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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Hodgepodge, Mishmash or Smorgasbord?

Hodgepodge, Mishmash or Smorgasbord?

by WaterGirl|  January 9, 202212:00 pm| 71 Comments

This post is in: Balloon Juice, Open Threads

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Hodgepodge, Mishmash or Smorgasbord?  Whatever you call it, this post is it.

The long list of Balloon Juice 20th Anniversary links has been moved to a separate page, and I have added a single link to replace it.  Just below that, I also added a link to all 20th anniversary posts this week. All the front-pager anniversary posts were a treat, and I was especially happy to see the post from Tim F.  Hoping we’ll see something from Soonergrunt soon!

If you listened to DougJ interview Cole for the anniversary, you might be happy to know that there is talk of DougJ possibly interviewing other people of interest every 2 to 4 weeks.

The Adam Schiff Midnight in Washington book club starts this week.  If you’re one of the 70 people who have not let me know whether you plan to attend by zoom or just participate in the Bj threads, please send me email ASAP.  Please include your nym, “zoom or thread”, and something in the title to alert me that you are writing about the book club.

I have added something new to the sidebar:  Balloon Juice Events.  Lots going on this week.  These are the things that I’m aware of, are there others?

1/11  Four Directions Q&A Post 7:30
1/12  Adam Schiff Book Club 8pm
1/13  Four Directions Zoom 7:30
1/19  Adam Schiff Book Club 8pm

I also added Twitter Links in the sidebar, with links to Cole, DougJ (NYT Pitchbot) and Betty Cracker in the sidebar.  Do other front-pagers tweet?  I do not know, but I bet you guys will tell me.

This Tuesday, Jan 11 at 7:30, Four Directions will join us for a Q & A post where OJ, Lewis and Bret (the political director) will be here to tell us what they have been up to and answer any questions we might have.

This Wednesday, Jan 12 at 8 pm, we have the first Midnight in Washington book club meeting.  Zoom and BJ thread.  All the details can be found at this link in the sidebar:   Midnight In Washington Book Club

This Thursday, Jan 13 at 7:30, Four Directions will join us for a Q & A zoom.  Same details as Tuesday, only by zoom.  Send me email if you want to attend the zoom and I will reply with the link.

I know I dropped a few balls in the fall, maybe even dropped a few in the summer; please don’t take it personally if your ball was dropped.  So if you are waiting for a response from me, or you were waiting and have given up, please let me know in this thread or by email.  If you asked for your author information to be updated, or we talked about an Authors in Our Midst post but I haven’t put it up yet, if we talked about a pet post or a post on a particular subject, or anything else, jump in.  Letting me know will allow me to start the year guilt-free, so you will be doing me a favor!

In a week or so you’ll see a follow-up post to tell you about what the You Have Agency / Taking Action / Join the Fight peeps from Balloon Juice have been up to since we first started the pilot groups a few months ago.  And we’ll be asking for help from more of you, so if you’re looking for another way to make a difference in 2022, this may be it.

In February, Voces de la Frontera will be joining us for a Q&A thread and a separate Q&A zoom to tell us what they are up to and what they are able to do with the field organizer position that we funded (along with the match donor).

Two balloon juice angels (!) have contacted me to offer matches for the Four Directions Michigan fundraising that is coming up.  Four Directions is working on a double-match for us, fingers crossed.

What did I miss?  If there’s something that belongs in this list that i haven’t mentioned, you can jump in with that, too.

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Reader Interactions

71Comments

  1. 1.

    debbie

    January 9, 2022 at 12:04 pm

    When do you sleep?

  2. 2.

    WaterGirl

    January 9, 2022 at 12:07 pm

    @debbie: All these things kind of crept up on me.  You start things at different times and it takes awhile for them all to come to fruition.

    Last week I initially double-booked Four Directions for the same night as the first book club meeting on the same night, and that when I figured I had better write it all down!

  3. 3.

    Mike in NC

    January 9, 2022 at 12:12 pm

    We and our neighbors are enjoying a sunny January Sunday where it’s 70 degrees outside. The rest of the week will be 40s and low 50s.

  4. 4.

    PaulB

    January 9, 2022 at 12:12 pm

    Thank you for all of this. It takes a lot of work to bring a community like this together and keep it moving forward and your efforts on our behalf are very much appreciated.

  5. 5.

    Another Scott

    January 9, 2022 at 12:13 pm

    @WaterGirl:  +1 :-)

    Despite what Socrates supposedly said, writing frees up the brain from having to memorize stuff like gigantic epic poems, and to-do lists.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  6. 6.

    wmd

    January 9, 2022 at 12:15 pm

    First off thanks for your work.

    And now – if we emailed about book club and did not get an ack should we email again?

  7. 7.

    gene108

    January 9, 2022 at 12:18 pm

    WaterGirl, thank you for organizing so many things for this blog. It’s very, very impressive.

    I sent you an email for the upcoming book club just now.

  8. 8.

    debbie

    January 9, 2022 at 12:22 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    You really are tireless!

  9. 9.

    WaterGirl

    January 9, 2022 at 12:23 pm

    @wmd: With 130+ people signed up for the book club, I haven’t had time to reply to the folks who sent the zoom/thread emails.

    So if you already sent that email, there’s no need to send it again.  In fact, sending it again would mess up my system. :-(

  10. 10.

    WaterGirl

    January 9, 2022 at 12:27 pm

    @debbie: This is what happens when you say “we’re heading into the holidays, let’s do that at the beginning of January”…. to half a dozen different things.  :-)

  11. 11.

    WaterGirl

    January 9, 2022 at 12:27 pm

    @PaulB: Thank you!

  12. 12.

    FelonyGovt

    January 9, 2022 at 12:33 pm

    I’m tired just thinking about all you do around here. Thank you ❤️

  13. 13.

    Baud

    January 9, 2022 at 12:35 pm

    I need a nap after reading this post.

  14. 14.

    WaterGirl

    January 9, 2022 at 12:45 pm

    @FelonyGovt:   @Baud:

    Are we doing too much?  I don’t want to overwhelm people.

  15. 15.

    Baud

    January 9, 2022 at 12:49 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    You’re probably doing too much and should think about hiring an intern.

    Everyone else can decide what they want to do or have time for.

    Since you are a busy beaver, one thing you should think about is creating a Balloon Juice calendar so people can look up when things are happening.

  16. 16.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 9, 2022 at 12:49 pm

    Hodgepodge, Mishmash or Smorgasbord?

    Gallimaufry.

  17. 17.

    Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)

    January 9, 2022 at 12:50 pm

    I’ve been (and still am) horribly behind, to the extent that I missed all of the festivities, but wanted to stop by and say congrats to JC and company for 20 years of… whatever this is ?.

    Between work ramping up and grad school starting (frankly, I’m as surprised saying it as you probably are hearing it), I will have to resign myself to popping in when I can.

    Be good to each other (or at least 1% less snarly, as required).

    Ben

  18. 18.

    Baud

    January 9, 2022 at 12:50 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Learned something new.

  19. 19.

    Nicole

    January 9, 2022 at 12:51 pm

    @WaterGirl: No, it’s not too much as long as you’re comfortable handling it. You are an inspiration, and remind me that it takes work to make the possible happen. Thank you for everything you do. I’m always a little bit more optimistic after reading one of your posts.

  20. 20.

    mali muso

    January 9, 2022 at 12:55 pm

    @Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant): Hey, way to go on the grad school thing!  What degree are you pursuing?

  21. 21.

    frosty

    January 9, 2022 at 12:59 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Wasn’t Gallimaufry the title of some writer’s column decades ago? Atlantic? Harper’s? Wikipedia is no help; it linked to hodge-podge LOL.

  22. 22.

    Jackie

    January 9, 2022 at 1:02 pm

    @Baud: Excellent idea!

    But, only when WaterGirl has a spare second or two!?

  23. 23.

    Baud

    January 9, 2022 at 1:07 pm

    @Jackie: 

    I believe 2-2:15 am is still open.

  24. 24.

    JanieM

    January 9, 2022 at 1:07 pm

    Just to chime in with appreciation for all you do, WaterGirl — and amazement at how much you juggle. From my POV, let’s not forget the managing and planning of OTR!

  25. 25.

    Baud

    January 9, 2022 at 1:09 pm

    @Another Scott:

    writing frees up the brain from having to memorize stuff like gigantic epic poems

     

    That how we ended up with tweets.

    Socrates was right!

  26. 26.

    WaterGirl

    January 9, 2022 at 1:13 pm

    @Baud: Yeah, my Events List in the sidebar is kind of a stopgap measure, but I figured it was better than nothing!

  27. 27.

    Nancy

    January 9, 2022 at 1:16 pm

    I’m inefficient with less than half the responsibilities H2Ogirl has on her plate.

    Thank you for all of it.

  28. 28.

    Jackie

    January 9, 2022 at 1:17 pm

    @Baud: ?

  29. 29.

    WaterGirl

    January 9, 2022 at 1:17 pm

    @Baud: Most people aren’t foolish enough to work for free. :-)

  30. 30.

    Benw

    January 9, 2022 at 1:22 pm

    So much cool stuff! Thx Wtrgrl!

    As an aside: why does the butter stick to the knife and not the toast? And since the butter does stick to the knife and not the toast, why haven’t we come up with a better butter delivery system?

  31. 31.

    Baud

    January 9, 2022 at 1:24 pm

    @Benw:

    As an aside: why does the butter stick to the knife and not the toast?

     
    Magnets!

    And since the butter does stick to the knife and not the toast, why haven’t we come up with a better butter delivery system?

    Big Knife squashed it.

  32. 32.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 9, 2022 at 1:27 pm

    @Baud:

    Then my work here is complete.

  33. 33.

    Benw

    January 9, 2022 at 1:30 pm

    @Baud:

    Magnets!

    You know how they work!?!

  34. 34.

    WaterGirl

    January 9, 2022 at 1:31 pm

    @Benw: Do regular magnets work the same way as fucking magnets?

  35. 35.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 9, 2022 at 1:33 pm

    @frosty:

    That does sound vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t guess at either the author, the publication, or the general time period.

  36. 36.

    Benw

    January 9, 2022 at 1:37 pm

    @WaterGirl: haha I don’t fucking know! :)

  37. 37.

    WereBear

    January 9, 2022 at 1:58 pm

    @Another Scott: Despite what Socrates supposedly said, writing frees up the brain from having to memorize stuff like gigantic epic poems, and to-do lists.

     

    I telling people I’ve read a lot and my brain is full now. Maybe time to clean out the old brain attic. As Sherlock Holmes would say.

  38. 38.

    HinTN

    January 9, 2022 at 2:03 pm

    @Benw: Hot knife. SATSQ

  39. 39.

    CaseyL

    January 9, 2022 at 2:07 pm

    @Benw: Do what restaurant kitchens do for breakfast toast: melt the butter and put it on with a brush.

  40. 40.

    WaterGirl

    January 9, 2022 at 2:10 pm

    @CaseyL: But then you have to wash the brush which is a total pain in the behind.

  41. 41.

    Benw

    January 9, 2022 at 2:12 pm

    @WaterGirl: YES EXACTLY, and the butter ‘splodes in the microwave and you have to clean THAT

  42. 42.

    CaseyL

    January 9, 2022 at 2:12 pm

    @WaterGirl:  Maybe a tiny spatula, then. Or a spoon.

    @Benw: I’ve never had that happen – usually just 30 seconds will do the trick.  Or: I have a couple one-cup saucepan thingies (they look like dollhouse saucepans, only real) and I sometimes put the butter in one of those and put the tiny pot on a burner.  Instant melted butter!

  43. 43.

    WaterGirl

    January 9, 2022 at 2:19 pm

    @Benw: Maybe you should stick with just licking the knife after you’re done? :-)

  44. 44.

    Steeplejack

    January 9, 2022 at 2:21 pm

    @Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant):

    Good luck in grad school! What are you studying?

  45. 45.

    Benw

    January 9, 2022 at 2:24 pm

    @WaterGirl: I put it in the sink and Tanga jumps in and licks it.

  46. 46.

    Miss Bianca

    January 9, 2022 at 2:26 pm

    OMG, why did I revisit the Walter threads? Now I’m completely weepy and trying to explain to pal D why I’m watching random videos of an elderly black dog on Youtube.

    And I miss debit. Wish she’d come back and comment more frequently.

  47. 47.

    Steeplejack

    January 9, 2022 at 2:31 pm

    @Benw:

    Butter keeper. I have a different one, works great.

  48. 48.

    Joy in FL

    January 9, 2022 at 2:42 pm

    Thank you, WaterGirl.

    I do think a calendar (or a list, whatever is most efficient) in the sidebar might be helpful, especially if we have multiple kinds of activities and some with deadlines or specific dates.

    I am looking forward to the book club Zoom on Wednesday.

  49. 49.

    Benw

    January 9, 2022 at 2:50 pm

    @Steeplejack: neat

  50. 50.

    brantl

    January 9, 2022 at 3:12 pm

    @WaterGirl: No, fucking magnets is how you get MORE magnets. Google Calendar would work, wouldn’t it?

  51. 51.

    WaterGirl

    January 9, 2022 at 3:28 pm

    @Miss Bianca: debit was here for the post where I put up the Walter links, and she was happy to see them.

    Just keep in mind that between John Cole and then debit’s house – with debit and all the kids and Ellie to hang out with – Walter was living his best life.

  52. 52.

    WaterGirl

    January 9, 2022 at 3:29 pm

    @brantl:  Fucking magnets, like bunnies?

    Maybe, but I hate Google.

  53. 53.

    WaterGirl

    January 9, 2022 at 3:30 pm

    @Joy in FL: Did you see the (for now) list in the sidebar?

  54. 54.

    Miss Bianca

    January 9, 2022 at 3:42 pm

    @WaterGirl: Aww…I think I remember debit coming round, and that reminded me of how much I missed hearing from her and other commenters from the blog past.

    Walter reminded me a lot of my old girl Stella, who was a Shepherd/Rottie/possible Lab mix I got from the local animal rescue. Although she was a lot less chill than Walter was right off the bat – much more of a watchdog – she eventually settled down quite gracefully into her life as a house dog and was invaluable in helping bring up baby Luna. So many memories…

    As I get older myself, I keep thinking that as much fun as puppies are, it’s probably more of a mitzvah to think about adopting an elder dog next time round.

    ETA: I’m surprised the old tried-and-true “miscellany” didn’t end up in the post title mix somehow.

  55. 55.

    Mousebumples

    January 9, 2022 at 3:58 pm

    Thanks for all you do for us, WaterGirl! ?

  56. 56.

    brantl

    January 9, 2022 at 3:59 pm

    @WaterGirl: Why?

  57. 57.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 9, 2022 at 4:07 pm

    Oh Bears…

    But the Lions just beat the Packers.  (Yeah, I know it doesn’t matter.)

  58. 58.

    Betty

    January 9, 2022 at 4:14 pm

    To answer one of your questions, Tom Levenson is also a regular on Twitter. And joining in the thanks for your dedication.

  59. 59.

    WaterGirl

    January 9, 2022 at 4:25 pm

    @Betty: It looks like Tom hasn’t tweeted since May 2021.  does that sound right?

  60. 60.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 9, 2022 at 4:28 pm

    @WaterGirl:  No, he tweets regularly.

  61. 61.

    WaterGirl

    January 9, 2022 at 4:34 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Thank you.  That is very different from what I was seeing.  I have added Tom to the sidebar!

  62. 62.

    WaterGirl

    January 9, 2022 at 4:35 pm

    @Betty: Thanks for pointing that out!

  63. 63.

    Sandia Blanca

    January 9, 2022 at 5:27 pm

    Hi WG, another one to add to the Twitter collection is Tamara (HFG) (Miss T Has A New Book (Underway available now) (@TaMarasKitchen) / Twitter). Thanks to you and all the B-J staff for the community you provide for us.

  64. 64.

    WaterGirl

    January 9, 2022 at 5:42 pm

    @Sandia Blanca: Thank you!  I just added TaMara.

  65. 65.

    lowtechcyclist

    January 9, 2022 at 6:13 pm

    I know I dropped a few balls in the fall, maybe even dropped a few in the summer

    We’ll just have to dock your pay by fifty percent.

    Let’s see: fifty percent of nothing is — let me do the math here — nothing into nothing, carry the nothing…

  66. 66.

    tokyocali (formerly tokyo expat)

    January 9, 2022 at 6:19 pm

    @WaterGirl: Sorry to pester. I looked for an email and could not find the usual list for the front papers that used to sit on the top right. If I want to participate in the threads only, which means lurk :) given the time difference and my ability to check in, is it still necessary to email you about the book club with Adam Schiff? If so, what is your email?

    Btw, enjoyed reading the anniversary posts. It made me realize how many years I have been coming around and how much I hope this community of jackals powers on because it’s such a part of my day and keeps me connected to what’s happening in the USA. Cheers!

  67. 67.

    lowtechcyclist

    January 9, 2022 at 6:19 pm

    @Another Scott:

    Despite what Socrates supposedly said, writing frees up the brain from having to memorize stuff like gigantic epic poems, and to-do lists.

    In my life, that looks more like “poems, and giant epic to-do lists.”

  68. 68.

    WaterGirl

    January 9, 2022 at 6:42 pm

    @tokyocali (formerly tokyo expat):  my address is my nym at balloon-juice.com

    Does that help?

    CONTACT US in the white menu bar up top has more details, and even has an example.

  69. 69.

    tokyocali (formerly tokyo expat)

    January 9, 2022 at 7:11 pm

    @WaterGirl: Thanks very much! So Contact Us is where it’s all located? Should have checked. Thought that was a generic email for website problems.

    Will send an email. And as everyone else said, thank you for all the hard work you do to keep this place running!

  70. 70.

    Another Scott

    January 9, 2022 at 7:27 pm

    AOC has a breakthrough case of COVID-19, with symptoms.

    :-(

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  71. 71.

    Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)

    January 9, 2022 at 8:35 pm

    @mali muso: MSCIS.

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