Not an easy read, but an interesting one: Chris Heath at GQ on Terry Thompson, all-American survivor (until suddenly he wasn’t), in “18 Tigers, 17 Lions, 8 Bears, 3 Cougars, 2 Wolves, 1 Baboon, 1 Macaque, and 1 Man Dead in Ohio“.
I hear that the Grammys will be telecast this evening, and I’m assuming someone will put up an Open Thread for that later. So, what else is on the agenda for the ragged end of the weekend?
debit
I couldn’t read it. I started, then had to click back.
ETA: My plans for the night involve dinner, then probably picking up Dragon Age again.
BGinCHI
American Exceptionally Stupid.
Can we haz some lawz, plz.
4jkb4ia
Grammy Pre-Telecast Update
Skrillex already has 3–Best Dance Recording, Best Remixed Recording, and Best Dance/Electronica Album.
Louis C.K. for Best Comedy Album.
“The Promise–The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story” for Best Album Package.
Gustavo Dudamel for Best Orchestral Performance. I’m really impressed, and may buy it even though it is the Brahms 4th.
cathyx
Adele is going to be on 60 Minutes tonight. Of course right before the Grammys.
R-Jud
90 mins left of weekend here, but I am staying up late to have an all-sibling Skype conference regarding our Dad, who is losing his hearing, in complete denial about it, and driving our mother INSANE. And obligatory sisterly fretting over our brother about his trip to Athens next week.
Should be fun.
On a good note, I did my first-ever free-standing handstand today and held it for fifteen seconds.
debit
I just wanted to add, that when I was much younger and rather stupid, I wanted a big cat. I mean, I was convinced that me + big cat = meant to be. I checked out a few ads, made a few phone calls and could have bought one, if only I’d had a place to keep it. It was that easy, despite laws on the books forbidding the sale of exotic animals. Thank FSM I didn’t have a place in the country or I would have had one and someone would have wound up either mauled or dead.
pat
Downton Abbey. Soap with a British accent.
Mike in NC
Will be watching “The Walking Dead” tonight, unless they’ve decided to stay another day at CPAC.
David Koch
I’m going to watch “Funny Girl” on TCM.
God bless, Ted Turner.
CarolDuhart2
@debit: But the worst nightmare are those folks who made no provision for their animals after they can no longer care for them. America’s been lucky so far that a hoarder of this kind (the laws about this are crazy) hasn’t had a situation where his exotics have gotten loose and killed scores of people. It could easily have happened in that scenario above. Even with warnings, there’s always somebody who doesn’t get the message in time or the animal goes further than expected and there can be an unpleasant encounter.
4jkb4ia
Correction–
“The Promise” got Best Boxed Set or Special Limited Edition Package. Recording Package is Arcade Fire, “Scenes From The Suburbs”, which seems to be a 28-minute video.
Trakker
I hesitate to ask this but has anyone else noticed a slight, but noticeable, move away from the crazy in the NYT and WashPost? Seems that lately they have been less willing to accept wingnut talking points as fact. It’s subtle for sure, but they were more critical of SGK, and kept the story going longer, than I expected. WashPost featured Rachel Maddow’s op-ed “GOP War on Birth Control” for three days. This would have been unheard of last year.
I suspect even the MSM is noticing that the batshit crazy right has crossed into the zone of insanity. Maybe even stenographers have limits.
BGinCHI
@R-Jud: Don’t worry, Georgia isn’t that dangerous. Raven manages to survive.
4jkb4ia
Kanye West picks up three awards in a row, since it is impossible to give a rap Grammy to anyone else, and is so blase about it he doesn’t show up. He is nominated for Best Rap Performance with Jay-Z on the telecast itself.
Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse, “Body and Soul”, for Best Pop Vocal Performance. This was another very predictable one. Amy Winehouse’s parents accept for her.
BGinCHI
@pat: Trying to find a way to catch up on season 2. Liked season 1. Not available through On Demand or Netflix.
Anyone have any ideas on how to watch?
Mark S.
@Trakker:
Yeah, for instance, heeeere’s Tommy
You’re going to see a lot more of this if the GOP continues to flirt with Santorum.
Linkmeister
My plan for the evening includes cooking oven-baked chicken and folding laundry. I lead an exciting life!
protected static
Anne Laurie: if you liked the GQ article, I thought the one in Esquire by Chris Jones was even better.
And my evening plans look more or less like Linkmeister’s. Just another decadent, leftist evening in my coastal enclave.
R-Jud
@BGinCHI: Crisis over! He’s going to the Athens in GREECE. Phew.
On another note, I wanna dance with somebody. And that somebody is David Byrne.
Jimbo316
“Worst Cooks in America”
gogol's wife
@pat:
Downton Abbey for sure. Then tomorrow I read what Patton Oswalt said about it on twitter.
Egg Berry
Well, I joined the Twitter thing. I don’t have anything witty to say yet, but I hope to piss off some villagers at some point. So, I’ve got that going for me.
BGinCHI
@R-Jud: Just funning. I loved Greece but I have no idea how easy it’s going to be to navigate with all that going on. Imagine there are strikes and so on that will make travel really challenging. Athens is a great city, though, and people are very nice. Great, now I’m hungry for olives and feta.
dmsilev
I spent all morning assembling a dresser. Then, all afternoon writing the first draft of a talk I have to give in a couple of weeks.
Feel the excitement!
BGinCHI
@dmsilev: Road my cross bike with a couple friends down your way this morning along the lakefront path. Froze my ass off but it was great to get out. Lots of ice to deal with, though.
dead existentialist
@BGinCHI: Because you seem like a nice enough fellow, here. (I think this will work.)
I think they keep the season online until after the whole thing has played. I watched the first season on the web after it aired last year.
WereBear (itouch)
We’re watching the Star Trek movie marathon on Encore. We can get stuff done during the odd numbered ones.
On my second round of antibiotics for this stupid pneumonia.
BGinCHI
@dead existentialist: Thanks. Will give it a try.
It’s true, btw. I am very nice.
dmsilev
@BGinCHI: Sounds like a nice ride, though the wind coming off the lake can be vicious. I did get to be out and about yesterday, so it’s not like the weekend was a total write-off.
R-Jud
@BGinCHI: The thing is that he ALWAYS seems to get sent there right after major shit kicks off. Last time was in October, where he, being Mr. Invincible, went to inspect some of the protest marches and wound up getting teargassed. He did get some amusing/astounding photos, though, of vendors selling bottles of water in the thick of the action.
Anyway, we’re not confident that he’ll stay put in whatever nice, safe suburb it is his company sends him to. The other thing is that he’s supposed to come and see me and deliver some things I ordered but couldn’t have shipped to the UK. If he’s jailed or dies or joins some sort of group and I don’t get my sweater, I’m disowning that bastard, tout suite.
ETA: Just saw your other comments about riding on the Lakefront. When I lived in Chicago I would always get completely sick of the treadmill about this time of year. Then I’d go out on the path where the wind would peel off several layers of skin and/or I’d fall and bust my ass on some ice. Every damn year.
dead existentialist
Too funny. Look at Dennis G’s post on the GOP and the 27%.
Comments stop at #27! OMFG.
Oh wait. Someone is bound to not notice and add comment. Rats.
BGinCHI
@R-Jud: Siblings can be so damn selfish that way. You should send him to Thessaly or somewhere rural where they have excellent wine production and have him haul you back a few cases. And where there’s wine there will be good cheese and olives.
He really needs to get his priorities straight.
I think you could live without the sweater if you could get some of the things I mention above.
Mino
Well, Greece just voted to auction off the Parthenon. The Greeks have decided to burn the country before they give it to German banks. Jeeze.
Also, I read that Iran is sending troops to Syria to help put down the rebels.
Next week is gonna get interesting.
WereBear (itouch)
BTW, those were Ricardo Montalban’s real pecs in Wrath of Khan. For the record.
Phylllis
60 Minutes then probably read for awhile. Finishing up ‘The Last Hero’ about Henry Aaron. Good stuff. Can’t deal with all the Whitney Houston death parade stuff, so no Grammys here.
Villago Delenda Est
I read the first three pages of the linked article, and one thing that strikes me hard is that there MUST be regulations in place that do not allow the ownership or possession of exotic animals unless you have the financial wherewithal to properly shelter, feed, and care for them, to zoo standards. Furthermore, the local law enforcement and pet control authorities need to be fully informed and plans in place to deal with escapes or other crises concerning the animals.
The Ohio legislature is on its ass on this issue, it seems.
R-Jud
@BGinCHI:
I’ll put in a call to his boss about it (he’s over there for work).
BGinCHI
@R-Jud: Headline at HuffPo (yeah, I know) right now looks pretty terrible for conditions there. Very sad. Krugman has been really good reading on this subject.
DanielX
Trying to rip vinyl, and damn it’s frustrating.
R-Jud
@BGinCHI: K-thug’s terrific, yeah. I’m following the Guardian’s coverage.
Bro-Jud said in our call that he recommended postponing the trip until March, and his boss is seriously considering it.
JPL
@BGinCHI: Downton is online at pbs but I found season 2 at Target today for 24.99. I watched the last two episodes this afternoon. I felt like a kid peaking at Christmas gifts early. The disc has a Christmas episode that PBS is not showing yet but is critical for season 3. The Christmas episode is better than most of the season 2 episodes.
BGinCHI
@JPL: Got it. Big thanks for that.
Bmaccnm
Painting the living room, shelling home-grown corn for the best polenta you’ve ever had- it actually tastes like corn. My hippy friends who live in a bus are coming for supper and we’re trading preserved items. Yes, I live in the People’s Republic of Portland, and I can walk to two different Powell’s Bookstores. A week ago I was in Somalia, speaking of risky travels. It’s hard to hold the thought that place and this place are on the same planet.
RossInDetroit
@DanielX:
Gotta get your levels right. Too low and you lose bit depth and have bad resolution. Too high and you overload the Analog/digital chip and get horrible distortion.
I found a great box set of remastered Casals Trio recordings from the Twenties! It was misfiled between Camper Van Beethoven and Cat Power. They’re very old and crude recordings but so fun to listen to.
I’m also trying for the nth time to come up with a decent headphone driver circuit that’s simple enough to hand-build, flexible to use at a variety of volume levels and has variable 2nd harmonic distortion from 0.2% to 10%.
And I’ve had too much coffee.
jeff
Just got back from the NYC meet and drink. What a nice group of folks! Wish I’d talked to more of you, but cheers to those I did.
Yutsano
@Mino:
I don’t think Iran is anywhere near that stupid. They might send support and back-up channels through the Revolutionary Guard, but actually sending boots to Syria to potentially get carved up will not endear the poorer population to Ahmadinejad. Not to mention it will REALLY piss off Saudi Arabia to have Iranian troops that close to their border. Way too many pitfalls no matter how much Bashar might be screaming for the help.
Trentrunner
@JPL: Are you sure that PBS won’t be showing the Downton Abbey Season 2 Christmas special? I had read somewhere that PBS will be showing it.
JPL
@Trentrunner: The Xmas episode is close to two hours so if it ends on the 19th I don’t see how. I’m sure they will show it but not sure when.
JPL
@Trentrunner: ah..never mind..I just went on tvguide channel and tonight is two hours so next week they will probably show the Xmas show.
Mr Stagger Lee
Chaka Khan won’t perform I’m Every Woman, it was too personal for her and to close to the time.
CaseyL
Just a laid-back day here, of laundry, sewing, and catching up on Fringe, Castle, and other shows. Comcast/Xfinity, I wish I could quit you, but no one else has On Demand.
I went with my neighbors to the ginormous Ikea store in Tukwila today. I had never been there before. It was a mind-blowing experience. They have a little grocery, a little bistro, a little bakery, and about a jillion acres of modular furniture and household/office accessories.
Joel
@4jkb4ia: I had to look up Skrillex.
Knowing that the Grammys recognize artists well after their peaks, that says quite a bit about how tightly my finger is on the pulse of popular culture.
P.S. Aphex Twin is still current, right? Right?
Steeplejack
What I’m doing, micro level: plunging deeper into Richard Stark’s series of Parker novels, thanks to the unholy ease with which Nook + wi-fi serves up each succeeding installment. Raced through The Jugger last night and this morning and just started The Seventh.
Interesting side note: It was driving me nuts that in these novels (set in the mid-’60s so far) the crooks would talk about a “big score” of $100,000 to $200,000 and an individual share of, say, $19,000 after expenses. WTF? I finally got motivated enough to look up a rough inflation calculator on line. So the $134,000 score in the current book is $930,000 in today’s dollars, and that $19,000 share comes out to $132,000–not too shabby.
My first real job out of college paid $135 a week in 1972. That would be $726 today, almost $38,000 a year. That was as a newspaper reporter at a mid-sized Southern daily. The rent for my first apartment, a one-bedroom in a
sketchyhistoric part of town, was $95–about $511 now. Good times.Don’t know if this inflation calculator is the best, but I couldn’t find the one I found before that seemed to be really good. Bookmark for that is on the computer at home. But I digress.
What I’m doing, macro level: finishing up my road trip to Atlanta. Originally intended to be one week, has now stretched to almost two weeks. Have been luxuriating in good Mexican food, cat therapy and catching up with old friends. Now intending to drive back to NoVa on Tuesday.
Oh, yeah, will watch the Grammys tonight to see what they do about Whitney Houston (my money says Jennifer Hudson sings “I Will Always Love You”) and to see if there are any spectacular artist gaffes.
Martin
@Joel:
Well, they’re not dead or on a need-money-for-rehab tour, if that’s what you mean.
CarolDuhart2
@Villago Delenda Est: And I would demand at least $2 million in both a life insurance and a $5 million insurance policy on your exotic private property before getting a permit. And a succession policy rider so if something happens to you your exotic animals have a place to go. Simply put, if you cant be organized enough and funded enough to meet the standards, no go ever on this sort of thing.
schrodinger's cat
I am making a ricotta cheese, cheese cake.
Steeplejack
@CaseyL:
Yeah. Went to the one here in Atlanta with friends a few days ago (wasn’t here when I left in ’05) and got some good ideas for a few things I might pick up when I get back to NoVa. I was exhausted when we finished going through the place, and all we bought was a 49-cent cat toy. Was revived by Mex and margs at Nuevo Laredo afterwards.
Linnaeus
A cup of tea, some dissertation work, and then I’m going to a Darwin’s birthday potluck later this evening.
Steeplejack
@schrodinger’s cat:
Recipe, please!
schrodinger's cat
120z ricotta cheese whole milk
3 oz caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp orange zest
1 tsp cardamom
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Separate the eggs. Beat the egg white till soft peaks form. Mix the ricotta cheese with sugar and egg yolks. Add the zest and cardamom to the egg-ricotta cheese mixture. Add the egg whites. Butter and flour a spring form pan, add the mixture, even out the top surface gently with a knife and bake for about 35 to 40 min. Till the center is set. Unmold when the cake cools and cut slices with a wet butter knife. Serve with macerated berries.
RossInDetroit
@Joel:
Richard D. James is 40 years old. Feel ancient yet?
BTW, his Selected Ambient Works from the ’80s is still awesome.
RossInDetroit
Crap. Beware, the word @mb1ent will put you in modlimbo for its resemblance to a you-know-what.
schrodinger's cat
@Steeplejack: Oh noes, I typed you a recipe but WP eated it. I think because I tried to edit twice. I hope it shows up.
Martin
@CarolDuhart2: How about as a starting point: you need to provide all state and local law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction to clean up your mess with 3x the number tranquilizers needed to put all of your animals down so they aren’t forced to pull out the shotguns.
Svensker
Trying not to respond to my brother’s FB post showing Obama ripping up the Constitution, starting with the 2nd Amendment…
Aaargh. Splutter. Aargh. Will not post. Will. Not. Post.
Also, too, coming down with a cold, need to go put away the laundry and get fresh sheets on the bed. And watching episode 6 (or so, lost track) of Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett’s medieval miniseries from 2010 (DVD), which is way too much fun. And practicing beginner German and getting all the particles wrong.
jeffreyw
We had posole for Sunday dinner.
Davis X. Machina
Every Greek kid knows the story of Konstandinos Koukidis
Comrade Mary
So I’m the only one watching the Grammys?
Bruce KILLED. Love that they started with this. And that is seriously one 60+ man I would hit like no one’s business.
I think LL Cool J hijacked the top of the show with that prayer without permission, but as much as I’m not a Christian and am generally irked by public piety, I liked that he did it.
Steeplejack
@schrodinger’s cat:
FYWP. If it’s on line, just shoot me a link.
Martin
@Svensker:
Well, I think the only way to respond to that is with a photoshopped pic of your brother having anal with Rush Limbaugh.
Steeplejack
@Comrade Mary:
Got it on pause so we can build up a bit of a buffer to get through the commercials and also so we can load our dinner plates: rotisserie chicken, Alton Brown’s mac and cheese and something exotic done to/with kale.
pat
Watching (out of the corner of my ear) Nature about racoons, saw it already this week. Waiting for the two-hour Downton, and I will watch it again tomorrow night, altho I won’t get to bed until after midnight then.
Yay retirement.
Have not checked the PBS link. I’m kind of an old fashioned girl and still think I should watch stuff when the station is ready to broadcast it. ;-)
MaryRC
@gogol’s wife:
I share your love for Patton’s tweets on Downton Abbey.
My friends and I long for Hercule Poirot to show up at Downton Abbey to investigate Mrs. B’s death. Talk about your cross-overs.
Comrade Mary
So I had heard the name Bruno Mars before, but hadn’t heard him. Impressed. Very. (And what are the odds of him and Janelle Monae getting together, at least for a hair-off and dance-off?)
Raven
Bonnie is 2 days older than me.
schrodinger's cat
Trying again:
120z ricotta cheese whole milk
3 oz caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp orange zest
1 tsp cardamom
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Separate the eggs. Beat the egg white till soft peaks form. Mix the ricotta cheese with sugar and egg yolks. Add the zest and cardamom to the egg-ricotta cheese mixture. Add the egg whites. Butter and flour a spring form pan, add the mixture, even out the top surface gently with a knife and bake for about 35 to 40 min. Till the center is set. Unmold when the cake cools and cut slices with a wet butter knife. Serve with macerated berries.
schrodinger's cat
@Steeplejack: Check #75.
pat
does racoon have two c’s? raccoon… hmmm. probably.
Svensker
@jeffreyw:
Wow, that looks good. Wow.
Anya
I just made a yummy tuna salad with avocado (instead of mayonnaise). But now I have lots of left over avocado. Does anyone know how to store avocado so that it does not turn brown?
Svensker
@Martin:
That is really tempting. Also, that is why I’m not responding at all. Ack.
Martin
@Anya:
Yes, in your tummy.
schrodinger's cat
@Anya: Rub it with lemon juice and then wrap it in plastic wrap.
Suffern ACE
@Comrade Mary: Reserve your judgement on Bruno until album 2. Or listen to that song about catching a grenade or the one about lighters in the sky over and over again until you gaack. His song writing is, well, uneven to be charitable. But he does have a lot of tools at his disposal to be interesting and could be much better if he wants to be.
Steeplejack
@schrodinger’s cat:
Got it. Thanks!
WereBear (itouch)
@Steeplejack: Mmmmm. Parker crime novels. The Apex.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
@Yutsano: Iran already has troops closer to the Saudi border than anywhere in Syria, namely parts of Iran. That’s not to say that the Saudis wouldn’t be upset about Iran going into Syria, just that that part’s not accurate.
As for whether Iran would do it, I think that they’re going to be awfully tempted. They are extremely tight with the Assad regime. That alliance is critical to their connections with Hezbollah, which depends upon Syrian forbearance and tacit allowance of Iranian support. Without that alliance, Iran would watch its influence in the Middle East decline dramatically.
And they’re only option for that alliance is Assad. Remember that the Assads, and many of their key supporters, aren’t Sunni. They are Allawites, an off-shoot sect of Islam that traditional Sunnis view in much the same way that evangelical Christians view Mormonism. Anyone else that takes power in Syria is going to be Sunni, and will likely realign the country away from Iran and towards the Saudis.
The Iranians *need* Assad to retain power in a really bad way. It’s one of the subtexts to what is going on. I would not be surprised if they decide that they need it badly enough that they do all sorts of reckless things to try to make it happen.
Anya
@schrodinger’s cat: Thanks!
@Martin: I can’t eat a whole avocado.
Steeplejack
@WereBear (itouch):
Really good. Hard-boiled noir, no frills. I’m liking the recurring characters. Heck, each book is like the next installment in one long über novel. A roman-fleuve, if you will. (Poseur alert!)
schrodinger's cat
@Anya: You are welcome! The lime and the plastic wrap will just slow the oxidation process, and even if the avocado darkens a little bit, it will still taste pretty good as long as you finish it within the next couple of days.
@Steeplejack:
You are welcome!
Steeplejack
Alert: Cole has opened a new thread upstairs.
jeffreyw
@Svensker: Thanks, it’s yummy and very easy to make.
ruemara
made orange beef balls, updated my 365 portrait project. finally backed up my hard drive and still have not touched my over due article on native plants. oh well, c’est la vie.
JoyfulA
@Steeplejack: Good for you on the Parkers. I think I’ve read maybe half of them. One after another straight through might warp you!
Steeplejack (phone)
@JoyfulA:
I can’t stop! They’re like crack.
Comrade Mary
@Suffern ACE: Yeah, I checked out some material on YT and was left lukewarm. But he’s young and has charisma, so maybe he will hook up with better songwriters and push himself further.