Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A Senator Walker would be an insult to the state and the nation.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

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

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Why did Dr. Oz lose? well, according to the exit polls, it’s because Fetterman won.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

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

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

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

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Second rate reporter says what?

After roe, women are no longer free.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Open Thread – Holy F*ck (Or Maybe Trump’s Just Been Pwnd, Again)

Open Thread – Holy F*ck (Or Maybe Trump’s Just Been Pwnd, Again)

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  5. 5.

    lamh36

    Does no one own an umbrella back in the day…they all gon die from consumption standing in that rain
    #ItsAWonderfulLife

  6. 6.

    SFBayAreaGal

    Watching The Charlie Brown Christmas Special on DVD. Next The Little Drummer Boy, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and to finish the evening White Christmas

  7. 7.

    Jerzy Russian

    Can someone provide an English translation that last tweet by Gessen? If a full translation is not available then perhaps some context?

  9. 9.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @lamh36:

    Think that’s bad? Watch Casablanca sometime. See Humphrey Bogart get on the train in the pouring rain, two seconds later he is dry as a bone.

  11. 11.

    ThresherK

    @SiubhanDuinne: Heehee. I knew about that from somewhere else.

    I’ll take that in stride.Casablanca seems to me a movie without any holes in it. Nowadays it’s like hardly anyone knows how to structure a dramatic story and edit out the chaff.

  13. 13.

    Mike in NC

    Trump is going to wear out the knees in his cheap suits as he is regularly led into the Kremlin to prostrate himself in front of Vlad the Impaler.

  19. 19.

    hilts

    @lamh36:

    Not even talking bout Cheeto Prez…until after Jan 20th

    2016 will go down in history as an Annus Horribilis and for the next 4 years our govt will be run by the biggest Anus in the country.

  21. 21.

    zhena gogolia

    Just finished watching Christmas in Connecticut for the nth time. Sheer perfection!

    I want Cuddles Sakall’s restaurant in my town. Checkered tablecloths, that neat hors d’oeuvres table in the middle, and those tiny Martinis people used to drink. And I want to live in Reginald Gardiner’s farmhouse, with Una O’Connor as my housekeeper.

  24. 24.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @lamh36:

    continuity was no big deal back in the day I guess…lol.

    My other fave is Roman Holiday. Watch the whole sequence where Audrey Hepburn leaves Gregory Peck’s apartment, gets her hair cut, buys flowers, buys a gelato, etc. Pay close attention to the sleeves and necklines of her blouse in each change of scene. Also when she is on the Vespa, the neckscarf she wears. Nothing makes any continuity sense, but Hepburn is so luminous it doesn’t matter.

  25. 25.

    SFBayAreaGal

    @MajorMajorMajorMajor, have you ever seen It’s a Wonderful Life at the Stanford Theater in Palo Alto? It’s a great experience.

  31. 31.

    hilts

    @SFBayAreaGal:

    It’s a great experience.

    I’ve never had the opportunity to attend this screening and I’m not familiar with the theater. What makes it a great experience?

  36. 36.

    lamh36

    So wait…did life insurance cover suicide back in the day? Actually, I don’t even know if it’s NOT covered now?
    #ItsAWonderfulLife

  37. 37.

    lamh36

    Honestly, I’m not sure, what I would do if I looked in the face of someone who’d obviously at their wits end?
    #ItsAWonderfulLife

  38. 38.

    hilts

    @SFBayAreaGal:

    Some years back, the airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas was preceded by a documentary about its making and it made the point that there was considerable controversy about the storyline and some network execs were nervous about how viewers would receive it.

  39. 39.

    delk

    @Major Major Major Major: He was lethargic all day and licking his lips. He started to quiver/tremble so we took him in. Right when we got him inside the vet’s, he threw up blood.

    He’ll be in until tomorrow at the earliest while they run tests on him. They said to give them a call before we go to bed tonight for an update.

  41. 41.

    Lizzy L

    @delk: Ah, crap. I’ve done that on a holiday (and many a non-holiday.) Whenever you have to do it, it sucks. Best wishes for whatever’s happening…

  42. 42.

    hilts

    @lamh36:

    Can you think of any contemporary of Stewart’s who could have pulled off this role? I read somewhere that Stewart was reluctant to appear in this film.

  47. 47.

    lamh36

    Lol…even in the midst of his despair, George never loses a chance to be snarky…lol.
    #ItsAWonderfulLife

  50. 50.

    lamh36

    @hilts: I don’t know. Stewart was the best at the silent panic as I call it.

    It’s in the eyes.

    Jimmy Stewart one of the BEST when it came to acting w/his eyes. You can even see the panic in his eyes! That’s acting.

  52. 52.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jerzy Russian: Ghessen is stating that on Independence Day this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent President Obama an almost identically worded note. Including referring to him as “His Excellency”.

  54. 54.

    Elizabelle

    @delk: Hoping they can fix delkpup. Please keep us apprised.

    @lamh36: First time I noticed, there’s a little stylized human skull (metallic?) on Potter’s desk, when he is plying George with cigars and a great job offer.

  55. 55.

    lamh36

    @DaraNai 3m3 minutes ago
    @HiddenFigures is a fantastic and important film. See it as soon as you can. 2017 won’t feel so end-of-the-worldy afterwards. #inspiring

  56. 56.

    MomSense

    FML somehow the hot water tank developed a slow leak and I just discovered it because my bedroom is semi flooded! And no hot water until I can get the plumber here.

    At least I didn’t electrocute myself.

  57. 57.

    Schlemazel

    @hilts:
    The film was a dog, it did badly at the box office. It was so unloved that when the copyright came up for renewal the studio didn’t even bother, it was not worth the few bucks it would have cost them. The copyright expiring meant it was free so of course every TV station on earth broadcast the heck out of it.

  58. 58.

    hilts

    @lamh36:

    The story came to the attention of RKO producer David Hempstead, who showed it to Cary Grant’s Hollywood agent, and in April 1944, RKO Pictures bought the rights to the story for $10,000, hoping to turn the story into a vehicle for Grant.

    h/t https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_a_Wonderful_Life#Production

    I can’t imagine any other actor playing George Bailey. As much as I like Cary Grant, I don’t think he could have pulled it off playing this role.

  65. 65.

    hilts

    @Schlemazel:

    I can’t think of an example myself, but I wonder if anyone knows of a film whose reputation is the mirror opposite of It’s a Wonderful Life – a film that was loved by audiences and critics when it was first released, but is today poorly regarded by audiences and critics alike.

  66. 66.

    lamh36

    The scene after speaking with his mother…like I said…Stewart acting through his eyes…you literally see his panic
    #ItsAWonderfulLife

  77. 77.

    NotMax

    @hilts

    Would have been a different tone but expect Gary Cooper, Thomas Mitchell, Melvyn Douglas or Joel McCrea could have pulled it off more than satisfactorily.

    Aside from Harvey my favorite Stewart appearance is in Destry Rides Again, which is almost never shown anymore.

  78. 78.

    lamh36

    “…no man is a failure who has friends…” aint’ that the truth,
    #ItsAWonderfulLife

    Merry Christmas BJ peeps!

  79. 79.

    ms_canadada

    Seems like I took a bad night to start watching ‘The Man in the High Castle’…Holy crap, Batman. This is America’s future under Herr Drumpf (OK, slight exaggeration) Happy Christmas from Canada!

  80. 80.

    hilts

    @lamh36:

    Years ago, I had a dream that I was watching a documentary about the making of The Godfather Part II and it included screen tests of actors playing the role of Sen. Pat Geary in the extortion scene with Michael Corleone and one of the actors was James Stewart.

    That would have been one for the books if it had come to fruition.

  82. 82.

    Mike G

    Vladimir Putin said today about Hillary and Dems: “In my opinion, it is humiliating. One must be able to lose with dignity.”

    Election advice from Putin is like getting dating etiquette tips from Bill Cosby.

  86. 86.

    ThresherK

    @debbie: I respectfully disagree.

    The best Busby Berkeleys don’t go in that category. I don’t know how they were received critically, but: After the first glut of musicals (27-29) ran their course and the public got sick of them, it was clear Hollywood had a lot to learn about making sound movies, let alone musicals. If you’ve ever seen “The Broadway Melody”, 1930 Best Picture Oscar-winner, next to “42nd Street”, you’ll see the latter is leaps and bounds ahead in singing, performances, dancing set pieces, and story structure.

    He added a unique touch to a run of wonderful movies which really cemented the meta of Hollywood as show business. Some swell stars, a bunch of great songs (all of which got second life in Looney Tunes), dynamic camera use and choreography which were unthinkable back a few years earlier in the era of The Dancing Cavalier (sic).

    And it was perfect for the time, compared to, say the majority of late 1960s big-budget musicals were just…dreary and cumbersome as Hollywood tried to give the public sheer scale which they could not get on TV.

  88. 88.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    @hilts:

    Somebody liked it: it was nominated for five Academy Awards, including best picture and best director (in addition to Stewart for best actor, as mentioned above, and editing and sound recording).

  89. 89.

    Oldgold

    Always bothered me that Potter did not pay for having stolen the money.
    Seems like Clarence might have clued George in on Potter’s treachery. If for nothing else, to clear Uncle Billy of blame.

    Stewart rightly gets great credit for his acting in the movie. Donna reed was excellent as well.

  91. 91.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    @hilts:

    Too busy to look right now, but check the best picture Oscar winners from the ’50s and ’60s. There are some real clunkers in there that have not aged well.

  92. 92.

    Mnemosyne

    @ThresherK:

    I love me some Pre-Code Busby Berkley — here’s a small clip from “Pettin’ in the Park” in Gold Diggers of 1933.

    It looks like the next clip is “Remember My Forgotten Man,” which is Berkley in serious social commentary mode, which is not a mode he was often allowed to be in after the Production Code crackdown.

  93. 93.

    hilts

    @NotMax:

    Of the names you cited, I think Gary Cooper would have worked best.

    That’s another interesting subject – when I have more time, I’d like to find an article or blog post listing actors considered for roles that eventually went to others which have since come to be regarded as iconic performances.

    Off the top I can think of 4

    1. Studio execs originally wanted Robert Redford as Ben Braddock in The Graduate

    2. William Friedkin wanted Peter Boyle for Popeye Doyle in The French Connection

    3. David Lean wanted Albert Finney or Marlon Brando to play Lawrence of Arabia.

    4. Rod Steiger was offered, but turned down, the role of George S. Patton.

  96. 96.

    lamh36

    @hilts: Um…Kevin Costner wanted Diana Ross instead of Whitney Houston to play the lead in The Bodyguard.

    It was the first thing to pop in my head since I was reminded of it cause Kevin Costner has been doing interviews for Hidden Figures

  99. 99.

    hilts

    @Steeplejack (tablet):

    Thanks for pointing out those facts. I can’t think of another film besides It’s A Wonderful Life whose reputation over the generations has been dissected and commented as much as the film itself.

    I think the bottom line is that upon its release It’s A Wonderful Life was, as you accurately note, seen as one of the best films of the year, but not thought of as being iconic or monumental.

  102. 102.

    H.E. Wolf

    @hilts:
    The Stanford Theatre in Palo Alto, CA, is a gorgeously restored movie palace. I lived within walking distance in the early 1990s, and still love to attend when I’m in town.

    There’s a Mighty Wurlitzer organ that rises up from the orchestra pit in between shows, with the organist playing something related to the film.

    Tickets are $7 ($5 for kids and seniors), and you can stay for the double feature.

    Google “Stanford Theatre” for more details.

  104. 104.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Adam L Silverman: So Putin did the typical head of state polite holiday thing and Trump is polluting himself over it as “WINING”? Christ this is going to be a tedious four years.

  106. 106.

    Lizzy L

    So many people lately have been recommending The Man in the High Castle! I just bookmarked Season One, and I guess I’ll try it. I’m weirdly reluctant.

  107. 107.

    NotMax

    @hilts

    Charles Grodin was also up for the lead in The Graduate.

    Redford said one time in an interview that one reason he passed on it was “even when I was a virgin, I didn’t look like one.”

  109. 109.

    lamh36

    So has anyone here watching the Leah Remini series on Scientology? I’ve seen alot of folks I trust talking about it.

    What network is it on?

  110. 110.

    hilts

    @Steeplejack (tablet):

    Just looked over the list of past Oscar Best Picture winners and it jogged my memory. I did once hear some critics say that The Greatest Show on Earth was an awful film. I have not seen the film myself.

  111. 111.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Major Major Major Major: I’m not sure what you mean by pun. If you mean stealing the tag line from the Dunkin Donuts commercial, then till tonight when I actually had to make the dough for the dough knots.

    The dough is now safely in the fridge and is beginning to rise.

  112. 112.

    hilts

    @NotMax:

    I didn’t know that Grodin was in the running. That’s a nice Redford quote, but I also read that Mike Nichols wanted a nebbishy type actor who reminded him of himself, so that’s why he favored Dustin Hoffman for the role.

  114. 114.

    ThresherK (tablet)

    @debbie: Understood. But there’s going to be a question of time.

    Are 1930s movies now basically a niche? As a self styled film geek I was not alive for 42nd Street’s commercial run, but I was for Jaws. Jaws is part of the current argot even 40 years on. How can one judge an 80 year old movie’s popularity against it?

    Ergo I go with a basic idea of “popular with people who are into that kind of thing”, but of course there are discussions to be had.

  118. 118.

    lamh36

    @hilts: @Steeplejack (tablet):

    A&E..eh…I’d plan to boycott A&E for a while (I don’t really watch it anyway), thanks to that shit they tried to pull with the KKK show .
    They cancelled the KKK show BTW, because they found out that “someone” had indeed paid the KKK members so they could film them…which is against A&E policy or some other bullshit…personally I think it’s cause of the backlash.

    Anyway, I was planning to continue ignoring A&E…wonder if it’s on Hulu?

  122. 122.

    hilts

    @Steeplejack (tablet): @lamh36:

    I caught several episodes and liked it. While watching, I couldn’t stop thinking that Carrie Heffernan, the character Remini portrayed on The King of Queens, struck me as more skeptical and streetwise than Remini herself.

  123. 123.

    mike in dc

    I think one key to taking down Trump is being able to create the “blueprint” for taking down his proxies. Kellyanne Conway is very good at deflecting, distorting and generally avoiding direct answers to tough questions while getting the talking points out. To the extent you can pin down and entrap someone like that, you can begin to turn back the tidal wave of bullshit.

  124. 124.

    hilts

    @Steeplejack (tablet):

    A cottage industry has been built around the story of its reputation down the years.

    @H.E. Wolf:

    You can stay for the double feature.

    If I were in charge of programming films at a theater, I would place It’s a Wonderful Life on a double bill with Reds.

  127. 127.

    The Thin Black Duke

    If you guys want to talk about a film that hasn’t aged well, look at Ordinary People. What’s worse, it beat Raging Bull for Best Picture that year.

  128. 128.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    @lamh36:

    Dunno about Hulu (or Netflix). I wish I knew of a website where you could put in shows or movies and find out which streaming service they’re on (if any). Somebody tell me if you know of one.

  136. 136.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    @efgoldman:

    I get that. I’m talking in general, like if I decide I want to watch season one of Elementary or some random movie from five years ago.

  141. 141.

    hilts

    @efgoldman:

    I also liked the Ma and Pa Kettle and Francis the Talking Mule flicks.

    I enjoyed Ma and Pa Kettle as well, but Francis the Talking Mule is simply a bridge too far for me.

  142. 142.

    hilts

    Does anyone want to give odds on the likelihood that Trump’s unbridled greed and arrogance will embroil him in a scandal resulting in his removal from office because Senate and House Republicans would rather have a reliable conservative like Mike Pence in charge as opposed to an unpredictable, infantile egomaniac?

  143. 143.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Steeplejack (tablet): I’ve seen different etymologies. Some along the lines of just what you’ve posted, doughnut becoming donut. With the doughnut essentially being anything from the size of a Dunkin’s munchkin to the size of a small, modern donut. I’ve also seen etymologies with dough knot because the dough was braided – a variant of the torpoidal shape in what you’ve posted. As with all things involving the English language going back a couple of hundred years, there appears to have been a lot more variations and no one correct version.

  147. 147.

    Adam L Silverman

    @NotMax: Nice. You all have a good night and a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, what have you. I’m heading to bed in a few. Got to get up early, roll out, cut out, fry, and fill the verdammt things. Whatever their etymology or spelling.

  152. 152.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jerzy Russian: No. Putin sent Trump a congratulations on your election/looking forward to working with you note, which the President-elect was tweeting about including a picture of it. Ghessen is stating that its essentially the same note that Putin sent to President Obama last 4th of July.

  154. 154.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    @Jerzy Russian:

    A note/​letter that Trump got from Putin within the last day or so, and which Trump has been crowing about, is alleged to be substantially the same as one that Putin sent to Obama back in July. Hope that clears it up for you. (I have no idea if the allegation is true.)

  155. 155.

    Jerzy Russian

    @Steeplejack (tablet): Thanks for the explanation. I know I should not be bothered by a lack of clarity or context when it comes to tweets posted here, but for some reason that last tweet featured above bugged me.

  156. 156.

    Aleta

    @hilts: Prety much all the ones you mentioned before I think. I laughed a lot at Steve Martin dancing the music video of MJ’s Billie Jean (can’t find a great copy). If you like him, the beginning (telling jokes to dogs ) and end (card tricks) of this video are funny. Merill Markoe’s dog shorts are funny…

  157. 157.

    Aleta

    This town is dead quiet. No excitement here except my cousin came and fixed my broken water pipe into the basement. The dog went to Massachusetts. Tomorrow if I can manage to be sociable, I can go to dinner at my friends’ little storybook goat farm. Most years I end up skipping it, even though they are great cooks, make potent eggnog from their fresh eggs. Going to bed. Goodnight.

  159. 159.

    Booger

    @hilts: Best part about that: Supposedly the drunken account manager in the back who slurred out that folks would still be watching it in fifty years, who was thrown out of the meeting.

  160. 160.

    fred

    @hilts: Can’t imagine the GOPers impeaching their guy. Trump could boink his daughter on national TV and as long as he doesn’t do anything to hurt their only constituents (the billionaires and the corporations that represent them) he can amble around the White House tweeting any deranged crap he likes.
    Trump is like Reagan, a half bright, senile old coot who entertains the rubes while the gang is picking their pockets. So long as the Party and the media say everything is OK why blow the cover of a perfectly good con?

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