Having enjoyed a few days of not having to be under the same roof as her husband, the First Lady of this once-great country wishes people would stop paying so much attention to what she wears. To which I reply: Then stop dressing so goddamn weird.
I have Tim Gunn and “Project Runway” to thank for introducing me to the concept of an outfit being “costume-y.” That is to say, it moves beyond style — which flatters and communicates something about the wearer — and becomes something that calls attention to itself alone. Also, it makes people looking on say, essentially, WTF?
Lady Gaga’s meat dress is an easy example of this, in contrast to, say, one of her other many fun evening outfits.
Lots of attention was paid to FLOTUS’ overseas wardrobe, but perhaps most to the meet-your-British-overlords equestrian ensemble, complete with pith helmet. Especially the pith helmet, which scholars explained elsewhere has a particular attachment to colonialism, but honestly? I don’t think that entered FLOTUS’ head for even a second. I don’t think she was sending a message to white nationalists or anything like that. I think she’s playing dress-up. She saw a picture of a Kenyan coffee plantation in a book and duplicated the look.
I mean, she’s also wearing riding boots; why? Is she getting on a horse? Walking somewhere that snakebite might be feared? No. Any old broad-brimmed hat could shield her face from the sun, but the picture of the coffee plantation had a pith helmet, so a pith helmet it is.
Where does anyone even buy one of those things? It’s a puzzle.
Then there was the other outfit, which she saved for the pyramids of Egypt:
I think this one came out of an Indiana Jones movie. It makes absolutely no sense to me. The hat is fine — again, strong sun — and there’s nothing wrong with a pantsuit, but the hat with the pantsuit and then the windblown necktie? Hello, Dr. René Emile Belloq.
It’s really baffling. If we’re all supposed to pretend that Melania Knauss entered this country as a “model,” shouldn’t she have learned something about clothing along the way?
Ugh, a Sunday after a tough week with another one ahead. I am coping by arranging as much as possible ahead of time, a to-do list and food prep and all laundry done and all the rest of it. I’m also avoiding the news even more than I did last weekend. I went to the library and checked out three books, all of them novels. This isn’t avoiding reality, it’s bolstering sanity. There comes a point where you just can’t take this crap another day.
One bit of news I did see this weekend is about the melee that broke out after the Ultimate Fighting Championship in Vegas Saturday night. The bout was between Irishman Conor McGregor and Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov, which made me reflect, first, that Ireland was the old source of great-white-hope fighters, and Russia is the new one. Besides the Ukrainians (Wladimir Klitchko and his brother Vitali) and the famous Triple-G (Gennady Gennadyovich Golovkin, aka Triple G, and boy do the announcers like to draw that one out in the introductions), there are a shitload of ferocious fighters from the north Caucasus, i.e. Muslim Russia. When we saw Claressa Shields fight here in Detroit in June, the undercard had a couple of Chechens on it, and Nurmagomedov is from Dagestan, right next door.
And now that I think about it, Dearborn has a little bit of a boxing community, which makes me wonder why Russia and why Muslim Russia. Anyone have any ideas?
OK, I think I’m done for now, and I hope this week brings you peace, quiet and as little static as possible. God knows we need it after last week.
brian stouder said on October 7, 2018 at 7:08 pm
Well, please allow me to leap to FLOTUS’ defense.
I think she’s a beautiful woman who has successfully navigated through her life, exploiting her assets and maximizing her opportunities…..and one can only IMAGINE what her nondisclosure agreement is worth(!!!!)
Aside from that – the Supreme Court thing is behind us for now, and I think our Indiana Senator (Donnelly) will roll right over befuddled Braun.
Our oldest daughter rolled this afternoon back toward Bloomington, and her mom and her and I discussed what she has to do to be sure she can vote in the upcoming elections. We’re thinking every last vote will be crucial….
649 chars
alex said on October 7, 2018 at 8:03 pm
The FLOTUS fashion critique had me busting a gut. Most delightful thing I’ve read in a while.
93 chars
Deborah said on October 7, 2018 at 8:10 pm
I liked Melania’s Egypt outfit. Seemed fitting for keeping out of the sun. I didn’t see the whole African pith helmet deal so I can’t really comment. The description of it being too colonial was probably out of thoughtlessness on her part, general tone deafness of a woman who has everything (except a decent husband, but when you’ve got everything else, I guess that doesn’t matter).
394 chars
David C. said on October 7, 2018 at 8:29 pm
Her ensemble is quite incomplete without a riding crop tucked underneath her arm.
81 chars
basset said on October 7, 2018 at 8:33 pm
Seems from the conversation that we have a lot of Netflix subscribers here… will someone tell me what the attraction is? We’re in the one-month trial right now, Mrs. B wanted to watch “The Crown” but is not really into it and I can’t find much I can bring myself to care about.
Anyone have any guidance for us on what might be more interesting than the latest hot trending whatever?
390 chars
LAMary said on October 7, 2018 at 8:42 pm
I had the same thoughts about the first lady’s wardrobe/costumes. I also have my week of meals planned out more thoroughly than usual this week and the laundry is nearly done. I think having a few days of crazy news last week and five days of 11 hours of sitting at my desk made me realize I had to think things through. I didn’t make it to the library but I have two books waiting on the Kindle. Both fiction. I need a week that’s a lot less crazy than last week was.
468 chars
Joe Kobiela said on October 7, 2018 at 9:15 pm
Basset,
Try Shamless on Netflix.
Pilot Joe
45 chars
brian stouder said on October 7, 2018 at 9:48 pm
So Pam and I watched an episode of SuperStore, and it hit me that the manager of the store (Glenn) looked just like Brett Cavinaugh.
And the internet quickly confirmed that I was NOT the first person to think that!
https://www.google.com/search?q=superstore+glenn&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=9TY8YOtjxbzmiM%253A%252CHyUMyiAYodyTKM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kSxrNHp66LwBRD6uDb1WjNi50KPVQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjgzumI3PXdAhVG_4MKHd9aBqwQ9QEwDXoECAAQBg#imgrc=mHx4u0uIv6wV4M:
490 chars
Kim said on October 7, 2018 at 11:30 pm
Melania looks like she’s auditioning for a reboot of “The English Patient.” Also, seems that the only time she actually wears a coat’s sleeves is when it’s 80+ degrees (the woolen getup to receive the Polish leader and his wife). Otherwise it’s draped over her shoulders, an expensive and usually weird garment draped on a mannequin.
Girl, please.
348 chars
Jakash said on October 8, 2018 at 12:51 am
We’re not currently subscribers, Basset, but looking at a list of the movies added for October, it looks like you’ve got Blazing Saddles, Mystic River, Once Upon a Time in America, The Green Mile, The Shining, V for Vendetta and Monty Python’s Life of Brian, among many others, for starters…
I don’t really know what your taste in humor is, but there are a boatload of comedy specials to choose from. John Mulaney just won an Emmy for Kid Gorgeous, which started out kinda slow for us, but had us laughing a lot before long.
I haven’t seen it, but there’s a western mini-series (7 episodes) called Godless that was nominated for 6 Emmys and won 2.
There’s a docudrama called Wild Wild Country (6 episodes) that was a crazy look at the Rajneesh commune in Oregon in the 80s. We liked it a lot, and Nancy was enthusiastic about it when she wrote about it here.
But hey, there’s a *lot* to choose from. You might try scrolling through these 4 pages, if you’re looking for a series. But we liked The Crown pretty well, so, I’m not sure what you’re looking for.
https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/best-netflix-shows-and-movies-to-binge-watch-now/
1174 chars
Jolene said on October 8, 2018 at 6:45 am
An excellent list, Jakash. There are so many things I’d like to see on Netflix. Could never begin to watch all of them. I endorse your suggestions.
Basset, here are a few more from Jakash’s list. I won’t do descriptions, as there’s a bit of info with each title and, of course, you can find reviews online if you want to read more before viewing.
Happy Valley*
Pesky Blinders*
Orange Is the New Black
The Fall
Narcos*
Longmire
Lilyhammer
Seven Seconds*
I’ve seen and liked all of these; those with asterisks are my favorites in this group. And, there are several more series on J’s list that I’ve heard good things about, as well as many movies.
If you’re a PBS fan, you should download their app and check out their listings. Lots of great documentaries, as well as various dramas. All free.
Are you an Amazon Prime member or a NYT subscriber? If you’re a Prime subscriber, you also have access to lots of great stuff streaming on their service. And, if you’re a NYT subscriber, you can sign up for their “Watching” newsletter, which is free and has lots of great recommendations, both very mainstream stuff and more esoteric material.
1142 chars
alex said on October 8, 2018 at 7:47 am
Happy goddamn Columbus Day. Hope you weren’t expecting any important mail.
181 chars
The Garden Fairy said on October 8, 2018 at 8:50 am
@Brian #1 — IN, OH, KY, MI are among states where the last day to register is tomorrow, 09 October. Other states more accommodating — https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/7/17947768/voter-registration-deadline-verify-2018-midterms
This weekend, overheard Cincy woman telling another that she’s spending the next month in Indiana working FOR trumpist candidates.
Vote early or by mail. Find 3 hrs to volunteer for a pivotal campaign (phone banking, door knocking) — it’s not much, but it all adds up.
[Yeah, I can’t believe it either, but for undecided/ fence-sitting voters, the phone calls and door-knocking make a real difference. This is particularly true for down-ballot races which provide the entry points for folks looking at staking out careers in judicial roles.]
800 chars
The Garden Fairy said on October 8, 2018 at 8:51 am
Netflix binge-watch option — Grace & Frankie.
50 chars
Deborah said on October 8, 2018 at 9:33 am
My Netflix list:
Longmire
Orange is the New Black
Shameless (not the last few seasons though)
Better Call Saul
Twin Peaks
Stranger Things
Last Tango in Halifax
etc
171 chars
Bitter Scribe said on October 8, 2018 at 9:45 am
Ironically, one of the few times I’ve ever noticed what Melania (or anyone else) wears was when she sported that “I Really Don’t Care Do U?” jacket on a trip to one of her husband’s kiddie immigrant jails. Talk about tone-deaf.
227 chars
Dorothy said on October 8, 2018 at 9:54 am
We finally watched Black Panther via Netflix on Saturday night and liked it very much. I’m baffled that you cannot find any titles on your own, basset, by scrolling through the numerous categories. They have their offerings categorized, and if you highlight a title it will give you a synopsis of the plot, which is usually how we pick what we want to see. Or I read about a series in Entertainment Weekly (which I subscribe to) and I seek out something specific. The documentary list alone is pretty good. I second “Happy Valley” as an excellent series. So is “Glow”. We like “Call the Midwife”, “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society”, “Stranger Things”, “Ozark”, “The People vs. O.J. Simpson” (I thought I’d hate it but it won lots of awards so I tried it – glad I did!), “Dexter”, “Lion” – that is a pretty thorough list for now. Hope you find something that you and your wife enjoy.
I have had to take a step back from watching the news since the Kavanaugh sh** show in the last couple of weeks. I picked up a baby afghan last week that I started a year or two ago. It’s almost done, and no recipient in mind, but I’m ready for the next family pregnancy. And I’m machine quilting Olivia’s Polaroid quilt. Fifteen squares quilted so far, 57 to go! I’m pinning my hopes to the announcement that Mueller has finally wrapped up his investigation and that ought to hold my attention for quite a bit, I’d wager.
1431 chars
Sherri said on October 8, 2018 at 10:04 am
Things I’ve liked on Netflix:
Longmire
Last Tango in Halifax
Happy Valley
Collateral
Grace and Frankie
The Fall
Orange is the New Black
I did like The Crown.
On Amazon Prime:
Bosch
Goliath
Mozart in the Jungle
Catastrophe
Transparent
The Man in the High Castle
Miss Sherlock
Into the Badlands
318 chars
Icarus said on October 8, 2018 at 10:08 am
basset said on October 7, 2018 at 8:33 pm Seems from the conversation that we have a lot of Netflix subscribers here… will someone tell me what the attraction is
In no particular order:
it is less than $10/month (and I know the more streaming services you have the more it adds up, but you can mitigate that by sharing accounts with family and friends).
I can watch a movie or show on my iPad while our TV streams Octanauts or PJ Mask (and whatever the next cartoon kid show my douche-nugget 4-year-olds find appealing).
they have a lot of original content, some of it good (Altered Carbon) some of it meh (Lost in Space reboot).
660 chars
basset said on October 8, 2018 at 10:42 am
Thanks for the advice, everyone. We’ll find something… maybe I just wasn’t going deep enough into the lists.
111 chars
Sherri said on October 8, 2018 at 10:57 am
This interview of Anand Giridharadas by Kara Swisher, on her Recode Decode podcast, is amazing. Swisher is the best tech journalist out there. I love Giridharadas’ analogy about whether problems are engine problems or crime scene problems.
https://www.recode.net/2018/10/3/17930990/anand-giridharadas-winners-take-all-book-changing-world-kara-swisher-decode-podcast-jeff-bezos
383 chars
Bitter Scribe said on October 8, 2018 at 11:32 am
Maybe someone more tech-savvy than me can explain…can Netflix or similar services be fed into an ancient tube TV? How exactly does it get into your TV anyway…is there a box or converter or something? And how does that work if you already have cable?
253 chars
Julie Robinson said on October 8, 2018 at 11:46 am
Depends how ancient is is, Bitter. Does it have any HDMI ports? If so, you can plug a computer right into the port with an HDMI cord, or plug in one of those little sticks. Those would be Chromecast, Roku, Amazon Firestick, or the Apple equivalent.
If no HDMI port, it’s more complicated. We used to do it with the old TV, but it’s been just long enough that I don’t remember all the details. There was one cord for video and another with two plugs for audio. You have to have the video plug-in on your computer, and newer ones are unlikely to have it.
As for cable, it’s a mystery to me. Aside from a one-year trial about 15 years ago, we’ve never had it.
662 chars
Jolene said on October 8, 2018 at 11:58 am
Bitter, Netflix and other streaming services are a function of the Internet. Essentially, the streaming service is sending signals via the Internet, and you want to convert those digital signals into videos. To use those services, you need a device that connects your TV to the Internet.
I use Roku, which, in physical terms, is a small black box that performs that function. Once it’s connected, you operate it with a remote control, as you do your cable service. These services work independently of cable. In other words, they neither require cable nor interfere with it.
I believe you can set up a streaming device with an old TV, but you may need to buy a device to create the connection, as the TV won’t have a port for a streaming device built in.
Roku is only one kind of streaming device. There are others. Here is a recent article that gives advice about the best devices currently on the market.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/best-streaming-devices/
Hope this helps. Others can add info or correct errors.
1045 chars
Sherri said on October 8, 2018 at 12:01 pm
If your ancient TV is capable of receiving a signal from a cable box, there is a way of getting a signal from a computer or a device that streams the other services to it. Exactly how to do that, I can’t tell you without seeing the setup you have, and it probably won’t be robust and easy to use.
If you buy a new TV and want to be able to keep cable and stream new services, the key feature I would look for is a TV with more than one HDMI input available. I have a TiVo box that handles my cable plugged into one HDMI and an Amazon Fire TV plugged into another, and can switch inputs with the remote.
(I also have other devices in additional HDMIs, but I’m a techie.)
682 chars
Dave said on October 8, 2018 at 12:01 pm
Bitter Scribe, the easier way is with a Roku or a Firestick to receive the stream off the Internet via a router. If you don’t have decent Internet, you’re not going to have a good streaming experience. They can be hooked up to old TV’s without HDMI ports.
Here’s one example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdHgUGALio4
I recently made my way through the entire Breaking Bad on Netflix, I’d never seen it but thought Better Call Saul would make more sense if I watched. Once I started, I had to keep going. BTW, the final episode of Season 4 of Better Call Saul is on tonight. I think this show might be good for one more season but Jimmy is very near the turning point. He probably was never that far from it.
717 chars
Deborah said on October 8, 2018 at 12:09 pm
I’ve been reading up on the Federalist Society while I’m in Abiquiu, wow is it the epitome of white male privilege. Everything they espouse perpetuates white males in power. Talk about elites! They overlook Trump’s lawless ways as long as they get power through the courts, even though supposedly they’re all about the rule of law as defined by the nation’s founders. And they all seem to have personal beliefs in common (anti-abortion etc). Truly raw abuse of power if you ask me.
491 chars
Connie said on October 8, 2018 at 12:13 pm
Bitter scribe, most game consoles have internet access. Our netflix access is via our antique WII.
99 chars
john (not mccain) said on October 8, 2018 at 12:18 pm
Anyone needing a respite from our current national nightmare could do a lot worse than going to see the new A Star Is Born. We went Friday night and Saturday afternoon and cried more the 2nd time because we knew what was coming. Definitely better than the Streisand – that Jewish soul sister stuff has not aged well, and Barbra was too old. I can see why someone would think the Judy Garland one is better, and I do like that one, but it never made me weep like this one did.
477 chars
Brian stouder said on October 8, 2018 at 12:22 pm
John – my lovely wife and daughters went to that movie this past weekend, and also loved-loved-loved it!!!
106 chars
Bitter Scribe said on October 8, 2018 at 1:49 pm
Another vote for “A Star is Born.” I’d never followed Lady Gaga, but her performance is nothing short of astonishing.
117 chars
beb said on October 8, 2018 at 2:13 pm
Why would a model (aka the FLOTUS) know anything about fashion. She’s just a clothes-horse, wearing whatever the fashion designer puts on her.
The house is finally re-roofed. Took twice as long as projected because of all the rain got Saturday and Sunday. Now we’re waiting for the next thunderstorm to give the roof it’s acid test. Had to replace a lot of the boards under the shingles. Who knew the roof had gotten so bad.
428 chars
Connie said on October 8, 2018 at 3:21 pm
Michiganders, tomorrow is the last day to register to vote in the November election. And, vote for Whitmer for gov.
116 chars
Jolene said on October 8, 2018 at 3:27 pm
Just heard a report about that terrible accident in NY saying that the driver did not have the required commercial driver’s license and that the vehicle had recently failed a state inspection and should not have been on the road.
Just unimaginable–four sisters, two brothers, a couple whose children are 4 and 1. Awful, awful, awful.
337 chars
David C. said on October 8, 2018 at 5:57 pm
We are still hanging on to our tube-type TV too, Bitter Scribe. We get Netflix on a Roku. Ours is a Roku 1 which has output for composite video (the one with red, white and yellow cables). It’s been replaced by Roku Express+. We’re quite happy with how it works.
https://www.roku.com/products/roku-express-plus
313 chars
FDChief said on October 8, 2018 at 6:38 pm
What I still find kind of amazing is that we’re talking about Melania’s couturier and Netflix while this little chestnut drops from the tree:
“Global mean surface temperature is projected to increase by approximately 3.48°C (6.27°F) under the No Action Alternative by 2100. Implementing the lowest emissions alternative(Alternative 7)would increase this projected temperature rise by 0.001°C (0.002°F), while implementing the highest emissions alternative (Alternative 1)would increase projected temperature rise by 0.003°C (0.005°F) the No Action Alternative.”
(NHTSA, 2018)
Three and a half degrees centigrade? We’re talking damn near the lower bound of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, perhaps the single most drastic climatic event in the Cenozoic. An event that caused a massive shift in land and sea life, including, possibly, the rise of the hominids that led eventually to Mitch McConnell and other, genuinely sentient, primates.
And the reaction to this appears to be a massive ho-hum.
Man…we are SO doomed.
http://milpubblog.blogspot.com/2018/10/whistlingno-partyingpast-graveyard.html
1127 chars
Julie Robinson said on October 8, 2018 at 8:00 pm
I think we just need a little break, a little palate cleanser. In a couple of days I’ll be ready to re-engage with the news, but I can’t operate at full outrage all the time.
174 chars
alex said on October 8, 2018 at 8:06 pm
Scuze me, FD, but McConnell’s a reptile, and not a sentient one as far as anybody can tell.
91 chars
susan said on October 8, 2018 at 8:24 pm
Alex, please. What do you have against reptiles? They are some of the coolest animals. Calling McConnell what he is should be sufficient: Republican. Can’t get any lower than that.
180 chars
alex said on October 8, 2018 at 8:55 pm
Oh, I dunno… Nazi is a tad lower, although maybe not for long. See Krugman’s column today?
92 chars
susan said on October 8, 2018 at 9:05 pm
Alex, I just read Krugman. Ugh. Shit’s so depressing. I am afraid what’s going to stop these fascists will be violent. Not sure we can handle that.
147 chars
alex said on October 8, 2018 at 9:22 pm
Maybe China will rescue us the way we rescued Western Europe in WWII. Or maybe we’ll be handed over to someone else like spoils, the way Eastern Europe became Russia’s labor colonies. Glad I didn’t have any children.
216 chars
susan said on October 8, 2018 at 9:43 pm
This is what Brian Kemp is doing in Georgia. Purging one out of ten voters from the voting rolls. They have until tomorrow to find out if they are still registered. The ƒü¢king Republinazis are unrelentingly evil.
337 chars
basset said on October 9, 2018 at 12:31 am
With all this going on, I suppose I should feel guilty about actually going out and doing something enjoyable this evening. If you get a chance to see the “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” 50th anniversary tour, with Chris Hillman and Roger McGuinn backed by Marty Stuart and his band, definitely do it. Country rock and real country, can’t beat it.
And I will now stand by for you all to mock my outdated taste and general lack of sophistication.
441 chars
Sherri said on October 9, 2018 at 12:35 am
I find it sort of strange that inasmuch as there as been any attention paid to that big NYTimes story about trump last week, the focus has mostly been on how much daddy gave him, rather than the criminal tax fraud conspiracy scheme the family engaged in.
254 chars
alex said on October 9, 2018 at 6:29 am
Adding to my growing sense of apocalyptic urgency is today’s Max Boot book excerpt in the Washington Post.
256 chars
Pilot Joe said on October 9, 2018 at 7:29 am
Basset,
What’s to mock? Sounds like a great night, would love to see Marti and the superlatives, and whats to feel guilty about? Record low unemployment, great stock market, traveling all over this great country, I started this tour in LA,You get the vibe that most people are generally happy and it’s a small percentage that keep waiting for the sky to fall, maybe it because I’m out and about and not stuck in one place reading gloom and doom in every thing.
Enjoy the day
Pilot Joe
488 chars
nancy said on October 9, 2018 at 8:24 am
Just to make it clear: That’s Pilot Joe’s comment, not Basset’s.
70 chars
basset said on October 9, 2018 at 8:40 am
Sure is… how’d that happen?
29 chars
Suzanne said on October 9, 2018 at 8:59 am
I read that article, too, Alex, before you linked to it. I will definitely want to read Boot’s book. My only question to Boot, and so many other never Trump conservatives is “Where have you been the past 10 years (or more)??”
I still feel that many of these conservative pundits assumed that everyone was in on the joke of the extreme rhetoric, they assumed their calls to investigate the Clintons ad nausem would be met with winks and nudges by conservative voters. It never occurred to them that when Trump got a crowd screaming to lock her up, that crowd really, truly, absolutely wanted her locked up or worse. They’ve suddenly been woke to the fact that the cruel rhetoric they spewed translated into real cruelty by those who heard their words. The beast is out of the cage and it’s going to be hell getting it back in.
827 chars
Sherri said on October 9, 2018 at 9:26 am
I mentioned it in the last thread and I’ll mention it again: this podcast interview of Max Boot by Ana Marie Cox in With Friends Like These is good: https://crooked.com/podcast/a-recovering-republican-how-max-boot-left-his-party/
Boot does talk some about the questions you’re asking, and Cox presses him in a nice way over the harm he’s done and how to make amends.
376 chars
Suzanne said on October 9, 2018 at 10:24 am
Nikki Haley just resigned.
26 chars
Bitter Scribe said on October 9, 2018 at 10:31 am
Joe, just a reminder…the unemployment rate, the stock market and the economy in general were every bit as good under Obama, and the other side stridently refused to give him the least bit of credit for it.
207 chars
Sherri said on October 9, 2018 at 10:56 am
This is a pretty good description of how fucked up the process of running for Congress is, and how inept the DCCC is, with a call for money for a slate of candidates in rural districts ignored by the DCCC.
http://idlewords.com/2018/10/portrait_of_a_campaign.htm
265 chars
Jakash said on October 9, 2018 at 11:49 am
“You get the vibe that most people are generally happy and it’s a small percentage that keep waiting for the sky to fall”
Helluva point. Is it possible that folks who can afford to charter private planes and the business – types who one encounters in hotel lobbies are not a particularly broad demographic swath of the electorate? Who knew?
“not stuck in one place reading gloom and doom”
Yeah, if I didn’t keep getting stuck at this here website, I’m sure I’d be much better served by not being aware that the sky, while not about to fall, will be filled with more carbon dioxide and particulate pollution as this blessed presidency continues to pursue it’s noble objectives.
Hey, Joe, as a law-and-order Republican, does it give you even a second’s pause that “special counsel Robert Mueller’s team has now indicted or gotten guilty pleas from 32 people and three companies — that we know of?” (You know, the feckless “witch hunt.”) That one of Trump’s campaign managers is currently in jail? That the President was just exposed as a massive tax cheat in a thorough investigation by the N. Y. Times that would have been all Fox News would have talked about for 6 months, if it had involved a Democratic president?
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/20/17031772/mueller-indictments-grand-jury
I’m beginning to wonder whether if Trump shot, not just *somebody*, but a Trump supporter *himself* in the middle of Fifth Avenue, if that particular Trump supporter would have any problem with it. Honestly, if it was done with the intention of somehow “owning the libs,” I don’t imagine they would.
1635 chars
Scout said on October 9, 2018 at 12:35 pm
I’m *this* close to just throwing up my hands and walking away from giving a shit any more. And then I realize, that is what they want. But I do recognize I need to step away from the overload of awful more often and find something to distract myself. So… this sheep who managed to get herself into a totally random situation made me laugh. Maybe it will give y’all a chuckle too. https://twistedsifter.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/humpty-dumpty-had-a-great-fall-25.gif
471 chars
Scout said on October 9, 2018 at 12:58 pm
I didn’t step away fast enough to not see this. Funny how the MAGAs who are crowing about the “Record low unemployment, great stock market, traveling all over this great country” never seem to acknowledge the deficit anymore. It’s all they could talk about for 8 years with the black guy.
“The U.S. budget deficit expanded to an estimated $782 billion in Donald Trump’s first full fiscal year as president, which would be the widest fiscal gap since 2012 when the country was still emerging from the Great Recession.”
“A combination of Republican tax cuts, increased federal spending and an aging population are adding to budget strains, though the GOP says tax reform will spur economic growth and lift tax revenue.”
“The GOP says tax reform will spur economic growth…” Honestly, who still believes this shit? The only thing that ever trickles down is piss while these assholes tell us it’s raining.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-06/trump-s-first-annual-budget-deficit-seen-as-widest-since-2012
1029 chars
brian stouder said on October 9, 2018 at 1:05 pm
Scout for Thread Win!
21 chars
Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on October 9, 2018 at 1:09 pm
Kanye will talk some sense into him on Thursday at lunch. Maybe Ye will become the new UN ambassador?
101 chars
beb said on October 9, 2018 at 1:43 pm
My first thought when I heard that Nikki Hayley had resigned was: is this a “no” vote on Kavanaugh? As noted, it’s odd that she resigned a month before the mid-term elections. Normally staff changes are done after the elections. Maybe Hayley is half-Republican and half #metoo.
One of the most objectionable ads being run in Michigan have been trying to pin Jennifer Granholm on the Dem candidate for governor. They talk about her tax hikes and epic job losses without ever mentioning that all that happened during the Great Recession. They lie and lie and lie.
562 chars
basset said on October 9, 2018 at 3:49 pm
What’s to mock, Joe? Nothing as far as I’m concerned, but I have taken enough shit over the years for listening to “that twangy stuff” that I expect it every time I mention country music in certain audiences. Not that I have a chip on my shoulder about it or anything, no, not me.
Just have to say, though, that watching that band do a Merle Haggard song, well, that’s what country is supposed to sound like.
415 chars
Joe Kobiela said on October 9, 2018 at 4:22 pm
Basset,
I hear you brother, 2kinds of music, country and western, I still enjoy Bob Wills. Passed thru Nashville today air lining home from Houston, I waved.
Oh by the way bitter, go back and reread my post, where did I say anything about who should get credit for the economy? And yes I’m glad the people I fly are happy because they are the ones employing people in their businesses, and when they are happy business is good.
Pilot Joe
444 chars
Bitter Scribe said on October 9, 2018 at 5:12 pm
Joe – You implied that people who complain about Trump are out of touch because the economy is great. It was just as good under Obama, but that sure didn’t stop people from complaining about him—with MUCH less cause.
218 chars
David C. said on October 9, 2018 at 5:44 pm
One Nikki Haley theory I’ve heard is tRump fires Sessions, replaces him with Miz Lindsey, and Haley is appointed to fill out the term in the Senate. It doesn’t quite make sense because why would she have to resign to take a Senate seat?
236 chars
Joe Kobiela said on October 9, 2018 at 5:58 pm
bitter,
I Implied nothing, I only said The economy was good, and people seem happy.
Pilot Joe
97 chars
Bitter Scribe said on October 9, 2018 at 6:07 pm
Joe – You referred to people who “keep waiting for the sky to fall” and are “reading gloom and doom in every thing [sic].” On a board like this, whom could you possibly have in mind? You seem like a nice guy, but your passive-aggressive mealymouthed act gets on my nerves sometimes.
282 chars
basset said on October 9, 2018 at 6:24 pm
Joe, as several others seem to, I’m thinking you might not be getting a real varied perspective where you are… we all live in our bubbles, but I can tell you the economy is not good everywhere and people are not happy everywhere no matter what your passengers say.
Meanwhile, nobody has yet mentioned that today is John Lennon’s birthday; he would have been 78. It’s also Mama B’s birthday, and her death day; she was 74 and I watched her go, at Bloomington Hospital.
471 chars
Jolene said on October 9, 2018 at 6:42 pm
And I will now stand by for you all to mock my outdated taste and general lack of sophistication.
basset, has anything like that ever happened to you in this community?
My sympathy re the death of your mother. Anniversaries can be hard, even if the event in question was long ago.
289 chars
Deborah said on October 9, 2018 at 7:28 pm
Basset, you made my heart skip a beat, at first I thought you said Mrs. B instead of Mama B. I remember my parents on their birth and death days. Both of my parents would be over 100 if they were still here. I’m still astonished that my mother-in-law is still with us at 99. My husband spoke on the phone with her today. They had had some disagreement on the phone Sunday when he usually calls her. She’s a Democrat now but she was on Kavanaugh’s side, her argument was basically that boys will be boys and it was so long ago. My husband was appalled. They both didn’t want the other to feel bad about the disagreement so they spoke again today.
653 chars
basset said on October 9, 2018 at 8:17 pm
Jolene, nobody’s been rude or unreasonable to me since that (never mind how I was going to describe him) from North Carolina got kicked off… and certainly I haven’t had such treatment from any of the current regulars. I’ve just spent too much time as the lone blue-collar representative in various contexts, it’s made me probably too sensitive.
And thanks for the support. Three of us were standing around her bed when she died on this day in 2003, two are still alive and I just called the other one. The immediate aftermath, funeral, and burial was the last time all three B brothers were together and the other two are now gone as well.
Mrs. B scared us back in July but the doctors caught everything in time and she is now almost herself, up walking around and all. Still a little shaky and a little weak, much better than we expected at this point and home therapy may end after another week or two. She has decided she wants to watch the rest of “The Crown” and we are now on episode three so it’s looking like a long haul.
I was reminded of Mama B today when a Netflix email arrived promoting “Call the Midwife”; that was her part of London and close to her time, she left in 1951. She woulda been all over that and the British Baking Show.
1258 chars
LAMary said on October 9, 2018 at 8:42 pm
I saw Chris Hillman at McCabe’s in Santa Monica about 20 years ago and he was really good. It’s a small venue and that made it even better. He did a great job with the Byrds song Feel a Whole Lot Better When You’re Gone.
Joe, I like Bob Wills too. Someone told me that there’s an all Bob Wills radio station in San Antonio.
326 chars
basset said on October 9, 2018 at 9:22 pm
Let me check on that, I know someone who works in radio in San Antonio.
LAMary, have you heard the two Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen albums, “Bakersfield Bound” and “Way Out West”? Gotta love that Bakersfield sound.
One of the albums that really shaped my musical outlook was “Norman Blake Live at McCabe’s.” Come to think of it, that, “Yessongs,” David Bromberg’s “My Own House,” Hawkwind’s “Space Ritual,” King Crimson’s “Red,” and “Live Bullet” were pretty much the soundtrack of college for me.
Not to mention “The Guess Who Live at the Paramount,” used to start my shows on student radio with “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon.” Hmmm, that’s a good idea for a road trip once Mrs. B gets to feeling better… doesn’t look like there’s a whole lot to see there but sometimes the journey is the destination.
817 chars
LAMary said on October 9, 2018 at 10:09 pm
When my older son was about 5 I took him to McCabes to see Riders in the Sky. My son wore his chaps and vest that the nice uncle in Colorado gave him and the cowboy hat we got in Greeley and since my son was absolutely adorable the band invited him up on stage. He didn’t stay long. He was shy.
294 chars
Dave said on October 10, 2018 at 12:45 am
Basset, you might enjoy this article. I’d love to see this show. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/it-was-the-byrds-album-everyone-hated-in-1968-now-sweetheart-of-the-rodeo-is-a-classic/2018/08/16/a2534a88-9a8f-11e8-b60b-1c897f17e185_story.html?utm_term=.8c255cf86c77
One of my old friends posted on Facebook that she tried to watch the American Music Awards tonight on TV but she just couldn’t get through it, she didn’t know the artists, didn’t really much like the music. It’s hard getting old sometimes.
Oh, and I’ve always loved, “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better”, it’s always been one of those songs I have to turn up.
643 chars
Suzann said on October 10, 2018 at 6:14 am
Went with some friends to see A Star is Born. It was merely not horrible. Lady Gaga did a great job but it dragged. Bradley Cooper didn’t do it for me and I thought the writing was poor.
188 chars
The Garden Fairy said on October 10, 2018 at 7:40 am
SHOTR tour dates — http://www.chrishillman.com/calendar.html
61 chars
basset said on October 10, 2018 at 8:42 am
Meanwhile, my friend in San Antonio radio says there’s no over the air Bob Wills station, might be one on the net though. and a quick google turns up this:
http://bobwillsradio.com
182 chars
Sherri said on October 10, 2018 at 9:47 am
I have some exciting personal news to share. I’ve been approached by the governance committee of the board and have accepted nomination to the board for the ACLU of WA! The board will vote on my nomination next week, and if approved, I’ll join the board in January.
269 chars
Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on October 10, 2018 at 10:01 am
Congrats, Sherri! That sounds like a good move for both you and the ACLU.
And I’m just dropping this link and walking away from it:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/reading-the-next-person-you-meet-in-heaven-is-hell/2018/10/09/ea911546-caa0-11e8-a3e6-44daa3d35ede_story.html
298 chars
Dorothy said on October 10, 2018 at 10:16 am
basset I’m not sure what you mean about being the lone blue collar representative, but if by that you mean you don’t have a college degree, I do not have one either. My dad worked for the US Post Office and my mom was a secretary – I am currently a secretary. My husband and kids and all nine of my siblings have degrees but I still think of myself as (I guess) mostly blue collar. Not sure if that bucks you up or not, but I’m giving you a high five over the airwaves! Also – I think your wife will really like “The Crown” if she stays with it. And re “Call the Midwife” – when I watched the first ep on PBS several years ago, I was so tickled to see it was 1957 in the story. That’s the year I was born!
We booked a trip to NYC in December and I’m very excited. But I’m experiencing a great deal of sticker shock when it comes to choosing theater tickets. I had my heart set on seeing Dear Evan Hansen (Tony for best musical in 2017), but two tickets to a matinee show on Sunday are totaling $550 after price and then the ever-dreadful handling fees that come to $76. This is just for ONE SHOW. I thought we’d see two, maybe three shows. Am I being too cheap? Or is this normal? How in the hell do people afford to do this very often? The hotel is about $1500 (four nights). I guess this is the blue collar in me coming out…! We will probably buy what tickets we want but it’s going to take me some time to get used to the idea of spending that much money for theater tickets.
1494 chars
basset said on October 10, 2018 at 10:24 am
I do have a degree, in Telecommunications from IU… took me seven years to work my way through and I am the first college graduate in my family, though, so I have a slightly different perspective even though I have spent over forty years in and around The Media.
That WaPo article about the Sweetheart tour was really interesting, have forwarded it around.
$550 is more than I would pay for a show ticket short of Paul McCartney solo on my back porch.
454 chars
Sherri said on October 10, 2018 at 10:39 am
Basset, hate to break it to you, but I don’t think you’re really blue collar. You may come from blue collar, which doesn’t make you unique around here, but you have a college degree and you had a job that didn’t involve manual labor.
Neither of my parents are college graduates, and only one of my grandparents graduated from high school. My father worked his way up from lineman to management with the phone company, while one grandfather was a farmer and the other worked in a factory. Out of my mom’s 3 siblings and my dad’s 5, 2 have college degrees, and in the next generation of ~30, 8 do. So, you can put down that chip for a bit when you come in here.
675 chars
Peter said on October 10, 2018 at 11:15 am
First off, congratulations Sherri.
And now, for a bizarre personal note – if any of you live or know someone who lives in NE Arizona, I would be grateful if you could vote for the incumbent congressman – Tom O’Halleran. I had no idea he was a congressman, as he retired about 10-12 years ago – when he sat next to me and we were project managers for a design firm.
http://www.tomohalleran.com
394 chars
Sherri said on October 10, 2018 at 11:47 am
2018, y’all. Elect women.
https://twitter.com/whstancil/status/1049673616865013761?s=21
92 chars
basset said on October 10, 2018 at 11:50 am
Sherri, this is not about establishing class credentials… I just identify more with where I came from than where I went. And I have noped out of plenty of social situations where I just didn’t feel like I fit.
212 chars
Icarus said on October 10, 2018 at 12:36 pm
Sherri, as an only child, I cannot fathom what it is like to have 9 siblings.
Perhaps we need to re-define White Collar and Blue Collar as Management and non-Management.
174 chars
Dorothy said on October 10, 2018 at 1:41 pm
Icarus I think you meant that comment for me. As far as I know I’m the only one who ‘hangs out’ here who has 9 siblings. And my husband is an only child!
154 chars
Suzanne said on October 10, 2018 at 2:23 pm
This is very ineteresting & echos what I have witnessed to some extent:
https://www.brookings.edu/longform/what-the-forgotten-americans-really-want-and-how-to-give-it-to-them/
“These interviews confirmed what is evident in national survey data: many people distrust government, but also expect it to align with their values.”
Which makes it even stranger that so many voted for Trump. But, as the author of this article says
“But the narrative that rose to the top in my conservations is too important to ignore: Some Americans are disgusted with how government has been working (or more accurately, not working) and they want change—any change. When that change is not forthcoming, or doesn’t address their concerns, cynicism can only grow.”
Worth reading the whole piece.
786 chars
Julie Robinson said on October 10, 2018 at 2:27 pm
Dorothy, I think that’s what hot Broadway shows run these days. If you want to take a chance you can go to the TKTS office for same-day seats, but there’s very little chance you’d get Dear Evan Hansen. When I went to NYC for Sunday in the Park with George a couple of years ago I wanted to go to another show, but by the time I paid for that and a hotel it was more than I wanted to spend. I ended up flying there and back the same day, meeting my daughter and going on a quick tour, seeing the show, and back to the airport.
Congratulations, Sherri!
551 chars
Jolene said on October 10, 2018 at 3:58 pm
Was listening to DJT talk with reporters, the director of FEMA, and the Secretary of DHS talk about the storm on MSNBC, and Trump did something I’ve never heard him do before: say something that showed he understood the difficulty that some folks might face in evacuating. He said, simply, “Some people are too poor to evacuate.”
Sometimes, he will say, “Many people don’t realize [something],” when, in fact, he was the one who didn’t realize, and he is telling you something he just learned. He didn’t use those exact words, but it was that kind of statement.
But even though he was reporting his recently acquired knowledge of issues in emergency management, he spoke as if he actually understood the problem on a gut level–that if you live paycheck to paycheck or worse, you don’t have the money to take an unplanned multi-day vacation in the next state over. I was impressed and, actually, touched by the empathetic tone of his voice.
It’s a minor expression of human decency, and, I suppose, the fact that it surprised me is not flattering to him, but, still, it was nice to hear.
1098 chars
basset said on October 10, 2018 at 4:11 pm
Might have to fly out to South Dakota and drive this monster home… enough steel there to make two Kias:
https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2018/10/09/hemmings-find-of-the-day-1972-buick-estate-wagon/?refer=hccweekly
215 chars
Deborah said on October 10, 2018 at 4:55 pm
Dorothy, if you go to NYC in February you can save a lot. Air fares are low and hotels can be very inexpensive at that time. Not a lot of other tourists to get in your way if you go to museums etc. it’s easier to get Broadway tickets for then too.
249 chars
brian stouder said on October 10, 2018 at 5:01 pm
basset – 4 decades (+) ago, my best friend’s dad bought a brand new Olds Vista Cruiser – which looked very similar to that Buick.
If I was a rich guy, I’d drive a chocolate brown ’71 (or ’72) Olds Cutlass 2-door….had one, and loved that car!
247 chars
Icarus said on October 10, 2018 at 5:42 pm
Dorothy, you are correct. Sorry for the mix-up.
My company gave everyone a $500 gift card for our summer present. I was going to get tickets to Hamilton for our anniversary. However, Nightingale felt this was too much to spend on a musical (can I call it Broadway if we live in Chicago?).
As fate would have it, on our last trip to GP, we blew out a tire and elected to get 4 new ones with the car.
416 chars
Jolene said on October 10, 2018 at 6:10 pm
basset – 4 decades (+) ago, my best friend’s dad bought a brand new Olds Vista Cruiser – which looked very similar to that Buick.
We had one of those. In fact, we had two, as I was in an accident with the first one. Not my fault, but scary for a novice driver. Candy apple red. A beautiful car, and a step up for my parents economically. Before this car, they’d always driven Fords.
398 chars
Julie Robinson said on October 10, 2018 at 7:19 pm
In the early years of our marriage we had a 1972 Olds 88 inherited from my grandma. This grand old boat was one of the last made before the OPEC embargo and accompanying gas price spikes. When we drove from one side of town to the other we would watch the gas gauge as it slid down, necessitating yet another pricey fill up. So when we bought a 1981 used Ford Escort hatchback, it was a huge step up, at least in gas mileage. The Olds was great for long trips though.
467 chars
basset said on October 10, 2018 at 7:41 pm
In the early years of our marriage we had a ’76 Ford Pinto with tread-throwing Firestone Radial 500s, you heard about those, and the potentially explosive gas tank without the filler repair. Drove it from Kalamazoo to Jackson, Mississippi to interview for a new job the day after the wedding and I spent the whole trip trying to get everything not to seem so unreal.
Ended up taking the job, moving to Jackson, and trading the Pinto for a VW Rabbit with a black interior and no air conditioning. Don’t do that in Mississippi.
530 chars
Suzanne said on October 10, 2018 at 9:08 pm
When we were first married in the early 1980s, we had a 1972 Chevy Caprice. It took leaded gas and got about 8 miles per gallon, but I could beat anybody off the light and in a wreck, I would have remained fairly unscathed, I am pretty sure. That thing was a boat.
265 chars
Deborah said on October 10, 2018 at 9:28 pm
My first car was a 1962 Falcon that had been my dad’s. My sister and I shared it when my Dad handed it over to us in 1968, the year I graduated from high school. I drove it way more than my sister she was frightened of driving. When we were newlyweds my ex and I had an MG, I don’t remember what year, he bought it the year before we were married, he knew I was in love with little sports car convertibles. He moved on to other vehicles (which I couldn’t even tell you what they were) but I stayed with MGs. What folly.
525 chars
Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on October 10, 2018 at 9:32 pm
A condition of our marriage in 1985 was that I sell my Ford Country Sedan station wagon before the wedding day, rusted as it was with Lake Michigan snow belt salt treatment, the lower third of the doors flapping in the breeze, and the gas gauge only fillable to half, because trapped salt above the fuel tank had eaten holes — a full tank would slosh out in city driving. My friends all called it “Mount Rushmore” because it was a great American monument. May 18, 1985 I signed it over to a neighbor who was bemused but appreciative when I said “I’m selling this to you for $5, and here’s the $5 you will give me” along with the title handover. On the next day, I still got a better deal.
689 chars
Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on October 10, 2018 at 9:57 pm
Stephen King name checks Laura Lippman. In a good way!
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/10/books/review/tana-french-witch-elm.html
132 chars
Diane said on October 10, 2018 at 10:50 pm
Congratulations Sherri!
23 chars
susan said on October 10, 2018 at 11:56 pm
Very cool, Sherri! Dang. Don’t I get to vote, being a donor to ACLU-WA?
71 chars
Connie said on October 11, 2018 at 8:33 am
So I was first on the hold list for the Tana French book and just got my hands on. Will let you know if I agree with Mr. King.
127 chars
Dorothy said on October 11, 2018 at 9:38 am
Deborah we already booked the flight and hotel so we’re going in two months. (Our flights were not expensive at all for this trip – $211 each, round trip). Perhaps another time we’ll go in February. That’s a tough month for me to miss time at work – has to do with adjusting pay amounts for the adjunct professors who teach music lessons. Mike’s job also factors into when he can best take the time off. And we are taking a week off in May to go to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival (meeting our daughter there) and visiting my brother in Philadelphia. Only have so much vacation time available so …. Boy I can’t wait to retire! We want to do a big trip next summer because a year from now we’ll celebrate our 40th anniversary.
One of my student workers just told me that Dear Evan Hansen is coming to Cleveland and Cincinnati in the next year so I’ll try to get tickets to one of those venues. A theater friend recommended a new drama (The Ferryman) so I’m looking into getting tickets to that.
Sherri I’m so happy for you! Congratulations!
1060 chars
Connie said on October 11, 2018 at 10:26 am
Dorothy, we had our 40th two weeks ago and all we managed to do was go to Benihana.
83 chars
Dorothy said on October 11, 2018 at 11:49 am
Oh Connie! Well, after the rough couple of months we’ve had we are looking forward to a fun trip in less than a year – hopefully to the United Kingdom!
152 chars
Scout said on October 11, 2018 at 12:18 pm
Speaking of Laura Lippman, I’m 2/3 of the way through Sunburn and I am loving it! I’m listening on audio and the reader is excellent.
https://www.amazon.com/Sunburn-Novel-Laura-Lippman/dp/0062389920/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1539274647&sr=8-1&keywords=laura+lippman+sunburn
283 chars
Scout said on October 11, 2018 at 12:26 pm
Happy Birthday to Deborah! I hope you’re enjoying your special day doing what you want with the people you love.
112 chars
basset said on October 11, 2018 at 12:27 pm
Mrs. B and I are going to try that postponed retirement trip to the beach next spring – she seems to be recovering well and will transition from home therapy to outpatient next week. The drive to Alaska is out there in the unspecified future, gotta get her all the way back and buy the RV first.
296 chars
Jakash said on October 11, 2018 at 12:56 pm
Evidently the featured star of the current NN.c post is in the news today. Ms. BeBest feels that she’s “the most bullied person in the world.”
These tweets and the replies to them pretty well cover the array of responses one might have to such an absurd remark:
“People called Michelle Obama a man, a monkey, and lost their shit when she suggested kids should eat vegetables. Christine Blasey Ford is still getting death threats and can’t return home but sure, Melania is the most bullied person in the world.”
https://twitter.com/OhNoSheTwitnt/status/1050344647288127488
586 chars
Suzanne said on October 11, 2018 at 1:46 pm
From what I am reading on social media, the much anticipated Kanye/Donald meeting is going about as expected. Millions of random words and fake smiles all around.
But it’s the best meeting anyone has ever had. The greatest.
224 chars
Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on October 11, 2018 at 2:43 pm
Happy birthday, Deborah — blessings of the day to you.
55 chars
David C. said on October 11, 2018 at 6:21 pm
I have a feeling we’re going to be depending on state courts for the next few years (decades) for any progress we may see.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/10/11/washington-supreme-court-strikes-down-states-death-penalty-saying-it-is-arbitrary-and-racially-biased/?utm_term=.d36d6787dc39
313 chars
Sherri said on October 11, 2018 at 9:15 pm
Needless to say, I’m very happy about the WA Supreme Court ruling today. This is in a case that I went down to Olympia to hear arguments for. The ACLU was part of this case.
175 chars
Deborah said on October 11, 2018 at 9:17 pm
Thanks for the BD wishes here and on FB. What a great day it has been. Breakfast at our favorite French restaurant in Santa Fe then back to the cabin in Abiquiu. LB made homemade pasta and bolognese sauce that I cooked on the wood burning stove in the cabin. The sky was amazing, lighting up the ribbon of gold from the turning cottonwoods along the Chama river that’s about 2 miles from our cabin that we can see clearly this time of year. I managed to get a photo on my iPhone that looks like the gold ribbon is internally illuminated, I’ll post it on FB when I get better service. There is no where I’d rather be on my birthday than here, even if I’m now sixty fucking eight.
686 chars
brian stouder said on October 13, 2018 at 10:08 am
Happy birthday, Deborah!
SF8 doesn’t sound too bad to me, as I’m FF7 (Fifty F’ing Seven) for another 5 months, and – while I’m not ‘wishing my life away’ – retirement age is looking like a very welcome thing to me, if I ever get there
239 chars