Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

T R E 4 5 O N

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

Not rolling over. fuck you, make me.

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

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

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

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

These are not very smart people, and things got out of hand.

If you can’t control your emotions, someone else will.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

The snowflake in chief appeared visibly frustrated when questioned by a reporter about egg prices.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

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

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Fight them, without becoming them!

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Late Night Open Thread: Why I Moved to New England

Late Night Open Thread: Why I Moved to New England

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When I first visited Boston, at the age of five, I decided I would rather live there than in the Bronx. It took me almost thirty years to achieve that dream, but I’ve never regretted choosing a region to match my sense of humor.

(And, c’mon, the man who wrote Home is the place where, when you have to go there / They have to take you in would’ve chuckled… )

Reader Interactions

40Comments

  1. 1.

    Chetan Murthy

    I was telling someone how great Boston was (they live in Sili Valley, but wanna move elsewhere), and ended up really missing it. Ah, well.  So many fond memories of Cambridge and Somerville.  Also Boston, but esp. Cambridge & Somerville.

  2. 2.

    RaflW

    Our family moved a lot when I was young. Like 9 moves, three countries, two continents in the time between my (only, older) brother’s birth and my graduation from college.

    After he and I each had a brief adult taste of moving forward n our own, well, he’s been in Houston for 35+ years, and I’ve been in Minneapolis for over 26 years, and that after a six year stop in Austin, TX. It’s good to become rooted. (Though in my brothers case, that rootedness could shake loose if another bad hurricane happens. They love their community and friends, but a second recovery might be more than they have in ‘em now, they’ve admitted.)

  3. 3.

    HumboldtBlue

    We used to swim at Elephant Rock beach when I was a kid. Two weeks a year of New England was just enough.

  6. 6.

    Yutsano

    I live in the land where I think Dunkin only exists in the Sea-Tac airport. If even that. It’s pretty good stuff, but no way does the mermaid allow the interloper from the east into her territory. We got Popeye’s finally (although not in my jurisdiction) so that’s at least a good.

  7. 7.

    NotMax

    So… you’re really into beans then? Also too,

    “Banned in Boston” was a phrase employed from the late 19th century through the mid-20th century, to describe a literary work, song, motion picture, or play which had been prohibited from distribution or exhibition in Boston, Massachusetts. During this period, Boston officials had wide authority to ban works featuring “objectionable” content, and often banned works with sexual content or foul language. This even extended to the $5 bill from the 1896 “Educational” series of banknotes featuring allegorical figures which were partially nude. Source

    Which included, within living memory, this tune.

    ;)

  8. 8.

    Amir Khalid

    Dunkin’ Donuts in Malaysia has been declining in both quality and popularity for years. Krispy Kreme is the preferred American donut here these days.​

  9. 9.

    mrmoshpotato

    @NotMax: Better than having bones in your scones!

    (Oh, the episode plot that was never realized was staring them right in their facebones…)

  10. 10.

    James E Powell

    @Amir Khalid:

    I can’t go for either one.

    The best donut shops in the US are operated by the owner, usually an immigrant and his entire family, nation of origin not important. Such places are discovered by the fortunate and kept a closely guarded secret.

  11. 11.

    Amir Khalid

    There’s a story on the CNN site’s front page headlined “Trump’s $100 million threat to democracy”. It’s about his yoooge campaign fund and how TFG’s going to use it to spread the Big Lie.
    Come on, CNN. TFG hasn’t needed money to do that. Too many Republican politicians gladly do it for free. Too many in his base are willing dupes. That money is going where his Stop The Steal fundraising went: making TFG a very comfortable man.

  12. 12.

    sab

    Anne Laurie,

    My parents sent my baby sister (now in her fifties) from Ohio off to Massachesetts for school, and she never came back. She calls and writes to us, but she is gone from the Midwest forever.

  13. 13.

    James E Powell

    @Amir Khalid:

    Come on, CNN. TFG hasn’t needed money to do that. Too many Republican politicians gladly do it for free.

    CNN gladly does it for free. So do the Sunday shows.

  14. 14.

    sab

    @Amir Khalid: My little city in Ohio ( Akron) had and still has the first Krispy Kreme north of the Mason Dixon line. It’s still going strong. A guilty pleasure. I am 67. I remember going there on high school dates  (I was 17) dates watching them stuff that filling into the donuts. I still prefer the plain glazed ones.

  15. 15.

    mrmoshpotato

    @James E Powell:

    CNN gladly does it for free. So do the Sunday shows. 

    Yup.  And the Dump humpers at CNN absolutely loved themselves hours of empty Dump podium in 2015/16!

  16. 16.

    mrmoshpotato

    @sab:

    watching them stuff that filling into the donuts 

    “Herb!  Have the donuts exploded yet?”

    “No!”

    “Stuff more filling!”

  20. 20.

    Brachiator

    @James E Powell:

    The best donut shops in the US are operated by the owner, usually an immigrant and his entire family, nation of origin not important.

    From an old foodie story:

    You might not realize, but the primary reason LA has such an amazing doughnut scene is because of Ted Ngoy, the Cambodian refugee who will the primary focus of an upcoming documentary called the Donut King. The rags-to-riches story comes after Ngoy helped sponsor hundreds of visas for Cambodian refugees and helped set many of them up with donut businesses across the Southland. At one point in the 1990s, more than 80% of donut shops in the LA area were owned by Cambodians. It sounds like the epitome of the American Dream until things go downhill for Ngoy, who got caught up in gambling and eventually lost most of the donut empire. The trailer is below, with the full documentary premiering on streaming on October 30.

    Supposedly, these shops originated the pink donut box.

    Such places are discovered by the fortunate and kept a closely guarded secret.

    Everybody knows where the best places are. People would be designated to pick up donuts on the way to work in the morning.

  22. 22.

    Cermet

    @Brachiator: Tragic (for him) because, while he certainly profited from their work, he also provided a critical avenue for these refugee’s to start a business.

    There is only one proper filling – crème (and MUST have a chocolate glaze); however, if none available, raspberry does work.

    Forgot how hungry Saint Bernard puppies are – I mean, Saints in general always need any tidbit you can offer but I’ll say this, puppies are an order of magnitude more hungry. And already nearly 100 lbs (just turn 7 months), makes it more noticeable – still, she is very polite about the whole matter.

  23. 23.

    Geminid

    @sab: There is a pick-your-own peach orchard near me that sells apple cider peach donuts. Delicious.

    I like the Dunkin’ Donuts store in Roswell, New Mexico. There is a fifteen foot tall green alien in front, holding up a Dunkin’ Donuts sign.

    Roswell is a nice town. There are pecan orchards on the west side, and the Bitter Lakes National Wildlife Refuge is on the northeast edge of town. Bottomless Lakes State Park is ten miles east of town, and I camped there once on my way out of New Mexico. Then I headed to Sweetwater, Texas, and took I-20 another 1100 miles to Atlanta.

  25. 25.

    Brachiator

    @Cermet:

    Tragic (for him) because, while he certainly profited from their work, he also provided a critical avenue for these refugee’s to start a business.

    Very true. Fortunately, a number of these donut shops are still thriving. Or were, before the lockdown.

    There use to be a great pastry shop in Westwood Village, near the UCLA campus. They would serve these thick pastries that left a wonderful buttery taste when you bit into them. A range of filling, from apple to creme to strawberry.

  31. 31.

    Revrick

    My first job was at a Dunkin Donuts shop in Stamford, Connecticut, mopping the floors, cleaning the bathrooms, and sweeping the parking lot. They were a lot different back then, modeled more on diners, with counter service, and coffee served in china cups. Folks would go there to spend time with friends and acquaintances, drinking cup after cup of coffee brewed on the spot, enjoying the freshly made donuts. They offered a much wider variety that were made on-site, which meant there was often a great deal of variation in how much icing there was on a frosted or how much strawberry filling got injected. And, of course, there was their signature Dunkin Donut, the plain, cake donut with a little handle just made for dunking in the cup of coffee.
    In 1975, I received a call to a working class church east of Pittsburgh, and conveniently for me, there was a Dunkin Donuts, located on Route 30, a few blocks from our apartment. I’d often stop in in mid afternoon,  between hospital and home visits, for a cup of coffee and a donut, and chat with the regulars.

  32. 32.

    JAFD

    Good morning, fellow Jackals !

    Shouldst any of you have some time to spend in Newark, I will be glad to lead you on a crawl of the Portuguese pastry shops of Ferry Avenue…

    Until then, have a happy August, and stay healthy and hydrated.

  33. 33.

    Jeffery

    I have friends who grew up and lived most of their lives in New England. They moved to Arizona 20 years ago when they retired to get away from the New England winters. At first they talked about the dry heat. Now they bitch about the heat. The mega drought in the southwest has got them thinking about moving back to New England. At 73 and 86 years of age it would be a major move. They’ll probably stay in AZ.

  35. 35.

    Elizabelle

    CBS News link.    Krispy Kreme has made being vaccinated against COVID-19 a whole lot sweeter — since it first announced it would give vaccinated Americans a free doughnut every day this year, more than a million people have taken them up on the deal.

    On Tuesday, Krispy Kreme announced that it has shown its “sweet support to those doing their part to protect themselves and others” by giving free doughnuts to over 1.5 million Americans who have presented a valid vaccination card at participating locations. Vaccinated doughnut lovers can continue getting a free Original Glazed doughnut every single day through the end of 2021. 

  36. 36.

    FlyingToaster (Tablet)

    I fell in love with Boston when I came up for a conference on spring break during grad school (in Indiana).  Moved to Somerville as soon as I finished; lived there for 15 years until HerrDoctor and I wanted a house.  The house is in Watertown because there is no way we could afford a house in Somerville (alas).

    I remember being *impressed* at the pair of Dunkin Donuts on either side of Fresh Pond Parkway.

  39. 39.

    JustRuss

    @James E Powell:The best donut shops in the US are operated by the owner, usually an immigrant and his entire family, nation of origin not important. Such places are discovered by the fortunate and kept a closely guarded secret.

    This.  Very hard to find on the west coast–no, Voodoo Donuts definitely does not qualify–when I visited New England I stumbled across a number of them.

  40. 40.

    BigJimSlade

    This is great – I have fond memories of my 17 years living in Jamaica Plain and Winthrop.

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