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Friday Afternoon Open Thread

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Blog Related
Posted on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 12:55:09 PM EST
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There are a lot of important political stories going on right now.

I'm on the sports opiate of the masses though. I'll be in SportsLeft mode for the time being, with the occasional repetitive "The Deal was a terrible mistake" post.

In that spirit, Go Gators!

Open Thread.

< The Deal Was Bad Politics | President Obama Endorses Abusive Treatment Of Bradley Manning >

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    Friday Afternoon Open Thread | 26 comments (26 topical)

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    I'm on a 'Shantaram' opiate (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by ruffian on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 01:13:09 PM EST
    Started listening to the book this week. It is one of those I am glad is very long. So good!

    Always thinkin'.. (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by getoffamycloud10 on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 01:53:51 PM EST
    Ya gotta hand it to these clowns. They're so fiscally responsible.

    http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/515616/house_gop_budget_includes_cuts_to_pacific_tsunam i_warning_center/

    Read the article and this stood out (5.00 / 0) (#11)
    by cal1942 on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 05:04:46 PM EST
    Almost immediately, Matt faced quite a bit of pushback from those arguing it's inappropriate to bring this up in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

    INCREDIBLE.

    THIS IS the time to bring this to light.

    Exposing stupidity is never inappropriate no matter the circumstances.

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    I can understand the sports thing (none / 0) (#1)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 12:56:18 PM EST
    Really politics is just stupid right now. The excitement is in the streets.

    Sounds like marriage equality just died (none / 0) (#2)
    by andgarden on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 01:12:36 PM EST
    in the MD House. Apparently no roll call, so I think that means we didn't have the votes.

    Bleh.

    Really disappointing, andgarden. (5.00 / 2) (#12)
    by Anne on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 05:56:14 PM EST
    I didn't hear about this until I got home tonight, and honestly, I am just embarrassed for some of these people in my state who just cannot let go of their insistence that their personal religious beliefs must control the lives of everyone else.

    I know this is not unique to Maryland, but it still just astounds me how backward-thinking and close-minded and fearful people are of something that really has no impact on, and is no threat to, anyone's "traditional" marriage.

    Some days, I wonder if we'll ever reach a stage of enlightenment that respects and affirms everyone's essential humanity.


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    I have long since (none / 0) (#15)
    by Zorba on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 06:36:37 PM EST
    come to the conclusion that there should be absolutely no state-sanctioned "marriage" for any couple.  "Marriage" has too many religious connotations.  There should only be "civil unions" for all couples, gay or straight, with all the legal and fiscal rights now attendant on those "married."  If the civilly joined couple then wish to go to their church, synagogue, temple, mosque, clearing in the woods, or whatever, to have their union religiously sanctioned, fine, they can do so.  This should have nothing to do with the legal union.  I'm sick and tired of hearing "marriage is sanctioned by God!  It has historically been one man and one woman!"  Well, no, actually.  Polygamy (polygyny, technically- one man, several women)  was more the norm for much of history (many of the Old Testament patriarchs had more than one wife, for instance).  Even now, polygamy is quite widespread worldwide.  
    According to the Ethnographic Atlas Codebook, of 1231 societies noted, 186 were monogamous. 453 had occasional polygyny, 588 had more frequent polygyny, and 4 had polyandry.[3] At the same time, even within societies which allow polygyny, the actual practice of polygyny occurs relatively rarely. There are exceptions: in Senegal, for example, nearly 47 percent of marriages are multiple.[6] To take on more than one wife often requires considerable resources: this may put polygamy beyond the means of the vast majority of people within those societies. Such appears the case in many traditional Islamic societies, and in Imperial China. Within polygynous societies, multiple wives often become a status symbol denoting wealth, power, and fame.

    Link

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    What you're describing as (5.00 / 1) (#17)
    by andgarden on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 09:45:04 PM EST
    a "civil union" is, in fact, a "civil marriage." The "sanctioned by god" crap is of no interest to the state.  And a marriage is just a special kind of contract. Changing the name from "marriage" to "union" as soon as access to it becomes somehow controversial is frankly insulting.

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    Sounds like you and I are (none / 0) (#16)
    by Anne on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 08:06:31 PM EST
    muttering the same things as we watch or listen to the news...

    Women and people of color know well what it means to be discriminated against, to be regarded as property, to have no say, no rights, no equality; how they can stand up and try to justify why gays are "different" and why their struggle is not the same as theirs, why they should not enjoy the same rights, is just beyond me.

    And given the high rate of divorce among "tradtional" man/woman couples, I find the moral high ground taken by the "God says marrige is..." supporters to be especially hard to take.

    I tend to take the same position on same sex marriage as I do on abortion: if you don't believe it's right, then by all means, don't marry someone of the same sex, and don't have an abortion - otherwise, let others make the decisions that are best for them, and trust that they can deal with God if they need to.

    Parent

    The Case of the Flung Frank (none / 0) (#5)
    by CoralGables on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 03:03:42 PM EST
    Sluggerrr and the Kansas City Royals were found not guilty this week in the case of the far flung frank.

    Proving once again that flinging franks at sporting events may be stupid but not criminal, and if you can't avoid a hotdog to the face it's best not to pay for the lower seats.

    Hey, my sister and I were the victims (none / 0) (#6)
    by ruffian on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 03:18:15 PM EST
    of a frank flinging once. We were cheering too loud for the Cubs at Dodger Stadium. That mustard stained my shirt!

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    But ruffian... (none / 0) (#7)
    by kdog on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 03:20:45 PM EST
    is too classy to sue over such nonsense...chalk it up as a loss at the old ball game and get on with your life, right ruff?  :)

    Enjoy the Shantaram...you're in for a ride!

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    That's right - took a picture of my sister (none / 0) (#8)
    by ruffian on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 03:47:04 PM EST
    and moved on!

    Really enjoying Shantaram. I'm in chapter 7. Just got back from Prabu's village.

    Parent

    Besides - we had it comin' (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by ruffian on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 03:47:58 PM EST


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    kdog, about Shantaram (none / 0) (#13)
    by caseyOR on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 06:02:44 PM EST
    I just remembered that you left me a message that you have finished the book. I don't know what it would cost to mail it to me. So, if you want to wait until you visit here, that's okay. Or, you could mail it, and I'll reimburse you. Whatever works for you, matey.

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    Reimburse my arse... (none / 0) (#22)
    by kdog on Sat Mar 12, 2011 at 10:50:00 AM EST
    what kinda crewman would bill his Captain freight?

    The west coast jaunt is not yet set in stone Case...just email me your ship to and I'll send it over.  Happy to pay it forward, besides...it was shipped to me Full Freight Allowed:)

    I'm just not sure I'll get it out before the Mexico lover's jaunt...3 more days!  Aye-aye!

    Parent

    Ya can tack on (none / 0) (#10)
    by getoffamycloud10 on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 04:49:25 PM EST
    convictions for impersonating an MLB franchise and failure to make a good faith effort to field a big league line up while you're at it.

    Parent
    Another example (none / 0) (#14)
    by CoralGables on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 06:12:41 PM EST
    of why the military loves them right out of high school:

    High school student survives Golden Gate Bridge jump stunt

    He was lucky (none / 0) (#18)
    by Harry Saxon on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 10:06:01 PM EST
    The distance he jumped wasn't much shorter than 245 feet:

    The Golden Gate Bridge is the most popular place to commit suicide in the entire world.[45] The deck is approximately 245 feet (75 m) above the water.[46] After a fall of approximately four seconds, jumpers hit the water at some 76 miles per hour (122 km/h). At such a speed water has been determined to take on properties similar to concrete.[citation needed] Because of this, most jumpers die on their immediate contact with the water. The few who survive the initial impact generally drown or die of hypothermia in the cold water.



    Click or Wiki Me

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    Finished audio of "The (none / 0) (#19)
    by oculus on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 10:40:53 PM EST
    Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." In the queue for End and 3rd books. Got me to LA for a truly definitive performance of Schumann's "Dichterliebe.". Jonas Kaufmann, tenor; Helmust Deutsch, piano. Heaven.

    Ah... I'm reading that (none / 0) (#20)
    by desertswine on Fri Mar 11, 2011 at 11:37:24 PM EST
    right now.  Is it worth finishing? I'm only a little way in.

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    If you have the patience, it's a good story-- (none / 0) (#25)
    by oculus on Sun Mar 13, 2011 at 12:06:36 AM EST
    at least on audio.  But unnecessarily detailed, IMO.  

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    florida trains (none / 0) (#21)
    by diogenes on Sat Mar 12, 2011 at 10:12:30 AM EST
    From Saturday NY times article
    "The Tampa-to-Orlando route had obvious drawbacks: It would have linked two cities that are virtually unnavigable without cars, and that are so close that the new train would have been little faster than driving. But the Obama administration chose it anyway because it was seen as the line that could be built first. Florida had already done much of the planning, gotten many of the necessary permits and owned most of the land that would be needed."
    Do Tampa and Orlando not have (none / 0) (#23)
    by nycstray on Sat Mar 12, 2011 at 11:21:34 AM EST
    public transit? What happened here with BART was the expansion of the public transit system connecting everything. It's real obvious to me since I was gone for 20yrs. I can't believe the number of buses going through my old BART station. Everything is connected. Been here a yr without a car or even a drivers license.

    Parent
    re last night's recital: (none / 0) (#24)
    by oculus on Sat Mar 12, 2011 at 12:19:30 PM EST
    Pianist used his iPad instead of printed music score for one encore!

    I've used my camera (none / 0) (#26)
    by Harry Saxon on Mon Mar 14, 2011 at 10:22:24 AM EST
    to take pictures of sheet music from my computer screen so I can read them at the keyboard without printing them out.

    Perhaps this will lead to a revival of the 18th-early 19th Century practice of soloists playing with the score.  :-)

    Parent

    Friday Afternoon Open Thread | 26 comments (26 topical)

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