Today is the 34th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, a catastrophe that threatened millions of lives and was dangerously downplayed by incompetent authorities only concerned with political spin doctoring.
How is the world celebrating this date today?— Slava Malamud (@SlavaMalamud) April 26, 2020
We’re using our imaginations!
I do not think this is true at all and this person is a MAGA weirdo but I kind of hope it is just because it would be the funniest possible outcome. https://t.co/FEFMee9k8p
— Starfish Who Had Fun For An Hour (@IRHotTakes) April 22, 2020
Joe duly gets sworn in, tosses the keys to the Obamas, and goes off to get ice cream, Barrack kisses his wife, goes over to the ol' desk, and props his feet up.
"It's good to be back," he sighs.
— Starfish Who Had Fun For An Hour (@IRHotTakes) April 22, 2020
US History Class, 2070:
"And so the end result of the backlash against Obama was the circumvention of the 22nd Amendment and the dawn of the Obama Regency Period."
"Miss Teacher, what was this chapter called again?"
"The Aristocrats."
— Starfish Who Had Fun For An Hour (@IRHotTakes) April 22, 2020
Also:
“We are all interconnected,” the famed primatologist, and a leading voice in conservation efforts, told the PBS NewsHour. “And if we don’t get that lesson from this pandemic, then maybe we never will.”https://t.co/QQrGGWLA4I
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) April 23, 2020
Gin & Tonic
This pining for the old, especially on the Dem side, is starting to really piss me off. Barack Obama, with all due respect, is two decades older than the median American. Joe Biden is more than twice the age of the median American. Nancy Pelosi is older than that, even.
Why can’t the people be represented by people who are, you know, more representative of them?
lamh36
Evening BJ.
I am so glad to be finish with this work weekend. My weekend rotation partners (we work in 3s on the weekends) this this rotation got me drove.
I got the one coworker who always manages to find a way to make EVERYTHING more difficult and negative than it has to be. This bish would complain to Jesus bout his 2nd coming. I basically ignore her complaiing, or I just outright say to her…”ok so whatcha gon do? Whacha complainin to me for?”
The other coworker is not “that” bad, she’s just older and always manages to make the easiest thing become this major complication and what takes most folks relatively short time to do, she ALWAYS manages to make is almost 2x longer. So you either end up having to work well over your time to help her or you have to try to finish ur work early so that you can halfway help her cut her remaining work in half
SMH..ya’ll
https://media.tenor.com/images/0c864f8a6d6cd11c04f26833ddca44ad/tenor.gif
CaseyL
SFAIK, Michelle doesn’t want to do electoral politics anymore, and would probably rather run off to joint the French Foreign Legion than move back into the WH.
But I don’t think there are any actual laws against Biden naming her his Veep.
It’s a wonderful fantasy. So many heads would explode, the splats could be heard from space.
TomatoQueen
Let’s lighten up on the bashing of the old, please.
Brachiator
@Gin & Tonic:
Obama is a youngster in my eyes.
I want to see younger candidates in various offices, but defining anything in terms of the “median American” is not useful.
WaterGirl
@lamh36: High school was bad enough when you had to work with a team on a project, where someone always dragged it down and one or two people did all the work. But at a job, where everyone is supposed to be competent?
They don’t pay you enough!
Omnes Omnibus
@Gin & Tonic: It’s part of the mindset that wants Warren as Secretary of Treasury, Harris as AG, etc. Most people, even those who follow politics, don’t know that many players, so they think they want familiar faces in the top jobs.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Ima take all these “reports” with a big grain of salt. Biden is a traditionalist and an institutionalist, and he knows the Obamas pretty well. The odds that he would give serious consideration to MRO as his Veep, or that he would think it was something worth pursuing, seem pretty slim to me. I’m thinking some hanger-on is trying to make himself (probably) seem important by leaking that.
also, y’all saw The Beast was ranting thing morning that all those mean reporters should give back their Noble (sic) prizes in journamalism for being mean to him, and that he was going to contact “the committee” about it? Well, apparently he saw all the people mocking him, and he’s going with the “Webster’s defines X as….” defense. And sarcasm, again
Brachiator
A repost from an earlier thread
@rikyrah:
Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, have their own tax systems.
A resident of Puerto Rico who files a Form 1040 should get a check. If they file a Form 1040-PR or Form 1040-SS, they don’t get a check.
This is not right, but this little detail was not publicized.
If an American citizen is married to a non-citizen who does not have a Social Security Number, this couple will not get a check. However, the US citizen will get a check of $1,200 if he files married filing separate.
The Trump administration believes in a narrow definition of who are deserving citizens.
I think some of these rules were in play for an earlier bonus credit, from maybe 2008. But Trump and Congress could have been more generous if they wanted to be.
jl
” How is the world celebrating this date today? ”
The US celebration (commemoration seems better word, though) seems to be a metaphorical reenactment gone very wrong.
On the other hand, for the US ‘celebration’ might be right, since the ability to maximize loss of life, economic and social welfare, and just senseless waste in general, seems to be celebrated by our national leadership.
Gin & Tonic
@TomatoQueen: Since I *am* old, I feel I’m allowed to do it.
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
“Sarcasm” is his new favorite word.
Achrachno
“How is the world celebrating this date today?”
By making the same political mistakes all over again?
WaterGirl
A reminder of Anne Laurie’s Programming Note from earlier:
“Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration
starts at 8pm ET in 13 minutes.
dmsilev
Attention, all passengers on the RMS Trumptanic. The deck chairs are hereby being rearranged:
Also,
Yes, ‘you’ wonder how a gibbering idiot who listens to anti-vax nuts might possibly have come up with that.
lamh36
@WaterGirl: I mean working in a group is college is not that much better.
In my marketing class this semester we had to do group assignments for like 50% of our grade.
Mahnnnnn…listen.
I finished my segments for the final group MKT paper. All the other girls need to do is copy and paste their parts into 3 remaining spots and the paper will be ready to go.
I texted the group to tell em I’m done, so now ya’ll do ya’ll thing. Last person to edit the doc can also be the one who emails it to the teacher. I’m done.
Two of group members, barely did thier parts. One of them turned her draft in seperately from the group earlier in the semester and now she talking bout she gone call me later to I guess get me to “help” her do her part…naw chick I’m done. I told you what to do, I’m NOT planning on writing the entire damn segment for you.
I already said, I finished my bits early cause Ima be busy. its now up to them to finish it up.
Of course I’ll be monitoring the Google Doc until it’s due. But i’m not staying on them to finish it. I’m ignoring ALL calls about it ? til it’s due on Tues. Then bout an hr or so before it’s due, Ima send another text to say deuces!
But I’ll be damned if I do anything else ?. To be clear, I’m not turning in an incomplete paper. Fac is, fact…I’ve got segments ready to add JIC. But them damn girls need to fly or fall. Ok. I’ve all but spoon fed these girls on EVERY part of our group project. I’ve done enough for these folks.
They all got another semester or two to go. I’m done and I am OVER IT! I
Heck, I’ve still got another paper to write for another class and an exam to study for. I need this group shit to be DONE!!!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/82cb8b4d4db160e9bff42f7fa8ff48f474b8ead605f56dcdd20263c642b968a5.gif
NotMax
Open thread grab bag.
FYI, for those partial to emojis.
Then, for momentary amusement, there’s this, which is cute but ridiculously pricey.
Brachiator
@CaseyL:
She would not be moving into the White House, not unless Biden also married her.
However, naming her to be Vice President would be a weird stunt that would doom the ticket.
I know that Michelle Obama is fabulous and can probably do anything, but has she ever held any elective office?
Everyone will look to Biden’s VP as a possible successor. I do not want a relative political amateur in that job.
WaterGirl
@dmsilev: Oh my gosh, he still can’t do rallies, so he is going to do his own version of something akin to the Oscars/Emmys etc.
Or maybe the “event” version of a book tour.
This is horrifying.
satby
So the Indiana stay at home orders expire next Friday, 5/1. I heard from another vendor that almost every vendor who left returned to the market and only a few of us are holdouts. Her husband went to put up a sign at her booth and observed very few vendors or customers were wearing masks, social distancing was ok, not great. I don’t think Indiana has hit a peak at all, but it looks like the Republican governor will fold and drop the order this Friday. IL order is extended to May 30. Just one more reason to hate living in a red state.
Gvg
@Gin & Tonic: First, I want to be represented by people way above average and not “representative” of how we look or median age. Shrug, nostalgia won’t solve our problems, I just don’t think your solution is well thought out.
we haven’t heard of most of the best people we have who haven’t already had their turn, so we can’t speculate about them. Biden, for all our concerns, actually does know a lot of good people to hire and has proven he listens to good advice.
some or maybe all of that speculation you quoted is our version of owning the conservatives who you have to admit have done plenty to piss us off and make us want to make them scream. Relax, it’s just blowing off steam.
TriassicSands
@Gin & Tonic:
So, you think we should elect someone stupid and ignorant? That’s what we have now. More seriously, the only reasons age should be an issue:
1) the person is too young to be eligible. I’ve seen people say they want AOC. Sorry, she’s not 35.
2) the person is too young and lacks experience and other associated qualifications. Buttigieg.
3) the person is too old and/or is clearly in mental and/or physical decline. Biden, Sanders, Trump, etc.
Number 3) is, in my opinion, one of the reasons Biden is a poor choice. Being better than Trump is the lowest imaginable bar.
In between, age should be irrelevant.
joel hanes
Repeat from the dead end of one of last night’s open threads:
I’m re-reading Brunner’s amazing 1972 sf dystopia The Sheep Look Up.
Astonishingly prescient. Really exactly the book for this moment in history.
If you read sf, and haven’t yet read this, do so.
In the book, what we now call the red states have elected a man with the demeanor of a game show host to the Oval Office. The current dysfunction of our media is depicted with almost perfect fidelity, as are the pathologies of late-stage capitalism. Multiple simultaneous inter-related environmental and public-health crises. People go about masked.
BC in Illinois
The West Point website has two press releases side by side:
April 22 – – President to speak at West Point Graduation
The size and scope of the graduation ceremony will be determined by safety considerations for Cadets and the entire West Point community. The Academy leadership is conducting a thorough analysis and plan for the safe return of the Corps of Cadets.
April 7 – – West Point Implements New Face Covering Policy
Could set up an interesting tension.
Especially since Donald “I don’t take responsibility at all” Trump has said that he is interested in having
the Corps of Cadetshis props arrayed”nice and tight” not at a “politically correct” social distance.Duty? Honor? Country? Trump knows nothing of these things
Ceci n est pas mon nym
And we should hit the million-cases mark early tomorrow. Currently 987,000 with about 30,000 new cases a day.
SiubhanDuinne
@lamh36:
This is why I love you, lamh.
Brachiator
Again, Trump has done little to effectively fight the virus and is treating it as a bad guest at his MAGA party who won’t go away.
He desperately wants to move on to the next thing, which will be something involving praising him for something because, well dammit, just because.
TomatoQueen
@Gin & Tonic: I am also old, and I’mma telling you stop that.
WaterGirl
@lamh36: Oh my gosh, how does that story end re: your marketing class? Or is it not quite over yet?
No wonder you have no patience left for the bullshit.
joel hanes
Fezzik: Why do you wear a mask? Were you burned by acid, or something like that?
Man in Black: Oh no. It’s just that they’re terribly comfortable. I think everyone will be wearing them in the future.
zhena gogolia
@TomatoQueen:
At least I haven’t seen the phrase “boomer remover” lately.
Brachiator
@joel hanes:
Sounds interesting. Thanks for the tip.
Martin
@lamh36: So, engineering programs normally have ways of handling this. At the start of the course, everyone writes their job description. At the end of the course, everyone submits a performance evaluation of everyone else on the team.
Even better, the good instructors require the students to manage their work in git so everyone has to check in their contributions. Git keeps track of what they submitted and when. Just from the commit history you can tell who did what and when.
dmsilev
@WaterGirl: He HAS to be the center of attention, and at the same time someone has managed to convince him that talking, even ‘sarcastically’, about deliberately inhaling WWI-era poison gas is counterproductive at best. The desperation is becoming ever more palpable.
Chyron HR
@Gin & Tonic:
The Youth can pick their own leader, but the leader they picked is 78 years old.
lamh36
@WaterGirl: not quite over. Final paper is due this Tuesday at 6pm.
I’m holding off on adding anymore to the doc until the other ladies in the group contributes what they are supposed to.
But Tuesday morning I’ll text the group again to say “are we good” and that’s it.
On one part of the paper we had due last week, one of the group members didn’t finish adding her segment until like 15 min before the paper was due to be emailed, which she still turned in after the due time cause she had to proofread.
It’s been frustrating the entire semester.
The silver lining I see is that it’s proof that I could be a good leader, able to keep our team w/their eyes on the prize. So imagine what I could do with a more engaged team!
joel hanes
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
The U.S. has now passed 54,000 confirmed deaths from the virus.
… and the rate of deaths/day is slaloming around an average of about 2,000/day.
So, since the pressure to “re-open” is growing, and no new stay-home orders seem to be in the offing, it’s a safe bet that we pass 60,000 in four days, and 100,000 before June 1.
Trends don’t last forever, and this one probably won’t; but if it does, we’re looking at 200,000 COVID-19 deaths before the end of July.
WaterGirl
@dmsilev: Shaking my head, wondering how all our institutions managed to fail us.
OT, did you see my reply this morning about braiding bread?
Also, King Arthur Flour has a great video on this page, showing how to do a 6-strand braid.
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/jeffreys-challah-recipe?go=EC200423_R1&trk_msg=S30Q53MG59LKPCMKGEMRC1VET0&trk_contact=KNOS4JH5SL02TANLDHEJNU2BVC&trk_sid=I69JERH6S6FGSKOL63QN97RC7C&utm_source=ltk_master&utm_medium=email&utm_term=inrid-recipe1&utm_campaign=EC-200423&utm_content=content-video-isolation
NotMax
@dmsilev
The man wouldn’t recognize sarcasm if it ran up and slapped the orange off his puss.
CliosFanBoy
@Brachiator: The Median Age in the US is 38. That’s even younger than JFK or TR were. Not a useful measure.
danielx
@Gin & Tonic:
Because the people who are more representative don’t have any money.
This has been another edition of Simple Answers To Simple Questions.
satby
@zhena gogolia: was looking for you earlier, AcornTV is doing an extended free trial so you can finish the entire Foyle’s War series! Sign up directly with them and use the code FREE30 for a 30 day trial.*
I will not earn a commission from this ?
TomatoQueen
@zhena gogolia: Oof! That’s going to be all over my feed tomorrow, I’ll bet.
WaterGirl
@lamh36:
Silver lining is right! If they were your work team, you could mentor them and bring them along. That’s just not realistic for a group project in school.
So this is it? At some point in May you will have your Master’s?
August West
Is anyone else having a problem accessing the Stephen Sondheim concert?
I clicked on this link https://www.broadway.com/sondheim90 and all I see is the announcement message.
RepubAnon
I’d like to see Barack Obama nominated for a spot on the Supreme Court. Heads would be exploding like shells on the Western Front.
dmsilev
@WaterGirl: No,I missed your earlier comment. I’ve seen the braiding video you linked before; it was one of the things that gave me the idea to try it myself.
WaterGirl
@August West: It says “waiting for broadway.com” so I’m thinking it hasn’t started yet.
zhena gogolia
@satby:
I know. I just don’t want to sign up for yet another thing. I can’t keep track of them. We’re watching the fourth episode of the first season now (we can only take half an episode per night), and it’s fabulous.
SiubhanDuinne
@WaterGirl: Hasn’t started yet :-(
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl:
Now some of the people in the chat are saying 8:30. I don’t get it.
August West
@WaterGirl:
Yes, I’m getting that same message. Hopefully, this event will be available for viewing online afterwards.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: maybe they are waiting for more people to queue up? technical difficulties? it’s “live” so of course there will be issues, right? :-
or waiting to get to 100,00? we’re at 98k right now.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
Broadway never starts on time.
zhena gogolia
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
But 20 minutes late?
Mandalay
@Brachiator:
Good point, and it would completely undercut any argument from the Democrats about Trump being a disaster because he’d never been elected to anything.
Regardless of that, both Bidens need to immediately STFU drooling about her if she isn’t going to take the job. This is what Joe said the other day:
Well that’s great if she takes the job, but what if she doesn’t? Whoever does take the job is already “the backup option”, and risks being tagged as not-Michelle.
lamh36
@WaterGirl: 3 weeks officially. Yes, Masters in Health Care Management
Tuesday, I’ve got this final paper for MKT, but majority of my grade is in, all I need is half the credit and I’ve passed the class.
The following week, I’ve got a final paper due in my HCM Capstone course (seminar course taken in final semester) that WAS a group paper but thanks to COVID-19 it’s now an individual paper…thx ‘Rona!
Then on May 12, final official day of classes, I have my final test for my Finance Class. That one I’m a bit worried about, but not really, I’ve already got a B+ in the course and as long as I don’t TOTALLY tank that last test (which would be hard since this teacher is DEEP curve giver), I’ll pass the class.
Then is all done but the signature on the diploma. Official grades aren’t due until May 17th, but I’ll already know it’s done.
zhena gogolia
Maybe the Phantom has sabotaged Zoom until they let Christine Daaé sing the first number.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
Baud
@Mandalay: You’re the only person in the world who is concerned about that.
hitchhiker
Oh, I’m definitely looking forward to that. What exactly are they planning to focus on with respect to the economy? Not the market, which is still off by 5000 points from where it had been. Not the resurgence of anything, because nothing is resurging and especially not coal. Not employment numbers.
They still don’t seem to have realized they’re trapped. The economy can’t stabilize until consumers have confidence that engaging with others isn’t going to put us all back in lockdown. We can’t have that confidence until there is sufficient testing.
All they have to do is demonstrate that they understand this and lay out a coherent plan — with timelines — for testing. That’s it. Show us the testing plan, update us every day on progress toward the necessary # of tests, and do that until we’ve met that necessary #.
That’s all they need to do, and instead they’re going to ignore testing and give us a happy-talk message about the economy while they insult the media.
I’m in WA. My guess is that King County will be one of 4 or 5 places in the USA where efforts to test and trace in sufficient numbers ramp up quickly. By then it will be June, and we’ll know a lot that we don’t know today. Happy talk will not move the needle.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@lamh36:
Wow. End of a long haul. Congrats!
WaterGirl
@lamh36: So close!
We should have a “graduation party” for you on BJ when you finish. Let me know when you’re done, or about to be done!
WaterGirl
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: I assume that is a virtual red carpet?
Omnes Omnibus
@Mandalay: Natalie Dormer tops my list of second wife candidates. I’d take her in a heartbeat.
And now all other women are my backup option and risk being tagged as “not Natalie.”
Oh noez!
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: Maybe you should think of her as your “final” wife? My BIL gave the toast at his best friend’s wedding – wife #3 – and he introduced her as wife #3, which didn’t go over well.
Baud
Via Reddit, I hope this guy wins.
https://i.redd.it/go3h1sns08v41.jpg
Percysowner
@satby: Ohio’s expires May 1 as well. DeWine says he’ll announce plans for phasing in reopening Monday. I’m concerned that he will cave to the Republicans who are demanding reopening. My daughter’s work says they will keep people working from home until June, but we don’t know about my son-in-law’s job. I show up every day and take care of my granddaughter, so I hope he can keep working from home until June as well.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@hitchhiker: NC Repukes are ramping up a plan to use the antibody test used in the Stanford study. I assume they expect to get a high positive rate so they can start screaming that we’re ready to reopen.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
If Omnes gets Natalie Dormer, he’s not letting her go.
Mandalay
@dmsilev:
And probably on Wednesday we’ll exceed 60,000 – the number Nostradamus Fauci postulated as a final total just 17 days ago.
We should also go through the three million mark for total cases worldwide later this evening.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: I like the fact that you accept Ms Dormer’s candidacy but worry about the terminology. I would disagree with the term final as I would assume that Ms Dormer would sober up at some point and, well, that would be that.
lamh36
@Dorothy A. Winsor: 2 years of evening classes 2-3x a week with a FULL work schedule AND pandemic!
LONG HAUL feels right!
LOL
danielx
@Omnes Omnibus:
I’ve said exactly the same thing about Scarlett Johansson.
trollhattan
@WaterGirl:
There’s a song for that: “My Next Ex Wife.”
BTW the guitarist, Little Charlie Baty, recently passed, which is hugely sad news for folks here who used to watch them at a local club. Best jump blues guitarist you never heard of. Seriously, he had chops for days. R.I.P. and thanks for all the music.
CaseyL
@August West:
Everyone is. First they started half an hour late, and now the sound isn’t working.
…. and now it’s all gone dark.
I really appreciate the gesture, but you’d think they’d done a technical rehearsal first.
Mandalay
@Baud:
I’m not remotely concerned; there are plenty of other things to be concerned about. But you are very naive if you think Republicans won’t paint Biden’s eventual VP selection as a backup option. Why wouldn’t they?
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@WaterGirl: It’s the usual reason why opening night is always late.
Poor Raul. Just happily talking away with no mic.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
That’s pretty awesome that the guy running a huge Zoom meeting watched all over the world didn’t remember to unmute.
I’ve actually been really impressed at shows that made the transition. We’ve become Fallon fans and never really watched him before. Colbert’s doing pretty well after a rocky start, and so is Trevor Noah. It’s all weird and sad but cool that it works as well as it does.
zhena gogolia
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
My classes aren’t this bad.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Mandalay: you seem pretty concerned.
among other things.
Baud
@Mandalay:
Who cares? Republicans will make anything up. Biden shouldn’t waste time trying to avoid their spin.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
Refresh your page. They’re trying again.
Omnes Omnibus
@Mandalay: You’re worried that Republicans might try to use something a Democrat did or said against them? Fuck it, if it’s not that it will be something else. Christ.
germy
What’s the matter with you libs? Don’t you get sarcasm?
WaterGirl
@Baud: I had to google “Natalie Dormer photos”. I see what you mean.
CaseyL
@Mandalay: Y’know, if Biden offered me the Veep spot, I wouldn’t care how many people said “no” before me. I’d grab it with both hands.
Anyone who’d sulk and grumble at not being the first choice… would not be a good choice.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: LOL
August West
@CaseyL:
Exactly, the idea of this concert was wonderful but these technical glitches are ridiculous.
zhena gogolia
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
I’m only getting a replay of the abortive start.
Omnes Omnibus
@trollhattan: I really liked that. Thanks and RIP.
WaterGirl
@trollhattan: I will have to send that link to my BIL.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@CaseyL: also, I suspect by the time a formal offer is made, Biden’s five or six closest aides will have assurances from (just to pick a possibility at random) Kamala Harris’ five or six closest aides that she’s not gonna say no.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
Try this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJdF5r-uuEs
CaseyL
The Sondheim thing has restarted. Fingers crossed!
…..and gone again. Well, they’re offering some very nice time fillers. I’m watching All That Jazz on another tab :)
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
And baadda-boom.
I don’t know if this is happening, guys.
Steeplejack
@Omnes Omnibus:
A subset of Green Lantern syndrome. Person X pops into the public view for being good or great at one thing, ergo they must be the superhero who is the answer to all our problems, or at least the things we see as most pressing right now. E.g., Andrew Cuomo for president. Forget his checkered history as governor and major-league asshole.
Kent
@Omnes Omnibus: 43-year old Greek philosophy scholar Shakira is my backup wife. My current wife is on notice in case she becomes available. Her backup husband is Denzel Washington because fair is fair.
zhena gogolia
@CaseyL:
Seems like a nope.
zhena gogolia
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
Well, TBH, I’m not that big a Sondheim fan. I wanted to see Lin-Manuel Miranda and some of the others. I think I’ll switch to Foyle.
hueyplong
@Mandalay: So from all you’ve seen from the GOP in campaign strategies, you figure they’ll go with “the VP is a second choice.”
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
Now it’s rescheduled for 9:57.
Elizabelle
@zhena gogolia: Foyle! Love that show.
Was watching a bit of Inspector Morse this weekend. Second episode had a really complicated plot, and Hyacinth Bucket’s long suffering husband in the mix.
WaterGirl
Can I just say how happy I am not that I am not part of the tech support crew or sound crew for this thing?
It hasn’t really started, right?
Mary G
WaterGirl
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: How do you know this?
Brachiator
@WaterGirl:
Have you ever seen the wickedly funny SNL skit:
Meet Your Second Wife
I do mean wicked.
zhena gogolia
The only people left on YouTube are the scammers.
burnspbesq
@TriassicSands:
it’s also the only bar that matters.
Baud
@Kent:
Αυτά τα ισχία δεν λένε ψέματα.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@WaterGirl: The Broadwaycom channel’s home page shows it as scheduled under Recent Activities.
zhena gogolia
@Elizabelle: That episode is incomprehensible if you haven’t read the book. Even then. But Michael Gough is great.
CaseyL
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: 9:57? Why not just say 10:00 and do a sound/link check?
WaterGirl
@Brachiator: I have not! But I seem to have some time on my hands since the broadway thing is delayed.
germy
Sab
@lamh36: Wow. You never complain.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Elizabelle: @zhena gogolia: trying to remember, is that The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn?
One Brit cop show I want to watch is Inspector Rebus. Maybe that’s how I’ll decompress this week. Big Ger Cafferty could be my nomination for memorable secondary character in the thread below
WaterGirl
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: I clearly don’t know my way around youtube. I went to youtube and searched for “broadway.com channel” but it shows as being scheduled for 8:05 pm.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
@germy: what’s even funnier, he was doing the hand gesture for crazy while he was saying it. (gif)
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@CaseyL: Can you do soundchecks on Youtube? I’ve never done a livestream there.
A Ghost to Most
@trollhattan: In the same vein, “The Company I Keep”:
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Steeplejack (phone): that picture and the snark it invites never get old
CaseyL
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: I meant, have someone right there trying to watch it on YouTube and see if it works.
Meanwhile, the Sondheim90Concert twitter feed is hilarious.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@WaterGirl: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc5dpUKLcZQQaDxMB_nYi5g
Actually, they just started it again. We’ve going to hear this Overture a lot tonight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A92wZIvEUAw
Elizabelle
@zhena gogolia: Yes! Looked him up. Batman’s butler. He was excellent.
Mike in NC
About to watch the HBO miniseries on Chernobyl for the third time, it was so great.
Steeplejack
@Brachiator:
This brings up a question I meant to poll the jackaltariat about.
A friend who does (phone) business with people in a lot of states told me a few days ago that he doesn’t know of anyone in a blue state that has gotten a stimulus check yet. I said that sounds kind of conspiracy-theory-ish, and he said, “Yeah, but just sayin’.” And he is not usually a conspiracy theory guy.
So the questions: (a) Have you received your stimulus check? (b) Do you live in a red or blue state?
I have not received mine in Virginia.
ETA: Not only is my friend not a conspiracy theory guy, he’s pretty hip and up to speed on politics in general, so for him to bring this up really struck me.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@CaseyL: Yah, I just don’t think you can do it without actually streaming. So, plan to start a few minutes early to do the check.
Yaaaaassssssss.
Kent
@Baud:
Shakira 2005: “My hips don’t lie”
Shakira 2020: “Truth is subjective based on the reality of the observer, so really…My hips can’t lie.”
August West
It looks like this Sondheim concert is finally back on track https://www.broadway.com/sondheim90/
and not a moment too soon.
J R in WV
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
I don’t recall the daily death toll, but I DO recall that the Vietnam war killed 58,000+ Americans over 20 years. We will blow past that number in the next week, after just a few months. I hope that this comparison is made repeatedly over the next 8 months,
Trump’s incompetence has killed more Americans than a 20 year war!! Beat that statistic like a drum circle !!!
Elizabelle
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yes.
The silent, confusing world of Nicholas Quinn. Thank dog for being able to back up while watching online.
Kent
George W Bush and Richard Nixon were both better than Trump. Just saying.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Two thousand Americans died today, and getting this story into the Post was probably the top priority of the President, his CoS, and Kellyanne Conway
The only thing less believable would be a story claiming that trump is anonymously donating to COVID relief charities (if his lack of charitable giving were on anyone’s radar at the moment).
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack: Illinois – blue – no check
CaseyL
@Steeplejack: I live in a Blue state and got my stimulus check within a day or two. But I’ve e-filed my taxes the last few years, and have direct deposit.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Steeplejack: My brother-in-law in Texas, yes.
Me in NC, no.
Steeplejack
@dmsilev:
“Since there will be fewer people, there will be more money and vacant jobs to go around for the survivors. Win!”
August West
@Kent:
When it comes to ignorance, corruption, and malevolence, Trump is head and shoulders above any politician in American history.
Yutsano
@Steeplejack: I got my direct deposit April 15th. I live in Washington. I know a friend of mine got his and he lives in Illinois. So I wonder if it’s based on the last income from the last return filed.*
*I have no insight as to whether this is accurate or not. My office was shut down by the middle of March before the rules were set.
August West
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
The NY Post is the worst newspaper in America and the only things the print edition are useful for are to serve as the lining of a bird cage or a cat litter box.
Steeplejack
@lamh36:
LOL. I want to see you smite those bishes.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Gave up on the Sondheim thing, now watching SNL sketches done at home.
Betty
@Steeplejack: Thank you!
August West
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
The technical glitches have been resolved and the Sondheim concert is now up and running.
Gin & Tonic
@Steeplejack: My son, whose legal address is in NYC, got his direct deposit on like the first day. My daughter and SIL, living in MD, got theirs the same day.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
pay-walled article, but this would explain today’s on-going meltdown (and on Melanie’s birthday, too…)
Mike in NC
@J R in WV: US casualties in Vietnam occurred roughly over a 10 year period.
Brachiator
@Steeplejack:
I know quite a number of people in California and in Texas who have received payments.
Here are some details:
It’s funny how some people derided the checks as pittance: “$1,200 is nothing,” even though the amounts could be $2,400 and more for married couples. Now, there is talk about a second round of stimulus payments.
Mary G
@Steeplejack: I haven’t gotten mine -irs.gov says April 29, but my housemate got hers about 9 or 10 days ago.
ETA: in California.
Steeplejack
@satby:
I might bite on this. I’ve been seeing ads the last couple of days for the miniseries Deadwater Fell on Acorn. I loves me some Cush Jumbo. I didn’t watch The Good Wife, but I loved her in her short tenure on Vera.
Plus Acorn has a lot of other stuff I want to watch anyway. I keep dithering because I can never decide between Acorn or BritBox or both.
And I wouldn’t mind bingeing Foyle’s War in order. I think I’ve seen them all, but I came a little late and might have missed a few in the first couple of seasons.
dexwood
@Steeplejack: Blue state, direct deposit of C19 money received on the first day. My IRS refund a bit later that day.
Steeplejack
@zhena gogolia:
Foyle’s War is a great series, right through to the end. You’ve got great viewing ahead!
The Moar You Know
@joel hanes: I’ve read The Shockwave Rider, Stand On Zanzibar and Total Eclipse (possibly the most depressing novel of all time. But I haven’t read this one.
Gotta rectify that.
Brachiator
@Yutsano:
This may have figured into the direct deposit schedule. I have seen reports that distribution of physical checks will be based on AGI amounts on the last filed tax return.
According to a Forbes article, the government will begin sending paper stimulus checks starting April 24.
Trollhattan
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Sooo, he’s ready to pull a 12 hour shift at an Amazon warehouse.
August West
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Trump is afflicted with approximately infinite butt hurt.
Speaking of unflattering books:
h/t https://politicalwire.com/2020/04/22/donald-trump-and-his-assault-on-the-truth/
Patricia Kayden
So comforting.
Steeplejack
Okay, it looks like conspiracy theory shot down on the stimulus checks. I’ll let my friend know and tell him to breathe into a paper bag for a while each day.
Patricia Kayden
dexwood
@Steeplejack: deep breathing into a paper bag good, huffing a bleach bottle bad.
Steeplejack
@lamh36:
Congratulations! (Early though they may be.)
Nora
@Kent:
Liam Neeson is my backup husband. My husband is on notice, but says he’ll take Gwyneth Paltrow if she becomes available. Frankly, I think I’m getting the better deal.
catclub
@Brachiator: so have any checks arrived in the mail?
otherwise, payments.
leeleeFL
@Gin & Tonic: Because you have to be 35 to be President, but no one has amassed enough experience by then. I agree that Dems need to start nominating younger ppl, but Barack is only 50 ish. That’s probably about right.
Don’t misunderstand, I like AOC, she’s smart and feisty and she has a future. But she is in no way ready for the Bigs. She learns fast, and that’s good. Let’s see where she is in 15 years
Who would you have wanted! I kinda had my heart set Mayor Pete. Young but not too young. Military, gay, married, cute. I got over it.
If it’s Joe, then it’s Joe.
tRump needs gone.
Steeplejack
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
LOL. I don’t follow Broadway that much, so it always kills me when I discover that some actor I’ve seen on TV has a whole other dimension to his career. Case in point: Raúl Esparza, best known to me as a D.A. on Law and Order: SVU. He also was in Hannibal, if I remember correctly.
Brachiator
@catclub:
The Forbes article I linked to earlier noted that paper checks will be sent starting April 24, starting with those people with the lowest Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) on 2018 or 2019 tax returns.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: Ee-zackly.
Democrats shouldn’t even be dignifying talk of Michelle Obama as VP with any kind of response except to say, “Ridiculous”. She has said repeatedly and firmly that she has no interest in seeking office.
Not least, perhaps, because she probably realizes better than anyone that if she were to decide to do so, then she would likely immediately be pilloried, dragged through media mud, have bullshit made-up scandals attached to her name, and generally see her status as one of America’s most admired women change almost overnight to a grasping, overambitious, untrustworthy harpy.
You know…kind of like what happened to *another* Democratic President’s wife who *did* decide to run for office.
James E Powell
@Brachiator:
Agree and there’s no way to get around it, so we (and by “we” I mean Biden) need to make it a positive. The usual considerations – region, ideology – will not govern the choice. Fitness for office is a Democratic strength and this is one year where we make that the center of the argument. So far, that’s what Biden’s been doing.
zhena gogolia
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Yes, Nicholas Quinn is the one with Clive Swift, who played Hyacinth Bucket’s husband.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Baud:
He’s not wrong.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Steeplejack: Has he checked the IRS site? I was just able to input bank information today after many days of error messages.
zhena gogolia
@Steeplejack:
Oh, we watched them all the first time, but it is really fun to revisit. Eagle Day is fab — both Roger Allam and Anton Lesser as guest stars! Allam’s scene with Honeysuckle is a gem.
TS (the original)
@Brachiator:
I might be laughing forever after watching that. Thanks muchly
Brachiator
@Steeplejack:
I think I read that it was a thing for some Broadway actors to appear on the L&O shows between theater roles.
Steeplejack
@trollhattan:
That guy is great! RIP.
catclub
@August West: also butthurt
catclub
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: i might try again, then, but I think I am hexed from inputting electronic info to the IRS because I froze my credit reports.
Kent
@Nora:
@Kent:
You are.
Gwyneth? I don’t see the appeal. She’s into that freaky weird health stuff and seems like she would be a humorless nag to have around. “not now honey, I’m applying my goop” My second backup would be Penelope Cruz. Hmm..I guess I see a trend there.
TS (the original)
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
One of the twitter responses
I really hope that Michael gets a Noble prize for his book.
Geeno
@Steeplejack: NY here – I got my direct deposit. I don’t know anyone who’d be getting a check.
James E Powell
@Steeplejack:
I’ve received nothing. I live in California
I thought the checks were being held up for some reason. I’m not desperate for money right now, so I’m not sweating the wait.
Steeplejack
@Baud:
Goddamn it, I can count on one hand the times it has been worth it to go to Google Translate to see what somebody’s foreign gibberish says. Yours just makes the cut. Barely.
For everyone else: “These hips do not lie.“
Patricia Kayden
Gin & Tonic
@leeleeFL: My comment was neither an attack on Biden nor a promotion of AOC. If you think it was, you get an “F” in reading comprehension.
American politics is graying and that’s not good as the country is getting younger. The mean age of a *newly-elected* representative in 2010 was 48; in 2018 it was almost 51. The mean age of a *newly-elected* senator was 52 in 2010, and nearly 55 in 2018. The two leading Presidential candidates in 2020 are beyond the mandatory retirement age for CEO of any publicly-traded company. The Senate Majority Leader is 78. The Speaker of the House is 80. The House Majority Leader is 80. The House Majority Whip is 79. I can go on.
Meanwhile the President of France is 42. The Prime Minister of Spain is 48. The Prime Minister of Finland is 34. The Prime Minister of Canada is 48. The Prime Minister of New Zealand is 39. A long-serving, aging leader like the Chancellor of Germany is –gasp– 65. Dianne Feinstein is old enough to be her mother.
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack:
He is so good. I was pissed when they dumped him from SVU to bring back the “Stone” guy, whatever his first name was. Our loss.
Whereaway
@Steeplejack: I live in Colorado and my ‘check’ (direct deposit) showed up early last week.
Steeplejack
@Brachiator:
Link for that so I can send it to my friend?
Mandalay
@hueyplong:
Correct.
Not the biggest issue of our times, but why is Biden promoting someone for the job when she has publicly stated she doesn’t want it, and he has publicly stated she doesn’t want it? It’s so mindless and pointless.
WaterGirl
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: Do you have a link to where you go to find out if you will be getting a payment? I went to the generic site, but I haven’t found anything yet where I can enter my info and find out.
Mowgli
@Kent: you have won the intertubes for today, sir. Well played.
Chris Johnson
“It was a pun.”
“A PUN?”
“No no, what was it, the thing where a word spells the same forwards as backwards?”
“A palindrome?”
“Yeah!”
“No it’s not! The palindrome of Bolton would be Notlob!”
…as far as Vice President Michelle Obama is concerned, I would say… not sensible, not serious, but all the same I would laugh so fucking hard. And it goes without saying it’d be a hell of an upgrade, and they’d have my vote. I guess if we are a massive joke we might as well be a witty one.
Omnes Omnibus
Proverbs 26:11
Steeplejack
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
He wasn’t worried about his own check. He was making a general observation from talking to a lot of people in different states in the course of his daily business.
Steeplejack
@zhena gogolia:
That reminds me that I need to get caught up on Endeavour. I’m about a season and a half behind. Even farther behind on Doctor Blake’s Mysteries.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: Go to the IRS homepage. Second item down in the first column.
Steeplejack
@Brachiator:
Yes, there’s a whole anecdotal “literature” about New York actors subsidizing their “real” careers by appearing on the various L&O shows. There was even an annual party for people who appeared only as victims and dead bodies.
I was just surprised by the “big musical star” thing for Esparza. I could see him in gritty off-Broadway dramas for sure.
Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)
@Mandalay: Sorry, but this is just silly; with all the crap they threw at her when she was FLOTUS, and the shit fit they threw just b/c her husband looks like me and did his job competently, and you think THAT’S the play they are going to go with?
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: When I try that, it seems to only be about a tax refund for this year and I’m supposed to enter an amount. I don’t seem to get to the part for the EIC payment.
My google fu sucks.
JAFD
@Steeplejack: I don’t know. Really.
Have direct deposit. Not going to hike up to closest branch of my bank just to check balance, not going to pay fee from other bank with closest ATM. Have enuf money to get what I need – and can’t go out shopping – so when it gets here (New Jersey) it gets here.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: Ah, that’s part of the identity verification thing. They might ask for your AGI and refund/amount owed from the last time you filed taxes.
Brachiator
@WaterGirl:
Everything related to the Stimulus payment should be accessible from the link noted. If you have problems getting info, it means that the IRS site is having problems.
https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/economic-impact-payments
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: Okay, I finally found the right spot. They hadn’t processed 2019 yet, but they gave me the option of entering 2018 info.
Finally they took my direct deposit info. Yay!
thank you!
WaterGirl
@Brachiator: thank you!
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: This is why drunk Natalie Dormer might marry me.
J R in WV
@lamh36:
So many huge congratulations on all your hard work !!
Also traveled all over the world while working and in grad school !!!!
Best of luck with the reports/papers/finals.
Stay safe, keep in touch!
Brachiator
@Steeplejack:
I love Inspector Thursday. Great character and the actor is excellent in the role. But somehow, I don’t really see the future Morse in his younger self.
I note that I have liked individual episodes.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: Another 15 minutes of frustration, and hell, I might have married drunk Omnes!
August West
@Brachiator:
@Steeplejack:
15 Times Broadway Stars Showed Up on SVU
Broadway stars share their favorite memories of Law & Order SVU in honor of the show’s 400th episode
https://www.playbill.com/article/15-times-broadway-stars-showed-up-on-svu
Brachiator
@Steeplejack:
When will I get my Stimulus payment
Trying to set link from my smartphone. Let me know if any problem with the link
J R in WV
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
Well, you have to think of Trump’s administration. They all know that Texas comes before North Carolina, just count the letters!!!
Brachiator
@James E Powell:
Direct deposit was initial priority, and easier to do. Paper checks are being sent out beginning April 24, with lowest income earners set to receive theirs first.
Schedule, subject to update.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2020/04/21/stimulus-checks-schedule/
WaterGirl
@Brachiator: Your link is working, but the bastards won’t let me in unless I turn off my ad blocker. Which I won’t do on principle when they try to hold a gun to my head.
catclub
@Mandalay: but why is Biden promoting someone for the job when she has publicly stated she doesn’t want it,
ummmm, Biden? or “team Biden”?
opiejeanne
@NotMax:
?
@Steeplejack: I live in Washington , a very blue state, and we got our checks about 10 days ago.
joel hanes
@Nora:
Gwyneth Paltrow
Hmm. de gustibus, I guess.
Cate Blanchett here. Or Geena Davis.
If I were much much younger, maybe Emma Watson.
Intelligence appeals to me.
Steeplejack
@JAFD:
You know, they have this whole thing now where you can check your balance via the Intertubes. But, hey, point taken.
Steeplejack
@Omnes Omnibus:
Yes, because that’s just what she’s looking for: a bookkeeper by day and a devil in the sheets at night!
TriassicSands
@burnspbesq:
Glib, but utter nonsense.
Steeplejack
@Brachiator:
I have somewhat decoupled the two series in my mind. I enjoy both without straining to make the admittedly strained connection.
It’s a much easier transition from later Morse to the Lewis series, which I also like.
Steeplejack
@August West:
Cool! Thanks.
catclub
“Not much meat on those bones, but what’s there is cherce.”
Pete and Mike, I believe.
Steeplejack
@Brachiator:
That worked. Thanks.
A Good Woman
@WaterGirl: I liked Esparza too, however my understanding is that he was looking to move on, that he had done all he could with the character. That came from an interview I found online, perhaps his web page.
satby
@catclub: Pat and Mike.
@Steeplejack: people on SSI will start getting direct deposits this week if you didn’t file a return for last year, or like me owed taxes in 2018. Even when the payment was directly taken from my account, the IRS didn’t consider that info as direct deposit info.
Mary G
@WaterGirl: This is the IRS link I used to find out my payment was coming on April 29.
Bill Arnold
@germy:
Every day many strangers came to town, and among them one day came two swindlers. They let it be known they were weavers, and they said they could weave the most magnificent fabrics imaginable. Not only were their colors and patterns uncommonly fine, but clothes made of this cloth had a wonderful way of becoming invisible to anyone who was unfit for his office, or who was unusually stupid.
“Those would be just the clothes for me,” thought the Emperor. “If I wore them I would be able to discover which men in my empire are unfit for their posts. And I could tell the wise men from the fools. Yes, I certainly must get some of the stuff woven for me right away.” He paid the two swindlers a large sum of money to start work at once.
In this case the “weavers” and the God Emperor are one and the same, and yet, through thought processes that only He is capable of, the God Emperor believes that his magnificent clothes are real.
WaterGirl
@A Good Woman: Glad to hear that. I was kind of worked up about it, but apparently not worked up enough to do some googling. I have a bit more time on my hands at the moment, so maybe I’ll do that now.
WaterGirl
@Mary G: Thank you!