Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

“Why isn’t this Snickers bar only a nickel?”

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

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

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

Glad to see john eastman going through some things.

Let me file that under fuck it.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Can we lighten up on the doomsday scenarios?

An unpunished coup is a training exercise.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

I was confident that someone would point it out and thought why not me.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

The revolution will be supervised.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Open Thread with Tasty Bread!

Open Thread with Tasty Bread!

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Here are bakers creating loaves of Cuban bread at my favorite bakery in Tampa:

mauricio-faedo-bakery

See the little strips of green protruding from the ends of the loaves like serpents’ tongues? Those are palm leaves, which give Cuban bread its distinctive pattern. How I missed this bread when I lived up north for a few years!

This particular bakery prints the following list of ingredients on its long bread sacks: Water, flour, salt, lard and yeast. If you don’t consume it all within 24 hours, the loaf will petrify to the point that it can be used for household demolition chores.

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

224Comments

  2. 2.

    Kathleen

    Betty: May I ask where this bakery is? I’m visiting Tampa at Christmas and I love Cuban bread (as does my daughter). It’s not near Julie’s Consignment Shop near the Brandon Mall area, is it?

  4. 4.

    DCrefugee

    I keep coming back to Hunter Thompson’s so-called “wave speech.” An excerpt:

    You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning. . . .

    And that, I think, was the handle—that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn’t need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting—on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. . . .

    So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.”

  6. 6.

    Don K

    So kind of like a baguette. In less than 24 hours, those will be useless as any kind of food. Which is a good thing :)

  7. 7.

    Schlemazel

    The very best bread has to be eaten within a day of baking. While I like some breads that last longer they are not the stuff of dreams

  8. 8.

    Diana

    Demolition chores?
    Sounds like Terry Pratchett’s dwarf bread in the Discworld series (which, despite being actually bread, often was used for purposes more closely related to weaponry.)

  9. 9.

    Cacti

    Just saw this gem on the interwebs:

    2016: a choice between Donald Trump and Goldman Sachs

    -Edward Snowden

    Glibertarians: not nearly as smart as they think they are

    -Cacti

  10. 10.

    Baud

    @Cacti: Ha! I briefly searched this morning for lefty heroes who said Trump was better than Clinton because of GS. Got a bunch of junk so gave up quickly.

  14. 14.

    BGinCHI

    I just had a vegan pizza from my local Middle Eastern bakery.

    It was good, but now I wish I’d had a Cuban sandwich. Chicago needs more Cuban eateries.

  17. 17.

    BGinCHI

    @Omnes Omnibus: In between bites I’m all, “Ha Ha Ha, take that you impoverished island nation!”

    You should see what I did with burek after the Kosovo atrocities.

  21. 21.

    BGinCHI

    Also, where were all the entertaining posts on this blog this afternoon??

    Some shit about cats or Australia or home renovation, even?

    I have needs too!

  24. 24.

    Peale

    So I did my part for the resistance today and cancelled my cable. O.K. I’m really just trying to save money…in advance of the coming collapse of civil society.

    Or I just don’t want to pay that bill any longer.

  25. 25.

    La Caterina (Mrs. Johannes)

    I feel a little better to have realized that our beloved President Obama (and Mittens, to a much lesser extent) are doing us all a great service by seeming to give the orange thing the “approval” he so desperately wants from certain elites in society. The penny dropped when I read the thread on NPD yesterday. Certain elites can soothe the orange beast. Though they can’t change or persuade him, they can distract him from random destructive acts for at least some period of time. I bet PBO talked to a clinician about this.

  28. 28.

    Elizabelle

    Grant Tinker died, aged 90. He was responsible for some very good television shows. And famous for being Mr. Mary Tyler Moore for many years.

    NY Times: As president of MTM Enterprises, a company he founded with his second wife, Mary Tyler Moore, in 1970, Mr. Tinker produced the show named for her, one of the first series to feature an independent career woman as the central character, as well as spinoffs like “Rhoda” and the one-hour newsroom drama “Lou Grant,” which examined societal issues.

    And as chairman and chief executive of NBC from 1981 to 1986, Mr. Tinker crammed prime time with many of television’s most imaginative, successful and long-running series, including “The Cosby Show,” “Cheers,” “Hill Street Blues,” “Family Ties,” “St. Elsewhere” and “Miami Vice.”

    … After decades of formula network programming that, with notable exceptions, had made a wasteland of television, Mr. Tinker changed the landscape, using ensemble casts and intertwined story lines, casting blacks and women in leading roles and examining serious topical issues: life and death in a hospital for the poor; conflicts in a family or an impoverished police precinct; a reporter’s look at civil rights, insanity or checkbook journalism.

    …. Grant Almerin Tinker was born on Jan. 11, 1926, in Stamford, Conn., the son of a lumber supplier. He graduated from Dartmouth in 1949 and joined NBC as an executive trainee, but left in 1954. He went into advertising and for seven years developed programs for television — as ad agencies did then — first for McCann-Erickson and later for Benton & Bowles.

    Mr. Tinker rejoined NBC in 1961 and was put in charge of West Coast programming. In Los Angeles he developed “I Spy,” “Dr. Kildare” and “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”

    He returned to New York as the head of programming in 1966, but quit in 1967 to return to California, where he developed television series for Universal — including “It Takes a Thief” and “Marcus Welby, M.D.” — and for 20th Century Fox.

    Setting out as an independent in 1970, Mr. Tinker and Ms. Moore formed MTM to produce “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” for CBS. Created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns, the show had phenomenal success over the next seven years, which led to a host of spinoff hits and a growing stable of writers and producers eager to work in a creative atmosphere.

    I think all of those shows stand up to time. Although a bit of wincing at Bill Cosby now.

  29. 29.

    SiubhanDuinne

    I was listening to Tweety for a few minutes, and you know how he talks and sputters so fast he leaves syllables out of words? Like instead of introducing a “journalist who writes for the Washington Post,” he’ll say “jurist whrites frthe Washonpost.” “Cabinet” becomes “cabnit,” “Secretary” becomes “Seckree,” etc.

    So I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised to learn that Trump and Romney dined last night on “frog legs and scalps.”

  31. 31.

    BGinCHI

    @La Caterina (Mrs. Johannes): Meanwhile Pence stocks the cabinet with Talibangical nihilists.

    But, you know, Carrier gets to keep its factory in Indy so that its parent company can rack up the sweet defense contract Benjamins we we bomb parts of the ME.

  40. 40.

    Betty Cracker

    @Emma: What an intriguing suggestion! The mister does make bread pudding sometimes, and it’s good. But not caramel bread pudding, which sounds heavenly.

  41. 41.

    Mnemosyne

    @Cacti:

    See, we didn’t have to choose — we got both! How is that not a win/win?!?

    And I still can’t help but mention that Snowden is yet another of those connections to Russia that just happen to have occurred. Such a co-inkydink!

  42. 42.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Elizabelle:

    I am sorry to hear that. Always liked Grant Tinker a lot, as a terrific producer of some really fine TV programming (yes, even Cosby, as cringeworthy as it is to realize it now) and, I must say, as an absofrigginlutely gorgeous man. Lots of reasons to envy MTM back in the day :-)

    May he RIP, and may 2016 soon be the year of not-so-blessed memory.

  45. 45.

    Betsy

    Tired from a long day at work, at first I read your post to say these are Bankers making bread at my favorite bakery. And before I could even register the error, I thought: Well, at least they’re doing *something* useful

  46. 46.

    Elizabelle

    @efgoldman:

    democracy in a place with absolutely no democratic traditions generally hasn’t worked out too well. Even in the US and France, the anti-democratic forces are gaining ground.

    Do you think it’s the long range result of television and, now, social media? Of course, also technological and cultural change, happening faster than societies can keep up with?

    Fake news and fear, at the speed of light. People less used to reading and thinking? More cynical, over entertained?

    Last night, just picked up another second hand copy of Neil Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves to Death”, about television. Published in 1986. That’s pre-cable news, isn’t it?

    Something is going disastrously wrong. We’re being polarized, to some extent, for a small group of people’s profit.

  49. 49.

    Emma

    @Betty Cracker: It’s actually a simple trick. You make caramel, pour it into the pan or muffin tins if you want individual puddings, then let it cool until it becomes brittle. Then put the bread pudding mixture in and bake. The double-baked caramel is fantastic, but you do have to watch the baking time.

  51. 51.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Arclite:

    Not at all, but he talks that way pretty much all the time as far as I can tell.

    I had a boss like that once. His brain worked so fast — and went dashing off after half-a-dozen rabbits at once — that his mouth could never keep up, and he just sputtered and spluttered and spit and tripped over his own tongue all the time.

  55. 55.

    Iowa Old Lady

    Mr IOL is winding down his second day in retirement. He went grocery shopping with me today, and I didn’t ram him with the cart. Not on purpose, anyway. So win.

  56. 56.

    Mnemosyne

    I keep wanting to call up IL Republicans and yell at them about Obamacare and Medicare, but they all got voted out. The Senate seat went to Tammy Duckworth and my mom’s House district flipped blue this year.

    It’s good, but frustrating ATM.

  61. 61.

    Elizabelle

    @SiubhanDuinne: 90 is 90, so a good run, but it is like there’s some kind of Rapture going on, and we’re being left with a cosmic joke.

    Looking at that picture of Trump and Romney at a luxe dinner: isn’t Trump pretty much the guy those “left behind” books pegged as the villain?

  67. 67.

    Elizabelle

    @Emma: Yeah. NBC was the place to be. Grant Tinker brought so much intelligence and class to the network.

    And it was my favorite news channel, too. Tom Brokaw was younger and not the old scold he’s become. Now NBC News is beyond appalling. I do sorta like the Dateline reruns, though, while avoiding the rest of their “news” product.

  71. 71.

    Elizabelle

    @Baud: We’re all keeping you company.

    Someday, Baud, you and dolphins will rule the earth. If we haven’t poisoned their oceans. They’ll be saying bad things about us.

    Elizabelle, the also un-Raptured

  77. 77.

    Emma

    @debbie: It has been done on occasion. But cuban bread pudding, dotted with raisins and almonds, and dripping with caramel is the champ!

  80. 80.

    Mike J

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    You are just saying that because Castro is dead. What a horrible way to gloat, you monster.

    As Taylor Swift said, at least he lived long enough to see Russia defeat the United States.

  87. 87.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Elizabelle:

    Looking at that picture of Trump and Romney at a luxe dinner: isn’t Trump pretty much the guy those “left behind” books pegged as the villain?

    Yeah, there’s something about the knowingly-evil tilt of his eyes and the sincere-not-sincere smile (abetted by the lighting) that just shriek foul and depraved.

    Welcome to the New Murrica.

  94. 94.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Cacti: Snowden, the man who chose the Freedom of Putin’s Russia.

    So The Talking Points Memo on these Intertubes say now the GOP Senate is walking back talk of privatizing Medicare. Like I said, it sounds like they want these things to fail.

  96. 96.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Elizabelle:

    Last night, just picked up another second hand copy of Neil Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves to Death”, about television. Published in 1986. That’s pre-cable news, isn’t it?

    One of the best (and most prescient) books ever. I know I own a copy; I must seek it out and re-read.

    Ted Turner founded CNN in 1980, but it didn’t get Awful for many years. Certainly in 1986 it was harmless, if repetitive. Didn’t really come into its own as a news network until the First Gulf War in 1991, and did a good job for several years after that. The decline really started, IMO, in 1996 when Time-Warner acquired CNN. The full rot set in about the time of “Mission Accomlished.”

  99. 99.

    SenyorDave

    I’ve seen speculation in the media that the Carrier thing will cost in the millions of dollars to keep those jobs. I call BS on that, I suggest another zero. If the average annual all-in cost per employee in the US is $80k (this includes, salary, bonus, FICA, WC and other insurance plus overhead), it is almost certainly less than half that in Mexico. Assume it takes 1.2 Mexico employees per US employee (language issues, stability factors, etc.), and I come up with a run rate savings of approximately $30 million annually. No way Carrier does this for few million dollars. My guess is tax breaks, subsidies of at least $10 – $15 million annually, and then they will assume that the good will is worth a good chunk of change. Since I don’t see this story all over the internet, I’m hoping the predator-elect and his brain trust will be disappointed.

  105. 105.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: remember when the republicans brought up the republican study committee budget up for a vote in the house, which was one of those wingnut things they didn’t want to vote against or pass, with the expectation that the Dem no’s would let them have the bill fail while letting most R’s vote yes? And then Pelosi had the Dems en masse switch their votes from no to present, right before the vote closed? And it almost ended up passing and an astonished Ryan was forced to twist arms into getting his caucus to vote no?

    I want to see two years of shit like that with these toxic “too bad to pass” bills.

    Or maybe not, since some of them might accidentally become law.

  106. 106.

    Elizabelle

    @SiubhanDuinne: Has Time-Warner NOT ruined anything it’s come into contact with?

    All this “synergy.” Is not, and is never about the consumer or quality.

    Break ’em all up. Maybe Trump will drive us into such a bad economy that happens. Lot of collateral damage, though. But maybe the corporate stranglehold needs to break, whichever way it happens.

  113. 113.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Elizabelle:

    Has Time-Warner NOT ruined anything it’s come into contact with?

    No.

    I think Ted would readily admit that selling to TW was the worst and stupidest business decision he ever made. And I think he probably realized it within minutes of signing the paperwork.

  118. 118.

    frosty

    @SiubhanDuinne: Speaking of Neil Postman, go find a copy of “Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television” circa 1974 by a former adman, Jerry Mander. The arguments haven’t gone away.

  119. 119.

    Debbie(aussie)

    Has it been mentioned in these comment threads that moosolini is being considered for Sec of VA. my gawd! You poor people. I wonder how many persons I might be allowed to sponsor?

  122. 122.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Debbie(aussie):

    Has it been mentioned in these comment threads that moosolini is being considered for Sec of VA.

    Yeah, one floor downstairs. Raven had a few choice words.

  123. 123.

    Elizabelle

    @SiubhanDuinne: I always thought Ted’s bedtime mantra, for years and years, was “fuck Steve Case” (of AOL, didn’t he have a lot to do with that disaster)?

  125. 125.

    debbie

    @SenyorDave:

    Whoever started this practice of giving tax breaks and abatements in exchange for jobs should be shot. There’s a lot of this going on here and most of the time, the business will fail to keep their end of the bargain.

  130. 130.

    Mary G

    @Iowa Old Lady: It’s only day 2; there’s still plenty of time. My mom had a neighbor retire and used to run a betting pool around what time of day his wife would throw him out of the house to sit in the garage. It had to be suspended when it became earlier than any of the betters got up.

  132. 132.

    Pogonip

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: I bet they do.

    INTERN: Congressman Fugbucker’s office, may I help you?

    NEUROLOGIST: What the hell is Skip doing? 90% of my practice is old people! He knows darn well I’ll have to build Yale a new weight room at the gym to get my kids in. And now he’s making noises about killing MEDICARE? I’ve already got patients telling me they may not be able to come back after the first of the year and refusing to refill their Fukitol prescriptions. I own STOCK in Fukitol Pharmaceuticals, for God’s sake! How much will that stock be worth if no one can afford to buy the stuff? I make very generous campaign contributions every year, and you tell Skip blah blah blah blah rant rant rant..,”

    Multiply that call times every doctor and every hospital CEO in the district.

    Miracle drug “Fukitol” is a creation of drgrumpyinthehouse.blogspot.com.

  133. 133.

    jenn

    Hey all, I just found a fantastic article on building successful movements that I thought I’d share (here).

    Some of the pieces:
    1. Make your purpose clear
    2. Values are more important than slogans, and activists need training, in the manner that Otpor and the Civil Rights Movement did.
    3. The strength of a movement is in small groups, not large crowds. It is in small groups that we can have positive influence and change minds – and then when those small groups connect, they are able to build power for change. Otpor, for example, created a training curriculum. There’s a link in the article for CANVAS publications (CANVAS = Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies). Otpor believes there are “dangers of holding large demonstrations too early. Rather, they suggest that protesters focus on building capacity and strategically sequencing their actions to gain support.” Then the large protests.
    4. Rely on engagement, not on rhetoric, and build inclusiveness.

    Something else that came to mind is that it could be really useful to have a book group reading things like John Lewis’ book.

    Anyway – I am back to work. Have a good evening, everyone!

  143. 143.

    debbie

    @debbie:

    Also this tweet from Krugman:

    Another metric: Trump would have to do one Carrier-sized deal a week for 30 years to save as many jobs as Obama’s auto bailout

    But does he have the stamina?

  144. 144.

    Mary G

    BWAHHAHAHAHAA. Bloomberg: Push for Quick Medicare Overhaul Worries U.S. Senate Republicans.

    Share on Twitter
    Republicans have called for major Medicare changes for years, but now that they may be in a position to push something through, some party leaders are wary of sparking a fight over a popular program that President-elect Donald Trump promised he’d protect.

    “That falls under the rule of not biting off more than you can chew,” Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who chairs the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said in an interview. “The problems about the solvency of Medicare should be left for another debate, another discussion, and not be part of the replace and repeal” effort on Obamacare.

    Now the infighting begins and we get to see the tiger eat the lady.

  153. 153.

    Pogonip

    @Mary G: We have a Barnes & Noble here in West Deplorable, and South Liberal, home of the four-hundred-thousand-dollar shack, has 5 or 6 independent bookstores AND a couple of RECORD stores. Maybe that’s why people want to live there and why the houses are so dilapidated. You give me a choice between an out-of-print book for which I’ve been searching for thirty years and repainting the front porch, the porch is just going to have to keep peeling till next payday.

  157. 157.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @efgoldman: Please, grandpa, please tell us of that legendary past when ethical Republicans roamed the earth in the days before train passengers shot them all and left them to rot (or am i thinking of bison?)

  158. 158.

    Debbie(aussie)

    @Pogonip:
    I would say similar to the US, some accepting others not. Support available in metro areas, can be hit and miss in more rural locations.

  160. 160.

    Baud

    @frosty:

    “Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television” circa 1974 by a former adman, Jerry Mander. The arguments haven’t gone away.

    Is one of the arguments Joe Scarborough?

  161. 161.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Don K:

    So kind of like a baguette. In less than 24 hours, those will be useless as any kind of food. Which is a good thing :)

    Late to the thread and apologies if this has been covered, but this very situation is what led to the invention of French toast.

  164. 164.

    Sibelius

    @Omnes Omnibus: I picked up a bottle of the Joseph Drouhin last week. Was supposed to open T-Day for pre meal consumption. Still in the closet. Opening soon I think. Maybe this eve!

  165. 165.

    SenyorDave

    @debbie: I completely agree. I work as a financial analyst, and our company uses India consulting for a lot of our analysis. But we are constantly shifting resources back and forth. A big company can sometimes use just the threat of moving jobs offshore to extract some pretty good ransom payments from the states.

  171. 171.

    Mary G

    BillMoyers.com has been added to my very short list of good sites. It’s loud and proud liberal and has a lot of good stuff on it. There’s one on four actions we can take to fight climate change even if government won’t, and an article called Trumping the Times/Fear and servility in midtown Manhattan that’s blistering, in a good way, like Scotch bonnet peppers:

    And there was Friedman, sucking up to the billionaire by crooning about the splendor of his world-wonders on the way to asking about socially caused climate change, the existence of which Trump has frequently denied. This was not only shoddy questioning, it was a confession of weakness, which matters hugely, since the only human qualities that register in Trump World are strength and weakness. When you genuflect to the majesty of the man’s Pharaonic achievements, you show weakness, and so he proceeds to bullshit you. Thus on climate change: “I have an open mind to it. We’re going to look very carefully. It’s one issue that’s interesting because there are few things where there’s more division than climate change. You don’t tend to hear this, but there are people on the other side of that issue….I have a very open mind.”

    Friedman’s response was a whimper: “But you have an open mind on this?” I suppose that is called nailing down news. It should be called: Giving Trump a gift by putting words in his mouth.

  176. 176.

    MomSense

    So my son just signed up for healthcare. Chose between three silver plans $16.65, $21.96, $25.07 per month.

    Deductibles range from $200 to $250. Out of pocket maximum range is $500-$750.

    So glad we will be getting rid of this horrible, horrible ACA.

  177. 177.

    Shana

    @Elizabelle: A turkey wine? Really? We went with a very nice Chardonnay this year, Chateau Montelena. Better known for their reds, but this is truly lovely.

  178. 178.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    It is light and has hints of berries.

    “Berries” is doing some heavy lifting there. Elderberries? Strawberries? Raspberries? Blueberries? Blackberries? Black raspberries? Saskatoonberries? Cloudberries?

  179. 179.

    Mike J

    @Baud: Did you know the SS Minnow of Gilligan’s Island was named for Newton Minnow, who famously said television is a “vast wasteland”? Not just in April, the cruelest month.

  181. 181.

    Schlemazel

    @SenyorDave:
    Your numbers may be a bit off even if your assumptions about the deal are correct.
    I did a gig with a major discount retailer that was moving jobs to India (in fact until the Dem take over in 08 when the tax laws were changed every manager had a goal for the number of their jobs they were expected to move)

    The analysis was explained to me: it cost 20% as much per employee in India. It took 3 Indian employees to replace 1 Minnesotan. Net savings, 40%.

  183. 183.

    JustRuss

    @Mary G: I wouldn’t be surprised if Republicans pushed through some kind of gut-Medicare bill so Trump could bravely veto it to polish his “outsider populist” cred.

  184. 184.

    Patricia Kayden

    @SiubhanDuinne: Stopped watching MSNBC after the election and Matthews is one shouty host who I do not miss. Never could stand him.

    That photo of Trump and Romney looked as if Trump was about to feast on Romney’s scalp so Matthews may have a point.

  189. 189.

    Schlemazel

    @SiubhanDuinne:
    I was just thinking of Westlake today. There was a shooting at a construction sight today. Police theorize the killing was intended to create a job opening for the shooter.

    That is chillingly like the story line of “The Ax” in which an average Joe kills all the competition for a job he want & then the current employee. I found the book unnerving for several reason (including some I won’t give away) and partly because I could picture someone being so desperate for a job that killing a few people seems like a reasonable thing to do.

  192. 192.

    gene108

    @Elizabelle: n

    From what I have read, countries that go from autocracy to democracy, run into the problem of not having strong independent institutions, which are independent of the autocrat.

    We can manage changes in governing parties, because the civil bureaucracy more or less remains intact.

    In countries , where the autocracy is overthrown, the bureaucracy may have been a part of the problem and needs to be dismantled, if it even existed to any serious extent in the first place.

    If Cuba has an actual, professional, civil service, which makes sure trash is collected, the trains run on time, etc, and would continue to do those things independent of who is in charge, they might have an easier time making the transition.

  198. 198.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Patricia Kayden:

    Haven’t actually seen him in years, except maybe accidentally while on the road and staying in hotels — I haven’t had TV, let alone cable, at home for several years now — but I do have Sirius XM in the car and listen occasionally to MSNBC programming. Maybe because it’s audio only, I’m even more aware of his verbal tics.

  200. 200.

    NotMax

    @Baud

    Never seen it? Never seen it? Rectify that, stat, please.

    One of a bare handful of films which find impossible not to watch if they’re on.

  202. 202.

    EBT

    @Schlemazel: Half a decade ago one woman killed another over a video game system they both wanted to buy their kid for christmas. At the time of the arrest the murderer expressed happiness that she was going to get to give her kid the gift, and not the other woman. Failing to realize of course the item was now evidence and she was going to spend many christmases in jail.

  203. 203.

    raven

    @NotMax: You seen FilmStruck?

    FilmStruck is a new subscription on-demand service that offers film aficionados a comprehensive library of films including an eclectic mix of contemporary and classic art house, indie, foreign and cult films.

    FilmStruck offers instant streaming access to critically acclaimed films, hard-to-find gems, and cult favorites from the world’s greatest independent film libraries. FilmStruck was created by the movie lovers at Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and The Criterion Collection, giving you access to some of the world’s greatest films, shown uncut and commercial-free, just as the director intended.

  204. 204.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Taking the topic to a decidedly different place: has anyone here seen Manchester by the Sea? Thoughts, non-spoiler reviews? I’m thinking I might go see it tomorrow, but if it sucks, I won’t.

    I’ve heard two different Terry Gross Fresh Air programs about it, and she is clearly smitten.

  205. 205.

    Sibelius

    @Shana: Oh, Chateau Montelena makes some outstanding Chardonnays. I don’t really link well but search for the 1973 CM “judgement of Paris wine”.

    Our white was a cheap, but really tasty Vouvray. I spent some $ on a nice Pinot Noir for my wife. Turned out to be quite nice, hard to find nice Pinot these days that’s “affordable”.

    Off to chill that Beaujolais for a bit.

    Cheers.

  209. 209.

    EBT

    @Schlemazel: Your description does sound interesting. Plus a job sounds a bit better to kill over than a freaking xbox 360.
    @NotMax: Isn’t criterion one of those companies that buys up everything and then sells 50 packs of schlock mixed with public domain?

  210. 210.

    Keith P.

    Dammit, I came in late to a bread post. It’s a topic I am keenly interested in these days. I do the no-knead bread recipe, which is great..bread turns out like artisanal loaves I see at the store, with great crust. But where I am lost is in making a baguette. How in the world does that bread get so soft & pillowy? It’s almost like wonderbread, but I have not come across any explanation as to what leads to such a different crumb in a baguette. Is the secret using *low* hydration (I had been experimenting with higher and higher levels but still can’t get that soft, white crumb in a baguette.

  212. 212.

    Ruckus

    @Elizabelle:

    Something is going disastrously wrong. We’re being polarized, to some extent, for a small group of people’s profit.

    Some would say that’s by design. I’m not sure the people with enough money to buy all that are smart enough to win over enough people. Although I have to stop every day and remind myself that’s exactly what just happened. Enough people are evil, stupid, bigoted, assholes and they dragged along all of their like minded friends to start the machine in motion to destroy what little bit of a sensible world we have.
    I’m pretty sure that some where back in time some one was diddling a lemming and the genetic code got intermingled enough that a good number of humans are going to run off a cliff, just because their fucking crazy, drunk neighbor thought it would be a good idea. Only problem with this idea is, who holds the beer?

  213. 213.

    Schlemazel

    @EBT:
    The guy has sort of a specialized history so it is clever how he works out who the competition is and eliminates them one by one. Of course the guy is not a killer so he bungles the hits mostly. You also get the impression he may not be the most decent guy you ever met even if you understand his motivations. It is a very well written novel

  216. 216.

    Ruckus

    @Iowa Old Lady:
    I know of a couple, both worked local (LA) civil service jobs for their entire careers and are terrified that they won’t be able to live on, are you ready for this, $120,000 per yr between the both of them. House is paid for, they’ve obviously made good money working and yet they are thinking how can they make it on this horribly small amount. The person that knows them is amazed that while he does pretty good, they are going to retire on more than he makes a year.

    ETA Also give mr IOL a break. Retirement is tough. Getting up at the crack of noon, lounging around the house, having to put up with daytime TV, it’s hard. Yes it is.

  217. 217.

    Ruckus

    @Omnes Omnibus:
    Figured you get it.
    But the question is valid. If most everyone decides to take a flying leap off a tall cliff (which is pretty much Nov 8) who will hold the beer? I’m not doing it, it’s probably buttwiper light or rocky mountain goat piss and I vowed long ago to not sully myself with that crap.

  218. 218.

    NotMax

    @Shana

    If you can find it in stock at Costco, the Kirkland brand Carneros pinot noir at a sawbuck a bottle is nice.

    For a tasty, solid everyday red, Kirkland Côtes du Rhône Villages at $6.99 is a steal. Let it breathe for a bit before quaffing.

  222. 222.

    J R in WV

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    Mrs J and I each get smaller pensions, but two of them add up, and then we each also get reasonable Social Security payments (SO FAR) and that works out. With Medicare, of course.

    And if they take away the Medicare and Social Security and Pensions that we worked for and earned, then we will have to work to politically punish the guys I can find, not like Trump, but Ryan and McConnell and those middle managers that have worked for their whole political careers to destroy the core of this country’s success. The Supremes who allowed them to revoke promises that were made 80 years ago.

    I’ve worked since I was 14, now I’m about disabled physically after building several nice places. I deserve to travel a little, have a little fun with Mrs J while we still can.

    What do these guys think will happen to the country’s economy with those sources of income gone? Who will be spending money at the stores and buying the cars? NO ONE! Most of the younger folks around here live with their parents and subsist on their pensions and disability checks. They’ll destroy their buddies at the same time as they destroy their voters too. The destruction will be astonishing.

    The people who in 1930 were too shell shocked and dazed to react, today they will cook some meth, pack their ammo and guns into the PU truck, and go looking for the people they blame for their loss of everything. All we can hope to do is make sure they know who to blame. The talking heads on TV and their favorite guests, Senators and leaders of the Teapublican party.

    While I’ll be on a container ship to Italy. With my savings converted to gold and rough diamonds.

  223. 223.

    low-tech cyclist

    @Kathleen: My wife, who grew up in Plant City, is a fan of La Segunda Bakery in Ybor City. Their Cuban sandwiches are wonderful, ditto their guava turnovers, and they’re right off I-4 which is handy when making the drive from Tampa airport to Plant City. That’s gonna be my lunch on 12/23.

    Each time down, my wife buys several loaves of their Cuban bread, freezes it, and brings it back up to Maryland with us.

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