I’ve been quote-unquote retired for a few years now, and I still think of the weekend as something special, look forward to it, get that Friday-on-my-mind feeling, and in fact think Friday night is the best night of the week. In Columbus, we got paid on Friday, and the table we assembled at the bar next door was long and loud. No separate checks. The rule was, you kept an approximate tally of your own damage as the night wore on and threw your cash on the table when you left, with a little extra for the tip. If you stayed until the end, you might get stuck with a bill for more than was on the table. Or, if everyone had overestimated, you might walk away winners. At a time I my life when I was on such a tight budget that I would put $5 in quarters in a mesh coin purse that I hung on a hook by my door — so I knew that whatever happened, I’d have bus fare to get to and from work, back in the days when the fare was 50 cents each way — walking away winners was like getting a little bonus.
I stayed late a lot, but mostly because I so enjoyed Fridays. I still do.
This week, I had a Friday dinner date with the friend I dogsit for. This was my thank-you for a week of service in the coldest week of the year, plus cleaning the coffee pot, a gripping take you might recall from a few weeks back. We went to She-Wolf, a spot that specializes in Roman cuisine. Had a pasta thing, and a fish thing, and gelato. It was all delicious, and it was a perfect Friday night. The rest of the weekend? Sunny, warmish, nice. Bought eggs, was thankful I already filed my taxes, ate too many jellybeans. Went to the library. The usual.
And I missed “The Ten Commandments,” but Alan is no fun to watch it with. You need to make it a party, with at least two gay men and lots of people who can say funny things about the next big moment coming up onscreen. Alan just thinks it’s dumb.
“THE TEN COMMANDMENTS” IS NOT DUMB.
OK, enough. Another thing I tried to do this weekend, and should do on more weekends: Pay no attention to whatever Tubby is up to. I stay informed, but there’s a limit to how much of this shit I, or anyone, can take. I go back and forth with my friends who practice 100 percent ignorance — and I stress that I mean “ignoring the news,” not actively cultivating stupidity — about how responsible that is. Some news will always break through, but I think to be an engaged citizen, you have to be well-informed. That said, I understand the agita that being well-informed causes mere mortals these days. I think my solution is mini-breaks. And I definitely think it’s wise to avoid shit like this (gift link reluctantly extended):
What do you wear for your first trip to space?
If you are like most people, probably whatever spacesuit or astronaut outfit the company (or government agency) you are flying with provides. However, if you are Lauren Sánchez — journalist, pilot, children’s book author, philanthropist and fiancée of Jeff Bezos, the second-richest man on the planet — you have another idea. You think, “Let’s reimagine the flight suit.”
Yes, it’s a liberally illustrated, ass-smooching feature on what Jeff Bezos’ arm candy has “reimagined” for what’s supposed to be an 11-minute trip on her boyfriend’s spaceship, and it’s about as gross as you’d expect, with quotes like this, from the designer:
“Simplicity was important, and comfort, and fit,” Mr. Garcia said. “But we also wanted something that was a little dangerous, like a motocross outfit. Or a ski suit. Flattering and sexy.”
I’ll say this for the :::checking::: children’s book author: She knows how she caught her boyfriend’s eye, and she means to keep it, if it takes all the lip filler in the world to do it.
Now, here I am getting agita again. Let’s do some yogic breathing and try to start the week off right. Happy Monday. In just four more days, it’ll be Friday.
Icarus said on April 14, 2025 at 9:49 am
I had no idea about this launch, but after coming here, I went to FB and watched it live. I didn’t realize Katy Perry was one of the astronauts (yes, some are calling them that) and was glad the flight was successful.
I watched the ABC page, and the reporter stated that they had passed the Kármán line, but the written articles claimed they wouldn’t.
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Heather said on April 14, 2025 at 10:29 am
My friend made a comment on some Instagram post about those body-hugging space outfits to the effect of “JFC, women can’t even be comfortable in space??” It’s getting a lot of likes.
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Jeff Gill said on April 14, 2025 at 10:42 am
Not just Friday, either.
😉
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alex said on April 14, 2025 at 10:51 am
I guess a payload of lightweights is important on a spacecraft. Katy Perry? Really?
My Friday this week is going to be on Tuesday, when we go see David Sedaris doing his thing at the Embassy Theater. Anything to get my mind off of the sorry state of the world.
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Julie Robinson said on April 14, 2025 at 11:30 am
Astronauts? Pfft.
Life is so busy I don’t feel retired, but yesterday I took a full sabbath rest, and lo, it was very good.
And I thought I was done with jury duty, but I’m getting a juror summons in the mail today. I looked it up, and in Florida you have to be 70 for automatic exclusion. Darn.
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Cheez Whiz said on April 14, 2025 at 11:55 am
I gotta say, “let’s re-imagine the flight suit” is a sentence I never thought I’d see, but that’s a perfect example of the gravitational effect of $MONEY. It would be offensive if it weren’t so absurd.
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Pam H said on April 14, 2025 at 11:57 am
I’m with Alan, the Ten Commandments is just dumb, along with most of the other Easter season movies they play. But I find (since Bill watches Grit almost every day) that the sentiments in most of the old movies are dumb. Grit movies are especially bad, except for the show Tales of Wells Fargo. Dale Robertson kicks some butt!
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Deborah said on April 14, 2025 at 1:16 pm
I wonder if facial/lip fillers feel weird in space? And hair extensions?
My niece told me that Tesla Takedown is no longer promoting protests because there was an agitator somewhere and they don’t want to be held accountable. I don’t know if that’s a local Minneapolis decision or if it’s nationwide? I know that the one we went to Saturday was sparse, except for cops. We did have an agitator a couple of weeks ago, a jerk wearing a Trump hat, just kept shouting that we were cowards, the cops surrounded him until he left. I guess he was right Tesla Takedowners are cowards if they’re afraid of Musk, unfortunately.
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Jakash said on April 14, 2025 at 1:48 pm
I look forward to your annual references to “The Ten Commandments.”
“Alan is no fun to watch it with.” I can commiserate with you there, NN. I treasure that movie and have watched at least part of it many, many times. My wife primarily thinks that it’s long and boring, and somehow thinks watching it frequently is beyond the pale. (Meanwhile, I’ve had to sit through freaking “White Christmas” a number of times on her account — go figure.)
When I was a Catholic altar boy, I actually appreciated it for its spiritual uplift during the Lenten / Passover season, but as a present-day snarky bastard, I’m well aware that it can still be enjoyed as a brilliant comedy and spectacle!
Though my favorite line is neither funny, nor spiritual, but a simple statement that all people should be treated well:
“A city is built of brick, Pharoah. The strong make many, the starving make few. The dead make none.” Not that the slaves were treated well, of course, but you knew Moses had a good heart!
Then there’s Edward G. Robinson. ‘Nuff said.
Aside from that, “Not just Friday, either.” @ 3. Subtle, but to the point. One might even say mild-mannered. 🙂
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Sherri said on April 14, 2025 at 2:09 pm
We’ve reached the inevitable place. Since no one was willing to ever stop him, Trump is now ignoring Congress, the courts, and the Constitution. He will have his ICE brown shirts round up anyone he wants and ship them off to El Salvador, no due process, no charges, no habeas, no return.
I guess if El Salvador runs out of room, they’ll start dropping people out of helicopters.
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Sherri said on April 14, 2025 at 2:35 pm
What the tech overlords want.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/apr/13/end-times-fascism-far-right-trump-musk
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Julie Robinson said on April 14, 2025 at 2:55 pm
Sorry, I’m with Alan on this one. Has a good religious movie been made? Ehhhh…
Just read a story about an immigration attorney in Boston, born and educated here, who got a deportation letter. She can easily prove citizenship, but it sure looks like retribution.
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Dexter Friend said on April 14, 2025 at 3:15 pm
Sherri stirred a memory of Indiana bank robber Joe Hicks, who was shot to death by a SWAT squad at Pendleton about 30 years ago. Joe was a co-worker of mine at Dana/Auburn who never could get enough money. He had his own roofing business, still he lacked fulfillment. He then bought cheap Halloween masks and began robbing banks close to his house. He robbed the bank he dealt with. A clerk recognized his voice, game over, Joe went to Pendleton, broke a pool cue, held a guard hostage, demanded a car , and was shot dead right there with a busted cue in his grasp.
Joe and I both served in Viet Nam; Joe was a telephone wire installer but over there, jobs were assigned at any moment far off one’s expertise. Joe relished one side job he had: he told many of us about it. Vietnamese people suspicious to Americans were airlifted in a helicopter, given one last chance to spill their guts to an interpreter, then from on-high…well, it was Joe’s job to shove them out the door to their deaths. He told me this story with fiery glee in his eyes, so proud. Pendleton SWAT karma? Well?
Details from Google searches are here:
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/05/11/Inmate-shot-and-killed-to-end-hostage-situation/5713705556800/
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ROGirl said on April 14, 2025 at 3:33 pm
Good yontif, y’all. Happy Pesach!
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David C said on April 14, 2025 at 6:28 pm
No life support? If the capsule had sprung a leak, they’d have been dead before they knew what happened.
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candlepick said on April 14, 2025 at 7:14 pm
The 1925 Ben-Hur is spellbinding. If you’re in a place where silents ever get shown, do not miss it. It’s gobsmacking today. I can’t fathom what it would have like to have seen it in its own time.
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Jeff Gill said on April 14, 2025 at 7:29 pm
Never bring a (broken) pool cue to a gun fight.
Julie, for what it’s worth: “Leap of Faith” with Steve Martin, Debra Winger, and a very young Liam Neeson. It’s worth watching for Marvin Aday’s performance, and the gospel choir is beyond authentic in the best way.
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Dorothy said on April 14, 2025 at 7:39 pm
I’ve watched The Ten Commandments more times than I could count, but it’s probably ten years at least since I watched it. I can never see the listing on the screen though without remembering my dad’s corny comments about it. Back in the 70’s when it would be on tv, they’d split it into two nights. He’d say something to the effect that they ran the first five commandments the first night, and then the last five on the second night.
I remember being kind of stunned when I learned that Martha Scott was only 11 years older than Charlton Heston – she played his mother. And in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner Sidney Poitier was only 7 years younger than Beah Richards who played HIS mother. I’ve done lots of plays and usually the people cast in parts are age appropriate.
I’ve learned to turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to the shenanigans going on in government these days. That doesn’t mean I don’t hear or see things, but for my mental health I really need to keep most of it at arm’s length. If I didn’t I don’t think I’d be long for this world, it all makes me feel so helpless and weak.
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Deborah said on April 14, 2025 at 8:41 pm
I was 7 years old the first time I saw the Ten Commandments, it had been out for about a year and my mother really wanted to see it. We never went to movies so it was a huge deal for us. But it turned out my sister and I were traumatized by the passover scene with the foggy fingers slinking down the passages. Shortly after seeing the movie our family was invited one evening to a friend of the family’s house to swim, they had an indoor pool, by indoor I mean screened in and at night when we were there the pool was internally lit and wavy bluish reflections were cast all around. I had nightmares that night about the fingers seeping through our neighborhood. I haven’t seen the movie since then, but I’d be interested to see at least just that scene to see how badly it was probably done compared to CGI now, but in my memory it will always be terrifying.
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Deborah said on April 14, 2025 at 8:54 pm
After I commented above I realized I could probably google that passover scene so I did and just as I thought, pretty lame. But as I said for 7 and 8 year old very sheltered little girls who had never experienced spooky movies in 1957 it was nightmare material.
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Sherri said on April 15, 2025 at 2:15 am
It’s a strange universe where I’m supposed to call my representatives to ask them to uphold basic tenets of the law and the Constitution like habeas corpus and due process and, you know, not having random people snatched off the street and sent to prisons out of the country for no reason. You’d think that would be something my representatives would be fighting with everything they had because it so obviously means the destruction of the rule of law, whether I call them or not.
But, here we are. And now, Trump is freezing $2.2 billion to Harvard because they won’t submit to his viewpoint DEI plan.
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Dave said on April 15, 2025 at 10:34 am
We’ve been watching CBS Mornings for years, I pay less attention to it these days but my wife still watches it. We used to like it because it was less celebrity-driven with people we old folk don’t know than the other two major network morning shows but that has changed in recent years. One suspects that is because of their regular third place rating below NBC and ABC.
For weeks, it’s been Gayle King is going to space but I honestly didn’t know before yesterday that Bezo’s new main squeeze was on the flight, let alone designing snazzy uniforms. I don’t think, with Bezo’s recent moves regarding cozying up to the vile president and what’s he’s done with the newspaper he bought, that CBS should have had anything to do with this flight.
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Mark P said on April 15, 2025 at 11:20 am
I don’t think silly is the right word for The Ten Commandments. I think it’s melodramatic in the way of silent films, with big gestures to make sure the audience recognizes the emotions. I saw a few bits of it the last time as I surfed the channels. I paused on the scene with Moses confronting the pharaoh, who was sitting on his throne. At one point Yul Brenner threw himself against the arm of the throne. I expected him to put the back of his hand against his forehead and exclaim, “I shall simply faint, you beast!” But it was good to see normal-sized male arms and chests instead of the pumped up muscles every male actor seems to think he needs if he’s going to take his shirt off today.
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basset said on April 15, 2025 at 11:40 am
Sunday Morning has definitely gone downhill over the years but at least Charles Osgood is gone. We mainly watch it for the nature moment at the end.
Friday will be fun this week. Friend has three thousand sheep on his place, lambing has begun and we’re gonna go watch.
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susan said on April 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm
Is The Ten Commandments the movie by Mel Brooks?
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Dorothy said on April 15, 2025 at 12:35 pm
Susan I think you’re thinking of Young Commandments or maybe Blazing Commandments 😉
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john (not mccain) said on April 15, 2025 at 12:46 pm
Simon of the Desert, unlike The Ten Commandments, is a short, fun-to-watch Easter movie. And it’s theologically sound!
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FDChief said on April 15, 2025 at 3:40 pm
The best part of the DeMille “Commandments” is the little YouTube parody video someone made a decade ago. Rather than link to it and send this comment into moderation Limbo just Google “Ten Things I Hate About Commandments”. You’ll find it. Be sure to watch all the way to Samuel Jackson as “Principal Firebush”. Pure comedy gold.
As for the other bizarre comedy running in DC, it sure took a dark turn Monday, eh? Camps for the “homegrown”? Seriously?
If We the People had any pride left by Monday night the White House would have been enveloped in flames with the corpses of Fatso, his Petacci, and Gauleiter Miller dangling from the East Portico. Terrified MAGAts would be hiding in cellars long enough to burn their red hats and tear the gold Trump head pins off before fleeing the angry mobs. Margie Greene would be sobbing as the hard-eyed rebel firing squad shoved her face-first against the Plaid Pantry wall.
But no. It’s just another manic Trump Monday.
We are SO fucked.
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Julie Robinson said on April 15, 2025 at 4:31 pm
Simon of the Desert is one I haven’t watched, or even heard of until today. I see it’s listed as satire.
Enjoy the lambing, basset.
I’m of the opinion that morning TV is dreck, period. I ussed to listen to NPR but these days would rather have music or an audiobook. Remember Gayle King got her start as Oprah’s friend. And Nancy, I’m informed that Ms. Sanchez is not just a children’s author, she is also a former entertainment reporter. So there.
Scandal of the day in Florida: Governor DeSatan is term-limited and wants to run his wife, Temu Jackie Kennedy, in his stead. So he set her up with a charity that will help people get off welfare, etc, through partnerships with churches. (BTW, the churches are tapped out, and anyone who doesn’t know that isn’t a churchgoer.)
Only, he took $10 million from a Medicaid settlement and gave it to Casey’s little slush fund, I mean charity. And she gave it to a couple of dark money funds, who used it to help defeat legalization of marijuana.
What’s really interesting about this? DeSatan is being investigated by Republicans, who smell something fishy. Should be great fun to watch.
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Peter said on April 15, 2025 at 5:46 pm
I saw this bumper sticker on a Tesla this morning: “I BOUGHT THIS CAR BEFORE I FOUND OUT THAT ELON IS A NAZI”
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Deborah said on April 15, 2025 at 8:29 pm
Temu Jackie Kennedy had me chuckling.
I redid my Musk rat sign and now I’m going to try to do a Musk melon one but I don’t have a lot of time. Thursday I fly to St. Louis for a day trip really early in the morning and then back late that night so I only have tomorrow to do another sign for Saturday. I still have Friday to get things printed so maybe I can get another sign made before Saturday. I am seeing more promos and info about the Saturday protest, hopefully it will have a good showing again like the 5th.
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Julie Robinson said on April 15, 2025 at 10:59 pm
Did you know Dave Barry is still around? His column used to be the other best thing about Nancy’s former employer’s product. His substack started showing up in my Facebook feed, and he, too, has thoughts on yesterday’s great launch: https://open.substack.com/pub/davebarry/p/blue-origin?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web.
By the way, how is a substack different from a blog?
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Sherri said on April 16, 2025 at 1:03 am
We paid our taxes today, the same day the administration refused FEMA funds for Washington for the bomb cyclone damage suffered earlier this year. I’m sure it’s going to work out really well to keep denying funds to the blue states that pay the bills for the red states.
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ROGirl said on April 16, 2025 at 7:22 am
This is by Mel Brooks
https://youtu.be/NUMkcBctE7c?si=cPNFjmO2FhqYbWJm
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Jeff Gill said on April 16, 2025 at 7:30 am
Julie, in theory, you can monetize a Substack more easily (& they would add more successfully) than a blog with ads. Substack isn’t doing ads, but I figure it’s only a matter of time.
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Suzanne said on April 16, 2025 at 9:30 am
That Dave Barry Substack piece is perfect! The all female “space flight” will likely not encourage young women to seek to be astronauts but should spur them on to find rich fiancés.
American society has truly gone off the rails…
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Deborah said on April 16, 2025 at 10:38 am
Bezos has already postponed their marriage a couple of times so his fiancé may be a little nervous. You can get too many fillers and hair extensions you know, the Mar-a-Lago face is weird.
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Mark P said on April 16, 2025 at 10:59 am
I’m pretty sure FEMA will be going away. It’s easy to see how some government agencies and services can be privatized. Social Security makes money for Wall Street. Medicare makes money for private insurance companies. The Weather Service can make money for a private company to provide forecasting. NASA becomes a funding funnel for Elon. The Postal Service becomes a private company, reduces its service area and increases its delivery costs. But how do you make money off helping people after natural disasters?
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Jeff Borden said on April 16, 2025 at 12:15 pm
The best scene ever of “The Ten Commandments.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXeTsWGPT0w
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Sherri said on April 16, 2025 at 12:51 pm
It’s actually harder to make money on weather forecasts if you privatize the weather service, because then you have to deal with all the underlying data gathering stations yourself. Right now, Accuweather and the like use data from NOAA for free, and sell their forecasts. They just don’t like that forecasts are also available from the NWS for free.
Of course, Elon is taking care of that problem by degrading NOAA.
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alex said on April 16, 2025 at 12:54 pm
Sarah Palin with lip filler. Ugh, can’t unsee that.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/04/sarah-palin-new-york-times-lawsuit-trump.html
So she’s suing the New York Times again for the same “libel” it allegedly committed in 2011, even though she has lost this case twice already, but she smells opportunity lurking in the newly MAGAfied legal climate. Be sure to read to the end for the kicker.
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Icarus said on April 16, 2025 at 2:05 pm
Do people like Ann Coulter, Sarah Palin, and Tomi Lahren realize that they are irrelevant?
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Deborah said on April 16, 2025 at 2:48 pm
I’m wondering if Kilmar Abrego Garcia is already dead, having been killed by gang members in the prison in El Salvador? I haven’t read anything about that possibility, it’s just something I wonder. I mean it would be something the Trump regime would want to hide, the possibility that the guy they deported to the prison by mistake was killed by gang members previously detained in that prison. Kilmar left El Salvador to begin with 15 years ago when he was 16 because he couldn’t afford to pay protection money to the gangs to keep them from beating him and raping his sister. I realize that my speculation about this is a conspiracy theory, but it’s something I can’t get out of my mind.
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Sherri said on April 16, 2025 at 3:18 pm
63 today, and grateful. My cousin closest to me in age won’t see 63; he died last week at 62. He wasn’t in great health, had already had a heart attack, but still, 62 is too young.
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Deborah said on April 16, 2025 at 4:22 pm
Happy birthday Sherri, you’re a youngster around here.
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Mark P said on April 16, 2025 at 4:22 pm
Deborah, I have seen several people suggest that Garcia is dead. It may be a conspiracy theory, but you’re not alone in it. I think it’s a reasonable possibility that explains a number of things, including why both governments claim he cannot be brought back when he very obviously could be.
Happy birthday, Sherri. My 75th is coming up in May, and I can hardly believe it. I’m past the point where, when I die, anyone will say, “He was so young!” It explains why people hold the door open for me, or ask me if I need help loading groceries into my car. It makes me think that if I live to 90 like my mother, I only have 15 years left. I demand a recount.
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Dave said on April 16, 2025 at 4:31 pm
Mark P, I just turned 75 the 9th of this month, like you, I can scarcely believe it but here we are, it seems like it wasn’t very long ago that my parents, both born the same year, were 75. How can that be? Actually, that would have been 2002 so it leaves me wondering how 23 years have gone by so fast. Scary, isn’t it.
I can only hope to make it to 90, my mother made it to 90 but her last five years she was in the fog of dementia and I don’t want any part of that.
I see that Gayle King is upset with those who have criticized her space adventure, I’m unclear on what any of them contributed by their eleven minutes in space.
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David C said on April 16, 2025 at 6:37 pm
Tough shit, Gayle. When you’re the first “astronauts” to worry that their space togs made them look fat they have to expect some blow back.
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Sherri said on April 16, 2025 at 9:45 pm
My guess is that nobody knows whether Garcia is dead or alive. I doubt they’re keeping careful records at the concentration camp, because nobody is intended to leave the concentration camp.
What I can’t get over is the glee with which Republicans are doing this. It is disgusting. These are the people we’re supposed to work across the aisle with?
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Deborah said on April 17, 2025 at 6:26 am
I’m reading now that other people have also been wondering if Kimar is still alive. This morning I read that Heather Cox Richardson said people were concerned about his state. It is suspicious.
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alex said on April 17, 2025 at 8:46 am
It wouldn’t surprise me if Trump and his pal Bukele already had Kilmar “offed” to make this problem go away. There are some other high-profile innocents who may be meeting the same fate if they haven’t already.
I’m not seeing a whole lot of reporting on this elsewhere, but 60 Minutes got ahold of the list of detainees and found that fully 75 percent of them had no criminal records either in Venezuela or the U.S., and that the Trump administration is using the most specious of evidence in its claims that any of them are gang members.
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