As I mentioned in the thread below, this morning I tried to talk my husband into observing a holiday of my own invention, Bad Saturday, which entails brunch, mimosas and Bloody Marys consumed while viewing an MST3K marathon. No chores allowed. Only fun and debauchery.
He doesn’t take to indolence as readily as I do, so we compromised: hiking first. Here’s a roadway canopy we saw on the way:
And here’s a lovely swampscape:
Now we’re off to a swampy boardwalk that is supposedly great for birdwatching. Hope it is snake-free.
Open thread!
Mark
MST3K plays locally here on METV. I record it every week.
germy
What is it about a roadway tree canopy that causes such a calming of the nerves?
I’ve seen 19th century photos of chestnut tree lined roads that make me feel the same way.
donnah
Wonderful photos, Betty! You’re getting some fab shots.
I was guilted by my mother into preparing a big Easter dinner. My middle son is home for the weekend and I was anticipating a weekend with all my sons here, eating junk food and playing tabletop games like Exploding Kittens, Codenames, and Zombiecide, but instead I’m in the kitchen cooking green beans and prepping for the ham, hash browns and bread tomorrow.
And tomorrow will be more cooking, serving, and cleaning up. Stoopit guilt!
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
If you’re watching MST3K, you have to watch Manos, the Hands of Fate. You have to.
amk
speaking of swamps
Ramalama
What is MST3K? And thank you for “Bad Saturday”.
Josie
@Ramalama: I’m guessing MST is Mystery Science Theatre. Not sure about the 3K.
Arm The Homeless
““Watch out for snakes!”
We have a similar holiday, arbitrarily observed throughout the year; Drunk Saturday. Mimosas, Bloody Mary’s and an afternoon nap make for great time to appreciate the simple joys of life…while perpetually buzzed.
Down here in SW FL I count the passing of the year by mosquito and storm season now.
Baud
@Josie: 3K = 3000.
Corner Stone
I am still trying to figure out where the “Bad” part of this comes in?
Aleta
@Corner Stone: The dogs crashing the brunch table while the mimosas and Bloody Marys are being consumed?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
all that humid does make for some pretty pictures
will you be bringing an attack horse in case of gators?
Schlemazel
Minneapolis and St. Paul used to have beautiful tree arches over the streets until Dutch Elm disease ended that. THat is a very cool picture BC.
We hiked with the kids in several places and never thought a thing of it until we read a story about a 3 year old on your side of the State that was bitten on the butt by a rattle snake while walking with the family. Judging from the wounds it was estimated the fangs were 2 inches apart. I cannot imagine the size of that snake! We were a lot more careful after that.
germy
http://thedailybanter.com/2017/04/the-intercept-goes-to-war-against-rachel-maddow/
PaulWartenberg
there is something about being in the shade that helps in the deep south.
Ramalama
Speaking of debauchery (which I am so in favor of), here’s a list of America’s favorite towns.
Fave town #1 (Park City, Utah) and fave town #2 (Provincetown, MA) show exactly the American divide. I like skiing, yes. But I will always opt for Martini bars, going to art galleries in my swimsuit (so close to the bay where you can just hop in and cool off), drag queens, and Betty Buckley performances…as well as teh gays.
PaulWartenberg
there’s supposed to be Tax Marches going on today across the country. Please attend.
Baud
@germy: Holy crap. It’s on!
Corner Stone
I would like to be doing something mildly active this AM but I have something going on with my knee. The Dr diagnosed it as “lazy-itis”, whatever that is. I’m going to go to WebMD to see what I can find out. Not now, but maybe later.
Corner Stone
@Baud: I skimmed through most of it. The article “attacking” TRMS was pretty mild IMO. I doubt Maddow will make much of a to-do about it.
germy
@Baud: Someone should arrange a televised debate between Rachel and Glenn.
debbie
@germy:
Until the winters got so tough, a nearby street with a canopy of very old trees would explode with white blossoms every spring. It was like driving in the clouds!
Baud
@Corner Stone: You did more research than I did. Thanks.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@germy: Tommy Vietor Obama’s FP flack and part of the Crooked Media Obama Bros podcast group, did an episode with GG after (apparently) a long history of twitter spats. People seemed to like it, but I couldn’t bring myself to listen
germy
@debbie: I always see old trees deformed by the power company to make room for their power lines. Hack the crap out of them and cut them into weird shapes. Nobody likes power outages from fallen tree branches, but I wonder if at some point they’ll decide to put them underground instead.
germy
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I can’t listen to GG, and Rachel makes me sleepy.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
anybody from, or know, northern New Mexico?
I always say “the South” starts thirty miles outside of any given metro area, and maybe this is not necessarily racial, but it’s creepy as fuck.
Jim Parene
I watched the first 2 episodes of MST3K re-boot and I laughed my ass off (not easy to accomplish, these days). “Reptillicus” and “Cry Wilderness” were the films and I have to say that I think the show is off to a flying start! “Cry Wilderness” approached “Manos: Hands of Fate” levels of hilarity! I’ll be watching again tonight.
Michael
My family is from New York City. In 1960, we moved to East Meadow NY, the country. My father was a fire fighter for the FAA and when Dulles airport opened he packed us all up and moved to Woodbridge, Virginia, the South! The first photo is what I was expecting, Live Oaks dripping with Spanish Moss. My disappointment was clear in my voice when I told my Grandfather, who was driving, “But it looks just like Jersey!”
Oatler.
@Corner Stone: Maybe from hubby’s point of view, it’s the “brunch” part.
Denali
@Betty Cracker,
Great photos, I love canopy shots and also reflections.
Brachiator
For those keeping up with such things, April the Giraffe has given birth at the Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York. .
ETA: Betty C, cool photos!
Nicole
Cleaning, so the Easter Bunny won’t be hiding eggs and candy under empty frozen pizza boxes and beer cans.
El Caganer
@germy: maybe it’s the ‘forest bathing’ effect.
germy
@Brachiator: I saw a photo. Congratulations to April, and as for the father…
“Okay, Mr. Moskowitz!”
Suzanne
We are taking the kids to an Easter egg hunt this morning, then going to the museum this afternoon to see an exhibit on Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.
However, my allergies are absolutely kicking my ass. I feel miserable. Apparently the pollen count is three times what it was last year at this time.
sukabi
@Josie:3k= new version
germy
@Suzanne: Frida tribute on zen pencils
http://zenpencils.com
Adam L Silverman
@germy: Joy…
Did you see my reply to your question last evening?
debbie
@germy:
In that neighborhood, the lines run along the back property lines. Now, lightning on the other hand…
Doug R
Well, poison snake free at least
germy
@Adam L Silverman: Yes, I finally saw it this morning. Thanks for the overview.
Adam L Silverman
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Depends where in northern New Mexico. Usually driving through the mountain areas, which is where I used to live, you’ll find Penitente murals and symbols, not something like this.
Adam L Silverman
@germy: You’re welcome.
Adria McDowell (formerly Lurker Extraordinaire
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I listen (and really look forward to) Pod Save America and Pod Save the World, but I just straight up deleted the podcast with GG in it. I’m not interested in what that piece of shit traitor has to say.
And I say that as someone addicted to podcasts. I even listen to them while working out/running. I might have a problem.
Off this topic: am I the only one who puts other stuff besides candy in their children’s Easter baskets? I look at it as minimizing how much candy I- oops, she, I totally mean she! -eats.
Adrift (Angry QE2)
First pic looks like SR 48 in Floral City. If not you should check that one out someday.
Ruckus
@donnah:
I tell people when they try to guilt me into things that mom was a lot better at the guilt thing that they are and it didn’t work for mom all that well. Not that it didn’t work once in a while, she did possess a reasonable skill in it and had the “If at first you don’t succeed, never let up” gene.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
me too, and for the past few months I’ve been letting my history and pop culture podcasts fall away and listening to more and more politics, which I probably shouldn’t. But if you want to feed your bad addiction, I recommend Brian Beutler’s, too
Another Scott
@Suzanne: About your allergies – you have my sympathy. I’m in the same boat. My father is “allergic to everything that’s green and grows” and oak pollen is one of my really bad triggers (and the cars around here are yellow now because there’s so much pollen in the air).
What used to work best for me was Allegra D. Claritin never did anything for me. Since The Government decided that everyone who needs a decongestant is a meth head, Allegra D has been a pain in the butt to get.
I went through the desensitizing shots and years of maintenance shots, but I still had to take pills to get through the day.
After resisting for years, I finally took my doc’s suggestion and started using Nasacort. It has made a huge difference for me. I still get a little bit of stuffiness when the pollen is high, but my eyes don’t feel like they’re full of gravel and I’m not sneezing continuously any more.
I hope you find something that works for you. Keep trying different things until something works for your particular chemistry and biology.
Good luck!
Cheers,
Scott.
Adria McDowell (formerly Lurker Extraordinaire
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Damn, another one I gotta check out. This is what I listen to currently, or have just picked up:
The Bugle
The Bob Cesca Show
The audio version of TRMS
Answer Me This
The Professional Left
Pod Save America
Pod Save the World
The Skepticrats
So That Happened (eh)
Radiolab (their recent podcast about nukes was fascinating and scary)
2 Dope Queens
The Hilarious World of Depression
Deutsche Welle Focus Europe
I really do have a problem. :-)
Ruckus
@Schlemazel:
Once was hiking in the desert of southern CA and nature decide that I had run out of holding power. Was squatting when I heard the unmistakable rattle, not all that far behind me. Screw nature, some things can just wait.
Was stationed in Charleston, SC for two years and got to drive in the country side a bit. Huge trees growing out of the swamps, canopies would be miles long and you had to drive with lights on, the trees were so thick. Reminded me of the Disney show, Francis Marion, The Swamp Fox.
Achrachno
Snake watching can be fun too.
CaseyL
Lovely photos, Betty! You make Florida look wonderful (I say that as an ex-Floridian who will never ever go back).
Not much going on today. I should clean the house. Bleh.
Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be very good indeed, and I hope to get out for a little hiking. I am likely to drive great distances to get there – the hikes I’m looking at are all on Mountain Loop Highway – and it never ceases to amaze/amuse me to drive 1-2 hours each way for a 1-2 hour hike.
JMG
Greetings from Bordeaux! Sorry no photos as phone had unfortunate malfunction and is at local Apple rehab facility. Toured the superstar wine regions of Margaux, St. Julien and St. Estephe yesterday. The chateaux are beautiful but three star wine tastings can become an expensive proposition when one sees bottles for sale, as one does everywhere. Ate swell lunch and super dinner. Went to the market today and bought ingredients for Easter dinner to have at my daughter’s apartment. Navarin (lamb stew).
Central Planning
@Corner Stone: wow, read that as “lazy-tits”. Not quite sure what that condition would be
Baud
On MSNBC just now — Tulsi Gabbard might primary current Dem senator Hirono.
Brachiator
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
@Adria McDowell (formerly Lurker Extraordinaire:
You might try Justin Robert Young’s podcast, “Politics, Politics, Politics.” It’s about politics.
I also like the BBC “News Quiz” and the “Now Show.” Their satiric take on US and World news gets the facts right.
Adam L Silverman
@Baud: I don’t see that ending well.
germy
@Baud: Tulsi will run for president in 2020.
And there will be bitter arguments here between Tulsianiacs and Kirsten Gillibranders.
I hope I’m wrong, but that’s how things usually play out.
Ruckus
@Another Scott:
Nasonex works better for me than Nasacort but it’s still prescription only and isn’t in the VA formulary. They put me on Loratadine, a pill and it is very good. On very bad days I still suffer a bit but overall it’s better than the sprays.
germy
@Ruckus: I’m surprised all these brand names aren’t throwing people into moderation.
Mike J
@JMG: Bring me back some Lynch Bages. I drank up my 2000 this year.
Mr Stagger Lee
Trump Don IL, according to the Times of London, wants to ride in the gold plated carriage to Buckingham Palace. No the British are not amused.
Adam L Silverman
@germy: I don’t see that ending well either.
Baud
@Adam L Silverman:
@germy:
Agreed.
Aleta
Washington Monthly
Mike J
@CaseyL: Will tomorrow be the first 60F+ temperature of the year?
Baud
@Mr Stagger Lee: Time for The Queen to cash in her fish and chips and say no.
Baud
@Aleta: I called it long ago. The NYT is garbage.
Alain the site fixer
@germy: not all brand names are flagged.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
does anyone know of any good live coverage of the tax day marches? I’m not seeing much on the twitter
Adria McDowell (formerly Lurker Extraordinaire
@Ruckus: My allergist has me on Loratadine, nasal sprays AND Montelukast. I think he’s surprised that I don’t have asthma.
Adria McDowell (formerly Lurker Extraordinaire
@Brachiator: Thanks for the recs. Will check them out!
WaterGirl
@Nicole: Will no one think of the dust bunnies??
NotMax
Bad Saturday? Sounds more like Sanguine Saturday.
The canopy shot brought back memories of an idyllic stretch of two lane road here lined with monkeypod trees (like these), similarly adorned. Memories because all 40-plus of them were cut down when the road was widened back in 90s.
NotMax
@Ruckus
First read that as “Nanosex works better for me” which opened up myriad avenues of imagination.
Found Nasacort worked fairly well, but Flonase noticeably more effectively. YMMV.
Mnemosyne
@Adria McDowell (formerly Lurker Extraordinaire:
I went to the allergist and got tested for everything under the sun and it turns out I only have asthma, not allergies. Apparently it’s fairly rare for people to only have one of them and not both.
CaseyL
@Mike J: I don’t know. There were a couple days a week ago, I think, where it felt warmer than the claimed high-50s.
Most of my hiking buddies aren’t available, having married or moved or graduated to more strenuous outings – would you like to go hiking with me? I’m looking at pretty easy trails, only 4-5 miles RT and elevations under 1000.
Brachiator
@Aleta:
@Baud:
Is this the guy who won a Pulitzer in 2013 for commentary?
Back in 2015, columnist Jonathan Chait noted how climate change denialism has become mainstream GOP thinking:
Stephens then goes on to try to refute data with little more than an “I don’t believe it” based on absolutely nothing.
Maybe the NYT thinks that this is somehow representing “both sides” of an argument. Insane.
Mnemosyne
I have to drop G off at the airport tomorrow morning, and I’m trying to figure out where I can go for breakfast nearby and not run into Easter brunch prices. Hm. ?
Baud
@Mnemosyne: I hope he’s not flying United.
Ruckus
@Adria McDowell (formerly Lurker Extraordinaire:
WOW! And I’m amazed that I’ve found/been prescribed one that actually works pretty good and I can actually breathe, don’t have massive sinus headaches, nor have spontaneous random nose bleeds.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Corner Stone: I’m trying to figure out where having to be “talked into” it comes in, when your wife says the word “debauchery”
Nicole
@WaterGirl: Ha! Ours, I think, are full grown dust rabbits at this point. I hate dusting. I hate it so, so much. So much.
Baud
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: Maybe she should have proposed Swinging Saturday.
Mnemosyne
@Baud:
Virgin America, fortunately. We’ve had enough annoying experiences of our own on United that we already avoid them.
Adam L Silverman
@Brachiator: Yep, that’s him. His appeal to NY Times is that he’s conservative, but a NeverTrumper.
Adam L Silverman
@Mnemosyne: Kosher deli? Actually kosher. Because they’ll be on the Passover regimen. So no lines, no Easter brunch prices. Also no pancakes, french toast, waffles, bagels, biscuits, or any other leavened bread stuff.
Baud
@Adam L Silverman: It kills me to say this, but then they should have hired Jennifer Rubin.
MomSense
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I think Vietor was excessively generous to GG.
Ruckus
@NotMax:
As with almost all medicines.
Several I’ve been prescribed over the last couple of years have had some serious side effects. Hallucinations, and not the good kind but the ones like with the brown acid. Spontaneous random dizzy spells, bleeding out of various orifices and so on. And these are not unheard of side effects, just very unusual for these meds, happens only in small single digit percentages. It appears that I am a weird patient. In more ways than one might imagine.
Shell
I like your holiday idea, Betty. Much better than Festivus.
Adam L Silverman
@Baud: I do not know anyone, as far as I know, at the NY Times. I give little thought to them. Or to their hiring practices.
WaterGirl
@Baud: I guess you weren’t here last saturday?
Ruckus
@Nicole:
I dust with that round brush on the vacuum. Very fast but if you have small art items this may be an issue. Also it’s easier to see if you’ve got the dust if you let it go long enough that it makes a swath through the dust. Also more satisfying that you can really, really see the need to get off your dead ass and actually do the dusting. Otherwise it’s just that guilt thing, “I should be dusting before it gets too bad!” Screw it, let it get bad, you’ll appreciate your effort more.
MJS
@amk: Surprised it’s that low
Ruckus
@Adam L Silverman:
A great idea and I’d like to help her but it’s been over 40 yrs since I lived on the west side and have no idea if any of the kosher delis I knew of are still there.
Baud
@WaterGirl: Wait, what happened last Saturday?
Mnemosyne
@Adam L Silverman:
What’s the point of breakfast out if you can’t have French toast?
Though it was interesting that the Embassy Suites I stayed at in Brea (CA) a couple of weeks ago gets enough business from Asian clients that you can have miso with tofu for breakfast if you want.
Steeplejack
@amk:
And that’s just January-March from his 2020 campaign—about 8% of the $6 million raised. From his 2016 campaign, $14 million found its way to his properties. Good times.
Adam L Silverman
@Ruckus: Don’t look at me, I’ve been to LA twice. Both for conferences. Never got outside of downtown as the conferences were held at one of the big hotels.
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
I know of a cafeteria that would make you long for miso with tofu for breakfast. And it’s not that far from LAX. Not sure if it’s open on Sunday though.
schrodingers_cat
@Mnemosyne: There is a fancy gourmet breakfast place near me. I think you will like it. It has great French toast. They make their own bacon dipped in Sriracha and maple syrup and their own condiments too. Also too, their own bread, owned by a husband and wife team.
Yarrow
@Mnemosyne: IHOP, Waffle House, or whatever the equivalent is near your airport. They’ll offer the regular menu–no inflated Easter brunch prices.
MomSense
@Mnemosyne:
I have that for breakfast most mornings in the winter. My favorite is the garlic red pepper miso from South River Miso.
Ruckus
@Adam L Silverman:
There used to be some amazing delis and bagel places on the west side. May still be there. But the best pastrami that I’ve ever eaten was in the late 60s, off an old converted school bus hot lunch truck, run by a great older Italian couple, that stopped in the street by where I worked about 2-3 miles from downtown LA. No deli, no matter how famous has ever come close to that.
MomSense
Just came back from a beautiful hike. Saw lots of eider ducks and osprey. The pup had a close encounter with a garter snake.
Ruckus
@Yarrow:
Are you suggesting that someone actually eat at an Awful House?
Besides, as far as I know we don’t have those here on the best coast. Thankfully.
The only thing worse than the Awful House would be Little Chief, in the UK. Even the generic EATS is usually better.
schrodingers_cat
@MomSense: Did you see any loons?
Mnemosyne
@schrodingers_cat:
I think I may drive myself a little further south to Manhattan Beach — they have a bunch of breakfast places listed, plus I can wander on the beach a little bit. Though Sriracha bacon does sound really good … ?
@MomSense:
I don’t know that I could ever consider soup to be a real breakfast, but I live in the land of the breakfast burrito/breakfast taco, so who knows?
At a minimum, miso for breakfast seems like something that would be difficult to eat in the car as I drive to work. ?
Mnemosyne
@Ruckus:
You know that doesn’t sound like a positive recommendation, right?
debbie
@Adria McDowell (formerly Lurker Extraordinaire:
I woke up one day, suddenly allergic to everything (tree and grass pollen, ragweed, mold, cats, dogs, dust mites, and down feathers). I’ve been on pills, nasal sprays, and steroid inhalers. Sometimes they think it’s allergic asthma, other times, it’s asthmatic allergies. Either way, I’ve been coughing and hacking my face off for more than two years. Maybe because of the antibiotic (Leviquin) I took a couple months ago for pneumonia, I’m not doing too badly this spring. Or maybe because the worst is yet to come. For me, Azelastine has worked better than Nasacort, along with juggling ProAir and Advair inhalers…at least for now.
bemused
I was pretty startled to notice a squirrel in our basement this week. We’ve never had mice or rodents get in our house ever. Later we found a spot outside the house where the squirrel had made a hole. Hubby set a squirrel trap with bird seed so problem was quickly solved.
The funniest thing was watching the squirrel chatter at our two cats, squirrel sitting on a couple of plastic bins and kitties intently watching below, eyeball to eyeballs. The kitties are strictly indoor and have never caught anything bigger than a fly or moth. They were very interested but made no move to try to catch it. I asked them what happened to their hunting instincts, no help at all.
germy
Life in these here United States
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/04/false-gunfire-report-triggers-penn-station-stampede.html
MomSense
@schrodingers_cat:
No loons. That will have to wait for a trip to the lake camp.
germy
@bemused: Which is why rabies vaccines are important for indoor cats. Even if kitty never sets foot outside, you never know who’ll come in.
MomSense
@Mnemosyne:
Travel mug works for me.
Gin & Tonic
@Mnemosyne: Had pho for breakfast in Hanoi. It was great.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@germy: We’re off to get the dogs their shots in a hour or so.
Mnemosyne
@MomSense:
I know that people will try to tell me this is impossible, but I can spill on myself with a travel mug. True story.
@Gin & Tonic:
I do like pho. Maybe what miso soup is missing for me is noodles.
germy
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Dogs In Glendale: “Yay, we’re goin’ for ride!”
Bill in Glendale: “Uh, yeah… but there’ll be treats afterward!”
Dogs in Glendale: [awkward silence]
Baud
End of an era.
bemused
@germy:
It was the first time in at least 25 years we’ve had a critter in the house and that was fault of humans. One kid had screen off a window on 2nd story, why, I’ll never know, forgot to put screen back in place and left. I was by myself when this bird came hopping down the stairs.
We had to keep our dogs in the kennel when we still had the squirrel intruder. If they had been in the house and heard the squirrel chattering, they would have been in the basement in a flash and tore the storage area apart to get at it. They are squirrel crazy.
Yarrow
@Ruckus: I’ve eaten at Waffle House and the food varies depending on location but can be fine. The one down the road from where a friend of mine lives serves pretty good waffles. Little Chefs can be awful but I’ve eaten at quite a few of them that have been fine as well. Neither are fancy but it depends on what your needs are. I’ve eaten much worse food for much higher prices.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
That’s an awesome swampscape, and I thank you for showing us. Enjoy the Bad Saturday cocktails. I have a gals late afternoon out with the woman who described me as “the little old lady with the MINI” before we met. She apologized profusely when busted about it in front of me, and I admitted that in my mid-20s, I might have thought of someone my age as a little old lady.
debbie
@Baud:
NPR interviewed her just last week.
catclub
@Mnemosyne: What do get when you pour boiling water into a rabbit warren?
Hot cross bunnies.
Splitting Image
@Baud:
Weird to think that it will be 100 years before the last person born in the 20th century passes away.
SWMBO
I’m surprised no one has mentioned this:
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2011/09/01/140105679/how-bad-was-the-disaster-check-the-waffle-house-index
gene108
@germy:
The 2016 primary will never end. It is in hibernation now, because of Republican control of government.
And you better believe Gillebrand is going to get shit, ’cause hubby works on Wall Street.
There’s a purity line drawn that all honest Democrats will have crossed as part of their jobs or lie about not crossing it: No paid speeches, no connection to Wall Street or any big business, and no large campaign donations. We need the purest, most selfless, least wealthy, politician to unite all factions.
The Republicans, on the other hand, will be running Donald Trump, and not giving a damn about anything but winning.
hovercraft
@Baud:
As with her fellow traveller Wilmer, she would quickly learn that the majority of the party will not be jumping onto her bandwagon. I hope she gets a good pollster who will tell her not to waste her time and party resources on a pointless primary fight that she can’t win.
PaulWartenberg
I’m tired and depressed and unable to focus on writing.
Baud
@Splitting Image: At least 100 years.
@gene108: The only solution is Baud! 2020!
MomSense
@PaulWartenberg:
Can you go outside and take a walk?
Mnemosyne
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
I discovered something interesting about Amtrak — the Coast Starlight doesn’t stop in Glendale, so if I wanted to take a day trip up to SLO, there’s a very limited schedule of trains I could take back because only the Pacific Surfliner trains stop in Glendale.
Mnemosyne
@PaulWartenberg:
I got a much better idea for what my villain’s evil plot is, but now I have to research it, but I’m procrastinating on that. Feh.
I also realized that two of my minor characters are much too similar, so I need to change one of them. Ugh.
Suzanne
@Another Scott: I have had allergy troubles for years. Had to have a branchial cleft removed from my neck since my allergies leave me prone to sinus infections. I use Zyrtec and Flonase, since Claritin is useless and Allegra D has pseudoephedrine, which works but makes me unable to sleep and prone to fainting if I use it for too long. I got allergy tested a number of years ago; they tested the 50 most common allergens for this part of the world and I was allergic to 40. Including dogs and cats, all of the trees in my yard, summer and winter grass, dust, and palo verde. So I’m fucked. I’m not getting rid of my pets, I live in a desert surrounded by dust, and all of those plants are absolutely everywhere here. I was doing allergy drops, but they were really expensive—like hundreds of dollars a month—because nothing is covered by insurance.
dance around in your bones
@Ruckus:
Hey, my family history says we are related to the Swamp Fox! I heard it my whole life (no idea if it’s true ;)
I should ask the family genealogist, my older sister. If proof there be o.O
mai naem mobile
@germy: Tulsi gives off Liebreman vibes to me. My eldest sister who is not a political junkie but only knows of Tulsi because she’s Hindu, also doesn’t like Tulsa on a gut level.
germy
@mai naem mobile: She has some interesting fans. Not sure why bannon likes her.
maybe he sees her as a spoiler
Bill Arnold
@Aleta:
Well, that potentially sucks. On the other hand, if he refrains from writing about climate change and sticks mainly to anti-Trump stuff, maybe a net break-even if he replaces David Brooks as rumored. (See crooks and liars, a savage piece. )
If he attempts climate change denial screeds, then he will cross a lot of peoples’ lines, including mine.
Corner Stone
@mai naem mobile:
Joey L was an asshole who wanted to feed his own ego and thumb his nose at everyone to the left of him. Tulsi gives off a sharp aroma of bought and paid for RU, to me. It’s so blatant I have to think she either is just stupid to the bone, or playing our a desperate hand to the end in hopes of jumping off before the trains collide.
Yeah, I mixed analogies. I do that.
germy
@Corner Stone: What is RU?
germy
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
Good. It wasn’t meant to be positive.
mai naem mobile
@Mnemosyne: I saw your stuff on Amtrak and I was going to reply to you but never got around to it. We took Amtrak from Seattle to LA about 10 years ago. It was Memorial Day weekend and they didn’t tell us that it was not going all the way to Downtown until about 4 hrs before we stopped and the last stop was Oxnard because they were doing repairs on the rest of the line. We had no hotel reservations. To make the long story short,we stayed at Oxnard and made Amtrak give us credit to use CalTrans the nwxt day to go to SLO and it was million times better than Amtrak.. Learned that freight takes priority over Amtrak so a lot of time is spent a long the route waiting for freight trains to go through.
Yarrow
@mai naem mobile: Tulsi Gabbard may get caught up in the Russia stuff since she went to Syria to meet with Assad. She didn’t inform House leadership prior to going. She also met with Trump during the transition. It’s going to blow up in her face when Trump gets taken down.
Ruckus
@Yarrow:
I’ve eaten much worse food while being paid for it. But that was in the navy. I’ve also eaten at Awful House at 1:30. AM. After getting off work at a sporting event and it was the only place open. Never did that again. Hunger was better.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mnemosyne: I’ve been planning on visiting the Ventura Mission, I’ve noticed that as well.
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
It seems like it may get worse if dumpf/congress do as they say, the Amtrak budget is supposed to be slashed. Shitheads doesn’t ride on trains so we don’t need them. Fucking selfish morons.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Ruckus: Joey B won’t be happy, Joey B love trains; you don’t want to make Joey B mad!
Ruckus
@dance around in your bones:
Cool!
My family story is that great granddad came over from Sicily 99 yrs ago because his bosses, the Sicilian mob, thought he was a little too good or enthusiastic about his job as an enforcer. Never heard which it was, too good or too enthusiastic. Or both. Seeing as what the story is, I’m not asking/prying/investigating/searching anyone or anywhere to find out if it’s true. Some things are better left unknown.
WaterGirl
@Baud: Well, I was intimating that Betty had suggested Swinging Saturday last week. Did that actually happen? You will have to decide for yourself. :-)
Ruckus
@mai naem mobile:
It hasn’t changed.
In 2015 I took Amtrak from LA to SF. Well I actually took a bus from Pasadena to Bakersfield (it broke down and we had to get change buses on the side of the freeway) then the train to Richmond. We stopped at every small town in CA and sat on sidings while freight trains passed. It would have been much faster and cheaper to drive. The food and the people were OK though.
WaterGirl
@germy: The Amtrak police force is getting in on the action now? Wow, all a person has to do now to get tazed is be beligerant? We are well and truly fucked.
On the lighter side, when I saw the photo of all the United passengers in helmets, all I could think of is “don’t taze me, bro”, wondering if there was a similar phrase we could use in order to not be dragged down the aisle and purposely injured. It has to be catchy or it won’t catch on.
WaterGirl
@MomSense: I was going for an answer of “yes” there, thinking surely you had passed someone with a smart phone who was watching a video of the Traitor in Chief. That would surely qualify as seeing a loon.
Aleta
@Bill Arnold: We had been giving a (large print weekly) sub to a 96 yo relative who does the crossword, and likes to laugh at the lighter stuff. She always told us how much she loved it, so …. But they crossed the line, as you say, and I had to stop it to protest.
(I figured out how to recycle the large crosswords for her to do over, and I’m mailing cat cartoons to her every day now to replace.)
I think it’s just as well not to send her so much bad news in gigantic print. (She’s a WWII vet, Marines, as were 2 of her previous husbands, and this admin. is just an insult to what they believed.)
Baud
@WaterGirl: Haha. We think alike. All the worse for you.
I’m going to choose “yes” to your question.
germy
@WaterGirl: I’m surprised the helmets didn’t raise red flags with the screeners. I mean, if they’re nervous about a tube of toothpaste…
WaterGirl
@catclub: My dad would approve! His favorite joke was “If you steal a mink, it’s a mink stole.”
Ruckus
@Aleta:
Your relative doesn’t live in southern CA does she? Because this describes a person I know of, with the possible exception of the age. No one that I know has asked her age so have no idea other than retired. She has been described as a feisty old broad, and that was not meant in any sort of a slur.
WaterGirl
@germy: I had that thought, too, then wondered if that photo was actually real, decided I liked the idea that it was so I wouldn’t ask. Kind of like how I decided to decide that the last 15 minutes of LOST never happened.
Yes, that’s creating my own reality just like the evil Rs do, but I don’t do it for anything that actually matters. :-)
Mnemosyne
@mai naem mobile:
I haven’t had too much trouble with them, but I’ve been taking them in the Internet era where they alert you to ongoing maintenance work before you buy your ticket. However, there are still inexplicable stops in the middle of a trip so freight trains can go by.
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
You should be fine as long as you make sure to pick a Pacific Surfliner — those go back to Glendale just fine. It’s the Coast Starlight that’s too high-falutin’ to stop there.
The annoying thing is that the Burbank station doesn’t have its own parking, so you have to pay for parking at the airport across the street. Or have your spouse drop you off, but I haven’t made up my mind about that yet.
@Ruckus:
You probably would have been better off taking the Gold Line to Union Station and catching the Coast Starlight from there. It can be like catching an airplane — a lot depends on what station you leave from, and some are WAY more convenient than others.
If I had to leave from Glendale, I could get one of the Pacific Surfliner trains to SLO around 8 am and be there around 1 pm, but then I would either have to hop right back on the next southbound Surfliner at 2 pm, or take a bus to Santa Barbara at 3:40 to get the Surfliner from there.
However, if I leave from Burbank, I can walk around SLO for a couple of hours and then get on the Coast Starlight at 3:20 to be back in Burbank by about 8:30 pm.
And for people wondering why the hell I would plan to spend 8-10 hours roundtrip sitting on a train with only a 2-hour layover, it would essentially be a writer’s retreat for me. No wi-fi (or at least not good wi-fi), just me and my laptop.
Mnemosyne
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Also, too, they’ve been having planning meetings for our branch of the high-speed rail system. Apparently it’s going to parallel the existing tracks along San Fernando, but be either below ground in a trench or have overpasses for the intersections since people already don’t stop for regular trains and not stopping for a bullet train would be pretty nasty.
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
I looked into the coast route trains and the timing to go to the bay area basically sucks for trying to get from point A to B. Great for a trip in which the train is a major attraction. Which it was when I took the coast train from Union Station to the bay area in the late 50s and it was a hoot to ride then, probably because I was a kid pretty much on my own, no parents.
ingressus sum
I can almost smell the gators breathin’ down your necks!
Mnemosyne
@Ruckus:
Yeah, if you just need to get to the Bay Area with a minimum amount of fuss, take a Southwest flight from Burbank to Oakland. There are a million of them per day and it’s easy to get around on BART once you get there.
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
Actually easier for me to fly out of LAX because I can take the Gold line/LAX shuttle there. And I end up at SFO which is better for where I’m going when I land.
mai naem mobile
@Ruckus: when Neal Kashkari was running against Jerry Brown he kept on making fun of the new train that they were working on. He kept on calling it the crazy train. To me, an express train and a slower train going from LA to SF would take vehicles off the road, improve air traffic and possibly help dying rural towns with tourist stops. I just think it would be a win win for a lot of groups.
mai naem mobile
@Yarrow: maybe the Russians got Tulsa up on the DNC hack but are blackmailing her. I certainly hthink they’re blackmailing a bunch of the GOP leaders.
Ruckus
@mai naem mobile:
A proper fast train would be great. I’ve taken trains in eyouop and here in the states and find them to be fine, if they are actually not fighting freight for track time and you have a bit more time than air travel. But given what a clusterfuck air travel is now, the approx 400 mile LA to SF trip really wouldn’t be a lot different time if it was an express train on it’s own tracks.
Now on the other hand, all those nay sayers who think no one will ride the train, they are the same people who said no one in LA will commute by train. I have used the Metro system a lot and I can tell you at rush hours they are standing room only. You make lots of new friends, some of whom you’d rather not of course, but the trains are full. And even at odd hrs there are frequently not a lot of seats left. I used the system to travel 25 miles a day each way for a while and although it was somewhat of a pain, it was faster than driving that same route at rush hr. The major problem is what do you do at each end of the trip? If in easy walking distance it’s fine, but as walking gets farther you are at the mercy of the bus system. And that usually doesn’t fit the train schedule very well.
The system is a success, but it’s a qualified success. The biggest issue for any new transit system is what is it like to get to and from the system. If the support system sucks, the entire system will be seen the same way.
Ruckus
@mai naem mobile:
Those dying rural towns on the current inland route? Those are not tourist places. They are farm towns, no different than in the middle of any farm country. There isn’t a lot to see. At all.
Aleta
@Ruckus: Interesting…there are *two* of them?!! (She’s mid-Coast East.) So there may be a lot more of them than I closemindedly assumed!
Mnemosyne
@Ruckus:
I still think that a high-speed rail line from LA to Las Vegas would make its cost back within 10 years, which is why the airlines are so desperate to stop it.
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
I think so as well. And that same line to SF? Would do the same.
Aleta
@Michael: Sometimes I have to go to Woodbridge (well Dumfries) where my sister is a RW charismatic Christian who thought P. Obama was giving the pentagon to Muslims + is a climate denier working for the NRL. I haven’t figured out how to have a good time there yet.
Aleta
@Mnemosyne: @Ruckus: The shame of it is that the RR tracks have been torn up (don’t know about CA) in so many places. (Though in some places turned into nice bike paths.) I think I’ve ridden in some beautiful old passenger cars in Japan and Scandinavia that were bought used from the US. They were a pleasure.
Ruckus
@Aleta:
Well older ladies that were in the Marines is probably not a huge demographic but I’d bet there are probably more than 2 of them.
Ruckus
@Aleta:
The railroads didn’t give up the right of ways in CA as far as I can tell. And that’s the secret. The Metro Expo line uses the right of way that the Red Cars did 60+ yrs ago. The Smart line in Sonoma/Marin counties is being run on right of ways from long ago, where a lot of the tracks were removed. And many fought the concept but it’s going in because those right of ways were still in place. There won’t be as many riders as the LA Metro system has but it will reduce some traffic and that’s good because building more lanes or roads is impossible. The people who want to stop progress do so at their own peril because it can not be stopped. Progress can happen reasonably or it can happen haphazardly but it does and will happen. Our economy has mostly progressed haphazardly with no idea that jobs will be lost and others gained, that some will lose and some will profit. So what happens is that there are more losers and fewer who profit, neither the pains nor the profits are spread around as they should be. And yet look back 100 yrs and see that it was even worse then. Our dipshit “leader” is trying his damndest to make everything regress and be like that again. Fortunately his damndest is incompetence and he is even incompetent in hiding that.
J R in WV
@PaulWartenberg:
Are you in a Cannibis legal state?
If so, definitely try it !! if you’re still depressed, it won’t matter so much!
If not, maybe still try it. Won’t hurt, might help.
J R in WV
@Ruckus:
I was pall bearer for a friend’s mother who served in the USMC during WW II because his father had a bum leg and couldn’t serve, and someone should serve from every family.
And the military / VFW / American Legion / etc didn’t bother to send a bugler to play TAPS. Just a guy with a boom box… fuck that shit!!!
Buddy was OK with it, or acted OK, but I was PISSED, tried not to show it, hope i succeeded.
Iron City
@Aleta: You can not have a good time in Dumfries
Ruckus
@J R in WV:
I’m not sure a lot of the old line vet orgs like the VFW would even have a bugler in their ranks any longer. In my time in the navy I can’t recall ever hearing a live rendition of any bugle call and that was a very long time ago. I’m not sure that there were/are many bugle players other than military bands in the last 50 yrs.
Not saying she didn’t deserve it, just that other than being buried at Arlington, or another major military cemetery, I’m not sure that’s done any more.
Mnemosyne
@Ruckus:
They sent one to my brother’s funeral in Florida a couple of years ago, along with 2 or 3 other Marines in dress uniform — I think the funeral home arranged it. It may be a matter of having the right person call the right office.
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
Nice to be wrong here.
Indeed you are correct, the proper person needs to be contacted. Just read the VA website and there is a way to have all types of things happen for a vet. Services, flags, taps played, a grave, headstone, if one was in the navy a burial at sea is available. Didn’t know any of this.