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My dentist said he needed a hand like this...
3,525 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 2801 – 3000 of 3525 Newer› Newest»The huge NY Times live poll has Democratic governor candidate Andrew Gillum up by 4%. Possibly this summer's algae crises have tarnished the state's Republicans.
If elected, Gov. Gillum will almost certainly have to deal with a deeply Republican House of Representatives, which at present is 2 to 1 Republican and about as right wing as you can get in the US. Except that bathroom bills and other measures that would send conventions elsewhere don't get introduced, much less passed. Orlando's convention center is at present second in size to Chicago's. It may soon be larger. It might even get its own high speed rail station.
Deepest sorrow over Squirrel Hill. I still haven't visited Pittsburgh, but many undergraduate friends were from there, and later on, a geologist friend in Wyoming. He was from East Liberty.
Dana Milbank today: "When the election returns come in Tuesday night, it will be Nov. 9 in Germany — the 78th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the 'Night of Broken Glass' at the start of the Holocaust when Nazis vandalized synagogues and businesses."
Yeah, I remember that day in 2016. The symbolism did not escape me.
Just when you thought it was impossible, Trump has sunk even lower.
“Trump jokes that he considered cancelling speech to FFA not b/c of the mass shooting in Pittsburgh, but b/c his hair got wet while talking w/reporters about the shooting. "At least you know it's mine... I said, 'maybe I should cancel this arrangement b/c I have a bad hair day.'"
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1056277915292364800
Mr. P must be ashamed of having belonged to FFA throughout high school.
I actually live just a few blocks from the Tree of Life but I followed police instruction and stayed in. The neighborhood was on lock-down until police took Browers into custody. You still cannot get near it anyway because the crime scene is blocked off.
The students of the local highschool organized a vigil last night which I attended. It was predictably a mournful affair, but at the end the about thousand people standing in the drizzling rain broke out in shouting Vote! Vote!, while thrusting their their fists in the air. Sadness and mourning combined with rage, that I share with the community.
There will be an official vigil today with all the political big-heads, but I won't go. I don't feel like listening to "our thoughts and prayers" speeches.
Glad you're doing ok, gmbka. I know how hard it can be when something like this happens in a place you have a connection to - so it must be very difficult when it's in your neighborhood. I thought the editorial in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was very good:
https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/david-shribman/2018/10/27/Dispatch-Squirrel-Hill-mass-shooting-david-shribman-synagogue-pittsburgh/stories/201810270076
I have little patience for people who say "things like this don't happen here" when we're all sitting ducks.
seasea
gmbka, I understand what you're saying about the meaningfulness of the spontaneous neighborhood gathering last night, planned by local high school students and totally from the heart.
Since I wouldn't care to attend today's gathering with all the big-wigs(so can understand why you wouldn't either), I'm not opposed to it, because it's an official refutation of Trump's some-of-them-are-very-fine-people mantra in the wake of Charlottesville, as well as the scapegoating of Soros and other opponents, and his repulsive "bad hair" joke yesterday. With any luck, maybe it'll be raining every day this week in Pittsburgh...
suesea, I'm afraid we're all sitting ducks at times, at least if we ever wish to interact in person with others. Beyond a certain point, the benefits outweigh the risks.
SCC: While I wouldn't care to attend today's gathering with all the big-wigs (so can understand why you wouldn't either)...
Newspaper endorsements no longer mean anything, but Beto O'Rourke is gathering them in Texas. Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth. Early voting is still not much favoring Democrats in Florida.
Joel has written on Soros/caravan conspiracy theories. Nonsense, but dangerous nonsense. Unfortunately, desperate Central Americans have now become Trump's bugbears (in the pre Dungeons & Dragons sense. You have to dictionary-check all sorts of words).
I like your way to describe every point. ..
stock tips
Blimey, bots found us at last.
I came here actually to flag Joel's latest foray in political reporting. That's been rarer than hen's teeth from Joel in the last few years. Fortunately other folks are doing amazing work, but I do miss his approach now and then.
Gmbka, glad you had a cathartic rally with the community. How utterly maddening and grievous it has been lately.
I have taken to telling people just to tune Il Dunce out until past election day, for the sake of their blood pressure and morale.
The new world of Big Hospitals is upon us. The local nonprofit hospital will be operated by Cleveland Clinic. Presumably there will be a huge shakeup. A smaller hospital to the north fell into the hands of Steward, an apparently fast-growing for-profit that also bought my internist's practice. Heads are rolling.
South of us, in the next county, HCA acquired the hospital and is building a free-standing emergency room across the border in our country. In turn, our hospital poached three neurologists from their hospital and is setting up a high-grade 24-7 stroke treatment center.
In the next county south, Cleveland Clinic picked up a bigger hospital. They have a Florida flagship in Weston, the plush recent suburb at the edge of the Everglades between Miami and Ft Lauderdale and they've infiltrated Palm Beach County.
____________________________
HIAS, the Hebrew Immigration Aid Society, purchased a bit of Facebook advertising. The New Yorker reports they've received an outpouring of support. For once, advertising was merely assisting a great many well-wishers and new supporters.
I suppose it's time to set up a pool on Administration firings after the election. Who, and how soon? Bonus points for correctly guessing how quickly indictments come down (Wednesday?) and against whom? It could turn into a race.
Juliet Eilperin and crew are busy with Ryan Zinke. Trump can find someone worse to replace him.
Dave, aren't Friday afternoons the traditional time to announce departures? "Take out the trash..."
"20 things you need to know about ‘Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me!’ on its 20th anniversary" by Postie/WWDTM panelist Roxanne Roberts:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/20-things-you-need-to-know-about-wait-wait--dont-tell-me-on-its-20th-anniversary/2018/11/01/5e6e9fea-dd27-11e8-b3f0-62607289efee_story.html
I'm still trying to envision THIS:
15. Best ad-lib that didn’t air: [...] a sign-language interpreter was faced with Ronald Reagan’s reaction after he had pushed through a vote to sell military planes to Saudi Arabia: “I feel like I just crapped a pineapple.” The interpreter faithfully tried to translate the quote — to hilarious effect.
Signing "Crapping a pineapple": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBBdNLkgXlo
I've listened to WWDT from the beginning. It's really weird, but I remember where I was when Peter Segal took over. I was headed to a party at a friend's house in Chesapeake Beach. I was early so I was driving around the town. They were introducing the panel when I thought "Hey, isn't he usually a panelist?"
So Washington is now East Seattle.
See 100-Down in today's WaPo X-word :-)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/crossword-puzzles/daily/?utm_term=.8cd56a01273d
Dave, did you see tonight's 60 Minutes, with a segment about Garrett McNamara and the waves of Nazaré? I assume it'll be available online, if you missed it.
Interesting that McNamara got exposure to the civilian world. Nazaré has been busy lately.
Here, young Brazilian (from Hawaii) Kalani Lattanzi at Nazaré. I think he swam out there, no jet ski.
https://www.redbull.com/nz-en/kalani-lattanzi-bodysurfing-big-waves
When we'd visit the ocean in our 20s and 30s, Mr. P enjoyed body-surfing, although not on large waves ;-)
Someone (not I) inquired re Nazaré on today's WaPo travel chat, and at 3:40 PM EST a commenter named JkR provided further info re visiting the town:
https://live.washingtonpost.com/talk-about-travel-11-05-2018.html#5349550
Long Island City in Queens is also east Seattle? If the mighty Bezos urgently needs better passenger rail connections under the Hudson River, I think that ensures the Trump administration will do its very best to block any such project. Of course LaGuardia and National are getting upgrades.
Just got home from voting. Based on the numbers we were assigned when signing in, our polling place is getting about twice the usual voting rate, which IMHO bodes well. Out soon for an early-bird dinner, to be followed by an evening with PBS, NPR and the Post. All relevant digits are crossed for favorable results everywhere.
I'm a bit nervous tonight. I think I have to go and get some chocolate.
As much as a news obsessive, I am, I tend to get the results and go on a news blackout for a couple days. It doesn't matter which team won.
Went to the polls at 10am in an effort to avoid the rush. There was a sequence of short lines: one to check in, one to wait for the little cardboard shielded table spot, and one to feed the scantron form into the reader.
We have a strange item on the ballot. State law gives a housing tax benefit to disabled veterans and their spouses. The spouse can keep the benefit after the veteran dies, but must remain in the house. So the VA state constitutional amendment on the ballot allows the widow to move and keep the tax benefit. Thats nice, but what is something that specific doing in the state Constitution? How many folks would that effect?
My Freedom Caucus congressman has been re-elected. Having the Kennedy Space Center in the district doesn't make for progressive political views or even appreciation that there's climate change. The man's on the House Science Committee and the space subcommittee precisely because he's willfully ignorant..
We had a murky ballot question. A bunch of private schools want the property tax increased to fund children programs in the city. Turns out they funded this campaign with $200K, ran ads on the networks, had mass mailings and paid their numerous "volunteers" they boasted with $15/hr. The taxes would give them 18million dollars yearly without a cap. Who would be on their board also was unclear, as well where the money would go. Since most people do not know this because they only saw the smiling children in the ads, the tax increase will most likely pass. Sigh.
A few years back I voted for an increase of property tax to fund the library system. But that was a very clear story and therefore easy to support.
All but one of the long list of Florida constitutional amendments passed. It'll now be more or less impossible to raise state university fees or state taxes. So much for having (non toll) roads or sewage systems.
Looking very much like our Senate and governor races will go Republican, both by the tiniest of margins. For governor, the Democratic candidate had held a decent polling lead.
No blue wave in the congressional races or the Legislature. So no expansion of Medicaid.
The tax increase was voted down and I will not see my taxes going to private and charter school.
Dave, the D candidate for governor lost by 1%!
So far the Ds flipped 18 House seats, the Rs 1. 5 more to go for the Ds. That does not look too bad.
DeSantis, our forthcoming governor, ran on his support for Trump and not much else. That's remarkable in a state full of people from what Trump would call s-hole countries. Of course Gillum is an outright Progressive, enough to be scary.
Sen. Nelson hasn't yet conceded to Gov. Scott, citing election irregularities in southeast Florida. He's down by 0.76%, so I expect Scott to be named winner after a bit of delay.
Yes! We got the House.
Democratic House, but as the Post notes, a more conservative (or at least more Trumpist) Senate. I see appropriations messes, government shutdowns, whatever.
Miami Herald on the race for governor:
Essentially, DeSantis’ message became that if Gillum succeeded in securing more funding to provide healthcare to more people and give teachers a uniform raise, that would cost many others in the state dearly — both in jobs and taxes.
“You’ve got to have good leadership and you’ve got to keep taxes low. Andrew Gillum, his great idea is to raise taxes 40 percent,” DeSantis told a crowd of about 5,000 people on Saturday at a rally with Trump. “That will cost you your jobs, that will cause businesses to leave Florida … it would be a historic mistake.”
Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article221146890.html#storylink=cpy
The next question is how will the 2020 Senate races turn out:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_elections,_2020
MAP: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_Senate_elections,_2020.svg
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona (Special), Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming
I like that gerrymander in NC, so the Rs win House seats 10-3:
Seat Win% Party
9 49.4 R
2 51.2 R
13 51.6 R
8 55.4 R
7 55.6 R
6 56.6 R
5 57.2 R
11 59.2 R
10 59.3 R
1 69.8 D
4 72.3 D
12 73.0 D
3 100 R
Jim, I don't know whether this is an apocryphal tale, but I vaguely recall reading that some Republican legislator in North Carolina explained that the only reason the state's Congressional district distribution was 10-3 was because they were unable to gerrymander it to 11-2.
Jim, any word yet on whether Adam Schiff will take over Devin Nunes' chair of the House Intelligence Committee? Is he as capable as he seems? And is Rohrabacher's political career now toast? Also, I'm appalled that Duncan Hunter Jr. survived (especially after throwing his wife "under the bus").
Not apocryphal. It's on tape. See the "The Math That May Save Democracy" episode of Science Friday/Undiscovered.
https://www.sciencefriday.com/series/undiscovered/
HF, I often listen to Sci Fri, so no doubt that's where I came across the gerrymandering claim.
Not another mass shooting... Someone please make it stop.
I suppose foreign leaders are noticing that Trump only escalates, never makes nice, unless he simply misrepresents the other party and proclaims victory, as seems the case with North Korea.
I assume Mueller is ended and Justice/FBI will be investigating House Democrats. I’m sure Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee will be declared security risks. Wonder who will volunteer to be the new Attorney General.
It looks as though ballot design in a very heavily Democratic bit of Broward County cost Bill Nelson his Senate seat. Very like the “butterfly ballot” in Palm Beach County that undid Al Gore. I think it’s a near certainty that the “undercount” is due to the ballot, not bad counting.
Got an email overnight from a colleague who moved from Magalia, CA. (near Paradise), to outside Sacramento a few years ago. She reports there's no more town of Paradise, and that the homes of her friends in Magalia also burned, leaving them homeless. Some of those friends will be arriving at her house today, and will stay until they figure out what to do.
Trump's threatening to withhold unspecified Federal funds from California. Probably he's pissed-off that the state votes so blue. This is about as uncompassionate as telling Pittsburgh's mayor there should've been an armed guard inside the Pittsburgh synagogue where the mass shooting occurred.
"Trump on California’s wildfires: ‘Forest management is so poor’":
https://www.sfgate.com/california-wildfires/article/Trump-on-California-s-Camp-Fire-Forest-13380388.php?t=c2d1669ea4
I suppose that to the extent Trump thinks about forests at all, he thinks they should be private, like golf courses.
I noticed the Post story’s prose. Achenbach, in part. California just had worst fires. Maybe I should make a quick move to somewhere out of reach of hurricanes.
Writing from Norfolk, where it got chilly today. Manteo, N.C. had serious flooding with almost no warning from Michael.
I suppose that to the extent Trump thinks about forests at all, he thinks they should be private, like golf courses.
I noticed the Post story’s prose. Achenbach, in part. California just had worst fires. Maybe I should make a quick move to somewhere out of reach of hurricanes.
Writing from Norfolk, where it got chilly today. Manteo, N.C. had serious flooding with almost no warning from Michael.
Dave, thank you for the hint of the Achenbach article, which I enjoyed as always.
My step daughter lives near Sacramento and described the smokey air, the dark red ball in the sky that is the sun and the fine particles of ashes settling on everything. For me that would be an end-of the world scenario, but they have experienced it before.
I am sorry to hear that nature interferes with the enjoyment of your trip.
Here in densely populated LA, we don't get wildfires, but I have seen the angry red sky a few times from nearby fires. The other wild sky color is green clouds just before a large tropical thunderstorm lets loose. I've seen that in Sydney Oz and Fort Worth TX.
A bunch of photos from an extended weekend trip. https://www.flickr.com/gp/45621748@N05/7C21bD
Thanks for the photos, Dave. Admiring them was a nice way to start the day.
Hello y'all. I kept myself busy on Election Day (I had to. The results don't really come in quickly.) and still was up until 5 AM the next day because I just had to see if Putin's favorite congressman might indeed lose.
I am tickled with the House results, reasonably satisfied with the Senate (it was going to be uphill to flip the Senate. Holding nearly even is good, for now. 2020 is the real battle.) But such is the dance of the world that the new chessboard must be played on even before it is en place.
Sessions's firing and the absurd replacement with Whitaker has accelerated some things, it seems. Some strange silences on Twitter, mysterious conference between Mitch and Murdoch, and some key people (Don Jr, Corsi, Stone) saying they expect to be indicted for perjury very soon. So the D.C. rumor mill is at full tilt.
It was noted that 8 attorneys were working on Veterans' Day. Cameras were assembled around the courthouse where Mueller's grand jury convenes yesterday and may do so again today.
Far from the Strum un Drang of politics played with stealth and legalese.....
Mr. Hastings has recuperated from his surprise tangle with the Halloween tooth fairy-- he did have to have a tooth out-- but he reports some minor pain and I'm sure it itches like mad as it heals too. His stitches should dissolve in a couple weeks.
He's had roast pork and vegetables and rice last night to alleviate his woes before returning to his usual dietary regimen. Holiday plans are in place for Le Jour d'action de grâce once amusingly translated by Mr. Buchwald as "le Jour de Merci Donnant" in his fine column. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/23/AR2005112302056.html
And after that, ah! Le Noël. For that, I am preparing an educational mystery kit for a nephew who is into boy wizards and transformers. Quelle irrationalité! There is time yet to grow his grey cells, I hope.
Thank you for these photo shares Dave.
Now I know Norfolk has lovely christmas-light gardens, and also somehow stolen the Cathedral de Notre Dame and Chartres and borrowed dense Hawaiian foliage and Mauna Kea's telescopes. I half expected to see SciTim step out in one of these pictures. You have excellent taste in gardens and garden-themed art. Quite a charming photo-walk covering two continents and an archipelago.
The arched canopy of lights at Norfolk is being called the Eiffel Tower by visitors.
My post-retirement travel binge is winding down. I figured on doing it while still physically possible.
Thanks for the photos, Dave! We managed to hit TWO botanical gardens on our latest European trip: one with lots of exotic plants, the other featuring solely indigenous and endemic varieties (not as showy, but interesting in its own way).
I know what you mean about traveling while one is still physically able. For me it's a year-to-year decision, although I've narrowed down the destinations to western Europe, the US and Canada, and suspect it won't be long before crossing the Pond is out of the question. But I try to focus on what's still possible, and know that you do, too. It helps having a "sherpa" along to handle the challenges for me (for as long as he's still able).
gmbka, were you able to obtain a ticket to this? "Itzhak Perlman to lead Pittsburgh victims concert":
https://slippedisc.com/2018/11/itzhak-perlman-to-lead-pittsburgh-victims-concert/
...Renowned Israeli-American violinist Itzhak Perlman will join Music Director Manfred Honeck, the Pittsburgh Symphony
Orchestra and the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, and all artists have graciously agreed to donate their services for this performance. Volunteers will be on-hand at Heinz Hall to collect contributions for the Jewish Federation’s “Our Victims of Terror” fund and contributions for the six injured Pittsburgh Police officers through the “Injured Officers Fund.”
“It’s an honor and a privilege for me to participate in this concert with the Pittsburgh Symphony honoring the victims of the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre. I hope this event will help us continue to heal and come together,” said Itzhak Perlman...
Looking at the photo of Perlman, I recall seeing him on TV when I was a youngster and he was a child prodigy, and again in person multiple times when we were both young(er) adults. How'd he get so old??? He's a national, no, a world treasure.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science has two fine candidates for president. Both, in their statements, worry about politics and the rejection of science. One specifically notes research indicating a massive turn away from science by educated conservatives.
Which leads me to wonder, if these conservatives are educated, just what are they learning? I hope they all aren't learning Latin and reading the Aeneid in the original. And going to the gym every day. I wonder whether Romans of Augustus' day included rock-chucking among the martial arts. There's certainly some of that in the Aeneid, but of course that was set in a mythical age.
Erm, *cough* *cough*, Dave... We read several books of the Aeneid in Latin classes in high school (not to mention major chunks of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars).
And our high school orchestra had a harpsichord that one of our music teachers built from a kit (back when it was a really new possibility), which I got to play whenever our chamber orchestra performed Baroque music. That was definitely one of the highlights of my high school years!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/wolfgang-zuckermann-whose-diy-kit-fueled-a-harpsichord-revival-dies-at-96/2018/11/14/9a99b7e4-e820-11e8-bbdb-72fdbf9d4fed_story.html
Yet I didn't turn out to be an anti-science type!
Once, when driving around Norfolk, I ran into a local radio station running what amounted to a program-length ad for "Classical Christian Education." The idea seemed to have been to teach the classical virtues, as the Founding Fathers had, while avoiding all those nasty moderns. Aeneid translator Sarah Ruden, who has also written on St. Paul, would probably be scornful.
In high school, I got the notion to apply to liberal arts colleges from a couple of Spanish teachers (Middlebury and Bryn Mawr). Nothing came of that.
I, and most people I knew, had the sole option of applying to the nearest public university (or in some cases, community college, followed by transferring) if we wanted to attend/graduate from college. Of course, back then, if one had the grades in the right high school courses (and/or good enough SAT scores), admission was automatic.
Pretty exactly the case at my high school, on an Air Force base. State universities and colleges all over the country. I knew nothing about Penn State and was surprised when I got there to find out that getting into the main campus was far from automatic, and many were offered admission for the summer quarter, to break up the fall rush. Now of course we're in the age of hard to get-into state universities.
Greetings to all.
Just popped in to say howdy and tell you that the air quality in the SF Bay Area is as bad as you may have heard. The smoke is worse than the fog we get in the summer. N95 masks for everyone.
CA is to be visited by the president tomorrow - I wonder if he will visit Northern California or go to SOCAL ?
Trump will be visiting fire victims tomorrow. There's no word on where. BTW, the LA Times has a column on Interior Secretary Zinke's #2 and likely successor. Lawyer to, among others, California water districts. Likely to make Zinke look like a conservationist. Watch the Shasta Dam grow taller.
Hi, Pacifica! It's good to see you online. I'm so sorry to know that Butte County's smoky air has affected even as far away as where you are (assume Big Game is postponed at least a week, right?). Saw on the news that Trump will meet with Jerry Brown. That won't go well, I expect. Take good care of yourself and those of your family who are in the area.
NY Times has an elegant video graphic of particulate air pollution from western fires made with NOAA satellite data.
Especially for yellojkt, recalling our good ol' Celebritoloty™ days, when we used to mock Goop mercilessly:
https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Twitter-hilariously-mocks-decadent-holiday-gift-13399873.php
BTW, I came across the Goop item while visiting the Chronicle website to view photos of the smoke from the horrific Camp Fire:
https://www.sfgate.com/weather/article/Sacramento-smoke-air-quality-hazardous-Camp-Fire-13398500.php
SCC: Celebritology™ Ack!!!
Dave, do you agree with this analysis? "How Nikki Fried became Florida’s agriculture commissioner":
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article221862885.html
Do you think that, besides the four Ws, Fried was also helped by being a native Broward Countian?
Fried's win is a mystery. `With infinitely narrow Republican wins for governor (unknown Trump devotee) and senator (widely despised governor whose wealth has somehow exploded while in office), it's very odd for another unknown to win on gun control. The incumbent Agriculture Commissioner made a mess of issuing concealed weapons permits. Someone in his department had trouble figuring out how to send applicants' information to the FBI for background checks, so simply stopped doing so. Later, hundreds of permits had to be revoked. Maybe a reason why he didn't get to be governor (lost the primary).
The Agriculture Commissioner issues weapons permits because, of course, you can't trust law enforcement to do that. Watch the legislature take the permit program away from the ag commissioner and give it to somebody under the governor's thumb.
Marijuana must have been popular.
For someone from mostly-urban, most-Democratic Broward to win Agriculture is an extreme anomaly. The position is a leftover from the state's former elected Cabinet, of which the governor was a first-among-equals chair. Many issues were settled by Cabinet votes. The Ag Commissioner was a reliable conservative hayseed, especially Doyle Conner, who held the job for much of his lifetime. Department facilities had signs that featured DOYLE CONNER in huge letters and everything else, smaller.
Dr. Who seems to have gotten quite topical this season. One episode the gang (the Doctor has a gang now) have to make sure the conditions are right for Rosa Park's Montgomery, AL protest. It lays the racism and brutality of that era pretty bare. Another happens during the brutal India/Pakistan split. Another has an obnoxious real estate/hotel magnate who's going to run for President in 2020. He's accused only doing it because he always hated Trump... so it's not a total copy of our prez.
There is a very good but also very depressing review of Michael Lewis newest book. "The Fifth Risk."
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/12/06/trump-saboteur-in-chief/
Happy Thanksgiving everybody.
I don't think I'll venture into reading Guy Debord's "The Society of the Spectacle."
This evening, Marketplace was running an interview with a professor of management on whether narcissistic CEOs are bad for business. Yes. I was on my way to buy Michael Lewis's book.
https://www.marketplace.org/2018/10/12/tech/are-narcissistic-ceos-bad-business
Thinking of CEOs, the crash of Renault-Nissan's chief was quite the spectacle. Wonder whether\ there'll be a Nissan or a Renault five years from now. The setup seems to have been held together by force of personality.
BTW, listened to an interview on Bloomberg with the CEO of Marriott this week. I am getting the impression that well-run hotel chains have some of the very best managers and employees. The local Rosen chain in Orlando gives that impression. The gentleman who created the chain, mostly by buying bankrupt hotels, is a marvel of civic involvement in a city that badly needed it.
Michael Lewis's books are always on my "to get from library" list. Right now, I'm reading other stuff.
GnomeDate and I are headed to Perkins for Thanksgiving dinner with a friend; I'm baking pie and plan a thanksgiving lunch for just the two of us and Mr. Hastings, of course. He's recovered nicely from his Halloween tooth horror, and we had gumbo tonight (pork and ground turkey.)
Plenty to be thankful for this year, although why we should be thankful is sometimes a little grim to think of. Blue Wave, etc.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Good to hear from you, Poirot, and to know you have pleasant plans for the day.
Wonder if the Blue Wave will deprive you-know-who of another TIME Person-of-the-Year cover (despite his assertion that he's the most worthy candidate for it). A boodler can only hope. :-)
I placed a hold on "The Fifth Risk" at the library. There are a bunch of people in front of me, so I may end up buying it instead. I'll stick it in a pile with Bob Woodward's "Fear" as books to read when I feel like getting terrified.
When I retired from the House, Virginia's delegation was 8 Republicans and 3 Democrats. After this election it will be 7 Democrats and 4 Republicans. That's quite a shift in just a few years!
A Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
Thank you, PJ, a happy holiday to you, too.
I think I have to start cooking because I promised to bring two side-dishes. No idea who will eat all that stuff because there will be only five of us at the dinner table this year.
Good to see you, pj!
You too, gmbka. At the very least, your group should have some yummy leftovers!
Pie crust dough is chilled, so it's time to make the pecan pie.
We're well pumpkined, cranberryed, and turkeyed of late. Also pineappled. Hope everybody had a safe and happyish Thanksgiving.
Something of a bombshell. No more Manafort cooperation. From the Post. Now to go to the supermarket and see if romaine is back.
"Prosecutors with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III said Monday that Paul Manafort breached his plea agreement by lying repeatedly as they questioned him in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Manafort denies doing so, and both sides agree that sentencing should be set immediately."
I admit to being puzzled by the Mueller situation. Apparently the grand juries have leave to bring indictments, and apparently they are operating. Mueller's report(s) are evidently to be submitted to Justice, which might edit them or release only selected portions to Congress, or whatever. Given the record so far, I would expect extraordinary measures to prevent leaks.
I was expecting the Acting Attorney General to fire Mueller this weekend.
"Only romaine lettuce from certain parts of Calif. should be avoided, FDA says in new warning / New labels are to give consumers information about harvest dates and regions": https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2018/11/26/only-romaine-lettuce-parts-california-should-be-avoided-fda-says-new-warning
...FDA officials said the most likely source of contamination is from the Central Coast growing regions in northern and central California. Romaine lettuce harvested outside those regions “does not appear to be related to the current outbreak,” the FDA said. Hydroponically grown and greenhouse-grown romaine also does not appear to be affected in the outbreak. Romaine from those sources is safe to eat, the FDA said.
No common grower, supplier, distributor or brand of romaine lettuce has been identified in the outbreak. Several major romaine lettuce producers have agreed to label products with a harvest date by region, and new romaine from other growing regions, including Florida and Arizona, is being restocked in grocery shelves...
David Ignatius's account of intrigue and nastiness in Saudi Arabia is the sort of stuff that would seem over-the-top if presented in a novel.
As politically exhausting as this week has been, should I wonder, dread or hope for what next week will bring?
Uh-oh, I never should've said that. Now GHW Bush has died, and no doubt Trump will be angst-ridden over the lack of attention to himself.
I somewhat regretted not voting to re-elect George H. W. Bush.
He had class in both major senses.
Since the beans are spilled,The the McCain memorials as warmup for Bush?
The book section at Walmart was stuffed with pro-Trump stuff. One hardback had the Forward by Jerry Falwell in such big type that it was a bit hard to find the name of the author. It seemed to be Trump as the stable genius of the people.
Dave: https://www.vulture.com/2018/11/donald-trumps-2018-book-recommendations-are-all-about-him.html
NYT also has an article, but I'm not a subscriber.
I managed to escape the politics and also the cold weather for a week. The biggest surprise was the disbelieving response of a young woman and her male friend when they learned that I traveled abroad by myself. They were from Texas, which I think explained that.
i'm so glad you were able to get away, gmbka. Between all the politics and the tragic massacre in your neighborhood several weeks ago, it's all been so much for you, I'm sure. BTW, the first time I traveled alone to Europe (at the start of my search for family roots), most folks I met thought it was great, although a few asked if I was scared (um, no), and one woman even expressed amazement that my husband would "let" me travel alone (I expressed amazement that she thought that would've ever been an issue)!
Also re travel: "Editing your travel photos can make all the difference — here’s how to do it":
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/editing-your-travel-photos-can-make-all-the-difference--heres-how-to-do-it/2018/11/29/8e49d844-ec20-11e8-baac-2a674e91502b_story.html?utm_term=.91e9cf3a132a&wpisrc=nl_travel&wpmm=1
One of my favorite techniques is to take a photo from a bit farther away than I need, then after I get home I crop it on the computer to the exact composition I desire (because you can't add what's omitted from a photo that was taken too close). And a friend who blogs daily, often about her extensive world travels, will occasionally convert a shot to B&W for dramatic effect.
Regarding travel photos, before doctoring them a preliminary step not mentioned, that I find indispensable, is, Throw away at least 75% of them, keep only the real gems, that you would show even if you didn't know the subject.
One of the things I always do before doctoring digital or scanned photos is to make a duplicate set of the originals, because sometimes my doctoring doesn't work out so I need to recopy the original, then try again (and in some cases, again and again and...).
I've been using Gimp (a freeware alternative to Photoshop). It (and Photoshop) keep the photo in their own file format that allows you can go back through the entire change history and undo-redo as required. Then you can export the file as some standard format. I really don't have the expertise to use it to full power, but it'll rotate, clip, and change color levels, contrast, saturation, brightness, etc. And that's most of what I need.
I tried Gimp once and found its interface too confusing. For a while I used Photoshop Elements but there are some things it can't do. Photoshop is now a subscription model. I get a bundle with Lightroom Classic and Photoshop for ten bucks a month. That's about what I was spending for Elements upgrades for a lot less power.
Lightroom has about 90% of the adjustment controls I use. I rarely use Photoshop itself but some of that is because my computer is too old and slow. I've got a new desktop with an 8th generation i7 coming so I intend to run it through its paces.
I also use a program called Photomatrix Pro for HDR images. These are images made from multiple exposures. In many cases they have that very overprocessed look. the shine and gleam or are dark and moody. It's a fun way to liven up a photo.
Please excuse me for a minute, as I seem to have something in my eye.
"Sully, Bush’s service dog, lies by his casket before one last journey with the former president":
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/12/03/sully-bushs-service-dog-lies-before-his-casket-before-one-last-journey-with-former-president/?utm_term=.79f55c1ed7c9
Yello, I'll agree Gimp is pretty clunky. But I've figured out enough (so far) to avoid paying Adobe constantly for something I don't use that much.
Hiya. It's the holiday season already, and it's been a rough week already. Two ER visits and GnomeDate's in hospital and rehab after that.
He won't be coming home to stay until after Christmas and I have a feeling his family may want him to go live with somebody after that (not me.)
I think I'll be focusing on what I can do to keep the cheer and not stressing too much this season. Travelling aboard sounds nice, gmbka.
Poirot, I hope GnomeDate's medical treatment and rehab are successful, and afford relief. (One year Mr. P spent the middle half of December in the hospital with something really scary, and it seemed especially tough during the holiday season.) Is Hastings allowed to visit at the hospital? Presumably he brings added good cheer. Will be holding good thoughts for your all.
Mr. Hastings indeed has been in the ICU, in the ER, and so forth. He won't be allowed in at surgeries, which is just as well, he's no good at them.
Happy St. Nicholas day.
During my childhood we put your shoes outside the front door on the evening of the 5th and St. Nicholas filled them with candy. The draw-back was that he only filled those shoes when they were polished :-(. But during those post-war years you'd do anything to get some candy.
HP, sorry to hear about your friend. It's tough to see a loved-one suffer and the Christmas season does not help either, with all its holiday cheer, real or fake. But you mention rehab, so the outcome is good.
I would not worry about the rehab time after rehab, in the end it will be his decision and you may have to either travel a bit or be a full-time caretaker.
Remember when UN Ambassador was a very senior government post?
The British Brexit situation looks gooey. In Northern Ireland, the dominant party wants out of the EU while it seems most of the population wants in. I suspect the UK will end up out of the EU, without any kind of trade deal, and with the Trump administration utterly unwilling to negotiate anything with those nasty, wily Brits.
The border between the Republic and Northern Ireland is not the only problem the Brits have, there are also the people in Gibraltar who want an open border to Spain. Some Brits demand a new referendum because they felt misled (EU says no way), others say it was a democratic vote that cannot be annulled. What a mess.
Both sides have their own selfish reasons for wanting to have or not have a new election for Brexit. But it seems to me there should be a new vote. It's all well and good to vote for Brexit when it's a hand-wavy theory. But now you've got a (more) concrete deal on the table. Do you want _this_ Brexit deal?
Since they've set this 2 year process in motion, does Britain have an out?
Tucker Carlson dissed Trump for being somewhat ineffectual in an interview with a Swiss newspaper. Could he be taking out insurance?
Agreed, HF.
Time has a piece on its alum McPhee -- http://time.com/5472309/john-mcphee-writer-interview/
Big money wants to force nations to enforce the Paris agreement.
https://theinvestoragenda.org/areas-of-impact/policy-advocacy/
They expect a great demand for investment money when the energy sector needs to be reformed. It seems to me that in this case greed serves a good purpose.
Betcha Trump would be all for it if he had a way to profiteer from it.
Oh, boo-hoo! The short-fingered vulgarian has again failed to make TIME's Person of the Year. Man, will he be ticked off. Cue the schadenfreude. http://time.com
On a potentially cheery note, "‘Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!’ TV Series Based On NPR’s Radio Show In Works At NBCU’s Wilshire Studios":
https://deadline.com/2018/12/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-npr-tv-wilshire-studios-storied-media-1202517639
John Cassidy, New Yorker: "Are the Rats Preparing to Jump Off the Trump Ship?" Nick Ayers is rat #1. Steve Bannon is sounding ratty. So is Chris Christy.
Via 23andMe, in contact with a long-disconnected first cousin. Their identification of the two of us as cousins was convincing to both parties (with limited info provided by both of us helping).
Um, Frank Bruni at the NYT is lacerating and specific about the rats and Trump's more or less willful repelling of people who might become part of his administration. Sad. But an excellent column among the heaps of columns describing Mr Trump.
Some nice Yello photos at Flickr. I'm more boring. A slender fan-leaved Everglades palm, a seedling back in 2003, is ripening its first fruit, two healthy inflorescences. Over in the fast lane, a seedling from a palm that was planted about 2006 has reached canopy height (it snuck through a gap between two oaks) and is ready to flower for the first time. Good thing squirrels don't like the fruits.
The very slow-growing sasanqua camellia bushes are flowering.
Dave, you may find it boring but the mere idea of something flowering at all outside I find exciting. When I look out of the window I see all shades of grey and brown, which is a bit depressing. But I have a nice orchid in full bloom, that has to do for now.
8 more days until the solstice, I cannot wait for the days to get longer again.
gambia, one of the wonderful things about lighting the Botanical Garden this year was putting lights on the plants (and in many cases, flowers) so they could be seen and enjoyed at night. Regrettably, someone snatched a corsage-sized orchid flower...
gmbka, one of the reasons I've planted a couple Arctic Sun dogwood (shrubs). They're relatively plain during the summer, but as the chlorophyll fades, the stems become yellow to bright red. Adds a bit of color to the winter landscape. They're small and struggling a bit, but seem to be soldiering on and growing slowly.
After watching tonight's 60 Minutes two-parter on plastic and other trash in the oceans, and its effect on the albatrosses on Midway Island (inter alia), I thought of this old novelty number from my youth. However, I'd forgotten the now-ironic name of the performers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Gc4QTqslN4
Hohmann's 202 from the Post today, covering a report on Russian social media disinformation aimed at African Americans, is fascinating and disturbing. The effort was apparently very successful (lots of Facebook shares) and quite possibly enough to win Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Looks like NY Times has very similar coverage.
On the side, I think I see first-hand evidence that most Americans are at a point of taking it for granted that Trump lies constantly, and treating him with due respect. Not just within the Democratic bubble. Republican senators just insulted Trump.
To my surprise, it's starting to look barely possible that Pelosi and McConnell might arrange for the House to pass an impeachment that twenty or more Republican senators accept.
"[I]t's starting to look barely possible that Pelosi and McConnell might arrange for the House to pass an impeachment that twenty or more Republican senators accept."
Oh great, President Pence :-((( I want to see Trump remain in office but in a state of constant public humiliation and political impotence, “twisting, slowly, slowly in the wind.”
Let me clarify:
I want to see Trump remain in office UNTIL 20 JANUARY 2021, but in a state of constant public humiliation and political impotence, “twisting, slowly, slowly in the wind.”
Especially for Dave and Pacifica, and any other wave-lovers (ondaphiles?):
https://www.sfgate.com/weather/article/Ocean-Beach-SF-big-waves-US-Coast-Guard-boats-13472152.php
Watched Peter Jackson's WWI documentary, "They Shall Not Grow Old." The technical wizardry of restoring and authentically colorizing old film is astonishing enough. The film's use of that material as well as oral history interviews from the Imperial War Museums' archives is adroit and impressive. As he points out in an epilogue, there's no talking experts. It's not a history film. It's a human film.
I wish Paul Fussell were around to watch.
Trouble in right wing-nut paradise! Trump has just dropped the number of Twitter accounts he follows from 46 to 45.
"Ann Coulter Tore Into Trump And He Went All Passive-Aggressive With Her On Twitter / The controversial right-wing pundit called Trump 'gutless' and the notoriously thin-skinned president apparently couldn’t handle it":
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-ann-coulter-twitter-criticism_us_5c1b533de4b08aaf7a85149a
@AnnCoulter
NEW COLUMN IS POSTED! GUTLESS PRESIDENT IN WALL-LESS COUNTRY http://www.anncoulter.com
3,510
4:27 PM - Dec 19, 2018
Trump Alert @TrumpsAlert
realDonaldTrump appears to no longer follow @AnnCoulter. (This bot cannot tell if this was an unfollow, suspension or block.)
4,231
7:40 PM - Dec 19, 2018
Did the Coulter editorial predate the decision to not sign the budget extension?
If so she may have lost a follower, but successfully decided a presidential (non)signature.
Indeed, Coulter likely scored one. Now for a sitzkrieg. Trump refuses to sign an appropriations bill/continuing resolution until he gets his wall just the way he wants it. Democratic House politely offers to adopt this month's Republican language. Trump visits Homeland Security employees at the Mexican border. Gets booed. Fires the new Secretary.
Army people digging ditches on the Mexican border are forbidden to say or write or photograph or video anything that could get into the hands of the Fake News.
Mattis is leaving. What chest-thumper is going to take his place? Would September be too late to visit New Zealand? Or Estonia to get a photo taken with a Little Green Man?
I expect there were high level Estonia-Finland-Sweden meetings today.
HF et alii, did anyone catch "The Visionaries" episode on PBS's Craft in America? There was passing mention of Chihuly:
http://www.pbs.org/craft-in-america/tv-series/visionaries
NOMP is a new (German?) word creation, standing for Not on my planet.
I wish everybody enjoyable Christmas days.
Susan E. Rice's "The Threat in the White House" is probably the single most telling condemnation of Trump so far. Even for people who don't think much of Obama's foreign policy. Michael Lewis's dissection of the Trump administration's peculiar incompetence in "The Fifth Risk" has gone from Agriculture and Commerce to Defense and national security. Bolton's shut down the White House national security apparatus and is trying to do everything himself. Can't he find anyone else he trusts?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/23/opinion/trump-mattis-syria-afghanistan.html?smid=fb-nytopinion&smtyp=cur&fbclid=IwAR0ALlFjcfauo_D6VdPVVUEaWhBByRIAZW7__mzDpOlY-phqd3rMJ84_dkw
Wishing fellow bunker-ites a serene holiday season. We do very little celebrating any more, just try to rest up and be ready for the next year. Hugs to all.
A Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope Santa was good to all.
Happy Holidays all!
Happy New Year, everyone!
seasea
Wishing everyone good health and serenity in 2019. Hugs to all!
With the upcoming year possibly being messy on the scale of 1973 or 1968, or 1860, peace everybody and a nod to Jumper.
Mitt Romney's statement with respect to the President in the Post (!), would have been extraordinary until just now. I wonder about the big Trump fan who will become our governor next week.
I am not so sure about the happiness of this new year. In two cities in the Ruhrvalley in Germany a man used his Mercedes to drive into groups of people, all of them foreign-looking. His explanation was that he has to reduce the number of foreigners in Germany. He has been treated for a psychiatric disorder and been institutionalized once. Sigh.
Happy New Year to all, and set your Resolutions bar low enough that you can fulfill a few of them (especially if the first one is "Make a list"!).
1. gmbka, I saw that news story, too. If he'd been a Muslim, he'd doubtless be castigated as a terrorist.
2, Poirot, how's GnomeDate doing? Hope there's been improvement.
3. Watched the warts-and-all profile of DNA co-discoverer James Watson on PBS's American Masters this week. Yello, I thought of you because Nobel-winning fellow GT alum Kary Mullis is as big a wack-job as Watson, IMHO. Of course, plenty of great minds are as decent and gracious as they are brilliant, so being smart is no excuse for bad behavior.
4. Now that Nancy Pelosi's resumed the Speaker's chair, I trust she'll bring the skills she acquired managing her five children's and eight (at last count) grandchildren's tantrums when they were 2-year-olds to handling the 72-year-old Toddler-in-Chief. May he never know what hit him ;-)
P.S. re #3: Oops! He's Yello's fellow GT alum, not Mr. P's or mine.
Just got back from a holiday with HFGF in Charleston. It was a good time, the weather was warm, but it was mostly overcast.
On the return trip we stoped at Parkers BBQ in Wilson, NC for lunch. It was a step back in time. I don't think the place has changed much in decades. The BBQ was solid vinegar-based eastern Carolina stuff. The fried chicken was good. The slaw tangy & mustard based. And it was CHEAP. We got out of there for well under $20 including a very generous tip. The small combination is less than $7 and you get one of those old 3 section plates with bbq a fried chicken thigh, and two veg; plus a bowl of the slaw, and a plate of hush puppies & corn sticks (which as best i can tell is a different geometry of the same stuff as the hush puppies). Oh, and I did hear someone complaining about "them yankees". I don't think they were talking about us... or baseball.
Sounds like a good time, HF. Glad you were able to go, then share with us.
For (potentially) traveling boodlers, here's an interesting article: "The 10 Coolest Places to Eat in 2019" (also lists choices for the previous four years):
https://www.forbes.com/sites/annabel/2018/12/10/the-10-coolest-places-to-eat-in-2019
I love the expression "toddler in chief" because it so accurately describes what we have.
Other than that, I came down with what I now believe to be the flu. I checked on the efficacy of this seasons vaccine and came away with 20%. The other 80% hit me big-time. This is my first bout of flu ever. Patience ..., it'll go away eventually.
On the plus-side, I certainly get more than enough sleep, just not necessarily at night.
I had an apparent non-flu last year that started while visiting frigid Washington. It was perhaps worthwhile for Vermeer and contemporaries. Almost in private. No line, no crowd, only a few people in the gallery. So much better than much the same show at the Louvre. Both trips, to Washington and Paris, were utterly opportunistic and cheap.
Orlando Sentinel has a miserable tale of run-amuck rape and sexual abuse in university football, with focus on a revolving-door assistant coach at FSU, Baylor, and Oregon.
I missed Joel's story on climate change and 2018 weather.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2018/12/31/extreme-weather-was-raging-howling-signal-climate-change/
Happy Epiphany and New Year, y'all!
December was a rough month at Chez Gnome and outlying parts. First I was sick with an infection, then GnomeDate wound up in hospital and in rehab through Christmas. He just came home last week and he has home health care and monitoring because his memory was getting bad even before he got sick, and with insulin being necessary for his survival, forgetting is not good. It's been a rollercoaster and I am making the most of the break from worrying or being a caregiver.
I'm very happy to have him home, and Mr. Hastings is happy too, although he missed being popular on his visits to the nursing home.
So sorry to learn what a rough month December was Chez Gnome. I hope January brings progress in recuperating, and that you get the rest you need.
Can Hastings be signed up as a therapy dog somewhere, since he's apparently adept at it, and enjoys the attention? It sounds as though he may have found his métier.
Mr. Hastings must have been the best possible visitor to the nursing home. We live in a world where dogs are much better trained in the social graces than we.
In politics, Hohmann's 202 newsletter this morning with the timeline on Trump's Syria details the enormous cost of impulsive decision-making. Reagan spent a lifetime following his cue cards. Trump never did.
Nosy, Mr. Hastings got really tired out after these visits. He just likes getting out of the house which I don't always do.
I'm having another downswing so I'm phoning the doctor in case I have the infection coming back.
HP,
I am happy to hear that your SO is home and under your care as opposed to the care his family. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed for your own health. Good luck.
I hear that the president is going to address the nation from the Oval Office. If he sticks to the script somebody wrote for him he may be coherent, even if not accurate. I'll read all about it tomorrow.
So, after all the rhetoric and political stunts of the past week, in the end nothing happened!
I wouldn't say that. 800 k government workers are without a paycheck and the community here takes action to help them out with food and loans. That is not nothing. Surprising to me was the emerging fact that 40% of American households don't have enough cash to cover an unexpected 400$ emergency expense.
https://money.cnn.com/2018/05/22/pf/emergency-expenses-household-finances/index.html
Unfortunately the population assigns the blame for the shut-down equally to the parties involved.
Boodler ftb's dear friend: "Patricia Wald, pathbreaking federal judge who became chief of D.C. Circuit, dies at 90":
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/patricia-wald-pathbreaking-federal-judge-who-became-chief-of-dc-circuit-dies-at-90/2019/01/12/6ab03904-1688-11e9-803c-4ef28312c8b9_story.html
Michelle Singletary has covered the $400 emergency study, and it comes up in her chats periodically.
I think the contractors are most often forgotten, and will be the most hurt because there is no back pay for them. Legally, as I understand it, there's no way for the govt to pay for services not rendered. And there's no good way of accounting for the number of contractors affected. It's just hard to quantify. Think about the lower paid ones... janitors, security, and such. They are likely to be in that $400 vulnerable crowd. Living paycheck to paycheck; they're out a paycheck; and won't get it later either.
The Post says people blame the GOP & Trump:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/americans-blame-trump-and-gop-much-more-than-democrats-for-shutdown-post-abc-poll-finds/2019/01/12/9c89aff2-16a9-11e9-90a8-136fa44b80ba_story.html
By a wide margin, more Americans blame President Trump and Republicans in Congress than congressional Democrats for the now record-breaking government shutdown, and most reject the president’s assertion that there is an illegal-immigration crisis on the southern border, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.
HF,
I am ever so happy to believe the WaPo re blame.
The 180 degree turn arounds of our toddler in chief make my head spin. Sunday night: we'll destroy the Turkish economy. Monday night: we'll expand economic relations with Turkey. Whoever talked to him last determines his decisions. This time it was Erdogan.
The government's part time hourly workers won't be compensated.
The punishing of Rep. Steve King of Iowa makes me wonder whether congressional Republicans, after tolerating King for a very long time, are sending a message to the president.
I succumbed to Ancestry.com and figured out quite a bunch of plausible ancestors pretty fast. Some of the older ones are wobbly, but most seems pretty good. I'd know there was a lot of interest in the Perdue family and information at Ancestry matched what I'd seen, and furthermore matched what I'd heard from my grandparents, that the original Perdue or Perdieu had been a Huguenot refugee. Assorted people came from around Bourges. There's a few Palatinate Germans, presumably fleeing the Louis XIV program to create an empty zone along his border. Finnish ancestors showed up more recently, from around Vaasa well up on the Gulf of Bothnia. I think I might as well visit Upper Peninsula Michigan. Probably just as Finnish and perhaps better scenery. Haven't gotten much of anywhere with the Slovaks, but I'm in touch with a cousin.
I remain impressed that 23andMe predicted that I have significant ancestry from the vicinity of Finland. I'm surprised at my small herd of really old Virginia and Maryland ancestors, somehow surviving at a time when mortality was horrific.
Bourges of all places? That is the place where my grandfather's flight ended in the early 40s because he was denounced and delivered to the Germans. His youngest son married a French woman in Bourges which is why I have 4 cousins in Bourges, or at least they were born there. Strange.
Bourges back in the days of Louis XIV. I've known enough about Louis' reign to want very badly to visit John Churchill's Blenheim, the English anti-Versailles.
Sorry to hear of your grandfather. One of my surprised, last visit to Paris, was that Francois Jacob was a hero of the Resistance before he became a Nobel-winning founder of molecular biology. I haven't yet set foot in the Marais with its Shoah museum.
A rather neat publishing event is that Berkeley scholar Robert Alter has finally published his complete Hebrew Bible, in three volumes. I got to hear him in Portland twenty years ago.
Now that you know your Finnish heritage, you should learn a lot of Finn-American jokes. Minnesota's good for that, but certainly go to Finlandia University in Hancock, MI for more Suomi research.
https://finland.fi/christmas/finnish-traditions-stay-strong-in-the-us/ (This article includes two Finnish recipes.)
I have very remote Finnish ancestry, probably through my Norwegian roots.
I am incensed at the shutdown lasting so long, and I choose not to think about it too much, since what I can do about it is very limited. Phone congressfolks, complain about Mitch McConnell, etc.
Some GOP think this shutdown will end if TSA and air traffic controllers leave work (sickout or whatever... not quite legal but, they can't be compelled to work without pay too long) and Americans get mad about no flights happening.
I think they want it as distraction from Trump being a traitor headlines. Too bad.
Karen Pence Is Working At A School That Bans LGBTQ Employees And Kids.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/karen-pence-immanuel-christian-school_us_5c3e62c2e4b0922a21d99f58?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004&guccounter=1
Have a good day anyway.
"Inspector Morse named the greatest British crime drama of all time":
https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2018-07-03/inspector-morse-named-the-greatest-british-crime-drama-of-all-time/
"'John Thaw and I were pals' – I was used to his ferocious glares’: Kevin Whately looks back on Inspector Morse’s killer partnership":
https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2018-07-07/britains-favourite-crime-drama-inspector-morse-lewis-kevin-whately-john-thaw/
The top 20 Greatest British Crime Dramas ran as follows:
1. Inspector Morse (1987-2000)
2. Foyle’s War (2002-15)
3. Line of Duty (2012-)
4. Endeavour (2012)
5. Happy Valley (2014-)
6. Vera (2011-)
7. Miss Marple (1984-1992)
8. Agatha Christie’s Poirot (1989-2013)
9. Shetland (2013-)
10. A Touch of Frost (1992-2010)
11. Midsomer Murders (1997-)
12. Lewis (2006-2015)
13. Prime Suspect (1991-2006)
14. New Tricks (2003-2015)
15. Broadchurch (2013-17)
16. Inspector George Gently (2006-17)
17. Life on Mars (2006-7)
18. Scott & Bailey (2011-16)
19. Taggart (1985-2010)
20. Strike (2017-)
Paul Waldman's Plum Line commentary about Michael Cohen was creepier than anticipated, thanks to Jerry Falwell Jr.'s Miami Beach pool boy. I knew Falwell was a major-league scammer with his online university, but figured he'd be prudent enough to keep his personal life clean.
NP, that would of course not be my ranking at all. I found the TV Inspector Morse to be more like Inspector Morose. I did like what I saw of Endeavour, but well... I return, toujours, to Mr. Hastings and the grey cells, non?
GnomeDate has been settled in assisted living and I sure hope I can sleep better now. I've been catching up for days on sleep.
I have been short of sleep since just before he was hospitalized, and I had been checking on him at 3-4 AM lately since he was out of rehab to be sure he woke up for his snack and check, since he was having trouble with that.
It will be nice to have nurses doing the night shift for that, and he will have a button to press and I hope he will remember to do it before he goes low or has a seizure. He has a big adjustment. He has a DNR for cardiac arrest now too.
Mr. Hastings has been losing focus on our visits and itching to go visit some ladies living nearby. Who knew he had a thing for whiteheaded women?
HP, Morse certainly wasn't very judicious when it came to his taste in women. By contrast, Robbie Lewis had a far higher EQ (and was also hawter!).
It's good that GnomeDate is now in assisted living, which presumably is a better fit for his health needs, and relieves some of the physical wear-and-tear on you (although I know you'll still worry about him). Glad to know you're getting more rest now.
Speaking as a white-haired female, I can readily believe they'd win Hastings' heart! Just remember that someday, with any luck, you'll be an old lady too :-)
Just saw that Oliver Mtukuduzi died. Tuku (for short) was one of my favorite African musicians. Well... a favorite performer. He lived in Zimbabwe, even under the ugly Mugabe regime. He tried to avoid politics, not always successfully. Fellow Zimbabwean, Thomas Mapfumo moved to the US because of the repression. I saw Oliver a handful of times. He has a great voice, and is a really talented guitarist. He always had a great band... and I swear one guy in the crowd that he could dance alongside during the songs.
This song "Hear Me Lord, I'm Feeling Low" was a favorite... not just of mine... Bonnie Raitt covered it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmakhzuqKv0
HF, did you catch this today on NPR's Morning Edition?
https://www.npr.org/2019/01/24/688110260/zimbabwean-musician-oliver-mtukudzi-dies-at-66 (audio already online)
Yep
Hope everyone's managing to keep warm, especially Poirot and Hastings, who are bearing the brunt of the frigid weather. We'll be fine as long as all utilities remain on and no life/death emergency forces us out.
Last week I saw steaming ponds, bubbling mud puddles, wales, poisonous water snakes, monkeys, anteaters, any kind of colorful birds, vultures,and nose-diving pelicans, flowers and breathtaking coastlines. I came back with some scrapes because a really large wave got me, but it was worth it. Yes, I was in Costa Rica, this time in Guanacaste, and it was great. Now I am cold.
The Newseum selling its building was inevitable, so I suppose i’m happy they found a wealthy buyer.
I got to see Berlioz’s Opéra “Les Troyens”. I’m a musical illiterate, but have some idea of what literates like and don’t. The thing could be presented over two nights. It’s Wagnerian in length, yet Berlioz made a project of adapting a beloved tale that he had studied intensely as a kid. Like Verdi, he studied Shakespeare for tips on how to turn source material into tragedy. He developed the role of Cassandra. He breathed some life into dutiful Aeneas. The drector arranged for Aeneas to fight off an attack, rather spectacularly. I suspect Brandon Jovanoviich (Billings, Montana) is a bit more of a theater critter than most hero tenors. This was a house only 500 seats larger than the Kennedy Center, but felt much less cozy.
The production was 21st century modern. Troy looks Ike some battered middle eastern city (with a nice paneled room for the royals) and Carthage is a sunny rehab center for young wounded vets, including amputees. Complete with vending machine. Chairs get thrown.
I acquired "So This Is Depravity," a collection of Russell Baker's columns from the 70s. Maybe I will find a particular one that I remember.
One of the selections is 'Moods of Washington' which is longer than the standard column. It includes this: 'Having penetrated to the heart of the Aztec kingdom and occupied the center of the capital, Tenochtitlan, Hernando Cortes and his tiny conquering army found themselves hopelessly entrapped when the Aztecs perceived that they were not agents of heaven after all, but only a gang of boodlers.'
That is so funny, Jim.
I love Jon Batiste. The intro music for Chris Christie's appearance on Colbert was Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer". Christie took it as a New Jersey thing. But the song was complete with the chorus lyrics:
Woah, we're half way there
Woah, livin' on a prayer...
Very timely.
A 96-day vigil in the Netherlands came to an end after its organizers received confirmation that a family of refugees sheltering inside would no longer face immediate deportation. Dutch law forbids the police from interrupting church services. :-)
"Why CAPTCHAs have gotten so difficult: Demonstrating you’re not a robot is getting harder and harder":
https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/1/18205610/google-captcha-ai-robot-human-difficult-artificial-intelligence
One thing I really don't get about the Northam scandal is why didn't this come out before? Surely researching a candidate's past yearbooks is like halfway down the checklist given out in Opposition Research 101. You're telling me that Corey Stuart (current racist) and all of Northam's previous opponents didn't bother to dig this deep? I guess I'm somewhat glad they didn't. I'm also a bit surprised that Northam's own re-election campaign didn't find this and prepare an answer. Surely at the Gubernatorial level the campaigns are big enough to afford some basic efforts to counter what comes up in oppo-research.
HF, do you suppose that this conservative group knew about Northam's med school yearbook page for a long time, but "sat on it" until they felt it could do the most damage (same week as his abortion law testimony)? Ditto for tainting Fairfax with what *seems* to be a he-said/she-said? The next in succession if both are gone is Democratic AG Herring, followed by Republican Speaker of the House of Delegates Howell. I wonder if the conservative group also has oppo research on Herring that they're holding in reserve:
https://heavy.com/news/2019/02/who-is-governor-northam-fairfax-resign-virginia-succession/
Charles Pierce pointed out that this is a ratfking operation by some very sleazy Republican fringe figures. This is the same playbook that was used against ACORN and Al Franken. They weaponize liberal outrage against other Democrats and then move into mop up.
Good to see ya, yello! Hope you and yours are all well, and that your arm's still improving. Agree that GOP dirty-tricksters are likely behind the latest RFing of Dems (Roger Stone must be so proud; has anyone seen Donald Segretti lately?). Wonder what the subpoenaing of inaugural committee materials will turn up.
Just took a peek at your online pix for the first time in a while. Glad to see you're still getting around! Coincidentally, on a stopover in Boston early this past autumn (we took an extra day there to see friends, before heading across the Pond), we visited Rockport too, although retreated to Gloucester for dinner. Would love to return to the area next fall, if all works out for the best.
Brexit: The possible unification of Ireland is popping up in the discussion. In that case Brexit would cost the Brits big-time.
NP, what is the link to yello's pictures? I miss them.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/yellojkt/
Thank you, NP.
The Post has a story on the huge storm affecting Hawaii but it's impossible to reach via the website. Yuk.
In the yuk department, I get to wear stitches and a bandage on my ear until at least Friday. The stitches were supposed to have come out today. Skin cancer. I've lost an ear lobe. To add further insult, I've had a modest fever the past few days, just enough to not want to do anything. Not even taxes.
Clive Wootson is covering almost anything, including the theft of exceedingly valued bonsai near Tokyo.
There are airspace restrictions for the Palm Beach area for Presidents' Day weekend. My bet is that the President is serious about visiting and will sign any continuing resolution/appropriation that passes the Senate.
Dave, wishing you a full and speedy recovery from your surgery, and that you're feeling better from the fever.
Especially for boodle foodies, "Nancy Silverton's Five Most Memorable Meals":
http://www.krikorianwrites.com/blog/2019/1/24/nancy-silvertons-five-most-memorable-meals
BTW, Silverton was one of the guests on the TV series Baking with Julia.
Dave, I am sorry about your health troubles. Looking at your picture, I think you would look good with longer hair to cover up the amputated earlobe. Like you, I never thought of sunscreen for earlobes. Thanks for the warning.
No thanks for the tax reminder.
Dave, just tell everyone you got in a fight with Mike Tyson.
II'm hoping to have a look at it, without stitches and cleaned up, tomorrow afternoon. Today, free of fever but still a bit congested, I felt like a sloth.
Dave, I hope all is well with you this afternoon.
Nosy, the stitches are out of my ear and I can "wash it, swim, whatever" but am supposed to keep a paper tape bandage over it for a few days. I think the lack of earlobe won't be a big aesthetic problem.
For the first time in a couple of weeks, apart from raking a huge pile of leaves on Tuesday, I was busy doing some actual work today, prepping the botanical garden for an outdoor party on the 23rd.
Glad to read that you're on the mend, Dave! A garden party sounds lovely, especially to someone stuck in wintry weather (well, as long as it's not like the Garden Party that Rick Nelson sang of).
Our current government never ceases to surprise me. The president denies a young woman with American citizenship to return from Syria after having been married to ISIS fighters. At the same time our administration demands that the European governments take back their citizens who joined ISIS and were detained by the Kurds. It is just amazing.
The Post and others are reporting that Mueller seems about ready to wind down, but of course lots of other investigations and prosecutions will continue and there seem to be a number of sealed indictments.
Little reason to speculate about the shape, form, contents, or public release of any report; things will apparently get busy soon enough. As various commentators have noted, the president seems to have learned very little about how to deal with an independent prosecutor, and Mueller in turn might refer Trump's efforts to discredit/slime him over to other prosecutors to avoid conflict of interest.
I guess the country is permanently divided into witch hunt and slime flinger factions, perhaps barring discovery of a nest of Russian spies in the White House basement.
Jim, did you see the LA County snow yesterday? I heard on NPR that it fell as low as 1,000' elevation there.
Bloomberg is covering local billionaires and such who are being arrested for patronizing prostitutes provided by "spas" run by human traffickers. Among the smaller fish, "The president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Indian River County and the John's Island Foundation is one of 173 people arrested or wanted in Indian River County on prostitution charges connected to a human trafficking sting." John's Island is a plush gated community at the beach.
There were several simultaneous investigations. The smaller one with bigger fish was in Martin County / Jupiter. More in St. Lucie County, and lots more people (some 171 to be arrested) in Indian River. I suppose some of our distinguished residents will be seeking new winter homes.
On the Venezuela situation, I'm impressed with how many Latin America "experts" (probably many of them the real deal) are hard left supporters of the Castros, Chávez, Maduro, and such, and are utterly horrified at the notion of right-wing regimes in Brazil, Colombia, and especially the US supporting Maduro's departure. I suppose some think that Maduro would thrive if only the evil spell of American interference were broken. Maybe North Korea would be wealthy, too. I was amazed at the New Yorker's Jon Lee Anderson being called a racist. Maybe just as well that I didn't go to a radical-left college?
Hey yello, were there any new EGOTs last night?
Lady Gaga gets half way there by getting an Oscar to go with her presumably many Grammys. But Lin-Manuel Miranda didn't get anything to fill that square so he's going to have to wait for the movie version of In The Heights.
OK, so all Gaga needs to do now is compose a Tony-winning musical, and perform in another Emmy-worthy special (her one with Tony Bennett was nominated, but lost to SNL's 40th anniversary show).
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