It’s twenty years ago this month that I was given an assignment that, in six weeks, landed me in a place I had barely heard of. I can only recall the sleety dark streets of Tallinn with joy and love.
What I didn’t know was that part of the time I was walking past the apartment of Jaan Kross, a very important Estonian author. I didn’t know about him then either, but learned as I kept traveling to that country, often in better weather.
Politico had a profile this week of Jaan Kross’s son, Eerik-Niiles Kross, who presents a swashbuckling image.
No one — least of all Kross — denies that his work has required him to move in shadows and operate on the edge. “His background is quite controversial,” says Urmas Paet, an Estonian member of the European Parliament and minister of foreign affairs from 2009-2014 who, like Kross, is in the liberal Reform Party. “He is often close to, or crossing the limits.”
Kross’s nemesis, of course, is Vladimir Putin. But NATO troops now in the Baltics help him feel a little safer.
He speaks in perfect English but with one of those European accents that is impossible to place — educated, vaguely but then definitely not British, most assuredly not American.
I’m guessing this is from his perfect Estonian vowels. I love that language.
The whole profile is very worth reading. I particularly appreciated learning he is Jaan Kross’s son. I very much enjoy Kross’s novels that have been translated into English. I have three:
The Tsar’s Madman
Professor Martens’ Departure
The Rock From The Sky
I haven’t read the third, particularly enjoy the first. I also have Wikmani Poisid, in Estonian, but I’m not up to reading a whole novel yet.
And I’m gonna ask that we give some of the topics of the past week a rest.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
Putin as a Bond villain? Nah, he’s too unimaginative and competent.
Cheryl Rofer
Aaaaaannnnnd – the first rotating title I get is “I can see Russia from this blog!”
Josie
Thank you, Cheryl. It’s been an exhausting week, in many ways. In better news, it snowed last night in central Texas (a BFD) and we woke up to a white world this morning with children shrieking with happiness in the street.
Then tonight we had tamales for supper. It is the Christmas season, for sure.
TenguPhule
I assume this includes cats?
Bruuuuce
Making wishes happen is awesome. Making them happen for sick children is even more so. Is it dusty in here?
TenguPhule
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
Exotic Poison tipped umbrella.
dmsilev
Talinn is a beautiful city; I was there briefly many years ago (back when it was still part of the USSR), and would go back if the chance arose.
Omnes Omnibus
Reposted from below: OT: The Alistair Sim version of A Christmas Carol is just starting on TCM.
Yarrow
That’s a very cool photo.
Speaking of Bond, is Daniel Craig coming back again as Bond? I thought I heard that.
SFBayAreaGal
@TenguPhule: Come on. Let it go. Don’t be such an ass.
eclare
That photograph is beautiful.
TenguPhule
@SFBayAreaGal: Is it too much to ask to talk about bunny rabbits?
/Not being sarcastic here, we don’t talk about other cute forms of life enough.
Argiope
I went to Tallinn briefly in 1996 with my best friend, a Finn born and raised in Helsinki. She was able to translate, mostly, due to all the cognates–Finnish has almost no related languages except Estonian. I remember an amazing bronze abstract statue close to where we came out of Customs, a flower market, and city walls you could walk on. I bought sweaters there, amazing thick woolen ones that are itchy but gorgeous. Since that year I’ve learned to knit, but I’ve never attempted anything as ambitious as those.
Mike in NC
Eerik-Niiles Kross, eh? Those Estonians can get pretty carried away with the vowels, it seems. We were in Tallinn a few years ago on a warm June day. Had a delightful lunch at a sidewalk cafe in the Old Town.
Aleta
Nice photo. Put together with what you wrote, I feel a little transported.
Yarrow
@TenguPhule: Not so cute if you’re in Australia, although a virus is apparently having an impact on the bunny menace.
Yoda Dog
@Bruuuuce: Oh damn it is dusty in here now. Love Hamill. Thx for that.
(((CassandraLeo)))
@Yarrow: Yep. He confirmed it on Colbert’s show a few months ago.
Bruuuuce
@Yoda Dog: De nada. I love sharing stories like that.
germy
@Yarrow: The rumor I heard was that Daniel Craig was returning to play Bond with Christopher Nolan directing.
Cheryl Rofer
@eclare: It’s one that I got somewhere on the internet. Since then, I’ve been admonished by a number of artists to identify the art I use, so I checked with a reverse image search and can’t find it. So I’m glad I put it on my computer but sad I can’t acknowledge the photographer. I think it’s an intersection where a number of roads take off from Narva Manatee toward Kadriorg Park.
@Argiope: I have a number of those sweaters. The flower market just amazed me in the sleet, and I buy flowers there or from the women selling them near St. John’s Church whenever I am in Tallinn.
Cheryl Rofer
@Mike in NC: Estonian orthography is precise. If a letter is doubled, it is pronounced for two beats relative to a single letter. Took me a while to be able to hear that. It’s a bit like our long and short vowels. If you listen carefully, our long vowels tend to be longer temporally.
Yarrow
@(((CassandraLeo))): @germy: Thanks. I like him as Bond, although I think he might be a tad bit too old now.
SFBayAreaGal
A couple years ago my sister’s weather app kept defaulting to Tallinn. She had no idea why. At first we had no idea where Tallinn is. When we found out Tallinn is in Estonia we still couldn’t figure out why her weather app kept defaulting to Tallinn.
(((CassandraLeo)))
@Yarrow: He’s easily the best since Connery, and probably the best ever. That said, I still want to see what Idris Elba would do in the role.
trollhattan
@germy:
Didn’t he actually announce one more go on Colbert? I seem to remember that, but you know, it’s on late and all. “Hello, mister Bond.”
If they bring ghost Jedi Judi Dench back I will have issues.
Yarrow
@(((CassandraLeo))): Connery will always be my favorite. I like Daniel Craig as Bond, but it’s a different type of Bond. I’d like to see Idris Elba as Bond too, but I think that time may also be past since Craig is doing one more movie.
jl
Thanks for this post. I spent some time in Estonia too, for both work and relaxation. Really nice country and people. And I learned enough rudimentary Estonian to get around. Not much more than ask where the bathroom was, and order a meal, buy postage stamps. One of the nicest places I have visited. Spent time at the univeristy in Tartu and also several extended visits to Tallinn.
Edit: I liked the food. Smoked trout and eel, only place where I really liked beet salad. Great ice cream, And the superior berries that you get that far north. But, like Nordic countries, I got in trouble because I could not take drinking a beer at every lunch and dinner. Getting tired of that much beer was considered bizarre.
SFBayAreaGal
@Bruuuuce: Okay my vision is now real bleary. I follow Mark Hamill on Instagram. He’s pretty funny.
eclare
@(((CassandraLeo))): I would love to see that!
B.B.A.
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: Back before 4chan was completely overrun by Nazis, a common meme there was Putin wearing a crudely-drawn eyepatch, with the caption “LEAVE BOND TO ME”
Or so I hear anyway.
Wag
We went to Tallin a few years ago. The Old Town is amazing. A UNESCO world heritage site. Totally cool. I know little about the ins and out of Estonian politics , but the city was worth a visit.
instagram.com/p/cCOLA6CEYb/
instagram.com/p/cCNvYCCEX2/
instagram.com/p/cCN3gTiEYC/
frosty
@Josie:
Apparently we’re getting our first snow of the season in South PA tomorrow. Not enough to shovel (I hope!) but I guess it’s time to get all the winter gear together. Firewood is already delivered in case of power outages from ice storms.
Mnemosyne
@Argiope:
Knitting designer Nancy Bush is a huge fan of Estonian knitting and has written several books, including this one. She has published several Estonian sock patterns if you want to knit something in that style that won’t take you forever to make.
eclare
Lovely photos, that cathedral (looked it up) is other-worldly.
ETA> response to Wag
mike in dc
Maddow’s special on the dossier is on now.
Mary G
What a great project, Cheryl. That’s the way to fight Putin, help the satellite countries develop themselves.
Five-year-old Ryan is still in the hospital ICU after being shot five times in the Sunderland Springs, Texas church shooting. He has to stay there over the holidays. They still haven’t told him his stepmom and two of his sisters were killed. He received some Christmas cards that he loved and his relatives are asking people who have a spare one to send it to him at
Ryland Ward
P.O. Box 174
Sutherland Springs, Texas, 78161
If you have a dollar to throw in the card, they are hoping to get him a go-kart after he finishes having many, many surgeries and months of recovery. If you can spare more, there is a GoFundMe for medical expenses.
RandomMonster
@(((CassandraLeo))): I agree. Having spent way too many adult hours thinking about the Bond franchise (working on videogames), I think Craig is the only one who gave the character real emotion, while simultaneously capturing him as a professional killer.
Steve in the ATL
Last minute meet up tonight at the LAX Marriott concierge lounge!
I’m too old to sleep in airport terminals.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steve in the ATL: Off to a bus stop bench then?
Steve in the ATL
@Omnes Omnibus: it’s a warm night! Might even cook s’mores over the wildfire.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steve in the ATL: Have at it.
eclare
@Mary G: Done, I had some spare cards lying around, thanks for the heads up.
Mary G
I know it’s the forbidden topic, but the FYNYT has jumped a whole row of sharks now:
That is insane.
Mnemosyne
@Steve in the ATL:
I had to go home from work early because my knee hurt, so no meetups for me tonight. You should catch a cab or take Lyft to Finn McCool’s on Main Street in Santa Monica if you’re staying overnight. Really good Irish food, and that’s not an oxymoron. And a full bar, of course.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Steve in the ATL: Seriously, drive to LAX in LA traffic on a Friday night?
Old Dan and Little Anne
@Cheryl Rofer: It reminds of my friend’s neighborhood in Tonawanda, Buffalo.
Ruviana
@Mary G: You can go over to the Washington Monthly and find Booman making fun of Trump’s knowledge of Jungian psychology!
Mnemosyne
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
It’s basically an Angeleno proposal of marriage to agree to pick someone up at LAX at rush hour.
eclare
@Mary G: I will put it gracefully: that shit is fucked up and bullshit.
Wag
@Mary G:
Or more likely, snark?
Mnemosyne
@Mary G:
There’s a reason the automatic answer to all Cavuto Mark questions like that is, “No, of course not.”
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mnemosyne: I don’t think our Steve in the ATL is familiar with LA tradition.
Steve in the ATL
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I was being facetious. I’m going to have a glass or two of wine then crash until I return to the airport at 4 am.
Mnemosyne
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
It wouldn’t do him any good anyway, I’m already married. Waiting for G to come home with a pizza.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Ruviana:
Eww. Jung was a total crackpot and asshole.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Steve in the ATL: Eh, I kinda got the gag. Just playing along.
debbie
@Aleta:
Photos like that make winter seem inviting. Then you step outside…
Here’s a bunch of NYC winter photos.
Steve in the ATL
@Mnemosyne:
I have a wife and two daughters and I deal with lots of HR people. The last thing I need in my life is another woman!
Adam L Silverman
@Cheryl Rofer: Yahtzee!
Omnes Omnibus
@Wag: @Steve in the ATL: People seem dangerously low in sense of humor (in any form) these days.
ETA: For example, the minivan thing became a discussion of stolen cars rather than a discussion of the horror of minivans. My brother has agreed to a Camry, but he has held the line on a minivan.
Steve in the ATL
@Mnemosyne: I have been here all week, but until you mentioned this I totally forgot that I have a first cousin, who was my best friend growing up, who lives in Santa Monica. I should have gone there.
Adam L Silverman
@Bruuuuce: Here you go:
Mnemosyne
@Steve in the ATL:
Just sayin’, you gotta watch out for those local customs. It’s like when explorers would travel to remote islands and find out that the village dance they just watched meant they had a new wife.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Adam L Silverman:
Wow that was really cool of Hamill
Steve in the ATL
@Omnes Omnibus: I’m not in peak form after a week of highly contentious bargaining, while also preparing for next week’s contentious bargaining, followed by several hours sitting around the airport watching flights get delayed and canceled. And if that weren’t bad enough, my 256GB iPhone X is having trouble connecting with the WiFi here.
No one has a harder life than me.
Adam L Silverman
@germy: “I’m James Bat-Bondman!”
HinTN
sigh
Yarrow
@Omnes Omnibus: I have a friend who drove a minivan because she had kids. Her kids grew up and she was still driving the old minivan. She decided she needed a new car. Went to look at various cars and SUVs. She needed something big enough to haul a trailer with some equipment her husband uses for his work. Guess what–she ended up with a minivan again. She said she loves it. It’s actually very comfortable, fits a bunch of people easily and she can haul a bunch of stuff around. Given her life I understand why she got it. It’s just funny because she’s an empty nester and usually that’s the time to spring for the fun car.
Steve in the ATL
@Mnemosyne: I did have the opportunity to have a new wife for an hour, but I’ve almost exhausted my per diem. And airport hookers are pretty low grade anyway.
Adam L Silverman
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: I was just posting the actual tweets from @Bruuuuce:’s comment. But yes, it was good of him.
Yarrow
@Steve in the ATL: That sounds grim.
Steve in the ATL
@Omnes Omnibus: after everything we have been through since last November watching the country we love circle the drain, we are emotionally drained and frazzled. We are in no condition to take on a new horror, to wit: minivans. Maybe we’ll be ready in Kamala Harris’ second term.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steve in the ATL: Minivan. Also, i was saying that people were missing your “humor.” Lots of that going around. I may now be anathema here.
Yarrow
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: Hamill responded to that tweet thread:
Such a cool guy.
Steve in the ATL
@Yarrow: LAX hookers are actually a cut above SNA hookers. And they don’t even have them at Bob Hope.
Omnes Omnibus
@Yarrow: I have no words.
Yarrow
@Omnes Omnibus: I thought my response to your minivan comment in the other thread was somewhat amusing.
schrodingers_cat
@Omnes Omnibus: I must have pissed off more peeps here on Balloon Juice in the comment section this last year than I did during the entire Obama admin.
Steve in the ATL
@Adam L Silverman: how’s it hanging? I had a question for you but I’ve forgotten it. Do you remember what I was going to ask you?
Yarrow
@Omnes Omnibus: I know. We all gave her a really hard time. But then…it’s nice that she can drive when six people and equipment need to go somewhere. I’m not complaining.
Bruuuuce
@Adam L Silverman: Yep. That’s the thread at the link I posted. Thanks for posting the image. Definitely dusty in the room now.
Adam L Silverman
@Steve in the ATL: If it’s what I think it is, I’ll email you offline. Give me a minute.
eclare
@Steve in the ATL: Than I /pedant
ETA> I expect more from a fellow Latin scholar
Steve in the ATL
@Omnes Omnibus: it’s sad when someone gives up on life like that. I just want to give her a big hug and tell her “you have lots to live for—you are a good person—you don’t have to drive a minivan!”
Steve in the ATL
@Adam L Silverman: no, it wasn’t that. It was something new. But that reminds me—need your rate schedule for wet work.
Yarrow
@Steve in the ATL: She’s completely happy with it. She loves it. I kind of admire that. She likes what she likes and the judgy people can stuff it.
Mnemosyne
@Steve in the ATL:
SUVs are minivans for people who don’t want to admit they need a minivan.
Steve in the ATL
@eclare: d’oh! Merde! Scheßdreck!
That tells you what kind of week I’m having.
Adam L Silverman
@Steve in the ATL: Sent you the email.
Steve in the ATL
@Mnemosyne: words of wisdom, Buddhaette. Minivans are actually much better than SUVs for almost everything that SUV owners do.
Adam L Silverman
@Steve in the ATL: Was it about the Jerusalem thing? Or something to do with Judaism? Maybe the Erik Prince private intel thing? Dinah Powell resigning as Deputy National Security Advisor?
Adam L Silverman
And he stuck the landing!
schrodingers_cat
Every year I decide that I am going to wear skirts in winter and I usually give up by the time temps are below freezing. I am not a big fan of winter, you have to dress up in elebenty layers even to pick up the mail from the mailbox.
Corner Stone
@Steve in the ATL: Man. What a shitty job.
eclare
@Steve in the ATL: I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist, you teed it up. But airline delays are the worst, I hope yours is resolved soon. Limbo is awful.
debbie
@Adam L Silverman:
Is Florida Man in danger of collapse from all the competition he’s been getting?
Corner Stone
@Adam L Silverman:
What’s that about, anyway?
Wag
@Omnes Omnibus:
Yeah. Hard to have a sense of humor when we’re ruled by the moron GOP.
But I try to keep it light by making fun of trump as often as possible.
debbie
@schrodingers_cat:
Standing at the bus stop in winter wearing a skirt was horrible, what with all the updrafts.
Adam L Silverman
@schrodingers_cat: Two words: Arizona, Florida.
Adam L Silverman
@debbie: Doubtful.
amygdala
All right, jackals, tell me I should keep baking holiday cookies, rather than hanging out here. Five batches down, six to go, and the lazy is setting in.
Adam L Silverman
@Corner Stone: She originally came in from Goldman Sachs with Cohn to do economic work. When Flynn got fired and McMaster brought in she moved to serve as one of his deputies while still assisting Cohn when needed. Cohn is expected to be leaving soon since he wasn’t named Fed Chair, so she’s likely decided the time is right to bolt.
Adam L Silverman
@amygdala: Bake! Bake! Bake! Bake!!!!!
Mnemosyne
@schrodingers_cat:
Target now sells fleece and faux fur lined tights, but I don’t know how well they cut the wind (if at all). I like the Uniqlo heat tights, but they’re definitely meant to be layered under pants like long underwear, not to be worn alone.
Steve in the ATL
@eclare: don’t apologize. I totally deserved it. Later, I’ll misconjugate a French verb so Omnes can have his shot at me too.
eclare
@Adam L Silverman: Gary Cohn? Or someone else?
eclare
@Steve in the ATL: Just don’t fuck up the subjunctive, and we’re fine. Have no idea about French, that is all between you and Omnes.
Steve in the ATL
@amygdala: I disagree with my esteemed colleague Adam. While baking cookies may bring the greater benefit to society, it does not help the juicetariat.
Unless, of course, you’re dropping a batch at the concierge lounge at the LAX Marriott tonight.
Steve in the ATL
@eclare:
If I was to do that, i expect immediate condemnation.
schrodingers_cat
@debbie: I have tried fleece lined tights, Uniqlo’s heat tech, leggings, but nothing is warm enough. I come to the same conclusion, better to be warm than stylish.
eclare
@Steve in the ATL: hahaha, I see what you did there
amygdala
@Steve in the ATL: My sincere condolences about being stuck at any LAX hotel, with the additional insult of having to be conscious and mobile at WTF-o-clock. I grew up down there and tell people I moved here in part because SFO, with its endless flight delays, is still preferable to LAX.
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman: CNN said that she always said she was only going to serve one year and wanted to go back to New York as her family is there. Then some mumbling about the UN, but that was speculation.
schrodingers_cat
@Adam L Silverman: Places I have yet to visit.
amygdala
@Adam L Silverman: Ok, let me go slice up the World Peace cookies and get ’em in the oven. I promised myself I’d bake off 7-8 of the 11 batches before calling it a day.
schrodingers_cat
@Mnemosyne: I have two of those fleece lined tights and a couple of sweater tights too. They are okay but not for serious cold weather.
debbie
@schrodingers_cat:
Dowdiness in flannel-lined jeans is the price I pay to get through winter.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@eclare:
I assure you LAX is much worse.
schrodingers_cat
BTW Chocolate covered ginger bread with apricot filling from Aldi’s is my new favorite cookie, made in Germany the box says. I may go back tomorrow and get a crate. Delicious.
schrodingers_cat
@debbie: OMG I have one of those too from L L Bean. Pretty shapeless but warm.
Steve in the ATL
@?BillinGlendaleCA: @Mnemosyne: just so y’all know, I have hit both In N Out and Shake Shack this week
Adam L Silverman
@eclare: That’s him. Sorry, long day and someone was talking to me while I was trying to type.
dmsilev
@schrodingers_cat: Come join us here in Southern California then. We’ve got, as you can probably tell, a _wonderful_ airport experience and the weather is great with only a slight risk of raging wildfire.
eclare
@Adam L Silverman: No worries, just trying to figure out if there were yet another crook that I had never heard of.
debbie
@schrodingers_cat:
Those are the ones I have. I can keep up my daily walking as long as the temperature doesn’t go below 30 degrees.
schrodingers_cat
@dmsilev: Only been to the Bay Area in California.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Steve in the ATL: I’ve not been to Shake Shack, the kid tells me it’s better than In-n-Out. I told her I’d revoke her native California status if she persisted in that belief and send her to Texas.
dmsilev
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Having a reasonable amount of comparative experience, I’d say ORD (Chicago O’Hare) is worse than LAX. However, it’s really hard to beat the existential Hell that is changing planes at Newark.
(((CassandraLeo)))
@Adam L Silverman: @Yarrow: Those damn onion ninja strike again.
Scamp Dog
@Mary G
No. This has been another episode of SATSQ. Thank you.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@dmsilev: You may have a point, though my exposure to ORD is quite limited(3 times).
Steve in the ATL
@debbie: I used to have a pair of the LL Bean flannel lined jeans. They were awesome for cold weather, fashion be damned.
At the moment I’m wearing a pair of relaxed fit Levi’s that my wife told me never to wear again. Maybe it’s good that I’m stuck out here another day.
Mike in NC
@dmsilev: I was stationed for a year in San Francisco and San Diego but had no friends or family to cause me to settle there. Plus the periodic droughts, mudslides, earthquakes, and wildfires weren’t good selling points.
dmsilev
@Mary G: That’s like asking if Trump understands quantum field theory or iambic pentameter. Are these questions which really need to be investigated in depth?
Mnemosyne
@Steve in the ATL:
I haven’t tried Shake Shack yet, but I did go to Steak N Shake in Burbank for my niece’s birthday. It was fine.
And it’s too late now, but you should have gone to Din Tai Fung. Unless you’re allergic to shellfish, because it turns out there is shrimp in all of their dim sum. One of my co-workers found this out the hard way.
Steve in the ATL
@dmsilev: ORD is horrible, as is EWR, and, frankly, as are JFK and LGA.
Jeffro
JMU WINS! (barely!) (whew!)
On to the semis!
debbie
@Steve in the ATL:
Like Mom jeans?
Mnemosyne
@dmsilev:
Nope. I grew up flying in and out of ORD. LAX is definitely worse. At least you can get something to goddamn eat at ORD. And find a bathroom when needed.
When my mother in law and brother in law came out to visit a few years ago, they ended up wandering all the way down to baggage claim to use the bathroom because they couldn’t figure out where it was in the terminal. I think they were in the American Airlines terminal where the bathrooms are behind the entrance to one of the gates.
B.B.A.
@Steve in the ATL: EWR and JFK have some nice terminals to offset the endless self-inflicted delays. LGA is a failure on every possible level.
Heidi Mom
@(((CassandraLeo))): You and many more. Not only because he’d be great in the role, but because it would piss off white supremacists. Any black man in that role would, but Idris just brings a little something extra. (Maybe the smile.)
Duane
@Steve in the ATL: Well, at least you’re wearing pants when you go out. That’s a start.
debbie
@Heidi Mom:
Also the voice and the accent!
Argiope
@Mnemosyne: Oh, those are glorious! And fortunately only one strand to manage at once. Never have been able to manage Fair Isle because I simply don’t have the patience for two colors at once. Lace, though, that’s doable. Thanks for the link!
Steve in the ATL
@debbie: I prefer to think of them as dad jeans, thank you very much!
Aleta
@debbie: Thanks for those. Black and white film stock goes well with beautiful olden NYC and winter. So beautiful.
Steve in the ATL
@Mike in NC: Mike in NC has no friends. Tracking.
Peale
@Steve in the ATL: the new EWR domestic terminal B is great. Maybe a bit too hip. Useless for folks who aren’t young professional urban types who want to spend $$$ eating ramen. but finally there’s an airport terminal in metro NY that looks new and doesn’t have leaky bathrooms. It’s like we built a public something in jersey without mafia contractors.
amygdala
@Mnemosyne:
May need to turn in my foodie card for this, but Shake Shack didn’t impress me at all. In ‘n’ Out or even Five Guys is better.
Heidi Mom
@Yarrow: When I think of James Bond, I don’t think “young man.” Daniel Craig is almost 50, and Idris Elba is 47 (thanks, Wikipedia). Both look like they’ll have no trouble disposing of bad guys for many years to come.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Peale:
Oh, I sincerely have my doubts about that last part.
magurakurin
@Cheryl Rofer: Japanese does that as well. obasan=aunt, obaasan=grandma
frosty
@schrodingers_cat:
True dat. When it snows I’m in jeans and boots and I’m at the point where I don’t care if I have a client meeting that day.
Peale
@?BillinGlendaleCA: fine. Mafia contractors who take pride in their work. Swedish mafia maybe.
frosty
@Steve in the ATL: Well played. Golf clap.
PS Spent more than one night on a park bench or the airport. Worst was DFW, where they designed the armrests so you couldn’t stretch out on several chairs. Bastards!
debbie
@Steve in the ATL:
Be careful out there. I believe LA banned them some time ago.
Steve in the ATL
@Duane: yeah, of course I’m wearing pants–I’m not over on Mulholland!
frosty
@dmsilev: Haven’t changed planes in Newark, but sprinting through O’Hare is No Fun and the worst plane change I’ve ever had to do.
Aleta
@Yarrow: The trick to accepting a minivan when you come across one is to mentally remove it altogether from the “car” category.
Yarrow
@Heidi Mom: I don’t think “young man” either. I do think of someone maybe late-30’s to mid-40’s or so. Not someone approaching or over 50. Just a subtle difference. That’s why I said I thought Craig was maybe a tad bit old, not a lot old. But maybe I’m wrong and Bond is supposed to be in his 60’s or something.
Repatriated
@Peale: Swedish House Mafia:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=BXpdmKELE1k
KithKanan
@amygdala: I’m pretty fond of The Habit, which has the distinct advantage of being in my town unlike all of the above. There’s a Five Guys going in soon, though — ironically in a spot that used to be a local dive pub/burger joint that also did the peanut thing until it closed a few years back.
JR
@amygdala: once expansion hits you can’t trust any of these franchises. I’ve had great shake shack — in NYC — and some so-so shake shack — elsewhere. Five Guys has been inconsistent as well.
In N’ Out is pretty solid everywhere. Recognizing of course that what it is rightly famous for is a very good burger for McDonalds prices.
Mnemosyne
@KithKanan:
The Habit is very good. The same guys who run that have a slightly more upscale chain called Hook Burger. It’s fast casual rather than fast food and you can get beer and wine there.
Aleta
@amygdala: Wonder why they’re called World Peace cookies. Because chocolate soothes our savage souls? They look great, wish I had some right now.
KithKanan
@JR: The absolute best In-N-Outs though are still the old drive-thru/walk-up only locations with no indoor seating. I’m not sure if it’s the well-seasoned grill, something else, or just placebo, but they always seem to taste just a little bit better.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@JR: One reason is In n’ Out’s not a franchise, they’re all still owned and run by the family that founded the company.
ljt
@Jeffro: JMU alum? What year?
amygdala
@KithKanan: I’ve only been to the Habit once, but it was good.
@JR: Haven’t been to the original Shake Shack, but the two I went to were in NYC. Agree that In ‘n’ Out seems to have solved the inconsistency issue.
@Aleta: Something about the world being a more peaceful place if everyone had a few of them to nibble on. The recipe is a bit tetchy and demanding, but worth it. Cooling in the rack as I type. On to the pine nut rounds!
Mnemosyne
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
IIRC, the family members who run it spend a few days a month driving around to various outlets at random, ordering food at the drive-thru, and making sure it’s up to par.
And of course they get good employees the old-fashioned way: by paying them well and offering good benefits.
efgoldman
Everybody gone to bed???
frosty
@KithKanan: Vineyard Avenue, just south of I-10, Ontario. My first stop on the last trip, just after renting the car and before I checked into the hotel.
Mnemosyne
@efgoldman:
You missed all the good fights earlier. Go back to sleep ?
Gin & Tonic
@efgoldman: Not yet.
frosty
@efgoldman: Not yet, efg. Night Owl here and glad to see you back.
joel hanes
@schrodingers_cat:
When the temps are below freezing, eschew cotton except for smallclothes.
Thin/medium-weight polyester fleece over those while indoors; larger loose polyester fleece layer over that when you must go out.
frosty
@Mnemosyne: Fights, I’m so fecking tired of going over the same ol’ ground.
Steve in the ATL
@efgoldman: some of us have early flights tomorrow morning and stay up all night like you do after adding molly to your IV
Peale
@frosty: any time you’re willing to admit you’re wrong, We’re ready to drop it and move on.
frosty
@joel hanes: Alternatively, when temps are below freezing, shut off the alarm, roll over, pull the comforter over your head and go back to sleep until Spring.
frosty
@Peale: LOL. I don’t remember getting into it, just reading everyone else.
And yes, I admit I was wrong once when I thought I made a mistake but I didn’t.
Mnemosyne
@joel hanes:
Animal fibers. Yes, wool, but also alpaca and cashmere (for those who can afford it). Animal fibers keep you warm even if they get wet.
Adam L Silverman
@efgoldman: I posted a nice clean, Massachusetts Man open thread!
laura
Sacramento artist Steve Vanoni has been living and working in Talinn Estonia for the last handful of years. He’s coming back to Sacramento next week and is doing some poetry reading at Lunas and a bit of performance art at the Red Gallery.
I can’t wait to see him and hear about his work life in Talinn.
Chris
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
Sadly, this is not an era for James Bond villains, it’s an era for Indiana Jones villains.