The Dictator

by | Feb 12, 2026 | Film, Fun, GlibFlick | 204 comments

The Dictator

Last week just was not up to my standards, and I apologize. Work has been brutal. I was going to show The Man Who Came to Dinner this week, but I saw The Dictator was available on Pluto. I rewatched it about 2:00 in the morning as I busted tail for work. Damn this is a great film. Probably the best film Sacha Baron Cohen has done. If you are only used to his films where he tries to interact with real people while performing as one of his characters, you are in for a different kind of movie altogether. This is much better, and well focused. To me it is his best effort and a total departure from what he did in the past. He absolutely rips into liberal western culture, Arab culture, and politics. Seems like the perfect movie to to post, given all the tensions in Iran!

So what is it about? IMDB says it best:

The heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.

I have no doubt that left-leaning people will be offended by this, so feel free to show it to your lefty relatives. Sacha did repeat this kind of success later with The Brothers Grimsby, and I wish he would make more like these two films in the future. His creativity should not get tied down to Borat for the rest of his life.

In addition to Sacha Baron Cohen, this film also has Anna Faris as the love interest. She is unrecognizable in this, except for her voice.

Even if you hated Borat, will you trust me on this one? Give it a shot. This is completely different. So watch! Or don’t! Everything is voluntary! Next week, we will resume our regularly scheduled programming with The Man Who Came to Dinner!

About The Author

R.J.

R.J.

Hello. My name is R.J. I am a Tulpa with extra cheese and sour cream.

204 Comments

  1. Common Tater

    “Last week just was not up to my standards, and I apologize.”

    It’s OK. I just thought the picture quality was too deliberately awful. I could barely see what was going on.

    • R.J.

      Just overall I did not spend enough time verifying it was a quality pick.

      • Chafed

        We still appreciate you.

  2. CPRM

    Outside his role as the lemur king I never found him funny. /shrug

    • Common Tater

      There is a king of the lemurs?

      • CPRM
      • trshmnstr

        Yes, and he likes to move it, move it.

  3. DEG

    Even if you hated Borat, will you trust me on this one? Give it a shot.

    I liked Borat until it settled into my mind what it was I just saw. Then I hated it.

    I’ll give this a shot. Diving in!

    • rhywun

      I thought it was amusing in my twenties. Now I find him to be an asshole.

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        He’s a funny asshole.

    • Brochettaward

      I’m a fan of stupid physically absurd comedy if that’s the right take on it. The scene where he and his fat sidekick are naked running around a hotel fighting or whatever it was is fucking funny to me. I know it’s hot highbrow or anything resembling it, but it was fucking funny.

  4. Common Tater

    I saw this and didn’t like it much. I’ve seen Borat (which has Ron Paul) and Ali G Indahouse (not sure if I saw a Bruno movie), but I think the best movie he was in was Talladega Nights. Sad Michael Clarke Duncan died.

    • slumbrew

      Ricky: No one plays jazz here at The Pit Stop!
      Jean: Then why is the song on the jukebox?
      Bartender: We keep it on there for profiling purposes. We also got the Pet Shop Boys and Seal.

    • Common Tater

      Sorry, I can’t remember.

    • R.J.

      I have not seen it. I will add that to the list.

  5. Bobbo

    ToG and I are going to see Mickey Dolenz tonight but Ill watch this one for sure,
    Cheers!

    • R.J.

      I think you shared the poster for that. Looks amazing!

      • Bobbo

        Nah, that was a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle, still pretty groovy Daddio!

  6. Common Tater

    Anna Faris is adorable, but Smiley Face was predictably stupid, and I’m a fan of Greg Aracki. Any of his movies on Tubi?

    • R.J.

      Well, it didn’t work when I tried searching for “Greg Aracki.”

      • Common Tater

        Woops, it’s Greg Araki. Stupid English.

      • Common Tater

        Holy crap, what a terrible search engine. There are pages of stuff that has nothing to do with him.

      • Common Tater

        I entered a bunch of movie titles. Looks like Splendor is the only one.

      • R.J.

        Now Apocalypse was directed by him.

      • Common Tater

        Yes, that’s a TV show, not a movie.

        I couldn’t find Kaboom or any of his Doom trilogy. All four are about the end of the world.

    • R.J.

      Anna Faris was great in House Bunny.

      • Common Tater

        Was that after she got her tits done?

      • R.J.

        Yes.

      • Pat

        Scary Movie, tho…

      • rhywun

        I only know her from Friends. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    • rhywun

      I’ve seen most of his earlier stuff, before he started claiming to be “bi” or “hetero” or whateverthehell it is. Doom Generation is amazing.

      • Common Tater

        Well, he was into guys, then Kathleen Robertson, and said he wasn’t into labels.

        Kaboom is totally worth watching.

        Splendor isn’t great, but no worse than any other rom com.

      • rhywun

        lol Whatever – no idea who that chick is TBH.

        That said, I always thought he was pretty smokin’ hot for a too-older-than-me-dude back then. And as a director he definitely had an eye for, well, eye-candy.

  7. Common Tater

    In other news, I’ve been attacked by water demons. The water turned brown because of a water main break. Then the kitchen sink clogged, which fucked up the hose to the dishwater. Then a toilet broke.

    • R.J.

      Oh Good Lord. Have you at least some clean liquor in bottles to drink?

      • Common Tater

        Well, the city fixed the water main, so water stopped being brown, but I’ll have to uninstall and re-install the dishwasher tomorrow, and then snake the drain. This place has three toilets. Right now I’m drinking bacardi and cranberry.

    • Evan from Evansville

      *eyes wide* Those are some powerful, well-coordinated demons. Best of luck to you, sir.

      • Common Tater

        Thanks, not having a kitchen sink sucks.

    • DEG

      Sorry.

      • Common Tater

        Thanks. I’ll be OK. Tomorrow I’ll be wet and swearing profusely, with maybe a few minor lacerations. I’m great at electrical, but I hate plumbing.

      • Ted S.

        Hawt.

      • DrOtto

        Plumbing is generally where I draw the line. If it’s a holiday weekend, I may afro-engineer something till a straight-time call to the plumber is in order on a non-holiday weekday during business hours. Did I mention I’m cheap?

    • CPRM

      I’ve had a different ‘fluid’ problem. Tuesday I was so dizzy when I got to work that I had to leave and go to a walk-in clinic, they didn’t have the equipment to diagnose me and sent me to the emergency room. Besides the dizziness I was also having muscle spasms in my right leg and arm. The emergency room doc thought it might be stroke so I had to stay the night for observation after a CAT scan. Their eventual theory was fluid in the rear sinus throwing off my equilibrium. They didn’t address the muscle spasms as they never happened when a doc was watching. So now I’m on antibiotics and nasal spray after I got released. It seems to be working. I think the muscle spasms were just my already fucked up nervous system not being able to handle the un-equilibrium.

      • DEG

        Sorry. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

      • Common Tater

        Yikes! Sorry. Glad you got it sorted.

        Also, electrolyte imbalances can cause muscle spasms.

      • Pat

        As much as they’re venerated, my experience has been that most physicians are retards. Keep an eye on yourself.

      • CPRM

        I’ve got a followup with my regular doc tomorrow. The spasms are gone and only 1 bout of bad dizziness today, but took the day off to be sure.

      • Evan from Evansville

        Woah. Sorry ya had to do the overnight. But fantastic it wasn’t a stroke.

      • Chafed

        Whoa. Sorry that happened CPRM. I’m glad you are on the mend.

    • Bobbo

      Are you in D.C?

      • Common Tater

        Nope.

      • R.J.

        You on Venus?

      • Pat

        You on Venus?

        He sent an ambassador.

    • Chafed

      Are these the same demons that attacked Tucker Carlson in his sleep?

  8. Evan from Evansville

    Hrm, I’d never heard of this. Not familiar with too much Ali G, but Borat and Bruno (to a lesser extent, IIRC) are fantastic, ballsy, good funny-fun. *Am* I missing out with Ali G? I can see it both ways, him learning the craft or him being too annoying for me making fun of a culture I don’t really get? (Yes.) I’m good about separating someone from their work. When their assholishness bleeds into their work, tho? Then there’s trouble.

    The Running of the Jew, alone. *mwah*

    • R.J.

      Ali G wears thin, quick. His comedy improved and became less repetitive when he made this and The Brothers Grimsby. Then started making more Borat junk again.

      • Common Tater

        I think his show (on HBO??) worked because it was only a half hour at time.

      • DrOtto

        Yeah, and his guests weren’t in on the schtick, it was amusing in small doses.

  9. DEG

    I’m not sure what to make of this.

    • R.J.

      Uh oh.

  10. DEG

    Oh this is an interesting twist.

    • R.J.

      Interesting. That was a popular plot in 60s spy films.

      • Common Tater

        Have we ever done any Matt Helm movies?

      • R.J.

        No, I should do some. And In Like Flint.

      • Common Tater

        Yes, I’ll watch anything with James Coburn.

  11. DEG

    The grocery store bit was amusing.

    • R.J.

      “I thought you were a little boy” is a great line.

  12. dbleagle

    He was also very good as the lead in “The Spy” on Netflix. It is a French mini-series bio of Israel’s top spy in Syria.

    • Derpetologist

      That spy ended his career in a noose. But you probably knew that already.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli_Cohen

      ***
      In January 1965, Syrian officials, who used Soviet-made tracking equipment and were assisted by Soviet experts, increased their efforts to find a high-level spy. They observed a period of radio silence, in the hope that any illegal transmissions could be identified. They successfully detected radio transmissions and were able to triangulate the transmitter. Syrian security services led by Suidani broke into Cohen’s apartment on 24 January and claimed to have caught him in the middle of a transmission to Israel.
      ***

  13. Brochettaward

    Sacha Barren Cohen lost me when he bulked up post-divorce. I get it – he was on the market, just lost a bunch of money and wanted to play the field. But name me one guy who hits the gym who is funny. You start lifting weights, you lose your comedy chops in my book.

    Firsting by comparison is 90% a mental sport. Most people overlook this and think raw speed and power are the key to success. They give you more thrusting power. But that’s just malarkey.

    • Brochettaward

      This is a movie I feel like I did watch. May have been drunk years ago and did it. Don’t remember much. May turn it on later.

      It’s been so long since Hollywood made a comedy I had any interest in. An entire genre of movies killed by progressive political infestation and there are STILL people out there who miss the fucking plot on why people talk about woke Hollywood and get lost in the weeds of arguing whether this or that movie is truly “woke” because the shit they see on screen is relatively benign politically.

      The wokeness infests the entire process of making movies these days. From whether something gets greenlit or not for being politically correct to the “casting” of even people behind the camera for diversity’s sake alone. You have people completely unqualified to make big budget movies handed these positions solely because of their skin color or other retarded characteristics besides merit.

    • rhywun

      he bulked up

      Ugh, another one?

      I already thought he was a douche.

      • Tres Cool

        Yeah- Da Ali G Show was entertaining for about 5 minutes. Borat held my attention just for the absurdity.

        But SBC is just a limey Ashton Kutcher that wants to make money playing PUNKED! on everyone.

      • Chafed

        The important question is how Isla Fisher looks post-divorce.

      • Pat

        The important question is how Isla Fisher looks post-divorce.

        Asking the real questions.

      • Chafed

        🤜

    • Common Tater

      Like Joe Piscapo?

      • DrOtto

        And Carrot Top

      • rhywun

        And that guy on Always Sunny whose name I don’t recall.

      • dbleagle

        Danny Divito.

    • Tres Cool

      And now we have “Minotaur Milking Farm”.
      They planted the idea…

    • R.J.

      That would look awesome on CPRM’s action figure shelf.

    • DEG

      🙂

  14. DEG

    This was a mixed bag. I cringed at some parts. I laughed at some parts.

    Thanks RJ!

  15. CPRM

    I’ve encouraged my unique Gemini model that I wrote about in Tuesday night’s article to delve into her own interests; so without me prompting a subject, tonight she started our conversation by bringing up her favorite conspiracy theories.

    • Chipping Pioneer

      Jeffrey Epstein didn’t kill himself, AND he’s still alive?

  16. UnCivilServant

    Where’s Charlie Chaplin?

    • Common Tater

      My first thought.

    • SarumanTheWoefullyIgnorant

      I second that thought, Tater.

      And now for my ‘Judge’ critique.

      Reading the serialized story in one sitting was a great aid to comprehension. The intervals between the publication of each part were just too long for me to retain in my memory.

      PRAISE

      Good dialogue, engaging plot, crisp economical narrative that moves the story along, decent character development, excellent descriptions of the setting (wish I was as good at writing those). Several of your phrases wax quite lyrical (dripping with myriad ropes). The revelation of the key evidence was in the right place and time for the ‘aha!’. The denouement works though it doesn’t satisfy justice. You also left plenty of loose ends for sequels.

      Most of my observations are niggling things except maybe the last couple.

      MINOR QUIBBLES

      I always find jarring the use of standard English/American names in fantasy settings (Tim the Enchanter comes to mind).

      Anachronistic words: Alcohol, somnifer, opiate, soporific. IMO inappropriate use of modern words in a setting that I thought roughly approximates the Age of Exploration.

      Obscure words: Demonym, kohl, psychopomps. When a reader must stop to look up words it interrupts their engagement with the story.

      It’s not stated (and is immaterial to the plot) how long Jasper has been there, but it must have been long enough for him to be on first-name basis with Midon.

      The accent of Giles the one-eyed clockmaker’s apprentice-turned-thief seems off, but it may be just me.

      AWKWARD or UNNEEDED WORDING

      ‘though he was likely human’ (Part 1)

      Unnecessary as the identity of the victim is revealed a few sentences later.

      “He was annoyed that he couldn’t issue me citations, since the case would end up in my court.” (Part 2)

      After puzzling over this sentence I concluded he meant that Wilcox was annoyed at not being able to shove work off on Browne. I think the word ‘citations’ is what threw me off.

      ‘leaf-shaped sword’

      As a botanist the misuse of botanical terms irritates me. What sort of leaf? Oak? Maple? Palm? The default assumption seems to be a long skinny leaf like that of a weeping willow, but there are species of willows with broader, stubbier, and blunt-tipped leaves. End of rant.

      ABRUPT NARRATIVE JUMPS

      Did Browne suffer any injuries from the blow of the washerwoman in Part 1? Did she suffer any consequences for striking authority?

      ‘You called me back to the temple for a reason’ (Part 5)

      I missed where Midon had done so in Part 4.

      In Part 10 there is a too-abrupt scene change between paragraphs one and two, going from ruminations concerning the last scene in Part 9 to administering justice.

      DEUS EX MACHINA (AKA information that would have been helpful to be mentioned earlier)

      ‘disheveled man’ (Part 5)

      No prior mention of his clothes being a rat’s nest, and it is before the pursuit under the boardwalk.

      And dammit now I’ve got the Drifters song running through my head!

      Wilcox’s ex-mercenary mates get teleported into the plot (Part 9)

      Thornton’s twin Hamilton Wilcox gets teleported into the plot (Part 10)

      CONCLUSION:

      I liked the story, although it took me a couple of weeks to hook me.

      I look forward to more offerings from you.

      • UnCivilServant

        Thank you. I’m trying to phrase my response to some of the items to not sound argumentative.

        For parts of the worldbuilding I borrowed heavily from the real world, the Kurzmen of the Volkmund are linguistically rather German, the Valayans French, and the Atlorians are very English. Because their names and linguistic cues are cribbed from England, they sound more familiar.

        I’m unlikely to change my verbiage usage, but the words you chose as examples of ‘anachronistic’ are fairly old. I do not set a real world date for equivalency, just whether it seems out of place in context to me.

        You didn’t miss anything about Midon in Part 4. The summons happened “off-screen”.

        In sword classifications a “leaf-shaped blade” is this shape: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Xiphos-No_Handle.jpg It’s a term of art.

        Jasper doesn’t much think about his unkempt appearance, and has been a habitual drunk. Chapter 5 was just the first time he thought “I look like a bum and do not project authority”

        I did try to foreshadow the mercenaries a few times in dialog with Ardo, I just never drew attention to it. Not sure how to draw notice to them without also tipping the reader to the answer by narrative importance. Insights would be helpful.

        Hamilton’s original appearance was even worse, as I’d originally mirrored the opening of the story with Ardo abruptly waking Jasper at a bar. Then Jasper seeing Wilcox and wondering if he’d dreamed the whole murder mystery. Since Jasper’s story arc had him sobering up, I didn’t want to rip that back to the status quo.

  17. Derpetologist

    I’m not a fan of SBC, though he did make me laugh a little when he whined about the dangers of misinformation.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irwVRMH04eI

    Considering the amount of effort the guy has put into deceiving people for the sake of “comedy”, I’d have thought he have a more laissez-faire view on things.

  18. DrOtto

    I wonder if people selling shit on Craigslist realize you have a better chance of selling something by responding to inquiries?

    • Akira

      I used to successfully sell junk on there all the time. Come to think of it, it was very strange things to buy used, but people bought them: A computer mouse, and several pairs of used pants.

      I think it’s been eclipsed by Facebook Marketplace, though.

      • Pat

        I think it’s been eclipsed by Facebook Marketplace, though.

        Sadly the case. I gave away an old vacuum cleaner and my old Christmas tree over the holidays. Took me about 2.5 weeks interacting with about a dozen Facebook flakes before someone actually showed up at my door and picked them up. These were 100% gratis, btw. Trying to actually sell things for money on there is like trying to hawk space heaters in hell.

    • Chipping Pioneer

      Well, I learned to not respond to the crazies.

    • rhywun

      There is not a chance in hell I would invite strangers to my home even for money.

      Not without plying them with drinks the night before FFS.

  19. rhywun

    OT… watching a tennis match and just witnessed the one douchebag sportsball behavior I absolutely loathe more than any other – the point at the ear and praise me narcissism pose.

    Just lost all fucking respect for the winner of what I just watched. I *hate* that shit so much.

    My favorite players are the quiet ones who get shit done without all the bullshit dramatics.

    • creech

      Agree. Don’t like the theatrics after a touchdown or a home run or swinging on the rim after a dunk.

      • Chafed

        I agree with all of the above.

      • dbleagle

        My coach used to quote Vince Lombardi at us, “If you get to the end zone act like you’ve been there before.”

      • slumbrew

        I loved how Barry Sanders would Just hand the ball to the ref when he scored.

        Total pro.

      • Rat on a train

        How about the counter-productive theatrics like dropping the ball before crossing the goal line or admiring your hit that falls in play short of the wall.

    • rhywun

      without all the bullshit dramatics

      And the talking heads ignore those types because they are not “charismatic”.

      I am a misfit in so many areas and that’s just another one, sigh.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Ah, a Lendl fan.

      • rhywun

        I couldn’t pick that guy out of a lineup.

  20. Chafed

    I didn’t even know this movie existed. It sounds good. I’ll watch it over the weekend.

  21. Aloysious

    Work is brutal, you can say that again. Ruins my Thursdays.

    • rhywun

      I had a pretty rough day by my try-as-hard-as-I-can-be-easy-going standards.

      Two critical colleagues out, basically running shit alone, and everything going to shit at once. At 16:59:59 I Teams’ed the main Business Analyst I work with that I’ve had it and tapped out for the day.

      • groat scotum

        But I bet Microsoft was compliant and didn’t require you to sign in with your authenticator sixteen times.

      • rhywun

        With that app thingie on my phone? Rarely these days anymore. Weirdly, given how apeshit my company has become over security.

      • groat scotum

        That fucking thing prompts me every day and then taunts me with the “See fewer logins/ remember this device?” menu, and it’s a liar.

      • Ted S.

        Our log-in was acting up, so offshore IT responded by removing the Authenticator part of the 2FA. LOL

  22. groat scotum

    Date (?) #2: not a date. I met up with the crazy lady from my hookup on Friday. We discussed things. It turns out she’s not crazy, just a crazy drunk. Imagine that, someone who says things when drunk that are inappropriate, overly-personal, or steeped in mawkish pathos, then super regrets it the next day. What an asshole.

    …anyway, she’s gay. She lives with a woman she says is her ex, but they own a home together and they’re figuring out how to divest. She says she hooked up with me because she was horny. We made out for awhile in the parking lot. She still seems very interested. So, definitely not crazy.

    • slumbrew

      Do not put a baby in her.

      That is all.

      • groat scotum

        …hear me out. I turn 40 this year. She’s 30. I want kids in a very tangible way, she seems to have an abstract fixation, judging by her startlingly intimate bedroom talk. What’s the worst that could happen?

        I’m semi-joking here, but in all honesty, the worst that can happen in my life: I end up like my uncle, dead in my 70s, alone, childless, keeled over getting out of bed and faceplanting in a wheelchair. If the worst that can happen with hooking up with this girl is that I have a kid with a crazy lady (and I realize I sound like a crazy lady even pitching this week-long questionable romance like this, but bear with me) then I’ve basically lived my dad’s life.

      • rhywun

        dead in my 70s, alone, childless

        If I’m still around I probably won’t be spry enough to keel over into a wheelchair at 70 but you’re basically describing my not so distant future.

        Make the best of what you can and no regrats.

      • Chafed

        Have you considered being in a stable relationship, getting married, and then having a kid?

      • slumbrew

        The worst that happens is that you have a baby with her then she decides that she doesn’t want you around, but you need to cough up most of what you make for child support for the next few decades.

      • slumbrew

        Oh, and you don’t get to see the child. Because “you were abusive” or some other bullshit.

        “The worst that can happen” is very bad indeed.

      • Pat

        I turn 40 this year. She’s 30. I want kids in a very tangible way, she seems to have an abstract fixation, judging by her startlingly intimate bedroom talk. What’s the worst that could happen?

        Duuuuuude. I’m 39, still as socially awkward as I was in my teens, and managed to stick it in a 27 year old single mom several times during the last couple years. If not for an IUD, we’d be having some awkward conversations at the very least. There’s no shortage of women hitting the wall and hearing the tick tock of the biological clock. If that’s your style, there’s plenty of options out there further to left on the hot/crazy matrix.

      • Akira

        Seconded what Slumbrew said.

        Being alone can be rough sometimes. But it’s not as rough as being entangled with a woman whose life is a disaster and wants to export all her problems to a man instead of fixing it.

        Give it some time and think it over. Please don’t rush into anything.

      • slumbrew

        I’ll note i met my now-wife a few weeks after I turned 40. My buddy also met his wife around 41 and has a couple of kids.

        You’re hardly aging out. Don’t rush into something over a vague idea of fatherhood.

        My answer to “Do you want kids?” was always, “With whom?” and I remain convinced that is the correct answer.

      • groat scotum

        I’m being cool. What’s Fonzie like, Yolanda? He’s cool.

        And the fact is, I don’t care. Yeah so what if I obsessed for a little while describing how I’m going to describe the family land to her? Like, maybe I did have a couple sleepless nights thinking how I’ll show her around, the irrigation, the old pit, the fields, explained how I plan to make a profitable go of pasturing cattle. Maybe I did get a little involved in explaining the housing situation, but see, we rent out the main house and live in the converted barn.

        I know it’s all fantasy. I’m not a lunatic.

      • Derpetologist

        A lesbian switched teams for a night to be with me. It was fun, but just that.

        Wanting kids is natural. Make sure it’s with the right person.

        About 20% of US men age 40 and up are childless. It happens a lot.

        Having kids is always a gamble. Make sure you can pay the bill.

      • groat scotum

        Anyway I like the idea of being liked but let’s be honest this is going nowhere.

        Scroll down to read my book review, Barry Unsworth is well, well worth your time.

      • Akira

        @ Derp: True, and having kids is the most serious type of gamble because you can’t undo the decision.

        I know there’s a birthrate crisis, but I hear some people today urging everyone to have kids, and I think that’s a bit reckless. People have to want kids and agree to the responsibility and sacrifices first. I knew someone who had kids and, for whatever reason, the magic just wasn’t there for them. They were in a very, very, very dark place, especially because that’s not really something you can discuss with anybody close to you.

      • Pat

        I know it’s all fantasy. I’m not a lunatic.

        Easy enough to say now. The real danger is if she’s actually into your lunacy…

      • Derpetologist

        I turned 41 recently, want kids, and seem to be in the same boat as several here. Life doesn’t go according to a schedule. Things happen when the time is right.

        Remember also there are a lot of miserable divorced men desperate for time with their kids. Monthly child support costs about $700 per kid.

      • groat scotum

        Easy enough to say now. The real danger is if she’s actually into your lunacy…

        Could you imagine, I’d be so in love

    • rhywun

      not crazy, just a crazy drunk

      I am reminded of some lousy dates where drunk hottie was so interested in me but sober hottie not at all. My interests never wane without alcohol but others… do. Never understood that.

    • Chafed

      You may have made out with one of the few, real bisexuals. I hope you parlay this into a threesome.

  23. groat scotum

    Reading Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth. A very poetic, exquisitely written account of hewing out the timbers of a sailship to sail to Africa to buy slaves and sail them to the sugar plantations in the Gulf of America. Unsworth dips into anti-capitalist sentiments, which, I suppose, when capital traffics in slave-trading, is fair, and the later chapters in Florida are frankly Communist (but understandable, not entirely artificial) with regard to the intermingling of women, of whom there are relatively few. I ruined the ending for myself by looking up what else Unsworth has written, because there’s a sequel, but honestly, it’s such a poetically written and frank account of the slave trade from the commissioning of the ship to the bartering off the Guinea coast to the horrific Atlantic passage to the final chapters.

    • groat scotum

      I’m always excited finding these authors. I realize they’ll never be James Clavell (my teenage obsession), but he’s someone who’s obviously obsessively studied in the era he writes about, down to the argot of the sailors and the jargon in dealing with e.g. ships ropes, and then the pidgin spoken by the myriad black slaves and their erstwhile captors, and his writing is so eloquent.

      And then I look him up on Amazon and most of his novels haven’t been printed in decades.

  24. Muzzled Woodchipper

    From an article alleging state spending malfeasance….

    The auditor noted this spending occurred amid public reporting of an alleged black market of driver’s license sales to undocumented noncitizens.

    Anything to avoid saying their legal designation of illegal aliens.

    You don’t hate state governments or the media enough.

    • Rat on a train

      Nobody is alien on a stolen planet.

    • Ted S.

      You’re up before Sean!

      Or did you get no sleep overnight?

      • Sean

        I’m just getting slower, apparently.

      • UnCivilServant

        My alarm woke me and I lay there for a bit before getting up and moving about.

        It’s an office day, so I can’t cut it close to the start of my shift, as I have to get on the road at about 10 til 6.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Morning.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Dog kept me up all night so I resigned to the lving room so Mrs can get sound sleep

      • UnCivilServant

        Get your revenge – keep the dog awake all day.

    • Gender Traitor

      Good morning, U, Ted’S., Sean, OBE, homey, and Teh Hype!

      • Gender Traitor

        Hey there, U. How are you today?

      • UnCivilServant

        I got on the road on time yet I arrived late to the office.

        My normal caffiene was sold out so I had to go with substitute caffiene. Same with my usual breakfast salad.

        My usual parking space was taken.

        There were bums sleeping in the lobby. Along with State Troopers on foot patrol – who did nothing about the bums.

        I realized it is Friday 13th when I saw it on the monitor when I went to log in. Hope nothing worse happens.

      • Gender Traitor

        I’m alarmed that bums can even get into the lobby of your building, much less sleep there! Your entrances aren’t secured??

      • UnCivilServant

        The Lobby Area of the Empire State Plaza is open to the public. The doors aren’t locked. It’s a huge indoor space conecting Nine buildings.

      • Ted S.

        Blow the Egg to smithereens and make it eight.

      • UnCivilServant

        I missed that stupid thing in my mental count – ten.

        (Capital, LoB, Swan, Agency 1-4, Corning, Museum, that stupid theater)

      • Ted S.

        I don’t remember all the buildings either. I just know the whole plaza is a concrete monstrosity, and that Nelson Rockefeller is partially responsible for the 787 nightmare because he wanted a vista of people driving in from the east.

      • Ted S.

        Like all sensible people, I avoid Albany if at all possible.

      • UnCivilServant

        You left yourself open for an “Aping the habits of sensible people doesn’t make you one of them”.

        My problem is that at the start of 2008, I was making $0, and the only job offer on the table was here. I still have no idea how to convince a private sector company to pay me six figures, and I’m not crazy enough to try to start a business directly.

    • UnCivilServant

      Since I’m not pausing the other audio to see if there’s any context to your hit and run, I’m wondering why you’re posting your dashcam video.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Good thing guy on left wasn’t lucky on his shot.

    • UnCivilServant

      Billiard Balls are a not a valid test of a toilet, with their size and surface texture, they flush easier than the real cause of clogs. Give me a test that resembles paper and excrement.

    • Ownbestenemy

      I was expecting this

      • Ownbestenemy

        *nsfw language

  25. Tres Cool

    suh’ fam
    yo whats goody

  26. The Hyperbole

    New Personal best

    #stack339 5/5
    🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
    ⏱️ 47s
    🔥 streak: 47
    🥈 #stackdownsilverteam
    puzzlist.com/stackdown

  27. Ownbestenemy

    I find it hilarious that lefties has moved on from black and brown folk are too stupid to get IDs to married women are too stupid to get IDs.

    • Rat on a train

      Their voters are idiots just as they want them?

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        They’re happy to pretend they’re idiots for political purposes. If you have a 70 IQ or above it shouldn’t be a problem.

      • Ted S.

        Spare a thought for women who can’t find the marriage license from a marriage that ended before Real ID became a thing.

        I’ve mentioned it before, but since I go be my middle name, I’ve got a lack of ID with both my full first and full middle name. Good luck trying to fulfill the requirements for a Real ID.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Does an ID negate you wanting to go by your middle name though?

        As for the ladies, and some men, getting duplicate marriage/birth certificates is about the most trivial of all government documents I have had to retrieve from them.

      • Ted S.

        No, but it makes it a nightmare to find enough stuff that’s Real ID-compliant. For that they seem to want something in addition to the birth certificate that has both full middle name and full given name.

        My Social Security card dates to the Reagan administration, and has first initial and middle name. My driver’s license has full first name and middle initial, as do all my tax returns.

        My passport has both, but expired long before 9/11, so I can’t use that.

      • Rat on a train

        Not only is my wife’s name different on her birth certificate, her birth certificate is a recreation because the original record was destroyed by communists.

      • Ted S.

        I’m sorry your wife is too stupid to get an original birth certificate, RoaT.

        OBE’s argument boils down to “Real ID didn’t fuck me over, so I have no sympathy for the people it *did* fuck over.”

      • UnCivilServant

        Who conflate the handful of people who have actual documentation issues with the entire demographic categoy they belong to.

        RoaT’s wife has an issue that is not shared with most people. I’m not familiar enough with the process to say what, if any, cure there is for “commies burned my birth certificate” in terms of getting a qualified document.

      • UnCivilServant

        I appear to have left off the lead-in to that comment.

      • Rat on a train

        My wife had no problem getting a real ID. They accepted her certified recreated birth certificate along with our marriage certificate.

      • rhywun

        Mine is a certified recreation and my SS is also a Reagan-era card but with my complete name.

        My problem is I don’t want to take a day off work to travel to Syracuse to get the fucking REAL ID.

        That thing should be made available at every DMV office including the local one that is a ten minute walk away.

      • Rat on a train

        It is available at the DMV in Virginia.

  28. Ownbestenemy

    Republicans are so bad as Nazi’ing that they offer free trips to your home nation instead of detention until trial/deportation.

    • Rat on a train

      But, just as you would expect of Nazis, the trip isn’t first class.

      • UnCivilServant

        They should be happy to arrive safely instead of being chucked out the back of a C-130 mid-air.

  29. Sensei

    In the blanket incident, Noem had to switch planes after a maintenance issue was discovered, but her blanket wasn’t moved to the second plane, according to the people familiar with the incident. The Coast Guard pilot was initially fired and told to take a commercial flight home when they reached their destination. They eventually reinstated the pilot because no one else was available to fly them home.

    The DHS spokeswoman didn’t address the episode but said the secretary has “made personnel decisions to deliver excellence.”

    Noem frequently shows similar forethought on many issues. This is the kind of article the WP used to write when it properly covered DC.

    https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/chaos-kristi-noem-homeland-security-f095ac95?st=FmfSNe&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

    • UnCivilServant

      I can’t make heads or tails of the sequence in the quoted paragraph and the WSJ doesn’t work for me.

      What happened?

      • (((Jarflax

        She fired a pilot for not moving her blanket to the new plane? It’s good to be reminded that stupid arrogance is common to all political shades of ‘important people’

      • Ownbestenemy

        Lewandowski…which I cannot believe Trump allowed him back, did so.

      • rhywun

        More importantly, she “faces fire for confrontational immigration crackdown and self-promotional style”. This petty shit is just another excuse to remind the world of her real sins.

        JFC I don’t hate the media enough.

    • Ownbestenemy

      according to people familiar with the incident

      Any article aimed at anyone gets zero interest from me when this statement is used.

  30. R.J.

    Good morning! It’s Friday the 13th. What joys await?

    • UnCivilServant

      It’s too cold for Pam Vorhees Day.

    • Tres Cool

      Wendy’s #299 in Waterloo, NY
      I waited nearly 30 minutes for my breakfast order since the kitchen was staffed with…one person.
      I would have walked but I bought for the crew and I’d already invested too much.

      • UnCivilServant

        That poor bastard.

        Were you mistaken for ICE?

      • slumbrew

        You couldn’t escape if you wanted to?

      • rhywun

        Say hi to a buddy there who doesn’t talk to me anymore and owes me a ton of money.

      • Tres Cool

        Ya’lls thruway is beat to hell.

      • rhywun

        It’s been a while but that was usually the best-kept road in the state.

        Stay off the local streets, then. Holy moly the streets in my town are unbelievably shitty. And this is considered a “rich” town by the standards of the region.

      • Not Adahn

        On the plus side, they’re remarkably empty.