Because I have a very modest public profile as a writer, I get a lot of social-media connection requests from people I don’t actually know. Over time, I’ve developed a general rule: I accept nearly all friend requests on Facebook, followers on Twitter, whatever the hell they call it on Google Plus. And then I wait, and see what happens — what people post, how they use the platform in general, whether they feel the need to have a screaming bald eagle as a profile picture. If I like what I see, or feel neutral about it, I generally keep them around. If I don’t, I either bump them down several notches on the ladder, “hide” or just unfriend them.
They have to be pretty bad to be unfriended, but I was in a tetchy mood the other day, and unfriended someone I probably should have kept around. (Mood: VERY tetchy, come to think of it.) I did it because I kept seeing baldly inaccurate political posts in my feed, and it was one of those fuckitlifestooshortforthiscrap things. This time, I actually read one post, and followed the links all the way back. Here’s how one went:
OBAMACARE WILL ALLOW GOVERNMENT AGENTS TO ENTER YOUR HOME! linked to a slightly less hysterical post saying the same thing, which linked to a HHS website, which outlined? Anyone? Yes, a visiting-nurse service for patients who have difficulty traveling to a doctor — brand-new mothers, the elderly, the carless, etc. Those are the government agents. Nurses.
(I allowed one of these jackbooted thugs into my home after Kate was born. She told me I had a cute baby, and that breastfeeding would get easier.)
It seemed to crystalize something I’ve become increasingly aware of: No one reads anything anymore. And the social-media business model has this as its cornerstone. Just keep clicking, sheeple. Click, like and comment! Retweet!
Earlier this week, during the discussion of Yoffe’s rape column, attention fell on this sentence: “Researchers such as Abbey and David Lisak have explored how these men use alcohol, instead of violence, to commit their crimes.” Now, a reader with a room-temperature IQ could understand what she was saying here: That these perpetrators don’t hold a gun to a woman’s head, but keep refilling her glass. Nevertheless, this was a typical comment: “Someone needs to tell Emily Yoffe ALL rape is violent,” followed by the amen chorale. Don’t read. Forget comprehension. Just react!
Miley Cyrus, a woman who hardly speaks in Zen koans, gave an interview to Rolling Stone where she mentioned Detroit, and Detroit being as parochial as any tank town, the local media picked it up. The passage in question:
Miley’s transformation from America’s sweetheart into whatever the hell she is now kicked into high gear three years ago, when she went to Detroit to shoot a movie called LOL. “Detroit’s where I felt like I really grew up,” she says. “It was only for a summer, but that’s where I started going to clubs, where I got my first tattoo. Well, not my first tattoo, but my first without my mom’s consent. I got it on 8 Mile! I lied to the guy and told him I was 18. I got a heart on my finger and wore a Band-Aid for two months so my mom wouldn’t find out.”
Which a local TV station tacked onto a blatant traffic grab:
Miley Cyrus says she grew up in Detroit. How does that make you feel?…
Which prompted the usual responses, which ranged from “stupid bitch” to “she’s a liar.” And so a vapid pop star’s pedestrian observation on how she came of age was twisted into her somehow lying about an upbringing that’s been in every celebrity magazine in America, including Rolling Stone.
Nobody reads anything. Except you, of course. You’re reading this, and you understand it. Bless your heart.
So, bloggage:
This story cries out for satire, and maybe TBogg is up to the task, but man, just read this stuff:
James Hancock wanted to meet a woman who shared his core values. But when you’re a strict Objectivist, it can be a little tricky.
So he found a dating site catering to Ayn Rand aficionados. And he found one, and now they have…well, I guess you’d call it a marriage:
They now live with their 3-year-old daughter in North Walpole, N.H. Their dog, Frisco, is named for Francisco d’Anconia, the mining tycoon in “Atlas Shrugged.”
…Mr. Hancock says the couple’s shared Objectivist values ensure familial harmony. If their daughter doesn’t want to brush her teeth, they both agree that she has to do it. “There’s no back-and-forth or ‘well, just let her do it this one time,’ ” he says. “We know that if we don’t do this now, it’ll be worse later. So that’s logic and reason instead of just emotion and inconvenience.”
I don’t know how I missed Motivational Biden until now:
My new favorite person to see Tom & Lorenzo pick on is Allison Williams, daughter of Brian, co-star of “Girls.” She cultivates a sort of classic American/thoroughbred style that frequently comes across as boring. Or, as T-Lo put it, “She looks like a Chief of Surgery’s wife attending a hospital benefit.”
Attend the benefit of your choice this weekend, because it’s HERE.
Brandon said on October 18, 2013 at 1:20 am
My new favorite person to see Tom & Lorenzo pick on is Allison Williams, daughter of Brian, co-star of “Girls.” She cultivates a sort of classic American/thoroughbred style that frequently comes across as boring. Or, as T-Lo put it, “She looks like a Chief of Surgery’s wife attending a hospital benefit.”
With all the tackiness in people’s dress nowadays, looking like “a Chief of Surgery’s wife” is refreshing. (I checked out Girls, and it’s not really my thing. Neither is Brian Williams as an anchor. Too folksy.)
Here’s a Manti Te`o update:
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/oct/16/manti-teo-chargers-linebacker-mental-donald-butler/
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Alan Stamm said on October 18, 2013 at 6:39 am
Reading comprehension skills also are sadly lacking at Newsweek, where senior writer Katie J.M. Baker (formerly of Jezebel) writes in her lede yesterday:
“Emily Yoffe, Slate’s Dear Prudence advice columnist, offers an age-old solution: Don’t drink if you don’t want to get raped.”
And catch the oh-so-clever headline:
No. 1 Surefire Rape Prevention Tip For Ladies: Don’t Exist
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on October 18, 2013 at 8:13 am
God BLESS visiting nurses. The head of the program in this county is active in our congregration, and we she and I start swapping stories, people within earshot just start backing away. God BLESS them, even if they decide jackboots make sense, which from a lice and bedbug position would be a reasonable, if politically touchy decision.
Visiting nurses & juvenile court & childrens services staff all know: look for the hard chair, and take it. Rocking chair, kitchen chair, stool next to the phone if necessary, but don’t sit on upholstery. You only forget that once, then it will, um, stick.
God BLESS visiting nurses!
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beb said on October 18, 2013 at 8:15 am
Were you by any chance visiting this site?
http://boingboing.net/2013/10/17/excellent-photoshoppery-if.html
Where titles of classic novels are recast as Internet clickbait?
I think Lolita became “Guess Who he’s dating?” I have to say i guess because when I went to check on the site I got this message:
The link you are accessing has been blocked by the Barracuda Web Filter because it contains content belonging to the category of: Comics & Humor & Jokes
If you believe this is an error or need to access this link please contact your administrator.
Who knew that humor would be banned content on a work computer. God, now I really feel demotivated.
I wonder if there will be a backlash against the Internet soon? You look at any discussion about culture on television and you’ll find someone who proudly claims they haven;t watched TV since nineteen-ought-five or whenever. As web sites like Salon or Rachel Maddow become unnavigable, or overloaded with clickbait i wonder if we’re going to see people saying: “I cut the cable and I’ve never felt better.”
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alex said on October 18, 2013 at 8:26 am
I see that some of the commentariat are noting the same generational divide discussed here yesterday. I was idealistic once, but I see it now as wishful thinking. I still hold the same ideals. I’m just not holding my breath until the world changes into the one that I wish it to be. I figure my best hope is live by my ideals and set an example.
The most obtuse idealists, in my humble opinion, are the anti-abortionists. Sometimes I think they cannot see the forest for the trees. You’d think that if every single fetal life really mattered, they’d be pooling resources together to ensure that expectant mothers have everything they need in order to get through a pregnancy and child-rearing, and though they might not save every unwanted child, at least they would manage to save some. You’d think they would encourage contraceptives and responsible sexual behavior. You’d think they’d strive for a better world where everyone has health care and financial stability. But no, they want nothing less than to have the criminalization of abortion written into law and that’s the only thing to which they devote their time, energy and money, and they regard contraception as one and the same thing as abortion, gender equality as an abomination and health care as a privilege and not a right. They’ve managed to stigmatize abortion to such a degree that far fewer women avail themselves of it than ever before. Do they consider it a victory? Hell no. The world’s going to hell because of single motherhood.
And that’s my rant for the day.
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brian stouder said on October 18, 2013 at 8:58 am
I’m with Brandon; Ms Williams looks superb to me.
Honestly, whereas Yoffee drew lightening for the (altogether healthy and wise, imo) message she sent out to women, T-Lo clearly (clearly) transmit a much more acidic and deleterious drumbeat to that same group of people
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Mark P said on October 18, 2013 at 9:01 am
I am pretty sure people are no more stupid today than they were, say, 100 years ago. It’s just that there are a whole lot more people today and it’s so much easier to get your opinions heard. You don’t even have to shout. All you need is a Caps Lock key.
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nancy said on October 18, 2013 at 9:04 am
T-Lo want the pretty people — those who are paid to be pretty and lavishly compensated with free clothes, etc. — to do their jobs well. I thought AW’s Geoffrey Beene dress was a little blah, but I really liked the black Dior they posted yesterday. That said, it’s just fashion.
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Heather said on October 18, 2013 at 9:08 am
If nothing else, the negative response to Yoffe’s column should make people think. I am 43, maybe younger than a lot of people here but not so young that I’m not tired of hearing the same old message over and over again with little effort to correct the real problem. Clearly a lot of women feel the same way.
The conclusion to this Salon article neatly encapsulates my thoughts:
“Writers like Emily Yoffe want to be realistic. They believe they see the world as it is — unchangeable and rather grim. Men aren’t going to stop raping so we must protect ourselves as best we can. Those of us who disagree with this stance, we also believe we see the world as it is. We’re fighting so hard for that world to change, to become at least a somewhat more perfect world, because it’s so hard to accept a reality where women won’t ever have the same freedoms as men.
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Mark P said on October 18, 2013 at 9:12 am
Heather, it’s possible to reconcile those two views. All you have to do is say that you’re trying to change the world, but in the meantime, it’s only being realistic to deal with the world the way it is today.
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brian stouder said on October 18, 2013 at 9:15 am
T-Lo want the pretty people — those who are paid to be pretty and lavishly compensated with free clothes, etc. — to do their jobs well.
An excellent point – and fair enough.
That said, it’s just fashion.
That’s the crux of the problem, and where I disagree.
An adult says “just fashion”, whereas a more impressionable (vulnerable?) person says “FASHION!”…and all sorts of insecurities (and their associated vulnerabilities) follow on
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on October 18, 2013 at 9:24 am
What I would add, cautiously, is that my last seven years in the juvenile courts makes me appreciate Yoffe’s piece quite a bit, and while I understand the general force of what women’s advocates are saying (and young men need to be confronted regularly by people who aren’t law enforcement with the stupidity of binge drinking, random sex, and forcing themselves on anyone under any circumstances, period), the facts I bump into all the time point towards that, while no woman wants to be raped, lots of young women do incredibly reckless things on a very consensual basis, and then will under certain circumstances make a case for a particular event that they did not want *that.* We all, from the victim advocates to the diversion & mediation staff, to the legal team in the prosecutor’s office, do all we can to bring clarity and justice to situations, especially juvenile ones, and I can’t (for obvious reasons) go any further into detail — but while I *completely* agree you can say yes to three things and no to a third, and if forced at that point, it’s rape, no doubt about it, the testimony & evidence even if just looked at from the victim side is rarely that simple. Too often it comes back to “so you guys went on a binge over the weekend, the incident in question was late Tuesday, and you were together the next Friday, had a fight, and that’s when you told the officer he raped you on Tuesday?” And we’re left too, too often having to say “we can’t protect you from revictimization in the courtroom.” It’s a series of events over multiple days and it is rarely the final point in the line segment where some specific incident is later raised as assault or rape. We grieve for all parties in these situations, and justice is wincing under her blindfold, and there’s lots of debris on either side of her scales making a verdict wobble. So I’d like BOTH parties to not drink to excess, and not to have sex as a way to pass time until pizza arrives as a general rule, and in the more challenging situations (which I can’t describe), there’s lots of room to say “no one was thinking here, so where does intention and culpability settle?”
That’s why I just have trouble seeing the misogyny in Yoffe’s (or the headline writer’s) call to young women to not get drunk. But keep telling leaders with influence over young men (Jack Black, Usher, whomever) they need to shout from the rooftops: “young men, don’t get stupid drunk, and don’t sleep with anyone when you’re impaired let alone when they are. Ever.”
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Peter said on October 18, 2013 at 9:33 am
Jeff, you’re so right – God bless visiting nurses. And for those tea bag nuts – I’ll bet a paycheck that most of them lament that doctors no longer make house calls, but for a nurse to visit? That’s Socialist Fascism for you right there!!
As for Ms. Yoffe: She’s absolutely right. It’s a very sad fact, but people do have to protect themselves against theft, in any form. You don’t have to wear a tin foil hat and move to an Arizona trailer park, but you don’t leave your wallet out on the table either. That’s not to excuse rapists in any form; it’s just being cautious. A reasonable person wouldn’t drive home drunk; that’s why there’s so many ads about designated drivers. My sister always made sure that one person in her party was sober enough to prevent the other ladies being taken advantage of, and it worked well for them.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on October 18, 2013 at 10:18 am
As for what men as opposed to women should be saying to young men about drinking, sex, being smart, being stupid, whatever — I still tell young men the following in 2013, and did so just last week: “If you think you really want to have sex with someone, if nothing else I say makes sense to you, please hear this: can you imagine having a child with this person, and having your life intertwined with theirs for a minimum of the next nineteen years? Because no contraception is perfect, and that’s the practical, let alone moral* bottom line. If you know you could never deal with having a child with this person, or if you aren’t sure you want them up in your business for the next two decades of your life, then smile and say “no” even if you’re sure they are saying “yes” — and that, guys, is the best advice you will hear today, period.” Old school, I know, but I believe it’s the right thing for me to say.
*I generally don’t say a word about “or Biblical” because I usually make these speeches to young men while working under the aegis of the Licking County Common Pleas Court system. We only take oaths on Bibles, we don’t open them, as a matter of policy. 😉
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brian stouder said on October 18, 2013 at 10:19 am
I think I can honestly say that, in my lifetime, no doctor or other healthcare professional has ever made a housecall into a place where I lived…and indeed – and speaking of routine illness – think how inefficient that system of healthcare delivery was.
I DO vaguely remember when milk was actually delivered to the front step in returnable glass bottles (say that to a kiddo, and watch their chin drop!)
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brian stouder said on October 18, 2013 at 10:24 am
Jeff – absolutely spot-on!
This story comes close to being the worst-case-scenario:
http://www.wane.com/news/crime/mother-charged-with-attempted-murder-after-trying-to-suffocate-infant-with-sock
mental illness/substance abuse (or both) at work…but note how pretty the inbalanced young lady is, in her mug-shot.
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annie said on October 18, 2013 at 10:24 am
Allison Williams looks fine to me also. Really, T&L, funny and clever as they can be, get a pass on this on-line bullying because their target is a “celebrity”?
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Deborah said on October 18, 2013 at 10:35 am
Brian, not only do I clearly remember milk being delivered in glass bottles, a doctor visited our home when I was a kid. I was in 5th grade and had the mumps and was really sick. Maybe it was to keep my germs from spreading to his office?
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Bitter Scribe said on October 18, 2013 at 10:37 am
If you’re interested in how right-wingers lie about Obamacare, don’t miss this Salon article. A reporter tracked down a bunch of people who had appeared on Sean Hannity’s show claiming that Obamacare made health care more expensive for them. Bottom line, most of them would have actually been able to buy insurance for less if they’d looked for it on the exchanges, but they refused to do so because they hated Obamacare so much. A perfect circle of ignorance.
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brian stouder said on October 18, 2013 at 10:42 am
I remember mumps; chicken pox, too. But the sickest I ever felt was when I had mono (mononucleosis?) 30+ years ago. That landed me in the hospital, very jaundiced (insert pun here).
Actually, my complexion was nothing so much as pumpkin-like
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Julie Robinson said on October 18, 2013 at 10:45 am
Well, well, well, looky here: http://swampland.time.com/2013/10/18/ted-cruz-failed-to-disclose-ties-to-jamaican-holding-company/ Senator Teddy “Mascara” Cruz, a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, “forgot” in his 2012 campaign filings to disclose an investment in a company that is based in Jamaica. Oddly enough he had remembered this back in 2003 when wife Heidi went to work for the Treasury department under W. Heidi, BTW, now works for Goldman Sachs.
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coozledad said on October 18, 2013 at 10:49 am
House stenographer appears on Fox & Friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnxTqKb0xhc
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Charlotte said on October 18, 2013 at 11:01 am
Motivational Biden! That photo of Joe with muffins made my day yesterday.
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Scout said on October 18, 2013 at 11:06 am
All it takes for someone to be relegated to hidden status on my Facebook page is a “like” the Tea Party status or some post about Obama being a secret Muslim showing up on my feed. I probably have about 20% of my list hidden for some infraction or another of this nature. It’s always political with me.
I think Allison Williams is lovely. Some people are born to be classic and not trendy. I’m too short to dress like that, so I’m always envious of simple chic in that Thorobred sort of way.
And finally, a comment about the Yoffe kerfluffle. The outrage over her premise seems over the top and willfully missing the point. Her advice makes perfect common sense, but because sense really isn’t all that common, somebody needed to say it. All this Girl-Power-Fuk-Yeah crap seems like people just itchin’ for some bitchin’.
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Kim said on October 18, 2013 at 11:20 am
People always complain about taking personal responsibility, which I see as a prong of our “I’m a victim” culture. Rape is wrong, no means no – I get that. I tell my sons that and I tell my daughter to be mindful of vulnerable situations (longboarding alone on campus at midnight, getting wasted at a party, accepting a drink of God-knows-what from a stranger, taking a pill someone says will be fun and so on. In short, most of the things I have already miraculously lived to tell). But I also think the victim sometimes has to own part of what happens.
I feel more convinced accountability is our biggest flaw. Whether it’s my employee who never accepts responsibility for mistakes OR the midshipman who got wasted, had sex with some guys, was senseless drunk and got raped by others, woke up the next day and had consensual sex with another guy while others were in the room OR the scold who bitches about abortion and does nothing constructive to help with the consequences of unwanted children – no one feels responsible to act. It’s hard to act. It takes time and selflessness and true compassion – things I often find in short supply at House of Me.
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Charlotte said on October 18, 2013 at 11:32 am
Via Maryn McKenna this morning — sexual harassment among science journalists. I’ve seen this story bubbling around the corners of the intertubes, but hadn’t really paid that much attention. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/photo-biden-brings-muffins-for-returning-epa-workers?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tpm-news+(TPMNews)
And Brian @15 — the NHS in England has done a lot of studies on house calls and they wind up being an enormously efficient way to manage chronic illnesses in the elderly and otherwise housebound. Cut down on ER visits and hospitalizations for things like diabetes, high blood pressure, etc … Also, for new mothers with babies.
When I was little our local vet made house calls for vaccinations. He’d just come by, vaccinate your dog and leave a bill on the back door. Showed up one day when my mother was about 2 weeks from delivering my youngest brother — her dog was ill, my other brother Patrick had fallen and cut his head open again, was bleeding and crying, Mom was overwhelmed and in tears. The vet patched up Patrick, put my mother to bed with a cup of tea, dosed the dog, and went on his way.
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Peter said on October 18, 2013 at 11:35 am
Kim, you are absolute correct, except for one item – time, selflessness, and compassion aren’t in short supply at the House of Me – they’ve been dropped by management because there’s not enough profit in them.
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Prospero said on October 18, 2013 at 11:39 am
Them visiting nurses will get my guns when they pry them from my cold dead hands. And if they send ’em could it be Jenny Lee and Sr. Monica Joan. The pretty one and the one that’s a hoot.
Julie@21: Why is there still Goldman Suchs. Shouldn’t it have been liquidated, with the proceeds reverting to the USTreasury. Tough Teddy was probably taking campaign advice from Mitt RMoney, who hid his earliest vulture capitalist success for years because of his close ties to Central American death squads when Raygun was President.
I mean no disrespect by this, but watching baseball last night, it occurred to me that omitting pitchers, the Tigers have more guys that make David Ortiz seem svelte than the rest of the AL put together. Good thing they aren’t in old Briggs, the wooden grandstand would be in danger when they ran the bases. And seeing Johnny Peralta playing after being suspended for PED use makes me wonder whether the length of the suspensions wasn’t established to make sure these guys would be available for the post-season. Seems wrong somehow.
Something got short-circuited in Miley’s messages from mom and dad about what it means to be an adult. Clubs? Tats? Billy Ray is old enough to know better. I’m no fan of misogyny poster boy and wife beater Marshall Mathers, but Miley has a ways to go before she should be allowed to get away with implying some connection with Slim Shady. That’s like Justin Beaver trying to dance next to Usher. And to Detroit expats of my vintage, 8 Mile means Southfield more than it means Detroit.
Do those Fox bimbos know the Mad Stenographer slandered at least 13 of the sacred Founding Fathers, who were, in fact Freemasons?
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LAMary said on October 18, 2013 at 11:40 am
I remember milk being delivered, a bakery man from Dugan’s who showed up twice a week, and doctors making house calls. When I had appendicitis, our doctor not only came to the house, he carried me out to his white Cadillac and drove me to the hospital. I was 8 at the time. I remember lying on the long back seat, wrapped in a blanket, wondering where I was going.
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LAMary said on October 18, 2013 at 11:43 am
I’ve only unfriended two people. One because they posted so much I couldn’t stand it, and the other because in the days after the Newtown shootings he posted pictures of the the assault rifles he was buying because he thought they were about to become illegal. That was sickening enough, but the comments he got from people who were in awe of his purchases really nailed it.
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Mark P said on October 18, 2013 at 11:53 am
My mother-in-law’s doctor visited her at home when she was dying of lung cancer a couple of years ago. Aside from that, I don’t know of any house calls by anyone but hospice nurses. They were great, but I hope not to have to deal with that kind of thing again for a long, long time.
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brian stouder said on October 18, 2013 at 12:02 pm
Well, in yet another sign of old-age gradually settling upon me, I ‘unfriended’ Facebook altogether, a year or two ago, and I haven’t missed it.
It never really made sense to me. People who I consider “friends” does extend to “internet people I’ve mostly never met” – but that pretty much equals the crew here, period.
As the “friends” list on fb grew, I’d prune it back; I couldn’t see why the number of “friends” should exceed 30 or 40 – how could it? And then I noted people with hundreds (or thousands) of friends, and it was clear that I was on the wrong wavelength.
There are people I haven’t seen since high school 34 years ago, and I don’t want to!
On the other hand, if we get good pics at the zoo (or whatever), it is nice to know that Pam or the young folks have shared them on fb – so I get that one part of it
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brian stouder said on October 18, 2013 at 12:31 pm
btw, the corollary to Nancy’s headline – nobody reads anything – is that (frequently) nobody edits, either.
Case in point; the stupid links at the footer of various websites – I see them at news sites. This news article, for example –
http://www.wane.com/news/crime/man-gets-65-years-in-prison-for-fatal-march-shooting
scroll down to the foot and we see a headline that says “Obamacare secret legislation discovered”
and when you follow it, you get this –
http://moneymorning.com/ob-article/obamacare-taxes.php?code=dis-oc-taxes
and it’s all auto-pilot
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Prospero said on October 18, 2013 at 12:34 pm
Over its years Facebook has been an inveterate and unapologetic purveyor of “rape culture” and sloughed off criticism by labeling it humor. I despise Facebook and its endless self-promotion aimed at getting me to solicit friends. I want one thing from it: a constant stream of pictures and videos of my grandchildren. If not for that I’d blow it off as an utter waste of time.
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Prospero said on October 18, 2013 at 12:42 pm
I do participate in a group page on FB that convenes a group of internet friends from the DNC effort in the 2004 Presidential election. A friend from those days just posted this sarcastic comment about FB:
Please copy and paste this to your status if you’re constantly being asked to copy and paste things to your status by friends who copy and paste things to their status. Many people won’t copy and paste this, but my true sarcastic friends will copy and paste it because they know this was copied and pasted from a dear friend in need of more stuff to copy and paste; and if you don’t copy and paste it, then this means you hate veterans, your kids, kittens, puppies, God, and bacon. And if you hate bacon, the terrorists win!
I always suspect those links at the bottom of articles that brian is talking about are malware traps, so I never click on them.
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Jolene said on October 18, 2013 at 1:05 pm
Home visits, by nurses, social workers, and such, are part of “hot spotting”, which the world needs more of.
Brief description here: http://www.rwjf.org/en/about-rwjf/newsroom/features-and-articles/Brenner11.html
Longer article in The New Yorker bt the always wonderful Atul Gawande here: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/01/24/110124fa_fact_gawande
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Prospero said on October 18, 2013 at 1:09 pm
TBS Sportscaster Craig Sager is well known for wearing the most hideous clothes in the history of TeeVee. Apparently one of his puke-inducing sportscoats was ruined by getting in the way of the clubhouse revelry when LA beat ATL in the NLDC, and the story became part of the whining about the Dodgers’ celebratory antics that started with Old Fart McCain complaining about the pool leap in Arizona. McCains wife bought the Maverick a part ownership to go with their seven or eight houses. Anyway, apparently LA OF Andre Ethier decided to make light, or a total mockery, of the situation. I’d like to hear T-Lo on the subject of Ethier’s suit, and where does one buy something like that?
Allison Williams is a very good looking woman, and may choose some old school designers, but she always looks good in the gowns. And her job is acting in Girls, in which she is a bright spot in the morass of Lena Dunham’s tawdry solipsism, not parading on the “red carpet”.
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Prospero said on October 18, 2013 at 1:12 pm
The home visits in Obamacare are a vital part of ACA’s emphasis on preventive medicine, which GOPers hate for inchoate, because…Obama reasons, and will drive health care costs as a %age of GNP down considerably.
One of my brothers told me the GOP was willing to reopen the government if Obama would change the name of Obamacare to PP/ACA.
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Jolene said on October 18, 2013 at 1:20 pm
What do we think of immersion blenders? I have in mind various kind of vegetable soups–broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potato. Have you found them useful? Any specific product recommendations? Any cautionary tales other than don’t put your fingers in them, which some people seem to find tempting?
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Sherri said on October 18, 2013 at 1:29 pm
Immersion blenders are great. Mine is so old I don’t think it’s made anymore (it’s a Braun), but it’s held up under heavy use. There was a thread here discussing that article when it came out, and since I had just had jaw surgery, I asked for interesting recipes to make use of an immersion blender. There were lots of good ones that got me through the no chewing recovery period.
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Jeff Borden said on October 18, 2013 at 1:34 pm
I dropped a few people from FB including one of my cousins for ranting about Muslims and posting ugly, racist photos. I work with Muslims. . .live near Muslims. . .teach Muslims. . .some of whom have become friends and I didn’t want them to see that at least one of my blood relatives in a complete douchebag goober racist.
My only issue with people like young Ms. Williams is the same lament I’ve always had about the children of the wealthy and famous. They just walk onto the stage without ever mussing their hair. I find it particularly galling when they walk into nice six-figure journalism jobs –like Jenna Bush Hager and Chelsea Clinton– but that’s always been the way it is and, I guess, the way it always will be. My wife thinks Brian Williams is the bomb-diggituy and watches his broadcast every night. I strive mightily to avoid TV news whenever possible.
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Charlotte said on October 18, 2013 at 1:45 pm
Jolene — I love love love my immersion blender. Also great for making mayo, pestos, etc. I use it all the time.
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Deborah said on October 18, 2013 at 1:46 pm
Love immersion blenders we have one in Chicago and my daughter has one in the Santa Fe place. We’re making cream of leek and potato soup on Saturday after we go to the farmers market. We’re putting all kinds of stuff on top of the soup like bacon crumbles and shredded cheddar.
Only 4 more days until I go back to Chicago, of course the weather is glorious now in Santa Fe, while it’s cold and rainy in Chicago.
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LAMary said on October 18, 2013 at 1:47 pm
I use my immersion blender for soups all the time and when I make a big batch of basic tomato sauce I use it to smooth out the chunkiness a bit. What’s nice is you can control how much you want to blend things. If you like black bean soup you can hit it with the immersion blender just enough to keep most of the beans whole but enough of them blended to make the soup nice and thick.
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Julie Robinson said on October 18, 2013 at 2:08 pm
Ditto on the immersion blender, but after reading everyone else’s comments, I can see it’s been underused in our house.
I’ve never unfriended someone but I will hide a person or posts. There’s an egregious Dave Ramsey video out there about Obamacare in which he is patronizing, smarmy, and calls Obama a communist. Two different friends have posted it and it makes my blood boil.
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Dorothy said on October 18, 2013 at 2:27 pm
We’ve talked about immersion blenders on here a few times before – well, at least once! I love ours. Use it predominantly for soups.
Hey I hope I’m not jinxing this but I’m about 95% certain that we’ve sold our house already. Un-frickin’-believable as it’s been on the market less than a week. Had one showing on Tuesday, they came back 25 hours and 15 minutes later, and they made an insulting low-ball offer (15% less than list price) yesterday morning. We’re going back and forth but I’m pretty sure it’s a done deal. I’m feeling quite dizzy from this turn of events. Now jets on full power to get out to Dayton and buy a home, next weekend probably.
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brian stouder said on October 18, 2013 at 2:32 pm
Dorothy- I won’t jinx it by offering premature congratulations (there’s a joke in there, somewhere!) – so here’s wishing you and yours a swift success.
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Jolene said on October 18, 2013 at 2:52 pm
Right, Dorothy. Sherri’s comment prompted me to search for that thread, which led me all the good recipes you all posted. I guess if something’s worth talking about, it’s worth talking about two or three times, eh?
Good luck with the house sale. Hope it goes through and that you find a place you love in Dayton.
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LAMary said on October 18, 2013 at 2:57 pm
I just got an email from this company about a sale they’re having this weekend. Does me no good because it’s in Warren, Rhode Island, but it reminded me of the cool things I’ve bought from them in the past, mostly as gifts. I have one pair of earrings from this place. Philips head.
http://individualicons.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=8
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coozledad said on October 18, 2013 at 2:59 pm
Too bad this lardbucket didn’t manage to squeeze his guts out his arse like a toad on a highway:
http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_24335439/boy-scout-leaders-destroy-ancient-formation-utahs-goblin
Maybe we need to reclose the parks.
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Prospero said on October 18, 2013 at 3:00 pm
Dorothy@46: You’d never know it by national media, but the housing market has been reviving for several months, but why note goood economic news when there is always another false equivalency political story to churn out. Our condo lost value almost to what I paid for it 15 years ago, but lately it has regained a considerable amount toward its high in 2007. Fortunately, my retirement accounts didn’t take much of a hit from the shutdown. The banks knew they could cut that shit off at the knees if it came down to it, more proof, if it was needed, that the Teabanger movement is pure astroturf, bought and paid for by traditional big money GOPer backers. I have a friend who is in RE in Savannah who says business is revving up. This is mainly covered in national media with cautionary stories about another bursting housing bubble. Because…Obama, probably.
NYT Book Review has news of a second volume of collected short stories by TC Boyle, and more about selected short fiction of Flann O’Brien, the early and middle 20th Century literary version of Shane McGowan, with better teeth I presume. I’ve never enjoyed short stories as much as long novels, but Boyle is a master of the form, on a par with George Saunders and just as funny and sardonic. As for Flann O’Brien I’m happy to get my hands on anything the guy wrote. If you’ve never read At Swim Two Birds, do yourself a favor and get a copy. Brilliant, and hilarious.
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Hattie said on October 18, 2013 at 3:10 pm
Well, Nancy, I read you, because you such a good writer and have things of interest to write about.
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Julie Robinson said on October 18, 2013 at 3:11 pm
Hope the sale goes through quickly, Dorothy! It’d be nice to avoid the stress of constantly having the house prepped for viewing. Equal luck on the other end of finding something new.
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Prospero said on October 18, 2013 at 3:14 pm
This new novel from the youngest ever Mann Booker winner sounds very good.
And good luck to the Tiges tomorrow against the House of David nine.
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brian stouder said on October 18, 2013 at 4:08 pm
Mary – that was somewhat…bizarre.
Although – chalk-line earrings or a tape-measure necklace might be interesting
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Sherri said on October 18, 2013 at 4:23 pm
Hockey is the best sport: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9793466/the-game-new-chapter
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brian stouder said on October 18, 2013 at 4:26 pm
World’s best sport: Formula One racing
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LAMary said on October 18, 2013 at 4:40 pm
I like the metal ruler bracelets and the compass necklaces. I’m a quantitative sort of gal in some ways.
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brian stouder said on October 18, 2013 at 4:49 pm
I was taken aback by the magnifying glass necklace.
Given where the glass would rest, what fellow is stupid enough to buy that for his sweetie?
(and not for nothing, what happens on a sunny day?)
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Kirk said on October 18, 2013 at 5:08 pm
Thanks for sharing that, Sherri. I read Dryden’s book several years ago and found it one of the most thoughtful sports books I have run across.
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Deborah said on October 18, 2013 at 5:11 pm
As a designer, a ruler bracelet would actually come in handy sometimes, I’m often having to measure the difference of some small amount or another.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on October 18, 2013 at 5:31 pm
Curling is the best sport. (In Canada.)
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Joe K said on October 18, 2013 at 7:24 pm
Nothing beats Rugby in my book.
Unlike football the game moves constantly, unlike soccer there is scoring plus you get to tackle.
Pilot Joe
(18 yr rugby vet)
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Prospero said on October 18, 2013 at 7:24 pm
Jeff, anybody that can’t appreciate curling as a sport doan know dick about sports. It’s like golf and bowling, Surely a sport, but calling the participants athletes, that’s a waaaay stretch. I say shuffleboard is a sport, because I am very good at it, but I wouldn’t call good shuffleboarding being an athlete. I’m not sure I’d call anything Prince Fielder does athleticism either. I think he has those Baron Harkonnen underarm jets. Guy is a fat slob and if I were T-Lo, I’d tell him to go old-school with his socks and uni pants.
Elizabeth Smart on rape culture, a subject she has the equivalent of a graduate degree in. I hope this articulate and more than passing intelligent and insightful young woman ends up in Congress.
I sort of got a kick from the Witch Haggy librarian comments. My parents would just check the book out for me (On the Beach when I was about 11) rather than argue with anybody. We had so many books in the house it didn’t really much matter anyway. The first book I read through was The Cloister and the Hearth, and the second was The Mysterious Island. I liked the Jules Verne better, being a little boy. But to this day, I still love The Cloister and the Hearth and urge friends to read it. Another early read was Islandia, by Austin Tappan Wright, and I just got a new copy to replace one I must have given away. People will tell you the great Nordic epic is Kristen Lavransdottir, but Islandia snuffs it completely. I’d say Islandia is the great novel of imagination nobody ever heard of. Ursula K. owes it a tremendous debt for huge parts of her masterpiece, Left Hand of Darkness. When, in 6th grade, I was caught serially with The Ugly American and Candy by the nuns, my mom went into grizzly mom like $Palin would have run away from with loaded drawers.
I came to hockey very late when my family moved to Michigan from Memphis in the 60s. I love hockey, but hockey is strange. For me and my brothers, a sport we weren’t really goood at was , sorry I might annoy Basset, who I never intended to annoy in the first placeIf the unwritten rulebook were printed out it could fill a janitor closet. I started a Ranger fan, because my dad was marginally such, and the Rangers had Eddie Giacomin, who buckled more Swash thatn any goalie since. When the League was all about Bobby Orr, Brad Park was still the best defenseman. When the trade was made and Ratelle and Park came to the Bs, that was all she wrote for me. Brad Park was the greatest bigD defenseman the NHL ever saw until Ray Bourque came along, and a Brad Park hipcheck is the equivalent of Night-train Lane taking somebody’s head off. Sherri pointed out to me when I made derogatory comments about the Cards that none of those aholes were even born when the Gas House Gang spiked, threw at and tried to maim Jackie Robinson. Sports is about memory, vengeance and grudges mor than it is about transcendent performance. The current Cards like PED Beltran whining about Puig celebrating his triple? Let’s see the Cards pitchers and catchers when they get Puig out. Like Mission Control on lunar contact, the ridiculously phony shits.
I would say anything people can bet on is a sport, and, in fact that is parbly the actual definitive definition. And for Danny or one of the Marks that was attempting to give me grieve about typing “parbly” that’s borros3e from q great novel called Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban.
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Julie Robinson said on October 18, 2013 at 7:46 pm
Deborah, I think there are measuring apps out there, though I haven’t tried any of them. It would be worth checking them out.
For me, best sport is a tossup between figure skating and non-professional basketball.
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Deborah said on October 18, 2013 at 7:51 pm
Julie, I use measuring conversion apps all the time, but it never fails that I’m at a project site and have to measure something that is often 1/16th off and it makes all the difference sometimes.
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Sherri said on October 18, 2013 at 7:52 pm
The House stenographer says that she was just delivering a message from the Holy Spirit: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/10/17/why-house-stenographer-dianne-reidy-snapped.html
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Sherri said on October 18, 2013 at 8:58 pm
Another sports-related comment – aerial photographs of baseball parks from the NYTimes archive: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2013/10/18/sports/baseball/aerials.html
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Bitter Scribe said on October 18, 2013 at 9:09 pm
Just so the Red Sox don’t get in. I don’t think I could take looking at all those beards in the World Series. Go Tigers!
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Deborah said on October 18, 2013 at 10:52 pm
I’m at the airport in Albuquerque waiting for my husband’s plane from Chicago, and was watching the only baseball game I’ve seen this year, the Cards and the LA Dodgers. Since I lived in St L for 23 years I guess I’m for the Cards.
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beb said on October 18, 2013 at 11:02 pm
Bitter, seriously what is up with all those beards?
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Dave said on October 18, 2013 at 11:33 pm
Because my brother’s stepdaughter was murdered seven years ago when she was drunk, underage, with her drunk friends in a bar on North High Street in Columbus, and was escorted out of there by a lowlife, without any protests from her friends, I cannot imagine why anyone would take offense at protecting oneself, or the mere suggestion that one ought to look out for oneself and others. If that’s a run-on sentence, so be it, I get almost enraged every time I think of how this 20 year old lost her life.
I remember milk being delivered in bottles and, when I was small and we still lived on the east side of Columbus, bread being delivered by the Omar man. I can almost hear the commercial, something set to music, “Look, here comes the Omar man”.
And, Alex at #5, I very much like your remarks about the anti-abortionists.
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basset said on October 19, 2013 at 12:39 am
Best sports for me are the ones I can actually do, rather than watch… basketball and slow-pitch softball till I got too old and stove up, now deer hunting and creek fishing. I refuse to run for the sake of running, don’t understand how anyone can enjoy it and have forced myself to run enough miles in the past that I’m not going to do it any more.
Pros@64, I could give a shit what you think about hockey so don’t let it worry your mind. Besides, anyone who differs with me on any topic at all doan know dick about nothing and I will repeat that every day, gvst baaasdrds mm gaaaack.
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Kaye said on October 19, 2013 at 12:53 am
Your immersion blender in combination with your CrockPot makes fabulous applesauce. I quarter the little (inexpensive) apples, cook on low until they are soft, blend to desired texture, add cinnamon (or five-spice) to taste. No need to peel, or even core, the apples!
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Deborah said on October 19, 2013 at 8:49 am
Kaye, how do you cook the apples? Maybe a stupid question, do you add water? I have baked apples before, but never cooked them in a pan on a burner. I like your idea of not having to peel or core.
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Henry "Hank" Chapin said on October 20, 2013 at 4:59 pm
Wow, this sensibly covers the waterfront on bloggage. I wanted to lift it and post it on my Facebook. But perhaps I should not, ethically speaking, though I would give credit, and I see no way to do it anyway. So much annoying stuff going on, but I DO read-a lot, contrary to your claim which you seem to change slightly in the middle of your essay. Maybe I could just give the link. But I am not a fan of links. Half of them stall my computer and make me wait with a mini-crash. Well, you have so many readers, I guess it doesn’t matter what I think. I heard about your blog from “Hattie’s Web,” which I find to be one of the most thought-provoking blogs that is out there in the cloud, whatever the cloud is. Mahalo nui loa (Hawaiian for “thanks a bunch”) for all you do.
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Henry "Hank" Chapin said on October 20, 2013 at 5:09 pm
Regarding # 7 by Mark P. on stupid people 100 years ago: Mark, take a look at Mark Twain’s portrait of Huck’s father, Pap, in “Huckleberry Finn.” Pap is a low-life degenerate child abuser if there ever was one, but he goes off on a rant to the tune of “You call this a guvamint?” And so forth. He certainly feels he’s better than African-Americans, to use today’s term. Maybe Twain was on to a permanent paranoid anti-government strain in American thinking. Richard Hofstadter wrote a book entitled something like The Paranoid Tendency (not his word) in American Politics. I’m not doing any research here, just yakking, so the title is inexact..
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