Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

Every decision we make has lots of baggage with it, known or unknown.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

Giving up is unforgivable.

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

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

“Loving your country does not mean lying about its history.”

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Saturday Morning Open Thread: Happy Summer Solstice!

Reader Interactions

181Comments

  1. 1.

    raven

    Athfest is in full swing with Kishi Bashi headlining tonight and Elf Power and Ruby The Rabbitfoot are also on the free stage. It’s hot as hell but it always is for this summer treat. We may or may not go depending on how much the lady gets prepared for camp. We have decided that, if we go, we won’t take the dogs. That would be a first.

    http://athfest.com/

  2. 2.

    Betty Cracker

    Later this morning, the mister and I will prepare trays of stuffed shells to take up to his folks’ place later today. We made the sauce last night. The family is gathered there because of my father-in-law’s illness. It’s not a happy time as no good outcome is expected, but it is nice to see everyone. They are good people. I lucked out marrying into that bunch.

  3. 3.

    Ken

    Start out the day by playing in a memorial/fundraising golf event. Wrap it up with cocktails/cookout at inlaws. Weather is forecast to be beautiful in Buffalo (seriously), so looking forward to today’s festivities.

  5. 5.

    evap

    I’m having a whiskey/whisky tasting party this evening. In keeping with the British Isles theme, I’m making scotch eggs and angels on horseback for snacks in between sips. But first, I’m off for a long run so I deserve all the food and drink I will consume this evening.

  6. 6.

    Betty Cracker

    @WereBear: Thanks, and you’re right about sharing the bad and the good.

    @evap: Now that sounds like fun! Scotch eggs I know about, but what are “angels on horseback”?

  7. 7.

    gelfling545

    I’m going to a “creative destruction” party. My daughter & family have bought a rather sweet bungalow style house built in the 20’s on which the second story, probably originally the attic, has been divided up into a series of weird little rooms. The walls are coming down to make room for more useable space and she has invited family & friends to bring a hammer & tear down that wall. I’m in charge of food: the key, along with alcohol, to getting a turn out from our crowd. I imagine I’ll also be the child herder.

  9. 9.

    Mustang Bobby

    My ten-minute play “Last Exit” has been chosen to be part of the Miami 1-Acts Festival at the New Theatre in Miami July 4-6. That makes two years in a row I got a play selected. I’m on a streak.

    Happy solstice everyone!

  11. 11.

    NotMax

    @Cervantes

    For gatherings where people don’t care for oysters or other seafood, I’ve put out bacon-wrapped water chestnuts instead and they’ve been quite successfully received and devoured.

  12. 12.

    max

    What’s on the agenda for the day, especially in the picnics-and-parties line?

    Gloomy dismal rain, apparently. (I went outside to photograph the brand new fawns eating the lawn, and looked over and asshole cat looked up at me – and then he got all confused because he was trying to eat this bird (starling, I think) he had just bagged, but obviously, I am the morning dinner delivery service, and he froze for a good fifteen seconds. He not only isn’t the brightest bulb in the box, he’s kind of the burned out bulb in the box. He finally decided he likes his food cooked better than raw, at which point he sauntered over to try and rub his wet fur all over me.)

    max
    [‘I may finally have the chance to dig holes in the ground today, depending on exactly how much it rained. Joy!’]

  13. 13.

    satby

    Taking my Brazilian ESL student for a walking tour of downtown Chicago, weather should be perfect if it doesn’t rain. He’s been very vague about any sights he would like to see, so I’m going to be making up an itinerary on the fly. But it should be fun.

  16. 16.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @NotMax: Bacon wrapped dates. Oh my dog they are divine, sweet and salty. My mother in law used to make ’em for me all the time when we went over.

    Speaking of which, having a paella party in STL. A friend who has spent almost as much time in Spain as my wife has been wanting to learn how to make it and my wife and her are finally making it happen. The wife couldn’t find her mother’s recipe (it’s here…. somewhere… I know it is) so she is winging it by memory. Spent all last night cooking down the broth and prepping the other ingredients. Made the house smell heavenly. We will go over to Rita’s house today and they will finish putting it together.

    Took some doing getting all the ingredients together here in fly-over country and we can only hope they are up to snuff, unlike all you coasters.

  18. 18.

    TheMightyTrowel

    Happy winter solstice from Down Under! It was gloriously sunny today so I celebrated by… cleaning the house. Mr. Trowel is up in the UK this month so it’s a bit subdued around here. Now i’m experimenting with baking… I’m pulling together a highly experimental pineapple upside down carrot cake. I got some nice stout though, so I can toast the longest night properly.

  19. 19.

    Cervantes

    @OzarkHillbilly: I am sure it will be delicious.

    And re bacon-wrapped dates: these are sometimes called “devils on horseback.”

    Don’t ask me why.

  22. 22.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby: That will be fun. Looking at the old home town thru new eyes always let’s one see again that which was taken for granted. Gotta eat Greek. Some of the best gyros I ever ate were in Chicago.

  24. 24.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Cervantes: Because they are devilishly delicious! and so easy to make.

    Hey, @Betty Cracker: neighbor of yours?

    Hot grits attack leads to attempted murder charge

    Funny how throwing a pan of grits in someones face*** can get one immediately charged with attempted murder in Florida, but shooting an unarmed teenager??? We have to investigate that!

    ***as funny as it sounds the man has 2nd and 3rd degree burns and that is nothing to laugh about.

  25. 25.

    Cervantes

    @satby: It’s a national landmark:

    No single event has influenced the history of labor in Illinois, the United States, and even the world, more than the Chicago Haymarket Affair. It began with a rally on May 4, 1886, but the consequences are still being felt today. Although the rally is included in American history textbooks, very few present the event accurately or point out its significance.

    More here.

  26. 26.

    Betty Cracker

    @OzarkHillbilly: Gyad, that’s covered in The Guardian? I guess they’re snickering at our lunacy across the pond too. I think it was the grease that made it an attempted murder charge. Grits alone would have been just assault.

  29. 29.

    Cervantes

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    as funny as it sounds the man has 2nd and 3rd degree burns and that is nothing to laugh about

    Raymond Chandler:

    It is not funny that a man should be killed, but it is sometimes funny that he should be killed for so little, and that his death should be the coin of what we call civilization.

  30. 30.

    Botsplainer

    Sadly, there’s never a psychotic mass shooter around a location where indiscriminate killing would do some verifiable social good.

    http://m.dailykos.com/stories/1307957

    The “American Courage: Our Commitment to a Free Society” was held at an exclusive resort where something like $870,000 was spent in part to ensure that no interloper could possibly sneak in. The golf course was closed to the public, as were bars and restaurants. There were security checkpoints at every entrance. Staff checked cars at the gate, more staff checked individuals entering the resort, and the attendees were asked to abide by a no cell-phone policy. That’s a helluva lot of secrecy and excessive restrictions for a gathering about creating a free society. But the Koch definition of “free society” has little resemblance to how the rest of us would define it.

  31. 31.

    Schlemizel

    It is supposed to be nice today instead of raining like every other day for the last week and a half. I may stop work on the ark and go for a bike ride if it is. At the moment it is overcast so I am not holding out hope.

    Summer Solstice, that means from here on the days get shorter; winter is on its way.

  35. 35.

    Schlemizel

    By the way I forgot the interesting tidbit my wingnut worker told me yesterday.

    ISIS is now in possession of all the WMDs that we invaded Iraq for. They were just so well hidden we could not find them but now have been given to ISIS. Its getting to the point I can’t even talk to him any more.

  37. 37.

    danielx

    Family birthday party for the daughter unit’s 21st…we were at mouseworld in Orlando on her actual birthday, having dinner in Cinderella’s castle no less, so she is very fired up about seeing aunts uncles cousins etc, some of whom she hasn’t seen since Christmas. Usual fare of hamburgers, Italian sausages and so forth, although there will be Key lime pie instead of birthday cake. I’ts gonna be hot, high of 86 and miserable humidity, so TWO fans on the back porch for the benefit of guests, in particular my dearly beloved 84 year auntie.

  38. 38.

    Johannes

    @Betty Cracker: Last week, we went down south for a sad occasion, la Caterina’s aunt’s funeral. Tough, but leavened by the warmth, kindness, and quirkiness of this extended family I’ve been lucky enough to be embraced by. My sympathy to you and the Mister.

  39. 39.

    WereBear

    @Cervantes: Ah. I’m Paleo, and get the un-nitrated kind. So it’s good for me!

    Saturated fat and cholesterol are being completely rethought. Remember, Dr. Keyes, the father of fat demonization, had data from 22 countries, but only included 7.

    Because that was better for his theory.

  40. 40.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Cervantes: Good quote. I think I’ll paste it to my wall of quotes.

    @Cervantes:

    (Alas, bacon is not really something people should ingest.)

    True, it is suitable only for Gods. That is why they made it “bad” for humans. Oh well, I gotta die of something.

    If under “Cause of Death” my autopsy says, “Bacon”, I will have died a happy man.

  41. 41.

    Valdivia

    Watching futbol and getting over my jet-lag on this rainy day in DC. Wishing I had stayed in Oslo for the midsummer celebration. Those white nights are incredible.
    Happy solstice everyone.

  45. 45.

    hildebrand

    The daughter is testing for her purple belt in karate this afternoon. I always enjoy the sensei’s little homilies on confidence and inner-strength before the tests commence – good stuff (he takes this very seriously, and thus, so do the students).

  47. 47.

    Valdivia

    @WereBear: it really is amazing there in summer and Midsummer is the longest day so they celebrate in style. :)
    Oslo or Helsinki (or Sweden where they celebrate for a few days) would be great places to experience it. I must confess after being there I’d move in a heartbeat. :D

  49. 49.

    schrodinger's cat

    Allergies are making my life miserable. I am taking non-prescription Zyrtec. Any home remedies that I might try?
    Going to make a vodka cocktail with amrut kokam tonight and grill some kebabs.

    *Kokum has a somewhat similar flavor profile to cranberries. I lubs me some tart things.

  50. 50.

    Baud

    @Botsplainer:

    But the Koch definition of “free society” has little resemblance to how the rest of us would define it.

    Freedom for them means freedom from the rest of us.

  51. 51.

    Morzer

    @Cervantes:

    But the sorrow of a life without bacon would kill me quicker anyway. So, looked at rationally, bacon is extending my life beyond its natural span.

  52. 52.

    Valdivia

    @schrodinger’s cat: there’s an over the counter nasal spray now. Naso-something. I’ve used the prescription version and it really really helps with the breathing allergies.

  53. 53.

    tesslibrarian

    We are headed (a bit late) to the farmer’s market, pick up a couple of items for a niece’s 7th birthday, and then head home to clean wildly, as we have one of our oldest and closest friends coming tomorrow afternoon.

    A day of cleaning isn’t ideal for a Saturday; I have a friend on the Kids’ Stage at Athfest this afternoon that I’ll miss. But somehow it doesn’t feel like a chore when cleaning the house for a dear friend rather than an inlaw or to make up for your own procrastination after a few busy weeks.

    Also, if you haven’t seen Borgen yet, I really recommend it. Netflix has season 1; we just watched the first 3 episodes, and love it.

  56. 56.

    Juju

    @schrodinger’s cat: Try Allegra. I find that works better for me than Zyrtec or Claritin, though I have all three and take a break from Allegra from time to time with the other two antihistamines.

  58. 58.

    Comrade Dread

    I think I need thicker window shades for my kids’ rooms. Since the days have been getting longer, they’ve been getting up earlier and earlier. This morning my daughter wakes me up on a Saturday morning at 5:58.

    Dad is not a happy guy this morning.

  60. 60.

    Cervantes

    @OzarkHillbilly: That Chandler passage is from The Simple Art of Murder, a version of which you can find here.

    As for all you advocates of suicide by bacon, well, you pays your money and you takes your choice, I suppose.

  62. 62.

    Cervantes

    @Comrade Dread: The little blighters can be demanding, it’s true, but, in less time than you know, you will miss these days. Your heart will break but (or rather, because) there will be no going back.

  65. 65.

    NotMax

    @Cervantes

    Not a particular fan of bacon other than as an accent – the taste doesn’t do much for me one way or another, the saltiness is what is really offputting.

    Growing up in a household in which bacon was served maybe once or twice a year may have something to do with being generally meh about it, too.

    But resigned myself long ago to being outvoted on the merits of bacon by the vast majority of foodies.

  66. 66.

    D58826

    @Schlemizel: AP report that the Syrian Air Force is working with the Iraqi’s to bomb Mosul. Why oh why do we want to get wrapped up in that incestuous can of worms again. There is an old joke about not being able to tell the players w/o a score card. I’m not sure there is a large enough piece of paper to untangle the players in that part of the world.

  67. 67.

    imonlylurking

    More garden work. I have almost everything planted but I need to finish my brand new fancy-pants three-tier raised bed. Then it will become home for the spaghetti squash. I need to build proper supports for the cucumbers also. I planted them on Wednesday, before the deluge, and today it is already sunny out. They are going to explode.

  70. 70.

    the Conster

    Absolutely glorious day today in the Boston area. I’ve got a wedding to go to this afternoon of the daughter of some old dear friends – this is the day they ordered because it’s outside. No humidity all, so getting my hair to behave won’t require half a pound of product and a heating iron.

  71. 71.

    WereBear

    @NotMax: I recommend a book called Death by Food Pyramid when it comes to such a highly individual topic. Turns out, we all have different collections of enzymes which makes my healthy diet not necessarily someone else’s healthy diet.

    I have a family history of diabetes and it turns out I get along great with fat and meat, but horribly with whole grains and starchy vegetables. My blood pressure, A1c, and good cholesterol numbers improve when I eat the opposite of current dietary advice. And that is in the midst of great change itself as decades of badly done science come to light, as it often does.

    If it works, don’t break it. If it doesn’t work, fix it.

  72. 72.

    TheMightyTrowel

    FYI… pineapple upside down carrot cake is an excellent invention and I highly recommend it. Nom nom nom

  74. 74.

    Morzer

    @WereBear:

    My opinion is that our understanding of how food and individual genetic makeups interact is still at a very primitive stage. We have tried taking a one size fits all approach – and it’s obviously flawed. I suspect that a good part of the future of medical research will be figuring out how to tailor diet to individuals.

  76. 76.

    Cervantes

    @schrodinger’s cat: This won’t help with allergies but here are three books that may interest you:

    Padma Desai, Breaking Out, MIT Press, 2012.
    Wendy Doniger, The Hindus: An Alternative History, Viking, 2009.
    Ramachandra Guha, Gandhi Before India, Knopf Doubleday, 2013.

    Re the third author … he’s the one whose article on Gandhi we discussed briefly here before.

  77. 77.

    WereBear

    I used to comment under WereBear (iPod touch) because its “helpful” ways made me look like a third grader in print. I can’t get up because there’s two cats in my lap and I don’t like to run down my laptop battery past 20%.

    But this is why I’m astonished at people who declare themselves content with a smartphone or tablet. They just must not write enough to be driven mad by it.

  78. 78.

    Morzer

    @Baud:

    A bacon jihadi? Next you’ll be telling me that she doesn’t worship the Holy Trinity of Reagan, Budweiser and Cigarettes!

  82. 82.

    WereBear

    @Morzer: So true! Turns out a component of my husband’s chronic illness is that he has a MTFHR mutation. Not a big deal before modern times, but now we know a lot of processed foods don’t have the nutrients in a form his body can handle.

    He can supplement with methylated Bs and feel better! Only discovered in 2009. And a factor in up to 40% of the population.

  86. 86.

    geg6

    Going up to the cabin in Titusville for the first time this summer (John has been there but not me). After three years of re-building and remodeling, we are finally able to move some stuff back in. This is a double bonus in that our basement will become somewhat navigable again and that we can finally start using the cabin again. It will be Koda’s first trip there, which should be epic.

  88. 88.

    Suffern ACE

    @Baud: bacon and ranch and yellow cheese on everything is our main contribution to global cuisine.

  89. 89.

    geg6

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Hey, you asked if we were still feeding the marmalade kitties! And yes, we are. Along with a calico and what looks like a dark gray tuxedo. They live in our greenhouse and brush pile, like barn cats. We have no vermin anywhere near our greenhouse and veggie gardens this year. John’s madly in love with the calico.

  90. 90.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @NotMax:

    Growing up in a household in which bacon was served maybe once or twice a year

    A clearer case of neglect I have never seen.

  95. 95.

    PurpleGirl

    The Bead Society of Greater New York is holding an exhibit of their work and a bead sale. I’m hoping to get there this afternoon. I was a member for years. In the first show (25 years ago) a necklace I made and had on show was bought by the American Crafts Museum for their shop.

  96. 96.

    geg6

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    If I could ever catch them with my phone before they skitter away! They are more fond of John and will follow him around at a safe distance. They usually run when they see me.

  97. 97.

    Cassidy

    @Morzer: Doubtful. While nutrition will always have to be prepared for people who are exceptions, the basics of nutrition still apply to a large majority of people. Energy would be better spent improving the nutritional value of what we eat as a nation and creating a healthier foundation from which tailored diets can be made.

  100. 100.

    Amir Khalid

    @Morzer:
    There is something unutterably wrong about the words “bacon” and “jihadi” being so close together.

  102. 102.

    schrodinger's cat

    @Cervantes: Ok I will check them out, thanks for the recommendations. I am curious about Wendy Doniger’s book. As for the Indian writers on the list, I must say that I find the writings of most so-called Indian intellectuals as insightful as say David Brooks. One exception is Salman Rushdie. I am not a fan of what I have read of Guha’s work.

  103. 103.

    Morzer

    @Cassidy:

    But even if you take that approach, we are still learning so much about how our metabolisms work. There’s an ongoing debate about whether all calories are equal, so to speak, and a seemingly continuous reassessment of every food under the sun. I wouldn’t be surprised to see human beings being divided into different gene-based populations where diet is concerned. I really do believe that we shall some day see a revolution in this area.

    Until that day, I shall maintain my faith in bacon, coffee and the FSM.

  105. 105.

    Morzer

    @Baud:

    Comment section, please. We don’t want a foaming-at-the-mouth update from the Great And Powerful Greenwaldo denouncing us for libeling his sensitive media presence.

  106. 106.

    Tommy

    @OzarkHillbilly: I love that when I watch Top Chef they always say bacon makes everything better. I agree 110%.

    As for what I am going to do today ….. well I am going to clean my gutters. Pray I don’t fall off the roof.

  107. 107.

    Cervantes

    @schrodinger’s cat: You’re welcome. I wasn’t exactly vouching for the books, just mentioning them in case you had not seen them. You may agree or disagree with various things in them but I think you’ll find them interesting overall.

  108. 108.

    Amir Khalid

    @schrodinger’s cat:
    I just can’t imagine a “jihadi”, even one in the debased sense of the term applied to such as al-Qa’idah, crazy enough to make war on other people’s food. And a jihadi fighting for bacon is about as detached from reality as a black Klansman.

  109. 109.

    Buffalo Rude

    @Valdivia: A year ago today I was visiting “The Land of the Midnight Sun” (Iceland), swimming at the Blue Lagoon and then partying in the sunlight till three the next morning on a beach across the bay from Reykjavik. Today I’m in New Jersey helping my sister and brother in law move into their new house. Yay?

  110. 110.

    Baud

    @Amir Khalid:

    And a jihadi fighting for bacon is about as detached from reality as a black Klansman.

    Insert joke about the black conservative of your choice here.

  111. 111.

    Cervantes

    @Amir Khalid: The Malaysian government just got itself criticized for not being sufficiently helpful in the fight against human trafficking. What do you and others there make of this development?

  113. 113.

    shelley

    Youtube’s got a lot of videos of (recent) midsummer sunrise gatherings at Stonehenge. It’s funny, I didn’t think they let people into the stone circle itself, anymore. That it’s now roped off.

  115. 115.

    Tommy

    @Morzer: Food. Diet. Complex stuff. I got this complex diet going on. I eat whatever I want. I just don’t eat a lot of it. There was a time in my life where I was 100 pounds heavier then I am now. I had to relearn now I eat. Sure I eat in a much more healthier manner. But I still eat stuff I shouldn’t. I just eat less of it.

  116. 116.

    schrodinger's cat

    @Amir Khalid: If such a “jihadi” exists they will probably be Jain. They are a tiny community in India that likes to dictate what other people can eat. They use their financial muscle to achieve this. They try to keep meat and fish eaters out of residential co-ops, for example.
    They are highly intolerant of other people’s food choices. I have one anecdote myself, I could not buy spice mixes for kebabs and such, from a store in Mumbai. The reason given by the proprietor was that selling such spice mixes is offensive to his Jain customers. The spice mixes in question are 100% vegetarian.

    ETA: Jains abhor violence but they are not beyond using the ” Free market” to achieve their coercive ends.

  117. 117.

    Morzer

    @Tommy:

    Would you go into more details about how the world lost 100 pounds of Tommy? Was it just diet/portions? Exercise? How did you do it and how long did it take?

  119. 119.

    Cassidy

    @Morzer: Those debates will always exist and you can add a lot of other things like how disease processes and drugs interact with our metabolism and hormones, etc. Those questions become a lot less vital, though, as we create a culture of fitness. Obviously, not everyone can “work out”, but adding exercise to our lives combined with a healthier food base will solve a great deal of those health questions. Again, there will always be exceptions. My diet only has two rules: 1) eat big to get big and eat lean to get lean, 2) balance. It takes a lot of the stress out of eating.

  120. 120.

    Tommy

    @WereBear: Yes we do. I eat meat. Nothing close to a vegan. But I get all my meat, well most of it, from local sources. Heck I can go days and not eat meat. I could be on their side and shout down corporate farms. But they are so darn militant. So in your face. Well I can’t get behind them.

  122. 122.

    Valdivia

    @Buffalo Rude: oooh that sounds so fun! Half yay for today maybe? Iceland is next on my list–their flights from DC to other Scandinavian countries allow a local layover of 7 days. Whenever my next time is that is going to be my route :)

  123. 123.

    Tommy

    @Morzer: I did it in the summer of 1992. To be honest, and not sure I would suggest this, I starved myself. I ate the same three meals a day. Breakfast one egg white. Lunch tuna out of a can. Dinner as much lettuce and veggies as I could eat. Nothing else.

    I worked out twice a day. At first just weights cause I was so out of shape it took awhile to work up to running or anything else.

    It took me four months to lose that weight.

    If you read the books and articles they will tell you I did it all the wrong way. But I would do it all over again. I’ve maintained this weight with one thing in mind. It is easy when I shop for food not to buy shit I shouldn’t eat. I don’t let soda, chips, you name it in my household. I have impulse control issues. If I had a bag of chips or ice cream in my house I’d eat it all right now.

    So I don’t buy the stuff. Even to this day, and I know there is nothing like that in my house, I find myself peering into my pantry wondering if something is there.

  124. 124.

    PurpleGirl

    Anyone here watch “The United States of Bacon” on either History Channel or one of the other Discovery channels? I once spent most of a day watching a marathon of Bacon. Hmmmmm. Bacon.

  125. 125.

    Morzer

    @Tommy:

    You must be a man of iron will, Tommy. Did you find yourself getting dizzy or fatigued along the way over those four months? I don’t put too much stock in what diet books and articles recommend, just because they don’t seem to know what they are doing themselves. I agree with you wholeheartedly about not letting certain foods into the house. Admittedly, I am sometimes sabotaged by my loving wife who likes to be kind to me. And, to be honest, I am self-indulgent enough to let her keep doing it.

  127. 127.

    Ruckus

    @Morzer:
    Once had a doc tell me that I had to completely stop eating Mexican food.
    Asked why?
    You will live longer.
    How much longer?
    About 6 weeks.
    But those 6 weeks all come at the end. And if I deprive myself of the joys of certain kinds of foods will life be worth living to get there?
    A blank stare.
    I still eat the foods I enjoy. I got 65 yrs so far, screw 6 weeks.

  128. 128.

    Amir Khalid

    @Cervantes:
    Not a new problem, alas. We’ve been importing foreign labour for centuries, although it accelerated under British rule here in the 19th century. The government’s number one (and some argue, only) priority has always been fighting illegal immigration, with humanitarian considerations far down the list. Aside from its pro-business (and thus to some extent not too pro-labour) mindset, the government sees demographic change arising from immigration as a potential destabilising force in local/national politics i.e. a national security issue. For what it’s worth, they see the political opposition here the same way.

    NGOs here have been fighting for immigrant workers’ rights for decades, as the Guardian story notes, but with almost nothing to show for it. The Indonesian and Indian governments, whose countries are among Malaysia’s main sources of foreign labour, have had some success fighting for their nationals, but even they have needed decades to make some progress.

  130. 130.

    Corner Stone

    @PurpleGirl:

    Homer: Are you saying you’re never going to eat any animal again? What about bacon?
    Lisa: No.
    Homer: Ham?
    Lisa: No.
    Homer: Pork chops?
    Lisa: Dad, those all come from the same animal.
    Homer: Heh heh heh. Ooh, yeah, right, Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.

  132. 132.

    Tommy

    @Morzer: Not as much will power as it is effort. It is something, and I think about it each day, that is ongoing. My parents come to visit me monthly. They travel with food cause what they eat, well I refuse to let it in my house. We do the same dance when they leave. I tell them to take it all with them. They always argue, like I can’t afford to buy what I want. They still don’t get it. I am 100% sure I could gain pounds, maybe another 100 if I just eat what I wanted to eat.

    Honestly I could be as overweight as my parents in a few months …..

    Now it is easier for me. I don’t have a wife. I don’t have children. So what I bring in my house only feeds me. Easier that way.

  133. 133.

    Corner Stone

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Yes, they also do not use leather, some don’t eat anything that grows underground. No peanuts, onions, garlic or potatoes.

    What is the exchange? What reward do they see as a result of these kind of beliefs?

  136. 136.

    WereBear

    @Tommy: Having done it many times, (until I found something that has worked for over a decade) I can say that losing the weight is a lot easier than maintaining it. Which is why a lifestyle change, not a temporary diet, is the only path to success.

  137. 137.

    Tommy

    @Corner Stone: Not thought of that. I almost gained the weight that fast. Well over about a year. I went from playing like every sport to not playing any and kept the same diet. I ate too much and the wrong things. Even to this day I have the stretch marks to show for it.

  138. 138.

    Joel

    @WereBear: Sadly, there are no cured meats that do not contain nitrites.

    You can cure meat two ways — the old fashioned way uses fermentation to convert sodium nitrate from a natural plant source (traditionally celery) into sodium nitrite. This is the actual ingredient that preserves cured meat like bacon. The artificial way is to simply add sodium nitrite to the meat, typically in a 5-6% mixture with table salt. Because the fermentation method is less controlled, you typically end up with more nitrite in “uncured” meat than you do with meat that has been labeled as cured.

    Whichever method you choose, you end up with basically the same product. As an added bonus, there are enzymes in meat that further reduce the nitrites to nitric oxide, which displaces oxygen in the heme group of myoglobin and is responsible for the distinctive pink color of cured meat.

  139. 139.

    Corner Stone

    @schrodinger’s cat: I’m no dietician or nutrionist, but I know from my own medical interactions that your body needs a steady supply of different things like magnesium and potassium. Those are two of the more important ones for keeping your heart firing in a sustainable rhythm.
    Just seems like a real strain on the system.

  140. 140.

    Morzer

    @Tommy:

    So when you did your four months and lost 100 pounds, were you dizzy, fatigued? Did you have trouble concentrating? I’ve found that low-calorie periods work fairly well for me, but it does get harder to focus.

  142. 142.

    schrodinger's cat

    @Corner Stone: Heaven? Nirvana? Who knows? Religious people of all stripes remain a mystery to me. Their fasting rituals are pretty extreme too, husband kitteh had a class mate who eventually became a Jain monk. He would not even drink water when he was fasting.
    Their goal is to live life with as little harm to the environment and other living beings as possible. A good idea to begin but taken to an extreme, in my opinion.

  143. 143.

    Corner Stone

    @schrodinger’s cat: Yes, like in the Christian beliefs, those that take it very strictly I understand their end goal. Or I should say I have some understanding of the thing they expect or believe to happen.
    I didn’t know what happy place or happy rebirth or serenity now they thought was coming.

    ETA, I guess I could find out but it turns out that’s too much work for me at the moment.

  144. 144.

    Tommy

    @Morzer: I didn’t have any of that. I see a few wondering how that was possible, but I was fine. Maybe it was because I was only 20 when I did it. Not that far in the past a fit and trim person.

    Now after I lost that weight until just the last few years I was 150 pounds or so. 5’4. I felt I should really be around 132. That last 18 pounds was far harder then then the 100. Far, far, harder.

  145. 145.

    WereBear

    @Joel: Must be how bacon evolved into condiments and toppings instead of eating a big ol’ slab of it like a ribeye.

    Though I’ve been tempted…

  147. 147.

    Morzer

    @Tommy:

    It’s been fascinating reading your account of your experiences. Much respect for your ongoing achievement, Tommy.

  148. 148.

    schrodinger's cat

    @Corner Stone: The biggest goal of any Jain is to practice Ahimsa
    (non-violence) or be responsible for as little violence as you possibly can. As a good Jain you practice Ahimsa towards all creatures no matter how small.

  149. 149.

    Cervantes

    @Corner Stone:

    What is the exchange? What reward do they see as a result of these kind of beliefs?

    Moral superiority.

    It’s the same the world over, only the details vary.

  151. 151.

    Tommy

    @Morzer: Well thanks! I should have maybe noted my family has good genes. Often we live into our 90s. I don’t recall the last time I even had a cold. Not sure why that is, but have to assume (and I’ve thought about it) that helped.

  152. 152.

    schrodinger's cat

    @Cervantes:

    Moral superiority.

    Agreed completely. Vegetarianism was not initially a part of being a good Hindu but was adapted by Hindu revivalists to counter the growing influence of Jainism and Buddhism. Vegetarianism among Hindus varies a lot according to geography for this reason. Hindus described in the Vedas and epics like Mahabharata were not vegetarian. A fact that the ruling BJP does not want publicized.

  153. 153.

    Ruckus

    @Tommy:
    Once lost 24 lbs over the course of about 6 months. The first 12 came off with a little effort around the gym. The second 12 took a lot more effort at the gym and required me to count calories so as to stay below my maintenance intake level. Really, the same thing you did, just not as hard core. It may get harder as you get older, I can not work out nearly as much as I used to because the joints just can’t take the workout.

  155. 155.

    ruemara

    @Schlemizel: why would you talk to him anyway? Barring professional services, his idiocy might be catching.

    My day will involve shooting a bunch of bands for about 4 or 5 hours. I’m wondering if it qualifies as a workout, since I need to do some grocery shopping first, but I am woefully undersweated.

  156. 156.

    Cervantes

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    I am curious about Wendy Doniger’s book.

    Are you aware of the (on-going) kerfuffle? It’s the book that publisher-in-India Penguin agreed[*] to destroy after right-wing thugs RSS threatened to bring civil and criminal actions. (Article 295A of the Indian Penal Code, a rule that dates from the Colonial era (1860), outlaws “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.” As a fan of Salman Rushdie, you must be familiar with this rule.)

    [*] Penguin was mocked for this; someone went so far as to suggest they change their logo to a chicken.

  158. 158.

    Morzer

    @Tommy:

    I’d bet that you don’t eat much sugar or white flour – which I really do believe messes with the immune system and makes people prone to colds.

  160. 160.

    schrodinger's cat

    @Cervantes: I have followed that story. The RSS folk are true believers, it is Modi’s RSS background that bothers me.

    I don’t like the way books are banned in India, left, right and center. Rajiv Gandhi’s government began this sorry trend by banning Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses . Indian fee-fees can be a tad too delicate.

  162. 162.

    Cervantes

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    I don’t like the way books are banned in India, left, right and center.

    I suppose the governing theory, colonialist as ever, must be that Indians lack control of their actions — particularly their “communal actions” — and therefore cannot be trusted to read anything that is provocative.

    Rajiv Gandhi’s government began this sorry trend by banning Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses.

    The entire thing was ludicrous, of course, but what I enjoyed particularly was that the ban came via the Indian Ministry of Finance.

  163. 163.

    tesslibrarian

    @Valdivia: Alas, no. We waited about 6 weeks for our first disc.

    Another good one is the Swedish (original) Wallender. Streaming, 13 episodes, really interesting and mostly well done. Whenever they are dealing with factory workers or construction workers, they’re frequently Polish or Lithuanian. One of the last episodes dealt with illegal workers–it’s just interesting to see other cultures dealing with that (and how they do).

  165. 165.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Baud: Freedom for the Kochs means freedom to fuck over everyone else with no consequence to the Kochs.

    They want freedom that even Tywin Lannister doesen’t have. Tywin couldn’t do what he wanted to do to Tyrion when Tyrion was born because of the terrible oppression of the family. The Kochs want to do away even with that, their gratification is paramount.

  167. 167.

    ruemara

    @WereBear: we both had kittehs, so, we both won. Although I had 4. I keep meaning to send you some info, I work for behaviorist now. Right up your alley.

  169. 169.

    WereBear

    @srv: I’m sure they remade it with British stars because they are compelling stories and there are many who won’t watch a foreign production.

  170. 170.

    Morzer

    @srv:
    @WereBear:

    Scandinavia crime fiction is huge in Britain, so it makes sense for them to remake the series and cash in on using a well-liked indigenous star and avoid the distraction of subtitles.

  174. 174.

    WereBear

    @schrodinger’s cat: Yes. It’s very good. Very dark… you know, Scandinavian. I started with translations of Scandinavian crime fiction in the late ’70’s and remain a fan today. They have a wonderful texture. Especially since they do not have the extreme poverty the way we do in the US.

    Things go wrong in other ways.

  175. 175.

    gene108

    @Corner Stone:

    You lost close to a pound a day for four months? Surprised your heart didn’t give out.

    Tommy’s in his mid-40’s now. 22 years ago he’d be in his early 20’s, which is basically the physical peak for men. The abuse the body can take in your early 20’s is exponentially greater than 22 years later.

  176. 176.

    NotMax

    @gogol’s wife

    That’s the one.

    Last time saw another host so obviously and curiously out of his element and out of his depth was the now near mythic crash-and-burn which was the premiere of Chevy Chase’s (thankfully) short-lived late night talk show.

    They say the camera adds 10 pounds. It also adds 10,000 critics, and there are times when their consensus is unarguably correct.

  177. 177.

    gene108

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Hindus described in the Vedas and epics like Mahabharata were not vegetarian.

    They also performed animal sacrifices in religious rituals. That part of Hinduism has changed, along with the adoption of vegetarianism.

  179. 179.

    Cervantes

    @gene108:

    Thx. I got my summer reading list.

    Well, I hope you enjoy those books. Here’s another:

    Jawaharlal Nehru, The Discovery of India, The John Day Company, 1946.

    Mine is the first edition and I enjoy it still — Nehru’s voice is unmistakeable — but there have been other editions since then and they probably contain useful corrections.

  180. 180.

    gogol's wife

    @NotMax:

    I saw him recently at my brother’s place, and I couldn’t believe how bad he was. This is a Rhodes scholar?

  181. 181.

    Fort Geek

    Listening to Joe Satriani’s “Summer Song” and his “Flying in a Blue Dream” album in between episodes of the “From the Earth to the Moon” series.

    Also clearing space in my room to set up my bicycle as an exercise bike (using a “bike trainer” stand). Hoping to get my legs strong enough that I can walk and ride without feeling wrecked for days afterward.

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