Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

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

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

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

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

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Let there be snark.

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

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

In my day, never was longer.

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

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

The willow is too close to the house.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

“Loving your country does not mean lying about its history.”

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Spring Saturday Open Thread

Spring Saturday Open Thread

by | 141 Comments

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Spring has sprung, the grass has riz,
Look how pretty the flowers is!

It’s a beautiful day here in West Central Florida, but I’m spending most of it indoors because I’m attempting to accomplish a number of challenging tasks, including creation of a Shrek birthday cake for a party tomorrow. I’ll share pics later, whether I nail it or nah.

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

141Comments

  1. 1.

    Timurid

    Trump bombed a few double wides, a meth lab and Billy Bob Mohammed’s rusted out Mig-21 up on blocks, and now he’s George Fucking Patton.

  2. 2.

    PaulWartenberg

    There better be a new episode of Samurai Jack on tonight, if it’s another Rick and Morty hijacking I will go to war on Dan Harmon and he will not survive.

  3. 3.

    PaulWartenberg

    they’re doing an air show in Lakeland this morning. I saw a hot air balloon flotilla, and then a couple of planes doing sky writing with circles.

  4. 4.

    trollhattan

    @Timurid:
    Perfect description. Next time we see Donny he’ll be sporting a chrome helmet and a brace of pearl-gripped 45s.

  5. 5.

    K-to-the-Jane

    Aside from the sounds of birds and frogs there is little evidence of spring here in Seattle. …Wind, rain, gray, repeat…
    The cats and I shall commence to napping.

  6. 6.

    cope

    Yes, a beautiful day indeed. That is why I will spend the rest of it trying to bring the ceement pond back to life. Tomorrow, it’s taxes. The fun never stops…

    The grass in our front yard refuses to riz so now begins the battle with our HOA about getting it sodded for the 5th or 10th sodding time.

  7. 7.

    Mnemosyne

    I’m hoping to wander up to Pt. Mugu State Park this afternoon to get a peek at the wildflowers, which are supposed to be spectacular after all the rain we got this year. But first G has to do a conference call for school and we have to schlep to my brother’s place to see who all wants to go and get them organized to get out the door, so it may end up not happening at all.

  9. 9.

    Mike J

    @K-to-the-Jane: I live in a cul-de-sac surrounded by 60ft trees, so the anemometer on my roof rarely spins. The flag on the house across the street can be streaming out completely flat and my anemometer will read 2mph. Yesterday it was reading 15 and I had a constant bombardment of pine cones on my skylights. Better cones than trees though.

  10. 10.

    gene108

    I really should have gone to work today…guess I’ll have to do it tomorrow…

    I am being so utterly useless today…

  11. 11.

    bystander

    @Mnemosyne: I love that they dedicated a whole park to Jim Backus’ most beloved character.

    Joy Reid restored my faith this morning. Joe Conason said that if you have to shoot off missiles to “look presidential” you’re not.

  15. 15.

    eclare

    Going in to work tomorrow (accountant, SEC don’t care if it’s the weekend)…so today sitting on the couch with the dog. Has anyone seen Deadpool? Have that on the DVR.

    ETA: has someone who has never read a comic understand the movie?

  16. 16.

    raven

    For weeks I’d been planning to put a ceiling under the screened porch using 4×8 headboard sheets. I’d talked to the boss about renting a drywall jack so I could do it myself. She went to a bunch of plant sales this morning so I headed off to six box land and bought 6 panels. It took forever to get my vets discount but I finally got it done. I was going to back prime all the lumber so I set up an area in the yard and went up to unload. My bride came home and I was all beamy that I was launching the project when she let me know she really didn’t want me to do it! I wasn’t really mad but I was stunned! I took all the shit back and I’m going to watch golf!

  17. 17.

    bystander

    @aimai: I’ve always liked him. Conason and Corn are my favorite very white guys on MSNBC. Hugh Hewett, my least.

  19. 19.

    Shlemazel

    Driving home from Plymouth, MI after watching the USA women beat Canada in OT to win the world championship last night.

    For those that missed the lead up the women stood as a group against the misogyny of USAH and made them provide cash payments to the team as they do with the men. After a year of fruitless negotiations the team said they would not play without a contract. USAH tried all the dirty shit they could – including offering D-3 players a place on the team and reniging on an agreed deal at the last moment. The women remained united down the line and won that then, despite not having the 2 weeks of practices other teams got won the whole tournament.

    USAH is also going to finally spend money on girls development hockey as they do with boys. In an era of labor destruction tram USA IS A bright highlight

  20. 20.

    Betty Cracker

    @eclare: I thought “Deadpool” was hilarious! There was copious violence that might put some folks off, but it was so cartoonish it didn’t bother me. I never read the comic and understood it just fine.

  22. 22.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Hey Betty, are you planning to make another butter lamb for Easter this year? Hope so! I saved your photo of last year’s, and smile every time I notice it!

  23. 23.

    Mike in NC

    Five minutes of the talking heads on MSNBC seeking out Village Idiots to gush over Trump’s military genius is more than I can take. Going out to pull some weeds.

  25. 25.

    gene108

    @eclare:

    It is understandable for non-comic fans. You just have to accept the fact people have superpowers and some are good, some are bad and some are somewhere in the middle.

    It is violent, so if that is not your thing, you may not like it.

  27. 27.

    Betty Cracker

    @SiubhanDuinne: Looks like the butter lamb job is mine for life, so I’ll be making one next weekend! Will definitely share pics when the time comes; no two are alike. :)

  28. 28.

    Suzanne

    I am going with Spawn the Younger to a mom-and-daughter tea party this afternoon with her Daisy troop. And finishing my taxes. And other than that, I want to spend the whole weekend fucking off. Preferably in my pajamas. Eating carbs.

    I might go to Republic Ramen tonight.

  29. 29.

    hovercraft

    @Timurid:
    Reposting from downstairs.

    Lawrence O’Donnell Wonders: What If ‘Vladimir Putin Masterminded the Last Week in Syria’?

    MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell tonight opened his show positing that “if Vladimir Putin masterminded the last week in Syria, he has gotten everything he could have asked for.”

    He argued that it’s conceivable that Putin could have told Bashar al-Assad to carry out a small chemical attack “just big enough to attract media attention so that my friend in the White House will see it on TV” and then Trump can fire missiles that will “do no real damage” to ensure that the U.S. media will “change the subject from Russian influence” on the White House.

    O’Donnell said it certainly “changes the conventional wisdom” about the dynamic between Trump and Russia, “as long as you never, never question whether Vladimir Putin wanted all of this to happen this week.”

    And when O’Donnell brought on his panel, he immediately made it clear that he does not know what the probability of this is, but he knows it’s not zero:

    “I raise it without assigning a statistical probability to it, I don’t know what it is. I just know that it’s not zero, and it should be zero. It has been zero with every previous president. But when you look at the way that events have unfolded this week, Donald Trump could not have asked for a better end of the week for his presidency as he sees it.”

  30. 30.

    Betty Cracker

    @eclare: I’m also a big fan of “Pulp Fiction.” The movies aren’t alike per se, but I bet if you like one, you’ll like the other. “Deadpool” is a love story, believe it or not. :)

  31. 31.

    Mnemosyne

    @Betty Cracker:

    Speaking of cartoonishly violent movies, we finally got around to watching “Kingsmen” a few months ago, and ended up enjoying it more than we thought we would. There are a few “bro” jokes, but not too many. Plus I would watch Colin Firth read the phone book, so seeing him as an action star was very awesome.

  32. 32.

    hovercraft

    @bystander:
    Yes Conason and Corn are great. Hewitt, ugh!!! He’s smarmy, smug and full of shit, followed closely, by Matt Schlapp.

  33. 33.

    Mnemosyne

    @Suzanne:

    If you ever want to go to a fancy adult tea (perhaps as a treat with Spawn the Elder), the afternoon tea at the Phoenician was amazing. They keep bringing rounds of tiny sandwiches and desserts until you beg them to stop, and then they send you home with to-go boxes full of them.

    The one at the Biltmore Phoenix looks good, too, but we didn’t have a chance to try it in person.

  34. 34.

    aimai

    @Mnemosyne: I found Kingsmen and Deadpool actually disgusting. Not judging you and Betty Cracker for liking them. I would have thought I would enjoy them–I mean, I watched them both–but the level of misogynistic, ugly, or just dull fart/poop style jokes were just sickening to me. The whole family watched them, and the whole family voted to turn them off midway through.

  35. 35.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    @eclare: So long as you are willing to suspend disbelief far enough to accept evil scientific experiments granting super powers, you’re good to go with Deadpool. It’s crude, it’s funny, it’s a little bit Looney Tunes, and it’s frankly one of the best movies Fox has done with their Marvel properties.

  39. 39.

    Mnemosyne

    @aimai:

    Everyone has different taste in movies. There were definitely parts of “Kingsmen” that made me cringe, but I thought overall it worked well, and the plot did have a few surprise twists. There were some crude/sexist parts, but there was also the fact that the lead character gets beaten out in the superspy competition by a woman (who also helps save the world at the end).

  40. 40.

    Suzanne

    @Mnemosyne: I’ve done both of those. They are both very awesome, though the brunch at the Biltmore is my favorite. Brunch is probably my favorite meal. It’s breakfast plus cocktails, followed by lounging outside or loafing on the couch, weather dependent. What’s not to love?

  41. 41.

    bystander

    @hovercraft: I missed LOD on this but it certainly was on my mind. Cris Jansing this morning was moaning in ecstasy over the “drama” in the Mar a Lago situation room, just to prove Vlad correct.

    @Mnemosyne: Are you ready for Firth to play Henry Higgins?

  42. 42.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Betty Cracker:

    Last year’s photo sports a large bottle of Bombay Sapphire in the background. Cannot wait to see what, apart from the butter lamb, adorns your counters this time :-)

  43. 43.

    Mnemosyne

    @Suzanne:

    We really wanted to have a brunch wedding when we got married 11 years ago, but there wasn’t anyplace in our price range that would do it. Le sigh. We did a luncheon instead, and that worked out great.

  45. 45.

    Mnemosyne

    @bystander:

    Are you ready for Firth to play Henry Higgins?

    YES.

    And I like that he can play both heroes and villains and be believable as both. He can be Mr. Darcy AND the stuffy aristocrat that Gwyneth Paltrow is forced to marry in “Shakespeare in Love.”

  46. 46.

    raven

    @eclare: Yea, it was going to be a bitch to do. Prime and paint 6 sheets before I put them up, rent the jack and then install them. I could do it but I didn’t really want to.

  47. 47.

    pamelabrown53

    Thanks for the open thread, Betty. Hope your Shrek cake is a success.

    I’m wondering if any afternoon posters are in driving shot of St. Louis, We’re going to be there from Florida, visiting son and spouse. It will be my 64th birthday and we will March for Science. Quinerly is organizing for a possible Balloon Juice meet-up and frankly, I’m surprised at how few folks here are mid-westerners. If any of you lurkers want to come out, I’d love to meet any and all. Most important, IMO, is the March for Science be a resounding success.

  49. 49.

    bystander

    @Mnemosyne: I forgot he was in SIL, Paltrow’s last decent turn.

    Memberships are up at Lincoln Center because members get first crack at seats. I think it’s Bart Sher directing. His South Pacific and King and I were so successful on every level that I have to admit I’m really interested. I’ve only seen the film and never on stage.

  55. 55.

    K-to-the-Jane

    @Mike J: Yeah, we had a big ol’ dead fir tree topple down across the driveway yesterday. The wind has been thinning the dead and dying out of our woods for the past couple of days. The chipper and chainsaw will definitely earn their keep during the cleanup.
    (Perhaps Steve Bannon can be heaped onto the pile of broken limbs???)…

  57. 57.

    Mnemosyne

    @lamh36:

    I have tickets for that when it travels to LA but … I don’t think we’re going to go since we didn’t like the movie. I have friends that I’m going to give the tickets to, so let us know if it’s any good!

  58. 58.

    debbie

    Just got back from a walk where I was able to confirm that the azaleas had survived the cold, and at the same time, the tulips, daffodils, flowering trees, and lilacs were all about to go nuts. Yay!

  60. 60.

    Yarrow

    Went to a gorgeous home/garden tour this morning. Weather is fantastic. Followed by brunch outdoors. Glorious way to start the day. I’ll work in the garden this afternoon. Enjoying an afternoon cup of coffee now.

  65. 65.

    ThresherK

    @bystander: Never heard of Sher until the local Big Theater put up ads about this, with a prominent blurb on it being the defining production.

    Now I’m interested.

  66. 66.

    Cacti

    I’m glad to know now that Trump has launched some missiles, he has transformed into the most Presidentialest President who ever Presidented.

    Thanks librul media!

  69. 69.

    Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)

    @Mnemosyne: I thought Deadpool was hilarious. Haven’t gotten to Kingsmen, though — it’s based off a Mark Millar property, and after ~2000 his work has generally been of the GRIMDARK TESTOSTERONE POISONING school that made ’90s comics so unbearable to read.

  71. 71.

    Zinsky

    @lamh36: @lamh36: I saw it in Minneapolis a while back – the story line is trite and predictable but the songs are fun and good. Deborah Cox has some pipes and just nails “I Will Always Love You”.

  72. 72.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Cacti: To tie two parts of the thread together, the design and testing of those missiles was done at the Pacific Missile Range* at Pt. Mugu.

    *My dad worked there back in the late 1700’s.

  73. 73.

    Mnemosyne

    @Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD):

    The testosterone poisoning bubbles up occasionally, but the director never lets it take over. It helps that the plot is all about asshole men swinging their dicks around to make fatal decisions about the world on everyone else’s behalf, so story-wise the hero has a bad example right in front of him to show the downside of testosterone poisoning. (And it’s in the B story, too, since the young lead has an abusive stepfather who’s still beating the lead’s mother.)

  76. 76.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @bystander:

    Bart Sher has directed several operas at the Met in recent years. I always like his productions — they’re generally bright, cleverly-designed, and fast-moving (athletic, even), and you can tell everyone in the cast is having fun.

  77. 77.

    germy

    Joan Baez speech at the R&R Hall of Fame awards

    My childhood was filled with classical, country and western, rhythm and blues, and a hit parade. When I was 16, my aunt took me to see a Pete Seeger concert. And my mom brought home a Harry Belafonte album. Though Pete was not in any way gorgeous like Harry, he was already committed to making social change. He paid a high price for holding fast to his principles. I learned the meaning of taking a risk from Pete. The Cold War was getting a foothold and ushered a shameful period in this country. My family was then Quaker and socially and politically active. Pete’s influence on me took like a good vaccine, and I turned my attention to folk music and political activism.

    My voice is my greatest gift. I can speak freely about the uniqueness of it precisely because it’s just that. A gift. The second greatest gift was the desire to use it the way I have since I was 16 and became a student and practitioner of nonviolence, both in my personal life and as a way of fighting for social change. It has given my life deep meaning and unending pleasure to use my voice in the battle against injustice. It has brought me in touch with my own purpose. It has also brought me in touch with people of every background — with open, generous, fun-loving, hardworking people here in this country and around the world. It has brought me in touch with the wealthy, the ones who are stuck in selfishness, and the ones who give their generosity of their time and resources to benefit the less fortunate and light the way for others to do the same.

    And I’ve met and tried to walk in the shoes of those who are hungry, thirsty, cold, and passed out. People imprisoned for their beliefs and others who have broken the law, paid the price, and now live in hopelessness and despair. I’ve exonerated prisoners who have spent decades in solitary confinement, awaiting execution. Of exhausted refugees, immigrants, the excluded, and the bullied. Those who have fought for this country, sacrificed, and now live in the shadows of rejection. People of color, the old, the ill, the physically challenged, the LGBTQ community.

    And now, in the new political, cultural reality in which we find ourselves, there’s much work to be done. Where empathy is failing and sharing has become usurped by greed and lust for power, let us double, triple, and quadruple our own efforts to empathize and to give our resources and ourselves.

    Let us together repeal and replace brutality and make them passionate priorities. Together, let us build a bridge, a great bridge, a beautiful bridge to once again welcome the tired and the poor. And we will pay for that bridge with our commitment. We, the people, must speak truth to power and be ready to make sacrifices. We, the people, are the only ones who can create change. I’m ready. I hope you are, too.

    I want my granddaughter to know that I fought against an evil tide and had the masses by my side. When all of these things are accompanied by music, every genre, the fight for a better world, one brave step at a time becomes not just bearable, but possible and beautiful. Thank you.

  78. 78.

    otmar

    I don’t own a garden, but this weekend we brought the kids to my MiL for the Easter holiday. There I helped assemble the raised bed the MiL bought for her garden.

    She’s over 75 now and hopes that a raised bed will be better for her back and makes it easier to keep the vermin out.

  81. 81.

    Quinerly

    @pamelabrown53:
    Thanks for throwing this out. Glad you are making it in. Meeting at Howards in Soulard (down by AB Brewery, 13th and Lynch) before the march (to carpool) and after the march for drinks and fun. If I have a bit of a headcount, I’ll reserve us a table (outside, if nice weather). I’m salt and pepper, a little above shoulder length hair with braided rat tail, 5’5″, mid 50’s, 125 lbs. I’ll tell my bartender friends to steer anyone asking for Balloon Juice to our table after the march. That should make it easy.

  82. 82.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Mnemosyne: Have you tried the hike from Eaton Saddle(on the road to Mt. Wilson) to Mt. Lowe? The kid and I hiked that 2 weeks ago, it’s only 3 miles r/t and a 500′ elevation climb. The kid thought it was an easier hike than Mt. Hollywood and really nice scenery, though it was cloudy when we went.

    ETA: I sent Alain some pics from the hike for the “On The Road” posts.

  83. 83.

    Steeplejack

    @PaulWartenberg:

    Where can I stream the first episode of this season (“XCII”). My cable system (Cox) has the succeeding episodes on demand, but not that first one. WTF?

  87. 87.

    Steeplejack

    @bystander:

    I love that they dedicated a whole park to Jim Backus’ most beloved character.

    Fun fact: “Mugu” was the vile Japanese cultural appropriation that led to the retaliation of casting Scarlett Johansson in Ghost in the Shell.

  92. 92.

    Steeplejack

    @Suzanne:

    Plus brunch is positioned so that you can’t do chores beforehand and, if you play it right, you can’t be expected to do any afterwards, so it basically nukes the entire day. Win!

  97. 97.

    lurker dean

    @germy: wonderful speech. She’s a little before my time, but I was amused to read a story in which baez said her granddaughter had no idea how big a star baez was until baez and her granddaughter got VIP treatment at a taylor swift concert lol.

  98. 98.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    not to ruin the day of pleasant flower appreciation, but has this Randian atrocity been discussed? I am having unXian thoughts about what to do to help the beautiful babies of Alabama, because no child of god should ever have to be put through this

    What is “lunch shaming?” It happens when a child can’t pay a school lunch bill.
    In Alabama, a child short on funds was stamped on the arm with “I Need Lunch Money.” In some schools, children are forced to clean cafeteria tables in front of their peers to pay the debt. Other schools require cafeteria workers to take a child’s hot food and throw it in the trash if he doesn’t have the money to pay for it.
    In what its supporters say is the first such legislation in the country, New Mexico has outlawed sham

  100. 100.

    Ruckus

    @Mike in NC:

    Going out to pull some weeds.

    You are going to kill living things that are smarter than the village talking heads and give more value to their surroundings?

  101. 101.

    Yarrow

    @otmar: That should be a nice height for her. I love raised garden beds for older people and those with mobility issues who find bending down to work in gardens at ground level too difficult. It’s a great way for people who might otherwise be excluded to be able to enjoy gardening.

    A local hospital has a green space that they use as therapy space for their patients. They have included several raised beds for vegetable gardening. They used siding that’s wide enough that people can sit on it. It’s been really well received.

  103. 103.

    trollhattan

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:
    Ugh. IIRC it was in SLC a couple years ago kids with no balance in their school lunch accounts were forced to throw them away and go without. Message: the trash is more deserving than you.

    We need psych screenings for anybody wishing to work with or around children.

  105. 105.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @debbie: I”m sure whoever came up with it is considered a pilar of his/her church, and 50 quatloos says they collect some kind of ag subsidy, and 25 more that it’s for some kind of vacation home

    @trollhattan: Ugh. IIRC it was in SLC

    Salt Lake City? St Louis County?

  106. 106.

    efgoldman

    Ah, yes. Spring. When the crocuses bloom on my lawn, and the Harleys come out from their winter hibernation across the street

  111. 111.

    Aleta

    @Baud:

    Nancy Youssef, نانسى‏ @nancyayoussef Apr 7

    Overheard at the Pentagon: “Florida man launches war from golf course.”

  112. 112.

    chopper

    @Cacti:

    low expectations for white men strikes again. dude launches some missiles at an empty airfield and he’s the greatest ever.

  115. 115.

    Steeplejack

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    I went to the birthday party, got my ticket punched and came back already. It was supposed to be from 10:00 to 1:00. I got there a little after 10:30, and it was still going strong when I left a little after noon. About 60 people, lots of kids aged infant to about eight years and, yes, lots of Brazilians.

    The weather turned out all right—only about 60° but bright sunshine. Warm in the sun, cold in the shade. The bouncy castle was only a bouncy house—no spires. Sad! But the kids were giving it a good workout.

    There was a magician who was hilarious because he reminded me of an early-career Louis C.K. waiting to hit the big time. “Memo to self: do not swear in front of the kids.” He made a lot of elaborate balloon animals and did a great show inside. I missed most of that, because I sat out on the porch minding Kitty, the current eponymous greyhound of Sighthound Hall. There was a live bunny in the magician’s act, and my brother did not want a misadventure that would make the party famous for all the wrong reasons and scar the kids for life. (I don’t think she was a threat, but, you know, better safe than sorry.) But I could tell from all the shrieking that the magician was killing it with his audience.

    Afterwards I was talking to someone out back and that person asked the magician for his card. He opened his wallet and a big puff of flame shot up. Then he whipped out a card and said: “Hot off the press!” Damn, that’s entertainment.

    The food was excellent. Bro’ Man is a good cook and host, and the Brazilians always bring goodies from their favorite ethnic bakeries and shops that we honkies don’t know about. There is a surprisingly large Brazilian community in the DMV (stupid local TV term for the D.C./​Maryland/​Virginia metro area), so there are a lot of those places. I try to keep track, but it’s hard. And a lot of the Brazilians are good cooks.

    Finally, there was champagne. I accidentally got orange juice in one of my mimosas, but that wasn’t too bad.

    All in all, a great day. I’m going back over there tomorrow to watch the Masters and have family dinner. I also need to clarify whether today I (a) agreed with Aunt Eloiza that, yes, next Sunday is in fact Easter or (b) agreed to go to her house in Maryland for Easter dinner. Something was lost in translation, I think.

  116. 116.

    Redshift

    @eclare:

    Has anyone seen Deadpool? Have that on the DVR.

    ETA: has someone who has never read a comic understand the movie?

    I loved it. I’d never read that comic, and I’m not a big comic reader (there were a few I read somewhat regularly years ago.) Assuming you get the basic concept of superheroes, you’ll have no trouble understanding it. There​ are some jokes that reference recent superhero movies, but you won’t miss anything essential if you don’t get them.

  125. 125.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @raven:

    Great pic! I love watching the Masters, but I’ve never felt a big urge to actually go there. But if somebody gave me tickets I sure would do it.

    Same thing with the Indianapolis 500. I’m not that interested in auto racing, but I got to go to one on a junket in the early ’80s, and, damn, it was an experience.

  128. 128.

    Aleta

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: We’re encouraged to go into debt in the spirit of Christmas and car ownership. Whole economy runs on debt. But kids who have no control over money are humiliated and denied food because that’s just how the system works?

    It’s not even a “competitive market” if they can’t leave school. And making them work off debt is like a company store or conscripted service. How is it legal?

    How many kids choose to go without food instead. This barbaric pirate ship of a country.

  129. 129.

    efgoldman

    @Aleta:

    Spring Saturday ride, starts out sunny.

    But, see, this is Rhode island, with more Harleys per capita than any other state (trufact, or at least it was).
    They can’t ride nice, quiet Yamahas or Hondas or BMWs or Triumphs; oh nos!

  130. 130.

    Aleta

    @raven: I used to live in a place where there were tiny wild azaleas all over the mountains in spring. I had never realized that they did that, grow wild.

  132. 132.

    Aleta

    @efgoldman: Once I took a Honda in to the little mc shop down the road, just for inspection, and they said “We won’t touch Hondas here.”

  134. 134.

    efgoldman

    @Aleta:

    “We won’t touch Hondas here.”

    There used to be mechanics, once upon a time, who wouldn’t work on Japanese cars out of some sort of principle or other.

  135. 135.

    Aleta

    @efgoldman: I think that must have been it. I’d been living in Ca where Hondas seemed like the most rational way to get around, and had no idea about that then. I only saw that Harley’s past and their foreign-made parts and the company’s intentional false facts, even hate-based promotion, were so hypocritical.

  136. 136.

    Doug R

    @Aleta: Not to mention that it’s impossible to save up for a down payment when you’re paying off a massive debt for years. Or that house prices steadily rising way above the price of inflation ensures almost no new buyers.
    But as long as everybody that now owns a house gets their lottery winnings who cares about the future, am I right?
    (Can you tell I’m a lifelong renter?)

  137. 137.

    sukabi

    @eclare: I’m not a fan of comic books, but I was able to follow the movie fine…even if at some points I gritted my teeth at the content, still found the movie enjoyable. Doesn’t hurt that Ryan Reynolds is in it… Twisted fun.

  138. 138.

    Doug R

    Another two threads tied together. Just like Mary Pickford, Ryan Reynolds is Canadian.
    He pushed hard to have Deadpool shot in Vancouver, his home town. The Georgia Viaduct was shut down for a week to shoot those scenes at the beginning. That’s Vancouver’s DTES/Chinatown outside the bar his girlfriend works. And that’s the interior of the No 5 Orange street bar, which looks EXACTLY the same in real life, except the DJ looks older than I remember.

  139. 139.

    Ruckus

    @Steeplejack (phone):
    As said here before I worked in professional sports full time for 11 yrs. Worked/attended approx 30 events a yr. I do not care to attend any sporting event anymore. But. I did attend the Dodger day game last Thurs. and thus was reminded why I don’t care to attend. It feels like going to Las Vegas. The strip is all bright and shinny but walk out the back of any of the hotels there. It’s like a movie set. Looks like a town but it’s all fake. As a spectator at any professional sporting event, it’s all bright and shinny but behind the curtain it’s gritty, sweaty and a metric ton less polished and usually anything but pretty.

  140. 140.

    Ruckus

    @efgoldman:
    Long ago I owned an Opel. Bought it new at a Buick dealer as Opel was a GM owned company. It needed something and I went into the service dept and they said they didn’t know anything about how it was build or designed. Engineering all the same, design blueprints should have been as clear as any US GM car. All it was, was a far better build Buick.

  141. 141.

    TriassicSands

    @tybee:

    General Curtis LeMay = General Jack D. Ripper

    They’re the same person. Both insane.

    (Gotta go have a drink of pure grain alcohol to replenish by bodily essence.)

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