I kept trying to carve out a few moments here and there today to write a blog, but then the Chauvin verdict news came in, and I thought: Wait until after, or before?
Before, I guess. New thread for verdict discussion.
In the meantime, three quick items:
If you need a break from bad news, we saw “Shiva Baby” on Amazon Prime video last night, and it was funny and cringe-y, and if you like that kind of thing, it’s that kind of thing. New York magazine called it “The Gradiate” meets “Uncut Gems,” and that’s right.
This story is five years old, but I just read it today, and it’s very funny: How Morrissey ruined Bill Cosby’s set on “The Tonight Show,” 30 years ago now.
Finally, since some of you are talking about Walter Mondale today, let it be known that for a tryout on MPR many years ago, I interviewed by Mondale and Hubert Humphrey. Simultaneously! On one show! I didn’t get the job. If I had, I’d probably still be there, and my heart would be pounding right now.
Fifteen minutes.
Jeff Borden said on April 20, 2021 at 4:55 pm
I saw numerous City of Chicago garbage and dump trucks around major intersections today, which would be used to block off streets if protests get out of hand. The governor has activated some National Guard, but it’s not a massive presence or particularly visible.
The verdict seems like a gimme to me, but I was wrong about O.J. Simpson, so what do I know?
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Deborah said on April 20, 2021 at 4:58 pm
We walked down to the loop area to an art supply store this afternoon and all up and down Michigan Ave, stores are boarded up already or are in the process of boarding up. I think we all thought we’d have a little more time to prepare. I’m watching TV now, tension is high.
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Deborah said on April 20, 2021 at 5:09 pm
GUILTY! On all counts. Horns are honking in Chicago.
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Sherri said on April 20, 2021 at 5:12 pm
Wow. It’s so difficult to convict police officers that I doubted it would really happen, despite the obvious.
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Bitter Scribe said on April 20, 2021 at 5:22 pm
HOOOORAY!!!!
I wasn’t really worried about this one, but it’s still a relief. I’m way more worried about Kyle Rittenhouse. I really think there’s a danger he might get off on some bullshit self-defense plea a la George Zimmerman.
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Suzanne said on April 20, 2021 at 5:22 pm
Guilty! Relief. I couldn’t see how the jury couldn’t convict him, but one never knows. I get that police have to make split second decisions that can have bad outcomes. This was not a split second decision. Chauvin had all kinds of time to stop what he was doing after Floyd stopped struggling and he didn’t. He murdered him because he could.
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Sherri said on April 20, 2021 at 5:35 pm
Let’s not forget that all of this was over a bogus $20 bill. Eric Garner was killed over selling loose cigarettes.
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Bitter Scribe said on April 20, 2021 at 5:39 pm
And that other Minnesota kid was killed over an air freshener dangling from his rearview.
A goddamned AIR FRESHENER.
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Alan Stamm said on April 20, 2021 at 5:48 pm
Thanks for the film thumb-up. My kind of thing, the trailer confirms.
(Timesman Jason Bailey too — not that your word wasn’t enough, of course.)
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LAMary said on April 20, 2021 at 6:07 pm
Don’t forget the guy who was a cook at a Montessori school who was shot sitting in his car with his kids in the back seat and his fiancee in the passenger seat. That was Minnesota too. Philando Castile.
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Annie said on April 20, 2021 at 7:37 pm
I am changing the subject because I watched most of this and knew I had to talk about it but couldn’t figure out the right audience who wouldn’t be too hard on me for speaking ill of the dead. I saw a bit at Prince Philip’s funeral about his carriage driving and I went off searching for more. I just can’t get over the amount of money it must take to have this as a hobby. All those workers. All those expensive well-fed and groomed horses. All the money laying out an obstacle course. I wonder if Princess Sophie and her daughter really enjoy it, as alleged, or they were just humoring the old man. I suppose it’s not really more expensive than flying around the world from one of your homes to another in your own jet, but I still found it completely gross. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLZw4xAgTWU
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nancy said on April 20, 2021 at 8:11 pm
Equestrian sports can be very expensive, true, but the costs can also be mitigated by doing a lot of the work yourself. And many — probably most — do. Carriage driving is a tiny, tiny, tiny sport, and I would expect mainly practiced by not just the wealthy, but the eccentric wealthy. I subscribed to the Chronicle of the Horse for a year or two, and I think there were fewer competitive-driving stories than there were about, say, beagling, which is mainly practiced by fox hunters who are getting on in years and just can’t risk three hours of galloping and jumping anymore. So they buy beagles and bassets and tramp over the country in rubber boots, chasing rabbits.
Fox-hunting, too, isn’t what you’d expect. For every Jackie Onassis type — born rich, bred to ride from kindergarten, etc. — there are 10 lesbian EMTs or doctors or lawyers who make good money, have no children to spend it on, and just like running and jumping and hearing the hounds bay.
The real decadence is in polo, because there you really need a string of ponies, and it does tend to be super-rich awful people.
I boarded my horse at a barn along with a lawyer who had two horses there, and he fox-hunted twice a week, in season. His law firm knew he’d take every Tuesday off from November to March, and that was OK with them. He said occasionally they’d get offers to visit and hunt with other clubs, and once they did. The one they visited was a super-rich group (they were not), and when they came back to the house (they did not have a “house,” either), there was a line of grooms standing down the driveway, ready to take everyone’s mount and cool it off, feed and water. They’d never, ever had such an amenity, and given that almost all the grooms were black, it was a very weird vibe, he said.
He said he turned to the guy next to him and said, “I knew we forgot something.”
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LAMary said on April 20, 2021 at 8:44 pm
EMTs, straight or butch, don’t make great money. Maybe two or three bucks over minimum wage. Paramedics do better.
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nancy said on April 20, 2021 at 8:50 pm
Paramedics, then. I was thinking of highly skilled, decently paid jobs that allow for creative shifts, since fox hunts generally go twice a week, and don’t respect 9-to-5 workers so much.
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Joe Kobiela said on April 20, 2021 at 9:23 pm
Only thing I know about polo is the fields, played in a Rugby tournament in Milwaukee on their pitches, nicest field I ever played on.
Pilot Joe
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Sherri said on April 20, 2021 at 9:41 pm
RIP, Chuck Geschke. Adobe was still small enough when I first worked there that I was regularly in meetings with Chuck, and unlike Gates and Jobs and too many other tech founders, he was never an asshole. I was still working at Adobe when he was kidnapped out of the parking lot one morning. I’m glad he survived that and lived a long life afterwards.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/20/technology/chuck-geschke-dead.html
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susan said on April 20, 2021 at 10:18 pm
R.I.P. Makiah Bryant, a Black teenaged girl, killed by Columbus police. Just moments before the Chauvin verdict was announced. Great timing, pigcops.
It never stops. Not for one hour in a day.
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Deborah said on April 20, 2021 at 10:23 pm
We just watched Nomadland on Amazon Prime. Francis McDormand is a gift. I hope it wins the Oscar, and she wins another one.
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Sherri said on April 20, 2021 at 10:27 pm
I have to remind myself that there are no broken systems. American policing works as it is designed to work, to maintain white supremacy, to keep the rabble in line. It’s about order, not justice.
Changing how officers are trained will not change this. Getting rid of neck restraints will not change this. Even getting rid of qualified immunity will not change this.
Changing what we want a police force to be is required.
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Dexter Friend said on April 21, 2021 at 2:17 am
Every time I infrequently read anything about polo I think of Ginger Baker. (South Africa)…” “I went out to investigate, and I was amazed – they keep their horses exactly the same way as I do, the English/Irish thoroughbred standard. Unlike this place – America is probably the most backward country in the world where horses are concerned. “And now I go to South Africa and horses are treated properly. That’s big to me. Polo players here treat them like the Harley in the garage – get it out, wreck it and get another. My horses kept me alive. I had a big drug problem for 21 years. Getting involved with horses gave me something to live for. They relied on me and I got straight – I gave up “horse’ for horses!” “
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on April 21, 2021 at 6:52 am
“All organizations are perfectly designed to get the results they get.”
~ Arthur Jones, English Procter & Gamble executive, later used in modified form by W. Edwards Deming
Two blocks from me is the Great Lawn of an old coal baron estate now owned by the village, and going back to those earlier days down to the present there is polo at the Bryn Du Mansion every Sunday afternoon all summer. The local club calls themselves a working class club, and few of the members have more than one horse, and when they have visiting teams come play them, it’s fascinating to see how many trailers and staff they bring. I knew a UCC minister who played, one horse she tended herself, but to be fair her husband had a really, really good job. But you could always see the difference between the visiting clubs and the locals.
https://www.bryndu.com/
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Julie Robinson said on April 21, 2021 at 9:14 am
It was the only decision that same and rational people could reach. Now the appeals start, right?
I learned of the convictions while in the immersive Van Gogh exhibit at the Dali Museum, and had to have them reaffirmed after we left. It was a trippy day.
Yesterday the NYT wrote that on the average day, police kill three souls. The figure has not changed since they started keeping statistics. Just let that one sink in.
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Deborah said on April 21, 2021 at 9:15 am
We have an Argentinian friend who played polo, I don’t think he still does, because he’s my age. I always thought it was such a cruel sport, hard on horses.
Only a few more weeks in Chicago, lots to do to get ready for being away for 4 months.
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Joe Kobiela said on April 21, 2021 at 9:42 am
I wanted to learn how to play water polo, but my horses keep drowning.
Here all week tip your waiter.
Pilot Joe
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Jeff Borden said on April 21, 2021 at 10:10 am
It’s striking to me that virtually no conservative lawmaker has weighed in on the Chauvin verdict. Not really surprising, I guess. The right these days is all about white nationalism and the appearance of law and order so long as it is not used against them, i.e., Jan. 6. Then, the cops are traitors and lackeys.
My scan of media sites suggests right-wing media is now in full banshee howling led by Josef Goebbels Jr. a.k.a. Tucker McNear Swanson Carlson, who apparently is arguing the jury was intimidated into convicting poor Derek Chauvin by leftist pressure, Maxine Waters and President Biden. Hoo boy. An entire cable news network devoted to pushing racist ideology. How do we proceed to a fairer future when a multi-billion-dollar media infrastructure inflames millions of low information old white folks?
Anyhow, I broke my no drinking on weeknights rule to toast accountability with my special occasion Scotch last night. I hope to do that again sometime, but these kinds of convictions are exceedingly rare as today’s NYT notes.
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ROGirl said on April 21, 2021 at 11:13 am
I got really tired yesterday and am feeling the same way today. It’s apparently the delayed reaction to my second shot. I just want to crawl into bed.
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Heather said on April 21, 2021 at 12:02 pm
My 80-something uncle is staying with my cousin and she says he is just angry all the time from watching Fox “news.” I talked to her before the Chauvin verdict–I’m sure he was unbearable after. What a way to spend the last few years of your life.
ROGirl, I was fine right after the 2nd shot last Wednesday but since yesterday I’ve definitely been feeling fatigued, almost a week later. It could be allergies/sinus issues, as well as depression at the return of winter weather, but it does seem more severe than I’v experienced in a while. Having more coffee so I can get work done and am going to try to sneak in a nap later.
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Deborah said on April 21, 2021 at 12:11 pm
“Angry people are not always wise” Jane Austen
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Sherri said on April 21, 2021 at 12:13 pm
I know most of us are at some level of vaccinated, but this pandemic is not over yet. What’s going on in India right now is terrible, cases are through the roof, hospitals are overwhelmed. Yes, it’s the other side of the world, but my husband has people who work for him who have lost family members and have more family members sick.
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David C said on April 21, 2021 at 1:29 pm
Dexter there are quite a few rockers who are polo players: Kenny Jones of The Who and Faces, Stewart Copeland of The Police, Mike Rutherford of Genesis. All three are products of English Public schools so that’s probably part of it.
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Sherri said on April 21, 2021 at 1:43 pm
I’m listening to a new podcast that I recommend, The Improvement Association. No, it’s not a self-help podcast, it’s about voter fraud. You may remember that a Congressional election in North Carolina was overturned a few years ago because of voter fraud. That happened in Bladen County, when an operative for the Republican candidate committed absentee ballot fraud. Sorry, is alleged to have; he’s been indicted but not yet convicted.
This podcast is not about that fraud, at least not directly. You see, complaints about “certain communities” cheating didn’t begin with Trump. Republicans in this county (read white people) are convinced that Blacks cheat all the time. Zoe Chace goes down to try and sort it all out, particularly looking at a 2010 sheriff’s election.
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Sherri said on April 21, 2021 at 2:01 pm
Just a reminder that I just wrote a few days ago about a white man who dragged a police officer along side his truck while hitting him in the head, and he was arrested without being shot. There’s video of it.
But a 15 year old black girl must be put down.
And there are still people who deny the existence of systemic racism.
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Jeff Borden said on April 21, 2021 at 9:30 pm
Has anyone given any thought into how many of these kinds of killings by law enforcement officers will remain unknown forever because there were no witnesses, no nearby security cameras, no cellphone recording?
BTW, any Floridians here? What the hell is going on with that so-called “anti riot” bill that shields motorists from prosecution if they run over protesters in the street? That three people agitating on a sidewalk will constitute a “riot?” I’ve not been able to find a full copy of it, but it sounds like something Ernst Rohm would have loved.
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Dexter Friend said on April 22, 2021 at 2:43 am
Depressing it was to read Covid19 cases are surging in my county of residence, Williams County, Ohio. Apparently bordering on raging Michigan has little to do with the fact we are now 18th of 88 counties in confirmed case ratio by population breakdown and also wastewater analysis indicators. The authorities here say the reason is that young people under 30 are refusing vaccinations and going around unmasked. We oldsters got our shots early but the younguns ain’t co:operating. I continue to go around double-masked, even driving through for fast food or a lucky lotto ticket.
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Julie Robinson said on April 22, 2021 at 9:50 am
Jeff B, I’m almost a Floridian and I know it’s another horrible bill, but I don’t know details. Matt mentioned it the first night we were here, and I’m sure I can ask him.
Anyway, we have every possible combination of construction guy and gal here and I can’t think straight. Yesterday they spent ALL DAY grinding down concrete because it was poured too high. Half the dust went into the pool, not covered as we had requested. The other half seeped in through our old windows and settled all over the house. That was a fun contractor meeting!
We also learned that it probably won’t be done until some time in July. Original date was December 2020, and we didn’t even have the permit yet then. So on we go.
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Dave said on April 22, 2021 at 11:25 am
All I can tell you about the bill in Florida is that it was pushed by Trump admirer Desantis, who became famous and parlayed his many Trump-supporting appearances on Fox into the governorship and he’s a more polished version of Trump. It’s another license to kill, much as the infamous stand-your-ground law. Also, it provides an easier route to arrest and jail any protesters the police decide are causing trouble. You can sort through the ads and pop-ups and read about it here:
https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/whats-in-floridas-anti-riot-bill-hb-1-12147768
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Sherri said on April 22, 2021 at 12:22 pm
I came to this blog via Lance Mannion’s blog many years ago. I just discovered that Lance, aka David Reilly, passed away this morning. His wife, Adrianne, used to frequent these parts, and I know they were good friends of Nancy. I never met them in person, but had gotten to know them virtually, and enjoyed the relationship a great deal. A terrible loss for everyone.
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David C said on April 22, 2021 at 12:50 pm
I saw the news about Lance this morning. I enjoyed reading his Tweets but his longer form writing on his blog was amazing. I checked in nearly every day. I found Lance through James Wolcott and like Sherri came to this place through Lance. Funny where ping-ponging around in blogs could take you.
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ROGirl said on April 22, 2021 at 2:31 pm
I’m feeling much better today, slept for a long time last night. The brain fog is gone.
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