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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread

Open Thread

by Sarah, Proud and Tall|  June 26, 20119:35 pm| 60 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together… mass hysteria!

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Previous Post: « Credit where credit is due
Next Post: Early Morning Open Thread: Space Invader! »

Reader Interactions

60Comments

  1. 1.

    RossInDetroit

    June 26, 2011 at 9:39 pm

    Will no one think of the children?

  2. 2.

    stuckinred

    June 26, 2011 at 9:40 pm

    Guadalcanal Diary, Athfest.

  3. 3.

    jeffreyw

    June 26, 2011 at 9:43 pm

    Cool bug

  4. 4.

    Corner Stone

    June 26, 2011 at 9:43 pm

    Oh baby. Are you sure?

  5. 5.

    stuckinred

    June 26, 2011 at 9:43 pm

    cicada?

  6. 6.

    jeffreyw

    June 26, 2011 at 9:44 pm

    Tasty pizza

  7. 7.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    June 26, 2011 at 9:44 pm

    Michelle Bachmann to the rescue of our “family values! I laughed at Tweety who thinks that Michelle…dumbell, will get the PUMA vote, unless President Obama puts more women in high profile positions.

  8. 8.

    Mike Kay (Democrat of the Century)

    June 26, 2011 at 9:47 pm

    Bachmann goes into overdrive.

    Today’s poll shows her winning Iowa.

    While the poll has them tied, Iowa is a caucus state, and under caucus rules you have to have atleast 15% of vote or you’re dropped from the ballot on caucus night. Supporters of candidates who don’t reach the 15% viability threshold can then vote for the remaining candidates. I don’t see supporters of gingrich, the herminator, and Senator Man-on-Dog voting for Mittens, so Bachmann will pick up their votes and beat Mittens by 15 points.

    A victory by this margin will create a shockwave that could help her overcome Mittens in NH, but certainly help her win south carolina.

    What will be hilarious is watching the corporate media running to save Mittens from defeat.

  9. 9.

    jeffreyw

    June 26, 2011 at 9:50 pm

    @stuckinred : Hummingbird Moth

  10. 10.

    RossInDetroit

    June 26, 2011 at 9:50 pm

    Is marriage yet another area where the gay communities will show the way? We heteros sure need some leadership because according to statistics we’re Doing it Wrong.

  11. 11.

    Timothy Trollenschlongen (formerly Tim, Interrupted)

    June 26, 2011 at 9:51 pm

    That was beautiful.

  12. 12.

    Yutsano

    June 26, 2011 at 9:53 pm

    Hummingbird Moth

    Lots of em where my folks live. And you can mistake them for the real deal if you’re not paying attention.

  13. 13.

    General Stuck

    June 26, 2011 at 9:55 pm

    Winter’s Bone is a gem of a movie. Can’t recommend it enough. Though the culture it depicts, especially the patriarchal assholes, will likely piss some people off. Jeniffer Lawrence should have won best actress and the movie best pic, imo. I didn’t expect to like it.

  14. 14.

    Timothy Trollenschlongen (formerly Tim, Interrupted)

    June 26, 2011 at 10:00 pm

    Sarah, why don’t you have an address at the top of the page amongst your peers?

  15. 15.

    jeffreyw

    June 26, 2011 at 10:00 pm

    @Yutsano: There were three flitting about this one bush this afternoon. This species is rather small, maybe an inch not counting antennae. These are more likely to be mistaken for bumble bees.

  16. 16.

    General Stuck

    June 26, 2011 at 10:03 pm

    Some terrific pics on your blog, Jeffrey. We get the Spinx variety here of Hummingbird Moth, but only in very wet summers. Right now it is so bone dry, there are almost none of the usual insects buzzing around, like butterflies and such. Made it to 100 degrees today, with no rain in sight. I have a few hummers, and hope for it to pick up in a few days.

  17. 17.

    Sarah Proud and Tall

    June 26, 2011 at 10:08 pm

    @ Timothy Trollenschlongen (formerly Tim, Interrupted):

    Sarah, why don’t you have an address at the top of the page amongst your peers?

    I’m not sure, dear. I think that lovely Mr Cole has just been too busy with his dog crating activities. My email is available at my website though if anyone wants to get in touch.

  18. 18.

    Uncle Clarence Thomas

    June 26, 2011 at 10:09 pm

    .
    .
    @4 Corner Stone

    Corner Stone, how has Uncle Clarence Thomas failed you today?
    .
    .

  19. 19.

    Valdivia

    June 26, 2011 at 10:12 pm

    @ General Stuck
    I loved that movie, heartrending but good. And she was incredible in it.

  20. 20.

    magurakurin

    June 26, 2011 at 10:14 pm

    What the fuck is up with that reactor in Nebraska? The pictures look really scary and apparently the cooling system is on back up generators from a previous failure on June 7. Now the reports are saying they have like a 6 foot buffer on the flood waters before it gets washed over. But looking at the latest photos it looks like a half submerged island in the middle of the river now. I mean, what the fuck, Chuck? over.

  21. 21.

    Corner Stone

    June 26, 2011 at 10:17 pm

    @Uncle Clarence Thomas,
    Never, sir. Never. Your wisdom is always welcome here.
    Although if I may be so presumptuous?
    Sometimes I’m not sure where to draw the line on the fierceness with which President Obama works to defend us all.
    If you could possibly opine?

  22. 22.

    RossInDetroit

    June 26, 2011 at 10:34 pm

    So one question: to what extent was the severity of Weiner’s political downfall due to the similarity of his last name to a synonym for the male generative organ at the center of his scandal?
    I’m serious. Scandals are kept alive by attention and the Weiner/wiener thing was just so easy. I think if this had happened to an Anthony Cohen he might have ridden it out.
    Anthony Johnson, maybe not.

  23. 23.

    jeffreyw

    June 26, 2011 at 10:43 pm

    @General Stuck:Thank you General. We have certainly been having a wet year so far, three inches last night, two feet last month. Interesting times we live in.

  24. 24.

    rob!

    June 26, 2011 at 10:43 pm

    My hetero relationship was weakened just by watching that clip! USA! USA! USA!

  25. 25.

    eastriver

    June 26, 2011 at 10:48 pm

    Okay, OT, but who the fuck kidnapped ABL and replaced her with Cindy Brady?

  26. 26.

    Mike Kay (Democrat of the Century)

    June 26, 2011 at 10:49 pm

    @RossInDetroit:

    I think if this had happened to an Anthony Cohen he might have ridden it out.

    Meh. Chris Lee had a nice christian/heartland name and he had to resign in hours. Last May, mark souder had to resign when it was reviled that he had an affair with an staffer. And these were unknown congressmen from disconnected rural areas, not a flashy, big-mouth golden boy from the media capital of the world, which publishes 5 daily newspapers.

    I think that Weiner lasted longer than most (no pun intended), especially considering the continuous photo/chat leaks.

  27. 27.

    RossInDetroit

    June 26, 2011 at 10:54 pm

    Last May, mark souder had to resign when it was reviled that he had an affair with an staffer. And these were unknown congressmen from disconnected rural areas, not a flashy, big-mouth golden boy from the media capital of the world, which publishes 5 daily newspapers.

    True, but all Weiner did was talk naughty to some women and take beefcake photos of questionable taste. As far as we know he never touched anyone but his wife. I think this scandal could have been a 2-news-cycle story and blown over. But it had exceptional staying power out of proportion with the actual transgressions. I suspect the name/organ pun had something to do with that.

    ETA: this is clearly a crackpot theory of mine but I’m trying to understand why the media plays the hell out of certain ‘news’ stories while other seemingly more critical stuff gets buried.

  28. 28.

    nancydarling

    June 26, 2011 at 10:55 pm

    Ross @22. I have also wondered if being named Weiner, with the constant teasing that probably accompanied it, led to his obvious fixation and twittering problem. My brothers took a lot of ribbing, especially in the army, for the surname Darling. Imagine if it had been Weiner. Darling, by the way is a fine old English name and it was Wendy and John’s last name. They were the only other Darlings I had ever heard of until well into my adulthood. But Weiner? I think I might have been scarred by that one.

  29. 29.

    Uncle Clarence Thomas

    June 26, 2011 at 10:56 pm

    .
    .
    @21 Corner Stone

    Sometimes I’m not sure where to draw the line on the fierceness with which President Obama works to defend us all.

    As the hated President Bush demonstrated, the Constitution defines the president’s primary role as defending us all via war from every Muslim goatherder, of whatever religious persuasion, as all Constitutional scholars agree. If President Obama were not forced to carry this burden laid upon him by the previous president, he might devolve into some sort of mere caretaker stooge, simply making sure that the laws of the United States be faithfully carried out, which we all here agree is not commensurate with President Obama’s abilities or temperament.

    Therefore, the answer to your question is, and must be, and was surely promised to be by his presidential campaign, that the velocity of his ferocity must constantly accelerate, in a straight line, until the very air around him becomes so fiercely incendiary that it causes any goddam piece of paper standing in his way to burn, baby, burn.
    .
    .

  30. 30.

    ABL

    June 26, 2011 at 10:57 pm

    Okay, OT, but who the fuck kidnapped ABL and replaced her with Cindy Brady?

    lolwut?

  31. 31.

    Yutsano

    June 26, 2011 at 10:58 pm

    lolwut?

    I dunno. I’m not overthinkin’ nothin’ right now.

  32. 32.

    thalarctos

    June 26, 2011 at 11:00 pm

    @nancydarling

    My brothers took a lot of ribbing, especially in the army, for the surname Darling.

    I imagine they’re not so much fans of Blackadder IV, then, right?

  33. 33.

    Not!ABL

    June 26, 2011 at 11:05 pm

    I dunno. I’m not overthinkin’ nothin’ right now.

    me neefer.

  34. 34.

    Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal

    June 26, 2011 at 11:08 pm

    @ross 22

    i don’t think we will ever have the full measure of titular influence on scandal trajectory until jessica dick is elected then brought to her knees.

  35. 35.

    Mike Kay (Democrat of the Century)

    June 26, 2011 at 11:15 pm

    @RossInDetroit :

    his funny last name probably played a tiny role (once again, no pun intended), but the bigger role was that he wasn’t christian. He wasn’t able to play the born-again card and say, “I’ve turned my life over to Jesus and he has forgiven me.” Evangelicals buy into that crap because most of them were once big sinners and the media always backs off because they’re afraid of being called “east coast elites who hate the heartland value of faith”.

  36. 36.

    kdaug

    June 26, 2011 at 11:19 pm

    @ jefferyw

    Seen this?

    Focus after you take the picture.

    Go to the picture gallery page. Frakin’ amazing.

  37. 37.

    jeffreyw

    June 26, 2011 at 11:24 pm

    @kdaug: Yeah, saw it and drew a blank thinking about how they do it, the explanation sailed right over my head.

  38. 38.

    RossInDetroit

    June 26, 2011 at 11:35 pm

    He wasn’t able to play the born-again card and say, “I’ve turned my life over to Jesus and he has forgiven me.”

    True. The forgiveness option wasn’t open to him, cutting off the path of repentance/therapy/talk shows/redemption that the Xtian sinners get to use. That hadn’t occurred to me.
    And he’s not Clarence Thomas so he couldn’t claim that being subjected to scrutiny was equivalent to violent racially motivated murder.

  39. 39.

    MikeJ

    June 26, 2011 at 11:36 pm

    Banana slug.

  40. 40.

    eastriver

    June 26, 2011 at 11:36 pm

    I just reserved my Lytro. So. Effing. Cool.

  41. 41.

    kdaug

    June 26, 2011 at 11:39 pm

    @jeffreyw: Suspect that when they’re taking reservations to order a camera, the technology’s somewhat proprietary – don’t think we’ll be seeing a full/understandable explanation soon.

    ETA: I think I’m smelling a faint whiff of DARPA here, too.

  42. 42.

    Jewish Steel

    June 26, 2011 at 11:41 pm

    Y’all heard about this, right?

    http://www.care2.com/causes/prosser-allegedy-chokes-fellow-justice.html

    ETA: Oh, this news is older than I thought. Duh.

  43. 43.

    Svensker

    June 26, 2011 at 11:44 pm

    Banana slug.

    The stuff of nightmares.

  44. 44.

    MikeJ

    June 26, 2011 at 11:45 pm

    So one question: to what extent was the severity of Weiner’s political downfall due to the similarity of his last name to a synonym for the male generative organ at the center of his scandal?

    Since he’s been replaced by Joey Schlong, none.

  45. 45.

    Debbie(aussie)

    June 26, 2011 at 11:50 pm

    As wonderful as that video is, here in the Aus gays can’t marry! We be backward in some ways.

  46. 46.

    MikeJ

    June 26, 2011 at 11:53 pm

    here in the Aus gays can’t marry! We be backward in some ways.

    I thought we got the religious fanatics and you got the hookers. I always wanted to trade.

  47. 47.

    Origuy

    June 27, 2011 at 12:07 am

    If you dive into the “The Science Inside” link at Lytro’s site, you can get to Ren Ng’s PhD thesis. He’s the CEO of Lytro. It probably takes a PhD to understand it fully, but the introduction is informative.
    In one sentence, his sensors record the direction that the light rays leave the lens as well as the wavelength and amplitude. Given that, and the information about the optics, the software can compute the distance of the subjects from the lens.

  48. 48.

    RossF

    June 27, 2011 at 12:09 am

    Those videos just made my day. Thanks so much!!!

  49. 49.

    TaosJohn

    June 27, 2011 at 12:23 am

    New Mexico is burning. :-( Outrageous fire now threatening Los Alamos. https://twitter.com/#!/stevewellsnm/status/85199637878800385

  50. 50.

    Montysano

    June 27, 2011 at 12:30 am

    @ kdaug #36
    Sweet butterscotch Jeezus, is it just too much trouble to focus a camera?

    /youdamnkidsgetoffmylawn

  51. 51.

    jeffreyw

    June 27, 2011 at 12:45 am

    @Origuy : Clarke’s third law: “Any sufficiently advanced technology …”

  52. 52.

    Montysano

    June 27, 2011 at 12:45 am

    Photographically, I’m in a cranky mood. There was a class reunion back in my hometown, and I was looking forward to photographs of people that I’ve known all my life. Sadly, however, the event was shot entirely with cellphone cameras, and the results were just what you would expect. I’m old, I still shoot film and thrash around in a darkroom. Cellphone cameras make me sad.

  53. 53.

    Felanius Kootea

    June 27, 2011 at 12:46 am

    Tried posting this in another thread but will try here: has anyone used Apple TV? How does it compare to a Roku streaming player, etc? I have Netflix and I’m thinking of getting rid of my cable box, but I’d still like to be able to watch the Daily Show. Thanks in advance.

  54. 54.

    Yutsano

    June 27, 2011 at 1:28 am

    Am I wrong for wanting matoko-loko to explain THIS little event?

  55. 55.

    Anne Laurie

    June 27, 2011 at 1:45 am

    Okay, OT, but who the fuck kidnapped ABL and replaced her with Cindy Brady?

    The rumor is that her parents are visiting, although any suggestion these facts are related may brand me as an irretrievable sandy-snatched PUMA provocateur.

  56. 56.

    Villago Delenda Est

    June 27, 2011 at 1:46 am

    think this scandal could have been a 2-news-cycle story and blown over. But it had exceptional staying power out of proportion with the actual transgressions. I suspect the name/organ pun had something to do with that.

    Sex sells.

    The MSM is about selling. The attention of the audience. To their advertisers.

    More sex, more eyeballs, higher ratings, cash registers at Ferengi Controlled Infotainment Networks jingling happily.

  57. 57.

    Comrade Kevin

    June 27, 2011 at 1:49 am

    @Yutsano: Some of the comments on that article are, uh, interesting. Personally, I’m not interested in hearing the Spice lady explain much of anything.

  58. 58.

    Yutsano

    June 27, 2011 at 1:58 am

    Personally, I’m not interested in hearing the Spice lady explain much of anything.

    I’m not honestly interested either. It just amuses me how wrong she really is about Turkey.

  59. 59.

    Sarah Proud and Tall

    June 27, 2011 at 2:42 am

    @ Yutsano:

    I’m not honestly interested either.

    Harsh. I like her in her current incarnation.

  60. 60.

    Yutsano

    June 27, 2011 at 2:57 am

    I like her in her current incarnation.

    I choose to respect your opinion.

    Actually it’s not about her little quirks and inanities. It’s about how MUSLIM she claims she is and how MUSLIM Turkey is supposedly becoming yet an event like this happens with hardly a hitch. Turkey may have a Muslim themed party as the head of its government now, but even they know better than to mess with the tradition Ataturk started.

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