Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Thanks for reminding me that Van Jones needs to be slapped.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Everybody saw this coming.

This really is a full service blog.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Bad news for Ron DeSantis is great news for America.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

We’ll be taking my thoughts and prayers to the ballot box.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

Let’s finish the job.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

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

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

In my day, never was longer.

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

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Reader Interactions

201Comments

  1. 1.

    rob!

    Why aren’t they just called Massages, emphasis on the first syllable?

    Democrats never were any good at Massaging.

  2. 2.

    Steeplejack

    Got my census form in the mail today!

    Someone check me on this: am I supposed to freak out, barricade myself in the man-cave and start shooting at public servants, or am I supposed to wait for instructions from Michele Bachmann or Glenn Beck? And what do I do if their instructions contradict each other?

    I will be hiding under the bed until further clarification.

  4. 4.

    Mike Kay

    Ya know, Massa does have a point about the Navy’s sorted history of extreme parties.

    The Tailhook scandal of the early 1990s not only included gross sexual harassment of women in Las Vegas, but a bunch of looney homo-erotic acts. For example, they would chug-a-lug booze from a funnel attached to a giant plastic bull’s genitals.

  5. 5.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    I watched the Larry King interview and I can’t figure out why he has to be gay. Why can’t he be a happily married straight man with kids who also likes fucking good looking young men in the ass?

    None of us (except me and John) are so binary.

  7. 7.

    Joe Lisboa

    I swore a solemn oath I’d never do this, especially in earnest, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t “LOL” at the new tag, JC. Bravo.

  8. 8.

    gbear

    @Steeplejack:

    Bachmann says you should fill it out now. She finally realized that MN might face redistricting and she doen’t want to be the one who loses at musical chairs.

  12. 12.

    Tonybrown74

    I can’t believe I’m asking this, especially being a gay man and all, but does snorkeling mean what I think it means?

  13. 13.

    The Populist

    What that crazy idiot did to Glenn Beck last night is the best thing I’ve seen in years. MAN, it was nice to see the Beckster squirm and show his true colors (more than usual).

    But what would one expect from a guy who couldn’t even finish one class of one semester in community college? Beck is a fraud and it’s interesting how many times he tried to ask Massa about conspiracies and the usual bullshit when trying to paint dems as evil.

    The right can slam Maddow or Olberman yet I’ve never seen either of them try to sell conspiracies over facts.

  14. 14.

    SIA

    @jeffreyw: Be right there! (You shameless tempter).

    On topic. I’m reaching the pity stage for the poor sod. But I still think “Hot Massa Tickle” is the new lexicon term.

  15. 15.

    BruceFromOhio

    I think I am now going to name all open threads “Massa Massages.”

    Randy Kuhl owned NY-26 for six terms. He was a fucking relentless Bushbot, and in 2006 I started paying attention, because Walsh up in NY-25 looked vulnerable, and Louise Slaughter has been in it and on it up in NY-28.

    Eric Massa showed up at the right time with the right campaign. He had a good story to tell, he picked up on the right tone for the district. So I sent him money, wrote back home, urged people to wake up and pay fucking attention. Sure enough, 25 and 26 both swung from blue to red, and Eric Massa and Dan Maffei went off to Washington.

    So where in all that did this hide in Rep. Massa? Since journalism has been replaced by batshit insane and a failing business model, do I have to go out and find people from a candidates past to know whether or not s/he is crazy, repressed or on the take?

    I helped put this guy in office. I’d prefer better vetting for future candidates, but I’m not sure how the mechanics of such a thing would’ve screened out Massa. What really pisses me off is I sent him $ that could’ve been used better elsewhere.

    ETA: Walsh ended up retiring, and Maffei had a head start over the Republican, whose name I do not recall.

  18. 18.

    SIA

    @ SiubhanDuinne (if you’re around) – I know you were grieved that Ralph Reed has declined to run for public office.

  19. 19.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Tonybrown74:

    but does snorkeling mean what I think it means?

    I don’t know. What do you thik it means? I, for one, have no idea – maybe I’m too straight, too unimaginative, too vanilla.

  24. 24.

    Cain

    Hey folks, I’m in India now, attending my grandfather’s funeral, we have 13 days of mourning and we are on teh 10th day. It has been very educational, but there is still this wealth of sadness of what is lost.

    My grandfather was born in 1909.. he went from riding around in bull drawn carriages to fiber optic FIOS internet; WW1, WW2, indian independence, JFK etc. That’s some amazing shit if you think about it. Good time to be alive for so long. My parents told me that my grandfather could have been on the Indian olympic team because he was a champion in hurdles and other stuff but my grandfather’s parents wouldn’t let him.

    cain

  25. 25.

    Tsulagi

    Gotta say the Navy tickle fighting snorkeler seems to be making a hard effort to hurdle the bar set by the double wetsuit single dildo patriot preacher, but he’s still coming up a little short. I’m guessing that’s a chronic condition. Maybe later this week or next he’ll come up with more to get him over the top.

  26. 26.

    PurpleGirl

    jeffreyw @ 11: that looks really good. I should try stir fry cooking again. Hmmmmm. I have a cast iron wok and the utensils, too.

  27. 27.

    WereBear

    @Cain: I’m sorry for your loss.

    It sounds like a lot of history was tied in up your grandfather’s life, and exploring that is like a final gift.

  28. 28.

    Quiddity

    My guess is that snorkeling is, given the Navy context, what those WW2 German submarines did. You know, raise the snorkel to the full upright position. What the parallel is with which part of the male body, or how that’s accomplished, is something another commenter will have to answer.

  29. 29.

    SIA

    @Cain: hey, thanks for sharing that, and my condolences for the loss of your grandfather. That generation, more than any other I think, saw the whole spectrum of global, economic, political and technical change.

    I like the set amt of time for mourning. That seems sane. When my father died, I had to be in Texas a few days later for a business trip. My installer knew my father had been sick, and asked me how he was, and I sobbed out, “He died”. Except for him, it was like everyone expected me to act as if nothing had happened. All over, back to work. Insane.

    Thoughts are with you and your family, Cain. Safe travels home. Peace.

  30. 30.

    Steeplejack

    @soonergrunt:

    Need more clarification. I live in Virginia, but NoVa, not the “real Virginia.”

    Think I can take out the garbagemen, maybe the mailman, before they get me. (Memo to self: do the garbagemen come tomorrow?) Do I blow up my place or do I leave it pristine so the authorities can find the incoherent hate literature?

  31. 31.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @SIA: (waves hand in the air). I’m here!

    Yeah, I posted about Reed on an earlier thread, but it was O/T and got buried anyhow.

    Heartbroken. Simply shattered.

  32. 32.

    geg6

    cain: I’m so sorry for your loss. But how cool does your grandfather sound! And what a long, strange trip his life must have seemed. Hell, I watch Mad Men and think, damn, what a lot of change I’ve seen because I have such vivid memories of that time period, a five/six year old just becoming aware of what was happening in the world around me. Imagine what you grandfather must have thought of all he’d seen!

  34. 34.

    burnspbesq

    Greetings from Hong Kong. Just wondering if I should ask ActBlue to refund the portion of my contribution that they allocated to Massa. There is certainly a breach of the implied warranty of sanity here.

  35. 35.

    lamh31

    Don’t hate me, but I’m watching Tyra Banks’ America’s Next Top Model Cycle 14. It’s my guilty pleasure!

  36. 36.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Cain: I add my condolences but also my awe at the life your grandfather lived. What memories and stories your family must. Be sharing!

  37. 37.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Steeplejack: Don’t forget to leave something on yer Facebook page. And wear clean underwear. All yer justified rage is for naught if you have a big brown skidmark in the back.

  38. 38.

    Bad Horse's Filly

    Tom and Massa shared a stateroom together. Massa climbed up on the top of his bunk, which is hard to do—you never crawl up on somebody else’s bunk. He wakes up to Massa undoing his pants trying to snorkel him.

    Wow, just wow. How did this guy get elected in the first place, without any of this coming out? There must be a lot of people who worked on his campaign feeling betrayed about now. (Kind of like I felt about the Edwards’ mess).

  39. 39.

    ellaesther

    @Cain: Oh Cain, I’m so sorry for your loss. It sounds like the mourning process is a good one — sort of reveling in the life that was led, passing it on from one to the other. It reminds me of the Jewish shiva a week where really, all you do is sit around and talk about the person you’re mourning with all the people who loved him or her. I’m glad you’re there for it.

    @SIA: I think people are so uncomfortable with pain, with grief. I don’t know how long ago this was, but I’m so sorry for you.

  40. 40.

    geg6

    I am very excited. My John and I are taking our first trip of the year to his cottage in Titusville this weekend. It’s just for the day to see what has been destroyed over this horrible winter, but it’s gonna be 65F (if with a 50% chance of rain) and the mountains are so pretty, and there’s a great bar there with the best cheeseburgers evah. I can’t wait. When I’m there, I remember why I love living in Pennsylvania.

  41. 41.

    Corner Stone

    @Cain: Sorry for that.
    But you raise a crazy good point. What a great time to be alive right now, with a lot of life ahead of us.

  42. 42.

    scarshapedstar

    Definitions of snorkeling seem to vary, but I suspect it’s when you give a Rusty Trombone to someone lying on their back.

  45. 45.

    BruceFromOhio

    @geg6: I remember why I love living in Pennsylvania.

    That whole area from Chatauqua way out to Williamsport is beautiful. Cheeseburgers ain’t the only good thing around …

  48. 48.

    eemom

    I think I am now going to name all open threads “Massa Massages.”

    oh puhleeeez don’t do that. He’ll be history in a few days and who needs to be reminded that such a sordid train wreck was once a member of Congress?

    ‘Sides, there’s plenty of other train wrecks to choose from……what makes HIM so special??

  50. 50.

    Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist

    he won’t let me, because he won’t shut up and go away

    He knows that once he goes away, people won’t shut up singing about Jimmy Crack Corn.

  51. 51.

    eemom

    here’s a serious shocker for we Virginians:

    After a day of legislative maneuvering and protests, Gov. Bob McDonnell issued an unusual executive directive saying workplace discrimination, including bias against gays, is prohibited in Virginia.
    McDonnell’s pronouncement doesn’t make the anti-bias statement law, but says it must be obeyed in Virginia because such discrimination would be against the state and U.S. Constitutions.
    The governor’s directive comes as the outcry increased against Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s opinion delivered to state college and university leaders last Thursday, saying that it was illegal for them to have policies that ban discrimination against gays without a mandate from the legislature.
    McDonnell, unlike his Democratic predecessors, declined upon taking office to sign an executive order banning bias, instead leaving it to the legislature, which has failed to adopt a bill that passed the Senate earlier this year. Yesterday, senators debated adding anti-bias wording to an economic development bill, and a vote on that could be taken tomorrow. At Virginia Commonwealth University, meantime, more than 1,000 people protested the Cuccinelli opinion and a smaller number then marched to the State Capitol, chanting, “Down With Hate.“
    “Discrimination based on factors such as one’s sexual orientation or parental status violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. Therefore, discrimination against enumerated classes of persons set forth in the Virginia Human Rights Act or discrimination against any class of persons without a rational basis is prohibited,“ McDonnell said in his directive.

    just hope McD isn’t playing some sort of twisted wingnut version of eleventy-dimensional chess……

  54. 54.

    SIA

    @ellaesther: Thank you. It’s been a number of years now, and I think you are right – people are just uncomfortable. But – at least in the corporate world – they want you to just keep producing. Fair enough I guess.

  55. 55.

    mai naem

    @Cain: Condolences on your grandad. Cool though, that he made it past 100.
    I remember talking to this woman whose daughter had started receiving social security and this woman herself never thought she herself would reach social security age.

    Also too, I am tired of Massa already. G.o. A.w.a.y.

  56. 56.

    ellaesther

    Hey, Cain and SIA:

    I had my own loss the other day, not my father, but the father of a good friend, someone who meant the world to me for most of my life, and I wrote this little thing — I wonder if it might speak to you right now. Even though it’s about a different man, it’s about love and loss and the family it happened in.

    Peace to you both, to us all.

  59. 59.

    Mike in NC

    Got my census form in the mail today!

    Since my unemployment benefits had run out, last month I applied and was accepted for a 4-8 week part-time gig as a Census worker, starting in a few weeks. Then just today I accepted a full-time job offer to go back to GE as a consultant for 4-6 months, starting in April. Could we really be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with respect to the Great Bush Recession?

    Time for a celebatory drink…

  60. 60.

    Svensker

    @Tonybrown74:

    I can’t believe I’m asking this, especially being a gay man and all, but does snorkeling mean what I think it means?

    You go first.

  61. 61.

    Svensker

    @Cain:

    Wow. 101?! That is really amazing and wonderful. Sad for you, but it is a great thing that you had him in your life.

  62. 62.

    Comrade Dread

    just hope McD isn’t playing some sort of twisted wingnut version of eleventy-dimensional chess……

    No, I don’t think so.

    I think a lot of Republicans are going too loony over teh Soshalist health care and Reconciliation! to really get all that worked up over the gays and their zany anti-discrimination statutes right now.

    You might even be able to sneak in some civil partnership laws while they’re distracted.

  64. 64.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Wow, not even 10:00 yet, and I am suddenly *just beat.* (Well, okay, I *was* up half the night with asiangrrlMN and Yutsano and, er, um, BoB, and others, but it was all pretty exhausting.) So until the next bout of insomnia, I’m off to bed. Cheers, all.

  66. 66.

    Jake

    @Cain:

    So sorry for your loss. It is awesome that tradition gives 13 days to relive the life of the one who has died. He has left a legacy that will be remembered through the stories that are shared within the family. What a tribute.

    I remember when my mother was sick, and in the hospital. I had scheduled a business trip abroad and was going to cancel. My mother said to go, that she would be waiting to hear all about it when I returned. She died while I was away. I learned later from my cousin that she knew she was dying, and that she sent me away on purpose. She wanted to spare me the pain of going through the last days of her life.

    She wanted me to remember all the days she was well and an essential part of my life, not the end, when she was barely with us. I can’t help thinking of how hard that must have been for her to send me away, and how her last thoughts were of my well-being, not her illness.

  68. 68.

    Original Lee

    @SIA: Exactly. Once one of my coworkers in a satellite office died (very tragic – killed in a car accident on the way home from his honeymoon), and I called and called and called his voicemail (not knowing he was dead), getting increasingly snarky about his lack of response, until about a week after the funeral, when I got a phone call from his brother. Boy, did I feel like a schmuck. Americans need to have a better way of dealing with death.

    Cain, my condolences. It sounds as if your grandfather was a very cool person.

  69. 69.

    Zuzu's Petals

    @Cain:

    Please accept my condolences. It sounds like your grandfather had an amazing life, and I hope some of his stories are saved for posterity … a real family treasure.

  72. 72.

    Tonybrown74

    @Svensker:

    Well, I’m thinking of snorkeling in the sense that he needs to, um, dive under the sheets and use the other guy’s
    “snorkel” to, um, breathe?

    Never knew one needed it to get air. It’s been my personal experience that it can be difficult to breathe, especially if your partner holds your head down “under water” …

    I just cannot believe I am having this conversation …

    Edit: I think I just read some double entendre in your statement “you go first”

  75. 75.

    SIA

    @Mike in NC: Congratulations Mike! I know that feeling when you get a contract/job that’s going to feed, house & clothe you for a period of months. Such a relief.

    You’re the 3rd or 4th person who has mentioned getting some work here since yesterday, so I hope it is a sign that this economic nightmare is drawing to a close. (Tho I keep feeling there’s another shoe waiting to drop, but then, I’m not a cheery optomistic person.)

  77. 77.

    ellaesther

    @SIA: Oh thank you. I just, I don’t know how to put really, other than the obvious fact that when you lose someone, you feel this shared humanity that is so powerful. I’m so aware of the losses around me this week — which is not to say that I’m not at other times, I guess I just feel them in my bones right now. And it meant so much to me to be able write that, that it feels like a thing I want to share.

  78. 78.

    DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)

    @Punchy: When you’re “in the Navy” and out at sea, you’re surrounded by seamen who are looking for an outlet. Or is it an inlet? Maybe they’re looking for an outlet until they get to an inlet? An inlet to be their outlet until they get to an inlet?

    People better watch out what they say here. If I remember correctly the other night someone mentioned that they are going snorkeling in some exotic locale. In light of this new definition of snorkeling,  they might want to clear up any potential misunderstanding… ;)

  79. 79.

    Brian J

    I came across this link from The Washington Post by way of The Huffington Post. I agree with everything that was said:

    Sadly, Americans now aren’t that surprised when their elected officials behave badly. Such shenanigans as frequenting prostitutes, ignoring tax codes or dissembling to cover visits to mistresses has inured us to the misconduct of people who are supposed to do the public good. So, when a politician actually does the right thing, it’s occasion to take note. If not stand up and cheer.

    Case in point is House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and his deft handling of complaints about former Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.). Hoyer is the one a top Massa aide took complaints to about the congressman’s conduct. Massa’s own accounts (apparently depending upon his mood) acknowledge inappropriate language, groping a male staffer and (I still can’t get over this) tickling to the point of breathlessness. Kudos to Ron Hikel, Massa’s former deputy chief of staff, for speaking up, and kudos to Hoyer for making clear that if Massa didn’t bring the matter to the House ethics committee, he would.

    Hoyer, as Roll Call notes, has long been an advocate for internal House ethics investigations. And it’s particularly refreshing that Hoyer didn’t let party considerations enter into his calculation of what’s right and what’s wrong. Now that’s something to be tickled about

  80. 80.

    Tonybrown74

    Just an oddly fascinating trainwreck to watch, really. I actually feel kind terrible that I find this salacious story humorous. I thought I was better than that.

  81. 81.

    SIA

    @Original Lee: That is a very tragic story – how awful. Sudden death by accident or murder is the most difficult IMO. There’s no chance gradual grieving and acceptance while the person is alive. It’s just so violent and shocking.

    I read a lot of Victorian literature, and sometimes wonder if they didn’t have the right idea by “branding” the bereaved with tiers of “mourning” (black clothes that gradually could be come less black, so by the 3rd year or so a widow could wear dark purple!) Obviously that’s going too far, but I know where we are now isn’t the answer either.

  84. 84.

    mai naem

    Who would have ever thought politics would teach you all these exotic sexual terms? Teabagging, toe tapping in a public bathroom is apparently a gay mating call and now snorkeling.

  86. 86.

    YellowJournalism

    @Mouse Tolliver: No, that’s not a Massa massage. If you’d said that Thomas Jefferson used to do that with Ben Franklin, then it would be a Massa Massage.

  88. 88.

    mcc

    It suddenly occurs to me that maybe the Washington Post needs to be deluged with letters asking them to explain the precise practice of “snorkeling”.

    After all, they used the word in their coverage. Surely they have an obligation to the public to be clear about their meaning?

  90. 90.

    DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)

    @Cain:

    So sorry to hear of your loss, my deepest condolences go out to you and yours. Wow, 1909? That spans a huge slice of time that covers a mind-boggling amount of technological, historical and societal changes around the world. With that many years under his belts I am sure that your family will have many fond memories to share.

    Take care and have a safe trip home.

  91. 91.

    geg6

    Brian [email protected]: You are absolutely right and I hadn’t thought of it as Hoyer being a truly ethical political leader. And we have all probably not taken a minute to acknowledge that. I don’t often praise Hoyer because I don’t really trust him politically, but he’s been a good deputy to Nancy and really walks the walk on ethics. Kudos to him. Oh, and if anyone is interested, Obama Girl was on “Shear Genius” tonight.

  93. 93.

    mcc

    @geg6: Truly ethical, or maybe just not an idiot and with a long enough memory to remember how the Republicans lost the House in 2006. D:

  95. 95.

    geg6

    [email protected]: Well, either he’s truly ethical or he’s at least smarter than your average congresscritter. Either way, good on him. I don’t care which as long as he keeps it up.

  96. 96.

    eemom

    first massage, now snorkeling……Jeezus H.R. Christ on a skateboard, must EVERY pleasurable experience in life be contaminated by association with this fucked up fucker?

  97. 97.

    mr. whipple

    Tonight I learned Obama is going to take my fishing rod.

    Jeebus, I’m so tired of nuts.

  100. 100.

    DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)

    @eemom:

    No shit. That donkey fucker who ran for office in Georgia ruined watermelons for me.

    Creamed watermelon, ewww.

  101. 101.

    Tonal Crow

    What was that old saw about the Navy? “Rum, sodomy, and the lash” or something similar?

  104. 104.

    Delia

    @Loon Juice:

    So I checked the Urban Dictionary and snorkeling is similar to a roman war helmet. Did I clear that up for you?

    Now I’m wondering what there is about roman war helmets that I’m missing . . . .

  106. 106.

    Mike in NC

    @Neutron Flux:

    Software engineering project relating to trying to find parts for aging (30-40 year old) nuclear reactors where many of the original suppliers have gone out of business or were bought out.

  107. 107.

    Monkeyfister

    OT, New Topic: Excellent Cheap wine,

    http://monkeyfister.blogspot.com/2010/03/beringer-founders-estate-cabernet.html

    I grilled one of my big, 1-1/2″ thick locally-grown Neola Farms Black Angus rib eye steaks today in this glorious warm weather. On the side, I sauteed some fresh, home-grown Oyster Mushrooms in some red wine. I didn’t realize that the 2005 Beringer Founder’s Estate Cabernet Sauvignon that I used to cook the mushrooms and onions was going to be so fantastically good to drink. I thought I was just buying a good, inexpensive Cab… I regret wasting the cup of Cab on mushrooms and onions. Beringer has quietly surprised the world, once again, with a sleeper Cab that will end up a very, very expensive vinted wine. This wine grabbed me on the first sip. I see enormous promise for aging it.

    from Planet Of Wine

    Beringer Founders’ Estate winemaker, Ron Schrieve, believes in “getting his boots dirty” and walking the vineyards daily during harvest to determine just the right time to pick. “I wish we got frequent-driver miles, because I’d have a million of them from running up and down the state,” he says. “But tasting grapes is the only way I can be sure I’m getting as much flavor as possible.” As each vineyard block reached the peak of maturity, the Cabernet was harvested and rushed to the winery, and Ron kept each lot separate until he assembled the final blend. After vinification, Ron aged the wines in French and American oak barrels for 12 months, helping the flavors come together and imparting sweet oak and brown spice nuances. The resulting wine has a deep color with bright cassis, green tea, black olive and sweet vanilla spice aromas that lead into a fleshy mouth that has, as Ron says, “A big Cab flavor.” Black fruit, cassis, and spice flavors are supported into a long finish by fine-grained, assertive tannins.

    I agree with all of the above. It’s so spicy, and the tannins are just right, at a little extra-strong. I will add that I was very impressed by the surprisingly high sugar content of this year’s Cab. It really reminds me of one of this series’ very best years– 1991. It sold then (1993-4), at the same ~$8-to-9 per bottle. A year later, it was up to $18 per bottle– in the 1990’s that was damned expensive red wine. It was SO good, and had all of the exact same qualities as this 2005.

    About four years ago, I was at the big wine and spirits store in Memphis, a place called Buster’s, and saw some 1991 Beringer’s Cab “on sale” for $180.00. I happened to be with a friend of mine, who visited me when I was still Active Duty, at Ft. Belvoir, and buying the (then 2 year-old) 1991 Cab vintage by the caseload. He offered to split the cost for a bottle, and, later, with dinner and TEH wine, we both agreed that the price for that 15 year-old bottle was more than worth it.

    Much drier, but still, somehow perfectly full and perfectly balanced. It’s old sweetness still was noted. It’s still got a decade to it’s full potential (counting the passed years since tasting it.). It was simply the best vinted California wine that either of us had ever tasted, and by this time, my buddy was a five-star CIA chef. Had I just been able to keep my lips off that 1991 Beringer’s Jesus Juice, I’d be talking about all the empty bottles of old, expensive wine I have laying around. I mean– I’d be a richer man, for sure!

    Short story long– The 2005 Beringer Founder’s Estates Cabernet Sauvignon is perfectly ready to drink right now, but, I really see this being a superlatively spectacular wine in 5, 10… 15– even 20 years. It has everything in it to age spectacularly.

    Buy a case, and enjoy a bottle or four, and then set the rest on its side in a cool, dark place for some time. Plastic corks. No extra tannins from the cork, and no CORKED either. Time will be the juge of cork vis plastic “corks.” This wine will only get better, even though, right now, it’s hard to imagine improving it. It is SO damned easy to drink.

    This is one for the books.

    Witness and Testify.

    –mf

  108. 108.

    Mike in NC

    @Tonal Crow:

    What was that old saw about the Navy? “Rum, sodomy, and the lash” or something similar?

    Quip made by Churchill about sacred naval tradition. I think he was First Lord of the Admiralty at the time (roughly equal to our Secretary of the Navy).

  109. 109.

    Wile E. Quixote

    @Mike Kay:

    Ya know, Massa does have a point about the Navy’s sorted history of extreme parties.
    __
    The Tailhook scandal of the early 1990s not only included gross sexual harassment of women in Las Vegas, but a bunch of looney homo-erotic acts. For example, they would chug-a-lug booze from a funnel attached to a giant plastic bull’s genitals.

    Spy magazine did a fantastic article on the Navy’s weird sexual predilections back in the 1990s after the Tailhook scandal>. I wish I could find it on teh intarwebs because it was brutally hilarious. God I miss Spy.

  111. 111.

    AnotherBruce

    Hey what’s wrong with Massa? I think he’s a great comedian. He totally punked Beck, which is admittedly not hard to do. But that was some funny shit.

  112. 112.

    Neutron Flux

    @Mike in NC: Maybe we will run into each other. I am with a utility working to replace some of those old systems with new digital upgrades. We work with both GE and Westinghouse. Good luck, hopefully there will be something full time for you there. The nuclear side is a pain in the ass tho.

  113. 113.

    Wile E. Quixote

    Remember, Massa served in the Navy from the time when they loaned that destroyer to the Village People to film the In the Navy video (and then were shocked, shocked I tell you, to find out that the Village People were America’s gay supergroup) and Top Gun. He’s a product of his times.

  114. 114.

    Monkeyfister

    “Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash” was an album by the British group “The Pogues.”

    Speaking with certain authority, I can say that Today’s Navy wouldn’t tolerate that sort of behavior. The US Navy hasn’t tolerated that sort of behavior since the Tailhook scandal. Not under DADT, either.

    Reference the recent and terrible career of Captain Holly Graf.

    http://news.google.com/news?q=capt%20holly%20graf&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wn

    She has a Navy sister who is the complete opposite. Admiral Graf is kind and concerned above and beyond in her leadership role. I hope that CAPT. Graf gets the help she needs. Look to the Navy to lead the way as DADT and gender barriers are removed. Navy has a Female Submarine CO, and it is working on female berthing on Subs. It’s only a matter of time for the real breakthroughs to happen. Navy already has post-DADT policy written and awaiting orders. The print material is waiting on pallets.

    We’re on the cusp of some wonderfully weird times.

    –mf

  118. 118.

    TenguPhule

    “Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash” was an album by the British group “The Pogues.”

    Speaking with certain authority, I can say that Today’s Navy wouldn’t tolerate that sort of behavior.

    Indeed, alcohol is now banned.

  120. 120.

    TenguPhule

    He’s a product of his times.

    You mean assholes evolved into human-shaped mutant cockaroaches at some point in the past?!

  121. 121.

    Mark S.

    This is kind of from the Dept. of No Duh, but the conclusion is rather interesting:

    High school and college students who understand the geological age of the Earth (4.5 billion years) are much more likely to understand and accept human evolution, according to a University of Minnesota study published in the March issue of the journal Evolution. The finding could give educators a new strategy for teaching evolution, since the Earth’s age is typically covered in physical rather than biological science classes.

    My personal opinion is that students would find science more interesting if it were a little more interdisciplinary and if there were some emphasis on the history of the field. For instance,

    The researchers noted that understanding the Earth’s age is a difficult concept; even Darwin found it challenging.

    Scientists of the 19th century were wildly off the mark on the age of the earth in large part because no one knew how the sun could keep burning for billions of years. It wasn’t until radioactivity and nuclear fusion that scientists got on the right track.

    Maybe I’m wrong. Most people don’t like history as much as I do, but I hated labs and would have greatly preferred being taught like that.

  122. 122.

    gwangung

    Most people don’t like history as much as I do, but I hated labs and would have greatly preferred being taught like that.

    Or maybe all the cool lab stuff costs money and school boards thought they didn’t need it…

  123. 123.

    IndyLib

    @Monkeyfister:

    Navy already has post-DADT policy written and awaiting orders. The print material is waiting on pallets.

    This is true. The Senior enlisted can’t wait for DADT to be history. My husband is an E8 and he says even the homophobes in the Chief’s ranks can’t wait to get rid of it to reduce the amount of counseling chits and paperwork that goes with it.

    The Navy, for all it’s love of tradition, is the most progressive of the military services when it comes to gays and women.

  124. 124.

    Mike in NC

    Look to the Navy to lead the way as DADT and gender barriers are removed. Navy has a Female Submarine CO, and it is working on female berthing on Subs. It’s only a matter of time for the real breakthroughs to happen.

    My ex-roommate (now a Rear Admiral) gave me a tour of his new destroyer several years ago. Seeing women walking around was a real culture shock for somebody who was active duty in the 80s.

    I can say that Today’s Navy wouldn’t tolerate that sort of behavior. Indeed, alcohol is now banned.

    Josephus Daniels banned alcohol from navy ships before WW1, but not really. Lots of loopholes were left in place, i.e. “medicinal brandy” for downed aviators and hidden booze in flag quarters. Still pertains to this day.

  125. 125.

    Nellcote

    @Cacti:

    I can’t seem to post a link.

    Highlight word(s) you put in the Comments Box. Click on the blue link button above it. A link box should pop up. Paste in your URL, deleting the “http://” already there if it’s redundant. Click OK and you should be good to go.

  126. 126.

    Mark S.

    @Cacti:

    1. Copy the URL.
    2. Highlight some words in your comment.
    3. Click the link button above the comment box.
    4. Paste the URL.

  127. 127.

    DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)

    @Cacti:

    [a href=”http://www.insert_url_between_quotemarks.com”]insert link description here[/a]

    Replace above [ ] brackets with greater/less than symbols, replace data in the URL and description areas above and you are in business.

  128. 128.

    Brachiator

    @Mark S.:

    Very interesting link. But here’s the part that makes me go WTF:

    The poll also reported that 16 percent of biology teachers believe God created humans in their present form at some time during the last 10,000 years.

    I wonder, by comparison, how many contemporary chemistry teachers believe in alchemy.

    We’re doomed.

  135. 135.

    Cacti

    @Brachiator:

    I wonder, by comparison, how many contemporary chemistry teachers believe in alchemy.

    Or how many Astronomy teachers believe in Astrology.

  136. 136.

    DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)

    Listening to Tweety chirping on about Massa and I think I understand what Massa was complaining about when he mentioned that Rahm confronted him about an issue while naked in the shower.

    He wasn’t disturbed about it. He was pissed because he had to look Rahm in the eyes and talk shop when he what he really wanted to do was play with Rahm’s one-eyed wonder weasel.

  137. 137.

    BeccaM

    “Massa Massages”? Wetsuit anecdotes? And stories of a fifty year old man running around like a loon ‘tickle-attacking’ his staff members. (Those last two words are an unintended and deeply regretted pun, I realize.)

    Oh man, I need to get very, very drunk tonight.

  138. 138.

    GregB

    Tweety must be in his glory. He always gets a thrill up his leg when the talk turns salty and the towels start a snapping.

  140. 140.

    Yutsano

    @Brachiator:

    I wonder, by comparison, how many contemporary chemistry teachers believe in alchemy.

    “Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost.”

    – First Law of Alchemy

  142. 142.

    Anne Laurie

    @Cain:

    I’m in India now, attending my grandfather’s funeral, we have 13 days of mourning and we are on teh 10th day. It has been very educational, but there is still this wealth of sadness of what is lost.

    Condolences, Cain. I bet your grandfather would have been pleased that so many of his descendants took this time to share & reflect on his long and varied life…

  144. 144.

    JMY

    @Fern:

    I don’t understand it. And he introduces a resolution for Obama to pull troops out of Afghanistan, something that at this point won’t happen until 2011-2012 but won’t vote ‘yes’ for HCR. Christ, he’s worthless.

  145. 145.

    Little Boots

    Coming out in public, the whole process, it ain’t pretty. It’s crazy time, pretty much by definition. And that’s why a part of me still feels for him. But Jesus God in a Wetsuit, stop with all the crazy and have the heartfelt press conference already.

  146. 146.

    Ruckus

    @Yutsano:
    Why is it that morons conservatives believe that the world is a zero sum place? Addition and subtraction are their only learned skills? Can’t they even see the changes around us that have taken place in their own lifetimes? I know, I know stupid questions about stupid people.

  147. 147.

    DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)

    @Yutsano:

    Repubs will never go for that since they want to give nothing and get everything. Oh well, just another law to break!

  148. 148.

    Yutsano

    @Ruckus: Actually, if you know where that’s from, it becomes very clear that the Rule of Equivalent Exchange is bullshit. It’s just a restriction to keep the alchemist from turning the universe into total chaos. It ends up backfiring upon the protagonists in some fairly fascinating and nasty ways.

  150. 150.

    burnspbesq

    @eemom:

    Isn’t there an urban legend that says whenever the Virginia Legislature does something sane, the statue of Arthur Ashe at the end of Monument Avenue turns around and faces the capitol, instead of looking away? But no one has ever seen it happen?

    Somebody should put a webcam down there to see if it’s really true.

  151. 151.

    Comrade Kevin

    Did any of you see Countdown tonight? They spent WAY too much time talking about Massa.

  152. 152.

    Yutsano

    @Brachiator: He was a man of his age. Alchemy was in its death throes but the belief in the ancient arts of alchemy were still very much believed in. In fact, the study of alchemy led to the discovery of the science of chemistry. However, chemistry regards that ancient past like an old crazy uncle.

    @Comrade Kevin: This fact has been true for at least the last three days.

  153. 153.

    burnspbesq

    @SIA:

    Thanks, but I think I’m too friggin’ old to see anything glamorous in flying 30 hours for two days of meetings.

    I will say this, though: from what little I’ve seen so far, HK is definitely Ground Zero for conspicuous consumption. Every famous ultra-luxury brand has multiple doors here. It’s like the demon spawn of Fifth Avenue, South Coast Plaza, Rue de Rivoli, and Ginza. On steroids.

  154. 154.

    Yutsano

    @burnspbesq: I’ve honestly never understood the appeal of Hong Kong as a Tourist spot, even when the British were still in possession. My aunt loved it there when she was stationed there during World War II. I can only imagine conspicuous consumption is about all they really have as an income source.

    @freelancer (itouch): My grandmother had hospice care during the last week of her life. She died, surrounded by family, in the comfort of her own home. She had a truly dignified final days. It’s what I’ve already decided I want if things get too hopeless: just manage my pain and let me slip into the next existence in peace. I’m glad you’re respecting his wishes like this.

  155. 155.

    freelancer (itouch)

    This thread fucking wins. John is funny, but it is y’all who bring the LOLs.

    Massa Effect is a favorite, and I might steal it.

    In other news, I’m seriously considering a move to Arizona and I’ll keep you posted. And my grandfather is now in hospice care after being in and out of hospitals after a year of falls, fractures, and emphesema brought on by a lifetime of smoking. I went and saw him last week, and when I left, I wish, for his sake, that he would have passed 9 months ago after his initial fall. Jack could have been spared the embarrassment of a slow deterioration and retained the dignity of a life well lived. It’s sad, but my mother and I have found ourselves wishing the process along, to the respite of its end. For his sake, and for ours.

  160. 160.

    asiangrrlMN

    @mr. whipple: Maybe you should take up snorkeling instead!

    @Cain: My deepest condolences to you and your family, and may I echo the others in how amazing your grandfather’s life sounds? In Taiwan, there is also a set number of days for sitting with the deceased.

    As for the Hot Tickler himself, I saw parts of the Beck interview, and I actually did feel a soupcon of sorry for Massa. He clearly needs someone to lock him in his room and not let him up for air, er, out.

  162. 162.

    freelancer

    @Tattoosydney:

    Someone hasn’t seen Infernal Affairs.

    Or Infernal Affairs II or III for that matter.

    Oh, wait, you’re talking about facts on the ground, as in layovers, yeah, I haven’t been on a plane in years. I yield to you, sir. Especially being half a world away.

  163. 163.

    asiangrrlMN

    @ellaesther: That is lovely, ellaesther. Thank you for sharing.

    @jeffreyw: YUMMMMMMM! And dessert looks yummy, too.

    OK. I just looked up Roman helmet and snorkeling at Urban Dictionary…and I so did not need those images in my head!

  164. 164.

    asiangrrlMN

    @freelancer (itouch): I’m so sorry about your grandfather. There’s nothing wrong with wanting him to be free from his pain. I am sending a white light in his direction to comfort him on his next journey.

    @burnspbesq: I was there when I was in college, and it was a consumer’s wet dream back then, too. I hated it.

    @Yutsano: Bwahahahaha! Imma gonna let you finish, but you slay me.

  165. 165.

    Steeplejack

    WTF?! I took some time out to watch my “stories” tonight (Human Target, Psych), came back to the computer, and now every YouTube video will not play but tells me to “go upgrade!” (i.e., get a new version of Adobe Flash). I swear this was not happening earlier tonight.

    I have done the upgrade, but to no avail. This is with Opera 10.50, to which I (perhaps foolishly) upgraded a few days ago. YouTube videos play okay in the universally reviled Internet Explorer 8. So this appears to be some problem between Opera and Flash. Damn it. It may be time for my semiannual reappraisal of Firefox. Or maybe Chrome.

    Anyone else experiencing this? Any Opera users at all? I switched to it (I can’t remember exactly when) because it had the cleanest implementation of multiple tabs at the time, and I’ve stayed with it mainly out of inertia (although I do like it).

  166. 166.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Steeplejack: Cannot tell you. I use Chrome, which works very well for me. By the way, you cracked me the fuck up with your imitation of a wingnutter re: the census form. Thanks for that.

    @Steeplejack: The fuck? That was funny. Night, Steep man.

  167. 167.

    Steeplejack

    @Steeplejack:

    Will check back in the A.M. I’m having a sudden sinking spell. Rum is not sustaining me, and I’ve never been that much into sodomy and the lash. Nite-nite.

  168. 168.

    Steeplejack

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Hey! I meant every word of that. They’re going to have to pry my precious bodily fluids out of my cold, dead fingers. (Think I’m getting my metaphors mixed up, but you get the picture.)

  172. 172.

    asiangrrlMN

    @MikeJ: You’re the one who adapted cleek’s pie filter for Chrome. I am downloading and noodling with it as we speak. I will holler if I have any trouble, ok?

    @Yutsano: Agreed. Steep man, you might want to brush up on your technique.

  173. 173.

    asiangrrlMN

    @MikeJ: It works! And it’s funnier than hell! Mwwwwwah! Thank you so much for your Chrome version. And, thanks to cleek for the original. I can usually avoid reading the troll comments, but there is one individual I keep reading by accident. Now, PIE!

  176. 176.

    Yutsano

    @asiangrrlMN: Sowwy. If I could figure out how to mail one without it absolutely disintegrating I’d send one. I guess I could drop jeffreyw the recipe and have him deliver one north or something.

  177. 177.

    BeccaM

    @Ruckus:

    It’s only a zero-sum situation on the human scale of things if one stops at Earth’s atmo.

    Beyond that, establish a foothold and the entire galaxy is our oyster. Hell, even the solar system itself alone could fuel an expansion such as our species — and our biosphere — has never seen before.

    But we squabble over dirt and oily crap that burns.

  178. 178.

    freelancer

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Thank you so much for your compassion, it is well appreciated. It is something that has been building/collapsing for about the last year, and just hearing from his care staff that there might be an end to his suffering, well, it seems paradoxical, but many in my family, myself included, feel little more than relief that this man we have known and cared for so much may soon know an end to the misery that he has been in his last nine months.

    I feel a mite feckless, because when my other grandfather died in 2001, I kind of lost my shit, and for me, it was akin to my concept of God dying. The man that my father had revered was gone, and what am I supposed to do with that? This time around, it is ten years later almost, and I want nothing more than for my grandfather to pass, and I know my reaction will be much more subdued.

    There is an element of survivor guilt, I’m sure inherent in what I have been experiencing, and even though I have grown from an adolescent to an adult in that time, I still feel like I am misunderestimating the loss of a man who was a giant in my early life, in being an integral part of making me the man I am today.

    I wish he were gone for his own sake, knowing that he will be leaving soon.

    And yet I feel a tremendous amount of guilt. You lose someone close over the course of two to three years and it all feels relative, but when your parents put your childhood dog to sleep, it hits you and you put on the emopants. Why can’t I pay tribute to my grandfather the way I did to my goddamned dog?

    I guess tonight, that I’m full of a cognitive dissonance, and I just want you guys to hug, with all deliberate speed, those that have played a part in making you who you are.

    Hugs to all BJers

  179. 179.

    Jim Once

    It’s late enough to treat this like an open thread, right? Listening to Patty Griffin, ‘Mad Mission’. Who knows what comes next, ’cause it’s iMusic on shuffle. I just don’t stay up this late ever, but there’s a baby trying her damndest to make her way here, and I’ve promised Mom and Dad I’ll be here to to let everyone know when she makes it. She’s having a struggle – a big one – but we know she’ll win.

  180. 180.

    Jim Once

    Oops. Those IS an open thread – thought I was on another one. BTW – the next song was Leonard Cohen, ‘Look at me Leonard’ – I know that’s probably not the title, but . . . sigh. I just want to say hello to that little girl,

  182. 182.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Yutsano: Grumble grumble grumble….

    @freelancer: Hon, please don’t beat yourself over your reaction to the news you received today. People grieve in different ways over different losses. There really is no ‘right’ way to grieve. In addition, you have watched someone you love, respect, and cherish disintegrate slowly over the last year. I remember when you first posted about Jack. It’s been a difficult journey. You have done much grieving along the way. Your grandfather knows that you love and respect him. That is all that matters at the end of the day. Be gentle with yourself. It’s gonna be rough. Hugs to you.

    @Jim Once: Who’s having the baby? Do tell!

  183. 183.

    freelancer

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Awww, thanks hon.

    I don’t remember specifically posting about him last summer, but I do remember mentioning some life related things on OT threads here.

    Don’t feel too bad, I’m just doing my Catholic/Woody Allen thing of self-criticism and hyper analysis, and wondering what’s different. For levity’s sake, I’m watching Police Academy 6 on Netflix as I type this. My dad recorded it way back when on VHS, but it kind of stands up in that stupid comedy way. Anywho, I’m hitting the sack soon, best to you and your kittehs.

    Love,
    Nick

  184. 184.

    Jim Once

    @freelancer:
    The ones we love the most, we yearn for their suffering to end – but you probably know that when it does end, we desperately wish for them to be here for just thirty seconds again, so that we can tell them how much we loved them, loved them in a way we didn’t know before.

    I’m so sorry for what you are experiencing now. But if we did not know this, it would mean that we did not love them. And we really don’t want a life like that.

  185. 185.

    asiangrrlMN

    @freelancer: You did post about him. You said it looked dire. Then, he recovered. Good. I am glad you’re watching some comedy. It’s good for what ails you. Night!

    @Jim Once: That was beautiful. Made me tear up a bit.

    I’m heading out, too. Night to anyone left in the building.

  186. 186.

    Platonicspoof

    @JMY:

    What has [Kucinich] done since he’s been in Congress?

    From Koppelman at Salon (via Markos at GOS today):

    In fact, according to the Web site GovTrack, of the 97 bills Kucinich has sponsored since taking office in 1997, only three have become law.

    I haven’t any idea what his contributions have been in committees, where a lot of their work is done, and I certainly appreciate his progressive positions, but until most of Congress catches up to those positions, he has to support HCR, such as it is.

    There’s probably more to Kucinich’s story in the 150 comments, but I’m off to dreamland.

  187. 187.

    Jim Once

    @freelancer:
    Nope – as a cousin told me tonight, I’m about to become a step-great-grandparent. What’s really interesting is that the little girl being born tonight is the niece of my six month old granddaughter. Her older sister is 21 years older. Does all that make sense?

  189. 189.

    freelancer

    @Jim Once:

    I’m about to become a step-great-grandparent. What’s really interesting is that the little girl being born tonight is the niece of my six month old granddaughter. Does all that make sense?

    Yes, actually it does. My grandfather, the man I’ve been talking about is not my actual biological grandfather. My biological grandpa was an Irish-Catholic abusive drunk and was feloniously in and out of my grandmother’s life. She filed for divorce in the late 70s and married Jack in 1980. By the time I came along, he was so much a part of my everyday life that he was my de facto grandpa on mom’s side. If Jack is my for reals grandpa as far as the stakes are concerned, then you, my friend, may easily consider yourself not a “step” great-grandpa, but one lucky enough to be around to be considered a Greatgrandfather.

  190. 190.

    Jim Once

    Next up – the McGarrigle sisters. Is it Kate who’s gone? Rufus’s mom? Such a loss — ‘Traveling After Jesus’. I’ve loved them for so many years.

  191. 191.

    Jim Once

    @freelancer:

    Thanks so much for that – because I have to say I don’t always feel like a “real” grandparent , as far the response from my step-grandaughter. You have to understand, we’ve only known each other for five years — and she’s put the whole family through some very, very tough times. But she’s pulled me aside to say how much she likes my company, and, more importantly, is glad my son is her mom’s partner. We’re pretty wrapped up in this baby of hers – she has such a good life now. There are so many difficult things going on in our lives right now, this is a good thing.

    OK. Baby Mika was just born – five pounds. eleven ounces – she’s perfect.

  193. 193.

    Cain

    @WereBear:

    It sounds like a lot of history was tied in up your grandfather’s life, and exploring that is like a final gift.

    Thanks, indeed. He also kept a diary for most of his life. There will be some interesting reading I think. Talking about an awesome history book!

    cain

  194. 194.

    Cain

    @SIA:

    I like the set amt of time for mourning. That seems sane. When my father died, I had to be in Texas a few days later for a business trip. My installer knew my father had been sick, and asked me how he was, and I sobbed out, “He died”. Except for him, it was like everyone expected me to act as if nothing had happened. All over, back to work. Insane.
    Thoughts are with you and your family, Cain. Safe travels home. Peace.

    Thanks SIA.. my boss was really awesome about it. He didn’t tell me I “should” go or anything like that he said along the lines of “you must go”. IT’s good to have people who understand the strong ties of family. (He’s a conservative btw)

    cain

  195. 195.

    Jim Once

    @NobodySpecial:
    No, right on the predicted date. Not that it has anything to do with this, but I was born weighing 4/11 – from healthy non-smoking, non-drinking parents. Mika’s mommy, too, was very careful throughout pregnancy. (Shrug) That’s all I can do/say in response.

    Good night, all.

  196. 196.

    Cain

    @ellaesther:

    @Cain: Oh Cain, I’m so sorry for your loss. It sounds like the mourning process is a good one—sort of reveling in the life that was led, passing it on from one to the other. It reminds me of the Jewish shiva a week where really, all you do is sit around and talk about the person you’re mourning with all the people who loved him or her. I’m glad you’re there for it.

    Thanks all.. It is a lot like teh shiva week. Our close family is talking about him a lot and occasionally people cry. My grandfather was one of those people who was always positive even when he was losing his memory. He didn’t have to know who you were, he’d always say “you are a great guy, destined for great things”. But yeah, as I was saying earlier he kept a diary, Ihope that one day we could peruse it.

    The process of mourning is kind of interesting, and sort ofa combination of ancestor worship and samsara. So before he can get reincarnated, we the family need to reject the spirit by doing everything wrong (eg don’t shave, dont put salt on teh food) so that he would reject us as well and leave. Then after he leaves we will venerate him.

    There are rules and what not, and each family is different for some reason. It’s somewhat complex and for most of us there is some kind of learning curve with the priest as the guide going through all the rituals.

    cain

  197. 197.

    Cain

    @Jake:

    She wanted me to remember all the days she was well and an essential part of my life, not the end, when she was barely with us. I can’t help thinking of how hard that must have been for her to send me away, and how her last thoughts were of my well-being, not her illness.

    My grandfather suddenly got ill with multiple organ failure, but for a 100 year old he gave it his best shot to live. It was a 2 week drama of ups and downs. We thought he was going to pull through but I think he just lost all his energy and after two hear attacks it was over. But he was cogent through the whole process.

    I think though it is important to be there. My father just happened to be spending 6 months there and was able to be there. It was almost like he picked that time to die because my father was there. The tragedy though wasmy uncle who had to find out my grandfather died while he was enroute to India so he didn’t get to say good bye.

    cain

  198. 198.

    Cain

    @DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal):

    So sorry to hear of your loss, my deepest condolences go out to you and yours. Wow, 1909? That spans a huge slice of time that covers a mind-boggling amount of technological, historical and societal changes around the world. With that many years under his belts I am sure that your family will have many fond memories to share.

    Indeed. Thanks, DougL! It is great to be here, and I’m doing a lot of eating.

    cain

  199. 199.

    Cain

    @freelancer (itouch):

    Jack could have been spared the embarrassment of a slow deterioration and retained the dignity of a life well lived. It’s sad, but my mother and I have found ourselves wishing the process along, to the respite of its end. For his sake, and for ours.

    I know how you feel. My grandfather was kind of slowing degrading over time not recognizing people although his personality was still intact but he would be really embarassed that people had to take care of him. He would especially be angry and sad with himself when he had accidents. Sometimes it is just better to check out than have to go through the humiliation.

    cain

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