Well, hell. I don’t always go out on weeknights, but when I do, I usually fail to blog before bedtime.
At least I got in before the night’s refreshments turned from three beers to four, because that would have meant missing the morning workout, guilt and a lousy Wednesday.
But here’s a lot of tasty linkage to get you through the middle of the week.
How do we solve a problem like Greece? What happens to a modern, westernized, democratic country when it goes bankrupt?
Yet another of what will surely be many, many pieces on how the GOP is reaching Hispanics. (Or, in this case, not.) Pro tip: Tell your people to stop hollering “what part of illegal don’t you understand?” on national TV.
I tried and tried to get to the original of this, but paywalls get two tries and then I give up: Wall Street Journal reader comments to a story about dunking in basketball. I remember when I used to work out at the YWCA in Fort Wayne, and the adults would play after the little kids’ games, when the hoops were lowered. They loved it, because they could dunk. It was hilarious.
What is inequality? A simple comic lays it out pretty well.
For the next three days, the power elite of Michigan will be gathered at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island for the Detroit Chamber’s annual policy conference. Of course they’ll be shadowed by the media, who are given the run of the place, including the free-flowing booze stations. This leads to a parade of social-media over-the-topness that’s enough to make your stomach turn. Fortunately, someone has foreseen the need for mockery.
We need Cooz to wake up and tell us more about the GOP’s attempted coup at the University of North Carolina.
That is all, I guess. A lovely day in progress where I am. Hope it’s good where you are, too.
Dorothy said on May 27, 2015 at 9:52 am
I’m getting more comfortable by the day at my new position at UD. It’s high time – the other two admin assistants don’t work in the summer so I’ll be on my own once next Monday gets here. I think I’m ready. My boss is out for a good bit this summer which, to me, means she has confidence in me. I hope that’s true. I’m trying very hard to learn as much as I can as fast as I can.
So last evening a small tornado touched down five miles from my house. I met someone in that very same parking lot in February to give her my sewing machine to be cleaned during a quilting retreat. She works at the K Mart in this video, and I’ll be curious to know if she was at work when this happened yesterday.
http://wdtn.com/2015/05/26/video-surveillance-camera-captures-beavercreek-tornado/
Deborah will you be in Chicago by any chance on June 18-19-20? We’re planning a long weekend there, which will include a Sox/Pirates game on the 18th and an art opening at Tallgrass Arts on Friday evening. I just wondered if you might be in town.
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Tim said on May 27, 2015 at 9:57 am
North Carolina shows why the Republican Party has gained strength despite demographic trends (e.g., more young and Hispanic voters) that seem to go against it. Wealthy GOP funders like Art Pope in NC have focused on gaining control of state legislatures, which control the redistricting of state and U.S. legislative seats to put more Republicans in safe seats. And, as in NC, to control the state educational system, top to bottom, and strip money from public education. That’s what’s happened also in Indiana, Kansas and Wisconsin. Maybe Michigan, too?
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brian stouder said on May 27, 2015 at 10:03 am
…and for the record, one thing W got right was his genuinely open and forward-looking immigration policies.
Afterall, lots of the human beings coming into the American southwest would ‘naturally’ hold socially and economically “conservative” views, and could easily be Republicans….
if the Republican party wasn’t willfully plugging their ears and screaming “NYA NYA NYA NYA!!” and advocating for walls and dogs and motes and mines on the border
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Deborah said on May 27, 2015 at 10:21 am
Shoot Dorothy, I’ll be in Santa Fe on those dates. I won’t be back in Chicago until mid July when it will be hot and sticky there, of course.
LB and I did some gardening yesterday, planted marigolds, which we’ve not done before, hope they don’t die on us, although people have told us they’re indestructible. They’re in pots so at least they have good soil. It has been raining a lot, hope it keeps up through the summer. I came back to Santa Fe at this time for the gardening, I’m really into it now.
We pick up my husband at the airport in Albuquerque this morning, he’ll be here for about 2 weeks. Then he goes back to Chicago for a couple of weeks and then back to NM for a couple of weeks. Our building project in Abiquiu kicks-in again in July.
That UNC article is creepy, I hope the students revolt.
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Jolene said on May 27, 2015 at 10:32 am
Agree, Deborah. The article re what Pope and his fellow travelers are trying to do at UNC is sickening. I wish there was some kind of natural phenomenon whereby the selfishness and meanness of the conservative movement could be constrained. I really don’t want to deal with those people; I just want them to go away.
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Julie Robinson said on May 27, 2015 at 11:15 am
The UNC situation is not dissimilar to Purdue. Former governor Mitch Daniels appointed most of the board, who in turn appointed him. Very cozy. Very destructive.
My kids’ grade school always needed volunteers and I was lucky enough to have the time, so I saw the story of the inequality comic constantly. It’s Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in action; parents who are struggling just to survive can’t move up a level easily and prioritize their childrens’ needs. Too many came in late, missing homework or their library book, ill-groomed and hungry, not ready to learn. You could see, at a very young age, who was going to make it, and who was going to struggle.
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Sue said on May 27, 2015 at 11:18 am
Hey Brian Stouder, didn’t you switch your ‘icy cold’s from Coke to Pepsi? And if so good for you. I emailed Coke about slave labor in Qatar yesterday and got the standard ‘it’s not us and we support human rights’ reply.
Too bad, ‘cuz after today’s US & Swiss actions against FIFA, it’s looking increasingly like Coke is aligning itself with a seriously-corrupt organization and a country that uses slave labor or its equivalent.
http://www.sportsgrid.com/olympic-sports/share-this-amazing-fake-coca-cola-ad-reminding-the-company-about-its-support-of-slave-labor-in-qatar/
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Heather said on May 27, 2015 at 11:45 am
Dorothy, I would jump in and offer to meet up in Chicago but I will be out of town on those dates too! Darn. Want more nn.c meetups!
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Nancy said on May 27, 2015 at 12:15 pm
Link to non-paywalled WSJ article on dunking: http://www.wsj.com/articles/net-gains-1432318735
(Tip: search “Wall Street Journal” and [title of article].)
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nancy said on May 27, 2015 at 12:18 pm
THanks. I was overcomplicating it by going through what I thought was my employer’s WSJ subscription.
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Scout said on May 27, 2015 at 12:38 pm
The inequality cartoon definitely lays it all out there. Thanks.
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beb said on May 27, 2015 at 1:07 pm
The tumblr file for the Mackinaw conference was a delight. I got a special laught at the picture of the diversity of the Free Press’s contingent. They got lotta diversity – now with females!
There are two options with Greece. One is to leave the EU, setting up their own currency and changing the exchange rate to something they can afford. This will take a couple years to effect. The second solution is to German Banks to forgive some or all of Greece’s debt since, as it stands, they will never be able to pay it back. That will never happen but it’s the best solution t a nasty problem.
“Dunking” the only dunking I believe in is doughnuts … into cold milk. (If hot coffee is your thing, that’s good too.)
GOP outreach to Hispanics … It’s hard reaching out to someone when you simultaneously have your jackboots planted on their face.
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brian stouder said on May 27, 2015 at 1:51 pm
Sue, I did indeed switch from icy cold Diet Coke to icy cold Diet Pepsi, and usually from Circle K because of their (excellent!) crushed ice….and then I cut soda pop out altogether, for several months…ending a few weeks ago(!)
My bp wants to run high, and eliminating soda pop seemed like a good idea, but it made not one scintilla of difference
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Sherri said on May 27, 2015 at 2:55 pm
The entire comments section on the WSJ article on dunking is entertaining. First, dunking was only banned from 1967-1976, so the grumpy old codger who claims that it was illegal back in his day was wrong. Wilt Chamberlain used to dunk his free throws in high school, before the rule was changed to forbid crossing the plane of the free throw line when shooting. The dunk was outlawed because of Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul Jabbar) and UCLA, when UCLA was so dominant. But also to claim, as other commenters did, that race had nothing to do with the ban, is ludicrous. Dunking was associated with “street” basketball, “urban” basketball, “inner-city” basketball, all code words for black basketball. Nice white boys shot layups and jump shots (although the jump shot was probably too new-fangled for the old man from the 30’s; the set shot was good enough for him.)
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Sherri said on May 27, 2015 at 3:07 pm
In more sports news, Dan Wetzel weighs in on the FIFA indictments: https://sports.yahoo.com/news/only-surprise-of-corrupt–exploitative-fifa-is-that-more-weren-t-indicted-151124881.html
The NCAA and the NFL are both corrupt organizations, but nothing compared to the IOC, and the IOC doesn’t hold a candle to FIFA. The biggest question about FIFA right now is, will Sepp Blatter be re-elected for his fifth term as head of FIFA before or after he’s indicted?
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Jeff Borden said on May 27, 2015 at 3:17 pm
Pat McCrory and the Republican legislature are doing to North Carolina what Sherman did to Georgia. It won’t be long until one of the few Deep South states that acted sensibly is right down there in the crazy hole with all the rest of them. All hail Art Pope. . .the man behind it all.
As someone who teaches college students at a very well-regarded liberal arts four-year school (Loyola University Chicago) and a low-cost community college (Oakton), I find the conservative comments on students insulting. These kids are NOT dupes who can be molded like clay. They are their own people already and they range from market worshipping libertarians to strident anti-capitalist lefties and all shades in between.
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susan said on May 27, 2015 at 3:19 pm
The FIFA fooferall doesn’t sound any different than Amurkan politicians and their corporate sugar-daddies.
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Deborah said on May 27, 2015 at 7:24 pm
Have any of you heard of the Argentinian chef Francis Mallmann? He cooks over open fires in beautiful settings. My husband has become enamored with his process and the settings remind us of our land in Abiquiu. The reason I ask is because we’re novices when it comes to grilling and I wonder if any of you have tried his recipes. The look divine but I wonder how much practice you need to get them right.
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Basset said on May 28, 2015 at 7:19 am
Anyone have any experience with ordering eyeglasses online? The glasses I want (round, thin tortoiseshell frames, long temples) apparently don’t exist but I can get closer on the interwebs than I can locally, not so sure about the visual fit though.
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Snarkworth said on May 28, 2015 at 7:33 am
Basset, I’d be reluctant to buy glasses without being able to try them on first. Fit and appearance are important. Would you be able to return them easily if necessary?
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basset said on May 28, 2015 at 7:57 am
The sites I’ve tried seem to have easy return policies – and going to the local Lenscrafters or whatever is so difficult, and the specialist eyeglass shops so expensive, that I just want to send off for em and get it over with. I have never had a pair of glasses I liked, always had to settle for almost the shape, almost the color, something like that.
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Julie Robinson said on May 28, 2015 at 8:05 am
Bassett, my daughter bought a pair and it worked out well for her. They had her take all kinds of measurements, including how far apart her pupils were. They cost almost nothing. My caveat would be how complicated your prescription is. She has single vision, but I have trifocals with three prisms and I want a professional to do the measurements.
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basset said on May 28, 2015 at 8:07 am
I use a progressive bifocal, that and the temple length seem to be the two issues for me… one drives the price way up even on the cheap sites and the other’s just hard to find. Where did she get hers?
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Jolene said on May 28, 2015 at 8:23 am
I’ve heard good things about Warby Parker, but haven’t used them. They’ve managed to remain in business for several years,so they must be doing something right.
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Jolene said on May 28, 2015 at 8:37 am
The finals for the Scripps National Spelling Bee are on ESPN this evening. A chance to see a bunch of kids 14 and under breeze through words you never heard of.
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Julie Robinson said on May 28, 2015 at 8:39 am
No idea, it’s many years ago. Have you looked at reviews?
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BethB said on May 28, 2015 at 8:41 am
Basset, please report what site you finally choose for your glasses. I want the exact same shape and material for my frames. I couldn’t find them last time at the eye doctor I use, so I may just ask for my prescription and look elsewhere when I go for my appointment Monday. I wear lined bifocals, and I don’t know if I have a temple length issue or not. Last time I had to settle for an oval dark tortoiseshell that I luckily found in the sale room, but I would prefer round and a thinner frame.
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Connie said on May 28, 2015 at 8:44 am
http://www.zennioptical.com/ is the cheap place, Warby Parker is the hip place. I bought cheap glasses from Zenni more than 5 years ago. The only measurement issue I had was the measurement between the pupils. I just called the optometrist where I had gotten my last pair, and they looked it up and told me what it was.
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basset said on May 28, 2015 at 8:48 am
Warby Parker has an actual shop here in Nashville, I’m too old for them though… have looked at Zenni but their round ones have short temples, I need at least a 145. I think I’ve tried most of the major sites, at least the ones a quick Google collects. There are some round ones out there if you get into the $200 and up just for the frames designer level.
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Claudia said on May 28, 2015 at 8:56 am
Check small retailers. I used to use Lenscrafters–until they refused to put a new prescription in last year’s glasses (they said it couldn’t be done. the manufacturer said it wouldn’t be a problem). Small retailer I deal with now is happy to cooperate with updating old glasses and had a much larger collection of glasses than the big retail shops. Also, was willing to order frames that are not on hand in the shop.
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