Open thread
I pretty much always wish I was a barefoot gypsy ‘round the campfire singing and playing, but especially this time of year, maybe because I used to go caroling when I was in elementary school.
Now we can get down to what is really wrong.
Talk about anything except the Daily Dish and Four Loko.
December 29, 2010 6:30 pm
Posted in: Music, Open Thread
45 Comments
45 Responses
NeenerNeener - December 29, 2010 | 6:36 pm · Link
That looks like Rick Danko behind Van Morrison, so this must be a clip from The Last Waltz.
Bnut - December 29, 2010 | 6:40 pm · Link
I did a bad thing about an hour ago. I was coming home and saw a man let his dog shit in the middle of the sidewalk and just walk away. I sped up and asked him why he left it there and if he knew that was not only illegal but mean to everyone else. He just turned and walked away. Sooooooo, I got a plastic bag from the nearest garbage can, grabbed the shit, followed him home and smeared it on his steps. I feel awesome.
eemom - December 29, 2010 | 6:40 pm · Link
Congrats to Merle Haggard, who won one o’them thar fancy Washington awards last night.
I loves me some Merle Haggard. Maybe a tad less than John Prine, but he’s up there.
mikej droid - December 29, 2010 | 6:45 pm · Link
@Bnutv: what was the bad thing you Did?
nitpicker - December 29, 2010 | 6:47 pm · Link
Wow. Wayne Rogers sure can sing.
Cris - December 29, 2010 | 6:53 pm · Link
Why’d you stop?
I do find caroling a wee bit depressing, because every house I come to is lit up with the flickering blue light of the television and so many of the residents behave as though they’re simply tolerating an interruption.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice - December 29, 2010 | 6:53 pm · Link
@Bnut: OK, my new New Year’s Resolution is to do this as soon as possible, starting with the woman down the street who lets her dog poop in her neighbors’ yards so seh can truthfully say she never lets Fluffy poop on the sidewalk.
DougJ - December 29, 2010 | 6:54 pm · Link
@Cris:
The Tiny Tim costume didn’t fit anymore.
freelancer - December 29, 2010 | 6:55 pm · Link
@DougJ:
It’s a sad day when you outgrow your ukelele.
General Stuck - December 29, 2010 | 6:56 pm · Link
Fav Vann song, and yes that is Danko RIP, from the last waltz movie.
Svensker - December 29, 2010 | 6:56 pm · Link
Love this version of Caravan. So soulful. Just cooks.
Bnut - December 29, 2010 | 7:02 pm · Link
@mikej droid: @Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: I don’t get it. My dog would never go on the sidewalk, but if he did, I’d find a way to clean it up. The real problem is that with all the snow, it gets smeared everywhere and it’s hard to differentiate between NYC street grime and dog feces until you are right on top of it.
General Stuck - December 29, 2010 | 7:02 pm · Link
If it’s Last Waltz night then this one from Neil Young has to be linked. Helpless
Maody - December 29, 2010 | 7:03 pm · Link
doesn’t everyone over 40 love themselves some Van?
what did y’all think about Inglourious Basterds? Tarantino. wow.
Bnut - December 29, 2010 | 7:05 pm · Link
@DougJ: Granted, if Tiny Tim showed up at my house on Christmas I’d be freaked out as well.
burnspbesq - December 29, 2010 | 7:09 pm · Link
Settling in to watch K pass Dean.
Dean is a good man and was a great coach. He did more to advance the cause of integration in North Carolina than just about any other white person, just by recruiting Charlie Scott.
Fucking Tar Heel fans didn’t deserve him.
JPL - December 29, 2010 | 7:31 pm · Link
So if I can rant…WhyTF does ESPN have every bowl game imaginable…..I don’t choose to support cable or dish. Football games on New Years were always carried on network channels…WTF…
Even if I chose to pay 50 to 100 dollars a month at this point I would boycott ESPN…
BTW who is carrying the parades?
Uncle Clarence Thomas - December 29, 2010 | 7:32 pm · Link
.
.
Let’s talk about a Streetcar Named Obama.
.
.
Mnemosyne - December 29, 2010 | 7:38 pm · Link
@Bnut:
You mean you didn’t put it inside a paper bag, set the bag on fire, and then ring his doorbell?
You’re right, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Bnut - December 29, 2010 | 7:43 pm · Link
@JPL: justin.tv, channelsurfing.net. Most games should be on ESPN3.com if you don’t have evil Time Warner internet like I do.
Steeplejack - December 29, 2010 | 7:47 pm · Link
One of my favorite lesser-known Morrison songs—“Redwood Tree.”
This is a demo version, the only one I could find on YouTube. The original has a nice horn arrangement and appears on St. Dominic’s Preview.
And why the hell is that album out of print?! WTF.
robertdsc-PowerBook - December 29, 2010 | 7:55 pm · Link
May I just say that I am glad to see Christine O’Donnel’s lovely face back in the news? I can look at her for days and days.
JPL - December 29, 2010 | 7:56 pm · Link
@Bnut: I know but it seems sacrilegious not to have all the games on network channels… I’ll watch the outback on ABC and maybe the Rose Bowl online but I’m stilled pissed.. I think ESPN got paid by TimeWarner to air all the bowl games.
freelancer - December 29, 2010 | 7:58 pm · Link
@JPL:
I’m a sucker for TB sheets. That is all.
@robertdsc-PowerBook:
seek help.
Cat Lady - December 29, 2010 | 8:00 pm · Link
@JPL:
I fondly remember the days of the Cotton Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Orange Bowl and the Rose Bowl. We watched them on a black and white TV with a rotary dial, and we got probably six VHF channels and three UHF channels, with rabbit ears and a roof antenna. No one remembers who the sponsors were.
I’m an old.
Steeplejack - December 29, 2010 | 8:10 pm · Link
@Cat Lady:
Fixed that for you.
I, too, remember the days of four “real” bowl games and when things like the Fiesta Bowl and the Peach Bowl were frightening hippie experiments.
JPL - December 29, 2010 | 8:17 pm · Link
@Steeplejack: lol Some of us take down our Christmas decorations while watching bowl games and switching channels. Some of us don’t like change.
Some of really like the Van Morrison that freelancer linked to..also,too.
Mark S. - December 29, 2010 | 8:22 pm · Link
Shorter Floyd Abrams:
Mike Kay (True Grit) - December 29, 2010 | 8:31 pm · Link
@Mark S.: shorter Floyd Abrams, I’m not being paid by assange, like I was by NYT during the pentagon papers case.
tomvox1 - December 29, 2010 | 8:32 pm · Link
When Greenwald swings into this kind of high gear and calls justifiable bullshit on the sorry state of the Fourth Estate, I feel like he’s a completely different dude than when he goes all “YOU OBOTS ARE LIKE RIEFENSTAHL!” and shit (which, of course, would make Obama in Glenn’s mind…uh-oh). Bi-polar disorder maybe?
Also, too: When did Wired become Ben Bradley’s WaPo circa 1972 and how exactly are Poulsen & Lamo, a couple of ex-hackers with negligible (any?) journalistic credentials, all of a sudden Woodward & Bernstein? I always thought Wired was the tech version of Discovery magazine. These are truly strange days…
Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther - December 29, 2010 | 8:34 pm · Link
Question about the Amazon link:
Does Amazon throw a few pennies your way if I just click through to the site via BJ (as I did today, to get a link to a book) or only when I spend money there?
I’ve literally been waiting all day for an Open Thread to ask that question! I’m a simple woman.
Bella Q - December 29, 2010 | 8:38 pm · Link
I was watching the televised Fiesta Bowl when Woody Hayes grabbed the Clemson player (who ran by Hayes in the midst of running back an interception) by the facemask, yanked him to the side and punched him. That was the only excitement in the Fiesta Bowl, ever, to my knowledge.
And Mr. Q is having a grand time telling people I got hit on by Greg Cook at the Christmas buffet. Mr Cook introduced himself to Mr. Q, who had not a clue who he might ever have been, LOL.
Nutella - December 29, 2010 | 8:43 pm · Link
An end of year thank you to Cleek for the pie filter (and its clear instructions). BJ is so much more pleasant without the too-frequent ravings of General Stuck.
Thanks Cleek!
The Republic of Stupidity - December 29, 2010 | 8:52 pm · Link
@NeenerNeener:
Oh yeah…
Me’thinks yer right…
That IS Rick back there…
One of the better bass players of his time…
General Stuck - December 29, 2010 | 9:18 pm · Link
@Nutella:
Oh cool, I can trash you all day for free. And btw, i consider it a badge of honor, getting pied. Sort of like making eagle scout of the blogs. Well not really
Karen - December 29, 2010 | 9:19 pm · Link
I was in Choir for my last year of High School and we used to go caroling in Nursing Homes, Banks and Children’s Hospitals. I was Alto 2 and the one who did the “ding dong”s of “Carol the Bells.”
We sang “Oh Come Emmanuel” at the Christmas shows and we all held candles as we walked down the isles. Candlelight in the darkness was really cool.
General Stuck - December 29, 2010 | 9:43 pm · Link
Deep thought. Could I pie myself, and would that make for a much more pleasant Balloon Juice experience?
DougJ - December 29, 2010 | 10:08 pm · Link
@Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther:
I think so, yes.
Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther - December 29, 2010 | 10:32 pm · Link
@DougJ: Thanks! I’ll keep it up then.
Cat Lady - December 29, 2010 | 10:56 pm · Link
@General Stuck:
I don’t want to live in a world without your comments on BJ. It’s what’s for dinner.
General Stuck - December 29, 2010 | 11:00 pm · Link
@Cat Lady:
Awwe, thank you Cat Lady!!
Cat Lady - December 29, 2010 | 11:06 pm · Link
@General Stuck:
De nada. You make me laugh. Sometimes, even out loud.
wenchacha - December 29, 2010 | 11:32 pm · Link
Love Van the Man, but I hate the sparkle pantsuit. Even back when I saw The Last Waltz in the movie theater.
RIP Rick Danko and also Richard Manuel. Also, I am Team Helm, as opposed to Team Robertson, too.
Nellcote - December 30, 2010 | 12:42 am · Link
@freelancer:
I’m torn between that one and Madame George.
Chinn Romney - December 30, 2010 | 8:18 am · Link
I wish I didn’t know as much about the Band as I do. Never read bios about Rock Musicians! (I’m going to violate my own rule, which I just made up this instant. I can’t wait to start the Keith Richard book. I’m always down for some Jagger bashing).
Van the Man rocks, but all I’m seeing is that publicity hound, song credit stealing Robbie Roberston, pretending to be singing along while he mugs for the camera. He definitely knows where that camera is.