Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

How stupid are these people?

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

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

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Republicans do not trust women.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Giving up is unforgivable.

When we show up, we win.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

The press swings at every pitch, we don’t have to.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

All hail the time of the bunny!

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

Not rolling over. fuck you, make me.

We will not go back.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

You are here: Home / Music / Monday Evening Open Thread

Monday Evening Open Thread

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Especially for Sarah Proud & Tall, of course.

Several New Englanders on the Seattle Meetup thread wondered why there hasn’t been a Boston-area meetup, to which the answer is: If you want it to happen, make it so. Waltham was suggested as a restaurant-rich locale. Framingham, too also. I am not competent to take charge of such an event — not least because I don’t drink — but if people want to get together anywhere between Nashua and Framingham or thereabouts, I’ll do my best to show up. Thoughts?

What other summer delights are on the agenda for the evening?

Reader Interactions

96Comments

  1. 1.

    PsiFighter37

    Given it’s the hometown, and I’m sure there have to be some New York-based Juicers here, what kind of appetite is there for doing a BJ meetup in NYC, perhaps in late July or early August? Or, if that’s too soon, sometime post-Labor Day would also work…

  2. 2.

    JMG

    If you want a bar with real good food and a lively atmosphere, Curley’s near Park St. station downtown is a fine joint. But I don’t know where the population center of gravity is for people on this site in Greater Boston.

  3. 3.

    raven

    If you’s have done it in May when I got rained out on my fishing trip I coulda come!

  4. 4.

    Spaghetti Lee

    to which the answer is: If you want it to happen, make it so.

    CALL YOUR CONGRESSMEN!

  5. 5.

    NickT

    Rather to my surprise:

    http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/us-conference-of-bishops-calls-on-congress-to?ref=fpb

    The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) called on Congress Monday to quickly pass legislation protecting voting rights in the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent decision that gutted a centerpiece of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
    “We urge policymakers to quickly come together to reaffirm the bipartisan consensus that has long supported the Voting Rights Act and to move forward new legislation that assures modern and effective protections for all voters so that they may exercise their right and moral obligation to participate in political life,” Bishops Stephen Blaire of Stockton, Calif., and Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, said in a statement.

  7. 7.

    raven

    WASHINGTON — Increasingly frustrated by his dealings with President Hamid Karzai, President Obama is giving serious consideration to speeding up the withdrawal of United States forces from Afghanistan and to a “zero option” that would leave no American troops there after next year, according to American and European officials.

  10. 10.

    Mnemosyne

    Standing around waiting for your poaching water to reach the right temperature is about as exciting as watching paint dry. Especially when your only thermometer is a candy thermometer.

  11. 11.

    Mnemosyne

    @Spaghetti Lee:

    So is there a particular reason you’re refusing to call your congressman and senators to demand that the commander of Gitmo be fired?

  15. 15.

    different-church-lady

    If you want it to happen, make it so.

    I would, but congress won’t give me the funding.

  17. 17.

    srv

    Ted Cruz’s daddy tells it like it is:

    Speaking an event hosted by the conservative nonprofit FreedomWorks, Rafael Cruz described President Barack Obama as being “just like a dictator like Fidel Castro.”
    …
    Rafael Cruz then drew comparisons between policies of Castro and Obama, stating, “That same man who had been talking before about hope and change, now was talking about how the rich are evil, about how they oppress the people, and about the need to redistribute the wealth. He began attacking the press, curtail freedom of the press, attacking religion, confiscating property. Then he began instituting socialized medicine, and imposing wage-and-price controls. Basically reducing everybody’s salary to a least common denominator.”

  18. 18.

    TaMara (BHF)

    If there’s a chance it happens late Sept or early October, I would try to be there. Since I’ll be in Boston then anyway.

    Also, if you missed it earlier today, I’m doing a weekly menu/recipes/shopping list again. Going to shoot for Mondays. I had some people ask, so I thought, why not?

    Today’s menu starts with: Greek Wraps

  19. 19.

    Belafon (formerly anonevent)

    @Spaghetti Lee: I doubt my Congressmen in Texas would really do much to setup a BJ meet in Framingham.

    Because I went to college in Worcester, I actually know where that is.

  20. 20.

    NickT

    @srv:

    Wingnuts are bears of very little brain. Let them repeat this sort of nonsense as often as they like – and they’ll reduce themselves to a minority white resentment party that much sooner.

  23. 23.

    TheMightyTrowel

    A bit of random: I’m going to be in LA in early Oct for a wedding. I know there are lots of juicers in the area – any of them want to meet up?

  27. 27.

    PurpleGirl

    @efgoldman: Bar & Grills and pubs are better places because they will let you sit there as long as you like. If you keep getting something to drink or eat, all the better. Chain restaurants don’t work for these things because they want you gone quickly so they turn around the tables. (At least that’s been my experience with large groups.)

  28. 28.

    lahke

    @efgoldman:

    I’ll try to hit the open threads with it as often as possible. Right now we’re thinking Watch City Brewing Co on Wed July 17 at 6 or 7–I’ll take suggestions on time, and try for a head count early next week so that we can reserve a spot.

    Bethany Anne–so sorry for your cousin.

  30. 30.

    BethanyAnne

    And Mom told her boss about it this morning, and he offered “She needs to be more careful about who she leaves bars with”.

    So, you know, Balloon Juice ladies, there’s a tip for us.

  31. 31.

    ruemara

    @BethanyAnne: Man, fuck her boss with a rusty chainsaw. My prayers go out for her to recover and for her rapist to receive swift justice.

  33. 33.

    Anne Laurie

    @BethanyAnne: Ugh. “Suspicious” incident — ya think, Sheriff? (Yeah, I know, such is the law.) Glad they found your poor cousin in time, and hope she makes a swift & full recovery.

    Also that her boss and the guy(s) who attacked her end up sharing the same room in Hell, but that’s not as important, actually.

  34. 34.

    mai naem

    @BethanyAnne: Maybe the boss can get kidnapped, raped, beaten and thrown off the bridge and then his underlings can tell him how he should be careful about who he walks out of bars with. What an asshole but it’s Texas. Would not expect any less out of the shithole that is Texas.

    I had a client at work this weekend who called Obama a monkey and a rat, called blacks monkeys, called black women Aunt Jemimas(wtf?) and a million other comments. I just bit my tongue. I don’t think I’ve ever had somebody say crap like that to me to such an extent. I’ve heard racist comments but jeez this person was just wow.

  35. 35.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @BethanyAnne: My thoughts to your cousin, your family and you. Horrifying. It’s not right that I’d like your mother’s boss to suffer the same thing, so we can all wag our fingers at him to be more careful. Asshole.

  37. 37.

    Anne Laurie

    @lahke:

    Right now we’re thinking Watch City Brewing Co on Wed July 17 at 6 or 7–I’ll take suggestions on time, and try for a head count early next week so that we can reserve a spot.

    We can do Watch City next Wednesday, although probably not until 7pm or a bit later.

    Depending on who else wants to show up, earlier might be better for those commuting from a distance, and slightly later better for people coming from work?

    I’d love to do Solea sometime — maybe a second meetup later this summer, give people a chance to plan it into their calendars/budget?

    Whatever is decided, let me know (I’ll check back here, or you can email me) and I’ll front-page the details…

  42. 42.

    scav

    @BethanyAnne: What I wouldn’t give to be able to grasp his hand tightly. look deep into his eyes and agree, Yes, Texas Men are very very much to be entirely avoided — it’s well known but not nearly implemented enough.
    What a fine Gentlemen. I’m sure his Mamma would be mighty proud of his mouth and heart.

    ETA. my good thoughts are with your family, it,s just easier to be articulate about the troglodyte.

  43. 43.

    Rob R.

    Long time lurker (I think the last time I commented was to shit on Darrell) who lives about four blocks from Watch City Brewery… and you gotta do this when I’m on vacation in San Diego, dontcha?

    Watch City’s a good choice; good beer and bar food. If you don’t get the Hops Explosion IPA and the loaded nacho dip, you’re doing it wrong.

  44. 44.

    gbear

    @NickT:

    Wingnuts are bears of very little brain.

    If it’s not asking too much, could you please rephrase that statement just a bit? Thanks.

  46. 46.

    PurpleGirl

    @mai naem:

    called black women Aunt Jemimas(wtf?)

    Aunt Jemima was a marketing symbol and brand name of pancake/waffle mixes and frozen product and maple syrup. She was an older black woman (slave) with a head scarf. The image was supposedly based on what house servants looked like in the old South — think Mammy in Gone With The Wind.

  51. 51.

    Citizen_X

    @scav: No, better to ask, “So…what are you saying? That YOU’RE the one who did this?”

    And then knee him in the balls.

  52. 52.

    BethanyAnne

    I just hope that she isn’t pregnant. Both my sister and my niece were impregnated by rapists. Hope hope she isn’t.

  53. 53.

    Mnemosyne

    @BethanyAnne:

    If she lived in a civilized state, they would have given her Plan B at the hospital. She’s probably already been given medication to minimize any possible HIV exposure (which I found out on teevee is now standard practice) but, you know, God forbid she should try to avoid becoming pregnant with her rapist’s baby.

    ETA: Though, sad as it is, the fact that she was brought in half-dead by an ambulance would make it more likely that even a “pro-life” nurse would give her a dose of Plan B since it’s hard to argue that she’s just a slut with a broken condom making up a fake rape story.

  54. 54.

    BethanyAnne

    impregnated by rapists. that sounds off. well, it is off, but I don’t know how to say it differently. I probably shouldn’t say it at all. but it’s true. both at parties. one was drugged at 14, the other was “just” drunk at 22. fucking life.

  55. 55.

    BethanyAnne

    @Mnemosyne: she’s in enough trauma that she probably didn’t get pregnant. They had to remove her spleen, so she’s already been in one surgery. I guess that lowers the odds?

  57. 57.

    Violet

    @Mnemosyne: Saw your reply on the Seattle meetup thread. I’ll let you know what my Endo says and how my bloodwork looks. I’ve lost a fair amount of weight in the three months since I’ve seen him, so that’ll probably come up–I get weighed every time I go.

    I’m making a list of things to ask him. I’m going to follow up on his wheat comment from last visit.

  58. 58.

    mpbruss

    Wow, I live in Waltham for three years, and faithfully lurk BJ for at least two of them, and then I move to Michigan and y’all do a meetup right down the street from me. Oh well. I’m too cool for Watch City anyways. Go to The Gaff!!

  60. 60.

    Mnemosyne

    @BethanyAnne:

    Honestly, I don’t know all that much about it. I know you’re not supposed to have surgery or be x-rayed while you’re pregnant because of potential harm to the embryo/fetus, which is what makes me wonder if they gave her a dose of Plan B along with everything else just to prevent that disastrous potential complication.

    You’d think it would be standard procedure, but it is Texas.

  61. 61.

    Mnemosyne

    @Violet:

    I can’t remember, did you say you have an endocrinologist because of diabetes, or is it something else? I only ask because some of the bicycling magazines I read seem to have a big “cycling cures (type 2) diabetes!” publicity push this month. I’m trying to convince my co-worker with Type 2 to get a bicycle.

  64. 64.

    Violet

    @Mnemosyne: I see my Endocrinologist for my thyroid issue–Hashimoto’s, autoimmune thyroid disease. I’m generally hypothyroid, but with Hashi’s it can kind of fluctuate so you can go from euthyroid (normal) to hypo (low thyroid) and occasionally to hyperthyroid (overactive). My Endo is great at managing it–keeps a close eye on it and likes my TSH to be lower than many doctors do, which is a more cutting edge way of treating it.

    I don’t think cycling can cure Type 2 diabetes, but it could help someone lose weight/get in shape and thus have an impact. Maybe in some cases the impact could be big enough that it could be “cured”. Type 2 is more of a lifestyle diabetes, so if you change your lifestyle, I guess it can have a big impact.

    Interesting your doc discouraged you from the gluten-free diet. I about fell out of the chair when my Endo said he wasn’t a fan of wheat. I’m going to find out more about that when I see him.

  65. 65.

    burnspbesq

    @MoeLarryAndJesus:

    People who have an interest in Canadian events have long since learned that the Internet can bring the full array of Canadian media to their desktop.

    Or, put another way, if you can’t rely on the US media to tell you what’s going on in the US, why is it anything but irrational to rely on the US media to tell you what’s going on in some other country.

  66. 66.

    Mnemosyne

    @Violet:

    Ah, okay. We don’t have any thyroid issues in my family, but my mother-in-law has had trouble with hers for years. Since you have an auto-immune problem and gluten is tied to auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, maybe that’s why your endo is not a fan of it.

    Even the article I read didn’t say it “cured” her Type 2, but apparently her lifestyle change (exercise + diet) was sufficient to let her stop taking medication.

    My friend who went vegan in January has a family history of Type 2 (including borderline gestational diabetes with both of her pregnancies), which was one of the reasons she did it. And now she and her husband are running 5K races, too, which is cracking me up. So not the type.

  67. 67.

    Elizabelle

    Watching a Billy Wilder movie on TCM, The Fortune Cookie.

    Some great lines.

    Re Abraham Lincoln: “Great president, lousy lawyer.”

    Patient to doctor about to give him a shot: “Be careful there.”
    Doctor: “I have to be. I’m on probation.”

  68. 68.

    Punchy

    @NickT: So I should fully expect Bill Donahue to fully support the Dems efforts and excoriate the House GOP for obstruction on this issue, right?

  70. 70.

    Violet

    @Mnemosyne: We didn’t have thyroid issues in my family that I was aware of, although a cousin has been diagnosed hypothyroid in the last year or so. One side of my family does have autoimmune issues, but they all present differently. No one seems to have the same thing and not everyone on that side of the family has an autoimmune issue.

    I suspect you’re right about the gluten, but I’m eager to ask him why he’s not a fan. Maybe get some insights into some new thinking on it in the medical community.

  71. 71.

    Mnemosyne

    @Elizabelle:

    That one is pretty melancholy, even for Wilder, with a little touch of sentimentality. But it works. First on-screen pairing of Lemmon and Matthau, IIRC.

    G started re-watching A New Leaf this weekend and, damn it, now I have to re-watch it, too. You wouldn’t think that Matthau would be convincing as an upper-class WASP, but he manages it.

  73. 73.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Mnemosyne: to say nothing of being a romantic lead and the nephew of James Coco, ten years his junior. I love that movie. Now that I think of it, Arthur ripped off A New Leaf in a few ways didn’t it? Race car driving playboy wastrel being counseled by a wry, superior British butler

  74. 74.

    Mnemosyne

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I was thinking of Arthur, too (I had to leave during the honeymoon to go grocery shopping). There were definitely some strong similarities, though obviously the stories come to somewhat different endings.

  75. 75.

    something fabulous

    @Roger Moore: Me too! Great to meet y’all. I’d recommend somewhere a bit quieter this time… and I’d show up earlier. (Unrelated points, just stream o’ consciousness.) It was so fun to put some names to faces, and to go somewhere totally new!

  79. 79.

    Violet

    Indiana wants to double down on stopping same sex marriage:

    Indiana lawmakers have revamped a 1997 law that makes furnishing false information on a marriage license a class D felony. Beginning July 1, 2014, a same-sex couple applying for a marriage license in the state of Indiana will be guilty of a Level 6 felony, punishable by 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine. The new law also makes it a Class B Misdemeanor for a clergyman, judge, mayor, city clerk or town clerk-treasurer to perform a same-sex marriage, punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Any clerk who issues a license to a same-sex couple would also be guilty of a Class B Misdemeanor.

    That is hard core. Punishing the people applying for the license and the clergy members? Wow.

  81. 81.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Elizabelle: Check out The Sunshine Boys, and if you’re not put off by movies that scream 1970s like a Norman Lear sitcom marathon, the two he made with Glenda Jackson, House Calls and Hopscotch.

  83. 83.

    scav

    @Violet: Next up? Fines for anything above a second date. Small government, so they’ll opt for bounties to snitches or maybe drones and spycams rather than hiring people for outright sweeps. Then they’ll tent their hands in prayer, roll up their eyes to heaven and mouth the tradional sneers about them Homo-sex-You-alls not being able to manage long-term relationships.

  86. 86.

    Violet

    @scav: Don’t forget bringing in the paramilitary forces to shut down gay clubs, Gotta take those toys out for a spin every so often to keep the public in line.

  88. 88.

    NotMax

    @Elizabelle

    Walter Matthau?

    Fail-Safe
    The Odd Couple
    The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

    One of the tragedies of filmdom was the removal due to illness of Jack Benny during the making of The Sunshine Boys, leading to the replacement of the original cast, Red Skelton & Benny, with George Burns and Matthau. The latter’s performance in it does rise above serviceable, but too often slops over from curmudgeonly to downright nasty, and is nearly devoid of any sense of teamwork with Burns.

  89. 89.

    mai naem

    Hopscotch is a good movie with a really good ending

    @PurpleGirl: Okay, I just think of pancake syrup when I hear Aunt Jemima and I don’t even know if there’s a pancake syrup called Aunt Jemima.
    @Rob R.: Maybe you should get a SD meet up while you’re there and get Tbogg to show up.

  90. 90.

    TheMightyTrowel

    Parenthetical aside: I wish I knew anyone IRL who watches Teen Wolf. This season is sooo goood and my only outlet is to gush with strangers over the internet because everyone I’m friends with in Meat Space goes a bit cross-eyed when I start to describe it.

  91. 91.

    Amir Khalid

    @mai naem:
    There used to be a brand of toothpaste sold here in the Far East called “Darkie”: the brand mascot was a black man in formal wear, with a top hat, and smiling to show a mouthful of big beautiful teeth. It was only in the late 1980s that the brand mascot was redrawn as a man of indeterminate race, and the toothpaste itself renamed “Darlie”. As I recall, that was in response to complaints not from Asia — where African people were and are seldom encountered outside the bigger cities, but racism towards them is surprisingly common — but from the West.

  93. 93.

    Antonius

    I work near Moody street so I’ll be there, though rarely heretofore more than a lurker.

  94. 94.

    lojasmo

    @BethanyAnne:

    Jesus Christ. That’s the worst thing I’ve heard today.

    Hope her recovery continues apace, and the perpetrator is caught.

  96. 96.

    StringOnAStick

    @Violet: The docs I see for my joint issues totally hate on gluten, period. Considering that I was contemplating a knee replacement last spring and cutting gluten plus having a few prolotherapy treatments to my knees has me back to nearly 100%, I’m inclined to stay with my no-wheat-ever status. Cutting the wheat cut my joint pain by 75%, the prolo got me back to where I was 10-15 years ago.

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