that this president was determined all along to do what he did – regardless of 9/11?