Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

Second rate reporter says what?

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

When I was faster i was always behind.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

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

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread: Merry Antipodean Xmas

Reader Interactions

37Comments

  1. 1.

    gogol's wife

    I’m celebrating the (re-)awakening of a civic consciousness in Russia. I hope it leads to something good this time.

  2. 2.

    Robert Sneddon

    We’re an hour into Xmas Day here in Britain. Temps right now are an unseasonal 9 deg C; last year we were under a half-metre of snow.

  3. 3.

    13th Generation

    Having a wonderful evening with my wife, thanks for asking! Where are all the good Holiday movies on my teevee, besides the usual fare? Been looking for a Christmas Carol, nowhere to be found. Happy festivus to all!

  4. 4.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    Just heard from our baby back from Afghanistan, (our sort of kind of adopted student) who is now stationed in GA, his wife is now expecting child # 3, my Dhs pseudo grandchild is chatting to him now, his namesake, grandchild #2, is throwing a fit. There are some things that make Christmas, Christmas, and this is one of them.

  5. 5.

    debit

    I made dinner for the family at my parents’ house, then my father and I retired to watch the last half of the Vikings game. There was no fighting, and the Vikings won, so two Christmas miracles right there. Now I’m home and contemplating a glass of wine and possible a movie.

  6. 6.

    Steeplejack

    I’m dog-sitting tonight, although one fewer dog than I expected. Dick Cheney, the elderly Italian greyhound, got hauled to the emergency vet today for an unknown but serious malady that required him to be kept overnight. So I am alone with Kathleen “Kitty” Cobblepot, the retired racing greyhound. She is dozing in front of the fire but alert to any signs that a treat might be in the offing.

    I was going to wrap a few last gifts, but I can’t find any Scotch tape. Plenty of wrapping paper, ribbons, bows, etc., but no tape. WTF?! Maybe I’m supposed to do some cool origami thing that requires no tape. Not up to it, I’m afraid.

    ETA: Dog-sitting because Kitty tends to disarrange things and tear up magazines, etc., if left alone for too long. My presence prevents that and keeps her out of lockdown in her cage. Brother thinks that it’s “young greyhound” behavior and that she’ll outgrow it. Kitty is two and a half, just off the track only six months ago.

  7. 7.

    abo gato

    Got a fire in the fireplace and just finished a big bowl of cioppino with home made bread. It was pretty damn good, even if I say so as the chef du jour. Got a nice chardonnay with the soup. But, we’ve been imbibing a bit more than usual today so my ability to discern good flavors may be diminished. Still, the clams and mussels were great in the soup. Tomorrow I am making a venison wellington with home made puff pastry. Made the same thing for Thanksgiving and it was so freaking good I had to make it again. Last time my puff pastry recipe did not use yeast. This time it does. I think it will make the wellington even better. This dough has a much more interesting texture than the dough without yeast.

  8. 8.

    Yutsano

    I made it to the ranch safe and sound. I also discovered when I got here my mother LIED to me about not doing anything for Christmas. So I now have no gifts and get to look like a total dickhead tomorrow.

    My grandfather got an iPad for Christmas, and my younger brother is setting it up across the table from me. He and Siri are having an argument. Siri is winning.

  9. 9.

    R-Jud

    It’s past midnight here so technically already Christmas. I’ve watched Alastair Sim, which is the traditional Last Thing To Do On Christmas Eve, but I keep discovering unwrapped presents that need attending to now.

    Also, I’m terrified about the tree. The kitten has behaved herself so far– just sniffed the ornaments, walked around the stand. But I have a feeling the minute I drift off, there’ll be an almighty crash.

    Anyway, Happy Whatever to all, and to all a good night.

  10. 10.

    Ruckus

    @Yutsano:
    So I now have no gifts and get to look like a total dickhead tomorrow.

    Been there done that.
    I’ve just learned to accept that this is my roll in the family. Dickhead.

  11. 11.

    Yutsano

    @abo gato:

    Got a fire in the fireplace and just finished a big bowl of cioppino with home made bread. It was pretty damn good, even if I say so as the chef du jour.

    Mmm…Italian-American food.

    Got a nice chardonnay with the soup. But, we’ve been imbibing a bit more than usual today so my ability to discern good flavors may be diminished.

    Shouldn’t have. Tomatoes have an alcohol soluble flavouring that is greatly enhanced by wine. And seafood goes fantastic with a white wine. Unless you’re so verschnickered your tastebuds are dead anyway.

    Last time my puff pastry recipe did not use yeast. This time it does.

    You just made half the pastry chefs in France cry. But I bet it works!

    @R-Jud: I believe you’re just forestalling the inevitable. :)

  13. 13.

    CaseyL

    Having dinner at an Indian restaurant tomorrow with friends, and friends of friends.

    Was supposed to do likewise tonight, with a slightly different set of friends, but have not heard from the organizer, who has perhaps drifted off to sleep. (She needs sleep more than she does dinners out, so I hesitate to wake her.)

  14. 14.

    Southern Beale

    Just cooked the Christmas Eve feast. Wrapped presents while husband cleaned the kitchen. Now putting my feet up before starting on the apple pie to bring to tomorrow’s family gathering.

    Sigh.

  15. 15.

    Joeyess

    I’m currently at work and for some damn reason my iPhone won’t load the video. Just wondering what I’m being honored on the front page for?

  19. 19.

    lamh35

    Started off the night watching Sound of Music and ending the night watching It’s A Wonderful Life. Been helping my aunt cook for tomorrow and gave my god baby her Christmas present early:
    Maddie’s new scooter

  20. 20.

    Joeyess

    @Anne Laurie You’re very welcome. Happy Holidays or whatever it is that heathens like me are supposed to say.

  22. 22.

    YellowJournalism

    Just put two excited kids to bed. They put out cookies for Santa, and the youngest kept trying to steal them off the plate! Now the rest of our night will be a mad dash of cleaning and wrapping presents. Hope you all enjoy the day tomorrow, whether your with family or friends of both the human and non-human persuasion (pets, not in-laws).

  24. 24.

    pat

    King crab and salad and bread for supper, opened the two books that I bought yesterday (Last Call; The Greater Journey) and a bottle of Remy Martin. Hubby is enjoying his third glass and we are arguing about the volume on Bruckner’s 8th. AWESOME music, awesome dynamics!

  25. 25.

    pat

    @efgoldman: I’m the one with the sensitive ears, and when the windows begin to rattle, I think it’s time to turn it down a notch. But then I’m not the one drinking the Remy Martin.

    So sorry to hear about your wife. I’ve been dealing with a persistent bursitis in the right leg that has me wishing the kitchen counters were closer together so I wouldn’t have to take an unsupported step from the cooktop to the sink, but so far we have managed to avoid the worst things that happen in… dare I say it… our sunset years. All the best wishes to you and the mrs. for a speedy recovery!

  26. 26.

    waratah

    My sister in Sydney said she was having Balmain bugs with her Christmas day dinner today along with ham and other stuff. The bugs are yummy.

  27. 27.

    Viva BrisVegas

    Just finished Christmas lunch, which was roast leg of lamb.

    Opened all the presents and now settling down to a long period of quiet contemplation of the restorative properties of a nice chilled white.

    Not very warm this year, only in the high 80s, but very windy, which meant we had to eat indoors.

    To all Balloon Juicers out there, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

    And just a reminder that the only real Christmas is a sunburnt Christmas.

  28. 28.

    Southern Beale

    Pat Buchanan went on pne of his classic Islamophobic rants in yesterday’s RealClearPolitics, where he basically fearmongered about how populous Muslim nations are but how their students’ test scores are low. He writes:

    Consider. The six most populous Muslim nations — Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria and Turkey — had a total population of 242 million in 1950. By 2050, that 242 million will have quintupled to 1.36 billion people.
    __
    Meanwhile, Europe’s fertility rate has been below zero population growth since the 1970s. Old Europe is dying, and its indigenous peoples are being replaced by Third World immigrants, millions of them Muslim.
    __
    Yet there is another side to the Islamic story.
    __
    In international test scores of high school students in reading, math and science, not one Muslim nation places in the top 30. Take away oil and gas, and from Algeria to Iran these nations would have little to offer the world. Iran would have to fall back on exports of carpets, caviar and pistachio nuts

    So, he’s been fired from MSNBC, right? He hasn’t been on in a long time.

  29. 29.

    burnspbesq

    Had a simply wonderful (and wonderfully simple) Christmas Eve dinner of baked ham, scalloped potatoes, and fruit salad.

    Waiting for spouse and kid to call it a night so I can wrap the last two gifts, then we’re good to go for tomorrow.

    May those who celebrate Christmas experience all the joys of the day.

  30. 30.

    Southern Beale

    We still need to wrap the family gifts for tomorrow. I just took my pie out of the oven and I’m ready to call it a night. Husband is anxious for me to go to bed so he can wrap my presents.

    I can’t imagine how he’ll get them all wrapped in time …. or, so I told him. :-)

  34. 34.

    4jkb4ia

    “Songwriters Showcase” is the “contemporary folk/progressive country” show on KDHX. It may be the longest-running thing they have on the air and has survived the death of Larry Weir, its original host. I first heard “The Road Goes On Forever” on that show. I don’t listen every week.

  36. 36.

    PurpleGirl

    A friend made it to NY from LA; late for the trip (it was planned for early December) but now here. We went out for burgers for dinner and came home and crashed. I was rudely awakened by a leg cramp. Haven’t even put up the evergreen tree I bought; will do that today.

    Happy Holiday to all Balloon Juicers and the front pagers. Hope everyone’s 2012 is better than 2011.

    ETA: That Christmas video is adorable.Thanks Joeyess.

  37. 37.

    4jkb4ia

    @4jkb4ia:

    Disclaimer–

    No Cole tweets were even thought of in the posting of that link. Thanks AL for putting up another thread so few people would see it.

Comments are closed.