Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

Let there be snark.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

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

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

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Consistently wrong since 2002

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

You are here: Home / Balloon Juice / Meetups and social events / Friday Boston Meetup

Reader Interactions

93Comments

  5. 5.

    PsiFighter37

    Fuck, Cole’s going to be showing up to a Balloon Juice meetup? Make sure he’s sitting on a throne of green balloons.

    Also, fuck the Red Sox.

  8. 8.

    Turbulence

    I really really want to attend but I’ve got a date…maybe if this starts early or late, I could go? Where in the boston metro area were you thinking?

    Saturday afternoon would be way easier. Boston folks go out and get laid on Friday nights.

  11. 11.

    marianne19

    Damn, it’s supposed to snow Friday night and driving down from NH in snow-related traffic would be a nightmare.

  12. 12.

    DCrefugee

    Would love to be there, but you’re not prying my warm, happy ass out of Florida until May…

  14. 14.

    D58826

    Where do they find these people

    A Republican state senator running for governor of Pennsylvania shared some unusual views this week about what’s causing climate change.
    Scott Wagner told a Harrisburg audience on Tuesday that the body heat from the planet’s growing population might be responsible for rising temperatures.
    “We have more people. You know, humans have warm bodies. So is heat coming off?” Wagner said, according to State Impact Pennsylvania, an NPR project. “Things are changing, but I think we are, as a society, doing the best we can.”
    The lawmaker was speaking to a receptive audience of rural county officials about loosening regulations on the natural gas industry.

    And if that wasn’t bad enough

    At another point, Wagner appeared to conflate global warming with the changing of the seasons.
    “I haven’t been in a science class in a long time, but the earth moves closer to the sun every year ― you know, the rotation of the earth,” Wagner said. “We’re moving closer to the sun.”

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/climate-change-misinformation-scott-wagner_us_58dbeecce4b01ca7b4292dc5?2l&

  17. 17.

    germy

    I’ve never been to a balloon-juice meetup.

    The jackals meeting Cole; I imagine it would be like the first meeting between the Beatles and Elvis. They showed up and stared at him in awe. Nobody spoke. Finally Elvis broke the ice by exclaiming “Well, if ya’ll gonna just sit there and stare at me all night, I’ll go upstairs to bed!” General laughter followed by spirited conversation.

  23. 23.

    germy

    the body heat from the planet’s growing population might be responsible for rising temperatures.
    “We have more people. You know, humans have warm bodies. So is heat coming off?”

    That’s why we need the republican healthcare bill. Cuts down the population and therefore cools the earth.

  25. 25.

    Woodrow/Asim

    @D58826:

    At another point, Wagner appeared to conflate global warming with the changing of the seasons.
    “I haven’t been in a science class in a long time[“]

    Could. Not. Tell.

  28. 28.

    SP

    I’m in! Of course Cole is bringing shit weather with him but I wouldn’t expect anything less.

  29. 29.

    Certified Mutant Enemy

    @D58826:

    “I haven’t been in a science class in a long time, but the earth moves closer to the sun every year ― you know, the rotation of the earth,” Wagner said. “We’re moving closer to the sun.”

    W T F ?

    In case this clown is thinking seasons have something to do with the earth’s distance from sun, it has essentially zero effect on temperature. In fact the earth is closest to the sun during the northern hemisphere’s winter.

  31. 31.

    Jeff R.

    There’s a winter storm watch 8:00 am Friday to 2:00pm Saturday out my way (just outside 495). Much as I’d like to meet up with our esteemed host, I’m going to have to pass.

  34. 34.

    ?eric

    assuming no snowstorm and no godzilla, i will be there (wherever “there” happens to be).

  38. 38.

    JMG

    Weather makes my plans unclear. Might be here Friday, might not. Will update later tonight as I find out. If you’re still here Saturday, that’d be better for me, but what is best for the group comes first.

  42. 42.

    JCJ

    @chopper:

    baby ducks are actually quite good with ketchup

    Last year we were on vacation when a mommy duck walked across the street with a row of baby ducks behind. While everyone else was oohing and aahing at the cuteness my daughter said, “They’re bite-sized!”

  47. 47.

    Anne Laurie

    I’ll do my best to be there, Cole. Assuming that downtown Boston is “there”?

  48. 48.

    D58826

    I have heard the concerns some have with my advising the president in my personal capacity while voluntarily complying with all ethics rules and I will instead serve as an unpaid employee in the White House Office, subject to all of the same rules as other federal employees,” Ms. Trump said in a statement on Wednesday.

    Well I guess the worst case is Trump and his inner circle are traitors and the best case is they care a crime family subject to the RICO statute.

    And the GOPers are talking about trying to vote on their death care plan again next week.
    http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ivanka-trump-to-take-an-unpaid-government-post/ar-BBz1zVg?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=iehp

  49. 49.

    Currants

    @Aleta: I couldn’t get NEAR the ducks–you must have gotten there early!

    I’d be delighted to show up if a) it’s not too early (Friday afternoon I take my daughter’s littles to music class) and b) If the weather doesn’t TOTALLY suck (or, if it does, the location is reasonably accessible by public transit).

  50. 50.

    MoxieM

    I’m on the inside of 495, and the outside of 128, more north-ish, than south-ish. North by northwest, if you will. I’d like to come, weather pending.

    Also a place with parking…hahhahhahahha cackle.

  56. 56.

    Aleta

    @D58826:

    the body heat from the planet’s growing population might be responsible for rising temperatures.
    “We have more people. You know, humans have warm bodies. So is heat coming off?” Wagner said, according to State Impact Pennsylvania, an NPR project. “Things are changing, but I think we are, as a society, doing the best we can.”

    By denying birth control and abortion? They don’t even act on their made up excuses. And no matter what they believe might explain warming, it doesn’t change the need to slow it by reducing emissions. Unless they believe they are rapidly moving closer to hell.

  57. 57.

    SFAW

    @otmar:

    Call me lazy, but I won’t make the 6500 km trip to Boston.

    If you convert it to parsecs, it will seem a lot shorter trip to take.

  60. 60.

    henqiguai

    Probably not as far out as schrödinger’s_cat, but here’s my area’s forecast

    Friday 03/31 40 | 32 °F
    Friday 100 % Precip. / ~ 1 in
    Periods of rain and snow. Some mixed winter precipitation possible. High around 40F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 100%. About one inch of snow expected.
    Friday Night 100 % Precip. / 8-12 in

    Cloudy with snow. Low 32F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 100%. 8 to 12 inches of snow expected.

    Iffy, but still…

  62. 62.

    FlyingToaster

    Okay, I’m in, assuming the snow accumulation doesn’t shut down everything inside of 128 :) I don’t get home with the 9-year-old until around 5, so anytime from 6 on.

    It won’t — we’ll be lucky to have anything accumulate, it’ll be too warm this close to the ocean.

    I had to wait for HerrDoktor to get home to make sure that he’d be here on WarriorGirl duty, as opposed to giving speeches in New Hamster. That’s a thing, nowadays.

  63. 63.

    muddy

    I’d drive down but I’m having both my knees replaced in 5 days and I don’t have time to fool around with you people. Have fun!

  64. 64.

    JMG

    Just let me know where and when. Might not be able to make it, but I could send a singing telegram if I can’t.

  65. 65.

    SFAW

    @Steeplejack (phone):

    That’s 3,819,485 Smoots!

    … and 1 ear. Unless you start from the worng end of the Bridge.

    But you’ve given me an idea: how about if we measure the Bridge in “Coles”? I’m guessing Cole is a little taller than Oliver Smoot, and legend has it that Smoot was pretty hammered that night (which we can’t duplicate with Cole, of course), so there might be logistical issues. And we’d have to contend with the Lambchops protecting their turf, but still …

  69. 69.

    Mayim

    Oh, emerging from lurkdom to say I would have loved to join you {any excuse for a trip down to Boston works for me!} but Friday commitments at work mean I can’t get away ~ and that’s the issue, more than the foot of snow predicted up here in Maine ;-)

  70. 70.

    SadieSue

    @schrodingers_cat: Yay another WMasser! Boo & deep sigh for that much snow + ice (we’re in the same weather affected area). I’m way over winter.

    At any rate, hi – I read BJ constantly but almost never comment (it’s been years, I think). I’d love to come to the meet up but the drive in from WMass sounds like it will be a mess so I’ll just say that depending on when & where it is & how the weather looks, I’m a very (extremely very) tentative maybe.

    PS Welcome to the bluest blue state, John. Enjoy all the freedoms – we sprinkle them everywhere like stardust.

  71. 71.

    Lyrebird

    @Aleta: Awww!! And I don’t know much about his life, but given that he thought little Sal should be free to pick berries and that we should make some effort to coexist with ducks, bears, etc., I think he’d be proud of the hatted ducklings.

    @efgoldman: the cynical part maybe? Plus the aww-ducklings part?

  72. 72.

    aimai

    @FlyingToaster: Bloody hell! I would love to meet you. But Friday night is my father’s 85 birthday dinner at a local restaurant and I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere when its over, not in the storm. I won’t be done until 9:00 pm and it would take at least a half hour if not longer to get anywhere after. So (insert sobbing emoji here) I will not get to meet the other BJ’ers.

  73. 73.

    muddy

    @SFAW: They said I’d be on my feet the next day. It is amazing. Today they warned me not to let the animals sleep in my bed before surgery. I would wonder how they knew, but there was a lot of cat and dog hair on my trousers.

  76. 76.

    FlyingToaster

    @aimai: I know the feeling. For the last meetup I’d planned to come to (it was in Waltham and therefore practically next door), HerrDoktor got the “must go do presentation to VCs over dinner on company dime” and so I was here on WarriorGirl duty.

    Of course, if the storm track shifts, nobody will be going anywhere because we’ll be trying to dig out the plowcaps at the end of the driveway. Wish your dad happy birthday from the jackals…

  78. 78.

    SFAW

    @muddy:

    I agree, that’s amazing.

    Rumor has it that one needs to be diligent with his/her rehab when it’s a knee (more so than a hip), so best wishes for that, too.

  79. 79.

    laura

    If I ran things and had unlimited power, I’d arrange for your meet up to be a catered affair in the Castle Lampoon in Cambridge.

  82. 82.

    muddy

    @SFAW: They said my recovery was 95% up to me. I have been doing the PT ahead of time, and pedaling on the recumbent bike. I made a month of meals and froze them individually. I plan to do nothing but resting and appropriate PT for a month. The animals will be spoilt by my constant presence. Anyway I’ll get through it like everything else, by pure stubbornness! Thanks for the good wishes.

  84. 84.

    Anne Laurie

    Depending on where you’re staying, Cole, the Helmand is just across the river from Boston, and just across the street from a parking garage.

    Haven’t been there in some years, but the food was delicious & the venue was quiet enough you could hear people talking…

  85. 85.

    PsiFighter37

    Come to New York City and we’ll show you a proper time. Our food kicks Boston’s ass. Their beer is better, but know that’s out of the question…so you really do have no good reason to be there, unless you’re going to scrawl graffiti saying impolite things about Tom Brady.

  88. 88.

    SFAW

    @laura:

    is that the 50 Smoot bridge?

    No such thing.

    Or is that some inside joke I’m not getting?

    The length of the Harvard Bridge (sometimes called the “Mass Ave Bridge” by the rubes and noobs) is EXACTLY 364.4 Smoots + 1 ear.

  89. 89.

    Anonymous patient

    @muddy:

    Our doc won’t do two at a time, Before the surgery we both had to shower with a special antiseptic soap, both before bed and before leaving for the hospital. Then they have a special ward just for joint replacement patients, to minimize the chance of infections from sick patients.

    We’re 4 for 4, two knees (wife) and two shoulders, me. So something is working our correctly. So push on the PT, it’s what gets you where you need to be. Don’t over do it, but don’t slack off, whatever else you do.

    And do take the pain meds as schedules, keep ahead of the pain, because if it gets ahead of you, it’s really hard to get right with it again. And if you need to, taper off the serious pain killers instead of trying to stop all at once.

  90. 90.

    Downpuppy

    AnimeBoston is at the Hynes. We could all dress up as Naruto or Ryuko Matoi & scare the teenagers.

  91. 91.

    muddy

    @Anonymous patient: Thanks! I have the special soap sponges but I have to shower with them for 5 days, not just the day before and day of. Also they said I had to put clean sheets on the bed on day 1 of the 5, and not let the animals in it.

  92. 92.

    Rugosa

    @different-church-lady: BJ needs a like button! If the meetup is T accessible, I’m a strong maybe. John is about to be treated to our finest weather – wintry mix. Water in all its possible states falling from the sky.

  93. 93.

    maurinsky

    I’m in CT and I’m already going to be in Boston on Saturday night, but I would very much like to attend a BJ meetup Friday evening or Saturday afternoon, which would be even better than Friday night for me. Will be weather dependent, winter mix is the worst to drive in, IMO.

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