Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Republicans do not trust women.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

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

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

75% of people clapping liked the show!

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

People are complicated. Love is not.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Because of wow. / Late Evening/Early Morning Open Thread: Always Lock the Door!

Late Evening/Early Morning Open Thread: Always Lock the Door!

by | 97 Comments

This post is in: , ,

Today the BBC introduced everyone to two new stars, Professor Kelly’s children.

 

Reader Interactions

97Comments

  4. 4.

    Major Major Major Major

    I had to present my new analytics dashboard today because (9am surprise!) the project manager, who was going to present, was out with a broken toe. It went well though. I just finished the dishes and I’ve already done my writing for the day, so I guess it’s video game time! My other option is dancing in da club (I suppose a third option is staying home and NOT playing the new Zelda, but let’s stay within the realm of possibility).

    How’s the rest of you jackals?

  6. 6.

    Lyrebird

    Oh goodness they’re wonderful!

    For job interviews, I’ve not been locking the door but going to a different house entirely…

  7. 7.

    Mnemosyne

    I think it was rikyrah who posted that in a morning thread. I promptly did my part to make it go viral on Facebook and showed it to my boss at work.

    I have several friends who worked at home when their children were small. This is probably why those kids spent their mornings in daycare.

  9. 9.

    Renie

    this was so hysterical and a nice break from all the horrible trump garbage on the internet; the first child marching in and then the little one in the walker bringing up the rear

  10. 10.

    Lyrebird

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Almost complete panic.

    Yep, or at least I suspect she can usually get both kids through that door without squishing the eldest with the other’s cool ride! Glad that the BBC folks are just loving it, & it’s certainly multiplied hubby’s name recognition!

  11. 11.

    Mnemosyne

    I would feel more sorry for the guy if the international reactions weren’t flipping between That’s adorable! and That poor man.

    I’m doing pre-trip laundry. I HATE laundry. Where are the self-cleaning clothes that “Star Trek” promised me?

  12. 12.

    Betsy

    Not an Obama-class reaction on daddy’s part, but props for focus

    And the wailing at the end, +1

  14. 14.

    patroclus

    The kids were far more entertaining/interesting than that boring stuff about Korea! I loved how the oldest daughter just waltzed in like she owned the place.

  15. 15.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mnemosyne: Star Trek didn’t promise self cleaning clothes. What it promised was a process where the clothes were broken down into their raw material components and then reconstituted as needed. Basic Star Trek replication.

  16. 16.

    trollhattan

    When I have my Hooveround I’m totally that second kid.

    “Respect mah autoritah, ah got wheels!”

  17. 17.

    Anya

    I watched this many times, often showing it to people. My dad who often gets interviewed from home laughed so hard. He’s grateful we’re old enought not to do that.

    Some of the twitter comments annoyed me. They automatically assumed the mom was a nanny. Others were saying he was a bad dad for not picking up his daughter instead of pushing her. People are overly critical and judgemental.

  18. 18.

    Lyrebird

    @Mnemosyne: Heck, makes me wish I lived in SoCal… How’bout you sing Moana songs with my kid while I do your laundry? Laundry I can face, theme parks? Not My Bag. I thought you were there already!

  20. 20.

    tomtofa

    @Adam L Silverman:
    And trying to stay low so she wouldn’t be in the picture – as if.
    Totally sweet, and I really hope Kelly gets no blowback from BBC about the whole thing…

  22. 22.

    Lyrebird

    @Anya:

    Others were saying he was a bad dad for not picking up his daughter instead of pushing her. People are overly critical and judgemental.

    Ain’t it the truth (re: quick to judge)? He gave her a little pat on the shoulder before trying the shove hint. I think I woulda hit the video mute and got the Boss into a football carry as fast as I could, talking all the while, but I’m not sure I could’ve kept my composure after the way he did.

  24. 24.

    Mnemosyne

    @Anya:

    I think the BBC didn’t want to accidentally misidentify her before they verified her identity, so the initial stories referred to her as “a woman.” Some people jumped to conclusions from there, but it’s now been confirmed that that is his wife.

    @Lyrebird:

    I’m not there until Monday morning when I get off the red-eye. I won’t be able to really relax until I meet the girls at the airport.

  27. 27.

    NotMax

    Sticker shock from the monthly run to town for groceries and also from the spike in gasoline prices.

  28. 28.

    Lyrebird

    @tomtofa: If you click through to the article you’ll see that the BBC folks specifically asked him if they could promote that clip, so it sounds like they recognized its adorableness. I hope Mama is past her stress wave and into “hey, they were clothed! and hey, dh is now a household name for being a Korean politics expert!”

    @Adam L Silverman: And yeah… like Stephen Curry’s daughter’s moments of fame.

  29. 29.

    Mike in NC

    Home alone and tonight I’ve binge-watched “Hap and Leonard” Season 1 on Netflix. Two Texas buddies in the late 80s looking to get rich quick get involved with some complete psychos.

    If you loved stuff like “Fargo” and “A Simple Plan” then you will probably enjoy it.

  31. 31.

    NotMax

    @Mike in NC

    Similar in tone and also on Netflix, you might also like the single season of “Terriers” and maybe also the slasher parody movie “Tucker and Dale vs. Evil.”

  32. 32.

    Mnemosyne

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Kelly’s ears were turning red, but he was also trying really hard not to laugh. He let out a chuckle at one point.

    ETA: I do not have children myself but, as I understand it, a parent becomes somewhat inured to toddler behavior and harder to mortify.

  33. 33.

    gex

    @Anya: Agreed on both points.

    Also I’m annoyed that the nanny take is probably often influenced by the race of the mother.

  34. 34.

    NotMax

    Currently working through the 3-part BBC series “How to Grow a Planet” on Netflix. Interesting nature documentary on the role of plants. The host, along with his Scots-tinged brogue, is engaging.

  35. 35.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mnemosyne: I did a VTC via skype for a dissertation defense where I was on the committee, but because of work schedule there was no way I could fly to where the defense was being held. Because my office was in a building that was considered a SCIF, the only VTC capability we had was secured. Since the person defending was a major general, I got permission to work from home that afternoon so I could do the Skype VTC for the defense. I kept praying that the UPS truck didn’t pull up so my dogs would just keep snoozing at the foot of the bed.

  37. 37.

    Mnemosyne

    @gex:

    It probably is and, ironically, I saw at least some of it from white liberals getting huffy that a white guy had an Asian nanny that he was probably exploiting and underpaying.

    I assumed it was Mom as soon as I saw the video — a nanny wouldn’t have that same suppressed panic of knowing that her children were misbehaving on live television.

  38. 38.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Lyrebird:

    If you click through to the article you’ll see that the BBC folks specifically asked him if they could promote that clip

    I had already seen it several times this morning by the time BBC World News came on the radio (10:00-11:00 a.m. on my NPR station), and they were promoting the hell out of the clip, and urgently directing people to the BBC website to watch it:-)

  39. 39.

    Yarrow

    This video is just priceless. Love the older girl and the toddler just had to be part of it. The poor mom trying to get the kids. LOL. And the map on the wall flopping about from the rush of air when the door closed just clinched the professionalism of the whole thing.

    I hope they can all have a good laugh about it. It’s hilarious and wonderful.

  42. 42.

    efgoldman

    @Mnemosyne:

    I HATE laundry. Where are the self-cleaning clothes that “Star Trek” promised me?

    If I were really, really rich (Bill Gates rich) I’d have new stuff delivered once a week and toss the old.
    Alas, just another fantasy.

  45. 45.

    Anya

    @gex: True. They see an Asian woman and automatically assume she must be a nanny. This is strange because no one ever assumes a white woman with biracial children is a nanny. No one ever did with my Waspy McWasp mom.

  46. 46.

    Mnemosyne

    Also, the family photo they chose is perfect, because you can see they’re barely able to hold the kid back. What Lola wants, Lola gets.

    (I don’t think her name is actually Lola, but it should be.)

  47. 47.

    Villago Delenda Est

    The future for Professor Kelly can only be bright. The guy in the studio will probably ask if the kids can make a brief appearance next time…let’s get it out of the way under controlled circumstances!

  50. 50.

    Anya

    @Mnemosyne: I saw some tweets where the original tweet identified her as the mother and people were still talking about how the nanny will be out of a job.

  51. 51.

    efgoldman

    @Mnemosyne:

    a parent becomes somewhat inured to toddler behavior and harder to mortify.

    Oh, you have to. People who think of them as tiny adults, and to have the idea of logic and consequences, are going to be very frustrated.
    If you pay attention, you can actually see the reasoning forming, or as we said when our daughter was little, “I can see the wheels turning.”

  54. 54.

    Mnemosyne

    @Anya:

    Oh, some people were definitely being racist dicks. Especially the ones who were getting really gleeful with the that nanny is so fired! shit.

  56. 56.

    efgoldman

    Random peeve whine:
    The commercials that say “real people, not actors.”
    I know a lot of actors, including some pretty well-known ones. They weren’t fake people, or mannequins, or simulacra, shape shifters, or animatronic…
    If they were cut, in fact they bled.

  57. 57.

    Anya

    I have a question: Who is this Louise Mensch‏ and what’s her deal? Is there somewhere where I can get some concise information about her motives and where does she get her information? Am I wrong to assume that she strings together certain informaton and comes up with conclusions that might be correct, if not a bit exaggerated? Or does she have legit sources that seek her out? Is she the new Glen Greenwald?

  58. 58.

    Duke's Archives

    My first instinct would be to pick up the kid. I mean you’re a politician ffs who’s not going to go “aww, maybe he’s not he monster we thought?”

  59. 59.

    NotMax

    @efgoldman

    “I’m not a real person but I do play one on TV.”

    :)

    A different peeve is the silly description “live on tape.”

  61. 61.

    Yarrow

    @Anya: She’s a former British MP, and also former “chick lit” author, who now lives in the US. She’s married to an American. Her husband manages Metallica and another band–Red Hot Chili Peppers maybe? She writes for “Heat Street,” a new Libertarian leaning site in the Murdoch stable. She also writes for her own blog. I read a profile of her in The Guardian, which is where I learned most of this. Apparently she spoke out early against Snowden’s leaks and various publications publishing his stolen material and as a result gained the trust of intelligence community sources. So those people are her sources.

    As for her motives, I’m not sure. She really doesn’t like Trump and Russia, wants him out and wants to root out Russian agents and assets in the US government, as far as I can tell.

    Hope that helps.

  63. 63.

    efgoldman

    @Major Major Major Major:

    I’m enjoying the fact that it isn’t constant THE APOCALYPSE IS NIGH!

    She really enjoyed the last one because it was set in dystopian Boston. She really likes NoVa, but misses the old home town.

  64. 64.

    Anya

    @Yarrow: It does help. Thank you! She gets retweeted a lot into my TL. It’s clear that she wants Trump charged but I was not sure where she was getting her information, and why was a former British MP so interested in American politics. I caught a clip of Jake Tapper of CNN talking about Trumps tweet accusing President Obama of wiretapping him. Tapper was pretty dismissive of her and implied that she didn’t have any sources in US intelligence agencies.

  65. 65.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Adam L Silverman:
    Not remotely the same. Dogs are crudely predictable. You absolutely cannot sit your four year old on your lap during a television appearance. They might smile and keep looking adorably between you and the computer screen. They might spend the whole time picking their nose. They might start screaming and thrashing for no reason. Or singing. Or shouting profanity you didn’t know they knew, yet. Any of this can pause at any time for substances to emerge, unannounced, from any orifice. I deeply appreciate the difficult position that man is in, where even politely shooing them out could dissolve into howling tantrums.

  66. 66.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Anya: She served in the British House of Commons as a Tory backbencher. From all reports her political career was lackluster and she wasn’t considered to be the sharpest MP in Westminster. Her husband is an American rock band promoter and after resigning from Parliament they and their kids moved to NY. She works, in her day job, as a mid level exec at Fox where she was also writing for the Fox owned Heat Street where she broke the FISA warrant story shortly before the election. She seems to have some very good sources within the IC or linked to the IC – both in the US and the UK, but it is unclear how accurate the narrative she is building in regard to the connections between the President and Russia is. A lot of it makes logical sense and is internally coherent. Other parts seem to be wishful thinking – like her unflagging belief that FBI Director Comey is the white knight who will save us all and he already has the goods on everyone and is just waiting for the right moment.

    Right now there is a tremendous amount of circumstantial evidence linking the President, members of his family, his political inner circle – both formal and informal, members of the inner circle of his Administration and a number of cabinet members, members of the Trump organization, and members of the Trump campaign (some of these are the same people in all the categories) to Russia. Just based on Open Source Intel (OSINT), I could build a compelling network based analysis for all of these folks. But it is still all circumstantial. Do I believe its all coincidence? No. Do I believe that there is something serious at the center of it all? Yes. Do I believe that when the various, reported FBI and counterintelligence investigations are concluded we are 1) going to know what is really going on and 2) there will be serious consequences for large numbers of these people? I do not know. This is where I think she is far to enthusiastic. If this was Britain I would be more sure. They have a far better track record of getting to the bottom of these things and doing something about it. We have a long and large track record of Congressional leaders, and occasionally a President like LBJ in regard to Nixon’s suborning the Paris Peace Talks via Kissinger and Madam Chenault, as well as the US news media deciding this stuff has to be compartmented because Americans just couldn’t handle it if the full truth was revealed. We have a long track record as a polity and a society of being unable to look ourselves in the mirror. And I certainly don’t see the GOP majorities in either chamber of Congress doing anything until either the President’s support among Republicans drops significantly or it becomes clear that if they don’t do something they will loose their Congressional majorities. And should that reality crystalize, it’ll be too late for them to do anything.

    I have no doubt the leaks will continue, especially as I think some of them are from inside the White House as the various power centers there attempt to consolidate, as well as eliminate their rivals. And because some of them aren’t coming from the US IC. Our EU allies and partners all have good reasons for leaking this stuff too. As do members of Congress and their staffs. That will keep it in the news and keep the pressure on. And I don’t see the dysfunction among the Congressional GOP majorities clearing up any time soon. I fully expect only three pieces of legislation to successfully make it out of Congress this year. 1) A debt ceiling increase now that it is not necessary to use the debt ceiling to beat up on President Obama. 2) A Defense Appropriation Act, which will mirror the past several years – functionally a CR for the DOD with a slight year on year bump. 3) A CR passing sometime late Summer, but no later than September that pushes the next CR off past either the primaries or all the way past the midterm elections. Once April rolls around all the members of the House will be transitioning into campaigning for reelection mode. As will those up in 2018 in the Senate. None of them are going to want to take any risky votes. None of them are going to want to spend any more time in session than the bare minimum as they want and need to be back home fundraising and campaigning. And significant numbers of House members, and the most junior Senators, have never done anything but crisis budget and legislate. They have absolutely no idea how to do anything that isn’t the result of a self induced by Congress crisis. They can yell and scream regular order all they want. Its not going to happen. The RyanCare or TrumpCare bill is so poorly written that as a complete piece of legislation, it will fail the Byrd Rule for reconciliation. They simply do not know how to do their jobs. In addition to not knowing much about anything else for that matter.

  67. 67.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    @gex:

    Also I’m annoyed that the nanny take is probably often influenced by the race of the mother.

    I admit my first thought was “nanny,” but that was more because she looked quite a bit younger than Kelly in the video. Other photos of the family show that was probably just an artifact of low-res computer video and/or lighting and of the relatively brief glimpses we got of her in the video.

    I’m the gray-haired, white mother of a Korean kid, so nobody thinks I’m his nanny but strangers do sometimes assume he’s my grandson.

  68. 68.

    dc

    I didn’t think he handled situation well at all. His wife didn’t either. She came in bent over like she was a slave and she drug the little girl out of the room causing her to run into her sibling’s walker, getting stuck between it and the doorway, and it hurt her. He should have stood up and picked up his daughter and handed her off to his wife, who should have entered standing up like the free adult she is. The scene really bugged me. And I thought they were spinning it as “charming” because it was the opposite.

  69. 69.

    frosty

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Any of this can pause at any time for substances to emerge, unannounced, from any orifice.

    LOL is a catchphrase, but yes, I did LOL on this one. Too true!

  75. 75.

    Gretchen

    I was at my son-in-law’s house this morning when I heard him laughing so hard I was actually worried he was having some sort of fit and grandson and I went to make sure he was ok. He was watching this video. He has a 3 year old.

  76. 76.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Anya:

    She’s interesting. Former Tory MP, now lives in NYC, and her husband is the manager for Metallica. She’s got raging ADHD and had a pretty serious drug problem from “self-medicating” the ADHD (as she put it). Put the “phile” in Israelphile, and claims some love in the IC. She’s a hot mess (I have a serious crush – crazy MILFs do that to me every time), but I suspect that the ADHD and likely bipolar aspects of her emotional state are what is driving this crazy level of laserlije focus that is enabling her to zero in on connecting Russians and aircraft tail numbers.

    When she’s on, she’s on. This is why I tend to oppose medicating ADHD – I think it less a disorder than I do that it is actually socially useful for rapid focus on problem solving. While you can never give that person a series of sustained long tasks and expect great results, in bursts, they’re invaluable.

  77. 77.

    amk

    @dc: Yup, that’s my opinion too. If he wanted such a focus on whatev stupid punditwitry he was bent on giving, he should have locked the damn door. I feel sorry for the kids and the wife.

  78. 78.

    J R in WV

    @Adam L Silverman:

    We KNOW you have dogs. They get belly scritches!

    My dogs prefer side thumping, personally, but will tolerate belly scritching if you get them in bed.

  79. 79.

    Stardus614

    If you look closely, I think the mom’s pants aren’t quite pulled up yet when she comes into the room. I think the kids got away from her while she was in the bathroom. This will be one of my go to videos for when I need a lift.

  80. 80.

    raven

    I work from home and do a lot of online meetings on Webex. It’s inevitable that someone will knock on the door and the Bohdi will go apeshit barking during the most important part of a meeting. On the other hand, Lil Bit likes to paw at me and sit on my lap and, depending on the meeting, I’ll hit the camera and she gives the fans a wave!

  82. 82.

    bystander

    I was a little shocked when Kelly pushed his daughter backwards. I thought he was reaching over to put his arm around her. Seemed pretty douchey to me.

    Watching Rachel on Flynn, Friday night rerun. So depressing.

  83. 83.

    permafrost

    Dang, these commenters shitting all over this guy make me depressed. Have some kids of your own and lighten the fuck up.

  85. 85.

    Jeff

    I’m sure she turned her back on them for a minute to go to the bathroom and off they went.

  86. 86.

    Anya

    @Adam L Silverman: Thanks, Adam! Really appreciate the thorough explanation. Really disheartening that we have a legislative branch that puts party before their duties. Basically the republicans have given up any pretence of governing or oversight. I don’t believe if the shoe was on the other foot the democrats would’ve acted this way.

  88. 88.

    Anya

    @dc: I think you’re over thinking this. He was in the middle of a live interview. He was probably mortified. It’s unprofessional. I thin what the mother did is such a parent thing. She was also trying to stay out of the camera. It’s obsurd to say she was “bent like a slave”. Seriously?

  93. 93.

    The Lodger

    @efgoldman: Reminds me of a recent Morning Computer post by Warren Ellis. When traveling he packs the cheapest socks he can buy and discards each pair after wearing them. He claims that makes repacking a lot easier.

  94. 94.

    Brachiator

    Coming late to this delightful clip! Really brightened my morning.

    Loved the comment that the kid came in like a Boss, which also indicates that the loving parents do not stupid crap like put the interviewee’s office off limits. Loved how the sibling followed along.

    And it’s cool that the BBC recognized that the clip would skyrocket on the Adorable Scale.

  95. 95.

    Shantanu Saha

    A similar situation happened to me when my son was younger, though I was never on a nationally televised news. More like an obscure educational webcast by google hangout that I was an occasional contributor to. He walked up to me as I was talking, I pricked him up as the others in the hangout oohed and aahed, and my wife rushed up and dragged him away.

  96. 96.

    Mnemosyne

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:

    As someone who had ADHD, here’s my hearty “fuck you” for your Pollyanna bullshit about how awesome it is. Yeah, it was so great pre-medication when I was getting fired from jobs for not being able to concentrate, getting collections calls because I forgot to pay my bills, getting my car towed for unpaid parking tickets. It was a fucking paradise. Why would anyone choose to ruin that kind of great life with medication, amirite?

    Also, did I mention? Go fuck yourself.

Comments are closed.