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Tuesday Night Open Thread

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 09:50:25 PM EST
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It's stopped snowing but the temperature will go down to 8 below tonight.

Dinner for a cold night: Homemade chicken soup with matzoh balls, a toasty baguette with brie cheese, and arugula salad with pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and balsamic vinaigrette.

Now for The Good Wife. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

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    Tuesday Night Open Thread | 55 comments (55 topical)

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    Decided to bail on a chamber music (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by oculus on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 09:54:57 PM EST
    concert for which I hadn't already bought a ticket.  Too much effort!  Caught up with neighbors over a glass of wine.  Reading "Norwegian Wood," by Haruki Murakami and listening, in the car to James Joyce's "The Dubliners," read by Irish actors/writers, such as Colin Meany and Frank McCourt.  Delightful.  Wish I were there.

    Dubliners (5.00 / 2) (#2)
    by shoephone on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 01:22:09 AM EST
    My favorite Joyce. "Araby," "The Sisters," "The Dead"... some of the most beautiful short fiction ever published. I don't generaly listen to books on tape, but with those readers on board, I could get used to it!

    Parent
    My favorite so far is the story about (5.00 / 1) (#35)
    by oculus on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 12:41:34 PM EST
    the mother whose daughter is accompanying the singers.  

    Parent
    "A Mother" (5.00 / 1) (#43)
    by shoephone on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 02:13:24 PM EST
    Who reads that one on the recording?

    Parent
    I was a Flower of the mountain yes (none / 0) (#44)
    by jeffinalabama on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 02:25:34 PM EST
    when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes

    Ulysses.

    I might try to find "Dubliners" on tape now. I can use it in sociology... teaching across the curriculum... or something.

    Parent

    Fionnula Flanagan. (none / 0) (#54)
    by oculus on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 06:00:45 PM EST
    I am just at the beginning of Stephen Rea reading "The Dead."

    P.S.  This is unabridged, on nine cassettes, by Caedmon Audio

    Parent

    BIG Screen Black Swan (none / 0) (#3)
    by EL seattle on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 01:45:12 AM EST
    For whatever reason, this week they're showing The Black Swan at the Cinerama Theater here in town.  It could have been a mismatch: The Cinerama has a huge 70' screen, and the Black Swan was filmed mostly with 16mm movie cameras.  But it looked surprisingly good, I thought.   It's always nice to see a lower-budget indie film achieve this level of success beyond the ranks the bloated zillion dollar pseudo-epics.

    Does (none / 0) (#50)
    by CoralGables on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 04:03:44 PM EST
    a 13 million dollar budget starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis get classified as low budget indie these days?

    I am so far out of the movie loop.

    Parent

    Something I can suggest (none / 0) (#4)
    by jeffinalabama on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 07:51:15 AM EST
    NOT eating, a certain brand of 'Chicken stew with biscuits." Yes, you mix the biscuits, and the stew is edible, but the grease and sodium are to high... and the heartburn afterwards, while not deadly, isn't worth it.

    I usually know better than canned or 'easy to make' things.

    I'm sure going off my no grease, (none / 0) (#5)
    by jeffinalabama on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 08:05:52 AM EST
    no beef diet had nothing to do with the heartburn. I might be blaming the product for the end user's abuses.

    Parent
    Getting soft in your old age? (none / 0) (#6)
    by kdog on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 09:12:04 AM EST
    No such thing as too much salt, or too much grease...2 of the 5 food groups, are they not?

    You better hope Capt. Casey doesn't assign me to the galley:)

    Parent

    Okay, Dog, (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by Zorba on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 10:32:15 AM EST
    I come up with salt, grease, beer, and chocolate.  What's the fifth food group?    ;-)

    Parent
    Mushrooms...n/t:) (none / 0) (#9)
    by kdog on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 10:41:04 AM EST


    Parent
    I was going to ask (none / 0) (#11)
    by Zorba on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 10:43:20 AM EST
    what kind of mushrooms, but never mind....... :-)

    Parent
    I'll be the skinny pirate (none / 0) (#51)
    by jeffinalabama on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 04:42:39 PM EST
    I suppose.

    Parent
    Jeralyn, I'm appalled! (none / 0) (#8)
    by Zorba on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 10:38:08 AM EST
    You served brie along with chicken and matzoh ball soup?  Oy vey!  What a breaking of kashrut!  Fleishik and milchik together!    ;-)    

    The waiters at Ratners... (none / 0) (#12)
    by Dadler on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 10:57:42 AM EST
    ...would be appalled.  Who remembers Ratners on the lower east side?

    Parent
    Not I... (none / 0) (#13)
    by kdog on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 11:10:53 AM EST
    but I love me some Katz's Deli on E. Houston!

    Parent
    Ratner's was the no milk + meat place (none / 0) (#14)
    by Dadler on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 11:16:38 AM EST
    Katz's, I believe, was considered a kind of sister deli to the place.  You ever been to Juniors?  In Brooklyn, I think.  My late uncle Lou, a Jewish Archie Bunker if there ever was one, ate there every morning for decades. Guy made a fortune going to the docks before sunrise, buying up all the damaged cases of random sh*t, then sold it to all his contacts around the NYC metro area.  Pelligrino water, dresses, volleyballs, splatter guards, you name it, he sold it to anyone who'd make him a little profit.  

    I gotta get to NYC with my old man at least one more time.  Pops is 85, so I better get on it.

    Parent

    Did Junior's in West L.A. close? (none / 0) (#17)
    by shoephone on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 11:20:20 AM EST
    Some older members of my family virtually had cots set up there.

    Parent
    Couldn't find any info (none / 0) (#27)
    by brodie on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 12:11:55 PM EST
    about a closing.  Would be a shame.  Haven't been there in years but it used to be a quality local Westside eatery, and good place to meet up with friends or people watch.  

    Saw a few sports and film celebs in there back then -- Magic Johnson and Rosey Grier, actor-director John Cassavetes, and one well-known RW talk radio host who liked sitting at the counter.

    Parent

    Never been to Juniors... (none / 0) (#19)
    by kdog on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 11:32:23 AM EST
    I'm not a cheesecake person, and thats what they're famous for...I hear the food isn't anything to write home about, or at least anymore.

    Uncle Lou was a peddler eh?  Thats what my great-grandfather did for a living when he first immigrated from Lebanon to VA...horse drawn carriage peddling pots and pans.

    Parent

    Me, neither (none / 0) (#16)
    by Zorba on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 11:19:28 AM EST
    Never got a chance to go when Ratner's was open.  Have you tried the bagels at Tal Bagels?  Really great!  (You can't get decent bagels anywhere but New York.)  And the smoked fish at Russ and Daughters......Oh, boy, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

    Parent
    Yeah... (none / 0) (#20)
    by kdog on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 11:45:25 AM EST
    15 minutes to lunch, I'm gonna score me some pastrami piled high on rye, a knish, and a kosher dill!

    It won't be Katz's, but there's a decent jewish deli up the road.

    Parent

    No real travel worries for Bush (none / 0) (#10)
    by jbindc on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 10:43:09 AM EST
    Despite CCR and HRW's "indictment":

    European law enforcement officials and other experts say the chances of George W. Bush being arrested on war crimes charges in Switzerland--or anyplace else on the continent--are almost nil.

    Headlines and assertions by human rights groups that the former president risked a "possible arrest warrant" if he traveled to Geneva to give a speech this weekend were overblown, those with direct experience in such matters said.

    SNIP

    But John Dinges, author of "The Condor Years: How Pinochet and his Allies Brought Terrorism to Three Continents," pointed out that Bush had to be indicted somewhere before he could be arrested--which leaves him little cause for worry.

    "Bush is in good company. There are more than 300 South American military officers who have Interpol extradition warrants," said Dinges, who is also the Godfrey Lowell Cabot Professor of Journalism at Columbia University.

    "The difference is that Bush has not been indicted anywhere--unlike most of the officers wanted in the human rights cases. Until that happens, I don't think this will change Bush's ability to travel."
    That's some "good company" all right... (none / 0) (#39)
    by sj on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 01:48:53 PM EST
    ... not.

    Bush is in good company. There are more than 300 South American military officers who have Interpol extradition warrants," said Dinges


    Parent
    Virginia Senate seat lost to GOP in 2012 (none / 0) (#15)
    by shoephone on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 11:18:21 AM EST
    Webb says he's not running for re-election.

    Welcome back to George the Bigot.

    No surprise (none / 0) (#18)
    by jbindc on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 11:29:39 AM EST
    He can read the tea leaves.  All those people who thought Virginia had permanently turned blue were delusional.

    Parent
    I doubt anyone thought VA (none / 0) (#24)
    by shoephone on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 11:55:21 AM EST
    had permanently turned blue -- at least, no one I know. But a lot of gains were made in 2006 that gave people hope the direction might start turning if we kept running strong candidates in places like VA and MO.

    Parent
    well (none / 0) (#30)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 12:19:59 PM EST
    actually there were plenty of cultists who believed that but most reasonable people didn't.

    Parent
    In other words (none / 0) (#31)
    by shoephone on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 12:23:58 PM EST
    people on the fringe believed it. Like you said, reasonable people (the majority, BTW) did not.

    Parent
    I'm not sure (5.00 / 2) (#37)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 01:36:14 PM EST
    it was the fringe of the party that believe it. There were a lot of cultists that completely bought the snake oil Obama was selling. The irony now though is some of them are his worst critics.

    Parent
    Cultists=Fringe (none / 0) (#41)
    by shoephone on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 02:09:52 PM EST
    By definition.

    Parent
    Furthermore (none / 0) (#42)
    by shoephone on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 02:11:22 PM EST
    Obama had nothing to do with the 2006 Senate elections. Webb won VA in 2006. So can we stick to facts, please?

    Parent
    No (5.00 / 1) (#45)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 02:30:17 PM EST
    I'm not talking about 2006. I'm talking about what happened in 2008 and how Obama was supposed to turn VA permanently blue and people like Webb would have no problem getting reelected. And in 2008 I think the senate race helped Obama with Mark warner being so popular and he won't have that in '12.

    So I am sticking to facts but honestly the party seemed to be overrun with these "cultists" back in '08.

    Parent

    I remember (5.00 / 1) (#47)
    by jeffinalabama on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 02:41:14 PM EST
    reading those proclamations, too, Ga6thDem.

    Parent
    oh noooooo..... (none / 0) (#22)
    by ruffian on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 11:50:53 AM EST
    I wonder who the Dem candidate will be? someone has to beat that fool. He is dangerously dumb.

    Parent
    Tim Kaine? (none / 0) (#25)
    by jbindc on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 12:03:06 PM EST


    Parent
    Maybe. My other thought was Tery McCaulliffe (none / 0) (#28)
    by ruffian on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 12:18:07 PM EST
    Maybe he will try again

    Parent
    I'd prefer TMac to (5.00 / 1) (#32)
    by brodie on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 12:29:24 PM EST
    TKaine.  Mac, who I agree isn't every liberal's cup of tea, would at least bring some personality, pizzazz and energy to the effort, while Kaine is not exactly Mr Electricity.  And Mac can fundraise sufficient to always be competitive.  

    Also, unlike some timid Dem pols, he's not afraid -- at least judging by his time as DNC chairman during the 2004 pres'l race -- to go after the opponent's sensitive spots.  

    Parent

    Not my cup of tea for sure (none / 0) (#40)
    by sj on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 01:49:10 PM EST
    ... and yet Terry Mac is no punching bag.  It could work.

    Parent
    I'm with you. (none / 0) (#46)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 02:32:30 PM EST
    While Terry Mac isn't perfect, he certainly isn't the milquetoast Tim Kaine is. BTW, do you know when Kaine is leaving? His tenure has been horrendous and shows the downside of putting someone in a position just because they endorsed you early.

    Parent
    Kaine beats Allen in current PPP poll (none / 0) (#48)
    by MKS on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 03:05:38 PM EST
    The Dems have a chance of holding this seat.

    Parent
    Won't be in a vacuum (none / 0) (#49)
    by jbindc on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 03:28:07 PM EST
    Obama's on the ticket in 2012 remember.  And right now, he's at 44% in Viriginia, which is lower than his approval nationally.

    Parent
    Obama helps the ticket by boosting (none / 0) (#52)
    by MKS on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 05:25:25 PM EST
    turnout.

    Obama currently leads the field in Virginia, according to PPP.

    The polls clearly could change.  But right now, Obama would win Virginia by at least 5 points.

    Parent

    And PPP concludes (none / 0) (#53)
    by MKS on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 05:32:08 PM EST
    in the site listed above:

    It's also worth noting that these polls were all conducted before Obama's recent popularity surge. If Obama had to stand for reelection today he'd get pretty much the same number of electoral votes he did in 2008. The Republican candidates have a long way to go to have any chance of winning the Presidency back in 2012.

    Obama will likely find a way to win re-election (barring some catastrophe such as a double dip recession).  The more interesting question is what that would mean for liberals and progressives.

    Parent

    On the other hand, approval ratings (none / 0) (#55)
    by Towanda on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 07:04:49 PM EST
    for Obama have gone down again in Gallup polls to pre-state of the union levels.  More evidence that polls are useless now (and in general?).

    Parent
    Looks like some California Researchers... (none / 0) (#21)
    by kdog on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 11:50:42 AM EST
    won't be satisfied till tobacco possession is treated like crack possession, or enriched uranium possession...and smokers are tarred, feathered, and shot.

    Third Hand Smoke?  Can't wait to see what they come up with for Fourth Hand.  

    Linkie didnt work. (none / 0) (#23)
    by jeffinalabama on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 11:54:35 AM EST
    I wanted to read that one.

    Parent
    Here ya go (none / 0) (#26)
    by waldenpond on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 12:07:48 PM EST
    Third hand smoke

    Parent
    Thanks for the assist waldenpond... (5.00 / 1) (#38)
    by kdog on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 01:39:10 PM EST
    And what Towanda said.

    If you break it down far enough, the earth is just one big poison pill...get used to rolling the dice, or invest in a plastic bubble a la Bubbleboy.

    Parent

    Oh, goodie. I'll sue the previous owner (none / 0) (#36)
    by Towanda on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 01:23:42 PM EST
    of my home, owned for 40 years by a heavy smoker.

    Oops, he's dead.  (Not from smoking but from secondhand drinking -- killed by a drunk driver.)

    So I'll sue his descendants.  And I'll just ignore the fact that the home is in a high-traffic area with thousands of vehicles spewing exhaust, so much so that we get constant ozone warnings.  I'll blame those on the heavy smoker, too.

    Parent

    Hardcore Beatles fans (none / 0) (#29)
    by brodie on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 12:19:20 PM EST
    who live in the L.A. area might want to check out this Friday screening from the Cinémathèque Américaine of the Fab Four's first US concert -- now after 47 yrs available on original high-quality b&w video and not the lousy kinescope film version previously distributed.  

    Egyptian Theater in Hollywood.  Opening pre-taped performances from the Beach Boys and Lesley Gore.

    More's the pity (snk), I already (none / 0) (#33)
    by oculus on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 12:39:40 PM EST
    have a ticket to hear Joyce DiDonato sing a voice recital in Santa Monica.

    Parent
    According to Drudge via Politico (none / 0) (#34)
    by oculus on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 12:40:23 PM EST
    via . . . Rep. Giffords asked for toast when staff served her breakfast this a.m.

    Tuesday Night Open Thread | 55 comments (55 topical)

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