Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

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

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

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

She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

In after Baud. Damn.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

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

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

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Russiagate Open Thread: New Years Eve, the Introvert’s Nightmare

Russiagate Open Thread: New Years Eve, the Introvert’s Nightmare

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Of course, it’s not really about “celebrating,” it’s professional. Gates needs to be out there networking with his fellow parasites to get the full advantage of the current GOP grift…


‘

THE ARISTOCRATS KLEPTO-KAKISTOCRACY!

Reader Interactions

226Comments

  2. 2.

    Mike in DC

    How many decades do Gates and Manafort have to be staring at before they decide to flip and roll? Superseding indictments are coming soon.

  3. 3.

    eataTREE

    I have found that ethyl alcohol in sufficient quantities is a temporary cure for introversion. It must be why they serve it at these sorts of things.

  4. 4.

    Mnemosyne

    We stopped doing New Year’s Eve years ago when G’s job at the time required him to work on both NYE and (usually) NYD. Now we’re out of the habit, so I’m making beef stew and we’re staying home.

  6. 6.

    p.a.

    My main New Year’s Eve plan is to write / / 18 on about ten checks so I don’t screw up early on in the new year.
    How boring is that!!??

  7. 7.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    What!!!??? A well to do White Guy is denied privilege to go out and celebrate with the rest of the MOTUs??? This is an outrage!!!! Oh Lordy the persecution of the White Man!!! When does it end!!!

  8. 8.

    eclare

    Staying in, low tonight is 9 with a brutal wind here in Memphis (I know, some of y’all would kill for 9). But tbh, even if it were 75, I have no desire to be out and about. The bar and grill down the street (easy walking distance) is serving brunch tomorrow with mimosa specials, I may be tempted to leave the house for that.

  9. 9.

    Cheryl Rofer

    Our President’s tweet-greeting:

    As our Country rapidly grows stronger and smarter, I want to wish all of my friends, supporters, enemies, haters, and even the very dishonest Fake News Media, a Happy and Healthy New Year. 2018 will be a great year for America!

  10. 10.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I went out a bit ago to watch football (Cleveland rocks!) and have lunch with some friends, now my car is in the garage where I”m content to leave it for the next 12 or 16 hours. Think I’m gonna binge that American Gods if I can find it somewhere in my smart TV and assorted platforms

  11. 11.

    (((CassandraLeo)))

    @eataTREE: Unfortunately, medication I take prohibits me that avenue of escape. It would also likely make it easier to deal with the Shitgibbon Administration. Lately the medication doesn’t seem to be working too well, either.

    @Cheryl Rofer: Here’s hoping it’ll be great due to election returns and (if God is there and loves us) indictments and removals from office.

  12. 12.

    I'll be Frank

    @eclare: For some strange reason I find myself in the lobby bar of the Peabody. And yes to the neighborhood bar with mimosas at brunch.

  13. 13.

    Major Major Major Major

    We’re standing on Vauxhall Bridge waiting for the fireworks with a decent view of the Thames on account of being tall, then we’ll head back to go to sleep before the flight to Lisbon tomorrow.

  14. 14.

    Roger Moore

    @Mike in DC:

    How many decades do Gates and Manafort have to be staring at before they decide to flip and roll?

    They’re probably worried about getting a permanent dirt nap if they break Putin’s code of omerta. Possibly family members, too.

  17. 17.

    eemom

    Thousands of years ago when I was young enough to care, it became obvious that NYE is one of those things that never lives up to the hype.

    I am ecstatic to be in a nice warm house with nice cold champagne.

  18. 18.

    Mnemosyne

    I’m still trying to figure out who the fuck Peter Daou is and why we’re all supposed to retroactively hate Hillary because he’s been tweeting in support of her. ?

  19. 19.

    Jack the Second

    The $600/$750 seems so… petty, characteristic of Trump’s wannabe demographic. Where’s the $5000/$10,000 a plate event?

  22. 22.

    lgerard

    I wonder if Joey “no socks” will be at Mar a Loco tonight, as he is every year despite trumps claim to have no idea who he is

  23. 23.

    debbie

    @Jack the Second:

    Imagine: If you’d spent the bazillion dollars it takes to buy a place there and pay all of the fees and various amenities, you too could have saved $150 on the NYE party!

  24. 24.

    Ken

    @Jack the Second: I have often been disgusted, when it turns out some mayor, alderman, representative, or senator has been taking bribes, at how cheaply most of them can be bought.

  27. 27.

    Mike G

    As our Country rapidly grows stronger and smarter, I want to wish all of my friends, supporters, enemies, haters, and even the very dishonest Fake News Media, a Happy and Healthy New Year. 2018 will be a great year for America!

    “Impressive. Every word in that sentence was wrong.”

  28. 28.

    japa21

    Mrs Japa and I were talking earliere today trying to figure out the last time we went anywhere on NYE. We have no idea. Then we tried to remember the last time we stayed up to Midnight. Still no idea. The offspring used to call us at Midnight but we have told them the next time they do that they are out of the will. Neither want to lose that $50.

  30. 30.

    HeleninEire

    Well, it’s gone midnight here in the land of the leprechauns. Happy New Year to all of you. And once again thank you to John Cole, all of the front pagers, and of course all of you jackals. [LOOK an Oxford comma!!!] I am nothing without you.

    America had a tough year. I promise you, although I am 3,200 miles away, I was with you and felt your pain. But 2017 was a good year for me. In fact, it was a great year. I’m settled in my beloved adopted country, I’ve made lots of good friends, and to end on a high note, I got a job.

    Although there were a few bumps along the road (and I thank everyone here for talking me through Mary’s problems), my friends and family are happy and healthy and for that I am eternally grateful. I wish each and everyone of you a blessed 2018. May the Goddess grant you everything you wish for.

    Also? COME VISIT!!! If you don’t mind sleeping on a blow-up bed in the living room I don’t mind.

    Also, too? RESIST!!!!!

    LOVE.

  31. 31.

    Roger Moore

    @Cheryl Rofer:
    It would be hard for him to be less presidential if he were making a deliberate effort. I would think he’s doing it deliberately, but I don’t think he’s competent enough to be so good at it.

  33. 33.

    Sab

    My last New Year out was about fifteen years ago. My city has a thing called First Night which is a non-drinking alternative. They have all sorts of local musicians playing all over downtown.It sounds fun, but the last time we went it was a winter like this, with temperatures well below zero. We froze outside and sweltered inside. The music was really fun, but we haven’t done it since.

  34. 34.

    Roger Moore

    @eemom:

    Thousands of years ago when I was young enough to care, it became obvious that NYE is one of those things that never lives up to the hype.

    You need to visit Pasadena for NYE.

  35. 35.

    mai naem mobile

    I saw the hotel grifting while he was running. Total no brainer from Dolt45 and the Grifting Old Pedophile Party. Why didn’t the media, the Dems and his GOP opponents bring it up?

  36. 36.

    NotMax

    Crappy (limited supply) cold cut buffet for all!

    Midnight toast with a petite gobletine of Cold Duck included.

    :)

  37. 37.

    NotMax

    @Sab

    They’ve had a First Night do here for years. Have said since its inception it properly ought to be named Last Night.

  38. 38.

    eemom

    @Mnemosyne:

    I think Daou was a columnist at Salon way back in the long bygone days when it was a brave new lefty thing on the nouveau internet, rather than the cesspool it is today.

  43. 43.

    eclare

    @NotMax: A friend of mine and I went to the NCAA National Championship Fiesta Bowl in Tempe years ago, and of course hotels required a number of nights’ stay, so we did NYE there. Gah! Alcohol free family zone!

  47. 47.

    Mike in NC

    @Mike G: Tonight Pence and Miller are struggling to compose a New Year’s message worthy of Trump. It will last 30 minutes: the first 15 will be him gloating about his Olympian greatness, while the next 15 will be a relentless attack on our Constitutional democracy, the FBI and CIA, Puerto Rico, and our closest allies. No mention of the loathsome dictators that are on his Rolodex.

  48. 48.

    Schlemazel

    @NotMax:
    We have a great cold cut buffet, its been a tradition for years. We get different meats and cheeses from a half dozen shops, each has their things they do better than anyone else. Not inexpensive now that we can afford it, in the past there were years where we settled either for fewer or cheaper bits. I think besides the hedonistic joy it is a case of hoping for good fortune in the coming year.

  50. 50.

    Anne Laurie

    @Sab:

    My last New Year out was about fifteen years ago. My city has a thing called First Night which is a non-drinking alternative.

    Yeah, we used to go to Boston’s First Night celebrations, when we moved here at the end of 1988. (That 1989 celebration was our introduction to Libana, still a favorite!) But, as you say, we’re all older and crankier today, also more susceptible to the bitter cold!

  51. 51.

    dmsilev

    My parents and I decided to go out to the theater, seeing a stage adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. Just as well; Boston is cold cold cold right now and doing outdoors NYE stuff would be a Bad Idea.

  52. 52.

    NotMax

    @Schlemazel

    There are quality cold cuts, there are snazzy cold cuts, and then there is the stuff we’ve all seen photos of that Dolt 45 lays out.

    Maybe Arpaio has shipped in some moldy bologna as a special centerpiece treat.

  53. 53.

    Mary G

    FDR and Eleanor watched new film “Casablanca” at the White House 75 years ago tonight—in part because he was secretly planning to go there to meet Churchill: pic.twitter.com/vungy6xEwe— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) December 31, 2017

    I’d make an exception and go to that if I had a time turner and invisibility cloak.

  55. 55.

    Ruckus

    @Roger Moore:
    Roger, it doesn’t either. I live 2 blocks from Colorado and 3 blocks from the start of the parade and I couldn’t care less about whatever hype there might be. I’ve come to the conclusion that life just repeats itself day after day. The only change is our perspective gets more jaded as we age. That and a lot of stuff hurts more.
    Last year I walked a good portion of the parade route till about 11. I was bored after the first 10 min. Now it’s possible that’s just on me, but it didn’t look like it. Unless you are under about 8 yrs old. See the first graph.

  57. 57.

    NotMax

    Best NotMax New Year’s ever? Hogmanay in Stonehaven, Scotland circa 1974 (and the seven days of celebrating following).

    Runner-up was having some recently married friends come in to NY for a visit and all of us attending an orchestral concert with laser light show of Holst’s “The Planets” at the theatre inside a hotel in Manhattan (must have been in ’80 or ’81). Concert ended a bit before 11:45 p.m. and we were brusquely shooed out the doors, directly into Times Square. Watching the play of emotions on the out-of-towner friends’ faces was an entertaining show in itself.

  60. 60.

    Steeplejack

    I used to host a regular New Year’s Eve party when I lived in Atlanta. Don’t remember how it got started. It was nice to get together with friends and then not have to drive home afterwards. Also Oscar-watching parties.

    But I haven’t been out on New Year’s Eve in ages. The housecat and I are spending a quiet evening at home. Currently 19° outside and going down to 12° overnight. I washed the sheets today, so we’ll be starting the new year in sheer luxury. Actually, I will, she won’t. I didn’t wash her faux sheepskin throw, which sits on top of the covers on her side of the bed.

  66. 66.

    Mnemosyne

    Not so fun New Year’s Eve discovery — the fucking ants are back in our bathtub drain. We probably need to have a plumber come out and snake it anyway because it’s also draining very slowly, which makes it even harder to drown the little fuckers.

    I hate ants.

  67. 67.

    hedgehog the occasional commenter

    The mr. and I are staying home with the kittehs. Pot roast and colcannon for dinner; we’ll look for a movie or whatever on Netflix. Currently binging Mythbusters. We’ll likely stay awake long enough to watch the ball drop with a Prosecco toast then crash. Freezing cold here so no wish to go out.

    And before I forget–Happy New Year, wonderful jackals! This is a true community and has helped me keep my sanity through this awful year. And I got to meet Miss Bianca IRL!

  70. 70.

    AliceBlue

    Mr. AliceBlue and I enjoyed a simple dinner (prepared by him) of pescado a la vasca (fish Basque style with snapper filets), sautéed brussells sprouts and yeast rolls. Homemade chocolate pound cake later on!

  71. 71.

    chris

    @Mnemosyne: Before you call the plumber put some dish detergent in the drain. Leave it while you boil a kettle full of water. Pour that in the drain. Let it sit while you boil another kettle. Pour that in and flush with hot water. HTH

  72. 72.

    Travels with Charley

    Happy new year balloon juice! Thank you all for being a sane voice in the chaos, and for a community that helps us all stay strong. ????

  78. 78.

    Beautifulplummage

    I stopped into a local brewpub where they’re celebrating new years in each time zone! Happy New Year to the Cape Verdi Islands! “clink” *sip*

  79. 79.

    mike in dc

    @Roger Moore: Well, I guess they can raise their concerns right after conviction, or perhaps after sentencing. The prospect of life behind bars can inspire people to take calculated risks. Paulie Walnuts can restart life somewhere in the Ozarks.

  84. 84.

    Steve in the ATL

    @eclare: great area! I grew up on Belleair, across from the Overton Park golf course, and played baseball for Evergreen as a small child.

  85. 85.

    Roger Moore

    @eemom:

    Why? What happens there?

    The entire Rose Parade route gets turned into a gigantic NYE party. The best part about it, IMO, is that it isn’t a huge event planned as a NYE bash. It’s just tens of thousands of people camping out waiting for the big event the next day and having fun while they wait.

  87. 87.

    Steve in the ATL

    @eclare: Midtown is lousy with raccoons. We even had a family of albino possums living under our guest house. Regular possums are ugly, but albinos? Wow.

  88. 88.

    eclare

    @Steve in the ATL: The old Sears tower is now open for business as Crosstown Concourse, and there are a lot of restaurants/businesses within walking distance. Evergreen is a great area…the name says it all. Of course when storms come through….make sure your phone is charged.

  90. 90.

    Tehanu

    @Sab: Back when I was a bank teller, about a thousand years ago, the answer would have been, “Oh, sure she can.” That’s because banks knew that everybody couldn’t break the habit of a whole year instantaneously and just expected last year’s date on at least half of all checks during the first couple of weeks of January. Don’t know if that’s true any more.

    Our NYE will probably consist of watching whatever we can find on TV that isn’t a conglomeration of B- and C-list celebrities giggling and freezing in Times Square and then going to bed at 12:05 am. And remembering glorious NYE’s of the ancient past, like the time we drove down to Long Beach to see the Clash, or the Western to see Los Lobos, or parties with Flash Cadillac in Colorado. The kids & grandkids are coming over tomorrow morning to watch the Rose Parade and have brunch, and then we may go to a friend’s annual New Year’s Day party. I’ve been on vacation and/or sick for most of December, so going back to work on Tuesday will be both difficult and a welcome return to routine, especially as we went to Amoeba yesterday and bought 8 CD’s (for $30!! a great shopping triumph!) for me to listen to on my commute – 2 Emerson String Quartet, Thompson Twins Greatest Hits, Clannad, John McLaughlin, 2 Mozart piano concertos I don’t already have, Aldo Ciccolini playing Satie, and Alfred Brendel playing the Appassionata & Emperor. Can’t wait!

  91. 91.

    N. M. Norton

    Raw oysters, a little caviar, a nice white, preceding spinach salad and Welsh Rarebit (pronounced rabbit), and awaiting 3 degrees here in the Ozarks. Happy New Year to all of you.

  92. 92.

    Roger Moore

    @Mnemosyne:

    That still doesn’t explain why I’m supposed to retroactively hate Hillary because he tweets in support of her.

    It doesn’t really make you hate her; it just gives people who already hate her one more excuse.

  94. 94.

    Raven

    @Roger Moore: Web had a great time down there both yesterday and today. I bought some ticket lanyards at $11 each and, somehow, the kid bagging our stuff up, forgot to put them in with our other stuff. He also put the wrong receipt in so I was so pleased when the guy running the show just said “he, we’re all in thid together” and gave me two more. I cooked up some collards and blackeye peas to eat between the parade and the game. We’ve decided to leave at 3:30 after one of the official guides urged us to do so. I can’t quite picture how they route you to the correct lot when you get off th freeway but I assume it will be tedious.

  95. 95.

    Ken

    @NotMax: Little weiners heated in cocktail sauce, plus pastrami rolled around pickle spears. Nothing but the best for your $600. Also you get one complementary glass of Cold Duck at midnight, rest of the evening is a cash bar.

  98. 98.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Steeplejack: The only thing I might disagree with is the necessity of moving to a DLSR, quite a few pros are moving to mirrorless(my cameras are mirrorless), they’re lighter* and there’s not a great drop-off in quality. I checked the specs on the SX60, not a bad starter camera, the advantage to the newer ones is that they shoot in 4k.

    *Being that I use my camera while hiking, this is a BIG deal.

  99. 99.

    Raven

    @Ruckus: You know I’m as cynical as it comes but this is combining something I love with something my bride loves and throwing in getting to see my family is making it great.

  100. 100.

    Mnemosyne

    @Roger Moore:

    It doesn’t really make you hate her; it just gives people who already hate her one more excuse.

    An excuse to berate me for being stupid because I don’t hate her the way they do, apparently.

    Ugh. Gin & Tacos loses his goddamned mind every time her name comes up, and refuses to see that he may be a wee bit deranged on the subject.

  106. 106.

    Mnemosyne

    @Raven:

    There are lots of oddball one-way streets in that part of Pasadena, so it’s best to go with the flow and follow directions on the ground. Have fun! We’ll be sitting on the couch in our jammies.

  108. 108.

    Raven

    @Steve in the ATL: Anfd we had a shot at the Cats but fell short. I’m hearing 50,000 Dawg Fans here for the tilt, we far outnumbered Sonner’s on Colorado today. One thing Roger hasn’t mentioned is the incredible number of great low riders and hot rods, fucking awesome!

  110. 110.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Mary G: I’m always at home as well. Can’t imagine being out there in such frigid weather for any reason. I had visiting friends come stay with me to attend President Obama’s inaugurations but preferred to watch on tv to avoid the cold and I freaking love President Obama.

  112. 112.

    Raven

    @Mnemosyne: Yea, I mean I assume we walk up Rosemont and then across one of the streets over the freeway. The seats are right and Colorado and Pasadena Way, about 25 feet in and on the third row. They are right on the street and no one if front of the bleachers so I’m thinking I need my 50mm fixed lens more than my telescopic.

  115. 115.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Cheryl Rofer: I wonder if he acknowledges that the majority of Americans are “haters”? Most of us didn’t vote for him and can’t stand him. Go Mueller!!

  116. 116.

    Roger Moore

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:
    The dropoff between mirrorless and DSLR is more or less gone. You have to get to the very high end before there’s much difference at all, and by the time somebody starting out today is thinking about that kind of gear the gap will have finished closing.

  117. 117.

    realbtl

    @Raven: Happy New Year Raven from another old fart, enjoy LA. Someday we should compare record collections and see which ones don’t match.

  119. 119.

    B.B.A.

    @Tehanu: Nowadays most checks are processed by computers that only pay attention to the dollar amount in the box and the account number on the bottom. Depositing it at an ATM should work. Giving it to a human to cash or deposit, now that might be problematic.

  120. 120.

    Steeplejack

    @eclare:

    For some reason the dripping isn’t bothering me. I can only hear (faintly) the faucet in the bathtub. Maybe it’s not an issue because the housecat has one of those drinking fountains that makes a little background water noise when it’s close to full, and I’m used to that.

    I wouldn’t be so obsessed about the possibility of the pipes freezing except that a couple of weeks ago, when we had another (lesser) cold snap here, I went to take a shower one day and there was no hot water—like no water at all came out when I turned the hot-water tap. Cold water worked fine. I couldn’t figure out what the problem was, and just as I was about to call the plumber the next morning I discovered the hot water was back on. I don’t know if a pipe froze and then thawed out or if there was some other cause, but it put “freezing pipes” into my consciousness. Never had that issue before in this building.

  123. 123.

    Roger Moore

    @Raven:
    Unless you like photographing pieces of float, you’re going to need something wide angle. The floats are big, and you’re going to be very close. I would probably bring my 24-70mm, and I might want something even wider for the largest floats.

  124. 124.

    Raven

    @realbtl: I actually got rid if all my vinyl a few years back. I can’t hear well enough for it to make any difference to it’s digi for me. Now the collection, that’s still happening.

  125. 125.

    Raven

    @eclare: They oughta be, they cost more than the game tickets. Anything for my baby, she’s really fired up. We went to the float construction area yesterday and would have done that but they don’t sell tix until 11 and we had other stuff to do.

  126. 126.

    Mnemosyne

    @eclare:

    All of the seats are set up on the sidewalk with the floats going down the middle of the street so, yeah, they’re pretty darn close. I think even the highest seats are still pretty close-up.

  129. 129.

    eclare

    @Steeplejack: I’ve been in this house since 2005, and I’ve never let the faucets drip before. But I don’t remember it ever getting this cold for more than maybe one night.

  136. 136.

    Roger Moore

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:
    It depends on what system you’re using. I’m using a full frame camera, so 24mm is pretty wide. I also have a 14-24, which I certainly would bring, too. If I had one, I would probably use a 16-35 as my primary lens.

  137. 137.

    Ruckus

    @Raven:
    I should have been clearer. I don’t have a problem with the parade itself and the Rose Bowl is a hoot to watch a game in, especially if you actually like the at least one of the teams.
    What I’m so cynical of is the night before the parade, and all the hype. And part of that is that I’ve done it so many times all the gee wiz is burned off. Also remember that I live here year round. The bars, the assholes on their loud bikes or in their loud cars at 1:30 am who have to impress everyone with their “greatness”, that have to park in the driveway to my apt…….
    IOW, I’ve lived here long enough now that the new has completely worn off and I’d like to move to someplace a bit more suited to my lack of lifestyle. But I’m sort of stuck because if I move out, my room mate has to as well. She’s loud enough that she likes it here.

  138. 138.

    eclare

    @Raven: Sounds like a perfect (but long) day, have fun! I’ve only been to one bowl game in my life for my school, but it was great fun. Adrenaline works wonders. And go Dawgs!

  141. 141.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @eclare: I’ve been to the Rose Bowl twice(the game, the stadium is UCLA’s home field) in 1986 and 1999. It’s really a fun event. I’ve seen the Parade once in 1980 and we stayed out on the street all night, I was in college and college kids don’t get cold(as long as enough booze is involved). I’ve gone up to see the floats after the Parade and that’s better than the Parade as far as seeing the floats.

  143. 143.

    Yutsano

    @Mnemosyne: From my perspective as a two time Rose Bowl Parade participant*, yes even the high bleachers are pretty close. They really only get tall close to where the main TV cameras are and even then they were 20 rows up. Which isn’t that tall.

    MASSIVE DISCLAIMER: this was over 20 years ago. It could be totally different now.

  144. 144.

    Roger Moore

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:
    I lived within shouting distance of the parade route for about 15 years, so I would go practically every year. It’s a lot more fun when you can sleep in your own bed, have a leisurely breakfast, and wander down to see the parade.

  145. 145.

    Ohio Mom

    We’re having a quiet evening at home, indistinguishable from any other quiet evening at home. Which is how I like it best. I outgrew NYE a long time ago.

    It will still be too cold tomorrow but the sun will finally be out for an extended time. I’m looking forward to that.

  147. 147.

    eclare

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but as an SEC alum, this is the first Rose Bowl that I am definitely going to watch. It does sound like a wonderful time, and the location is perfect…I may even watch the parade!

  150. 150.

    Ruckus

    @Mnemosyne:
    Raven’s seats go right down to the street and the bottom rows are where cars normally park. The first row is as close to being in the parade as possible. There is a walkway behind the stands for pedestrians but this is on a bridge and they can only go back as far as the sidewalk goes. All the other stands along the route don’t extend into the street, unless they’ve changed something but that’s not what I see on the start end of the parade.

  151. 151.

    Emerald (not Eme--somehow I deleted part of my nym)

    @Mnemosyne:
    I found ants in my salt the other day.
    No kidding. Ants in salt. They were dead (and probably well preserved). Can’t imagine how they could have become entrapped in my salt container. Maybe happened in the salt container factory?
    But there they were. Ants in salt.

  152. 152.

    Steeplejack

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Oops, my bad. I was using SLR as (sloppy) shorthand for “interchangeable lenses.” Didn’t think about the mirror thing. Agree with you completely there.

  155. 155.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    From what I’m reading the flyover this year(2018) will be slightly different, there will be the usual B-2 bomber AND it will be accompanied by everybody’s favorite plane here on Balloon Juice, a F-35.

    ETA: I hope to get pics from here in Beautiful Downtown Glendale.

  157. 157.

    satby

    Thin Man marathon on TCM? My idea of a perfect New Year’s eve. Think I’ll even have a glass of wine. I like to live on the edge.

  160. 160.

    dance around in your bones

    I got a new cat named Tim last night. Very affectionate and personable. The dogs rousted him today and he bolted from the house – gone all day and I was bereft.
    He came strolling in the door tonite at dusk and headed straight for his food bowl! Then cleaned himself most thoroughly and curled up and zonked out.

    It’s gonna be a Happy New Year after all !

  161. 161.

    Mnemosyne

    @Ruckus:

    The first row is as close to being in the parade as possible.

    Which is great right up until one of the many horses in the parade needs to take a dump … ??

    As previously mentioned, we will be watching the Parade on DVR from the comfort of our couch. We may even try to watch the Will Ferrell/Molly Shannon version, though I can’t remember which way it will be streaming.

  163. 163.

    Steeplejack

    @eclare:

    Ditto here. Been in this apartment five years, never even thought of dripping the faucets before, but this is definitely the coldest it has ever been for an extended stretch. Highs in the low 20s and lows around 10° this coming week. . . . Yikes! Just checked the forecast, and it says high of 19° and low of 6° on Friday. ¡Caramba!

  165. 165.

    Emerald (not Eme--somehow I deleted part of my nym)

    @Another Scott: Maybe, but if so, that deepens the mystery. The ants in this area are grease ants, not sugar ants. You can fling sugar around with abandon here and get no ants. Leave something greasy lying around however. . .

    Anyway the ants weren’t in the first part of my salt container. I had used a good third of the thing. Then I prepared a teaspoon of salt for a recipe and there were these little black things in it, and they were dead ants.

    I think it happened in the salt container factory. Very weird.

  166. 166.

    Mnemosyne

    @dance around in your bones:

    Hooray! Any day the cat comes back unharmed is the best day ever.

    I’ll repeat my cat story of the day from the thread below:

    Speaking of cats, I discovered that I somehow managed to lose a small piece of beef for tonight’s stew when I found it on the dining room carpet being gnawed on by one of our little obligate carnivores.

    I took it away from her and gave her crunchy treats instead, which she seemed to find an acceptable substitute.

  168. 168.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Roger Moore: A guy I took a workshop from went from Nikon to Sony. Instead of going from the D810 to the D850, he sold the glass and went to an A7RIII. Weight was one of the key factors; apparently he felt image quality was indistinguishable.

  170. 170.

    Shell

    Thin Man marathon on TCM? My idea of a perfect New Year’s eve. Think I’ll even have a glass of wine. I like to live on the edge

    LOVE the candy-striped dress Myrna Loy wears in the Christmas party scene.

    NYE definitely more enjoyable at home..at the very least not having to worry about drunks on the road.
    10 degrees here. Didn’t bother putting my little bottle of champagne in the fridge, just set i t on the front steps for a few hours.

  172. 172.

    No Drought No More

    Gates is lucky I’m not that judge, or last year would have been the very last News Years Eve he’d have ever celebrated as a free man. Especially in light of the continuing criminal assault by the republican party upon the rule of law in the United States*, I’d make an example of his contemptuous behavior by incarcerating his arrogant ass immediately, if not sooner.

    *Lest We Forget: Bush, Cheney, and Alberto Gonzalez, and need I say more?

  174. 174.

    Emerald (not Eme--somehow I deleted part of my nym)

    @dance around in your bones:

    Yay to you and Tim! My Emerald cat was a beautiful gray cat, medium hair, very loving. I have thought that my next cat will be a male and I will name him Timothy Cat.

    You beat me to it!

  175. 175.

    Mnemosyne

    @Shell:
    @satby:

    G’s favorite exchange is when Nick catches Nora in a bar where she shouldn’t be investigating on her own and she says, “I won’t go back to quarantine, I won’t!” and everyone shrinks from her.

  180. 180.

    Ruckus

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:
    It’s a lot smaller than I remember from seeing it on the ground.
    But then so is the SR71 and I’ve been up close enough to touch one on the ground and close enough on a flyby to be able to see the pilot’s face. Life is good some days.

  181. 181.

    Sab

    @Steve in the ATL: All opossums are white. How can you tell the albinos? They don’t actually have pink eyes, do they?

    I went to college with an albino guy. His eyes were an amazing color, sort of hazel but deep. Like looking into a river.

  182. 182.

    WaterGirl

    @dance around in your bones: Great to see you here tonight! Glad your scary kitty story had a built-in happy ending.

    It’s -2 here right now, and they are predicting -10 before morning. All this talk of dripping faucets is making me wonder if I should be doing that too???

    I am having a quiet NYE, as always. I am trying to get sick, so far holding my own at achy and stuffy and feeling puny, but not outright sick yet.

    Happy New Year, jackals!!

  184. 184.

    Mary G

    @Raven: Glad you guys are having fun out here. Those are the expensive seats so you will get the full effect.

    I decorated my company’s float a few times when they first got into the parade, but it’s not all that glamorous because at least when I was there it smelled strongly of industrial strength glue, completely overpowering the flowers and people were getting hysterical from lack of sleep.

  187. 187.

    WaterGirl

    lamh, if you’re here, I just want to say that you inspired me with talk of your family tradition of going into the New Year with the house clean and finances in order, etc. My house is clean and my finances are in as much order as they can be. Thanks for sharing your tradition with us.

    I am not drinking alcohol tonight because I am fighting off this bug, but the un-opened box of mint meltaways that I got for Christmas are calling my name. Probably eating a bunch of chocolate isn’t helpful if you’re trying to get a bug, either, huh? I just consoled myself with a bowl of homemade spicy vegetable soup, but it didn’t manage to drown out the call of the mint meltaways.

  192. 192.

    Emerald (not Eme--somehow I deleted part of my nym)

    @WaterGirl:

    Mint meltaways are always good for you. There cannot be a difficult situation that mint meltaways would not alleviate, especially chocolate ones. It’s something about the chemistry of mint meltaways.

    They are among the greatest, most beneficial things on earth.

  194. 194.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Sab:

    I don’t believe you.

    You sound like the union’s bargaining team when I tell them why we are offering a 1.5% increase!

  195. 195.

    BD of MN

    I was xmas gifted a Tokina 11-15 f2.8 lens for my Nikon D3400, primarily for aurora and space photography, and just looking at the geomagnetic numbers, tonight might have a chance at seeing some auroras. Too bad it’s going to be 20 fucking degrees below zero, and the full moon doesn’t help either… So instead, we’re in watching Disney movies with the grandkids..

  197. 197.

    Emerald (not Eme--somehow I deleted part of my nym)

    @WaterGirl:

    Mint meltaways are always good for you. There cannot be a difficult situation that mint meltaways would not alleviate.

    They are among the most beneficial things on earth.

  199. 199.

    laura

    @Major Major Major Major: seize the moment M/4!
    Oh, how I envy you you’re scappering off to see the queen.
    Spouse and I went to your City and WTF!11! With the road work?
    Happy New Year dear bj’rs in whichever location you reside.
    Special shout out to Raven-rock your dream, and keep us all in your pocket.
    Roll Tide, roll!

  200. 200.

    Jager

    New Years Eve is our Anniversary. I looked at my wife about 2 this afternoon, we agreed to cancel our dinner reservation. I drove to the store got a couple of bacon wrapped filets from the butcher. A nice bottle of cab. A slab of marble cake and a hot loaf of french bread. Bought her some roses too. She napped, I cut wood, started a fire in the wood burner and watched some football. I’m finally going to take a shower and start dinner. Quiet night up in the canyon. Hopefully 2018 is going to be a hell of a lot better than 17!

    BTW, Mrs. J and I went to a charity event at Mar-a-Lago years ago…it’s a tacky shit hole.

  201. 201.

    Roger Moore

    @WaterGirl:

    Maybe Mueller can just arrest the lot of them as they leave the NYE party.

    Maybe Kim Jong Un can do us a favor and nuke Mar-a-Lago.

  202. 202.

    dance around in your bones

    Thanks Mnem and eclare and Watergirl and Emerald – all’s well that ends well and Tim is looking mighty relaxed ATM. I’m glad I didn’t have to get stuck in gloomy mode …. he purrs like a dynamo.

    Doubt I’ll make it to midnight with that soundtrack ;)

  207. 207.

    Steeplejack

    @WaterGirl:

    All this talk of dripping faucets is making me wonder if I should be doing that too?

    I would think that in central Illinois you wouldn’t have to worry about it. When my family lived in North Dakota when I was in college they never worried about it. Construction standards are set to the expected.

    Eclare is in Memphis, and I’m in NoVA. Neither place is it “expected” to have these low temps for an extended period of days.

  208. 208.

    BD of MN

    I’m actually hoping this sort of weather will repeat itself come Super Bowl time, I wish to revel is the frozen salty tears of the out of towners that overpay for everything only to not be able to breathe outside…

  209. 209.

    Ruckus

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:
    My SR-71 stories.
    Fly by happened in Valencia, early 90s. Talking with a customer in my shop and we hear this loud noise. He says it’s the SR-71, I call bullshit. I was wrong. We go outside and about 5 miles to the south east is an SR-71 in a big turn to the north west. We watch it fly along for not very long and then it lines up straight down the high tension power line alley that is about 50 ft from where we are standing. He’s flying at what looks like stall speed, turns hard right to due north with us looking down the exhaust at about 200 feet off the ground, hits full throttle and afterburner and flies over the skunk works, cutting the throttle just in time to not go supersonic. It was the day they officially retired the SR-71. (The skunk works was about 4-5 miles north of me) The fly by was a tribute to Kelly Johnson.
    Close up at Wright-Paterson AFB museum. No rope barriers, walk right up and touch it. That was about 6 yrs later.

  212. 212.

    WaterGirl

    @Steeplejack: Thanks, Steep. I have been keeping the heat warmer than I like at night – I like 63 in the winter – because I thought that might help with the pipes issue. But damn, having the heat at 67 at night sucks and the heat coming on wakes me up. I had frozen pipes in a rental house here once decades ago, and it was a truly awful experience.

    @Roger Moore: That totally works for me.

  214. 214.

    Ruckus

    @Jager:

    it’s a tacky shit hole.

    No difficult to believe at all. The owner is a tacky shit asshole and likes to put his mark on everything.

  215. 215.

    Jackie

    @WaterGirl: Only if your kitchen sink or anything hooked up to water lines is on an outside wall. If so, it also helps to open under-sink cabinets to let indoor heat warm plumbing.

  216. 216.

    Gelfling 545

    Finished an early dinner with my sister’s family at 9 and am now settling down to watch the Doctor regenerate. Happy New Year to all. Let’s spend 2018 making Trump regret he ever ran for president.

  218. 218.

    WaterGirl

    @Jackie: Very helpful advice, thanks! The only thing that’s on an outside wall is the hookup for the washer/dryer. Washer and dryer are both front-loading so I have the washer and dryer doors open. Hopefully that will be enough? I did a couple of loads of laundry earlier today – not sure if that helps or hurts.

  219. 219.

    Steeplejack

    @Ruckus:

    I lived on Okinawa 1967–69. The flight line at Kadena Air Base was just over the ridge from our housing area. B-52s, tankers, AWACS and contract commercial jets taking off at all hours of the day and night. You could look west and see the planes heading out over the ocean after takeoff. The B-52s kind of lumbered and looked like they would never gain altitude.

    The SR-71 had a distinctive (loud!) engine roar, so sometimes you could hear when one was about to take off. You could look west and see it shoot out from behind the ridge on full afterburner and head out to sea on the same line as the B-52s, and then it would just go nose up and shoot straight up into the sky and out of sight.

    SR-71 Blackbird takeoff and other shots (not at Kadena).

    Blackbird landing at Kadena, 1989. Finally puts down at 3:15 in the video.

    Highway 1, the main road on the island, went right between the seashore and the end of the runway complex, and when planes took off or landed they would pass about 150 feet above the cars on the road. Impressive to see a B-52 coming in that close, but when a Blackbird was coming in all four lanes of traffic would stop and people would just marvel at it.

  221. 221.

    Jackie

    @WaterGirl: If your washer waterline is on outside wall, wrap a thick towel around it. And, yes, keeping washing machine door open will help. Good luck! And, Happy Warmer New Year!

  222. 222.

    Ruckus

    @Steeplejack:
    I can sure believe that. My customer was a plane nut, more so than me obviously, and I can’t remember but I don’t recall getting any work done the rest of the day. It was a very impressive sight and sound, the pilot looked over at us just as he turned to the right to hit afterburner. I think he planned that way once he saw us. I’ve watched catapult launches and while very impressed, I don’t think anything beats that day.

  223. 223.

    Steeplejack

    @Ruckus:

    [. . .] the pilot looked over at us just as he turned to the right to hit afterburner. I think he planned that way once he saw us.

    Oh, hell, yes! Those guys were the biggest hot dogs. All the jet jockeys were, but can you imagine being an F-4 Phantom driver and then this guy comes in and says, “How d’you like my ride?”

  226. 226.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Steeplejack: They are flown by army guys. They will stay and try to do their job. Apaches are good things for people who need close support.

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