Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

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

The revolution will be supervised.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

“Squeaker” McCarthy

After roe, women are no longer free.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Let there be snark.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

T R E 4 5 O N

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Take your GOP plan out of the witness protection program.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Joe Lieberman disappointingly reemerged to remind us that he’s still alive.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / What You Speak Of Is Only In Fairy Tales

What You Speak Of Is Only In Fairy Tales

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Bixby and His Bunny 4 1 16

Bixby getting his snuggle on.

Adam emailed me and said he had a family thing come up, so the recipes will be tomorrow night. I’m hoping to get back to regular recipe blogging next week. But since I feel a bit like the big guy above, who knows.

12719134_1151078718282151_7116439526774242211_o

And this is another beautiful shot from Lars Leber, one of my favorite Colorado photographers. His website is full of awesome, so click here to take a peek.

Consider this a politics free open thread.

Reader Interactions

171Comments

  2. 2.

    Mnemosyne

    Long week that will start early on Monday, so I’m going to enjoy the weekend as best I can. I’m feeling a little stymied on the research for my novel, but I probably just need to push through and do it.

  5. 5.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    BIXBY snuggle! Many thanks.

    Is is companion an after Easter deep discount stuffie?

  6. 6.

    Emma

    He looks like he’s going to start sighing any minute. And the size of that paw, holy Jesus!

  7. 7.

    Mnemosyne

    Charlotte sees birds outside the window and is chattering to try and coax them closer. Delicious, delicious birds.

  13. 13.

    SiubhanDuinne, Mob Enforcer

    @Baud:

    Does that mean I can’t campaign in this thread?

    But but but, didn’t you suspend your campaign a few threads ago? I remember feeling so devastated at the news I couldn’t bring myself to comment….

  15. 15.

    SiubhanDuinne, Mob Enforcer

    @LAO:

    I recognized the name Larry Klayman, but couldn’t quite remember who he was or why I knew his name, so I consulted Mr. Google.

    Mr. Google did not disappoint:

    Larry Klayman is a pathologically litigious attorney and professional gadfly notorious for suing everyone from Iran’s Supreme Leader to his own mother. A former U.S. prosecutor who made a name for himself in the 1990s by suing the Clinton administration no less than 18 times, Klayman seems to have been driven over the edge by the 2008 election of Barack Obama.

  16. 16.

    LAO

    @SiubhanDuinne, Mob Enforcer: He applied to be admitted the the Nevada District court for the purposes of representing Cliven Bundy. And the judge said no! I’ve never seen that before. What a shit show these 2 trials are going to be.

  18. 18.

    John Revolta

    Oooo. Pretty. I’l bet there’s a damn unicorn down at the bottom of that rainbow.

    Oooops! Sorry. No politics. Nevermind!!

  19. 19.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @SiubhanDuinne, Mob Enforcer:

    Nevada’s chief federal judge has refused to let nationally known conservative lawyer Larry Klayman join Cliven Bundy’s defense team.

    In a three-page order, Gloria Navarro questioned Klayman’s candidness with her about the outcome of professional disciplinary proceedings against him in Washington, D.C.

    She said his disclosure in court papers that no disciplinary action has been taken and the proceedings were likely to be resolved in his favor was “misleading and incomplete.”

    Link

    Like LAO, I think this is quite entertaining.

  22. 22.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @LAO: @LAO: Yup. It’s a first for me, also too. Popcorn with melted butter will be one of my food groups, it appears. :)

  23. 23.

    Mnemosyne

    @Miss Bianca:

    Differences between the US and England during the Regency Era. My hero is a fish out of water, but I don’t know his (American) water nearly as well.

  25. 25.

    Miss Bianca

    @LAO:

    Pardon my ignorance on matters legal, but why does he have to apply? Is it something to do with where he’s licensed?

    ETA: Ah, never mind…

  27. 27.

    David Fud

    Site issue, possibly reported long after lots of alarm bells have already gone off about it: when I click on the page numbers at the bottom, they all lead to page one. Not so helpful when trying to navigate back to previous posts.

    Have a good weekend all!

  29. 29.

    Miss Bianca

    @Mnemosyne:

    Ah. H’mm. Trying to think of what good sources there might be out there on American cultural/social history during that period.

    ETA: Now that I think about it, it’s sort of strange that I’m better versed on British history during that period than American!

  31. 31.

    Gin & Tonic

    @David Fud: Holy cow, that’s been going on for months now, and you just noticed? That’s one of the features of the site re-design. Enjoy!

  32. 32.

    Prescott Cactus

    Heavy / Alt / Nu metal band from Chicago called Disturbed does a version of Simon & Garfunkel’s Sound of Silence as a acoustic ballad. Both versions are jaw dropping good. Conan’s show (better- w/ link) and their own video.

  33. 33.

    Mnemosyne

    @Miss Bianca:

    I know, it’s not nearly as well documented, so it’s a little tricky.

    ETA: I’m probably looking at post-Waterloo, but I’m willing to go pre-War of 1812 instead if the timeline works better.

  34. 34.

    LAO

    @Miss Bianca: All courts require that you be “admitted” to practice in the district the court sits. It’s a pretty low bar, you need to 1) have passed the bar exam, any state, 2)have another lawyer sponsor you and 3) no current disciplinary issues.
    I believe it’s an ethics requirement. If you aren’t admitted to the court, they don’t have the power to sanction you.

    But I’m sure Bella Q has a better, more succinct explanation.

    ETA: feel free to ignore. Just saw your edit.

  35. 35.

    Emma

    @Miss Bianca: In order to represent someone in court in a particular jurisdiction, you need to have been licensed to practice in that jurisdiction. If you haven’t you can apply for permission to represent your client only in that particular instance.The term is pro hac vice, this time only.

    In this case however, it seems the judge denying the application is calling Mr. Kleynman a big fat liar.

  36. 36.

    ruemara

    I lifted weights for 2/hours and then did an hour of Zumba. I can’t tell if I’m addicted, burning off stress or just plain stupid. But I am successfully avoiding writing for the day.

  37. 37.

    SiubhanDuinne, Mob Enforcer

    @LAO:

    I lovelovelove that movie. Have it on DVD, watch it at least once a year. It’s my absolute fave of the Guest comedies, although Guffman and Mighty Wind are also wonderful. But Best in Show is in a class by itself.

  40. 40.

    PhoenixRising

    @ruemara: I’m guessing that unlike myself, you can fit into pants with fasteners even after the Easter candy. How we, a household of non-practicing Jew, Buddhist and atheist still end up with Easter candy…is a mystery.

    As to Bixby: Our Dane is turning 8, and therefore elderly for the breed. I had a temptation earlier–BigDogHugePaws.com has Black Dog Friday and my Steinway (Baldwin?) is out there somewhere–but we can’t have a second 130lb dog. Even if this one is almost ready to retire.

    Smell-o-vision would add a certain perspective for some of y’all who haven’t had the house filled by Great Dane/Newf flatulence yet, but trust me when I say…it’s a thing.

  41. 41.

    lamh36

    I was watching House Hunters on HGTV. Bu I sometimes, just can’t with some of these folks on House Hunters International

    Especially the Americans who move to foreign lands with NO idea what the hell they want or have in store for themselves…smh

    The one ep, had this young white couple, who had JUST gotten married. The husband was employed and sent overseas for a job in London. The wife, had NO job, was gonna have NO job when they got to London. So the ONLY income was the husbands.

    So they go to London, get a real estate person and they have all these demands for an apartment in London, that just wasnt even close to realistic. They asked the broker what price point were they looking at, and when he said the number…they face went from a smile to being sooo cracked, that my sis and I LOL

    I swear they were like this…ah…..oooh…LOL

  43. 43.

    Miss Bianca

    @SiubhanDuinne, Mob Enforcer:

    @LAO:

    “Used to drive my mama nuts…naming nuts…”

    And wasn’t Chris Guest one of the (ahem) responsible parties for bringing us “This Is Spinal Tap”? (which every year I spent as a working musician came to seem less like a comedy and more like an *actual* documentary to me).

    ETA: Ha ha, LAO, Jinx again!

  47. 47.

    smith

    Speaking of Spinal Tap, did you know that the volume slider for BBC Radio iPlayer goes up to 11?

  49. 49.

    Mnemosyne

    @Emma:

    I was not, and WorldCat tells me that the LA city library has an available copy of that. Thanks!

    I probably need to just go down to the main library and browse the Dewey number. That can be surprisingly effective.

  52. 52.

    TaMara (BHF)

    @debbie: Yup, and both eyes and an ear. We are making progress, used to be he totally unstuffed them on day one. Someone bought him a GIANT stuffed ape at a thift store and I was picking up stuffing for days until I finally unstuffed the rest myself.

  53. 53.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @LAO: All of those are among my faves.

    Did you know other refuges had incidents earlier this year?

    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the bird sanctuary southeast of Burns, deployed 150 law enforcement officers to increase security at 63 agency properties in 15 states. That cost the federal agency $2.2 million, contributing to an estimated $6 million in expenses related to the 41-day occupation

    Link

  54. 54.

    Miss Bianca

    @LAO:

    You know, every day around this joint I find myself with occasion to say, “there’s such a fine line between stupid and, uh…clever!”

  55. 55.

    LAO

    @lamh36: I read the book when I was 10 (my dad loves the book) which is a very impressionable age.
    Also, my SIL named my nephew Westley . (Which even I think is ridiculous).

  57. 57.

    Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA

    Open thread? I noticed something with Iggy the Wonder Schnauzer yesterday. If he’s next to me on the couch and I’m frustrated or upset about something, he puts his front paws in my lap, rests his head against my chest, then when I pet him he shoves his head under my chin and waits for me to put my arms around him. Yes, Iggy reacts to my frustration by initiating hugs.

    And that’s a beautiful photo. I’m thinking of registering for an overnight photography workshop in Zion National Park in July. Should be fun.

  59. 59.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @LAO: And

    Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer, facing criminal investigation and possible action against his police certificate, Tuesday moved to set up a legal defense fund

    .
    Poor persecuted constitutionalist What an asshole.

  64. 64.

    Prescott Cactus

    @LAO:

    Larry Klayman’s application

    LAO, this wasn’t on my radar screen but he has been around here. Phoenix New Times has a couple of articles on him, including one that say he’s suing them.

  67. 67.

    Adam L Silverman

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Found it and deleted my request. The reason I asked is that, apparently, Klayman’s suits regarding FOIA requests to review Secretary Clinton’s emails have proceeded and he’s being allowed by Federal judges in DC to depose some of those involved, potentially including Secretary Clinton. It is important to remember that Klayman started suing the Clinton’s or being involved with those making charges against them almost from the moment that then Governor Clinton clinched the Democratic nomination. Klayman represented Paula Jones. He thinks/knows he’s collected one Clinton scalp and that he can definitely collect a second and end them once and for all.

    He’s also bug fuck nuts!

  69. 69.

    LAO

    @Prescott Cactus: He appears to be an odious fellow.
    @Miss Bianca: About a year I was talking to a baby ADA and I used that quote. He had no idea it was a movie reference. He had never seen Spinal Tap. I walked away, muttering “what is wrong with kids these days.” I then fought the urge to tell kids to get off my lawn for the next week.

  70. 70.

    Miss Bianca

    @LAO:

    lol! Problem is you really need a tag team on that line, for the full effect. But if your audience isn’t going to get it anyway…

  74. 74.

    Miss Bianca

    I don’t know if this is getting too close to politics, but this article was my week’s Fascinating Find: The Strange Case of a Nazi Who Became an Israeli Hitman

    Had never heard of Otto Skorzeny, but man…someone could make a bang-up thriller out of his story. I’d love to see the scene in Mossad headquarters where someone says, “No…don’t *kill* him…RECRUIT him.”

  75. 75.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @efgoldman: @Adam L Silverman:
    OT, but I was talking to a Jewish man of my (casual) acquaintance today and told him about St. Purim’s Day to celebrate the triumph of Esther and the British government over the snakes in Ireland and celebrated with beer and triangular cookies It cracked him up and he wants to be reminded of it next year.

    We had a pretty wide ranging conversation about assorted religious practices, which an eavesdropping (her term, not mine) stranger told me she found fascinating when I apologized for potentially disturbing her lunch. Apparently she was sincere since the owner told me she paid for me coffee.

  79. 79.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Miss Bianca: I’m dubious about this. I’ve read biographies of Skorzeny, as well as Isser Harrel, and this was never mentioned. I also find it hard to believe as, at this point, Skorzeny was bouncing back and forth between Spain and Ireland. There is also no mention of this in regard to the other Otto, Otto Ernst Remer. The latter was considered to be Hitler’s bodyguard while the former, Skorzeny, was considered to be Hitler’s commando. In fact almost every history and biography I’ve seen of the two Otto’s details that they set up the rat lines out of Europe for the NAZIs we didn’t prosecute or for those we wanted to, like Mengele. The British government did a major inquiry into just how Skorzeny was allowed into Ireland and the UK and there was, as far as I know, any mention of this work for Mossad.

    Is it possible? Sure. Is it probable? I need to see a lot more than a thinly sourced Haaretz article.

  81. 81.

    Eric S.

    Getting ready to crash for the night. 10 mile training run tomorrow morning. After that there will be lots of lap time for Ozzie the Cat. It’s a win win for both of us. He gets his favorite napping spot and I get a built in heating blanket for recovery.

    Mom’s in town for the second weekend in a row. I’ll probably see her Sunday.

  85. 85.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: Thanks muchly!

    @efgoldman: Not a clue, of course. I have a friend who is actually in Idaho, and she sent me a picture of the nest a pair of bald eagles made in an aging poplar at the edge of her hayfield. She said it’s about the size of a Maytag.

    @ Mnem (aka Hamiltonian correspondent) I’ll look for that and see if I can find it. This guy’s mom’s hamantschen recipe sounds awesome as it has cherry marmalade in it along with some more traditional things.

  86. 86.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Omnes Omnibus: I was offended by the idea that my mother (a lover of Christmas her entire life) thought I was stupid enough to believe such a fiction. I suspect I was a slightly difficult child.

  87. 87.

    jackie

    @Mnemosyne: I would love to know what you find. I also know the Brit experience well but have little knowledge of what is was like in US. Likely disconnected mostly?

  94. 94.

    Mnemosyne

    @efgoldman:

    The closest I’ve ever gotten to Kansas was reading every one of the “Oz” books, so you’re safe there.

    I honestly don’t remember when I stopped believing in Santa Claus, but there was enough other traumatic stuff going on (like my mother’s terminal illness) that I guess it didn’t seem like an important myth to cling to one way or the other.
    /Debbie Downer

  97. 97.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Omnes Omnibus: That was part of the problem for me – “he” was everywhere, and never styled as a stand in or impersonator (as in an Elvis impersonator). I mean, really? Then, when I was 3ish, I recognized “from Santa” as in my mother’s handwriting. That’s when I was really insulted, but I rolled my eyes and played along since she enjoyed Xmas, which I never did and still, mostly, do not.

    Also too, your link was helpful.

    @efgoldman: Indeed I have deceived you. I’m sure people are tired of hearing the story of the evolution of my nym.

    My pal today said he tells people that Jews celebrate New Year’s Day in honor of the Jesus’ bris.

    For you and Omnes, especially: As I was trying to define “pedantic” to the coffee shop owner (quite pedantically, of course) I asked him for perhaps a better description and he said “anal.”

  101. 101.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @LAO: Fuck opening day now that MLB doesn’t have the first game of the season at home featuring the first professional team. Not that I’m bitter.

    Did I mention I’m having a not so good spring? Apologies (and in advance as well) to any and all victims thereof at this site.

  102. 102.

    Adam L Silverman

    OT: We now have confirmation that Lewandowski was, in fact, a law enforcement officer.

    A stint at a public relations firm felt confining, so he applied to the New Hampshire police academy, from which he graduated in 2006. For 3 1/2 years, Lewandowski did seasonal work as a marine patrol officer. But law enforcement, he said, was hard to manage against the demands of a family that now includes four children, ages 5 to 9.

    http://www.adn.com/article/20160330/who-corey-lewandowski-his-rise-and-his-relationship-donald-trump

  105. 105.

    Mike J

    @Adam L Silverman: marine patrol officer==running the club’s safety launch but with 10x the horsepower and siren+lights.

    (I’m among the people who run a club’s safety launch. But not on Winnipesaukee.)

  106. 106.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @efgoldman: Randall just featured that pedantic topic.

    @Adam L Silverman: You are awesome; thanks. I just sent you something you (sort of) requested. It was not an act of hostility, and I hope you can chuckle as much as another Juicer did. Remember what red generally signifies…

  112. 112.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @LAO: You poor thing – a Mets lover. I think I was at probably 3 Opening Days (the real kind, when they still had them) where it snowed.

    @Adam L Silverman: It’s strictly leisure comic reading.

  114. 114.

    Adam L Silverman

    @LAO: I grew up a Reds fan, initially, as they had their Spring training home in Tampa until they swapped with the Yankees. My Dad had been a Cubs fan, so I’ve always liked the Cubs and am also well acquainted with baseball disappointment. I did my bachelor’s at Emory when the Braves were making their runs at the championship in as the 80s became the 90s and got hooked as a Braves fan.

  115. 115.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Omnes Omnibus: No, as long as I’m consulting I pretty much get to set my own hours as long as I get the project done right and on deadline because I’m teleworking. Barring having to go on site somewhere for a bit. If/when I go back on a full time assignment I’ll have to make some adjustments.

  117. 117.

    ? Martin

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):

    I was offended by the idea that my mother (a lover of Christmas her entire life) thought I was stupid enough to believe such a fiction. I suspect I was a slightly difficult child.

    I remember when my son decided to probe on the Santa thing. He was afraid that by asking about Santa suggesting he didn’t believe that presents wouldn’t arrive, so I made a deal with him that I would be straight with him about Santa and that no matter what, I would make sure that he would get presents even if I had to buy them myself.

    So after a bit of staging I told him, and he paused for a few moments, and then started to ask some obvious questions about how the whole edifice holds together. As we talked he got pissed and finally accused me and his mother of engaging in a global conspiracy against kids. We talked about that a bit (admitting that he was correct) but then I reminded him that we never mentioned Santa to him. We never suggested he was real, or that he’d visit, or that he’d bring presents. He poked a bit and I defended, and he realized I was right. We never helped promote the conspiracy, we simply didn’t blow the whistle on it until he asked. He asked how the whole thing worked, and I told him – staying up to assemble toys and hiding things.

    We then went through things like the tooth fairy, and he remembered the year before that he asked if I was the tooth fairy and I said ‘I promise I will never put money under your pillow’. From that day forward, I told my wife she had to do it, and I told him that. I held to my promise, and told him to be more careful with his verbal contracts. The whole conversation probably took 3 hours. He left no stone unturned.

    Pretty sure that was the day he determined he was an atheist. I probably tore down the entire edifice of supernatural belief with him.

  121. 121.

    Adam L Silverman

    @LAO: I enjoy baseball, but I don’t start fights over team allegiances over it. So no worries on this end.

  122. 122.

    Mnemosyne

    Okay, something weird just happened. It sounded like fireworks (not gunshots, I know what that sounds like) but there isn’t anyplace around here that should have fireworks. It didn’t sound very close by.

  123. 123.

    Mnemosyne

    @goblue72:

    You know that David Brock has been the guy behind MediaMatters.org for the past decade, right? He converted even before Cole did.

  125. 125.

    LAO

    @Adam L Silverman: I’m an obnoxious New Yorker, it was never your end I was worried about. Lol. But seriously, I don’t care and the braves are currently horrible anyway.

    @Mnemosyne: not to freak you out, but gunshots don’t all sound the same based on their caliber.

  126. 126.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Omnes Omnibus: John and I discussed this when I finally accepted his invite. That if/when I go back in a full time assignment, I’ll have to adjust how much I post per week, and will have to consult with my company if its a contract or the PAO if its a Title 5, 10, or term civil service appointment to make sure that everyone is in the loop so we don’t have to worry about someone coming along and making accusations of an OpSec lapse. Not that I’d do so. As you know well, I’m still bound by the confidentiality rules even though I’m no longer read onto a specific project, so I’m very careful to make sure that my oaths remain intact. That’s how I handled things when I wrote at my previous location, when I did some guest columns/posts at Foreign Policy back in 2009 – 2011 (I think I did three or four). You know the reality.

  127. 127.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @LAO: Isn’t this getting close to the line? By “this” I mean the Shawna Cox retweet. I’m too much of a sissy (or too lazy) to go to the Cox twitter. Hint.

  128. 128.

    ? Martin

    @Mnemosyne:

    You know that David Brock has been the guy behind MediaMatters.org for the past decade, right? He converted even before Cole did.

    Shhh. You’re threatening his victimization.

  130. 130.

    Mnemosyne

    @LAO:

    If it was gunshots, somebody had a fully automatic machine gun. It was that quick in succession, like the grand finale of a fireworks show.

    We live relatively near a regional airport, so that’s always a worry. Nothing on the local news Twitters yet.

  131. 131.

    LAO

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): IMHO, Shawna will be preparing for trial in jail. And then all we will hear about is how the Judge and government, together violated her 1st Amendment rights. At this point, I think that’s actually what she wants.

    Remember, a RWNJ is never happy unless they are aggrieved.

  133. 133.

    Prescott Cactus

    Opening Day. The tired, hungry, yearning to believe the Cubs are going to win the World Series. Visitors from the frozen tundra have gone.

    Empty roads and restaurants. Ahem !

  134. 134.

    LAO

    @Mnemosyne: Hopefully, it was nothing.

    I live below 23d street in Manhattan and I heard the transformer explode during Hurricane Sandy. (The transformer that knocked out power below 40th street or so) That was insane.

  135. 135.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @LAO: I agree that she’ll be remanded to custody prior to trial. Can’t they all just be raptured and leave the rest of us in peace?

  137. 137.

    Mnemosyne

    @LAO:

    Before I get everyone too worked up, I also live relatively close to a major theme park (Universal Studios). I’ve never heard fireworks there before and they’re supposed to be closed for the night, but their Harry Potter expansion opens a week from today and they may have been testing a show out.

  139. 139.

    jl

    If I were Nebraska, I wouldn’t have chickened out. I’d have kept the damn thing in production.
    Might get a new demonym. Good for the tourist trade.

    But they chickened out and are going to redraw it so the sower is grabbing a generic seed sack, rather than what appears to be his seed sack with a firm and erect nozzle.

    Nebraska halts production of widely mocked license plate
    https://www.yahoo.com/news/nebraska-halts-production-widely-mocked-license-plate-235032054.html

  140. 140.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mnemosyne: It could be any number of things. Remember at night sound travels in funny ways and distorts. So it could very well be fireworks. Or it could be a couple of folks each with semi-automatics firing over each other. Or it could be vehicular noise.

  141. 141.

    Prescott Cactus

    @Mnemosyne:

    I’ve never heard fireworks there before and they’re supposed to be closed for the night, but their Harry Potter expansion opens a week from today and they may have been testing a show out.

    Accidentally. Don’t touch the red button. . . Oops

  143. 143.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mnemosyne: No, I don’t think that’s what would happen. Unless I was deployed forward to a non-permissive environment, I doubt there would be a moratorium. I self censor anyway. While almost all of the 40 plus reports I did from 2010-2014 are unclassified, with the exceptions of the one or two posted online at USAWC’s outward facing site, I don’t make them available for public consumption. This is not because I’m worried about any security violations, rather it is because they were prepared for very specific people in response to their requests for information and I don’t think its fair to them to broadcast that stuff far and wide. Technically this is government paid work product and if the Army posted them I both wouldn’t and couldn’t stop them, but that’s their decision/choice.

  145. 145.

    Adam L Silverman

    @jl: that second license plate, the choose life one, is an exact copy of the Florida choose life plate.

    That first one should be captioned: “now that’s a cornhusker!”

  147. 147.

    Prescott Cactus

    @LAO: @LAO: LAO,
    That looks like the power plant in the background. 4 stacks. Likely a coal burner. The “closer to home” the bigger the transformer.

  148. 148.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @efgoldman:

    She’s from Idaho, which doesn’t necessarily mean currently in Idaho. Slightly careful reading of the blog would put her closer to Cincinnati.

  149. 149.

    Mnemosyne

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Definitely not traffic noise — after 20+ years in LA, I’m familiar with all of that. And while we’re in a populated area, it’s not exactly a running gun battles kind of place.

    The thing that makes me suspicious is that the fire engines down the street took off about 5 minutes after the sound stopped. I’m still leaning towards the theory that somebody did something stupid at Universal, but if something comes across on the news, I’ll update everyone. Right now, it looks like I’ll have to write it off as Random Urban Noise.

    It was loud enough to freak the cats out, though, since the window was open. One of them jumped down and knocked the lamp plug out of the wall, which made me think at first that the power had gone out.

  150. 150.

    patroclus

    Lenin, Che, Zapata, Bolivar, Fidel, Mao, Guy Fawkes, Cromwell, Khomeini, Gandhi, Mandela, Ho and others were great revolutionaries in their time, but they’ve got nothing on Susan Sarandon and Rosario Dawson!

  152. 152.

    Mnemosyne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    A guy was murdered directly across the street from my old apartment while I was at home. Believe me, I know it doesn’t sound like TV.

  153. 153.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @Adam L Silverman:

    A part-time marine patrol officer? To describe him with the shorthand “former law enforcement officer” is like calling someone who played a season with the Wichita Wingnuts a “former pro baseball player.” Maybe “true,” but barely.

  156. 156.

    Prescott Cactus

    @Omnes Omnibus: Suppressors (aka silencers) are now legal in 41 states. Fl is one of them. CA is not. Would change sound, but not rate of fire.

  157. 157.

    Felonius Monk

    @efgoldman:

    There are Jews in Idaho? Do they have their own militia (they’d take Saturdays off, of course).

    I can’t confirm, but I’ve heard they are called the Idaho Potato Kugel Irregulars.

  158. 158.

    Mnemosyne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I did not, because it was too far away to accurately identify where it was coming from even though it was loud enough to startle the cats.

    ETA: Honestly, around here, fireworks/explosives are much more likely. I can think of at least one other local place that might have fireworks on hand, and that’s not counting the power plants, transformers, and oil rigs.

  160. 160.

    Emma

    @Mnemosyne: hey, totally OT, but there is a book that MIGHT help. It was written in the 1830s but you might be able to get something.

    Frances Trollope. Domestic Manners of the Americans.

    It’s available from Project Gutenberg.

  162. 162.

    Mnemosyne

    @Emma:

    Thanks! There are all kinds of “English people explaining Americans to themselves” books throughout the 19th century and into the 20th. Wodehouse makes fun of them in a couple of his short stories.

  163. 163.

    Anne Laurie

    @Miss Bianca:

    Now that I think about it, it’s sort of strange that I’m better versed on British history during that period than American!

    To be fair, the Very Serious People of that period weren’t much interested in what a bunch of economic refugees and ex-convicts were doing out in the distant wilderness. And those Americans who had the time & resources to write stuff down weren’t much interested in ‘America’ as a whole — New Yorkers wrote about NY, Bostonians about Boston, the planters traded notes on Virginia & the Carolinas. Meanwhile, what the New Orleans/Detroit/Canadian French & the Florida/Tejas Spaniards were up to was only important to military leaders and rich speculators. Britain, France & after that the rest of Europe were distinctly the Hub of the Universe — what happened there mattered to ‘the world’, even to our ragged colonial forebearers.

  164. 164.

    Pogonip

    @Adam L Silverman: A house exploding doesn’t sound like movies/TV either. It’s a heavy thud. Some damn fool with a backhoe hit a gas line down the street from my parents’ house.

    EVERYONE ELSE: What was THAT?

    WW II/KOREA VET: A building exploded! Basement! Now!

    I was surprised at what the real thing sounded like, and also surprised at the number of idiots who ran down to stand on the curb and watch, not knowing, and, as far as I could see, not caring, if additional explosions might be in the offing. They were still there when Dad sounded the all clear after about 45 minutes in the basement.

  165. 165.

    Emma

    @Mnemosyne: I just happened to remember her because she was not only a very accurate observer but she had a very sharp tongue. The book was a best seller but Americans hated it; well, Twain liked it.

  166. 166.

    Mnemosyne

    @Anne Laurie:

    Plus we’re talking about the time period of the Napoleonic Wars, which were a big Biden deal across all of Europe but didn’t affect the Americas much except when each side’s privateers were attacking American ships.

  167. 167.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @Mnemosyne:

    Uh, War of 1812. Right in the Napoleonic period and considered by Europeans to be a (minor) theater of the general Napoleonic wars.

  168. 168.

    Mnemosyne

    @Steeplejack (phone):

    Right, but that’s not a cultural era the way the Regency is a specific cultural era that had its own wardrobe and mores. It’s a weird little transition between the free-for-all of the Georgians and the repressiveness of the Victorians. So it’s a lot easier to pin down the touchstones of England in 1817, right down to the bonnets women were wearing, than it is to do the same in the US the same year.

  171. 171.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Miss Bianca: Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. See: Trump, hands, compare, contrast. And, of course, ewwwww!!!!!

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