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Thursday Open Thread

I just read that Apple's next Safari browser upgrade will block auto-play videos. It can't come fast enough.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

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    I'm in love with a 13 year old girl (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by Repack Rider on Thu Jun 08, 2017 at 03:58:59 PM EST
    But I will never meet her.

    There is a reason something gets 60,000,000 views on Youtube.

    (Don't click the link before reading the rest of this.)

    I'm a bit behind because this happened a year ago, but it hasn't been mentioned here yet. Last year, 12 year old Grace VanderWaal walked out onto a huge stage, in front of thousands in the building and millions more on TV, a tiny girl in yellow leggings. It was an audition for America's Got Talent. She had no performing history. She carried a ukulele. It was a generational moment.

    Grace got a ukulele when she was eleven.  She learned to play it from YouTube videos.  A month or two after starting on the instrument, she thought she might write a song.  One year later she walked out on that stage, the first public performance of her life.

    She admitted to the hosts that most of her friends didn't even know she sang. Simon Cowell was clearly skeptical when she said she was going to perform an original song.

    She had less than two minutes to make her case. She had to shorten her song a bit to get it in, so she didn't even have the opportunity to present it as she wanted. She was so nervous her voice quaked a little. By the second line of the song the audience was gasping, by the end they were on their feet and cheering for a pre-teen girl with a ukulele.

    The song, "I Don't Know My Name," has now been covered hundreds of times by all sorts of musicians, many of them young girls with ukuleles.

    Grace VanderWaal is a generational musician, already polished somehow from the very start, unafraid of an audience, which loves her to an extent few performers ever see.  This little girl, now all of 13 years old, is already a world class songwriter and singer, gifted with perfect pitch and a haunting voice that carries as much emotion as Janis Joplin's, but without the chemical burden.

    The beauty of the original link is that it shows something exploding on the world with no preface, something that I expect to be with us a long time and only get better.

    Everyone in the building, including Grace, was taken by surprise. Unbelievably mature at 12, this woman will become a musical icon, and this was the moment when she found out -- and the world found out -- that she was better than merely good, she was great.

    You can't watch it happen without feeling the  the emotion of the moment.  I have watched it dozens of times, it never gets old.

    One other thing. After two more appearances, she took home the million dollars for winning the season of America's Got Talent. Not a bad start for her musical career.  

    Confession (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Jun 08, 2017 at 04:09:12 PM EST
    I clicked right after the "don't click before .."

    Then came back and read the rest.  Sorry.  Chronic problem with authority.

    That was great tho.

    Parent

    Simon's wrong as usual (none / 0) (#7)
    by jondee on Thu Jun 08, 2017 at 05:20:28 PM EST
    she's better than Taylor Swift.

    Parent
    She is Melanie, reincarnated (none / 0) (#21)
    by Towanda on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 09:49:05 AM EST
    For the youngsters, look up "I Got a Brand-New Pair of Roller Skates."

    Parent
    Well, Melanie was not a teenager (5.00 / 1) (#23)
    by Peter G on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 10:31:28 AM EST
    (about 25 when "Brand New Key" was a hit), and that song was double-entendre presented in a faux-naif style. This girl's song is straight-forward insight into the questioning and growing mind of a highly intelligent (and talented) adolescent.

    Parent
    I meant the vocal style (5.00 / 1) (#63)
    by Towanda on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 06:04:41 PM EST
    of Melanie.

    Parent
    You know what I think? (none / 0) (#61)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 05:53:27 PM EST
    I think that we need to listen to the song, which reminds me of my childhood.

    Curiously, while reading your comment I was also listening to another song from that era, "White Bird" by It's a Beautiful Day, which I fell in love with the first time I heard it. 49 years later, it still hasn't gotten old.

    Have a great weekend.

    Parent

    Agreed. By the way, I was a Melanie fan (5.00 / 1) (#64)
    by Towanda on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 06:08:54 PM EST
    and my favorite may be "Look What They Done to My Song, Ma."  Here it is for your listening and viewing pleasure, perhaps more like the talented girl who is the topic of this thread.  

    Parent
    I just realized (none / 0) (#136)
    by Repack Rider on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 10:47:08 PM EST
    ...why this kid's songs reach me, even though I am past retirement age.  The last music that affected me this much was the Beatles, and that was a while ago.

    The average teen pop song is an appeal to teen hormones, one of the most powerful forces on the planet.

    Grace wrote much of her material before the age of 13, and there is zero sexual content because that's not what she thinks about. It's why her audience is anyone with emotions, not just hormones.

    This window is closing fact, she is turning into a beautiful and confident young woman. We'll see where that leads.

    Parent

    British voters went to the polls today ... (5.00 / 2) (#6)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jun 08, 2017 at 05:05:57 PM EST
    ... to elect a new Parliament, and very early indications are suggesting that Prime Minister Theresa May's gambit to increase her Conservative majority may have backfired on her rather badly.

    Exit polls are indicating that while the Conservative Party will retain a clear plurality in the 650-member House of Commons, it will lose 17 seats and thus its outright majority. If that holds, this will be by all accounts a crushing political blow for Prime Minister May, who had hoped to gain 60 to 70 seats when she called for the snap election last month, three years before the end of the Conservatives' five-year term in office.

    The biggest winner here is the oft-criticized and lampooned Jeremy Corbyn, who prior to tonight was perceived to have been the weakest leader of the Labour Party in a generation, and a sitting duck for Mrs. May in the snap election. Instead, he rose to the occasion and rallied the party faithful throughout Great Britain and Northern Ireland, drawing huge crowds. Labour looks to gain 34 seats.

    The second biggest losers appear to be Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and her Scottish National Party (SNP), which is on track to lose 22 of its 56 seats in London.

    The BBC is projecting that when the smoke clears, the Conservatives will hold 314 seats (-17), Labour 266 (+34), SNP 34 (-22), Liberal Democrats 20 (+6), and others 22 (-1). So, with nobody in the majority, the Tories will have to woo either the SNP, Liberal Democrats or the various other fringe parties in order to cobble together a working coalition majority.

    What this will mean for Mrs. May's Brexit strategy and her government's negotiations with the European Community to accomplish that, I haven't the foggiest idea. But again, if these projected results hold, tonight's results may indicate that British voters are experiencing, at least in part, a case of buyer's remorse regarding last year's Brexit referendum.

    Aloha.

    ... for a state visit to the United Kingdom now being placed on hold? The Guardian reports that her Conservative government is apparently having some very serious second thoughts in the immediate wake of the most recent terror attack, Trump's subsequent and extraordinary personal insults of London Mayor Sadiq Khan, and the once-overconfident Tories' frankly shocking underperformance in last Thursday's national elections.

    Further, because a public petition to Parliament asking that Her Majesty's government rescind the invitation -- which was signed by over 1.8 million British citizens -- triggered a rather contentious and emotional four-hour floor debate on the subject in the House of Commons, Mrs. May and her ministers now fear that Trump's presence may well spark the largest street protests seen throughout Britain since the commencement of the Iraq War in March 2003.

    Trump's presidency has become toxic, both at home and abroad.

    Parent

    just had (5.00 / 1) (#11)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Jun 08, 2017 at 07:53:54 PM EST
    a visitor

    and yes i should wash the windows and cut the grass.  been putting off the windows.  you should see my windows.

    Aww (5.00 / 1) (#38)
    by Lora on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 04:12:57 PM EST
    Last spring a fawn was born in my back yard.  I was concerned as it was April and especially cold with rain and snow showers and no mother in sight.  I called fish & Game and they said, it's fine, don't do anything.  The mother is nearby and will take care of it.  The mother won't stay with the baby because the baby's scent won't attract predators but the mother's scent would. So for about 4 days there was this little creature nestled in the grass (couldn't cut it of course!).  It did seem to grow a bit larger.  Never saw the mother.  And then one morning there was just a little hollow where it had lain.

    Parent
    I had the same experience a few months ago. (5.00 / 1) (#54)
    by vml68 on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 05:09:49 PM EST
    I saw a mother with 2 fawns in the woods behind my place. They were about 10 feet from my back porch. I was watching them from my kitchen window and then saw the mother and one fawn take off. Every few minutes the little one left behind would pop it's head up to look around and then lay low.
    I waited for the mother to come back for it and started getting concerned when I saw no sign of them. We are near a busy road and I was worried that it might wander in that direction.

    I called the wildlife rehab center and they told me the same thing, that the mother had kept the fawn there to keep him/her safe from predators. When I mentioned that there were 2 fawns, they said that in the case of 2 fawns, one is usually much smaller and weaker than the other so the mother hides that one and then moves it when she feels it is safe. So, I just watched and waited and sure enough late in the evening she came for the baby.

    Parent

    ... such as coyotes and mountain lions? Even a bobcat or golden eagle will take a fawn, given the opportunity. Your local F&G official advised you correctly. However well meaning it might be, human contact with young wildlife only places the latter at greater risk of discovery.

    We were at my brother's place in Glendora, CA a few days ago, which is in the San Gabriel foothills, and in the evening twilight we watched as a doe and her two fawns entered a neighbor's yard, where they started munching on the bushes until that neighbor came outside to shoo them away. All they did was move two houses farther down the block.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Yard Deer (none / 0) (#14)
    by MKS on Thu Jun 08, 2017 at 10:49:09 PM EST
    A hunter who had a cabin in the Sierras explained to me he would not shoot the deer that came in his cabin yard (he had kids who loved the deer) because they were "yard deer."

    Parent
    i would never shoot them (none / 0) (#25)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 10:40:14 AM EST
    shoo them maybe.  they drive the dogs nuts and the 4 yo golden can jump the fence if he wants.  and has a couple of times.  pretty sure it was deer.

    that was just the first one i have photographed.  they have been in the yard 4 or 5 at a time.  the little ones love the clover

    Parent

    Trump's lawyer, (5.00 / 1) (#13)
    by desertswine on Thu Jun 08, 2017 at 10:14:23 PM EST
    Marc Krasovitz looks really unhealthy, like a cadaver. Get some sun, buddy, eat some vegetables.

    We are at the end of this move (none / 0) (#15)
    by Militarytracy on Thu Jun 08, 2017 at 11:17:08 PM EST
    So after Comey testified I didn't see much, but I did see that goon and overheard someone on a CNN panel who knew him say, "He isn't a very intelligent attorney."

    Parent
    Kasowitz has no shortage of Russian (none / 0) (#16)
    by jondee on Thu Jun 08, 2017 at 11:43:11 PM EST
    connections himself, at different times representing a company run by Putin pal Oleg Deripaska, and also the state-owned Sberbank of Russia.

    Parent
    Lovely! (none / 0) (#18)
    by Militarytracy on Thu Jun 08, 2017 at 11:56:54 PM EST
    "not a very smart guy" (none / 0) (#56)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 05:22:57 PM EST
    Four top law firms turned down requests to represent Trump


    But a consistent theme, the sources said, was the concern about whether the president would accept the advice of his lawyers and refrain from public statements and tweets that have consistently undercut his position.

    "The concerns were, `The guy won't pay and he won't listen,'" said one lawyer close to the White House who is familiar with some of the discussions between the firms and the administration, as well as deliberations within the firms themselves.




    Parent
    love to know (none / 0) (#37)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 03:56:46 PM EST
    how he feels about Agent Oranges off the cuff answer this afternoon to if he would be willing to testify under oath...

    HUNNERED PURCENT!!

    ok then!


    Parent

    This will happen (5.00 / 1) (#43)
    by KeysDan on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 04:25:12 PM EST
    on the same day Trump and Melania vie for press time: he, to provide his tax returns; she, to provide information on her immigration status.

    Parent
    and he releases (none / 0) (#44)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 04:26:12 PM EST
    the "tapes"

    Parent
    Cheeto endgame (none / 0) (#46)
    by MKS on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 04:46:28 PM EST
    The best result to be hoped for imo is a Mueller report saying Cheeto is a really bad egg, with a referral to Congress for Impeachment.  

    Ryan will say give the guy a mulligan for being a newbie, and nothing will happen to remove him.

    But, assuming such a bad report card from Mueller, the real remedy is taking back the House in 2018.  Actual removal seems implausible.

    Parent

    alternative (Mueller) endgame (none / 0) (#51)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 05:03:59 PM EST
    Mueller and Comey are friends.  by all reports lots of mutual respect.  what if, instead of the outcome you offer, Mueller sees that coming and goes for an indictment.  which has not been done before but nothing in the trump era has.
    and lets Paulie try to explain THAT away.

    also we are really just talking about obstruction.  i think that might eventually not even be the center ring.  

    there is Russia but there are all kinds of other squirmy things just waiting to have their rocks turned over.

    i thinl Mueller is going to nail him.

    Parent

    Comey seemed very confident (5.00 / 1) (#62)
    by Lora on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 05:57:13 PM EST
    That Mueller was going to do some nailing.

    Parent
    i do think (none / 0) (#52)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 05:05:57 PM EST
    it might be a long game and congress could well turn over first.

    Parent
    Eugene Robinson just said (none / 0) (#40)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 04:20:43 PM EST
    Trump testifying under oath could result in the death penalty.

    Parent
    The Tories have officially lost their majority (5.00 / 1) (#17)
    by Militarytracy on Thu Jun 08, 2017 at 11:56:16 PM EST
    Praise Jeebus!

    Obamacare in imminent peril (5.00 / 2) (#27)
    by MKS on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 01:00:20 PM EST
    Meanwhile sneaky Mitch and the secretive GOP Senators are getting closer to Obamacare repeal.

    Dems cannot get distracted.

    Public pressure on GOP Senators now needed.  Collins, Murkowski and Heller.....That is all we need.

    POLITICO (none / 0) (#47)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 04:47:38 PM EST
    I am still worried (none / 0) (#48)
    by MKS on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 04:59:00 PM EST
    The conservative opposition to any bill is just posturing imo.  They will fall in line at the last minute.

    Real defeat of the repeal must come from the Moderates imo.   But Heller has apparently already caved.

    Parent

    Heller is up for re-election (none / 0) (#49)
    by MKS on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 05:02:15 PM EST
    in Nevada in 2018.

    He is very beatable.    He needs to be reminded.

    Parent

    quote of the day (5.00 / 1) (#45)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 04:27:32 PM EST
    "i like Ted Cruz more than most of my collegues and i hate Ted Cruz"

    Al Franken

    Someone else who knows him said (5.00 / 2) (#57)
    by jondee on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 05:29:25 PM EST
    "Taking an immediate dislike to him saves a lot of time."

    Parent
    "100 Percent willint to testify (5.00 / 2) (#82)
    by Repack Rider on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 10:52:19 AM EST
    ...under oath"

    Mr. Trump just wrote  yuuuge check with his mouth that his giant buttocks will not be able to cash.

    Going back 20 years, the purpose of the Paula Jones trial was not so much to get some form of justice for Ms. Jones, but to get Bill Clinton under oath.

    Once they had him sworn, they dropped the unrelated Monica question that had been fed to them by people close to Scaife.  As we know, the case was settled out of court which makes that deposition moot, as though it never happened, but it was the basis for the perjury charge that they hung the impeachment on.

    If you will recall, Bush and Cheney refused to give sworn testimony in the 9/11 investigation.  ("Hey, we'll talk, just don't hold us to what we say, mmmkay?")  I suspect they knew what the pitfalls were.

    Having set a precedent that perjury is an impeachable offense, we now have the world's biggest liar OFFERING to give sworn testimony.  The Democrats need to seize on this statement like a pitbull and use it at every opportunity. They need to demand a date and a place for this voluntary testimony.

    IANAL, but every liberal lawyer in the world would love a shot at questioning this fool in a public setting.

    Rachel was saying last night (none / 0) (#83)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 11:02:53 AM EST
    that the goobeldeygook language of that exchange would be used to weasel out of actually doing it.

    probably true.

    if you actually listen to the exchange it was impossible to follow.

    Parent

    There was a link (none / 0) (#110)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 07:37:30 PM EST
    put up on twitter about a deposition Trump did back in 2007 when he sued a reporter at the NYT. Everything he said was a lie apparently. Apparently even Trump's lawyers won't see him alone. Two of them are with him at every meeting because he lies so much. The absolute last thing Trump's lawyer is gonna let him do is testify under oath about anything in a criminal proceeding to a federal prosecutor. Of course, though there's always the Trump that doesn't listen to anybody's advise too.

    Trump testifying could conceivably give Mueller the opportunity to get charged with hundreds of counts of perjury.

    Parent

    i just saw that clip again (none / 0) (#113)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 09:13:24 AM EST
    what he says is "one hunderd purcent!"  then almost immediantly the sort of mumbles "I didnt say under oath"

    theres your weasel right there.

    Parent

    Perry Bible Fellowship (none / 0) (#1)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Jun 08, 2017 at 02:18:59 PM EST
    "Mr. Tangerine Man" (5.00 / 2) (#87)
    by Peter G on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 01:27:06 PM EST
    An old friend, college classmate, who is also an ordained Presbyterian minister, composed this and posted it to his Facebook page the other day:

    Hey, Mr. Tangerine man, play a song for me
    I'm not weepy for we all know where you're going to
    Hey, Mr. Tangerine man, play a song for me
    In the jingle jangle morning, no one's following you.

    Though I know your trumped up empire is returning into sand
    Vanished with small hands
    We won't blindly let you stand for we're not sleeping
    Your weariness amazes all, we've landed on our feet
    You have someone to meet
    It's the doorman at the street to end your scheming.

    Hey, Mr. Tangerine man, play a song for me
    I'm not weepy for we all know where you're going to
    Hey, Mr. Tangerine man, play a song for me
    In the jingle jangle morning, no one's following you.

    Take yourself a trip upon your private jet set ship
    Our senses have been whipped
    We're done with your guilt trips
    Put on your shoes to step
    We can't wait for how it feels that you be wandering
    We're ready you go anywhere, we're ready that you fade
    Into your own parade
    Cast your lying self away, we promise to remove the twit.

    Hey, Mr. Tangerine man, play a song for me
    I'm not weepy for we all know where you're going to
    Hey, Mr. Tangerine man, play a song for me
    In the jingle jangle morning, no one's following you.

    Though you might hear laughing, spinning, swinging madly across the sun
    It's not aimed at those you shun
    Please just escape 'cause you're undone
    And now without you there's no border fences placing
    And if you hear these traces of dripping peals of rhyme
    You're no tangerine sublime
    You're just a ragged clown behind
    No one will pay you any mind
    You're just a shadow we're seeing gladly chasing.

    Hey, Mr. Tangerine man, play a song for me
    I'm not weepy for we all know where you're going to
    Hey, Mr. Tangerine man, play a song for me
    In the jingle jangle morning, no one's following you.

    And take to disappearing through the smoke you'd leave behind
    Frowning smoggy ruins of slime
    The ocean is relieved
    Also the frightened trees
    Out to the windy beach
    Far from the twisted reach of crazed tomorrows
    Yes, we'll dance beneath the diamond sky
    Our hands all waving free
    Pirouetting by the sea
    Playing all the circus band
    With all memory of hate
    Driven deep beneath the waves
    Let us both cheer today and celebrate tomorrow.

    Hey, Mr. Tangerine man, play a song for me
    I'm not weepy for we all know where you're going to
    Hey, Mr. Tangerine man, play a song for me
    In the jingle jangle morning, no one's following you.

    Parent

    Yea, well, Peter, (5.00 / 2) (#99)
    by Zorba on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 05:08:21 PM EST
    I prefer Bob Dylan's original lyrics:

    Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
    I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to
    Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
    In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you
    Though I know that evenings empire has returned into sand
    Vanished from my hand
    Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping
    My weariness amazes me, I'm branded on my feet
    I have no one to meet
    And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming
    Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
    I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to
    Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
    In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you
    Take me on a trip upon your magic swirling ship
    My senses have been stripped
    May hands can't feel to grip
    My toes too numb to step
    Wait only for my boot heels to be wandering
    I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade
    Into my own parade
    Cast your dancing spell my way, I promise to go under it
    Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
    I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to
    Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
    In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you
    Though you might hear laughing, spinning, swinging madly across the sun
    It's not aimed at anyone
    It's just a escaping on the run
    And but for the sky there are no fences facing
    And if you hear vague traces of skipping reels of rhyme
    To your tambourine in time
    It's just a ragged clown behind
    I wouldn't pay it any mind
    It's just a shadow you're seeing that he's chasing
    Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
    I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to
    Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
    In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you
    And take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind
    Down the foggy ruins of time
    Far past the frozen leaves
    The haunted frightened trees
    Out to the windy bench
    Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow
    Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky
    With one hand waving free
    Silhouetted by the sea
    Circled by the circus sands
    With all memory of fate
    Driven deep beneath the waves
    Let me forget about today until tomorrow
    Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
    I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to
    Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
    In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you
    Songwriters: Bob Dylan


    Parent

    welcome back! (5.00 / 3) (#100)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 05:09:22 PM EST
    There you are! (none / 0) (#101)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 05:14:53 PM EST
    How's life in on the farm? We've missed you.

    Parent
    Garden is planted: (5.00 / 2) (#103)
    by Zorba on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 05:46:07 PM EST
    Herbs, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, broccoli, okra, summer squash, winter squash, potatoes.
    Hay is ready to be cut and baled soon.
    Maybe we should be getting ready to circle the wagons up here in case the Trumpster's minions decide to act like total idiots in case he is impeached (which I would like, but I'm not really sure that the Republican majority in Congress is willing to do this- at least, not unless their big money corprorate donors tell them to do it).

    Parent
    I would never suggest (none / 0) (#124)
    by Peter G on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 01:54:51 PM EST
    it was better than the original, Zorba! Just that others might enjoy it as much as I did, and find it clever. My friend's other poems are mostly based on Bible verses!

    Parent
    He'd have go a ways to top (5.00 / 1) (#142)
    by jondee on Mon Jun 12, 2017 at 02:33:28 PM EST
    God said to Abraham kill me a son, Abe said man you must be puttin' me on..

    Parent
    And as I often point out to my clients (5.00 / 1) (#150)
    by Peter G on Mon Jun 12, 2017 at 03:59:12 PM EST
    "To live outside the law, you must be honest. I know you always said that you agree. So where are you tonight ....?"

    Parent
    A musician friend of mine (5.00 / 1) (#154)
    by jondee on Mon Jun 12, 2017 at 04:28:01 PM EST
    picked that song to play at the annual Dylan's Birthday celebration here in Rochester. He got one of the biggest hands of the night.

    Parent
    the Q poll this week (none / 0) (#2)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Jun 08, 2017 at 03:03:11 PM EST
    almost makes me want Agent Orange to stay in office right through nov 2018

    The president's job approval rating dips to a new low, a negative 34 - 57 percent, compared to a negative 37 - 55 percent in a May 24 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University, and a negative 35 - 57 percent April 4, his lowest score so far.

    American voters say 68 - 29 percent that President Trump is not level-headed, his worst grade on that quality. Republicans say 64 - 32 percent he is level-headed. Voter opinions of most other Trump qualities are negative:
    59 - 36 percent that he is not honest;
    58 - 39 percent that he does not have good leadership skills;
    58 - 40 percent that he does not care about average Americans;
    62 - 35 percent that he is a strong person;
    57 - 40 percent that he is intelligent;
    64 - 33 percent that he does not share their values.

    LINK

    and have always looked at the recent Auto Pilot technologies with some cynicism. And clearly the technologies are still not 100% there, but check out this video.

    Sure, the initial accident avoidance was non-existent, but look at the accident recovery.

    The car has all sorts of broken parts, tires, etc., but it tracks straight and true and never deviates from the center of the lane. Probably avoided hitting at least one, and perhaps both, of the cars that were near it.

    Very impressive, and certainly opens my eyes as to AP's potential.

    Regarding Safari upgrade. (none / 0) (#8)
    by fishcamp on Thu Jun 08, 2017 at 05:51:23 PM EST
    I agree that stopping auto play will be great, however they are ending 32 bit apps.  This means my old Florida radar app will not work anymore.  Unfortunately they haven't upgraded it yet and I don't know who they are since I bought it ten years ago.  It has been amazingly accurate with the many storms we get down here.  Guess I'll start looking for another Florida radar app...bummer.

    Try the NOAA radar app. (none / 0) (#9)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jun 08, 2017 at 06:18:32 PM EST
    That's what I use. You'll need iTunes, but if you're a Mac user, I would assume that you already have it. LINK.

    Parent
    Thanks Donald, (none / 0) (#10)
    by fishcamp on Thu Jun 08, 2017 at 07:18:30 PM EST
    It's now installed along with my valuable NOAA  National Data Buoy Center and National Hurricane Center apps.  Living where I do these are the first I check in the morning, especially this time of the year.

    De nada. No problema. (none / 0) (#19)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 02:25:42 AM EST
    I've been using NOAA for all my weather info for years now. They're the best, and that's why I urge everyone to resist Republican efforts to privatize it.

    Parent
    Reality Winner denied bail (none / 0) (#12)
    by McBain on Thu Jun 08, 2017 at 09:27:17 PM EST
    She is the alleged NSA leaker
    Prosecutor Jennifer Solari says investigators seized a notebook from Winner's house in Augusta, Georgia, and in it, Winner made references about traveling to the Middle East. At one point she wrote, "I want to burn the White House down ... find somewhere in Kurdistan to live. Haha."

    "Whether that's a jest or not, it still concerns me," Epps said."

    If she did what she's accused of, I wonder how big a role the media played. Did she think she was doing the right thing?  

    Juilian Assange appears to be a fan of her...

    Alleged NSA whistleblower Reality Leigh Winner must be supported. She is a young women accused of courage in trying to help us know.


    What "role" are you suggesting? (5.00 / 1) (#20)
    by Yman on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 09:17:24 AM EST
    If she did what she's accused of, I wonder how big a role the media played. Did she think she was doing the right thing?  

    "How big a role"?  The "media" is not a monolith, but some in the media reported the information she released, as they should.  No idea what you're suggesting the "media's" role may have been, other than perhaps motivating her to take this action based on what she saw being reported.  We're all motivated by information we receive through the media.

    Clearly, she thought she was doing the right thing, or she wouldn't have taken such a huge, personal risk.  Assange is an idiot.  His endorsement didn't help her.

    Parent

    And with this administration refusing to confirm (none / 0) (#22)
    by Militarytracy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 10:09:53 AM EST
    The Russia interference...

    Come went all out confirming it

    BUT outside of Come and Reality, when were they going to tell us?

    Parent

    HA (none / 0) (#24)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 10:34:00 AM EST
    just reviewing the DVRed morning joe and i just heard Mica say Teresa May is going to meet with "a queen" to ask permission to form a government.

    im pretty sure she meant THE Queen but that is making me chuckle every time the mental image creeps into my head.

    sorry,  he totally doin it for the money.

    Riddle me this, Batman (none / 0) (#28)
    by MKS on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 01:02:56 PM EST
    What about use of the other "Q" word?  You know, Que*r?

    Co-opted and now Kosher to use?

    Parent

    If it is the (none / 0) (#30)
    by MKS on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 01:06:42 PM EST
    "Q" in "LGBTQ," should be okay, no?

    But it is just too grating.....

    Parent

    here is a link (none / 0) (#35)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 03:49:17 PM EST
    University of Oregon Queer Studies

    ASFIAC its welcome.  i commented on this the other day that taking this word, and others, and embracing them and by doing so disarming them and their power over us was as brilliant as anything ever done in the movement.

    the comment was in the context of the "N" word.  and how it has only been embraced within the community but is still disallowed outside it.

    IMO rethinking that might not be a bad idea but, you know, different strokes....

    Parent

    I have said (none / 0) (#39)
    by MKS on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 04:19:12 PM EST
    so-and-so was a "Queen" to friends and allies--in a playful, unmean way, and that seemed okay.

    But the other "Q" word is not for me.  I was taught it was like the "n" word and not nice, and it is just too weird to try and use it.

    Parent

    i understand (none / 0) (#41)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 04:23:44 PM EST
    still changing that, that its possible to use it as a verbal weapon, was the very purpose behind co-opting it.  

    but i understand.  words are powerful things.  not to be used lightly.

    Parent

    as i personally do (none / 0) (#42)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 04:24:27 PM EST
    probably to often

    Parent
    While growing up, I never heard ... (none / 0) (#65)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 06:14:37 PM EST
    ... the word "queer" used as anything but a pejorative for gay people, and as I reached my teens, the F-word was usually attached as an adjective for added emphasis. It makes me cringe nowadays to remember how casually we'd slur gay kids -- and those kids whom we suspected were gay -- as "queers," "homos" and "f@gs." To have to endure that sort of relentless taunting and sometimes physical abuse, day in and day out, no wonder LGBT kids are at a higher risk of attempting suicide. That's why when I hear kids use such derogatory terms, I say something to shut it down, at least in front of me. To the extent that we can remove such hateful words from general circulation, we should do so.

    Parent
    with all due respect (5.00 / 1) (#66)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 06:17:08 PM EST
    you are missing the point

    Parent
    No, I'm not. (none / 0) (#77)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 10:07:45 PM EST
    I appreciate that you wish to inoculate and destigmatize the community by grabbing the word for your own selves, just as African Americans try to do the same for the N-word. But with all due respect, and speaking for myself only, I just think we'd all be better off relegating such hateful pejoratives to history's dustbins.

    Parent
    and it would be lovely (none / 0) (#80)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 07:37:12 AM EST
    if unicorns danced on rainbows.

    Parent
    Just caught Mahers show (none / 0) (#90)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 02:51:48 PM EST
    It was a bit of a orgy of self flagellation.

    I understand and appreciate his efforts to learn the error of his ways.  And as I said above, different strokes.  But I would like to differ from Ice Cube in a small way.

    IMO no word is "yours".  You may wish it so but it is as impossible as Donalds unicorns dancing on rainbows.  A word is a word.  It cannot be owned.  It can only be managed.  To announce to the racist haters that the word is "your word" will only make it more attractive and useful.

    Just my opinion.

    Parent

    Maher is ok.. (none / 0) (#145)
    by jondee on Mon Jun 12, 2017 at 02:58:28 PM EST
    just ok. He's in no danger of ever being mistaken for Mencken or Oscar Wilde though.

    And his audience makes me think someone's administering electric shocks to the people don't laugh and applaud wildly at everything everything he says. It's the next thing to an actual laugh track.

    But, I guess in land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

    Parent

    I may be wrong, because I still use 'LGBT.' (none / 0) (#53)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 05:07:06 PM EST
    But doesn't the "Q" in LGBTQ stand for "questioning," denoting one who questions his or her own gender / sexual orientation?

    I'll hang up and take my answer off the air. ;-D

    Parent

    either (none / 0) (#55)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 05:11:52 PM EST
    In fact, the 'Q' can stand for 'questioning' or 'queer' and sometimes you may see the acronym written as "LGBTQQ" (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, queer]. When the Q" is used as a stand-in for questioning, you're right that it means the individual is uncertain of his or her orientation.


    Parent
    Some of us in gender studies (5.00 / 1) (#68)
    by Towanda on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 06:21:35 PM EST
    add an "a" -- LGBTQA -- for asexual as another gender orientation.

    And I just read about adding some more letters, but I have to catch up on my reading to catch up with this!

    Parent

    As I get older (5.00 / 2) (#88)
    by jondee on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 02:22:21 PM EST
    "asexual" as a viable lifestyle choice to be fully embraced has a lot more meaning for me.

    Parent
    I've always thought (none / 0) (#69)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 06:41:06 PM EST
    In a perfect world none of those letters would be needed or expected and one could do whatever without getting, or worrying about changing, a letter.

    Sort of a "no labels" guy.

    Not the world we live in.

    Shrug

    I've always considered myself "sexual"


    Parent

    Topical (none / 0) (#72)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 07:20:00 PM EST
    Those lyrics may sound generic, but the Slants have a very specific complaint. When, in 2009, the band sought to trademark its name--a tongue-in-cheek way of reclaiming and defanging the common anti-Asian slur--the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office turned down the application, citing a provision of the Lanham Act of 1946 that allows the federal government to deny registration of trademarks that "disparage" any person or group. In essence, the band name, an ironic commentary on racism, was itself deemed racist.

    Washington monthly

    Parent

    I posted this before (none / 0) (#125)
    by MKS on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 02:56:10 PM EST
    news of Adam West's passing had become public.  How odd that I would reference him so close to his passing.

    Parent
    What the hell's gotten into the water (none / 0) (#26)
    by jondee on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 12:03:02 PM EST
    in this country? Mind-altering spores that wafted here from some remote corner part of the galaxy?

    I had a face-to-face encounter with a Sandy Hook "truther" yesterday. Should've kept my big mouth shut and smiled and backed away slowly and said Have a nice day, but I just couldn't do it.

    Had to try to reason with crystalized paranoic unreason incarnate. Now I'm on the list. I'm one of "them." One of "the sheeple" who only believe what They want us to believe..

    I think... (5.00 / 1) (#31)
    by kdog on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 01:08:46 PM EST
    it's more of what has gotten onto the airwaves than what's gotten into the water...not that the poison in some of the water is any prize.

    When I was down in South Carolina a couple weeks ago I got my first taste of having to brush my teeth with bottled water.  Apparently there has been legal and illegal dumping up the wazoo in Haleyville and all the wells are contaminated in the uber-rural and desolate area I was visiting.  Water f*cking stunk something awful too.

    I can't imagine living like that, but with a rubber stamp EPA in bad Brand D times and a gutted ghost of a rubber stamp EPA in worse Brand R times, I might just have to one day.  Till then, I love NY and it's fantastic drink from the tap water.  

    The high cost of the low low taxes in SC and other places...they hadn't even replaced the one of two roads into town thatw washed away after the big floods they had two years ago.  Maybe on the way to build the biglyest prettiest wall ever Trump can stop in SC and fix the road for his UN ambassador, and drop off some cases of Trump Water;)

    Parent

    You know though (none / 0) (#33)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 02:09:40 PM EST
    Kdog a large part of it is that people in SC are willing to accept that kind of thing. Or they even embrace it. They would rather live in a broken down shack and drink filthy water than have the government do anything.

    The EPA really doesn't even come into play into their way of thinking other than "government interference". There's no Brand D or Brand R to them.

    Parent

    Lucky you (none / 0) (#29)
    by MKS on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 01:03:50 PM EST
    I thought such persons only existed in comic strips.....

    Parent
    You cannot reason (none / 0) (#32)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 02:06:07 PM EST
    with them as you have found out. Unless their leader tells them that it is a conspiracy theory they will never believe anything anybody else says.

    Parent
    A Sandy Hook "truther" (none / 0) (#34)
    by desertswine on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 03:28:10 PM EST
    was sentenced to jail time for making threatening calls to the father of one of the child victims.  She has mental issues.  I can't imagine doing anything like this if you don't have some sort of crazy running around your head.

    Judge James Cohn - "Your words were cruel and insensitive. This is reality and there is no fiction. There are no alternative facts."

    That poor father, losing a beautiful child and then having the hell of these people on your back as well.

    Parent

    its the world we live in (5.00 / 1) (#36)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 03:51:20 PM EST
    sadly.  i think we have onlt begun to miss the world where facts existed.

    Parent
    I was just reading last night (none / 0) (#58)
    by jondee on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 05:33:37 PM EST
    that there are three bloggers living in the psychic drain trap of America, Florida, with a lot of "followers" (of course), who devote every waking hour to exposing the Truth about Newtown.

    Parent
    i was just reading (none / 0) (#60)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 05:38:58 PM EST
    about an incident in a Starbucks between a NASA employee and a Flat Earther.  no, really, a Flat Earther with a blog with 30,000 followers.

    it sounded ugly.  i agree.  something in the water.  or the air, or something.

    Parent

    The hotel group that bears (none / 0) (#50)
    by KeysDan on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 05:02:35 PM EST
    Trump's name is starting a down market chain, starting with a place in Cleveland, Mississippi. I thought the motels would have the name "Orange Roof Motels," but, no, it will be Scion.  And, then another chain is on the horizon: not lux---called American Idea.  


    Polanski's victim asks for case to be dropped (none / 0) (#59)
    by McBain on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 05:35:13 PM EST
    Link
    Geimer, 54, has long-forgiven Polanski for having sex with her in 1977 while she was 13, and said that Polanski should be sentenced in absentia to time served in part to end the scrutiny she has faced in the case...
    "Justice is not only about punishment, it is about equity and consideration," Samantha Geimer said.

    Geimer has made similar statements before, but this is the first time in front of  judge.  Will it work? Doesn't sound like it ....

    But prosecutors countered that dismissing the case based on Geimer's wishes would only disrupt the judicial system.


    feds treat Trump administration (none / 0) (#67)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 06:19:44 PM EST
    like a mob house.

    this is great

    But there's an explanation for at least some of the leaks that's a little more cunning than the rest--one that might bring some actual resolution. Four current and former law enforcement officials believe prosecutors have been treating Trump and his associates like a criminal network, and subjecting them to an array of time-tested law enforcement tricks.
    One of those tricks involves floating names of potential targets of the investigation, to try and get potential co-conspirators to turn on one another. Another, called "tickling the wire," entails strategically leaking information to try and provoke targets under surveillance into saying something dumb, or even incriminating.
    "You want people to freak out, to say, `are they talking about me? Is this me? What do they know?'--and you want them to do this in a way that is captured," one former FBI official said about the Russia investigation.
    "Now we wait for the cover up."


    DailyBeast


    Of course (none / 0) (#70)
    by FlJoe on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 06:58:38 PM EST
    they are, the leaks were obviously engineered to force Flynn out early and now it seems it's  constant full court press.

    tRump made some very powerful enemies who have been playing this game a lot longer than he has.

    Do you really think it was coincidence that the shiv he stuck in Sessions was presaged by a leak last week.

    Heck Comey demonstrated exactly how he used a "leak" to manipulate the investigation.

    Parent

    This is good to (5.00 / 2) (#71)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 07:03:51 PM EST
    Mueller hires Michael Dreeben

    Quick Takes: What We Can Learn From Mueller's Hires

    * The other day I mentioned that Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller has hired lawyers with expertise in the Mafia and fraud. That tells us a lot about where this Russia/Trump investigation is going. Today he brought on Michael Dreeben.

    Deputy solicitor general Michael Dreeben, who has argued more than 100 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and oversees the Justice Department's criminal appellate docket, will be assisting Mueller on a part-time basis, according to sources familiar with the arrangement...

    "Michael Dreeben is to criminal law what Robert Mueller is to investigations," former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal said Thursday night. "Literally the very best. Yet another sign of how serious Mueller is about this matter."

    Here is what Matthew Miller said about the hire:

    My word, he's putting together a serious team. Dreeben the guy you add to think thru hard criminal q's like obstruction by a sitting POTUS




    Parent
    Mike Dreeben is terrific (5.00 / 2) (#73)
    by Peter G on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 08:12:53 PM EST
    and a really nice guy. Fearsome advocate, but super professional and interpersonally friendly. Best sort of adversary. I've argued cases against him several times, and have done "point, counterpoint" with him on panel discussions. Really says something that he isn't staying in his dream job. He had no problem representing the U.S. government before the Supreme Court in criminal cases -- and acting as the ultimate supervisor of all criminal appeals in the lower federal courts -- under Clinton, GWB, and Obama. But now he's leaving; I wonder why.

    Parent
    It says he is only (none / 0) (#76)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 08:36:05 PM EST
    Working with Mueller part-time

    Parent
    I saw that when I went to read the story (none / 0) (#78)
    by Peter G on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 11:10:56 PM EST
    after commenting. Interesting that a full-time DoJ employee can be part of the "independent counsel" investigation team. Kind of confusing, actually.

    Parent
    Something else confusing, (none / 0) (#131)
    by oculus on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 06:38:36 PM EST
    at least to me:  Sessions recused himself as to Investigations re the 2016 presidential campaign.  How should the Snate Intelligence Committee members frame their uestions to him?

    Parent
    Meanwhile (none / 0) (#74)
    by FlJoe on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 08:13:56 PM EST
    back at the Foreign Policy Ranch
    President Donald Trump contradicted his own secretary of state on Friday, hours after Rex Tillerson called on Gulf states to ease their blockade on Qatar.


    This was funny (none / 0) (#75)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 08:34:46 PM EST
    CNN)President Donald Trump appeared to directly contradict Romanian President Klaus Iohannis's response to a question on visa waivers at a press conference Friday in the Rose Garden.

    Asked whether the two leaders discussed the waiver program for Romania, Iohannis responded, "yes."
    But Trump quickly chimed in, adding, "We didn't discuss it. We didn't discuss it, but there would be certainly -- it would be something we will discuss."
    Trump then signaled for the Romanian president to continue his response. Iohannis stated, "I mentioned this issue, and I also mentioned it during other meetings I had, because this is important for us. It's important for Romanians who want to come to the United States."



    Parent
    Officer Yanez testifiels in Castile shooting case (none / 0) (#79)
    by McBain on Fri Jun 09, 2017 at 11:13:07 PM EST
    Link
    "I had no other choice. I didn't want to shoot Mr. Castile. That wasn't my intention," Yanez said while wiping tears from his eyes, CNN affiliate WCCO reported. "I thought I was going to die."

    A police training expert testified the Yanez acted appropriately while thinking Castile was reaching for his gun.

    Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, testified that Castile was reaching for his wallet not his gun.

    holy muerte Batman (none / 0) (#81)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 10:47:43 AM EST
    Adam West dies at 88.

    pardon the levity but i think West would approve

    Without a doubt, "Batman" ... (none / 0) (#86)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 12:58:02 PM EST
    ... remains one of the campiest productions to ever hit the TV airwaves, and I believe it was the first sitcom without a laugh track. Adam West was the essential and active ingredient in its phenomenal success, and his earnestly deadpan delivery of hopelessly corny dialogue while doing weekly battle with equally cartoonish villains made it all work.

    The over-the-top hit show flamed out after three seasons for obvious reasons, but it lives on in syndication. And while West initially resented the limitations which "Batman" subsequently imposed on his acting career, he eventually came around to embrace his character's status as an enduring 20th century pop culture icon, and his own role in making that happen.

    Aloha to one of Hollywood's true good sports.

    Parent

    That clip (5.00 / 1) (#89)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 02:32:22 PM EST
    Love that Catwoman has a handbag.  Ah, Julie Newmar.  Just try to describe that body without using the word statuesque.

    Parent
    perhaps an obscure referene (5.00 / 1) (#98)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 04:55:43 PM EST
    it was to this movie

    which if you have not seen you reall really should.  you will see three macho action stars, Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo as you have never seen them and you will laugh out loud.

    Parent

    "To Wong Foo" was really funny. (none / 0) (#104)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 05:48:44 PM EST
    That said, I kinda, sorta preferred "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert," with Terence Stamp and Guy Pearce. But it's a close call.

    There were a number of people at the time (1994-95) who accused the former of ripping off the latter, but "To Wong Foo" was already well into production when "Priscilla" first premiered in movie theatres. It was simply a case of great minds thinking alike.

    Both films are well worth watching, and the lead actors in each all brought an element of depth, dignity and pathos to roles which otherwise could have all too easily been camped up and manhandled (no pun intended) by lesser talents. The performances themselves ae what made each film so memorable.

    And speaking of Julie Newmar, she just paid a gracious and affectionate tribute to Adam West, with whom she had maintained a close friendship since their days on "Batman":

    "Stellar, exemplar, a king to the end. He was bright, witty and fun to work with. I will miss him in the physical world and savor him always in the world of imagination and creativity. He meant so much to people. A friend said: 'The father that we wanted.' That is a great gift, no matter how you live it."

    Aloha.

    Parent

    To Wong Foo (5.00 / 1) (#105)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 06:01:27 PM EST
    Is my favorite drag qu€€n movie ever.   One really big reason is that it's the only one I ever remember, including Priscilla which was great, that does NOT have the obligatory drag-qu€€n-gets-beaten-up-by-straight-guys scene.

    It just fun from beginning to end with no violence that is not comic.  There is a scene where the director makes you think it's going to happen.  You, or at least I, cringe expecting what always comes and then he saves you from it.

    I love it.  I must have seen it 100 times. I sometimes watch it if I need to laugh.  I think its the career best performance of all three leads.  Wesley Snipes is hilarious

    Parent

    And speaking of which, Cap'n, ... (5.00 / 1) (#132)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 06:42:41 PM EST
    ... I saw this 1973 trailer for "The Naughty Stewardesses" and immediately thought of you as one of our country's true camp aficionados. They sure don't make 'em like they used to.

    Parent
    Yeah, but both films did have ... (none / 0) (#108)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 07:23:36 PM EST
    ... the obligatory straight-bully-gets-beaten-up-by-angry-drag-qu€€n-and-put-in-his-place scene. And "Priscilla," of course, had that classic barroom scene with the ping-pong balls:

    "Oh, you can't do that with a ping-pong ball!"

    "You wanna bet?"

    ;-D

    Parent

    Wow, Julie Newmar... (5.00 / 1) (#106)
    by fishcamp on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 07:03:00 PM EST
    You guessed it, I know her. I was working on an American Sportsman sky diving film with her and she was the star making her first dive.  It was out at a sky diving place near Hemet, California, and I was the cameraman that rushed up to her for her first reactions upon landing. The director asked the ever so clever question, "How did it feel to make your first jump?"  She answered with something like, well it was thrilling, but nothing like sex...CUT.  We finally got the proper answer for a national tee vee show.  Then she started following me around.  I was living in Malibu that summer doing titles and sound mixes in Hollywood for three of my ski movies.  She called ABC and found me, came out to the house on the beach, and wouldn't leave.  She's a giant and things got quite strange.  I finally moved up to a sound man friend's house in L A until she left. Hadn't thought about her in years.

    Parent
    the mind boggles (5.00 / 1) (#107)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 07:11:46 PM EST
    She's a giant and things got quite strange.


    Parent
    Yeah (none / 0) (#115)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 09:36:25 AM EST
    I need more information

    Left to my own devices, it's just not good

    I'm back at that American Gods episode I did a driveby on :)

    Parent

    Ain't it the truth (none / 0) (#143)
    by jondee on Mon Jun 12, 2017 at 02:41:08 PM EST
    Several of us have said this before, (none / 0) (#109)
    by Zorba on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 07:26:47 PM EST
    But you really need to write your memoirs, fish.
    Write them, or no more Greek recipes for you.  😉

    Parent
    Like Ned Land in Twenty Thousand Leagues (none / 0) (#147)
    by jondee on Mon Jun 12, 2017 at 03:09:19 PM EST
    Under The Sea: "Got a whale of a tale ta tell ya lads.."

    Julie Newmar would make a helluva of a mermaid though..

    Parent

    i could get into so much trouble (none / 0) (#148)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 12, 2017 at 03:12:37 PM EST
    if i posted 10% of the replys that come to mind.

    Parent
    Welcome to my world (none / 0) (#149)
    by jondee on Mon Jun 12, 2017 at 03:51:05 PM EST
    Jondee (none / 0) (#157)
    by fishcamp on Mon Jun 12, 2017 at 06:44:26 PM EST
    There is, of course, more to the story...

    Parent
    There always is (none / 0) (#158)
    by jondee on Mon Jun 12, 2017 at 06:48:53 PM EST
    this (none / 0) (#84)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 11:22:16 AM EST
    is my dogs

    their default position

    this is what the are watching

    no idea what lives there but clearly something does

    watch ths space

    Goldens are great (5.00 / 1) (#85)
    by MKS on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 11:57:56 AM EST
    I hope it's not snakes! (none / 0) (#93)
    by desertswine on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 04:13:26 PM EST
    hmmm (none / 0) (#97)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 04:27:41 PM EST
    i WAS imagining fur not scales.  fortunately they cant get there.  its about 5-10 feet on the wrong side of the fence.  i had not poked around.  not wanting to disturb whatever furry creature was in there more than they already were by the constant dog vigil but maybe i should.

    Parent
    Just discovered (none / 0) (#91)
    by MKS on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 04:08:36 PM EST
    and am binge watching the last season of the Leftovers.

    Strange so far but riveting.  Can't tell what the hell is going on.....characters are mesmerizing.

    "If I was going to kill (none / 0) (#92)
    by MKS on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 04:11:07 PM EST
    myself, I would go scuba diving."

    How odd and funny and interesting.

    Parent

    I'd like to go out like my father (5.00 / 1) (#94)
    by jondee on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 04:20:10 PM EST
    the airline pilot, who died slumbering peacefully, and not screaming and crying like all his passengers.

    Parent
    dont do it! (none / 0) (#95)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 04:22:48 PM EST
    start from the beginning.  seriously.

    Parent
    ruffian (none / 0) (#96)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 04:24:37 PM EST
    and i seemed to agree it was just about the best series finale ever.  

    also sorry if you started at the beginning are are in the last season.   but you really really will likw it more from the beginning

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    ORPHAN BLACK (none / 0) (#102)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 05:42:43 PM EST
    In other tv talk

    The final season starts tonight.

    BBC

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    Just recently finished Season 4 (5.00 / 1) (#111)
    by Chuck0 on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 07:57:42 PM EST
    on Amazon Prime. BBC America is available on Sling so I'll be watching tonight. Thanks for the heads up Capt. Would not have known otherwise.

    Myself I've been re-watching The Wire. On Season 2 today. What a great show. Especially if you know your way around Baltimore. Also illustrates profoundly, the futility of the "War on Drugs" that Jeb Stuart, er, Jeff Sessions wants to resurrect.

    Parent

    Coleen Rowley is not a Comey/Mueller Fan (none / 0) (#112)
    by RickyJim on Sat Jun 10, 2017 at 08:00:20 PM EST
    Remember, she was an FBI agent in 2001 in Minneapolis and was frustrated because the higher ups in Washington paid no attention to the strange doings of Zacarias Moussaoui that the Minneapolis office reported to them.  In this takedown of Comey and Mueller she writes
    Although these Hoover successors, now occupying center stage in the investigation of President Trump, have been hailed for their impeccable character by much of official Washington, the truth is, as top law enforcement officials of the Bush administration (Mueller as FBI Director and James Comey as Deputy Attorney General), both presided over post-9/11 cover-ups and secret abuses of the Constitution, enabled Bush-Cheney fabrications to launch wrongful wars, and exhibited plain vanilla incompetence.


    nother botanista question (none / 0) (#114)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 09:16:58 AM EST
    what are these
    LINK

    LINK

    Need more info (none / 0) (#116)
    by jmacWA on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 10:17:08 AM EST
    My in-house botanist will guess that it is in the arisaema family, but there are hundreds of members, and to me (not the botanist in the family) they have more impressive features that your image shows.  Have a look at some of them using google.  The guess is made based on the seed pod in the 2nd image.

    Is this growing in sun or shade?  arieaemas are shade plants.

    Parent

    shade (none / 0) (#117)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 10:26:52 AM EST
    except in the afternoon

    (thanks)

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    wow! (none / 0) (#118)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 10:32:45 AM EST
    that would be amazing!  some of those blooms are awsum.

    i just fired the dweebs i had hired to do the yard and started doing it myself without whacking everything.   figured it would be good to be selective.

    Parent

    Check out Plant Delights (5.00 / 1) (#119)
    by jmacWA on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 10:56:38 AM EST
    The catalog from this nursery is a hoot... It is a real collector's nursery so the prices can be a bit high, but a lot of the stuff they carry is hard to get.  My SO does all of our gardening, since she got really into it we have lived in central NJ, Tuscon AZ, Bainbridge Island WA, and now Allentown PA.  
    She is pretty good at identification, but it is always helpful to have more info than just the picture.  Anything you ask about I will make sure I have her look.

    Good Luck
    jmac

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    Arisaema Trumpeteer (none / 0) (#120)
    by jmacWA on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 11:00:38 AM EST
    After I posted I was reminded that the plant currently adorning the fridge was from Plant Delights.  Have a look

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    OMG (none / 0) (#122)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 11:33:48 AM EST
    RoundUp time.

    the watch continues

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    Arum Maculatum? (none / 0) (#121)
    by RickyJim on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 11:13:10 AM EST
    I have quite a bit of a plant that has those green berry spikes shown in your second picture.  It has arrowhead shaped leaves and the berries turn orange as the summer progresses.  They are poisonous.

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    the pod looks the same (none / 0) (#134)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 06:54:37 PM EST
    but not the leaves.  i would guess they are related species?

    Parent
    That second one looks like a... (none / 0) (#127)
    by desertswine on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 05:28:54 PM EST
    TRIFFID!!  Get out of there now!  They come from space and can walk around!

    And just to be safe, check the basement for pods.

    Parent

    thats nothing (none / 0) (#129)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 06:31:14 PM EST
    chech out the photos from teh website jmac suggested.  

    LINK

    the blooms are incredible.  the look like they might eat small animals.

    and an explanation of the different kinds

    im pretty sure its one of these but its hard to tell which until i see a bloom.

    i think a previous owner was a constant gardner.  im finding all manner of things now that its summer.  when i moved in it was obvious that the place had become over grown and the bank or whoever just sent someone in give the place a crew cut.  i made the mistake of getting a lawn service to do the yard early in the spring who basically did the same thing.  i really regret that.  probably a lot of things i wont see until next year.  

    but i decided i will do it myself.  i need the exercise anyway.

    Parent

    Yes, I guess that all of us could use (none / 0) (#135)
    by desertswine on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 08:26:47 PM EST
    a little more "outside" time.  I gave up gardening a few years ago, but I'm slowly getting back into it.  Very slowly.

    Parent
    ... the organization which sponsors the L.A. Pride Parade & Festival, took inspiration from last January's Women's March and voted to forgo the annual Sunday parade. They announced that in its stead, a "Resist March" would take place today, with everyone who opposed the Trump agenda being invited to attend.

    In response, untold thousands of people representing an array of groups and causes showed up this morning. The march from Hollywood Blvd. and Highland Ave. in Hollywood to West Hollywood Park along Santa Monica Blvd. was estimated to be over three miles in length. Conservative estimates placed the crowds at around 300,000-plus.

    It was a truly amazing display of cross-spectrum solidarity, and one which stood in sharp contrast to yesterday's divisive Anti-Sharia Schittshow in San Bernardino which drew about six dozen far-right supporters and about four times that number of counter-protestors from the left.

    Many thanks to the Christopher Street West Association and all our LGBTQ friends for sponsoring the march and making this wonderful day happen.

    Aloha from SoCal.

    these signs (none / 0) (#130)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 06:33:09 PM EST
    LOL! Didn't see them. (none / 0) (#133)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Jun 11, 2017 at 06:44:32 PM EST
    The Guardian is reporting... (none / 0) (#137)
    by desertswine on Mon Jun 12, 2017 at 01:06:01 AM EST
    that Trump's trip to the UK is off because Trump doesn't want to face the large crowds of protesters.

    The US president said he did not want to come if there were large-scale protests and his remarks in effect put the visit on hold for some time.


    But as I wrote earlier, given their present much-weakened political position in the immediate wake of a terribly botched election campaign, it's likely the Conservatives themselves who rightly fear the prospect of protesters in the streets of London and elsewhere, were Trump to show up and be greeted formally by the Queen.

    Not since Abraham Lincoln first ordered the blockade of Southern seaports during the U.S. Civil War, which supposedly crippled a thriving British textile industry that otherwise depended inordinately upon a steady supply of American cotton and further, was the primary source of employment for nearly 20% of Britain's work force, has there been a U.S. president as thoroughly reviled in British public opinion as Donald Trump. (See Note below,)

    Thursday's electoral results left the Tories barely clinging to power by a thread in a hung Parliament. There are no guarantees that they'd survive, were a new round of national elections be triggered by a vote of no confidence. That's why Prime Minister May and her ministers are having second thoughts about Trump's state visit.

    Note: I say "supposedly crippled," because in fact British textile mills in 1861-62 had such an overabundant supply of cotton that they were overproducing goods relative to consumer demand. Britain was even re-exporting its excess cotton inventory to France and Prussia. That's what actually triggered the big slowdown in production and subsequent mass layoffs OF British textile workers.

    But President Lincoln's naval blockade of the South provided a convenient pretext to British government ministers who were searching for an easy and readily available explanation to offer their country's unemployed. Heaven forbid that they would ever blame their own captains of industry.

    Even 155 years ago, the ready manipulation of public opinion was already a highly polished art form. And Lord Palmerston's government proved so successful at it that for a few months in late 1861 and early 1862, it appeared increasingly likely that Britain would intervene militarily on the side of the Confederacy. But cooler and wiser heads, led by Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert, fortunately prevailed and rising tensions between London and Washington soon quickly abated.

     Aloha.  

    Parent

    Ivanka Blindsided (none / 0) (#138)
    by Ladyjustice on Mon Jun 12, 2017 at 11:35:18 AM EST
    Ivanka on F&F "I was not prepared for viciousness in Washington, DC. I was a little blindsided personally."

    Perhaps she should apologize for the viciousness her father heaped on President Obama:  wanted his birth certificates, wanted his college grades, ec., etc..  Furthermore, First Lady Michelle Obama, should come out and talk about the viciousness she confronted by the Republicans and her father. REMEMBER, NO HEALTHY GARDEN, NO HEALTHY INFORMATION FOR OUR CHILDREN WITH DIABETES BECAUSE OF UNHEALTHY DIET, etc., etc,.  APOLOGIZE IVANKA! 😡

    "Looking to change the status quo??? ". She is NOT, NOT the first lady.  She has no right to a security clearance or an office in the West Wing.  She is only enhancing her brand and her pocketbook.

    if she removed her blinders (5.00 / 1) (#155)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 12, 2017 at 04:28:53 PM EST
    she might be blindsided less often.

    also, Fox and Friends?  helluva place for a "democrat" to go to whine.

    Parent

    ... yet apparently so little time to clutch them, as both Daddy and Hubby become engulfed by dust clouds of scandal that are entirely of their own making.

    ;-D

    Parent

    That so-called Trump... (none / 0) (#141)
    by desertswine on Mon Jun 12, 2017 at 02:30:53 PM EST
    "cabinet meeting" that cable news broadcast this am was without doubt the most bizarre thing I've ever seen on tv.  It was absolutely weird.

    I think (none / 0) (#144)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Jun 12, 2017 at 02:47:03 PM EST
    it was scripted by an evangelical minister and they were all given their lines to say. Do you really think Priebus would say he was blessed to be working for Trump? The whole thing sent my cheese radar off the charts.

    Parent
    it really was (none / 0) (#146)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 12, 2017 at 03:04:26 PM EST
    i saw it live too.  they could just run it unedited on SNL.  i cant imagine how you you satirize it to make it more hilarious/terrifying.

    Parent
    True, not subject o (none / 0) (#152)
    by KeysDan on Mon Jun 12, 2017 at 04:09:24 PM EST
    satire, more to the idea of Big Al's blood bat.

    Parent
    Terrifying, yes after all is said and done, (none / 0) (#159)
    by desertswine on Tue Jun 13, 2017 at 12:21:24 AM EST
    it was that.

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    Holy moly Batman. (none / 0) (#151)
    by Chuck0 on Mon Jun 12, 2017 at 04:01:48 PM EST
    What a boot licking session! How many boxes of tissues did they have circulate to get all the brown off their noses? And so much BS was shoveled about. Did the press wear thigh high rubber boots into room? Cause the manure was getting REAL deep.

    Parent
    and not just that (none / 0) (#156)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 12, 2017 at 04:31:27 PM EST
    but the choke on your coffee bald faced out right laughable lies.  

    Pierce nailed it.  its very clear why he thinks Kim is a "smart cookie".  

    Parent

    I'll (none / 0) (#153)
    by FlJoe on Mon Jun 12, 2017 at 04:19:14 PM EST
    let Charlie Pierce reply to that,  
    However, I would guarantee that the hosts of Good Morning, Pyongyang would recognize it immediately.


    Parent
    Did they ever script something like that (none / 0) (#160)
    by Militarytracy on Thu Jun 15, 2017 at 01:57:41 AM EST
    When he was on The Apprentice? I never watched it.

    Parent