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Wednesday Afternoon Open Thread

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Blog Related
Posted on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 04:57:51 PM EST
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    Wednesday Afternoon Open Thread | 51 comments (51 topical)

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    In the stupid (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by desertswine on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 05:47:30 PM EST
    criminal category.

    Aw, c'mon! (none / 0) (#23)
    by Fabian on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 08:10:16 PM EST
    It's effing HALLOWEEN!  You can find black face paint in every grocery store and dime mart right now!

    Permanent black marker.  Stellar, guys, just stellar.

    Parent

    At Last! Salacious Celeb Court TV I can enjoy! (5.00 / 1) (#15)
    by Ellie on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 06:37:05 PM EST
    I stay away from the sickening JUNK junk train-wrecks but this sounds freakin' great.

    A doozy (5.00 / 1) (#17)
    by lilburro on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 06:38:19 PM EST
    of an article over at TPM about the process of getting the PO in the Senate bill this week.  Check it:

    According to a source briefed on the Thursday meeting, the public option's savior was its political popularity with the Democratic base. The source described the back and forth between Senate health care principals and the White House as a "sort of stare down where the two sides were saying, 'you be the face of pulling it out.' Reid wants Obama to do it to give cover to his caucus, Obama wants Reid to do it so he's not the bad guy on the public option, and can still walk away with a win with reform, with bipartisanship, and with a card for everybody running for re-election."  [emphasis supplied]

    A pretty neat illustration of how activists should do politics.  Anyway can't wait for the book...or books.

    Geez, Reid, Harry Reid (none / 0) (#46)
    by gyrfalcon on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 11:20:09 PM EST
    won a stare-down with anybody?  I'm stunned.  Maybe we've been underestimating him...

    Parent
    Weather and the World Series (5.00 / 2) (#18)
    by Dadler on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 07:39:55 PM EST
    Playing the WS into November is a joke, and really does unduly affect the outcome, IMO. In the cold and the rain, baseball becomes a game of who gets more lucky more of the time. Fine for the occasional regular season game, but just stupid beyond measure for the post-season.  Not at all what the grand game of summer is supposed to be about. It's like having the summer Olympics in the winter. Nonsensical.  

    Oh, piffle. (5.00 / 1) (#22)
    by Fabian on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 08:07:59 PM EST
    Whatsa matta, can't take a little weather?

    Yeah, so less than perfect weather makes for a less than perfect game?  Let's see some heart, some soul.

    Besides, now whoever loses has more than the officials to blame.

    Parent

    it ain't baseball in that weather (5.00 / 1) (#29)
    by Dadler on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 09:25:12 PM EST
    it's akin to the way they play overtime in college football, that is how much i think it affects the game. it's ridiculous and bad for the integrity of the sport. but it ain't gonna change, so i should shut up and watch the mudballs fly.

    Parent
    Wet for both teams. (5.00 / 1) (#30)
    by oculus on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 09:27:59 PM EST


    Parent
    Agreed (none / 0) (#47)
    by gyrfalcon on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 11:21:55 PM EST
    It's one thing for the great crashing bodies of football, totally another thing for the finesse of baseball to be trying to play in this weather.

    Parent
    Phillies! (none / 0) (#41)
    by Peter G on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 10:39:50 PM EST
    6-1.  Lee pitches a full game.  Only Yankees run was unearned, on a Phillies throwing error.  Off to a good start.

    Parent
    Lee was a magician. (none / 0) (#55)
    by desertswine on Thu Oct 29, 2009 at 02:35:04 PM EST


    Parent
    I'm waiting for BTD to post the Sinatra vid of (none / 0) (#56)
    by DFLer on Thu Oct 29, 2009 at 02:41:03 PM EST
    ..."start spreading the looze.." !!

    Parent
    I think the devil is feeling cold tonight because (5.00 / 1) (#25)
    by coast on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 08:31:05 PM EST
    he$$ must have frozen over.  SC got the new Boeing Plant.  Some good news for the Low Country for once.

    Saw that (5.00 / 1) (#48)
    by gyrfalcon on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 11:23:42 PM EST
    Congratulations.  Every little bit helps.  Our dimwit GOP lame duck governor just got an infusion of S.Korean cash to start up a small plant with 200 workers in our most impoverished area, and we're almost dancing in the streets.

    Parent
    Heh - and, WA's governor is steaming (none / 0) (#54)
    by Inspector Gadget on Thu Oct 29, 2009 at 08:03:38 AM EST
    over it. Wonder how many days we will have to listen to local news and politicians whining over the decision. SC plant will start out non-union.

    Parent
    May I sugest a Glade products boycott? (5.00 / 2) (#36)
    by nycstray on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 10:14:08 PM EST
    They had the freakin' nerve to run a holiday ad before Halloween!! GRRRRRRRRRR! May their holiday scented candles bite the dust!

    /rant.

    Glade is unnecessary (5.00 / 3) (#49)
    by gyrfalcon on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 11:25:20 PM EST
    cr**pola anyway.  Nobody should be wasting their money on it.  If your house smells, take out the dam garbage!

    Parent
    Seriously! (5.00 / 1) (#51)
    by nycstray on Thu Oct 29, 2009 at 12:14:41 AM EST
    I personally don't buy any of that stuff. They just annoyed the heck outta me with that commercial :-P

    I also prefer my holiday scents to be along the lines of fresh baked goodies and wonderful roasting meats {grin}

    Parent

    Kudos to the White House: (none / 0) (#1)
    by oculus on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 05:09:06 PM EST
    AP

    Classical music coming to the WH, plus workshops for school kids.  

    ooh (none / 0) (#8)
    by Maryb2004 on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 06:00:08 PM EST
    Awadagan Pratt.  

    Parent
    I haven't heard Mr. Pratt perform. Have you? (none / 0) (#11)
    by oculus on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 06:07:12 PM EST


    Parent
    I have. (5.00 / 2) (#19)
    by Maryb2004 on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 07:42:28 PM EST
    I've heard him perform a few times with SLSO.  The first time I heard him was just magical. I wish I could remember which Mozart piano concerto it was - it was one that isn't performed as often as others.   He sits (or at least used to sit) on a little wooden four legged stool that is closer to the ground than a typical piano bench - so he looked a bit like a little kid playing the piano.  Except he's a big man.  Not fat, but big.  With huge hands.  And he used to have long dreadlocks;   I don't know if he still does.  So it was an unusual sight to behold - him sitting there in front of all those conservative looking symphony performers.  The whole audience just sort of settled in and you could feel them thinking - right, this guy can play Mozart?  And then he started playing. Magic.  Such light, perfect sounds coming from that big man.  It was one of those rare concerts where the audience was on its feet with bravos as soon as the last note sounded.  And it was one of the few concerts I've ever been to where total strangers were chatting with each other in the lobby at intermission about it - you just couldn't NOT talk about it.  

    I went to see him the next few times he came to town and each time he was fine - but never as magical as the first time.   I hope he does well at the WH.

    Parent

    Thanks. Antenna up. (none / 0) (#27)
    by oculus on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 09:10:20 PM EST


    Parent
    What, he's channeling (none / 0) (#43)
    by gyrfalcon on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 11:13:01 PM EST
    Glenn Gould?

    Parent
    Nice that it's not the (none / 0) (#44)
    by gyrfalcon on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 11:14:55 PM EST
    standard Itzhak Perlman/Yo-Yo Ma, etc., crowd.  Now how about, say, Renee Fleming?

    Parent
    Oh, and Baseball HOF website poll (none / 0) (#2)
    by oculus on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 05:10:22 PM EST
    has Yankees 50% and Phillies 50% as to who will win WS.  

    Actually, the team with the better record against the opponent that year has the better chance to win WS.

    That actually fits since I hate both teams equally (none / 0) (#7)
    by Ellie on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 05:53:51 PM EST
    Just to be able to watch, I now have to venture outside baseball hatreds and decide which branch of the sports-loving family tree makes me puke less.

    Probably the @sshole Phillies boosters, who could give PhD-level courses on @ssholery but are rambunctious good fun if you sit them down to watch almost any sport and are on "their" side.

    Also, this improves my chances of disabusing my d0uche Bronx Cuz out of a substantial amount of his disposable income.

    My shopworn but highly successful betting method has been to "lose" a small amount on stuff I can control (eg, getting trivia "wrong") in order to clean up later from side bets. Those aren't actually based on things I can't control but more on stuff I can predict (eg, SuperFan Cuz's heartbreaking belief that the Yanks are a Team of Destiny, Forever and Ever, Amen.)

    Remember, kids, it's WRONG to bet on baseball, no matter who your bookie is. Or (cough) that uncle of a friend from that bar near the place you went that time.

    Parent

    Additional kudos to Congress and (none / 0) (#3)
    by oculus on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 05:14:31 PM EST
    WH re this bill banning deporting a spouse whose husband/wife dies w/i 2 years of marriage.  Headline is pretty poor though.

    AP

    FBI kills leader... (none / 0) (#4)
    by desertswine on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 05:15:47 PM EST
    of radical Islamic group in Detroit.

    exchanging gunfire? (none / 0) (#5)
    by Fabian on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 05:19:39 PM EST
    We'll know more later, but I expect this was very much a fringe group.

    Parent
    Certainly hope so. Separate Islamic (none / 0) (#9)
    by oculus on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 06:01:14 PM EST
    state w/i U.S.  Allegedly dealing in stolen property?

    Parent
    Friday Night Lights' new season starts on (none / 0) (#10)
    by Anne on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 06:04:08 PM EST
    DirecTV tonight, so looking forward to that.

    And, of course, Top Chef, featuring an apparently extra-challenging challenge cooking for Natalie Portman.

    I read yesterday that Bravo is going to do a season of Top Chef Desserts, feeling that the sweet is not getting the same kind of attention as the savory, and there is a lot of talent out there among pastry/dessert chefs.

    What will the TC dessert show (5.00 / 3) (#20)
    by Spamlet on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 07:51:42 PM EST
    be called? America Has Type II Diabetes?

    Parent
    Ah, the TC Vegan challenge? (none / 0) (#24)
    by nycstray on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 08:11:21 PM EST
    Perhaps she has some food allergies to add an extra dimension to the challenge? {grin}

    I like the idea of a TC dessert show. I took a class from a pasty chef. Fun and interesting. The one recipe had several components, so I've started looking a recipes a bit differently. The different things we learned how to make can all be used for other desserts/dishes.

    Parent

    My niece is a well known (5.00 / 1) (#26)
    by Inspector Gadget on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 08:44:04 PM EST
    pastry chef in the south. Was featured several times on "Great Chefs of the South" on Discovery channel years ago. The restaurant she worked at in NC achieved 5 diamonds while she was there. Some of her desserts were like a walk in heaven.

    Parent
    Cool! (5.00 / 1) (#45)
    by gyrfalcon on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 11:18:36 PM EST
    Pastry and custard and stuff takes a whole different level of technique to pull off. I've learned how to do a really superior pie crust, but beyond that...

    I have a friend who's a genius at pastry, thanks partly to the gift of having cool hands.  She's Greek, and makes phyllo from scratch. (groan!)

    Parent

    Phyllo from scratch? Ouch. (5.00 / 2) (#52)
    by Ellie on Thu Oct 29, 2009 at 12:21:08 AM EST
    I buy frozen phyllo for a bad spanakopita addiction and can't even fathom making it. That's in the Olympic Pantheon of technique. Likewise the touch for paper-thin spring-roll dough or classic roti.

    I once asked a friend's Hungarian mom why she didn't just use frozen phyllo for her streudels instead of making the dough and rolling it to within an inch of her kitchen table edges. The look I got ... it was like I'd shown up after killing the Gabor sisters.

    Man, I could live on that stuff and I don't even have a sweet tooth. The dough is the key, though.

    Parent

    Lucky you! (none / 0) (#53)
    by nycstray on Thu Oct 29, 2009 at 12:21:55 AM EST
    I totally understand the "walk in heaven".

    I need to learn more on the desert/pastry end. You've given me a goal now  ;)

    Parent

    This is how we know the Padres are a (none / 0) (#13)
    by oculus on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 06:23:48 PM EST
    "small market" team.  Nasty property division public fight between John and Becky Moores.  He moved to TX.  He was supposed to have owner's suite and field level seats 1/2 the time.  But she sd.--make me.

    The answer is: (5.00 / 2) (#42)
    by oculus on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 10:41:49 PM EST
    SD UT

    Parent
    He filed a motion. Don't remember the (none / 0) (#21)
    by oculus on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 08:04:52 PM EST
    outcome.

    Parent
    Awefully quite here whilst the Phillies (none / 0) (#28)
    by oculus on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 09:20:21 PM EST
    are winning 2-0, bottom of 7th.

    Bah. (5.00 / 1) (#33)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 09:46:58 PM EST
    A foot on snow on the ground doesn't put me in a baseball frame of mind.  Let me know when training camp opens.

    /but Go Phils nonetheless

    Parent

    "Awfully quiet." (none / 0) (#31)
    by oculus on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 09:28:42 PM EST


    Parent
    Who said Yankees in 3? (none / 0) (#34)
    by andgarden on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 10:07:22 PM EST
    Out. The. Window.

    Go Phillies!

    Psst! (5.00 / 2) (#35)
    by nycstray on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 10:12:16 PM EST
    Ya need to learn your baseball. Ya need 4 ta win! ;)

    Parent
    Hey... (5.00 / 2) (#39)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 10:19:52 PM EST
    ...he's trying!  Pretty decent smacktalk for a beginner...

    Needs more yuck the Fankees! though.

    Parent

    Yankees have never been shut out (none / 0) (#37)
    by oculus on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 10:14:53 PM EST
    in WS openers.  Course it isn't over yet.

    Parent
    Woosh (none / 0) (#38)
    by andgarden on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 10:16:51 PM EST
    It was a jab at Yankee arrogance. :-p

    Parent
    She could be (none / 0) (#50)
    by CoralGables on Wed Oct 28, 2009 at 11:36:50 PM EST
    moving up as she has been making time with the Pillsbury DoughBoy.

    Which makes one wonder, if Jamie prevails, are Dodger Dogs on the way out to be replaced by Toaster Strudel at Chavez Ravine?

    Wednesday Afternoon Open Thread | 51 comments (51 topical)

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