Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

Biden: Oh no. We’ve upset Big Pharma again.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

Let’s show the world that autocracy can be defeated.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

Nothing worth doing is easy.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

“Cheese and Kraken paired together for the appetizer trial.”

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Another missed opportunity for Jamie Dimon to just shut the fuck up.

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

The Supreme Court is corrupt. Democrats must win in November and force court reform.

Trump’s legal defense is going to be a dumpster fire inside a clown car on a derailing train.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

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

A consequence of cucumbers

The current Supreme Court is a rogue court. Very dangerous.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

You are here: Home / Open Threads / One Trial Learning At Its Best (Open Thread)

One Trial Learning At Its Best (Open Thread)

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Via SFGate, which does have better things to do (not really), we learn that outrageously rich middle-aged folks from families (in)bred to the stud book are nonetheless capable of admirable displays of experiential learning:

Britain’s Prince Andrew has rappelled 785 feet (239 meters) down the side of Europe’s tallest building to raise money for charity.

The 52-year-old’s stunt began on London skyscraper The Shard’s 87th floor and finished on the 20th, and took him 30 minutes.

Following the descent Monday morning, the prince said: “I will never do it again.”

Proof positive that any and all of us can acquire wisdom, Grasshopper.

So — what unforgivably stupid act will you manage to avoid this evening?

Image:  Paolo Veronese, Allegory of Wisdom and Strength, c. 1580

Reader Interactions

50Comments

  5. 5.

    The Dangerman

    …what unforgivably stupid act will you manage to avoid this evening?

    Drinking heavily at a Motel 6 in Charlotte.

    Now, back to just drinking heavily.

  7. 7.

    lamh35

    Obama Leads in Michigan

    A new Public Policy Polling survey in Michigan finds President Obama leading Mitt Romney by seven points, 51% to 44%.
    Key finding: “That reflects the fact that despite his ties to the state, Michigan voters just don’t embrace Romney. Only 45% have a favorable opinion of him to 49% with an unfavorable one. They don’t accept Romney as one of their own either- only 34% consider him to be a Michigander to 57% who do not.”

  9. 9.

    lamh35

    Obama Still Leads in Colorado

    A new Public Policy Polling survey in Colorado finds President Obama continuing to hold the lead over Mitt Romney, 49% to 46%.

    Last month, Obama was ahead by a 49% to 43% margin, but Romney continues to trail in the state because of his struggles with independents. Obama has a 48% to 41% lead with them, a trend that’s been consistent in our polling there all year.

  11. 11.

    Maude

    10 comments and no one asked if the guy in the painting is John?
    We’re slipping.
    The prince is to be congratulated, especially for saying he will never do that again.

    Edit spell fail

  12. 12.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    “you danced naked in a Vegas hotel room, now I have to repel down 87 stories to get people to say something else about our family, you dumb little fuck!”

  13. 13.

    Ash Can

    So the guy did something splashy and non-threatening to everyone but himself in order to raise money for charity. Why dump on him?

  14. 14.

    RareSanity

    @raven:

    I avoided driving 400 miles to Blacksburg to watch this game.

    I don’t know what’s worse at the beginning of college football season…seeing a team like Oklahoma State beat a team like Savannah State 84-0, or watching two “good” teams (GT vs. VT) play bad football.

    Other than the TD pass VT just threw, this game has been horrendous. I feel like I’m watching a B movie…it’s terrible, but I can’t turn away ’cause now I gotta know how it ends…

  18. 18.

    RareSanity

    @raven:

    Whoa…really? What was the booing for?

    Dad-gum Georgia fans are the biggest homers outside of Tuscaloosa…hard to fathom them booing Saint Mark of Richt.

    Maybe the crowd was saying, “Booo-urns”.

    Ninja Edit:
    BTW…doing well. Football season is upon us again, so you’ll hear no complaints from me. I made through another summer, with nothing but baseball to offer. (Olympics don’t count…only two weeks)

  22. 22.

    RareSanity

    @raven:

    Well who’s surprised with lackluster, uninspired play from the Bulldogs? It’s been their calling card for at least the last 5-7 years. Sooner or later, Bulldog fans are going to have to admit that, as good of a guy as he is, the football team’s performance is a reflection of the personality of their coach. Not even crazy-ass Todd Grantham can give those guys a measurable pulse.

    I saw the highlights of the Gurley kid though…that kid is a football player for sure. Makes you quick to forget that turd Crowell.

  23. 23.

    Dennis SGMM

    Earlier this week I spun the Miata up on Highway 39. Hit a patch of loose stuff at speed and then away we went, rocks on one side and a drop to the canyon on the other. I caught it and fetched up in a cloud of Michelin smoke. Because of the Williams fire, that road is closed so I won’t be doing that tonight.

  24. 24.

    raven

    @RareSanity: People were pretty pissed after that weak ass shit in the bowl game. There are plenty of folks around here that wanted him gone but the SEC championship birth killed that.

    Did you see Crowell get his clock cleaned against Bethune Cookman yesterday? Pasted.

    Well, OT, damn!

  25. 25.

    Geoduck

    Managed to saw off a drooping evergreen limb in the driveway without killing myself in the process. Woot. Even had to stand on a ladder to do it.

  26. 26.

    Ash Can

    @Tom Levenson: I guess that, having seen the video earlier today and seen all the gear he was wearing and all the attendants hovering around making sure nothing went wrong on his descent — and having seen that he did it to raise money for charity — I just don’t get either the “pointless” or “frequently fatal” bit.

  27. 27.

    Lyrebird

    @RareSanity: ..and here I was, thinking “sure, Vermont (postal abbrev: VT) could have a football team at the university, sure, but what state is GT??”

    BTW I am trying to make y’all laugh, not to criticize football.

    Not going to any big games round these parts, bc my closest stadium is the one where a phony saint’s statue was just removed. Not the current players’ fault at all, but still really awful. (the abuse of children, not the removal of the statue)

    @Comrade Mary: Gonna try to follow your excellent example.

  28. 28.

    Mnemosyne

    Unfortunately, I’m still dealing with the consquences of Saturday’s stupid act, which was dropping my keys in an unknown location inside the apartment, which means I get to spend my third night in a row looking for the fucking things.

  31. 31.

    RareSanity

    @raven:

    Is there video of it anywhere?

    I betcha that smug S.O.B. thought that just because he was playing in the SWAC, that those guys were just going to let him run up and down the field. I’m glad he was shown otherwise.

    The SWAC puts players in the NFL too.

  33. 33.

    Burnspbesq

    Y’all heard it here first: there’s going to be a shocking upset in college football this coming weekend. A team that played in a BCS bowl game last year is going to lose to a team that went 3-9 last year.

  41. 41.

    Mnemosyne

    @Burnspbesq:

    I would say USC because they’re notorious for losing to teams like frickin’ Memphis State in their season opener, but I think they were still banned from bowl play last year.

  44. 44.

    Brachiator

    I am just kicking back and enjoying the benefits of technology. Sitting on my patio, enjoying a mild breeze, with my iPad and a strong wi fi signal. Also, too, a glass of Chardonnay. Just finished watching an episode of the British tv series Campion via Amazon Prime Instant streaming.

    I am amused that the media companies insist that I can only be happy watching stuff on a big tv screen and cable. Dopes.

    I got no beef with Prince Andrew. I know plenty of folks, men and women, of far more modest means who do equally wild stuff. A coworker seriously damaged his knee doing stuff on the Russian River best left to younger men and women.

    Looking forward to politicking and such tomorrow, but for now, all is mellow.

    Cheers.

  45. 45.

    Lyrebird

    @raven: oh yes!

    Their recruiting/enrollment office — for students in general I mean — made Ramblin’ Wrecks a bit of a joke in our house, just bc of two small errors. 1. They sent the letter to the parents, instead of to my tough-as-nails sister herself, and 2. they started the letter with something like, “did you know, you’re son or daughter could be a Ramblin’ Wreck?” When the parent receiving the letter is a technical editor, that’s not a winning line…

    Two of the nicest, smartest guys I know are yellow-jackety-Ramblin’ Wrecks, so don’t think we’re blinded by prejudice. We just had a great laugh with it!

  46. 46.

    g

    I spent s couple of days this summer in the vicinity of The Shard, and I don’t care how many attendants and how much gear you have on you – the act of stepping off that sucker is going to take a lot of guts. About 15 years ago, I rappelled down about 80 feet, and I was terrified the whole fucking way down. And I was a lot younger than 52.

    When you rappell, you control your own descent. Me, I took too much of a wrap, so I went really really slow – which was difficult. But you can’t change mid-drop. It was nerve-wracking. Now, they also had a life-line on Andrew so if he fucked up, they’d catch him – but that would not have been fun.

    Good for Prince Andrew and at least he’s doing it for something good.

  47. 47.

    joel hanes

    @Dennis SGMM:

    spun the Miata

    I will not be undertaking an ill-equipped trip to Minnesota’s Boundary Waters canoe country in the last week of September, there to face 11 days of sub-40-degree rain and sleet with tents that aren’t waterproof (1972)

    I will not be “borrowing” the 27-foot racing sloop with running backstays from my employers at 2:00 AM in the midst of a heavy rainstorm to see if I can single-hand it (1975)

    I will not be trying to impress Angela by ascending to the mainmast truck of a 52-foot ketch, while sitting in a double-bowline on the spinnaker halyard, to retrieve the running end of a jib halyard, while under power in the middle of SF Bay. (1982)

    I will not be entering a major intersection in heavy rain in the RX-7, against a new red light, backward, after arresting an overbraked spin at 180 degrees. (1985)

    I will not be skiing near the cliffs between Wolverine Bowl and Alpine Bowl in a white-out (2003)

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