Shiny new models.

Another curse of Facebook: When you tell people you’re going someplace special, everyone says, “OMG, you have to take a selfie and post it!” And unless you have professional lighting, or at least halfway decent lighting, everything ends up looking like this:

yourhost

Hello, my name is Miss McEyebags, under an overhead light that could be used for interrogations, because that’s where the full-length mirror is that doesn’t reflect the disaster of the master-bedroom clothes-catcher. But never mind that; let’s do a quick tour of the 2016 North American International Auto Show. It’s a quick tour because we kind of did a speed-walk through — we made a dinner reservation this year, and while it seemed as though we’d have plenty of time, it rained torrentially and there was a ridiculous line at the coat check and bleh bleh bleh. So let’s get moving!

Here’s a Lincoln you cannot buy unless you’re in China: Correction: The Lincoln Continental was designed for the Chinese market but will also be sold here. And it will be made here. But here it is, Alex, just for you:

chineselincoln

I love these cultural romances between countries. The Chinese ruling class loves this car, Alan says. They don’t drive them, their chauffeurs do, while they sit in the back seat and work. See, it’s very roomy:

chinesebackseat

Of all the cars they could choose, they go for a Lincoln. Love that.

So let’s head over to ConceptLand, and woo, what a sweet…Buick? Yep, it’s a Buick. Concepts are just sort of artistic ideas in car form, mind you, but here you go:

camarobuick

It’s on a Camaro platform. Love that paint job — it’s one of those that changes color depending on the angle, which has been on the custom/street rod market for a while. Trends trickle down and up. That blue, so rich.

Alan has a thing for Ducatis, but not this one, which he described as “their Harley imitation stupid street rod pig thing,” or some such.

ducati

Let’s take a moment to appreciate interesting floral design, too:

callalilies

I wish I were that creative.

Technology was the big story out of this year’s show — self-driving, mobility management, electricity, all that stuff. I personally can’t wait until my headlights look like this:

acuraheadlights

Because that is pretty cool.

And here’s that Buick again. Foreground, a 1957 classic. There are cars in Havana older than that.

meandbuick

And with that, it was time to trot off to the Selden Standard for a celebratory, ides-of-January, halfway-through-the-Whole30 meal. I cheated my ass off, but it was so good, I didn’t care.

Back tomorrow with more links and conventional content. Honk-honk.

Posted at 12:06 am in Detroit life |
 

75 responses to “Shiny new models.”

  1. Mark P said on January 18, 2016 at 12:50 am

    The ’57 is a classy model. No way the current crop can compete.

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  2. Deborah said on January 18, 2016 at 1:16 am

    Holy cow Nancy! You look terrific! Sorry about the exclamation points but I can’t help it.

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  3. Sherri said on January 18, 2016 at 1:47 am

    Warning! Pedantic mode on!

    The ides of January fall on the 13th, not the 15th. The 13th was the normal day the ides fell on; March was one of the unusual months, along with May, July, and October.

    Sorry, one of those things that bugs me after a misspent youth studying Latin and attending Junior Classical League conventions. (Yes, I’ve always been a nerd.)

    Pedantic mode off.

    You do look great, Nancy. The cars, eh. Self-driving cars don’t excite me. I keep thinking about the possible failure modes. Google just pushed out a software update to the Nest thermostat a few weeks ago, and apparently there’s a bug in it that causes some people’s Nests to drain their batteries, lose all power, and quit working. Not so wonderful in the middle of winter. I’m trying to imagine what a reasonable failure response to a bug looks like in a self-driving car…

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  4. Joe K said on January 18, 2016 at 2:16 am

    Holy mared,
    Love the color, and the curves, all the pieces blend together nicely to form a stunning sexy design. It looks like it would be great to take out for a night on the town. cars look nice too.
    Pilot Joe

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  5. ROGirl said on January 18, 2016 at 7:20 am

    Sherri, the failure modes for self-driving cars are a vast unknown territory, but I have been in two accidents where the failure modes were the same: stupid distracted drivers. At least with driverless cars that will be eliminated.

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  6. alex said on January 18, 2016 at 7:25 am

    So why do the Chinese get cool-looking Lincolns while the ones made for the American market look like shit? For that matter, Ford designs in general don’t seem to wear well over time, although Lincolns come right out of the gate looking like nothing special for all the money they cost.

    Nancy, you look absolutely fab! Even under the interrogation light.

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  7. adrianne said on January 18, 2016 at 7:45 am

    The dress was worth every penny you paid for it, Nance. Quite fab, and you look fantastic! I had to laugh at Pilot Joe’s comments there.

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  8. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on January 18, 2016 at 7:55 am

    Sherri — nerds rule! (okay, we don’t rule much, but we enjoy what little we do rule.)

    Looks like the event was well worth a Whole15/15 pause. If I had to spend a night pretending to be interested in cars, I’d need a drink. Sorry, motor people. But I do like my Ford Focus hatchback.

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  9. Julie Robinson said on January 18, 2016 at 8:19 am

    Oh Jeff, never change! (I feel the same way.)

    I’m getting a distinct Carol Burnett vibe, and that’s a high compliment.Your time at the gym has clearly paid off. Bow down, all.

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  10. brian stouder said on January 18, 2016 at 9:32 am

    Marvelous photos!

    It is one degree here in Fort Wayne, and if I was to make one request, it would be:

    More, please!

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  11. Icarus said on January 18, 2016 at 9:39 am

    I believe this might be the first time I’ve ever seen a photo of you Nancy. Great shot.

    @Sherri, driverless cars will never be perfect or accident free. Everyone will have to accept a reasonable level of risk which will hopefully be extremely low. For instance, if the number of accidents were no greater than driven vehicles, would that be acceptable?

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  12. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on January 18, 2016 at 10:09 am

    No. http://www.fearexhibit.org/media/perceived_risk

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  13. brian stouder said on January 18, 2016 at 10:18 am

    …and not for nothing – given today’s title “Shiny new models” – but our proprietress has it goin’ on (for example) every bit as much as the eye-candy models next to the Chinese Lincoln.

    Julie – my lovely wife Pam has a Carol Burnett dvd featuring her ’60’s and 70’s era show – and I agree. The woman exuded a sly intelligence; and (not for nothing) she was hot!

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  14. Mark P said on January 18, 2016 at 10:31 am

    I read that Buick is one of the major auto sellers in China. Buick apparently is going to make one model there and may import it back to the US. And in other news, I heard that GE is selling their appliance line to Haier, a Chinese manufacturer.

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  15. beb said on January 18, 2016 at 10:49 am

    Nancy’s little red dress reminds me of this newspaper comic:
    http://www.gocomics.com/9chickweedlane/2016/01/17

    Turning to Oregon, could someone explain why the insurrectionists at the national park are allowed to come and go s they please, get mail(with care packages) and soon. I can understand the desire to void another Ruby Ridge but couldn’t the FBI or Park Services cut them off from the outside world, or arrest any of them the minute they leave park grounds?

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  16. MichaelG said on January 18, 2016 at 11:01 am

    You really look good, Nance. The work has paid off.
    When you find out, beb, let me know. I’ve been wondering the same thing. Why the kid gloves approach?

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  17. ROGirl said on January 18, 2016 at 11:10 am

    For one thing, they’re not black or brown.

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  18. Charlotte said on January 18, 2016 at 11:12 am

    The Chinese market! I have a college friend who married a musician 30 years ago who has become a HUGE pop star in Taiwan and Big China, which is hilarious — and yes, no self-respecting Chinese bigwig drives his or her own car. It was great for my friend because she didn’t drive until a couple of years ago — so bells and whistles for the driver, not such a big deal. All the Fancy needs to go in the back …
    I don’t want self-driving, I just want better goddamn gas mileage — or we’re all going to die. I want something with decent clearage, 4wd on demand (not awd all the time), and that gets more than 30 mpg — and that’s not overloaded with electronic crap that’s going to break and cost me a zillion dollars to fix. And so, I drive my 14 year old Subaru on and on and on because it works, and it’s paid for.

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  19. Sherri said on January 18, 2016 at 11:44 am

    when I bring up the failure modes of driverless cars, I’ll admit, I’m thinking like a software engineer: what happens in the unusual cases? But the thing is, once you start getting thousands of the things on the road, the unusual things happen more often than you might think – that’s one of the difficulties of scale. Writing software is hard; writing life-critical software is scary.

    Yes, driverless cars won’t get distracted. They will not be perfect, though, and what will a self-driving car do when it encounters a new situation that the programmers hadn’t thought of? Can it operate safely and completely without a connection to a server?

    It’s not so much about the number of accidents compared to the number of accidents currently; I wonder about a whole new type of incidents that will occur with driverless cars that don’t occur with cars with drivers, because humans, with all their flaws and distractions, are much more adaptable than software. And you’d be amazed what kind of trouble a human and a piece of software can get into!

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  20. Dorothy said on January 18, 2016 at 11:58 am

    F the cars. You were the star of the night!!! Amazing look girl.

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  21. Jeff Borden said on January 18, 2016 at 12:03 pm

    Nancita, I will join in the chorus that you look fking great.

    Not only do I hate the idea of self-driving cars, but I am a vocal proponent of manual transmissions. Our big car is nice for long trips and with all-wheel drive it’s the preferred vehicle in the winter, but the Fiat 500 Abart is so much more fun to drive. It’s rude, crude and lewd with an exhaust note that “Car and Driver” described as sounding like “Satan’s little brother.” It’s hands down the most fun vehicle I’ve owned.

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  22. Icarus said on January 18, 2016 at 12:15 pm

    “what will a self-driving car do when it encounters a new situation that the programmers hadn’t thought of?”

    hopefully they will program in safety protocols that when encountering new situations not specifically programmed for, the default mode of ensure human safety first. i.e. slow down, stop, avoid, etc. again it won’t be perfect until the singularity.

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  23. Colleen said on January 18, 2016 at 12:35 pm

    You look faaaabulous.

    Didja see? Kevin L is back at the N-S. That was quick.

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  24. Dexter said on January 18, 2016 at 12:58 pm

    Thanks for Le Tour d’ Auto, as Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac might have called it had he been a visionary or time traveler.

    When my ship comes in, I remain steadfast: Ford 150 or Ram pickup truck, Ford E-350 van to haul new stuff home to the new house, and a Subaru Forester to haul the dogs around. My wife says she does not waste time on stupid daydreams. Ha…tell that to the family in that little Tennessee town north of Memphis who just went nuts for TV cameras and all media, exposing themselves to every wacko and schemer in the world who will surely now try to swindle them out of millions. Form an LLC, hire a six-member advisory board of lawyers, investors, banking wizards, and hide in the bushes for a few months. Strapped and armed.
    Smart people report: Dateline Waterville, Ohio– Teen robbers tied up one clerk and had a gun in the back of another clerk at Dollar General. The clerk told the next customer to leave as the store was closing immediately. She used eye movements to communicate she was in trouble. The customer was cool, left quickly, drove off the lot and called 911. Waterville cops arrived and caught both robbers, no shots fired, store re-opened soon.
    In Toledo, fifteen minutes up the road? Those store managers are packing heat and they will drop anyone who pulls a gun in their stores. And enough is enough, I say drop them dead. Wild west. Do it.

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  25. Dexter said on January 18, 2016 at 1:03 pm

    Interstate spree it was.
    http://www.toledoblade.com/Police-Fire/2016/01/17/Two-teens-arrested-in-Waterville-accused-of-multi-week-crime-spree.html

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  26. dull_old_man said on January 18, 2016 at 1:57 pm

    I agree with Nancy about the power of lighting. Jane Byrne (former mayor of Chicago) told about a photo op she had with President Reagan. Chicago media always shot her head-on with bright lights, the better to show the chins, wrinkles, and bags under her eyes. For Reagan, she said, it was all backlit; looked as if they’d opened a couple of cans of rosy glow, and the photos came out looking airbrushed. We should all have it so good.

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  27. Sherri said on January 18, 2016 at 2:21 pm

    Icarus, you would hope so. But then, I remember what car companies have done in the past to cut corners, and I’m less sanguine. And software companies like Google have little experience in life-critical software.

    Even companies that do have experience in life-critical software have problems: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/health/24radiation.html?_r=0

    What I do expect is that we will see (and already are seeing) technology from self-driving cars migrate into person-driven cars. Automatic braking when a hazard is detected, parking assistance, likely even some freeway management. But while I think self-driving cars may be 80% or even 90% there, that last 10-20% is the hardest part.

    You’d think Nest would be able to default to a dumb thermostat without access to the cloud, but evidently, it didn’t, thanks to a bug.

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  28. Icarus said on January 18, 2016 at 2:36 pm

    Sherri, perhaps the “answer” isn’t cars that are driverless 100% of the time but maybe only on major highways under the right conditions. Perhaps a lane that can only be accessed by a driverless car and the purpose would be for long trips like my 3 times a year jaunt to Grosse Pointe for the holidays.

    or my soon to be over daily commute to OBT for work.

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  29. brian stouder said on January 18, 2016 at 2:38 pm

    I dunno. Think of Airbus (et al) and their software glitches – which have contributed to the fiery deaths of hundreds of people, over the years.

    Presumably automated flight would be a slightly easier challenge than automated driving on the ground

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  30. Mark P said on January 18, 2016 at 3:00 pm

    Charlottes, the new Subarus get pretty good mpg with AWD. Our Legacy gets 30-plus in mixed driving. I think it would do better than 35 on the highway.

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  31. ROGirl said on January 18, 2016 at 3:04 pm

    Then there’s the whole issue of the software being hacked while the vehicle is in operation, or even sitting in someone’s garage. The implications are pretty damn scary. That would have to be effectively prevented before it gets past the development stage.

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  32. brian stouder said on January 18, 2016 at 3:05 pm

    Well, for me, when it comes to software and engineering integrity – the only car company I trust is Volkswagen

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  33. brian stouder said on January 18, 2016 at 3:15 pm

    non-sequitur:

    This news made me groan

    http://wane.com/2016/01/18/american-pie-singer-arrested-on-domestic-violence-charge/

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  34. Suzanne said on January 18, 2016 at 3:35 pm

    Colleen, what happened with Kevin L? Now you have me very curious! How do you know he’s back at the newspaper?

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  35. Scout said on January 18, 2016 at 4:07 pm

    I love attending the car prom vicariously, via YOU looking fabulous, so I can just be a frump on the couch. That red dress is really stunning on you.

    I like to drive so driverless cars have no appeal for me. If I want read while getting somewhere I’ll take the light rail.

    Thanks for the tour.

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  36. alex said on January 18, 2016 at 4:10 pm

    It’s twoo, it’s twoo: http://news-sentinel.com/news/local/Kevin-Leininger-returns-to-The-News-Sentinel

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  37. alex said on January 18, 2016 at 4:13 pm

    Whaddaya wanna bet they told him, NO, Kevin, you can’t take gratuitous swipes at other religious denominations and people you don’t like when you’re supposed to be writing fucking press releases that show our organization in a positive light!

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  38. Suzanne said on January 18, 2016 at 4:37 pm

    LOL, Alex. I know someone who used to work at the Seminary. She said the place was ripe with nepotism and was a very chaotic workplace, so who knows? Maybe he discovered no one had any idea what they really wanted him to do.

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  39. alex said on January 18, 2016 at 4:48 pm

    Perhaps he thought he’d find workplace full of kindred spirits, all with sour dispositions and fanatically obsessed with homosexuality, and it was a tremendous letdown when they proved to be just ordinary folk.

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  40. brian stouder said on January 18, 2016 at 4:55 pm

    I nominate Alex for Thread Win!

    And – the lead on his N-S link was…sublime

    (seriously!)

    Some things you just can’t take back. But once in a while there are exceptions.
    The News-Sentinel is taking back reporter and columnist Kevin Leininger after announcing recently that he was leaving the newspaper to accept a position as vice president for communications at Concordia Theological Seminary. He returned to the newsroom today after changing his mind about leaving the profession that has consumed him for the past 38 years since graduating from Ball State University.

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  41. Suzanne said on January 18, 2016 at 5:01 pm

    No, Alex, I’m Facebook friends with several people who work at the Sem and between that and what my friend who worked there have told me, there are few ordinary folks there, but mostly they are sour and obsessed with homosexuality. When I heard he was going there, I figured he’d fit right in!

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  42. Hattie said on January 18, 2016 at 5:25 pm

    You are very pretty. Deal with it.

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  43. David C. said on January 18, 2016 at 6:00 pm

    I suspect wide use of driverless cars will be five years away for the next twenty-five years. Like Icarus said, it will be special lanes on some highways at best and the last thing we need now is to spend money on special lanes with the roads and bridges we have now in such disrepair. Better to spend the money on better mass transit than on anything to make a rich-man’s toy work.

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  44. Deborah said on January 18, 2016 at 6:27 pm

    Having been a LCMS member (and worker) in my past life and formerly knowing tons of people in the system, even someone like that dolt from Nancy’s former employer wouldn’t want to work there. It’s very aurhoritarian, if he was only a VP he probably had lots of people telling him what to do. Not fun.

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  45. nancy said on January 18, 2016 at 6:35 pm

    Do keep in mind, Kevin hasn’t had a new job in 36 years. Anyone else would try to stick it out, but KL seems to have worn a groove so deep he’s happier seeing the dirt walls of his own groove than something new.

    For the last five years I was in that dump, I found it depressing beyond belief.

    I cleaned my office when I went on maternity leave. When I came back, four months later, the boxes I’d tossed were still stacked next to the trash bin where I’d left them. The place was filthy and ugly and filled with unhappy people. I guess that suits some people just fine.

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  46. MarkH said on January 18, 2016 at 6:46 pm

    Holy Crap. Glenn Frey dead at 67. RIP

    https://www.yahoo.com/celebrity/news/glenn-frey-eagles-guitarist-singer-dies-67-220920048.html?ref=gs

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  47. Dave said on January 18, 2016 at 7:10 pm

    I couldn’t believe it when I found out Glenn Frey had died, to which my wife, never a huge rock n’ roll fan, said, why can’t you believe that? This news, after I’d read an article earlier today about the the twilight of the rock gods.
    http://ajournalofmusicalthings.com/bowies-death-marks-the-twilight-of-the-rock-gods/

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  48. Deborah said on January 18, 2016 at 7:51 pm

    How did I manage to know about Glenn Frey but not David Bowie? I don’t understand it. But anyway RIP Glenn Frey.

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  49. basset said on January 18, 2016 at 10:13 pm

    Think I’ll try that plant arrangement with a brandy glass and some green onions.

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  50. Brandon said on January 18, 2016 at 11:34 pm

    R.I.P., Glenn Frey.

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  51. Brandon said on January 18, 2016 at 11:48 pm

    And you know who else resembles Carol Burnett: Lauren Lewis of season 14 of Bad Girls Club.

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  52. Dexter said on January 19, 2016 at 2:45 am

    I think it was at the Rock and Roll HOF inductions , maybe a year ago, the one in which Linda Ronstadt was honored , was the last time I saw Glenn Frey live on TV. I know he looked so much different in a suit and tie, and he just looked old and tired to me, way beyond his then-66 years. Last week I posted I had heard of Bowie’s cancer but that was bogus, as I must have gotten the well-publicized heart attack he had mixed up in my increasingly feeble mind. (Twice in the last month I have made wrong turns on roads I know perfectly). NBC reported Frey’s family released that Glenn died of multiple ailments…in other words, early onset old age, basically.
    I remember reading that when John Lennon died on December 8, 1980, stores sold out all The Beatles records by sunset that day. All these years later, and Amazon has sold every piece of David Bowie’s music. Sold out completely. Blackstar is #1 on the charts. I was never keenly tuned into Bowie and his art, really only knowing his popular radio-played songs, so the outpouring and grief regarding his passing stunned me.

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  53. Jolene said on January 19, 2016 at 4:57 am

    Dexter, I saw a post on FB that said Frey died of complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis, and pneumonia. Sounds pretty miserable.

    Two drummers also left the world today, Dallas Taylor, who played with CSN&Y and others and Dale Griffin, who played with Mott the Hoople.

    2016 has been very tough on performers, and it’s barely started.

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  54. Dave said on January 19, 2016 at 8:19 am

    Dallas Taylor died a year ago, Jolene. I remember reading how he liked to say he made his first and last million by the time he was twenty-one.

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  55. Jolene said on January 19, 2016 at 8:47 am

    Well, what do you know? Not much, in my case, apparently. That notice popped into my FB feed, and I just glanced at it. Thanks for the correction.

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  56. Jolene said on January 19, 2016 at 9:06 am

    Passing along a review of a book recommended by a friend: When Breath Becomes Air by Dr. Paul Kalanithi, by and about a neurologist who died of lung cancer at 37.

    The book gets rave reviews, but for a shorter version of this story, see this WaPo article, published about 10 months ago. There was a wonderful picture of him with his father that I saw when I read this article last year, but can’t find now. If I track it down, I’ll let you know.

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  57. brian stouder said on January 19, 2016 at 10:41 am

    Jolene, that’s a very fine article; thanks for sharing the link.

    And, not for nothing, the writer has renewed my faith in neurosurgeons!

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  58. Jolene said on January 19, 2016 at 2:30 pm

    If, on the occasion of Glenn Frey’s death, you should want to indulge your Eagles nostalgia, you could watch “History of the Eagles,” a two-part documentary produced by Alrx Gibney now streaming on Amazon.

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  59. brian stouder said on January 19, 2016 at 3:20 pm

    Well, HRC and Bernie got Fox News to front-page the Flint/poisoned water debacle, and – of course – they blame a former mayor at Flint, who was a Democratic personage, rather than the incompetent (if not criminally negligent) Flint-river-boatload of other decision makers, who are not.

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  60. Andrea said on January 19, 2016 at 3:35 pm

    interesting interactive feature in the NYTimes today, about the drug overdose death epidemic as it moves across the country.
    http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/01/07/us/drug-overdose-deaths-in-the-us.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

    Sorry, don’t know how to make short links.

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  61. Deborah said on January 19, 2016 at 5:09 pm

    LB is making chili with ground turkey breast to stay somewhat on the diet. Beans aren’t allowed yet but were cheating a bit by adding them.

    The Flint debacle is so sad. When I think of all of the young children who are already poisoned it is criminal. How could it have happened? Who is responsible?

    I’m reading a book called Neuro Tribes about the history of autism, it’s fascinating. I’ve just finished the chapter about Dr. Asperger who discovered the syndrome named after him. He practiced during the Hitler regime. I had never read anything before about how exactly they euthanized disabled people, especially children. Unbelievable. Asperger managed to save as many as he could by diagnosing them as high functioning etc. It is horrifying to think that my own daughter would have probably been euthanized if she had lived there then, as she has a neurological condition that is genetic. Those people who carried out the killings were absolute monsters.

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  62. Julie Robinson said on January 19, 2016 at 5:22 pm

    $Palin has just endorsed Trump. There’s a suggestion he’ll put her on the ticket. Ack!

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  63. Suzanne said on January 19, 2016 at 5:35 pm

    I just heard Julie. Please! Won’t that woman just go away???

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  64. Jolene said on January 19, 2016 at 5:52 pm

    More news of the Palins behaving badly: Son Track was arrested last night on charges of domestic violence and possession of a weapon while intoxicated.

    This family conducts itself so admirably that it’s easy to see why anyone would want the favor of the woman responsible for guiding their conduct as they grew up.

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  65. Scout said on January 19, 2016 at 6:48 pm

    A partial term politician who became reality show sideshow endorses a reality show sideshow turned politician. And we’re supposed to take the GOP seriously because… ?

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  66. Deborah said on January 19, 2016 at 6:57 pm

    Who are these people?

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  67. Deborah said on January 19, 2016 at 7:15 pm

    Somewhere I read that the woman Track Palin married when she was pregnant with his child is now his ex-wife and the woman in this domestic violence incidence is not her. I’m trying to re-find the source so this may be jumping to conclusions. Whatever. But good lord Bristol, the spokesperson for abstinence has recently given birth to her second out of wedlock child and now this. Again, who are these people?

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  68. susan said on January 19, 2016 at 7:39 pm

    Who are these people?
    Good xtian Amurkans, that’s who.

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  69. Sue said on January 19, 2016 at 8:14 pm

    Driverless cars:
    They will be a godsend to elderly people. I can see shared ownership arrangements, kids pooling money and buying for parents, etc. etc. I do hope things get going and the technology becomes affordable soon.

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  70. Dave said on January 19, 2016 at 8:26 pm

    Andrea at 60, you can make smaller URL’s at tinyurl.com.

    There’s obviously no love lost or loyalty between the snowbilly and her running mate. You’d think Trump’s insulting talk about McCain would put her off a little bit but maybe she thinks it’s one more chance to grab the gold ring.

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  71. Jolene said on January 19, 2016 at 8:43 pm

    I’m sure McCain knows, Dave, that putting Palin on the ticket is the worst mistake he ever made, but he can’t say so in public. I’ve never seen any evidence that they’ve had any contact with each other since 2008.

    For instance, when McCain campaigned for re-election in 2010, she did not, as far as I know, appear on his behalf. That was, undoubtedly, his decision, as she’d have been popular in AZ, and, in that election, he was doing his best to appear more conservative than the right-wing whacko who tried to defeat him in the primary.

    Scout, is that a fair recollection of events?

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  72. Deborah said on January 19, 2016 at 8:55 pm

    This was on PBS Newshour about NeuroTribes, the book I’m reading about autism. The author is interviewed http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/author-explores-life-on-the-expanding-autism-spectrum/.

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  73. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on January 19, 2016 at 9:36 pm

    The only enjoyment I had in listening to Palin’s “endorsement” (brand extension) speech was watching Trump’s growing discomfort through the twenty minutes of rambling digression punctuated by reassertions of old campaign memes. Even that noted meanderer could tell this statement was rambling beyond what was seemly. His smile got more and more fixed, to where it was rigid enough to catch a breeze, or at least some flies if his lips were just a bit further apart.

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  74. Jolene said on January 19, 2016 at 10:17 pm

    Just realized the Eagles documentary is on Netflix too, which is the better choice if you’re a subscriber. On Amazon, there’s a charge, even if you’re a member of Amazon Prime.

    And, yes, Jeff, the Palin speech was exactly as you described. Just a horror, really.

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  75. chuckie said on January 22, 2016 at 12:31 am

    Hey Nancy, you look OK, but that new Lincoln, whoooaaa Holy Shit, that’s a great-looking car. Definitely my next new car buy

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