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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Monday Mid-Day Open Thread

Monday Mid-Day Open Thread

by Betty Cracker|  February 1, 201610:53 am| 110 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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Yesterday, I was visiting some relatives, and while looking out over this little fresh water inlet, something about one of the boats in the distance didn’t seem quite right:

sinking ship

It’s the little houseboat in the foreground of the island…looks like a camper sitting there because you can’t really see the decks, which are underwater. Turns out it’s sitting on the bottom in a shallow spot. Crews are scheduled to come resurrect it eventually, at great expense.

The boat’s predicament is a serviceable metaphor for a number of things. Open thread!

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Reader Interactions

110Comments

  1. 1.

    Germy

    February 1, 2016 at 10:58 am

    Good God… and all this time my ultimate fantasy was living on a houseboat, in some warm climate somewhere. And there I am, in that alternate reality, waiting for the coast guard to rescue me.

    I guess I’m fine where I am. My current reality is actually better than my fantasy.

  2. 2.

    Ex Libris

    February 1, 2016 at 11:01 am

    Our ship of state going under from the weight of redneck stuff and requiring recovery and repair from people who think rednecks shouldn’t park their heavy stuff on our boat. And once it’s raised, the rednecks will drive onto it with an even bigger camper. Repeat until the boat gets stuck on the bottom.

  3. 3.

    Betty Cracker

    February 1, 2016 at 11:03 am

    @Germy: No one had any details on what caused the boat to sink. Those boats seem to be pretty damn durable — I’ve seen them languish in slips for decades without losing buoyancy — and the cove in question isn’t strewn with treacherous rocks. It’s a mystery.

  4. 4.

    Cacti

    February 1, 2016 at 11:05 am

    Thanks Obama.

  5. 5.

    Brachiator

    February 1, 2016 at 11:07 am

    @Germy:

    Good God… and all this time my ultimate fantasy was living on a houseboat, in some warm climate somewhere

    I recall seeing a couple of episodes of 1950s or 1960s TV shows in which the lead character lived on a boat. Seemed cool.

    This was reinforced when I worked for the LA Times and learned that some customers had the paper home delivered to them on their boats. Still seemed cool.

    But it was easy to not have to think about the practicalities.

  6. 6.

    Roger Moore

    February 1, 2016 at 11:09 am

    The boat’s predicament is a serviceable metaphor for a number of things.

    Like this blog when all the front pagers abandon it.

  7. 7.

    Xantar

    February 1, 2016 at 11:14 am

    That’s some fine fact-checking you’ve got going on in your climate change denial articles, Forbes.

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) instruments aboard NASA satellites use microwave frequencies to measure the radiance of the Earth. Scientists then apply objective mathematical formulas to produce precise temperature measurements from the radiance data. For temperature readings, the measurements focus on readings at approximately 10,000 feet (one-fifth of a mile) above the Earth’s surface, where physics tell us the warming impacts of accumulating carbon dioxide should be moderately stronger than at the Earth’s surface.

  8. 8.

    SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel

    February 1, 2016 at 11:14 am

    @Roger Moore:

    this blog when all the front pagers abandon it.

    That’s easily explained by

    Yesterday, I was visiting some relatives

  9. 9.

    Shell

    February 1, 2016 at 11:14 am

    Sweet Jesus. Is it just me, but i don’t recall this kind of hysteria over the Iowa caucus before. 48 hours non-stop on CNN and MSNBC. To all their breathless speculation, I keep reminding them, ” The last winner was Santorum. How’d that work out for ya?”

  10. 10.

    trollhattan

    February 1, 2016 at 11:14 am

    @Germy:
    If you don’t mind being permanently moored, houseboats like in Sausalito and Seattle’s Lake Union are built on buoyant platforms so lack hulls to spring leaks. Also too, water, sewer and electricity hookups make life much simpler, if more houselike.

  11. 11.

    Gin & Tonic

    February 1, 2016 at 11:15 am

    @Brachiator: A good friend of mine lived on a boat for quite a few years when he was young and single. There’s not much room aboard.

  12. 12.

    SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel

    February 1, 2016 at 11:16 am

    @Xantar:

    What’s an extra zero among friends?

  13. 13.

    raven

    February 1, 2016 at 11:17 am

    I guess you are pretty far south of Steinhatchee?

  14. 14.

    SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel

    February 1, 2016 at 11:20 am

    @Shell:

    I just listened to the BBC Newshour, and even our British friends can’t get enough of Iowa. Maybe there is more hysteria this year than previously, but then again, maybe we’ve mercifully suppressed primary-season memories of 2000 and 2004 and 2008 and 2012.

  15. 15.

    raven

    February 1, 2016 at 11:22 am

    The Canal Boats in UK are interesting.

    Living aboard a canal boat

    Many people are leaving dry land behind and living on boats on the UK canal system, and most of them do it because it is the life they choose and love.

    Living on a canal boat can seem almost idy

  16. 16.

    Cacti

    February 1, 2016 at 11:23 am

    German-Russian teen who alleged gang rape by 3 middle eastern/north African migrants admits she fabricated the whole thing.

    Good thing no one rushed to judgment about it in enlightened western Europe. (/snark)

  17. 17.

    Betty Cracker

    February 1, 2016 at 11:23 am

    @raven: A couple of hundred miles, but I know it well. Used to go scalloping there. Ever been?

  18. 18.

    Xantar

    February 1, 2016 at 11:23 am

    @SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel:

    I wonder what Denverites would think about living at 50,000 feet.

  19. 19.

    MomSense

    February 1, 2016 at 11:24 am

    Wasn’t there a cheesy but entertaining mystery series about a PI who lived on a houseboat in Florida?

  20. 20.

    Betty Cracker

    February 1, 2016 at 11:25 am

    I’ve lived on boats temporarily a few times. The noises drive me batshit crazy. There’s ALWAYS a noise to check out!

  21. 21.

    raven

    February 1, 2016 at 11:26 am

    @Betty Cracker: No, all my fishing has been from St George west to Destin but I have friends that go down there and really like it.

  22. 22.

    MattF

    February 1, 2016 at 11:26 am

    @SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel: I think that in previous years, the narrative was pretty clear, and Iowa played a smaller role. This year, no one really knows what’s going to happen– the media can only offer an uncertain meta-narrative. It’s possible that Iowa will eventually be seen as important, but then again, maybe not.

  23. 23.

    Brachiator

    February 1, 2016 at 11:27 am

    Fun story in the Guardian about an upcoming film about When POTUS met FLOTUS:

    As Barack Obama nears the end of his presidency, the new movie Southside With You depicts his first date with Michelle as a loving romance. Departing presidents don’t usually get off so lightly …

  24. 24.

    Cacti

    February 1, 2016 at 11:29 am

    @MomSense:

    Wasn’t there a cheesy but entertaining mystery series about a PI who lived on a houseboat in Florida?

    Yes! Travis McGee. The protagonist of a series of pulp detective novels by John D. MacDonald.

  25. 25.

    Randy P

    February 1, 2016 at 11:30 am

    @MomSense: I remember those. My mind is throwing up the name John MacDonald as author. No idea if that’s correct, but it seems to me it was an M name.

    Edit: I see from Cacti’s response that the strange portion of my brain that makes me good at trivia games is functioning. Note that houseboat + detective instantly produced an author’s name, but I had no clue as to the character’s name.

  26. 26.

    Shell

    February 1, 2016 at 11:31 am

    Wasn’t there a cheesy but entertaining mystery series about a PI who lived on a houseboat in Florida?

    Well, Chief Wiggum had a short (one episode) detective series where he lived on a house boat down in Ol Nawlins. (Principal Skinner was his leg man.)

  27. 27.

    p.a.

    February 1, 2016 at 11:33 am

    @Xantar:

    approximately 10,000 feet (one-fifth of a mile)

    *

    *hobbit-feet

  28. 28.

    Brendancalling

    February 1, 2016 at 11:33 am

    @Shell: that was Riptide.

  29. 29.

    Iowa Old Lady

    February 1, 2016 at 11:34 am

    There was also a TV show called Surfside 6 about a guy living on a houseboat in Miami Beach. Troy Donahue played him, an actor someone said showed emotions running the full gamut from A to B.

    The cool houseboat was in Sleepless in Seattle.

  30. 30.

    Lolis

    February 1, 2016 at 11:35 am

    Mother Jones just put up this article blasting Rubio on climate change. Even Florida Republicans are beginning to accept the reality.

    http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/01/marco-rubio-climate-change-florida

  31. 31.

    Brendancalling

    February 1, 2016 at 11:35 am

    Not on a boat, but similarly close quarters: I’ve been on tour the past month, living in a camper towed by a renovated short bus. On my way home for a month off, and not a moment too soon. We have arrived at that point where we need a break from each other. Heading back out in March…

  32. 32.

    Betty Cracker

    February 1, 2016 at 11:36 am

    @raven: Yeah, it’s a pretty neat place. Very different vibe than the Redneck Riviera.

  33. 33.

    geg6

    February 1, 2016 at 11:37 am

    @Brachiator:

    I could totally live on a boat. Hell, I’ve pretty much done it. My ex and I had a 32′ boat that we docked on the Beaver River, which feeds into the Ohio about 25 miles west of the Point in Pittsburgh. We spent most of the summer on it and it was wonderful. Even better was my friends’ boat, a 39′ yacht. It had two staterooms with their own full baths, a full kitchen with a full-sized refrigerator and a washer and dryer. I spent the best vacation of my life on it. We took a two week trip down the Ohio River from our boat club to Cincinnati and back on it. I’ve been some great places on vacation (England, France, Mexico, Canada, pretty much every island in the Caribbean), but that was just the most fun and relaxing vacation ever. We planned it for, like, six months because you have to figure out where all the fuel stations are, know exactly how far you can go without filling up and before it gets too dark to navigate safely, make sure you have reservations for dock space all down and back up the river, calculate exactly how much food, etc. you need. But once it was all planned and we had it all mapped out, it was so relaxing and fun. Just lazy days going down the river, seeing all kinds of wild life (we rescued a deer in the middle of the Ohio, there are eagle nests everywhere, lots of birds of all kinds), locking through 11 locks each way and joking with the lock masters and workers, drinking and eating extremely well and longer stops in Wheeling (WV), Marietta (OH), Morgantown (WV) and Covington (KY). It was great and, if I had a boat like that, I could totally live on it the rest of the my life quite happily.

  34. 34.

    lgerard

    February 1, 2016 at 11:37 am

    Former US Rep Duke Cunningham lived on a houseboat in DC. He sank, the boat didn’t.

  35. 35.

    MomSense

    February 1, 2016 at 11:38 am

    @Cacti: @Randy P:

    That’s it! Some kid from Australia (can’t remember well) gave one to me in Spain. It was a backpacking thing. We would read and trade books randomly.

  36. 36.

    Calouste

    February 1, 2016 at 11:38 am

    Looking at the latest Iowa polls, there seems to be a bit of a Rubio surge. The last three are:

    Trump – Cruz – Rubio
    20 – 19 – 19
    31 – 24 – 17
    27 – 26 – 22

    The middle one took a week to complete, and thus has the oldest data. The other two are from this weekend.

  37. 37.

    trollhattan

    February 1, 2016 at 11:39 am

    @Xantar:
    Night skies declared “fabulous” by pressure-suited Chamber of Commerce vice-president.

  38. 38.

    MattF

    February 1, 2016 at 11:40 am

    @Lolis: I guess that Rubio has discovered that if you turn to look landward rather oceanward, the problem becomes invisible. And, as a bonus, you won’t irritate all those real estate developers selling condos on the beachfront.

  39. 39.

    geg6

    February 1, 2016 at 11:40 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    Could just be wear and tear, causing some of the seams to crack open. It happens. They usually raise them by putting inflatable bladders in them and, once the air is pumped into the bladders, the boats come right up. My ex went to FL after Hurricane Andrew (he’s a welding teacher at the local vo-tech, who does some commercial diving on the side) with a crew from a friend’s commercial diving company to raise yachts, etc. that sank in the storm.

  40. 40.

    boatboy_srq

    February 1, 2016 at 11:40 am

    Crews are scheduled to come resurrect it eventually, at great expense.

    Surprisingly great expense. Speaking from experience.

    @Germy: Life afloat is marvelous, so long as you accept that you’re living without everything. No furniture (or at most just one or two pieces – beds and seating are usually built-in), no library (no space for books/discs), a vastly reduced wardrobe (storage lockers are usually small), ultralight-backpacker-style cookware,… and say goodbye to the heirloom china, crystal and silver, because even if you have space that stuff doesn’t fare well when your whole house rocks. Plus all that high-speed Internet and direct-connect TV (cable/FiOS/Netflix/Hulu/etc) go away when you depart the dock, and the marine satellite dishes (like most “marine grade” tech) are very expensive. IF you can live like that – virtually disconnected, relying on iPod, eReader and cellular data services for your entertainment, replenishing the fridge twice weekly, pulling up to the pumpout station weekly etc, then it’s a wonderful way to live. At least until, like that houseboat, the water finally wins. (I really don’t mean to sound negative: it’s a wonderful lifestyle, and I do miss it, but anyone thinking about it needs to realise exactly how much space – and landside convenience – one does without.)

  41. 41.

    Felonius Monk

    February 1, 2016 at 11:41 am

    @MomSense:

    cheesy but entertaining mystery series about a PI who lived on a houseboat in Florida?

    B.L. Stryker played by Burt Reynolds around 1989-1990. Lived on a houseboat in FL

  42. 42.

    Randy P

    February 1, 2016 at 11:42 am

    In the 90s I was working with an art production company in Fells Point, Baltimore, and one of the young 20-something artists told me he lived on a boat which I believe was moored right there at the Point.

    20-something artists don’t make big bucks so I assume it can be an economical living arrangement.

  43. 43.

    Amir Khalid

    February 1, 2016 at 11:43 am

    @Cacti:
    If I remember correctly, Lloyd Bridges’ character in Sea Hunt also lived on a houseboat. So did Quincy, MD and Nash Bridges. And Charlie, of Charlie’s Angels.

  44. 44.

    geg6

    February 1, 2016 at 11:44 am

    I just had long comment about how easily you can live on a boat and the best vacation of my life, which was on a boat on the Ohio, and it has completely disappeared into the ether. I have no idea why.

  45. 45.

    MattF

    February 1, 2016 at 11:46 am

    @geg6: I’ve had a couple of wannabe-posts disappear.

  46. 46.

    boatboy_srq

    February 1, 2016 at 11:46 am

    @trollhattan: Those are lovely arrangements – at $20/ft/mo. For about $6/ft/mo to $10/ft/mo you can usually find mooring in SFO with “liveaboard” arrangements which include water and power, and pumpout not too far away; for most people this is preferable since you want to run your engines occasionally, and zipping over to the pumpout dock serves that need well. FL is VERY different: I’ve seen $17/ft/mo for non-liveaboard slips, and significantly higher for liveaboards. You would think that a state with so much coastline and so many useful harbors would charge less for the privilege of tying up, but nooooo…

  47. 47.

    Randy P

    February 1, 2016 at 11:46 am

    @Felonius Monk: My wife and I were fond of an 80s series about two PI brothers called Simon and Simon that probably qualifies as cheesy. Seems to me one of the brothers lived on a boat.

  48. 48.

    Roger Moore

    February 1, 2016 at 11:48 am

    @SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel:
    I would guess that the news media loves it because it’s a ton of ready-made stories and lots of stuff for talking heads to bloviate about. IOW, it’s perfect for filling up air time with minimal effort, which seems to be a major goal of our modern, 24/7/365 news media.

  49. 49.

    El Caganer

    February 1, 2016 at 11:49 am

    @Calouste: What happened to the tidal wave of Santorum?

  50. 50.

    Jerzy Russian

    February 1, 2016 at 11:49 am

    Quincy, a medical examiner in the LA area, lived on a boat. I am not sure he was a real person since he looked a lot like Jack Klugman.

  51. 51.

    Mike J

    February 1, 2016 at 11:50 am

    David Shiffman ‏@WhySharksMatter 15h15 hours ago
    Today is the last day that no one has actually voted for Donald Trump.

  52. 52.

    boatboy_srq

    February 1, 2016 at 11:50 am

    @Randy P: Live on my 44’er in SFO was cheaper than an apartment. As I described it: “for less than the price of a San Francisco studio, I have 2 bedrooms, a deck, waterfront, a view I change any time I want, and if I don’t like where I am I MOVE.” A lot depends on how big/new the boat is, what the marina charges, what the insurance coverage required will run, and the like. Marinas may not say so, but they like liveaboards because they’re an added level of security (people on the docks make theft and assault [yes, that does happen] less likely) and because they use less water/electric than the recreation-only boats (no faucet left open or lights left on).

  53. 53.

    trollhattan

    February 1, 2016 at 11:52 am

    @boatboy_srq:
    Growing up in Seattle, the Lake Union houseboats were an affordable bohemian alternative, not today’s millionaire’s cove. Ah, well.

  54. 54.

    Felonius Monk

    February 1, 2016 at 11:54 am

    @Randy P:

    about two PI brothers called Simon and Simon

    Yeah. How I could I forget that. Hardly missed an episode.

  55. 55.

    Brachiator

    February 1, 2016 at 11:57 am

    @Gin & Tonic:

    A good friend of mine lived on a boat for quite a few years when he was young and single. There’s not much room aboard.

    That could be cramped or romantic under the right circumstances, when you’re young and single.

  56. 56.

    NorthLeft12

    February 1, 2016 at 11:58 am

    I just finished reading the New Yorker article on Iowa and New Hampshire GOP voters.

    http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/01
    /

    I have to hope that these people don’t really represent the GOP in those states, or a large amount of editorial freedom was applied to their responses because for DOG’S SAKE!!! these people are freaking scary in their ignorance, bigotry, self delusionment [yeah I made that up…but it fits], fear level, and selfishness.

    Please read it and tell me if this Canadian is the one that is clueless, and that is exactly the way it is right now.

  57. 57.

    Matt McIrvin

    February 1, 2016 at 11:58 am

    @Germy: No need to move; the warm climate seems to be coming to us. 61 degrees outside today, in Massachusetts.

  58. 58.

    Matt McIrvin

    February 1, 2016 at 11:59 am

    Also, my house might turn into a sunken houseboat eventually.

  59. 59.

    MomSense

    February 1, 2016 at 12:01 pm

    @Matt McIrvin:

    It’s 54 here today. People have gone from thinking this is awesome to being convinced we will pay dearly for this thaw.

  60. 60.

    charon

    February 1, 2016 at 12:02 pm

    @Shell:

    They are worried those hicks in Iowa might take down Bernie and thus half of their hopes for two meaningful horse races.

  61. 61.

    Betty Cracker

    February 1, 2016 at 12:03 pm

    @geg6: Fished it out of the trash file. I have no idea what sent it there.

  62. 62.

    boatboy_srq

    February 1, 2016 at 12:04 pm

    @trollhattan: Sausalito slip rents haven’t been cheap for a long time. Slip rent IS still cheaper than homeownersip, but $20/ft/mo is $1000 for a 50′ boat. Slip rent (in the East Bay) and boat loan together cost me $600/mo, which was much more doable.

  63. 63.

    jeffreyw

    February 1, 2016 at 12:05 pm

    One of the congressmen from my district…

    Gray resided on a houseboat while serving in Congress. In the mid-1970s there were several media accounts indicating that he had employed Elizabeth Ray and was involved in a lifestyle of wild parties and sex involving members of Congress and Congressional staff members. Gray denied wrongdoing, but was not a candidate for reelection in 1974 to the 94th Congress. He was succeeded by Paul Simon.

  64. 64.

    Frankensteinbeck

    February 1, 2016 at 12:07 pm

    @Shell:
    The Iowa caucus usually doesn’t mean much. This time is very different. Trump (already a bizarre development) has held an unusually steady poll lead, but nobody knows if polls means votes for him. Finding that out is pretty damn important. On the other side, Bernie’s only chance is to win Iowa and NH and hope he gets momentum. If he loses Iowa, stick a fork in him. He’s done. Iowa is, for once, going to mean a lot.

  65. 65.

    Amir Khalid

    February 1, 2016 at 12:11 pm

    @Randy P:
    I remember the brother that went on to be Major Dad. What happened to the other one?

  66. 66.

    Patricia Kayden

    February 1, 2016 at 12:12 pm

    @Cacti: The “Thanks Obama” joke will never get old and will even be funny years from now when he’s not in office. I have to thank whichever Republican/T’Bagger came up with it because it has now been turned into a way to mock the hell out of Conservatives’ Obama Derangement Syndrome.

  67. 67.

    Brachiator

    February 1, 2016 at 12:14 pm

    From the musical, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Iowa Caucuses:

    Something familiar,
    Something peculiar,
    Something for everyone:
    The caucuses tonight!

    Something appealing,
    Something appalling,
    Something for everyone:
    The caucuses tonight!

    Something with Jeb!, something with Cruz;
    Bring on the Donald, could he still lose?

    Old situations,
    New complications,
    Nothing portentous or polite;
    Tragedy tomorrow,
    The caucuses tonight!

    Something convulsive,
    Something repulsive,
    Something for everyone:
    The caucuses tonight!

    Something aesthetic,
    Something frenetic,
    Something for everyone:
    The caucuses tonight!

    What’s sweeter than Bern, or cooler than Hil,
    And all those emails, what is the deal?

    Nothing that’s formal,
    Nothing that’s normal,
    No talking points ever to recite;
    Let’s get it started:
    Caucuses Tonight!

  68. 68.

    Germy

    February 1, 2016 at 12:18 pm

    File under “the more things change, the more things stay the same”…

    “Everything is changing. People are taking their comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke.” – Will Rogers

  69. 69.

    Peale

    February 1, 2016 at 12:19 pm

    @Xantar: my Fitbit goal is to walk five miles a day. I’ll have to increase my stride.

  70. 70.

    JCJ

    February 1, 2016 at 12:21 pm

    Didn’t one of the characters on the TV show Miami Vice live on a boat?

  71. 71.

    Randy P

    February 1, 2016 at 12:22 pm

    @Amir Khalid: Don’t know. Jameson Parker’s IMDB page shows a reasonable number of TV appearances in the 90s, and one around 2003-4. Then nothing.

    But I know TV and movies are not the whole story. I remember a few years back checking out the Harry Potter actors. I learned that Rupert Grint was having a great year in London and won an award for Newcomer of the Year in the West End. And then read simultaneously that he had vanished into obscurity, a conclusion based solely on his lack of film roles.

  72. 72.

    SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel

    February 1, 2016 at 12:26 pm

    @Xantar:

    Give every Denverite a McMegan Calculator™ and they’ll get used to it fast enough.

  73. 73.

    Felonius Monk

    February 1, 2016 at 12:28 pm

    @Amir Khalid:

    about two PI brothers called Simon and Simon

    Jameson Parker. Continued to act for some time after that series. Was shot by a neighbor around 1992(?) and recovered. Now is a writer – has published four books.

  74. 74.

    chopper

    February 1, 2016 at 12:28 pm

    @Xantar:

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) instruments aboard NASA satellites use microwave frequencies to measure the radiance of the Earth. Scientists then apply objective mathematical formulas to produce precise temperature measurements from the radiance data.

    i love how these yahoos are still trying to push the line that atmospheric radiance is more precise as a proxy of surface temperature than a fucking thermometer at the surface. if the satellite data set was showing crazy warming over and above what thermometer data was showing they’d be selling the opposite.

  75. 75.

    Schlemazel

    February 1, 2016 at 12:29 pm

    @Germy:
    When we lived in Florida one boat owner explained it to me. “There are 3 types of people: those that wish they owned a boat, those that wish they could sell their boat and those that are grateful they finally sold their damn boat!”

    There was a half submerged sailboat. In the inner coastal waterway just North of Cocoa Beach for at least 2 years. It always surprised me that someone wasn’t forced to remove it.

  76. 76.

    Snarkworth

    February 1, 2016 at 12:29 pm

    When they drag the houseboat up, a soggy “Right to Rise” banner will be revealed on the side, and Jeb! will stumble out the door and apologize to everyone.

  77. 77.

    SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel

    February 1, 2016 at 12:31 pm

    @NorthLeft12:

    Just to be picky and annoying, per my newly-expanded nym, but the New Yorker and New York Magazine are very much not the same publication.

  78. 78.

    Paul in KY

    February 1, 2016 at 12:31 pm

    @Randy P: I’m pretty sure Mr. Grint is going to have a fine rest-of-life. Unless he gets heavily into the powder.

  79. 79.

    Brachiator

    February 1, 2016 at 12:37 pm

    Could almost be the name of a James Bond Girl: Olive Onaboat.

    The google has a partial answer: <a href="https://www.quora.com/Which-notable-fictional-characters-lived-aboard-boats”>Which notable fictional characters lived aboard boats?

    Already noted, Sonny Crockett from Miami Vice. Also, Duncan MacLeod also used a canal boat as his primary residence for several seasons (on the tv show Highlander).

    From early tv shows: The Miami Beach detectives of the Warner Brothers television series lived and worked out of their houseboat moored at Surfside 6.

    Adventures in Paradise: US TV program 1959-1962, revived as re-runs 1984-1988
    Gardner McKay as Adam Troy living aboard his 80 ft schooner which he sails all over the South Pacific.

    There was a 1950s TV show, Mr Lucky. The main character lived on board a floating gambling casino.

  80. 80.

    SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel

    February 1, 2016 at 12:38 pm

    @Brachiator:

    Applause! That’s wonderful!

  81. 81.

    Schlemazel

    February 1, 2016 at 12:39 pm

    @Brachiator:
    BRAVO! Very well done. My only quibble, and it is minor, I think we get both tragady and comedy from the GOP tonight

  82. 82.

    Amir Khalid

    February 1, 2016 at 12:40 pm

    @Randy P:
    Rupert Grint played a musician in that movie about CBGB’s, opposite Alan Rickman. He’s done the blockbuster franchise thing and made his pile, so he’s set for life as long as he’s careful enough with his money. I’m sure he wants to stretch himself as an actor, to emulate the acting greats he was exposed to as a kid, rather that seek stardom which wouldn’t really be something new for him.

  83. 83.

    Brachiator

    February 1, 2016 at 12:41 pm

    Got moderated. Let’s try that one again:

    Could almost be the name of a James Bond Girl: Olive Onaboat.

    Already noted, Sonny Crockett from Miami Vice. Also, Duncan MacLeod used a canal boat as his primary residence for several seasons (on the tv show Highlander).

    From early tv shows: The Miami Beach detectives of the Warner Brothers television series lived and worked out of their houseboat moored at Surfside 6.

    Adventures in Paradise: US TV program 1959-1962, revived as re-runs 1984-1988. Gardner McKay as Adam Troy living aboard his 80 ft schooner which he sails all over the South Pacific.

    There was a 1950s TV show, Mr Lucky. The main character lived on board a floating [email protected]

    ETA: omitted a link that would not show correctly. Too bad, cause it had some good photos from some of these shows, and a couple of video clips.

  84. 84.

    Dork

    February 1, 2016 at 12:43 pm

    @Betty Cracker: Insurance fraud, natch.

  85. 85.

    Peale

    February 1, 2016 at 12:47 pm

    @Amir Khalid: I think it’s going to turn out that Emma Watson is the only durable star from that franchise. Daniel Ratcliffe is playing a farting corpse in his latest movie. He doesn’t appear to be trying.

  86. 86.

    Randy P

    February 1, 2016 at 12:49 pm

    @Amir Khalid: @Paul in KY: My point is that you can be a very successful stage actor and off the radar of the IMDB and most of the public.

    Lack of film credits is not the same as obscurity. Winning an award in London’s West End is like a Tony on Broadway. Daniel Radcliffe has done a few films post-Potter, but he’s really making his mark on the stage as well. He got great reviews for “The Cripple of Inishmaan” and Irish people said his Irish accent was damned good.

  87. 87.

    Brachiator

    February 1, 2016 at 12:54 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel:

    Applause! That’s wonderful!

    Thanks. It’s easy when you keep the core of Sondheim’s wonderful lyrics. For some reason I was thinking about the musical last night, and as Trump as the Miles Gloriosus, braggart soldier of ancient comedy.

    The Pythons (or Looney Tunes) would call him Trumpius Gaseous Baggus.

  88. 88.

    peach flavored shampoo

    February 1, 2016 at 1:02 pm

    @Cacti: Didn’t one of the Miami Vice guys, Crockett or Tubbs, live on a houseboat?

  89. 89.

    RustyPensacola

    February 1, 2016 at 1:12 pm

    Apparently, a rising tide does not lift all boats.

  90. 90.

    catclub

    February 1, 2016 at 1:13 pm

    @Peale: Did you hear the bit on the guy who is planning on swimming across the Pacific Ocean? [He has already done the Atlantic.]

  91. 91.

    catclub

    February 1, 2016 at 1:15 pm

    @peach flavored shampoo: I think I also remember a relatively recent Clint Eastwood movie where he is a PI and lives on a houseboat – something about blood transfusions. I think he got that or a heart transplant from a victim.

    ETA: Blood Work (2002).

  92. 92.

    boatboy_srq

    February 1, 2016 at 1:16 pm

    @Amir Khalid: I read a wonderful interview with Jameson Parker (who played the other brother). He kept quoting people during the interview. Interviewer asked whether he liked quoting people as opposed to using his own words, and he replied “I always have a quotation for everything – it saves original thinking.” That line is straight out of Sayers (one of Lord Peter Wimsey’s) – and the interviewer completely missed it.

  93. 93.

    Paul in KY

    February 1, 2016 at 1:22 pm

    @Randy P: See your point now.

  94. 94.

    Matt McIrvin

    February 1, 2016 at 1:25 pm

    @Randy P: I think that Daniel Radcliffe probably avoided terminal typecasting by developing a reputation as a stage actor, even while the Harry Potter series was still in production.

  95. 95.

    glory b

    February 1, 2016 at 1:30 pm

    @Jerzy Russian: Didn’t Crockett on Miami Vice live in a houseboat? I also recall that he had a pet alligator.

    When I was younger my roommate and friends and I used to watch it when we were getting ready to go out for the evening.Now, that’s the time we call it a night and are ready to head home :).

  96. 96.

    Scott Alloway

    February 1, 2016 at 2:03 pm

    @Brachiator: Could that boat rat program be Adventures in Paradise? I recall watching it as a kid.

  97. 97.

    Brachiator

    February 1, 2016 at 2:20 pm

    @Scott Alloway:

    Could that boat rat program be Adventures in Paradise? I recall watching it as a kid.

    Yep. That was one of the shows. Boats and houseboats were not uncommon in many early tv shows.

  98. 98.

    Robert Sneddon

    February 1, 2016 at 2:39 pm

    Thjere’s an old boatie saying, “A boat is a hole in the water into which you throw money”. The necessary ongoing maintenance is much more than that needed for a home or apartment of a similar size, if slightly different in type — when was the last time you had to get your condo replated (welded up?) or dry-docked and painted with an approved anti-fouling paint?

    A friend from University has lived on boats since he was a teenager and he now resides in an 80-foot Dutch tjalk on a west London canal. He could have saved a lot of money buying a place on dry land and he wouldn’t have had to learn the art of keeping a smokeless fuel stove alight 24/7 during the winter. Saying that he wouldn’t have been happy with a simpler life ashore. His wife would prefer a kitchen that isn’t a shoebox but the new roof took financial priority for obvious reasons.

  99. 99.

    NorthLeft12

    February 1, 2016 at 2:56 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel: Thanks. And yes, that is being picky.

  100. 100.

    J R in WV

    February 1, 2016 at 3:01 pm

    @NorthLeft12:

    New York Magazine =/= The New Yorker, which is an old and much respected pub. N Y Magazine is newer and not quite as highly regarded.

  101. 101.

    J R in WV

    February 1, 2016 at 3:31 pm

    Having read much of the New York Magazine story about Repugnant voters, yes, they are repugnant, fearful, insecure folks. Disgusting, mostly. I can lay awake at night worrying about things, but not terrorists, the roof, expenses for repairing a truck, new tires, wife’s surgery, MY surgery.

    I think Republicans mostly worry about things they have no control over, things that are fictions invented by crooked Republican politicians, but I repeat myself. 27% of the population is very crazy, 20% more are somewhat crazy.

    Living on a boat would be fun, if you didn’t have to stay there 24/7/365… but then you’ve got an expensive vacation home. Another brand of a hole you throw money into.

  102. 102.

    Gravenstone

    February 1, 2016 at 3:36 pm

    @Betty Cracker: The cause is simple. Ship’s captain hands his beer off and utters the immortal words of doom, “hey y’all, watch this!”

  103. 103.

    PurpleGirl

    February 1, 2016 at 3:47 pm

    The guy who killed Versace was finally found on a houseboat in Miami. On a tour of Miami with my friend Nick, we passed the dock/marina(?) where the boat was still moared.

    Duncan MacLeod’s houseboat was on the Seine. When he lived in places other than France, he lived in conventional apartments or houses.

    Rupert Grint has a new movie out — Moonwalkers.

  104. 104.

    IdahoFlaneuse

    February 1, 2016 at 4:15 pm

    @Brendancalling: Thank you. I was trying to remember that series a couple of weeks ago and couldn’t even figure out how to google it.

  105. 105.

    a different chris

    February 1, 2016 at 4:32 pm

    Crockett lived on a sailboat (an Endeavour, the St. Vitus’ Dance), not a houseboat. Though it was used as a houseboat, from memory there was only one episode where it was taken out of the slip.

  106. 106.

    satby

    February 1, 2016 at 5:19 pm

    @Randy P: He’s an author now.

  107. 107.

    boatboy_srq

    February 1, 2016 at 5:21 pm

    @Robert Sneddon: BOAT; acronym. “Break Out Another Thousand.”

  108. 108.

    Davebo

    February 1, 2016 at 7:18 pm

    As someone who grew up on a houseboat that’s a sad sight.

  109. 109.

    Momus

    February 1, 2016 at 11:35 pm

    @glory b: Yes, and I think the alligator was named “Elvis”.

  110. 110.

    redoubt

    February 2, 2016 at 10:56 am

    @glory b: The alligator was a mascot for the Florida Gators football team from when Crockett played there; he “took a chunk out of a Georgia safety” and was summarily retired.

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