Hey, remember when the NFL thought Michael Sam would be a distraction?
— Luis Paez-Pumar (@paezpumarL) September 12, 2014
Speaking of gladiatorial endeavors, recovering Catholics and medieval-history fans might enjoy this NYTimes article:
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria, Ill., has already constructed a museum in honor of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, a native son whose Emmy-winning television show during the 1950s brought Catholicism to the American living room. It has documented several potential miracles by him and compiled a dossier on his good works for the Vatican.
It has drawn up blueprints for an elaborate shrine in its main cathedral to house his tomb and sketched out an entire devotional campus it hopes to complete when its campaign to have him declared the first American-born male saint succeeds.
There has been just one snag in the diocese’s carefully laid veneration plans: the matter of Archbishop Sheen’s body.
Since his death in 1979, his remains have been sealed in a white marble crypt at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, the city where he spent much of his life. And though the Peoria diocese says it was promised the remains, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, who considers Archbishop Sheen something of a personal hero, has refused to part with them, citing the wishes of the archbishop and his family.
Now the dispute over Archbishop Sheen’s corpse has brought a halt to his rise to sainthood, just as he appeared close to beatification, the final stage before canonization. Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, Peoria’s leader, announced this month that the process had been suspended because New York would not release the body…
As a native New Yorker, it’s hard not to agree with the argument that “the first televangelist” beat feet out of Peoria as soon as he was old enough to have a choice. On the other hand, irking Cardinal Timmy Dolan has to be considered at least a minor work of mercy, so…
***********
Apart from theological debate, what’s on the agenda for the evening?
Corner Stone
I’m wondering how I can get some ground beef to work with some leftover chicken tikka.
Jay C
Maybe the archdioceses of New York and Peoria can compromise on their presumed possession(s) of the late Abp. Sheen’s body in the time-honored Catholic tradition – one of them can have Sheen’s body as an adolescent, the other his corpse as a grown man!
Hey, some medieval Pope ruled that way re St. John The Baptist’s skull: why shouldn’t Pope Francis do the same for Fulton Sheen?
SFAW
Split-screen (so to speak) between a work project and J-E-T-S!
raven
Richard Prior was from Peoria.
SFAW
I’m a little amazed that the wingnuts haven’t (yet) blamed Rice punching his fiancee/wife on either Ghey Marriage or Teh Ghey in general.
At least, as far as I know, they haven’t.
Steeplejack
@Corner Stone:
Possible suggestions here.
Jay C
@Steeplejack:
Thanks for today’s LOL:
O RLY?
Steeplejack
Just checked in for my flight home tomorrow, and I got TSA Pre√ on my boarding pass! So I’ve got that going for me.
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack: Hmmm, so far not too helpful. But thanks!
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack: Pre-check is the way to go. I hate that it’s even a real category, but it’s light years better. And just worth it to give in to the Security State Nannies, damn them.
Corner Stone
TD Texans by Foster!
KG
Laughing at (most definitely not with) the Palins. Because now, according to mudflats, the fight the other day started because Track (I refuse to believe that’s not a nickname) and some friends apparently told female guests at the party that they wanted to “bend them over” in the yard, while in the presence of said female guests’ husbands.
It’s class folks. Class all the way down
Corner Stone
During last week’s TXN – WAS game I said RGIII would last 3 more +/- games before injury or benching removed him starting.
I don’t root for injuries, but looks like that’s it for him this year.
MattF
In other religious news, the Pope seems to have gone and done something humane:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/09/14/world/europe/14reuters-italy-pope-wedding.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
I expect that Bill Donohue will have a sad.
JPL
@raven: Falcons looked better last week. Of course, Cincinnati might have caused some of that.
Corner Stone
@SFAW: Maybe GB is *actually* as bad as they looked against the Seahawks?
scav
@Jay C: Does he have any dried blood that liquifies in case of upcoming earthquake? I would imagine there are a few dioceses that would be interested. Maybe the Vatican could assume control over the sale of parts and fill up the coffers a bit (charity, bien sur). Shops to stop selling blessing scrolls as Vatican becomes sole distributor
MattF
@KG: Don’t forget, this was Bill Kristol’s favorite politician in 2008.
raven
@JPL: It just completed a weekend of football suckitude. . . oh wait, the Bears play tonight!
mdblanche
From the Dept. of Things I’d Never Thought I’d Read: Gerry Adams mourning the death of Ian Paisley
Corner Stone
INT by Texans! 65yd return.
Steeplejack
@Corner Stone:
I didn’t select it, or enroll, or whatever you do; it just came up, like winning the lotto. I fly so infrequently that I am not aware of all current aviation traditions.
I am dreading this flight more than usual because the one coming out was so great: the plane was about a quarter full, and I had a whole row to myself. I bought three hours of wi-fi Internet time (for $6) and told ’em to keep the G&Ts coming. It ended up being like a regular Saturday night at home except that I was wearing pants and I didn’t have the housecat riding shotgun.
But coming back from Vegas on a Monday? Moo. Cattle call.
SFAW
@Corner Stone:
Don’t know.
Was talking to my brother after last weeks Jets-Raiders game, he said the Jets pretty much dominated (despite the score), and that their run defense was really strong. I’m hoping he’s right. But the Jets (over the past few years) seem to have had more than their share of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, so I try not to get my hopes up too high.
JPL
@Steeplejack: Blog sites, i.e. allrecipes, have a comment section and many of the comments are hilarious. I can never tell the spoof ones from the serious ones, though.
Amir Khalid
Is this the Bishop Sheen whose surname was taken for professional purposes by a young actor called Ramon Estevez?
KG
Given the way the first two weeks of the nfl and three weeks of college football have gone, I’m fairly certain that I’ll have an idea of who the good teams are some time around… The second week of December. Or maybe January.
MattF
@Corner Stone: I know— for some reason I was booked TSA-pre checked last week on flights to and from Denver. To say it made a big difference is the understatement of the week.
SFAW
@MattF:
Fixed, just because.
Corner Stone
Can I just say I’ve always disliked U2 and that intensifies with the passing of every year?
Corner Stone
A Secretary of State that doesn’t believe in protocol?
Yep, that one’s gonna last.
Steeplejack
@JPL:
Yeah, I thought this was so funny because when I read real recipe sites I am always amazed/appalled at how many people document their ineptitude and then crab that the recipe sucks.
rikyrah
Seniors should be concerned about state taking over Medicare
09/12/2014 7:05 PM
Some GOP state lawmakers are upset that the Johnson County Commission on Aging plans to publish an article critical of the state’s plan to assume control of Medicare. Tough. They shouldn’t have supported the reckless proposal. Against the protests of senior groups, the Legislature voted last session to join a health care compact that would allow states, subject to congressional approval, to opt out of all federal laws regarding health care, including Medicare. The states would then receive the federal funding in block grants to use on their own state-managed programs. The lawmakers contend that this wouldn’t be a threat to Medicare because they would be required to spend the money on health care and they have no plans to alter Medicare benefits, the Kansas Health Institute News Service reported. But the state has “creatively” redirected other federal funds, such as welfare. Why should it be trusted? And given the rocky rollout of KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program, why should seniors be confident that the state can properly manage Medicare? Lawmakers can’t even answer basic questions about the portability of a Kansas-based Medicare program. Seniors – along with everyone else – should think long and hard before backing anyone who supported the compact, including Gov. Sam Brownback. Here is a list of lawmakers who voted for the compact. – Phillip Brownlee
Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/now-consider-this/article2094325.html#storylink=cpy
Jay C
@scav:
Mainly in California, I’d imagine….
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack:
Just do as all the young women who fly do. Put on a nice comfy pair of black skin tight yoga pants and call it good.
After a few G&T’s it’ll be like you don’t have anything on at all.
Dog On Porch
Go Niners. They’ve got a new stadium that looks beautiful from a distance. The Niners looked OK last week, but I still don’t think much of Dallas (1-1). It was against the Bears on MNF a couple of years a ago that Kaepernick won his spurs as a starter, playing like he’d been built in a laboratory. Even not knowing much about this Bears team, I’ll pick the Niners tonight. In fact, as of this moment I’d take them over any team but Seattle.
Steeplejack
@Corner Stone:
Another artifact of infrequent flying is that I am amazed at what constitutes travel dress these days. I see people who look like they just got out of bed—sweatpants, T-shirt, weird slippers/Crocs/whatever—except no chenille robe.
raven
@Steeplejack: I always wear sweats when I fly.
Corner Stone
Cleveland beat NO? Whhhuutt?
Elizabelle
I like Scott Conroy’s turn of phrase (Real Clear Politics); he got to the point a lot faster than some bloggers:
Yes, it’s an anonymous source providing the Palins’ side of the, uh, gathering.
Photo of Sarah in nerd glasses, which make her look kind of smart. It’s working better for her than for Rick Perry.
Steeplejack
@raven:
But you no doubt look stylish doing it. Some people can’t carry off that look.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@raven: Your football day sucked yesterday. I’m not sure I’ll want to ask about today’s
gogol's wife
@Steeplejack:
I know you’ll appreciate this. I had never heard of Bob Crewe until I read his obituary and realized that he was an important part of my life. I was inspired to look up the song “Music to Watch Girls By,” and found this brilliant video. It gives “gold slacks” a run for its money:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7iXpTJk15s
BillinGlendaleCA
@Steeplejack: I remember the days when flying was special, you dressed in your Sunday clothes.
Corner Stone
Wild sequence in the TXN – OAK game. I think he fumbled, then he stepped out of bounds, then he was the first player to touch the ball again.
Texans ball! Wild!
JCJ
Holy cow the Packers are terrible.
scav
@Jay C: Fracking might open up new commercial possibilities, let alone any church with fears of New Madrid being a part of The Rapture. You see, they’re flung up, rather like a trampoline or a flap jack. The good one stick like velcro to the underside of heavenly clouds and the angelic search and rescue teams come to airlift them to St. Peter’s Processing Gate. That’s why the clothes get left behind — interferes with the x-raying, slows down the line.
MattF
@scav: Pleased to see that you’ve thought through the relevant details.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Elizabelle: The one time cell phone videos would have brought some joy to my life… I can’t believe I’m not gonna get to see Sarah screeching “do you know who I am?” while she tries to pull people off her drunken husband and kid.
And in other should-be-embarrassing-McCain-sidekick news, Lindsey Graham’s knickers are twisted up like a Palin word salad:
In this case, there’s video, but I can’t bring myself to watch. Everybody look under the bed tonight for an ISIS henchman!
MattF
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Even given the Senate:ClownCar analogy, this wins a prize for sheer incoherent cowardice.
Steeplejack
@gogol’s wife:
Oh, hell, yeah! I love Bob Crewe. But you have to go with the original instrumental, despite the “gold slacks” allure of that Andy Williams movie mash-up.
Crewe was a prolific behind-the-scenes guy in the ’60s. Co-wrote many of the Four Seasons’ hits and did truly awesome work with Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels.
Elizabelle
@gogol’s wife:
A run, but “gold slacks” is a category killer.
Still, you made me look. (And then I listened to Andy Williams sing “The Theme from Exodus” — This Land — slowly. Terribly slowly.)
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Can’t wait till that guy is in the Senate majority.
? Martin
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Is everyone from South Carolina such a sniveling chickenshit, or just the Republicans?
Steeplejack
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Yeah. I remember flying to and from England as a little kid in coat and tie—Sunday School clothes, basically. And they passed out chewing gum to everybody because the planes weren’t (completely) pressurized and your ears would pop unless you were swallowing, and chewing promoted that. (Went to England in ’57 and came back in ’60.)
Corner Stone
@efgoldman: The last time I went through to Nashville, they did a chemical screening on anyone with a child or otherwise about every 15 people. No one else got pulled or slowed down.
Put my one shoulder bag on the belt, waltzed through in 15 seconds.
Botsplainer
Scotland’s independence looks to be all dudebros and purity ponies.
The Scotland Yes site is a vision to behold. Lots of passive-aggressive, snide complaints about Westminster austerity while making grand assumptions of Westminster doing the right thing on financial division and long term pension obligations. No thought to the large predicted budget holes that will be patched by transnational bankers in the same way they saved Ireland.
It all looks like a firedoglake True Believer wish list – particularly on defense policy. I guffawed over the notion of what they want with regard to Faslane, and the elimination of the yoke on the London financial city-state.
Hal
@Botsplainer: California will have it’s own version of this in the fall. Should be fun to watch, all though it is completely pointless.
Tommy
@Steeplejack: I am not that old, but close. My grandparents were world travlers. Liked the nicer things in life. They often took just me with them on a few of their “dream” vacations. The last was a cruise on the QE2. Wore a suit to dinner every night, expect for the night I had to wear a tux. Many course meals that lasted hours. I was 13 at the time. I didn’t not enjoy it, but kind of indifferent to be honest. Now I look back I wish I would have embraced the opportunity more. It was a once in a lifetime kind of thing.
Elizabelle
@Steeplejack:
Found off your Bob Crewe link (and I have heard that version before, and it’s good):
novelty single “Walkin’ My Cat Named Dog”
Not a great song, but fits OK here, since we’re pet-crazed.
Trivia bit is the singer — Norma Tanega, whom I had never heard of — was in a romantic relationship with Dusty Springfield for several years, late 1960s-early 70s. Norma is still alive today.
I think it’s cool that Dusty Springfield got enough privacy that I just learned that today (from a youtube commenter; verified with wiki).
cckids
@Steeplejack:
The one guarantee about that is that Sunday night would be worse. Small consolation, I know, but still.
So, how have you enjoyed your visit to our asylum/city?
Elizabelle
@efgoldman:
You could suss that out from the context, but it’s a new one to me.
Does not roll off the tongue, but maybe with time …
ETA: Ah. Spoken pronunciation is [linky: http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=simulacrum%5D If you speak with a British accent.
cckids
@Steeplejack:
You mean the ones who write: ” It was bland, didn’t taste Italian at all! I didn’t have Asiago cheese so I just used Velveeta, and I didn’t have garlic so I just subbed garlic powder, don’t like pancetta so I used hamburger.” Yeah, they are delusional.
OTOH, that is how my mom has always cooked.
Tommy
@Steeplejack: LOL. I used to fly once a week for a few years for work, but that was pre-9/11. Out of Dulles (in DC/NOVA) to Raleigh, NC. Prop plane. We’d walk out on the actual tarmac. Pilots loaded our luggage if you had any :). Bet that doesn’t happen these days.
Now I don’t fly much, maybe once every 2-3 years (and I am thankful for that). But when I do if I have more than a carryon or I buy stuff where I go (which I always do) I Federal Express my luggage to myself. People have laughed at me when I do this for a business trip and then they see how easy it is, and they start doing the same.
Flying now is such a pain in the ass, and it was a pain before, I shutter to think why many people do it anymore unless they need to cross an ocean or something.
Botsplainer
@Hal:
Ah, the umpteen dudebro state breakup, adding what was it, 10 conservative senators to 4 regular democrats?
So libertarian, they are.
I asked these questions earlier on LGF:
The answer I got was “unicorns, ponies and purity”. Apparently, peace will guide the planets and love will fill the stars, and the rump UK won’t be even MORE austere – instead, London won’t fall to a Tory – UKIP coalition, but will be magically more tolerant and spend-y, refraining from the urge to privatize the NHS.
Also, the remnant will totally work with Scotland, because rightness and goodness.
gene108
@SFAW:
Why should this surprise anyone.
The guys wearing the “big boy pants” on the Right do not want a strong leader, with ideas of his / her own. They want a cipher, who can convince the American people to rally behind funneling their hard earned dollars to the super wealthy, and get rid of
birth controlslut pills and abortions, so we can return to being a Christian nation.What is truly surprising and worrisome about this country is so many rank-and-file Republicans decided to follow her utterances with the utmost loyalty and devotion, as if she was some sort of intellectual luminary, who is what we need in politics to make things right.
Her endorsements, in 2010, were sought after. She probably got Nikki Haley elected governor of South Carolina, over other more veteran Republicans.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Tommy: My wife and step-daughter don’t understand why I hated dressing up for the formal dinners on the first cruise we went on(the second we didn’t attend the formal dinners). The simple reason was that I worked in a corporate legal department and I was required to dress that way for work. Dressing up might be fun for them, for me it was a reminder of work. It sort of defeated the whole concept of VACATION.
Steeplejack
@Botsplainer:
Plus if they don’t have their own currency they are going to be screwed, à la Spain and Ireland on the euro. Krugman Krugsplains it here and here.
gogol's wife
@Elizabelle:
Ooh, sounds bad.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Botsplainer: No, I saw the answer you got on LGF. It was a bit more hostile. You’re right, it won’t be a painless divorce.
raven
@? Martin: Their football fans are the same.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Steeplejack: And if they don’t have their own currency, see Greece.
Steeplejack
@Elizabelle:
But . . . but Norma is a girl’s name! What the—I’m shocked—shocked, I tell you.
PurpleGirl
I met Father Sheen once. A Great Aunt who had become a nun had died and we went to the funeral mass. She had been the outside contact for a cloistered, silent house. The Mother Abbess had be given special permission to talk with us. Father Sheen conducted the mass. He also spoke with us after the Mother Abbess did. I was 9 or 10 at the time, so I really didn’t talk with the adults but I remember the ceremony and cloistered stuff.
Corner Stone
@raven: Here, have a binky.
fleeting expletive
I am very worried about my best friend of 60+ years, and I have no way to help her. She’s a generous, educated woman and had taught Spanish as her career, raised two nice kids and mentored three grandchildren and various nieces/nephews. But she has bad taste in men, having married four times. After years of being single she took up with a guy who, fortunately lives 1000 miles away.
After flying out to meet him, she found out he is married and she actually met one or two of his other girlfriends. Oh, and he gave her herpes. He sent her a dick pick and his showed a purplish spot on it, which her nurse friend and PP said could well be herpes.
There’s always been a certain amount of argument between them, but last week takes the cake: during an argument she said that whatever he was yelling about made her want to kill herself, and he called the cops. This genteel lady was handcuffed and taken to the mental hospital, where she was kept for four days. She said it was real “snake pit” conditions. I didn’t find out about it until this weekend. Her daughter doesn’t want her around her grandkids.
I and every one else counseled her against this guy but it just didn’t take. Maybe she’s just being a drama queen or is too horny or, I don’t know what. How do you stop someone from acting like an idiot?
Tommy
@BillinGlendaleCA: I totally get that. Now I work for myself I often wear PJs to work. But honestly I kind of miss getting dressed up from time to time, just not every day. I got my sense of “style” from my grandfather that took me on those trips. He was a total Brooks Brother guy with the bow tie on top. I wish he wasn’t such a “large” man (insert fat to be honest) cause I’d love to have his clothes when he passed away (is that kind of strange, sick?).
For years and years I wore tailored suits (Tom James) I paid thousands for. French cuffs. I mean I learned from my grandfather. If you are going to get dressed up, you might as well get dressed up.
But again I understand your point-of-view.
Steeplejack
@gogol’s wife, @Elizabelle:
Wanted to throw in some Mitch Ryder above but didn’t have a link to spare: “C.C. Rider.”
Mitch Ryder—Jimmy Smits’s long-last father? We report, you decide.
mdblanche
@Botsplainer: Krugman’s been ripping the Yes campaign a new one lately over their currency “plan”. He’s not against Scottish independence per se, but he rightly sees trying to keep the pound as a disaster waiting to happen.
Corner Stone
@fleeting expletive: This is a fascinating story. Any chance you can turn it into a series, or maybe a mini-novella?
Screenplay for Showtime?
Jay C
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Good advice from the (Scots-influenced) cousins in the Great White North:
Violet
@Steeplejack:
Smart travelers wear slip on shoes because it saves time and hassle in the security lines. Hence flip flops, Crocs, slippers, whatever.
Smart travelers also know to wear pants or shorts of whatever type that allow security to feel you up the leg–i.e, discern the contour of the balls or labial region (depending on your gender). Because if they can’t do that, you’ll get taken to the private room and be forced to strip down. Even if you’re a 95 year old woman.
Speaking of women, wearing a skirt is asking to spending extra time at security because if they can’t see or feel up your leg to your crotch and essentially find the outline of your labia, then you too get the private room and extra search. And don’t think about wearing a sports bra because if they can’t feel between both breasts, it’s off to the Special Room.
Why the hell wear anything nice on the plane? Planes are dirty, hot, sweaty and crowded. You have to take your shoes off and any outer sweater or jacket and run those through the x-ray machine. In bins who knows what has been in before–certainly shoes. You are potentially going to be felt up by security and if they can’t feel through your clothes–they’re too tight or the wrong kind or the fabric is too thick–then you’re putting yourself at risk for more time-wasting by having to go the Special Room. There’s no upside to dressing nicely and every advantage to dressing in what works that you don’t care about.
If you don’t complain about how people dress to ride a bus then don’t complain about how people dress to fly. Commercial air travel is bus travel with wings.
D58826
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Here is the full quote
Graham is not a stupid man, all appearances to the contrary, He is a Lt Col in the AF reserve Jags. It is pure fear mongering and destroy Obama at any cost regardless of the impact to the nation. He can talk about an American ground component but since the Fox audience has never heard of a map he doesn’t have to answer the simple question of where would that ground component be based. ISIS is landlocked and surrounded by enemies. None of those countries wants an American ground component on their territory. Or at least not one that will be noticed, i.e. some special forces are fine but no combat brigades
In addition to being unfamiliar with maps the Fox folks seem to be sadly lacking in arithmetic skills. Exactly how are some 30k jihadist going to kill all 310 million Americans and then destroy the world.
I don’t know if Obama’s plan will work but to put these screaming idiots in charge give me nightmares. Of course what ever Obama does it won’t be enough, If he dropped an A-bomb on Damascus, Graham and Mcnuts would complain that it wasn’t an H-bomb.
gogol's wife
@Steeplejack:
Oh yes, I had a crush on him.
Dog On Porch
@Botsplainer: Today’s NY Times has a report about Scotland. In it, one Scot likened the blood that is up for this week’s election to those Scottish armies that for centuries battled the English.
raven
@D58826: Being a fucking Airforce JAG officer doesn’t mean he’s not stupid.
KG
@Hal: nah, I heard the initiative failed to qualify
Botsplainer
@Steeplejack:
I saw a bunch of numbers early today predicting an initial 14 billion pound hole due to oil price collapse.
Not only that, disunion itself is charted to result in at least a 10 point slide in the value of the Sterling.
This will be a boon to currency speculators, some of whom are undoubtedly funding this exercise in uncertainty.
Lots of regular people are going to get hurt so that wealthy gamblers can add some marks to ledger sheets.
Tommy
@mdblanche: I have noted here my family came here from Scotland in the 1870s. Planning a trip back, with stellar input from many here, but pushed to next spring because the travel agent I contacted (through a friend that is a world traveler) said with more time (insert discounts and such) he could double my length of stay.
My family tree in Scotland goes back to the 1590s. Sure it goes further, but that is just what I have traced on a sheet of paper, when unrolled, scrolls for like 10 yards (in a closet right next to me). I have a kilt. My family crest hangs on my wall, and the wall of my parents, my brother. I consider myself pretty darn American (and proud of it BTW), but also pretty darn Scotish. Just never been there.
I say all this because I want them to pull away from the UK/England (yes I know there is a difference). But they can’t keep the Pound as their currency for any extended period of time. You must have control over your currency. Print money if you want. Using the Euro IMHO is just not an option, but it seems that is all that is being considered. But maybe that is just for the vote, then afterwards they run in another direction. Who knows.
GO SCOTLAND!
Mnemosyne
I thought I had bought fruit juice to make jello squares for tomorrow’s Liquid-Diet-Palooza, but it turns out I forgot, and now it’s 103 degrees outside and I don’t want to go out and buy it. I guess I’ll wait until the sun starts going down and then venture out.
JPL
@D58826: Did anyone mention that Syria no longer has chemical weapons?
raven
@efgoldman: Real flyin!
BillinGlendaleCA
@KG: That’s what they said on the local news here in LALAland.
rikyrah
@Hal:
Actually, they won’t. they failed to get enough signatures to get on the ballot.
fleeting expletive
Cornerstone, there were other incidents with this guy, and her husbands were kind of odd, although I liked the third one quite a lot, a clever and articulate man. The second and fourth were bums, I thought. The first one she married in college and he was decent.
Oh the stories I could tell! But I’m not a writer.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Mnemosyne: Remember no red jello.
Violet
@fleeting expletive: Happened to catch a few bits of Dr. Phil shows while waiting with my parents in various doctors offices. He had some show that sounded like that–older woman who got suckered into a “relationship” with a guy. Only the guy wasn’t the real guy–his photos were being used and the whole thing was out of some Nigerian back alley sweatshop of computer workers or something. It was all about taking money from the vulnerable women. So maybe send her story to Dr. Phil?
You can’t stop anyone from being an idiot. You can refuse to get involved. You can tell her you can’t support her decisions and refuse to talk about the guy. Just don’t enable her. Also, if she’s threatening that she wants to kill herself she’s very manipulative herself. She’s got problems. Maybe suggest counseling. Last ditch–get the family and friends together for an intervention.
Corner Stone
Sorry, much as I celebrate the man’s entire catalog, Liam Neeson simply is *not* Matthew Scudder.
Steeplejack
@cckids:
Yeah, I know. In a perfect world I would fly back on Tuesday or, better, Wednesday, but I wanted to minimize my time with RWNJ brother, because RWNJ. He’s not awful, but you never know when he’s going to drop off the deep end into a parallel universe, and I thought he might be particularly schizo after three weeks in the wilds of South America surrounded by those people. Plus I just want to get home.
So far he has been pretty affable, and after arcing and sparking for a while after we got home from the airport he dropped into a snooze a while ago.
I like Las Vegas a lot. I have been out here many times, both to visit family (brother and parents—now mother alone) and for business (COMDEX every year back in the ’80s), but I never stayed this long (23 days), and I have really enjoyed a more leisurely approach to the city. Really good restaurants, as we have discussed a bit—definitely hit Ventano, if you like Italian—and I have been really impressed by the infrastructure. All the streets are wide and seem well maintained, there are streetlights all over the place, and I am amazed at the number of parks and rec centers. My old friend from college, who has lived here about 15 years, says that at the start of the boom in the early ’00s the powers that be got the kung fu grip on the situation and made sure that the infrastructure kept pace with the rampaging development. I know there is a seedy side of town, but the one or two times I went through there it didn’t seem as awful as some seedy sides I have seen. And I like the funky Southwestern/faux Mediterranean architecture and desert color scheme.
I don’t know that I would pick up and move here tomorrow, but if circumstances dictated it—e.g., to take care of aged mother or possibly crazier brother—I wouldn’t kick. My only long-term concern would be the looming issue of water, but (a) my friend says Las Vegas has done a really good job on conservation and management so far and (b) water is a looming issue for California and all of the Southwest, not just Las Vegas.
P.S. I was mildly surprised to look on Wikipedia and see that Las Vegas is the 30th largest city (or metro area) in the country. Go figure. We (or at least I) tend to think of it as a gambling/glitz mecca and nothing else.
Corner Stone
@fleeting expletive: I don’t know, FE. A 60+ career of this kind of thing?
I’m thinking we attach Helen Mirren to an exploratory project vehicle.
This sounds like gold, gold I tells ya!
BillinGlendaleCA
@BillinGlendaleCA: My step-daughter volunteered to take her mom to the hospital for her procedure, she didn’t have to go in for jury duty that day and she likes hospitals(she’s better considering her vocational choice). I thanked her and noted that while I had been to that hospital once and remember very little, they did slap me and made me cry.
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack:
Two of the seedier places I’ve been are one block off the Strip or one block off Fremont St downtown and two blocks down the wrong way in the Tenderloin of San Francisco.
That’s in major metro USA places, not overall worldwide. Manhattan always seems seedy but not dangerous for some reason.
Tommy
Go Scotland. Go Scotland. I want independence for them, but since I am not a taxpayer there what do I know.
Just some bagpipe music for the evening if you so care to listen. Kind of a “greats hits:”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmwoeBJpcDs&list=PL6515EEB00963C88B&index=1
Now I listen to the first song, and it is wonderful, I am pretty sure this is the ending song of movie the Last of the Mohicans.
Mnemosyne
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Yep — I bought the plain gelatin packets and I’m going to get a non-red-dye juice — probably something in the peach or mango family — to make it from scratch, because EVERY flavor of official Jell-O had red dye in it.
I’m assuming your wife’s procedure went okay?
JPL
@Corner Stone: I think you are right.
tybee
@fleeting expletive:
does the herpes infested creep live in texas?
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@fleeting expletive:
Violet has some good advice above.
You say that you can’t help her. Unfortunately, you’re right.
About all you can do is tell the person that you think they are doing things that are stupid and counter-productive. Don’t be an enabler. She’s an adult and you can’t live her life for her. It’s painful, but there’s really not much you can do other than talk. It’s very painful, but don’t beat yourself up.
Hang in there. Here’s hoping she finds a way to get some help and you can enjoy each others company again.
:-(
My $0.02.
Cheers,
Scott.
Tommy
@efgoldman: My boss wanted to go on the trip once. Best direct boss I’ve ever had. She was second in charge behind the President of the firm I worked for. Now who do I say this, she was a large lady. Maybe 5’10 and 280.* She got mad at me many times. But for like five minutes. Cuss at me like a dunken sailor. That was the highpaced world of high-tech advertising. I should note I could cuss right back at her and yell and scream. I often did.
She couldn’t believe we were getting on this plane and not a huge jet. No bathroom. Where she couldn’t fit in the seat. She tried to be good natured about it, until we got home late that night. She just laid into me.
I was like “Jenny, (1) I didn’t think to tell you this was the kind of plane we were flying on. That you might not fit in a seat. (2) If I had how do I tell my boss “you can’t go, you are too fat to fit on the plane. See if you can find another flight and I will pick you up from the airport.”
A painful thing ….. and I don’t even know why I just mentioned all of that ….
*Years ago she lost more then 150 pounds, so kudos to her.
Corner Stone
Sweet! Texans about to be 2 – 0 for two years in a row!
…oh, wait…
Steeplejack
@Violet:
Jeez, sorry I hit a nerve!
I wasn’t complaining, I was “amazed.” I wear slip-on shoes—but (semi-)real shoes—a polo shirt and standard middle-aged-guy khaki pants. Anyone can feel my labia fine through those. And how many people get the full labia-caressing treatment anyway?! It’s got to be a low-risk proposition.
Pro tip: Maybe don’t fly Gulag Air next time.
/tone cue: kidding, non-berating
Mike in NC
@raven:
The important question is, what’s his golf handicap?
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
J – E – T – S! Jets! Jets! Jets!
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I’ll give you not stupid, but I seriously question his grasp on reality at this point.
D58826
@raven: Guess I should have qualified that as not as stupid as the usual run of the mill Gooper. Certainly a tad smarter than Gomert
Steeplejack
@D58826:
I wonder if (hope that) we might be coming to a McCarthy “At long last, have you left no sense of decency?” moment. But, no, that would require that a Democrat (other than Obama) actually sack up and open his or her mouth.
WereBear
@D58826: I’ve seen amoebas through microscopes that are smarter than Gohmert.
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack:
That did seem a little extreme but as I am a white male I wasn’t sure what to ask as a follow up.
But, on the other hand, thanks for that shoe link! That’s what I’ve been looking for forever. I have a pair of NB’s I bought years ago, loved them so much I bought two more pairs because NB has a bad habit of retiring their models and changing the next gen in ways I do.not.like.
Going to look into these.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Mnemosyne: She was still a little groggy and VERY hungry. We went out for Korean food that evening, YUM.
Botsplainer
@Steeplejack:
I generally try to wear Teva sandals and shorts with no belt when I fly.
And if somebody from TSA is going to feel me up, I’m a little overenthusiastic….
srv
The people who abuse women and the fans who watch them.
Here’s Bernie Sanders on Meet the Press.
raven
@tybee: Catch anything?
Tommy
@Steeplejack: LOL. Look my flying from weekly before 9/11 went downhill quickly (not because of 9/11). But until about five years ago still flew a lot. Those of us that have to fly and are not doing it First Class can get pissed at the person in front of us that is confused why they can’t have a 64 oz bottle of hair gel with them. That it takes a few minutes to get your shoes off. That people argue and debate.
The local airport site, not to mention the Feds tell you exactly what and what isn’t allowed. Educate yourself.
I got going through security down to the George Clooney scene in Up in the Air. Wish others would pay attention :).
Corner Stone
@Botsplainer: I’m not a frequent flyer like Ultraviolet in Detroit, but I fly quite a bit. I’m a handsome white man with one shoulder bag so I look pretty acceptable.
I’d prefer they not actually sexually assault me just so I can get on a plane. For people who are regularly groped as a basic happenstance out in real life, it’s got to fucking burn to pay several hundred dollars and then have to run an invasive gauntlet just to get on with their day.
I think it’s bullshit.
Steeplejack
@Corner Stone:
As a wise man said the other day, get your knees up, relax and don’t think of the movie as having anything to do with the book.
Mnemosyne
@WereBear:
You saw that I finally wrote about that Barbara Stanwyck movie, right? You’re welcome. ;-)
Corner Stone
Garbage time TD for OAK, but that was still a damn good throw by Derek Carr.
mai naem
Anybody think that Lindsay Graham would run away shrieking like a little girl if some ISIS jihadi came up to him? BTW, I am not saying this because I believe Lindsay is probably gay. I would say the same thing about George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.
Also too, I clicked on some clickbait piece on Buzzfeed with a collection of actual tweets/fb posts from young western born women who had become jihadis and were living in Syria. I totally do not get it. Just do not get it. I can understand some stupid young guy in a perfect storm situation f’d up in the head becoming a jihadi, but a woman willing going to a place where you have to follow all these restrictive rules. You really want to wear a tent with a slit for your eyes? You really want to ask your husband for permission to travel? Are you retarded?
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack: Scudder should be a solid 5’10” white guy who looks good in a hat. Somewhat blocky and ex-cop with a broken nose and flat knuckles.
I’d actually much prefer a Michael Chiklis in this role.
tybee
@raven:
not yet. :)
Steeplejack
@Steeplejack:
Jeez, broken link. I fix. (Semi-)real slip-on shoes. Very comfy, by the way. Especially with aftermarket insoles.
Corner Stone
@mai naem:
Why’s it got to be a little girl? I’ve run away shrieking from shit before.
Chris T.
@BillinGlendaleCA: These days, you have to take off shoes, hats, belts, remove everything from pockets, give saliva and blood samples, have all your neurons extracted, and so on. It’s no wonder people wear sweats.
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack: I copied the link and took out the BJ header to get to the Amazon link.
Maybe try harder, next time?
ETA, although I fucked up an ESPN link about Peterson last time, so who am I to castigate?
D58826
@Steeplejack: The amoebas mentioned in the next comment have more of a backbone that the democrats, Unfortunately
Mnemosyne
@mai naem:
Some people get a kick out of being dominated. I don’t get it myself, but I don’t get foot fetishists, either.
PurpleGirl
Re: Clothes to wear or not wear when flying
You should wear cotton slacks or pants. You should not wear knitted or knits with lycra. You want clothes that will not melt if the plane crashes and burns. Cotton may still burn but it won’t melt into you the way synthetics will/can.
raven
@efgoldman: That’s all they need.
Corner Stone
@PurpleGirl:
If the plane crashes and I walk away from it? I will shake my willie at anyone who wants to video tape it.
fleeting expletive
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: No, he’s fairly well-to-do and lives in VA. He paid for her flight to visit him in VA. She has never introduced him to me, which is just as well. After telling me this stuff, I couldn’t possibly be favorably inclined to him nor be objective. I’m not claiming I’m any better (3 divorces myself), but I’m happy being single and uninvolved with the opposite sex for the last, oh, fifteen years. I value her friendship very highly. Her family always treated me well and I like them.
Elizabelle
@PurpleGirl:
Curious. What was your impression of Bishop Sheen? How was he in person?
Steeplejack
@Corner Stone:
We learn and grow together here at the Juice.
raven
@efgoldman: secure all passages
PurpleGirl
@mai naem: Some people, some women, do not want to be responsible for their own life. They want someone to tell them what to do, how to be, how to live. They can’t live with uncertainty or ambiguity. I think they are wrong. But what do I know — I’m a single, never married middle aged white woman who likes jewelry and make-up and colorful clothes.
Mnemosyne
@PurpleGirl:
I wear cargo pants from Eddie Bauer that mean I always get my thighs felt up by TSA, but I can put my cell phone in the front pocket in a case that holds my ID and credit card. Because if we’re in a survivable crash — and the odds are pretty good these days that a crash will be survivable — I want to be able to call people and get a hotel room without having to dig things out of my carry-on bag.
ETA: Also, too, as I’m sure you know, wool pants are even better than cotton since wool is self-extinguishing — it will burn only while a flame is actually held to it.
Steeplejack
@Corner Stone:
I can sort of see Chiklis, but I have to confess I have been slightly Chiklis-phobic since his scenery-chewing days as the Commish.
Robert Sneddon
@Tommy: The currency situation in case of Scottish independence comes down to three cases.
1. Use the UK pound without having any input on fiscal and monetary policy exerted by the Bank of England committee. In that case Scotland does not get into the EU as an independent nation since adoption of the Euro is now an absolute precondition of entry. Scotland can try to get the same deal Norway has, an adjunct non-Euro member with trading and right-of-residence privileges but it is not guaranteed.
2. Create a separate Scottish currency, the Scots Pound. This is feasible, Scotland has its own banks with the ability to issue their own currency notes and the financial organisation to regulate a national currency like the Bank of England does for the UK at the moment, but membership of the EU has the same preconditions and pitfalls as point 1.
3. Join the Euro. This is likely to be as popular as herpes with Scots who have been promised we can keep the pound but it smooths the way into the EU for Scotland as an independent nation.
That’s it. The Yes campaign generally is pro-Europe and wants membership of the EU day one but only case 3 gets them that entry without some form of leverage which I don’t see them possessing.
shelley
Ah, don’t worry. He’s already harrumphed that his group won’t be marching in the NY St. Patrick’s day parade because they finally let in teh gays. So he’s got in his weekly ‘shouting at clouds’ in already.
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack: It has to be a gritty shoulder striker. I’ve read all those Scudder novels. Maybe Chiklis could play Mick.
It’s probably going to be horrible anyway, so might as well have Liam destroying shit.
mai naem
@fleeting expletive: Nothing you can do. I’ve been through this plenty of times with family and friends – male and female. The worst is when you advise them against the person during a break up and they get back together and OMG, they are really really po’d at you and then they end up splitting up from the person again. There’s way too many lonely vulnerable people with assets just waiting for the too many user losers to take advantage of them. And the herpes, ewww. Seriously, at least tell the person before you become intimate. A while back, Dan Savage just ripped into some cougar kind of woman with herpes who had written to him about having sexual relations with a much younger guy and not telling him.
Corner Stone
@efgoldman: Yeah, I’m having a tough time signaling out a 40+ yr old male actor who is a solid dude and about 6′ or 5’10”.
He has to be somebody who can put a gun into the hands of a dead woman in order to frame the real bad guy who has already got away with murder once.
This is a tough call, but Liam is not it.
BillinGlendaleCA
@efgoldman: I always said that my Cocker Spaniel puppy had more of a sense of curiosity than the President at the time, she’ll be 8 in January.
Violet
@Steeplejack: My friend who works for an airline flies for free all the time. She’s about as non-threatening as you can imagine. She got pulled out of line on a recent flight and taken to the Special Room. Everything she had was searched, including her. Repeat: She works for an airline. She has for years. She flies all the fucking time. They can check her in any database all the way to Christmas. Pulled out of line and Special Searched. They wouldn’t tell her why. Just because.
I got strip-searched IN PUBLIC on a return flight from the UK. It was a USA-bound flight so USA rules required the search. I got picked. My travel companion didn’t. It was incredibly unpleasant. It was almost sexual assault. I felt violated. The female security person basically did a cavity search through my underwear, that I was required to strip to in public, on the jetway in England in December. It was fucking freezing. All the other passengers were staring. It was horrible. I still almost cry when I think about it, it was such a violation. Horrible, awful experience. Fuck you, TSA.
So yeah, I dress like crap. I keep my head down. I’ve been abused by the TSA. I know how it feels when you’re Not Home and all you want to do is Get Home and those motherfuckers hold the key to you getting home and they are happy to fuck you over to prove they’re in charge. Yeah, been there. Keep my head down now. No attention drawn to me. Strategically plan when I go through security. Don’t board the plane first. Know how it’s done. Wear no clothes that call attention or provide any extra difficulty or arouse suspicion. No bulky coats. I want to get home and don’t want the TSA person to stick their fingers in me before I can get there.
schrodinger's cat
@Corner Stone: Kheema Matar will go perfectly well the chicken tikka
Corner Stone
@SFAW: Ok, so maybe GB really isn’t actually as *bad* as they showed early in this season.
SFAW
@efgoldman:
You’ve never struck me as the type of person who would be cruel to animals. So why the hatin’ on Jack Russell terriers?
Now, if you said the slugs in your garden (or Anne Laurie’s, if you don’t have a garden) are (collectively) a tad smarter than Gohmert, that would be different.
Corner Stone
@schrodinger’s cat: Thank you for taking my cri de couer as a serious matter.
Corner Stone
@Violet: This is completely horrifying. Is there any recourse?
Suffern ACE
Blah. It would have been better for My fantasy team to have Jamal Charles get arrested before the game than get injured in q1.
SFAW
@Corner Stone:
It certainly helps having Mornhinweg snatching defeat from the jaws of tie-ory.
I swear, I’m going to be a great-grandfather before the Jets get an O-Con who knows what the fuck he’s doing. It’s been downhill at least since Paul Hackett tried that “West Coast offense” idiocy.
jl
Looks like ex gubernator walk the Appalachian trails Sanford jilted his Argentinian fiance, using legal problems with is ex-wife as an excuse. Sound like the fiance is pissed and yelling about in the media, when asked.
She says the real problem is that she is ‘was not useful tor him anymore.’
I love GOP family values guys. They even manage to sleaze up the sleaze.
Sanford’s Ex-Fiancée: Our Break-Up Is About Politics, Not His Divorce
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/sanford-fiancee-facebook-post
Apparently Chapur, his Argentinian fiance, found out about it through news after Sanford put up a facebook post. Caught her off guard with the ol’ Giuliani. Or maybe Lll’ Newtie did that once too (so many times with Newt).
Steeplejack
@Corner Stone:
Everybody this side of Bruno Magli and Allen Edmonds does that, and it pisses me off too. Back in my heavy racquetball/squash/marathon days I would find athletic and/or running shoes that I really liked, and by the time I broke them in and remembered, “Hey, I should get some more of these,” they were gone.
My everyday shoes—and I mean every day—for quite a while were Merrell Moabs, but the most recent pair gave up the ghost a couple of months ago, and I decided that, even though I will replace them, I needed to expand/upgrade my palette a bit. I wanted some slip-ons for this trip, and the NB country walkers looked like—and have proven to be—shoes that I would wear regularly in everyday life.
I also got a pair of these in black, shooting for that “If I squint they look like regular shoes but they’ve got that stealth comfy sneaker feel” triangulation. Also very comfortable with aftermarket insoles (basic Dr. Scholl’s). But the laces are freakishly long. WTF. Double-tying, sure, but WTF.
raven
Time for the Roooooosevelts.
schrodinger's cat
@Corner Stone: You are welcome! BTW I just made butter chicken for dinner, wish had bought naan from TJ.
Violet
@Corner Stone: The recourse is you don’t go home. I was a foreigner in England. The English security people were the ones in charge. If I didn’t comply, I didn’t get on the plane. If I threw a fit, I was a security risk, I didn’t get on the plane. No recourse whatsoever. Don’t get strip searched at will by the security people, you don’t go home. Period. End of discussion. Airlines say, “Not our problem.” You think talking to the TSA would do any good? Ha ha ha ha ha. As if. They won’t even take people off the no-fly list when they’re the wrong people on the list. All I’d do if I complained is to get myself on the no-fly list. Can’t risk it. Family overseas. Submit to the strip search. Fingers in all cavities. In public. On the jetway. Take it or go to jail.
schrodinger's cat
I need some ideas about what to do with pears, I have at least 10 pounds and counting.
fleeting expletive
Thanks for all your consideration and advice, folks. I gotta go.
PurpleGirl
@Corner Stone: How about Joe Mantegna? Currently on Criminal Minds, he has in the past played Robert B. Parker’s Spenser. I thought he was both enough of a gentleman and enough of a thug.
Mnemosyne
@Violet:
This happened in the UK or in the US? I guess I’m confused about that part of the story. If it happened in the UK, you can absolutely make a complaint through the US Embassy once you’re back home in the States. They don’t get to claim “TSA rules” in the UK so they can feel you up in public.
I’ve gotten the extra-thorough public search a few times in the US, but it’s always with them patting down with the back of their hands. Always.
Steeplejack
@SFAW:
The West Coast offense works fine. You just have to be on the West Coast to do it. That’s the part of the cunning plan that they always forget.
Violet
@schrodinger’s cat: Can them? I made a delicious pizza with arugula, pear and blue cheese once. A little pancetta or other bacon-y thing would go well with it. Pear butter. Pear bread. My friend makes a delicious pear gingerbread at Christmas. Check this out: http://tipnut.com/make-fresh-pears/.
PurpleGirl
@raven: Yes. I’ve been waiting for this series.
Mnemosyne
@schrodinger’s cat:
Pear tarts?
Dog On Porch
The Gladiators of the Week trophy must go to the San Diego Chargers, who just beat (perhaps even exposed) the big, bad* Seattle Seahawks.
[Two minutes later, an addendum: I remain far more respectful of Seattle than that remark might indicate].
*(“bad” in a complimentary sense; as in, “Shaft was a bad… shut your mouth” sense of the word).
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack: It’s funny because I have a few pairs of AE, so yeah, that’s one standard. For those who can afford an investment in shoes beyond Johnston Murphy? Allen Edmonds are awesome. Light as a feather, very nice looking, last forever and comfortable even on 14+ hour days.
When I was running 3.5 miles a day or more I went through a few pairs of NB. I tried Brooks and Asics and Nike Running, but those NB really just worked for me. Then one day I went to find some more and they were gone.
I had to black market them. That pissed me off.
So the next time I found an NB I liked, I bought them.
Violet
@Mnemosyne: It happened in the UK, on the jetway of a US-bound flight on a US carrier. At that point you are under US TSA rules. There is no recourse. It’s like no man’s land.
Corner Stone
@Violet:
No, I was flying with a firearm one time and got pulled off a plane after being seated. It was a complete cluster to figure out what had went wrong and who was holding me up. No one wanted to take any responsibility and kept pointing the finger at other groups.
I’m horrified to hear of the violation. We have to pressure some authority to do better. People shouldn’t feel like there’s an either/or outcome where their personal dignity and respect are at play.
It’s bullshit.
Mnemosyne
@Violet:
Right, but US TSA rules say they have to pat you down in sensitive areas with the back of their hand. No fingers. I still think you have plenty of grounds to complain to the US Embassy in England if it was done by UK personnel, and you should probably complain directly to the TSA as well.
Basically, when they told you that TSA rules said they could strip-search you in public and fondle your private parts, they fucking lied to you. There wasn’t anything you could do in the moment, but you absolutely should file a complaint.
ETA: If you feel it was essentially sexual assault (and it sounds like it was), you may want to escalate to a civil liberties complaint on the basis of gender:
http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/travelers-filing-complaint
Corner Stone
@PurpleGirl: No, he’s way too soft. Matthew is no gentleman, even when he makes a considerate decision.
He’s a thug first, and doesn’t play by the rules.
Steeplejack
@PurpleGirl:
He’s a thug (Mantegna, I mean) in that he could tell a henchman what to do. He doesn’t look like he could throw a punch himself.
What about Michael Biehn? Might be a tad old, but he’s got that scuffed-up look.
JPL
@Violet: Before 9/11, I was returning from Canada and came close to special treatment. My friend went through and it took me five minutes longer. Finally, I found it amusing and started to laugh. They let me go through. The same thing has happened when I reported to jury duty and after the Olympic bombings. You’d be shocked to think that I’d be pulled over.
Actually, I think it is because I have allergies and sometimes my eyes look scary.. haha When I travel or go into government buildings, I’ve been using eye drops and haven’t had any problems since.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Steeplejack: Every Comment on Every Quilt Blog Ever inspired by recipe blog comments.
Violet
@Corner Stone: Any suggestions of who I should talk to? As I said, I’ve been told that at that point in the boarding process you are in no-man’s land. You’re under USA TSA jurisdiction and rules. The UK officers are performing the search at the demand and requirements of the USA TSA. Without those level of searches the plane will not be able to take off. If you don’t comply, you will not be allowed to board.
SFAW
@Steeplejack:
It only works fine because they show up three hours before the East Coast teams, and play on an empty field.
Suzanne
@Steeplejack: When I fly, I always wear yoga pants, a tank top, and a hoodie, with slip-on sneakers which get replaced shortly thereafter with slippers. I got this flying thing DOWN.
I am currently engaging in the weekly ritual of washing, drying, and flat-ironing my hair. Ergh. I really wish at times that there was a conventionally professional way of sporting a shaved head. I worked with a woman who had alopecia, and she had the most beautiful tattoo work done all over her head. However, as I do not have alopecia, and would get stubble in no time flat, this remains not an option. Le sigh.
Steeplejack
@Corner Stone:
I mentioned Bruno Magli and Allen Edmonds because they are classic, classy brands that change models once every few years—probably more like once a decade. Once you get down into the trenches for the ordinary joe it’s all semi-disposable crap and “Look at this new shiny thing!” Athletic shoes/sneakers are the worst, because of course that market is driven by the yoots.
What I realized is that I had fallen into a minimalist rut and that it wouldn’t kill me to look for a couple of alternatives. And I’m still working in a pretty narrow “bland middle-aged guy” zone.
JPL
@raven: Mittie was married at Bulloch Hall.
Violet
@Mnemosyne: It has been a few years–maybe four? I can’t remember now. Would have to go back and look at my calendar to be sure. I am always nervous flying to the UK now–well, returning from.
The US TSA follows US TSA rules and laws because they are in the USA. They convey those requirements to foreign governments who interpret them as they wish. They will say they were just following TSA laws. They did say that, actually. They said, “Blame the TSA.” I asked around after it happened and it was this bizarre no-man’s land situation. There did not seem to be anyone I could complain to. I talked to people who know how the TSA works and they said if I complained it would be thrown out because it was on foreign soil.
And yeah, I can complain to the TSA and the next time I fly and the time after that and after that I’m sure I’ll be pulled out of line for a Special Search. Is that worth it? I don’t know. I’ve got family overseas and don’t really feel I can risk being put on a Difficult Passenger List let alone the No Fly list. I do not see how an ordinary citizen can win in this situation. Unless there’s video, which I’m sure there isn’t at this point. If there ever was.
SFAW
@efgoldman:
Seconded. I wasn’t crazy about Urich, either, although Avery Brooks did OK. (Overacted a little, though, I think.)
But I think the best choice for Spenser would have probably been Joe Pesci. Or maybe Josh Gomez or Elijah Wood.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Steeplejack: Driving shoes. I have two pairs and they are perfect for flying.
SFAW
@efgoldman:
I suppose you’re also going to complain about Tom Cruise playing Jack Reacher.
Violet
@Suzanne:
The hoodie was part of the problem during my public strip search experience. I’ve learned–do not wear a hoodie when returning from the UK. I always strip down to a short sleeved shirt even if I’m freezing in December. Better chance of them not picking you for an extra search because you’re not potentially hiding something in your hoodie pocket or the hood itself.
Suffern ACE
@schrodinger’s cat: if you have pears, have a party.
SFAW
@efgoldman:
Well, except when they had him sculling on the Charles. It was pretty realistic.
(That’s like a two-levels-of-obscure reference.)
Tenar Darell
@jl: Did you see the most recent stuff about Sanford on Wonkette? Turns out he’s a cheap and deadbeat dad, a bigger and more stupid liar, and reckless with the lives of his and other people’s children.
muddy
Poor Sarah Palin is kind of desperate in this video. She can’t stop plucking at her clothing. She was pretty excited that 2 randos stopped by.
Steeplejack
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
Loved the concept of quilt chakras! Is that really a thing?
SFAW
@efgoldman:
In some ways, it’s similar to Spenser. But the point of my comment is that Jack Reacher is 6-foot-5 and 250. Cruise is 6-5 if he wears 12-inch lifts. Chris Hemsworth would be a better choice (physically), if he could mask the accent.
It’s kinda like Jack Nicholson is not a Randy McMurphy-type.
Amanda in the South Bay
@Tommy:
So you feel particularly close to a country your ancestors left 150 years ago? That seems incredibly silly. Ethnicity isn’t genetic.
SFAW
@efgoldman:
Not a surprise, actually.
Now I’m REALLY sorry I couldn’t make it to the meet-up. (Although I was already sorry.)
Steeplejack
@SFAW:
Tom Cruise sucks as Jack Reacher!
Elizabelle
TR shot a dog cuz it wouldn’t stop barking?
Say it ain’t so.
SFAW
@Steeplejack:
Arguments are two doors down, this is Getting Hit On The Head lessons.
Violet
@Amanda in the South Bay: It’s a Scottish thing. The number of Americans of Scottish descent is high. Seems like all of them at one point or another make the pilgrimage to the “auld country”. Knowing your tartan(s), wearing a kilt or skirt from one of them, participating in Scottish heritage things (highland games, Robert Burns suppers, etc.) is pretty popular here.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Amanda in the South Bay: And yet there are festivals all over the US celebrating ( with varying degrees of authenticity) the cultural traditions of a shit load of countries from which a variety of our collective ancestors came to this country. How silly of them. I am sure we all feel proper scolded.
Elizabelle
212 comments?
New thread imminent?
SFAW
@efgoldman:
Unfortunately, I won’t promise what I can’t guarantee. But I’ll try.
Suzanne
@Violet: I actually wore a hoodie while flying back to the US from Heathrow. I got selected for the special treatment, going through UK security which was very similar to the enhanced pat-down here. But I always wear a snug-fitting tank underneath so I can take off the hoodie for security, and then I typically run the hoodie through the scanner with my stuff.
I did not have anything like you described happen. I think you got some sick bastards, because what you described is not Euro or UK standard practice, and I think you should definitely, DEFINITELY file a complaint.
Steeplejack
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):
I knew you would weigh in with the hipster perspective. Point taken, but I was taking a chance on buying some shoes blind from Amazon.
Which worked pretty well, actually (remembering our conversation from a couple of months ago about buying shoes on line). Amazon has this feature now where readers/buyers can rate how well the shoes fit, so you can triangulate from that to get the right size. I am a slightly large 11, and the reviews said the NBs run a little small, so I ordered 11½ and they fit fine.
Steeplejack
@SFAW:
No, it’s not!
Corner Stone
Bullshit. Robert Urich was fucking awesome as the TV version of Spenser. Anyone who disagrees is a flat fucking idiot.
Avery Brooks chewed every scene he was in. Chewed it like a fucking unruly baby dragon.
Did none of y’all actually read the Spenser books?
Urich was the best cast person in that whole damn series!
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack:
Oooo…ouch.
MomSense
@SFAW:
Love that dirty water!
Violet
@Suzanne: The woman who performed the strip search of me could not have looked more the humourless Russian if she’d been plucked from central casting. There were other people being searched on the jetway. I think the other security people went through about three people each before this one woman finished with me. I came out of there with my underwear completely dislodged and half inside me, my clothes undone, and was told to leave while my socks were not yet on. Just gather my things–that had been strewn all over their table–and go. It was utterly humiliating. I felt unclean and violated for the entire eight or however many hours flight back to the US.
Like I said above, I talked to people about where I could file some kind of complaint and was told, “Not here” and “not us” and “not our problem.” The risk of doing it seems high for the reward. What am I going to get now, four or so years later? Nothing but hassle most likely.
They’re not done though. Like I said in my second comment, my friend who works for an airline just got randomly selected for the special treatment. She works for a fucking airline and flies all the fucking time. Too bad. Doesn’t matter that her personal information is available via a gazillion databases. Special Room search for her.
Corner Stone
@SFAW: Joe Pesci? This has gone beyond surreal.
Steeplejack
@Corner Stone:
Hey, Omnes is a bona fide hipster, in the best sense of the word. When I read his comments I picture Bryan Ferry.
2liberal
@KG:
link to the palins story. how can we be sure this wasn’t just made up?
http://www.themudflats.net/archives/44433
mai naem mobile
@Tenar Darell: I saw that. Mark Sanford messed with the wrong woman when he messed with Jenny Sanford. She is going to continue to shame him until the last kid turns 22 or whatever. The woman is an heir to some hardware product (Skil saw or Craftsman or something.) You know she doesnt need the money for the kids. Shes just trying to embarrass the fool and hes too stupid to realize it.
Corner Stone
@Suzanne:
What do you do when you land? Go to your hotel, check in, take a shower and then go to your destination the next morning?
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack:
There is no best sense.
Corner Stone
@Violet:
No. I went up four levels in the airline I was on, and the last two on major letterhead as written complaints/inquiries.
They don’t give a shit. I just think it’s an abomination to feel like it’s the rape room or don’t fly, for females.
I don’t have an answer.
Violet
@Corner Stone:
That’s pretty much what it felt like. I’ll never forget it. It was humiliating.
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack: I like Biehn as a tough guy, but he’d need to put on about 40 pounds for Scudder.
Oh well. Maybe Hollywood can’t produce the right Scudder.
It certainly isn’t Liam.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Steeplejack: Driving shoes are a hipster thing now? I thought is was just a clotheshorse thing.
Mnemosyne
@Violet:
Honestly, I think you’re being a little paranoid about that. The TSA has vastly improved under the Obama administration and no longer seem to feel that they’re fully empowered to pull petty shit on citizens just because they can. If god forbid a Republican ends up back in charge in 2016, I make no guarantees, but there seems to be a concerted effort right now to make the TSA more user-friendly.
As far as your friend getting searched goes, it’s not unheard of for airline employees to smuggle things — five people in Boston just got arrested in a money-smuggling ring. She may know somebody implicated in something like that and not realize it.
Hal
Today in post racial america:
http://gawker.com/django-unchained-actress-mistaken-for-prostitute-accos-1634555094
SFAW
@Corner Stone:
I would venture to say that your artistic “sense” is somewhat different from those of us who have actually read the Spenser books.
But your opining is certainly welcome here. Just wrong. But that doesn’t make you a bad person.
SFAW
@Corner Stone:
Do try to keep up, will you?
West of the Cascades
@SFAW: The Buffalo Bills sit alone atop the AFC East after Week 2.
That is all.
Steeplejack
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):
Have you looked at the hipster/clotheshorse Venn diagram lately?
Even when hipsters decide not to wear stylish clothes, it’s still a clotheshorse decision.
Corner Stone
@SFAW: Give me a fucking break.
Corner Stone
@SFAW: Ha. No.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Steeplejack: BTW, I opted for full metal cleaning. As expected, Mom did not come, but I got to hang out with Dad, see my niece play center back like a monster, and had a really good Indonesian meal. All I had to to was entertain the old man between matches and provide rum and shelter. I easily was capable of those things.
ETA: The recent haircut took Mr Ferry off the table for now.
Corner Stone
@SFAW: No bullshit. Who is your non-sarcastic, non-fucking around pick to cast as Spenser?
In any era. Going wherever you had to go. Who is it.
And if you say Pesci again you can choke on unpasteurized goats cheese.
SFAW
@Corner Stone:
A break would be wasted on you.
Violet
@Mnemosyne: I’ll agree that in the last two years or so the TSA has improved. I do not have any confidence that that will hold. And by the time any complaint worked its way through the system, who knows who will be in charge.
Besides, like I said, best I could figure at the time was that I was in some weird no man’s land. I could not complain to the TSA because it was not the TSA who conducted the search. I could not complain to the British security people–I did talk to them at a later date in a general way–and they told me that security checks after the official British security check are at the request of the US government, if it’s a US carrier and US-bound flight, and they are abiding by those rules otherwise the plan cannot leave and be US-bound.
I do not see how I can complain to the TSA. They didn’t do it. I could complain to British security but having talked to friends and family there, some of whom are lawyers or are connected in other ways, I was discouraged from doing that. Plus, the British security people told me that it’s this weird no man’s land once you’re past the final gate check. It’s just bizarre. It’s like they can do whatever the fuck they want to. And they did.
As for my friend, she does not work in an airport capacity. She works in a different area. She goes to the airport to fly. She’s like everyone else flying–she cannot get past security without a ticket. Her airline employee badge does not allow her to do that. Maybe those gate workers and ramp workers have some other badge. She does not. She has to be listed on a flight and have a ticket to get past security. It would be pretty difficult for her to smuggle anything–it would be just like any other passenger smuggling things.
My point in mentioning that she was singled out for a search, is that it does not support the concept that the TSA uses common sense when deciding who to search. The elderly man I was behind yesterday in security–the one in the wheelchair–was taken away for a special search as well. His poor wife was in agony dealing with it. It was horrible to watch.
Corner Stone
@SFAW: Sigh.
rikyrah
So now, folks can’t have and voice their opinions?
………………………
Racial discrimination & resignation of Dr. Misee Harris – An Open Letter to media
Posted on Sep 12, 2014
(On Thursday, September 4, 2014, Dr. Misee Harris, best known to the media as the “Black Bachelorette” hopeful, was forced to resign from her dental practice where she was beloved by both staff and patients. The reason for her resignation was over a clash of ethics involving her outspoken social media support of the late Michael Brown and the unrest in Ferguson, MO.. Here is Misee’s recollection of yesterday’s disturbing events in her own words, as recorded by her partner, Emmy-winning producer, Chris Silber…)
On Thursday, September 4th, Dr. Misee Harris (the Black Bachelorette) was called into an unannounced meeting at the dental practice where she has worked as a Pediatric Dentist and was recently offered a partnership in the practice. Dr. Harris, the sole African American dentist in the practice, has worked tirelessly with underprivileged young patients on Medicaid to ensure their smiles remain healthy, and the quality of Dr. Harris’s work has never been called into question. Once in the meeting, Dr. Harris was ambushed and presented with screenshots from her private Facebook page. Being that Misee had blocked work colleagues from accessing her account, it was explained to Misee that a doctor who is a partner at the office, and who led the meeting, had been having a friend spy on Misee’s Facebook page. Screenshots were taken of Misee’s Facebook posts and were sent to the doctor who led the meeting. Misee was then told that some of her Facebook posts about recent racial issues in America were “unprofessional.” The biggest bone of contention to the partners was a cartoon (see graphic below) related to the recent police murders of several innocent African-Americans across the nation. The partner held up the picture and asked Misee “Do you think we (meaning Misee’s white colleagues) are all like this?”
Dr. Misee Harris composed herself and asked the partner if she had any idea what was going on in black America, namely regarding the murder of Michael Brown. The partner did not know the name Mike Brown, nor did she seem to understand Misee’s outrage at being attacked for her personal views. Dr. Harris’s racial discrimination concerns voiced on her personal and private Facebook page was meant solely for the eyes of her friends and family whom Misee thought she could trust. Misee was then told flat out that she would have to choose between her “style of social media communication” and her job as a pediatric dentist in their practice.
Misee felt unable to continue working under such conditions and decided to quit the dental practice on the spot, much to the dismay of her bosses. They assumed Misee would simply promise to stop voicing her opinions on social media about racial injustice. In a nutshell, Dr. Misee Harris feels she has been discriminated against as the sole African-American member of her now former dental practice. Dr. Harris believes she has been pushed out of her job for simply being a black woman in America.
“It is as though the partners at my former dental practice believe that a black person who has made it to success in a white-dominated field like dentistry is expected to show gratitude and humility, and to ‘act white,’” expresses a devastated Dr. Harris.
http://blackgirlnerds.com/racial-discrimination-resignation-dr-misee-harris-open-letter-media/
Citizen Alan
@Steeplejack:
The most efficient way to get through TBA is to make sure you aren’t wearing a molecule of metal. On the rare occasions I fly, I wear flip-flops, board shorts, and a t-shirt.
WereBear
@rikyrah: That is outrageous.
She is very brave for sticking to her principles!
It’s amazing… people’s social media is now the property of their employers? People can’t have online personal lives, even when (as in this case) they take pains to not throw it around the office or be discreet about it?
SFAW
@West of the Cascades:
Somewhere, the Ghost of Ralph Wilson is saying “You assholes couldn’t do this sooner?” Of course, it’s a long season, so we’ll see if they can make it to the playoffs
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@rikyrah:
Employers have looked for and then at facebook pages for as long as they have been aware of facebook.
JPL
@Tenar Darell: He’s a repub so that’s okay in SC. IMO Jenny stayed with him because of the perks. I hope that she is getting therapy.
Steeplejack
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):
Good on you. Now it’ll be an extra two months or so before you have to do it again.
Rum? What’s the old man’s choice? I’m a Mount Gay man myself.
Tenar Darell
@efgoldman: It’s not like I’m surprised (I mean he pulled a bunko on his freaking state as Governor), but I will admit that he is at least three levels stupider than I thought. Pretty clear his wife really was the power behind the throne, so to speak. He’s not Gohmert, the garden slug, but he’s near an Ally Brosch level of specialness (see Hyperbole and a Half, the online comic where she talks about her dogs).
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Steeplejack: He and my brother will be back in October for another tournament. I’ll touch up before it. He is a Myers’s Dark man. It was a pretty good weekend – it really just needed the rest of my niece’s team to play well to have been great. Once other teams figured out how effective she was, they just attacked where she wasn’t.
SFAW
@Corner Stone:
To be honest, I’m not really sure who would be perfect in the role. I think Nick Nolte in his earlier days might have been a reasonable choice. (Of course, I also thought he was a better physical/body-type choice for McMurphy.) Maybe a pre-bald Pernell Roberts. Richard Boone is a little before my time, so I can’t register a reasonable opinion on him. There are probably a few others, but senility s kicking in. Maybe ef has some suggestions.
Urich was too soft around the edges to be a credible Spenser.
JoyfulA
@efgoldman: Me, too! Can’t stand Reacher.
SFAW
@Tenar Darell:
As the saying goes, that’s a Feature, not a Bug, in today’s Rethuglican Party.
Roger Moore
@Corner Stone:
How about Daniel Craig?
SFAW
@Roger Moore:
Too small. I like his Bond, but Spenser’s a former heavyweight boxer, not a spy.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@SFAW: Liam Neeson?
JPL
@muddy: That was just odd. It made her look worse than the brawl that she was at. I expect her to start yelling no wire hangers ever at some point.. Okay I’m dating myself but she is really losing it.
SFAW
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):
Interesting suggestion. (Although I can’t tell if you’re making a joke, given the earlier Neeson discussion.)
Origuy
@Violet: Yeah, I’m one of those people who feel a connection to Scotland; in my case, out of proportion to my actual ancestry, which is more English and Irish with a little Scottish and German. I’ve been to Scotland twice, own a kilt and do Scottish country dance, but it was the music that first drew me in. I’ve been to lots of Highland Games as well as Renaissance Faires.
I’m not sure I favor Scottish independence. I think the further north you go, the more popular it is. The people on the Borders have a lot of ties across the border. The real dividing line is somewhere south of Manchester, because the people of the English North have a lot more in common with Scotland than with London and the South.
However, should it come to pass: Groundskeeper Willie to Lead Scotland!
Tenar Darell
Huh, got shivers. Eli Wallach one of the narrators in the Roosevelts.
SFAW
@JPL:
“Self dating” – interesting euphemism.
Botsplainer
@muddy:
Drug use.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Origuy: IIRC, back in the old days the further north you got the more Jacobite it got.*
*Moi, I have no Scottish ancestry.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@SFAW: Not joking. I am not familiar with the other character, so I have not opinion on that. But if you want someone who credibly looks and carries himself like an ex-heavyweight boxer, Neeson should be in the mix (if you are limiting yourself to white dudes).
Violet
@Origuy: Dunno. The family is from northern England (near Manchester) and are as English as they come. Despite one of them living in Scotland they strongly favor the union, not Scottish independence. They think it’s kind of dumb of Scotland as far as I can tell.
Roger Moore
@SFAW:
Take a look at Craig with his shirt off in Casino Royale. He doesn’t have a bodybuilder body, but he’s extremely beefy. He put on a bunch of muscle for the movie because the role required him to kill people with his bare hands, and he wanted the physique to make it convincing.
Corner Stone
@SFAW: Ok, I have to give it to you. A rejuvenated Nick Nolte would be the absolute awesome Scudder, but not the best Spenser.
Nolte is the pick to role model off the Scudder character. That is the proto of who Matthew Scudder should look and sound like.
Sorry, but I still say Urich was the best available option for the TV series reflecting Spenser.
If we were going now with a Spenser, I would suggest an Hispanic leading male actor.
Origuy
@Violet: Yeah, maybe I drew the line too far south. Once you get to Carlisle, though, they have a lot of Scottish connection. Shepherds in Cumbria still count their sheep in the old Cumbrian Celtic language. It’s the Highlands and the big cities that probably will go strongest for independance.
Corner Stone
@Roger Moore: I love Daniel Craig, but it’s as Bond.
He’s a fucking beast in Quantum, and just a nasty piece of business overall, but he’s too refined and subtle for Matthew Scudder.
And yes, that’s not a typo. Scudder is cunning and devious, but not subtle.
SFAW
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):
OK. You should read Spenser (i.e., Parker’s Spenser, not Faerie Queene author). It’s not high art, but it’s generally a fun read. Boston-based private detective, well-read, ex-boxer. Sometime-sidekick named Hawk. Spenser is white, Hawk is black, gets sorta-kinda discussed in most books where they’re working together. Spenser’s not racist, but I think Parker was a little too “look how un-racist Spenser is” at times.
The later Spenser books can generally be read in one sitting – short chapter, double spaced, etc., although I think Parker was running out of steam after about the 30th of the series.
People living in/around Beantown will get the geographical in-jokes, you may not. There were a fair number of literary references, but they were sometimes a little self-conscious, I think. Maybe not, and it’s too late to ask.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Corner Stone: I think Quantum is the least of the Craig era Bond movies.
Violet
@Origuy: Yeah, from Carlisle I can see it. It’s all kind of a mix up there. Manchester is a big city and they’re English, as far as I can tell from family and friends.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@SFAW: I’ve read some Spenser books – I do think Neeson is viable. Scudder is the one with whom I am unfamiliar.
Corner Stone
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): It is, but not in the way he is in full beast mode. He consciously went heavy for QoS.
He’s an animal in QoS, and I think that’s on purpose.
SFAW
@Corner Stone:
Don’t know Matthew Scudder. A pre-weird Nolte would be better than Urich. Maybe if Urich’s nose had broken once or twice.
If I finally figure it out, I’ll let you know. But it’s definitely not Urich. I was heavily into Spenser when that show was current, watched a number of them, and Urich weren’t the guy. Mrs. SFAW – also a Spenser fan – agreed.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Corner Stone: Got it.
Corner Stone
@efgoldman: Who would you have stuck in that TV series role?
SFAW
@efgoldman:
Landsmann!
Which one is your favorite? (Book, not actor.)
Suzanne
@Corner Stone: Yep. Check in, shower, and change. Is that weird?
Only time I don’t dress like that on a plane is if I have to go to a meeting immediately after landing. Those times are rare, and with the new job, hopefully OVER.
Corner Stone
@efgoldman: I contend that every single casting outside of Urich was the issue. Avery Brooks as Hawk? Lt Quirk? Sgt Belson?
Those were the absolute worst miscastings of supporting characters I have ever seen for a series.
Belson? For god’s fucking sake. That was just awful.
West of the Cascades
@SFAW: As a life-long Bills fan, I have to say I am savoring their success so far this year and trying to not think about the last 14 years or the next 14 games.
Roger Moore
@Corner Stone:
I think you’re confusing the actor and the role. In his first turn as Bond*, Craig deliberately beefed up so he could be convincing as a guy who killed people with his bare hands. I think that shows he’s capable of the physical demands of looking like a former heavyweight boxer, and he’s a good enough actor to play the character as the script demands.
*I have a post in moderation because the title contains a forbidden word.
Corner Stone
@Roger Moore: I’m not confusing anything, thanks.
Howard Beale IV
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Don’t forget Twitter-just ask Anthony Cumia (formerly of Opie and Anthony.)
Corner Stone
@Suzanne: I don’t know if it’s weird or not. I just usually end up going to my destination from the airport, then heading to the room later.
I don’t know what’s more usual for off-and-on business flyers.
Howard Beale IV
@Robert Sneddon:
RBS and the other big Scottish-based banks are threatening to decamp to Great Britain if the referendum passes.
drkrick
@JPL:
Jenny was rich enough to be paying for most of the perks herself. She stayed with him because their brand of Christianism (as opposed to Bachmann’s) really did require a male to be out front. Once he embarrassed her, the project changed from promoting him to crushing him.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Howard Beale IV: Actually I think that if the postion is worthy of due diligence, they look at any social media they can find and google the person. By recognizing this, do I suggest that I think it is right? No. It is not, however, illegal and employers do it. People should be aware. I try to keep my facebook page free of politics. The most you will discover from mine is that the vast majority of my FB friends who do post about politics do so from the left. One may, perhaps, draw conclusions from this.
Steeplejack
@Corner Stone:
Early Nick Nolte in a hard-guy role: Who’ll Stop the Rain (1978). Pretty good movie from Robert Stone’s excellent novel Dog Soldiers.
Great cast. Not shown in the trailer: Anthony Zerbe.
drkrick
@rikyrah:
So someone she thought was a friend let her boss know she was getting a little uppity on Facebook. Insert the obligatory Jay Gould quote here.
SFAW
@efgoldman:
No, I didn’t forget the cooking. It’s just that, after around the 20th or 25th book, it got repetitive. (Yes, I realize how difficult it is to stay “fresh” through a series of that length.)
Steeplejack
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):
Matt Scudder is the protagonist in a series of novels by Lawrence Block from the mid-’70s to the mid- to late ’90s (another few novels have trickled out since then, I think). Ex-cop, ex-alcoholic, working unlicensed in New York City, so it’s very gritty. It’s been very long since I read them, but (from memory) I would say to try Eight Million Ways to Die (1982) or Time to Murder and Create (1977) for a representative sample.
Hmm, maybe I should go back and reread one myself.
drkrick
@Howard Beale IV:
Thanks to the 2008/2009 bailout, the UK government has significant-to-controlling interests in RBS and many of the other larger “Scottish” banks. This is one of the areas where the “Yes” side’s reliance on the kindness of the UK government during the transition may not work out well.
Steeplejack
@efgoldman:
And the “modern” relationship with Susan Silverman. Oof. That was okay at first, but Parker ran it into the ground.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Steeplejack: Sounds too gritty for me.
SFAW
@Steeplejack:
With Michael Moriarty as a weasel. Excellent film, the wrong guy died.
(Of course, Nolte did the same T’ai chi routine (“Monkey grabs wombat’s tail” or something like that) in Down and Out in Beverly Hills, but who’s counting?)
Steeplejack
@SFAW:
The cast was great all the way down to the minor roles: Zerbe, Gail Strickland, Charles Haid (Hill Street Blues), Ray Sharkey. Zerbe was chilling as the psycho villain.
My only beef was that the climactic shootout at the hippie ranch commune with all the lights blazing and strobing should have been set to wild psychedelic music instead of the hillbilly bullshit that foreign director Karel Reisz probably thought was more authentically American. Grr. And I even like hillbilly music, but it was way off for that sequence. IMHO.
And the title was bullshit. They should have left the name of the novel on it—Dog Soldiers—but that bullshit Christopher Walken movie The Dogs of War came out around the same time. Grr.
SFAW
@efgoldman:
Isn’t that the one where Hawk tags along (redundant?) and acts as interpreter?
SFAW
@Steeplejack:
I don’t know, I can see how the first stanza from Creedence might fit reasonably well.
Steeplejack
@SFAW:
It fits okay. Dog Soldiers fits better. But my impression was colored by having read the book ahead of the movie. I was (pleasantly) surprised when I saw the movie, except for stuff noted above.
2liberal
@Dog On Porch:
the sea chickens lost today, and the bears are leading in the 4th. I am hoping the cardinals can get geared up and win the division this year .
2liberal
what happened to our NFL open thread today? The Steelers weren’t playing so the blogfather wasn’t interested ?
SFAW
And, apropos of nothing in particular, it looks like the refs should not have whistled for a timeout in the NYJ-GB game – thus nullifying the game-tying TD – because Mornhinweg (as O-Con) is not “eligible” to call for a timeout.
Thanks, Obama!
SFAW
@Steeplejack:
Haven’t read the book, I guess it’ll go on my to-do list. Please don’t be offended if I don’t put it near the top, however.
Steeplejack
@SFAW:
No problemo. I read it when it first came out; it may have aged horribly. But it was a literate noir crime novel at a time when those were scarce. And I’m always interested in the process from novel to movie.
ETA: And Dog Soldiers won the National Book Award in 1975. I had forgotten about that.
Anne Laurie
@Corner Stone: How ’bout Denzel Washington as Spenser, and Liam Neeson (or Viggo Mortenson) as Hawk?
Anne Laurie
@efgoldman: Heh. If it weren’t all the hell up in Danvers, we could hold a meet-up at Karl’s Sausage Kitchen. No ambiance whatsover (half a dozen tables in the back of the deli/grocery) but the extremely limited menu is excellent, as long as you’re okay with very German cooking. I hear the beer selection is worthy, and they’ve got a first-edition Spencer framed & mounted on the wall!
Robert Sneddon
@Howard Beale IV: No, RBS and the other big financials (HBoS, Scottish Widows, Legal and General etc.) are not planning to decamp to London. If independence happens they’re going to have to open new offices in London to have a presence there as foreign institutions in the same way big US financial companies also have London offices and vice versa. They’ve made contingency plans for this.
Whether those London offices end up being the main controlling group within the companies over time is another matter but RBS, for example has a campus on the outskirts of Edinburgh employing thousands of people as well as the original RBS head office in the city centre (complete with morning-suit uniformed staff) and lots of other office facilities scattered around the city and country. That’s not going to change if independence happens.
SFAW
@Anne Laurie:
General Gau-leiter’s Chicken?
Anne Laurie
@SFAW: Excellent sausages, rouladen, goulash, schnitzel, red cabbage, and some of the best spaetzle I’ve ever eaten. Usually a nice cheese plate special. And desserts, such desserts! But green vegetables, not so much. Definitely not vegan-friendly…
SFAW
@Anne Laurie:
Goulash? Yeah, I understand about the Habsburgs and all that, but goulash? Although I have to confess, I very fondly remember the chicken paprikas and veal paprikas that meine Grossmutter (eine Wienerin) made. Those, and Zwetschchenknoedel (mit Zucker).
Damn, now I’m gonna go all Proustian and shit.
SFAW
@Anne Laurie:
Nicht wahr (don’t translate it literally, it’s colloquial.)
Dave
@raven: Right I got into with our JAG an O-5 because he was using a class to spout stupidly political and dangerous shit in front of a few companies which had a lot of young soldiers. He seemed shocked to be getting push back from a mere E-6 but then I’ve always enjoyed punching above my weight. He was essentially recapitulating white mans burden with some other stupid arrogance and right wing politics. And he was not bright enough to realize that in a Civil Affairs Battalion in the Northeast you are going to have quite a few conservatives but you are also going to have quite a few crunchy blokes. That his core message was deeply dumb and dangerous and that by bringing politics into it so explicitly (he went on a tangent about the debt) he is automatically creating hostility in a large portion of his audience and that a classroom setting invites discussion and that CA soldiers tend to be educated side for our rank. I would have spoke up regardless since he was selling dangerous crap to young soldiers but the stupid politics prior ensured that I enjoyed it and that I was not nice and only the bare minimum of polite I could get away with in the situation. Point being an O-5 JAG doesn’t tell me a damned thing about his intelligence.