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Thursday Open Thread

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 12:57:40 PM EST
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Here's a new open thread, all topics welcome.

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    Thursday Open Thread | 194 comments (194 topical)

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    From the last open thread, FWIW (5.00 / 2) (#1)
    by Reconstructionist on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 01:16:31 PM EST
      The Pew study and punditfact report (it's not a study in any real sense of the word) were measuring two very different things

    PEW did a survey to determine to what extent the various media personalities are trusted by the population.

    Punditfact claims to be measuring to what extent the media personalities are truthful or untruthful.

      Those are two very different things and I would tend to doubt that actual truthfulness is closely correlated with level of trust.

      I'd also note that Even if two were equally trusted and also equally untruthful as validly measured, the good or bad that flows from that would not be equal. Someone with twice the audience and whose audience is more devoted and passionate would have a far greater impact than someone with equal truthful/trusted scores.

    Anyone Else Wonder... (5.00 / 2) (#2)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 01:38:07 PM EST
    ...if these threads that blow up into... large disputes, are sometimes created when the open threads fill up and people just want to post something.  Often, getting pulled into something they wouldn't if there was an open thread.

    IMO the 200 limit, isn't enough as readership increases, or appears to have increased.

    Someone once accused me of posting last minute just so no one could reply.  That never occurred to me, but I am aware that if I want to discuss something, that I won't post in a thread over say 170.  For the record, I have never posted in hopes no one could reply, that defeats the entire purpose of any blog.

    I dunno (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by CST on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 01:41:31 PM EST
    it's not like the open threads don't blow up into large disputes as well.

    I think these are just hot button issues that people feel strongly about.

    Parent

    And...... (5.00 / 4) (#5)
    by kdog on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 01:48:27 PM EST
    some people simply enjoy a more combative & argumentative style of debate/conversation.

    I am not one of those people...I'd never make it in an Italian family;)

    Parent

    Or a Greek one, (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by Zorba on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 01:58:04 PM EST
    for that matter, kdog.    ;-)

    Parent
    Touche!... (none / 0) (#9)
    by kdog on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 02:14:02 PM EST
    Can't relate, as Colin Sullivan said about the Irish..."I'm f*cking Irish, I'll deal with something being wrong for the rest of my life and not say a f*cking word!" ;)


    Parent
    something about the internet (none / 0) (#8)
    by CST on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 02:03:45 PM EST
    brings out the troll in people I think.

    I'm definitely more argumentative online then I am in person.  Sometimes something someone writes can rub you the wrong way, could even be for a completely unrelated personal reason, and it's much easier to take it out on some "stranger" on a blog than it is if you were having a conversation in real life.

    Parent

    No doubt... (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by kdog on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 02:16:54 PM EST
    I'm definitely more outspoken on TL, if not argumentative (I hope).  Where as in brick and mortal circles I'm much more likely to shrug my shoulders and just say "f*ck it, whadyya gonna do?".  

    There's a reason any reputable bar or pub prohibits discussions or religion or politics...alotta people just can't handle it without losing their sh*t and taking it personal.

    Parent

    I can assure everyone here (5.00 / 1) (#17)
    by Slado on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:05:48 PM EST
    if you had a conversation with me in person I'm just as argumentative.

    Not sure if that's good or bad.  

    :)

    Parent

    Ditto (none / 0) (#31)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:36:21 PM EST
    maybe more so.

    Parent
    Slado, I think we all know this fact... (none / 0) (#164)
    by fishcamp on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 09:13:47 PM EST


    Parent
    Not me (none / 0) (#68)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 08:56:25 PM EST
    I am always sweet and lovable.

    :-)

    Parent

    You're the most even-tempered (5.00 / 3) (#96)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 09:51:49 AM EST
    person I know.

    You're mean all the time.  :-0

    Parent

    Threads are limited to 200 comments (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 01:44:06 PM EST
    because longer threads make the site run very s l o w l y . . .

    Parent
    If the tread is over 100 (none / 0) (#11)
    by Wile ECoyote on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 02:53:40 PM EST
    I stop reading it.  It seems to degenerate into insults, generally.

    Parent
    our very own (none / 0) (#12)
    by CST on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 03:06:51 PM EST
    TL hipster :)

    Parent
    I prefer not commenting (5.00 / 2) (#29)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:35:00 PM EST
    UNTIL there is 100 comments.  You know, make an entrance.

    Parent
    That's a good point, and I agree. (none / 0) (#21)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:12:53 PM EST
    From my perspective, I've oftentimes posted information or stories that I've found interesting and / or important, simply because I thought it might be worthwhile for others here to know about it. I'm not necessarily looking for replies or validation, or even to start a general conversation about it.

    One example from yesterday was my post about the belated criminal convictions of the four Blackwater security personnel who perpetrated a civilian massacre of civilians in Baghdad's Nisour Square back in Sept. 2007.

    Seven years ago, in the midst of our military occupation of Iraq, the Nisour Square massacre was a huge story -- today, probably not so much. But I still thought it important, because I remember that there were a lot of people back then who were absolutely certain that these guys were going to walk and not even be charged. That ultimately proved to not be the case, given their convictions, and I felt that yesterday's news finally brought that story full circle and could even provide some small sense of closure for some people.

    So, I guess my advice to everyone here would be that if something interests you and you feel like sharing or commenting, then by all means please do so, and don't worry about how full that day's Open Thread happens to be. If yours is Post No. 193 and someone wants to discuss it with you, that 200-comment limit is his / her problem and not yours.

    Because of the significant time difference between Hawaii and the U.S. mainland -- I'm five hours behind you in Texas, and six hours behind everyone back east -- I often come online long after the rest of you have probably called it a day and turned in for the night. More often than not, the open threads are either full or almost so.

    But I still read the comments anyway, because a lot of you offer insight, information, (recipes!) and assorted links to articles, video and material that I might not otherwise have seen and known about. I'm not just here to be a bombthrower -- even though my finger's admittedly still on the switch for those bomb bay doors, just in case I see something that I think needs some blowin' up real good.

    Aloha. ;-D

    Parent

    Sam Harris (5.00 / 1) (#20)
    by Slado on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:10:44 PM EST
    Very interesting discussion on TYT Network between Sam Harris and Cenk Uygur were Sam Harris lays out his ponit very clearly and defends his postions quite well.   They over the Maher debate in much detail because it's 3 hours long.

    Even at 3 hours long it's very interesting.

    YouTube

    RIP, Raphael Ravenscroft (1954 - 2014). (5.00 / 3) (#45)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 05:17:07 PM EST
    I think that anyone who's ever been mesmerized by those marvelous extended saxophone solos on the late Gerry Rafferty's smash 1978 hit "Baker Street" probably asks the same question -- "Who's that wailing on the sax?"

    Rahpael Ravenscroft, 60, died last Sunday of an apparent heart attack at home in England.

    Ravenscroft was paid a flat fee of £27 -- the equivalent of $50.75 at 1978 exchange rates -- for his work on Rafferty's "City to City" album, which includes his now-legendary "Baker Street" riffs. The check reportedly bounced.

    But as his daughter Scarlett Raven noted on the BBC -- sorry, no link to the audio interview -- while "Baker Street" may have made Rafferty a fortune (Rafferty died in 2011, but the song still pulls down $150,000 in annual royalties), it also served to kick-start her father's own musical career, and he went on to become a very successful solo and session musician.

    I'll leave you with some more Ravenscroft sax riffs from "City to City" (which I actually like even better than "Baker Street") -- "Island."

    Aloha.

    There really are (5.00 / 5) (#48)
    by NYShooter on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 05:28:57 PM EST
    a lot of pretty smart people here at TL, and, a plethora of truly interesting things going on in the world. I would love to, for instance, discuss & debate the ominous direction some Silicon Valley Billionaires, and, their Companies have decided to take.

    For instance:

    What do the elections of India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and, Ukraine's President, Petro Poroshenko, have in common? Answer: Pierre Omidyar.

    So, why is this multi-billionaire running around the globe, pouring huge chunks of his wealth in support of up, and coming, Oligarchs? And, he's not just donating money, he's actively involved in the nuts & bolts of running their campaigns.

    And, why did Google's founders, Sergey Brin & Larry Page, whose motto was, "don't be evil," recently drop that slogan from all Company stationary?

    Answer: Maybe their decision to steer their Corporate financial support to certain "philanthropic" organizations had something to do with it. Groups like:  Grover Norquist's, "Americans for Tax Reform," "The Federalist Society," the "American Conservative Union," and, the "Heritage Foundation," best known for leading the charge to shut down the government over the Affordable Care Act:

    What new group does Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe, Intuit, Pixar, and, many more Silicon Valley firms belong to?

    Answer: They are all co-defendants in a massive wage/theft conspiracy, class action lawsuit.

    It seems they all, allegedly, conspired to keep industry wages down by, secretly, agreeing to not solicit each other's technical workers. More than 100,000 employees were affected, and, potential damages are estimated to reach in excess of 9 Billion dollars. Read some of the conversations these CEO's had with each other regarding how to screw their own employees; you'll never think of Steve Jobs the same way again. Or, maybe you would.

    LINK

    Last question (for tonight): Is anybody else a little spooked with  Jeff Bezos buying the Washington Post?

    Answer: I am (but, don't know why)

    And, these are just a couple of the things going on out there. I don't know, I find them fascinating, more so that they're hardly ever discussed in any of the usual media.

    I am really interested in all this stuff (5.00 / 1) (#98)
    by ruffian on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 09:54:41 AM EST
    being in the tech industry, though not in that stratosphere. I usually read up on these things on the weekend.

    All industries pretty well regulate the pay scales in their industries - but these guys took it to a new level with the 'do not poach'  agreements. I'm sure it did not apply to high level executives, who seem free to move around and increase their salaries.

    I'm not spooked by Bezos...yet....maybe because I have not liked the WaPo for a long time and have not devoted a lot of thought to it.


    Parent

    Monica Lewinsky - More heavy-handedness (5.00 / 2) (#78)
    by Green26 on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 10:43:31 PM EST
    by prosecutors. From the old days, but just publicized. Despicable how she was treated, in my view. There ought to be a law against this.

    Washington Post.

    Agreed. . (5.00 / 3) (#189)
    by KeysDan on Sat Oct 25, 2014 at 02:19:50 PM EST
    It is difficult to reconcile the text of the Special Counsel Report with its conclusion that Professional Conduct was not committed.  The lesser findings of Poor Judgment and Mistakes, while not insignificant conclusions, do not match the body of the report.

    All of Ken Starr's OIC team was way off on expectations for professional conduct.  And, it was "all" including Ken Starr, himself.  Michael Emmick, the self-described "speaker" for the Lewinsky interview debacle, was beyond the pale---constant and premeditated  trickery and deceit to deny Monica Lewinsky 's repeated requests to call her attorney (or mother) goes beyond poor judgement or mistake.  In fact, it fits snuggly into criteria for professional misconduct.

    The Report rationalizes Emmick's disingenuous claims of not hearing a key request, not because it was not said, or he was not there, but because he was probably focused on the next question he was planning on asking Ms. Lewinsky.    It is understandable why this report was "buried."    

    Moreover, as was clearly noted in a reading of Ken Gormley's "Clinton v Starr," (2010),   the young Monica Lewinsky out-witted and out-foxed these unethical Keystone cops.

    And, the hiring of the bombastic William Ginsberg as her attorney by her father kept Starr's team off balance for the critical next few months of their investigation. If Starr's team had permitted Lewinsky to call her attorney,Frank Carter, a more conventional D.C. trial lawyer, a different legal course may have followed.

     I have always felt that that piece of the Lewinsky affair (from the run up to, and the interview at the Pentagon City Ritz Carlton, would make a good television thriller.)

    Parent

    Ugh! How to convince Rox to come in . . . (5.00 / 3) (#80)
    by nycstray on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 02:21:25 AM EST
    and leave her fresh kill outside . . .  

    Why, oh, why does she always do this at midnight when I have an early meeting . . . and nothing to drink in the house?! I'm so not good at this. . . .  

    :(

    Ha (5.00 / 1) (#82)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 08:23:43 AM EST
    a couple of nights ago I had to take a possum away from the dogs.  Fortunately it was not permanently damaged.  It had played "possum" had allowed them to play keep away with it.  So I was able to send it on its way.  
    But now I can't get the dogs to come it at night.  They have to STAND GUARD.   And protect the yard from any nefarious evil possums.  

    Parent
    My vet said possums carry more fleas than raccoons (none / 0) (#83)
    by fishcamp on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 09:01:26 AM EST
    both of which live in my neighborhood and probably yours too.

    Parent
    This year (none / 0) (#85)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 09:12:43 AM EST
    i have been using a oral flea medication called NexGard.

    It works miraculously well.  I have had terrible flea problems the last couple of years so when this came out I tried it.  I have a great vet who says it's very safe and it works.

    No flea worries here.

    I was more worried about other things the little critter might be carrying.

    Parent

    Once I Got Flees... (none / 0) (#87)
    by ScottW714 on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 09:17:35 AM EST
    ...in my old place, on the 5th floor of a high rise and I have to evacuate for 2 days.  I didn't have a dog at the time and I was so p1ssed, they are disguising.

    Apparently using the service elevator, which was designated for the pooches, was not the best idea I ever had.  The problem is that same elevator is the one used to for moving in/out.

    I have had dogs most of my life and never had them, except for that 3 or 4 year stretch dog free, yet that is when I got flees.  

    Either really good luck, not bad luck, either way once someone else told me I had them, I could see them everywhere jumping around and realized all those itchy spots under my socks were flee bites.

    The building paid for the fumigation after I through a bit of a fit.

    Don't get me wrong, I love dogs, it's the owners that I have issues with from time to time.

    Parent

    Not easy to get rid of (none / 0) (#93)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 09:28:30 AM EST
    they are not.

    Parent
    There were def fleas (none / 0) (#106)
    by nycstray on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 10:18:50 AM EST
    Rox has a tight white (and black) coat, so you can see them. She got a de-flea before bed. CA has the worst effin' fleas, and they are really bad this year. The wild animals cruising the yard makes it worse . . .

    Thankfully, the 'coons have stayed out of my yard so far (no run ins anyway!), and there has only been one skunk cruising around a couple summers ago.

    Parent

    Fleas aren't the only thing nasty about raccoons. (none / 0) (#119)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 12:10:51 PM EST
    They are scrappy devils when feeling threatened, and can deliver a vicious bite. My aunt's dog learned that the hard way a few years ago when curiosity got the better of him and he got too close to several juveniles in the backyard, and their alarmed mother naturally charged him. Nothing life-threatening for sure, but my aunt says it was enough of a scare that he now gives them a wide berth when he sees them outside.

    Parent
    Our possum encounter in June (none / 0) (#86)
    by ruffian on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 09:16:35 AM EST
    around 3 am on a Saturday morning

    Like yours, the possum was not interested in playing, no matter how much it was barked at and nudged. I managed to lure the dogs away with treats, locked them inside, and prayed the possum would leave by 'real' morning! It did!

    More recently there were ducks right outside the fence driving Giuger nuts - scared them away with the flashlight.

    Parent

    Can't remember if I have shared this (none / 0) (#90)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 09:25:16 AM EST
    before-welcome to your 6th decade-

    One of the last times I was at the vet there was a woman with a pet possum.  She said that her dogs had killed one who had a baby which she raised.  Unbelievable it was the cutest thing I have ever seen.  They always look so nasty in the wild you can't tell what a gorgeous coat they have. Adorable little hands and button eyes.  I held her and played with her for a log time.

    One thing.  On the wild their hairless tail is about the size of your finger.  This one was plump and the tail was the size of your arm and horrifying.
    It didn't really look like a tail at all ifyouknowwhatimean.

    I was, like, agh it's wrapping it's...thing....around my arm!!
    The lady says, '"tail, SHE is wrapping HER tail around your arm'
     

    Parent

    The photo is Great (none / 0) (#94)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 09:43:33 AM EST
    i could have taken the same photo.   At first I was, like, what the he11 is THAT?

    Parent
    Thanks! Yeah, I really had to get up close to see (5.00 / 1) (#100)
    by ruffian on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 09:59:08 AM EST
    what it even was. And I really could not tell if it was dead or alive. Laid awake for another hour worrying about how I would dispose of the body in the morning before letting the dogs out.

    Love your possum at the vet story. My sister had a cat that was a feral kitten that was raised by possums right outside her apartment. They played together all the time, and my sister eventually came to think of the possums as cute. Eventually the possums moved on, but she kept the kitten.

    I still think they are icky!!!!

    Parent

    I was just relieved (none / 0) (#102)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 10:07:46 AM EST
    to find it was not "half" of something.

    Parent
    Last time I saw a possum was ... (none / 0) (#161)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 08:13:59 PM EST
    ... last year in my mother's garage in Pasadena, when we arrived back home from dinner. It was an adult and when I tried to chase it out of the garage, it stood its ground and really hissed at me violently. We decided to go inside and leave the garage door open, in the hope that it would eventually leave, which it did.

    I don't recall ever really seeing all many possums when I grew up there, just an occasional sighting. The most common animals I remember were raccoons and skunks. We also had squirrels and lots of bats, which apparently roosted in the roof of the decrepit old gymnasium at our nearby high school. That old barn has since been torn down and a new gym built in its place, so I don't see that many bats anymore when I go back home.

    One time we had a baseball game on the road, and when we got on the school bus to head out, we evidently startled a bat which had been resting inside. The poor thing just flew back and forth in a panic, up and down the aisle of the bus, while some of my teammates were just as freaked out and screamed like banshees every time it flew by. The driver left the front door open and it finally flew out and away. Christ, that was funny.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    around here, I have a semi trained (none / 0) (#162)
    by fishcamp on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 08:33:56 PM EST
    possum to come at night, and eat the iguana remains, the cats leave, on the porch.  thought you all would like that story.  needless to say I have more gory tales...really gory, headless horsemen type stories, but true ones, from American Sportsman shows...puma roundups with dogs, salt eating elephants, in caves, monkey eating eagles in borneo...and more.

    Parent
    forgot to mention the (5.00 / 1) (#163)
    by fishcamp on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 08:37:39 PM EST
    giant squid show, and the bear show and, of course several shark shows.

    Parent
    Some people... (none / 0) (#191)
    by sj on Sat Oct 25, 2014 at 07:18:41 PM EST
    ...have all the lives.

    Parent
    I loved my older dog just deciding to (5.00 / 1) (#101)
    by ruffian on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 10:00:47 AM EST
    lay down next to the possum until it decided to do something. He is very patient!

    Parent
    By the time I realized what was going on (none / 0) (#104)
    by nycstray on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 10:14:15 AM EST
    I just left it up to Rox. She's more efficient than I would be if it was critically injured . . .  and she is FAST.

    I finally got her back in after about 40minutes. Luckily I had some flea spray, because I could see a couple cruising her white fur . . . then after getting her settled, I had the lovely chore of disposing the body . . .

    I thought something wild had been cruising the yard because she had been scent trailing at night for about a week. I was hoping she was just picking up random cat scents. Sigh.

    And of course she wanted to bring her new toy in . . . :P

    Parent

    Of course! It must be brought into the house (none / 0) (#105)
    by ruffian on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 10:16:40 AM EST
    as a treasure. I had a lizard body in the den this morning.

    Parent
    If Rox kills lizards (none / 0) (#108)
    by nycstray on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 10:26:40 AM EST
    she must be eating them :P

    You should see the door negotiations when Rox has a fresh fuzzy stuffie, lol!~

    Parent

    If possible (none / 0) (#107)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 10:23:08 AM EST
    i recommend considering a fence with a mesh large enough to keep the dogs in but let the wild things out.  I have always had chain link which led to about one furry fatality a week.  Now they usually just sail thru the fence to safety.
    Possums don't sail well.

    Parent
    Yes, that is what mine is...vertical bars, like (none / 0) (#109)
    by ruffian on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 10:31:54 AM EST
    a pool fence. Some smaller critters can get in, but they can get out too!

    Parent
    The yard is enclosed with a wood (none / 0) (#110)
    by nycstray on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 10:38:54 AM EST
    privacy fence . . . :/

     

    Parent

    Worth Reposting (5.00 / 4) (#84)
    by ScottW714 on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 09:03:52 AM EST
    A similar comment was deleted because it was in reply to one of jim's mini-manifestos that was deleted.  This is in reply to jim's belief that the tea party is a real party:

    The tea party, as I have said time and time again, is not a legitimate party, simply a division of the republican party.  No race has tea party and republican party candidates, primaries are not races.  No tea party member has anything behind their name but an 'R'.  Even the tea party jesus, Ted Cruz, is labeled with an 'R' on Fox News and the O'Reilly Factor.  HERE & HERE.

    It's a myth, a fantasy that the tea party is something different than the republican party.  It's simply an a bunch of grumpy old people who are too ashamed to admit they voted for the worse President ever, GWB, twice.

    We have (5.00 / 1) (#91)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 09:27:51 AM EST
    tea party candidates running here in GA as independents but they only run as independents after they lose the primary. Pretty much they are the George Wallaces of the new millennium.

    Parent
    Well, in its own way, It IS a real party. (none / 0) (#128)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 04:10:28 PM EST
    Just think of the Tea Party as the political equivalent of a Friday night multi-kegger at a local college frathouse.

    Because just like drunken fratboys, tea partiers aren't exactly a font of coherence and common sense at this point, and they're really much more enamored with the idea of breaking things into smithereens than with planning for the future.

    ;-D

    Parent

    Youth sports (5.00 / 2) (#112)
    by Slado on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 11:26:04 AM EST
    With an 8, 7 and 5 year old I am entering in full the crazy Saturdays and weeknights of yourth sports.

    The following link discusses a phenomenon that I live daily but try my best to participate in.

    Race to Nowhere in youth sports

    With three kids even if they only play one sport at a time it's already hectic.

    My oldest had the good fortune to get on a good team in soccer this year and the coach had a set of twins on the team.  She proceeded to inform my wife that her sons played in another travel league and my son while no star would be a good fit for the other league.   I then asked my wife (who was a very good player in HS) if she thought playing in two leagues simultaneously might be a bit much for the family.   She said yeah but it's a great league and it would help him get better.    I rarely put my foot down but on this I did.  I used this opportunity to lay down a house rule.   One league, one sport.   Meaning we don't do more then one sport or more then one league at a time.

    I'm not sure when all this craziness started but as someone who played HS and College Basketball 20 years ago I can assure you it was nothing like this when I was a kid.   I didn't play organized basketball until the 6th grade and it was in my dopey Catholic grade school team and we played an 8 game season and practiced once a week after school.   No trainer, no travel teams nothing.   Then I started playing in HS and I didn't even play varsity until my junior year.   But then something magical happened.  I grew 5 inches, gained 20lbs and all of a sudden I had college scholarship offers.    

    My point being is if you are a DI athlete you were born that way.   The talent is there and a good coach and little hard work combined with the most important thing, a personal will to be good will bring it out of you.   You are not going to develop into one in the 4th grade by playing in multiple basketball leagues etc...and getting a personal trainer.

    One of the big phenomenons in baseball these days is pitchers blowing their arms out in their early 20's.   They are starting to think it is because unlike 20 years ago kids play baseball year round and throw thousands of pitches as youths that they never used to throw back in the day.   Donald can probably speak to this but in the good old days the pitcher that got drafted was also the start o the Basketball team and most likely the starting QB on the football team.  IE he was the best athlete in the school and probably the country or city he lived in.

    He was good from playing baseball as a kid sure, but he was also just born a great athlete.

    Interested in other peoples thoughts on this.  It is a real problem in society today as kids get dragged across the country to play in dopey tournaments for the enjoyment of their parents.

    12 & 15 y/o boys here. (5.00 / 1) (#118)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 12:01:03 PM EST
    Football in the fall and track in the spring, now. We had them drop winter basketball, although the younger wants to add parkour this winter.

    They both love sports and activity, and they are both solid athletes but not stars. I tell them almost no athletes play tackle football after HS, so play for the joy of the game. It goes by so quickly.

    Clay Mathews, hot shot linebacker for the Packers, went to my kids' HS. He didn't even play football until his Jr. year, which is when he also grew about 6" and 50-60 lbs. Of course his dad was a pro, so there's that.

    My neighbor's son was the #2 ranked pitcher in the state of CA when he graduated about 8-9 years ago. If he was a lefty he'd have made it into the bigs years ago, but he's making a living, for a young single guy, in the minors.

    I tell my kids to study hard because academics is the most likely route they will have for college.

    Parent

    Well (none / 0) (#115)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 11:35:35 AM EST
    I think it can be somewhat of a problem. And the parents that are in these leagues can even be a bigger problem. My oh, my I can see many a child sitting in a counselor's office as an adult discussing sports. I put my oldest son in baseball for fun but not everybody was into "fun". It was about winning and losing and who got on the traveling teams and who struck out etc. One time a fight broke out amongst the parents of two players.

    But I agree that one team is enough. Friends of mine have put their kids on traveling teams but they pretty much had to give up all other teams and sports to do it simply because there is not enough time to do schoolwork and anything else if you are doing two teams. With the just the traveling team their schedules are slammed full it would seem and here in Atlanta it's really not as bad as a lot of other places because there are enough teams to play locally. My cousin's daughter was on a traveling softball team and it was hours and hours of traveling every week because they lived in Augusta so there was only one other team there for them to play.

    Parent

    When I Was in School... (none / 0) (#122)
    by ScottW714 on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 02:33:25 PM EST
    ...if you played sports, you generally played three, fall, winter, and spring.  For me it was football, swimming, and track.  Tried baseball and basketball but never a good fit even though I was 6'3" in HS.  Never good at football, but didn't matter because athletes played a sport all year and I sure as hell wasn't down with cross-country, the only alternative.

    But we had a bus take us home; parents only obligation was buying gear and home games/meets.

    This business where parents are being overwhelmed is so foreign to me as I would have never played any sports with my absentee parents, ditto for my brother, and that would be a real shame as they were a lot of fun and good for us not to be in front of a TV.

    I don't like the notion that if you don't have the support system it takes you might not be able to participate in organized sports.

    Parent

    My grandsons went to a (5.00 / 3) (#129)
    by MO Blue on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 04:14:46 PM EST
    fairly affluent public school. Kids were bused in from much poorer neighborhoods. The schools and the neighborhood parents found ways to provide the support system needed so that all kids who made the teams and wanted to play, could do so.

    At times the support system involved cab rides (special negotiated rates) back home after events, kids staying at homes in the neighborhood and having dinner etc. between games and including them in car pools for out of town events.

    Not sure anymore how the inner city schools handle the logistics but I do know they normally field really competitive teams.

    Having said that, the time, energy and expense that parents have to expend for their kids to participate in sports is down right crazy.

    I remember a time when I stayed with my grandsons while their parents were out of town. I never quit running them to and from their events even with car pooling help. I was exhausted. I remember telling my daughter, that each boy needed a minimum of two parents just to keep up with them.      

    Parent

    Lacrosse is big now in some schools (none / 0) (#126)
    by ZtoA on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 03:48:56 PM EST
    My daughter, two nieces and nephew (they live one block away from me and we are all very close) all played lacrosse in HS. My nieces continued to play thru college. They are all very tall (tallest is my nephew pushing 6'7". But lacrosse was their big thing. The girls were all allowed to play as long as they got only As and an occasional B. But no limits or any rewards could get my nephew's grades up over Ds and Cs. He's very smart, but never turned in his homework.

    I could never follow the sport. I could hardly ever actually see the ball. It's played on a big field and the action is fast. My nieces were/are so good - both were HS lacrosse stars. They even competed against each other for a couple of playoff games in college - different schools in so Cal.

    My brother-in-law spent so much time coaching, watching, and cheering on his kids on the field.

    Parent

    Agreed. If you were a good athlete in school, ... (none / 0) (#151)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 06:26:01 PM EST
    ... then you probably had the jump on other kids in terms of natural physical coordination, including hand-eye. While practice does definitely improve your athletic skills, I believe that you're either predisposed genetically to be a natural athlete or you're not.

    When Elder Daughter was in 9th grade and a budding volleyball prospect, we were strongly advised that if she was at all serious about playing at the collegiate level (which she was), she should focus solely on the sport at the club level because that's where the college recruiters were likely to see her, and to forgo playing for her high school team. So she did, but that proved to be a lot of commitment and considerable expense on our part, too, because it involved travel to multiple tournaments on the U.S. mainland -- and that all came out of pocket.

    As for myself, in addition to baseball I also played high school football, but to be perfectly honest I wasn't nearly as good in that sport so I didn't start, which was fine with me. It probably had something to do with the fact that I never really enjoyed getting hit hard and repeatedly knocked down; I merely tolerated it.

    When I played high school baseball, we started practice in January and the season ended in mid-June. Our head coach was really big on drilling us relentlessly in fundamentals such as fielding, throwing, catching, running, bunting, etc. It hardly made for very exciting practices, but come game time, we were fundamentally sound and tended not to make many errors. If you were going to win against us, then you had to beat us, because we weren't going to beat ourselves.

    I was never a pitcher except in in my early Little League years, but I do remember our HS coaches limiting the number of throws our pitchers would make in practice prior to a scheduled start, and this was in the days before tracking the pitch count was recognized as the necessity it's become today.

    Another big difference between then and now is that back in the 1970s, we played a full nine-inning game in high school. Now, I don't know about other locales, but out here in Hawaii starting in the mid-1990s, the length of high school baseball games were reduced to seven innings. Personally, I happen to think that's probably a good thing.

    My own baseball abilities became college prospect material once I shot up from 5'4" / 125 lbs. to 6'0" / 170 lbs. during my 10th grade year. For that, I credit my late HS coach, who was very good at working with boys between the ages of 14 to 18, a period when their bodies change markedly.

    When coaching us, he observed closely how we threw (and ran) naturally, and then he simply worked with what we had, constantly getting us to adjust our batting stances, physical positions on the field, etc., accordingly as we grew in size. And he never, ever attempted to turn us into something we weren't. Not every good batter is going to be able to slug for power, and not ever good pitcher can hurl a 95 mph fastball.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Another school shooting (5.00 / 1) (#123)
    by jbindc on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 03:08:26 PM EST
    in Seattle. 2 dead, including the gunman.

    Finally found some statement made by (5.00 / 2) (#125)
    by MO Blue on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 03:42:16 PM EST
    Stephan King that I could agree with entirely.

    Steve King: I 'Don't Expect' To Meet Gays In Heaven

    IMO it would be impossible for King to meet anyone in heaven since I doubt he would ever get anywhere close to those pearly gates.

    moreover (none / 0) (#130)
    by sj on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 04:28:02 PM EST
    he gives all Stephen Kings a bad name.

    Parent
    When I saw that (none / 0) (#131)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 04:29:58 PM EST
    i was, like, wait, what?  

    He has said some pretty dumb stuff IMO.  The other one I mean.  The writer.

    Parent

    Stephan King the author? (none / 0) (#132)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 04:30:16 PM EST
    I must have missed something big, why the disparaging comment?

    Parent
    Nah... (none / 0) (#135)
    by sj on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 04:34:42 PM EST
    Steve King the Congressman

    Parent
    It's sort of a win win (5.00 / 1) (#141)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 04:56:15 PM EST
    he is either right or wrong.  If the comment is right and he'll never see heaven, win.  On the other hand if he is right and only he and my older brother are there,  I'll take door #2.  
    Win win.

    Parent
    Thx! Kinda threw me a little... (none / 0) (#139)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 04:49:36 PM EST


    Parent
    Sorry about that (none / 0) (#144)
    by MO Blue on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 05:04:31 PM EST
    My mind knew what I wanted to say but my fingers did not cooperate.

    Parent
    Audiobook recommendation (5.00 / 1) (#181)
    by ruffian on Sat Oct 25, 2014 at 06:27:13 AM EST
    John Lanchester's 'Capital' , a novel about a particular London street and surrounds, and the people that live and work there. Takes place in 2007-2008 as the financial crisis is coming down, and anti-terrorism policies affect some of the characters.   It's not a perfect book -  little predictable at times - but I enjoy his writing style and wit, and the interior lives of the characters are captured very well.  It is one I think I enjoyed more in audio than I would have reading it.

    "All the Light We Cannot See," by (none / 0) (#187)
    by oculus on Sat Oct 25, 2014 at 11:51:34 AM EST
    Anthony Doerr is also a good listen.

    Parent
    Ain't that a kick... (none / 0) (#7)
    by kdog on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 01:58:59 PM EST
    in the head!  Oops, wrong head...lemme try the fist.

    Money comment..."If you see something, kick something".  Now that's gallows humor gold!

    I think we need another round of NHL expansion, give the goons another avenue of employment besides cop and robber.  Never mind, they generally fight fair in the NHL, none of that 5 on 1 sh*t.

    I have to say, (none / 0) (#13)
    by Zorba on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 03:11:52 PM EST
    Some of the comments were pretty darned funny.   :-)

    Parent
    It has become almost comical... (none / 0) (#14)
    by kdog on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 03:13:52 PM EST
    how the NYPD does thuggery with impunity...better to laugh than to cry....while snarky internet comments are still legal anyway.

    Parent
    Well, it's almost (none / 0) (#30)
    by Zorba on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:36:05 PM EST
    comical, as long as you're not the one on the receiving end of one of their beat-downs.
    Theater of the Absurd.

    Parent
    Pope Francis says (none / 0) (#15)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:02:50 PM EST
    Abolish the Death Penalty

    I'm coming around to liking this guy.

    and life in prison. (5.00 / 1) (#16)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:05:01 PM EST
    VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis called for abolition of the death penalty as well as life imprisonment, and denounced what he called a "penal populism" that promises to solve society's problems by punishing crime instead of pursuing social justice.


    Parent
    The Vatican does have a jail, and (5.00 / 1) (#62)
    by fishcamp on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 07:49:28 PM EST
    possibly a prison ,where the deranged geologist Lazlo Toth languished for years after attacking the Pieta, in 1972.  It was  sculpted by Michelangelo.  Toth did much damage including knocking the nose off the Virgin Mary.  Many pieces were grabbed by visitors, some were returned but not Mary's nose  The comic priest ,Father Guido Sarducci ,used Lazlo Toth's name, as a pen name, for the book "The Lazlo Toth Papers."  I met and filmed Don Novello, his real name, in Venice, Italy years ago, along with Angie Dickinson, Dick Cavett, and Susan Sullivan.  It was a memorable week.

    Parent
    Do you know which pope (none / 0) (#63)
    by ZtoA on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 07:53:33 PM EST
    went around knocking the penises off of the statuary at the vatican?  I can't remember. I do remember that the vatican museums have one of the world's largest collections of pagan art (greek, roman, egyptian).

    Parent
    Innocent (5.00 / 1) (#64)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 08:13:14 PM EST
    Pope Innocent X had the penises chipped off nude sculptures in the Vatican and replaced with metal fig leaves. Ever since, the fig leaf has acted as the art world's censor, protecting the modest sensibilities of town councils, museumgoers, and garden statue buyers with its generous spread.


    Parent
    The weird thing is (5.00 / 3) (#65)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 08:14:26 PM EST
    i knew that without googling

    Parent
    "Innocent" (none / 0) (#74)
    by ZtoA on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 09:47:52 PM EST
    Ha!! --ha snort ha--

    Parent
    That's why I remembered (none / 0) (#75)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 09:55:12 PM EST


    Parent
    Thought it might have been a (none / 0) (#76)
    by ZtoA on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 10:06:46 PM EST
    "pious"

    Parent
    I remember knowing about this (none / 0) (#66)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 08:26:02 PM EST
    but only vaguely.  I googled.  Found a thing called "what ever happened to Lazlo Toth"-

    Toth was apprehended, detained by the police and charged with crimes that would have brought a nine-year prison sentence, had he been convicted. In the end, though, the court found him insane.

    After two years in an Italian asylum, the Hungarian-born Toth was deported back to Australia, where he faded into obscurity. Where is he now? I have no idea. But I have always wanted to tell this story. Lazlo, if he is still alive, must be around 70.

    Has anyone seen him?


    what follows is a collection of answers some better that others

    The last I heard he was living in Sydney, and NO he is NOT me!! I was born in 1972. I only met him once.
    Les Toth, Sydney, Australia

    I happened to meet him at a coffee shop in Greenwich Village three months ago. He showed no remorse. I was disgusted.
    Chelsea handler, LA USA


    Parent
    Me too (none / 0) (#19)
    by Slado on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:08:17 PM EST
    Why I like him is he is preaching the true message of Catholicism and focusing less on the less important rules and practices.  

    It's hard to square the death penalty when you defend life in all forms.   One can quibble with the defense of human embryo's and even early term abortion (as I do) but at least the Pope is consistent.

    Parent

    That (5.00 / 3) (#39)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:51:40 PM EST
    is the one thing that so many conservatives do that makes no sense. They want to save every blastocyst in existence but don't even treat most people with even basic human dignity. I'm not even talking about the people who mass murdered. I'm talking about people who are having a hard time making ends meet and need some help.

    Parent
    Yes (5.00 / 2) (#53)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 05:52:38 PM EST
    right wingers care passionately about children.

    Until they are born.

    Parent

    He's Got to Driving Concervative... (5.00 / 1) (#18)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:07:28 PM EST
    ...Catholics insane.  Last year poverty and helping folks, this year so far, excepting gay people and getting ride of the death penalty.

    Not bad, he's more liberal then the guy I voted for currently running the country.

    Parent

    He (5.00 / 1) (#37)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:49:08 PM EST
    is driving conservative Catholics insane. Apparently on Maundy Thursday one year he washed the foot of a Muslim woman. Apparently that caused a major meltdown and I'm sure there are others.

    Parent
    Dude actually blessed a doggie :) (none / 0) (#42)
    by nycstray on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 05:00:28 PM EST
    Yup, he got my attention, lol!~

    Parent
    Hey, stray! (none / 0) (#50)
    by Zorba on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 05:33:25 PM EST
    Tell the Giants to get their acts together by tomorrow.  Five runs for the Royals in the 6th inning?  Not good.
    National League Must Win!
    And I must admit to getting a bit tired of some of the commentators on ESPN and other sports news who are all about "Oh, look how scrappy the Royals are!"  Swoon, swoon. Blah, blah, blah.
    Yes, I know, the Royals haven't won a WS in 29 years, and the Giants have won two in the last five years.
    Too bad.
    Go Giants!

    Parent
    Commentators---- (5.00 / 1) (#60)
    by lentinel on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 07:09:44 PM EST
    And I must admit to getting a bit tired of some of the commentators on ESPN

    I can't stand - really can't stand - the commentators doing the World Series.

    They drone on incessantly.
    They talk about just about anything but what is happening on the field.
    They started interviewing some guy - and had him full screen for awhile during an inning - during play - finally switching to a split screen so that those of us interested in the game could see a smidgeon of it while they pursued their gab fest.

    And the pace of their jabber... really... slow... moderate...
    I wanted to scream that this is the WORLD SERIES - and these guy are yammering like it was any other boring game...

    Who chooses these people?

    I remember Phil Rizzuto.
    He was always excited. And even if he was talking about something else, as soon as there was a pitch - he would say, "The PITCH!".

    These guys they have now - professional broadcasters - are comatose.

    OK.
    I'm done.

    Parent

    I agree (5.00 / 2) (#61)
    by Zorba on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 07:20:06 PM EST
    But then, I'm an old f*rt and grew up listening to the St. Louis Cardinals baseball games on the radio, with Harry Caray.
    Just tell us what is actually going on down there on the field.  And show some enthusiasm.
    Save the stupid interviews and fillers for before and after the game.  Not during.
    Geez.


    Parent
    Me too! (none / 0) (#67)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 08:53:51 PM EST
    It might be!

    It could be!

    Wait! What a catch! What a play!

    by the second baseman...

    Loved Harry and I'm convinced my maternal grand father willed himself to live until the Cardinals beat the Yankees in '64.

    Like all things baseball is different now. Back then the high hard one under the chin was a subtle reminder that the plate belonged to the pitcher and as the greatest Cub, Ernie Banks would say, "Great day to play two!"

    Parent

    I can still hear (5.00 / 2) (#72)
    by Zorba on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 09:24:36 PM EST
    Harry's voice as he was calling the Cards' games.
    And, yes, the game was different then.  The plate definitely belonged to the pitcher.  One of the best examples of this was Cardinals pitching great, Bob Gibson.  He was not shy about throwing brushback pitches, and he was not exactly known for his camaraderie (to say the least), even with his own teammates.  Supposedly, when his catcher Tim McCarver once went to the mound to hold a conference with Gibson, Gibson told him "The only thing you know about pitching is that you can't hit it."  Not exactly Mr. Nice Guy, but he sure as heck could pitch.
    Stan Musial, perhaps the quintessential Cardinal great, was, on the other hand, a genuinely nice guy.
    My parents once met him when they were dining at the restaurant that he co-owned in St. Louis, and my dad said that he couldn't have been nicer or more gracious.

    Parent
    I miss Ernie Harwell (5.00 / 2) (#88)
    by jbindc on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 09:22:34 AM EST
    the voice of the Detroit Tigers for 42 years.

    Harwell would also begin the first spring training broadcast of each season with a reading from Song of Solomon 2:11-12: "For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land."

    Ah, he is missed!

    Parent

    I'm sure he is driving them crazy. (none / 0) (#25)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:26:05 PM EST
    Good. The more right-wing heads that explode on his watch, the better. When Rush Limbaugh accused Pope Francis last year of preaching Marxist ideology, my own faith in the Holy Mother Church began to be restored.

    Parent
    Changing an organizational (5.00 / 1) (#49)
    by KeysDan on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 05:29:36 PM EST
    culture can be like turning a battleship. And, that fits the Catholic Church with the added dimension of being a religious organization.  While trickle-down is a conservative economist's confection, it does have a real effectt on organizational culture.

    The  organizational "tone" is set from the top. And, the religious "tone" shapes interpretation of dogma and application of tradition.  The recent Synod broached both.

    The dispatching of the inelastic Cardinal Raymond Burke by the Pope, for example, has surely not gone unnoticed by Cardinal and bishop-wannabes.  The rejected sections of the Synod's report are being distributed along with the voting tallies.  

    The Pope's model of personal living can be observed with his first major American ecclesiastic appointment, Archbishop of Chicago, a see traditionally honored with a Cardinal.  This appointment bypassed several bishops of larger diocese (Bishop Cupich is from Spokane).  And, the new Archbishop will live in more modest quarters than the Chicago Gold Coast mansion (probably the most desirable real estate in that city) that has been home to each of his predecessors since 1885.  


    Parent

    Hasn't the Catholic church always been (5.00 / 1) (#23)
    by ruffian on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:20:21 PM EST
    against the death penalty? Maybe they just never actually called for anyone to actually abolish it. Good work Francis!

    Parent
    Against it? (none / 0) (#79)
    by unitron on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 12:10:31 AM EST
    Haven't there been a number of times in its history when they were well known for imposing it?

    Parent
    History (5.00 / 1) (#89)
    by jbindc on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 09:24:47 AM EST
    Catholic Church and death penalty

    Parent
    I wasn't so much talking about... (none / 0) (#176)
    by unitron on Sat Oct 25, 2014 at 02:02:28 AM EST
    ...what they said about it as what they did at various times.

    Parent
    There are "various times" (5.00 / 1) (#188)
    by christinep on Sat Oct 25, 2014 at 12:39:55 PM EST
    And, then, there is today.  In these times--today--Iran marched a woman to the gallows and hung her for killing her alleged rapist.

    A state execution. A state murder of a woman who killed the man said to have raped her.  In the face of overwhelming international pleas for clemency, the state of Iran today executed this woman.

    Look. No one really denies the history of brutal, unwarranted punishments that have occurred throughout the past ages under all forms of government and in collaboration with all the world's major religions.  But, do we all keep our head in our own sands never allowing or acknowledging that humankind can progress.  It seems to me that there are plenty of instances of progress here and in the Catholic Church (and, obviously, in a number of institutions.)  

    Maybe acknowledging progress where it has been made wouldn't hurt; and, just maybe, it would be reinforcing of more progress.  Yet ... by the same token, what of those places and governments and belief systems that do not appear to move/advance further than the 8th or 9th century?  What do we say about that?

    Parent

    But what ruffian asked... (none / 0) (#192)
    by unitron on Sun Oct 26, 2014 at 04:40:56 AM EST
    ...was "Hasn't the Catholic church always been against the death penalty?", not "Isn't the Catholic church currently against the death penalty?", or "Hasn't the Catholic church been against the death penalty in recent years?".

    Parent
    From Another Thread... (none / 0) (#22)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:17:33 PM EST
    ...10 things US Does Better Than Anywhere Else.

    I would add nitwits doing stupid S for YouTube.  No one knows how to launch a bottle rocket from their bhole like an America teenager.

    A dubious distinction (5.00 / 1) (#24)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:25:56 PM EST
    but it's our dubious distinction.

    Parent
    Maybe there will be a sequel (none / 0) (#27)
    by oculus on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:32:39 PM EST
    to "Bottle Rocket," a wonderfully amusing movie.

    Parent
    On sequels (none / 0) (#34)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:41:27 PM EST
    Avengers-Age of Ultron

    Saaaaaaweet

    Parent

    Interestingly (none / 0) (#56)
    by sj on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 06:53:24 PM EST
    The Bottle Rockets are also a wonderfully amusing country/rock band.

    Parent
    I dunno about that (none / 0) (#32)
    by CST on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:36:23 PM EST
    have you seen the $hit Russians post on youtube?

    Parent
    I was going to mention this (none / 0) (#33)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:39:02 PM EST
    they are becoming a real threat.

    Parent
    They could have added household income (none / 0) (#35)
    by toggle on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:43:12 PM EST
    It's a pet peeve of mine that no one in the US seems to realize that we have so much more disposable income than any other country in the world.

    Parent
    wiki: (none / 0) (#36)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:47:38 PM EST
    Disposable income

    1      United States     38,753    
    2      Ireland     38,210    
    3      Luxembourg     33,373    
    4      Australia     33,319    
    5      Switzerland     32,066


    Parent
    Depends how you count (none / 0) (#38)
    by CST on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:49:26 PM EST
    Highest average, yes.  Highest median, no.  In other words, there are some people at the top skewing that metric.

    Parent
    That's true... (none / 0) (#40)
    by toggle on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:54:41 PM EST
    Only if you forget to adjust for cost of living, taxes, and the like.

    Parent
    what? (none / 0) (#41)
    by CST on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:56:39 PM EST
    Are you saying that when median income is adjusted the U.S. is first?  Could you provide a source for that?

    Or that average income is adjusted and median is not, because if that's the case I think you don't really understand statistics very well.

    Parent

    If you'll take Wikipedia (none / 0) (#43)
    by toggle on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 05:06:27 PM EST
    As one that's easy to find, here:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income#International_Comparison

    Parent

    this can explain it (5.00 / 1) (#46)
    by CST on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 05:22:40 PM EST
    better than I can.  Link

    "Mean (or average) and median are statistical terms that have a somewhat similar role in terms of understanding the central tendency of a set of statistical scores. While an average has traditionally been a popular measure of a mid-point in a sample, it has the disadvantage of being affected by any single value being too high or too low compared to the rest of the sample. This is why a median is sometimes taken as a better measure of a mid point."

    Parent

    Yep. (none / 0) (#51)
    by Zorba on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 05:35:26 PM EST
    Mean, median, and mode.  Basic Statistics 101.

    Parent
    yea I was looking at wiki (none / 0) (#44)
    by CST on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 05:11:51 PM EST
    Again - what you are linking to is mean (average) income instead of what I had posted which is median income (which I believe is adjusted as well).

    The difference is, the average (or mean) income is the total income of all people / total number of people.  The median income is the half-way point where 50% of people make more than that and 50% make less.  The problem with using the average (or mean) income is that a few people who make a lot of money can make the average much higher, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the average person is making more money.  The fact that we are #1 in average but lower in median income means that that skew exists in this case.

    Parent

    You stopped reading too soon (none / 0) (#47)
    by toggle on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 05:27:37 PM EST
    Both average and median income are there.


    Parent
    my bad! (none / 0) (#52)
    by CST on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 05:36:28 PM EST
    Now I feel a bit like an ass...  Now I'm just confused because what I posted is also wiki.  So it seems to disagree with itself.  Might be different data sets but this is where I quit :)

    Parent
    Hey Floridians! (none / 0) (#26)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:27:53 PM EST
    who's seceding now?

    51st? (none / 0) (#28)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 04:32:44 PM EST
    South Florida City Votes To Secede In Last-Ditch Effort To Avoid Being Swallowed By The Sea

    Parent
    Funny boundry line (none / 0) (#69)
    by ragebot on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 09:02:42 PM EST
    The proposed split would give the state of South Florida 67% of the population and North Florida 33%.  Given how close recent state wide elections have been I have to wonder why the split would not be closer to fifty fifty.

    I do think it would be helpful to divide up some of the larger states.  There are somewhat detailed plans to split up California, Colorado, and Texas; often times resulting in more than two states after the splitting.

    When there are large numbers of folks, numbering in the millions, who effectively have no one in congress representing them because even larger numbers of folks in there state vote differently that seems to be a problem to me.

    Parent

    ZtoA (none / 0) (#54)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 06:37:16 PM EST
    Grimm starts tomorrow.  Followed by something else that looks interesting "Constantine"

    Do we really need another hero?

    If he's Constantine (NBC. Friday, 10 p.m. ET/PT, * * * out of four), could be.

    Admittedly, this latest enlistee in TV's ever-expanding squad of comic-book inspired heroes has more than a few disadvantages, not least of which is arriving late to the party. While the Hellblazer comic on which this new NBC series is based has a cult following, its demon-hunter hero is nowhere near as well known as the ones who populate the season's other, earlier entrants, The Flash and Gotham. Plus, he's already been seen on the big screen in a failed 2005 movie, Keanu Reeves' Constantine -- though considering how few people seem to remember it, that may count as a wash.

    I tried Flash and Gotham.  Typical boring network TV.  High hopes for theses other two.

    Btw (none / 0) (#55)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 06:41:26 PM EST
    not sure what the person means by "failed 2005 movie".  It was a great movie that made about 76 mill.


    Parent
    Agreed... (none / 0) (#81)
    by ScottW714 on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 08:20:29 AM EST
    ...great movie.

    Parent
    Same Genre as... (none / 0) (#113)
    by ScottW714 on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 11:29:35 AM EST
    ...Stigmata, which I fricken love, Constantine wasn't as good, but not far off.

    Parent
    For me (none / 0) (#137)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 04:35:35 PM EST
    its worth seeing just to see Tilda Swinton play the angel Gabriel.

    Also Loved Peter Stormare as Satan

    Parent

    Tilda Swinton is almost always good. (none / 0) (#157)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 07:28:26 PM EST
    Personally, my favorite film of hers is "The Deep End" (2001), in which she plays a very protective mother who first confronts a gay nightclub owner in the opening scene. She demands that he stay away from her teenaged son, who had apparently been seduced earlier by the handsome older man. But when that owner later turns up dead, she naturally suspects her son of having killed him. So, like any good mother, she tries to cover up for him -- which, of course, leads to an array of serious complications that would do Alfred Hitchcock proud.

    Further, "The Deep End" was the very first mainstream movie I remember in which a key character's homosexuality was naturally accepted as an integral part of who he was, and it wasn't at all belabored as an issue. Rather, the part of Tildon's gay son could've just as easily been written as a straight daughter smitten by some Lolita-chasing high school teacher, and the film's plot still would've worked very well.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    It Is very good (5.00 / 1) (#159)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 07:41:08 PM EST
    and your right she is always good.  But my favorite is still "Orlando".  Talk about messing with gender roles.

    Orlando, a man of ideal nobility starts his search for love, poetry, a place in society and a meaning in life, in and around the court of historical England in the late 16th century. The blessing of eternal life from Queen Elizabeth I enables him a long and deep philosophical quest, accompanied by the features of "noble" English life with a good taste for irony. Both sides of the coin are shown when Orlando, partly fed up and disgusted with how men think and act, returns from his ambassadorship in the Far East as exactly the same person, let alone his sex. Orlando, a woman of ideal nobility continues her journey to realize the truth about life, love, and approaching one's own sex in the late 18th century England. For one who lived four hundred years and haven't aged a day, finding humanity's forgotten need for androgynity as the key to the happiness of her own as well as her daughter's. Sally Potter's adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Orlando not only tells the story on film with brilliant visual design, but also tries to extend the plot as Woolf would have, had she lived to the end of the twentieth century.
    - Written by Adam Dobay


    Parent
    Terrific (none / 0) (#160)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 07:44:51 PM EST
    visually stunning movie

    Parent
    I may actually watch "orlando" (none / 0) (#170)
    by ZtoA on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 10:46:17 PM EST
    but I can't 'do' movie theaters. I just googled it and I can watch online tho. Sounds like my kind of movie.

    I used to have a "theory" that women in past times (and maybe current too?) disguised themselves as men just to be able to play on the public field. I imagined an art-historical device, which I named the "penometer" a kind of "peno-meter" dna reading 'device' (mand it will soon be discovered that Beethoven was a menopausal woman, in disguise, and that Mozart was a female too. I actually even tried to hire a male actor to 'be me' many years ago - meaning he would show up at openings as 'me' with a wonderful male flourish, and a few peacock feathers, and be 'the artiste'. Never happened tho.

    Parent

    wiki says it made almost 1/4 Billion worldwide (none / 0) (#111)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 11:06:56 AM EST
    I never saw it.

    Parent
    Constantine ( the series ) (none / 0) (#167)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 10:19:49 PM EST
    was interesting, sort of, but as usual Previously TV nails the issue.

    Worse, Constantine has a crippling existential problem, which is that it's on broadcast television. For starters, that means John Constantine is now a nonsmoker, which is bad enough. But it gets worse. The pilot -- or at least the advance screener of it -- includes a flashback to that allegedly horrible moment when Constantine failed to prevent the demon from claiming little Astra. Which is unwise, because the scene plays like a Lifetime Original Movie in which one of the actors showed up in a horned monster suit. Now, it is a horror truism that you can't show the viewers anything worse than they can imagine themselves, but on NBC you can't show the viewers anything worse than what they've already seen on TLC, let alone on The Walking Dead or True Detective. There's just no way this show is ever going to be as dark and twisted as its source material.


    Parent
    Were you able (none / 0) (#57)
    by sj on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 06:56:00 PM EST
    to view some episodes?

    Parent
    I havent (none / 0) (#59)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 07:00:10 PM EST
    Decided to see the new season.  

    Parent
    good to know (none / 0) (#77)
    by ZtoA on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 10:33:41 PM EST
    I may have a chance to hobble to my TV tomorrow, but seeing has how I have two separate house guests I may not. But I am on the second season and I'm already looking forward to re-watching it several, or many more than several, times in the future. I think you could just jump into the new season, but like the GOT seasons, the Grimm series builds and gets more complex. I just found out "Monroe" lives near me!! I promise not to hang out on his street. Gotta love those men who have a bestial side (not good choices tho for long term 'love interests', but fun in the short term).

    Parent
    Ok (none / 0) (#166)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 10:15:30 PM EST
    interesting.  Clearly there is a lot of backstory I need to really ip understand what's going on.   But I will keep tuning in.

    Parent
    Fun fact (none / 0) (#114)
    by Mordiggian 88 on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 11:34:01 AM EST
    The original Flash series theme music was written by Danny Elfman, whose best known for Oingo Boingo and his continuing collaborations with Tim Burton.


    Link

    Parent

    Good accents and bad (none / 0) (#58)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 06:59:11 PM EST
    Previously TV
    (This episode is an out-and-out assault on our senses, an attempt to barrage us with Kathy Bates's accent for long enough that we just stop noticing. I never stopped noticing, though, because her drunken Baltimore/Appalacian/Southern accent is even spottier than her sober one. I'd be lying if I said I don't thoroughly enjoy it.)

    VOX

    There are many mysteries of Freak Show that can only be answered by creator Ryan Murphy and the show's inner circle of writers, producers, and directors. But this accent isn't one of those. In fact, it's something allegedly grounded in reality, which is why I talked to Kara Becker, an assistant professor of linguistics at Reed College, whose specialty is American dialects. I showed Becker a clip from Bates's introductory scene in the season's first episode and asked for her thoughts.
    Alex Abad-Santos: You mentioned something called "features." Can you explain those?

    Kara Becker: Okay so the first set of features that really jumped out to me is what I would describe as the fronting of back vowels. And those are the vowels "oooh" and "oh" -- I would call them "goose" and "goat" vowels, which can help with pronunciation. So a standard American English speaker would say something like "goose", and Kathy Bates is saying something like "gewse", or the words I identified in the clip, I heard her fronting her "ooh" in a word like "foolish" and in words like "you."

    Basically the way we talk about vowels in linguistics has to do with their position in the mouth, where a tongue is positioned, and the shape of our mouth when we make a vowel. So every vowel, we do something different  in terms of our tongue, where it is in our mouth, and the shape of our mouth. I'm describing these vowels as back vowels, as they're sort of made with our tongue in the back of the mouth.

    There's actually a very common sound change that's happening in a lot of places in the U.S. -- Baltimore is one of them; the South, and the West Coast -- where people are taking back vowels and pronouncing them more front in the mouth. So when I say, the fronting of back vowels, that's what I mean.
    This is not about your topic but (none / 0) (#70)
    by ZtoA on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 09:04:01 PM EST
    I can't post links at the bottom text box. Stupid computer (my new fav phrase, thanks to you).

    Why do teens join ISIS? Apparently for different reasons.

    Parent

    Gods and Monsters (none / 0) (#71)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 09:21:45 PM EST
    i liked this song when Lana Del Rey did it but Jessica Langs version just became my favorite.

    A whole other color.

    Hope to see Jeralyn comment on (none / 0) (#73)
    by ragebot on Thu Oct 23, 2014 at 09:45:32 PM EST
    This

    Perhaps the Brothers Koch... (none / 0) (#177)
    by unitron on Sat Oct 25, 2014 at 02:05:36 AM EST
    ...anticipate a need for good defense counsel in the not-too-distant future?

    Parent
    Nothing new there (none / 0) (#178)
    by NYShooter on Sat Oct 25, 2014 at 02:58:36 AM EST
    All the soul-sucking, oligarch vultures have philanthropic departments.

    The question is, how much is heartfelt desire to help the downtrodden, and how much is just plain old P.R?

    But, since so many of the downtrodden are products of the Koch Bros,' and, their ilk's actions, the answer, imo, is self-evident.

    Parent

    Does the good (none / 0) (#182)
    by Reconstructionist on Sat Oct 25, 2014 at 07:58:02 AM EST
     the money donated by soul-sucking oligarchic vultures might accomplish outweigh the costs of accepting money from them such as and advancing the PR goals of the vultures and enhancing the "legitimacy" of the vultures?

      In other words do you believe do you believe organizations whose work you support should accept money from organizations and persons you adamantly oppose? Or, do you believe it is better to forgo the vulture's largesse because it is an attempt, and may succeed to some extent, to enhance the power of the vultures?

    Parent

    You know, that's a good question (none / 0) (#193)
    by NYShooter on Sun Oct 26, 2014 at 02:20:52 PM EST
    But, due to the fact that I've been fortunate, and lucky, in life I'm not in need of their largesse.

    I think the answer to the question you posed has no, "yes," or, "no" answer. Each case should stand on its own merits, and, I surely am not qualified to judge how anyone in need would, or, should respond.

    Parent

    I didn't mean $ to you, personally (none / 0) (#194)
    by Reconstructionist on Mon Oct 27, 2014 at 10:26:52 AM EST
      I meant to organizations whose aims you support.

      Other than that, I mostly agree with case by case approach in theory, because I suppose even the most reprehensible outfit could offer such a huge amount for such a worthwhile purpose, that the concerns I raised would be outweighed.

      To use an absurd hypothetical, I suppose that if the KKK wished to donate a billion dollars to contruct sanitary sewer systems in West Africa, I'd favor taking the money.

    Parent

    CST (none / 0) (#92)
    by jbindc on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 09:28:23 AM EST
    What is going on in Massachusetts?

    Republican Charlie Baker has opened up a 9-point lead over Democrat Martha Coakley, 45 percent to 36 percent, according to a new Globe poll that depicts a far more comfortable advantage than either candidate for governor has enjoyed in months.

    The poll reflects an October surge in independent voters toward Baker's column. It was independents who provided Governor Deval Patrick with his margins of victory in 2006 and 2010.

    Baker's standing has improved from last week's poll, which showed the two candidates dead even. It can be attributed largely to the gains he has made in voters' perceptions of who would improve the economy and manage state government, areas that already were tilting his way. At the same time, Baker has offset the deficits he faced on issues such as education and health care, where Coakley still holds an edge, but a diminished one.

    "There is just positive movement in every single metric we can ask around Baker," said pollster John Della Volpe, chief executive of SocialSphere Inc., which conducts the weekly poll for the Globe. "The more voters have gotten to know him, the stronger he performs."
    haha (5.00 / 1) (#97)
    by CST on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 09:52:36 AM EST
    beat me to it.

    Not that surprising.  I've talked to a number of Democrats, no one actually likes Martha Coakley, some people just tolerate her better than others.  Also MA had a string of Republican Governors before Patrick, I could easily see Baker taking this one.  

    Parent

    Great minds and all that (none / 0) (#99)
    by jbindc on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 09:56:55 AM EST
    What do you think of Baker?  I, obviously, haven't been really following this race, but I'm kind of bumping around all the races now, and trying to get some local views.

    Parent
    Baker (none / 0) (#103)
    by CST on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 10:08:19 AM EST
    is stiff, awkward, and nerdy.  Which would probably hurt him a lot more in any other state.  Also, he knows what state he's in, he's not gonna try and rock the boat (not that he really could).

    Frankly reading these two on crime - Baker's saying things that are more in line with this blog than Coakley is - not surprising given that she's a former prosecutor.

    For me the problem is I really don't know Baker, and I have no love for the MA brand of Republican.  They tend to not care very much about urban issues.  I don't love Coakley, but let's just say that I think she's politically calculating enough to stay on the left side of things.

    I think Baker will probably win though.  So I'm hoping for the best?

    Parent

    As you said (none / 0) (#117)
    by jbindc on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 11:42:42 AM EST
    You've had Republican governors before, and survived (and even thrived).  I can't imagine a fire-breather getting elected there, so you'll probably be fine.

    Parent
    there's a veto proof (none / 0) (#120)
    by CST on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 12:30:29 PM EST
    Dem majority in the state legislature and there has been for a while.  So any one in the head office who wants to get anything done is gonna have to play nice.

    Parent
    Hey, CST, am i remembering correctly that you (none / 0) (#116)
    by caseyOR on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 11:39:23 AM EST
    attended Carnegie-Mellon? I ask because a young friend of mine, high school senior, is heading into the college app season and is interested in C-M. Any thoughts on how good a fit it would be for someone who is not in engineering or any other STEM?

    Parent
    I did (none / 0) (#121)
    by CST on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 12:42:15 PM EST
    What are they interested in?  I ask because if there is one thing that I can think of that separates Carnegie Mellon from a lot of other schools is that most people there tend to be studying some kind of trade.  The largest school is engineering, but the second largest school when I was there was the school of fine arts - drama, music, etc...  Now I believe the humanities has gone into the number 2 slot - but even there people tend to have a specific goal/career in mind.  I don't mean to say you can't change your mind, just that the atmosphere of the University is very focused.  So you'll meet a lot of people who know exactly what they want to do and are doing it.  They won't all be STEM majors, but a lot of them will be, and you'll also meet a lot of people on the opposite side of the spectrum in the fine arts who are very into their craft.

    At least that was true 10 years ago ;)

    Hope that helps, let me know if you have any more specific questions.

    Parent

    oy vey (none / 0) (#95)
    by CST on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 09:46:26 AM EST
    Who thought it was a good idea to restart a frikken Martha Coakley campaign.  Link

    Kathryn Ruemmler (none / 0) (#124)
    by jbindc on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 03:21:47 PM EST
    asks to not be considered for AG.

    Former White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler told President Obama this week he should take her name out of consideration for the post of attorney general, White House officials confirmed Friday.

    "We can confirm the president asked Kathy to consider this, and she was among those the president had been looking at," said a White House official who asked for anonymity in a written statement, referring to the search to replace retiring Attorney General Eric Holder. "Kathy took this step this week on her own volition--as she always has done, putting the president and the administration first."
    GO DUCKS... (none / 0) (#127)
    by fishcamp on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 04:10:19 PM EST
    but not until 10:00 tonight Eastern time.  It will be a bit earlier for you casey.  Maybe if I turn it up real loud I can stay awake.  Real easy for you Donald.

    I'll still be at work. (none / 0) (#158)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 07:36:23 PM EST
    I'll have to catch the second half when I return home.

    Parent
    Did I mention (none / 0) (#133)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 04:31:33 PM EST
    I FREAKIN HATE LADYBUGS

    you haven't lived till you have cleaned up a hatful of dog art made entirely of ladybugs.

    HA - dog art (5.00 / 1) (#134)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 04:32:27 PM EST
    well maybe.

    But really dog barf

    Parent

    So the (none / 0) (#136)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 04:35:20 PM EST
    crunchy snacks are not agreeing with the dogs I am guessing?

    Parent
    In moderation (none / 0) (#138)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 04:36:31 PM EST
    a word Booboo is still learning.

    Parent
    Please don't use the words (none / 0) (#140)
    by Angel on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 04:53:38 PM EST
    "dog" and "art" in the same sentence....remember what happened last time someone mentioned those two things together?  Arggggggh!

    Parent
    Ha (none / 0) (#142)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 04:57:57 PM EST
    It may have been Freudian

    Parent
    Geez (none / 0) (#143)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 05:03:36 PM EST
    i take my usual after lunch sofa nap but I forget to close the kitchen windows.  The little basterds will find the tiniest crack.  And I go in and the kitchen is literally crawling with ladybugs.

    So, preface by saying Booboo hates the flyswat.  HATES IT.  His previous owners must have hit him with one.  I certainly never have.  Anyway I'm in the kitchen going Rambo with the fly swat like a crazy person and I think I freaked the poor thing out until he did the aforementioned "art".
    Poor thing.  I couldn't even be pi$$ed at him.

    Parent

    Is there a solution (none / 0) (#148)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 05:47:46 PM EST
    to them? I know there are solutions to carpenter bees and other things but since I've never had an infestation of lady bugs I was wondering how you kept them at bay?

    Parent
    I have to get (none / 0) (#150)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 05:55:24 PM EST
    back to you on that

    Parent
    LOL (none / 0) (#145)
    by sj on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 05:05:26 PM EST
    Oddly, where my mind went was to the Nose Art my Lab mix would leave on the rear windows of my car...

    I guess 'cause I don't consider that other thing to be art.

    Parent

    Arachnophobia (none / 0) (#146)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 05:38:13 PM EST
    ALERT

    If you're an arachnophobe who has spent time on Facebook during the last week, you're likely already keenly aware of the the picture of the South American Goliath bird-eating tarantula that has been going around, taken by wildlife photographer Piotr Naskrecki. Described as the size of a puppy, many have been hoping against hope that this nightmare-inducing creature has been photoshopped, exaggerated, or both. Sad to say, it hasn't.

    Naskrecki noticed the spider while in Guyana, a South American country between Venezuela and Suriname. He claims he initially thought it was a possum or some other small mammal. He soon became a bit unsettled when he realized it was actually a gigantic spider.

    I love with two of these beauties (stuffed & under glass) not quite this big.  But big.

    Geez (none / 0) (#147)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 05:39:40 PM EST
    i LIVE with them.  Loving with them really would be odd.

    Parent
    Oh,do I hate spiders... (none / 0) (#165)
    by fishcamp on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 09:37:16 PM EST
    when I was a little boy, long, long ago, I ran between two garages in Portland and got covered by hundreds of baby red spiders.  After that, when I was sick, or had the flu, I would deliriously think I was covered in hundreds of spiders while being chased by a man with ten cowboy hats on his head.  But I'm ok now...

    Parent
    10 cowboy hats (5.00 / 1) (#168)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 10:25:15 PM EST
    would be terrifying.

    Parent
    I wonder (none / 0) (#183)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Oct 25, 2014 at 08:05:38 AM EST
    was the 10 hats possibly a misunderstanding of the term 10gallon hat?  Instead of a 10 gallon hat he wears 10 1 gallon hats?

    Parent
    Not trying to be a smarta$$ (none / 0) (#184)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Oct 25, 2014 at 08:15:49 AM EST
    you said when you were small.  One if my earliest fears was of clowns because I misinterpreted the word cyclone to involve some kind of murderous flying clown than came down from the sky and killed everyone.

    Parent
    cyclone = sky clown - of course! (none / 0) (#186)
    by ruffian on Sat Oct 25, 2014 at 11:49:09 AM EST


    Parent
    Jack Handy: (none / 0) (#190)
    by ZtoA on Sat Oct 25, 2014 at 03:07:53 PM EST
    "To me, clowns aren't funny. In fact, they're kind of scary. I've wondered where this started and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus, and a clown killed my dad."


    Parent
    I had spider nightmares too as a kid, but (none / 0) (#179)
    by ruffian on Sat Oct 25, 2014 at 06:06:44 AM EST
    not driven by any real terrifying experience like that. I'm just neurotic. I won't be seeking out any tarantula pictures.

    My brother had a tarantula once that he named after his boss's ex-wife. It was pretty funny.

    Parent

    F-Bombs for Feminism? (none / 0) (#149)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 05:54:09 PM EST
    i laughed

    Thoughts?

    The comments on the video site are interesting. (none / 0) (#152)
    by Angel on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 06:33:28 PM EST


    Parent
    They are (5.00 / 1) (#153)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 06:35:58 PM EST
    seems to have struck a nerve of some kind.   It is shocking.

    Parent
    Using a bad word to get across a good message. (5.00 / 1) (#154)
    by Angel on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 06:51:51 PM EST
    I think in today's world you have to use some sort of shock value to get people to listen.  Listen to the message and forget about the way it's presented...that's my takeaway.

    Parent
    Ha LOTS of bad words (none / 0) (#155)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 07:08:51 PM EST
    after your comment I went back to read more comments I sort of glanced at them before.  Wow.  Something about that really seems to have pushed the misogynists over the edge.  

    I think maybe it rather brilliantly messes with roles and expectations.

    Parent

    I liked the video (none / 0) (#169)
    by ZtoA on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 10:30:49 PM EST
    not will have to go back to read the stupid comments. :)

    Parent
    Liberals seek alternative to HRC (none / 0) (#156)
    by Politalkix on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 07:08:58 PM EST
    link

    I will ask a question that was asked by someone in the Orange Site a few days ago. Can those who care about issues and are not suckers for personalities clarify what is the difference between HRC and Gov. Andrew Cuomo except the fact that one has lady plumbing and the other has man plumbing. Is there a dimes worth of difference between the two as far as issues are concerned?

    Neither one is a liberal, so (5.00 / 1) (#172)
    by Anne on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 11:48:12 PM EST
    Cuomo would not be the liberal alternative to Clinton.  Not for me, anyway.

    Parent
    Correct, Anne (none / 0) (#173)
    by Politalkix on Sat Oct 25, 2014 at 12:24:03 AM EST
    There was agreement in Daily Kos that neither was even close to being a liberal. However, in the Orange site, Cuomo is hated with a passion while a significant fraction of people that hate Cuomo (supposedly for his policies) are pretty gung-ho about a HRC Presidential run.

    Go figure! Your position on policies are however quite consistent. I respect that!

    Parent

    I don't go Orange enough to (none / 0) (#180)
    by ruffian on Sat Oct 25, 2014 at 06:13:33 AM EST
    know all the arguments over there, but is any of the opposition to Cuomo based on the practicality that Cuomo is very unlikely to win a national election? Or do you count that as a 'personality' thing, rather than policy? Pol's personalities and levels of electability mean that they have varying abilities to put forth what you like about their policies. I don't see how the policy and personality can be completely separated.

    Parent
    No (none / 0) (#185)
    by Politalkix on Sat Oct 25, 2014 at 10:24:11 AM EST
    I do not disagree with you that Pol' personalities and levels of electability mean that they have varying abilities to put forth what you like about their policies. However, that was not the case in Daily Kos. They do not want Cuomo to be able to implement any of his policies because they consider it to be bad and a betrayal of liberal principles. They do not want Cuomo to run to be President because in their minds he will support bad policies and is too close to Wall Street. However, they are very gung-ho about a HRC presidency.

    Parent
    Liz Warren (none / 0) (#171)
    by Politalkix on Fri Oct 24, 2014 at 11:43:11 PM EST
    working with Orrin Hatch, following the tradition of Ted Kennedy. link

    Is is it just my 'stupid computer' (none / 0) (#174)
    by ZtoA on Sat Oct 25, 2014 at 12:44:19 AM EST
    or my 'stupid self' that makes my computer 'show' some links to some things with random words??

    Someone accused Melinek... (none / 0) (#175)
    by unitron on Sat Oct 25, 2014 at 01:56:25 AM EST
    ...of "backtracking" her comments on the Brown autopsy.

    According to Melinek, "her quote from the other day" wasn't actually a quote.

    Her article is well worth reading, if for nothing more than the anecdote about her mentor, Dr. Charles Hirsch, and his advice on handling the press.

    Thursday Open Thread | 194 comments (194 topical)

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