What happened today was absolutely horrible, make no doubt about it. Another dead child, hundreds wounded, and the worst thing I heard was that a lot of the injured were dealing with leg amputations, and many of them were runners who were in the bleachers after finishing the race. It’s just horrifying.
But I am done watching the coverage. I will, of course, follow the news over the next few days and weeks and months as we actually start to know something, but I am just not watching the death porn and overt rumor mongering on the cable channels. I’ve known journalism students. Many of them are not very bright. They don’t get better as they age and get cozy sinecures at CNN or Fox or MSNBC. I can internally recognize how bad this attack was without having to watch Chris Matthews on a high blood sugar kick saying crazy stupid shit. I simply refuse to let this dominate my life. Again, it is horrible, but I am not going to let the media work me into a froth.
I’m safe. You are safe. 99.999999% of the country is safe. But there never is a completely safe, and there never will be. I refuse to let the terrorists win, and yes, this was a terrorist attack. We don’t know who did it, but it was a terrorist attack. Any time you plant bombs in a garbage can at a peaceful assembly, it’s terrorism.
But again, people all over the world deal with this every single god damned day. That does not minimize the tragedy, but like I noted earlier, 37 people were killed in Iraq. Today. And it is no longer even on the front page of the New York Times, and when it was earlier, it was just an AP/Reuters feed.
Again, I refuse to be scared. You should too. I am going to sit here in my house and watch a show or two, then go to bed, and while I can commiserate with the wounded and dead and the horrible grief their loved ones must be experiencing, I am not going to spend the next couple weeks freaking out, because that is what the bombers and the war pig want. Remember, the much of the Patriot Act, which liberals claim to hate, was drafted by Clinton and the National Security State, and yes, Joe Biden, in response to Oklahoma City. We were lucky that we had a Democratic president then, because Republicans blocked much of it.
So let’s talk about something else. Let’s talk about tv shows that are currently on. Last night, I watched an episode of a show called Orphan Black on the Beeb, and as always, I want to state that we are in a golden age for drama. You don’t even have to look for good shows- the Americans, GoT, Shameless, Red Widow, Hannibal, the Hunted, Boss, Psych, White Collar, Suits, Justified, Banshee, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and on and on and on (and I am missing dozens). It feels like writers have collectively been allowed to do what they do best, which is write, and Network execs are not trampling all over them and editing and censoring the shit out of their work.
So do me a solid, and let’s talk about that while we sit here, safe at home, and while recognizing something horrible has happened and doing everything we can to help the people of Boston, let’s retain some perspective. You are safe. I am safe. For the most part, especially with the last few decades of declining crime rates, we are the safest we have ever been.
Remember that the next few days during the media frenzy, if you must watch. I would recommend you don’t. And I refuse to give up another right to prevent another “Boston,” but you know there will be calls to “do something.” We still take our god damned shoes off at airports because of a failed attempt. Lord only knows what is going to come down the pipeline now. The only thing we “need” to do is find the perpetrators, try them, convict them, and jail them for the rest of our lives as we go on with ours, and I have full faith that our collected government agencies can do this.
The bomber(s) isn’t the only one who wants you to be afraid. Remember that.
Todd
My thighs hurt from hiking yesterday.
Also, I had a nightmare that I was going onto a dive boat and all my equipment was missing from my dive bag.
Anne Laurie
Bravo, JOhn Cole.
Seriously.
Yutsano
Well…I’m safe at work, relatively. It’s not like this building is hard to miss and there are virtually no barriers around it. But this ol’ beast has survived several earthquakes and a few riots so I’m pretty much unconcerned. The only major hassle in my life is the panhandlers on First Avenue. Seattleites will understand that.
Making guac for work tomorrow. My team got dissolved so I get to go to a manager who goes home when I go to lunch. No I don’t understand the logic either. But hey I at least get a new view.
schrodinger's cat
Well said. As goes the popular meme, Keep calm and carry on.
SatanicPanic
My son’s birthday was yesterday. Had a good party. We did no presents and I think he was a bit bummed, but not really. We were relieved at not having more piles of toys to deal with.
Baud
I am afraid … my cholesterol is too high.
Mike in NC
Neighbors recommended ‘Orphan Black’. There are a bunch of BBC shows I want to check out on streaming Netflix.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I’m not afraid, I’m interested, news junkie and all that.and while I recognize the story arc really couldn’t have ended any other way, I wish Margo Martindale were still on Justified.
And is it just me or has BBC America gone downhill? They used to show a lot of the British cop shows I love, now it all seems to be Gordon Ramsay and the show about cars. I’m sure there’s some good British comedy they could be showing.
Spaghetti Lee
We still take our god damned shoes off at airports because of a failed attempt. Lord only knows what is going to come down the pipeline now.
I agree with all this. I think that Alex Jones is an asshole and the people who believe the crap he peddles are idiots, but I do think there’s been a massive trend towards public surveillance and powers given to the law in the name of safety that has, perhaps, gone a bit too far. It’s not because of some sinister ‘Prison Planet’ conspiracy or whatever the nuts think, but people get scared-even people in power. Especially people in power. And all it takes is to give in to the paranoia just once and a new law is on the books.
There’s no way to make the world 100% impenetrably safe. We should do our best, and I’m not opposed to reasonable measures to that regard, but at some point the paranoia, the extralegal authority, the security theater, gets to be too much. Bad things happen. This was an awful thing. I hope that whoever did it gets caught and goes to jail forever. But like you said we can’t give into fear.
Tata
Bourdain has a new show Sunday nights on CNN that’s not terribly different from No Reservations. Last night, he took some real risk in Myanmar. Very interesting viewing.
rikyrah
found another good show and let go of another.
I like Rogue on Directtv….always been a fan of Thandie Newton.
I tried to watch Hannibal…had to stop…it was too dark.
kc
I’m not fucking “scared,” goddamnit. I’m enraged.
Spaghetti Lee
@schrodinger’s cat:
Someone in one of the earlier threads redid it as “Keep cahm and carry on.” Gave me a chuckle.
gogol's wife
Mr. Selfridge is getting more interesting.
gbear
On Mondays, I post an ‘album of the week’ on my facebook page. Today, I wanted to feature a Boston band, so my record was ‘The Morning After’ by The J. Geils Band. For me, they were an American Rolling Stones at that time. They kicked butt.
I Don’t Need You No More
rikyrah
I can’t watch the coverage. just get the mofos
scav
Interesting stuff on moon exploration Nasa Ladee mission. What’s not to like about discovering more about surface boundary exospheres? Plus a laser communication system.
Omnes Omnibus
@Todd: My legs hurt too. Cycling, not hiking, in my case.
BAtFFP
I’ve had a For Reals nursing job for 3 weeks now, am slowly settling in, and even occasionally enjoying myself.
My happy moment: got my first paycheck today. Nursing pay = Damn. So tomorrow I go shopping for various exciting items. (Like hiking boots. OK? We wear a lot of hiking boots in Seattle.) I feel like I can finally reward myself a bit for making it through nursing school alive. And yeah, I’m pleased about that, marathon tragedy or not.
Thanks for giving me a place to say it, John. I’m happy tonight.
David Fud
My friend ran the race and he was across before it happened. My family enjoyed a nice dinner with his wife and kids and everything was good. I am sure that those who won’t have the future opportunity to do that with their family, or to run the marathon again, will have a drastic change in their life for the worse. But we are enjoying the spring, living the good life. The victims wouldn’t want anything less for those of us who carry on.
Litlebritdifrnt
I bought Flossie a squeaky ball. That is all.
schrodinger's cat
I need a hug, I had a rough day today. Kitteh is sick. Hubcat is in India and can’t talk to him right now as he in the middle of some religious ritual for his father’s death anniversary. Those poor peeps in Boston, I know many marathoners and have been among the crowds at finish lines before. I am just sad and tired.
Yutsano
@efgoldman: I have feelers out for something else. My department is falling apart at the seams and no one seems to be willing to go to bat for us. So I’m gonna skip town as soon as I can manage to do so. It will be interesting but I will also be doing what I want to do for the IRS so that will help.
Todd
@Tata:
I think he’s going for some slot like Anderson Cooper.
Chat Noir
Re-watching “The Sopranos” on DVD. Really well-written and well-acted show that had more than a few LOL moments. Edie Falco was fabulous as Carmela.
Culture of Truth
Basically how I feel. Sure it’s an important story, and I’m interested, but after about, oh 10 minutes, you know what is known about what happened. The rest is rerunning footage, speculation, or side interest stories about heroism, generosity, hospitalizations, etc. (even Maddow was just describing specific injuries to specific people – I need to know this, why?) When they find out who did it, I will tune in again. until then, it’s unnecessary gruesome details, or idiots yelling at press conferences.
RaflW
I just flew home from seeing my dad. He’s 82 and, as this point, he’s dying of Alzheimers. He may still have some time left, but this trip (I go about once a month, 3 hour flight each way) is the first time I’ve really looked at him as he’s half-sleeping in bed, kinda labored breathing, skinny, uncomfortable, often unhappy and sometimes quite confused, and I though, “he looks like someone dying, not someone living with an illness now.”
Not exactly a bright n cheery diversion from the Bostin tragedy.
When I got home, I said to my partner (who’s about to graduate from grad school w/o a job landed), “what fabulous trip should we go on later this year?”
I can afford to treat him. And seeing my dad decline, and even the Boston mayhem makes me want to go see Siem Reap, or Denali, or lay on a beach. Life really is short. I also want to keep doing the good I can in the world. Being a progressive religious/policy/organizing person can be draining. But the world needs antidotes to whatever leads to bombings in Boston … and Baghdad.
TaMara (BHF)
Watching Bones. Good for a chuckle. Finally catching up on Psych, season has been fun so far.
And how about some cookies?
That’s it, that’s all I got. But I appreciate the perspective JC,it’s much like I feel. Remember all the people who rushed to help, that’s what we’re really about.
Suffern ACE
When I order a Caesar Salad and the next question is what kind of dressing, I will assume that what is on the menu is not actually a Caeser Salad but lettuce Alfredo.
PsiFighter37
@rikyrah: I was at work late and had to listen to that asshole Larry Kudlow talk about the explosions like he had it all figured out. What the hell does he know about solving crime?
That was most infuriating of all.
Yutsano
@schrodinger’s cat: HUGZ!!
Oh fergot to mention: one of the possible move spots is Parkersburg, WV.
Morzer
I’ve been doing the Gamification class on Coursera, which is fascinating in a mildly horrifying kind of way. When dystopia finally comes to the US in full-blown form, I expect it to involve lots of badges and leveling up, plus a social network for preppers who buy the right product.
gogol's wife
@schrodinger’s cat:
I see you said in the other thread that the vet recommended Laxatone. That’s always worked for us. I don’t know whether it’s the same thing as the “Petromalt” that everyone else is mentioning, but my cats love to lick it off my fingers, and it acts as a gentle laxative. I assume she’s not eating because of the constipation. I hope she feels better soon.
schrodinger's cat
@gogol’s wife: My cat is still hiding, poor thing was traumatized by the vet visit.
RaflW
Oh, and John: my partner was a J school grad (double major in history). What you say about journalism students tends to obtain for TV-oriented students. But print journalism students were, in my estimation, certainly of average to decent intelligence, analytics, etc.
Sure there are marquee morans like Bobo and such, but they’re self-absorbed pundits, not the inheritors of the old gumshoe tradition.
Morzer
@gogol’s wife:
I remember Petromalt mostly because the cat refused to touch the stuff and I generally got covered in enough of it to take care of any constipation issues for the rest of my life. Sorry to overshare.
schrodinger's cat
@Yutsano: Tunch’s birthplace, practically a place of pilgrimage for Juicers.
Thanks for the hugz!
Dolly Llama
Haven’t read any of the comments before but, damn, Mr. Cole. You give a man a lot to think about.
gogol's wife
@schrodinger’s cat:
Can you put some on your finger and hold it near wherever she is so she can smell it? It’s usually tuna-flavored.
But she’ll probably be fine until she feels like emerging.
Kristine
@BAtFFP: Congrats on the job!
Alison
Thank you, John.
I finished a good book today, that I originally picked up after seeing it mentioned in a thread here at BJ, An Instance of the Fingerpost. If you are not one to be put off by long books, and enjoy a well-crafted mystery, pick it up.
In other book news, the Pulitzers were announced today and they thankfully didn’t do the “no fiction award” BS like last year. Now I have a few to add to my ever-growing to-read list
http://www.pulitzer.org/node/8501
Also, if you click the link at the bottom there to see the nominated finalists, The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey was also amazing. One of my favorites ever.
Orpho
Indeed. I just found out my office is outside the “exclusion zone” downtown, so I’m going in tomorrow. I’d march in a fucking parade tomorrow, at this point. Fuck the ones who planted the bombs. Fuck ’em.
schrodinger's cat
@gogol’s wife: She got an enema, sub cutaneous fluids and poked and prodded. She ar not a happeh cat.
muddy
@Suffern ACE: My sister ordered one recently and was really disturbed that they didn’t give anchovies. I asked had she ordered a Caesar salad in a restaurant in years before that? They have gone downhill significantly. I said now it’s just romaine with garlic vinaigrette, and you’re lucky to get a crouton.
Larkspur
Deep breath.
I am enjoying a robust case of poison oak, having been exposed while cuddling an adorable fluffy dog who apparently had recently romped in the stuff. It’s on my face, neck, wrists, and forearms. The prednisone is starting to work, but it’s still itchy and scaly and looks gnarly. My attempt to get lemonade from these lemons: perhaps, when the rash is gone, the skin underneath will be fresh, smooth and youthful. In other words, I will have had a free natural chemical peel.
In television news, I am enjoying Switched at Birth on ABC-Family, and am cautiously poking at The Americans with a stick because I’m both fascinated and repelled by the story.
@BAtFFP: Congratulations on the first paycheck. Go buy some amazing hiking boots; you can’t go wrong with really fine boots.
Morzer
@schrodinger’s cat:
But didn’t you ever wonder about why so few pilgrims walk out of Tunch’s lair? There’s a fable in Aesop about that…
gogol's wife
@schrodinger’s cat:
Yeah, best to let her be for a while. Poor baby.
Jay C
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
C’mon: BBC America still manages to push some decent programming onto the airwaves outside of Gordon Ramsey (who does most of his stuff on Fox nowadays, anyway): Copper, Ripper Street, Orphan Black, Whitechapel,and of course, Doctor Who.
lamh35
welp, I don’t watch any of the shows you mentioned, but I do plan to try to eventually catch up on this second season of Scandal, except I hate watching tv shows on my computer screen when I can watch stuff of my large flat screen and I don’t currently have the equipment to watch my computer stuff on my tv.
Still, maybe I can catch up on Scandal during my work hours on my Kindle.
gogol's wife
@Orpho:
That’s the spirit. I know how you feel.
AndoChronic
Thanks for the “solid” in your words and perspective John. P.S. I also suffer from a deviated septum; However, let’s not go there just yet!
Morzer
@Alison:
That’s a good, fun, intriguing read. Do you know his The Dream of Scipio? That’s a wonderful book.
SIA
My back went out in a major way this morning. Worst it’s been in 20 years. Getting out of bed to go to the bathroom is a major, painful fucking feat. But I’m reminded today that as a life problem it’s pretty minimal.
Been re-watching Foyle’s War. Love that series. Also Call the Midwife.
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: Well then, I have something to look forward to.
raven
@SIA: Jesus, someone else in this cultural wasteland watches Midwife instead of the stupid fuckin GOT! Wow!
Angela
Thank you Cole. I was talking to my mother this early afternoon and she was asking me for our game plan to get in touch if something happened with the North Korea threats. Are you serious? was all I could say.
And then reminded her that her great-grandmother crossed this country in a covered wagon with no medical treatment availability and no way to get in quick touch with anyone ever.
Not only are we safer now from danger, we are safer from almost all diseases that caused horrible loss of life. Polio, rabies, even pneumonia. Really tired of all the fear mongering.
SnarkyShark
Thanks Cole, you said what I was thinking. Politicians lining up to make insincere pledges to restrict our freedom even more will be on full display. No one can make you 100% safe and you wouldn’t want to live in any world that made that promise.
Keith G
@Baud: Walk. That will help with both.
hildebrand
Right now the only scripted shows that we make the time to watch: Doctor Who, Orphan Black, Call the Midwife (as my wife has dubbed it: the weekly weep-fest). We don’t have HBO so Game of Thrones will need to wait until they finally release the episodes on ITunes next year (bah!).
I am watching Rachel Maddow right now – she seems to be quite even keel.
Corbin Dallas Multipass
@SIA: Get well – body pain sucks. I’m just starting to deal with my knees.
raven
You guys should have gone the Governor’s presser so you could join that idiot screaming about HIS freedom.
cbear
@Suffern ACE:
This is very wise, Grasshopper.
Soon you will be ready for your journey. :)
Baud
@Keith G:
Thanks. My cholesterol is too high, but I actually wasn’t afraid until I read this thread. Cat enemas? Really?
SIA
@raven: GOT is too violent for me! I’ve also watched Doc Martin which I like except he doesn’t love dogs, can’t help but hold that against him.
Fluke bucket
@Dolly Llama: sounds like a 2nd Amendment argument to me.
“And I refuse to give up another right to prevent another “Boston,” but you know there will be calls to “do something.” Just replace Boston with Newtown. You get the idea.
Johnny Coelacanth
Friday night for me, 17 minutes left before I clock out and go home. Didn’t hear any news about anything until a couple hours ago so I read a couple news stories and watched MSNBC for a while. Maddow’s on now, live from Boston, but I’m not paying a whole lot of attention.
I like Cole’s contention that we’re in a Golden Age of Television Drama, but it might be we’re in a Golden Age of Television, period… Never mind, I gave it a bit of thought and the drama’s pretty good; Sturgeon’s Law holds for just about everything else.
My fancy Friday night plans include going home to
stealstream GoT, then maybe catch up with the rest of season 1 of Mad Men. I’ve watched more TV in the last month than I have in the last two years. I blame Netflix.Morzer
@raven:
Which idiot?
raven
@SIA: Watchin Mr Selfridge?
Alison
@Morzer: This was the first of his I’ve read, but I definitely plan to check out more.
muddy
@raven: I like both! Today I was helping out someone who just had gallbladder surgery and I was telling him about the surgeon in the last episode saying you cut all the way from the sternum down to the navel. He was glad to be in modern times, bad enough as it is.
Todd
@SIA:
Been thinking about rewatching that. Also, about restarting Sons of Anarchy from scratch.
Walker
@Morzer:
I am of the opinion that the collapse of social gaming in the past year has discredited a fair amount of this field.
Shortstop
Nice post. But I don’t want to be safe at home. I want to be out in the world, every day, and I’m not going to be scared there, either.
Frankensteinbeck
Today my publisher asked ‘Hey, just so I know, if we decided to make a graphic novel out of your book, how long would it take you to rewrite it in a frame-by-frame format for the artist?’ This kind of thing is going to give me a heart attack.
raven
@Morzer: Dude at the last press conference.First he asked DeVal if he was going to use this to take away his freedoms. DeVal just said “no”. Then he screamed at him all the way out the door as the gov left.
SIA
@Corbin Dallas Multipass: Thank you. Learning again that free physical movement is one of the best gifts in this life. Wish I’d done my yoga last night instead of being a couch potato.
raven
@muddy: Yay!
schrodinger's cat
@gogol’s wife: The situation with the kitteh has gone on for 2 weeks now and she has lost about 3 pounds since her last vet visit. Since she is not eating all that much.
Morzer
@Alison:
He wrote a very fun series about art thefts that are a pretty good way to while away a Boston evening. That said, I would recommend The Dream of Scipio as a quite magnificent book that connects three eras (Late Rome, the Avignon Papacy and WWII France) brilliantly. It has the best portrayal of Late Rome that I know of in fiction.
PurpleGirl
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Not just you. BBC America is not operated by the BBC; I think they license the name to someone else. How else are they the channel that shows Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Yes, they used to show some good stuff, but now, argh.
Redshirt
Red Sox are doing surprisingly well – starting pitching!
lojasmo
Pinot Noir and Star Trek (2009) in HD so life is good.
Also, I have stopped eating grains, and drinking beer, so my cholesterol and blood pressure will now be heading in the right direction (dropped 30 systolic points, an d 70 Mg/Dl of LDL, while raising my HDL by 17 last time I had my diet this sorted) and I’m excercizing regularly again.
My weight’s stable at fat, so I don’t expect much movement. It would be nice to get down to 160, but we’ll see. I am going to weigh in on may 1, and monthly thereafter.
Eric S.
The Girl has been in Florida for 5/6 weeks taking care of he mom after knee surgery. O just got back to Chicago after a 5 day visit. Great time but already missing her.
On the other hand Ozzie (my feline over lord) was happy to see me return. He climbed into my duffle bag as soon as I was back to lake sure I unpacked properly.
Also, too, I fully agree with our blog host.
Cheers
+4
Morzer
@raven:
“But I want to be persecuted. Why won’t you persecute me, you tyrant?! Freedom!” etc etc.
It’s a shame Deval couldn’t reuse Barney Frank’s line about having a conversation with his dining room table, but it probably wouldn’t have been appropriate.
Corbin Dallas Multipass
@SIA: “Learning again that free physical movement is one of the best gifts in this life.”
Great way to put it. Maybe I’ll do one of the yoga videos on Hulu.
sylvan
If you like Hannibal and Orphan Black you should check out Utopia.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
I heard some interesting music gossip yesterday. I don’t think many people will be surprised to hear that a musician who worked with him (early on) reports that Sir Paul is rather the snooty snob. I was surprised (as was the relator of this tidbit) to hear that Ringo is in fact a full metal jackass.
raven
@Morzer: It was fucking bullshit.
SIA
@Todd: Three new episodes this year!
Morzer
@lojasmo:
Some people have had pretty good results with the 5:2 diet. You might find it interesting to look into.
JoyfulA
@Yutsano: I sent you some I owe from last year last week, and today I sent my first quarterlies for 2013. Now put it to good use, please.
Alison
@Morzer: Definitely sounds like something I’d enjoy :)
Omnes Omnibus
@Morzer: I have both. I reread Fingerpost recently. Pears is a hell of a writer.
SIA
@raven: Yeah I am! I’m not enamored of the main character but I really like the show, very much.
Arclite
Yup, Ben Franklin:
Redshift
@gogol’s wife: Yeah, Laxatone and Petromalt are the same thing.
Morzer
@Omnes Omnibus:
I’ve only found one book of his disappointing, which was Stone’s Fall. In some ways, he’s the writer I once thought Philip Kerr might become.
Arclite
Three things are causing this explosion in TV quality.
1. The lack of good adult content at the theater. Everything is PG 13 these days.
2. A relaxing of the broadcast decency standards to allow more adult content, and some guts by some channels to put more adult-oriented content out there.
3. An explosion of competition in the TV market over the past couple of decades.
Alison
Hey, who here saw Argo? Do you recommend it?
Calming Influence
@raven: Right after Call The Midwife. I like it but I think Jeremy Piven isn’t playing it well, either because he’s unable or through bad direction. Good story though. Hope it doesn’t turn into a soap opera.
Baud
@Alison:
I liked it. Heard some complaints about it, but I thought it was a nice movie.
liberal
@lojasmo:
What diet gave you that kind of improvement, apart from cutting out cereals?
trollhattan
Truly is a Golden Age of teebee, although I’m not sure we didn’t hit the zenith a few years back.
Omnes Omnibus
@Morzer: I haven’t read Stone’s Fall. I’ve only read the two mentioned above a couple of the art mysteries – which are pretty decent.
Calming Influence
@Arclite:
Agreed. I always thought it was stupid to have broadcast channels that had to worry about saying “Poop” right next to HBO and Cinemax on the remote.
Morzer
@Omnes Omnibus:
If you are looking for something good to read, take a look at Philip Kerr’s Berlin Noir trilogy. They are pretty impressive.
gogol's wife
@schrodinger’s cat:
I’m sorry.
burnspbesq
@Yutsano:
Where obsolete computers never die.
Dude, you get a location adjustment for Laguna. Come on down!
gogol's wife
@Calming Influence:
I usually kind of like Jeremy Piven, but he’s terrible on this. But I’ve learned to sort of ignore him. Frances O’Connor is very good.
Arclite
@Alison: Argo is a great, entertaining movie. Especially the script, but also the acting by character actors like Alan Arkin and John Goodman. Better than most of the movies released last year, for sure. Well paced, too. Affleck the director got skillz. Also does well balancing the drama with the humor.
Calming Influence
@schrodinger’s cat: Where are you located?
Baud
@schrodinger’s cat:
Sorry to hear that. I made a joke earlier, but I didn’t realize the situation might be serious.
Redshift
I have a second interview next Monday for a job that I really need to get. On one hand, it’s likely to be a pretty tough interview, but I have a strong recommendation from a former boss who’s now a high mucky-muck in the company, so I’m hopeful. I’m getting to spend another week trying to stuff my head full of all the computer science stuff that I either have barely thought about in twenty years, or never learned because I have an Electrical Engineering degree instead of Computer Science. Oh, and also trying to be able to talk knowledgeably without references about every technology I’ve worked with in the past ten years.
Wish me luck!
schrodinger's cat
@gogol’s wife: Thanks! I have had her since she was an itty bitty kitty and fit in the palm of my hands.
JWL
Right you are, Cole.
That said, let us instead pause to remember a TV peer of Annette Funicello.
Larry Mondello passed away today.
Why do that? Why reflect at all?
Because that’s what patriotic, TV viewing Americans do in times like these.
That’s why.
gogol's wife
@schrodinger’s cat:
How old is she?
sonofsamantha
lol…this is rich…wr0ng on everything Cole trying to give people advice how to think and feel about this…before even knowing all the facts.
Guess what…over 100 people in the United States probably died today in car accidents and over 100 will die tomorrow just like every day on average. I am fearful every time I drive but I sure as hell am not more fearful because of this. Think about it and get a clue.
Alison
@Arclite: I realize it’s probably violent on some level, but is there anything super graphic?
Calming Influence
@gogol’s wife: Yup. the rest of the cast is great, and a lot of good back-stories. A lot like the changing times in Downton Abbey.
Mnemosyne
I’m not afraid. I’m pissed off and sick and fucking tired of the right wing trying to get their way by trying to intimidate the rest of us. I would like to beat whoever is responsible for this with a bag of oranges and then lock them in an 8-by-8 cell for the rest of their miserable lives.
Yes, I’m making assumptions about who was responsible. Sorry, but anyone who thinks it was al-Qaeda or North Korea or another foreign power is a fucking idiot.
schrodinger's cat
@gogol’s wife:Nine.
ruemara
Good things: I have a cat chin on my knee-since my requests for less cat contact for the day have resulted in this compromise. Cat happy, human happy. I recommend Orphan Black. I have no idea what they’re doing to Doctor Who, but they have to stop it.
and you’re right, Cole. We aren’t less safe, we’re far more safe but we have far too much tv coverage and speculation passing as news.
@Redshift: LUCK! best of it to you.
schrodinger's cat
@Calming Influence: In Massachusetts, but not in Boston.
gogol's wife
@schrodinger’s cat:
I’m hoping she gets better soon. We love them so much, and feel so helpless when they’re sick.
Morzer
@Redshift:
Have you looked at the 6.00x course on EdX? It’s the MIT Intro to Computer Science course and it has a mix of theory and learning to write code in Python 2.7. You can just sign up for free, download the videos and then unsign yourself if you so wish.
Just a suggestion.
Omnes Omnibus
@Morzer: Okie-dokie.
schrodinger's cat
@gogol’s wife: Thanks! She has never been sick until now.
The Other Bob
@SatanicPanic:
My son’s birthday is today. We had a party Sat. so leaving the TV off covered tonight.
Bnad
A-fucking men to the original post.
michelle
I’m always surprised that people don’t understand this fact.
I must disagree with the overall point wrt guns.
I know ownership is down, but even one gun is one too many.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Redshift: Wishing you great luck.
michelle
Oh, and agree, wingers are way too much into the blood pr0n.
Just sick.
mikefromArlington
Usually after an al Qaida supported attack there is always a claim on a website somewhere and that’s been missing here which leads me to speculate some homegrown nutcase was behind this.
David Koch
/fixed
reality-based
@schrodinger’s cat:
Dear SCH.C – when my darlin 15-yr-old Edith had the same problems – hiding, not eating, not pooping, seemed like she wanted to die- the vet xrays showed a ruptured disk near the end of her back, right up from the tail. After the enemas, and the fluids, etc -which didn’t help – he started her on steroids to reduce the inflammation of the bulging disc, see if that cleared up her bowels.
two days and 3 steroid pills later, she was back to her old self, jumping on things and all, and eating like a horse. Took her off the steroids, as she seemed well – that was 6 months ago, no recurrence, she’s fine –
just another avenue to consider. (I assume your vet told you about the Gerber’s babyfood trick? Strained chicken – num, num! )
I’ll think well-kitty thoughts –
SIA
@Redshift: I wish you very good luck!
Jim C
@SIA:
Don’t know if you know this, but they recently aired a new 3 episode season of Foyle’s War, set in the early Cold War, in the UK.
Yutsano
@burnspbesq: TAS has nothing open in CA. Trust me, I looked. Then again, I have the possibility of Hawai’i, and if that happens to shake out, I might have to just accept. If I can figure out how much it will cost to move my car there. If not, New Mexico is an easier move. Plus, CHILES!!
Groucho48
@Alison:
A solid thriller. It did bother me that it kept the tension levels high by introducing a whole chain of contrived last minute emergencies. I wish it would have had confidence enough to focus on something besides tension.
Fluke bucket
@Alison: recommend 100%. I was pleasantly surprised.
SIA
@Jim C: Yep, I was really happy when I learned that. Can’t get enough of that series.
Southern Beale
Well, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam is probably thankful this story will get lost amid all the marathon news. Talk about being a lucky ducky:
I’m sure this will go completely unnoticed … for a little while, at least….
reality-based
oh, and hooray for JC’s sanity –
a great editorial, somewhat on point, was from the LA Time’s great former columnist, Rosa Brooks, after the Virginia tech massacre in 2007- titled “We’re not all victims.”
We’re Not All victims
Chris
In other news, new Pope to carry through with Benedict’s crackdown on American liberal nun groups.
SIA
@schrodinger’s cat: Check out this site.
Eta this link is correct: http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/constipation.html
Yutsano
@Southern Beale: Curiouser and curiouser, said Alice. I always said revenue officers get to have all the fun.
Suffern ACE
@Southern Beale: I go to Love’s when I’m in truckstop country. How can you go to flying J when there’s a station called Love’s available?
CaseyL
@Yutsano: You might be leaving us Seattlites? Nooooo!
I watched The Good Wife last night, so tonight I’ll catch up on Mad Men. Oh, and Castle’s on tonight, too. I watch too much TV these days – quite a change from when I would go weeks without tuning in at all.
Too much good stuff on nowadays. 500 channels and, yeah, most of ’em have crap reality shows and endless reruns of ancient series… but it’s kind of awesome how much high quality programming is available.
aimai
@Mnemosyne:
I’m with Mnemo, and I’m local. I’m not afraid at all–for christ’s sake when your time is up your time is up. But I’m mad as hell. I WISH the government had the fucking balls to take everyone’s guns and lock up all the skin heads and the lunatic right wing gang bangers. At the same time that an 8 year old boy was killed here in Boston a 9 year old girl was shot in the face by her mother’s boyfriend, a decorated Iraq war vet, who was practicing his quick draw with a loaded gun inside the house. Shot right through the wall and into her face while she played outside. We are all at risk all the time from these asshole gun owners–there are entire states where I wouldn’t risk going or sending my children to. We are being held hostage by our own lunatic fringe. I don’t give a flying fuck about the inconvenience of taking off my shoes in the airport–its security theater and completely meaningless. But the NRA and LaPierre and those assholes are costing us our lives, wasting our political air, and leaving corpses all over this country–suicides, children, accidental killers and we do nothing because of a misplaced cultural fear of a black planet and a liberal government.
Alison
Houston had to do a pitching change in the first inning after the A’s went up 6-0 with one out. I feel bad for that guy.
EmanG
Win the War on Terror. Stop being afraid.
SIA
@reality-based: Excellent, thanks.
ericblair
@Redshift:
Best of luck. Don’t know your role or the position, but I guess my advice is don’t forget the forest for the trees: make them know that you know how projects usually go, what’s usually not a problem, what the critical issues usually are, and how to keep things on track. Gives them (or me, anyway) warm fuzzies that the person can be trusted with a good deal of independence and won’t run things off the rails with some half-baked ideas. You’ve been there, got the T-shirt, and You Got This.
Yutsano
@CaseyL: Well…even if I leave I’m coming back for a few weeks sometime in October. I decided that it will be much easier for all parties concerned if I do the hip surgery and part of the rehab in Seattle then recoup at the ranch. And nothing is anywhere near set in stone, plus if I play my cards right I might be back in a year or even sooner if something opens up. But yeah, I need to get my career kicked into gear here, and the move to Albuquerque or Honolulu will do that nicely. Plus I’ll get a two bedroom place so I’m more than amenable to visitors! :)
AliceBlue
@Alison:
It’s a very well crafted movie that I enjoyed. And Ben Affleck’s 1970’s hair/beard/porn ‘stache combo was pretty hot.
Morzer
@aimai:
Right. We can find the political will (and the money!) to invade the wrong country at the behest of Princeling Shrub, but we can’t manage to sort out problems that any other modern democracy would find a way to fix yesterday. I am sick of the Democrats fleeing for cover at the very idea that government could be proactive and a force for good. It’s time to stand up and say clearly and forcefully that the GOP’s 30 years of ideological warfare and gross dishonesty have led us to a bad place – and we aren’t going to get out of it by letting them tell the same old lies time and time again. It’s time to pick up our burdens and make things work in this country again.
Jane2
@schrodinger’s cat: Sorry your kitty is sick. Just ailing or vet-visit required?
Origuy
I watched Gabriel Iglesias’ Comedy Central special last night, the second hour. The first half hour is all about his tour of the Middle East. They told him that thanks to YouTube, he’s the second most popular comedian in Saudi Arabia. It’s very funny and he has a lot to say about the way Fox News portrays the Middle East.
brendancalling
I am sitting at a British ex-pat bar after a six mile run, enjoying a Boddingtons, cursing terrorists, and enjoying very thick, decidedly not London accents.
gnomedad
@Spaghetti Lee:
Here ya go:
KEEP CAHM AND CARRY AHN
Heliopause
No we’re not. We’re the least safe we’ve ever been. We can’t board public transportation without state of the art scanners inspecting our crotches. Can we casually go to Times Square without being watched? Will we be able to casually stroll down to the Boston Marathon next year without pat downs, metal detectors, or trained observers checking our every move?
They won and we lost. Get used to it. At least I only have to put up with it for maybe thirty years before I die, you younger people are well and truly fucked for a long, long time.
Suffern ACE
@Heliopause: who won?
burnspbesq
@Southern Beale:
Hoo-boy. The only way that happens is if they are serving a search warrant, and the only way that happens is if there are strong indications of serious, criminal hanky-panky.
Moar popcorn, pleeze.
burnspbesq
@Heliopause:
I don’t think your definition of “safe” is the consensus definition of “safe.”
Or, put another way, “safe from what?”
Redshift
@ericblair: Thanks, that’s good advice.
Suffern ACE
@burnspbesq: the governor refused to place his flying j assets in a blind trust while in office. I’m thinking that that might not have been a wise decision.
RoonieRoo
Thank you Cole. I needed to read that. It definitely helped.
JustRuss
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): I once met a cousin of my wife’s who owned a spread in Arizona next to one owned by Sir Paul and Linda (she was still alive at the time). She only had nice things to say about them, and frankly, she wouldn’t be my first pick for a neighbor. I figure if Sir Paul could be civil to her, he must be OK.
Mike in NC
@Morzer: “Prague Fatale” is in my reading pile.
trollhattan
@sonofsamantha:
Meet the new Derf
Same as the old Derf
rinse, repeat…
Spaghetti Lee
@gnomedad:
Normally I hate that meme-it’s just so damn overused-but it felt appropriate that time.
Violet
Thanks for this post, John.
Anne Laurie
@Redshift: Fingers crossed for you!
gnomedad
@trollhattan:
Looks to me like Derp just restated Cole’s point and then gave him shit for making it.
LanceThruster
Mr. Rogers relavent to today…
http://www.dependablerenegade.com/.a/6a00d8341bf82953ef017eea47c8ec970d-pi
joel hanes
@Redshift:
Good luck.
In my experience (as an interviewee) and by my standards (as an interviewer), the answer
“I don’t really know. I studied that 20 years ago and haven’t needed it since. I think it kinda goes like this, and I’m sure I could pick it up if I needed it on the job”
is a much stronger answer than trying to pretend that you _really_ _do_ _know_.
Bluffing is a fatal habit in technology work, and there’s a good chance that the interviewer will detect it if you try to bluff.
Tell the truth first; then, if the interviewer encourages it, make an informed guess.
That said: not all interviewers are like me, and you may have better knowledge of the company you’re trying to join. Your mileage may vary; some settling of contents may occur during shipping and handling.
gmann
@Larkspur: @Larkspur:
@BAtFFP: Congratulations on the first paycheck. Go buy some amazing hiking boots; you can’t go wrong with really fine boots.
And get a couple pair of GREAT Sox
Shadow's Mom
I caught an episode of Orphan Black; it was rather good. Tonight, I’ve been watching the premiere of Defiance and working.
I am fortunate; health good, income comfortable, healthy and happy dog. What more could I ask?
Happily, my friend who lives in Boston and runs marathons has reported on Facebook that he is fine; was close enough to blast to be unnerved, but no injuries.
Wishing well to all of you and your families
Death Panel Truck
@JWL: It wasn’t Larry Mondello who died, it was Lumpy Rutherford.
Fred
In the “Newsweek” issue after 9/11/2001 some douschbag penned an editorial raving that america should, “fly into a purple rage”. He stated that anyone who tried to understand the terrorists was, “too philosophical” for him. And of course with Dubaya in the White House it was a cynch the A-Hole would get his wish. And it worked out so well too.
I don’t know who these criminals are but THEY ARE CRIMINALS!!! Catch ’em, try ’em, convict ’em and throw ’em in the slammer for the rest of their lives*. We are a nation of laws and we know how to do this.
No doubt some folks will scream for the death penalty but I think that is too good for them or him or her. Stone walls, a hard bed and bad food for life is a more fitting justice. Incommunicado too, if you please.
Hillary Rettig
Brilliant, John.
Pseudonym
Huh, Glenzilla is even linking to you.
lojasmo
@Morzer:
Thanks. I intermittent fast. I seldom eat breakfast. Lunch is typically my only meal, though I sometimes eat a timy dinner.
lojasmo
@Alison:
argo was very good.
lojasmo
@liberal:
Primal/Paleo.
Basically, no grains or sugar. By grains, I mean Rice, Wheat, barley, oats, corn, and legumes.
So, basically, veggies, meat, eggs, cheese, whole milk, and fruit. Olive oil, avacado oil, coconut oil, but no vegetable oils, because “vegetable oil” is largely corn.
StringOnAStick
@lojasmo: Stick with it, my friend. I made this same dietary change in August; migraines are now completely gone, arthritis is 5% of what it used to be, and I’m off antidepressants for the first time in 10 years and feeling great. There are plenty of other health improvements that I have noticed but I don’t need to list everything, Ijust want to provide some encouragement. I had previously been flirting with metabolic syndrome and bad things like high triglycerides, unhappy cholesterol, pre-diabetes; all that is resolved and my doc is thrilled with the results, as am I. Obviously I have some level of sensitivity to wheat/gluten because within a week of cutting those, my knee/joint pain dropped a HUGE amount and my ears could equilibrate to elevation changes again (no more transtympanic tubes, so I can go snorkeling again!).
Any time I have wavered because a piece of bread looks too tasty, I read another of the many well-researched books on this topic and I become even more committed. Plus, I simply can’t argue with the results – I feel better than I have felt in decades. Just be aware that there will be a few people who are absolutely opposed to what you are doing, I guess because they love the FDA’s Food Pyramid/Plate/WhatEverTheHellItIsNow thing and you are violating the social order. Seriously. It basically ended the friendship I had with someone who was always a bit bossy for my tastes, but that was the final straw. She insists that I can’t live a healthy life without grains and that I must go back to eating the way that made me sick for years. Uh, right….
mclaren
Amen, Cole.
The most sensible logical response is to call for the immediately dismantlement of most of the post-9/11 American police state — because it clearly isn’t doing the job.
Shut down the TSA. It couldn’t prevent this bombing, so what use is it?
Shut down the DHS. It couldn’t detect or prevent this bombing, so it’s worthless.
End the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program. It didn’t alert anyone to this bombing, so it’s pointless.
Stop the harassment of incoming travelers from other countries. It obviously didn’t stop this act of terrorism, so it’s useless.
Stop sending drones overseas to murder children. That’s what causes bombings like this. Don’t like the bombing? Stop murdering their innocent women and children.
That’s the response we should get from the American people. The response we will get, of course, will be another infantile tantrum of fear and paranoia and more police state lunacy.
This is how democracy dies, folks. Not with a bang, but with a Fox News tantrum.
John JohnJohnJohn
I had a bit of a legal scare, someone called my mother saying they wanted to serve me with court papers. After an hour of trying to remember everything I’ve done for the past three years it turns out they were looking for my estranged father, rather than me. We share our last name, but he is Tom while I am John; I guess I can understand the mix up.
Jason
Have you ever seen Qi or Quite Interesting? Caught it on youtube (loads of episodes on there) and I’ve been hooked ever since.
Kyle M.
I have my final final of my first semester of vet school in a few hours. My brain hurts.
Mike
Who won the Boston marathon this year?
sean
@schrodinger’s cat: It was a motto of the British during WWII when the Germans were constantly bombing London.
nero22
The cia
nero22
The gov’t
Ali
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
That show about cars is Top Gear, and it is a very good British comedy.
virginia
The news coverage is exploitive and generally disgusting. Complete with all the maudlin catch phrases that have become part and parcel of the cable news media responses to these horrors.
Greenwald nailed it in his recent “Guardian” piece. And so have you with yours. Also, mclaren at 201 above. Let’s stop killing women and children abroad and see how that works for us.
It’s basically the horror/terror teevee feeding frenzy — and now we’ll have this holocaust just miles away from Waco used as ratings catnip. News is of course news but the wall to wall coverage desensitizes and dehumanizes. Numbing and numbingly stupid pundit commentary.
George A.
What a fucking asshole the writer of the linked-ed article, John Cole, is. He pays lip service to the “absolutely horrible” bombing in Boston. Notwithstanding, he makes the trite claim that “I’m safe. You are safe. 99.999999% of the country is safe.” So, Mr. Cole advises that we ignore the grim news and watch all the cool shows on TV like Mad Men and Breaking Bad. WTF? To “support” his “argument” Cole gives several contradictory reasons. First, if he pays attention to the bombings “the terrorists win.” Second, he claims “[t]he only thing we “need” to do is find the perpetrators, try them, convict them, and jail them … and I have full faith that our collected government agencies can do this” Third and last, this idiot “I refuse to give up another right to prevent another ‘Boston,’ but you know there will be calls to ‘do something.’ We still take our god damned shoes off at airports because of a failed attempt.” So, Mr. Cole, you go ahead and stay glued to your little TV set. That will show the Terrorists! After all, the government can handle things, so long as you don’t have to take of you shoes at the airport. And , yes, Mr. Cole, you are safe … for now.
Ranae Quick
I agree with you all but using gods name in vein!!
harry potter
I thought the Patriot Act was in response to 9/11… established by the Bush Administration…
Alessandra
There are valuable lessons to learn from this event, for sure. We created a short 1 minute video about the lesson we college students of Boston have learned through this past week. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d64Qdws6zZw