Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

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

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

This really is a full service blog.

No one could have predicted…

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Take your GOP plan out of the witness protection program.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

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

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

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107Comments

  1. 1.

    lamh36

    Evening BJ.

    Saw Lucy tonight and it was NOT good. Not “bad” but NOT great either. Suffice it to say that what you saw in the trailer is basically all there is to it.

    Shouldn’t saw Hercules instead.

  2. 2.

    JPL

    What am I up to.. just bitchin. Actually just finished folding laundry and will probably just finish reading a mystery that I started.
    BTW, Has anyone read Racing in the Rain? Although the ending was predictable and forest gumpish, I sobbed through most it.

  5. 5.

    schrodinger's cat

    I have been rereading Agatha Christie. Finished reading Nemesis, Sad Cypress and a collection of short stories. Right now I am reading the Seven Dials Mystery. Also, a collection of Frost’s poetry.

  7. 7.

    JPL

    @schrodinger’s cat: You would love the kitty areas in the Atlanta Humane Society near me. You can go online and look, it’s on Mansell Road. The environment even for the cats that don’t share space easily, is really nice. My ex-step sister-in-law, loved visiting there more than all the other sites Atlanta has to offer. She’s obviously a cat person.

  8. 8.

    Gravenstone

    Downloading the new albums from Nothing More and California Breed, and trying hard not to contemplate violence against the monied (soon to be ex) mother in law of my girlfriend. The MiL is doing everything she can to ruin her, simply because she can afford to.

  9. 9.

    lamh36

    Brazile: Romney mistook me for Gwen Ifill
    7/26/14 7:14 PM EDT

    Donna Brazile, the Democratic strategist and CNN contributor, has accused Mitt Romney of mistaking her for PBS journalist Gwen Ifill, suggesting that the former presidential candidate could not tell the difference between two black women.

    In an interview with The New York Times, published Friday, Brazile said that when Romney first met her he introduced himself by saying, “Hi, Gwen.”

    “Go back to 2012, and Mitt Romney showed up at the N.A.A.C.P. after he secured the nomination because he had to,” Brazile told the Times, before going on to describe their first encounter. “He came up to me and said, ‘Hi, Gwen,’… Poor thing. He didn’t know.”

  11. 11.

    trollhattan

    It’s too gawdamn hot (encountered 112 at one point, motoring around the metroplex) and I have enough booze in the house to kill a rhino herd (but I revere rhinos, so they’re safe) and am pondering on how those two facts might intersect. Climate change is not working in my favor.

  14. 14.

    trollhattan

    @lamh36:
    “Who let the Gwens out, who? Who(m)?”

    Wouldn’t it be great if he ran again, again? Oh Republicans, you complete me.

  16. 16.

    Steeplejack

    Watching Shutter Island on Bravo. I started too soon, so occasionally I have to pause (like now) to let some more spool onto the DVR so I don’t have to watch commercials. I missed it in the theater, this is my first time, so no spoilers please!

    This afternoon I went to see A Most Wanted Man and was mildly underwhelmed. Still processing it, though.

  17. 17.

    lamh36

    @Betty Cracker: Yeah. It was the trailer that caught my interest. Also too it’s Luc Besson directing. He directed or produced some great films, Fifth Element, Nikita, The Professional, The Transporter,

    It def had his feel to it (the soundtrack in particular) but like I said, what you saw in the trailer is darn near everything and what wasn’t in the trailer wasn’t that impressive.

  22. 22.

    JPL

    @Betty Cracker: It’s actually The Art of Racing in the Rain. It’s about life from a dogs point of view. I mentioned to a son that I didn’t want a movie made because most of the topic would not be suitable for children and also said they’d screw up the dog’s voice. He looked at me and said as long as they used Morgan Freeman for the voice, they could do it.

  23. 23.

    Karen in GA

    @lamh36: That’s too bad. It looked good. Maybe I’ll catch it on cable eventually.

    Meanwhile, I just bought a mountain dulcimer, because I love the sound. So I’m in that initial stage with a new instrument where I noodle around, then think “now what?” Although I did spring for a Mel Bay teach-yourself book; maybe I should, you know, use it?

  26. 26.

    Betty Cracker

    @JPL: Now I’ve got to read it! Did you see Fallon’s interview with Freeman? They sucked on helium balloons before asking and answering questions. A whole new perspective on The Voice of God!

  27. 27.

    NotMax

    @lamh36

    While being terribly non-PC, a fast response of “What’chu talkin’ about, Willard?” would have been freaking hilarious.

  29. 29.

    Karen in GA

    @JPL: It depends. Iggy gets shrieky and morphs into a poop dispenser when meeting other animals. LOTS of nervous energy. It’s a happy nervous, but nervous nonetheless.

  32. 32.

    Steeplejack

    @lamh36:

    Yes, he plays a German government spy leading a group in Hamburg. Good cast (Willem Dafoe, Robin Wright), good production values, but as I was avidly watching it, expecting the layers and nuances to start piling up, I began to feel like somebody ordered me the Cobb salad with low-fat dressing when I went to the restroom. I ended up feeling like “That’s it? That’s all there was?” It was well done, but there just wasn’t that much to it.

    Philip Seymour Hoffman looked fat and unhealthy—but when did he not, it occurs to me—and he was good, but, again, there just wasn’t that much to it. I’d say wait for cable or DVD.

    ETA: Some review was dinging Rachel McAdams as being out of her depth, but I thought she was actually pretty good as a German human-rights lawyer. Much better than she was in either of the Sherlock Holmes movies with Robert Downey Jr.

  33. 33.

    Betty Cracker

    @lamh36: But, but, but…they look nothing alike. I could see confusing Fox News’ Gretchen Carlson and Elizabeth Hasselbeck; they’re as interchangeable as lightbulbs. But Ifill and Brazile? Nope.

  37. 37.

    lamh36

    @NotMax: @Steeplejack: yeah, she does kinda look like a Xena knock-off.

    I know it’s just a sign of the times, but she just seems too skinny to me, but then again I’m from the Linda Carter school of Wonder Woman. But she is also alot slimmer than they draw WW in the comics as well,

    But meh…

  40. 40.

    Steeplejack

    @lamh36:

    Yeah, Wonder Woman definitely needs to have some meat on her bones. Like, uh, an Amazon or something.

    This might have been a good role for—damn it, can’t remember her name, but there’s a former mixed-martial-arts woman who is transitioning to acting and actually seems pretty good. But she has no name recognition.

    . . . I love you, Google.Gina Carano is her name.

  42. 42.

    Steeplejack

    Jeez, I’ve got to get back to Shutter Island. I’m losing my scary-movie vibe, and I’m now 45 minutes behind on the DVR, so I think I can squeak through to the end without watching any commercials.

    ETA: What channel is the king of padding movies with commercials? I want to say Spike or TNT, but I don’t want to do the research to prove it. At first I thought this one was really padded—three-hour time slot—but the movie is 2 hours 18 minutes, so it’s not too bad.

  43. 43.

    Mike in NC

    @schrodinger’s cat: Halifax, NS is heaven. Visited for a week 10 years ago. I think we’d retire there except for the minor issue that the wife hates snow (she mostly grew up at Army bases in Georgia and Virginia).

  45. 45.

    goblue72

    Missus GoBlue (technically, Miss GoHuskies) is chopping & macerating fruit from the farmer’s market for jam making tomorrow (Strawberry-Pluot Jam from the Blue Chair Cookbook).

    Just laid down first stain coat on a TV stand I’m building – sort of a Eames-esque, MCM inspired box. Sorta like this – https://img0.etsystatic.com/017/0/8108325/il_340x270.497483712_qfzv.jpg

    Except using baltic birch ply, with taller hairpin legs and the inside of the opening painted a period color. Poly goes on tomorrow.

    If anyone in the Seattle area, the conclusion of this project means I have a stereo console to get rid of. Its a mid-century vintage stereo console. Very Mad Men style. Made out what looks like walnut. The wood is in great condition. I’ve long ago pulled out half the components (the stereo never worked). Had intended to fully gut it and then rebuild with modern components and iPod or Airport Express jack.

    It looks almost like this – https://furnishmevintage.com/wp-content/uploads/retro_stereo_console_7.jpg

    Time to go start up the charcoal chimney for grilling a flat iron steak. Ms. GoHuskies apparently has a Broccoli Gruyere Quiche going on, so I’m in charge of “man make meat from fire”.

  46. 46.

    lamh36

    @Steeplejack: yeah, she would have been awesome, but she’s a horribly wooden actress. Maybe a coach could help. Also too, she used to date Superman, and they are no longer dating, so I’m guessing awkwardness would be interesteing

  48. 48.

    schrodinger's cat

    @Mike in NC: I would like to visit, so far I have been to Quebec City, St John, the Bay of Fundy and of course Niagara. I would like to drive up to Maine and then take the ferry from Bar Harbor to Nova Scotia. Of course, it will have to be either summer or fall.

  50. 50.

    WaterGirl

    @Karen in GA: Poor Iggy!

    Seeing Iggy in the tub like that reminded me of all those photos of Charlie just after he had a bath. Miss you general stuck, and charlie!

  52. 52.

    Steeplejack

    @lamh36:

    I didn’t check IMDB to see what she’s been in. It’s too bad if she’s not a good actress. She came across real well on Craig Ferguson’s show, which is where I first saw her, but he has an amazing knack for helping everyone to come across well.

  54. 54.

    Tommy

    @Joel Hanes: Thanks for the link. Just gave a few dollars. My mom would never be called a liberal, but she loves kids. We talked a lot about those darn kids the last week or so in our almost daily phone calls. A place where we come to agreement as a liberal and a not so liberal person. That they should not be treated this way.

  55. 55.

    Lokahi

    @Joel Hanes: A Democratic activist in Dallas is the force behind a community effort to assist and welcome refugee children there, and also in San Antonio. Started with a Facebook post and grew into a statewide (and even national/international) show of support.

    A Dallas grandmother has organized a grassroots effort to provide care packages for children caught at the border.
    Cindy Cole said she was tired of seeing protests on the news and politicians arguing about immigration.

    Proud of my tiny contributions to the cause, and hope to be of more help in the coming days.

  57. 57.

    lamh36

    @Steeplejack: The biggest thing she was in was “Haywire”. She was the star with some really big names also. Basically she was a spy/mercenary??? The movie was ok, especially the fight sequences. I liked that fight sequences weren’t some CGI crazy wire work fighting. It was mostly hand to hand, MMA style with shooting too.

    The fight sequence between her and Michael Fassbender, was pretty well crafted I couldn’t tell that there was stunt double if there was even one. You really believed she could and did beat Fassbenders ass. Now the actual “acting” scenes were definitely lacking, but the action sequences were good. She beats not one, not two, but no less than 3 different male “action” star in the movie and looks convincing doing so

    Haywire Fight Scene

    She was also in the last Fast & Furious movie as well, but if you haven’t already watch Haywire

  59. 59.

    Mike in NC

    @schrodinger’s cat: You really need 2 to 3 weeks to actually experience Nova Scotia. We just had to give up covering too much territory, like when we tried to see Napa Valley and Mendocino in California a year later. Always allow for insane traffic…

  60. 60.

    JPL

    I just checked Cole’s twitter and there has not been an update in twenty four hours. I hope that means he’s in a safe place.

  62. 62.

    WaterGirl

    @JPL: Great minds think alike, see my comment at #56.

    @NotMax: Thanks for the James Garner tip! I started to search the TCM channel, then realized that with Tivo I could just tell it to find everything with James Garner. I had no idea that Maverick was on! I got season passes for Maverick and Rockford Files and set several of the movies to record.

    I was disappointed not to find 36 Hours. That’s one of my favorite James Garner movies.

  65. 65.

    satby

    I read somewhere that they were looking for lawyers and paralegals to go down to help represent the refugee kids in their immigration hearings. Wish I could figure out a way to go volunteer. But my permitting costs get prohibitive if I go anywhere. Frustration!

  66. 66.

    satby

    I read somewhere that they were looking for lawyers and paralegals to go down to help represent the refugee kids in their immigration hearings. Wish I could figure out a way to go volunteer. But my petsitting costs get prohibitive if I go anywhere. Frustration!

  67. 67.

    WaterGirl

    @satby:

    But my permitting costs get prohibitive if I go anywhere.

    I’m pretty sure that means something, just not to me. :-)

  69. 69.

    JPL

    @WaterGirl: We all know he will be okay but ………Maybe his mom will give us an update. I don’t want an update on progress, I just want to know he’s in a good place.

  70. 70.

    Tommy

    @efgoldman: That is amazing. Kids that came to your house in their teens want to come back as adults with children, well makes me think I’d like to come to your household. Great story!

  73. 73.

    Suffern ACE

    Went to see woody Allen’s new movie . It wasn’t bad. Nothing unexpected happened . But Colin Firth plays such a wonderfully self centered dolt that it’s worth seeing.

  74. 74.

    satby

    @JPL: I’m pretty confident that if John isn’t ranting about another wasted day here or on Twitter he’s detoxing. And that’s good.

  80. 80.

    Joel Hanes

    @satby:

    I read somewhere that they were looking for lawyers and paralegals to go down to help represent the refugee kids

    The Phoenix Woman recap of the GOS article article to which I linked
    includes a link to Kids In Need Of Defense (KIND)
    which may be the organization you saw referenced.

  82. 82.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    @Tommy: My family operated on the eldest/elder son is assistant host and in charge of making sure people have drinks (hard or soft – their choice). It is still what I do.

  84. 84.

    Tommy

    @Joel Hanes: I say this over and over again. My family came here as immigrants. That might have been in 1870. But I refuse to get mad at other people wanting to come here. I want to welcome them with open arms.

  85. 85.

    WaterGirl

    @Steeplejack: Maybe that’s good news; since they haven’t run it since we lost him last week, maybe they will end up running it soon. Don’t know why it didn’t make the cut for the Monday movies, though.

  86. 86.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    @Tommy: Everyone’s family came here as immigrants. Some were a long time ago. We all started out in Africa.

  90. 90.

    WaterGirl

    Maverick is on and I have given it a 15-minute head start. This is my first Maverick episode in decades. I hope it holds up well! See you later.

  91. 91.

    Steeplejack

    Bravo is not so bad on the commercials, but, damn, they are shmutzing up the screen with little popup ads for all their bullshit reality shows during this movie.

    And the movie’s starting to lose me.

  95. 95.

    cmorenc

    @Steeplejack:

    This afternoon I went to see A Most Wanted Man and was mildly underwhelmed. Still processing it, though.

    I saw it last night – IMHO as a spy thriller, it’s decent-enough, but frankly but-for knowing this was Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s final completed film before his death, this would be the sort of film I’d recommend waiting until it came out on Redbox or Netflix, and watching it on a rainy, chilly night when you didn’t have anything else going on. And even then, it’s not the sort of film that benefits from the big-screen + sound system at a first-run movie theatre – you’ll get just as much out of it at home on your 32-inch flat-screen TV. Hoffman does turn in a great performance and carries the film, and the plot does engage your attention, but even though it’s based on a John LeCarre novel, the film is still just a decent pot boiler of scheming intrigue that doesn’t contain enough intrigue to be worth a second viewing for the plot. There’s no truly great insight to be gained from it other than that spycraft in the age of terrorism is a volatile cocktail of idealism, honor, and amoral cynical ruthlessness. I’d only watch this twice sometime to catch Hoffman’s last work, and maybe not then. There are other Hoffman films that show his talents better than this one.

  96. 96.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    @cmorenc: I am still waiting for a movie based on LeCarre’s The Night Manager. The book made me fall in love with Jeds a little bit.

  102. 102.

    Ruckus

    Had an interesting talk with a gentleman my age (in the UK we’d be called pensioners) and found out that we are both second generation Los Angelenos, at least on one side. Funny thing is he has a bit of an accent and that’s why I asked him where he was from. I was right about the Alabama accent but he picked it up from his wife. And his mom and my dad were both from Kansas, only a few miles apart. Only a very few of my classmates were born in CA, most moved here as very young kids when their parents settled here after WWII and even fewer of their parents were born here. So it was very unusual to know other kids who weren’t “immigrants” to CA, let alone second generation even if only on one side. And my dad crossed the country as a very young boy in a horse drawn wagon just less than a century ago. Life sure has changed.

  103. 103.

    Mnemosyne

    @Steeplejack:

    I’m assuming you mean the 1932 Karloff version. “He went for a little walk!” The Hammer version is pretty good, too, with Christopher Lee as the Mummy.

    We just got back from a double feature of Gun Crazy and The Lineup, a Don Siegel movie we hadn’t seen before. It was okay — Eli Wallach’s second movie after his screen debut in Baby Doll — but it was no Gun Crazy.

  105. 105.

    WaterGirl

    @Steeplejack: I can watch YouTube on my TV through Tivo and I can watch it through Apple TV, too. I think it’s maybe built into my Sony TV, too, but I haven’t looked.

  106. 106.

    the Conster

    @Mike in NC:
    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Just spent 10 days doing a Canadian maritimes road trip, and we stayed in Saint John, Shediac, Summerside in the Region Evangeline, Charlottetown, 2 nights in Halifax, Lunenburg and Yarmouth. Halifax had perfect weather, and it’s a multicultural foodie haven now, with a beautiful harbor. The jazz festival was playing and we got to sit on the harborwalk and listen for free. It’s a mini-Boston without the fucked up drivers.

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