Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Welcome to day five of every-bit-as-bad-as-you-thought-it-would-be.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

This blog will pay for itself.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

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

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

Washington Post’s Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

“Just close your eyes and kiss the girl and go where the tilt-a-whirl takes you.” ~OzarkHillbilly

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

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Open Thread

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Just had a mini meetup of sorts. I’m here in Austin for SXSWedu, and my traveling partner demanded we go to the reception, and so we did . I got my free Shiner bock, immediately went outside to the balcony to avoid the 2000 or so people in the ballroom, sat on a bench, and within thirty seconds met one of you all. I won’t use his real name, but it was just funny that he knew who I was from the ONE picture I have posted here.

I might have to pregame before the meetup tomorrow.

Reader Interactions

127Comments

  2. 2.

    arguingwithsignposts

    Dammit, Cole, I knew you were at that hipster SXSW. What’s next, Aspen?

  6. 6.

    Johnnybuck

    Why the fuck am I supposed to care about Dennis Rodman and his BFF Kim Jung Un? Though too be honest, Rodman seems at least as coherent as Princess Dumbass of the Nor.

  8. 8.

    Scott S.

    I know I’ve seen more than one pic of Cole. I think Imani posted a few. I know he tried to hide his face, but stuff like that only works for Clark Kent, man… :)

  9. 9.

    JPL

    At first I was envious about the Austin meetup but now I realize they will never decide on a place or a time. Odds for it happening are fifty/fifty. Some of us might wonder why the only time it was suggested was in a red state.

  11. 11.

    Marcelo

    My boss Sarah Rinner is presenting tomorrow at SXSWedu. She’s amazing. Probably doesn’t have anything to do with your field, as she specializes in arts education amongst elementary schoolers, but yeah.

  12. 12.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)

    Starting work on a new story, “The Sacrifices of Company B”. I’ve got about three paragraphs written as most of the day has been spent on research. Included in that is finding a British regiment that, for some reason, skipped a battalion number around the right time, as I don’t want to get into questions of whether the unit I’m writing about did or didn’t do something in particular. Fortunately, there was no 19th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), and both the 18th and 20th Battalions were formed in November, 1914, in plenty of time to be on the Western Front for the battles I want them to have gone through.

  13. 13.

    John Cole

    Marcelo- email me. I’d love to come check out your place and blog about it.

    Also, what was the name if the Austin pet rescue mentioned earlier? I miss my animals and would come by and walk some dogs while I am here. I’ll bring treats!

  15. 15.

    lamh35

    Ok, Michelle-Obot checking in. After seeing Ann and Mitt’s interview, I came across this video of FLOTUS during an interview with Primer Impcacto for Univision. During the break, the hostess I assume offered to show FLOTUS some moves. And Michelle Obama being the person she seems to be was all game.

    How soon will Michelle Malkin make a parody video?

    First Lady Michelle Obama dances the Echa Pa’ Lla

    Seriously, how can u not like this lady. Let’s say that it’s all an act, fine, but this is why she was coined Obama’s “secret weapon”. She certainly comes off as genuine every damn time.

    Maybe Miss Ann could learn from Michelle Obama if her and Mitt didn’t think “those people” were beneath them.

  17. 17.

    raven

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): “Have you news of my boy Jack?”
    Not this tide.
    “When d’you think that he’ll come back?”
    Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

    “Has any one else had word of him?”
    Not this tide.
    For what is sunk will hardly swim,
    Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

    “Oh, dear, what comfort can I find?”
    None this tide,
    Nor any tide,
    Except he did not shame his kind —
    Not even with that wind blowing, and that tide.

    Then hold your head up all the more,
    This tide,
    And every tide;
    Because he was the son you bore,
    And gave to that wind blowing and that tid

  18. 18.

    dmsilev

    So I mentioned over the weekend that I was working on a widget which features, among other things, a possible failure mode of “diamonds exploding into powder”. This attracted some interest…

    While that particular failure mode has yet to occur, for anyone who is curious, this is the widget in question. Looks like the business end of some laser-cannon prop from a low budget SF movie. If you look carefully, you can see the diamonds (they’re visible through the rectangular cutouts about halfway up the length of the cylindrical block).

  20. 20.

    Ultraviolet Thunder

    I’m near St. Louis MO today, after a morning of airline hassles. Overbooking should be a crime.

    But hey! I got the proofs for a new magazine article today! It’s nice, and the fancy photos really class up my stilted and amateurish text. If this keeps up I might start getting the idea that I can actually write.

    ETA: and dear National Car Rental: A Dodge Caravan Sport is not an Intermediate. It’s a brontosaurus with three automatic doors. I never want to drive one again. Or a Dart either.

  21. 21.

    Mnemosyne

    Should I worry that the estimated hotel bill for one of our trips came out to be $1,313.13? I’m not usually that superstitious, but it seems a little … specific.

  22. 22.

    Mnemosyne

    Also, I spent most of the day convinced that it was March 11th, not March 3rd, and gave myself several heart attacks about things I had forgotten to do.

  23. 23.

    Lolis

    http://www.austinpetsalive.org/get-involved/volunteer/

    Looks like you have to attend a training before they let you touch the pets.

    I do need a time/place for this thing tomorrow night so I can get out of work. Since you seem to want people to plan it for you, maybe 7:30pm at Easy Tiger? Although fair warning, the German food places are chock full of hipsters.

  26. 26.

    David Koch

    he knew who I was from the ONE picture I have posted here.

    Yeah, but, Seth Rogen is a very recognizable face.

    I mean, think about poor Seth Rogen, I bet he’s stopped on the street every day and asked about Tunch.

  32. 32.

    Forkbeard

    I’m mostly a lurker, but in the spirit of open threads I thought I read an article on the PC game ‘Divinity: Dragon Commander’ and immediately thought of the Balloon Juice commentariat.

    Rock, Paper, Shotgun has a good write-up on it:
    “I’d been playing for five minutes when the leader of the elves urged me to legalise gay marriage throughout my lands. I’d planned for dragons with jetpacks strapped to their backsides, but I hadn’t expected a skeleton to rebuke me for refusing to discriminate on grounds of gender and sexuality.”

    Somehow the idea of conservatives as undead, unchanging fundamentalist force really makes me giggle.

  33. 33.

    Forkbeard

    @Mnemosyne: Done that. Did that last week, actually. It really confused my boss when I apologized for missing a deadline that hadn’t happened yet.

    Clearly I need to drink less on the weekends.

  36. 36.

    Ultraviolet Thunder

    @Maude:

    Thank you. I’m working on another article project. I just need to find a way that people can build it without risking electrocution. High voltage stuff is fun, but there’s always at least one person out there with clumsy fingers and I don’t want to hear about him from his widow’s lawyer.

    Back on topic, I think I’d recognize JC immediately, with or without His Lordship the Cat. Or the famous Mop.

  37. 37.

    NotMax

    @raven

    Kihei? Not so much never as only when circumstances require it. Although it is much easier to and from since the road leading there was widened and improved just a scant few years ago.

    Lahaina? Yeah, kind’a aort’a. Like when shuttling visitors around. Also once in maybe every third blue moon if there’s a newish restaurant there that want to try.

  41. 41.

    Omnes Omnibus

    I mentioned this earlier today, but it’s been an up and down day. The job interview went well. I hope to hear good things in a day or so. OTOH, my grandmother is in the hospital with congestive heart failure. They are just making her comfortable now, and it is simply a matter of time. One is not happy.

  43. 43.

    Forkbeard

    @JPL: Somehow, keeping a calendar around and actually updated seems like a tough job. I don’t know if I’m up for that level of responsibility.

  47. 47.

    Lokahi

    @John Cole:

    I miss my animals and would come by and walk some dogs while I am here. I’ll bring treats!

    Sorry that I can’t help on the dog side. I work with the cats, but if you’d like to play with some incredibly special critters in the Feline Leukemia Sanctuary, that’s where I scoop litter pans and sweep floors in the morning/early afternoon…

  48. 48.

    peach flavored shampoo

    Can you at least give us his/her nym? Nobody know real names anyways…

    “Yeah I met Steve Jones”….BJ group say “huh?”

    “Yeah I met Burnsesq”….BJ group says “wait, you met that asshole?”

  50. 50.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @lamh35:

    FLOTUS is just amazing, and I am sure that all of those people who have met her during the Whitehouse tours will attest to that, I mean how many other FLOTUS’s have done that, stood patiently in a room greeting guests? I do not recall any other FLOTUS that has done that. (POTUS too right after the election, and Bo!)

    @dmsilev:

    You should check out the new BBC America program “Bang Goes The Theory” it is a science prog that is really wonderful and fun.

    http://www.bbcamerica.com/bang-goes-the-theory/

    Who knew that you could build a vehicle that does 43 miles an hour using a single fire extinguisher.

    @NotMax:

    March 11 is my birthday, I will turn 53, I reckon I am doing well reaching that point considering that I am attempting to pickling and smoking myself into immortality.

  54. 54.

    Mnemosyne

    @JPL:

    I have two (2) paper calendars hanging in my cube, plus my Google Calendar always open on my desktop, plus my iPhone.

    I think my first instinct was right and I should have stayed home today.

  57. 57.

    NotMax

    Speaking of it being March, wondering how the February site rebuild/repair is coming along?

  59. 59.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @raven: She’s 91. She’s had a good life and she told the docs that she is ready for them to let her go. She had a pacemaker put in about 10 days ago and was in a rehab facility working to get ready to go back home. It’s not like it’s a shock for a 91 year old to be in this condition, but my dad and I, eternal optimists, figured that the pacemaker would fix her up and she be back home. The rest of the family more or less figure that she would be in a nursing home – she would hate that.

  62. 62.

    JPL

    I’m watching Makers: Women who Make America and I forgot how lax the laws were on domestic violence. Maybe not lax, non existence.

  63. 63.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)

    @raven: I appreciate the thought but one symptom of my autism is that poetry is completely lost on me. It’s just prose with funny formatting and all the power is lost. I’ll just have to trust you.

  64. 64.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I hate to say this but why would they put a pacemaker in a 91 year old woman except to make money? That makes no fucking sense, really, it makes no fucking sense other than the medical facility that did it could bill someone a gazillion dollars for doing it. I absolutely despair at the state of health care in this country.

  65. 65.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @raven:

    Raven, you always amaze and sober me with the vast array of poetry you know.

    ETA: I typed “poetry,” glad I checked before hitting the Submit button. Fuck You Auto Correct had changed “poetry” to “pigsty.”

  66. 66.

    kdaug

    I might have to pregame before the meetup tomorrow.

    Do it to it, Pruitt. But are we set on the where/when?

  67. 67.

    dance around in your bones

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Man, I’m sorry to hear that. My best friend got home after visiting me to find out her 85 yr old mother had been hospitalized – they still don’t know what’s wrong with her, apart from being old.

    I hope y’all get a good outcome, but you know it’s a crapshoot. My mother-in-law lived to be 102, and I was sure my husband would be an old like her, but it wasn’t to be.

    Anyway, hang in there. I know you just lost your dad recently, so this must be…well, crappy.

  68. 68.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Whenever her time comes, I wish for her a peaceful and joyful transition. And I hope she shares her peace and joy with those who love her.

  69. 69.

    SFAW

    @dmsilev:

    OK, so how does one a-splode a diamond? Not by heat.

    And what’s the FO cable for?

    I know, I know, if you tell me, you’ll have to kill me.

  70. 70.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Litlebritdifrnt: It is a fairly simple procedure and can be done as an outpatient thing. When they did it, they thought were very good that she would be able to go back home where she had been able to live on her own and continue doing so. But I would mention that this is probably not a time when I am likely to be a good debater on the topic of healthcare options for the elderly. Just saying.

  74. 74.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @dance around in your bones: Nah, still got my dad. It’s his mom; honestly, he is the one I feel worst for in this. He is close to her, his younger brother and sister are useless, and he will have to take care of everything. As far as Grandma goes, this is it. It is simply a question of time. She’ll check out with as much dignity as she can, and the rest of us will miss her.

    @SiubhanDuinne: Thanks.

  78. 78.

    dance around in your bones

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Oh, so sorry – I must have confused you with Mnemosyne? I am frequently confused. Although I am pretty sure I could recognize John Cole in a bar.

    In any case, best wishes. 91 is a decent age to reach….

  80. 80.

    raven

    @SiubhanDuinne: Wow, that is as weak of an area as I have. The only reason I know that is that we watched the movie of the same title and it was about the death of Kipling’s son in WWI and I thought it relevant to the post about the book.

  81. 81.

    geg6

    @cathyx:

    The funny thing is that I’ve never used the term myself. My mother would have killed me. But I have been known to say redd up, gumband, pop, chipped ham and Stillers. You can’t completely escape the dialect, no matter how much you try.

  83. 83.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @dance around in your bones: No problem and thanks. Like I said, my dad is the one I am concerned about. We eldest sons and our mommies – at least in my family – we are always really close. As a matter of fact, I am going start pestering mine about exercising more so she stays around. God damn it.

  84. 84.

    dmsilev

    @SFAW: You explode a diamond by putting two of them face to face, pushing really hard (a few tons) on the back, and having things go just a hair out of alignment. Diamonds don’t cope with shear strain very well.

    The fiber is for the laser. We measure the pressure in between the diamonds by putting a small chip of ruby in with the sample and zapping it with a few milliwatts of green laser light. The ruby fluoresces, and the wavelength at which it emits moves as the pressure changes.

  85. 85.

    geg6

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Sorry to hear about your grandmother. It’s good that she feels okay about her long life and how she is choosing to leave it. That’s a very good thing and I wish that for all of us.

    I feel for your dad. It’s always hard to lose your parents, no matter how old you or they may be. I miss mine all the time. Especially my dad; we were very close.

  86. 86.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @raven: Cool, but you do that kind of thing pretty often. Somehow you always seem to know the perfect verse or lyric for the situation under discussion. It’s a nice gift to have.

  88. 88.

    lojasmo

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Sorry to hear about your nana.

    Tough stuff. My mom and grandma both died in the early part of 2010. Being as my father wasn’t around to raise me made my loss especailly rough.

    Not trying to minimize your situation.

    Feeling for you.

    J

  89. 89.

    SFAW

    @dmsilev:

    I would love to be able to talk shop with you about that stuff. Unfortunately, being more-or-less a tin knocker, I might as well be offering my thoughts on competing translations from Aramaic.

    Well, not quite that bad, but still …

    Is this DoD stuff, or commercial/private?

    ETA: Forgot to say: sounds like neat stuff. Good to know about the wavelength shift, although I’ll probably never get to use the info.

  90. 90.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @lojasmo:

    Not trying to minimize your situation.

    Don’t worry about that. I have been lucky, grandparent-wise. I was twenty-six before I lost the first one. Hell, I knew two of my great grandmothers. One of them lived until I was 22.

  91. 91.

    eemom

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Sorry about your Grandmom.

    Saw your good/bad post earlier, and glad to hear that your interview went well.

    To the extent, that is, that the continuation of employment in this suck-o profession of ours actually qualifies as good for anyone or anything within any reasonable comprehension of the word “good”.

    (Why yes, I am having a bad lawyer day…..why do you ask?)

  94. 94.

    eemom

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Sorry about your Grandmom.

    Saw your good/bad post earlier, and glad to hear that your interview went well.

    To the extent, that is, that the continuation of employment in this suck-o profession of ours actually qualifies as good for anyone or anything within any reasonable comprehension of the word “good”.

    (Why yes, I am having a bad lawyer day…..why do you ask?)

  96. 96.

    eemom

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Sorry about your Grandmom.

    Saw your good/bad post earlier, and glad to hear that your interview went well.

    To the extent, that is, that the continuation of employment in this suck-o profession of ours actually qualifies as good for anyone or anything within any reasonable comprehension of the word “good”.

    (Why yes, I am having a bad lawyer day…..why do you ask?)

  98. 98.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @eemom: It would be a move from the public to the private sector with the attendant pay differential. The work load would not be any greater (Fucking Scott Walker) so more bucks for the same amount of work. This is a good thing. More details when and if it works out….

  100. 100.

    dmsilev

    @SFAW: There are commercially-available diamond cells, though we prefer to make our own (specific space constraints and other requirements). The designs are mechanically straightforward, but the tolerances required does make things difficult.

    The ruby fluorescence shift is a pretty subtle effect; to see it, you need tens of thousands of atmospheres and a spectrometer that can resolve to about 0.1 or 0.2 nanometer (or, preferably, better). Again, the latter is off-the-shelf gear, albeit specialized.

  101. 101.

    dance around in your bones

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    My 3 grandkids are about to meet their great-grandmother for the very first time this Friday.

    I have been trying to explain to them who she is in relation to them – they can hardly believe that THEIR mom is MY daughter, let alone that I have a mother who is their great-grandmother.

    Kids sometimes have a very foggy idea of family relationships, especially in this day and age where we don’t all live together or even in the same state.

    Heck, I haven’t even seen my mom for 20 years (LONG story)….so, whatever the hell I am saying, just try to appreciate the remaining time you have with your grandma.

  102. 102.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I was a bit younger when they died, but I remember two sets of great-grandparents. The family story about one great-grandfather, I think I’ve mentioned this before, is that he served in both the Civil War and Spanish-American War — and lied about his age both times!

  103. 103.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @SiubhanDuinne: Funny that you mention the Civil War. One of my great grandmothers was the daughter of a Civil War vet. It amazes me that I knew someone who knew someone who fought in it (I was born 100 years after the war). He served with Sherman for his whole march across the South.

  104. 104.

    Mnemosyne

    @dance around in your bones:

    I was just getting ready to come back and comment that the reason I’ve been feeling crappy/out of sorts all day is probably that yesterday was exactly two months since my dad died and I didn’t even realize it until I was driving home from work tonight.

  105. 105.

    dance around in your bones

    @Mnemosyne:

    Those anniversary dates can be a bitch. They also sneak up on you, whether it’s a couple months or a couple years or whatever.

    Kind of a roller coaster of grief.

    {{{hugs}}}

  107. 107.

    The Fat Kate Middleton

    @Omnes Omnibus: I’m 65, but it still seems amazing to me that my great-grandfather emigrated here with his family in one of the years of the Great Famine (1840-ish?), and later fought in the Civil War. Emigrated to Janesville, WI btw – his youngest child of 12 was my grandpa, and my dad was one of grandpa’s youngest children among 14.

    ETA: emigrated from Ireland

  108. 108.

    The Fat Kate Middleton

    @Mnemosyne: This has happened to me so many times since my parents died. You’d think I’d start to learn and prepare. I’m working on the first anniversary of the loss of our little one … she was two when she died in late April.

  109. 109.

    cckids

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    One of my great grandmothers was the daughter of a Civil War vet. It amazes me that I knew someone who knew someone who fought in it (I was born 100 years after the war). He served with Sherman for his whole march across the South.

    That is very cool. I love family stories like this. When my kids were younger, they were amazed to hear that their great-grandfather played poker with “Buffalo” Bill Cody.

  111. 111.

    cckids

    Oy, I used the P-card game word in a “history” post, now am moderated. FYWP to infinity.

    Anyway, I was just remarking that when my kids were young, they were amazed to find out that their great- grandfather used to play that card game with Buffalo Bill Cody. Sadly, he passed before any of us knew him (even my spouse), so no good gossip. Still, fun family history.

  112. 112.

    The Fat Kate Middleton

    @Mnemosyne: Yes. I’m sure you’re familiar with the saying, “You don’t get over it, you just get through it.” That’s what we’re all working on … but I really shouldn’t have mentioned it, because I still can’t talk about it. Just can’t. Sorry.

  113. 113.

    General Stuck

    In all my years reading this blog, this thread is the most human and soul soothing of any I can remember. It should be framed for the sake of posterity, a reference point for when the trolls and assholes that love them return to again struggle for control of the Balloon Juice signal. We need more yin and less yang.

  115. 115.

    The Fat Kate Middleton

    I so hope JGC makes it to one of the animal shelters tomorrow, and gives us pictures. I take such vicarious pleasure in the pet pics here, since we can’t have, because of family allergies.

  116. 116.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @The Fat Kate Middleton:

    I’m working on the first anniversary of the loss of our little one … she was two when she died in late April.

    Christ. I don’t even know what one can say to that. So sorry.

    @Debbie(aussie): Thanks and thanks.

    @General Stuck: There is a thread about Cole getting ink further down the way to balance things out.

  119. 119.

    The Fat Kate Middleton

    @Omnes Omnibus: Thanks, OO. I know. And, as I said above, sorry I even mentioned it. We’re going to make it. We’re strong Irish stock.

  121. 121.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @The Fat Kate Middleton: Hey, I started us down this road. With enough people, there are enough family tragedies to keep it going. As long as we are tossing family history factoids around though, my grandma (and thus me as well) is descended from a number of Salem witches, accusers, and judges. Plus the witch in Connecticut in the 1660s. I think that’s rather cool.

  122. 122.

    The Fat Kate Middleton

    @Omnes Omnibus: Very cool. My gramma insisted we were descended from Mayflower passengers. My dad poo-pooed it, but after she died, we went through her papers and discovered it was indeed so.

  123. 123.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @The Fat Kate Middleton: My people were Mass. Bay people, not Plymouth. They went from Salem to Concord to western NY and then WI before it was a state.

    ETA: They started showing up about 8 years after the Mayflower.

  124. 124.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Omnes Omnibus: I’m so sorry. It’s always hard, even when they get old. I wish her a peaceful and painless passage.

    I’m glad to hear the early part of the day went well. I was thinking good thoughts for you.

  125. 125.

    handsmile

    Returning tonight to this blog after several days away attending a memorial service for my best friend’s 96-year-old mother. Her fearlessness in confronting death helped to ease the grief of my friend and his family members.

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Very sorry to read about your grandmother’s condition. I am sure you are a great comfort to your father in his sadness and dismay.

    As for taking care of yourself at this time, I’m pleased to read your upbeat assessment of the job interview. Will be happy to learn even better news from you soon on this matter.

  126. 126.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @handsmile: Thank you. It is funny how the way the person who is dying handles the situation can be act as a key for everyone else’s behavior

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