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You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Bivalves (Open Thread)

Bivalves (Open Thread)

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Here are some seashells I found last month at a nearby beach:

bivalves

Do you have MLK Day off if you’re in the US? I don’t, but it’s my own fault as I am self-employed. My husband and child do, and they’ve hindered my productivity considerably.

It’s cold today by Florida standards: The high was in the low-60s, which is parka weather to us. The dogs and chickens seem to find it invigorating. Me, not so much; it makes me want to binge-watch TV shows and over-eat.

Downton Abbey viewers: Did you catch up with the show after watching the Democratic debate or forsake the candidates to watch the Crawley crew? I watched the latest Downton episode first thing this morning. Very sweet. But that Daisy will come to a sticky end if she doesn’t remember herself, mark my words!

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

100Comments

  2. 2.

    Phylllis

    Day off for me. Met a friend that I don’t get to spend a lot of time with for lunch; spent most of the rest of the day catching up on season two of A Place to Call Home. Terrific Aussie show set in the early 50’s. I think some PBS stations are showing it; also available on Acorn TV.

    Never got into Downton. Waiting for Masterpiece Mystery to crank back up–I believe new episodes of Endeavour are on tap.

  3. 3.

    The Golux

    The high was in the low-60s…

    This time of year, our kitchen is usually in the low 50s in the morning. Our new heat pump is coming in handy.

    I must be bundling up more than in past years; I can feel pretty comfortable at 60 degrees.

  4. 4.

    BGinCHI

    No MLK Day in Norway. Fuckers. I tried a sit-in but everyone was just so polite it didn’t work.

    She sells seashells by the seashore.

    Have I ever mentioned that I’m excellent at tongue-twisters?

  6. 6.

    Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA

    Working today, but I work from home so it isn’t so bad.

    Went out during lunch to buy a taillight for my new bicycle. If you’d told me six months ago I’d be on a bicycle, I’d have laughed at you — it’s amazing what a 38 pound weight loss will do.

    So of course that stupidly warm weather we had until a couple of weeks ago is gone now, and my new bicycle is sitting in the garage, all lonely and sad. The fear conquering (and additional cardio exercise) will have to wait for another day.

  7. 7.

    raven

    I’m glad the Frozen Gnome swim was yesterday, the temp has been dropping all day and the wind is brutal.

    I actually think the soaper is better this year than it has been. We watched the the last Master on None last night too, I hoe they get renewed.

  9. 9.

    ThresherK (GPad)

    Downtown Abbey is appointment viewing in our home.

    SPOILER ALERT

    At the end of the big ceremony I did not hear the minister say “You may now kiss the bride.” Are the saving that for the honeymoon? Exactly what was acceptable PDA in England in the 1920s?

  10. 10.

    donnah

    I watched Downton, no question. With this being the final season, I want to see them as soon as they air so I can possibly watch them a second time before the next new one. *nerd*

    Spoilers!!!

    I thought the wedding was lovely, and as down-to-earth as the new Mr and Mrs,
    and I’m glad they got the reception they wanted. I had tears in my eyes as they kissed. But I burst into tears at the reception, when Tom and Sibby came home!

  13. 13.

    Cacti

    Vox puts Berniecare under the microscope…

    And concludes that it’s a lot of pie in the sky.

    In the absence of these kinds of specifics, Sanders has offered a puppies-and-rainbows approach to single-payer — he promises his plan will cover everything while costing the average family almost nothing. This is what Republicans fear liberals truly believe: that they can deliver expansive, unlimited benefits to the vast majority of Americans by stacking increasingly implausible, and economically harmful, taxes on the rich. Sanders is proving them right.

    A few days ago, I criticized Hillary Clinton for not leveling with the American people. She seemed, I wrote, “scared to tell voters what she really thinks for fear they’ll disagree.” Here, Sanders shows he doesn’t trust voters either. Rather than making the trade-offs of a single-payer plan clear, he’s obscured them further. In answering Clinton’s criticisms, he’s raised real concerns about the plausibility of his own ideas.

  14. 14.

    Mai.naem.mobile

    Have not watched Downton. Don’t have the day off. I started watching Doc Martin last season and I really like the show. I watched that last night. I don’t know if Sunday is the normal day for PBS to run the show nationwide but here it comes on after Downton.

  16. 16.

    Mike J

    One of America’s foremost political commentators, weedguy420boner on twitter, made this incisive statement:

    Martin omalley you got a children’s book ass name. You sound like the mailman in a town where everyone’s a bear

    Made me laugh any way.

  18. 18.

    Betty Cracker

    @raven: Master of None is on my list for next time I fall into a “show hole.”

    @efgoldman: You heard correctly! If they’re smart about the relocation (i.e., don’t put it in an area that requires fans to cross long, high-traffic bridges and locate it near population centers), it could save baseball for the area. I’d certainly attend more games if the stadium didn’t resemble a Sam’s Club and require me to risk being stuck on a bridge forever!

  20. 20.

    KG

    I don’t think I’ve ever had the day off. Maybe in college but I believe both undergrad and law school had winter breaks that ran through January, and I did work in undergrad, I vaguely recall working at least once on MLK Day in undergrad, other years I might have had Mondays off. We seem to have a lot of holidays in this country that most people still have to work on

  21. 21.

    Betty Cracker

    @SiubhanDuinne: I didn’t take that as an indication that Digby hasn’t read 1984 and was unaware of the meme but rather that she thought it didn’t make sense in that context.

  25. 25.

    Germy

    Watched Doc Martin on Saturday (as soon as I saw the policeguy get his new taser I KNEW he’d be anxious to use it) and I found the show hilarious in so many outrageous and quiet ways. Like when the new babysitter walks in and asks which one is the baby.

    On Sunday we watched Downton. We’re saving the debate for later, on youtube. But tonight I want to see Supergirl.

    Right now we’re watching the 1978 movie “King” starring Paul Winfield as Martin Luther King. I remember when it first aired as a miniseries.

    @ThresherK (GPad): I noticed that, too! No “kiss the bride” command at the Carson wedding. I wondered aloud to my wife if that is an American thing?

    The job interviews Thomas goes on get worse and worse. His latest at the ruins of an estate, with only one other (unseen) staff member. Why doesn’t he get a job at a clock shop? He can dismantle and reassemble a clock blindfolded; he’d be perfect.

    I enjoy the rivalry between Sprat and Grannie’s maid. It gets more and more tense, but I find Sprat hilarious.

  27. 27.

    Gimlet

    TMZ

    Glenn Frey 67, a founding member and guitarist of the Eagles, has died … TMZ has learned.

    We’re told the cause of death was a combination of complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis, and pneumonia.

    Frey had been battling intestinal issues for months and had surgery in November. We’re told in the last few days his condition took a turn for the worse. He died in New York City.

  29. 29.

    Suzanne

    I have today off. His is the first time in my professional career that I haven’t had to work—most firms only take Memorial Day and Labor Day off.

    I am taking this moment to let hair dye process on my head.

    So my famil and I decided last year to not exchange Christmas gifts, and to save our money all year and go on a trip instead. I think we’re going to book it today—Greece and Italy, here we come! I really want to go to Istanbul, but I think I’m going to stay away from this ISIS shit until they simmer down.

  30. 30.

    Germy

    @schrodinger’s cat:. a beautiful 1910 recording of Indian music.

    Released in August 1910, this lovely piece is set in the kharahapriya rag with an 8 beat time cycle called athi. The performer is Brahma Sri Tiruchendur Appadurai Aiyengar (or Iyengar), a Carnatic (Southern) Indian classical musician of some renown in his time. Most likely recorded in Madras (present day Chennai), the performer was perhaps from — or employed in — the city of Tiruchendur, in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where Telugu is one of the primary languages. Tamil Nadu is the heart of Dravidian culture, and simply one of the most ancient places on Earth.

  31. 31.

    BGinCHI

    @Gimlet: There is a really, really good Eagles documentary on Netflix.

    I’m not a huge fan, though like most people grew up listening to them. The doc made me appreciate the songs and the songwriting a lot more than I did before I watched it. The Frey-Bob Seger connection is really interesting, which I had not known about.

  32. 32.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Betty Cracker:

    Well, maybe, but in that case I remain disappoint. I thought it was an excellent analogy.

    As always, YMMV, and it is a minor enough quibble that it’s certainly not worth further discussion.

  33. 33.

    Randy P

    Yep, I had the day off and did nothing useful. It was very nice.

    It’s been in the 20s today in southeast PA, and we had a dusting of snow yesterday. First day that’s really felt like winter. Having grown up in a very snowy place, I feel edgy and out of sorts every winter until I see something that actually qualifies as a snowstorm. This didn’t qualify, but at least there were actual flakes.

    Last January we went to visit my sister in Wisconsin, and I think it was in the middle of that “polar vortex” thing. I have to admit that even I found that weather uncomfortably cold and preferred being indoors.

  35. 35.

    eclare

    From what I understand “you may now kiss the bride” is not in the Book of Common Prayer, it’s an American thing.

  37. 37.

    schrodinger's cat

    Tamil Nadu is the heart of Dravidian culture, and simply one of the most ancient places on Earth.

    Ha, every place in India likes to claim that! Everything is at least 5000 years old for realz.

    ETA: Husband kitteh’s fambly is originally from Tamil Nadu, his grandfather came to Bombay, pre-independence. I don’t understand a word of Tamil, its totally different from the north Indian languages that have Sanskrit as its mother language.

  38. 38.

    Betty Cracker

    @BGinCHI: Did not see that documentary, but did it mention that The Eagles were Linda Ronstadt’s backup band until she told them they should become their own act? I heard about that while listening to an interview with Ronstadt on NPR.

  39. 39.

    BGinCHI

    I’m a mother pheasant plucker
    I like to pluck mother pheasants
    I’m the most pleasant mother pheasant plucker
    Who ever plucked a mother pheasant.

    Another tongue-twister, dispatched.

  40. 40.

    Germy

    @Iowa Old Lady: I’ve been following Supergirl and enjoying the show. I think it must have something to do with all the DC comics I read between the ages of seven and twelve. Overall, I think they’re doing a good job with the show.

    I tried following the show Gotham, but tired of it after two or three episodes.

  41. 41.

    Mike J

    @eclare: When Alice and Hugo got married on Vicar of Dibley, Geraldine said it. Of course she consumes lots of American pop culture.

  42. 42.

    bemused

    @Mai.naem.mobile:

    We’re big fans of Doc Martin and have the whole series on dvd. I didn’t catch a Doc Martin episode until a couple of seasons in and was hooked right away. I had to buy the set so I could properly start from the beginning and now we are watching season 1 to 6 again for the 2nd time. There is one more season (7), the last I think, that hasn’t aired in the US yet.

  43. 43.

    BGinCHI

    @Betty Cracker: You need to watch it. Trust me. The LR part is very, very cool. That LA scene was producing some amazing stuff.

    Also, LR, hubba hubba. That album cover with her on roller skates floored my adolescent self.

  44. 44.

    Germy

    @bemused: After watching the first few Doc Martin seasons, I went back and watched the movie, and boy, is he different! Outgoing and friendly, and smokes a doob!

  45. 45.

    Iowa Old Lady

    @Germy: I’ve never been a superhero fan, so maybe I just wasn’t ready for this show. The plots all seemed alike to me, and the main character seemed younger than the age the show gave her. She was charming, but that wasn’t enough for me, I guess.

  47. 47.

    danielx

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    Currently 10 degrees outside, dropping off fast now that the sun is going down. Try Eucerin Intensive Repair lotion, should be available at Target. It’s done wonders for me and doesn’t leave your hands greasy for an extended period.

  48. 48.

    schrodinger's cat

    I finally watched Bajirao Mastani, its quite a Debbie downer story, even the winningest of the winning warriors who was a Brahmin himself could not successfully break the shackles of Brahminicial orthodoxy.

    Its the great Bharatiya Parampara (Indian tradition) which chews out people if they stray from the orthodoxy, even a tiny bit. More opera than Wolf Hall it has some problems but overall I liked it. Of the three main leads Mastani came of as the least convincing. Anyway I will do a full review one of these days.

  52. 52.

    Iowa Old Lady

    @danielx: I use a Eucerin product called Aquaphor and it helps, but it’s just too cold right now. I should try this other stuff you mention. My kindle screen is a mess of fingerprints because I’m putting stuff on my hands all the time.

  54. 54.

    schrodinger's cat

    ETA: More on Bajirao Mastani: Priyanka Chopra as Kashibai ( Peshwa’s lawfully wedded wife, or dharam patni) kills it. I haven’t watched her in Quantico, but she was amazing. She made me want to hunt down my late grandmother’s nine yard saris and her traditional jewelry.

  57. 57.

    MattF

    Work day today. On the other hand, the weather gang is predicting a likelihood of double-digit snow on Friday in the DC area, so I’m already anticipating taking that day off.

  61. 61.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Suzanne: My son has traveled a lot, on every continent except Africa (for now) and Istanbul is the only place he found bedbugs. But his lodging budget has always been lower than what I expect yours will be.

  64. 64.

    p.a.

    @Betty Cracker: Friend gave me ‘Turken’ eggs; they look like a jumbo+ but most of the extra volume is albumen not yolk. They’re supposed to be more heat-resistant than fully-feathered chix. Did you investigate raising them?

  73. 73.

    Betty Cracker

    @p.a.: We considered scads of different birds before settling on the flock configuration, but not “turkens” — never heard of ’em. Heat-tolerant was definitely a consideration though.

  76. 76.

    Davebo

    I work about 90% from home but have been onsite at a client the past 3 work days.

    Now if they’d just pay their Amex. It’s been declined the last three times I’ve tried it!

    The difference between self employed and unemployed is just a check that doesn’t bounce!

  80. 80.

    dr. luba

    I work in a hospital––no benefits, hourly pay (albeit fairly good hourly pay, as I am a hospitalist). We don’t ever close, but we do get paid time and a half on some holidays; this isn’t one of them. I work it every year because I work Mondays, but do my part by sharing radical MLK quotes on Facebook to piss of conservative family members.

    My brother and SIL, who both work for the auto industry and have benefits, have a long weekend, and go away every year with friends and kids to a ski lodge.

  81. 81.

    Brachiator

    Working today and taking a break. Went to the movies over the weekend, and (like a number of other people at the multiplex apparently) did a double feature. Really liked “Spotlight,” about the priest child abuse scandal in Boston. I’m surprised that the film has not been more popular, because it is a solid piece of work. The one weakness is that the “crusading journalist” film can be by the numbers with few surprises, and even “Spotlight” sometimes comes across as “anonymous hero reporters” vs “insert name of bad guy here.” But the filmmakers were aware of this and got the tremendously appealing and empathetic Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo to portray the lead reporters, with good supporting work from Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci and others. But director Tom McCarthy (who also co-wrote the screenplay with Josh Singer) really nails it in two areas. They give a very dramatically clear idea of the story the reporters are trying to get, not just about bad priests, but that Cardinal Law and high Church officials knew about the predator priests and deliberately protected them. And in beautifully dramatic ways, they let you know that in Boston the Church was not just a powerful institution, but an essential element of Boston life, like air and water, and that this helped create the environment which let the tragedy happen.

    So, as the story unfolds we learn that even the editors of the paper went to Catholic schools and colleges where priests were their instructors as well as their spiritual counsellors, that priests are revered as the physical manifestation of God, and that most of those trying to uncover the scandal are somehow outsiders of the tribal Irish Catholic culture. And we see how the presumption of churchly rectitude led many of those who should have known better to dismiss many of the victims who insisted that the problem was widespread as a gaggle of conspiracy nuts with agendas or losers.

    The theater showing the film also followed it with an interesting short about the background of the movie, with clips of the real reporters and a short interview with the filmmakers. Yea Arclight!

    After a lunch break I went back and saw, “The Big Short,” almost more a visual lecture than a real movie, but funny as hell about a serious topic, the economic Armageddon of the housing market collapse. Great acting and a surprisingly astute treatment of how the corrupt banksters got away with financial murder.

    The trailers for Tina Fey in “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,” about a woman journalist in Afghanistan looked funny and interesting, as was the trailer for the Coen Brothers “Hail, Caesar,” with George Clooney.

    Next time, maybe “The Revenant” and “The Hateful Eight.” Others seeing movies that day really seemed to like “Room” and “The Danish Girl.”

  83. 83.

    debbie

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    If you’ve already got cracks and Bandaids don’t compromise your fashion sense, rub some Neosporin onto the cracks and cover with a Bandaid — 24 to 48 hours later, they’ll be gone.

  85. 85.

    Brachiator

    @BGinCHI: RE: Another tongue-twister, dispatched.

    I’m not a flea flicker
    Or a flea flicker’s son,
    But I can flick a flea
    Til the flea flicker comes.

    Say it real fast

  86. 86.

    Steeplejack

    @MattF:

    I have already planned to pre-forage for eggs, butter and bread tomorrow or Wednesday to beat the panicked mobs. Might swing by Home Depot and pick up a small, cheap snow shovel, if such exists. My cul-de-sac street is all one condo association, and the groundskeepers do a good job of shoveling the sidewalks. But we have parallel parking on the street, and the snow plow always leaves a tasteful ridge of snow pushed up against the driver side of all the cars. That can be a bitch if we have a big snow.

  87. 87.

    PurpleGirl

    @Mai.naem.mobile: I think it depends on the individual PBS station when they show any show. For example, in the Metro NY market even with broadcast TV I had both WNET and WLIW. WNET doesn’t show Doc Martin but WLIW does. Both show Masterpiece Theatre, although not on the same night; the same goes for shows like Nature and Nova.

  89. 89.

    Steeplejack

    @BGinCHI:

    Re the Eagles:

    The PBS American Experience episode on David Geffen, which is surprisingly good, has a very interesting section on the Eagles and the’70s Los Angeles music scene. Don Henley turns out to be a very astute observer of Geffen, his interaction with the Eagles and the whole industry. Not that I automatically expect rockers to be dimwits, but it was still a surprise.

    I think the doc can be streamed on the PBS website.

  90. 90.

    rikyrah

    It’s cold today by Florida standards: The high was in the low-60s, which is parka weather to us

    The high today was 9.

    9.

    Colder than a muthaphucka.

    Tightly wrapped in the Eskimo coat.

  92. 92.

    ThresherK

    @Betty Cracker: Miranda Lambert sang “Desperado” at the Kennedy Center honors recently on TV. I totally missed how the Eagles didn’t attend the celebration where they were feted. I didn’t pay much attention at the time but know better now.

    PS I don’t get Miranda Lambert’s appeal; I was listening to her on that show and thought “Linda Ronstadt could kick her butt.”

  93. 93.

    JCJ

    @BGinCHI: My favorite tongue twister is in German:

    Zwei zischende Schlangen sitzen zwischen zwei spitzigen Steinen und zischen dazwischen.

  94. 94.

    Steeplejack

    @ThresherK:

    I was listening to her on that show and thought “Linda Ronstadt could kick her butt.”

    If she was 30 years younger and didn’t have Parkinson’s disease.

  95. 95.

    ThresherK

    @Steeplejack: Ha, true. But I meant singing-wise, breathy seems to be the new thing in many female country stars. Not breathy-sexy, but out-of-her-register breathy.

  96. 96.

    glaukopis

    Had regular work day off, but spent it finishing up a consulting job. The day just disappeared and now it’s back to my regular work.

  97. 97.

    J R in WV

    You self-employed takers, going to the beach, collecting sea-shells, and wanting MLK day off TOO!!!

    /snark

    Have a nice evening with sprout and spouse! Football season is getting short – what are we gonna do?!?!

  98. 98.

    J R in WV

    @Betty Cracker:

    You probably know then that Linda R is no longer able to sing, she was diagnosed with Parkinsons and lacks the fine motor control to sing the way she did. So retired, sad!

    We have all the Trio albums, Linda, Emmy Lu and Dolly Parton singing wonderful old and new songs. Their voices blend in a way you might not expect. Mrs J loves all their voices, and Loretta Lynn, who really did grow up in a holler where they had to pipe in the sunshine. That’s a WV saying about steep sided dark hollers.

    Ms Lynn did a show at the high school here, and it was just her, a guitar, a stool and a microphone. SRO crowd, as polite as if they were in church. They were, in a cultural way.

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