Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

A Senator Walker would be an insult to the state and the nation.

A dilettante blog from the great progressive state of West Virginia.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Not all heroes wear capes.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

We still have time to mess this up!

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

After roe, women are no longer free.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

The willow is too close to the house.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

I did not have telepathic declassification on my 2022 bingo card.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Medium Cool with BGinCHI – Balloon Juice Reflections

Medium Cool with BGinCHI – Balloon Juice Reflections

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In case you’re new to Medium Cool, BGinCHI is here once a week to offer a thread on culture, mainly film & books, with some TV thrown in.  We’re here at 7 pm on Sunday nights.

John Cole and Tammy

We’re sure at Medium Cool Central Command that Cole is grateful for Tammy, and on a good day he is probably (maybe?) grateful for us. I know I’m grateful to WaterGirl for all she does, and for all of you for being the terrific community you are.

For the 20th Anniversary of this beloved, full-featured, occasionally self-aware blog, we devote today’s Medium Cool to the hive mind of the commentariat.

Share something cultural (book, TV show, music, film) you got from someone here at B-J, and what it meant to you. Feel free to also express gratitude for anyone else here who has given you something you needed, whether they knew it or not.

Reader Interactions

184Comments

  4. 4.

    Patricia Kayden

    I believe it was Betty Cracker who mentioned the sci-fi novel “Blindsight” about a dystopian spaceship with a vampire as the captain. I read it and loved it.

  5. 5.

    WaterGirl

    For me it was Bosch.  Just what I needed for a few weeks when I needed to escape.  At least a hundred people recommended Bosch, so I can’t thank you all by name. :-)

  6. 6.

    BGinCHI

    Thanks to raven for the copy of Quadrophenia he sent me lo those many years ago.

    And to so many of you who’ve turned me on to good sci fi, films, TV series.

  7. 7.

    BGinCHI

    I still don’t know who recommended the Murderbot series to me, but THANK YOU.

    I needed books like that this past year.

  8. 8.

    Leto

    Something that I’m incredibly grateful for are the book recommendations that cover a gambit of topics/genres. I simply want to thank all the Juicers here for being incredibly well read and able to make good recommendations.

  9. 9.

    piratedan

    i appreciate the book, music and entertainment suggestions and hope that others have found what I have suggested to be enjoyable.

  10. 10.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: I am indebted to Omnes for Different Drum performed by Susanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet.

    I also owe Omnes for the introduction to what I lovingly call “Fuck Me because I love jesus video” because I can never remember what it was really called or the names of the women who starred in it.  Kind of a love/hate thing because it was so bad but I could not stop watching it.

    Bonus for my having sent it to my niece without a warning, so it started playing while she was in the bleacher’s at her daughter’s soccer game.

  11. 11.

    Leto

    @BGinCHI: I think that might have been M4; I believe I remember him recommending that series because shortly after Avalune and I picked it up, and they’re just amazing. We recommended that series to a friend of ours, who we honestly believe is a less murdery version of Murderbot, and he quickly fell in love with the character. Our Discord chat is littered with Murderbot quotes.

  12. 12.

    Dan B

    I believe Sab raved about Fiona Hill’s book which I’m reading again after setting it down to read Adam Schiff’s book.  Where I’d left Hill’s book was in the first impeachment hearing and it was mind boggling to read about the same things Adam Schiff covered.  The two different viewpoints were amazing to read.

    Also Satby’s soaps which I’m giving as Xmas presents, err… February presents when this Omicron crap has settled down and Seattle roads are safe to drive.  Sigh.

  13. 13.

    BGinCHI

    Anyone else here watching The Great (on Hulu)? It’s really bawdy and irreverent, but oh so fun and smart. Liking it much more than I thought I would.

  26. 26.

    Mag

    I mostly read history and of my recent reads, I thought these two books were good:

    Set Up Running — The Life of a Pennsylvania Railroad Engineman, 1904-1949 by John W. Orr is fascinating if you have the barest of interest in American railroads and how families lived through the Great Depression.

    Spearhead: An American Tank Gunner, His Enemy, and a Collision of Lives in World War II by Adam Makos is a dramatic tale with a ending that was unexpected and beautiful.

  27. 27.

    FelonyGovt

    So many! I believe it was M4 who turned me on to William Gibson books (“if you like Neal Stephenson…”)

  28. 28.

    The Dangerman

    Music recommendations more than TV and Film. In that area, Google the version of “Mother” by Roger Waters during Covid.

    Raven, for the good of everything decent, please take down Bama. Go Dawgs.

  30. 30.

    Beisbol Houligan

    A longtime lurker here, but it was from Betty Cracker that I first heard of the writings of Marilynne Robinson.

  32. 32.

    WaterGirl

    I would like to thank Avalune for sharing her incredible talent with us at Balloon juice.  Steve on the front page was made by Avalune.

    Not to mention her other culture-related contributions to the Pie Filter – that’s Balloon juice culture for sure.  PupCake, the SeaLionCake, and others.  Those bring joy to people every day.

  33. 33.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: Either there were more stanzas in the live version or the lack of video made the words stand out more.  Thanks for finding that for me.  It totally belongs in a BJ culture thread.

  35. 35.

    FelonyGovt

    Not cultural, but I do want to say how much I enjoy and appreciate Tony Jay’s posts. I’m very interested in the UK and its politics, and he is very entertaining and informative.

  36. 36.

    Leto

    @WaterGirl: I didn’t know she was perusing the thread so I was delighted when I hit “post” and then saw her name above mine. The power of the Murderbot drew her out of her seclusion!

  37. 37.

    sab

    BJ is where I first heard of NK Jemisen and Dorothy Dunnett.

    And a bunch of authors in our midst. I can’t believe at almost 70 I am baxk to reading YA, but there are some very good YA writers here.

  39. 39.

    cope

    Unquestionably the links I have to Mala Market and Fly By Jing provided by a forgotten (by me) commenter are the most concretely delicious.

  40. 40.

    Kristine Pennington

    I am thankful for TaMara – another Colorado citizen like myself (Lakewood, CO)  and her outdoor pics of her yard, garden and of course the ducks……

  41. 41.

    Wolvesvalley

    I have greatly enjoyed reading Dorothy A. Winsor’s young adult books set in the city of Rin and its surroundings. (Not that I’m a young adult, but a good story is a good story whatever your age.)​

    ETA Also, I would not have known about the mysteries by Robert Crais (The Suspect and The Promise) if not for a commenter’s recommendation.
    ​
    ​

  42. 42.

    MazeDancer

    Always love any and all rec threads. Even if I know I won’t like it, I will sometimes look up something because someone touts it so highly.

    Also, the threads are a great reminder of what a wide and wonderful range of tastes there are in the world.

    WaterGirl’s rec of Longmire for example, Western? Nah. I lived in Santa Fe, so what if they shot it there. But WaterGirl adores it, so I’ll give it a shot.

    Great time was had by me, too. Was sad when I ran out of seasons. Absolutely never would have watched it without her rec.

    @Dan B:

    Satby’s stuff is splendid. Would link to her Etsy shop, but she’s “on break” it says.

  43. 43.

    CarolM

    I discovered Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books while lurking here! Thank you all very much, not only for that, but all the great posts and clever comments from the BJ community.

  45. 45.

    Old School

    The most recent one was Anne Laurie’s recommendation of The Fir Tree, which I read to my daughter last weekend.

  46. 46.

    getsmartin

    This quote (via Davis X. Machina):

    “The salient fact of American politics is that there are fifty to seventy million voters each of who will volunteer to live, with his family, in a cardboard box under an overpass, and cook sparrows on an old curtain rod, if someone would only guarantee that the black, gay, Hispanic, liberal, whatever, in the next box over doesn’t even have a curtain rod, or a sparrow to put on it.”

  47. 47.

    Almost Retired

    @raven:  Did I ever tell you that I’ve seen your brother’s band a couple times (Which One’s Pink, right?”) – most recently in the before-times at Sainte Rocke in Hermosa Beach.  I think they played the nearby Beach Life festival this year, but I would have had to stay up too late and it was kind of cold, etc.  Excellent band.

  50. 50.

    Steeplejack

    There have been so many gifts over the years. One that stands out is this little masterpiece (song and video): Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth, “They Reminisce over You (T.R.O.Y.).” My musical tastes are pretty eclectic, but I never would have found this on my own. I have no idea who posted it. Thanks, somebody.

    Oh, another one: Someone linked to an old 1970 song that I had never heard—WTF?!—Deirdre Wilson Tabac, “I Can’t Keep from Crying Sometime,” overlaid over a clip from the 1960s film I Am Cuba. It was perfect! A great digital collage. But it got yanked from YouTube, sadly.

  51. 51.

    Starfish

    @Leto: I can believe that it was M4. He and I have similar tastes in categories like technology and science fiction.

  57. 57.

    brendancalling

    No one in particular (although DougJ gets a shoutout for his NYTPitchbot schtick, I always love that) but a more general “thanks for tolerating me when I’m whining about not seeing my kid and probably being repetitive about it.”

    It’s been a tough several years since 2016, but 2020 nearly broke my brain. Thanks for letting me stick around.

  58. 58.

    Starfish

    @Wolvesvalley:

    I have not read Dorothy Winsor’s books, but I really like her. I am also really impressionable when people on Twitter tell me to read things.

    I think Dorothy Winsor mentioned Fonda Lee’s Jade City on Twitter, and it is sitting next to my bed as I patiently await more books that I heard about on Twitter.

  62. 62.

    NotMax

    @BGinCHI

    Shall have to glance at it based on your say-so. From the trailer it just looked, to be frank, stupid, as if all that was missing were fart jokes.

  63. 63.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @getsmartin:

    This quote (via Davis X. Machina):

    now there’s a commenter I miss

    not the only one, but a name I haven’t seen come up till now

  65. 65.

    Fair Economist

    The most significant thing I got was a flavor video, on an open thread, I think, of the Postmodern Jukebox cover of Nikki Minaj’ “Anaconda”, done in a bluegrass style. That got me into PMJ, and from there into various modernized/dance jazz like the Puppini Sisters, and partly was responsible for reactivating my interest in microtonal music, which I’m now doing some possibly very consequential research in.

    I can’t even Google up the post to thank the responsible jackal.

  66. 66.

    zhena gogolia

    I get lots of great advice here on food, pets (will have some again one day) but especially COVID. Love the medium cool threads

  67. 67.

    Gin & Tonic

    Somebody, can’t recall who, recommended The Martian, which was a good use of a 15.5 hour LAX-MEL flight.

  68. 68.

    eclare

    I read Killers of the Flower Moon, I believe on recommendation by Dorothy A Winsor (apologies if I’m mistaken).  The book opened my eyes to another ugly part of American history that I did not know about, but if you don’t acknowledge the past, you can’t move forward.

    I think the book is being adapted into a film.

  69. 69.

    jrbinthedmv

    A while back there was an excellent post asking people to name an album they could listen to in its entirety without skipping any song.  Someone mentioned Jean Luc Ponty’s “Cosmic Messenger” and they were absolutely right.  I probably listen to that album at least once a month now.  So, thanks to that BJ poster for a great recommendation!

  71. 71.

    wataguy

    Very longtime lurker and extremely rare commenter here. Thank you for 20 years of interesting things to read! I’m looking forward to the next 20.

    And thanks to those who introduced me to Bosch and, especially, Discworld.

  72. 72.

    Yarrow

    Years ago raven mentioned something about the TV show “Silicon Valley.” I hadn’t even heard of it and looked it up to see what in the world it was. Loved the whole thing. Thanks to raven for that.

    A few years ago MomSense mentioned watching “The Detectorists.” Hadn’t heard of it, looked it up and love it. I think she also was the one who mentioned “East Side Sushi,” but if not, thanks to whoever did. Fun film.

    Thank you to someone – I think it might be Steeplejack but not sure – who recently mentioned that “Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing” is now available on Tubi. I’d been wanting to watch it but could only find it on BBC iPlayer via VPN or maybe BritBox, which I don’t have. I’m only part way through the first series but love it. Thanks for that.

  73. 73.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    Oh gosh, there are so many things. I am so unplugged from current culture it’s ridiculous.

    I’m pretty sure I learned about “Hyperbole and a Half” and “Bitch, Ph.D” (both now sadly defunct) from people here.

    My other regular blog-read, Wonkette, definitely came from following a link here.

  74. 74.

    Tehanu

    I’ve enjoyed Dorothy Winsor’s YA fantasy books a lot, which is saying a lot because I’ve read literally thousands of fantasy novels.  And it may not be “culture”, but I love, love, LOVE Albatrossity’s bird photos.

  75. 75.

    Steeplejack

    @Yarrow:

    Not me, probably NotMax.

    In general, the search function at JustWatch.com is the gold standard for looking up where anything is streaming. I don’t use that site for anything else.

  80. 80.

    James E Powell

    So many recommendations for so many series & movies from so many people that I cannot get close to remembering and thanking everyone by name.

    That said, NotMax’s nordic noir & euro cop recommendations are invariably great.

    What I am most grateful for, though isn’t cultural, but the fact that so many of you watch & read news sources, then summarize & report on them, so that I don’t have to.

  82. 82.

    Yutsano

    @Leto: IF that is indeed the magic spell it might get used. Not that i mind talking to an old flyboy (although we do need to exchange the words more often) but the upper brass always want to meet the wives. I’m not upper brass necessarily (although I make E-9 bucks) but I’m in that crowd as well. She shouldn’t be a stranger!

  86. 86.

    Sure Lurkalot

    I will second enjoying TaMara’s posts about her menagerie of animals and recipes. And Albatrossity’s photos and extensive knowledge of birds.

  88. 88.

    dm

    I’m sure everyone who’d already read the Murderbot stories recommended them at one time or another, followed by a chorus of others’ “Yes! Murderbot!”

    I’m thinking I probably picked up a lot of movies and some music here, but I’m not sure.

    The thing I know I picked up because of BJ was BGinCHI’s own recommendation of HHhH, which I’m afraid I found merely okay, though interesting in its approach to history? memoir? novel?  It sort of reminded me of a lot of Sarah Vowell’s work.

    But it did mean I went back and re-read the author’s The Seventh Function of Language: a novel, which was even better on the re-read than the first time through.  I also read his Civilizations: a novel, which had moments of brilliance.  So, all in all, a big win.

  89. 89.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @BGinCHI:

    If you like anything Armando Iannucci has done, you’ll love it.

    Now that’s a strong rec, to me. I got the impression from the ads that The Favourite was also a big influence on The Great.

    And I like a good fart joke. A good one.

    “Somebody musta stepped on a duck!”

  92. 92.

    BGinCHI

    @dm: I LOVED Civilizations.

    I can’t think of anyone else who could pull off what that novel does, and make it look so easy. Tremendous.

    You should check out Álvaro Enrigue’s novel Sudden Death. About Caravaggio, tennis, and the colonization of Mexico.

  93. 93.

    BGinCHI

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: The Great is based on McNamara’s play, so I don’t know if that means it was before The Favourite.

    But yes, The Great and The Favourite have a very similar aesthetic. Also, great casts.

  95. 95.

    frosty

    Not fiction or culture, but Raven’s recommendations of Crooked (back pain) and The Retirement Maze caused me to make some changes, the second one in particular. We ended up staying in the house we’re in and I stayed on part time at work (on call) which kept me connected with friends, a big deal when COVID hit.

    ETA: … and more book and TV recommendations from everyone than I can remember!

  96. 96.

    Suzanne

    The Louise Penny Gamache books.

    Spawn the Younger is coughing. Just gave her one of our two precious Covid tests. Ehhhh.

  98. 98.

    John Cole

    Jesus christ some trigger warning when you are going to post pictures of me fucking hell I have a widescreen monitor that was fucking terrifying

  99. 99.

    RSA

    @Sure Lurkalot:  I’ve gotten some solid book and music recommendations here, though unfortunately I don’t remember exactly which or from whom. :-)

    I do remember, though, that TaMara’s and JeffreyW’s recipes have inspired me, and at least one of TaMara’s is in my regular rotation. Thanks to you both.

    ETA: While I’m at it, thanks to you, BGinCHI, for stimulating conversation.

  100. 100.

    sempronia

    Thanks to Roger Moore, who posted about viewing Rose Parade floats up close on New Year’s Eve at night, almost midnight. I went one year with my mom, and it was great! Some of the float designers were around to answer questions about their floats too. I’m a native of Pasadena and had never known about it. Truly a locals-only event.

  108. 108.

    WaterGirl

    @John Cole: That will teach you to ignore my texts and not answer the phone when I call.  :-)

    Having said that, sorry if that I gave you a fright!

    That was your happiest pic so i chose that one.

  109. 109.

    raven

    We just watched the first episode of “Around the World in 80 Days”, it’s quite good. In looking at the listing for the 1956 version I learned it was the first film that used a “cameo” cast!

  110. 110.

    WaterGirl

    @RSA: I just did a double-take.

    I just did a search for you this morning and came up with nothing since 2015.  Did you change your email address?  searching for RSA brought up 65,000 comments because those 3 letters are very  common in a lot of words!

    I was wondering if anything ever came of it after your 3 threads asking for favorite John Cole posts?

  111. 111.

    WaterGirl

    @raven: Does he do twitter or have a blog?  (I just glanced at it, is that a business site)

    i can add a blog and a twitter link to the Past Authors page if he has them.

  113. 113.

    dm

    @BGinCHI: My absolute favorite bit was the exchange of letters between Thomas More and Erasmus about Henry VIII adopting Sun-worship as a way out of monogamy.

    ….Though the opening bit about Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir’s 11th Century voyage getting all the way to Peru was a great way to let you know what you were in for

    (Álvaro Enrigue queued up.)

  114. 114.

    raven

    @WaterGirl: I don’t know, here’s a FB post of his from this fall.

     

    Facebook is bad for people and the planet.

    So much harm from this site dedicated to promoting hate, violence and profits for a greedy few. Use it sparingly, if at all.

    Any good done by this site is small when compared to harm.

    Cheers.

  115. 115.

    Steeplejack

    @WaterGirl:

    I found two, maybe all three, of RSA’s posts about favorite blog stuff, and they were very valuable—for links; phrasing for searches; and likely time frames.

  119. 119.

    Leto

    @Yutsano: she had, and still has, the ability to thread the needle of telling the brass just how stupid something is (a new “idea”, an opinion, etc…) , while simultaneously keeping me out of trouble.

    @John Cole: paging Dorian Grey… Dorian Grey please report to the blog…

  120. 120.

    WaterGirl

    @Steeplejack: Those are the posts I am talking about.  The original plan was to identify the classic posts, then publish them in some way.  I was just wondering if anything ever came of that, guessing not but it’s worth asking.

  121. 121.

    BGinCHI

    @WaterGirl: OK, thanks! I think I showed up around 2008 or 2009, and I could swear DG was here already. Probably just me misremembering…..

  123. 123.

    raven

    @BGinCHI: Oh yea, they hung on by a thread through covid but did survive. The guy who is rebuilding our rental is married to one of the main peeps there now. They bought the big house across from the Grit and, now that the church is gone and there is a condo complex there, it’s a much needed preservation. They did leave the chapel part of St Joe’s and it’s going to be an eatery.

  125. 125.

    WaterGirl

    @BGinCHI: You can check my work!

    Go to the new Past Authors page.  (it’s in the sidebar, too)

    Click on Dennis G.  Note the date on the post at the top of the page. That’s his last post.  Scroll to the bottom of the page, click on the highest number and that will take you to his first post.

    If you find that i’m in error with his dates, let me know and i’ll update it.

  126. 126.

    Leto

    @raven: when Avalune and I were house hunting over the spring/summer, one of the places that popped up was a renovated church. The main sanctuary was converted into this really cool kitchen, dining, and living room. Some of the rooms off from that were converted into bedrooms which weren’t bad. If it wasn’t an hour from Avalune’s work it would’ve been a more serious contender. I think it still had the stain glass windows and that was just another major selling point.

  129. 129.

    prostratedragon

    Recipes and arts recommendations of all sorts, but especially movies and tv, since the visual is where I am these days it seems. Also music, because as Quincy Jones said, there’s too damn much of it (terrifies me to contemplate what he might think is too much) and one needs some hints to guide one in new directions. And, as a lifelong apartment dweller, other people’s adventures in home maintenance and restoration, some of which make me pathetically happy to be an apartment renter.

  130. 130.

    raven

    @Leto: There are a couple of converted churches around here. St Joe’s had a big space right near downtown and they sold it and moved to the outskirts. Unlike many of the businesses they didn’t move across the river to the lily-white Oconee County.

  137. 137.

    BGinCHI

    @raven: Was going to make a joke about Prince Avenue Baptist, and I looked at the map and it moved!! What the hell?

    I lived in an apartment on Hill St a block or so from Prince, and we’d watch the churchgoers on Sunday morning in their finest coming and going.

  139. 139.

    Leto

    Something I’m looking forward to is the Denzel Washington led MacBeth. It’s in theaters now, but it premiers on Apple+ Jan 14th.

  140. 140.

    raven

    @BGinCHI: Prince Ave BC has been gone from there for years. Piedmont College bought it and they just sold it to the Clarke County School District and moved into the new building in Normaltown. I can see it out of my bedroom window now. The hospital has expanded out to Prince and they are almost done with that.  Blair and Betsy still live on Hill but they also bought a hotel in Vermont!

     

    eta

    Normaltown has become quite the little alternative to downtown with several bars and   restaurants but Normal Hardware is hanging on. I have to have somewhere to hang out on Saturday morning,

  141. 141.

    raven

    It’s nice to see I’ve been a resource for some folks. It’s the Adult Ed in me. Nite.

  143. 143.

    BGinCHI

    @raven: Normaltown Tavern still there? Almost afraid to ask….

    Barry still on Cobb? Also kind of afraid to ask.

    Man, I lived there a lifetime ago in some ways. I’ll never forget the day I watched the woman make the tile mosaic at the front door of the Globe Pub. I have SO MANY clear and vivid memories of Athens circa 1989-1993.

  145. 145.

    drunkenhausfrau

    Been here since the beginning… this blog and Gilliard’s NewsBlog became my morning and evening ritual… have learned so much, it’s hard to pinpoint which recipe or book or film or other internet cultural social norms I have absorbed from this community.  Forever grateful for the comfort and solace through pet losses and life changes.

  146. 146.

    RSA

    @WaterGirl: Huh! That’s strange. My email address should be the same as always, I think (though I may change it some time, since it’s associated with a previous job and may be turned off—I’ll let you know if that happens).

    Right, I did have the keys to the castle (front page access) for a little while a few years ago.  At the time I was talking online and by phone with another BJer, going over plans to turn a set of BJ blogs into a book. We were collecting the greatest hits and later commentary, and I was convinced that it could be done well.

    Some commenters disagreed, and I think now that they were right and I was wrong. Balloon Juice is a wonderful place, and you and other front-pagers are doing a great job of ensuring that it continues.  It’s really hard to capture that sense of community and its value in a snapshot, though, as a collection of posts.  At least, it would take more than editing—it would require significant creativity to tell the story.

    Now that I’ve written this down, I realize that it’s fun to think about!  Maybe someone else will take it on.

  147. 147.

    CaseyL

    I’ve lost count of the wonderful books and movies I’ve discovered thanks to recs here.

    But one writer I definitely would not have known about is Tom Levenson, because I only know him/know of him through Balloon Juice.  And his books are among my favorites.

  151. 151.

    Leto

    @CaseyL: it was quite a surprise when I saw Tom’s book sitting in Waterstone’s (UK Barnes and Noble) New Book section. I was like… I know that guy!

  152. 152.

    Ivan X

    It’s a wee thing, but I have always found Martin’s comments to be particularly enjoyable and insightful, and I have taken them with me away from the blog.

  154. 154.

    Jacel

    @drunkenhausfrau: Goodness, I’m sure many of us owe so much to what we’ve learned from Steve Gilliard’s NewsBlog all those years ago before his early death. Looking just now I’m amazed and happy to see the blog is still there on the InterTubes, after a fashion, allowing for bitrot.
    http://stevegilliard.blogspot.com/2003/08/

    If I recall correctly, I found Balloon Juice initially due to a thread on Pandagon (started by Jesse Taylor to which he invited UC Santa Cruz undergraduate Ezra Klein to co-blog) that asked in the early GWB years which conservative blogs were worth reading for balance. John Cole’s Balloon Juice was recommended most frequently, citing the honest real-world military experience Cole wrote of to ground discussions of the Second Iraq War. Within a few weeks of my reading BJ, it no longer served as a recommendable CONSERVATIVE blog, thanks to the destructive Terri Schaivo push by Republican office holders.

  156. 156.

    JoyceCB

    I’ve followed up a few recommendations here, but the one I enjoyed the most was Tom Levenson’s “Money for Nothing”, a great read and I learned a lot.  A good 15 years of lurking, maybe more, and only sticking my head up lately, once in a while.

  157. 157.

    HumboldtBlue

    Too many songs, books, shows to count.

    Jeremy Brent as Sherlock certainly stands out as an awesome recommendation because that was very recent and just the reliable information that gets relayed by the commentariat on a daily basis.

    From politics to the “nearly indecipherable phalanxes of text” produced by David on health care to now owning three books authored by Tom Levenson (who I fan-boyed over to my sister when I told her he was responding to my tweets) to some 16 or 17 years reading Betty (and repeatedly getting cussed out by Betty for being an ass) to TBogg recommending Cole.

    So much smarts in one place draws us dim bulbs to the light like moths

  158. 158.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Ivan X:

    It’s a wee thing, but I have always found Martin’s comments to be particularly enjoyable and insightful, and I have taken them with me away from the blog.

    Agreed wholeheartedly.

    I distinctly recall a comment where Martin detailed the extraordinary skill set of farmworkers who are grossly exploited in California and the pernicious use of “unskilled” labor to denigrate the labor they provide to put food on tables across the country.

    That among a hundred other comments providing cogent, informative insight on the state in general.

  160. 160.

    Argiope

    I have sourdough starter in my fridge that came originally from Alain via Auntie Beak.  Keeping the bread going and it often reminds me of Alain and the original genesis of OTR posts, some lovely respite in a world where it’s been such a challenge to travel.

  161. 161.

    James E Powell

    I forgot to mention Tom Levenson’s book, Money for Nothing. It was a fantastic read. I will read it again sometime this Spring.

  162. 162.

    Steeplejack

    @mrmoshpotato:

    The Rudy Giuliani version is the best one. Be sure to watch the director’s cut and the commentary track with Sidney Powell and Mike Lindell.

  163. 163.

    Original Lee

    Dorothy Winsor’s delightful YA novels, especially The Wind Reader. Also many good recipes, movies, and bucket list travel spots. The Jackalteriat is an excellent source of information on many topics, and I am grateful to you all for your (largely unacknowledged by me) help, wit, and knowledge.

  164. 164.

    MomSense

    I’ve learned so many great things from this blog over the years – music, recipes, plants, books, tv and movie recs.

  165. 165.

    Felanius Kootea

    Wow. I can’t believe I’ve been hanging around this blog for close to 20 years!

    Thank you to whoever mentioned Tana French and got me hooked on the Dublin Murder series. Also the person who introduced me to the Noisettes’ “I’ll never forget you.”

    Looking forward to torturing you all when my first novel (finally!) comes out later this year.

  168. 168.

    Jean

    So many books, t.v. series, and movies, I can’t count them all.  Not long ago, I read in order all the Louise Penny novels in the Gamache series.  A few friends were reading them too, so that led to many conversations about Three Pines.  Many spy novels, Alan Furst, one of several.  The Detectorists, hilarious.  Hamish MacBeth, another series I would have never known about.  I don’t watch much t.v. so when people here recommend shows, I watch and am rarely disappointed.

  173. 173.

    Anne Laurie

    @Patricia Kayden:I believe it was Betty Cracker who mentioned the sci-fi novel “Blindsight” about a dystopian spaceship with a vampire as the captain. I read it and loved it.

    I may have been the responsible party, actually.  Many years ago, when it was still ‘Peter Watts’ new book‘, he set up a scary / hilarious website with the backstory of the institute that (accidentally) created those vampires.

    Of course, I can’t find that website now (assuming it still exists) — heck, I can’t even find my post about it!

  175. 175.

    Felanius Kootea

    @Suzanne: It was probably you – thank you! I found the Dublin Murder Squad books so addictive that I read them all back to back and then started on her other books. I was disturbed by “The Witch Elm,” I have to say.

     

    Edited for typos.

  177. 177.

    Tony Jay

    @FelonyGovt:

    That’s very kind of you to say so.

    Can’t really take part much over the weekend as we’re in London for a series of birthday theatre shows and have spent most of our time rolling around the streets in hygienically-sealed plastic balls and shouting “Are you disbrained?!?” at the unmasked multitudes.

    Off to Westminster for a few hours to point at Big Ben and jeer at Flobalob Street, but I’ll be checking in infrequently to enjoy all the memory lane traffic.

  179. 179.

    WaterGirl

    @RSA: I see that now you use your .edu email address for the comments, but for your 3 posts you used a gmail address.  That’s why I couldn’t find you in the comments

    Glad to know where things went after the original plan.  Not every plan comes to fruition but we should never stop having ideas and following them to their natural conclusion.

    Thanks for the update!

  181. 181.

    Miss Bianca

    @dm: I actually read The Seventh Function of Language on BGinChi’s recommendation and found myself disliking it intensely, alas – but it was so well-written I felt compelled to finish it! Drat!

    But that’s pretty much the exception to the rule, because as for other recommendations from Balloon Juice, I literally can’t count the ones I’ve picked up on and enjoyed. Pretty sure someone here turned me on to Lois McMaster Bujold, for which I will be forever grateful, just to name one author. Am finishing Travelers in the Third Reich, which someone else here mentioned, right now, and will be jumping into the Adam Schiff book right after that.

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