This will be the last you hear from me for a while. But when I resurface? I hope to be in the land of midnight sun. Wendy will be home with her sitter — who allows her to sleep in bed with him — and we’ll have an ocean between us.
As well as the Greenland Sea. Current temperature in Reykjavik: 48 degrees.
So just a link or two, and some requests:
Talk about whatever you want in my absence, but be advised that I don’t have much email access, or only intermittent access. So if your comment gets kicked to moderation, it’s likely to stay there a while. Try resubmitting. Please be kind to one another. I hope I get some good pictures.
Meanwhile, an interesting story on the Jonathan Weisman anti-Semitic tweet storm.
And then there was Hillary’s rather splendid throwdown yesterday:
She said she imagined Mr. Trump was “composing nasty tweets” about her even as she spoke. And indeed he was: “Bad performance by Crooked Hillary Clinton!” Mr. Trump wrote. “Reading poorly from the teleprompter! She doesn’t even look presidential.”
But Mrs. Clinton sought to turn Mr. Trump’s prolific Twitter habit into an additional bullet point demonstrating that he was “unfit” for the presidency, as she put it. She twice referred to the scene in the White House Situation Room where as secretary of state, she advised Mr. Obama on the raid on a compound in Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden.
“Imagine Donald Trump sitting in the Situation Room, making life-or-death decisions on behalf of the United States,” Mrs. Clinton said, eliciting cries of “No!” from her audience. “Imagine if he had not just his Twitter account at his disposal when he’s angry, but America’s entire arsenal.”
Woo. Who wrote that?
Finally, a longer read I’m not done with yet, but it’s interesting, on the genetic origins of dogs.
Bye! Wheels up for Reykjavik on Sunday. Back here eventually.
MichaelG said on June 3, 2016 at 12:27 am
Safe travels. Have a wonderful time!
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Bill said on June 3, 2016 at 12:28 am
Hope you have a wonderful trip. I’m jealous. As a fun alternative, though, I get to stage manage “Little Shop of Horrors” for the next two weekends.
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Dexter said on June 3, 2016 at 3:26 am
Icelandic Elf School…we expect a full report!
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjAq7j5qYvNAhVVeFIKHXD-Bm0QjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftheholidaze.com%2Fnature&psig=AFQjCNHdQ53yvFvOnE2qChuHTBDdn4h31Q&ust=1465025061304914
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Dexter said on June 3, 2016 at 3:28 am
sorry ’bout that
http://theholidaze.com/images/countries/iceland/elves.jpg
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Deborah said on June 3, 2016 at 5:43 am
Have fun! I can’t wait to hear all about the trip.
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alex said on June 3, 2016 at 6:57 am
And don’t forget to send pix from the dick museum!
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ROGirl said on June 3, 2016 at 7:08 am
Funny how Trump has unleashed the anti-Semites, even though he hasn’t insulted the Jews — yet.
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adrianne said on June 3, 2016 at 7:09 am
The Donald incites and brings out the worst instincts in people – it’s a knack. Mercifully, he’s flailing after Hillary got his number yesterday. A thing of beauty.
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Suzanne said on June 3, 2016 at 7:26 am
Trump doesn’t need a teleprompter because he doesn’t say anything really. Pessimistic me believes that Hillary’s takedown won’t matter. There are too many unreasonable voters out there who will vote for him because he “tells it like it is” (think Palin people) and who are convinced that voting for Hillary is voting for Satan him(her)self to lead the country to ruin.
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Julie Robinson said on June 3, 2016 at 9:29 am
Hope it’s a marvelous trip. I am enjoying my first day of vacay by laying in bed like a slug. It feels great.
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brian stouder said on June 3, 2016 at 10:07 am
Safe travels, indeed!
Our big vaca-palooza will be in mid-July, when we roll all the way down to the Florida Keys for my brother’s wedding.
‘Course, between here and there we’ll be stopping at a few places (Fort Sumter leaps to mind, as (quite possibly) does a lunatic asylum
http://trans-alleghenylunaticasylum.com/
and other such stuff.
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MichaelG said on June 3, 2016 at 10:32 am
Hmmm. Let’s see, Brian. Nope. Can’t find that place on my bucket list.
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brian stouder said on June 3, 2016 at 10:46 am
We figure when the young folks get back to school, and discuss where they went over the summer, “lunatic asylum” will elicit interest…!
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Colleen said on June 3, 2016 at 5:23 pm
Safe and enjoyable travels!
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Scout said on June 3, 2016 at 6:02 pm
Enjoy the vacation. Just got back from our 4 city Italy getaway. Sigh. It was over way too quickly.
Hillary’s smack down of tRump was epic. I hope she never lets up between now and November. I loved the way she slipped “finger on the button” in there just to remind people of his size issues and insecurities.
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Sherri said on June 3, 2016 at 10:22 pm
A Stanford swimmer sexually assaults a young woman who is unconscious outside. Two grad students cycling by catch him in the act, he runs off, and they chase him down. He’s convicted of three felonies, and now, the judge has sentenced him.
To six months in county jail. Because sending him to prison would have a “severe impact” on his life.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/katiejmbaker/heres-the-powerful-letter-the-stanford-victim-read-to-her-ra?utm_term=.jaMx8wj0o8#.xmOOR9jnLR
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Dexter said on June 4, 2016 at 2:33 am
Nice, Alex. Normally, I wouldn’t touch your comment with a ten foot pole, but it reminded me of a really funny boy named Nick that a few of my high school classmates met at the Smithsonian during our senior trip. We happened upon Nick, who was a Philadelphia kid, and he decided to have some fun with us, the Indiana hayseed kids. “Did you guys see the giant dick in the glass? It’s here somewhere, but I can’t find it…maybe they have it hid in a special room…hey, go ask that woman there where the giant cock-in-the-glass-jar exhibit is.”
We saw the ruse and had a laugh but of course didn’t go searching for the mystery exhibit. Sometimes I wonder though….
Nick then began cracking one liners and telling short jokes as if he were doing a stand-up comedian gig. It’s been a long time ago and all I remember is he had us laughing so hard , security told us to knock it off. That kid…sometimes I wonder if he ever pursued that terrific talent.
I love comedy…sketch, room work, stand-up, panel…all of it. My fave married couple comedians are Rich Vos and Bonnie McFarlane. Bonnie wrote a book last year…good summer read for yas.
She grew up on farm in Alberta, that part of the book alone is worth the read.
https://bookpage.com/reviews/19524-bonnie-mcfarlane-youre-better-than-me#.V1J14SHpfIw
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Dexter said on June 4, 2016 at 4:03 am
1942—2016. We have lost Muhammad Ali, The Greatest. I saw him fight on TV on the Gillette Friday Night Fights at Gramma’s house when Ali was Clay and an amateur. I was a fan until last evening, when he passed.
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Suzanne said on June 4, 2016 at 7:18 am
I heard about Ali this morning Dexter and my first thought was that I am old enough to remember when he wasn’t Ali. That and the thought that celebrities seem to be dying off this year at a fairly fast clip. Or does it just seem that way?
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Dave said on June 4, 2016 at 7:46 am
That’s my thought, too, Suzanne. It’s not just celebrities, I think it’s a sign of advancing age. It seems that I can’t get through more than a couple of weeks anymore without someone I have known somewhere in my life dying.
Speaking of dying and mostly out of place here, the Bellevue (Ohio) Gazette ceased publication on May 31, another small town paper that got trampled by the digital age. The neighboring weekly Clyde Enterprise also ended.
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beb said on June 4, 2016 at 12:51 pm
celebrities are often people of our own age cohort so as we get older (nearer death) a lot of the people we knew are starting to die. I’m old enough to know Ali as Cassius Clay, too. Not a boxing fan but I’ve grown to admire his convictions and kindnesses. Parkinson’s was a terrible burden to bear. As much as I’m sadden to see him go, at least he didn’t linger.
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Deborah said on June 4, 2016 at 12:59 pm
I’m at the farmers market in Santa Fe and saw the woman who play’s Longmire’s daughter in the series. She looked like a perfectly normal person and had an amazingly well behaved dog. We’re waiting for Little Bird’s knives to be sharpened. Beautiful day, as usual. We bought radishes, Bibb lettuce and rolls for hamburgers were grilling tonight.
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LindaG said on June 4, 2016 at 2:11 pm
Deborah – is that Katee Sackhoff from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA? Loved her in that show. A real badass.
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Deborah said on June 4, 2016 at 2:35 pm
No, Katee Sackhoff plays another role on the series, but at the moment I can’t remember her character’s name. The person I saw plays Longmire’s daughter, she has red hair.
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Deborah said on June 4, 2016 at 3:06 pm
I looked her up, she’s Cassidy Freeman, she plays Cady Longmire https://www.google.com/search?q=longmire+cast&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari#mie=e%2C%2CCassidy%20Freeman%2CH4sIAAAAAAAAAONgFuLSz9U3yLLMtazMUwKzTQotkgwMtThDwkLyHZNL8osANV-uNSUAAAA
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Dave said on June 4, 2016 at 3:21 pm
Her name is Cassidy Freeman. Kate’s Sackhoff plays the deputy, Vic Moretti, a much milder Vic than the character in the books.
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Dave said on June 4, 2016 at 3:22 pm
Kate’s??? Ugh, didn’t catch that, it’s Katee.
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LindaG said on June 4, 2016 at 7:42 pm
Thanks. Didn’t catch LONGMIRE when it aired on TNT(?) and am not subscribed to Netflix. Will have to catch it somehow
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Dexter said on June 5, 2016 at 1:23 am
Longmire, a series I never would have checked out but for being tipped off here at nn.c, quickly became my fave show, and I binge-watched a few days and then was lost when I came to the last epi. Best modern western , no competition comes close.
Dorothy, sorry about that…I was sure the Penguins were going up 3-zippo but the Sharks scored on a beauty of an overtime goal and so now it’s 2-1 Pittsburgh.
Friday I saw my nephew’s wife on TV, sitting in primo seats , first row, by the Cubs dugout. You get seats like that when your husband (my nephew) works for Rahm and you run a SuperPac raising dough for various pols but especially for Mayor Emanuel himself. Chicago is their oyster, doors open for them all around town.
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Jerry said on June 5, 2016 at 2:44 am
Dexter, Myra and I have just seen ourselves on Bargain Hunt – not sure if it’s shown in America but contestants are given money to buy antiques to be sold at auction with a view to making a profit. We weren’t contestants but front row at the auction where we were trying, unsuccessfully, to sell a painting.
No pull with pols we were just there early!
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Sherri said on June 5, 2016 at 2:15 pm
Dexter, this Stanley Cup final is almost too tense to watch! My first hockey team, the Pens, playing my second hockey team, the Sharks, 3 games won by one goal, two overtime games. I like the Sharks, but my heart is with the Pens.
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Judybusy said on June 5, 2016 at 4:15 pm
LindaG, you might want to check out your library. Longmire is available at the Minneapolis one, so hopefully yours as well!
We are practically vibrating in our household, as we leave tomorrow for a 11-day trip with our youngest niece, who just graduated from HS. Reykjavik, Brussels, Paris, here we come! I probably won’t be checking in after this–must get things done before we go–but will share tidbits upon return.
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Deborah said on June 5, 2016 at 6:35 pm
JudyBusy have a wonderful trip. You nieces are really lucky to have you as an Aunt.
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Deborah said on June 5, 2016 at 6:36 pm
Your nieces
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brian stouder said on June 5, 2016 at 9:58 pm
So I followed Nancy’s dog-link, which was very good – and it lead me to this other article about a dog –
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/the-problem-with-calling-out-judges-for-their-race/485732/
and it was good stuff, too.
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Joe K said on June 5, 2016 at 10:16 pm
72yrs ago tonight right around this time a bunch of young 18-25 yr olds looked out of a bunch of C-47 transports flying thru intense enemy fire and from around 800ft jumped into a dark night opening the way for the invasion and defeat of Europe, if you have the time take a moment and silently thank them for their sacrifice.
Pilot Joe
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Dexter said on June 6, 2016 at 2:03 am
Joe, you are always right there on June 6. Good job. My buddy from Vietnam days Frank, was born in Genova, Italia, (Genoa, Italy) and grew up in Detroit and was drafted from there passed four years ago and today after all this time I discovered his ashes were interred in a cemetery near Caro, Michigan. I’m not a cemetery pilgrimage guy at all, but I feel like I should pay my respects, as I have the waypoint to the grave. This, even as Frank dropped out of society, quit a great at Fisher Body, and cut everyone off from his life for years, me included.
At least he lived 62 years and didn’t commit suicide (as far as I know) like another close friend from our army unit did 11 years ago.
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ROGirl said on June 6, 2016 at 5:48 am
My father served in Germany in 1946. The family story was that he was supposed to have been involved in the Battle of the Bulge, but he had a case of appendicitis, so his deployment was delayed. He trained at Fort Ritchie in Maryland and always claimed that his hearing loss was due to the explosives that he was exposed to in his training. What he never explained to me, and I didn’t find out until the day of his funeral, was that the Battle of the Bulge deployment involved voluntarily going behind German-occupied lines in France and blowing things up. He spoke passable German and good French (he was born in Canada, but his family came to the States when he was under a year old), so he convinced the army that he could do this.
There’s a Wikipedia entry about the Fort Ritchie unit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritchie_Boys
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Deborah said on June 6, 2016 at 9:12 am
My husband’s uncle who died before I knew my husband, fought in the battle of the bulge, then many years later died of AIDS in San Francisco in the 1980s. I’m not sure why but I find that particularly poignant.
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Dorothy said on June 6, 2016 at 11:52 am
My dad was there for the Battle of the Bulge. I hesitate to say he fought there because that wasn’t his job in the Army. He was a medic – I don’t think he carried a weapon. He was wounded – I don’t recall how but he had a very large scar in his upper left arm. (I have to ask one of my older brothers if they recall how he was wounded.) I re-watched Band of Brothers this week via HBO on Demand, and 15 years after seeing it for the first time, I still marvel at the braveness and tremendous resolve those men showed with what they did. I cried like a baby hearing the real men talk about it in the series wrap up. Many of them had quivering lips just talking about the friends they lost. I don’t think many of those men portrayed in the series are still alive. On that recap show they mentioned that 600,000 soldiers participated in the Battle of the Bulge.
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Jolene said on June 6, 2016 at 1:04 pm
Prompted by your mention of it on Facebook, Dorothy, I rewatched Band of Brothers too and had the same reaction. It’s tremendously moving to think about what those men and so many others went through. My own dad fought in North Africa and Italy. He was away from home for more than three years, most of it overseas. Twice, he was in tanks that were blown up, but survived. Quite an experience for a farm boy who’d never been far from home.
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Deni Menken said on June 6, 2016 at 3:20 pm
We are flying the flag today. My husband’s four older brothers fought in four different branches. Wonderful guys who never spoke of their battles until in their 80’s. My dad served in the entertainment division of the Army Air Corps in North Africa. Told lively stories, made lifelong friends with all of the musicians he played with. We have a great photo of him working with the great Glenn Miller at a full rehearsal in crisp uniforms. They traveled all over to play for the troops and he spent time in a Casablanca hospital with pneumonia and jaundice. He made it through the full four year tour but weighed in at 92 pounds when he came home to Illinois. He drank whole milk at every meal the rest of his life. Couldn’t get enough of it.
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brian stouder said on June 6, 2016 at 3:28 pm
A great generation of women and men, indeed.
And, not for nothing, but if I was gonna Trump it up, I’d be much (much) quicker to be distrustful of the damned Germans, right now and today, than the Mexicans.
Just sayin’
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Sherri said on June 6, 2016 at 6:43 pm
I’m seriously beginning to wonder if Trump lasts until November, or whether he goes completely batshit crazy like Perot did.
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-06-06/trump-orders-surrogates-to-intensify-criticism-of-judge-and-journalists
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Scout said on June 6, 2016 at 6:47 pm
Sherri, I’m starting to wonder too. Then what happens? He certainly seems to be delaminating at a rapid rate.
http://www.salon.com/2016/06/06/flustered_frustrated_and_frantic_the_university_debacle_has_put_donald_trump_on_the_ropes/
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Julie Robinson said on June 6, 2016 at 9:53 pm
Dorothy, medics had very dangerous jobs, since they were often in the range of fire while retrieving the wounded. And they saw some particularly horrific sights.
the more I know of war, the more I understand why so many could never speak about it.
Meanwhile, the children of the greatest generation turned tail on Tropical Storm Colin. We drove over to St. Pete yesterday after church and were supposed to spend two nights there for the beach, specifically a dog beach so our grand-doggy could join us. We almost cancelled the whole trip, but our daughter had made the reservations through Airbnb and couldn’t get a refund. (That’ll make me think twice about ever using them.)
We got a few hours in at the beach before the rains hit but this morning we decided to forfeit the second night. Lots of others were also leaving, and it ended up taking three hours to get back to Orlando instead of two. But we’re safe and sound, and instead of the beach we visited with some family and played a new game to me, Ticket to Ride.
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brian stouder said on June 6, 2016 at 10:10 pm
Ticket to Ride is a great game, indeed. Another fairly quick-playing rail-building game is Steel Driver, which also includes a bit of screw-your-neighbor, which is always good!
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/37387/steel-driver
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Dexter said on June 7, 2016 at 1:31 am
It seems like every WWII vet I ever knew even slightly was at Battle of the Bulge…two uncles and two guys I met at the VFW anyway.
My dad had a near-miss from possible death as he was not allowed to board the USS Franklin, deploying from Alameda Naval Air Station for the Pacific battles. That morning he had an erupting toothache and the doctor of the ship and the dentist would not let him board. As any history buff knows, the Franklin took severe hits and was nearly sunk, and suffered many casualties. Just look at the stunning casualty numbers:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Franklin_%28CV-13%29
Most of any ship in the war that was not sunk.
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Sherri said on June 7, 2016 at 2:46 am
John Judis with a history lesson on what a sore loser candidate can do to a convention: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/–100724
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on June 7, 2016 at 7:36 am
A gentleman in the front row every Sunday at my church landed at Omaha Beach, and is always quick to point out “in August!” He was rotated into the 78th on the day after Christmas, 1945 “which was not a good time to visit Belgium.” At one point, he and a couple of friends were captured by Germans for about a day, then turned loose again with a request to tell his command “we want to surrender to Americans.” But he says that’s the coldest winter that ever was, or ever will be, and he wears a knit vest even in the heart of August; in the winter, when people complain about the cold, he’s likely to say “it was colder in Kesternich.” He and his mates walked across the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen on March 16, 1945, set up camp, and wondered at a crashing noise in the night . . . which dawn revealed was the bridge they’d just crossed collapsing into the Rhine. A story I love, since my dad’s oldest brother told almost the exact same one, serving in a unit bivouacked just a hundred yards away that night.
Two Purple Hearts later, he got sent home. “And I never saw Berlin, and guess I never will.” He never saw any concentration camps, but in the Ruhr they liberated a number of slave labor camps, and says “if concentration camps were worse I don’t know I could have borne it.” Of those slave labor camps, he says little except that it was tragic and stirring how these rows of living skeletons kept begging the passing troops to give them rifles and let them join them. “Those poor fellows couldn’t have lifted a rifle they were so weak, but they wanted to. They surely wanted to.”
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