Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

Let there be snark.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

Trumpflation is an intolerable hardship for every American, and it’s Trump’s fault.

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

’Where will you hide, Roberts, the laws all being flat?’

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

Every decision we make has lots of baggage with it, known or unknown.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty. ~Thomas Jefferson

I really should read my own blog.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Dolt 45 / Open Thread: On the Lighter (Than Air) Side…

Open Thread: On the Lighter (Than Air) Side…

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Trump is setting a bad example for the next generation of pampered Republican idiots…

… Just this month, the president and campus coordinator for Turning Point USA at Kent State University announced her resignation, claiming the national organisation had lied about the incident to the press and left her to clean up the fallout on her own.

“As of right now, I am in disbelief at how I went from being so upbeat, enthusiastic, and passionate about this organisation to being disgusted, frustrated, and embarrassed to have invested my entire senior year into an organisation founded by a college dropout who hires some of the most incompetent, lazy, and downright dishonest people I have ever encountered,” wrote former president Kaitlin Bennett in her scathing letter of resignation…

According to Ms Bennett, the event itself went swimmingly. Other students thought the person wearing the diaper was “so funny,” she said, that they even stopped to point and laugh. At a speaking engagement the next day, Mr Kirk even congratulated her personally on the chapter’s activism…

Ms Bennett said she tried to defend herself, lashing out at the other groups in Facebook posts. That’s when she got a call from Turning Point’s chief operational officer, Tyler Bowyer.

During their conversation, Ms Bennet says Mr Bowyer told her that the diaper incident was inappropriate because it “gave the left a lot of ammo to take these pictures and make memes out of them”.

“It’s not funny,” Ms Bennet said the COO told her. “Nothing about this is funny. Now every time Charlie [Kirk] tweets they tweet back pictures of him in a diaper.”…

.

Because Donny Dollhand’s a spoilt 70-year-old baby who probably soils himself whenever a car backfires in his vicinity…

Reader Interactions

334Comments

  2. 2.

    Kay

    I’m listening to a state party conference call and a (female) county chair just raised the upcoming protests and marches.

    The discussion is interesting. The general consensus is the communications people don’t want to co-opt the student marches because they think the students are most effective when not identified with a political party.

    The county chair said “I couldn’t agree more”.

  5. 5.

    Baud

    @Kay:

    I don’t care if the students are identified with a party. I care that the students correctly identify the party that supports them.

  7. 7.

    Corner Stone

    @Baud:

    I don’t care if the students are identified with a party. I care that the students correctly identify the party that supports them.

    I have concerns about this. I am concerned.

  8. 8.

    GxB

    I’d love to see a member of the WH press corps ask Shucks:

    “Ms. Sanders, how does the president live with himself?”

  10. 10.

    dmsilev

    Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the White House Press Corps deserve each other. And preferably, we could just weld the door shut with all of them inside.

  11. 11.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    That was the ending consensus. Much more words, thouhg. “your people (candidates) are strong on the issue so they can make their case to the marchers—-” You know how conference calls are :)

    It worked like a charm in Ohio with Issue Two. People were like “why won’t OBAMA come!” Because they told him to stay away and he’s a smart pol.

  16. 16.

    No Drought No More

    Hillary Clinton: tested, steady, fearless, maybe. But catastrophically wrong in March of 2003, certainly. Lest We Forget, as she begins her campaign to suck the air out of the 2020 race, too.

  18. 18.

    Corner Stone

    @GxB:

    “Ms. Sanders, how does the president live with himself?”

    “Speaking on behalf of the WH, I can tell he gets this done because he is mentally non compos mentis. He’s off his nut. Completely insane. Buggered as all fucking hell. Next question.”

  21. 21.

    lamh36

    Evening BJ.

    I’m still following the returns on Black Panther. Correct me if I am wrong, but so far…Black Panther has OVERSOLD all the estimates that were projected since week 1! Instead of hitting the estimates, or “falling short” which is what most of these projectors thought would happen… #BlackPanther has instead been more than estimated!

    And it hasn’t even hit in China or Japan yet…wow…most know the way it usually goes for film with predom Black cast in thos two areas, but not I’m wondering if, since the film is edging closer and closer to the 1 Billion mark, if maybe Chinese and Japanese audiences that otherwise might not be inclined to see the film, might just do so, so that, in away…they become “King makers” and push Black Panther over the mark?

    Or perhaps I’m wrong. either way…Marvel so far seems to have opened a winning playbook for launching and support “diverse” films…by pass the Asian markets as much as possible, but do actual PRr measures as well to at least nurture support in those places…the question now is, can it translate to non-MCEU films/superhero genres?

    ‘Black Panther’ Sprints Past Estimates for Massive Second Weekendvia @variety

  22. 22.

    debbie

    @Baud:

    It’s said babies rarely remember anything from their infancy. Hopefully, the kid will have no memory of the comparison.

    I heard that the March 24th march in D.C. was denied their permit because the area was already reserved. Does anyone know who had reserved it?

  25. 25.

    Kay

    Is the president already backing away from some of his gun proposals, including the purchase age for semi-automatic weapons? Our political panel discusses

    No need for discussion. Yes. The answer is yes. Because he is a LIAR. It was a LIE. Every day the same answer.

  26. 26.

    tobie

    Should I know about this diaper incident? I have no idea what the excerpted portion of the article on TurningPoint USA is about and, as it’s close to dinner time, don’t think I have the courage to look right now.

  30. 30.

    debbie

    @Kay:

    I’m glad they realized not to rush in and intrude. If anything, the party should just say they fully support the students’ efforts and stand ready to provide any assistance the students may request.

  31. 31.

    The Dangerman

    …when President Trump said earlier that he’d have run into the school with the active shooter…

    I’d sooner believe Kim Jong Il’s claim that he shot 34 for a round of golf than Trump running into an active shooter scene; at least the former is within the bounds of “possible”.

    ETA: Obviously, it’s not possible, but in comparison to Trump…

  32. 32.

    lamh36

    Disney Donates $1M to Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Celebration of ‘Black Panther’ via @thr

    The Walt Disney Co. on Monday announced it has made a $1 million donation to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) in celebration of Black Panther.

    The Marvel Studios superhero film, which has a largely black cast, is a mega-blockbuster and is being called an important cultural moment by many fans and critics.

    The donation will help expand BGCA’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs, which support high-tech skills and science, and establish new STEM Centers of Innovation in 12 communities across the country…

  33. 33.

    cain

    @Kay:

    The discussion is interesting. The general consensus is the communications people don’t want to co-opt the student marches because they think the students are most effective when not identified with a political party.

    Someone on twitter called out the people doing the women’s marches for trying to co-opt the student ones by trying to do their own. I hope that is still not happening. The students need to do it themselves without the rest of us.

  34. 34.

    Kay

    @Corner Stone:

    You’d kill for this gal’s firm command of that conference call. I was doing Hocus Focus in the newspaper and she made me lift my pencil up and listen. I’m quite good at Hocus Focus. Not everyone can make me quit midway thru.

  39. 39.

    Fair Economist

    @lamh36: Having made 700 million in 10 days, Black Panther is all but guaranteed to cross 1 billion even without China and Japan.

    Edit: given that it’s been outperforming almost all of the other Marvel films a top 10 finish seems very likely.

  40. 40.

    Mnemosyne

    @No Drought No More:

    Hillary Clinton: tested, steady, fearless, maybe. But catastrophically wrong in March of 2003, certainly.

    So you were okay with a fascist takeover of the US because it would punish Hillary for what she did 13 years earlier?

    Perspective. You need it. Badly. Time to let it go, already.

  43. 43.

    cain

    @lamh36:

    Or perhaps I’m wrong. either way…Marvel so far seems to have opened a winning playbook for launching and support “diverse” films…by pass the Asian markets as much as possible, but do actual PRr measures as well to at least nurture support in those places…the question now is, can it translate to non-MCEU films/superhero genres?

    My white friends have been going back to seeing it again. Hell, I want to see it again, just so that I can get those positive vibes from Shuri. That girl is BADASS. Everything was multi-layered, it was a good film and I enjoyed myself.

  47. 47.

    Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)

    @debbie: It’s probably a cyst. That’s what it looks like. But his bloodwork showed an elevated CA 19-9, which turns out to be a marker for cancer. It’s not hugely elevated, but it is high.

    Also tomorrow a realtor is coming to look at my house and see about selling it. A second one is coming on Wednesday.

  49. 49.

    Mary G

    Age in 1776:

    Marquis de Lafayette, 18
    James Monroe, 18
    Henry Lee III, 20
    Aaron Burr, 20
    Nathan Hale, 21
    Alexander Hamilton, 21

    Just a bunch of kids, right? What do they know?— DeAnna Burghart (@DeAnnaBurghart) February 21, 2018

  50. 50.

    cain

    @debbie:

    Were they co-opting the students or had a women’s march already been planned for that day?

    I’m not sure as there was no reaction from the group when the woman called them out. It could be that they had planned it based on the surging support for the students. But they should back off and let them be them lead.

  51. 51.

    Brachiator

    @lamh36:

    I’m still following the returns on Black Panther. Correct me if I am wrong, but so far…Black Panther has OVERSOLD all the estimates that were projected since week 1! Instead of hitting the estimates, or “falling short” which is what most of these projectors thought would happen… #BlackPanther has instead been more than estimated!

    I was going to post something about this in an open thread. The estimates were for $108 million this weekend, but the actuals were $111 million. Impressive!

    Even if the movie is not a hit in the remaining countries it has not opened in, it will probably gross $800, still a healthy result.

  54. 54.

    Mnemosyne

    @lamh36:

    I can’t even tell how how ecstatic all the bigwigs at the GEC are that Black Panther is breaking records all over the place. It’s still considered a gamble to have an action movie with a predominantly Black cast, and they are really floating about it.

    Ryan Coogler will have no trouble getting backing from the GEC for his next movie, even (maybe especially) if it’s not a superhero movie. He is a giant star now and they want to hang onto him and keep him a happy Mouseketeer. ?

  55. 55.

    lamh36

    @Fair Economist: I’m thinking your right…which is wow…very interesting…even without China & Japan, it’s so far made more than 300 mill overseas already…at this piont, Marvel has managed to make China and Japan “irrelevant”, so even if numbers there are “soft”, that 300 mill mark w/o them…is NOTHING to sneeze at…although, it won’t stop some of the usual old school suspects from using a less than large China/Japan box office take to fit their narrative about foreign box office and predom Black films.

  60. 60.

    Doug R

    @lamh36: With all the publicity, Asian audiences will come to Black Panther to see what all the fuss is about and to be in on a trend.
    In two weeks, BP has made just over $400,000,000, which is almost as much as Wonder Woman made in her whole run.

  61. 61.

    Baud

    @zhena gogolia:

    I love that one.

    “Baud! was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge’s name was good upon ‘Change for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Baud! was as dead as a doornail.”

  62. 62.

    Corner Stone

    @Kay: Well, if you can’t take a Hocus Focus reference as solid then I just don’t know what damn kind of America I’m living in anymore.

  63. 63.

    zhena gogolia

    @lamh36:

    Thanks for reminding me, I just got a Black Panther coloring book for our church. We have a supply of coloring books to keep the kiddies happy, and Moana is getting filled up.

  65. 65.

    Mnemosyne

    @Brachiator:

    I will confidently predict now that it will pass the $1 billion mark. The smart thing about the release strategy is that now people in markets who wouldn’t normally have been interested will be curious because it’s a huge hit.

    Plus I have a theory that a movie with a predominantly minority cast will actually do better than one with a Black lead and a mostly white cast, but it’s an unproven theory right now. Coco did unexpectedly well in China.

  71. 71.

    zhena gogolia

    @Baud:

    Here’s a good one. “A friend of Baud’s said to him one time, ‘Yeah, but at least you don’t take any s–t from anybody.'” Elmore Leonard, Unknown Man #89. I thought I remembered that it had a good first line.

  75. 75.

    Fair Economist

    @lamh36: Much as with the claims that a more diverse cast hurt the latest Star Wars movies, the executives at GEC, as Mnem puts it, aren’t going to care. Along with some other recent movies like Coco and the new Star Wars, it shows that there are a lot of people eager to see a good movie that’s not just about pale males.

  76. 76.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Baka Amerikahito) ? ?

    @Baud:
    It was always stupid, but perhaps NDNM might have had a (weak) excuse of not knowing how bad Trump was going to be back then. I mean it’s pretty obvious HRC is never running for anything ever again.

  80. 80.

    lamh36

    @Brachiator:$800 is DEF a great number and basically in the top 5 of Marvel films (I think maybe only Avengers is above them?). And of course it’s already a record breaker in so many ways, including being the largest most successful film directed by an African American director (and screen writer, Coogler co-writers and Joe Robert Cole)…EVER.

    And it just happens to be a darn good film…IMHO… I’ve seen most if not ALL of the current and many of the past superhero films, and I gotta say it’s like no superhero film I have ever seen. It really is.

    I know alot of folks look down upon the genre, but in this case, they are missing out on one of the best, that just happens to be a “superhero” flick.

    Ryan Coogler: Why I Needed to Make ‘Black Panther’ via @RollingStone

    Oh and Black Panther has made it to the “parade” of characters “meet and greets” at Disneyland…and it’s

    ‘Black Panther’ Is Already Generating Long Lines at Disneyland

    Here’s a cute lil video from a dad who kids stood in line to meet Black Panther and the Dora…

    Black Panther & Dora Milaje Meet & Greet | Disney California Adventure |… https://youtu.be/OZ99mnICkq8 via @YouTube

  81. 81.

    Mnemosyne

    @Brachiator:

    I just sent Betty a request to give us a secret spoilers thread where we can discuss Black Panther like we did Star Wars. Not sure when she’ll see the email, though.

  84. 84.

    Doug R

    @No Drought No More:

    43. By 2016, Defendants and their co-conspirators used their fictitious online personas to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election. They engaged in operations primarily intended to communicate derogatory information about Hillary Clinton

    Give it a rest, or you look like a paid troll.

  89. 89.

    Mnemosyne

    @lamh36:

    I am predicting three major Oscar nominations for the film next year: Best Supporting Actor (Michael B. Jordan), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture. It almost certainly won’t get Best Picture because it’s a comic book movie, but winning the other two is a good bet.

    (It will probably also get a bunch of technical nominations and awards, but those are the major awards I think it will be nominated for.)

  92. 92.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Kay:

    Kay, I have long admired your smarts and your ability to grasp and isolate the essential nugget of truth, but in the past few weeks I often find myself laughing aloud at some of your comments. You have a wicked, rather dry, sense of humor, which I find very engaging.

  97. 97.

    Mnemosyne

    @rikyrah:

    Yes, and probably makeup (for the hairstyles) and a bunch of visual effects awards.

    But I honestly think Michael B. Jordan will be accepting an Oscar statuette next year. He was that good, and the Supporting Actor category is willing to give it to “non-serious” roles like comic book villains.

  98. 98.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @zhena gogolia:

    It was the best of Bauds; it was the worst of Bauds.

    ETA: It is a far, far Bauder thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far Bauder rest that I go to than I have ever known.

  99. 99.

    TenguPhule

    @Mnemosyne:

    Coco did unexpectedly well in China.

    Coco managed to hit that sweet spot with veneration for family and ancestors in China which managed to overcome the censors.

    Sadly, I don’t think Black Panther will be so lucky.

  102. 102.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Baud: I agree with this 100%, we need to stop calling the Orange person a toddler or a baby.
    1. Babies are cute
    2. Unlike the OP, they don’t know any better because they are too young.

  103. 103.

    Mike J

    Now every time Charlie [Kirk] tweets they tweet back pictures of him in a diaper.”…

    I was unaware of this, but now I’ll have to join in.

  106. 106.

    lollipopguild

    @Mary G: Audie Murphy was 16 or 17 when he joined the army. The Navy and the Marines turned him down because he was too small.

  109. 109.

    jl

    I have a vague recollection of the diaper incident I think the news story references.

    My only firm opinion on it is that, as a name for the scandal, whatever it happens to be, ‘Day of the Diaper’ is better than ‘Diapergate’.

  111. 111.

    MCA1

    @Kay: Hey, Kay, totally off topic, but what do you know about/think of Ken Harbaugh, running for the good team in OH-7? Cook has that district as pretty dark red, but former Naval pilot in Ohio sounds good on paper.

  112. 112.

    Thoughtful David

    Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Baud was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.

  121. 121.

    TenguPhule

    @jl: What is Baud in life? To see one’s enemies crushed before them and hear the lamentations of their Bauds.

  123. 123.

    Mnemosyne

    Okay, I cheated by Googling the 100 best first lines of literature:

    Baud!, at forty, knew that his life had been ruined by literature.

    (Anita Brookner, The Debut)

  126. 126.

    debbie

    “RAGE:
    Sing, Goddess, Baud’s rage,
    Black and murderous, that cost the Greeks
    Incalculable pain, pitched countless souls
    Of heroes into Hades’ dark,
    And left their bodies to rot as feasts
    For dogs and birds, as Zeus’ will was done.”

    Too much?

  131. 131.

    TenguPhule

    But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Baud.

  133. 133.

    catbirdman

    “Nothing about this is funny. Now every time Charlie [Kirk] tweets they tweet back pictures of him in a diaper.” Honestly, what’s funnier than that?

  134. 134.

    SiubhanDuinne

    O/T, but you know that delightful French Christmas carol Il est né, le divin Enfant? Every time I see the rotating tag “All your base are belong to Tunch,” I mentally put those words to the carol tune. And then have it as an ear worm until the next one comes along.

    Here is how the tune goes.

  136. 136.

    Brachiator

    @Mnemosyne:

    Plus I have a theory that a movie with a predominantly minority cast will actually do better than one with a Black lead and a mostly white cast, but it’s an unproven theory right now. Coco did unexpectedly well in China.

    I think I saw in Forbes that China discourages foreign films from opening during the Lunar New Year. Marvel/Disney paid attention and set March 9 as the opening date. But China and Japan like what they like, and are not necessarily swayed by Western hype. China was under-whelmed by the Star Wars movies.

    I hope Black Panther does well there, but there is no film, no genre, no stars that guarantee success in those markets.

    @lamh36:

    And it just happens to be a darn good film…IMHO… I’ve seen most if not ALL of the current and many of the past superhero films, and I gotta say it’s like no superhero film I have ever seen. It really is.

    It’s strange. Black Panther may steal some of the thunder from the upcoming Infinity War movie. That film will really have to deliver.

    But it is a good sign that people are talking about what they would like to see in a Black Panther sequel. And a lot of folks want to see Shuri in other Marvel movies, maybe hanging out with Spiderman or Tony Stark and doing some inventing.

  137. 137.

    Steeplejack

    @Thoughtful David:

    Would also work as:

    Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover Baud.

  138. 138.

    Mokum

    @Mokum: Als Gregor Baud eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheueren Ungeziefer verwandelt

  140. 140.

    Ruviana

    It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single Baud in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

  142. 142.

    TenguPhule

    @Brachiator:

    I hope Black Panther does well there, but there is no film, no genre, no stars that guarantee success in those markets.

    China’s censors aren’t a fan of anything even hinting at sudden government coups or murder within a family. They might make things difficult just on those grounds.

  143. 143.

    Steeplejack

    For a long time I used to go to bed early. Sometimes, when I had put out my candle, my eyes would close so quickly that I had not even time to say “I’m going to sleep.” And half an hour later the thought that it was time to go to sleep would awaken me; I would try to put away the book which, I imagined, was still in my hands, and to blow out the light; I had been thinking all the time, while I was asleep, of what I had just been reading, but my thoughts had run into a channel of their own, until I myself seemed actually to have become the subject of my book: a church, a quartet, the 2020 candidacy of Baud! the Disruptor.

  144. 144.

    Roger Moore

    @debbie:
    I think that should be:

    Sing, Baud, Achilles’ rage,
    Black and murderous, that cost the Greeks
    Incalculable pain, pitched countless souls
    Of heroes into Hades’ dark

  146. 146.

    lamh36

    @Brachiator: If TPTB at Marvel can make a scene happen between Shuri and Tony Stark (Leticia Wright and RDJ), I’d pay good money for that alone. Based on her character in BP…I can totally see Shuri taking much of Tony’s snark and landing a few more of her own. Unlike young Peter Parker, Shuri won’t be in “awe” of Tony, so I see ascene where Shuri hilariously give Tony what for…for his “subpar” inventions compared to hers…LOL

  147. 147.

    Mnemosyne

    @catbirdman:

    Conservatives can’t stand being mocked. Particularly when they were trying to mock someone else and only succeeded in making themselves look stupid.

  149. 149.

    Emma

    Baud was born with the gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad.

    I first heard Personville called Poisonville by a red-haired mucker named Baud in the Big Ship in Butte. He also called his shirt a shoit.

  151. 151.

    Thoughtful David

    @Steeplejack: No, I disagree. I think one of the things that makes that line so brilliant is the unexpectedness of pairing the “firing squad” and “ice.” So I’d like to keep “ice” in there.

  152. 152.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Baka Amerikahito) ? ?

    @TenguPhule:
    I’ll do one better:

    But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved YAHWEH.

    I know I might piss some people off, but the Christian God, especially the one in the Old Testament, is the most evil being ever thought up by humans.

  153. 153.

    Kay

    @MCA1:

    I’m sorry I don’t know. This call was about state candidates. And Vote Builder. The dreaded vote builder. They had 100+ candidates at candidate school which is 3x as many as.. some other year.

    I looked him up though and he is impressive but what it is with Ohio candidates and these bangs? Why do they all have 7 year old urchin-boy bangs? Cordray has them too.

  154. 154.

    gbbalto

    @SiubhanDuinne: Why did you do this??? Actually, latest earworm (was called “maggot” in England in 18th C or so) is John Fahey guitar solo of “In Christ There is No East or West”. Beats “I Love You, a Bushel and a Peck”…

    ETA: Dammit, I did it to myself…

  155. 155.

    dmsilev

    The sky was the color of a Baud tuned to a dead channel.

    (That’s a line whose meaning depends a lot on the age of the reader. It could be “gray and static-ish” (Gibson’s intent), “bright blue”, or “black with giant lettering reading ‘NO SOURCE FOUND’ “).

  156. 156.

    Roger Moore

    @Brachiator:

    And a lot of folks want to see Shuri in other Marvel movies, maybe hanging out with Spiderman or Tony Stark and doing some inventing.

    I’ve heard her pitched as Tony Stark’s replacement as Iron Man (Iron Woman?). She has the mad inventor skills down, and there’s every sign Marvel is going to have to end Stark’s turn.

  160. 160.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @gbbalto:

    You have given me a new maggot. I’m fond of that hymn, although I’m not sure I’m going to enjoy it quite as much after a non-stop 24 hours.

  161. 161.

    Brachiator

    @Roger Moore:

    I’ve heard her pitched as Tony Stark’s replacement as Iron Man (Iron Woman?).

    In the comics that’s another character, Riri Williams, Ironheart.

  168. 168.

    clay

    @Brachiator:

    Black Panther may steal some of the thunder from the upcoming Infinity War movie. That film will really have to deliver.

    Or, from another perspective, BP has been a hugely successful two-hour commercial for Infinity War. (T’Challa and Wakanda feature heavily in the trailer for IW — I think Marvel knew that people would be clamoring for more of them.)

    But I doubt Disney/Marvel will cry much if BP matches/beats IW. “Oh no, Black Panther is making soooo much money! Whatever will we do?”

  169. 169.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Baka Amerikahito) ? ?

    @TenguPhule:
    My personal theory is a mixture of that and humans perhaps earnestly having created religions. The world can paradoxically seem less scary if there’s some force controlling it and watching out for humans.

    Incidentally, I’m reminded of that scene from the end of Star Trek V, where Kirk and friends meet a being masquerading as a God and acts just like the one from the OT; punishes people when they question It, etc.

  170. 170.

    Brachiator

    @TenguPhule:

    China’s censors aren’t a fan of anything even hinting at sudden government coups or murder within a family. They might make things difficult just on those grounds.

    The film is already scheduled to open there. I have not seen anything about any special restrictions on the number of theaters showing the film, etc.

    @Fair Economist:

    Along with some other recent movies like Coco and the new Star Wars, it shows that there are a lot of people eager to see a good movie that’s not just about pale males.

    Black Panther did really well with Asian American audiences in the Pasadena/San Gabriel Valley area. Reminded me a bit of the popularity of Bruce Lee with a diverse audience.

  171. 171.

    Roger Moore

    @Mnemosyne:

    You have to finish writing and revising the whole piece before you can have a killer first line. Seriously.

    Don’t tell Charles Dickens. He had a few killer first lines even though he wrote serials and wasn’t more than a few chapters ahead of his readers.

  172. 172.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @gbbalto:

    Too late to edit earlier reply: “I love you, a bushel and a peck” always reminds me of my grandmother (the one I grew up with). She was very fond of that song, and on the (relatively rare) occasions she felt especially affectionate, she would pull the nearest grandchild close to her ample, rigidly-corseted bosom, and sing it, as one might a lullaby.

  173. 173.

    Matt

    some of the most incompetent, lazy, and downright dishonest people I have ever encountered

    Lady, you knew they were snakes when you picked them up.

  177. 177.

    Brachiator

    @clay:

    Or, from another perspective, BP has been a hugely successful two-hour commercial for Infinity War. (T’Challa and Wakanda feature heavily in the trailer for IW — I think Marvel knew that people would be clamoring for more of them.)

    There are a couple of Black Panther characters I didn’t notice in the Infinity War trailer that are supposedly in the film itself. Should be interesting.

    But I doubt Disney/Marvel will cry much if BP matches/beats IW. “Oh no, Black Panther is making soooo much money! Whatever will we do?”

    Very true.

  178. 178.

    KithKanan

    @jl: you would prefer “It was love at first sight. The first time Baud saw the chaplain he fell madly in love with him.”?

    @Roger Moore: Don’t tell Joseph Heller either. He claims to have started with the line above and gone from there.

  179. 179.

    Sm*t Cl*de

    Once upon a time, in a gloomy castle on a lonely hill, where there were thirteen clocks that wouldn’t go, there lived a cold, aggressive Baud.

    … “The 13 Clocks and the Wonderful O” would be a great name for my Steampunk-themed clockwork sex-toy shop, just saying.

  181. 181.

    TenguPhule

    I still can’t believe this nation is letting Donald Fucktard Trump nominate his PERSONAL FUCKING PILOT to head the FAA.

  182. 182.

    Roger Moore

    @Brachiator:

    Black Panther did really well with Asian American audiences in the Pasadena/San Gabriel Valley area.

    I went to see it opening weekend in Arcadia (aka Chinese Beverly Hills) and it was packed with a quite diverse audience. Of course what appeals to minority audiences in the US doesn’t track perfectly with what appeals to people back in the mother country.

  183. 183.

    gbbalto

    @SiubhanDuinne: That is a great memory! It’s not a bad song as bad songs go, but I first encountered it when I was stuck in hospital for 10 days last summer (2 of them prostrate in ICU with a breathing tube up my nose and down my throat due to a brand new medicine allergy) and one of the few TV channels available kept incessantly running a commercial with Doris Day singing it. It took weeks to recover.

  184. 184.

    Miss Bianca

    @Mnemosyne: The one I liked the best is one from an abandoned project:

    Actually, I reflected as I stepped off the plane, considering how many relatives I had – and considering how numerous the relations of my numerous acquaintance were – it was surprising to me, how few funerals I had been to prior to my father’s.

  186. 186.

    MomSense

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I have tried about 10 times to write out the lyrics (I sang this song with a chorale many years ago) but I’ve given up. Auto correct doesn’t like French and my right hand is too sore to keep trying.

  187. 187.

    Gelfling 545

    @cain: My granddaughter & her crowd have seen it 3 times now. It’s like the release of the first Star Wars in the 70’s. I get to see it Wednesday.

  190. 190.

    Betty Cracker

    @Kay: Our county party leader handled a local teen protest similarly: she got party volunteers to hand out water and snacks and had folks on hand to register voters at a gathering in Tampa last week but was careful to not try to co-opt the students’ event. Smart!

    One of the several folks who’ve declared as Dem candidates for governor, Miami Beach Mayor Phil Levine, is treading a little too closely to “co-opt” territory, IMO. Sit back and let the kids handle this, I say.

  192. 192.

    SiubhanDuinne

    The weather has turned raw. Think I’ll curl up with a well-loved classic mystery. Perhaps The Baudy in the Library by Agatha Christie? Or Dorothy L. Sayers’ Baudy Night?

  199. 199.

    Baud

    @Miss Bianca:

    “What a piece of work is Baud, How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty, In form and moving how express and admirable, In action how like an Angel, In apprehension how like a god, “

  201. 201.

    Mnemosyne

    @clay:

    I’m guessing that the GEC was smarter than WB was with Patty Jenkins and they signed Coogler to a multi-picture deal for the sequels. But don’t cry for him — that kind of contract usually includes cash bonuses based on the film’s box office performance.

  203. 203.

    Gelfling 545

    @cain: i think there was a push by some groups to set up demonstrations without waiting for the wishes of the students to be heard. On pur local Stronger Tpgether site I saw 3 different dates sone of us suggested – sonewhat forcefully- that the students’ wishes should be abided by with no alternative dates or leadership.

  204. 204.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @MomSense:

    Chorus:
    Il est ne, le divin Enfant,
    Jouez, hautbois, resonnez, musettes;
    Il est ne, le divin Enfant;
    Chantons tous son avenement!

    1. Depuis plus de quatre mille ans,
    Nous le promettaient les Prophetes;
    Depuis plus de quatre mille ans,
    Nous attendions cet heureux temps. Chorus

    2. Ah! qu’il est beau, qu’il est charmant,
    Que ses graces sont parfaites!
    Ah! qu’il est beau, qu’il est charmant,
    Qu’il est doux le divin Enfant! Chorus

    3. Une etable est son logement,
    Un peu de paille, sa couchette,
    Une etable est son logement,
    Pour un Dieu, quel abaissement! Chorus

    4. O Jesus! O Roi tout puissant!
    Tout petit enfant que vous etes,
    O Jesus! O Roi tout puissant!
    Regnez sur nous entierement! Chorus

  210. 210.

    clay

    @Brachiator: M’Baku is in the trailer. I believe that Okoye, Shuri, and Angela Bassett (I forget the character’s name) are all confirmed to appear. And at least one of the major action set pieces involves the Wakandan army. BP is getting a huge push, and it and IW will feed off of and enhance each other.

  212. 212.

    magurakurin

    Never get out of the boat. Absolutely goddamn right. Unless you were goin’ all the way. Baud got off the boat. He split from the whole fuckin’ program.

  214. 214.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Baud: Thanks, the original has a bit of haze and the problem was getting the color of the trees right. I think I finally got it right. The hike up in the Verdugos(the burn area) was quite cold and so windy that I didn’t go as far as I wanted to go. It was so windy, it almost knocked me over when I was taking that picture.

  216. 216.

    lamh36

    @Brachiator: confirmed so far (to the best of my knowledge)… in the Infinity War trailer: T’Challa, Okoye, I think M’Baku (I believe he’s likely one of the Wakandans running behind the Avengers in the trailer)…not in the trailer directly…again M’Baku, and also Shuri has been confirmed.

    That’s all I’ve heard so far

    ETA: Found the link:

    Every Black Panther Character Returning In Avengers: Infinity War
    https://screen.st/AKcqOiR

    (warning…SPOILERS abound)

  218. 218.

    Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)

    @Mnemosyne: The covers of Dickens’ books had all these little cartoon characters showing scenes from the story. When Dickens died, he was working on The Mystery of Edwin Drood. It wasn’t finished, and people were frantic find out how it came out. One of the things they did was look at the little drawings and see what they might tell. That tells me he had some sense of the basic plot when he started.

  223. 223.

    Emma

    @clay: Not to mention Bucky. BUCKY.

    No, I’m not a fan in general, even though Seb Stan is eminently droolable-over. But all my geeky friends love The Winter Soldier. They squealed and want to raise a shrine to Shuri.

  226. 226.

    Sm*t Cl*de

    @TenguPhule:

    I still can’t believe this nation is letting Donald Fucktard Trump nominate his PERSONAL FUCKING PILOT to head the FAA.

    Consciously or not, Imperator Commodus Caestigula is modelling himself on Caligula, including the Nominating-a-horse part.

    One suggestion is that the treatment of Incitatus by Caligula was an elaborate prank, intended to ridicule and provoke the senate, rather than a sign of insanity, or perhaps a form of satire, with the implication that a horse could perform a senator’s duties.

  230. 230.

    Brachiator

    @Roger Moore:

    Of course what appeals to minority audiences in the US doesn’t track perfectly with what appeals to people back in the mother country.

    Oh I am not trying to guess what the foreign reaction might be based on US audiences. I’m curious to see how it plays out.

  232. 232.

    gbbalto

    @Sm*t Cl*de: Well, he has a bunch of horses’ asses to work with in the Senate. Is the Republican Party an elaborate prank on this country?

    ETA: Not to mention the House, so I won’t mention it

  233. 233.

    Aimai

    @Sm*t Cl*de: my favorite books! “If you can touch the clocks and never start them you can start the clocks and never touch them—thats logic as I know and use it.” —the gollux

    “ As for grapefruit—I hate its bitter juice I have banned it under its french name: pamplemousse! ”

  235. 235.

    SiubhanDuinne

    I think the thread may be dying, but I feel compelled to mention this childhood pen by Eugene [Subaruabandonedinthemiddleofa] Field:

    Wynken, Blynken, and Baud one night
    Sailed off in a wooden shoe —
    Sailed on a river of crystal light,
    Into a sea of dew.

  237. 237.

    Miss Bianca

    @Baud: “O, fie, fie, fie! Thy sin’s not accidental, but a trade. Mercy to thee would prove itself a Baud!”

  240. 240.

    lamh36

    @Mnemosyne: I swear I heard on a Black Panther roundtable, that Disney didn’t not lock Coogler in for sequels…but Im guessing they gonna be perfectly willing to throw him whatever he wants

  247. 247.

    Miss Bianca

    @Steeplejack:

    He knows how to fly a plane and probably knows what “FAA” stands for. Both of which put him ahead of Trump.

    Yeah, seriously? Considering how laughably, insultingly unqualified most of his other picks have been for agency heads, I’d almost say nominating his pilot for the FAA showed an increase in Trump’s awareness!

  248. 248.

    lamh36

    Oh and not for nothing, but I am looking forward to seeing A Wrinkle in Time as well. The difference is that I have no knowledge of the source material, AT ALL…

    I mean I just found out that my younger sister read it when she was a kid, and I raised her…and don’t recall her having read it…LOL

    Still, I like Ava, I like Chris Pine, I like Oprah, and the supporting cast, and the young actress is adorable…so I’m def interested in seeing it

  252. 252.

    Elizabelle

    Baud Free …. as free as the wind blows … as free as the grass grows, Baud Free to follow your heart ….

  253. 253.

    lamh36

    @Betty Cracker: shoot, is it the yahoo one? cause I don’t have access to that one anymore…send me a DM on twitter and I’ll get you the hotmail one…sorry bout that

  255. 255.

    Miss Bianca

    @Steeplejack: I’ve been trying to get into the conservative mindset by reading some nonfiction by conservative “intellectuals”.

    So far, Baud! and Man at Yale isn’t turning out to be the barn-burner I was hoping it would be.

  257. 257.

    Amir Khalid

    @schrodingers_cat:
    A child psychologist wrote an op-ed piece for The NYT last year comparing Trump to babies and toddlers. She said her research into their mental development showed that they were more curious than Trump about the world around them, more empathetic, more considerate, more inclined to work with others, and had a better sense of fairness.

  260. 260.

    Steeplejack

    @gbbalto:

    Instead of linking to the Bing search page, once you’ve found the video you want click on the “View on YouTube” icon at the lower right. You’ll get to the much cleaner- and faster-loading YouTube version with a much cleaner URL:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSwfQVgVcT4

    As for the link function here, there are two ways to do it. Which works better depends on whether you are on (1) a computer or (2) a phone or tablet. Advice available upon request.

  264. 264.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    @Baud: How about a BJ production of
    BAUD PANTHER!!!!!
    I am pretty sure Asians here have seen BP in this country, I am pretty sure good words about the film are being text overseas. They probably got bootlegged copies.

  266. 266.

    efgoldman

    @zhena gogolia:

    I thought I remembered that it had a good first line.

    My all time favorite first line: “When the phone rang, Parker was in the garage killing a man.”
    Donald Westlake writing as Richard Stark, the “Parker” series. Don’t remember which book, but they all start with a “when” clause

  268. 268.

    Gravenstone

    @Miss Bianca: Except. .. Maddow just reported that the same guy was in charge of the charter service the campaign used. Notable for multiple incidents including VP candidate Pence’s plane overshooting the runway at LaGuardia, and another pilot terminated when it became public that he had an assault conviction. Fine judge of talent, that one.

  269. 269.

    lamh36

    Goodness, I’ve been so tired lately…more than usual…since I’ve got that big Australia trip in May, I’ve been stockpiling my time off at work, when I’d usually just take an extra day off, I haven’t been able to, and since we are short staffed at the lab, we’re all working about 2 weekends a month…and so I’m not catching up on as much sleep as I need to.

    So..I’ll bid you adieu BJ…til mañana

  271. 271.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    @Mr Stagger Lee: From the new revised Titus Andronicus. Foul spoken coward, Baud is thund’rest with thy tongue, and with thy weapon nothing Baud dares perform.”

  272. 272.

    NotMax

    Another one bites the dust.

    The first lady, Melania Trump, has parted ways with an adviser after news about the adviser’s firm reaping $26 million in payments to help plan President Trump’s inauguration.

    Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who has been friends with Mrs. Trump for years, had been working on a contract basis as an unpaid senior adviser to the office of the first lady.

    Stephanie Grisham, Mrs. Trump’s spokeswoman, said the office had “severed the gratuitous services contract with Ms. Wolkoff,” who Ms. Grisham said had been employed as “a special government employee” to work on specific projects. “We thank her for her hard work and wish her all the best.”

    The contract was terminated last week, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation. Source

  276. 276.

    frosty fred

    @lollipopguild:Interesting. A cousin of my grandmother’s lied about his age to join the Navy at 16 in 1920. They put him in a submarine because he was small.

  277. 277.

    efgoldman

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Unlike the OP, they don’t know any better because they are too young.

    Ferret Head doesn’t know any better either, but he doesn’t haVe the advantage of babyhood or growing out of it

  278. 278.

    Gin & Tonic

    Coming late to the game, but – “Christmas Eve, 1955, Baud, wearing black levis, suede jacket, sneakers and big cowboy hat, happened to pass through Norfolk, Virginia. Given to sentimental impulses, he thought he’d look in on the Sailor’s Grave, his old tin can’s tavern on East Main Street.”

  279. 279.

    Tokyokie

    @lamh36: I don’t know about China, but in Japan, the movie theaters are controlled by the major Japanese studios (the sort of vertical monopolies that the ruling in U.S. v. Paramount Pictures forbade in 1948), and the people who run them are ultra-conservative in their business dealings. If an American movie doesn’t have a big star and/or director, it will probably not play in Japan. (For instance, although The Usual Suspects had a Japanese distributor, it wasn’t booked on any screens until after it won recognition at the Tokyo International Film Festival.) And even if an American film has a distributor that wants to exhibit it, bookings at the major theaters in Shinjuku and Shibuya (the major entertainment districts in Tokyo) are made several months in advance, and it’s difficult to get a venue to screen a movie. My guess is that Black Panther will achieve enough recognition outside of Japan that whatever knucklehead studio boss who has the distribution rights to it will decide to go ahead and book it, but it’ll probably be summer before it’s publicly screened. (Back when I lived in Tokyo, I could often get the laserdisc of an American movie before it played in a theater locally, and I doubt that’s changed a whole lot in the interim.)

  284. 284.

    clay

    @Emma: It’s interesting that they called him “White Wolf” in the film.

    In the books, White Wolf was T’Challa’s adopted (white) brother. He was the head of the Wakandan secret police, and they often butted heads over (what he saw as) T’Challa’s unwillingness to do the dirty work that was necessary to protect Wakanda’s interests. Getting back to the line from the film: “It’s hard for a good man to be king.”

    I don’t know if the film used it as a random reference, or if Bucky will take on some of this role. I could see him being a Wakandan spy, teaming up with Nakia. That’d be pretty sweet!

  296. 296.

    Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]

    Wife: What do you mean ‘Urgghh’? I don’t like Baud!
    Vikings: Lovely Baud! Wonderful Baud!
    Waitress: Shut up!
    Vikings: Lovely Baud! Wonderful Baud!
    Waitress: Shut up! (Vikings stop) Bloody Vikings! You can’t have egg bacon Baud and sausage without the Baud.
    Wife: I don’t like Baud!
    Man: Sshh, dear, don’t cause a fuss. I’ll have your Baud. I love it. I’m having Baud Baud Baud Baud Baud Baud Baud beaked beans Baud Baud Baud and Baud!
    Vikings: Baud Baud Baud Baud. Lovely Baud! Wonderful Baud!

  298. 298.

    Gin & Tonic

    Stately, plump Baud came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.

  308. 308.

    Mnemosyne

    @Tokyokie:

    Also, kind of a random question: I’ve heard that Japanese movie trailers usually give the ending away (or at least strongly hint at it) because audiences want to know what they’re getting into before they spend their money on a movie. Is that true, in your experience?

  312. 312.

    JR

    The thousand injuries of Baud, I bore as best I could. But when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.

  323. 323.

    joel hanes

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Oh, surely more than three. After all

    the headbone connected to the neck bone
    the neck bone connected to the shoulder bone
    the shoulder bone connected to the back bone …

  325. 325.

    Bill Arnold

    @? ?? Goku (aka Baka Amerikahito) ? ?:
    NYMag: U.S. Needs New FAA Head, Trump Generously Offers His Personal Pilot

    “I have a pilot who’s a real expert,” Trump explained. “He said, ‘Sir, the equipment they’re putting on is just the wrong stuff. If we’re going to modernize our system we should be using the right equipment.’ My pilot, he’s a smart guy, and he knows what’s going on.”
    Just watch the reactions of Myron Gray, president of U.S. Operations at UPS in the video below. You can tell he’s blown away by Dunkin’s insights, as relayed by President Trump.

    Then watch the video at the link. Superglue your lips shut, first. Else your jaw will drop so hard it will self-dislocate.
    (Honestly, I don’t know that Dunkin is not qualified. Maybe he is (qualified), but D. Trump is not the one to judge.)

  326. 326.

    J R in WV

    @lamh36:

    I know it isn’t necessarily a help with Japanese and Chinese markets, but there is a big scene in South Korea, which is as typically an Asian scene as you could ask for. Hope that isn’t a spoiler, no plot elements, just a location in the film. I was shocked when a fancy bar scene had a character ask for whiskey and they served Jim Beam, IIRC. Not upper end brown liquor in my book.

    There is also a little scenery from Africa, I think.

    ;-) a very interesting film. Wouldn’t mind going back for the 3-D version.

  330. 330.

    PIGL

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): there really is isn’t there? I would have imagined them to be younger men in their 30s perhaps early 40s somehow. I had no idea so many of the big names were so very young.

    I’m sure you must be very worried about your old man and I wish I knew the comforting thing to say. But I think what others have said is true… if the medics thought there was any grave danger they wouldn’t mess around and make you wait.

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