Got my great-grandma’s old fountain pen back from the restoration place. It works:
Speaking of the treason-weasel, I’m mildly surprised (and pleased!) at how elected Democrats are savaging him on Twitter for dropping the Nunes memo. I cited usually mild-mannered Senator Bill Nelson’s tweet earlier. Here are a couple more:
This is Putin’s fantasy come to life. If he had created a Manchurian candidate, he couldn’t have dreamed that his operative would be so effective at destroying our defenses from within. #PutinsPuppet pic.twitter.com/KkGKiyLqiA
— Jackie Speier (@RepSpeier) February 2, 2018
.@realDonaldTrump has surrendered his constitutional responsibility as Commander-in-Chief by releasing Nunes’ unredacted, classified memo. His decision undermines our national security and is a bouquet to his friend Putin. pic.twitter.com/kdUgIrCE6l
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) February 2, 2018
Good for them.
What are y’all up to this weekend? I think hubby and I are going to ride motorcycles out in the country tomorrow since the weather is fine. Then Superb Owl party on Sunday.
Open thread!
TenguPhule
Our new Nuclear Position, Ladies and germs.
But Hillary was the Warmonger. //
Baud
In before, where are the Dems?!
Raven
I’m making a big Philly Italian meal for the game!
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
Sometimes it freaks me out to think how bad things might be if Dear Leader and his asskissers were marginally competent. We’re lucky beyond belief that these assholes are as stupid and incompetent as they are. Did I say stupid? They’re stupid, stupid, stupid. They’re like oysters, or maybe starfish. They’re as dumb as a bag of hammers and twice as slow. Also, too, they aren’t too awful smart.
Baud
BTW, the fountain pen adds some class to the opprobrium.
efgoldman
I’m really impressed by Nancy SMASH and other leading Dems not pulling any punches.
Now if they could only shoot their way in to the Sunday Showz and take the producers and hosts hostage….
Gin & Tonic
It’s 17 degrees and falling rapidly, so screw you and your motorcycles.
Gin & Tonic
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): Oysters are at least good eatin’.
Baud
@TenguPhule: Susan Sarandon regrets nothing!
Shana
Love the fountain pen.
I’m making chicken and noodles, green beans, challah and glazed cherry bundt cake for shabbos dinner. I think our Kaine campaign staffer will join us for dinner. She’s previously worked for Hillary and Ossoff, and is lovely. I hardly see her, of course, but I think she’ll be a nice addition to the household until Election Day.
Hubby may be travelling on Sunday so I’ll likely go see Hidden Threads Sunday since I don’t like football and can see all the ads online Monday.
different-church-lady
I’m so old I can remember when mishandling classified documents disqualified you from being president.
Gin & Tonic
@Raven: Amateurs think it’s cheesesteaks. Real Philadelphians know it’s roast pork with broccoli rabe and provolone.
different-church-lady
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): Kelp.
Robert Sneddon
@TenguPhule: The warheads on submarine-launched ballistic missiles are typically in the 200ktonne to 500 ktonne range. Any plans to replace them with smaller weapons in the 20-50ktonne range suggests that targetting accuracy and reliability has been improved — getting a smaller warhead to within a couple of metres of its intended hypocentre is better than directing a larger weapon to within a few hundred metres of its intended ignition point. For one thing it means less collateral damage around the target. I don’t see that as necessarily a bad thing although any use of SLBMs are strategic, i.e. there’s an all-out world-spanning nuclear war starting with thousands of weapons being fired off when the subs come close to the surface and start emptying launch tubes.
The problem with deploying nuclear-capable SLCMs is that the Other Side can’t be sure that any SLCM launch they detect is non-nuclear until it goes off and that raises the stakes somewhat[1]. SLCMs have been used by quite a few nations but only a few countries are thought to have nuclear-armed SLCMs deployed — Israel is one of them, offering them a local-area second-strike capability without the cost and problems of deploying SLBM systems.
[1]There was a bit in the Clancy thriller “Red Storm Rising” when American subs fire cruise missiles into Soviet territory. The Kremlin almost panics thinking it’s part of a nuclear decapitation strike although the missiles are conventionally armed to attack Soviet Naval Aviation bases around Murmansk.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
So, what, we don’t get a shot of the pen itself? I want to see it. I love fountain pens.
Major Major Major Major
I had a short story rejected yesterday (from a no-simultaneous-submissions place), which was a bummer, but I sent it off to three more right after, one of which I’m hopeful about and will probably get back to me in a couple weeks. Gotta make sure I don’t get antsy and just send it out to a bunch of token-rate places in the next few months… ?
Otherwise I plan to sleep this weekend and quite possibly eat food as well. Quite an exhausting week!
debbie
@efgoldman:
Not pulling punches is the only way to deal with Trump.
Mnemosyne
I have a writers group meeting tomorrow, and I need to really start working on revising my next two chapters. I keep psyching myself out, though. ?
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
As an aside, is there any public record of a FISA warrant for Carter Page in 2014? I’ve heard for months now that the F.B.I. was snooping on him since 2014, but I haven’t seen any official acknowledgement of that. That seems to be what Trump asskissers are hanging their objections on. I assume that normally the F.B.I. wouldn’t make something like this public, but under the circumstances, I can understand why proof of this might leak out.
Mike J
Mnemosyne
@Major Major Major Major:
Useful rejection or curt rejection? “Useful” would be one that actually gives a little feedback.
JMG
Tomorrow. Buy food and drink for Super Bowl party. Menu: Turkey and black bean chili, fruit salad, roasted chickpeas with a Middle Eastern spice blend. Baked oyster crackers coated with a little chili powder and ranch dressing mix. Chips and salsa. Beer, wine, diet soda (several non-drinkers in the crowd. Fortunately, our back porch has a view of the TV so they won’t miss any action if they go out there to smoke weed).
Sunday: Clean house for party. Have party. Trump for some reason didn’t want to do the now-traditional pregame interview with the network’s news anchor, seeing as it’s Lester Holt this year. So we got that going for us.
Adam L Silverman
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): Here you go:
washingtonexaminer.com/former-trump-adviser-carter-page-under-fisa-warrant-since-2014-report/article…
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Major Major Major Major: Send the thing right back out. Don’t let it sit in the house overnight. That’s my motto.
Major Major Major Major
@Mnemosyne: curt, of course.
I understand Zyzzyva’s standard rejection contains a coupon/postcard saying “my ego isn’t too bruised to not subscribe to Zyzzyva for 50% off the cover price”.
different-church-lady
@Mnemosyne: To reinforce, a small tale.
I applied for a grant last year at this time and got declined. A friend who works in arts administration said, “Call them up and ask why, get feedback!”
Me, being shy to a fault, kept putting it off, until the same grant came up this year. I mustered up my courage, despite the embarrassment of having waited so long.
The end result is the knowledge that it’s unlikely that we’ll get the funding this year either, but the feedback was invaluable, in that it reinforced my view of what was important about the project and my suspicions about which aspects needed strengthening. It’s going to be a better film for the feedback, even if I never do get funding.
rikyrah
They need to drop the Demorcratic Reply Memo.
NOW
And every last Dem, when getting in front of a camera needs to say Republican equals Treason against the United States of America.
debbie
@Major Major Major Major:
I wonder how many of those coupons are redeemed. Zero, I hope.
different-church-lady
@rikyrah: You get a memo! And YOU get a memo! EVERYBODY gets a memo!
Betty Cracker
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): Here it is:
It’s a 1940s-era Eversharp Skyline.
Mnemosyne
@Major Major Major Major:
It’s not necessarily “of course.” Some editors do send a few words along with the rejection.
The biggest thing I’ve read is that if the rejection says “this does not fit our needs,” then they’re not actually saying anything about the merits of the story. They’re just saying it won’t fit with what they publish or already have in the pipeline.
Baud
Why does Ari have Bill Kristol on? Ugh.
Major Major Major Major
@debbie: one of the places I sent it to yesterday gave me a coupon for submitting!
Calouste
@TenguPhule: When you run a protection racket, you want to beat up a place bad enough that they know you are serious, but not so bad that they go out of business. Unless of course they still refuse to pay. That’s how the shitgibbon sees nukes.
Major Major Major Major
@Mnemosyne: it was a depressive/pessimistic “of course”, I am aware that sometimes people are helpful to each other.
Mnemosyne
@debbie:
@Major Major Major Major:
It may also be a hint to read a few issues before submitting again. You’d be surprised how many people submit science fiction to magazines that never publish that kind of story, or vice versa. Unless you are already famous, they will not make an exception to their editorial policy for you.
@different-church-lady:
I recently entered a writing contest specifically because I will get a score sheet back regardless of how well or badly I do. I’m hoping that will give me some useful guidance even if I don’t place in the contest.
H.E.Wolf
@Betty Cracker:
Gorgeous! Where did you send it for its restoration?
Baud
So Nunes didn’t read the FISA documents. He got Gowdy to do it and bring back notes.
Betty Cracker
@Gin & Tonic: There are some perks to living in America’s largest open air insane asylum.
Mnemosyne
@Major Major Major Major:
I’m still annoyed that the editor from Avon who told me to cut my prologue turned out to be right. Bitch. ?
Mnemosyne
@Baud:
Nunes doesn’t have the proper security clearances to read the documents, but he wrote a memo criticizing them anyway. ?
Betty Cracker
@H.E.Wolf: A place called Pentiques in Arizona. They seem to have done a fine job at a reasonable price.
hueyplong
The Manchurian Candidate tweet gets an A for thought process and an F for execution.
Everyfuckingbody knows the red queen in the movie is the Queen of Diamonds, not the Queen of Hearts.
The horror. The horror.
dmsilev
@Mnemosyne: If you want lots of feedback on your writing, may I suggest academia? The last paper I submitted came back with 15 close-spaced pages worth of “feedback” from the reviewers and editor. Of course, a lot of it was nonsense and we wrote about 20 pages in response explaining in loving detail why (didn’t work. Sigh.), but we got feedback.
Major Major Major Major
@Mnemosyne: there’s just no pleasing you. No feedback you get mad, helpful correct feedback you get mad…
Josie
@Mnemosyne: Did you get your entry sent in for the writers’ contest?
TenguPhule
@different-church-lady:
I’m so old I remember when adultery and lying about it was grounds for impeachment.
TenguPhule
@Mnemosyne:
ETA: Lies, Damned Lies, Devin Nunes.
Mnemosyne
@Josie:
Yes! Now I’m quietly driving myself nuts with the waiting, because the first round results won’t be announced until 3/10. Argh.
Ruckus
@Raven:
Interesting piece I saw on the BBC website. The picture of a general shooting a suspected Viet Cong, the story is about the photographer. Considering the anniversary a couple of days ago it seemed appropriate.
Mary G
Devin doesn’t seem to realize that the gun in his hand is pointed down at his own foot. His local paper, the Fresno Bee, not known for its liberal editorial slant, wrote an oped the other day calling him “Trump’s Stooge.”
Adam L Silverman
@dmsilev: I once submitted an article using a poisson model. Why did I use this model, because I had small n non-linear data and the guy that wrote the SAGE methods manual on what to do with small n non-linear data told me to use it. Which I indicated in the operations and methods section. I got back three reviews each with a different suggested method, all of which were wrong/not methodologically sound give that I had small n non-linear data, and the arguments why I needed to. Not one of the reviews actually explained why the method I was using was wrong. They just asserted it. As you can imagine the article was rejected. About six months later I quit academia and went to work for the Army. I figured Iraq would be more enjoyable than writing stuff for peer review that the reviewers weren’t actually going to bother reading.
Adam L Silverman
Well this looks like fun:
Felanius Kootea
@Major Major Major Major: I hate no-simultaneous submissions places. Drags things out.
PPCLI
So the Dow dropped 665 points today. 2.54%. I guess the markets hate that stupid memo. Somebody should ask DT about it.
PPCLI
@Adam L Silverman: Sounds fishy to me.
Mandalay
This happy story is not getting nearly enough attention and deserves an OP:
And not so excellent news for Gov. Scott’s plan to run for the Senate. He’s now in a Catch-22; he can bust his ass to maintain the status quo so felons can’t vote against him in 2018 and run as the candidate who spits at the law and the Constitution, or he can allow felons to vote so that his opponent gets an extra 1.5 million votes. Sweet.
And let’s never forget who was the staunchest supporter of that vile policy……………………..Jeb!
Ruckus
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.):
How do you really feel?
BTW I’m in agreement with you. But, a bag of hammers has at least some purpose in life, some rational for it’s existence. Comparing this lot to something with some value is over the top, this lot has massive negative value, to those that recognize it as well as those who don’t. IOW no one actually benefits from this, not one single person on earth. They might think they do, they might act like they do, but they really don’t.
Cermet
I’m so old, I remember when people talked about losing the presidency while winning the popular vote had only happen once bnearly one hundred years ago.
Gin & Tonic
@Ruckus: One of the most famous photos of the war, it haunted Eddie Adams, a thoughtful and reflective photographer. Guy was a Leica man.
Starfish
@Betty Cracker: What type of ink did you get?
satby
@Gin & Tonic: Hello from Surin, Thailand, where the 60° weather is making the natives and the Brits miserable and me relieved!
We cross the border into Cambodia later this morning. Then five days of “English camp” as volunteers in local schools for the kids to practice and hear native English speakers. I promise lots of pictures for Alain’s morning thread when I get home. Reading the memo news from afar makes me relieved to miss all the drama.
Spanky
Folks may remember way back to yesterday when I declared the memo would never be released. Well, I was wr…. Uh, I was wroooo….
Anyway, I’ve seen quite a lot of TS//NOFORN stuff, and have plenty of experience around the FISA laws. And now that the world has seen it in its declassified form, I can render my opinion that that original TS/NF classification is pure bullshit. The info it is more or less derived from is probably true TS/NF, but this cherry-picked crap is so far out in left field as to be useless – and totally UNCLASS.
And yeah, now that it has been released, the howler monkeys will provide plenty of cover, dutifully screaming for Trump to “clean house”. At this point I don’t expetc the msm to provide any pushback to that, either.
I think this weekend’s talking heads shows will serve as a good gauge as to which way the msm will go with this.
(((CassandraLeo)))
@Baud: Kristol has actually been talking a surprising amount of sense these past couple of years. I think Twitler’s reawakening of neo-Nazis may have served as a wake-up call to him (see also: Rubin, Jennifer, and to a lesser extent, Boot, Max).
Major Major Major Major
@Felanius Kootea: they were quick about it (three weeks) or else I wouldn’t have sent it there.
Adam L Silverman
@PPCLI: Well played.
(((CassandraLeo)))
@Mandalay: This is a strong contender for being the best news I’ve read this year, honestly. (As a FL resident I’m probably somewhat biased, admittedly.)
Brachiator
Even John McCain has piped in:
Adam L Silverman
@Spanky: Agreed. As I wrote in the previous post:
TenguPhule
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.):
Starfish crack oysters through sheer dumb endurance. Just saying.
TenguPhule
@Mandalay: Appeal to the SC, decision stayed.
That seems to be the GOP playbook this election.
different-church-lady
@Cermet: In six out of the last seven presidential elections, the Democrat has gotten more votes than the Republican. Yet in only four was the Democrat seated.
Six out of the last seven.
Bill Arnold
Rude-pundit’s bizarro-Brooks column:
David Brooks’s Latest Column on Abortion, Corrected
Decent work. (And not rude, FWIW.) Wondering how we could scale up use of this sort of thing for filter-bubble-bypassing/surprising validators.
Also, a call-out to Cheryl and/or Adam for a opinions (if any) on this cluster of reports today: The Pentagon Is Afraid to Give Trump More Military Options on North Korea
JPL
Not sure if this has been mentioned but it appears that Trump appointed the husband of a household staff member to the EPA, cuz why not
politico.com/story/2018/02/02/trump-household-aide-government-job-386727
Experience is no longer required for government positions.
“Kopec previously ran a contracting business from his home in Haskell, N.J., called Steve’s Tools in Motion“
Our own Ozark is better qualified.
Betty Cracker
@Starfish: Sailor blue-black.
TenguPhule
@JPL:
That became true the moment Ted Cruz became head of the DOE.
Felanius Kootea
@Major Major Major Major: Oh that’s pretty good! On feedback, the first time I got a written rejection from my dream publication, I danced and shared it with everyone I knew. It said “We’re sorry to say that this manuscript is not right for us, but know that we admire your writing and hope to see more of your fiction soon.”
I’ve never submitted there again but it beat the previous two times (no response whatsoever for three months which they said meant rejection).
dmsilev
@Adam L Silverman: Yeah, “reviewer completely misses the point, possibly intentionally” is an occupational hazard. One of my coauthors on that paper was convinced that at least one of the referees had a personal vendetta against him. The first draft of the response was …fiery.
(Samples: “This passage exposes yet another facets of the illiteracy of the author of the Referee #2’s report “, “Conclusion: The Referee’s statement evidences his zero competence in the subject.”, and “IT LOOKS LIKE WHATEVER BRANCH OF PHYSICS IS TAKEN, REFEREE #2 IS EQUALLY UNECQUAINTED WITH EVERY EACH OF THEM.”. Repeat for ~20 pages. I spent off-and-on a month rewriting the damn thing so it wouldn’t get thrown out the window 5 seconds after the editor opened the file. )
dmsilev
@TenguPhule: Rick Perry. Ted Cruz is still infecting the Senate.
JPL
@TenguPhule: I edited but we would be better served by Ozark. This guys business was Steve’s tools in motion.
Josie
@Mnemosyne: I’m right there with you. I won’t get results until possibly May. It will be worth all the bittten fingernails, however, to get a critique from an actual professional who is not a relative. Let me know when you hear something. You may not realize it, but you have inspired me to keep going on this path.
TenguPhule
@dmsilev: Gah! Confused those Texas assholes again.
ETA: And the year is young. Ted Cruz may yet take over either Education or Energy.
Betty Cracker
@Mandalay: Indeed, it’s excellent news, and I hope it gives momentum to the ballot initiative for automatic rights restoration. I spent many a day accosting strangers in public places to help get enough signatures for that initiative. That ain’t easy for an introvert!
Ruckus
@Gin & Tonic:
I’d say it was the most famous. But the article shows the photos leading up to it. I’d never seen those, and it somehow changes what happened. Not in a good or bad way, just changes it.
Steve in the ATL
@Major Major Major Major: a literary journal split an infinitive?
I weep for our future.
chopper
@PPCLI:
dang. used to be, an almost 700 point drop in the Dow was news.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@satby: That sounds wonderful. You are correct that the drama has been taxing.
The Lodger
@Adam L Silverman: The story needed more of a hook, though.
different-church-lady
@chopper: Oh, it’s news.
Ruckus
@chopper:
Used to be that a 700 point drop was a much more significant percentage.
I used to have hair. We didn’t have an absolute moron as president.
Things change.
(((CassandraLeo)))
@Bill Arnold: The Rude Pundit is really only particularly rude by liberals’ standards. Given that the other side has folks like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh, to name the first two examples that come to mind, that’s really not saying much. The Rude Pundit is pretty much always worth reading, though. In addition to being frequently hilarious, he knows his shit.
Humdog
@Betty Cracker: Thank you so much for braving the strangers and doing the voter registration.
Thinking of you as I finally get comfy while sick, two rescue dogs by my side, and one of them starts farting serious SBDs. Not boxers, but could give them a run in a gas off contest. Sorry that farting dogs make me think of you and Daisy. ; )
chopper
@Ruckus:
back in 2016 it would have been bigger news. can’t for the life of me figure out what’s different from then…
Ruckus
@chopper:
Yeah, some days………….
(((CassandraLeo)))
@Steve in the ATL: Meh, not splitting infinitives is a rule invented by prescriptivists applying Latin grammar rules to English, like (IIRC) not ending sentences with prepositions (arrant nonsense up with which I will not put). If split infinitives are good enough for Gene Roddenberry, they’re good enough for me.
different-church-lady
@(((CassandraLeo))): The Rude Pundit seemed much ruder when he started out, because the entire world had not yet been turned into a potty-mouth.
Major Major Major Major
@Steve in the ATL: the quotation marks were for convenience, not to indicate a direct quote ?
TenguPhule
Via Wapo.
Gravenstone
@TenguPhule: Wrong Texas based moron. Perry.
TenguPhule
@Gravenstone: I am ashamed I keep confusing those two low tumbrel numbers.
Mike in NC
Fat Bastard wondered aloud several times during the campaign about “why have nuclear weapons if you can’t use them”? Now they’ll be smaller and more numerous. Nothing could possibly go wrong there.
Jeffro
Wow, the Ds are really firing for effect! Nice to see this
(((CassandraLeo)))
@different-church-lady: Good point. His style hasn’t changed much in the past 15 years, while the Internet as a whole (really, society as a whole, probably) has gotten much ruder. Apart from his more frequent usage of salty language, his blog doesn’t really read much differently in tone from the median politics blog these days. (The content is usually much better informed than the median blog’s, though.)
JPL
If you want to end the day on a good note, here is Michelle’s speech before school counselors.
cbsnews.com/live/video/20180202161834-happening-now-michelle-obama-speaks/
efgoldman
@Gin & Tonic:
Weenie. How long you lived in New England?
[I haven’t gone out much, either. I can always claim age and disability]
Major Major Major Major
@Steve in the ATL: @(((CassandraLeo))): also what Cassandra said.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Gin & Tonic: It’s over 80 here today.
(((CassandraLeo)))
@Major Major Major Major: I assume you meant to link this comment, but thanks for the support. :p
Olivia
It will be below zero or a little above all weekend and there is a huge disruption going on in our metro area, some stupid ass football game, I think. So I will do what I always do when it is super cold or when there are too many strangers milling about. Stay indoors in my nice warm football free home.
efgoldman
@Ruckus:
You’re old enough to have seen it when it was published, as I am. I never forgot it. It may be the single thing that turned me against the war; straw, camel, etc
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Betty Cracker: I thought that was South Carolina.
RobertDSC-iPhone 6
I can envision Hunter-Killers using SLCMs, but not boomers. That seems like a waste of the platform given the specialty of running silent and deep.
Mandalay
@TenguPhule:
Well in the PDF of the Order the judge states:
Let’s see what Kommandant Scott’s next move is.
ET
I love that someone in Minnesota took out a billboard purporting to be from God telling her No (in response to her leaving it up to God on whether she should run for the Senate.)
Olivia
@ET: Aside from a collection of nutjobs in the 6th, NOBODY in Minnesota wants her to run.
Miss Bianca
@TenguPhule: You should tweet this to that twatwaffle Susan Sarandon.
ETA: I see that Baud! got there before me. What else is new!
Ruckus
@efgoldman:
I was indeed old enough. Already 1A and very worried about the draft. I was already against the war, but like others thought that the penalty for fighting the draft was rather severe. I took the “easy” way out. 50 yrs later, I find that the only perk that really counted, the VA, was worth it. Sure I have stories to tell and got to travel to interesting lands, didn’t get shot or blown up. Details baby, details.
Ruckus
@Miss Bianca:
Is that a nice thing to say?
OK in this case, yes, yes it is.
Major Major Major Major
@(((CassandraLeo))): hey, I never claimed to be good at internet.
efgoldman
@(((CassandraLeo))):
Funny, every time I hear one in a Trek script, it’s like a little teeny knife
(((CassandraLeo)))
@efgoldman: I’ve been watching Trek (well, mostly The Next Generation, more specifically) since before I knew anyone thought that was a rule, so I can’t imagine the opening any other way.
J R in WV
@Gin & Tonic:
I fried me some oysters last night, floated in egg and cream, then rolled in panko crumbs; I fixed scallops for the wife, who doesn’t care for the shellfish much. With French sparkling white wine. It was good, as the sleet landed on the solarium by the kitchen/dining space. Winter here too.
Betty, that motorcycling in the cool Florida piney woods sounds good, though. Come last April and May I think I’ll get Dad’s old roadster back on the road – it will need new license stickers and an inspection, as I didn’t get it on the road last summer.
You be careful on those iron horses, now!!!
ETA fix it up a little bit.
Gin & Tonic
@J R in WV:
So, um, when did you break the news to her?
Steve in the ATL
@(((CassandraLeo))): @Major Major Major Major: I actually came around to that position last year. Fuck these Latin scholars trying to fit our square peg language into their round holes. Was a difficult transition for me, but I’m doing ok. Much like the first time I wore a shirt with a collar that didn’t button down.
(((CassandraLeo)))
@Steve in the ATL: I have a severe pedantic streak, so I know your pain. At the same time, I also feel like grammar rules should match actual usage, at least to a reasonable extent, and it’s never been common usage to not split infinitives.
(Along similar lines, of course, AAVE is a separate dialect – judging it by standard English grammar rules is just pedantic elitism.)
Of course, I have personal stake in the fight against prescriptivism, since prescriptivists have long hated singular “they”, despite its common usage dating back at least as far as Shakespeare and Chaucer. And, of course, singular “they” is the only pronoun I’ve ever seen for my gender identity that isn’t a complete eyesore.
Miss Bianca
@Mary G:
Really? O, really? (Now I’m like the dog in the Far Side cartoon – “CAT FUD”!)
Miss Bianca
@satby: What an amazing-sounding gig! I must have missed where you first posted about it, but that sounds so cool! Please tell us (well, me anyway!) more!
H.E.Wolf
@Betty Cracker:
I’m just now getting back online, but if you see this, thank you very much for the information!
J R in WV
@Gin & Tonic:
Yeh, well, OK. She doesn’t like SOME shellfish. She also likes crabs and lobster. But not mussels, clams, or oysters.
I gave up clams myself after getting a bad one up in New England some time back and having a bad case of empty out disease over night in Maine, on vacation. I got over it the next day, but still, horrific images of clams winking at me from between my toes as I emptied out. But still oysters, really everything but clams.
Joints with menus of oysters, which bay each oyster comes from, fabulous. And Wife gets crabs or scallops.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@J R in WV:
@Miss Bianca: Thank you both for your kind comments about my time lapse, I’ll take an auxiliary battery pack next time(I have one in my car). I’ll try the 12mm next time, even though the glass is much heavier.
JGabriel
Jackie Speier via Betty Cracker @ Top:
If?
PlaneCrazy
Lovely Skyline! I’m particularly fond of vintage Sheaffers.
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