This might be what lures me back to a movie theater for the first time in nearly two years:
But maybe not. I really want to see The French Dispatch too but have not so far.
Lots of stuff happening in the news today. That flaming shithead judge in the Rittenhouse trial dismissed the weapons charge for a reason that sounded like bullshit on stilts. Closing arguments are underway.
The judge in the trial for the three-man lynch mob that killed Ahmaud Arbery ripped the defense lawyer for trying to kick Jesse Jackson out of the courtroom.
My guess is the murderous punk Rittenhouse will be acquitted since the judge put his whole dumb cracker ass on the defense side of the scale of justice. But I predict the creeps who killed Arbery will be convicted as they deserve to be.
It’s important to keep in mind that there wouldn’t even be a trial in the Arbery killing if one of the three killers hadn’t been dumb enough to post a video of the murder online. The perps had successfully colluded with the local cops to cover up the crime.
Speaking of unspeakable creeps, a judge ruled in favor of the Sandy Hook families in a case against Alex Jones because Jones and his publisher(s) refused to comply with discovery demands. The entire lot needs to be pauperized, but that probably won’t happen.
As he often does, Insider columnist Josh Barro said something dumb:
Honestly the biggest mistake Biden made was not gritting his teeth through the George Floyd protests and putting Amy Klobuchar on the ticket anyway.
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) November 15, 2021
I think Klobuchar would make a fine VP (or president), but how many “Sources say enraged Klobuchar hurled spork at White House aide” stories would we have read by now? Come on, man.
And finally, thanks again for your condolences in response to my earlier post. It really is a comfort, and I am sincerely grateful.
Open thread!
SiubhanDuinne
I think the Rittenhouse prosecutor is doing a very good closing argument. I’m not glued to the TV by any means, but it’s on in the background. He seems to be reaching his peroration now. We’ll see how the defence does. (ETA: Prosecution finished while I was typing that. Break now before defence argues.)
Betty, how is little Badger doing? It must be quite disconcerting for him. Please give him an extra scritch from me.
dr. bloor
Wisconsin gonna Wisconsin, but the feds have yet to take their turn with Mr. Rittenhouse.
glc
French Dispatch was disappointing to me. Some people liked it (some critic said Wes Anderson needs an intervention, which is more where I came out). Lots of talent, the story didn’t come together and the humour was fairly limp. One can enjoy the sets and, locally, a good deal of the acting. Would make a lovely coffee-table book of stills.
Gucci looks very promising. Soho was entertaining if you like that sort of thing, which I do.
debbie
Don’t leave Steverino out of your parade of monsters!
“Regime,” Comrade? Commander Putin will be so pleased.
trollhattan
Now just how is Gaga supposed to pull off being Italian?
Looks like proper high-gloss trashy escapism, to which I say “why not?” Plus, it will doubtless trigger another John Oliver bit about Adam Driver, which are always appreciated.
JustRuss
Huh, there seems to be something about our current VP that certain (white) pundits find off-putting.
Geminid
I’ve got nothing against Amy Klobuchar, but Josh Barro is just trying to sound smart while stirring up shit. He knows pitting other politicians against Vice President Harris can get her fans riled up, not at him but at other Democrats. It’s like what I said this morning about the the Buttegieg-Harris controversy: Barro and others know that tossing apples of discord among Democrats starts fights and gets clicks.
VOR
@trollhattan: her family name is Germanotta and both her parents have Italian roots. Supposedly she spent a lot of time immersed in the character.
Lyrebird
Aw, esteemed Ms. Cracker, I am so sorry to learn now of the passing of such a brave pup.
Thanks for sharing some of her times with you with us.
Best wishes to you and the Mr. and the awesome kid.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
Knives are out for Madam VP (in the media).
Lyrebird
@trollhattan: Easy. She is Italian. Italian American that is. Very.
raven
Sienema to make remarks at the infrastructure event.
JoyceH
This is an odd locale for a bill signing. Looks like the South Portico? If they’re doing it outdoors, why not the Rose Garden?
WaterGirl
Wow, that from Josh Barro is really bad. What he’s really saying is that Kamala Harris is a bad VP and that the only reason Kamala Harris is VP in the first place is that Biden was using her as cover because of Black Lives Matter. Fuck him.
Lyrebird
@Geminid: Wow. You put things better than I could, here.
If I hadn’t read it here, I would have assumed Barro was trying to challenge Doug J for his NYT Pitchbot champion title. Not that he would win, but FFS if Barro meant that tweet, what an idiot!
Madam VP was the best choice, and I am a Warren stan fwiw. And dissing then-Sen Harris would have been a betrayal to a major portion of the Democratic base. Thankfully Biden, Harris, and Klobuchar are all non-idiots.
trollhattan
@VOR: @Lyrebird:
Si, I know. Am sure she kills it.
trollhattan
@JoyceH: Didn’t lady I don’t care concrete it over or somesuch?
germy
Jared Leto is unrecognizable in that Gucci clip.
germy
Many of them from Josh Barro!
Betty Cracker
@trollhattan: I read somewhere (can’t remember where) that Gaga’s dialect coach admitted she sounds more Eastern European than Italian in the movie but notes that Gaga worked her ass off to nail the accent.
@SiubhanDuinne: Badger will be okay, but losing Daisy seems to have hit him just as hard as it has us. He’s extra clingy, and we are spoiling him rotten(er).
germy
@debbie:
And the white supremacists! It’s a big tent!
Betty
@trollhattan: I read that Lady Gaga is the only good thing about the movie. She is Italian American if that helps?
Roger Moore
My reading of the Alex Jones stuff is that he refused to go along with discovery because he knew he would lose on the merits if a jury were allowed to hear all the facts. Refusing to comply did two things. On the one hand, it forced the judges’ hands, which would either let him refuse discovery or claim the judge denied him his day in court. On the other hand, there’s probably something so damning in the discovery that he’d rather just pay up than let it come out in court. It may even be so radioactive he’s gone ahead and destroyed it and couldn’t comply with discovery even if he wanted to. That would also prevent it from coming out if, for example, the suits drive his company into bankruptcy and the assets are acquired by someone who wants to air his dirty laundry.
MattF
Really pleased to see Jones getting legally whupped.
Lyrebird
@trollhattan: Sorry!!! After exposure to that trash from J. Barro, from whom I expect better, I figured my sarcasm detector was completely broken!!!!
All the best to you, Signor/ Signora/ Signorina!
:-)
Matt McIrvin
@germy: He thinks he’s fascist FDR.
rikyrah
@WaterGirl:
tell it
rikyrah
How much multi-generational wealth was lost because of this?
Uh huh
Uh huh
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/black-veterans-were-denied-gi-bill-benefits-after-wwii-it-n1283761
rikyrah
in moderation, please help.
germy
Speaking of Italians, I’m currently reading a collection of 40 Italian short stories:
https://lithub.com/jhumpa-lahiri-on-editing-an-anthology-of-italian-fiction/
I am loving this book.
I just finished a fat book, a collection of old Italian folk tales compiled by Italo Calvino.
There’s a pile of books on my nightstand that will get me through this winter. In the spring I’ll visit our local bookstore and buy another pile.
I need another book shelf.
germy
@Matt McIrvin:
Like all fascists he talks a big game.
sdhays
@WaterGirl: Yep. That tweet is racist AF. You can believe that Amy Klobuchar would be a better VP (I don’t know why, but it’s not an inherently racist belief), but believing that a super successful, talented person like Kamala Harris was put on the ticket to shut up BLM protestors is racist.
What was Mike Dense doing at this point in the Dump “regime”? I think his daily portfolio pretty amounted to looking in the mirror and practicing steely, but vacant, resolve and composing new paeans to Donald Fucking Dump. “Vice Presidential” for sure.
Brachiator
The Gucci film looks like fun. So, too, for those who like this kind of thing, is the new Downton Abbey trailer.
Studios are still marketing some films as “only in theaters.” But I think the public is settling on the idea that streaming is perfectly fine for almost all movies.
There is discussion about getting back to normal. I wonder if some states will permanently restrict seating in movie theaters, concert venues, etc.
I previously noted in a prior thread the story of a guy who probably got Covid will attending a packed IMAX theater showing Dune. He was fully vaccinated. He got sick, felt bad for a few days, but did not require hospitalization. He moved to the basement for the quarantine period, but fortunately both he and his wife were remote workers. Their kid had to miss school for 10 days.
This guy loves movies and noted that he might rent a showing with friends for a film he really might want to see. But random movie nights at a theater are out of bounds.
I went to see the latest Bond film, No Time To Die, at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood. An afternoon show, but a sparse crowd, so there was plenty of space. And most people wore masks when they were not eating snacks.
I had to have a big buttered popcorn. Love movie popcorn. The hot dogs were frozen, and no time for thawing. Boo.
Miss Bianca
@Betty Cracker: Ooh, poor Badger. Time to snuggle the wee beastie.
Gaga looked like the most compelling thing about that trailer, to me.
Gin & Tonic
@germy: Many years ago when I was out for some time on disability I built a wall-to-wall floor-to-ceiling bookcase in our living room – a very nice piece. Pretty much as soon as I finished, my dear wife filled it. I don’t think there’s a book “of mine” on there.
We have a weakness.
Miss Bianca
@Brachiator: My theater is going half-capacity and masking up as an official policy for the foreseeable future. We opened for live theater and a classical music concert, still haven’t opened for movies yet.
germy
@Gin & Tonic:
Fox News headline: “More Proof Liberals Are Gaming The System!”
cbear
So very, very sorry to hear of the loss of your beautiful Daisy, Betty. Your post on her passing was both beautiful and heartbreaking. Peace and prayers to you and your family.
Gin & Tonic
@Brachiator: I went to see the Bond flick about two weeks ago at my local multiplex. First time I’d been there since BC. Crowd was (very) sparse and masked, so I wasn’t really concerned.
You know that popcorn is pre-made and that’s not real butter, right?
SiubhanDuinne
MVP speaking in advance of the signing. Hmm, she doesn’t look disgruntled, or frustrated, or dysfunctional. She looks proud and happy.
ETA: Nice call to have Joe and Kamala walk out side by side, to the emphatic tune of “Hail to the Chief.” Excellent not-very-subliminal messaging to the Beltway pundits.
kindness
Well from what I have seen, I would have pegged Josh Barro as having worked at Politico & jumped to Axios when those two buttheads did the same. His notions are just plain dumb. Josh brings nothing to the table but regurgitated inside the beltway media spin.
dp
@glc: Huh. We liked it a lot.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Speaking of movies; the new Dune movie is really good. Best I’ve seen in awhile.
The Green Knight is also good.
Next up The Last Duel. Though I am seeing over my sisters HBO and the word is The Last Duel pulls no punches.
Gin & Tonic
@germy: The home-care nurse I had commented that very, very few of her patients/clients expressed the desire to return to work that I did, but there were a variety of legal/medical issues that had to be resolved.
Chat Noir
Betty, I’m so sorry about you losing Daisy. She was a beauty and sounded like a very good girl.
Betty Cracker
@Gin & Tonic: When we moved a few years back, the mister and I ruthlessly pared our book collection. We kept only the must-haves and gave away 80% or so of our books. We had it down to two shelves!
Well, I’ve since had to add a small shelf, which is now overflowing. Le sigh. It’s mostly him, not me! I read most of my books on a tablet now.
Brachiator
@WaterGirl:
Certain pundits have been laying the groundwork for “America can’t have no woman prizdent, specially no black woman prizdent” since the election.
I like Harris. But also I will vote for any Democrat over the Republican Party of Covid and Insurrection, even if the GOP candidate became an out socialist and promised to bring an agenda more leftist than Bernie Sanders’ wildest dreams.
Betty Cracker
@Chat Noir: & @cbear: Thanks!
Jeffro
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: I gotta see this ‘Green Knight’…what channel/service is it on?
Brachiator
@Gin & Tonic:
Some of this depends on the theater, but I love movie popcorn in all its iterations. And I loves me some buttered flavored oil.
I once walked into a second run theater near the post office and asked if I could just buy some popcorn, because the smell of it wafted out the doors. Delicious!
I’ve read that the AMC theaters is planning on selling movie theater popcorn to the public.
Oddly enough, I have some health issues, but no problem with clogged arteries even though my diet is not always the best. But I note that I was eating a definitely more healthy diet during the pandemic lockdown.
JoyceH
@SiubhanDuinne:
You’ve got a theme song, you use it.
But why are they there? The Rose Garden would be sheltered from the wind. The East Room would hold a large crowd. It’s windy and cold today. When Pelosi was talking, you could kind of tell she had the wind-sniffles.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@debbie: Why does no one in on the Right bothers to force Bannon to answer if he is so awsome of a strategist then why is Biden prez in the first place? The whole doubling down on luzers like Bannon is both hilarious and mystifying.
trollhattan
@Betty Cracker:
Wow, just figured out the news and I’m so very sorry you lost you beloved Daisy gal. Boxers are such engaging critters–always look serious even when they’re being goofy. Deepest condolences from our dog pack to yours (we’re all honorary dogs to them).
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Jeffro: It was cheap and it was on a half dozen of them. Me co-spawn brought it up so I didn’t see what streaming services.
Matt McIrvin
@Brachiator: We’ve participated in the “rent out a theater with some friends” thing a couple of times. I won’t go in an indoor event with the random public unless it at least has a vaccine or a vaccine/negative-test mandate. I know that’s no guarantee but it’s something.
John Revolta
@Gin & Tonic:
Now do stunt doubles and CGI. Jeez.
SiubhanDuinne
@JoyceH:
No idea. It is an odd choice, but I’m sure there’s a good reason.
Fair Economist
I reported a lot of anti-Harris posts on Twitter today as targeted harrasment (Harrisment)?
Totally agree they’d be ragging on Klobuchar pretty hard – maybe not *quite* as hard, since she’s white, but pretty close. And, of course, they’d be talking about how Biden made a big mistake not bringing in somebody who brought down violent crime and truancy, while having a well-deserved rep for always keeping her cool – Kamala Harris
(Just to be clear, I’d be fine with Klobuchar too. This kind of stuff is about trying to wedge us apart.)
Old School
@Jeffro:
I believe it is only rental/DVD at this point.
Not that there aren’t great visuals in the film, but it is quite deliberately paced. Mrs. School gave up on it after about a half hour.
Kay
She regrets the error.
Ruckus
@rikyrah:
This is very, very long overdue, it’s taken over 76 years since the end of WWII. How many of those people are still alive? Please understand that it is far more than the right thing to do, but it’s window dressing for the vast majority of victims of this treatment. Unless that bullshit went on far after WWII. And I have no doubt that it did. I fully believe it was still going on when I was in the military 50 yrs ago. This is a racist country. It was long before WWII and has been long after. That it needs to be changed, to be better, is true today almost to the same degree as it was 245 years ago. Not that it is a lot different than many countries on the planet. But that doesn’t make it any better or give it any excuse.
Peale
VP Klobauer may be from Minnesota, but why doesn’t she sound like a MinneSOOOHtahn? Is she really authentic? Does Biden have a Walter Mondale problem?
rikyrah
@Kay:
Stripper with a heart of hate along with that gold
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: This makes me want to scream. All these little loopholes to fuck over people of color. The cruelty has always been the point.
Betty Cracker
@trollhattan: Thank you. They sure leave a large hole in your life when you lose one.
WaterGirl
@sdhays: This almost makes me wish I had a twitter account so I could tweet at Josh Barro. Hoping that someone with a twitter account will do that since i can’t.
I suppose “what is wrong with you, you racist fucking pig” might get you in trouble, but there are probably other ways to say it.
Mai Naem mobile
Pat Leahy is retiring. Today just keeps on getting betterer and betterer. I know he’s old as fuck and needs to retire but all I can see is Phil Scott running and adding a GOPr to the Senate.
JoyceH
@SiubhanDuinne: As I watch it, it seems to me that it’s because of the size of the crowd. They might fit into the East Room but it would be a real clash of elbows and maybe a superspreader.
Mai Naem mobile
@WaterGirl: Josh Barro is a better version of Andrew Sullivan. IGMFY log cabin republican kind of guy.
Kay
@rikyrah:
From the synagogue arsonist’s criminal case:
Peale
@Mai Naem mobile: Whatever the Dems do, don’t make the mistake of putting up anyone who wasn’t born in the state. Preferably with at least 2 grandparents from there. Apparently, it freaks out New Englanders to have any Democrat with less than that in the state.
trollhattan
@Kay: She misunderstood and accidentally missed the opportunity to start the Oatkeepers, for those who love their bowl of Quaker in the morning.
Kristine
I want to see House of Gucci, too. I’m still iffy about theaters, but I love those Dominick Dunne-style tales of murders among the rich and famous.
Martin
I’m kind of pissed the Bannon was RoR. We gotta stop treating murdering people by pen to be handled so vastly differently than even nonviolent personal crimes like theft.
Seems to me contempt of congress should be the white collar version of first degree murder.
Kay
@rikyrah:
Don’t be silly! She thought the Oath Keepers were a kind of a social/civic club. Like Kiwanis but with weapons and they hate everyone.
Matt McIrvin
@Peale: I’ve been discovering I actually have some deep roots in the region but it’s, like, 200 or 300 years back. Not sure that counts.
Brachiator
@Gin & Tonic:
I know that a lot of people have still not seen the Bond film, and it will be available for streaming soon, so I will not divulge plot details.
That said, I note that I really liked Daniel Craig as Bond. For me, he was the best Bond since Sean Connery. And I really liked his first outing, “Casino Royale.”
But this last film was a disappointment. I could see the joints where the efforts of separate screenwriters were jammed together. And while I try to give every movie its due, I found myself re-writing and re-editing this movie in my head while I was watching it, I was so disengaged.
But I note that a lot of people liked it. Something for everyone.
I look forward to seeing Craig in the further adventures of the character from “Knives Out.” I understand he had a lot of fun making that film.
zhena gogolia
those are the worst italian accents i have ever heard
ETA: Was supposed to be in all caps but I’m too tired
Kay
@trollhattan:
Okay, stop trying to find him friends. There’s a reason he has none.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Betty Cracker:
So sorry to hear about Daisy.
Matt McIrvin
@Brachiator: I always got the sense that Craig never really liked playing Bond at all–he loathes James Bond as a fictional person, for one thing–and he clearly completely loved playing Benoit Blanc; you can see it on the screen.
debbie
@SiubhanDuinne:
Certainly beats TFG’s nonsensical entrance song “Can’t Always Get What You Want”!
sab
@Peale: Nonsense. Howard Dean was a two term governor of Vermomt, born in Manhattan.
Martin
Good friend of mine came over for lunch last week after attending a showing and panel with the House of Gucci cast the night before. Getting to chat casually with Lady Gaga left her feeling that this was the greatest film of all time. I asked he what it was about and she couldn’t remember.
geg6
@trollhattan:
I believe she is of Italian descent.
trollhattan
Oh goody, more Peter Thiel for everyone.
Has anybody said, “Fuck you, Wilbur Ross” lately? It cannot be said too often, you hectoring, jowly git.
Kay
Can the synogogue arsonist claim self defense? Probably! He’s afraid of…everyone. In fear for his LIFE every minute of every day, especially when he’s breaking into synogogues.
Matt McIrvin
@debbie: Conservatives love that song–they think the chorus is an anthem against the welfare state. Kind of like libertarians who go around repeating Heinlein’s “TANSTAAFL!” for “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch”. Makes you seem so hard-nosed and realistic.
debbie
@Fair Economist:
It’s much tougher to smear Amy by mispronouncing her name, the way they have Kamala. And they don’t even see it as being racist! ?
Betty Cracker
@geg6: I’m of English, Irish and Norwegian descent, and I can’t fake any of those accents. ;-)
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Thank you.
Brachiator
@Matt McIrvin:
I can believe that Craig loved the character. Benoit Blanc is a hoot.
I think that “Knives Out” and “Parasite” were the last films I saw in movie theaters before the lockdown. Fortunately, I greatly enjoyed both of them.
trollhattan
@Brachiator: Agree on Craig’s Bond. Best since Lazenby. :-)
MattF
No link, but everyone will be stunned to learn that Cillizza, the political sage at CNN, is tweeting snide remarks about Harris. See, it worked with Hilary Clinton, so…
Matt McIrvin
@Brachiator: For me it was “Knives Out” and “Little Women”. The latter, of course, has some morbid pandemic relevance.
geg6
Betty, there is no film that will entice me back into a theater. I don’t know if I’ll ever go back into a theater.
If the film isn’t streaming on Netflix or Prime or available for pay per view, I’m not watching it. Which doesn’t mean much, I guess, since there are so few movies made for someone like me. If you hate comic books and superheroes, they don’t make more than a movie or two a year for people like me and most of those don’t interest me either.
Although I am definitely looking forward to being on break next week and watching “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain” on PPV. My John decided to get a retirement job and will be working most days while I’m off and I’ll be able to watch whatever I want on the big screen at home. And this is what I want to watch!
opiejeanne
@Betty Cracker: I am so sorry about your loss. Daisy was a Good Girl.
debbie
@Kay:
Those menorahs looming from the altar with all their upraised arms! ?
Ruckus
@Gin & Tonic:
I’m building a new bookcase for my collection because my two old ones were not enough, even though I built both of them. I’ve already given away the smaller one I’d built to a long time friend of 48 yrs, his wife is a prolific reader and they have books stacked up most everywhere. Maybe I should give them a nice pair of bronze bookends that my dad made in HS. That would allow them to put books on the top of the bookcase as well.
I think I know where they are…..
Martin
@Brachiator: Part of what made Craig such a good Bond was that they wrote these to be much more serious films. I think Roger Moore could have been a good Bond but he was playing Inspector Gadget instead, so he never really got a good shot at a serious film, as they had started with Sean. And even with Sean, things start to go downhill pretty hard after Dr No, where he shoots a guy unprovoked, Han Solo style (fucking fight me on that one).
The latest Bond films feel much more life and death, more grounded. Never really got the sense that Roger Moore was ever in any danger.
Kayla Rudbek
@rikyrah: yeah! I hope that it passes!
opiejeanne
@germy: BTW, thank you for reminding me that it was Louise Linton I was blanking on.
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
Latest Bond was off the charts.
Especially drop dead gorgeous Ana de Armas as a cuban agent (video)
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
@Peale:
??? Bernie was born in …. (checks notes) the state of Brooklyn
Spanky
@sab: And Bernie sealed the deal with his native Yankee accent.
geg6
@Betty Cracker:
Maybe I can be in a movie! My paternal grandparents were from England and, even though they were both dead by the time I was 8 years old, I can imitate my Grandmama Gray’s accent very well, according to both my parents before they passed and my older siblings. I would totally be a maid at Downton Abbey.
Betty Cracker
Regarding the coverage of Harris, I think politicians are fair game for media speculation, and CNN at least got one or two people on the record expressing mild discontent with how THEY see Harris’s role developing in the Biden White House. The thing that bothered me was Barro’s suggestion that you could just slot another woman in and she wouldn’t face rampant speculation. Of course she would. It was a dumb comment.
Jeffro
@Old School: Thanks!
I checked and it’s not on Netflix or HBO Max, so…I’ll just wait.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Mai Naem mobile:
rikyrah
@sab:
Can Howard run for Senator? Would he have a chance?
UncleEbeneezer
@Kristine: Did you see the American Crime Story Versace series? It was really good.
germy
@opiejeanne:
I saw a clip of her new self-written, self-directed, self-produced movie. It was… cringeworthy, as the young people say.
cain
@opiejeanne:
I add my condolences as well – may she frolic as much as she wants in the great Beyond.
RedDirtGirl
I’m gonna jump in here and beg the indulgence of the jackal hive mind once again in service of my dog search.
I have just met one that ticks many of the right boxes. She is past her childhood and teen years, at 4 years old. She’s good on the leash, hardly pulls at all and very responsive. No resource guarding. She is very friendly towards people and other dogs, despite having been abandoned by her owners down south – literally left tied to a post when they moved, until a neighbor brought her to a vet who boarded her until she came up north. She is a bit larger than I was planning, coming in closer to 50 lbs than 40. She at least part Australian cattle dog, so I know she will need a lot of exercise and stimulation, but her foster family says she is actually pretty content on the days when she only goes out for bathroom breaks and doesn’t get loooong walks.
She is heartworm positive. She has about a month left of quiet time and then will get re-tested in the summer. I’d be interested to hear from anyone with an opinion they are willing to share (who am I kidding), on what I’d be getting myself into.
Thanks.
karen marie
Alex Jones has a whole bunch of default convictions relating to Sandy Hook, the oldest one is 2019, in Texas, where he was ordered to pay the plaintiffs $100,000. Anyone know whether he ever paid it? I’d doubt it but …
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch: I can’t remember where– or exactly why– I recently stumbled across a longish piece on how aggressively and successfully Susan Collins played the native Mainer card against Sarah Gideon. One thing that was new to me was that some living legend retired newscaster had made his first ever political endorsement, I think he also cut an ad for her.
UncleEbeneezer
@Betty Cracker: Also, Biden legit already considered Harris a good personal friend of his family. And that was one of the reasons he picked her. I don’t know that that is the case with Klobuchar.
Betty Cracker
@geg6: I think the ability to imitate an accent is a talent you either have or you don’t. I’m sure working at it helps a lot, but I’m convinced we don’t start out on a level playing field. You have the talent, so go for your Downton Abbey maid dream! ;-)
@opiejeanne: Thank you.
HeleninEire
You know what will get me into the theatres again? March…the new Downton Abbey movie. Yeah; I’m like that! New trailer is out today and it loons delish!!
ETA: And Brachiator beat me to it!
Gin & Tonic
@trollhattan:
Can anyone explain what the word “anonymously” means in that sentence?
cain
@Betty Cracker:
There will always be speculation especially if it is a woman, because of how wired the press is – I mean first she’s a woman, second she’s a Democrat, and a woman of color – it is a trifecta!
karen marie
@RedDirtGirl: Have you never had a dog before?
It’s a big responsibility. If you’re willing to accept that your time is no longer your own to flit off or not come straight home from work on a whim, I’d say go for it. The thing about bigger dogs is their poop is bigger. If you’re fine with picking up poop that’s as big as your hand, I’d say go for it. She sounds lovely.
Even though she’s four and is housebroken, she’s not housebroken to YOUR house. I’d certainly take at least a couple days to build a rapport with her and create a schedule that she can rely on. The most common cause of “accidents” (aside from health problems) is a lack of trust that the human will be there when they’re supposed to for the excursions outside for toileting.
You’ll be a great dog mama!
RedDirtGirl
https://www.petfinder.com/dog/nola-52851724/ny/flushing/second-chance-rescue-ny949/
hueyplong
@Gin & Tonic: I’ll guess “bought in someone else’s name” or “had one of his trusts buy.”
Also guessing your point was, how can it be anonymous if we know about it?
Brachiator
@Martin:
Agree that early on, there was more of a sense of danger, but it slipped into a dull sullenness as far as I was concerned. And when the series became a kind of family drama, I lost all interest.
I have been watching some episodes of The Saint online. Moore’s Simon Templar has much more of an edge than his Bond.
I will fight you any day on this. I think the scene where Bond dispatches this guy was a knowing rejection of all the cowboy and detective films where the hero only shoots to wound the bad guy.
And damn right Han shot first.
In this last film, I kept expecting the bad guy to break out into a Queen medley. “Find me somebody to love!”
And I don’t think it was the fault of the filmmakers, but the Austin Powers movies have kinda made all Bond films somewhat antiquated and ridiculous.
Gin & Tonic
@RedDirtGirl: Our current rescue is part Blue Heeler, which I think may be synonymous with Australian cattle dog. We got her when she was about a year old. She needs to run. She has settled in to the household rhythm pretty well, and doesn’t need to run all the time, but I live in an area where I can take her to the woods and let her off-leash so she runs around, and a lot of the time I can let her run in the neighborhood. I just have to be careful about the postman and other delivery trucks, because she will go apeshit. But my point, I think, is that if she can’t get her zoomies in, she will be quite unhappy. And even long walks on-leash don’t scratch that itch. IIRC, you’re in the city – I don’t think that’s the best environment.
zhena gogolia
@Brachiator: Is Hugh Bonneville ill or has he just gone on a crash diet?
HeleninEire
Oh and speaking of going to movie theatres, NYC just opened up booster shots to all adults 6 months past their second shot. WOO HOO.
Quiltingfool
Trae Crowder has some thoughts re Rittenhouse trial.
https://twitter.com/traecrowder/status/1460355312964173825?s=20
Old School
@Gin & Tonic:
Sure. The house was sold in August with the buyer not being disclosed.
But now Politico can share the gossip!
RedDirtGirl
@karen marie: This will be my first dog but I have spent a lot of time with them throughout my life. I’m ready. I’ve worked it out so that I can work from home for the first week. I’ve been reading up on what to expect during the “decompression period”, and know about the 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months rule of thumb.
It is definitely a big decision for me to make. I guess I’m trying to get a sense of how much the heartworm diagnosis should sway me. Of course, I’d prefer a healthier dog, but I’ve been searching for a long time, and this is the first one where the rescue volunteer and the foster mom both agree that she’s the perfect dog for a first time dog person. They don’t say that about very many rescues, believe you me!
trollhattan
@Betty Cracker: Have mentioned before my kid thinking “English” is an accent, one she does really well just saying things like “After you, gov’na” and such. And now that she has teammates from Leeds and Shropshire who, well, sound really different she has yet to change her mind about that. Her Canadian teammate sounds like she’s from San Jose.
RedDirtGirl
@Gin & Tonic: Thanks, I’ll take that under advisement. I am in Brooklyn, and I’m not a runner myself.
Geminid
@rikyrah: I thought Congressman Peter Welch might be a good successor to Leahy, having won statewide campaigns since 2006. But then I saw that Welch is 74 years old. Vermont newspapers and TV stations will be listing other possible contenders on the Democratic side today and tomorrow.
hueyplong
@Martin: If you’re saying that Connery Bond movies went downhill after the “you’ve had your six” killing, you’re saying they pretty much went downhill right away, because that scene was probably less than an hour into the very first movie in the series.
Roger Moore
@Matt McIrvin:
I don’t think that’s necessarily an obstacle to a good portrayal. My feeling is that Craig’s Bond has a deep level of self-loathing for the monster he’s let himself become. Some versions of Bond have tried to overcome this with sangfroid and quips when he kills someone, but Craig’s version manages this by having Bond hate himself. The part of him that’s still human hates that he’s gradually destroying his own humanity in the service of being an ever better killing machine.
Brachiator
@David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch:
Loved, loved, loved her in “Knives Out.”
Geminid
@Gin & Tonic: The report I read was that the house was purchased by an LLC, and that Ross was obligated not to disclose the actual purchaser. The neighbors seem to know it’s Thiel, though.
RaflW
Isn’t that tweet just Barro semi-quietly admitting his racism?
I’m dimly aware of some sort of anti-Kamala bullshit rising from the zombie press, but hope to remain uninformed about it since it is no doubt garbage.
Brachiator
@zhena gogolia:
He gradually lost a lot of weight. Because of the pandemic, he just hadn’t been seen for a while. It was a moderately big deal in the British media for a while.
opiejeanne
@germy: Is that a recent movie? Because I thought she did one a couple of years ago. Time collapsed during TFG’s regime and is only now starting to recover.
And now I will hunt down the trailer because I like looking at a great train wreck.
Betty Cracker
@trollhattan: You haven’t made her watch My Fair Lady? :)
@RedDirtGirl: If you’ve got a dog park where she can run off leash, maybe that would work? Best of luck with your decision!
raven
@rikyrah: When (fuck) LBJ signed the Vietnam era GI Bill he noted the WW2 Bill was the “greatest economic flywheel” in history. For some.
Brachiator
@Roger Moore:
RE: I always got the sense that Craig never really liked playing Bond at all–he loathes James Bond as a fictional person
I think you make a very good point here. It’s just that I am not interested in seeing that series of Bond films.
different-church-lady
But isn’t that what Twitter is for?
Kayla Rudbek
Any Juicers here know the Maryland side of the DC-Baltimore metro area? Mr. Rudbek is getting a promotion and if he can’t continue to telework, it would be in Baltimore. We could probably move to Silver Spring to keep me on the DC metro system if I ever go back to working in the office.
Barbara
@RedDirtGirl: I am sure you will get a lot of comments. In my view, the most important trait is disposition, especially around strangers or in groups. If she has no sign or history of aggression and is mostly calm and aims to please, your apartment will most likely be a good fit for her. She might need crating (or confined to a small room) when you first get her when you leave, but if possible, try to get her when you can take some time off work or work at home to acclimate her to your apartment.
I saw other comments about exercise. I am not saying it’s not important, and most dogs adore it, but I would ask the fosters and also look up information about the breed. There just isn’t a perfect dog, and most dogs, even big dogs, do not get to run free. Long walks and vigorous play time are sufficient for most dogs.
Geminid
@Brachiator: If you want to see someone who went on a serious diet, check out Mike Pompeo. He now has that “lean and hungry look.” Presidential ambitions?
germy
@opiejeanne:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me,_You,_Madness
trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDEL9HjhBfI
RedDirtGirl
@Barbara: Thanks.
Roger Moore
@Brachiator:
Which seems like a perfectly good reason not to watch them. I’ve read most of the novels, and I honestly think Craig comes closest to the way Flemming wrote Bond, but that isn’t the Bond people are used to watching or necessarily want to watch. If you’re after fun, escapist entertainment, Roger Moore would be much more your speed.
karen marie
@RedDirtGirl: Nice! I wouldn’t worry about the heartworm , assuming that the rescue isn’t going to send the dog home with you without ensuring that it’s either resolved or they’ve informed you of next steps. That being said, I’d make a vet appointment for the earliest possible time to have her evaluated – not just for heartworm but overall.
If you discover fleas and/or ticks, I cannot recommend Bravecto enough. It completely cleared my dog of brown dog ticks, and the house was clear within a year post-infestation (the dog stopped being reinfested by that time when the previous Bravecto dose expired). It works much better than any of the topicals and only needs to be readministered (assuming you still have a potential infestation problem) every 90 days.
In late September I was given a kitten (plucked from the street at short of four weeks by a neighbor) who had fleas. I happened to have one more Bravecto for the dog that I had not used because the ticks were gone, gave it to my dog, bathed the cat, and, voila, fleas all gone!
Also, I don’t recommend them as a “real vet” but the Banfield preventive care plans are well worthwhile, imo. For about $40/month in addition to unlimited visits at no additional cost, you get all vaccinations, a run of blood work, worming – all the normal preventive care – and an annual teeth cleaning. You can get a plan for about $5 less a month that doesn’t include the cleaning. Given what it costs annually for all the shots and the visit, it’s a bargain. They are NOT however a substitute for an actual vet if the dog has an actual health problem.
schrodingers_cat
No thread for the signing of the infrastructure bill?
different-church-lady
@Roger Moore: Craig channeling that dislike into self-loathing is what make his Bond so compelling. Fleming wrote Bond as having “something cold about the eyes” and Craig is the first Bond to really capture that, and the darkness of the books. Connery and Moore make it look like it’s fun to be James Bond. Craig makes it look like it’s the hardest job in the world.
Kay
Ha! They finally got one:
Fight for Fifteen was an effective campaign. They really deserve way more credit than they get.
Barbara
@Kayla Rudbek: So you are not in the Metro DC area right now? If your spouse is commuting to Baltimore every day and does not want to drive from DC, probably the most important thing is to live near a MARC train station to be able to get to Baltimore by train. Assuming that he is working in downtown Baltimore, and not a suburb.
College Park has a MARC and a green line metro station. I think it will also be on the purple line whenever that gets done.
Dan B
@Quiltingfool: Thank you for that link! “less pasty and privileged” plus “mayonnaise militia”. He’s soooo good!
Betty
@WaterGirl: I didn’t check, but he gets lots of appropriate responses to his dumb takes. Lots of liberals on Twitter.
Roger Moore
@different-church-lady:
I’m reminded of one of the commentary tracks to the English dub of Neon Genesis Evangelion. The voice actor who played the protagonist, Shinji Ikari, commented that he hated his character. I don’t remember if it was one of the other voice actors who said it or if it was something I thought, but the basic point was that of course he hated Shinji, because one of the core elements of the series is that Shinji hates himself. This seems inescapable to me. Of course the actor will hate a character who hates himself.
Kayla Rudbek
@Barbara: we’re in the metro DC area but on the Virginia side (I worked off the Blue/Yellow lines before they sent us all home, and I have a lot of telework options). Mr. Rudbek thinks that it would be at least 6 months before he would have to physically report in at Baltimore, and I will probably wind up moving jobs in the near future (still telework) so we’re not in a hurry to move at this point in time.
Gin & Tonic
@karen marie: Since we live in southern New England, ticks are a huge issue, and were insane the first couple of months we had this dog until we put her on Simparica. It’s a fucking miracle drug, no lie. One pill once a month, and zero ticks. Zero.
RedDirtGirl
@Betty Cracker: I’m right by a big beautiful park, but the nearest dog run is a bit of a hike. Not that that’s really problem under the circumstances.
sab
@RedDirtGirl: My sister in law adopted a similar age and breed of dog with heartworm, and he turned out to be a wonderful dog.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@Brachiator:
That and all the rape culture crap.
Brachiator
@Roger Moore:
RE: It’s just that I am not interested in seeing that series of Bond films.
Read the novels and mostly enjoyed them. I don’t think the way that Craig’s Bond is depicted is an organic characterization. It’s more about the filmmakers signalling their disapproval of Bond. Either way, it just gets in the way of the narrative.
I previously noted that Connery and Craig are my favorite Bonds. Probably “From Russia, With Love” is my favorite Bond film. A good mix of danger and entertainment.
RedDirtGirl
@sab: but does she live in a city : ) ?
RedDirtGirl
@sab: seriously, though, that’s great to hear.
Gin & Tonic
I don’t wish to interject trauma here, but the situation on the Belarus-Poland border is not good.
sab
@RedDirtGirl: She lives in a house in a city, near downtown. They walk him only on leash and he seems happy. There is a nearby dogpark that he has never been to. We went to a big loud Christmas party at her house pre-Covid and he was a perfect little gentleman despite his home being full of very loud people eating and talking.
She babysits for her elementary school grandchildren and he is fond of them
He has a crate that he likes and sleeps in when no one is home. It has been a lomg tiime since they used the door on it.
HeleninEire
@trollhattan: OK, that “After you, gov’na” made me LOL. Good on her.
Lyrebird
@Kayla Rudbek: Lotta friendly lefties in Tacoma Park, or at least there used to be!
Brachiator
@Roger Moore:
I don’t think that this is inescapable at all. I recall a famous actor who has played a lot of “bad guys” note that he has never played a villain.
A good villain does not see himself the way that the audience might view him.
I know a lot of people who demand a character that they can root for, and love so-called redemption arcs.
But I think that a much more fundamental character of a good book or movie is when you understand exactly what a character wants and are deeply interested in seeing if he gets it. And so, you can have a compelling bad guy like “Richard III.” You don’t root for him, but he is the center, the heart and soul of the play. And he loves himself, even though he is deeply loathed by those who oppose him.
Professor Bigfoot
@Brachiator: Could we be that lucky?
I’d sure watch.
Patricia Kayden
Brachiator
@Gin & Tonic:
It has been brewing for a while. An interesting BBC News story on the situation can be found here.
Heidi Mom
@RedDirtGirl: The rescue that we adopted Heidi from specializes in bringing momma dogs–having just given birth or about to–and their litters from southern shelters up to south-central PA. Quite a few of them have heartworm, but I have the impression that treatment is almost routine, and a lot easier than it used to be. Heidi had been picked up as a stray in GA; was pregnant and heartworm-positive; gave birth to 10 pups, 8 of whom lived; and she (and presumably the pups) is living happily ever after. We adopted her after her treatment was finished and she was spayed, but I don’t think the treatment posed any major problems for her fosters.
Heidi Mom
I haven’t been in a movie theater since the pandemic began, but I’ll definitely go to see Peter Dinklage in Cyrano. Finally, he’s the lead!
Miss Bianca
@RedDirtGirl: They can do a lot with meds and a treatment regimen nowadays – heartworm disease isn’t a recipe for death anymore. If you have a vet you trust, talk about it with them. But if she ticks all the other boxes, I’d say…go for it. Every rescue dog is going to have issues, you’re almost lucky if they’re only physical!
zhena gogolia
Miss Bianca
@Kayla Rudbek: Laurel and Scaggsville both seem pretty nice. My niece lives in Laurel.
debbie
@Kay:
I hope this is just the first of many!
SiubhanDuinne
@Quiltingfool:
“Mayonnaise Militia” ??
debbie
@Brachiator:
The EU needs to put sanctions on Russia. It’s Putin who’s behind all this. I heard reporting this morning on the BBC that Russia’s started flying immigrants to Belarus.
Tony Jay
Late to the thread, Betty, but sorry to hear about your loss.
opiejeanne
@germy: Thank you. That was extremely cringe-inducing, especially the attempt at killing the guy that tried to be sexy. “Mr and Mrs Smith” was far better and was sexy as hell.
She really does have no redeeming qualities, does she?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Heidi Mom:
that’s interesting, I hadn’t heard about that
WaterGirl
@Quiltingfool: You’re not zhena! :-)
opiejeanne
@Roger Moore: Roger Moore escaping the alligators by running across their backs is what I remember, it was so hilariously ridiculous.
NotMax
@Heidi Mom
Never seen The Station Agent?
Roger Moore
@Brachiator:
I think you’re missing the point. This is about a character who does hate himself, not about one who thinks he’s justified. If the character hates himself, it’s natural for the actor to hate him, too, at least in the self-loathing kind of way. Maybe the actor likes the character because they see they’re worthwhile in spite of the flaws, but they will have a hard time portraying the self-loathing without feeling some of it.
WaterGirl
@Betty: Happy to know that. Last time I paid attention to him I would have called him the best republican around. But this racist crap is beyond the pale.
prostratedragon
@Kayla Rudbek: I’ve got family who like Silver Spring, though they’re more oriented to Bethesda and DC for commuting; Baltimore would be doable but maybe a bit more of a schlep. Takoma Park seems pretty nice, and gets a lot of going-out business from them.
There go two miscreants
@NotMax: The Station Agent
An excellent film. I saw it in a theatre. Very impressed with Dinklage in that movie. (Have not seen any of the GoT stuff, but I was happy to see that he had a big role.)
MazeDancer
@WaterGirl:
In your honor, just replied to Barro’s tweet:
Gin & Tonic
@Brachiator: I know. I’ve been following that situation for some time, and have even posted some links here once in a while.
WaterGirl
@MazeDancer: Thank you!!!
Gin & Tonic
@debbie: Those people are refugees, not immigrants. There’s a huge difference. And in both Lukashenka’s and Putin’s hands, they are, sadly, weapons of war.
Chief Oshkosh
@rikyrah: This is really important. It would have generational change. This is where the rubber hits the road, IMO. Thank you for making me aware of it.
Ms. Deranged in AZ
Betty, I just read about Daisy. My heart goes out to you and your family. I’m so sorry.
Peale
@Gin & Tonic: I think there’s an assist from Turkey here, too.
this reminds me, did we ever get to the bottom of that group of Haitian refugees that conveniently showed up after years of living in Brazil and Chile?
not sure what Poland should do. There is a humanitarian optimism, but it’s destabilizing politically for everyone. Which is why this stunt is being done.
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl: My guy is JL, not Trae.
Ella in New Mexico
A couple of questions I’m not seeing addressed well at all in the Rittenhouse trial:
Why aren’t his parents being held liable given they allowed a 17 year old to attend a riot, aggressively armed and he ended up being so immature and dumb he murdered people?
What options will the DA’s have to file for a mistrial or some other type of action given the judges obviously impartial behavior during this trial?
Finally, why have the Feds not stepped in and filed charges given the punk crossed state lines with the intention of breaking the law and ultimately murding three people?
Brachiator
@Roger Moore:
I get the point. I have seen a number of good actors fundamentally reject this idea. How an actor may approach a role is very different from how a reader or audience member reacts to or judges the character.
Geminid
@Ella in New Mexico: I think the father is out of the picture, but the mother will certainly be sued civilly by the wounded man and the two murdered men’s survivors. The friend who held the gun for Rittenhouse may be sued as well.
dopey-o
we have a small chain of Landmark Theaters here. The popcorn is fresh, the butter is real, and the coffee / espresso comes from a local roaster, Kaldi’s.
Mandatory masks, of course. And just down the way, Bissinger’s Chocolates.
frosty
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