Wicked. But not too far from the truth.

//

Beware the Feline Overlords.

I have 3 of them on my front porch eating dinner and preventing me from making a beer run.

re: #2 Bubblehead II

Beware the Feline Overlords.

I have 3 of them on my front porch eating dinner and preventing me from making a beer run.

Tell 'em it's a tuna run!

re: #3 wrenchwench

Or chicken?

re: #4 PhillyPretzel

Or chicken?

SOunds like the chicken is already there.

So who wants to make the first pussy joke?

re: #6 Kdizzle

So who wants to make the first pussy joke?

Pussy shot: After the Bath

re: #7 Shiplord Kirel

That image will haunt my dreams from now until the rapture and then on into eternity.

I'll watch this at home, where the modern equipment is.

In the meantime:

Bike Rack, ur doin it---different.

Image: hA9ED069A.jpg

re: #5 b_sharp

SOunds like the chicken is already there.

Ouch!

Oliver Stone's show on Reagan, Gorbachev, and the Rise of the Right is on. The old footage is really bringing back memories. Reminds me very much of why I was never a Reagan admirer even when I was supposed to be a wingnut.

Iran/Contra. A truly horrible episode in the history of the presidency.

re: #12 Charles Johnson

Watergate nor a blowjob from Monica Lewinsky ever got a nun or non-fascist political dissident shot and buried in a mass grave, but those are the scandals we choose to embed in our national zeitgeist.

re: #12 Charles Johnson

Iran/Contra. A truly horrible episode in the history of the presidency.

The last republican held responsible for unethical behavior was Nixon. All GOPer presidents since have been given carte blanche.

re: #13 Kdizzle

Excuse me for the narcissism, but that's the most depressing fucking thought I've ever had.

Drinking whiskey on the rocks and listening to OK Computer over headphones doesn't help.

Thank god I'm going to a New Years party in a couple of hours.

Maybe several failed attempts then a triumphant pity fueled attempt to get laid will help me forget about it.

I'd like to wish all of you a happy new year. May you be prosperous in the coming year. May your children come home safe from schools, and the movies.
May God protect all our Senators, Representatives and of course POTUS and his family and friends. Thank you for sparing Gabby. May we as a nation start protecting Mother Earth and be good stewards of our resources. Please reform the GOP and make them sane again. Protect our service men and Women and bring them back home safely. Comfort the Families who have lost children and parents from the 2 wars we have engaged in the last 10 years.
As Timmy said, ' God bless us all '

Just caught this great Google year in review commercial:

re: #14 Interesting Times

The last republican held responsible for unethical behavior was Nixon. All GOPer presidents since have been given carte blanche.

I'd argue that being truly held responsible for Nixon would have involved him not getting pardoned by Ford.

re: #14 Interesting Times

The last republican held responsible for unethical behavior was Nixon. All GOPer presidents since have been given carte blanche.

There have been some Congressmen who have been forced to leave office.

re: #16 A Man for all Seasons

I'd like to wish all of you a happy new year. May you be prosperous in the coming year. May your children come home safe from schools, and the movies.
May God protect all our Senators, Representatives and of course POTUS and his family and friends. Thank you for sparing Gabby. May we as a nation start protecting Mother Earth and be good stewards of our resources. Please reform the GOP and make them sane again. Protect our service men and Women and bring them back home safely. Comfort the Families who have lost children and parents from the 2 wars we have engaged in the last 10 years.
As Timmy said, ' God bless us all '

Happy New Year to you Hoops!

re: #12 Charles Johnson

A mistake, to be sure, but far from horrible.

re: #21 Dark_Falcon

A mistake, to be sure, but far from horrible.

Illegally selling weapons to our enemies in Iran in order to fund the violent overthrow of a democratically elected government by right wing terrorists isn't horrible? Just a mistake? Sorry DF, but Reagan should have been impeached and that disgraces to the Corps should still be making big rocks into little rocks in Leavenworth.

One thing strikes me about tonight - no Dick Clark.

re: #23 freetoken

One thing strikes me about tonight - no Dick Clark.

What, hologram Dick Clark isn't ready for prime-time?

re: #22 William Barnett-Lewis

re: #21 Dark_Falcon

Illegally selling weapons to our enemies in Iran in order to fund the violent overthrow of a democratically elected government by right wing terrorists isn't horrible? Just a mistake? Sorry DF, but Reagan should have been impeached and that disgraces to the Corps should still be making big rocks into little rocks in Leavenworth.

The Sandanistas weren't democratically elected. The only election they held prior to 1990 was a sham. They were an aggressive and predatory satellite of the Soviet Union and Latin America was better once they were out of power.

re: #23 freetoken

One thing strikes me about tonight - no Dick Clark.

One door closes, another door opens. Happy New Year, FT.

The Sandinistas were angels - at least when compared to the Samosa regime or the fascist governments of El Salvadore or Guatemala or Honduras. Had Reagan gotten his way he would have put something as evil and depraved as Pinochet or the Argentine Junta into Managua.

re: #27 William Barnett-Lewis

The Sandinistas were angels - at least when compared to the Samosa regime or the fascist governments of El Salvadore or Guatemala or Honduras. Had Reagan gotten his way he would have put something as evil and depraved as Pinochet or the Argentine Junta into Managua.

I don't know where you got that from, but its incredibly wrong.

re: #25 Dark_Falcon

The Sandanistas weren't democratically elected. The only election they held prior to 1990 was a sham. They were an aggressive and predatory satellite of the Soviet Union and Latin America was better once they were out of power.

I think you should go visit Central America and see what a paradise the Reagan era bequeathed to the people of that region.

re: #29 bratwurst

I think you should go visit Central America and see what a paradise the Reagan era bequeathed to the people of that region.

I haven't the money for foreign travel.

re: #30 Dark_Falcon

I haven't the money for foreign travel.

Sorry you don't have the money, but to be brutally frank the fact that you haven't spent any time outside of the United States shows...often.

Loaves are out of the oven.

I don't know, I am feeling kind of anxious. Maybe I should drink some more red wine or something.

re: #32 Vicious Babushka

Loaves are out of the oven.

I don't know, I am feeling kind of anxious. Maybe I should drink some more red wine or something.

Have I said you're a great chef lately? Because you clearly are.

The loaves didn't rise as high as I would like and I left them out for hours.

re: #32 Vicious Babushka

Loaves are out of the oven.

I don't know, I am feeling kind of anxious. Maybe I should drink some more red wine or something.

Don't know about the wine, but I will take a couple of those, some sweet butter and honey. Yummmm.

BTW, anybody got a good feed for the Times Square ball drop tonight?

I want to throw up now.

1st Amendment does not prohibit Congress from denying immigration to proponents of Sharia and jihad. online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) January 1, 2013

Everyone's year in review: bit.ly/TCciv5

— Austin Kleon (@austinkleon) January 1, 2013

Happy New Year, everybody.

I'm sick as hell and so is the girlfriend, so no festivities tonight. There's some kind of Sneeze-bola rampaging around DFW these last two weeks that's taking people out left and right, yours truly included. My "champagne" will be Nyquil at about ten o'clock and then bed, or at least that's the plan.

In the meantime, I'm skiving off on the internet and drinking hot cocoa. I'll follow the fun on twitter, maybe watch some downloaded TV... Dunno yet. I would say the night is young, but it's already 9. :(

I want to throw up now.

I think one of your new year resolutions should be to unfollow his Twitter feed. Feeding yourself anger and hate isn't good for anyone. In fact, it's exactly what makes FOX viewers what they are.

re: #40 Renaissance_Man

I think one of your new year resolutions should be to unfollow his Twitter feed. Feeding yourself anger and hate isn't good for anyone. In fact, it's exactly what makes FOX viewers what they are.

you're probably right.

re: #34 Vicious Babushka

The loaves didn't rise as high as I would like and I left them out for hours.

they look excellent

The AP is running a series of stories on famous obits for 2012, with each month having its own story - which makes it difficult to find all 12 in one spot, but I have found 11 of the months (missing only Feb.)

The following resonate me for one reason or another:

Jan. 2
- Gordon Hirabayashi, 93, a sociologist who refused to be sent to internment camps that kept more than 100,000 Japanese-Americans captive during World War II and was vindicated four decades later when a U.S. court overturned his conviction and concluded that the U.S. government's interment polices had been based on political expedience, not any threat to national security. In Edmonton, Alberta. No cause of death was given.

Jan. 20
— Etta James, 73, a singer whose performance of the enduring classic "At Last" was the embodiment of refined soul but who had tempestuous relationships with her family, her men and the music industry, in Los Angeles, of complications from leukemia.

March 28
— Earl Scruggs, 88, a bluegrass legend and banjo pioneer, who helped profoundly change 20th century country music whose string-bending, mind-blowing way of picking produced an instantly recognizable sound, in Nashville, Tennessee of natural causes.

April 7
— Mike Wallace, 93, the dogged, merciless CBS television reporter and interviewer who took on politicians, celebrities and other public figures in a 60-year career highlighted by the on-air confrontations that helped make "60 Minutes" the most successful U.S. prime-time television news program ever, in New Canann, Connecticut.

April 21
— Charles W. "Chuck" Colson, 80, described as the "evil genius" of the Nixon administration who served seven months in prison for a Watergate-related conviction who then spent the next 35 years ministering to prison inmates, in northern Virginia, of complications from brain surgery.

May 9
— Vidal Sassoon, 84, who used his hairstyling shears to free women from beehives and hot rollers and give them wash-and-wear cuts that made him an international name in hair care, in Los Angeles of natural causes.

May 10
— Carroll Shelby, 89, the legendary car designer whose fabled Shelby Cobra sports car became an automotive and cultural icon, whose last Mustang Shelby GT500, set records for horsepower and top speed of more than 200 mph (320 kph) in Dallas, apparently of natural causes.

May 17
— Donna Summer, 63, who was bestowed a title fitting of musical royalty — the Queen of Disco — as she became the voice and face of the genre with pulsating hits like " I Feel Love" in Naples, Florida of cancer.

May 18
— Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, 86, the renowned German baritone who performed for more than five decades on stages in Berlin, Vienna, London and New York, in the southern German city of Starnberg. No cause of death was given.

June 2
— Richard Dawson, 79, a British-born entertainer who made his mark in the unlikely 1960s television sitcom "Hogan's Heroes," which mined laughs from a Nazi POW camp whose prisoners hoodwink their captors and run the place themselves and who later became a popular TV game show host, in Los Angeles of complications related to esophageal cancer.

June 4
— Herb Reed, 83, the last surviving original member of 1950s vocal group the Platters who sang on hits like "Only You" and "The Great Pretender," in the Boston area after a period of declining health that included chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

June 5
— Ray Bradbury, 91, a science fiction-fantasy master whose work could be by turns dark and depressing or joyful, whimsical and nostalgic, in literary classics such as "Fahrenheit 451," in Los Angeles.

June 17
— Rodney King, 47, whose videotaped beating by police sparked one of the worst U.S. race riots and who struggled with addiction and repeated arrests, in Rialto, California, in an apparent drowning.

(cont)

re: #37 Vicious Babushka

I want to throw up now.

[Embedded content]

Nobody is letting "proponents of Sharia and jihad" in now, Bryan, you worthless choad. Not all Muslims believe in violent Jihad, only a relatively small minority do, and it is only that minority that needs to be and largely is being excluded.

/spits

re: #21 Dark_Falcon

A mistake, to be sure, but far from horrible.

What part of selling weapons to Iran a country that hated out guts and would quite possibly use those weapons against us, so that we could illegally fund a group of cut throat paramilitary thugs whose sole "virtue" was that they hated communism was not horrible?

This person does her job:

When a final agreement is reached and passed by the Senate, I will present it to the House Democratic Caucus. #FiscalCliff

— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) January 1, 2013

Her vain, cowardly, blubbering successor? Not so much.

I also made some apple-carrot muffins.

I don't like to whistle a happy tune (whistling annoys the shit out of me) so I bake up a storm.

Ha, looks like Charles isn't the only one fed up with useless beltway bloviators:

Seriously? This is silly. I walked out of caucus to get my phone which I left in my car. Get a grip press.

— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) January 1, 2013

re: #43 freetoken

The AP is running a series of stories on famous obits for 2012, with each month having its own story - which makes it difficult to find all 12 in one spot, but I have found 11 of the months (missing only Feb.)

The following resonate me for one reason or another:

June 4
— Herb Reed, 83, the last surviving original member of 1950s vocal group the Platters who sang on hits like "Only You" and "The Great Pretender," in the Boston area after a period of declining health that included chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

(cont)

Upon hearing "The Great Pretender" played at a restaurant where we were having lunch, my father remarked that the band sing it was The Platters, to which I replied "I know". My father then told me they had sung at a dance at his high school back in the 50's. Foolishly though, my response to that was to say "You do realize how old that makes you look, don't you?", an asshole line I wish I'd never said.

(cont)

July 3
— Andy Griffith, 86, who made homespun American Southern wisdom his trademark as the wise sheriff in "The Andy Griffith Show" and whose career spanned more than a half century on stage, film and television, in coastal North Carolina. No cause of death was given but he had suffered a heart attack and underwent quadruple bypass surgery in 2000.

July 8
— Ernest Borgnine, 95, who won a woman's love and an Academy Award in one of the great lonely hearts roles in "Marty," a highlight in a workhorse career that spanned nearly seven decades and more than 200 film and television parts, in Los Angeles of renal failure.

July 10
— Maria Hawkins Cole, 89, widow of jazz crooner Nat "King" Cole and mother of singer Natalie Cole, in Boca Raton, Florida of cancer.

July 16
— Masaharu Matsushita, 99, who helped lead the Japanese electronics company Panasonicfor half a century as it grew into a global brand, in Osaka. No other details were available.

July 23
— Sally Ride, 61, a physicist who blazed trails into orbit as the first American woman in space, in La Jolla, California of pancreatic cancer.

July 27
— Tony Martin, 98, the romantic singer who appeared in movie musicals from the 1930s to the 1950s and sustained a career in records, television and nightclubs that spanned 80 years, in Los Angeles of natural causes.

July 31
— Gore Vidal, 86, the author, playwright, politician and commentator whose novels, essays, plays and opinions were stamped by his immodest wit and unconventional wisdom, in Los Angeles of complications from pneumonia.

Aug. 6
— Marvin Hamlisch, 68, who composed or arranged the scores for dozens of movies including "The Sting" and the Broadway smash "A Chorus Line," in Los Angeles after a brief illness.
— Bernard Lovell, 98, a pioneering British physicist and astronomer, who developed one of the world's largest radio telescopes exploring particles in the universe, in Manchester. No cause of death was given.

Aug. 13
— Helen Gurley Brown, 90, the longtime editor of Cosmopolitan magazine whose million selling grab-bag book of advice, opinion and anecdote "Sex and the Single Girl" declared the sexual revolution was no longer just for men and made her a celebrity and a foil for feminists, in New York. No cause of death was given.

Aug. 20
— Phyllis Diller, 95, an American housewife turned humorist who aimed some of her sharpest barbs at herself, punctuating her jokes with her trademark cackle, and was a staple of night clubs and television for decades, in Los Angeles. No cause of death was released.

Aug. 25
— Neil Armstrong, 82, who commanded the historic landing of the Apollo 11 spacecraft on the moon, July 20, 1969, capping the most daring of the 20th century's scientific expeditions and becoming the first man to take "one giant leap for mankind" with a small step onto the moon, in Cincinnati, Ohio, of complications from heart procedures.

Sept. 3
— Sun Myung Moon, 92, a self-proclaimed messiah who founded the Unification Church and turned his religions vision into a worldwide movement and a multibillion dollar corporation stretch from the Korean Peninsula to the United States, in Gapeyeong Country, Korea after being hospitalized for pneumonia His followers around the world cherished him, while his detractors accused him of brainwashing recruits and extracting money from worshippers.

Sept. 25
Andy Williams, 84, a crooner who was part of the soundtrack of the 1960s and '70s, with easy-listening hits like "Moon River," the "Love Story" theme and "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" from his beloved Christmas TV specials, in Branston, Missouri. He had bladder cancer.

(cont)

re: #46 Interesting Times

This person does her job:

[Embedded content]

Her vain, cowardly, blubbering successor? Not so much.

She's paddling them in. :D

re: #45 jamesfirecat

What part of selling weapons to Iran a country that hated out guts and would quite possibly use those weapons against us, so that we could illegally fund a group of cut throat paramilitary thugs whose sole "virtue" was that they hated communism was not horrible?

In both cases the weapons sent were used to bleed Soviet allies (Iraq and Nicaragua). That had considerable value, but it should not have been done.

Iran-Contra was a serious mistake, but not a horror. And even the independent counsel assigned to investigate later told Bob Woodward he didn't thing Reagan himself was "dirty".

re: #43 freetoken

June 2
— Richard Dawson, 79, a British-born entertainer who made his mark in the unlikely 1960s television sitcom "Hogan's Heroes," which mined laughs from a Nazi POW camp whose prisoners hoodwink their captors and run the place themselves and who later became a popular TV game show host, in Los Angeles of complications related to esophageal cancer.

Oh holy crap - Newkirk! It just clicked in my head! I don't think I heard anything about Hogan's Heroes when he died, so I didn't know who he was...

re: #50 freetoken

Interesting that all three of the Asians on that list lived to be older than 90. That likely says something about the lifestyles they led.

I wonder if Hitchens will be on that list.

LIVE: Senators discuss #fiscalcliff cnn.com/video/data/2.0... #cnn Awaiting press conference. #p2 #tlot #Forward #Obama

— Gus (@Gus_802) January 1, 2013

@newspathweb Don't forget the link: ustream.tv/cbsnews #p2 #tlot #fiscalcliff

— Gus (@Gus_802) January 1, 2013

Congress for Kids: [Constitution]: The Three Branches of Government congressforkids.net/Constitution_t... #p2 #tlot #fiscalcliff

— Gus (@Gus_802) January 1, 2013

re: #53 Pawn of the Oppressor

Oh holy crap - Newkirk! It just clicked in my head! I don't think I heard anything about Hogan's Heroes when he died, so I didn't know who he was...

He also memorably played evil game show host Damon Killian opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Running Man.

(cont)

Oct. 3
— Robert F. Christy, 96, a former California Institute of Technology professor who helped design the trigger mechanism for the atomic bombs used in World War II, in Pasadena, California of natural causes.

Oct. 21
— George McGovern, 90, a proud liberal who argued fervently against the Vietnam war as a Democratic senator and lost the 1972 presidential election to Richard Nixon in a landslide just as the Watergate burglary scandal that brought his downfall began, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. No cause of death was given.

Nov. 9
— Valerie Eliot, 86, widow of T.S. Eliot and zealous guardian of the poet's literary legacy for almost half a century, in London after a short illness.

Nov. 13
— Bryce Bayer, 83, a retired Kodak scientist and the inventor of a widely used color filter array that bears his name, in Brunswick, Maine. The cause of death was not released.

Nov. 23
— Larry Hagman, 81, an American actor who masterfully created the charmingly loathsome oil baron J.R. Ewing on television's long-running and hugely successful nighttime soap opera, "Dallas," in Dallas of complications from cancer.

Dec. 5
— Dave Brubeck, 91, a pianist and composer of "Take Five," a deceptively complex jazz composition that introduced a new, adventurous sound to millions of listeners, in Norwalk, Connecticut of heart failure.
— Oscar Niemeyer, 104, an architect who recreated Brazil's sensuous curves in reinforced concrete and built the capital of Brasilia on the empty central plains as a symbol of the nation's future, in Rio de Janeiro of a respiratory infection.
— Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, 103, a prominent Australian philanthropist and mother of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, near Melbourne. No cause of death was given but she had been hospitalized in September after a bad fall.

Dec. 9
— Patrick Moore, 89, a British astronomer and broadcaster well known for his long-running BBC television show "The Sky at Night," which was credited with popularizing astronomy for generations of Britons, in Selsey, England. No specific cause of death was given but he had heart problems.

Dec. 17
Daniel K. Inouye, 88, who broke racial barriers as the first Japanese-American elected to Congress and was a World War II hero who served decades representing Hawaii in the Senate, playing key roles in congressional investigations of the Watergate and Iran-Contra scandals, in Washington of respiratory complications.

Dec. 24
— Jack Klugman, 90, the prolific, craggy-faced character actor and regular guy who was loved by millions as the messy one in TV's "The Odd Couple" and the crime-fighting coroner in "Quincy, M.E.," in Los Angeles. No cause of death was given.

Dec. 26
— Gerry Anderson, 83, puppetry pioneer and British creator of the sci-fi hit "Thunderbirds" TV show, near Oxfordshire, England. He had mixed dementia.

re: #55 Kronocide

I wonder if Hitchens will be on that list.

Hitchens was late 2011, I think Dec. 15th? 1st anniversary of his death was recently. Lately every time I go on Youtube I get sidetracked into watching one of his lectures or TV appearances. He is sorely, sorely missed.

re: #60 Pawn of the Oppressor

Hitchens was late 2011, I think Dec. 15th? 1st anniversary of his death was recently. Lately every time I go on Youtube I get sidetracked into watching one of his lectures or TV appearances. He is sorely, sorely missed.

Wow, it has been a while. Time is flying.

It's funny what resonates with a person, to make them feel like time has indeed passed.

From:

[Link: www.ajc.com...]
[Link: www.wsbtv.com...]
[Link: www.windsorstar.com...]
[Link: www.wpxi.com...]
[Link: www.ajc.com...]
[Link: www.scmp.com...]
[Link: www.khou.com...]
[Link: www.wsbtv.com...]
[Link: news.yahoo.com...]
[Link: www.necn.com...]
[Link: www.wftv.com...]

Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, 103, a prominent Australian philanthropist and mother of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, near Melbourne. No cause of death was given

How about being 103 freaking years old?

re: #32 Vicious Babushka

re: #47 Vicious Babushka

We wantz to come to ur place 4 party.

I'm here in 2013. Turn around. Stay in 2012. Don't come any further. IT'S A TRAP!!

— William K. Wolfrum (@Wolfrum) January 1, 2013

re: #63 Vicious Babushka

How about being 103 freaking years old?

Pretty incredible. I'm not fan of Rupert Murdoch, but I pray God comforts him in dealing with her passing.

re: #63 Vicious Babushka

How about being 103 freaking years old?

Ha, you have a point.

A ha, finally found February:

[Link: www.wftv.com...]

Feb. 11
— Whitney Houston, 48, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice was ravaged by drug use and her regal image was tarnished by erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, in a hotel room in Beverly Hills, California. The cause of death was not immediately known.

Feb. 29
— Davy Jones, 66, the diminutive heartthrob who rocketed to the top of the 1960s music charts by beckoning millions of adoring fans with the catchy refrains of The Monkees,in Indiantown, Florida, of a heart attack.

Happy 4,540,002,013!

re: #69 Gus

Happy 4,540,002,013!

+2,000. Now fixed.

re: #63 Vicious Babushka

How about being 103 freaking years old?

A contributing factor for sure. But the final cause? I think not.

re: #71 Bubblehead II

A contributing factor for sure. But the final cause? I think not.

re: #71 Bubblehead II

A contributing factor for sure. But the final cause? I think not.

OK, now I'm embarrassed. I read Alouette's post wrong.

re: #65 jaunte

[Embedded content]

That's not a trap. This is a trap.

//

re: #73 Targetpractice

That's not a trap. This is a trap.

//

I don't want to know.

Judge: Rape victim ‘didn’t put up a fight’

Akin, Mourdock, some judge in CA. Nothing to see here, just move along.

In explaining why he was sentencing the defendant to six years in prison instead of the 16 years sought by the prosecutor, Johnson said this, according to a transcript quoted by the commission:

“I spent my last year and a half in the D.A.’s office in the sexual assault unit. I know something about sexual assault. …I’m not a gynecologist, but I can tell you something. If someone doesn’t want to have sexual intercourse, the body shuts down. The body will not permit that to happen unless a lot of damage is inflicted, and we heard nothing about that in this case. That tells me that the victim in this case, although she wasn’t necessarily willing, she didn’t put up a fight. And to treat this case like the rape cases that we all hear about is an insult to victims of rape. …I think it trivializes a rape.”

Something's coming.

re: #49 Dark_Falcon

Upon hearing "The Great Pretender" played at a restaurant where we were having lunch, my father remarked that the band sing it was The Platters, to which I replied "I know". My father then told me they had sung at a dance at his high school back in the 50's. Foolishly though, my response to that was to say "You do realize how old that makes you look, don't you?", an asshole line I wish I'd never said.

LOL Only a "kid" would think of that as an asshole line. Here's a hint: those of us who are older know that we are - it isn't a surprise or an insult. I don't know about your dad but I wouldn't trade my age or experience for anything. He's enjoying that memory of the Platters, one that you missed, too bad for you cuz that would have been awesome. I wouldn't trade my experiences, having seen Janis Jopin and Jimi Hendrix live in concert among many others and having my young life shaped by the incredible changes in the 50s and 60s, coming to adulthood in the 70s. If anything, I pity y'all who will never understand that social force of changing attitudes that we were fortunate to experience.

Frankly, I'm happy to be where I am now, essentially at retirement and the last lap of my life. Again, I don't know your dad but I would be surprised if he felt any differently. Thinking that was an asshole line is thinking that youth is superior to age so calling attention to that age is an insult. It isn't. I hope you make it to that age that you will be as amused as I am that you think it is.

Going to the floor.

re: #75 Kronocide

Just waiting for the godless socialists to twist my words! @stevebenen @maddow #liberalmedia

— Judge Derek Johnson (@JudgeDGJohnson) December 14, 2012

Needs retirement, soonest. (Parody account).

re: #79 jaunte

Ha! We're about to run out the door but I was gonna search for Facebook/Twitter etc just to see if he was a MuslimoCommieSocialist. I'm shocked, just shocked he's not.

Old school phone ring. Ha!

Pro tip: toast brown rice in a pan over medium heat for 15 minutes. It's worth the effort.

re: #76 Gus

Something's coming.

I'm ready. [loads SR-25 with 80-round drum, chambers a round, and prepares for battle.]

Congress waiting literally until midnight. If you look around DC, all of the statues and monuments are facepalming.

— pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) January 1, 2013

re: #64 freetoken

re: #47 Vicious Babushka

We wantz to come to ur place 4 party.

You just trying to cheer me up.

I didn't even get around to making the Chocolate Duplex Oreo Trifle.

re: #82 Killgore Trout

Pro tip: toast brown rice in a pan over medium heat for 15 minutes. It's worth the effort.

Before or after you cook it?

re: #77 allegro

LOL Only a "kid" would think of that as an asshole line. Here's a hint: those of us who are older know that we are - it isn't a surprise or an insult. I don't know about your dad but I wouldn't trade my age or experience for anything. He's enjoying that memory of the Platters, one that you missed, too bad for you cuz that would have been awesome. I wouldn't trade my experiences, having seen Janis Jopin and Jimi Hendrix live in concert among many others and having my young life shaped by the incredible changes in the 50s and 60s, coming to adulthood in the 70s. If anything, I pity y'all who will never understand that social force of changing attitudes that we were fortunate to experience.

Frankly, I'm happy to be where I am now, essentially at retirement and the last lap of my life. Again, I don't know your dad but I would be surprised if he felt any differently. Thinking that was an asshole line is thinking that youth is superior to age so calling attention to that age is an insult. It isn't. I hope you make it to that age that you will be as amused as I am that you think it is.

I know getting to see them live like that was an honor, it's just that I feel i was being flippant and dismissive. I try not to be an asshole, and I try to hold myself to account when I fail.

Night Lizards. May The Deity Of Your CHoice Smile Down Upon You and yours.

Sleep well and may we al look forward to a Happier New Year.

re: #77 allegro

I wouldn't trade my experiences, having seen Janis Jopin and Jimi Hendrix live in concert among many others and having my young life shaped by the incredible changes in the 50s and 60s, coming to adulthood in the 70s. If anything, I pity y'all who will never understand that social force of changing attitudes that we were fortunate to experience.

I'm a Gen-X'er. I find myself envying people your age because you won't be around to witness the dystopian hell we'll eventually get stuck with :/

re: #86 Vicious Babushka

Before or after you cook it?

Before. Just a dry pan over medium heat then boil as usual. It adds a lot of nutty flavor to brown rice and also softens the texture quite a bit.

I finally got Zedushka to LIKE RICE!

He never liked to eat rice, something to do with his dad always liking rice with gravy and rice in chicken soup instead of noodles.

I made Whole Foods 365 Wild Rice & Brown Rice mix and he loved it! He said it didn't taste "ricey"

Thing is, WF 365 Wild Rice & Brown Rice is really expensive, not something that you make to pour leftovers on.

But it is really good with roast beef (or turkey) and sweet potatoes.

re: #89 Interesting Times

I'm a Gen-X'er. I find myself envying people your age because you won't be around to witness the dystopian hell we'll eventually get stuck with :/

Are we talking the Blade Runner dystopian hell or the Mad Max dystopian hell?

re: #92 Targetpractice

Are we talking the Blade Runner dystopian hell or the Mad Max dystopian hell?

With our luck, both.

re: #81 Gus

Old school phone ring. Ha!

My cell does the old school phone ring, that's my ringtone.

re: #92 Targetpractice

Are we talking the Blade Runner dystopian hell or the Mad Max dystopian hell?

The former for the wealthy, the latter for everyone else. #HappyNewYear!

re: #92 Targetpractice

Are we talking the Blade Runner dystopian hell or the Mad Max dystopian hell?

William Gibson's.

re: #96 Romantic Heretic

William Gibson's.

So a little of column A and a little of column B, eh?

re: #89 Interesting Times

I'm a Gen-X'er. I find myself envying people your age because you won't be around to witness the dystopian hell we'll eventually get stuck with :/

I left that out on purpose. My heart does break for those you who will never understand the meaning of the American Dream. It really was real once. (Now, I'm sounding like King Arthur dying at the end of the Once and Future King). I got a piece of it, especially as a young woman with so many more opportunities than my mother and those women before had, but it started to crater with Reagan. It had a last gasp in the 90s under Clinton, though even then was being terminally strangled.

What a hoot.

[Link: www.ustream.tv...]

re: #100 Gus

A giant just walked through.

Heard that Biden's in the process of trying to build up support amongst Senate Dems for this last-minute deal. Irony of ironies would be for them to tell him where to stick it.

RT @mrfornicator: I hope I can stay up late enough to see Dick Clark eat Ryan Seacrest's brain.

— Barracks O'Bama (@P0TUS) January 1, 2013

Wow. Some dude came on wanting the CBS feed to shut down.

[Link: www.ustream.tv...]

re: #99 allegro

I left that out on purpose. My heart does break for those you who will never understand the meaning of the American Dream. It really was real once. (Now, I'm sounding like King Arthur dying at the end of the Once and Future King). I got a piece of it, especially as a young woman with so many more opportunities than my mother and those women before had, but it started to crater with Reagan. It had a last gasp in the 90s under Clinton, though even then was being terminally strangled.

It wasn't really Reagan, it was a whole bunch of factors that had been building since the 60's and now have to be dealt with. My own generation is going to have to mostly work at getting by instead of getting ahead, and dealing with such problems as we can fix. America plateauing was inevitable at some point. the question now is do we go up or down from the plateau, and that question's answer is years away.

Someone notify Louie Gohmert that another terrorist baby is on its way!

Daughter of top doctor goes into labor after she and her Occupy Wall Street organizer boyfriend are arrested when police 'find explosives and TERRORIST ENCYCLOPEDIA' in their apartment.

The daughter of a prominent New York doctor went into labor and had to rushed to the hospital when she was arrested on charges of having explosives, illegal weapons and a stack of papers labeled 'The Terrorist Encyclopedia' in her New York City apartment.

Morgan Gliedman, 27, and her boyfriend Aaron Greene, 31, an Occupy Wall Street organizer, were taken away from their home in Manhattan's pricey Greenwich Village on Saturday.

Gliedman, who was nine months pregnant, has had her arraignment postponed because she went into labor as she was being hauled away, the New York Daily News reports.

MailOnline is really getting into this random capitalization of headlines thing, plus adding the unconfirmed OWS connection to the story without attribution. I guess all the real editors are off for the holidays already?

reporting increased randomness in local human population no apparent cause

re: #102 Targetpractice

Heard that Biden's in the process of trying to build up support amongst Senate Dems for this last-minute deal. Irony of ironies would be for them to tell him where to stick it.

That would be ironic, but it would also be a FAIL akin to the House's rejection of Boehner's plan. If that happens, we'll be over the cliff, up the creek, and around the bend.

re: #108 Dark_Falcon

That would be ironic, but it would also be a FAIL akin to the House's rejection of Boehner's plan. If that happens, we'll be over the cliff, up the creek, and around the bend.

[Embedded content]

We're already going over the cliff, there's no chance of a House vote tonight. Even if Boehner could get his balls out of the tupperware long enough to call for one, the Tea Partiers would tell him where to stick it. They wouldn't pass Plan B two weeks ago when the taxes were set at $1mil, no way they'll go for $400K.

re: #106 watching you tiny alien kittens are

Someone notify Louie Gohmert that another terrorist baby is on its way!

Daughter of top doctor goes into labor after she and her Occupy Wall Street organizer boyfriend are arrested when police 'find explosives and TERRORIST ENCYCLOPEDIA' in their apartment.

MailOnline is really getting into this random capitalization of headlines thing, plus adding the unconfirmed OWS connection to the story without attribution. I guess all the real editors are off for the holidays already?

I just hope that being around explosives like that didn't harm the baby.

My daughter graduated from Columbia last week, with a Master's in Pediatric Nursing. Top of the class.

Let's hope she finds a good job!

re: #105 Dark_Falcon

It wasn't really Reagan, it was a whole bunch of factors that had been building since the 60's and now have to be dealt with. My own generation is going to have to mostly work at getting by instead of getting ahead, and dealing with such problems as we can fix. America plateauing was inevitable at some point. the question now is do we go up or down from the plateau, and that question's answer is years away.

Sorry, you're wrong there. The destruction of the American Dream began with Reagan taking apart the unions. Since then the middle class has been disintegrating. Check out income levels from that period since.

re: #111 Vicious Babushka

My daughter graduated from Columbia last week, with a Master's in Pediatric Nursing. Top of the class.

Let's hope she finds a good job!

Congratulations to her and to you.

Is there any question as to why, really, campaign financing is now a free for all?

Tough decisions await new Tribune Co. board

When the new seven-member Tribune Co. board officially convenes for the first time in the next few weeks, the group of media and entertainment executives will name the company's executive officers. Then comes the bigger job of assessing a diverse portfolio of broadcasting and publishing assets, with an eye toward maximizing the value of the Chicago-based media company.

[...]

Tribune Co. plunged into bankruptcy in December 2008, saddled with $13 billion in debt from real estate investor Sam Zell's heavily leveraged buyout one year earlier. It emerged from bankruptcy Monday, relatively debt-free and generating cash.

[...]

Tribune Co.'s biggest challenge has been declining revenue and cash flow as the advertisers that sustained it through the years defected to digital media alternatives. But 2012 was a slight improvement, likely boosted in part by election year ad spending in the company's broadcasting unit.

[...]

I guess we should be happy that the Tribune Co. didn't fall to Murdoch, or to San Diego based wingnut Manchester (as was feared.)

Yet this is a classic story of contemporary capitalism: an unwise overly leveraged buy out left an old company highly vulnerable, only to be picked over by vultures.

[Link: www.ustream.tv...]

re: #112 allegro

Sorry, you're wrong there. The destruction of the American Dream began with Reagan taking apart the unions. Since then the middle class has been disintegrating. Check out income levels from that period since.

Reagan didn't destroy unionism, it fell more due to the changes in the economy. Reagan certainly didn't set out to attack unions; PATCO (the air traffic controller's union) had actually endorsed him in 1980) and the plan the Reagan administration used against PATCO had actually been created by the Carter administration. Had Carter won the election of 1980, PATCO would have stricken for certain, as the union loathed Carter. There was a recent book dealing with the 1981 strike that's worth a read. It had a good bit a cross-spectrum appeal, winning favorable reviews from both the New York Times and National Review.

re: #114 freetoken

Is there any question as to why, really, campaign financing is now a free for all?

Tough decisions await new Tribune Co. board

I guess we should be happy that the Tribune Co. didn't fall to Murdoch, or to San Diego based wingnut Manchester (as was feared.)

Yet this is a classic story of contemporary capitalism: an unwise overly leveraged buy out left an old company highly vulnerable, only to be picked over by vultures.

Still, the newspaper Col. McCormick called the "world's greatest" is still intact and still sane, while WGN is still around to broadcast Cubs, Sox, Bulls, and (maybe) Blackhawks games. That counts for a good bit.

re: #110 Dark_Falcon

I just hope that being around explosives like that didn't harm the baby.

They are saying that they only recovered seven grams of HMTD, not much to worry about there. No reports on whether or not the boyfriend was making the stuff himself or if it was being made there or not. It would be pretty stupid to be chemically making explosives in your own apartment with your very pregnant girlfriend present. Let us hope he had enough sense to not endanger her and the baby like that.

The now obscure Cara Stewart:

"Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to."Bill Vaughan

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) January 1, 2013

Ms. Stewart sang for Lee Hudson's band out of Southern California:

[Link: www.songpoemmusic.com...]

You can hear a couple more of her songs here:

[Link: bobpurse.blogspot.com...]

Why one artist becomes famous and another never quite "makes it" is nebulous to me. Luck of the draw I guess.

Maybe it is just rather the luck of the casting couch?

re: #111 Vicious Babushka

My daughter graduated from Columbia last week, with a Master's in Pediatric Nursing. Top of the class.

Let's hope she finds a good job!

Congratulations!
We've got a great children's hospital ~[Link: www.childrensmercy.org...]

Also, the St. Louis one is excellent ~ [Link: health.usnews.com...]

re: #91 Vicious Babushka

I finally got Zedushka to LIKE RICE!

He never liked to eat rice, something to do with his dad always liking rice with gravy and rice in chicken soup instead of noodles.

I made Whole Foods 365 Wild Rice & Brown Rice mix and he loved it! He said it didn't taste "ricey"

Thing is, WF 365 Wild Rice & Brown Rice is really expensive, not something that you make to pour leftovers on.

But it is really good with roast beef (or turkey) and sweet potatoes.

Which is why we call it Whole Paycheck. The HQ 1/2 mile from my house, at Sixth and Lamar, just across the river/lake.

We had fireworks at ten, tonight! SWMBO and I watched them from the back porch. Quite the noisemaker, but the cloud ceiling was so low some of the larger effects could only be seen as they cascaded down out of the clouds/fog/scud.

re: #111 Vicious Babushka

My daughter graduated from Columbia last week, with a Master's in Pediatric Nursing. Top of the class.

Let's hope she finds a good job!

Peeds nursing? That won't be a problem. She can pick her hospital. Like peeds cardiology, it's one of the most desired specialties. Now, as to her workload....

re: #125 austin_blue

Peeds nursing? That won't be a problem. She can pick her hospital. Like peeds cardiology, it's one of the most desired specialties. Now, as to her workload....

I have told her to move to Michigan. There is Henry Ford Hospital, Children's Hospital, University of Michigan, Beaumont. But she thinks Detroit is lame.

Well, that's another year gone by here on the East Coast.

Happy New Year from the East Coast.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Now I can go to bed!

Happy New Year from Toronto to all the lizards. May the coming year be a great one for us all.

re: #120 bratwurst

I'm feeling that. Really, really feeling that.

Happy New Year from the East Coast! *officially falls off fiscal cliff*

That's the 2nd fricking time tonight I posted in the wrong thread. Grr.

re: #133 CuriousLurker

Happy New Year from the East Coast! *officially falls off fiscal cliff*

You drank all that coffee! Now you are going to stay awake and pee!

re: #135 Vicious Babushka

You drank all that coffee! Now you are going to stay awake and pee!

Ain't that the truth, LOL.

Happy New Year East Coasters, we are still waiting in the Midwest.

re: #118 watching you tiny alien kittens are

They are saying that they only recovered seven grams of HMTD, not much to worry about there. No reports on whether or not the boyfriend was making the stuff himself or if it was being made there or not. It would be pretty stupid to be chemically making explosives in your own apartment with your very pregnant girlfriend present. Let us hope he had enough sense to not endanger her and the baby like that.

A quarter of an ounce? Ooh, big dangerous terrorist! That's enough for a couple of initiators, but, really, pfft.

Yegods, with all the fireworks going off outsides, you'd swear the Second Civil War had started.

re: #138 austin_blue

A quarter of an ounce? Ooh, big dangerous terrorist! That's enough for a couple of initiators, but, really, pfft.

The main charges might have been stored at someplace else. Those planning terror attacks sometimes do that, building separate components to reduce the chance of losing the whole bomb to a police raid and reducing the risk of a "work accident".

re: #126 Vicious Babushka

I have told her to move to Michigan. There is Henry Ford Hospital, Children's Hospital, University of Michigan, Beaumont. But she thinks Detroit is lame.

Have her take a look at the Dell Children's Hospital here in Austin. Nice town, strong Jewish presence, and a ridiculously accepting community. Summers suck, but it was 55 degrees at ten o'clock tonight. Also, there's a strong drive to fund a Medical School and teaching hospital here in the next two years. Taxing authority has been passed and it looks like a done deal through the oversight of the University of Texas.

re: #126 Vicious Babushka

I have told her to move to Michigan. There is Henry Ford Hospital, Children's Hospital, University of Michigan, Beaumont. But she thinks Detroit is lame.

How does she feel about Minnesota? There are some truly excellent children's hospitals there (truly excellent as in... my brother the Oregon doctor, when his own son needed specialty services, sent him there.)

Image: BYepj.gif

re: #144 Killgore Trout

Image: BYepj.gif

Stupid Flanders...

re: #142 austin_blue

Have her take a look at the Dell Children's Hospital here in Austin.

re: #143 sagehen

How does she feel about Minnesota?

She doesn't want to leave NYC but if she did it would be someplace where there's family.

Happy New Year!

Now I can send the kids to bed.

Wow. The reality of this song is a lot different than I imagined it was.....
Bread and Butter

re: #99 allegro

Oh, no, it's changing! I feel hopeful for the future. The lines have been drawn so clearly, the right is going to get away with less. Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Duckworth, Hilary. I'm feeling very optimistic for our country's future.
Allegro, soo many young women woke up this year to what we we've been trying to tell them not to take for granted.
Four more years of Democratic Presidential policies...judges...

Charles, thanks for everything this past year. I hope all of you have a better year in 2013 than you did in 2012. May the next New Year find you all safe, healthy, happy, and well loved. Thank you for your companionship, and for helping me learn (even when you piss me off).

Despite all our differences and despite all the haters & crappy stuff that happens, as long as we're still breathing there's always hope, cynics be damned.

re: #148 Killgore Trout

[Link: www.larryhenley.com...]

Happy New Year everyone! Congratulations Alouette on your great news you must be very proud.
I can see the guitar coming out here at the house tonight. Just got off work and we have little umbrellas in our drinks!

re: #144 Killgore Trout

Image: BYepj.gif

Only a fool attempts to use a Cat Overlord as a prop.

re: #151 CuriousLurker

I'll second that, even though I get sucked into alt universes and black holes for gaps of time, this place is the home I return to, the touchstone I carry, and a fine place of reference in a world turned mad.

Good step by step recreation of what went wrong in the Gulf of Mexico drilling rig blowout. The fact that they had a VIP presentation in the conference area to pat themselves on the back for their "excellent safety record" just hours before the blowout was news to me.

Seconds from Disaster: The Deepwater Horizon

Well, the Senate deal just got a key vote of support from The Pledgemaster:

Grover Norquist said Monday that he would vote in favor of the Senate’s plan to raise taxes on those earning $450,000 or more annually and said it does not violate his anti-tax pledge.

“Is this a violation of the pledge?” CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer asked him on air.

“No, it is not,” Norquist said on CNN.

(Also on POLITICO: Dems win key tax fights)

“So if Republican Senator ‘X’ votes in favor of the agreement tonight, he or she is not violating the pledge?” Blitzer pressed.

“No. The Republicans have voted in the past to make the tax cuts permanent, all the Republicans, all the pledge takers—” Norquist said.

“So you’re giving your blessing to the Republicans, to Harry Reid, not only the Democrats, to Mitch McConnell and all the Republicans, go ahead and support the deal?” Blitzer said.

“Not having read it all, I’m not endorsing it. But right now, as explained, it doesn’t violate the pledge,” Norquist said. “We need to go back and at the end of the day make sure that the tax cuts are made permanent for everybody, but that’s a fight for the weeks and months to come. This is progress, making 84 percent of the Bush tax cuts permanent.”

“If you were a Senator, you’d vote for it?” Blitzer asked.

“Yes,” Norquist said.

Did Blitzer kiss his ring?

re: #90 Killgore Trout

Before. Just a dry pan over medium heat then boil as usual. It adds a lot of nutty flavor to brown rice and also softens the texture quite a bit.

Seems to be a secret with a lot of recipes using nuts and certain grains. Toasting in advance for a few minutes in order to get the oils more flavorful. I have seen that for cooking quinoa and buckwheat as well to make it more flavorful.

re: #152 freetoken

[Link: www.larryhenley.com...]

It's really an amazing talent. He sounds like a 5ft tall fat black chick. I never would have guessed.

re: #157 Dark_Falcon

If you were a Senator

Image: thescream.jpg

re: #159 Feline Fearless Leader

Seems to be a secret with a lot of recipes using nuts and certain grains. Toasting in advance for a few minutes in order to get the oils more flavorful. I have seen that for cooking quinoa and buckwheat as well to make it more flavorful.

Wild rice was mentioned upthread which is essentially a seed/grain. Toasting really makes quite an impressive transformation.

One of the HBO HD channels is running "The Newsroom" episodes back to back tonight, and rather than wait for "5/1" to come on, I have decided to go to OnDemand and watch the episodes from that one on. Happy New Year everyone on the East Coast, and everywhere else.

re: #157 Dark_Falcon

Well, the Senate deal just got a key vote of support from The Pledgemaster:

You may remember that he initially gave his blessing to Plan B as well, but that wasn't enough to keep the House Tea caucus from scuttling it.

re: #162 Killgore Trout

Wild rice was mentioned upthread which is essentially a seed/grain. Toasting really makes quite an impressive transformation.

I was glad you told me to toast the quinoa. I don't think I'd have liked it as much as I did if I hadn't.

re: #165 CuriousLurker

I was glad you told me to toast the quinoa. I don't think I'd have liked it as much as I did if I hadn't.

It really helps. Just be careful to not over do it, burnt quinoa will kill a dish as fast a burnt garlic. Past some points there's no turning back.

re: #156 watching you tiny alien kittens are

This gets to one of my soapboxes - Americans and "oil".

The Macondo project was important because it was a major find that would have slowed down the net loss of petroleum production in the GoM. It turns out that the deep-water GoM plays deplete quite quickly and new wells (and thus platforms) have to turn around more quickly than one might have thought even 10 years ago.

Thus not only was/is it an environmental disaster, the blowout also effectively reduced US GoM production.

While the sustained high prices for petroleum has allowed for the high cost production in North Dakota to make up for the loss of GoM so far, the production from the Bakken is expected to peak in a couple of years as depletion overtakes new exploration.

Thus we will be right back to where we were in 2006, after the 2005 hurricanes sidelined so much US production, by the end of this decade.

But don't tell that to the wingnuts, who believe that it's only those damn libruls who are keeping America from having all the "oil" it deserves.

THANK YOU FALETTINME BE MICE ELF AGIN

re: #167 freetoken

Woohoo, the first soapbox rant of 2013! ;)

BTW, that brings up the whole "Keystone Pipeline" brouhaha. I wonder how many people really know what that is about?

re: #169 CuriousLurker

It's still 2012 here!

re: #170 freetoken

BTW, that brings up the whole "Keystone Pipeline" brouhaha. I wonder how many people really know what that is about?

Oil for China, $$$ for Stephen Harper, catastrophic climate change and tar-filled aquifers for everyone else.

re: #170 freetoken

BTW, that brings up the whole "Keystone Pipeline" brouhaha. I wonder how many people really know what that is about?

Judging by the wingnuts comments on it not many of them realize that it is a Canadian foreign export project that won't benefit the US at all other than a few short-term construction jobs while it is being built. They seem to think that the oil is for the U.S. market and don't realize that it will drive up prices in the midwest where Canada now dumps what it can't export to market overseas.

re: #172 Interesting Times

Yes, it's the Keystone phase where Cushing, OK is connected to Port Arthur and Houston where the goal truly is, I believe. The whole thing about tar sands is true, but not as important as giving Kochs and others a route to sell relatively inexpensive North American products to a world that is willing to pay more per barrel than Americans.

It's still 2012 here in CA, but 2013 will not be avoided, so an early Happy New Year to all!

re: #164 Targetpractice

You may remember that he initially gave his blessing to Plan B as well, but that wasn't enough to keep the House Tea caucus from scuttling it.

Grover Norquist actually knows something about DC, even though he's a fanatic. He wants a deal on his terms, but he'll actually negotiate if its not about a tax increase. Too many in the House GOP are just plain pissed off by the way 2012 has gone, and I don't know if they'll be able to calm down enough to do their jobs.

And a happy New Year from Chicagoland!

Happy New Year from Texas, where the pistoleros have begun shooting in the air.

re: #177 Dark_Falcon

Grover Norquist actually knows something about DC, even though he's a fanatic. He wants a deal on his terms, but he'll actually negotiate if its not about a tax increase. Too many in the House GOP are just plain pissed off by the way 2012 has gone, and I don't know if they'll be able to calm down enough to do their jobs.

John of Orange may be able to pass it with democratic votes, but if I was a Democrat in the House I'm not sure I'd vote for it. About the only thing good about it is that it extends longterm unemployment benefits, but it only delays sequester for a couple of months, around the time debt limit negotiations are on. I don't know why the Dems are letting the GOP off the hook so easily.

re: #167 freetoken

This gets to one of my soapboxes - Americans and "oil".

The Macondo project was important because it was a major find that would have slowed down the net loss of petroleum production in the GoM. It turns out that the deep-water GoM plays deplete quite quickly and new wells (and thus platforms) have to turn around more quickly than one might have thought even 10 years ago.

Thus not only was/is it an environmental disaster, the blowout also effectively reduced US GoM production.

While the sustained high prices for petroleum has allowed for the high cost production in North Dakota to make up for the loss of GoM so far, the production from the Bakken is expected to peak in a couple of years as depletion overtakes new exploration.

Thus we will be right back to where we were in 2006, after the 2005 hurricanes sidelined so much US production, by the end of this decade.

But don't tell that to the wingnuts, who believe that it's only those damn libruls who are keeping America from having all the "oil" it deserves.

Well, this is the problem with high porosity, low permeability plays. They produce like motherfuckers in the short term, but the long term production is, at best, iffy.

Although the SW Texas play in the Eagle Ford shale is showing some legs. Lots of gas, lots of condensate at 68 API (!!!) and a fair amount of light crude. Much better long term potential than the Williston in NoDak.

But again, protecting shallow fresh water is a problem. A petroleum well is only as secure as its weakest cement job. And as we saw in the Macando well, even big players like BP can seriously fuck the dog.

Austin_Blue, licensed Professional Geoscientist, former international wellhead geologist. Now I just keep shit from blowing up.

And happy new year to you all from the central time zone! Many happy returns of the day! Thanks to all of you for making this the best board ever!

And, obviously, thanks to Charles for keeping the monkey house sane.

Happy Fiscal Cliff, everybody!

Happy New Year from the Gulf Coast!

I predict the wingnuts will have blamed Obama for the country going over the cliff within about the next 10 or so minutes.

re: #181 austin_blue

Well, this is the problem with high porosity, low permeability plays. They produce like motherfuckers in the short term, but the long term production is, at best, iffy.

Although the SW Texas play in the Eagle Ford shale is showing some legs. Lots of gas, lots of condensate at 68 API (!!!) and a fair amount of light crude. Much better long term potential than the Williston in NoDak.

But again, protecting shallow fresh water is a problem. A petroleum well is only as secure as its weakest cement job. And as we saw in the Macando well, even big players like BP can seriously fuck the dog.

Austin_Blue, licensed Professional Geoscientist, former international wellhead geologist. Now I just keep shit from blowing up.

And happy new year to you all from the central time zone! Many happy returns of the day! Thanks to all of you for making this the best board ever!

And, obviously, thanks to Charles for keeping the monkey house sane.

We're sane?

re: #182 dragonath

Happy Fiscal Cliff, everybody!

Image: cliffhanger_poster1.jpg

re: #176 Cinnabar

It's still 2012 here in CA, but 2013 will not be avoided, ...

Unless I can get my long-worked-on time machine up and running in the next 108 minutes.

re: #180 aagcobb

John of Orange may be able to pass it with democratic votes, but if I was a Democrat in the House I'm not sure I'd vote for it. About the only thing good about it is that it extends long-term unemployment benefits, but it only delays sequester for a couple of months, around the time debt limit negotiations are on. I don't know why the Dems are letting the GOP off the hook so easily.

If it passes the Senate and Obama says he'll sign it, then Pelosi will have to support it. She'd be seen as stabbing Harry Reid in the back if she refused and it would look like Obama, too, could not keep his troops in line. A case of 'base rejection' by both parties would be calamitous, as it would mean that no deal would be possible for months. No one wants that sort of economic damage, and so McConnell and Reid have decided concede things to each other to get something done.

re: #185 dragonfire1981

Image: cliffhanger_poster1.jpg

Black helicopters!

All the fiscal cliff talk reminds me of the Cliff hanger cartoons from "Between the Lions"

re: #185 dragonfire1981

Image: cliffhanger_poster1.jpg

After playing small roles and an over-the-top villain toymaker in Santa Claus: The Movie, John Lithgow returned to the 'iceman' type of villain he had previously portrayed in Blowout in this Stallone flick. It was a type of villain that Lithgow later raised to perfection as the Trinity Killer on Showtime's Dexter.

Think I'm gonna save the link on this, just so I can refer back to it in a couple months:

Dems To GOP: No Debt Limit Negotiations — Any Default Is On You

To sell Senate Democrats on a controversial plan the White House negotiated with Senate Republicans to avoid the fiscal cliff, Vice President Joe Biden had to repeatedly reassure frustrated members of his own party Monday night that President Obama and Democratic leaders will not negotiate with the GOP to raise the debt ceiling in February or March.

“We also talked about something I feel strongly about is that we should tell the Republicans on debt ceiling we are not negotiating any political agenda in return for raising the debt ceiling,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told reporters in the Capitol after a long Democratic caucus meeting during which Biden pitched his deal. “That if they start doing that, we’re saying, ‘We’re not discussing it. … If you want to let the debt ceiling lapse, and we don’t pay our bills, that’s on your shoulders. We’re not negotiating cuts, revenues or anything else for the debt ceiling. That should just be done automatically. Don’t come and tie the two together because we’re not going to talk to you about that.’”

re: #190 Dark_Falcon

After playing small roles and an over-the-top villain toymaker in Santa Claus: The Movie, John Lithgow returned to the 'iceman' type of villain he had previously portrayed in Blowout in this Stallone flick. It was a type of villain that Lithgow later raised to perfection as the Trinity Killer on Showtime's Dexter.

Your failure to mention Dr. Emilio Lizardo has been noted.

re: #192 Kragar

Your failure to mention Dr. Emilio Lizardo has been noted.

Sorry, but I know essentially nothing about "Buckaroo Banzai".

re: #193 Dark_Falcon

Sorry, but I know essentially nothing about "Buckaroo Banzai".

Those words don't make sense when you put them together like that.

re: #194 Kragar

Those words don't make sense when you put them together like that.

It is what it is.

re: #193 Dark_Falcon

Sorry, but I know essentially nothing about "Buckaroo Banzai".

Don't know, just watch...great 80s sci-fi cheese with Lithgow, Peter Weller, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Lloyd, and Ellen Barkin in her prime.

re: #196 TedStriker

Don't know, just watch...great 80s sci-fi cheese, with Lithgow, Peter Weller, Jeff Goldblum, and Ellen Barkin in her prime.

Christopher Lloyd as well.

"BigbooTAY!"

re: #197 Kragar

Christopher Lloyd as well.

"BigbooTAY!"

And Clancy Brown.

re: #197 Kragar

Christopher Lloyd as well.

"BigbooTAY!"

It's all Harry Reid. RT @toddzwillich: Just walked past a Senate office and the Sir Mix-a-lot Big Butt song was streaming out. No lie.

— Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) January 1, 2013

re: #198 Kragar

And Clancy Brown.

Can't believe I forgot about Clancy Brown.

re: #197 Kragar

Christopher Lloyd as well.

"BigbooTAY!"

"It's not my goddamn planet, understand monkey boy?!"

re: #184 Targetpractice

We're sane?

Well, sanish.

re: #199 Interesting Times

[Embedded content]

If I were to hear Reid sing "I like big butts and I cannot lie!", I'd have to slit my wrists right there.

/

re: #201 Targetpractice

"It's not my goddamn planet, understand monkey boy?!"

John O'Connor, break the window!
Why me, John Bigboote?
It might be booby-trapped!
Oh.

I looked up

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

and the main detail I came away with is that Charles must be a Red Lectroid.

///

Okay, I'm out. Here's one for all the working poor who are going to be hurt the most if Congress doesn't get its shit together--they have dreams too, you assholes, so stop screwing around and start thinking of something besides yourselves.

G'nite everyone.

re: #192 Kragar

Your failure to mention Dr. Emilio Lizardo has been noted.

We must act now, John Bigbootee!

It's Bigbootay!

re: #205 Dark_Falcon

I looked up

and the main detail I came away with is that Charles must be a Red Lectroid.

///

Charles would be a Black Lectroid; Pamz, Robert, and their ilk would be Red Lectroids.

///

re: #204 Kragar

John O'Connor, break the window!
Why me, John Bigboote?
It might be booby-trapped!
Oh.

"Damn John Whorfin and the horse he rode in on!"

re: #209 TedStriker

Charles would be a Black Lectroid; Pamz, Robert, and their ilk would be Red Lectroids.

///

Indeed.

The Milwaukee-area Battletech group have an echo of Buckaroo Banzai in their name, playing as a Rim Worlds Republic unit nicknamed "The Singapore Longshoremen".

One of my favorite lines:

"You can check your anatomy all you want, and even though there may be normal variation, when it comes right down to it, this far inside the head it all looks the same. No, no, no, don't tug on that. You never know what it might be attached to."

It's kind of like dealing with House Republicans...

Synchronicity!

Fun way to mess with kids:

Show them the Kurgen from Highlander, then show them he is the voice behind Eugene Krabs.

Well, this will get the wingnuts spinning up to around 10,000 rpm:

[Link: www.cnn.com...]

All part of the plot to hide Benghazi, dontcha know...

Speaking of movies, saw "John Dies at the End" finally. Not bad for how complex the story line was, but anyone who read the book will be disappointed because they cut out a good 70% of the story to fit a film format.

re: #215 austin_blue

Well, this will get the wingnuts spinning up to around 10,000 rpm:

[Link: www.cnn.com...]

All part of the plot to hide Benghazi, dontcha know...

Obvious proof that Obama has a blood clot gun.
///

Happy New Year from New Mexico!

I hope that's just fireworks that I hear....

re: #218 wrenchwench

Happy New Year from New Mexico!

And back atcha!

Many happy returns of the day!

The Mountain Time Zone rings in.

re: #214 Kragar

Fun way to mess with kids:

Show them the Kurgen from Highlander, then show them he is the voice behind Eugene Krabs.

And when they get older, they get to see him as Captain Hadley in The Shawshank Redemption.

Mind blown...

re: #221 TedStriker

And when they get older, they get to see him as Captain Hadley in The Shawshank Redemption.

Mind blown...

Next up, David Cross from Alvin and the Chipmunks, followed by some of his standup act.

Happy New Year from the Rocky Mountains!

re: #205 Dark_Falcon

I looked up

and the main detail I came away with is that Charles must be a Red Lectroid.

///

No no no no no. The Red Lectroids included John Smallberries.

Given the shit he has taken over the last two years, Charles could never be a member of that group!

re: #221 TedStriker

Another factoid about Clancy Brown: he's apparently portrayed Lex Luther (by voicing him in in a bunch of DC's animated series) longer than anyone else.

re: #221 TedStriker

And when they get older, they get to see him as Captain Hadley in The Shawshank Redemption.

Mind blown...

A versatile actor can play very different roles. Chris Melloni was at one point acting in two series at once playing a Catholic police detective with a large family on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and playing a murderous homosexual prison inmate on Oz. He played both roles well, even though they were worlds apart.

re: #225 TedStriker

Another factoid about Clancy Brown: he's apparently portrayed Lex Luther (by voicing him in in a bunch of DC's animated series) longer than anyone else.

As for Peter Weller, he semi-retired from acting and is working on a PHD in Roman and Renaissance art and sometimes teaches the subject.

re: #226 Dark_Falcon

A versatile actor can play very different roles. Chris Melloni was at one point acting in two series at once playing a Catholic police detective with a large family on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and playing a murderous homosexual prison inmate on Oz. He played both roles well, even though they were worlds apart.

He also played a Klansmen in the Harold and Kumar movies. Gifted guy Merloni is. Hear he's a hoot on the set.

Happy New Years by the way guys. Fun night for me. Dancing and all that jazz.

Happy New Years, lizards!

re: #227 Kragar

As for Peter Weller, he semi-retired from acting and is working on a PHD in Roman and Renaissance art and sometimes teaches the subject.

A real-life Renaissance Man, just like Buckaroo Banzai.

re: #231 TedStriker

A real-life Renaissance Man, just like Buckaroo Banzai.

Fitting, given that America's Declaration of Independence was written by our first great Renaissance Man, Thomas Jefferson. In important ways he was wrong, but he was incredibly inventive and never stopped trying to create new and useful things. From wine-making, to plant hybridization, to architecture, and even cryptography: Jefferson did it all.

re: #193 Dark_Falcon

Sorry, but I know essentially nothing about "Buckaroo Banzai".

Watch it, and then wait for the watermelon joke.

Here's a somewhat different New Year's song:

Oh, and Happy New Year from the left coast.

Good Night, All.

The only difference between you and me is a couple of drinks.

~Jim Lahey

Esteemed Senator from Wisconsin:

Why Must We Still Hear About Kwanzaa

Of course, almost no black people today care about Kwanzaa - just white left-wingers who try to shove this down black people's throats in an effort to divide Americans. Irresponsible public school districts such as Green Bay and Madison (and who knows how many others, see links below) try to tell a new generation that blacks have a separate holiday than Christians. Waring Fincke, left-wing West Bend lawyer and vice chair of the Washington County Democratic Party, encouraged people to learn more about Kwanzaa in a column in July. Fortunately, almost all black people ignore Waring Fincke and his ilk and their efforts to divide Americans.
But why do they do it? They don't like America and seek to destroy it by pretending that its values as expressed in the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution, don't apply to everyone. Mainstream Americans must be more outspoken on this issue. It's time it's slapped down once and for all.

re: #239 Amory Blaine

Assistant Majority leader of the WI Senate.

There's a site dedicated to tracking his idiocy:
[Link: glenn-grothman-watch.blogspot.com...]

According to Wikipedia, he has history with these kind of issues:

Grothman has argued that Martin Luther King, Jr. Day should not be a work holiday, calling the day off "an insult to all the other taxpayers around the state". He has expressed doubts that "state workers would be 'checking out DVDs or reading books' about King and would probably just be out shopping or watching television instead."[6] He released a statement opposing a Kwanzaa holiday, stating that we should "treat Kwanzaa with the contempt it deserves before it becomes a permanent part of our culture."[7]

Oh, and :

In February 2012, Grothman introduced Senate Bill 507, which would amend Wisconsin statutes to emphasize single parenthood as a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect.[14] He also sponsored State Bill 202, which would have repealed the Equal Pay Enforcement Act, saying that the "Left and the social welfare establishment want children born out of wedlock because they are far more likely to be dependent on the government."[15]

Anyone who wins an Eagle Forum leadership award ought to be immediately suspect.

Good night, all! Sweet scaly dreams,

Villa-Lobos for the new year:

Happy 2013, everybody!

Last post was three hours ago?

Jeez, you'd think everybody has a hangover or something.

Reliably, @mailonline captures New Year's Eve at its drunken, stumbling worst. bit.ly/YJPwRV twitter.com/nytjim/status/...

— Jim Roberts (@nytjim) January 1, 2013

re: #245 BongCrodny

Happy 2013, everybody!

Last post was three hours ago?

Jeez, you'd think everybody has a hangover or something.

I think a lot of them are still asleep.

Last minute deal saves nation from cliff?

Happy New Year!!

Making Hopping John today- I've had it every new year I've ever known.

Morning, Lizards! Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you had a great night and that any hangovers will pass quickly. ;)

Last night was a quiet one for me. Rang in the new year at home with a bottle of champagne that I split with the boyfriend and a couple of rentals from Redbox. It's a far cry from the noisy bars I used to spend NYE in, but I'm not complaining. There were enough parties in my neighborhood last night that I didn't miss anything.

An update from the Daily Beast...
NY Couple Not Terrorists, Say Cops, Just Rich Kids With Drug Habits

But further investigation produced no indication that this was a case of Gossip Girl gone terrorist.

“So far, no plot,” the senior police official said.

The official did not offer an explanation as to why the couple had allegedly amassed all the requirements of a terror cell but apparently not the intent. The absence of drugs in the apartment has apparently not dissuaded them from taking the view that the two are junkies with advantages.
.....
People with extensive knowledge of the Occupy Wall Street movement were saying that they had never heard of Greene. They discounted a news report that he was an OWS activist.

By midday Sunday, police had reached the tentative conclusion that the explosives and weapons were part of some drug-fueled fantasy life. To cops, Greene appears to be living proof that going to Harvard does not necessarily make you any less a knucklehead.

As I recall the explosives charges included something like "intent to use" which seems to me like there was some sort of plan to use the explosives for something. Maybe they were going to try to kill some of their rich parents for inheritance money or something. Making the explosives is a lot of effort, i think they had something in mind.

re: #252 Killgore Trout

An update from the Daily Beast...
NY Couple Not Terrorists, Say Cops, Just Rich Kids With Drug Habits

So all the earlier hysteria about them being OWS people ended up being bullshit.

My surprise, let me show you it.

re: #253 Lidane

So all the earlier hysteria about them being OWS people ended up being bullshit.

My surprise, let me show you it.

Police are still looking into it. It's possible but even if it's true it may or may not be relevant to any sort of plan they had for the explosives. It wouldn't surprise me either way. The only thing I have serious doubts about in that article are the statements saying the couple had no plan to use the explosives. There has to be some sort of reason to go to all the effort. Maybe they thought they could sell them for drug money or something.

I want to wish everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.

re: #255 lawhawk

I want to wish everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.

Back atchy, Law