Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Trump’s legal defense is going to be a dumpster fire inside a clown car on a derailing train.

I also would like a pony to improve my balloon juice experience.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Cole is on a roll !

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

So many bastards, so little time.

Republicans in disarray!

FFS people, this was a good thing. take the win.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Couple Living on the Dole Have Another Baby

Couple Living on the Dole Have Another Baby

by | 153 Comments

This post is in: 

A diversion:

t’s a princess!

That was the happy news on Saturday morning, after the Duchess of Cambridge — the British royal also known as Catherine — gave birth to her second child.

The little girl came into the world at 8:34 a.m. (3:34 a.m. ET) Saturday at London’s St. Mary’s Hospital, Kensington Palace announced. She weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces.

“Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well,” the palace tweeted.

For some reason, a lot of Americans are more excited about British royalty than a lot of the Brits. Forget where I saw that headline or variation of it first.

I’m off to see the Avengers.

Reader Interactions

153Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    a lot of Americans are more excited about British royalty than a lot of the Brits

    Babies are great when they are someone else’s.

  2. 2.

    Lurking Canadian

    There are so many cameras up in that poor woman’s uterus she must feel like she lives in Virginia.

  4. 4.

    NCSteve

    I’d like to say we’re more excited by their royalty than they are because we don’t have to pay for it. But the fact is, we’re more excited by their royalty than the Canadians and Aussies are, who have it without paying for it and seem to be developing the beginnings of an itch to ditch it.

  5. 5.

    mai naem mobile

    Charlotte.and.Alice are.the two.top.picks.of.rhe.oddsmakers. Hillarys grandkids name.is Charlotte.do you.know.if.the.royals pick.Charlotte.they’re going to accuse.Hillary of copying the Royals or trying to.be a royal. Time for Darryl Issa.and Trey.Gowdy.to ramp.up.the.Charlottegate and Billary Monarchy scandal machine.

  8. 8.

    bago

    Apparently there’s some kind of punch-off with a wife beater and some other dude. Whatevs. I’m going to watch the Tony and Bruce rumble instead.

  9. 9.

    Amir Khalid

    There are worse people in the world, and more parasitic ones, than the members of the British Royal Family. Collectively, they have served Britain very well over the years as goodwill ambassadors and as a tourist attraction. It’s a full-time job in which even their private matters are open to public scrutiny, and certain of their personal life choices are legally constrained. I do not agree that they are on the dole. And I doubt any of them ever gets paid as much in a year as the BBC lavished on Jeremy Clarkson, before he got his sorry coworker-punching self fired.

  12. 12.

    TaMara (BHF)

    I await the reviews of the Avengers. I saw the first one and liked it, but am thinking of skipping this one…though Joss Whedon and Robert Downey are tempting me as usual.

  13. 13.

    Amir Khalid

    Any name for the new Princess would be fine with me, except maybe Merope.

  15. 15.

    Tree With Water

    I discovered recently that my eminently Irish, Irish-American grandmother (who I never knew) was miffed because my mother had spelt my sister Catherine’s name with a properly English “C” on the birth certificate, rather than the Irish “K”. I find that inredibly amusing. I bet grandma resented the term ‘paddy wagon’, too..

  16. 16.

    maya

    Yeah, yeah, and ‘Mercans are more into Gray’s Elegy Written In a Country Churchyard than Brits too. Go figure.

  17. 17.

    Roger Moore

    @TaMara (BHF):

    I await the reviews of the Avengers.

    I saw it yesterday and though Kenneth Turan’s review was spot on. The details are all good, but they’re trying to cram too much material into the time allotted. The result is a movie where the individual scenes and events are good, but the whole thing lacks coherence.

  18. 18.

    Redshift

    @TaMara (BHF): I would say don’t skip it; I thought it was really good. I’ve actually seem it twice, but not because I’m that obsessive. A work friend had a good friend who works in publicity for Disney, and she arranged for a bunch of us to go to a screening three weeks ago, and we’d already bought tickets for Thursday night.

    Joss Whedon definitely delivers; the script is brilliant, and there are plenty of nuggets for comics fans (that don’t detract from the story for anyone else.)

  19. 19.

    Redshift

    @Roger Moore: Hmm, I don’t disagree that they tried to cram too much into it, but I thought it still came together pretty well. It’s just that some of the things that are crammed in don’t get explored as much as they deserve.

  20. 20.

    Brachiator

    @Amir Khalid: I think they should go with Khaleesi, mother of dragons. This would be a hoot.

    There’s rumors that Victoria and Charlotte are in the running as top choices, but oddly not Elizabeth.

  21. 21.

    Professor

    @mai naem mobile: There was a Charlotte in the 19th century, the daughter of George IV. She died while in labour with her child. If she had lived, there would not have been any Queen Victoria.

  23. 23.

    Emma

    @Amir Khalid: Not to mention fundraisers. At last count, the Prince’s Trust has provided more startup money for young people starting their own businesses than the government has. The last number I saw was 36 million pounds of which 30 went straight to fund youth-related programs.

    And that’s only Charles.

  25. 25.

    Redshift

    @Brachiator:

    I think they should go with Khaleesi, mother of dragons. This would be a hoot.

    Yeah, but after they didn’t name the first one “Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All,” it doesn’t seem likely.

  27. 27.

    Bobby B

    Righties always ease up on the gas pedal when it’s time to praise a monarch, then they leadfoot it complaining about Obama’s “imperial” presidency.

  28. 28.

    Amir Khalid

    @Emma:
    Diana would be fine for a middle name, of which British royals get two or three. But not for a first name — too fraught with recent history.

  29. 29.

    Brachiator

    @skerry: I am not certain that Queen Elizabeth would approve of Diana, not as part of a first daughter’s name. But who knows. I could easily see Harry naming a daughter Diana should he ever get married. And for whatever reason, Harry seems to have a thing for blondes. If he ever marries, I hope he finds a spouse with his mother’s kindness.

  30. 30.

    Walker

    I hate when people make a big deal of the royals living off of tax payers, because that hides the real problem. They really live off of wealth (the Estates) that is inheritance tax free. So the title really should be “Death tax opponents have another child”.

  31. 31.

    PurpleGirl

    @skerry: Chatters at one of the Kitten Cams I watch were talking about the child’s name. Many wanted Diana included as a middle or second middle name, a couple thought it should be her first name.

    ETA: I didn’t take part of the conversation.

  32. 32.

    skerry

    @PurpleGirl: It seems more likely they would use Diana’s middle name, “Frances”, as a middle name. Lower profile, but still honoring.

  33. 33.

    qwerty42

    @Redshift: Something from Ring Trilogy or Song of Ice and Fire. Elf Queen? Would it help in the elections if the boy were crowned “King of the North”?

  34. 34.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Brachiator: I’m afraid “Elizabeth”, despite being great grandmama’s name, has been hopelessly tainted by association with the Dark Lord.

  36. 36.

    Mike J

    @qwerty42:

    Would it help in the elections if the boy were crowned “King of the North”?

    I can’t imagine it making the SNP happy.

  39. 39.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Roger Moore: True, which is the problem with “Darth”. It too is actually a title, no matter what lines Sir Alec was asked to deliver in the first movie.

  42. 42.

    Schlemazel

    The only Avengers I want to see star Emma Peel and John Steed!

    As for baby names the should go with a hep & happenin’ name, Hermione! It’ll draw the younger crowd.

    And yes, they are on the dole. The fact that this family has been totally dependant on the labors of the entire country (and its taken by force colonies) long enough to have amassed one of the worlds great fortunes should not obscure the fact that they did nothing of value to earn their wealth it, came from the sweat of the nation.

  43. 43.

    catatonia

    Sauron. SInce he was a Maia, who could assume any form, he could have been a she.

    And I’m sure there’s a plain, unadorned ring amidst all the Royal Family Bling.

  44. 44.

    Brachiator

    @Roger Moore: True, but Daenerys sounds too much like Doris to my ears.

    I also think that Elizabeth Beyonce Rhianna Victoria would just about nail it.

  47. 47.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @catatonia: “One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them. One ring to bring them all and in the darkness turn on the telly and explode the penguin on the telly.”

  48. 48.

    qwerty42

    @Amir Khalid: I was thinking “Galadriel”, but the others would be good too. And for the boy: “King beyond the Wall”? “Elvis”?

  49. 49.

    Brachiator

    @Villago Delenda Est: Madonna lost some of her credit when she lived in England and tried to appropriate an English accent. And Boygeorge would confuse her with her brother, already a George. So,

    Elizabeth Beyonce Rhianna Victoria Cher Beckham

  50. 50.

    SuperHrefna

    The BBC have pictures of our new infant overlord. Her tentacles are tucked securely into her swaddling blankets, face kind of pink and splodgy, and oh well, I suppose she’ll do. The Windsors just make me tired. Every now and then I manage to whip up a small-r republican frenzy against them and then I imagine what on earth kind of head of state we would replace them with and then I just wither a little inside. I’d much rather focus on getting Billy Bragg’s proposed elected house of lords complete with proportional representation.

  52. 52.

    Suzanne

    I don’t care about getting involved in the debate over whether or not the royals are a drain on society, because it’s not my society or my national identity, and the people that are affected seem pleased enough with it. So fine.

    But Kate and William both seem like actually really lovely, normal, sane people, so I hope they have much happiness with their family.

    FWIW, I read that William doesn’t get along with Charles, and that he rarely sees his grandson. Charles is such a tool. With shitty taste in architecture, to boot.

  53. 53.

    Germy Shoemangler

    @Schlemazel: A few nights ago I saw the Avengers remake from 1998. John Steed and Emma Peel. I watched it for about half and hour and then had to switch it off. I didn’t care for it one bit.

  56. 56.

    SuperHrefna

    @Germy Shoemangler: Some of his architectural ideas I don’t have a problem with – it *is* nice to live in a walkable community with everything within easy reach. But when it comes to actual buildings he has a regrettable taste for rural-porn pastiche, and not much tolerance for competing aesthetics.

  57. 57.

    Germy Shoemangler

    What is rural-porn pastiche?

    I’m picturing a thatched hut with a pink flamingo in the front yard.

  58. 58.

    Schlemazel

    @Germy Shoemangler:
    Modern remakes suck. I knew enough not to see the new Bullwinkle & Rocky or Dudley Do-right because I knew without seeing them that they would miss the point and fail at the humor. I feel the same way about this new version of that great old BBC series.

  63. 63.

    Germy Shoemangler

    @SuperHrefna: Interesting photos. I actually agree with Leon Krier and his philosophy of livable communities, but then when I see the photos on the link you provided they seem… like you said, soulless. It’s as if an insect extraterrestrial had tried to create a “charming” earth-like environment for captive humans.

    Here’s a review of Krier’s book:

    http://www.kunstler.com/mags_choice_fate.html

  64. 64.

    Heliopause

    For some reason, a lot of Americans are more excited about British royalty than a lot of the Brits.

    Because they hate America, the Constitution (Article I, Section 9, Clause 8), the millions who have suffered and died under monarchs, and the thousands who fought and died to rid our continent of that particular strain of vermin.

  66. 66.

    Amir Khalid

    @Heliopause:
    I say, steady on. It’s no more than the usual obsession with celebrities — of which there are much worse examples than the British royals.

  67. 67.

    Schlemazel

    @efgoldman:
    I think the all-time champ would be the Flintstones. That could have caused a black hole. I joked about “Pirates”, you know it had to stink. And those photos of Depp? UGH! But they actually wrote a great adventure story, that and Depps acting. But look at how that could have turned out, The Lone Ranger. And lets not discuss the horrible sequels to Pirates.

  69. 69.

    Gravenstone

    @TaMara (BHF): Saw it this morning. Fun movie lots of the trademark Whedon dialogue. But they decided to turn the action up to a beyond frenetic pace at times, and the editing made it hard to follow what was happening (imo). I would say the first is the better movie, but that likely won’t stop me from seeing it another time or two (plus the inevitable Blu-Ray).

  70. 70.

    Germy Shoemangler

    @Schlemazel: I didn’t see “Bewitched” but I think it was supposed to be a movie within a movie?

    “Popeye” was a mess. I had high hopes with Jules Feiffer writing the script, and the beautiful set design, but it reeked.

  72. 72.

    Suzanne

    @Germy Shoemangler: Charles is very outspoken about his hatred for everything modern, building-wise. Never mind that the UK and London, in particular, have some of the word’s best contemporary architects and buildings. Sir Norman Foster (Pritzker winner) even jokes that he’s only made one thing that Charles approves of. As an architect, I can tell you that we scorn both that attitude as well as the “I watch HGTV, so I’m an expert” crap we have to listen to from people whose opinions don’t count at all.

  73. 73.

    Germy Shoemangler

    They re-did “The Beverly Hillbillies” and it was odd. But one line stuck with me for some reason. One of the characters is talking about Granny, and how she had a habit of disappearing for a few days and then returning stinking of her medicine. It’s like the writers were in a competition with themselves to see how far they could push to the edge of bad taste.

  74. 74.

    Schlemazel

    @Germy Shoemangler:
    That was a great conceit & it would have been fabulous had they pulled it off. Have not seen it but those who have did not enjoy it.

    @WereBear:
    Dragnet was more of a parody and a funny movie in ways the original could not have hoped to be. I would not put it into the same category as the movies that are trying to reproduce classic shows.

  76. 76.

    SuperHrefna

    @Germy Shoemangler: It’s typical of the man, he often gets involved with interesting ideas, and he surrounds himself with lots of interesting people and he *tries* to do good, but what he actually *does* from all this suffers from both his seeming inability to connect with his fellow humans and his vanity.

  77. 77.

    Hilfy

    Brachiator @ 12:44: It wasn’t Eliz I’s uterus that made her “The Virgin Queen.”

  79. 79.

    Amir Khalid

    @Schlemazel:
    I disagree with you about The Lone Ranger. The movie is a bitter black comedy about the cynicism, corruption and violence that went into the winning of the American West in the post-Civil War years. The Lone Ranger himself is presented as a naif; Tonto as half-mad with grief and guilt over the destruction of his people; and the Lone Ranger myth as what it was, a radio-friendly sugarcoating of the whole sorry business. A lot of people in America didn’t get that from the movie, or maybe they just didn’t want to.

  82. 82.

    Schlemazel

    @Suzanne:
    Here is the bit I have a problem with

    crap we have to listen to from people whose opinions don’t count at all.

    I know clients can be deadly stupid but I have 2 prominent bits of stupid from big deal firms right here were I live that makes me thing no architect should complain.

    The county courthouse is earthquake proof because it was designed by a CA firm. Not sure that last earthquake in Minnesota but thats only half of it. The beautiful stone plaza had to be replaced after the first winter because the stone used turned super slippery when snow was on it. And then there was the blow ground waterfall fountain that has not worked right since the first freeze, seems 0 degrees was not taken into account.

    Which lead to the Ameriprize building, where the world famous architect decided the huge glass walls should feature water running down them. They have tried mightily for years to get that to work, even gave up trying to use it in the winter but it does not run in the summer any more because it can’t withstand the weather.

    Its not just the clients that are full of it.

  83. 83.

    normal liberal

    @Germy Shoemangler:
    Approval from Kunstler is a bit of a red flag, since he often veers into “only the things that I like can be good” mindset exemplified by, well, Prince Chuck. J.H. is a crank, with lashings of dubious views on subjects beyond architecture, such as proper pants-wearing by Today’s Youth. YMMV, of course.

  84. 84.

    Schlemazel

    @Amir Khalid:
    Maybe I should see the movie but the reviews and the feedback I got from friends that saw it make me believe a lot of people missed that.

    If your take is correct they made a horrible mistake not casting an actual native american as tonto.

  86. 86.

    Germy Shoemangler

    @normal liberal: No, I agree about Kunstler, and he’s gotten worse lately. But it was an interesting book review, written back in ’98.

  88. 88.

    Amir Khalid

    @Schlemazel:
    I’m not sure if that should matter; an actor’s business is, after all, playing people not like himself.

  89. 89.

    Germy Shoemangler

    I’m not a big fan of the brutalist style. Bill Bryson called it the “fuck you school of architecture”

  90. 90.

    Suzanne

    @Schlemazel: I am very aware that plenty of architects are stupid (though the seismic design thing may surprise you—levels of seismic design are required by code in plenty of places you may not expect), and architecture, like every art form, often has attempts to do something new or innovative that fail. Hell, I think Frank Gehry has made some critical fuckups. I am aware and pretty damn critical when architects make errors based on lack of understanding of context issues.

    Honestly, though, the clients aren’t the problem. Most clients have facilities staff who are knowledgable, or at least knowledgable enough to know when to step back to let us do our thing. I am very client-centers and attempt to be very non-ego-driven in my practice. It’s the know-nothings who think that picking out sheets and curtains is the extent of our jobs, who think that their personal (and uninformed/uneducated) taste should determine what gets built with other people’s money, and, yes, who watch the fantasy shows on HGTV and think that that represents reality, then second-guess everything we do. These people are usually mid-level bureaucrats, and “citizen members” of design review and zoning boards, and in general just assholes.

    In general, if one is not knowledgable about something, I think it is almost always the wisest course of action to listen to those that do. IANAL, and all that. It would be nice if we got the same respect. However, since it seems that everyone wanted to be an architect or an interior designer before they gave up to become a Professional Asshole, I get to hear lots of clueless shit almost daily.

  91. 91.

    Fair Economist

    @Brachiator:

    There’s rumors that Victoria and Charlotte are in the running as top choices, but oddly not Elizabeth.

    Not odd at all; it’s a real hassle to have the same name as a living relative. Your first name should identify you in the room you’re in.

  93. 93.

    SuperHrefna

    @Germy Shoemangler: My grandmother was a modernist architect of the mid century. I spent so much time arguing with her over the brutalist excesses of her generation, but now that she is gone I have a huge soft spot for mid century modernism, because it makes me feel all warm and cozy inside, like I’m with my granny….

  94. 94.

    raven

    @efgoldman: Hey “Sparky”, when I’m watching the same broadcast as some schmuck and he’s bitching about national guard with “M-16’s on full auto” and “their fingers on the trigger” and M-16’s have not been “full auto” in decades, and you could’t tell where the selector switch or their goddamn fingers were on a camera shot at night time from a distance. Also whined about the guard having assault vehicles when the formation on the tube had a hummer with no gun and truck with the troops in between, then I’m saying the motherfucker doesn’t know what he’s talking about. If I need your help I’ll ask for it.

  96. 96.

    raven

    @Baud: Last nigh, goldilocks thought he he’s chime in on shithead from NH and his rants. Fuck em.

  100. 100.

    Steeplejack

    @WereBear:

    I liked that movie too. One of the few where Dan Aykroyd’s particular style was matched with good material. (The other I can think of is Grosse Point Blank.)

  101. 101.

    Juju

    @TaMara (BHF): When I hear about “The Avengers”, I first think John Steed and Emma Peel. I guess I’m older than I think I am. I have yet to see an “Avenger” movie. Also, get off my lawn.

  103. 103.

    SuperHrefna

    @Fair Economist: Yes, though I’m British, I live on Long Island so I know all about the soullessness of American housing developments ( I even lived in one for a bit in the 70’s! My grandmother the British modernist architect thought it was brill). But Poundbury is soulless. There is no there there. And though you can say the same about any given Wimpey estate in the UK, no one is claiming grand things for them. They are where Britain’s ample supply of Dursleys live, no less and no more. Unlike Poundbury, which is supposed to be the model village that will set us all on the path to Correct Living and True Happiness and Prosperity. The disconnect between the vision and the reality is infuriating.

  109. 109.

    Germy Shoemangler

    @SuperHrefna: Jacques Tati made some hilarious films poking fun at modern architecture.

    I remember back in the 70s, my first day in college. I had to report to a class in an extremely brutal, modern building. I remember circling the thing completely so I could find the entrance. It was well hidden on the side somewhere.

  110. 110.

    NotMax

    Dunno if I’ve ever mentioned this before, but friends of mine have been doing a local radio show about computers for over ten years now.

    It’s (supposedly) available for live streaming now (station has been having tech problems with that).

    Anyhoo, today will be one of their periodic shows focused not just on computers and tech but also on astronomy and space.

    Airs from 6 to 8 p.m. Eastern time (Noon to 2 Hawaii time) on station KAOI, for any of you who might have a favorite way to live stream radio.

  112. 112.

    opiejeanne

    @Germy Shoemangler: Bewitched (movie) stank.

    I liked Popeye, the movie. It was odd but no odder than the character created by Segar, but the ending was just tacked on. The studio was pressuring them to wrap it up, they had no idea what to do for an ending, and I think there was a storm that destroy a big part of the set of Sweet Haven.

    I especially liked Olive Oyl and her song about Bluto, “He’s Large”.

  114. 114.

    Germy shoemangler

    @opiejeanne: That was a beautiful set! The backgrounds looked beautiful. Furniture inspired by Segar’s cartoons. Jules Feiffer wrote a strong script, but the director didn’t feel the need to follow it.

    Robin Williams was brilliant. The songs were great. But I was disappointed for what could have been.

  115. 115.

    Germy shoemangler

    Has anyone read “From Bauhaus to Our House”? I’ve meant to for years, but never got around to it. Can anyone recommend?

  118. 118.

    normal liberal

    @Germy Shoemangler:
    I did read the review, and I agree that Kunstler is delaminating with age. I also looked at the Poundbury photos – welcome to the barren Ye Olde Englishe version of The Truman Show. I have downright Kunstleresque reactions to the truly awful proportions of some of the larger Poundbury buildings. And I would have thought Prince C. would emulate all those Georgian landscaping geniuses.

  119. 119.

    opiejeanne

    @Schlemazel: In the 60s my dad worked for the city of Los Angeles in their electrical labs. He induced a full meltdown tantrum in an architect who had designed some path lights with a design flaw that allowed the fixture to fill with water, and if you touched them you’d get a nasty shock. It was a nice design, sleek, modern, looked good when installed.

    He told them to simply change where the screw holes were in the cover, so that they no longer leaked water into the fixture, and the architect went nuts. There was a lot of huffing and flouncing and a threat of Going Galt.

  120. 120.

    Cervantes

    @Germy shoemangler:

    Has anyone read “From Bauhaus to Our House”? I’ve meant to for years, but never got around to it. Can anyone recommend?

    My opinion: Read it if you enjoy his prose style. (I happen not to.) As architectural criticism, parts of it were just wrong, other parts irrelevant by the time he wrote them.

  122. 122.

    satby

    @Bex: You know what, I did! But it was just a momentary rattle of the china where I am.

    Hillary Rettig is closer to the epicenter, as are a couple of other Juicers. Wonder how it was by them?

  123. 123.

    xenos

    @normal liberal: kunztler has turned into what his name, the sentimental schlock artist who was big in the early days of the Internet. Similarly has been as useless sentimental right – wing wanker since about 2009.

  124. 124.

    NotMax

    Speaking of architecture, anyone ever been to Celebration in Florida?

    Wondering if it is as sterile in person as it appears.

  125. 125.

    opiejeanne

    @Germy shoemangler: There was a sweetness in Robin Williams’ performance in that movie. The songs were by Harry Nilsson, and brilliant. I’ve been a fan since Aerial Ballet; I still have the vinyl.

    Yes, the director didn’t entirely understand his characters, but the actors did. Popeye muttered under his breath, which inspired a wildly stupid review by a David Horowitz, complaining about the mumbling. Shelley Duvall was Olive down to her boots. Ray Walston made a pretty good Poopdeck Pappy.
    I don’t know who designed the set but I loved that, too.

  126. 126.

    gian

    @Amir Khalid: marketed as a kid’s movie with essentially a vivisection scene iirc … With a kid friendly blockbuster budget to match

  127. 127.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Heliopause: They really have problems with the entire Enlightenment and the entire Liberté, égalité, fraternité thing.

    See Koch, Charles. Who doesn’t like Obama because “he’s an egalitarian”.

  128. 128.

    opiejeanne

    @NotMax: Oh God, Yes it is. We were in the area and decided to take a look. The houses look like a lot of Southern houses built between 1880 and 1920, lots of white clapboard with dark green shutters or trim. The houses aren’t really the problem, it’s the way the place is laid out, houses too close together and too close to the street, tinyl backyards. It looks like an ideal small town until you look closely and then you know you don’t want to live there. The fans on the porch ceilings are great but the place is deserted in the middle of the day in the summer. A lot of them are resort homes, and they are expensive.

    But there is a boardwalk into the alligator-infested swamp next door, and we watched a crane standing on a hedge, stalking lizard on the side of a house.

    The downtown area looks like a copy of downtown Monrovia, CA, right down to the movie theater and the diner on the corner. That was the only place we saw people, and we were there in August when the kids are usually not in school but I don’t think we saw a single kid, not even among the tourists. The diner was full of people from elsewhere.

    The whole place looks like a movie set.

  129. 129.

    WereBear

    @opiejeanne: The whole thing was like Planet Anarchaos.

    Musicals work best with disciplined directors who keep the whole thing moving along, and this one was directed by Robert Altman, who is very big on improvisation and looser forms.

    Brilliant casting and songs, as you noted, yet we live in a time when people expect a strong “book” and the plot just never added up… and it needed to.

    According to James Robert Parish, in his book Fiasco: A History of Hollywood’s Iconic Flops, the idea for the Popeye musical had its basis in the bidding war for the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Annie between the two major studios vying for the rights, Columbia and Paramount.

    When Robert Evans found out that Paramount had lost the bidding for Annie, he held an executive meeting in which he asked about comic strip characters that they had the rights to, that could also be used in order to create a movie musical, and one attendee said “Popeye”.

    So no one had a burning desire to see Popeye as a musical. It is amazing it’s as good as it sometimes is.

  130. 130.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Juju: “The Avengers” (the comic book) existed contemporaneously with “The Avengers” (the TV show) in the 60s, although the comic book didn’t have near the cultural impact. No Diana Rigg, for one thing.

  131. 131.

    Germy Shoemangler

    @opiejeanne: I still have the vinyl soundtrack as well. When the movie came out I bought a paperback about the production. The set designers were meticulous creating Sweethaven. I’ll have to dig out the book to check credits. They did every little detail, so lovingly.

    Nilsson was so disgusted by his experience with the movie, he walked out halfway through. The songs are brilliant.

    Interesting anecdote: The guy who played Bluto said that many years earlier he walked into a club where Lenny Bruce was performing. Lenny took one look at him and said “That’s Bluto!”

  133. 133.

    Mike in NC

    @NotMax: Yes, Celebration had a bit of a Stepford Wives vibe. Not a place for real people to live in.

  137. 137.

    Mike in NC

    I read something years ago about how Prince Charles absolutely detested modern architecture. Then last year we were on a tour boat on the River Thames, where the guide pointed out the Gherkin, the Cheese Grater, the Shard, the Walkie-Talkie and several other landmarks. Figured the Prince of Wales had developed a massive ulcer at having to look at them.

  138. 138.

    Steeplejack

    @gogol’s wife:

    RIP, indeed. I liked the Barbara Vine “psychological” novels. Might be time to go back and read a couple of the earliest Wexford novels, which are now 50 years old. Wonder how they hold up.

  140. 140.

    gogol's wife

    @Steeplejack:

    I love the Barbara Vine novels too and have read all of them. I never was as crazy about the Wexfords, but have come to like them more lately. Did you read the recent one, The Girl Next Door? It was an amazing attempt to capture what it’s like to grow old.

    ETA: It wasn’t a Wexford.

  141. 141.

    Brachiator

    @Fair Economist:

    Not odd at all; it’s a real hassle to have the same name as a living relative. Your first name should identify you in the room you’re in.

    But I doubt that anyone other than her husband refers to the queen as Elizabeth, or even thinks of her as an Elizabeth. And of course the queen’s mother (and Queen Mother) was also an Elizabeth.

    I read today that Charlotte is in the running as it is a feminine version of Charles.

    As an aside, very interesting discussion here of architecture and Popeye. I think the movie and performances are underrated. But although it gets the characters right, it doesn’t quite catch the lightness and anarchic whimsy of the cartoons.

  142. 142.

    Anne Laurie

    @Steeplejack:

    Might be time to go back and read a couple of the earliest Wexford novels, which are now 50 years old. Wonder how they hold up.

    Better than you’d expect, IMO (I re-read all the Wexfords recently, the most recent came out only a few months ago).

    But if you liked the Vine novels, you should definitely look for Rendell’s early non-series novels too — like To Fear A Painted Devil, A Judgement in Stone or Master of the Moor. Not as long/complicated as the Vine books, but perfect little gems of “imaginary gardens containing real toads”.

  143. 143.

    opiejeanne

    @Suzanne: I like some reproduction houses but most just look like plastic copies of something else. Our current house is a basic Federalist box, two storeys, symmetrical placement of windows on the front, front door right in the middle. It was 15 years old, but it was in our price range, in a neighborhood we really liked, and had good bones. It was the only house we looked at that didn’t back up to a stand of dark, dank trees dripping moss. (Seattle area)

    I am one of those people who intended to major in Architecture when I went back to school and got lured away on registration day by one of my music teachers, so I got a degree in Music to my everlasting annoyance. I should have done what I set out to do that day. Both were brand new majors on my chosen campus, I was 23 and going back to school after a three year break, and I had the grades to walk right in the door.

    As a result of my lack of a formal education in architecture, I have a very narrow knowledge of architecture, mainly of the areas I’ve lived in as well as the types of houses I’ve owned. I volunteered for the local museum in the City of Riverside and worked on a photographic project to record every house built before 1945. Part of my job was to pull the city permits and whatever info there was, transfer it to a card with the photo on it, and file it. I lived in that town for 23 years in three different houses, a 1925 bungalow built on spec (nearly unheard of), 1932 Spanish colonial, and a 1910 Arts and Crafts bungalow. That house had an architect’s name attached to it, but I can’t remember it. It still had the big copper pan in the attic for the original solar water heater, but the mechanism was disconnected years before we bought the house, and there was a roof over the pan/mirror. (I loved that house)
    In Northern California we lived in a split level built in 1956, in a tract where there were just two models but most of the original owners were doctors and lawyers. By the time we got there in 1992 it was blue collar despite the price tags and the view of the San Mateo bridge and the bay, and most of them thought we were odd because we had a bookcase in our living room that ran the length of the short wall, and it was full of books. The movers were shocked when they saw what we were moving into, after seeing the previous house.

    The house previous to our current one was a mid-century modern with a split personality; the only thing that fit that style was the stacked rock fireplace, just like the one in the house in “The Incredibles”, and the rest of the house screamed cottage.

  144. 144.

    opiejeanne

    @opiejeanne: We did flirt with an Eichler when we lived in that 1956 house; we discovered them a year after we moved into the other house. It had all the appeal of a Motel 6, but the Eichler, oh my! There was a whole neighborhood of them and our realtor never showed us one, and there were several for sale in our price range at the time.

  145. 145.

    Suzanne

    @opiejeanne: I think all the different styles can be great. I live in one of Phoenix’s many pseudo-Mediterranean homes that became ubiquitous once one-coat stucco systems were invented. I don’t care for the style so much, but the interior is great. A very efficient floor plan, rooms the right size, and a sunken lower level that reduces HVAC demand due to earth coupling.

    I just hate the fake vintage shit. Every style can look good, but when Toll Brothers tries to shit out a fake Georgian house with a four-car garage and Ye Olde Spyce for Big-Scryyn TV, I get stabby.

  149. 149.

    Jay C

    @SuperHrefna:

    Well, considering the general aesthetic level of most modern or modern-ish British residential architecture, Prince Charles’ Poundbury is neither better or worse than the normal lot: to me the weirdest thing are those prominent chimneys – it makes it look like every house on the block is making a rude gesture – probably to the Prince!.

  150. 150.

    Fair Economist

    @SuperHrefna: I agree Poundbury isn’t a great architectural classic (needs more decoration, primarily, and some trees) but it’s better than a typical modern development and looks MUCH better to live in by virtue of being walkable. The only thing about it that bugs me is that one big building shaped like the cottages. That looks off. Centerpiece buildings need to be flashier.

  151. 151.

    VFX Lurker

    @TaMara (BHF):

    I await the reviews of the Avengers. I saw the first one and liked it, but am thinking of skipping this one…though Joss Whedon and Robert Downey are tempting me as usual.

    I saw AVENGERS 2 last night. I plan to see it a few more times before it leaves theaters, but here’s my thoughts on it right now:

    — AVENGERS 2 works best as an extension of AVENGERS 1, instead of as a sequel that can also work as a standalone film like ALIENS. ALIENS only had to reintroduce one character from the first film. AVENGERS 2 starts out with at least six main characters from AVENGERS and several supporting characters from previous Marvel films.

    — AVENGERS 2 also picks up where IRON MAN 3, WINTER SOLDIER and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY left off. This is a sequel to more than one film, and it sets the stage for more than AVENGERS 3.

    — AVENGERS 2 counts on the audience remembering some ideas and concepts from the previous films (ex: the Helicarrier). AVENGERS 2 does take the time to reintroduce specific concepts from previous films, and those have critical story payoff later in the film.

    — AVENGERS 2 had at least as many VFX shots as TRANSFORMERS 4. Unlike T4, the FX serve the AVENGERS 2 story, not the other way around. There’s plenty to watch, but it’s all happening for story reasons.

    — No spoilers, but I would love to see an AVENGERS 3 starring the roster at the end of AVENGERS 2.

  152. 152.

    brantl

    Every baby is wonderful, this baby is no more wonderful than any other. No less, perhaps, but certainly not more.

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks