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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Excellent Links / Wednesday Evening Open Thread: A Modest Proposal

Wednesday Evening Open Thread: A Modest Proposal

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Via Dave Weigel, Marc Hogan at Wondering Sound calls for a “Cultural End Zone Dance”:

The 2014 Super Bowl was the most watched in history, with an average 112.2 million viewers tuned in for the NFL season finale. But as the Seattle Seahawks trounced the Denver Broncos, each team could only have 11 players on the field at a time.

A proposed “Weird Al” Yankovic halftime show performance at American football’s main event would be a victory for that off-the-field 99.999 percent. And it would be a bracing celebration of cultural changes that have shrunk the distance between creative fans and the pop stars who once towered over them.

The idea of the accordion-wielding parodist following this year’s double bill of Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers at Super Bowl XLIX is unlikely, sure. But it could happen. As SPIN points out, a fan has filed a petition on Change.org asking the NFL to have Yankovic headline halftime at the 2015 Super Bowl, scheduled for February 1 in Glendale, Arizona…

***********
Apart from pop culture, what’s on the agenda for the evening?

Reader Interactions

120Comments

  2. 2.

    Corner Stone

    Mmm. San Diego. Drink it in. It always goes down smooth. Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diego, which of course in German means “a whale’s vagina”.

  6. 6.

    srv

    Kurds may not be the warriors we hoped for. Mt Sinjar may be the new Masada.

    Fine wine awaiting Alcatraz expats, then to Jack London Square.

    Watching a J-class boat run about.

  7. 7.

    Suffern ACE

    I think I can see weird Al being carried in by roman soldiers and Egyptian cheerleaders on a Greek ship just like Madonna was a few years ago.

  8. 8.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    @srv:

    Kurds may not be the warriors we hoped for.

    We were hoping for warriors?

  12. 12.

    srv

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): I have been told by many that the Peshmerga were supermen. I await their demonstration.

    Bar tender just now “sir; we have entered happy hour mode”

    This is a mode I can approve of. question: in this new age of temperance, is it now uncouth on BJ to be in + mode? Please advise proper social media etitqute.

  15. 15.

    Corner Stone

    @srv:

    This is a mode I can approve of. question: in this new age of temperance, is it now uncouth on BJ to be in + mode? Please advise proper social media etitqute.

    Apparently, there’s a roving pack of slut shamers roaming the BJ virtual hallways.

  16. 16.

    rikyrah

    Clyburn: Republicans will try to impeach Obama next year
    August 5, 2014 by Matt Long

    South Carolina’s only Democratic congressman Jim Clyburn insisted Tuesday that House Republicans will try to impeach President Obama next year if they keep control of the chamber in November’s election.

    Democrats have gone on the offensive on the topic ever since the GOP-led House of Representatives voted to file a lawsuit against the president last week. A few popular conservative commentators like Sarah Palin and radio talk show host Mark Levin have publicly called for the president’s impeachment over what they say is his refusal to enforce federal law. But even the most conservative members of Congress have distanced themselves from the idea up to this point.

    In a meeting with local reporters Tuesday, Clyburn claimed the House lawsuit is the first step in the process to make a case for eventual impeachment.

    “If Republicans maintain control of the House, Barack Obama will be impeached,” he said. “There were 225 votes for this lawsuit, well beyond the 218 (majority) that’s needed to impeach. That’s my expectation. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think so.”

    http://www.southcarolinaradionetwork.com/2014/08/05/clyburn-republicans-will-try-to-impeach-obama-next-year/

  31. 31.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @FlipYrWhig: I stick with The Levant

    in other news, God apparently has a sick sense of humor:

    Just before that, he said he believes that he’s doing God’s bidding in the Capitol. To that, a woman in the crowd hollered “praise God.”
    “I have not one doubt that I’m doing exactly what God has in mind for me,” Boehner said. “But there are days when I sit in my office and go, ‘Hello? Hello?’

    More than a little surprised to hear Boehner bothering a deity about something besides his putting game. No link, because politico

  36. 36.

    different-church-lady

    People, people, people… where are your imaginations? WEIRD AL NATIONAL ANTHEM!

  38. 38.

    Mike J

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    If the GOP was smart (ha!) they’d put a muzzle on Mo toot sweet. Like last week.

    He’s not running for office on the Upper West Side. He’s going to say things his constituents want to hear, and he’s running as a republican in Alabama.

  39. 39.

    scav

    @Suffern ACE: Ir we can’t work in John Barrowman kissing one of the centurions during that, I’m not sure it’s a proper athletic opening anymore.

  41. 41.

    Schlemizel

    To cross Weird Al & religion: WA blessed my younger son at a record signing.
    The older son & I were big fans & he was in town & doing a signing so we went & I brought my younger son who was maybe 2 months old at the time. I was sort of stunned at how people were fawning over Al & way over the top. I love the guys work but come on, nobody walks on water & many people were talking to him like he did. The person in front of us went particularly nuts so when it was our turn I held out the baby & said in a pleading voice “Weird Al oh Weird Al won’t you bless my son?” He looked at me like I had a screw loose but put his hand on the kids head and I just roared with laughter.

    Al at half time would actually make me interested in watch the stuper bowel

  42. 42.

    Mike J

    @Schlemizel:

    Al at half time would actually make me interested in watch the stuper bowel

    Football is the exact opposite of soccer for me. I care about who wins (I’ll cheer for the Seahawks) but I don’t care at all about the game. On the other hand, I often watch EPL (which starts n the 16th) and really not care at all about who wins, just to watch a good game.

  44. 44.

    Schlemizel

    @Mike J:
    I have tried pretty hard to understand soccer and I do see some of the point but, unless I care about who is playing it is deadly dull to me (but, then again, it was explained to me here on BJ I will never get soccer because I committed the worst sin imaginable by asking if there was not a better way to determine extra time than a single ref deciding in his head how much felt right – for fucks sake).

    Football, I couldn’t care less who won, with the exception of a few teams I hate for personal reasons, but do appreciate the strategy & tactics. But the NFL has ruined the game and too many lives for me to enjoy it any more.

  45. 45.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    There is an ad on MSNBC right now that pisses me the hell off. It is a Dad with his kid walking out of an office and the kid says “who is that guy” Dad replies “he is our wealth manager, he manages all our money”. There is a bunch of bullshit after that about whether or not the guy is paid etc., etc., but the bottom line of the Ad is “wealth management”. 1) 99% of the country do not have any wealth, they are lucky to pay their bills every month, 2) 99% of the country would be lucky to have a tiny savings account that they probably dip into whenever necessary to pay bills set out in 1). My question is, with that kind of ad what the hell is MSNBC’s demographic, because it sure as hell is not me.

  47. 47.

    Mike J

    @eemom:

    Maureen McDonnell once accused the Executive Mansion chef of intentionally serving her spoiled food to make her sick for Christmas, the former first lady’s chief of staff testified.

    Hehehehe.

  48. 48.

    scav

    @Litlebritdifrnt: If you don’t spend the entire advertising budget, they don’t give you as much money to play with next year? Most ads seem pretty pointless, but busy ticking off boxes in some highly theorized and trend-chasing ritual charade.

  50. 50.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @scav: My house is broken. There are so many things that I cannot afford to fix is not even funny. I have equity in my house, but I can’t refinance because the house will not appraise for top dollar because many things in my house are broken, because I cannot refinance to get the cash out of my house to fix the problems. Basically I am fucked. I am getting tired of ads telling me about people who fret about “wealth management”. I actually thought that MSNBC was a network that understood its demographic, apparently not.

  51. 51.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    @Schlemizel:

    (but, then again, it was explained to me here on BJ I will never get soccer because I committed the worst sin imaginable by asking if there was not a better way to determine extra time than a single ref deciding in his head how much felt right – for fucks sake).

    Why are some hockey rules the way they are? Some are there for a reason, some just are there because that’s what hockey is. Why do they drop the puck in hockey? Wouldn’t make more sense to just have it sitting there and let the centers go for it when the whistle blows? It might bounce funny and give an advantage to one team over the other.

    People might like soccer because of its eccentricities and might well find that your suggestions for “rationalizing” the game a bit patronizing. Especially since you don’t actually seem to care about it.

  52. 52.

    Roger Moore

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    My question is, with that kind of ad what the hell is MSNBC’s demographic, because it sure as hell is not me.

    The demographic they’re apparently appealing to is “people with money”, since that’s the profitable segment. Unfortunately, it’s a shrinking part of the population as a whole.

  53. 53.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Litlebritdifrnt: I don’t know that MSNBC is in a position to turn down advertising. Fox News advertises there from time to time, for the Steve Doocey show, I think, which I suspect is just Rupert’s way of taunting them.

  54. 54.

    PurpleGirl

    I’ve said before that I’m not a football fan and there hasn’t been an entertainment segment that I would want to watch. But a Weird Al performance for the half-time show — that I would watch. (Especially if he could get Dr. Demento to join him.)

  55. 55.

    RSA

    Weird Al at the Superbowl? It’ll never happen. You can’t insert a parodist into the middle of an event that’s successful in large part by convincing people that it’s serious and important, rather than, you know, adult men playing a game.

  57. 57.

    raven

    The Horror:

    Wealth management as an investment-advisory discipline incorporates financial planning, investment portfolio management and a number of aggregated financial services. High-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), small-business owners and families who desire the assistance of a credentialed financial advisory specialist call upon wealth managers to coordinate retail banking, estate planning, legal resources, tax professionals and investment management.

  58. 58.

    Ash Can

    Having Weird Al at the Superbowl halftime show would be like having Stephen Colbert at the WH correspondents’ dinner. Unlike the WH correspondents, however, the NFL brass would have the brains to nix the idea.

  59. 59.

    Corner Stone

    Speaking of MSNBC, Jeremy Scahill on Chris Hayes tonight to talk about the USG scooping their story to another outlet.

  61. 61.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @raven:

    Yeah their Jaguar ads are worse. I suppose I am just tired. I haven’t had a raise since 2005, I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. At some point I am just going to say fuck it and give up. There is no point any more.

  62. 62.

    Corner Stone

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    I actually thought that MSNBC was a network that understood its demographic, apparently not.

    MSNBC is selling ads to companies that want people to buy things/use their services.
    If they started selling nothing but ads for companies that fix broken houses for people who can’t afford to fix those broken things, how long would they stay on the air?

  65. 65.

    raven

    @Litlebritdifrnt: I haven’t either but we had a small inheritance and we were not sure what to do with it. We went to a company run by a retired professor and started a investment and bought long term health care. So far it has worked out ok.

  66. 66.

    NotMax

    @RSA

    Now, if he walked out in knee socks, lederhosen, Tyrolean hat – the whole nine yards – sang three polkas while accompanying himself on the accordion, then turned and left, that would be tres cool.

  67. 67.

    Keith P

    Got a rack of Berkshire ribs outside on the smoker. Had a day with a dry rub and another sitting in root beer, so in about 4 more hours, I’ll be doing a whole lot better.

  68. 68.

    Cervantes

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    I actually thought that MSNBC was a network that understood its demographic, apparently not.

    What is MSNBC’s product? Who are its customers?

    Look at it another way: the “wealth management” company is more or less paying for the MSNBC show(s) you want to watch. Sure, you can look a gift horse in the mouth — but as you can see, it’s not necessarily pretty in there.

  69. 69.

    raven

    @Corner Stone: Nah, little sand shark and a couple of whiting but it was fun. The gulf coast has me spoiled, this is my second trip to the Atlantic this year and if I’m not our on a boat the murky water is a drag.

  72. 72.

    StringOnAStick

    I spent the morning sitting with my husband at an urgent care clinic thanks to a mountain biking accident. His “quick ride before going to work” turned into a separated shoulder, and he still has no idea how it happened. He was going slow on an easy section of a trail he’s ridden hundreds of times when his front wheel suddenly locked up and the next thing he knew he was upside down in a ravine with his bike on top of him. I figure a stick popped up, locked his wheel, and then escaped (while snickering) in the ensuing tumble.

    Now he’s in a pain-pill haze but still feeling plenty of pain. Looks like 4 to 8 weeks of no biking for sure, and limited other activities for a week or two. We’re training for a big trip to some big mountains so we’ve been climbing our local 14,000′ peaks, but no backpacks for him for awhile (that means I get to carry everything, not that we’re stopping training…). He’s the guy who never gets hurt, up until today apparently.

  73. 73.

    Schlemizel

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):
    But I would never suggest you can never understand hockey simply because you asked. In fact, I’d be happy to discuss & even argue about what might work better. I’d take your thinking about it as a sign you care enough to want to think about it instead of an insult to the game and a sign you are too stupid to to ever enjoy the game.

    In fact, up till that point I was trying to care about the game, but with fans like that why bother?

  75. 75.

    Helen

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    I actually thought that MSNBC was a network that understood its demographic, apparently not.

    Who do you think MSNBC’s demographic is? I think their demographic is liberal/progressive. Not all liberals are poor, or even middle class.

  78. 78.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Litlebritdifrnt: It’s an obnoxious ad. But in a general sense the audience isn’t “liberal news junkies,” it’s “people watching cable news at night.” The audience for cable news in the evening presumably skews (1) old (2) moneyed. Think of the number of ads you see for ointments and adhesives for the parts of you that are less, or more, slippery than you’d prefer them to be. I’ll have some Gold Bond powder and some wealth management services, please!

  80. 80.

    Cervantes

    @StringOnAStick:

    Ow. Sorry you have to deal with the pain, you two.

    To cheer you up a little:

    Obama needs to hold high-ranking CIA officials accountable for misleading the White House, Congress, and the people, and for spying on Senate investigators. Patriots may get away with torture. Not with lying about it.

    Imagine the pain Ron Fournier will feel if he ever has to answer for this.

  81. 81.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    @Schlemizel: My tl;dr point was really that every sport has arbitrary rules that make the sport what it is. Changing the rules can change the sport. According to legend, in 1823, a soccer player at a British school became frustrated with the game, picked up the ball, and ran with it. Thus creating rugby (which also has stoppage time).

  83. 83.

    David Koch

    sfpelosi @sfpelosi

    White House press has devoted more airtime to ask whether Pres Obama was born in Africa than to ask how he’s working with Africa.

  84. 84.

    Suffern ACE

    @Cervantes: can’t the CIA just put him on a plane and ship him to Iran in exchange for those Washington Post reporters? What good is it having a secretive body that undermines our democratic values if it can’t pull off such simple tasks from time to time?

  87. 87.

    Mike J

    @Schlemizel: I rather like the fact that much of the arbitrary nature of soccer is up front. Every other sport is just as stupid and arbitrary, but they try to pretend they aren’t.

  88. 88.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    @Schlemizel: I think that for many people the lack of countdown to a set zero is a very important element of the game and, to them, the idea that you and others were interested in “improving” the game by changing that meant that you did not really understand the game. Deciding you don’t like a sport because some of its fans were obnoxious would mean that you couldn’t like hockey because of Flyers fans.

  89. 89.

    Mike J

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    I think that for many people the lack of countdown to a set zero is a very important element of the game

    I have a hard time watching collegiate soccer for this very reason. It’s backwards! I usually force myself, but it;s difficult.

  90. 90.

    Roger Moore

    @raven:
    Sure, but I think that ad actually has a point. There are a lot of people with a little bit of money that they’re trying to put away who are getting screwed over by hiring a wealth manager. The management fees are so high that they eat more than any plausible advantage their customers might get from active management. The vast majority of small-time investors would do better by getting some simple advice about distributing between asset classes and then dropping their money into broad-based, low cost mutual funds.

  91. 91.

    raven

    @Roger Moore: I certainly worry that we are in that position. When we went into it there were people here that said “don’t”. We’re taking money from my paycheck and replacing it with money from the investment every month into both a TIA-CREF account and the long term health care. The original investment has dropped a good but but the T-Cref is good and they say the LTHC is really important for people without kids so were doing that.

  92. 92.

    Corner Stone

    Jeebus. Even when Republicans almost get their nuts cut in primary elections they still try to blame Obama.
    Just out of their minds.

  93. 93.

    Anoniminous

    @Roger Moore:

    Kaufman fund did a 30 year (IIRC) analysis of their managed investments. They determined they would have done better if they had simply bought index funds and left it alone. Other studies have reached the same conclusion.

    The boring truth is: for the average person, with the average debt load, paying off debt – ESPECIALLY credit card debt – is the highest yield “investment” they can make.

  95. 95.

    Roger Moore

    @Anoniminous:

    The boring truth is: for the average person, with the average debt load, paying off debt – ESPECIALLY credit card debt – is the highest yield “investment” they can make.

    I would limit that to relatively high interest rate debt. If you have a mortgage, you can probably do well enough in the market that it doesn’t make sense to pay it off early, especially with the mortgage interest deduction. People with good credit might do better not to pay off car loans early, either.

  97. 97.

    raven

    @Anoniminous: Yea, we decided we needed to do SOMETHING! Georgia’s teacher retirement system is really good so I bought my Army time 10 years ago and that vested me. I could have easily bought a Harley with that dough some I’m feeling all responsible and shit.

  98. 98.

    Schlemizel

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):
    I hate all NHL teams & their fans are a big part of the reason for it.

    When a fan is new they often ask ‘why?’ its one way to learn more about the game & gain an appreciation of it. Particularly if a sport is relatively unknown like hockey or soccer its the fans who should take the time to help newbies understand instead of getting snooty (WHAT?! You don’t understand icing? Why you lowly worm, you’ll NEVER understand the game – FOR FUCKS SAKE).

    BTW – when kids here play pond hockey they don’t have refs to drop the puck so suggesting that not dropping the puck hurts the game shows a lack of understanding of the variations the game can have. Now I could be an asshole & say you’ll never get hockey FOR FUCKS SAKE. Or I could be a fan & a friend and tell you that the centers line up over the puck, tap the ice then each others blades three times & then go for the puck. The game works fine that way and I would gladly argue if that would make the game better or more interesting. Personally I hate what face-offs have become in the NHL and D-I where the rules are ignored & it is rare to see a clean face off.

  100. 100.

    Anoniminous

    @Roger Moore:

    Without knowing what area we’re talking about and running the numbers there’s no way to determine whether to rent or buy a residence is better. For Albuquerque New Mexico, the last time I did that (2009,) renting projected be the better deal IF the difference was socked into a government bond fund or S&P index fund. Which is how it has turned out. Now? Who knows. Certainly not me because I don’t care. :-)

  105. 105.

    Roger Moore

    @Anoniminous:

    Without knowing what area we’re talking about and running the numbers there’s no way to determine whether to rent or buy a residence is better.

    But that wasn’t the question. The question was whether you get a better return on your money by investing or by paying down debt. Since mortgages tend to be at relatively low rates and since mortgage interest can be written off on taxes, the effective interest rate is usually substantially lower than rates of return on good investments. In that case, it’s probably better only to make the regular payment and put the money into investments with a good return rather than to try paying off the mortgage early.

  106. 106.

    Anoniminous

    @raven:

    We sold all our real estate except for one big whacking monstrosity of an albatross. I’ve got the house itself almost done and am working on the weedpatch yard.

    I never, ever, want to buy another fixer-upper never, ever, again.

  108. 108.

    Gin & Tonic

    So I had to take my little buddy to the vet this evening, as he was clearly seriously unwell. The vet immediately diagnosed it as “old dog vestibular syndrome” and said he needed to be hospitalized. From what I’ve read this is treatable, and usually clears up on its own (more or less) but it’s still a hell of a note. Complicating things is that my wife, who adores this dog, is several time zones away and I haven’t had an opportunity to tell her, and don’t want to do it through e-mail.

  109. 109.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    @Gin & Tonic: How long before you know how it is going to turn out? Can you hold off until you can, hopefully, give there the news that something bad happened but it’s all over now?

  110. 110.

    Anoniminous

    @Roger Moore:

    I agree with your assessment, as far as it goes.

    Have to sell the investment to realize the return. In California property values in the Central Valley fell 11% in 2010 while values rose 7.5% in the coastal counties (LA and San Diego metro areas) and by 15% in the Bay area. No investment is a “sure thing.” Real estate included.

  112. 112.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Gin & Tonic: ETA, I can probably lie for a day or two. I mean, it’s not like pouring milk into somebody’s heater core, or putting fish parts inside their curtain rods.

  115. 115.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    @Gin & Tonic: Well, one presumes you are, at the very least, fond of your wife. That does factor into the calculation.

  117. 117.

    Mnemosyne

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Speaking as a wife, I would send her an email or text and say, I had to take Sparky to the vet today — call me and I’ll tell you about it.. That way, you’re letting her know that there’s bad news, but she can call you on her schedule.

  119. 119.

    Corner Stone

    @Gin & Tonic: If you hadn’t selfishly sent her to the language training schools in Donetsk then she wouldn’t have been away from her beloved pet.

  120. 120.

    Bonnie

    I have watched football since before there was a Super Bowl. As a result, I have seen every Super Bowl. However, I have never watched a Super Bowl halftime and don’t plan to start. I use Super Bowl halftime to take my bath/shower and getting ready for bed time. But, I am still all smiles as a result of the last Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks winning. All those years of living in an area with no major league sports for so long. Now, we have the Seahawks. So cool!

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