Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I was promised a recession.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

After roe, women are no longer free.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

The willow is too close to the house.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

I really should read my own blog.

The words do not have to be perfect.

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Open Thread

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I can’t tell you how happy I am to have stepped away from the blog for two hours only to discover you all have not burnt the shit down. Thank you for that.

Still watching the Tudors. I have to say, I was not sure about Rhys Davies as the king for a while, but now I can not imagine anyone else. At least for this series.

Reader Interactions

69Comments

  2. 2.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    Just finished Gridlock’d with Tim Roth and Tupac on Netflix. If you haven’t seen it your missing a very good, very funny flick.

  3. 3.

    Carrie

    I was not sure about Rhys Davies as the king for a while, but now I can not imagine anyone else.

    I know, isn’t he dreamy? le sigh..

  4. 4.

    JPL

    I got hooked on In Plain Sight on netflix streaming. It created a syndrome that I labeled the sore butt condition. It was worth it though because I like Mary and her relationship with Marshall Marshall.
    It’s not Monk and not even close second but is a nice diversion.

  6. 6.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    @JPL: Proly better than a flick about 2 junkies trying to get into rehab against incredible “Gridlock”!

  9. 9.

    pattonbt

    Question for the google-fu / BJ archive masters. I would like to see all my previous comments on BJ from earlier in the year (and a few years ago). As I don’t comment much, they are few. So I google, and I get one or two comments here and there in a link (googling “pattonbt comment balloon juice” or some variant). But I can’t get a listing of all my comments.

    Is there a way to do this? Or I am stuck with searching fore a needle in a haystack.

    Thanks in advance.

  10. 10.

    boss bitch

    Still watching the Tudors. I have to say, I was not sure about Rhys Davies as the king for a while, but now I can not imagine anyone else. At least for this series.

    Same here. I thought he was too pretty but he’s damned good.

  11. 11.

    Martin

    I can’t tell you how happy I am to have stepped away from the blog for two hours only to discover you all have not burnt the shit down.

    Well, the black people stopped oppressing us for the afternoon. That always helps.

  12. 12.

    The Dangerman

    …only to discover you all have not burnt the shit down.

    However, if you check the Blog’s refrigerator, you’ll note the beer is gone…

    …and, for reasons unknown, there was a run on the catfood, too. Sorry, Tunch.

  13. 13.

    Akadad

    I was not sure about Rhys Davies as the king for a while, but now I can not imagine anyone else.

    Agreed. Also, Natalie Dormer did a great job portraying Ann Boleyn.

  14. 14.

    The Dangerman

    Is there a way to do this?

    Google for your name in advanced search, restricting the domain to balloon-juice.com. That should do it.

  16. 16.

    Samara Morgan

    @ABL:
    so sorry for all the rudity, ABL.
    and RELLY sorry i missed it.

    /salutes ABL with respect

    here’s some matches.
    :)

  17. 17.

    res ipsa loqitur

    I loved watching “The Tudors” and I am properly ashamed by it.

    I watched two episodes of “The Borgias” and realized that I had seen many of the same actors naked before … in “The Tudors”. I think the same producers put both shows together.

    One thing about “The Tudors” that I appreciated was that they got the reasons for Boleyn’s execution right. It wasn’t just that she failed to produce a male heir. It was also that Catherine of Aragon had died, and an alliance with Spain was convenient, but the Spanish would hear none of it with Ann Boleyn still walking this particular planet. And so…off with her head!

  18. 18.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    What was JC’s verdict on the series Alphas? I thought it was not bad. Sons of Anarchy is on tonight YAHHHHOOO!

  24. 24.

    dead existentialist

    John, nobody’s gonna burn this place down; the pissing matches will prevent it. Feature, not bug.

  25. 25.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    @John Cole: Well you won’t be disappointed, Alphas is one of the best on Syfy! I only wished NBC saved The Cape and moved it to SyFy, it was corny at times but good fun.

  28. 28.

    Samara Morgan

    @General Stuck: hahaha
    we arent leaving any troops.
    that is kabuki to appease the Sauds.
    US Terrified of Troop Withdrawal

    Despite massive investment in war against a number of Muslim countries in the Middle East, a decade of violence and aggression has led to a loss of US global influence.
    __
    Press TV talks with Michael Maloof, former Pentagon official in Washington, about Saudi and US worries over the waning of US control and influence in the Middle East, particularly the required withdrawal from Iraq at the end of this year. The following is a rush transcript of the interview.
    __
    Press TV: Why is Leon Panetta jumping the gun when it comes to announcing an agreement that is yet to be agreed or is it a smart propaganda move to pressure the Iraqis – Can this backfire on the Americans?
    __
    Michael Maloof: I think it is a form of pressure and that the US appears to be very anxious to extend beyond the December 31 deadline. The reasons for that is not that because they want to do training and they fear the Iraqi security forces need more training.
    __
    I think the reason the pressure is there is because of what they see is Iran’s influence emerging more and more into Iraq and that’s becoming a real problem for the US – Especially in light of what the US believes they have accomplished with the Syrians and causing so much disruption there given the relationship of Iran to Syria.
    __
    And I think what the US is fearful of is a Shiite crescent actually emerging from all this given that Prime Minister Maliki is Shiite and is close to Iran and that bothers the US tremendously.
    __
    Press TV: You’ve touched upon this a bit, but I’d like you to expand on this – Obama has never really stood by the reasons the US went to war against Iraq – Why is he so motivated to stay in Iraq now?
    __
    Michael Maloof: I think it’s because of the changing circumstances; and you’re only talking 10,000 troops; it’s supposed to be a token amount, or they might agree to the extension of the 40,000 that are there.
    __
    But it’s not going to really matter in terms of what effectiveness they can accomplish. I think the US is also under increasing pressure from the Saudis. It’s my understanding that the Saudis have decided to go on their own – they no longer trust the US – to basically create their own army; a rapid reaction force if you will and they’re very much concerned about the plight of the Sunnis in Iraq.
    __
    And so they’re going to put pressure on the US to at least maintain some kind of presence there in order to in effect try to disrupt the forward motion of Iranian influence in what is an Arab world in that region and also because of the concern the Saudis have over the plight of the Sunnis there.
    __
    So I think the US has seen, and everything in the Middle East has shown, the ineffectiveness of US policy. And I think they’re groping and grasping at straws.
    __
    Even in terms of Syria they just don’t have the influence they once had and that’s bothering policy makers a great deal in terms of trying to maintain that influence in the Middle East and try to cope with probable pressure from the Saudis to try to restrict Iranian influence from the Arab world.

  30. 30.

    MacKenna

    Jonathan Rhys Meyers must be who you mean.

    He is very talented + major eye candy. Who knew an underwear model could play Henry VIII.

    If he could have had a cat in the series, Tunch would have been perfect. In a little jewelled mini-me crown, those glaring gold eyes, plotting…

  35. 35.

    Splitting Image

    I finally got around to watching “The Great Dictator” the other night. It’s got a lot of great moments in it, but one of the ones that resonated the most was when Chaplin as Adenoid Hynkel is giving a speech and his eyes are practically bugging out of his head as he screams with hate at the microphones.

    The translator happily summarizes this: “The Phooey has just referred to the Jewish people.”

    Amazing film.

  36. 36.

    Lysana

    The thing about Henry VIII we got mis-taught in school is that he was always fat. Hardly. He was the quintessential ex-jock in those later-life images of him. So when I saw people claiming Rhys Myers was wrong for the part, it always came down to “he’s too skinny and hot.” Setting aside how fat and sexy CAN go together, it’s proof in the critic that they didn’t get taught Henry’s full history.

  37. 37.

    Mnemosyne

    Rhys Davies would have been a more apt pick to play Henry in the Catherine Howard days (has the show gotten to that yet?) when he was old and fat and had an ulcer on his leg that kept seeping noxious pus, but I guess no one would want to see that guy naked.

  38. 38.

    Perfect Tommy

    I can only assume that the television producers who are flooding the airwaves with 9/11 imagery in advance of the coming anniversary didn’t personally know anyone who died in the towers. For me, it still feels like someone is stabbing me in the heart every time I see those scenes. It’s going to be a long week.

  39. 39.

    eemom

    I can’t tell you how happy I am to have stepped away from the blog for two hours only to discover you all have not burnt the shit down. Thank you for that.

    excellent.

    Y’all, we have finally succeeded in teaching Cole the soft bigotry of low expectations.

    Next thing ya know he’ll be PAYING us to comment here.

  41. 41.

    Raider Dave

    rhys MEYERS sucked in that! I can’t believe people liked him as Henry 8. He was too gong and skinny to play that role. I guess I’m the only one who feels that way. Sigh

  42. 42.

    burnspbesq

    I can’t tell you how happy I am to have stepped away from the blog for two hours only to discover you all have not burnt the shit down.

    Couldn’t find enough kindling on short notice. Give us time.

    Also too, I would be a lot more impressed with Strasburg’s line in his return to the majors if it had come against a real baseball team.

  46. 46.

    suzanne

    @Lysana:

    He was the quintessential ex-jock in those later-life images of him.

    That explains the awesome suits of armor with the successively larger genitalia as his venereal disease advanced.

  49. 49.

    Comrade Mary

    @pattonbt: Search for this:

    “pattonbt -” site:balloon-juice.com

    This will find all hits where you were the commenter and not just mentioned by someone else.

    May God have mercy on your soul.

    EDIT: And as said above, if you want to narrow by date, click the advanced search link after you build the basic search and define some dates.

    And — hi John! I really liked your wrap-up post earlier today. Thanks for being so sensible.

  53. 53.

    Lynn Dee

    I absolutely loved the Tudors! One of the things that struck me most was how, as the seasons (the series seasons, that is) progressed, I found myself looking back with such longing to the first season when Henry was young and got to ride around on his horsie with his friends, and fall in love with (and be completely smitten with) Anne Boleyn. Then things got more complicated, Henry was never quite as free again or as on top of his game, and everything just went to shit.

    That progression of the seasons of a man’s life (real seasons that is, not TV seasons) just felt so true. And so lovely.

  54. 54.

    hamletta

    @Raider Dave: I don’t know what “gong” means, but as has been pointed out upthread, Henry VIII only got fat later in life. When he was young, he was slim and athletic. He got fat when his leg injury got too painful.

    Rhys Meyers is about a head shorter than HVIII, though. Dude was 6’3″.

    In season 4, they padded his belly and grayed his hair, and Rhys Meyers altered his gait and voice. He’s not Fatty McFatterson, but he does come off old and tired.

  55. 55.

    Lynn Dee

    @boss bitch: Do you — or does anybody — happen to recall when Henry first met Anne of Cleves? And he turned around and went immediately back to London, strode into Hampton Court and shouted: “I like her not! I like her NOT!”

    Hilarious. :)

  57. 57.

    Emerald

    The best Henry VIII by far (and that’s sayin’ somethin’, because there have been some good portrayals) was Keith Mitchell in the Six Wives of Henry VIII.

    He did the six-part BBC series back in the early seventies, and also a feature-length movie in ’72. Charlotte Rampling as Anne, Jane Asher as Jane Seymour, Donald Pleasence as Cromwell. Fabulous music too–David Munroe found fame for himself and Renaissance music with that film.

    The Best Movie about Henry, period. It’s available on Amazon instant video. The video quality is poor, but at least we’ve still got the film!

    Having said that, I couldn’t tear myself away from The Tudors. Rhys Meyers Davies (?) was wrong for the part but who cares? He did a good job and the sexed-up series was compelling, with even a few historical things right.

    But nobody’s ever gonna play Henry better than Keith Mitchell. A super-stud in the beginning and an obese monster at the end, and you believe the man every moment. It’s a deep portrayal with nary a note wrong.

  59. 59.

    Will

    If the show had any balls it would have kept going after Henry’s death on into Mary’s reign, then Elizabeth’s, and made a kick-ass epic series out of the thing. It is called “The Tudors”, after all, not “Henry VIII”.

  60. 60.

    Lynn Dee

    @Mike D.: I agree. Thomas Cromwell is such a fascinating character. Have you read Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall? If you loved The Tudors, are fond of reading histories and are especially interested in Thomas Cromwell, I can’t recommend it enough. Great book.

  61. 61.

    Lynn Dee

    @AkaDad: She did. In fact that whole story was fun, the way Henry sent Hans Holbein to Germany to paint her. I mean, what’s a king to do, right? Marry sight unseen?!

  64. 64.

    Joseph Nobles

    @Comrade Kevin: I’ve come to terms with remakes. Proven material, easy to get good people, and a core audience virtually guarantees a remake these days.

    But with something like Prime Suspect, I was hoping that the remake would not be able to overwhelm the source material, and every ad is just as bad as it can possibly be. I haven’t seen footage of the actual show yet, though. But the awareness campaign is setting my expections in all the wrong places. Maybe that’s what it’s intended to do, and our rock-bottom expectations will be pleasantly rewarded. We’ll see.

  65. 65.

    Brachiator

    OT: Yahoo follows Apple’s lead, appoints one of “those people” as CEO. I

    If you follow the tech news, the hot story is that Yahoo has fired Carol Bartz and named Tim Morse as interim CEO. Note that Tim Cook was named CEO to replace Steve Jobs. Yes, the hot trend is naming people named Tim to be CEOs of top companies.

    More seriously, Keith Michell, no T, is absolutely wonderful as Henry in The Six Wives of Henry VIII, and does very well in going from a Renaissance prince to a paranoid, raging, diseased old man. Glenda Jackson in the series “Elizabeth R” ain’t no slouch either. But The Tudors is good stuff.

    Given all the craziness going on in the tech world, as for example, the kingdom of Blackberry appears to be doomed and The Duchy of HP flirts with disaster, and the mighty state of ATT attempts to annex T Mobile, you could easily do a series likening tech leaders to the Tudors or the Borgias.

  67. 67.

    debbie

    Check out Jonathan Rhys Meyers in Titus. Definitely worth the sighs, and it seems closest to his real-life persona.

  68. 68.

    bob h

    You ought to try the superb “The Madness of King George” with Nigel Hawthorne, Helen Mirren, Rupert Everett.

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