It’s been an artsy week in the Gulch with a major (for us) festival of music and performances. 10b0t, WebDom, and I have been hopping at our little café, and I have taken the opportunity to pick up snatches of conversations. Problem is that this week they have all seemed so… predictable. Banal. “Well, if we just tax the rich, there will be a better life for everyone in New York City.” “We need to keep doing our protests to show that we’re resisting Trump’s plan to end elections and be president for life.” “It’s awful living here since the Republicans and Trumpies have things gerrymandered to make sure that this district will always be solid Red.” “Sure, we haven’t seen ICE here yet, but we have to be ready. As soon as they’ve rounded up the brown people, they’ll be ‘disappearing’ anyone who is suspected of being trans or queer.”
Not a single original thought beyond the microchip implanted by NPR. I pine for the days when conversations overheard were at least creatively stupid.
Birthdays today are numerous, and include a guy who was OK in my book; a guy who was transformational; the original Joe Biden; a strong Second Amendment advocate; everybody’s TV mom; a one dimensional clown, but did that dimension very well; a guy whose classic textbook was the bane of my senior year; a guy whose funeral featured the best sign language interpreter ever; a revered piece of shit who wasted remarkable amounts of taxpayer money; the most abused philosopher ever; the original patent troll; a homo frontiersman; another revered guy whose work I find unreadable; a guy who deserves a medal for fucking Barbra Streisand; a lying sack of shit whom we can blame for the lionization of one of our worst presidents; another astronaut but with a bit of a twist; and a brilliant multi-instrumentalist who almost fits the theme of “Them Christians is gonna put us in camps and make us reproduce.”
And with that, we delve into the actual purpose here, Links.
Insignificant, but at least directionally correct.
Carefully crafted and focus-grouped authenticity.
Stupidest pissing contest of the week.
Well, that’s one way to communicate with your lawyer.
“Don’t make me get Tony involved.”
Actually, I think this is kinda sweet.
This is an excerpt from a much longer performance of my favorite jazz standard. The precision and almost Mondrian-like construction of the lines in Dolphy’s solo are riveting. This is the guy (literally) who taught Coltrane to play. The Old Guy still recommends the full song, but this slice will absolutely get you as crazy about Dolphy as I am. Unless, of course, you are soulless, and that’s entirely possible. The addition of The Old Guy’s favorite pianist doesn’t hurt.
Insignificant? People will die!
“People we’re exploiting will die!!!”
No.
Meh. A funeral is for the living. The girlfriend is under strict orders that if I die first, I expect her to reach out to everyone, and set up a wake to make it through my alcohol collection. Depending on how I pass, I may be propped up in a corner with a drink in hand.
Dispose of me as quickly as possible. If you keep my body around as some show piece I will haunt you.
Are you trying to kill all your friends through alcohol poisoning?
He needs friends in the afterlife.
“And here we have a taxidermied Rat on a Train. It was used as a focus in paranormal studies to attempt to measure haunting intensities.”
I just want to be memorialized with a Bierce definition as my epigraph:
Alone – In Bad Company.
@Rat, will your dried-out paw grant three wishes but with horrifying results?
The Mrs. and I have agreed no funeral, just a big party in our back yard. That seems to be popular these days. Every funeral I’ve been to in recent years is some sort of “memorial service” at a funeral home. It’s been forever since I’ve seen a wake, service, Mass, and trip to the cemetery.
RoaT isn’t a monkey.
Throw my carcass to the ravens, ideally in Ten Sleep Canyon.
Me and the missus will make a one trip to the UMinn Med School.
They can take what they want
Regarding “Well, that’s one way to communicate with your lawyer”, the defendant punched the prosecutor… while the jury was in the room.
Somehow I feel like this on a loop should be subsequent legal aid for this defendant.
Perfect strategy for tainting the jury. Now they are all witnesses!
Tainting? Do you think he would get between playing ball with a bunch of assholes?
“U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee”
Seriously?
a guy who was OK in my book
Happy birthday Martin Van Buren!
You just want to corral everyone into going off half-cocked, don’t you?
Morning all, Morning, Old Man — sorry the liberal tears are stale and trite for you.
Again, she could just get a test done and settle the whole thing.
Happy Birthday Jim Varney!
Happy Birthday Edwin Abbott Abbott?
a strong Second Amendment advocate
Happy birthday Alec Baldwin!
lol My city has a reputation of being “ten square miles of crazy surrounded by reality”; it must be even more stifling to have only one square mile of crazy to play with.
You can always spread crazy
It’s too rural to snake the reliable Dem districts across hundreds of miles to the remote college towns.
If they want leftist representation they need to argue for vastly increased number of House districts.
Or make their case to the people who live there.
The whole country has been gerrymandered to suit team red. That’s the new line they’re using.
And CA should secede is the other. Remember, they pay more than they get back! Nevermind that about 1/2 of all CA is fedgov owned, fedgov pays to administer that land, and pays CA for tax equivalency as if it were privately owned. They have no means of defense, particularly naval defense. If CA were to secede, they would be part of Mexico very quickly.
“Similarly, NPR’s CEO, Katherine Maher, said: “Nearly three in four Americans say they rely on their public radio stations for alerts and news for their public safety.”
Bullshit.
Said Americans polled during NPR pledge week after specifying their amount and in order to get their commemorative tote bag….
As I stated yesterday, I don’t believe I’ve ever intentionally listened to NPR in my life (other than as a passenger in someone else’s car, driver controls the radio). I can’t even tell you what station it’s broadcast on locally. I can still rattle off most of the others, including Christian AM stations, and several of the college stations.
I only know one person who listened to NPR: my lefty hockey teammate. I’ve known plenty of people who listen to talk shows on AM radio.
I used too, and my mother was a volunteer DJ on the music side, but stopped about 15 years ago.
@TOK – sitting in a not insignificant number of cars and going to my customers homes, most of the regular NPR listeners are caricatures. They are the ones with the rainbow flags hanging at their house and have the Ukrainian flag bumper stickers on their Volvos and Preii. Blue mask hanging from the rearview still in some cases.
If it’s that popular…
This.
They would be rolling in dough.
If it requires subsidies it is a bad idea. <—- law of the universe
This is a woman who unashamedly said facts are inconvenient and truth subjective.
I dont know why anyone would open their mouth ever again after saying that.
To lie?
The Left really screwed themselves with PBS and NPR. I don’t think the government should be funding any sort of programming, but if it must, it has to attempt to be non-partisan and not outrageously one sided. I loved Sesame Street, the Reading Rainbow, the Magic School Bus, and Mr. Rodgers as a kid but we can’t keep on forcing people to fund an entity that doesn’t represent half of the country’s views.
And the Lefties who loves to post on Instagram their trips around the world and cafe shops could sacrifice some of their money to fund this shit. They won’t though because they’ve been trained to force someone else to fund their bullshit.
In case you were unaware, LeVar Burton did a Kickstarter a while back to bring Reading Rainbow back. I backed it and passed along the details to my sister for the nephews.
There was also Electric Company, 3-2-1 Contact, and the granddaddy of them all (not on PBS, at least locally) Mr. Fucking Wizard.
That’s awesome and how things should be done. If you care about a product or something so much take the time to fund it or volunteer.
I agree Ed. Besides the kids shows, there were awesome DIY and cooking shows on PBS, and let’s not forget Bob Ross (and Bill Alexander).
The president of PBS was making about $1.2 million a couple years ago. Shouldn’t be too hard to find a competent and non-partisan exec to do the job for half that.
We are living in the age of niche crowdfunding. If you have content people want to see, it has never been easier to find a way to fund it.
Ed, they won’t donate or volunteer, as that is not how they feel things such as that should be handled. They truly believe that taxes should be high, cover all that they think is right, and nothing that they feel is wrong.
Basically, they feel that their morals are the correct way to govern society.
a one dimensional clown
Happy birthday August Möbius!
If the Behemoth Bloated Bill doesn’t dominate the ratio back towards the “lose” column, I’d be stunned.
Honestly, given DC — if the “recissions” bill itself doesn’t include pork that overcomes its intent I’ll be stunned…. the bar is so, so low these days.
I suppose some lip service to fiscal responsibility (over the “fiscal responsibility is dead — no one cares” of the last decade post Tea Party) is better than nothing.
There is much debate and hand wringing over cutting a few billion, but spending a trillion? No problem!
The BBB wont move the marker either way. Debt is an abstract and not enough care on an individual level.
Besides, we can raise taxes on other people to spend on what I like!
“How’s it going, fellow TikTok American voters?”
I truly don’t understand all the cursing. It makes them sound even dumber.
All the marketing genius of “Follow this trend that was hot 2 years ago!”… “Trump can be crass… Trump did well in the last election… we must mimic Trump to do well! Don’t worry about policies or positions!”
Also, Trump rarely ever curses.
It amazes me that they still haven’t figured out that it’s the substance, not the “narrative”. Trump is popular because he’s addressing issues people see every day.
No one I know
voted for Nixonwants a change from the liberal paradigm!Music for the birthday boy with a twist here.
Sorry, Eye-talians. You don’t get to have special “Pride” street markings while I bet many of you turn around and bitch about “rainbow” street markings or the racist BLM markings.
Just stop it all already.
My thought as well.
I don’t even know which article we are talking about but I agree. I am done with special treatment.
Do you know how much it hurts to see the Italian colors replaced by Hapsburg colors?
Cicadas are loud this morning. Normally I don’t hear them inside.
The cicada call is from inside the house?
“Aaron Regunberg is a contributing editor at The New Republic, a climate lawyer, and a progressive organizer.”
I hear Mike Tyson has a climate issue.
AOC cries in a mall parking lot.
Crockett and her jive-ass routine
Schumer and his cartoon costume
Speaking of two dimensional cartoons…Mamdani
Brown’s gibberish
Newsome selling used cars and high speed rail
Hogg the school shooting survivor
the tranny issue
baby murder
standing up for rapists and murders
flooding the country with commies and gangsters
Capsizing Guam and standing up for every American’s right to helium
on and on
Yep. These are serious people.
No matter how hard I try, I can’t get it to fit with We Didn’t Start the Fire.
LOL that is exactly where my mind went.
This creepiness happened:
https://discernreport.com/cursed-dolls-deadly-secret-paranormal-investigator-drops-dead-after-facing-infamous-annabelle/
Creepy doll kills paranormal investigator. Or maybe his diet did it.
Looks like he traveled a lot to make the show, I doubt he was eating well.
“Host Andrew Schulz’s introduction for Buttigieg set the tone: “He’s here to explain how he kept the planes in the sky, how billionaires legally dodge taxes, why Trump’s new tariffs could be hurting America, what he ate in Afghanistan that made him gay, and, most importantly, why every Republican National Convention, Grindr is on fire.”
I like how Democrats are “pro-LGBTQ+” but gay is an insult.
I dont know what any of that means. Yep, serious people.
I did pick up on ‘could be hurting’
No mention of how he kept trains on the tracks, oddly enough.
“Hogg said he was ultimately given an ultimatum to do nothing with his group, Leaders We Deserve, and “collect a check” or keep his “largely ceremonial title” as vice chair at the DNC. ”
I would like the DNC to know that I am available and would be perfectly fine with this arrangement.
“Now, Rina Sawayama, whose previous releases were beloved for their early 00s pop-R&B bent, is back with STFU!, all fat, menacing guitars and sweaty basslines that drop out for a whispered chorus more vicious than anything System of a Down could retch up. “It’s a song about releasing my rage against microaggressions,” Sawayama says.”
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/dec/13/theres-a-lot-to-be-angry-about-the-female-pop-stars-reclaiming-nu-metals-rage
STFU yourself.
At least four or five people will be delighted.
I thought we posted in English here
My response (NSFW – language. The song is even named NSFW).
I thought Trigglypuff already released this. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I posted it in the overnight thread, but an update for Sensei and Tonio:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20250718_06/index.html
What kind of bears do they have there? I thought it was just relatives of black bears.
Wikipedia says:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ussuri_brown_bear
The Brown bear range includes Hokkaido.
Speaking of metal
“A 61-year-old man is in critical condition after he was sucked into an MRI machine on Long Island while wearing a large metal necklace, cops said.
The freak incident occurred Wednesday afternoon when the man — who has not been identified by police — walked into the exam room at Nassau Open MRI sporting the chunky chain while a scan was already underway, according to Nassau County Police.
Authorities said the man, who was not authorized to enter the Westbury imaging room, suffered a medical episode after he was forcefully pulled into the machine.”
https://nypost.com/2025/07/18/us-news/long-island-man-61-wearing-large-metal-chain-necklace-sucked-into-mri-machine-cops/
In a movie, this would be considered comedy.
I thought the same.
That’s not true. That is a scene from a movie…I just cant remember which one.
“Tragedy is when I get a paper cut on my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.’
— Mel Brooks
Did the guy have on clown makeup and ask “Magnets, how do they work?” just before walking. in?
On my team chat I’ve seen stories about people going into an MRI while wearing some sort of sex toy, and there is a lot of internal damage.
MRI magnets are insanely strong. Somebody left a cart just over the line at one of my hospital’s MRIs, and when the machine came on the cart just slammed into the machine from across the room and caused a lot of damage.
Here is a nifty guide: https://mri-q.com/uploads/3/4/5/7/34572113/___7281789_orig.png
If you have ever worked around magnets you know that ‘magnet safety’ is a thing. An important thing. I have a measly 500lb magnet I use for magnet fishing and yes, you have to be very careful with it.
The Crypto bills passed. Excellent news. Included was a piece to stop any attempt to pass a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/crypto-market-cap-tops-4-trillion-house-passes-all-3-crypto-week-bills
“Simultaneously, the House also passed the Anti-CBDC Act, which prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a U.S. central bank digital currency. The bill reflects growing concerns over surveillance risks and the potential for government overreach that CBDCs could pose. Republican lawmakers and crypto advocates have long warned against the implementation of a digital dollar that could threaten personal privacy and financial autonomy. “
“An illegal immigrant and mother was arrested for staging a fake “kidnapping” — where bounty hunters took her at gunpoint and tried forcing her to self-deport at a fast-food restaurant — to scam people and “smear federal law enforcement.”
Yuriana Julia “Juli” Pelaez Calderon, 41, was charged with conspiracy and making false statements to federal officers over the elaborate scheme on Thursday, according to the Department of Justice….
The hoax kicked off when Calderon’s family and attorneys held a press conference on June 30, saying armed men ambushed her in two unmarked trucks at a Jack in the Box restaurant parking lot in downtown Los Angeles….
Following the media attention, Calderon’s daughter created a GoFundMe page and requested $4,500.”
https://nypost.com/2025/07/18/us-news/california-illegal-immigrant-yuriana-calderon-faked-ice-kidnapping-for-fundraiser-scam-and-to-smear-federal-agents-doj/
Who paid for the attorneys?
Remember when people accused of crimes on the right tried to do gofundme? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
I wonder if she speaks English well enough to say “self-own”
Jack in the Box?
At least stage your kidnapping at a place with good food.
Like many other FF chains I am enough of a geezer to remember when they actually had good food.
“If you believe Donald Trump, the letter published today in the Wall Street Journal, purporting to be from him to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, is ‘fake news’. According to the report, the message – prepared for Epstein’s 50th birthday – ‘featured several lines of typewritten text framed by what appeared to be a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman’. It is also said to include the cryptic comment: ‘We have certain things in common Jeffrey.’
Trump is threatening to sue. And his allies have already been despatched to angrily defend the President. ‘Forgive my language but this story is complete and utter b******t,’ Vice President JD Vance raged. ‘Does anyone honestly believe this sounds like Donald Trump?’
Frankly, yes. That’s part of the problem. We’ve all seen the video of Donald Trump boasting about how he likes to ‘grab them [women] by the p***y’. We’ve also seen the 1992 footage of him partying with Epstein on his Mar-a-Lago estate. At one point in the video, Trump is seen grabbing a woman towards him and patting her behind.
So yes, the letter – if it exists – would be very much in character. But whether or not it’s real or fake isn’t really that important. Because as far as significant sections of his hitherto unbreachable MAGA base are concerned, Trump is already complicit.”
https://archive.is/nBYf9
Why am I not seeing the letter?
WSJ is paywalled, no one else has it?
There we go. Honesty.
It *could* be true and that’s all that matters.
JFC this shit is so tedious. Clearly, they are still plotting another Summer of Love. Dig your pussy hats out of storage, ladies.
Yeah, I got that too. Remember, facts are inconvenient, truth subjective i.e. only the narrative matters. That is exactly what he is saying.
I dunno. “ several lines of typewritten text framed by what appeared to be a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman” doesn’t sound like Trump. I don’t see him either typing or drawing pictures to give to somebody on their birthday.
And where did this letter come from? I thought all of Epstein’s files were either non-existent or totally locked up by the FBI/DOJ.
Also, was it signed? Trump loves signing his name. I can’t imagine him sending this mash note to Epstein without signing it.
Is there any handwriting on it at all? If not, then it would look to me like something designed to be non-falsifiable.
Look close. You can see where ‘draw naked woman here’ was written in pencil then erased.
In all seriousness I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if the kinds of people that fabricated the piss hookers would do something like this. In fact, I would be very surprised if it isn’t a fake.
Real laptops are a no go. Possibly fake letter – run it!
Here is the WSJ article:
https://archive.is/ANtBN
They don’t print a copy of the letter, just a description and transcript.
Of course they dont. So, this letter is indistinguishable from a letter that does not exist.
Alright, supposedly it has Trump’s signature:
“It isn’t clear how the letter with Trump’s signature was prepared.”
No shit? Talk about giant waving red flags.
“ Inside the outline of the naked woman was a typewritten note styled as an imaginary conversation between Trump and Epstein, written in the third person.
“Voice Over: There must be more to life than having everything,” the note began.
Donald: Yes, there is, but I won’t tell you what it is.
Jeffrey: Nor will I, since I also know what it is.
Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.
Jeffrey: Yes, we do, come to think of it.
Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?
Jeffrey: As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you.
Trump: A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Oh yeah, that sounds totally like Trump.
I mean, it’s possible, but I’m going to need something more before I believe this is real.
“”The Wall Street Journal, and Rupert Murdoch, personally, were warned directly by President Donald J. Trump that the supposed letter they printed by President Trump to Epstein was a FAKE and, if they print it, they will be sued,” Trump posted to Truth Social. “Mr. Murdoch stated that he would take care of it but, obviously, did not have the power to do so.
“The Editor of The Wall Street Journal, Emma Tucker, was told directly by Karoline Leavitt, and by President Trump, that the letter was a FAKE, but Emma Tucker didn’t want to hear that,” he continued. “Instead, they are going with a false, malicious, and defamatory story anyway. President Trump will be suing the Wall Street Journal, NewsCorp, and Mr. Murdoch, shortly.””
https://justthenews.com/government/white-house/trump-says-he-will-sue-wsj-over-its-article-detailing-fake-birthday-note
All sturm and drang right now without more info and the actual letter assuming it exists. I neither believe nor disbelieve its veracity considering the evidence presented.
the most abused philosopher ever
Happy birthday Friedrich Nietzsche!
“Where is the cat?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I heard this ship had a big cat on board.”
“It’s not an animal, the CAT is the Continuous Atomic Tunneling Drive.”
“Why is it called that?”
“Because it works by constantly relocating every particle in this ship forward to another spot via some sort of tunneling effect I don’t really think I can explain in words you’d understand.”
“What? Particle by particle? Separately?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
“Why don’t I feel it?”
“Because every piece of you is being moved at the same time, so when it arrives at the next spot, they’re all in the same relative position to each other. More or less.”
“More or less?”
“Well, there is some jiggle. We are cheating our way past the lightspeed barrier, so minor misalignments are a small price to pay. It’s mostly harmless.”
“Mostly?!”
Wrong window.
Right window.
Overton window!
I’ve been working through the storytelling side of the quantum tunnelling drive discussed yesterday, wanted to give it an initialism of a name and a quick way to describe it to the readers. This dialog snippet is what came to mind. I haven’t named either character, which is why it’s just an unlabelled back and forth.
Maybe one of the characters could be named Barclay./ST:NG nerd
That would be too obvious.
You might check out book 1 of Schlock Mercenary, in which the ‘TerraPort Drive’ is introduced. Some similarities, and non-trivial differences of course, to what you’re proposing.
When I start working on an idea, I deliberately avoid other people’s takes on it, lest that influence my work inappropriately.
Cool I like it.
I could see a lot of potential hijinks and creative malfunctions because of the drive. Kind of like a whole ship transporter.
I’ve already been working through questions like “What happens when they push through instersteller dust? Or run into something bigger?”
I’m also questinging about the kind of user interfaces they have at different times. And whether they have the ability to land if I take them to a planet. Lots of questions, but the good kind of questions.
Unless this is his society’s very first encounter with FTL drive, it seems like he would know what it was called.
RC, have you worked with general users?
Even today basic computer terminology eludes people. The character probably thinks it’s called the Quantum Drive and runs off a substance called Quantum.
Per Chipping’s comment about jack in the box and my memories of good restaurant food….are there any restaurants at all that have good food anymore?
Buona Beef makes a great burger and fries. There are a couple local diners here that make great smash burgers. But in general, Mrs. TOK would rather buy a good steak and have me grill it for her than spend a fortune going out and being disappointed.
Same. I am over eating out, unless it is sushi.
Local diners…we have one left in the area. If you want a good eggs and bacon breakfast it is the only place you can get it. The quality of the big chains has cratered so badly that I cant think of one I would feed to my dog. I blame it 100% on govt meddling in the market.
Sushi? There is a fantastic truck stop just off of I-49 at Natchitoches that has that!
I forgot, we have a nice little Greek restaurant in town that has a standard breakfast (eggs, bacon/sausage, toast, hash browns) for about $10. The service is so quick too.
I thought “Texas sushi” was worms from a bait vending machine.
TOK, I forgot that one too…we have a greek place but it is mom and pop, not a chain. Most mediterranean places are mom and pop.
Even here in the country there are good sushi joints.
I found a great hole in the wall with sushi and tiki drinks just 5 miles from here.
Making sushi at home is actually more expensive and laborious, so I prefer to to be served.
Also you cannot beat good tiki and martini drink specials.
Chains? I mean, I don’t mind Jersey Mike’s, Jimmy Johns, or Penn Station, but they don’t hold a candle to the local delis. Other than that, we’ve got a couple of local chains that are pretty damned good, and Chick-Fil-A was still pretty solid last time I had it. Other than that, if I’m going out, I’m likely going to a local place over a chain. I mean, Hofbräuhaus is probably the third or fourth best German restaurant around here.
Thank you. I forgot about Chick-Fil-A. Yes, their food is good.
Culver’s in the midwest is quite good.
kinnath:
Culver’s has made it here, I’ve had them in the past, but haven’t gone since the last road trip further into the Midwest.
The group I hang out with on hockey trips go to local restaurants as much as possible, and avoid fast food. For places we go to every year (Denver, Minnesota, St. Louis) we have our list of favorite places.
Culvers reminds of old school Dennys. Ive only had their bfast but it was acceptable
Is Chick-Fil-A good in the restaurant? I’ve had their catered stuff and was decidedly unimpressed.
I’ve always found their offerings mediocre, so I’ve not had it more than three times, mostly because nothing else was open.
Very few places the Mrs and I go to anymore. We have criteria: cannot be a chain of more than 2 locations.
In-laws love eating at big chains and when we get invited, we feel lolike dogshit afterwards.
We do have a fantastic burmese restaurant here in N. KY and a sushi place ran by a Korean family that is sublime.
How much are you willing to pay?
Seems to me that the big fast food chains have cut a lot of corners to keep prices from increasing to match inflation. And that is why they all suck now.
Trump is touting a lower inflation rate and lower gas prices, which are good, but we still have a long way to go to recover from Bidenomics.
Ribeyes were $8.99/lb last week and porterhouses are $9.99/lb this week. Still more room to drop.
lol Double that around here.
This: A long way to go. Amazing how much damage the Obama Biden cabal has done. Yet the left still lives. They are about to swallow a poison pill in NYC as I type this. Amazing.
I know I am responsible for my own decisions, but starting the gym was one of those Mike Tyson “punch in the face” moments. We had a great plan, then interest rates went up, and inflation spiked, and we’re still struggling to stay afloat. It was the perfect storm.
I found a local diner in Imperial, PA while shooting the Area 8 – best hash browns I’ve ever tasted, and very good eggs Benedict.
Living between Greenville, SC and Asheville, we have a ridiculous number of restaurant choices. Unfortunately most of the good ones are expensive and getting more so.
Chains? No idea.
Local restaurants? Hell yeah. There are a bunch of those that serve good food.
Dammit I was commenting on last night’s chain again. Anyway I hate mosquitoes and if climate change eliminates them, I will go rev the engine in the Mega Jeep until they all die.
“”We have thousands of hours of Trump talking on camera and he’s never once sounded like a gay twilight character,” said another account.”
https://thepostmillennial.com/maga-rallies-around-trump-after-wsj-nothing-burger-bombshell
LOL
When did the WSJ turn into Salon or Slate?
I noticed that. It starts with “We need a liberal voice around here for balance” and ends with a newsroom full of purple hair and Che t-shirts.
WSJ was almost always left leaning in the news coverage, it was the opinion and editorial pages that had a slight right bias.
“Puerto Rico has banned sex change surgeries for those under the age of 21 and blocked public funds from being used for such purposes.
Governor of the US island territory, Jenniffer González-Colón, signed the bill into law on Wednesday. The bill would see fines of $50,000 per violation issued to healthcare professionals who provide hormone therapy or sex change surgeries, as well as 15 years in prison and the revocation of licenses and permits, per NBC News.”
https://thepostmillennial.com/puerto-rico-bans-all-medical-sex-changes-for-people-under-21
Eighteen seems old enough, especially for MTF. FTM is much more dangerous and irreversible.
Give them ample opportunity to get away from public indoctrination centers.
If alcohol and nicotine (and various gun styles) can be restricted by the states to 21+, why not surgeries and hormones?
Well, they can. Doesn’t mean they should.
I don’t really care what age someone starts to transition, as long as they have a legitimate diagnosis of gender dysphoria from a real board certified psychologist. If one is transitioning for legit medical reasons (as opposed to depression, Munchausen by proxy, or too much sissy porn), it’s honestly better to do it young.
The problem, of course, is that if we adopt that standard, the proggie social activist groups will waste no time rounding up a stable of credentialed quacks who will shit out diagnoses for the virtue capital (and probably some cash under the table…)
I contend that there are none which necessitate chemical castration and surgical mutilation.
Mental health treatment for any form of dysphoria does not involve making reality resemble the delusions but in aiding the mind in overcoming the delusions and grasping reality.
Even if we put aside every other argument, for purely medical reasons, no one should transition before puberty. Puberty blockers are the devil.
There already are a bunch of zealous psychologists who will rubber stamp any transition. Some even advertise they do, and numerous trans the kids assholes have been caught on camera using the phrase “rubber stamp”.
You are of course, more than welcome to your opinion.
I am not sure we understand the mechanisms behind any mental illness well enough to make there be such a thing as a legitimate diagnosis. Maybe schizophrenia? But until psychiatry progresses to a point where it can point to a specific malformed brain structure, or a fully understood chemical process ‘diagnosis’ is at the level physical diagnoses were before germ theory. We can see that something is wrong, and patients can report symptoms, but we’re guessing about causation.
Pretty sure MTF is irreversible, too.
Is there ever a medical, as opposed to psychological, basis for transitioning someone?
Certain physical intersex conditions at birth.
“Pretty sure MTF is irreversible, too.”
Most MTF don’t get bottom surgery.
Breast implants can be taken out, but real breasts can’t be replaced.
To be fair, if you ever want to detransition, the long-term hormone therapy can fuck you up pretty well permanently.
‘Taint just the surgery…
I pine for the days when conversations overheard were at least creatively stupid.
Nothing about drunken fraternity house sex parties? Sad.
It’s the most important one per cent. It’s the foundation, like the bottom layer of a giant house of cards.
Finishing Wendy’s lunch in the car. Can’t believe I’ve been at work for nearly six hours.
Kinda ‘off.’ May use my inhaler. I hope the rest of the day politely meanders about.
The Cubs will provide welcome Distraction Dust at 2:30. Hope all is peachy with you and yours.
How are your hips after the shots?
You know you’ll get the truth, I hear they don’t lie.
Re: restaurants
I am an outlier. My area (central louisiana) is dying. 30 years ago we had a couple dozen decent places to eat. Small I know but for around here it was ok. Things have gone to shit since then. We barely have any now. We have a Cracker Barrel, Outback and a Johnny casinos. That is it. We have the usual FF places but they are thinning out. All of the Burger Kings have closed down.
I expect in 20 years Alexandria will be a ghost town. The parish were my family owns land, Catahoula, has dwindled down to just over 10K people. That is fine with me but if you want people and civilization (I dont) you might look elsewhere. I drove through the small town of Pineville last week. Literally every business was boarded up and empty. Alexandria is crawling alive with the homeless, peeling paint everywhere, boarded windows and ‘For Lease’ signs everywhere.
That should give you an idea about my restaurant situation.
“Alexandria is crawling alive with the homeless”
So… Lots of Long Pork?
Not me dude. They have no fat on them and probably carry trichinosis. I have an old pair of boots that would be tenderer and tastier.
It’s not the worms you need to worry about, it’s the prions.
Locally, we hit above our weight in the food scene. Most years at least one place here gets a nomination for a James Beard Award. Lots of Eastern European based food, Indian food, and comfort (AKA fat fuck) food. I’ve turned quite a few of my friends onto marrow, pig ears, and other things outside their comfort zones. Most of the better places cluster around some areas (East 4th, W. 25, Shaker Square, etc.).
Unless you want to spend $$$, the situation for dining is hardly any different in, say, Manhattan.
Local restaurants targeting middle class or lower incomes have turned to shit, even diners. Indifferent owners, and staff who couldn’t care less.
Add in a helping of Sysco-fication too.
Blame covid lockdowns.
The class divide wasn’t WFH vs. in-person, but the sort of people who can afford to use Doordash/get takeout regularly versus those for whom a step above fast casual is a big deal.
And the pro-lockdown people *hate* the less well-off fast casual types.
It’s like that in my home town as well.
We don’t have even one, in a city/suburbs totaling around 100,000.
We have two McDonalds and two Taco Bells, though. One Wendy’s – which was closed for six months after a fire and people didn’t think it would even open again. If you drive down the drag where most of the shopping has moved since the Mall died, you will see one boarded up fast-food joint after another.
“My area (central louisiana) is dying.”
Rural everywhere is dying. It breaks my heart to see my hometown in North Texas these days.
I am something of a misanthrope. I get along well with trees. Replacing people with trees is fine by me.
Despite that I feel for the people who are hurting and doubt the accompanying culture change will be for the best.
Imagine my surprise when I opened the lint to everybody’s TV mom and she wasent Katey Sagal
You are old.
What’s Florence Henderson/Carol Brady? Chopped liver?
I am… not quite as old as Old Man…
I’m too young for that bunch too.
I had no idea who Harriet Nelson was either.
Anyway, after being on the air for 35 years, I’d nominate Julie Kavner.
There is a mom and pop sort of place here right across the street from the ISU campus which has really good potato pancakes (with eggs and bacon). I go there once in a while. I don’t see any students, though. The place ain’t exactly cheap.
Latkes and bacon doesn’t sound like it would have much of a market.
I have recounted this before but it is worth repeating.
A relative accused me of being a Trump fan and told that Hillary Clinton was a saint, like the second coming of Christ really. Also I should not refer to Jimmy Carter as Jimmy ‘Fuckin’ Carter. Jimmy was such a good man.
I replied that I was not a fan of anyone. I dont care whose name is on the office door or what kind of person they are. I vote on policies and the practical outcomes of their application.
The answer? “You have that exactly backwards”
I guess the Bible is right…the commies will always be with us. That’s how it goes, right? I dont remember my bible schooling very well.
everybody’s TV mom and she wasent Katey Sagal
Donna Reed? Barbara Billingsley?
You’re going to make me goodie these people aren’t you?
Apparently Threedoor doesn’t speak jive.
Marge Simpson? Felicia Rashad? RuPaul?
I am familiar with leave it to beaver, early 80s after school programing for a while.
Best TV mom of all time: Morticia Addams (Carolyn Jones.)
Ding Ding Ding
This
Although I enjoyed the movies she was better than Anjelica Huston.
Will the people who have been weeping and wailing about Trump suing ABC and CBS cheer when he sues WSJ and NewsCorp? Or have they been magically transformed into legitimate news organizations by attacking Trump?
Their outrage is situational, it is known. Don’t hold your breath for consistency.
I think it doesn’t matter, as long as Trump is doing it, they will cry about it.
Hunter S Thompson, unreadable?
*throws gloves onto the ice*
Very much a creature of his time and place. Drug-fueled idiocy can be entertaining, to a point.
Lord Byron in worse clothes.
I ended up watching the last half or so of Hacksaw Ridge last night. I had heard the title but knew absolutely nothing about it. Holy shmoly what a story. I’ll have to watch from the beginning.
There are a million stories like that that will never be told. That’s ok though, we have a new Superman movie.
The beginning is a little slow, but overall, it’s a great movie.
My wife was surprised to see Vince Vaughn actually acting.
We need footage of the head of NPR on the steps of the Capitol, wearing a $10,000 designer dress (it’s too hot for fur) shaking an upside down tambourine like a Salvation Army mendicant.
Will scold for food.
We dont have that?
We do have her explaining in a. TED talk how and why you should lie your ass off.
Best TV mom of all time: Morticia Addams (Carolyn Jones.)
I’ll accept that. I was too lazy to look her up.
Look up images, especially full-length. Trust me.
Look up images, especially full-length. Trust me.
Mmmm, slinky!