60 responses to “Award season.”

1. 

   Oscar said on February 27, 2012 at 5:54 am

   Just to clarify – the Russian version of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” is called “Voroniny” (the Voronins – by the surname of the two generations of the family).

   Another note – as other transitions into Russian soaps go, most other series were converted with a very close facial resemblanse of at least main characters. In “Everybody Loves Raymond,” though, only Mom is a lookalike, but is she ever.

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2. 

   beb said on February 27, 2012 at 8:08 am

   That’s not a nip-slip. Janet Jackson, now that was a nip-slip. As for T-lo, I have no idea why they’re ragging on J-Lo’s choice of dress. If someone doesn’t show up half-dressed for the Oscars what’s the point of watching? Certainly not to find out which movie you never heard of before won for best sound recording….

   The mere concept of Russians adapting an American sitcom to Russian television us hard to swallow. Who know their sense of humor was anywhere near to ours.

   I thought the best headline of the weekend was “Santorum comes from behind in three-way.” Either the copy-editor wasn’t paying much attention to what he was writing, or slipping a real zinger through.

   That Santorum thinks college is a liberal indoctrination plantation and that Kennedy’s great Religion speech had made him sick, makes me long for the days of Rick Perry. Man that guy was stupid – and unfit for office – but not batshit crazy. At this point, when it comes to voting for the lesser of two evils, I think Hitler would be the lesser evil.

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3. 

   Suzanne said on February 27, 2012 at 8:22 am

   I saw The Artist. Fun movie and very well done.
   I watched part of the awards show, but seriously wish they’d get rid of all the dumb skits and fluff. Bring out the stars, give out the awards, and be done with it. Although the Cirque thing was cool.

   The GOP field just gets nuttier and nuttier. I worry that a brokered convention will bring in an even nuttier unknown who might slip through before his/her nuttiness can be completely exposed. Interesting that while businesses continually whine that they can’t find enough skilled workers to staff their companies, we have Santorum whining that we don’t want too many people to go to college for training. Yeah, because we all know that the local community college is a hotbed of liberal thinking and is where Girl Scouts go when they age out of that communist breeding ground.

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4. 

   Sue said on February 27, 2012 at 8:33 am

   I’m still getting shock shivers thinking of Angelina Jolie. I don’t follow celebrities usually and haven’t seen a picture of her in awhile. I didn’t realize that she’s anorexic. I couldn’t describe her dress, all I saw was those arms and a face that took ‘good bone structure’ down to its skeletal elements.
   And what was with the leg thing? Why did she feel it was necessary to position herself a couple of times so her leg was showing? Was that some sort of reference to something, an in-joke about a movie or what? Because we didn’t need to see it.
   Not sure why seeing her bothered me so much. I could take her or leave her and I don’t care about whose husbands she vamped away or whatever. Doesn’t she or anyone around her realize she’s in trouble?

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5. 

   coozledad said on February 27, 2012 at 8:34 am

   beb: Well, Santorum wouldn’t kick Reinhard Heydrich Timothy Dolan out of bed just because he’s a bagman for a child prostitution racket got a little sand on his feet.
   And Ratzingers’s Hitler yoot days? hell, everybody did it. Put it this way- if you lived in Malibu in ’63 and didn’t surf, folks would have called you an asshole, right?

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6. 

   deb said on February 27, 2012 at 8:38 am

   I saw that Santorum interview while visiting my husband in the hospital yesterday and had to restrain myself from screaming. What. A. Tool. But to take the longer view: Yes, excellent. Go for it, Rick.

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7. 

   brian stouder said on February 27, 2012 at 9:00 am

   Agreed with Sue; Angelina’s arms drew my attention, and the leg thing was just sorta odd.

   As for the Michigan shenanigans, I’m down to polite silence; what’s to say, anymore? We were at a birthday party this past weekend, and one fellow – upon learning that Pam and I are solid Obama people – brought the room to a standstill with his exclamations of “OHMYGOD!! OHMYGOD” (followed by his announcement to the room, of the fact!)

   And our response? Polite silence, with a pleasant smile

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8. 

   Peter said on February 27, 2012 at 9:10 am

   Reading the speech wanted to make you throw up? Ay Carumba, aren’t we just a little too sensitive here? If that wants to make you throw up, Ricky, you’re going to be pretty bulimic by the time this ride’s over.

   And now for the important part – is it just me, or was the sound at last night’s Oscars horrible? I mean I heard feedback, at one point the mike was about three feet lower than the presenter, Billy Crystal sounded like his mike was broken – and that orchestra in the balcony – what’s up with that?

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9. 

   adrianne said on February 27, 2012 at 9:29 am

   Scary arms. Very scary arms, Angelina. Please, for God’s sake, eat a pastry!

   Even though it was telecast long before the actual awards, it was nice to Christopher Plummer get his due. Nance, he got his start (along with fellow hammy Canadian, William Shatner) at the Stratford Festival.

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10. 

    Julie Robinson said on February 27, 2012 at 9:41 am

    Santorum now makes me queasy anytime I think of him, not just when I think of his google results. Someone called him the most dangerous man in America, and although I won’t go that far, I do fear for our country were he to be elected.

    And I’m kicking myself for staying up to the bitter end of the Oscars when I haven’t even seen most of the movies. Something is very, very wrong in Angelina Jolie’s brain that she would think she looks good in such skeletal form. C’mon, Brad, make her eat. As for the rest, meh. Yup, the sound was bad.

    Deb, I hope your dearly beloved is on the mend and will be home soon.

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11. 

    Dorothy said on February 27, 2012 at 9:49 am

    Angelina and her weird leg position was just bizarre, but thank goodness she did it, because Jim Rash was one of the winners she announced. And when he started to imitate her, bending his leg and hand on hip, I laughed like hell. I was thankful for his imitation of her, and I hoped she got the hint: YOU LOOK LIKE AN ASS DOING THAT, ANGELINA!

    Amazing to know it’s been 30 years since Mary Louise won an Oscar. If I had to guess I would have said 10 at the most. Octavia Spencer & Christopher Plummer gave really terrific speeches, as did Jean what’s-his-name. I had to watch the last hour this morning via the DVR. I’m too old to stay up for that stuff anymore. And in my opinion, Billy Crystal was terrific. The reviews saying it was “geriatric” just mystify me. Then again, I just said I’m too old to stay up so what do I know?

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12. 

    Deborah said on February 27, 2012 at 9:52 am

    I took a hot bath early, went to bed early and promptly to sleep which is unusual. No awards watching for me. I knew I could count on the internet this morning to get the scoop. I didn’t see many of the movies as usual. I used to be a big movie buff too.

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13. 

    Scout said on February 27, 2012 at 10:09 am

    I missed the awards show, as usual, but knew I could get the ‘best-of’ scoop here and elsewhere. I was especially looking forward to the T-Lo wrap up and they did not disappoint. Penelope Cruz easily walked away with the stunner of the evening award for me. The Spanish Grace Kelly, indeed.

    It’s been hilarious watching Sanitorium try to out crazy his ownself all weekend in an attempt to fire up his nuttier-than-thou base before Tuesday. A lost cause here in AZ; the Mormons have all been given their marching orders by the Bishops as well as the finger wagging Gov herself. But Michigan, well, I do have my fingers and toes crossed for a Sanitorium spoiler there.

    Speaking of Jan Brewski, I hear she continued her fatwa against the President by refusing to attend the Whhite House Governor’s dinner yesterday. Or maybe she was just too embarrassed to show her face, which would be a rare moment of self awareness for her.

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14. 

    Bitter Scribe said on February 27, 2012 at 10:24 am

    Saw “Thin Ice” over the weekend. It’s interesting, but I don’t know that I can exactly recommend it. It has some very jarring shifts in tone, to the point where it seems like three different movies stitched together. I later found out that the woman who directed it, and co-wrote it with her sister, was so upset with post-production changes that she no longer considers it her movie.

    Still. It has Greg Kinnear and Alan Arkin, who are always fun (although Arkin sounded more Yiddish than Midwestern), plus Billy Crudup, whom I’d barely heard of but who was terrific.

    As for Santorum, the man just keeps topping himself. Oh please please please, let him win Michigan. We need him to stay in the race for sheer entertainment value.

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15. 

    Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on February 27, 2012 at 10:35 am

    I know I’m getting older each year, but the standards for applying the term “geriatric” seem to be dropping faster than one year per year. Apparently it means anything that’s not so bleeding edge you have to check to see if Twitter likes it, or is “trending.”

    Except he was! Although it was because of the volume of tweets telling me that I wasn’t or shouldn’t be laughing at his jokes. I liked him, but I’d go for Chris Rock getting the tap for next year. Or Meryl Streep!

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16. 

    Julie Robinson said on February 27, 2012 at 10:37 am

    I would not be opposed to a repeat of Hugh Jackman as host. Nope, would not be opposed one little bit.

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17. 

    Dorothy said on February 27, 2012 at 10:49 am

    I joined Twitter but have only logged back in three or four times since I did so a month or more ago. I just don’t understand the purpose of it – IS there a purpose? I guess I find it a huge waste of time to read other people’s fleeting thoughts constantly. I have enough of my own to keep track of. The only disturbing thing about Billy Crystal’s appearance to me was seeing that he must have died his hair, which disappointed me greatly. I’m a big believer in “being yourself”, which is a concept not even remotely entertained in Hollywood.

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18. 

    Pam said on February 27, 2012 at 11:05 am

    If people do indeed, die and are then reborn into a new life on earth, then Santorum is a reborn Inquisitor. I wouldn’t be surprised if he flails himself every night before bed. I remember when Kennedy was running. The R people claimed that Kennedy would be taking orders from the Pope. Where are they now? If Santorum were a Democrat, we’d be hearing no end of anti-Catholic sentiment. That’s the trouble with the Rs, they lie to the public over and over again. Karl Rove even brags about how it’s done so easily! They should all be ashamed of themselves.

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19. 

    Connie said on February 27, 2012 at 11:08 am

    I see on Facebook that my various home town friends saw Santorum, Romney and/or Ron Paul in various Michigan locations yesterday. Sadly, my best friend is a Ron Paul fan. Congressman Hoekstra was replaced by his protege now Congressman Huizenga whom I remember as a very small child, younger sibling of two good high school friends. Hoekstra, Huizenga, Ozinga, can you see the connection? Add Hoosier legislator Bosma to that list.

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20. 

    Jason T. said on February 27, 2012 at 11:12 am

    I don’t speak Russian, but I find the Russian version of “Everybody Loves Raymond” just about as funny as I found the American version. Also, Russian laugh tracks are every bit as obnoxious as American ones. There is no laugh track gap, ladies and gentlemen!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EpCzwPJ8Lw

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21. 

    nancy said on February 27, 2012 at 11:18 am

    Fascinating. Even knowing very limited Russian, but knowing American sitcoms fairly well, I can tell you what’s happening in the pre-credits scene of that show: The little girl said a bad word, and her oafish father is trying to explain why she shouldn’t say it. Then all-knowing mom steps in to offer her own perspective.

    I never watched “Everybody Loves Raymond,” not once. But some things are, as Phil Rosenthal said over and over and over in the film, “relatable.”

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22. 

    Deborah said on February 27, 2012 at 11:39 am

    We moved the TV out of the bedroom into the library (other bedroom with no bed in it), and we only use it for watching movies on DVD. The only TV we watch is Madmen and very (very) occasional news viewing. I can always count on finding out what happened on TV here at nnc. I’m sorry I missed Downton Abbey but plan on buying the DVDs. Without you guys mentioning it I’m not sure I would have a clue who Jeremy Lin is.

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23. 

    Sue said on February 27, 2012 at 11:50 am

    I love Everybody Loves Raymond, although I didn’t get into it until it was well-established and really in its groove. Later I saw the first episode (with Marie freaking about the Fruit of the Month Club gift) and realized it really could have gone either way. I still laugh at it and relate to it, at the same time realizing that what I relate to isn’t nearly as funny in real life.

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24. 

    Jakash said on February 27, 2012 at 12:25 pm

    I thought Chris Rock was the funniest presenter, partly because of his willingness to bite the hand that feeds him. In presenting the animation award he offered this:
    “”I love animation,” he says. “I love animation because in the world of animation, you can be anything you want to be. If you’re a fat woman you can play a skinny princess. If you’re a short wimpy guy, you can play a tall gladiator. If you’re a white man you can play an Arabian prince. And if you’re a black man, you can play a donkey, or a zebra. You can’t play white, my God!” …………….
    “I hate when people go on TV and tell you how hard it is to do animations. ‘Oh, Jay, it’s such hard work.’ No no no, UPS is hard work. Stripping wood is hard work,” he says, explaining that for animation, he just had to go into a studio and read his lines out loud.
    “And then they give me a million dollars,” he added.”
    http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/02/oscars-2012-can-chris-rock-host-next-year.html
    And it was funnier the way he did it than it is in print, of course.

    Of Billy Crystal’s stuff, I laughed most at his simple introduction of Christian Bale, who’s played Batman, a serial killer in “American Psycho” and a recovering druggie in “The Fighter”. Crystal: “A ‘Dark Knight,’ an ‘American Psycho,’ a charismatic crack addict. You’ll get to choose one on Super Tuesday.”
    http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1679996/billy-crystal-best-oscar-jokes.jhtml

    “The Artist” was quite entertaining, but a pretty simple story. If I’d have had a vote, I’d have gone for “Hugo”, I think, though in watching it, I didn’t find it as fun as I thought it should have been. But, as demonstrated by all the lesser awards it won, it combined mastery of many more aspects of filmmaking than some of the others, it would seem.

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25. 

    Jeff Borden said on February 27, 2012 at 12:32 pm

    Sadly, I do think Mittens will win in Michigan and Arizona, but Little Ricky is echoing Newtie that he intends to stick around for the long haul. The NYT had a Page One story yesterday about how Romney’s money bundlers are telling his supporters to brace for a long haul.

    Then again, Mittens never goes a day without putting his Gucci loafer into his mouth. He visits the Daytona 500 yesterday and (a) when asked by an AP reporter if he is a NASCAR fan responds that he is not really a big fan, but has friends who own NASCAR teams and (b) he made some odd, condescending remark about all the plastic ponchos fans were wearing as the rains came down.

    Lord, but he is a smug and clueless man.

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26. 

    nancy said on February 27, 2012 at 12:36 pm

    Dunno if anyone noticed, but:

    In the Billy-puts-himself-in-famous-scenes-from-the-nominated-films montage, George Clooney leans over and kisses him on the lips, the way he did with his dying wife in “The Descendants.” But! That’s the second gay joke in an Oscars montage Clooney has done; the first was with Jon Stewart, when he wakes up in bed next to Clooney (spoofing “Brokeback Mountain”). I wonder if he’s trying to tell us something, or if it’s just his own sly joke.

    Shoutout time: Adrianne can tell us how George shot that scene with Stewart at some B&B in her circulation area. One of her reporters met him, having dinner. He said, “Hi, I’m George.”

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27. 

    Rana said on February 27, 2012 at 12:36 pm

    Pam, oh, now, don’t be insulting the Inquisitors. They may have been aggressive in the defense of their faith, but they did have a mandate to seek out truth and weigh evidence, for all that we disagree about their methods now. I can’t imagine Santorum caring about truth or evidence, ever; the man wants power, and attempts to use his religion to make it seem morally acceptable.

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28. 

    Icarus said on February 27, 2012 at 12:48 pm

    It seems every year there is a wardrobe malfunction at the superbowl or oscars and we talk about it. Was it on purpose? What were they thinking? Wouldn’t it be easier to be less puritan and not freak out when we see a body part?

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29. 

    Sue said on February 27, 2012 at 1:15 pm

    ‘for all that we disagree about their methods now’
    Rana, if Santorum calls for a comfy chair we will know Pam is right.

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30. 

    MichaelG said on February 27, 2012 at 1:17 pm

    I just got my cookies this AM. The ones from the transexual abortion lovers. A tip of a thin mint to you all.

    MMJeff, I have noticed that strange time compression thing. For example there were 52% more Mondays in 2011 than in previous years. 2012 is trending the same way.

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31. 

    Jolene said on February 27, 2012 at 1:28 pm

    Santorum really is amazing. Early in the primary season, I thought of him as someone with whom I disagreed on pretty much everything, but whose decency and sincerity I respected. Lately, however, he has revealed himself to be truly around the bend.

    But even his ridiculous views are not as shocking as that there’s an audience for them. People applauded when he called Obama a snob for advocating education. My lord, is there anything more American than striving? It’s practically the whole point of the culture. This resentment of achievement cannot end well.

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32. 

    coozledad said on February 27, 2012 at 2:06 pm

    Like everything else Charles Murray has written, the assertion that minorities have lower IQs is pure Republican projection.
    As much as I’d like to see what kind of aircraft carrier The Wyoming Navy would try and put on the Yellowstone River, what I’d rather see is for the US to march in and strip every big hat legislator of every asset before selling them into slavery for thirty years or unto death, whichever came first:
    http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/things-happen-quickly-sometimes.html

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33. 

    Jason T. said on February 27, 2012 at 2:14 pm

    Shameless plug: George’s dad, Nick Clooney, wrote up a nice anecdote for me that I included in my book.

    My mom was unimpressed. “Couldn’t you have gotten something from George?” she said.

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34. 

    Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on February 27, 2012 at 2:15 pm

    Pam, I thought it worked the other way around — if you were an inquisitor, you’d come back as one of your victims’ ethnicity or faith community. So to explain Santorum by way of karma, you’d think he’d been a . . . wow, this is difficult. Anyhow, someone with issues who died without resolving them.

    I don’t lean towards reincarnation at all, but even as a Protestant, I have to admit I find the appeal of purgatory fairly common-sensical. You may be generally oriented towards the light, but you have stuff that really needs burned off and peeled away before you’re ready to head on into the Presence.

    My low-church Christianity version of all this is found in saying to or about someone: when you are talking to Jesus on the long walk from the pearly gates, across the golden pavement towards the throne of grace, he’s going to have lots to say to you, and none of it good.

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35. 

    brian stouder said on February 27, 2012 at 2:26 pm

    Another school shooting, at a big high school near Cleveland.

    The body count will be lower than it certainly could have been, because one of the uppity overpaid unionized teachers (at some utterly superfluous, if not downright traitorous Public School!) risked his life and chased the armed student out of the building, thus ending the carnage.

    Let’s tell that teacher “thanks!”, and then cut his pay, eh?

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36. 

    Jeff Borden said on February 27, 2012 at 2:47 pm

    The teacher probably learned how to do that while he was being trained as a “union thug,” as my Republican pals like to call us card-carrying union members.

    Santorum is a fine one to talk about going to college. The asshole has three college degrees including a J.D. What a fucking punk.

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37. 

    Sue said on February 27, 2012 at 3:20 pm

    Nancy, I heard (again) on MSNBC that there are predictions of mischief voting in MI, an actual campaign to affect the outcome. True?
    I don’t think mischief voting has ever gotten to the point where it affects the final vote, but no matter which side does it I really hate it. There is little enough quality out there most election years, no fair making it worse and giving voters less of a choice. And this year – why help them hang themselves and then let the Sunday-morning talking idiots find a way to blame it on anything but the party’s own willingness to destroy itself?

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38. 

    mark said on February 27, 2012 at 3:27 pm

    Yes, clearly the critical point to draw from a tragic shooting at a school is that all criticism of public schools and public school employees is misguided. Can’t you create straw-men to knock down out of something a little less immediate, and a little less awful, than children shot in a lunchroom just a few hours ago?

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39. 

    brian stouder said on February 27, 2012 at 3:47 pm

    Mark – I’ve heard absolutely nothing – NOTHING – but criticism of public education, and public employees (and teachers and administrators at public schools, in particular) from the lunatic rightwing (which is to say – the center of the Republi-goon party), for the past several years.

    Excuse me if I point to the real valor and courage of one of these public employees, who – in an instant – literally placed everything he has on the line for his students and his school.

    If you take political offense at that, then take a number and get in line – because I’m heartily sick and tired of the endless political assaults on public education.

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40. 

    Jeff Borden said on February 27, 2012 at 3:49 pm

    Sue,

    There has been an effort by some leftie websites to have Democrats vote in the Republican primary in Michigan and cast their ballots for Frothy Santorum. This is tit-for-tat what El Rushbo pursued back in 2008, in an effort to keep the Obama vs. Hillary race going longer. We’d all love to see Mullah Ricky get the nomination, though I continue to believe, as always, that it will be Willard Windsock. Were Frothy to get the nomination, the slaughter of the GOP would be assured.

    I take your point, Mark, though teachers have been demonized so regularly by rightwingers that I understand Brian’s comment. And we’ve seen the disgusting spectacle of pseudo-macho wingnut columnists and commentators suggesting that if only armed, manly men like them had been present, there would never have been a Columbine or a Virginia Tech. The sadder story is that we are so thoroughly numbed by guns and violence that this incident won’t register but for a few days, maybe less. They’ll bury the dead, treat the wounded, drape the school in crepe, but this will happen again. And again. And again.

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41. 

    mark said on February 27, 2012 at 3:55 pm

    No Brian, I don’t take political offense. Your comment was more broadly offensive.

    People died today and it had NOTHING to do with the foolish point you tried to make. Stick to the 8th grade tricks of making fun of names and using silly labels to make your oh-so-important points. A child is dead and others are in the hospital. It’s not more important that you are feeling all “heartily sick and tired”.

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42. 

    Deborah said on February 27, 2012 at 4:03 pm

    Look, I’ll stand up for Brian Stouder any day. He’s a good guy with a lot of positive energy which he shares here often. He meant no harm to the slain child or his/her family, or any of the wounded.

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43. 

    adrianne said on February 27, 2012 at 4:04 pm

    Love, love, love George Clooney, who indeed shot his “Brokeback Mountain” spoof with Jon Stewart here in the Hudson Valley, while he was shooting scenes for “Michael Clayton” (written and directed by Washingtonville native Tony Gilroy). When we ambushed George at dinnera at the Ramada, he was waiting to sing karaoke. Very gracious and funny guy! And his dad, Nick, was a broadcast journalist.

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44. 

    Sherri said on February 27, 2012 at 4:09 pm

    Yes, people died today. Ready for some gun control, finally?

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45. 

    Jeff Borden said on February 27, 2012 at 4:17 pm

    Ah, Sherri, you really don’t think this is going to change anything, do you? In fact, I’ll bet the NRA already is readying a press release calling for high school students to be allowed to carry handguns to school, so they can protect themselves when crazed gunmen come calling.

    Reports already are circulating that the shooter was very much like the pair in Columbine. . .”a bullied outcast” who had posted some weird drivel on his Facebook page that ended with a call for everyone to die. And because this is the U.S. of A., where anyone can get a gun at any time, the twisted kid could turn his little fantasy into a bloody reality.

    H. Rap Brown was right all those years ago. Violence is as American as apple pie.

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46. 

    alex said on February 27, 2012 at 4:19 pm

    Can’t you create straw-men to knock down out of something a little less immediate, and a little less awful, than children shot in a lunchroom just a few hours ago?

    I nominate right-wing trolls who go apoplectic at the idea that left-wingers have any right whatsoever to enjoy schadenfreude. Oh wait, that wouldn’t be a straw man, now would it?

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47. 

    coozledad said on February 27, 2012 at 4:38 pm

    Personally, even one dead child from gun violence strikes me as a good enough excuse to invade some Arab country and smack them around a little. Any recommendations?

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48. 

    beb said on February 27, 2012 at 5:16 pm

    um, Dearborn?

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49. 

    coozledad said on February 27, 2012 at 5:16 pm

    Sheriff Paul Babeu has this troubled juvenile thing dicked:
    http://wonkette.com/464950/paul-babeu-allegedly-slept-with-student-at-creepy-reeducation-camp-he-ran

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50. 

    Scout said on February 27, 2012 at 5:36 pm

    @coozledad: Oferfuxake, can living in Arizona get ANY more embarrassing?

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51. 

    Linda said on February 27, 2012 at 5:49 pm

    Mark, the people creating strawmen out of tragedy on the right are too busy to be here. They prefer to run for president.

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52. 

    Dexter said on February 27, 2012 at 6:24 pm

    Oscars: So why did the NBA schedule an All-Star game head-up against the Oscars, when the strike/lockout that delayed the start of the season so long had made many people put this season on the back-burner, and the league needed their #1 mid-season attention-grabber. And they schedule it against a must-see TV mega event. Clueless. Nobody wants to Tivo an All-Star game, and certainly no one wants to sit through a replay of the Oscars. I was convinced Meryl Streep would not win and I was wrong. I guess I watch because I always have, except when, for years, it went up against the NCAA Finals.

    I truly, truly want Santorum to beat Romney. I want Santorum to win and I want to see Santorum debate Obama on all topics.
    That would be such great fun. And the whole world could see the man who was drummed out of his Senate seat by such a huge margin.

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53. 

    alex said on February 27, 2012 at 6:28 pm

    Touche, Linda! Gingrich didn’t even wait for the bodies to go cold before making red meat out of them.

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54. 

    Jolene said on February 27, 2012 at 6:31 pm

    Speaking of the NRA, I heard they are campaigning for Santorum in Michigan. Since the use of guns always seems to lead gun-lovers to think they need more guns, their campaigning may have the effect they’re seeking.

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55. 

    Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on February 27, 2012 at 6:44 pm

    The hat tip to both educational administrators & law enforcement/juvenile justice programs is that the number of violent, let alone shooting incidents at schools has been continuing to decline year by year, even as it gets increasingly difficult to exclude and keep out deeply troubled youth — and I’m not saying we should go back to when a principal, let alone a superintendent could expel permanently a kid just because they didn’t like the cut of their jib, let alone their haircut, but it does change things when you *must* keep them in the building somehow — and we really don’t know that much more than we did thirty years ago about how to identify potentially violent kids or how to intervene effectively . . . except, we must be, because the numbers are unambiguous.

    So congrats all around, and while my pay & benefits and those of the rest of my colleagues is a political issue, I think we can’t make much of this a matter of politics. We need to understand more, not to forgive (different department, other job), but to prevent. Right now increasing the control level is working, but it’s also leading to a deadening of imagination & a shunting of the more impulsive out of mainstream education, which looks more and more like our county detention facility without the orange jumpsuits.

    But don’t forget, while praying for the people of Chardon, OH and giving thanks for the brave teacher, that these kinds of incidents continue to become less frequent. Which is good, except for the unintended consequences that are still hard to put our finger on.

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56. 

    ROGirl said on February 27, 2012 at 7:14 pm

    In case the Gay Super Bowl, aka the Oscars, wasn’t enough…

    “That’s not a gown; it’s pasties and a bush cover with delusions of grandeur.”

    http://www.tomandlorenzo.com/2012/02/elton-john-aids-foundations-oscar-party-part-one.html

    I saw “The Artist” on Saturday and it was cute and well made and the dog was adorable, but Best Picture?

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57. 

    DellaDash said on February 28, 2012 at 1:45 am

    Mark, your attack on thoroughly decent Brian is akin to the ‘Jolie Stance’…stupefyingly bizarre…brazenly exposing your underpinnings to be as fleshless and emaciated as hers. There’s something sadly unhinged about it on both accounts.

    My theory about ‘The Artist’ winning (I’ve seen/downloaded most of the contenders this season, thanks to my BFF’s SAG membership and lack of digital savvy): just like during the original Depression, we’re all craving some pure escapist entertainment these days, and ‘The Artist’ totally fills the bill…silly yet sophisticated flapper fluff. The others require a bit more investment. Scorsese takes us to school to learn about cinema history in exquisite 3D; Woody has us playing literary demi-monde time-travel trivia; Malick has us pondering the effin cosmos along with Brad Pitt’s astonishing chops; ‘The Help’ – duh!…and so on…

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58. 

    alex said on February 28, 2012 at 7:17 am

    A little levity in the wapo this AM.

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59. 

    Dorothy said on February 28, 2012 at 9:30 am

    That’s great, alex. But I am NOT among the Quilters referred to on slide number 6.

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60. 

    Oscar said on February 29, 2012 at 8:35 am

    Re: 21
    The girl indeed said a bad word but “almost”, not-for-real, like “puck!”, no one would ever let a kid say a real bad word on Russian TV.

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