I’m off to dinner with some friends, but I wanted to leave you with a shiny new open thread. Also, my insane sister, who never met a plane she did not want to jump out of or a cliff she did not want to climb, a trait that I simply do not share, is apparently riding 150 miles to fight Multiple Sclerosis:
I’ve registered for the Bike MS: Escape to the Lake (Erie) event because I want to do something for the people who have been diagnosed – and because I want to do everything to prevent more people from learning what it means to live with this disease.
The MS 150 is a 150 mile bike ride from Pittsburgh to Erie,PA and back, all in an effort to raise awareness and funding for MS research and programming.
Today, there is no cure for multiple sclerosis, and with diagnosis occurring most frequently between the ages of 20 and 50, many individuals face a lifetime filled with unpredictability.
If you would like to sponsor her, here is the link. I promised her I would put a post up about this, partially because I know that my life is easiest when I just do what the women around me tell me to do, but also because I think it is a good cause. I’m in for $25.00.
Also, this cat wants you to donate to the fight against MS:
And how could you say no to that face? I’ll be back later. Try to behave.
schrodinger's cat
Pretty cat but where is our weekly dose of live-action mighty Tunch.
AhabTRuler
Jesus Christ on a dumptruck, three threads in ten minutes. I know, your output is down and you need to add another front page poster. Fucking feast or famine around this joint.
MikeJ
Donate to MS? Fuck that. If a disease wants money to go infect other people, I’m not gonna help. In fact, I may donate to *fight* MS.
demkat620
I did not know this.
According to Wikipedia, Miguel Estrada is one of Ted Olson’s law partners.
Things that make you go hmmm…
That makes me a little more queasy about the Olson/Boies lawsuit.
demkat620
Also, this is pretty cool.
asiangrrlMN
Hey, fake hubby. You out there? You posted that something about Mel Gibson moving back to Australia and moving in with you and your real hubby. I’m hoping you weren’t saying you wanted that to happen. Were you?
Cute cat.
MikeJ, heh. You funny.
P.S. Cole, that supper better include Dijon mustard and arugula, or I will be bitterly disappointed.
schrodinger's cat
Caption for the kitteh photo:
Tickle my belly, NOW
asiangrrlMN
@schrodinger’s cat:
Fixed!
TenguPhule
@asiangrrlMN
So how’s the reading going?
Also when you get back Cole, finish the book!
TenguPhule
The Truffle
What a gorgeous kitty! What’s the critter’s name?
Gordon, The Big Express Engine
John – that’s a good cause. The one here is from Houston to Austin. My friend has been among the top 20 annual fund raisers the past few years.
The Moar You Know
You’re a smart man, Mr. Cole.
Hypatia
Maybe you could explain that to the boys on the SCOTUS.
gypsy howell
I keep combining the top two ads in my mind, and imagine Pam checking the inflation pressure of her boobs. Freaky.
freelancer
Okeedoke, the animated bondage ad on the left now?
Seriously, are you trying to get me fired?
gypsy howell
@freelancer:
yeah, what the heck is that? I’m afraid to click. Pammy’s monstrous boobies are bad enough….
AhabTRuler
MMMkay, I don’t get it. If you are allowed to use the ‘nets at work for personal stuff, then there isn’t anything (except for taste) that suffers from that ad, or even from three-arm Pammy. Otherwise, don’t surf at work.
demkat620
Man, watching this freak out on Sotomayor, I really think the only think that could have driven these clowns crazier is if Obama had named Hillary.
AhabTRuler
@gypsy howell: More cartoon porn. Apparently there is a demographic overlap between Balloon Juice readers and people who like to look at cartoon genitalia.
schrodinger's cat
@asiangrrlMN:
How did you know what my big orange cat does ?
freelancer
I’m allowed to use net and post, IT discourages it, but it’s mostly that my immediate boss is humorless about suggestive material, even though the women in my office send each other dirty emails all day.
Life is too awesome some days, I tell you.
asiangrrlMN
The Curvy ad is for a graphic sexy sci-fi story. I read the first two pages. Eh. Didn’t do much for me.
@TenguPhule: I started Guards Guards!, and I can’t get into it at all. I may have to try Small Gods instead. I know, I know, but what can I say? I have eclectic and finicky tastes.
schrodinger’s cat, because one of my boys does the same thing. He’ll show off his tempting belly and allow me to pet it for a few seconds before, wham! It’s his way of letting me know he’s had enough.
Ella in NM
Oh goody. I’ve been waiting for the right place to post this link:
Will the Antichrist be a homosexual?
Read the comments there–best part!
Morbo
No pictures to share, but our printer went Galt today. It decided to quit printing text and would only print pictures and formatting. There were a lot of blank spreadsheets and CAD drawings for a few minutes before we realized it was affecting everything. I say we send it to Sealand!
MikeJ
He’s got at least two more appointments to come, and people generally don’t last two terms at State. If one of the openings came up near the end of O’s first term…..
freelancer
Ella,
Check out the ad in the middle of the article.
Incertus
I’m officially no longer a Nielsen family so I can talk about it now. It’s actually kind of freeing–no more guilt about spending a few minutes on “The 20 Sexiest Swimsuit Moments” on the E Network.
TenguPhule
I knew we should have started you off with Granny Weatherwax.
asiangrrlMN
@Ella in NM: Oh my god! Or rather, his god! That’s from Sarah Palin’s hometown, yes, indeedy do. At least the commenters seem to be sane for the most part. Sheesh.
steve s
Almost certainly he’ll get to replace Stevens and Ginsburg. Which probably won’t affect the court too much. But if one of the conservatives steps off a curb at the wrong time, then we’ll be in for a big battle. Except, knowing our Pragmatist-in-Chief, he’d nominate some center-righty to replace him. Though if he did that, at least we’d probably get a smart center-righty, like Posner.
asiangrrlMN
@TenguPhule: Yes? I should try that one? I will see if my friend has it. Or, I will be a Terry Pratchett apostate.
Morbo, pics! It didn’t happen if there are no pics!
TenguPhule
@asiangrrlMN
Try Witches Abroad. It explores the dark side to “fairy tales” and “happily ever after”.
TenguPhule
That is what we call people who obviously haven’t been immersed in Discworld long enough. :P
Napoleon
Good luck to your sister. I did a 73 mile ride last year and that was a killer, and I was thinking of doing an overnight bike trip a week or so from now that will be 100 miles in each direction.
Devon Cole
Ole, you rock. Thank you so much for sponsoring me. Not sure how these threads deviate so far from the original post, but regardless thank you!!!!!!
The Moar You Know
@Ella in NM: Those comments restore my faith in Alaskans – they overwhelmingly tell him to go fuck himself.
Best one: “Go do something useful before you die”.
Death By Mosquito Truck
@Ella in NM: Great comments, thanks for the link.
NutellaonToast
ohh, a fellow sky diver? Tell me more!
The Moar You Know
@Devon Cole: We collectively have a very short attention span, and can only be kept on subject by shitty music videos and kitty pics.
asiangrrlMN
@Devon Cole: Hi! Good luck with the bike-a-thon. My brother did the emergency crew thing for that several times.
This is an open thread, so we go all over the map–just like you are going to do. Why do you call him Ole?
TenguPhule
This should be BJ’s motto
Warning: Site can suck in all attention for days at a time.
KRK
Ed at ginandtacos posted about a rather astounding bit of obscure presidential trivia for this week’s No Politics Friday entry.
Bill E Pilgrim
Off to dinner at 5:23?
Ah you Americans ;)
I know, you have to be up jogging at 4 am. so best to get it out of the way early. Carry on.
Anne
The MS 150 rides are supposed to be great. I’m thinking about doing the one out here (Waves to Wine) this year, but I’ll have to find my cycling legs. I think I left them in 2008.
asiangrrlMN
@TenguPhule: Yes, but does anybody die in the end? ‘Coz that’s all that really matters to me.
Incertus
@steve s:
I fear that you’re right, but I hope he’d get a swift kick in the head from the Senate if he tried. What’s the point of having the power to remake the Court if you don’t remake it?
TenguPhule
Yes. Several deaths and arguably one fate equal or worse then death.
Stooleo
For those of you who missed it Bush was thinking about the End of Days.
MikeJ
@The Moar You Know: I was thankful slacktivist posted a verse about Sodom last week. The dunderhead claimed there was only one possible sin that Sodom could have committed to deserve destruction he thought sodomy means teh ghey. The bible disagrees:
” ‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.”
Ezekiel seems to think Sodom should have shown more empathy and spread the wealth around.
Bad Horse's Filly
@asiangrrlMN: I know you’ll enjoy this. I’m a total sap, because the whole thing made me smile. The guy is just awesome, connecting, really connecting with people in the crowd.
Obama at 5 Guys
My apologies if someone already posted it – this is the only thread I’ve gotten around to reading today.
Awesome cat, btw.
Indylib
@Ella in NM:
This is high on list of my favorite comments.
D-Chance.
No Rachel Alexandra in the Belmont. Calvin Borel to ride Mine That Bird.
Terri
“Would God rock a pair of assless chaps?”
Best. Fucking. Blog. Quote. Ever.
Bill E Pilgrim
@Stooleo:
That was a horrifying read. This part especially:
Wherin we learn that our evangelical Nutcase in Chief was so out of the mainstream of modern thought that other civilized countries felt the need to consult academics of religious arcana just to learn what the hell the visiting head of state of the largest power in the world had even said.
It’s like having to humor some visiting witch doctor or something. “Yes, okay well tell him we honor his God of the Great Cave Bear too, and er, whatever. And does anyone know what the hell he’s talking about??”
Dennis-SGMM
@Ella in NM:
Great thread! Thanks for the link. The connexion ad is the icing on the cake.
Paul L.
More bad embryonic stem cell news.
Hopefully the Obama administration will cut the funding like they dropped the prosecution of voter intimidation by the New Black Panthers.
Really Great Stem Cell Research News
BethanyAnne
@demkat620: I still wish he had nominated Anita Hill. :-)
Devon Cole
Denise and Harry, you equally rock. I really appreciate your donations. The fact that people are willing to donate to a cause to help people that they don’t even know makes me happy.
Thank you!
Violet
Devon Cole, good luck with the bike ride! The MS rides are great and for a great cause. I’ve done the one near me. Glad I trained for it. It can be a bit long if you aren’t in shape. Hope the weather is good and you have a great time.
MikeJ
Aren’t all chaps by definition assless?
Krista
@Devon Cole:
This is pretty much the status quo. I’ve seen hyper-serious political posts degenerate into an utter dog’s breakfast. John has pretty much given up on teaching us any manners, so he just now treats us with affectionate contempt, as we do to him. It works quite well, in a dysfunctional sort of way.
Anyhoodle, best of luck with your fundraising and your bike ride!
Now if we could only get Tunch to get some exercise too…
Dennis-SGMM
@Stooleo:
Holy shit! The damage that G.W. Bush did to the world is appalling. Now I find out that it wasn’t as bad as it might have been.
Wile E. Quixote
Devon, good luck on the ride. Remember to drink lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of fluids and to keep eating, even if you don’t feel like it. I nearly bonked on the Seattle to Portland last year and it’s an ugly feeling that comes on way too fast.
linda
@MikeJ:
and meanwhile, talk/suggestion of big dog being named un secretary general at some point down the line. he was just recently named as a un special envoy to haiti.
can you friggin imagine if hillary’s headed to the supreme court and bill takes the u.n. i’m dissolving into laughter at the thought of the crazy getting … what? how much friggin crazier can these wingnuts get? they are so off the charts now.
i swear, every time i think they’ve topped out on it, something happens that drives them to even loonier outbursts; this week’s event has been stunning to read/watch.
asiangrrlMN
@TenguPhule: Ok.
Bad Horse’s Filly, I saw that earlier, and it did make me smile. He’s such a cutie. Aw, I didn’t watch the video earlier. Will do so now.
gbear
You need to read Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Leguin. 10 billion people die because of a dream. Great book.
Devon Cole
Laura Ann and Linda,
Thank you for your very generous donations! I appreciate you taking the time and making the effort to help me meet my sponsorship goal!
Bill E Pilgrim
@Krista:
Is this not an open thread?
My bad if I misunderstood.
Laura W
@Devon Cole: I know that my life is easiest when I just do what your brother tells me to do.
;-)
Dennis-SGMM
@linda:
The result would look much like this.
Wile E. Quixote
@Paul L.
Wow Paul L. you’re right, that’s great news, such great news that you should immediately rush out and invest all of your savings to include any 401ks or IRAs in Advanced Cell Technology (ACTC.PK). In fact you should also sell all of your stuff so you can buy stock in Advanced Cell Technology (ACTC.PK) and go to your friendly neighborhood loan shark and take out a high interest loan with your kneecaps as collateral so you can buy even more stock in (ACTC.PK). Since their stock is only valued at 15 cents a share that means that they can trade on the pink sheets, which is a bargain for you because they don’t have to comply with all of those silly rules and regulations that NASDAQ or the NYSE insist upon and they don’t have to put up with those pesky SEC requirements on accounting and reporting that serve no other purpose than to hinder the free market. Go for it Paul, you’re sure to get filthy rich in no time and will be able to laugh at all of us poor suckers who didn’t have the financial acumen to go all out and invest in Advanced Cell Technology (ACTC.PK) when it was at 0.1485 a share based upon a blog posting at Reason that rehashed a Reuter’s article that was basically a rehashed press release.
Krista
Oh, it is. I was just addressing Devon’s point about these threads deviating so much from the original post. And honestly, open thread or no, many of the threads here wind up deviating wildly from the original post. We’re kind of goofy that way.
asiangrrlMN
@gbear: Ooooh, you’re tempting me! I am particularly interested in dreams…I will look this up.
@Wile E. Quixote: Tee-hee. I love reading the interpretation of the wingnut responses so I don’t have to read said wingnuts themselves.
Tonal Crow
What a delightful kitty!
gbear
@asiangrrlMN:
If you’re into dreams, Lathe of Heaven is a must. It’ll be your favorite book for a while.
Does that cat have a side job as a chimney sweep?
linda
devon — happy to contribute; good luck on the ride.
dennis — that’s exactly what i envision; there’s nowhere else for that crazy to go … lol
asiangrrlMN
@Bad Horse’s Filly: I’m gonna be a total fangrrl now. Sigh. He’s so good with people and kids. So humble and gracious. And what a smile. Squeal!
gbear, I just bought it, so I’m coming after you if I don’t like it (and you live in the same state, so that makes it much easier).
freelancer
@Wile
Super-genius.
The other day, I was wondering about why wingnuts go apopleptic over court appointments when their worldview of the law is nebulous and meandering, and in most important issues, the law doesn’t have to apply, lest it hinder the patriotic actions of real merkins.
Well, in the end, I answered my own stupid question.
Here’s why they care about appointments. Eight more like this, and then the law will be “fair”.
Dennis-SGMM
Is Paul L. saying that some company has found a way to turn us into the Black Panther Party? Not surprising from someone who has managed to turn a stump broke calf into Foxy Brown.
Death By Mosquito Truck
I’ve been doing that to my right hand and belly for years, so far the only change I see is calluses.
Colette
@KRK:
When I lived in DC 20 or so years ago, there was a profile in the WaPo of an old man who had been born when his father was in his 80s. The father had fought in the Civil War; he had been born when his own father was nearly 90. The grandfather had fought in the Revolutionary War. This blew my mind – a (then) living man whose grandfather had fought under George Washington.
Contemporary guy was in his 70s and had no children – yet.
Fledermaus
Holy crap! On hardball tancredo said he dosen’t know if the Obama administration hates white people. It was in response to a clip of Rush saying it. It was like a deqr in headlights. He spent the rest of the time ranting about la raza. The man is a piece of work
JK
G. Gordon Liddy ups the ante on anti-Sotomayor comments among the wingnuts
h/t thinkprogress.org/2009/05/29/liddy-sotoyamor-menstruating
Jeff
John,
I donated $25 to your sister. It is a worthy cause and your website is in my top 5. Truly excellent!
Take care,
Jeff
The Moar You Know
@Wile E. Quixote: Sweet Jesus, I normally just insult him. You didn’t leave a shred of skin on him. Best blog flogging I’ve seen in ages.
Well played.
Dennis-SGMM
@Colette:
“Shake the hand that shook the hand of P.T. Barnum and Charlie Chan…”
When I was a kid in the Fifties, traveling with Mom and brother by ferryboat between Oakland and San Francisco, there was an ancient gentleman who would invite all and sundry to “shake the hand, that shook the hand, that shook the hand of Abraham Lincoln.” I always figured that Jerry Garcia must have met him too.
The Grand Panjandrum
Spoken like a true leg.
TenguPhule
Already been done.
Her Name was the Countess of Blood.
Dennis-SGMM
@The Grand Panjandrum:
Anyone who wants to jump out of a perfectly good airplane is certifiable.
The Grand Panjandrum
@Dennis-SGMM: Certify me, baby!
Stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door!
HyperIon
@Ella in NM: My favorite comment:
” The Sodomites were not “gay”. They were a bunch of thugs who tried to gang rape God’s angels. Much more akin to American prison inmates than Elton John.
Seems to me that many Evangelicals are now worshiping bits of the Bible as a false god. Instead of striving to be like Jesus, they cherry pick lines of text that back up what they want to believe. And then worship these select passages as the unerring word of God. Then act like they are the holiest people around. Golden Calf indeed. “
JL
@Death By Mosquito Truck: Since it is an open thread, I will take the time to address your comments calling the boss a racist about the Ray Lewis incident. I live in Atlanta and blacks and whites both feel that Lewis’s money and lawyer helped get him off. It’s not racist. I could not respond to your idiotic comment earlier because I was cooking for a friend whose son is getting married and I’m giving a shower tomorrow. She is not the same race that I am and her son is marrying someone not of the same race as he is. What’s odd is the race thing doesn’t matter as much as being compatible and I feel awkward mentioning those things. IMO, racism is more an issue among a minority with loud voices. I could care less if Ray Lewis is black or white or purple, he got off easy, imo. You can disagree but it has nothing to do race.
Laura W
@Dennis-SGMM:
I was obsessed with learning to skydive in my late teens. Finally, at age 20, I went up to Antioch with fellow UCSB students*, took the lessons, did one static line jump from 3,000 feet, and I was cured for life. Better than ECT.
*All boys. We drew straws. I jumped first. pppppffffffttttttt.
Fulcanelli
From Media Matters…
Peak Wingnut. Coming to a town near you.
Assholes like Tancredo and “Pitchfork” Pat Buchanan are the spiritual heirs to “Bloody Bill the Butcher” of Gangs of New York fame. Feed ’em to the Navajo on pay per view.
Dennis-SGMM
@Laura W:
I think that I’m biased because I was crew on two military aircraft that reverted to their status as large hunks of non-buoyant aluminum and fell out of the sky. Landing is way better than jumping.
The Grand Panjandrum
If you want a little more Palin awesomeness go read this. When you read this remember that this is the person the GOP wanted a heartbeat away from the Oval Office.
@Laura W: Aw, c’mon. Nothing like that first static line jump. Mine was almost 40 years ago and it still gets my blood pumping thinking about it.
gbear
@Fulcanelli:
Gingrinch is ratcheting up the bullshit too. He’s sending out fundaising emails stating that Sotomayor should be forced to withdraw her nomination before she even gets to the vote.
Bite a fart, asshole.
JL
@Fledermaus: Tancredo certainly didn’t help himself with that appearance. It was hard for the other repub to defend him.
TenguPhule
Just wait till the next judge is appointed.
Laura W
@The Grand Panjandrum: You know what I find absolutely exhilarating that gets my blood pumping fast? Turning off all the hot water at the end of my shower and standing under just the ice cold water for a few minutes.
YEOW!
Dennis-SGMM
@The Grand Panjandrum:
Dunno, try: “We are 10,000 ft above AGL, windmilling the engine and both start cartridges have failed. Now squawking IFF. Stow your gear. I will initiate ejection on my count of three.”
JL
@Laura W: Why?
gbear
@Dennis-SGMM:
No thanks, I’ll pass.
Bad Horse's Filly
Can I just say I proudly claim Tancredo – a member of my state. If you have to have an insane wingnut from your state, at least I have one that ranks up there with Limp-baugh and Newt. And thank the Lord, he’s no longer a representative in any form. So why the hell is he still talking?
Laura W
@JL: Because it’s super good for you (but apparently not when you are menstruating. You need gentleness and to be waited upon by menfolk over those days.)
And it FEELS SO GOOD. Especially after sweating your life energy out on a walk in a humid climate. Like here. 4 Reasons Why You Need to Take Cold Showers! JL.
I am totally on board with #4. It not only dramatically affects my mood but my physical and mental energy as well.
Little Dreamer
@Laura W:
I never did static line jumps. I did 10 freefall jumps (first couple were tandem) and I was planning to get certified until on the tenth, my main parachute malfunctioned (end cells didn’t inflate) I went into a spin, was too low to cut away and deploy the reserve and I ended up riding the malfunctioning parachute down to a cow pasture (off the drop zone) landing with my head about three inches from a fence post.
That cured me.
Laura W
@Little Dreamer: Yeah, well see…I’m not normally such a quick learner, choosing instead to repeat the same mistakes over and over in my life. Here might be the one lucky exception.
Yikes for you!
AhabTRuler
@Dennis-SGMM: Could have been worse. You could have had this guy’s day.
Calouste
Fulcanelli:
I don’t think Secret Service officers just walk around DC and help out anyone who is assaulted on the street and I can only think of only one African-American woman who would have had Secret Service protection in July 2007.
Do you have a link for that btw?
Little Dreamer
@TenguPhule:
Funny you should mention that, my ex once figured out that my favorite movies were all ones where the protagonist died in the end (not that I chose for that to be a theme, it just seemed to happen that way). Weird.
Little Dreamer
@Laura W:
Nah, it was over 20 years ago. I hardly ever think about it anymore.
;)
The Grand Panjandrum
@Dennis-SGMM: I believe that comes under the tag, Puck Factor. About as close as I ever came to something like that was during an insertion at first light in a hot LZ the pilot spread the skips when trying to avoid the bird in front of us and falling through. [UPDATE: I just read this and I now realize that this comment is rife with unintentional double entendre.] Good times.
@Laura W: I’m with you on that. Now that I live in northern New England I’m loving the winter and the cool spring weather. Jeez it only got up to 50 yesterday! But yes, a burst of cold water at the end of a shower is very stimulating.
AhabTRuler
@Calouste: Actually, there are a number of Secret Service “Uninformed” (Uniformed) Division officers throughout the city, and they often participate in regular police activities when they see them. I once watched, whilst standing next to two chuckling MPD officers, three SSUD and one Commander’s SUV roll up to arrest a single drunk driver. Needless to say, it was a slow night and they were bored.
Zuzu's Petals
@AhabTRuler:
I believe that is a flesh hockey stick you’re talking about.
AhabTRuler
@Zuzu’s Petals: I’ll let her win the face-off.
Also, awesome job, juicers. We managed to help Devon
meetexceed her fund raising goal in just a few hours. w00t! I feel all warm in the cockles of my heart!Tattoosydney
@asiangrrlMN:
Oh god, what a dreadful thought. The only reason I want Mel’s sweaty old fundamentalist carcass near me is so I can poke him in the eyes for being a dickhead.
AhabTRuler
@Tattoosydney: ‘allo darling. It was only halfway to ‘eggel induced dreams that I realized mine arrow ‘ad gone wide of the mark, wot in that other thread.
I would definitely donate 10 bucks to a fundraiser for that.
And where the ‘ell are our FP posters, we ‘ave four now, but no entertainment.
JL
@The Grand Panjandrum: I grew up in New England and I do miss those long winter nights and crisp air but even then I never stood under a cold shower. When we were living in TX with a pool in our backyard, we visited relatives in NE who also had a swimming pool. My tots sat on the stairs of the pool and just stared in disbelief that their cousins were talking about the warm 70 degree weather.
Actually I can remember one time when I was younger under a cold shower but that was for a different reason.
Martin
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that CNN is running this as their top story now:
Threats against judges mushrooming, marshals say
freelancer
[Head asplodes Daffy Duck-style]
via Media Matters
FoxNEWS has a special report on the FUCKING teleprompter!
Jesus christ, what infantile wingnut blogger-fed asininity?
DougJ, seeing how this is right in your wheelhouse, about how far does this put us away from the Wingularity? Have we crossed the Teabag Event Horizon yet?
PS Ahab, it’s like you said at the start, feast or famine.
Wini
@Laura W: @106 – I am going to start doing this. I’m not very good at the whole morning thing :-)
JL
Personally I do not have a concern about organizations that appeal to a certain ethic group. I grew up in a town with Polish, Italian, French and Lebanese groups and fraternities
They had wonderful holidays and celebrations which meant good food for me. Unfortunately, many of the groups have faded and their culture along with it. It seems that we are left with the larger organizations like BnaiBrith, LaRiza and the Naacp.. The media used to focus only on the NAACP but now they also focus on LaRiza. Why are they not focusing on the others including BnaiBrith. They all do an excellent job of community development.
Krista
Wow. That’s like the hat trick of fucktardery right there.
Tattoosydney
@AhabTRuler:
I don’t know… I do know you sound a little bit Catherine Deneuve with all the dropped haitches.
I’m holding out for a book open thread for the weekend. With four FPs, we must be able to get one, and hijacking an ordinary open thread and trying to turn it into a book thread is just going to lead to another endless Terry Pratchett discussion.
[Looks around and kisses his copy of “The Truth” to make it up to Terry]
AhabTRuler
There are worse fates than that.
Not necessarily for a young man, but who’s (oo’s?) picky these days.
Tattoosydney
@AhabTRuler:
True. I suspect that if any of us woke up one morning looking like a young Catherine Deneuve, we’d make the best of it.
Ed in NJ
I’m guessing we’ve heard the last of the Sotomayor nomination for awhile. Obama went out for a burger again today. Had the audacity to ask a fellow diner about his work at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which automatically means our national security is at risk.
Obama eats at Five Guys
Zed
That’s my cat! And his name is Yog-Sothoth. Thanks for all the compliments!
asiangrrlMN
@Tattoosydney: Thank god. I’m too lazy to get a fake divorce.
What the hell is a FP’er?
Tattoosydney
@Zed:
I guessed that those were tentacles coming out of his stomach.
Speaking of cats, this photo (part of a series highlighted by Sullivan) is very sad, and very beautiful.
Tattoosydney
@asiangrrlMN:
FP = Front Page.
ETA: Apparently. It took me a while to work it out.
asiangrrlMN
@Tattoosydney: Yeah, it’s sad. Sigh. What is an FPer?
That’s what I thought, but I misread your post. Did you see me diss Guards Guards! in an earlier thread? I am just not that into it.
Mel Gibson had premarital sex! Well, technically, extramarital. I thought that was against his religion?
MikeJ
Y’AI’NG’NGAH
YOG-SOTHOTH:H’EE-L’GEB
F’AI TRHODOG
UAAAAH
Zed
@MikeJ:
Shhhhh, you’ll get him all riled up!
Devon Cole
I am completely overwhelmed by how awesome the response to this post was. I totally met my goal, and had no idea there would be such a good response. Thank you so much. It is great that people will help people they don’t know- help other people.
You guys rock.
asiangrrlMN
If we have an open thread concerning books, I am gonna ask for the most haunting, most twisted book you (general you) have ever read. One that lingers with you long after you’ve read it.
Hell, I might as well ask now since the late nighters (and the Aussies) are the ones most likely to be dark and twisted, anyway.
Hey, Steeplejack, my would-be admirer-from-afar, when did you start getting into Guards Guards?
Krista
Well, we figure that you had to put up with John during his formative years — that alone deserves a donation. ;)
JL
@Ed in NJ: I just watched the entire video. From the staff at Five Guys to the folks trying to order lunch, they seemed in awe. To meet a Pres. without $2500 down is quite amazing.
asiangrrlMN
@Devon Cole: Ditto what Krista said. Any sister of John’s deserves some kind of reward!
AhabTRuler
THX Devon, glad to help out a good cause. It’s all your bother’s fault, anyway.
And now, the techno.
From Yoshinori Sunahara’s (one of the members of Denki Groove) album of the same title: lovebeat.
@Krista: You mean that John has finished growing up? Huh. Whoda guessed?
Tattoosydney
@asiangrrlMN:
Eh. If you don’t like it, then you don’t like it. As I said, it’s quite slapstick. Maybe try a later one of his, written once the urge to slapstick had died down. I’m enjoying rereading “The Truth”, which has two of my favourite Pratchett villans – Mr Pin (who has brains but no morals) and Mr Tulip (who snorts drain cleaner and says ____ a lot).
Or maybe you just don’t like Terry Pratchett. [TenguPhule just felt a cold shiver down the back.]
asiangrrlMN
@AhabTRuler:
Freudian slip?
@Tattoosydney: Yeah. I’m afraid it’s more the latter. Poor, poor, TenguPhule. He’s trying so hard to find the right Pratchett book for me.
AhabTRuler
@asiangrrlMN: Nope. Fully intentional. As a bother myself, i know of what I speak.
Also, sweet sexy lady, Shadazz.
asiangrrlMN
@AhabTRuler: Oooh, nice song (Shadazz). Sexy!
Zed, your cat is crazy cute.
AhabTRuler
@asiangrrlMN: Definitely Suicide’s best.
Now, for proof that growing up on an isolated island in the North Atlantic does weird things to people.
Not so weird, but the synth sting is so techno it burns.
Tattoosydney
Hmmmm.
Ok. I have to go examine my bookshelves.
The first book that sprang to mind, though was triggered by “haunting”, not “twisted”. “Plays well with others” is the story of Hartley Mims, a gay southern gentleman, his friend Robert “the most beautiful boy in New York”, their friend with a vagina, Alabama Byrnes, artist extraordinaire, and their lives in New York in the 80’s.
It’s sad, haunting, baroque, very funny, and the end of the story always makes me cry happy tears – that it opens with a scene where dozens of dildos get flung across a NY train carriage is a bonus.
Tattoosydney
@Tattoosydney:
Hmmm. That didn’t work.
Let’s see – Mr Tulip, who has an appreciation of fine furniture, in addition to his taste for chemicals, swears like this:
“====”.
asiangrrlMN
@AhabTRuler: I love Bjork! She’s craaazy hot–heavy emphasis on crazy.
As for the second song, it’s very synthy, but it’s catchy, too.
Tattoosydney
@AhabTRuler:
Nice. I’m in progressive heaven.
AhabTRuler
@Tattoosydney: the whole album is like that, very mellow, lots of vocal emulator. I like it very much, although I like pretty much anything from the Denki “family”.
The killer is that all of the Japanese imports cost a bloody fortune (for the most part, one can catch occasional deals). I really don’t want to think about how much the Japan section of my collection has set me back.
asiangrrlMN
@Tattoosydney: I just bought it! It better have me crying….
AhabTRuler, am I hallucinating, or did you make the same statement about Japanese imports last weekend as well?
Tattoosydney
Stumbled on this version of “Strange Fruit”. I like. Disturbing image warning.
AhabTRuler
I’m a sucker for a nice layered synth sound.
AhabTRuler
@asiangrrlMN: probably repeating myself. I’m not very original.
Cain
@Devon Cole:
You should have seen the response to one of the commentariat’s quilter friend who ended up on the front page. She was blown away. We have big mouths and big hearts. :D
cain
Tattoosydney
@AhabTRuler:
I just bought the Love Beat album on Itunes. Thanks for that one. What are his other ones like? I can also buy “Take off and landing”, “Crossover” and “Pan Am the sound of the 70s”.
DrDave
Good for your sister, John. I’ve ridden the MS150 City to Shore ride four times (from Cherry Hill to Ocean City, NJ) and am registered to do my fifth this year. It is the best event I participate in all year. 7000 riders, hundreds of volunteers manning every intersection, rest stops and the finish line.
I have a cousin, several friends (including the guy I usually room with on Saturday night of the ride) and acquaintances who have MS. Pedaling for 150 miles to support them is inconsequential compared with the battle they fight every day.
http://www.teamtania.com
asiangrrlMN
@Tattoosydney: Dang, that’s bitter, bitter to look at, but what a great voice. I love her earrings, too.
@AhabTRuler: Huh. Not my usual cuppa, but pretty nifty, despite that. I’m liking it the more I listen to it.
I may just be having a case of deja vu (as to your Japanese remark). I tend to do that.
D-Chance.
Cole, the “images” function doesn’t work.
Drat.
D-Chance.
Separated at birth.
Sonia Sotomayor (image: here) and Mindy Cohn (image: here).
Hey, you take the good, you take the bad… the facts of life.
All “Tootie” references welcome…
EDIT: Just as well the “IMG” button isn’t functional… the above is lame and not blog-worthy.
Tattoosydney
@asiangrrlMN:
It veers shamelessly close to schmaltz, but it’s a wonderful book.
AhabTRuler
@Tattoosydney: Crossover is the best of the rest. Pan Am and TOAL aren’t quite as good as the other two, but aren’t terrible.
The IA version of Strange Fruit is just crushingly powerful. Went to an art opening yesterday where an artist had co-opted the title strange fruit for his pieces (they were ceramic representations of fruit). I was a little put off, as the artist was Caucasian and the piece had nothing to do with lynching. I didn’t feel that it was right for him to use the title, given it’s associations.
Tattoosydney
@AhabTRuler:
Lights and Music – Cut Copy.
burnspbesq
Read today that Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey have recently released a new record, their first work together in over 20 years (i.e., since the demise of the dBs). Am off in search of a download. Has anyone heard it?
Death By Mosquito Truck
@JL:
No idea whose boss you are referring to here.
Shouldn’t be long before yer offered a frontpage slot. Yer the perfect combination of moron and toady.
Ray Lewis only got off easy if you think he killed someone. Otherwise, he got hammered. Prosecutors couldn’t prove murder. They said so. As far as race goes, I indicated I don’t think yer a racist. But if you think racism doesn’t play a role when a black man can never shed suspicion of a capital crime even when exonerated by the judicial system, I want some of whatever it is yer smoking.
John Cole
@Devon Cole: There is a reason I think this is the best hobby.
AhabTRuler
@Tattoosydney: Me likey very much. But where can I find that particular remix? It’s not on the single or the album, that I can find.
freelancer
Thanks to whoever linked to the Auto-tune the news#4. That made my start to the weekend.
@asiangrrl:
Depending on the bookstore, it’s either found in the Literature or Pop-horror section, but for my money, I can not find a more profound, terrifying human experience than Mark Z. Danielewski’s “House of Leaves”. It is an amazing, layered piece of art, and unlike any book I have ever come across. (No Links, sorry, I’m writing this on my PS3 in my living room)
asiangrrlMN
@freelancer: Sigh. I have the book at the request of my best friend. I couldn’t get into it, either. I might try again because I think there is something wrong with me that I don’t get or like it.
TenguPhule
And I’ll do it even if it kills Tatoosydney
grumpy realist
Hmmm…strange and twisted writing that sticks in your mind. Story of O. Voyage to Arcturus. (Highly recommended. Get the edition that has an introduction by Loren Eisely.) Several of the essays in Loren Eisely’s The Star Thrower (especially the story with the frogs….) Holy the Firm by Annie Dillard. (You will either immediately fall in love with Dillard or not understand what the fuss is about.) She won a Pulitzer for Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.
Oh, and A Canticle for Liebowitz. One of *those* books I’d always heard about but never read, thinking “nothing can live up to the hype.” Read it all the way through, put it down, shook my head in disbelief and muttered:”it’s even better.” Very very good and very disturbing for what the book says about the interaction of faith, mankind, and technology.
Have fun!
asiangrrlMN
@TenguPhule: Now, now. I don’t want you killing my fake hubby! His real hubby will kick my ass.
grumpy realist, thanks! I’m going to pick up at least one of those.
grumpy realist
Just wondering, for those who are into obscure and interesting music–any other Dead Can Dance devotees here?
AhabTRuler
@grumpy realist: Just my SO, who doesn’t post here. DCD makes me want to perform dental surgery on myself with rusty pliers.
BruceFromOhio
@The Moar You Know:
That describes like, 99.99995% of the internet.
BruceFromOhio
@grumpy realist:
Not a devotee, exactly, but nothing beats “The Arrival and The Reunion” up loud to start your day.
freelancer
@asiangrrl:
I totally understand what you mean when you say you couldn’t get into it, his most recent book “Only Revolutions” is the novel form in a literal parallelogram structure. You read one half of the story, then you flip it over and read the second half.
Danielewski is the brother of the singer Poe, known for the singles “Trigger Happy Jack” and “Angry Johnny”, and her song “Hey Pretty” has excerpts from House of Leaves as read by the author in the song. The book is something that’s really difficult to describe. I’m not a huge David Lynch fan, but it is as if he were a novelist and within the premise of the story he begins to tell, Danielewski introduces us to an even more perplexing narrative, beginning with the simple premise of a house with walls that measure bigger on the inside than it does on the outside. The framing of the overall narrative is a bit of a stretch, but the presentation of the intended story, “The Navidson Record” is something haunting and without concrete answers. It is truly a unique read.
Tattoosydney
@AhabTRuler:
I can’t find it anywhere except youtube.
asiangrrlMN
@freelancer: On paper, House of Leaves should totally be my thing. I like experimental and free-form and all that. It frustrates me that it’s not. I will give it another go if I can find it.
BruceFromOhio
@Krista:
Boy-howdy, you get points just for reading that twisted trail of snail slime blockquote all the way through.
Tattoosydney
@asiangrrlMN:
Ghostwritten. Odd. Very odd. Ungraspable enough that as soon as I spotted it on my shelf I knew I wanted to read it again.
Tattoosydney
@grumpy realist:
Click. Buy.
AhabTRuler
@Tattoosydney: —–> continued next door.
grumpy realist
Oh, I thought of another book that you might like, AsiangrrlMN. “A Perfect Vacuum.” A collection of reviews written by Stanislaw Lem to books which have never existed. Very, very well done–and very interesting in how he uses this trick to “mirror” fantastic books that couldn’t probably be written in actuality all the while getting across the contents as well as commentary on them. It’s a very short book, but absolutely jam-packed with ideas.
I’d also suggest Lem in general even though he’s known as a science fiction writer. He really wanders all over the map–“The Chain of Chance” is a mystery (very strange one), “Memories Found in a Bathtub” is straight political satire. What SF he writes uses the SF surroundings to contemplate philosophical ideas (which is, of course, what great SF usually does.) Also, he lived and worked in Poland under communism–cloaking his ideas as parts of SF stories was a good way of avoiding the censors.
Steeplejack
@asiangrrlMN:
[. . .] when did you start getting into Guards! Guards!?
My memory of my initial reluctance–already fading as I have enjoyed each succeeding book more–is that I had a problem with the setup(s) being a little too cutesy and Pratchett lingering over them a little too long. Carrot’s a dwarf but he’s not a dwarf; he’s a naïf going to the big, bad city–oh, that will be fun! The conspirator who can’t find the late-night meeting spot for his particular cabal and who keeps swapping cryptic password phrases with the wrong gatekeeper. Swamp dragons as dysfunctional pets. Etc., etc. But once the main line of the actual plot got moving I got into it. And I liked the characters, starting with Vimes, commander of the night watch.
Pratchett actually has a pretty dark, or cynical, view of human nature, but he conveys it in humor and so doesn’t hit you over the head with it. Somewhat like Monty Python, as I said before.
But if you’re all edgy and dark and can’t get into it, that’s fine. Nobody here is going to make you eat your broccoli if you just don’t like broccoli.
What are you reading, as a point of reference?
asiangrrlMN
@grumpy realist: Thanks! I put it on my wishlist. I got Voyage to Arcturus. I will let you know how it goes.
@Steeplejack: Um, I like broccoli.
I like Neil Gaiman, though he does like to have his happy endings.
NP by Banana Yoshimoto.
Lilith Saintcrow is pretty good.
Charlaine Harris.
I’m trying to read Watchmen, but I’m finding it slow-going.
Nevada Barr. Marcia Muller.
All She Was Worth by Miyuki Miyabe.
These are but a few.
Wile E. Quixote
@The Grand Panjandrum
Yeah, I remember all of those obnoxious airborne infantry pricks calling me a leg and telling me what a filthy leg I was because I didn’t want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. And I can remember how satisfying it was to watch them humping their gear up and down the hills at Yakima Firing Center while I rode by in an M-60 tank with the coolers and lawn chairs stowed in the bustle rack (we spray painted them in a camouflage pattern to follow good military doctrine).
Oh, and do you know why it’s “stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door, jump right out and count to four”? It’s because the kind of people who like jumping out of perfectly good airplanes are also the kind of people who have difficulty counting higher than four. You don’t want to confuse them or anything.
AhabTRuler
I liked Sandman until I realized that Dream was the world’s most popular Mary Sue.
Steeplejack
@asiangrrlMN:
If you want something dark, may I suggest something by Ruth Rendell (either under her own name or her pseudonym, Barbara Vine)? Not one of her Inspector Wexford series novels, but one of her stand-alones. Maybe, hmm . . . can’t think of a good one right now. But she does a great job of getting “abnormal psychology” down on the page. And she is dark. Almost any of hers would be good; I just can’t remember a particular favorite right now.
Or check out In the Woods, by Tana French. Child murder may or may not have connections to the disappearance of two children 20 years before. And, oh, yeah, one of the detectives investigating the current case was the playmate of the two kids who disappeared years ago.
I read All She Was Worth last year and thought it was very good. (I like a lot of Japanese fiction. Yasunari Kawabata’s Thousand Cranes is one of my all-time favorite novels.) A good match for All She Was Worth is Natsuo Kirino’s Out, which I also read last year. Girls from the box-lunch factory cover up the murder of a husband. And I’m about to read Kirino’s new(er) one, Grotesque.
. . . Oh, here’s a thought. This is old-school and dark: Donna Tartt’s The Secret History (1992). “Part psychological thriller, part chronicle of debauched, wasted youth, it suffers from a basically improbable plot, a fault Tartt often redeems through the bravado of her execution.” (Publishers Weekly) That about sums it up. I think you might like it.
Ronzoni Rigatoni
PGH to ERI on ol’ Rte. 19. It’s what brought us to Florida back after the Big Deuce. Family ended up in Bradenton, the southern terminus of the road. No map needed. I was born 3 blocks from the start of19, and will die 3 blocks from the end of it (Palmetto Point).
Yeah to The Outlaws above. I actually cut my teeth on this stuff playing clubs weekends for pennies (and free beer) during my college years. Hell, I’d do it again.