Me at my 1st post 40 cancer screening: Digital exam? Wow! Technology never ceases to amaze me. What they can’t do with computers and scanners and such. What? Oh. That kind of digital. Right.
You mean the “this will feel like I’m sticking my finger up your ass” digital exam?
5.
hhex65
but that IS the way I am
6.
eemom
oh God. oh God. oh GOD. Talk about an earworm. I HATED that fucking song, and there was a period of about a year back then when they literally played it every five seconds on every fucking station.
7.
Ben Franklin
Gas prices; it’s not supply/demand.
The Iranian Bourse expires this month. But the new sanctions mean euros also will be denied to Iran. How long before the Saudis renig on their ‘agreement’ on Petrodollars? Petrocolypse
8.
Rabble Arouser
Well, you’ve come to the right place!
9.
eemom
songs by Billy Joel that don’t suck:
Captain Jack
Pressure
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
You May be Right
Big Shot
That’s one nice benefit of having an orchiectomy + hormones as a trans woman-my risk of prostate cancer is very low, plus its sorta impossible to have testicular cancer.
I always liked “Only the Good Die Young,” maybe because I have a (possibly false) memory of it being used as the theme song for Bosom Buddies. But in general I don’t like Billy Joel. “Piano Man” is the worst.
Must stop talking about this lest I get infected with an ear worm.
16.
trollhattan
[had an FYWP moment there, and a post disappeared into oblivion. Try # deux]
WTF Virginia? You elected this asshat?
Virginia’s crusading attorney general faces a flashing stop sign in his pursuit of a leading climate scientist. On Friday, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the attorney general, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, does not have the authority to demand records of e-mails or grant applications sent by the scientist, Michael E. Mann, who formerly taught at the university and is now a professor at Penn State.
__
Dr. Mann has long been a target of climate change skeptics like Mr. Cuccinelli, in part because the professor is the author of influential research charting a marked rise in global temperatures since the beginning of the 20th century. Mr. Cuccinelli, a conservative Republican, argues that there is no persuasive evidence that human activity is warming the planet.
17.
taylormattd
Do you love me just the way i are?
18.
Amanda in the South Bay
@Steeplejack:
I think of Star Trek 2 when I think of ear worms.
19.
cathyx
@eemom: I agree about ‘just the way you are’ but all the other songs on ‘the stranger’ are great.
20.
JGabriel
Tornado Watch in West Virginia. Be safe, John Cole, and any other Juicers in the Tornado Watch area — MS, AL, TN, KY, S. IN, S. OH, WV, W. SC, W. NC, and NW GA.
I wonder, how long does it take not to reflexively jump when anything gets too close? My dog is just the right height to deliver the perfect crotchpunch if he is sufficiently overcome with joy.
@trollhattan: Uptown Girl? Why, I ♫♫ haven’t heard that for the longest time ♫♫
30.
Jewish Steel
@Cassidy: No. The first girl who broke my heart was named Downeaster.
31.
Steeplejack
In other news, I just deployed a 2½" mattress topper to see if that can breathe new life into my possibly played-out mattress. I also flipped the mattress and rotated it head to toe. Film at 11:00.
The wind is moaning around the corners of my building. I like that sound, probably because it reminds me how nice it is to be inside and cozy.
Off to the grocery to get a few things, then a quiet evening in the man-cave. Maybe something from the DVR, maybe Grimm at 9:00. I’ve been following the series, but I’m still not completely sold. TCM is showing The Right Stuff at 8:00 (EST) and 2001 at 11:30. Then they’re going into full overnight science fiction mode: 2010 at 2:15 and Forbidden Planet at 4:15.
Chuck Klosterman has done several articles on Billy Joel. Don’t look at me that way. Of course I don’t know why. They’re actually pretty interesting but did not make me like him more. Nothing but an abrupt swerve into an alternate reality could accomplish that.
Not Virginia though. No self-respecting tornado would step foot in this godforsaken state.
43.
Politically Lost
I gots me a winger “friend” on FB that keeps posting Newt Gingrich press releases about how we can lower the cost of gas to $2.50 a gallon cuz Noots got a “plan”.
It’s the kind of concentrated stupid that tends to get me to over react. Yet, so far I have refrained. Doug’s post has weakened my resolve.
ALSO: I was thinking of synonyms for stupid which reminded me of my first year criminal law class and the old fashioned categories we used to use to classify the levels of people’s mental capacities.
Went something like this (from memory): 1.) Idiot. 2.) Dullard. 3.) Moron. 4.) Imbecile. Etc.
I always thought the only reason this system sucked was that if I were classified an idiot but, I worked really hard all I could become was a dullard.
I make a motion that we unearth this old classification system and apply the various labels to our wingnut brethren for shits and grins.
Remember Charlie?
Remember Baker?
They left their childhood
On every acre
And who was wrong?
And who was right?
It didn’t matter in the thick of the fight…
47.
AA+ Bonds
It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me and Movin’ Out are at least as relevant in 2012 as when they were released
I think a lot of contemporary listeners might underestimate how much of the stuff in that first song was as much gibberish in 1980 as it is now, and how much that was the point
48.
wrb
Which area of specialty chemicals is more interesting: Adhesives and sealants or Coatings?
Your question is itself interesting, meriting a lengthy exegesis, due to the pioneering success of West System and System 3 in marketing their adhesives and sealants as coatings.
Too true. The small joys of life. But I’m still decompressing after a three-week trip to Atlanta, which was very exciting. Well, not really, but it was pleasantly different from my normal day-to-day.
And I’m a bit punchy from being up late last night decluttering the man-cave in advance of a visit from the landlady and a plumber early this morning. I brought a lot of stuff back from Atlanta (including a huge desktop that I made years ago), and it was all still sitting around. Wouldn’t want the landlady to think I’m a latent hoarder. Although I do have to guard against occasionally slipping into “untidy bachelor” mode.
But listen to me go on and on. All I need is an old cat and some chamomile tea for my life to completely flatline. Maybe a tatty sweater vest.
Not a bad song but it gets docked 10% of its rating in my arbitrary and capricious hierarchy for being about rock and roll. Self-reference demerit. The same goes for movies about anything Hollywood and plays about theater.
Stay away from the mangrove swamp, man. It’s spoooooooky. But I’m totally down with eating a big bowl of land crab asopao (as long as somebody else caught the land crabs).
Jealous!
55.
Bmaccnm
@eemom: And that song that starts “Six weeks in Parris Island..” My crazy Viet Nam vet husband used to weep when they played that song on the radio.
56.
Steve in DC
@wag
that looks fun, would do
57.
cathyx
@Steeplejack: Of course I was just teasing about your exciting life. It’s more exciting than mine. But at least I’m allowing myself some red wine tonight.
58.
Bmaccnm
I see Raven got there first. I had blocked out the name of the song, like so much else from that particular act of my life.
59.
Raven
@Bmaccnm: Goodninght Saigon, I posted it above. I was at a Vets campout on Memorial Day years ago. There was a woman there that was a DJ and she told everyone (1000 Nam vets and families) to tune to her show at midnight and turn it up. When the rotor wash from the birds started it was an intense moment for everyone.
We had no cameras to shoot the landscape
We passed the hash pipe and played our Doors tapes
And it was dark, so dark at night
And we held on to each other
Like brother to brother
We promised our mothers we’d write
And we would all go down together
We said we’d all go down together
Yes we would all go down together
Dodged another tornado a while ago. Bastard’s aim is getting a bit better. God is a prick. Some have asked about that basset mix litter I commented on last week, not good news, a couple have died, general “failure to thrive”. The better news is Buddy is much improved from whatever had him down. He’s eating again and keeping it down.
@Bmaccnm: My ex always considered herself a Nam Vet after all the shit she put up with.
64.
greenergood
Just got back from Friday nite choir practice. Not church-y music, it’s a village choir with 2 kick-ass professional musicians as our choir leaders and music arrangers, which helps. Two hours a week where you cannot think about ANYTHING else but singing. In a yoga class I can get distracted and worry about what bills aren’t paid, but at choir, it’s not posssible. When I come home, partner (not a choir participant) and the cat look a bit terrified in case I break into song. Better than rant, I say…
Lordy, lordy – is this the week Rush gets dumped?? Or do we still have to wait for the n word?
Yeah, I know. I’m thinking about getting a bottle of champagne to celebrate the end of the week and the man-cave looking uncommonly spiffy.
Speaking of which, I’m off to the store for reals. Might even treat myself to basil beef from the really good Thai restaurant by the grocery. I heard on the street that they are going Lao. WTF?! Need to check that out. Back in a few.
66.
JGabriel
There is no such thing as a good Billy Joel song. You people are all sick, twisted, and mentally deformed by the trauma of experiencing the 20th C.
There is no other explanation.
(There is an Ultimate Tier of Worst Music reserved for the likes of Barry Manilow and Air Supply. Then there is the Penultimate Tier, wherein reside those whose only saving grace is that they are not Barry Manilow or Air Supply — this is the plane on which Billy Joel thrives.)
I gots me a winger “friend” on FB that keeps posting Newt Gingrich press releases about how we can lower the cost of gas to $2.50 a gallon cuz Noots got a “plan”.
I gots me a winger “friend” on FB that keeps posting Newt Gingrich press releases about how we can lower the cost of gas to $2.50 a gallon cuz Noots got a “plan”.
Same here. I have watched my FB friend fall in love with Herman Cain, and then denounce, of course, the librul media for spreading rumors about him. Now he’s defending Santorum, saying that the media is promoting the idea the Santorum is a religious nut.
My favorite post was illustrating our out of control tax laws by illustrating some article talking about the HGTV dream home that appears on some right wing website and basically opining how unfair it is that people who win prizes can’t keep them tax free.
@jeffreyw: Hey man, I was tryin to raise you the other day, guess you’re ok.
72.
scav
@jeffreyw: Oh you fiend. I’m now officially starving. The crinkle cut somehow puts them over the edge into hyper-perfection. Glad all the same God’s aim is still not to be counted on.
73.
burnspbesq
This movie may suck, but the last line in the trailer goes into the Clueless White People Hall of Fame on the first ballot.
I am curious though if you like rap because it is hard to think of artists in any set who don’t talk about the game, from any extreme I can think of in the genre all the way to the other end (feminism vs. misogyny, politics vs. bling, self vs. society, etc.)
75.
cathyx
@JGabriel: Oh please, enlighten us with what you think is good music.
76.
PurpleGirl
@Suffern ACE: Coatings — they make beautiful effects on glass and crystal beads.
77.
Marcellus Shale, Public Dick
jesus, can we save this for when billy joel dies?
billy joel didn’t die did he? i’m too lazy to check twitter.
78.
Steve in DC
@wag
I’m an adren junkie. Downhill skiing as a kid, along with aggressive inline, longboard downhill… to… jumping out of planes and scuba in the military and bungee jumping off and on in spare times.
I like that kinda stuff, also probably why my knees and back are blown to hell and back at 31!
“There is no such thing as a good Billy Joel song.”
Not true. There is one great Billy Joel song, “Miami 2017.”
The rest? Not for me.
84.
AA+ Bonds
Billy Joel was only okay but he was an old-school showman and also the Jewish kid masquerading as an Irish Catholic thing, it’s like he thought up his gig in 1940 but was born in 1949, it fascinates me, and he also had incredible producers (imagine It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me with less memorable vocal production: instantly forgettable)
And let’s be honest, “was” is not a typo, and neither is “had”
85.
Citizen_X
can we save this for when billy joel dies?
To quote one Madame Speaker, “How about never? Does never work for you?”
I don’t think that at all but no one here is a music critic
89.
AA+ Bonds
Billie Joe Armstrong is another musician of the same name, let’s clang our way over that direction
Green Day: downhill since Dookie and at a steeper curve since they decided they were Vote Kerry-Edwards 2004 The Band
Remember that, when Billie Joe Armstrong and that freak from Tool convinced themselves that they were going to make this thing happen through album release dates
I am curious though if you like rap because it is hard to think of artists in any set who don’t talk about the game, from any extreme I can think of in the genre all the way to the other end (feminism vs. misogyny, politics vs. bling, self vs. society, etc.)
I appreciate what it is and its social function but it’s not my kind of entertainment. A 52 year old white guy in Jewish suburb is not the intended audience. I have pretty broad tastes in music but that would be a real stretch.
Rap does have a lot of sel-reference but much of that is territorialism and I get that that’s part of the culture.
What bothers me about self-reference in books, movies, music and theater is the laziness. If you haven’t got anything to talk about but your genre or your industry then you haven’t got that much to say. Unfortunately some things that I really like fall into this category: The Player, 30 Rock, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, etc. All docked 10% for first order self-reference.
2nd order self reference is an indirect one. That would be a movie about a professional musician or a theater actress. Docked 6 2/3 points for that. 3rd order self reference would be a book with an actor character or a movie with a writer character. Docked 3 1/3 points for that.
Arbitrary and capricious, but those are my rules.
91.
PurpleGirl
@JGabriel: My Norwegian penpal liked a number of Billy Joel songs, I don’t remember their names. He was surprised that I did not have any Billy Joel albums in my small collection of records. Got all the Billy Joel I needed/wanted from the radio.
Oh please, enlighten us with what you think is good music.
There are worse places to begin than the Village Voice Pazz & Jop Critics polls of the past 40 years. Fortunately, Robert Christgau has most of them archived over at his site.
Let’s see, that’s two links used up. Guess I can throw in a song for the third. How about something pretty and melancholy:
James Fallows: “I will say that only twice before in my memory, and maybe thrice in American history, has there been as much carefree talk about war and unprovoked strikes as we’ve had concerning Iran in recent months, including from candidates other than Ron Paul in the GOP race. The twice in my experience were: during the runup to the invasion of Iraq in 2002, and in the ‘bomb ’em back to the stone age’ moments of the early Vietnam era…”
…yet Balloon Juice remains too chickenshit to whisper the word Iran.
94.
PurpleGirl
@jeffreyw: Is that pulled port with those sweet potato fries? I love sweet potato anything (except sweet potato with little marshmallows) with pork.
95.
Gin & Tonic
@jeffreyw: I’ve been thinking about a table saw. What kind did you get?
I think it can be interesting if it is nakedly a pseudo-autobiography as well as whatever else it is, like 30 Rock
If I can dip into a less popular form, I noticed that in the Captain America movie that they kept the idea that Captain America is a skilled pencil artist just like Jack Kirby. It’s a minutiae-nod to freak fans but also says something interesting, especially since Kirby co-created the character but another, later creator added the detail, after Kirby left Marvel over how they exploited him for his co-creations
Now, all of those top box-office successes they’re having are pretty much built on Kirby’s grave and his family will likely never see justice because of how his contracts have been used against him in the courts
I don’t think that at all but no one here is a music critic.
Actually … I’ve written album reviews and served my time as a college radio dj, so I probably meet the bare minimum qualifications. I think Cleek and Arguing With Signposts probably have some history with writing pop music criticism too, and Cole was also a college dj. And I bet they’re not the only ones.
.
103.
AA+ Bonds
Gillian Welch and Daft Punk are about as different as semipopular musicians can be. One is a DIY trailblazer, the other shoots crap in the major-label casino; one fetishizes the authentic, the other the artificial. But though the authentic one may be a little less honest, she’s no less forthright about her immersion in craft. She has an idea of what the world is like and what kind of music ought to sound good there, and she commands skills to match, which she’s sharpening. Welch says that while she and David Rawlings remain an acoustic duo, her self-released Time (The Revelator), which came in 14th (previous finishes: 23 and 33), comprises “really tiny rock songs” rather than her patented Appalachian simulations. And damned if she isn’t telling some kind of truth–it’s considerably less studied, austere, and sanctimonious-by-omission. Daft Punk are two ironic-mais-oui French DJs who pushed Homework onto the bottom of our 1997 top 40 behind an ingratiatingly clever synth-funk dance novelty (and 25th-place P&J single) self-referentially entitled “Da Funk.” Going all-out for airplay, which in dance music is as big a statement as Elvis citations are in folk music, they led the 25th-place Discovery with an irritatingly catchy synth-voice pop novelty (and 13th-place P&J single) imperatively entitled “One More Time.” Their faux pop became actual pop.
He tries to wrap this up with a sort of even-handed “they both are good at sucking” intro to the next P but it exemplifies why I and Christgau are rarely on the same page
By your definition, I qualify as a talk-radio host
105.
Gin & Tonic
@jeffreyw: Oh, OK. I was thinking of something a bit more robust, not portable. I haven’t done much in quite a while, and have some things I’d like to get back to.
So Mittens response to Rush-bo’s bs is “it’s not the language I would have used..” really, that’s as strong as Mittens can get??? I hope the next question posed to Mittens is “well what fuckin’ language would you use guv’na”.
Glad to see you posting. Was asking about you the other day during the first round of tornados that wrought so much devastation in your area. Sorry about the puppies, happy about Buddy. Stay safe.
The only other critic i can think of who has been more insufferable in my lifetime is Pauline Kael.
Heh, I like Kael too. Though I’m hardly a cultist for either of them. For instance, note that I’ve recommended the Critic’s Polls at Christgau’s site, not the Dean’s Lists.
I am more interested to hear what specifically you dislike about Billy Joel.
Ha! Busted. I’m utterly aware that the strength of my distaste for Billy Joel has a somewhat irrational basis: I liked him when I was 11, 12, 13 years old, outgrew his music, and don’t like to be reminded of it. That said, there are plenty of musicians from that time (the mid-70s) that I do still like, such as Fleetwood Mac and Joni Mitchell and Talking Heads, so it’s not just that.
So, what then? I find Scenes From An Italian Restaurant kitschy, maudlin, and cliche. Honestly that goes for a lot of Joel’s songs, though Scenes is, to me, especially egregious and godawful. Also, sexist, or at least enmeshed in a Maureen Dowd-like retrograde depiction of gender roles.
That’ll do for now. I don’t want to write a thesis here, mostly because I simply don’t want to give Joel that much thought.
“Slattern” would have been more to the governor’s liking, I think.
They’re forever consulting the Big Book of Agreeing Without Seeming to Agree when it comes to the uncomfortable. It’s how wingers deal with McVeigh. “While I don’t agree with his methods, he did have a valid point.”
111.
cathyx
@Steeplejack: There’s always room in a man cave for a table saw. Look in the bathroom.
There’s always room in a man cave for a table saw. Look in the bathroom.
I can’t have a table saw in the man cave bathroom. The sawdust would get in my microscope.
114.
Cluttered Mind
As long as it’s an open thread, I am wondering if anyone else is getting annoyed at Alan Grayson’s emails asking for donations to Dennis Kucinich’s primary fund. If he were asking for donations for Kucinich in a general election it would be different, but Kucinich is in a primary with another liberal Democrat incumbent who he unfortunately got redistricted into competing against, and I honestly feel it’s inappropriate for Alan to be trying to stir up out of state support for Kucinich. Both Kucinich and Kaptur are worth supporting in the general election, but shouldn’t it be up to the people of Ohio alone to decide which of the two gets to keep their job?
ETA: Also, Marcy Kaptur has far more legislative accomplishments under her belt than Dennis Kucinich does. I realize that Grayson is trying to help a friend, but he really should be staying out of this.
Not in my bathroom. The reason the landlady and the plumber were here this morning was to see about replacing the (world’s crappiest) shower enclosure, which apparently is leaking into the ceiling of the bathroom below. This happened a couple of years ago, and they tried to get away with a quick fix. Now they’ve got to replace the whole rig and (bonus!) the floor tiles as well; they suffered water damage from the damp underflooring.
I really like my apartment. It is basically one big room, with a separate (excellent) kitchen and a very small bathroom. It has an interesting shape (not just a rectangle) and never feels cramped. But the bathroom is the Achilles heel. Among my lottery fantasies is buying this place as a pied-à-terre and redoing the bathroom with sensible fixtures.
About the saw: I have thought about asking my brother if I could keep a “job saw” like Jeffreyw got in his (mostly unused) garage.
Thanks. I actually have 2 microscopes in the man cave bathroom. a stereo one with reflection illumination and a mono one with transmission illumination. I used teh latter to take some pix of fossil insects in amber the other day. Nothing pro, just fooling with a new toy.
121.
cathyx
@RossInDetroit: Oh good. I was wondering what you were putting under the microscope to look at. I’m glad it wasn’t what I was thinking.
Usually stuff I can’t easily photograph otherwise. Wristwatch movements, turntable phono cartridge styli (really tiny!), electronic components and so on. When you have one on hand a microscope has dozens of uses. Sometimes I have to solder things on the scale of 100 or 200 microns and a microscope is the only way.
And what true nerd doesn’t want a 10 lb black enameled microscope all with the smooth precision bearings, built in light and swiveling lens carrier? It’s a geek basic.
Alan Grayson’s emails asking for donations to Dennis Kucinich’s primary fund
Grayson knows Kuchinich is gonna lose. So he’s trying to win over Kuchinich’s fundraising base for the general elections. After all, they’ll have extra cash to donate as DK won’t need them this fall, he will already be primaryed into retirement.
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Rosalita
and I don’t want to work that hard
Jewish Steel
Me at my 1st post 40 cancer screening: Digital exam? Wow! Technology never ceases to amaze me. What they can’t do with computers and scanners and such. What? Oh. That kind of digital. Right.
Villago Delenda Est
Shut up and skate!
Villago Delenda Est
@Jewish Steel:
You mean the “this will feel like I’m sticking my finger up your ass” digital exam?
hhex65
but that IS the way I am
eemom
oh God. oh God. oh GOD. Talk about an earworm. I HATED that fucking song, and there was a period of about a year back then when they literally played it every five seconds on every fucking station.
Ben Franklin
Gas prices; it’s not supply/demand.
The Iranian Bourse expires this month. But the new sanctions mean euros also will be denied to Iran. How long before the Saudis renig on their ‘agreement’ on Petrodollars? Petrocolypse
Rabble Arouser
Well, you’ve come to the right place!
eemom
songs by Billy Joel that don’t suck:
Captain Jack
Pressure
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
You May be Right
Big Shot
AliceBlue
@eemom:
Also:
Rosalinda’s Eyes (IMHO)
Jewish Steel
@Villago Delenda Est: I got some digits, yeah.
Prostate is clear! Hooray!
@eemom: Only the good die young? You may be right?
oh, duh. you’ve got “ymbr”
Suffern ACE
Which area of specialty chemicals is more interesting: Adhesives and sealants or Coatings?
frogspawn
snort belch %scratches self%
Amanda in the South Bay
@Jewish Steel:
that’s good news!
That’s one nice benefit of having an orchiectomy + hormones as a trans woman-my risk of prostate cancer is very low, plus its sorta impossible to have testicular cancer.
Steeplejack
@eemom:
I always liked “Only the Good Die Young,” maybe because I have a (possibly false) memory of it being used as the theme song for Bosom Buddies. But in general I don’t like Billy Joel. “Piano Man” is the worst.
Must stop talking about this lest I get infected with an ear worm.
trollhattan
[had an FYWP moment there, and a post disappeared into oblivion. Try # deux]
WTF Virginia? You elected this asshat?
taylormattd
Do you love me just the way i are?
Amanda in the South Bay
@Steeplejack:
I think of Star Trek 2 when I think of ear worms.
cathyx
@eemom: I agree about ‘just the way you are’ but all the other songs on ‘the stranger’ are great.
JGabriel
Tornado Watch in West Virginia. Be safe, John Cole, and any other Juicers in the Tornado Watch area — MS, AL, TN, KY, S. IN, S. OH, WV, W. SC, W. NC, and NW GA.
.
cathyx
@Steeplejack: No,that was “My Life”.
trollhattan
@eemom:
The reason I get to slay Billy Joel first is “Uptown Girl.”
That will be all.
Jewish Steel
@Amanda in the South Bay: Sorta impossible to have a testicular anything.
I wonder, how long does it take not to reflexively jump when anything gets too close? My dog is just the right height to deliver the perfect crotchpunch if he is sufficiently overcome with joy.
trollhattan
@JGabriel:
Now that’s a big area. (Obvious man is obvious.)
MikeJ
@Steeplejack:
My Life, not the vastly superior (to those of us who dated catholic school girls when we were in high school ourselves).
Cassidy
@Jewish Steel: NO love for Downeaster Alexa?
MikeJ
@MikeJ: I didn’t finish my sentence. Grr. Anyway, my point before the ()s was Only the good die young is a much better song.
And every time I try to use edit FFX locks up.
JGabriel
@trollhattan: Yep. And lots of damage already.
.
Jewish Steel
@trollhattan: Uptown Girl? Why, I ♫♫ haven’t heard that for the longest time ♫♫
Jewish Steel
@Cassidy: No. The first girl who broke my heart was named Downeaster.
Steeplejack
In other news, I just deployed a 2½" mattress topper to see if that can breathe new life into my possibly played-out mattress. I also flipped the mattress and rotated it head to toe.
Film at 11:00.The wind is moaning around the corners of my building. I like that sound, probably because it reminds me how nice it is to be inside and cozy.
Off to the grocery to get a few things, then a quiet evening in the man-cave. Maybe something from the DVR, maybe Grimm at 9:00. I’ve been following the series, but I’m still not completely sold. TCM is showing The Right Stuff at 8:00 (EST) and 2001 at 11:30. Then they’re going into full overnight science fiction mode: 2010 at 2:15 and Forbidden Planet at 4:15.
Steeplejack
@Amanda in the South Bay:
Ah, a literalist.
eemom
yeah, I forgot Only the Good Die Young. Knew I was forgetting something.
cathyx
@Steeplejack: Wow, you have a very exciting life.
Martin
@JGabriel: Cole is safe. He’ll take refuge under Tunch.
Steeplejack
@cathyx, @MikeJ:
Doh! Completely forgot that song. And it is pretty good.
AA+ Bonds
I like a woman who looks like a horse doing backflips when she’s walking away from me
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
@Suffern ACE:
Four words: Air Grade Marine Epoxy
trollhattan
@JGabriel:
Yikes! Stay safe folks.
RossinDetroit
Chuck Klosterman has done several articles on Billy Joel. Don’t look at me that way. Of course I don’t know why. They’re actually pretty interesting but did not make me like him more. Nothing but an abrupt swerve into an alternate reality could accomplish that.
John O
I’m on the beautiful island of Vieques with my ‘puter about to go down to the Malecon for a couple cocktails or more.
Don’t tell anyone about this place. There’s a newish W hotel on the island, but nothing else commercial at all. Yet.
Y’all have a good night.
eemom
@JGabriel:
Not Virginia though. No self-respecting tornado would step foot in this godforsaken state.
Politically Lost
I gots me a winger “friend” on FB that keeps posting Newt Gingrich press releases about how we can lower the cost of gas to $2.50 a gallon cuz Noots got a “plan”.
It’s the kind of concentrated stupid that tends to get me to over react. Yet, so far I have refrained. Doug’s post has weakened my resolve.
ALSO: I was thinking of synonyms for stupid which reminded me of my first year criminal law class and the old fashioned categories we used to use to classify the levels of people’s mental capacities.
Went something like this (from memory): 1.) Idiot. 2.) Dullard. 3.) Moron. 4.) Imbecile. Etc.
I always thought the only reason this system sucked was that if I were classified an idiot but, I worked really hard all I could become was a dullard.
I make a motion that we unearth this old classification system and apply the various labels to our wingnut brethren for shits and grins.
Eric S.
I just ran 3.5 miles. Now I think I’ll go drink it back on at the pub.
Politically Lost
I’ll go first.
Eric son of Eric: Dullard.
Raven
@eemom: goodnight saigon
Remember Charlie?
Remember Baker?
They left their childhood
On every acre
And who was wrong?
And who was right?
It didn’t matter in the thick of the fight…
AA+ Bonds
It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me and Movin’ Out are at least as relevant in 2012 as when they were released
I think a lot of contemporary listeners might underestimate how much of the stuff in that first song was as much gibberish in 1980 as it is now, and how much that was the point
wrb
Your question is itself interesting, meriting a lengthy exegesis, due to the pioneering success of West System and System 3 in marketing their adhesives and sealants as coatings.
Rosalita
@Amanda in the South Bay:
OMG I still have that scene burned in my brain….eeeeuuuw
Steve in DC
@eemom
Where in VA, it’s not all bad, I grew up in the area… well, DC/NOVA.
If anybody is in the market for a tablet, asus eee transformer prime! Loving mine.
wag
OK. No clever conversation. Just men screaming like little girls as they have a ton of fun
Steeplejack
@cathyx:
Too true. The small joys of life. But I’m still decompressing after a three-week trip to Atlanta, which was very exciting. Well, not really, but it was pleasantly different from my normal day-to-day.
And I’m a bit punchy from being up late last night decluttering the man-cave in advance of a visit from the landlady and a plumber early this morning. I brought a lot of stuff back from Atlanta (including a huge desktop that I made years ago), and it was all still sitting around. Wouldn’t want the landlady to think I’m a latent hoarder. Although I do have to guard against occasionally slipping into “untidy bachelor” mode.
But listen to me go on and on. All I need is an old cat and some chamomile tea for my life to completely flatline. Maybe a tatty sweater vest.
RossinDetroit
@AA+ Bonds:
Not a bad song but it gets docked 10% of its rating in my arbitrary and capricious hierarchy for being about rock and roll. Self-reference demerit. The same goes for movies about anything Hollywood and plays about theater.
Svensker
@John O:
Stay away from the mangrove swamp, man. It’s spoooooooky. But I’m totally down with eating a big bowl of land crab asopao (as long as somebody else caught the land crabs).
Jealous!
Bmaccnm
@eemom: And that song that starts “Six weeks in Parris Island..” My crazy Viet Nam vet husband used to weep when they played that song on the radio.
Steve in DC
@wag
that looks fun, would do
cathyx
@Steeplejack: Of course I was just teasing about your exciting life. It’s more exciting than mine. But at least I’m allowing myself some red wine tonight.
Bmaccnm
I see Raven got there first. I had blocked out the name of the song, like so much else from that particular act of my life.
Raven
@Bmaccnm: Goodninght Saigon, I posted it above. I was at a Vets campout on Memorial Day years ago. There was a woman there that was a DJ and she told everyone (1000 Nam vets and families) to tune to her show at midnight and turn it up. When the rotor wash from the birds started it was an intense moment for everyone.
We had no cameras to shoot the landscape
We passed the hash pipe and played our Doors tapes
And it was dark, so dark at night
And we held on to each other
Like brother to brother
We promised our mothers we’d write
And we would all go down together
We said we’d all go down together
Yes we would all go down together
wag
@Steve in DC:
Me, too.
jeffreyw
Dodged another tornado a while ago. Bastard’s aim is getting a bit better. God is a prick. Some have asked about that basset mix litter I commented on last week, not good news, a couple have died, general “failure to thrive”. The better news is Buddy is much improved from whatever had him down. He’s eating again and keeping it down.
Bubblegum Tate
@eemom:
“Stiletto”
Raven
@Bmaccnm: My ex always considered herself a Nam Vet after all the shit she put up with.
greenergood
Just got back from Friday nite choir practice. Not church-y music, it’s a village choir with 2 kick-ass professional musicians as our choir leaders and music arrangers, which helps. Two hours a week where you cannot think about ANYTHING else but singing. In a yoga class I can get distracted and worry about what bills aren’t paid, but at choir, it’s not posssible. When I come home, partner (not a choir participant) and the cat look a bit terrified in case I break into song. Better than rant, I say…
Lordy, lordy – is this the week Rush gets dumped?? Or do we still have to wait for the n word?
Steeplejack
@cathyx:
Yeah, I know. I’m thinking about getting a bottle of champagne to celebrate the end of the week and the man-cave looking uncommonly spiffy.
Speaking of which, I’m off to the store for reals. Might even treat myself to basil beef from the really good Thai restaurant by the grocery. I heard on the street that they are going Lao. WTF?! Need to check that out. Back in a few.
JGabriel
There is no such thing as a good Billy Joel song. You people are all sick, twisted, and mentally deformed by the trauma of experiencing the 20th C.
There is no other explanation.
(There is an Ultimate Tier of Worst Music reserved for the likes of Barry Manilow and Air Supply. Then there is the Penultimate Tier, wherein reside those whose only saving grace is that they are not Barry Manilow or Air Supply — this is the plane on which Billy Joel thrives.)
.
Martin
@Politically Lost:
Yeah, his plan is the same as Hugo Chavez’s plan. Cheap, subsidized gas to appease the masses.
Hal
@Politically Lost:
Same here. I have watched my FB friend fall in love with Herman Cain, and then denounce, of course, the librul media for spreading rumors about him. Now he’s defending Santorum, saying that the media is promoting the idea the Santorum is a religious nut.
My favorite post was illustrating our out of control tax laws by illustrating some article talking about the HGTV dream home that appears on some right wing website and basically opining how unfair it is that people who win prizes can’t keep them tax free.
AA+ Bonds
@RossinDetroit:
That is fair – I used to like Gwen Stefani until her third Billboard hit about how terrible she is at dealing with her celebrity
jeffreyw
Gettin’ towards supper time. These are good: Ore-Ida crinkle cut sweet potato fries.
Raven
@jeffreyw: Hey man, I was tryin to raise you the other day, guess you’re ok.
scav
@jeffreyw: Oh you fiend. I’m now officially starving. The crinkle cut somehow puts them over the edge into hyper-perfection. Glad all the same God’s aim is still not to be counted on.
burnspbesq
This movie may suck, but the last line in the trailer goes into the Clueless White People Hall of Fame on the first ballot.
http://television.insidelacrosse.com/media/1ca5e3e9da2d40cb9ea3ddd4b1dda959/crooked-arrows—official-trailer
AA+ Bonds
@RossinDetroit:
I am curious though if you like rap because it is hard to think of artists in any set who don’t talk about the game, from any extreme I can think of in the genre all the way to the other end (feminism vs. misogyny, politics vs. bling, self vs. society, etc.)
cathyx
@JGabriel: Oh please, enlighten us with what you think is good music.
PurpleGirl
@Suffern ACE: Coatings — they make beautiful effects on glass and crystal beads.
Marcellus Shale, Public Dick
jesus, can we save this for when billy joel dies?
billy joel didn’t die did he? i’m too lazy to check twitter.
Steve in DC
@wag
I’m an adren junkie. Downhill skiing as a kid, along with aggressive inline, longboard downhill… to… jumping out of planes and scuba in the military and bungee jumping off and on in spare times.
I like that kinda stuff, also probably why my knees and back are blown to hell and back at 31!
AA+ Bonds
@Marcellus Shale, Public Dick:
It doesn’t really matter
Bruuuuce
@eemom: Also “Summer, Highland Falls”, “Stiletto”, and “The Downeaster Alexa” (I like Billy Joel, but objectively, these are songs that don’t suck).
Citizen_X
songs by Billy Joel that don’t suck:
That pretty much covers all of them.
AA+ Bonds
@Steve in DC:
I guess I was too but it came out in petty vandalism and other property crimes
burnspbesq
@JGabriel:
“There is no such thing as a good Billy Joel song.”
Not true. There is one great Billy Joel song, “Miami 2017.”
The rest? Not for me.
AA+ Bonds
Billy Joel was only okay but he was an old-school showman and also the Jewish kid masquerading as an Irish Catholic thing, it’s like he thought up his gig in 1940 but was born in 1949, it fascinates me, and he also had incredible producers (imagine It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me with less memorable vocal production: instantly forgettable)
And let’s be honest, “was” is not a typo, and neither is “had”
Citizen_X
To quote one Madame Speaker, “How about never? Does never work for you?”
jeffreyw
@Raven: I took delivery of a new miter saw and a table saw. I’ve been making sawdust for a couple of days, and little else.
cathyx
This thread reminds me of the Academy Award thread where everyone thinks their opinions of music/movies are the right ones.
AA+ Bonds
@cathyx:
I don’t think that at all but no one here is a music critic
AA+ Bonds
Billie Joe Armstrong is another musician of the same name, let’s clang our way over that direction
Green Day: downhill since Dookie and at a steeper curve since they decided they were Vote Kerry-Edwards 2004 The Band
Remember that, when Billie Joe Armstrong and that freak from Tool convinced themselves that they were going to make this thing happen through album release dates
RossinDetroit
@AA+ Bonds:
I appreciate what it is and its social function but it’s not my kind of entertainment. A 52 year old white guy in Jewish suburb is not the intended audience. I have pretty broad tastes in music but that would be a real stretch.
Rap does have a lot of sel-reference but much of that is territorialism and I get that that’s part of the culture.
What bothers me about self-reference in books, movies, music and theater is the laziness. If you haven’t got anything to talk about but your genre or your industry then you haven’t got that much to say. Unfortunately some things that I really like fall into this category: The Player, 30 Rock, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, etc. All docked 10% for first order self-reference.
2nd order self reference is an indirect one. That would be a movie about a professional musician or a theater actress. Docked 6 2/3 points for that. 3rd order self reference would be a book with an actor character or a movie with a writer character. Docked 3 1/3 points for that.
Arbitrary and capricious, but those are my rules.
PurpleGirl
@JGabriel: My Norwegian penpal liked a number of Billy Joel songs, I don’t remember their names. He was surprised that I did not have any Billy Joel albums in my small collection of records. Got all the Billy Joel I needed/wanted from the radio.
JGabriel
@cathyx:
There are worse places to begin than the Village Voice Pazz & Jop Critics polls of the past 40 years. Fortunately, Robert Christgau has most of them archived over at his site.
Let’s see, that’s two links used up. Guess I can throw in a song for the third. How about something pretty and melancholy:
Robyn Hitchcock — Autumn Is Your Last Chance
.
vernon
James Fallows: “I will say that only twice before in my memory, and maybe thrice in American history, has there been as much carefree talk about war and unprovoked strikes as we’ve had concerning Iran in recent months, including from candidates other than Ron Paul in the GOP race. The twice in my experience were: during the runup to the invasion of Iraq in 2002, and in the ‘bomb ’em back to the stone age’ moments of the early Vietnam era…”
…yet Balloon Juice remains too chickenshit to whisper the word Iran.
PurpleGirl
@jeffreyw: Is that pulled port with those sweet potato fries? I love sweet potato anything (except sweet potato with little marshmallows) with pork.
Gin & Tonic
@jeffreyw: I’ve been thinking about a table saw. What kind did you get?
AA+ Bonds
@RossinDetroit:
I think it can be interesting if it is nakedly a pseudo-autobiography as well as whatever else it is, like 30 Rock
If I can dip into a less popular form, I noticed that in the Captain America movie that they kept the idea that Captain America is a skilled pencil artist just like Jack Kirby. It’s a minutiae-nod to freak fans but also says something interesting, especially since Kirby co-created the character but another, later creator added the detail, after Kirby left Marvel over how they exploited him for his co-creations
Now, all of those top box-office successes they’re having are pretty much built on Kirby’s grave and his family will likely never see justice because of how his contracts have been used against him in the courts
jeffreyw
@PurpleGirl: Baby back ribs from a crockpot.
PurpleGirl
@jeffreyw: Ah. Looks tasty.
burnspbesq
@JGabriel:
Oh please, not a Christgau Cultist. The only other critic i can think of who has been more insufferable in my lifetime is Pauline Kael.
jeffreyw
@Gin & Tonic: Nothing too expensive, it’s a portable DeWalt, I got the rollaway stand for it. I like it so far but I’m a real n00b so my take isn’t worth much. It got good reviews.
AA+ Bonds
@JGabriel:
I am more interested to hear what specifically you dislike about Billy Joel
JGabriel
@AA+ Bonds:
Actually … I’ve written album reviews and served my time as a college radio dj, so I probably meet the bare minimum qualifications. I think Cleek and Arguing With Signposts probably have some history with writing pop music criticism too, and Cole was also a college dj. And I bet they’re not the only ones.
.
AA+ Bonds
He tries to wrap this up with a sort of even-handed “they both are good at sucking” intro to the next P but it exemplifies why I and Christgau are rarely on the same page
AA+ Bonds
@JGabriel:
Again: no one here is a music critic
By your definition, I qualify as a talk-radio host
Gin & Tonic
@jeffreyw: Oh, OK. I was thinking of something a bit more robust, not portable. I haven’t done much in quite a while, and have some things I’d like to get back to.
lamh35
So Mittens response to Rush-bo’s bs is “it’s not the language I would have used..” really, that’s as strong as Mittens can get??? I hope the next question posed to Mittens is “well what fuckin’ language would you use guv’na”.
These men are fuckin’ cowards!
Steeplejack
@jeffreyw:
Specs! Where I live now I can only dream of having a table saw.
SiubhanDuinne
@jeffreyw:
Glad to see you posting. Was asking about you the other day during the first round of tornados that wrought so much devastation in your area. Sorry about the puppies, happy about Buddy. Stay safe.
JGabriel
@burnspbesq:
Heh, I like Kael too. Though I’m hardly a cultist for either of them. For instance, note that I’ve recommended the Critic’s Polls at Christgau’s site, not the Dean’s Lists.
@AA+ Bonds:
Ha! Busted. I’m utterly aware that the strength of my distaste for Billy Joel has a somewhat irrational basis: I liked him when I was 11, 12, 13 years old, outgrew his music, and don’t like to be reminded of it. That said, there are plenty of musicians from that time (the mid-70s) that I do still like, such as Fleetwood Mac and Joni Mitchell and Talking Heads, so it’s not just that.
So, what then? I find Scenes From An Italian Restaurant kitschy, maudlin, and cliche. Honestly that goes for a lot of Joel’s songs, though Scenes is, to me, especially egregious and godawful. Also, sexist, or at least enmeshed in a Maureen Dowd-like retrograde depiction of gender roles.
That’ll do for now. I don’t want to write a thesis here, mostly because I simply don’t want to give Joel that much thought.
.
trollhattan
@lamh35:
“Slattern” would have been more to the governor’s liking, I think.
They’re forever consulting the Big Book of Agreeing Without Seeming to Agree when it comes to the uncomfortable. It’s how wingers deal with McVeigh. “While I don’t agree with his methods, he did have a valid point.”
cathyx
@Steeplejack: There’s always room in a man cave for a table saw. Look in the bathroom.
Marcellus Shale, Public Dick
@JGabriel:
you forgot to mention that billy joel is the musical equivalent of that candied yam and marshmallow dish that appears on the table every thanksgiving.
some folks enjoy it
some folks like it because its traditional, and certain parts of their experience would be incomplete without it.
other folks tolerate it because it has always been there and they take a polite serving and don’t think about.
some people are revulsed by it for the thought of what is in it.
others just look at it, taste it, or other wise simply go by the experience of it, and dislike it immensely.
billy joel is like that.
RossInDetroit
@cathyx:
I can’t have a table saw in the man cave bathroom. The sawdust would get in my microscope.
Cluttered Mind
As long as it’s an open thread, I am wondering if anyone else is getting annoyed at Alan Grayson’s emails asking for donations to Dennis Kucinich’s primary fund. If he were asking for donations for Kucinich in a general election it would be different, but Kucinich is in a primary with another liberal Democrat incumbent who he unfortunately got redistricted into competing against, and I honestly feel it’s inappropriate for Alan to be trying to stir up out of state support for Kucinich. Both Kucinich and Kaptur are worth supporting in the general election, but shouldn’t it be up to the people of Ohio alone to decide which of the two gets to keep their job?
ETA: Also, Marcy Kaptur has far more legislative accomplishments under her belt than Dennis Kucinich does. I realize that Grayson is trying to help a friend, but he really should be staying out of this.
Steeplejack
@cathyx:
Not in my bathroom. The reason the landlady and the plumber were here this morning was to see about replacing the (world’s crappiest) shower enclosure, which apparently is leaking into the ceiling of the bathroom below. This happened a couple of years ago, and they tried to get away with a quick fix. Now they’ve got to replace the whole rig and (bonus!) the floor tiles as well; they suffered water damage from the damp underflooring.
I really like my apartment. It is basically one big room, with a separate (excellent) kitchen and a very small bathroom. It has an interesting shape (not just a rectangle) and never feels cramped. But the bathroom is the Achilles heel. Among my lottery fantasies is buying this place as a pied-à-terre and redoing the bathroom with sensible fixtures.
About the saw: I have thought about asking my brother if I could keep a “job saw” like Jeffreyw got in his (mostly unused) garage.
Steeplejack
@jeffreyw:
New Yankee Workshop had a good episode a few years ago about a “workstation” for a portable table saw.
Heliopause
Should I mention the weather? Allah taking a big bite out of our Bible Belt yet again today.
cathyx
@RossInDetroit: I really did laugh out loud at that one.
Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason
Well, you’re posting on the right blog, then!
Thank FSM I can’t remember the melody to that POS earworm
BSoSR +2 and heading to the kitchen for 3
RossInDetroit
@cathyx:
Thanks. I actually have 2 microscopes in the man cave bathroom. a stereo one with reflection illumination and a mono one with transmission illumination. I used teh latter to take some pix of fossil insects in amber the other day. Nothing pro, just fooling with a new toy.
cathyx
@RossInDetroit: Oh good. I was wondering what you were putting under the microscope to look at. I’m glad it wasn’t what I was thinking.
RossInDetroit
@cathyx:
Usually stuff I can’t easily photograph otherwise. Wristwatch movements, turntable phono cartridge styli (really tiny!), electronic components and so on. When you have one on hand a microscope has dozens of uses. Sometimes I have to solder things on the scale of 100 or 200 microns and a microscope is the only way.
And what true nerd doesn’t want a 10 lb black enameled microscope all with the smooth precision bearings, built in light and swiveling lens carrier? It’s a geek basic.
David Koch
@Cluttered Mind:
Grayson knows Kuchinich is gonna lose. So he’s trying to win over Kuchinich’s fundraising base for the general elections. After all, they’ll have extra cash to donate as DK won’t need them this fall, he will already be primaryed into retirement.