From commentor Elizabelle:
DC area Balloon Juicers: Mark your calendar for a meetup this Wednesday night, June 11, in Alexandria, VA, probably near the King Street Metro station (or Old Town). Place TBC (or we could do a pub walk …)
Dee Loralei and her son will be visiting for 2 days; she’d love your suggestions too on what attractions they (and her father) should catch.
Calling eemom and mumphrey and anyone who can attend…
Any suggestions / RSVPs / complaints, leave a comment here, or email me (click on my name in the right-hand column) and I’ll put you in touch with Elizabelle.
gbear
Way OT: Two guys walked into a pizza restaurant near Las Vegas and shot two cops. As they left the restaurant they were saying ‘Tell the police the revolution has started’ and then went into a Walmart where there may still be a standoff. One of the gunmen is wearing a bulletproof vest. Story still unfolding… Shit.
Edit: suspects are dead.
erghammer
Dee–Will you be staying in Old Town Alexandria or in DC itself? If the former, I’d be happy to point out some things to check out in my neighborhood. It’s very walkable.
Violet
@gbear: Sounds like they shot the police officers while they were eating. Targeted them. Awful.
As for D.C., isn’t the Washington Monument open again? That might be fun.
? Martin
Well, I suspect Clive Bundy is finally getting his revolution.
PurpleGirl
I can’t make the meet-up, sorry.
A place to visit in Old Town Alexandria is the Torpedo Factory. Some time back it was renovated into artists’ gallery spaces for crafts artists. I saw it back in (mumble-mumble) when I was in Old Town for a friend’s wedding. Old Town had a several streets of craft art stores/galleries and I spent several hours walking around.
PsiFighter37
We should do a NYC meetup sometime this summer, perhaps? Maybe if we can find someplace cool enough in mid-July…I’d be down for that.
Seriously, BJ meetups are great – the ones I went to last year in LA and Seattle were fantastic, and it was great to put faces and real people to names. Same thing goes for the dKos meetups I’ve gone to in NYC every now and then.
Chyron HR
>DC
>summer
>pub crawl
I seriously hope you guys aren’t planning this.
? Martin
PsiFighter37
@Chyron HR: I’ve never been to DC in the middle of the summer, but from everything I read, it sounds like a hotter, more humid version of NYC…and I hate the weather in the city during the summer.
Elizabelle
@PsiFighter37:
I was kind of hoping you’d make it to DC, since you are a peripatetic type.
So far weather this past week has been superb. We are enjoying it, since humidity is around the corner.
JPL
@gbear: One station is saying that the police men died. Three others were shot in Walmart by the gunmen.
The comments on the news site are arm yourself now. The only way to stop gunmen is a good guy with a gun. Don’t police officials normally have guns. ugh
ot.. another commenter said that it wasn’t a mass shooting cuz of two officers were shot. Then someone mentioned that there were three casualties in Walmart besides the gunmen. I decided to not continue reading.
Tommy
As a former long time DC (Capital Hill) resident I always took people to Union Station (I lived a few blocks away), Eastern Market on the weekend for breakfast (got to get the blueberry pancakes — on Capital Hill), the National Building Museum, the main reading room of the Library of Congress (across from the Capital and next to the Supreme Court), the Hirshhorn Museum (right on the Mall and nobody goes), the United States Botanic Garden (right off the Mall right down the hill from the Capital), and of course China Town (for the food).
When friends would visit often not a single one was on their agenda and frankly they are my favorite places. Plus all are with a block if not a few blocks of a metro stop.
BTW: I gave some of the exact locations, cause you could hit all of them in a day. Bunched together.
? Martin
@JPL: We’ll find out for sure soon, but reports I’m seeing are that it was a man and woman, shot both policemen, both later died, then went into the Walmart, shot and killed another person, and then both committed suicide.
But we’ll find out for sure soon.
? Martin
Link to Review-Journal report.
gbear
@JPL: I haven’t read any comments (the news is bad enough). I’ve read that the three people who died inside the Walmart include the two shooters. Five total dead – both cops died.
Shooter is middle aged white guy (surprise). I hope that very soon these assholes discover that their numbers are vey small and they have no friends.
Jordan Rules
Geeez. This Vegas shooting will reveal some crazy backstory and motivations I’m sure.
But….what in the hell is this psuedo revolution about exactly?? What is so fucking scary to these gun fondlers?
? Martin
For those unaware, Clive Bundy in Bunkerville, who (along with many of the militia folks that came with him) proclaim that only the county sheriff has legal authority. Las Vegas Metro Police is his local county sheriff. The pizzeria and Walmart in question is on the east side of town. Bunkerville is north-east of the city.
I’ll be shocked if these two aren’t in some way affiliated with the yahoos out there.
Elizabelle
@? Martin:
The commenters on article are sane; a few trolls suggesting it was liberals that shot the cops, but mostly [what seem to be] people tired of random gun violence in public places.
? Martin
@Elizabelle: Nothing random about this one. And 3 police similarly killed in Canada a few days ago.
Jordan Rules
And how do you sustain this so called revolution if all your toy soldiers murk themselves as soon as the gun work begins?
The Dangerman
@? Martin:
If so, the police will finally clean out Bunkerville (I assume those assholes are still out there).
seabe
Pick the place. I work right near the King St station. No real suggestions unless I know what kind of food or drink people want. Usually if I go to Old Town I eat sushi, or Theissmann’s bar (I like that they have devils backbone and lagunitas on tap for $3)
Elizabelle
@? Martin:
Long hot summer coming.
Pogonip
@PsiFighter37: I have. It’s swampy. The guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier must have sprayed their faces with deodorant; it was a blazing sunny day and they were the only ones not dripping. We went in August as it’s known to be the least crowded month. There’s a reason for that.
Elizabelle
@seabe:
You are more up on Old Town and King Street than I am. Good suggestions, and please keep us apprised of any other places that would be good.
Have never been to Theissman’s, but you’d have to be blind to miss it.
D58826
@? Martin: And let’s not forget the sovereign citizen in Georgia, who was planning on taking over a courthouse. We don’t have to worry about being threaten by the ‘Taliban dream team’, our fellow citizens are more than up to the job.
Pogonip
@? Martin: I read the comments–one said that a CCW holder fired on the criminals, another that the area in question is 70% illegal aliens. If this latter is true, it should be easy to retrace the white criminals’ movements, they would stand out (unless the illegal aliens are Swedes, but I’m guessing most of them are brown folks).
PsiFighter37
@Elizabelle: Unfortunately I’m getting married (and have a lot of friends getting married), so these one-off trips I made a lot more of in the past couple years to see friends or travel for the sake of doing so are much less in frequency…almost all of my travel is wedding-related this year (whether my own or other’s).
Hopefully more next year! Although I think I already have 3-4 weddings on the calendar (including my brother’s), so we shall see…
Hal
If only there were those open carry guys around. Sure they probably would have had to take out a few Wal-mart customers, but a few dozen rounds from their assault rifles and voila! Problem solved.
seabe
@Elizabelle: also depends on price range and number of people. Most of old town is kinda pricey. Vermillion is really good, for example, but pricey.
sharl
I was late (and lost) when DougJ came to DC; I’ll try to make this one.
DC-area weather forecast for Weds. calls for mid-80s, mostly cloudy and 40% chance of rain. I’m gonna guess humid too, assuming the rest of that turns out to be true.
Anyone ever go into the GW Masonic National Memorial? It’s right by the King Street Metro station. A friend and I went in once, but didn’t stick around once we were told that we could only go through it as part of a guided tour.
FYI, the King Street Trolley that runs from near the King St. metro station eastward through Old Town to the Potomac River side (and back, of course) is free, and runs fairly frequently.
Roger Moore
@Jordan Rules:
Black Democrat in the Whitehouse. SATSQ.
DeeLoralei
Yay! BJ meetup Wed! My sin and I are good with any restaurant or bar. We’re staying on King Street. But I’m going with my dad to Legal Seafood so he can have Ciopino for an early dinner.
Thanks for the suggestion if the art stuff in Old Town, will definitely check that out
Mnemosyne
@? Martin:
Weather Underground says it’s 109 in Bunkerville today. So I’m guessing some of the Bundy revolutionaries decided to make their last stand where they would have some goddamned air conditioning.
Woodrowfan
the history tours in Old Town can be fun. try one of the evening ghost tours. And yes, must visit Torpedo Factory.
PaulW
Email me when there’s a Florida Meetup
? Martin
@Pogonip: Any claim of 70% illegals can be pretty safely translated to no more than 7% illegals. Remember, in their world, every latino is illegal.
PsiFighter37
@PaulW: Should see if Betty Cracker can rustle on up! Although FL is a big state, so might be hard depending on what area of the state you’re in.
chopper
@Jordan Rules:
they’re from the judean people’s front, crack suicide squad.
D58826
I guess they will be looking for GOP volunteers to see if they can duplicate the feelings
Phylllis
DC faves: The National Cathedral (except for the prats taking photos inside-many standing right next to the ‘No Photography’ signs); The Smithsonian Castle-the architecture is breathtaking; and Embassy Row.
For eats, I do try to get to The Oceanaire Seafood Room in Penn Quarter on F Street. A little pricey, but a nice treat.
chopper
@Phylllis:
whenever i’m back in DC, there are two places i always hit up. kabob palace in crystal city and rasika in capitol hill.
so good.
Villago Delenda Est
Noismax idiocy, well actually, Grandpa Walnuts idiocy:
McCain: Obama Gave Mullah Omar His Cabinet Back
Secretary of State has another view:
Kerry: Baloney to Think Taliban Prisoners Were Threat
Hmmm…..let’s see. Do we go with the guy who picked Palin as a running mate, or the guy who picked Edwards as a running mate. Decisions, decisions….
Villago Delenda Est
Via Atrios, more idiocy:
Texas’ open carry movement raises passions, threats
These creatures are not rational, are not sane, are obviously unqualified to be considered “responsible” gun owners. They should be stripped of their toys. Preferably pried from their cold dead hands, I might add.
Suffern ACE
@Villago Delenda Est: Yeah. Wasn’t the backstory on 2 or 3 of the released “taliban” that they were handed over by the Afghan government when they were in negotiations with said government about switching sides? Some cabinet the Mullah had there. We’re basically handing over the Joe Mancin and Arlen Specter of Islamo-fascism.
raven
Anyone ever eat at the Market Inn on Capitol Hill? The place was a real throwback.
Roger Moore
@Villago Delenda Est:
I’ll go with the guy who picked Edwards any day and twice on Sunday. Edwards was sleazy in his personal life, but he is an intelligent person who actually knows something about policy. Apart from his personal foibles- and it’s not clear that he was cheating on his wife at the time Kerry picked him as a running mate- he was a decent choice. Sarah Palin was not a competent candidate for VP, and that was abundantly obvious to anyone who observed her for as long as a Presidential campaign should have spent vetting a VP candidate.
the Conster
@Villago Delenda Est:
LOL. The truth hurts, you mouthbreathing small dicked motherfucker.
Villago Delenda Est
@Roger Moore:
Well, I would also, too, but the other guy is on the Sunday shows twice as much as Kerry. So four times for him…
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
Cool. I’ll be there. All I need to know is when and where.
Elizabelle
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.):
Yippee. Will be good to see you again.
D58826
Do you think Mexico would take Texas back –
debbie
@Villago Delenda Est:
Idiots. Those guys were locked up much longer than Bergdahl. They’re bound to be more psychologically damaged than he is. Yet to hear the GOP tell it, they’re fit and ready to fight and they’ll be back on the battlefield tomorrow.
Suffern ACE
@D58826:
The movement is practically Gandhiesque in its orientation.
debbie
@Jordan Rules:
No idea. But it won’t last long. They kill themselves at the drop of a hat.
karen
I live in Silver Spring. I can take Metro Access to get to Alexandria as long as I have an idea of where to go. If you give me an address of a specific place, I’d love to hang out with you all.
Poets and Busboys on 14th and V might be a cool place to go on the 11th. I hope I can go, there are so many of you that I’d love to meet in person. :)
Jeffro
Will try to make it…ain’t too far from Fairfax!
Belafon
@the Conster: Well, we could always call them two year olds that think they should be in charge of everything.
gene108
@D58826:
In the “good old days”, if someone approached you with a gun you would worry about getting robbed. So now that we have nothing to fear with someone having a gun, I wonder how you can mug someone without having to shooting them.
“I got a gun, give me your money”.
“There’s nothing to fear with someone carrying a gun, so I think not”.
BLAM! BLAM!
Belafon
@Suffern ACE: Yeah, but the only person who can stop a bad man with a car is a good man with a car.
eemom
Hi Elizabelle — my schedule’s a little up in the air this week, but will make it if I can. Would love to see you and others again, plus make acquaintance of folks who weren’t able to be there last time.
Steeplejack, in particular….hope he sees this. And I’ll e-mail Redshift.
Pogonip
@? Martin: In that case, the miscreants may have blended in with all those Swedes.
Are there more nuts these days, or are the nuts just more heavily armed?
Belafon
@D58826:
Nope, too many guns here.
karen
@Villago Delenda Est:
Open Carry will only grow bigger as they try to bring guns everywhere. Even Scalia in Heller recognized there are limits.
evap
I live in Arlington and wish I could join, but I already have plans in DC for Wednesday night. :(
SiubhanDuinne
@Roger Moore:
Fix’t.
ETA: Tried to strike out the words “for as long as a Presidential campaign should have spent vetting a VP candidate,” but it didn’t take. Isn’t it open angle brackets, strikeout, /strikeout, close angle brackets? And didn’t we used to have a tag to do a strikeout anyhow?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I heard Saxby Chambliss say this in a clip on Tweety Friday evening– I was in the car– and Tweety repeated in an ominous tone that made it sound as if Trick-Knee Five-Deferments Ask Max Cleland About Him had just summed up this grave situation in ominous and irrefutable terms, the only thing missing was organ music, or a clap of thunder. I thought then what I thought this morning when I saw Walnuts was spouting it: Even if true, what the hell does that mean? I heard on the radio that one of them is so fucked up from Gitmo he’s more or less catatonic, then there’s this, via Booman
Even before I saw this, everything I’ve seen suggests these guys were engaged in a civil war in Afghanistan. Some pretty bad characters, but not a threat to the US, at least they weren’t when they were turned over to us by the Northern Alliance and/or Pakistani intelligence.
Pogonip
I have been surfing news sites; none mention anything about a CCW holder, so it’s possible the criminals just walked into Walmart and killed an unarmed person. If I get back on the Intertubes later and see anything else I’ll drop by and post it if no one else already has.
Does anyone else think things are falling apart and the center is not holding? I know in my head that matters aren’t nearly as bad as, say, during a huge epidemic, but emotionally I can’t shake the feeling that we are rapidly approaching a tipping point towards the worse (worst? That sentence got out of hand).
ulee
@Belafon: Mexico is a nightmare of uncontrolled violence and corruption.
BruinKid
Yahoo News:
The 3rd victim seems to have been the “good guy with a gun”, who had time to exchange fire with the psychopaths. And unlike in Wayne LaPierre’s fantasy world, the good guy was killed, without being able to kill either shooter.
Anne Laurie
@SiubhanDuinne: Use del instead of strikeout in the brackets, that should work.
Belafon
@ulee: yeah, but they have gun laws. See the marine that got arrested.
Belafon
OT: Bill Watterson draws again (in a cameo): http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/07/showbiz/calvin-and-hobbes-watterson/.
Violet
@D58826:
Perez? That sounds shockingly Latino-y. Wonder if all the white guys he’s hanging around with would have his back during “the revolution” or he’d be the first one they’d sacrifice?
SiubhanDuinne
@Anne Laurie: Thanks, I will eagerly await an opportunity to try that!
Violet
Also from the article:
Yeah. That’s why the group is all white. And duh, black people are afraid of being shot by the police, but they don’t have to carry guns for that to happen.
Roger Moore
@SiubhanDuinne:
I use <del> rather than <strikeout>. And yes, we did used to have a button for that.
? Martin
@BruinKid: So, basically the gun revolutionaries didn’t kill any unarmed people, just law enforcement and other gun revolutionaries and themselves.
Not sure what to make of that.
Belafon
@Violet: Only white men are brave enough to stand
up to the policebehind women and children.raven
@Violet: Maybe he’s Cubano?
Roger Moore
@ulee:
So you’re saying Texas will fit right in.
scav
@? Martin: Dharma?
gbear
@Violet: We’ll know we’re a post-racial society when white guys are afraid of being shot by the police too.
Redshift
I’ll be there! Thanks, eemom for letting me know. I suggest Murphy’s – we can probably get the upstairs room for a group.
Suffern ACE
@Violet: Maybe they just think that in the event of a coup, they’ll have time to get back to their homes and get their guns. Or maybe they erroneously think that if there were a coup, we’d have some advance warning about it and the best way to deal with it wouldn’t be to start shooting up the streets of small towns in Texas.
Roger Moore
@Violet:
I notice he doesn’t make any promises about not being killed for carrying Skittles and iced tea, playing music too loud, or generally having too much melanin. Or being accidentally shot because some moron doesn’t know the first thing about firearms safety.
JPL
The sheriff in Las Vegas is now holding a press conference
http://www.mynews3.com/content/news/story/LIVE-STREAMING-Sheriff-Gillespie-at-Metro-HQ/kWomgfAiXU-2OpznHuQDgw.cspx
Roger Moore
@gbear:
A lot of them are. Some of them have good reason, like walking around with high powered rifles spouting off about the revolution.
Violet
@raven: Could be, but less likely in Texas than if he’s got Mexican heritage. Maybe his family has been in Texas for centuries. Who knows.
Steeplejack
@Suffern ACE:
On point. And hilarious!
Mnemosyne
@SiubhanDuinne:
I use “strike” instead of “strikeout” and don’t have any problems.
I think.ETA: Yep, “strike” works just fine.
rikyrah
A Walk in President Obama’s Shoes
By zizi2
………………………..
In the run-up to the 2008 election, when so much hyperbole and thrills were running up some media legs (nothing sincere except to milk the rising African American political whiz for ratings gold), Candidate Obama modestly saw himself as a “transitional leader”. What did he mean? Few paid attention at the time, yet the clues lie in his book “Audacity of Hope” in which he described America reaching critical crossroads at which she either soars or fragments. To set this country soaring, Obama believed the toxic gunk that had trapped our nation in a thicket of policy, structural, and ideological dysfunction needed to be cleaned out. His Mama had taught him that when you see a problem you tackle it and not wait for someone else to solve it.
In essence he saw himself as a plumber who takes on the unglamorous yet necessary task of unclogging the drains, septic tanks, draining swamps, and the like. He summed it up in his election night victory speech and even more soberly in his first Inauguration address. At the time many thought both speeches were Debbie downers and not commensurate with the public euphoria attending his election as First African American President. His own eye was NEVER off the ball. These were serious times demanding unvarnished grit and stamina to see the necessary task through to the end.
http://theobamadiary.com/2014/06/08/a-walk-in-president-obamas-shoes/
Botsplainer
Just started a real life honest to god dead tree book (first in ages) after being burnt by so many shit offerings on Kindle.
Bought three – one about the decisionmaking in the runup to the Great War, one on a century of Revolutionary Russia through 1991, and the book that the AMC series TURN is based on.
wesindc
Darn I have John Waters tickets at Sixth and I that night!
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: I use strike in the manner you described – instead of strikeout.
Edit: And just as I pressed submit on my comment, I saw that strike is shown as one of the options listed in “You may use the HTML tags and attributes” under the comment box.
The Thin Black Duke
The day will come eventually when enough people in this country will finally be sick of the gun-related violence and do what should have been done a long time ago. Unfortunately, a lot of people are going to die before that happens because too many Americans think the Second Amendment is a hill worth dying on. Until it happens to them, of course.
Violet
@Botsplainer: Speaking of actual books, and since Bill Watterson’s back in the news, here’s one of my favorite Calvin and Hobbes cartoons.
Villago Delenda Est
@Violet: Certainly possible that his family has been there for longer than the vast majority of Texans.
I knew a guy in the Army who hailed from the Rio Grande lands in the very south of Texas. Had an Hispanic surname, but schooled me on how he was NOT a “chicano”. Family settled there in the 18th century, extensive land holdings, old money. Yet he’s lumped in with your standard “wetback” by the pasty white assholes…the guy is more Texan than they can ever hope to be.
Do you know why Texas fought a war of independence with Mexico? Mexico was abolishing slavery. The Texans (mostly transplants from elsewhere in the American South) didn’t like that. No fucking “state’s rights” or “tariffs” involved.
JPL
strikeThanks Water Girl
uhoh.. how do you end the strikeout
WaterGirl
@Pogonip: What is CCW?
Elizabelle
@evap:
Maybe we could have a Thursday meetup (in addition) for the schedule conflicted? You might have some company there …
We could do an Alexandria night and a DC night, if there’s sufficient interest.
Realizing, of course, y’all have offscreen, you know, lives …
Steeplejack
@SiubhanDuinne:
It’s “strike,” not “strikeout.”
Villago Delenda Est
@WaterGirl: Concealed Carry Weapon
Or Credence Clearwater Revival.
I think the former from context :)
Elizabelle
@Violet:
Back in the news. And not for an obit. That’s always good.
SiubhanDuinne
Thanks to everyone who participated in the SiubhanDuinne HTML Tutorial.
Test:
I am using the del tags to strike through this sentence.I am using the strike tags to delete this sentence.Edit: Yay, they both worked! Thanks again, everyone.
debbie
@Botsplainer: If the WWI book is the one by Margaret Macmillan, it’s really good. Sad and depressing, but good.
Villago Delenda Est
@JPL: Standard html tag with the / and the word strike, surronded of course by lesser than greater than on the outside.
WaterGirl
@Villago Delenda Est: I wondered if that might be it (after I posted my question) but decided that wouldn’t be it because if it was concealed carry, you wouldn’t know the person had it. Right?
Elizabelle
@wesindc:
Lucky puppy. John Waters. I remember thinking that would be a cool thing to do.
If there are enough for a Thursday meetup, maybe in DC at Busboys and Poets on 14th and V.
JPL
@Villago Delenda Est: Thanks..
SiubhanDuinne
@Steeplejack:
Strikeout is what the Atlanta Braves do.
schrodinger's cat
Suggestion of what to do in DC.
When we lived there I would always take visitors ito the National Gallery of Art, I like both the wings, the eatery in the basement that joins both the wings has elebenty flavors of gelato, plus the gift shop is wonderful.
If you like Indian food, Heritage India in Dupont Circle is wonderful. M Street in Georgetown is a great place to hang out too, as is the Embassy row.
Violet
@SiubhanDuinne: I thought strikeout was what happened to the gun nuts when they tried to chat up women.
Davis X. Machina
@The Thin Black Duke: On that day the Free Exercise clause of the First Amendment will ride to the rescue of the Second. Because at this point guns are a religion. And any deity worth his, or her, or its salt, can demand and get human sacrifice.
ET
Definitely Eastern Market on Saturday or Sunday if you are still in town.
I recommend the Library of Congress – gr,eat exhibits and just beautiful. But since I work there I am partial.
If you can try Mt. Vernon the view from Washington’s porch is magnificent. There are the usual Smithsonians of course and the Washington Monument is still open. If you get to the Lincoln don’t forget to try and go to top it has a nice view. I take my nieces to the paddle boats and they definitely like that.
scav
@Villago Delenda Est: Had a similar situation in UCSB when I was TAing Human Geog there. Enough families had been in town since the Pueblos / Ranchos etc and most students’ families had been there less than one generation so that we could nearly count on everyone in the class getting a question on that subject wrong. And we enjoyed doing it (even the prof).
Violet
@Villago Delenda Est: Yep. I think the actress Eva Longoria’s family also has been in Texas for a long time. There are plenty more like that. The Spanish were the original white people in Texas, after all.
schrodinger's cat
@ET: Eastern Market seconded, the crab cakes and root beer at Market Lunch were my favorites.
Ruckus
@Violet:
I have a friend I work with who I thought was Mexican for the first two or three months I knew him and I live in soCal in an area where espanol is heard far more often than american, and where even I as a pale, old, white guy speaks some spanglish. But he only looks the part, and is half German and doesn’t even speak any spanglish. I also work with two guys who look far less Mexican than him and they both are and speak fluent espanol. IOW, looks and names can be deceiving and in this melting pot we live in one can never be sure what someone’s heritage or nationality is.
ET
I also forgot to mention Ford’s Theater which would be good because they likely have a Lincoln exhibit.
BTW I think I can make a meetup on the 11th.
Villago Delenda Est
@WaterGirl: Well, until they remove the weapon from its concealment, then you know.
The entire idea is you walk around armed, but no one will notice. OTOH, the open carry guys need to display their metal death penises for everyone to see.
Violet
@Ruckus: Very true. Especially in Texas, which, like California, is a big melting pot with plenty of Latino influences. But with a surname of Perez, there’s some Latino influence in there somewhere. He’ll be judged by that if he’s only seen on paper–like on his resume or an application.
Steeplejack
@SiubhanDuinne:
I hope you mean that in a good way, i.e., as in their pitchers rather than their batters!
They’re tied with the Nats for first in the division. That’s good enough for me right now.
I was just looking at the Nats’ schedule a while ago, and I saw that the Braves are going to be in town on Thursday the 19th. I would love to go to a game, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to.
Note to all: Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the meet-up this Wednesday.
raven
@Ruckus: Have you seen the Silicon Valley where the Chicano artist mistakes the Pakistani for a home boy and agrees to do a logo for the startup?
[Link deleted per author’s request]
vheidi
@PsiFighter37: i’d be up for that!
Elizabelle
I’d put in for the National Portrait Gallery (elegant and free, free, free). 11:30 to 7:00 p daily; think it’s Metro Center subway stop.
Which has a great exhibit now: American Cool. The birth of the cool.
Get your Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis and other icons. Also a good Yusuf Karsh photo exhibit, and the whole place is worth seeing. Beautiful public space.
Portrait Gallery shares building with the American Folk Art Museum. You must see that (literally) fantastic tin foil creation. The Throne of the Third Heaven of Nations. You owe yourself.
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=9897
Thank FSM Mr. Hampton did not have the internet to while away his hours.
muddy
@Violet: On that genealogy show they had the papers from her family owning land in Texas for 15 generations.
Ruckus
@Violet:
Now that’s true.
I re read my post and wasn’t intending to sound preachy, and which it sounds like you didn’t take it that way. Thanks!
I had a bicycle shop in a somewhat touristy area and the number of people stopping by that had american as their 3rd or 4th language was amazing and lots of fun. Wasn’t the first job/hobby that I’ve had that allowed me to meet people from all over the world and find out that except for gun nutcases, people are pretty similar all over the world. The religious nutcases are pretty much the same though.
raven
Bet wingnut heads will explode about the little Mexican-American kid that just sang the natural anthem at the Spurs game!
Ruckus
@raven:
Have to answer you first.
Scruples? We got no fucking scruples.
OK now I can click on your link to see how bad it is.
Ruckus
@raven:
OK, now that was in bad taste.
raven
@Ruckus: It was fucking hilarious when the cops showed up and they opened the garage door to hide it only to reveal a huge hydroponic operation.
raven
@Ruckus: Context was important.
Violet
@raven: Their heads exploded last year when he sang the national anthem. Probably double explosions since he’s back again this year.
WaterGirl
@raven: Is that a joke? I thought there would be a story at the link. Without a story, it’s just a piece of racist shit art.
SiubhanDuinne
@Violet:
This woman, anyhow.
Violet
@raven: I’m not sure I’d use the word “scruples” to describe what people need to be lacking to click on it. That makes it sound kind of mild. It’s not. It’s racist and completely NSFW. Maybe hilarious in context but without it it’s disgusting.
Ruckus
@raven:
Now that’s funny.
Never let it be said that most crooks are not stupid.
For proof, I give you our 43rd president. Or any current republican.
raven
@WaterGirl: It’s from the HBO series “Silicon Valley”. I really like the show and that episode was nuts. Like I said, they wanted to have a different kind of logo for the firm so they went to see this famous Chicano tagger. The hippie dude went to talk to him and the other dweebs stayed in the car. The artist saw the Pakistani dude and thought he was Chicano and he liked it that a homeboy was part of the startup so he agreed to do it. He did the mural on their garage door and, when he unveiled it he said ” “It comments on the Latino struggle for justice in America,”. I specifically warned folks that it was not for everyone but it was funny as hell.
raven
Xin loi.
Mnemosyne
@WaterGirl:
It makes sense within the story — basically, the (Latino) artist is pissed off at the (white) Silicon Valley guys because they’ll only pay him in cash and not with shares in the company, so that’s what he paints for them as their “new logo.” He later “fixes” it by painting the two guys’ heads on each character.
ETA: And, yes, NSFW is putting it mildly. A clip of the unveiling for a little context would have been much better. Sorry, raven.
raven
Here’s a recap of the episode.
max
@sharl: DC-area weather forecast for Weds. calls for mid-80s, mostly cloudy and 40% chance of rain. I’m gonna guess humid too, assuming the rest of that turns out to be true.
It was hot and muggy. Then the thunderstorm line rolled in and the weather people started throwing a panic. Thunder, possibly very small hail and winds of 40-50 sounded like a perfectly nice rain to me, but it means DEATH DEATH DEATH around here.
Anyways, I imagine it’ll be humid as fuck this week.
max
[‘Sweaty.’]
Ruckus
@WaterGirl: @Violet:
That was my first response as well but the explanation took care of that.
Some people are just stupid.
Some are stupid and dangerous(gun/religious nutcases).
Some are just so clueless that even something as stupid as this is funny. Mainly because there is really just no other response that is adequate.
raven
You don’t like it take it up with HBO.
raven
@Ruckus: The reason I made reference to it was because it was similar to your situation of being mistaken for a Mexican-American. . . but then you knew that.
Ruckus
@raven:
And now you tell me it’s not real?
I thought you were giving us a news story. Just goes to show that in today’s news, almost anything is believable.
I am honored to have been suckered by you.
Mnemosyne
@raven:
Or, you know, warn people that you’re going to link to a picture of Lady Liberty getting fucked up the ass. Just saying “scruples” isn’t enough warning for most people.
SiubhanDuinne
@Steeplejack:
Well, I just watched them lose to the D’backs. Recently it seems whatever game/sport I watch (baseball, hockey, horse racing) I am always bad luck for my preferred team (or horse).
On another subject, I must thank you again, most profusely, for finding “A Song of the Roses” for me. Long ago I had typed a sufficient number of words into the Google machine that I found the reference in the novel you cited (so at least I knew I wasn’t imagining it), but certainly never came up with the sheet music or anything close. And you even found it mentioned in a Ph.D. dissertation — amazing! Of course, it is now a tremendous earworm, but I don’t care, I am so very glad to have it. I will buy you any number of drinks when I am in your area on the “grand East Coast tour” later this summer.
And next, I might just put your google-fu to work looking for a children’s book I adored in the late 40s or early 50s. I remember several plot points and the names of some of the characters, but title? author? Of course I can’t recall those!! (But I will let you bask in your glory for now, and tackle this another time.)
raven
@Ruckus: Now? It was in my original post.
raven
@Mnemosyne: Well, I guess I have learned another valuable lesson.
muddy
The first time I went to college, a guy in the dorms asked me if I was Greek. I had grown up overseas and wasn’t up on this. I thought he was a nut, I’m ginger and freckled. He thought I was a nut, because I said, No, I’m Irish. Someone explained it to me later when I was saying how odd it was.
Anne Laurie
@Ruckus: Yeah, for instance, Linda Rondstat’s from an old Texas family — “Spaniards” from before America was a country, and pre-Civil War German immigrants. Those pasty-arse Confederate refugees are just newbies, for all their bold yap.
WaterGirl
@raven: I couldn’t tell from your original comment that you were talking about a TV show, I thought you were referring to a story from Silicon Valley (a place in real life, not a tv show).
Now that I have the backstory from you and Mnemosyne, I understand your original comment.
And that, boys and girls, is why this has always been one of my favorite quotes:
raven
@WaterGirl: Hmm. “Have you see the Silicon Valley where. . .” I better get back to my APA manual.
rikyrah
BREAKING: Obamas Purchased House in Asheville, NC for Post-Presidency
Anthea Mitchell
June 07, 2014
Sources have confirmed the Obamas purchased real estate in Asheville, NC. The White House has not yet confirmed.
It seems all the bookmakers sending the Obamas to New York City or back to Chicago after the end of the President’s second term are wrong by a few thousand miles.
A source close to Wall St. Cheat Sheet has confirmed that the Obama family have purchased property in the city of Asheville in North Carolina as a post-Presidency residence. A call to get an official confirmation from the White House wasn’t immediately returned.
The President discussed retirement there last year during his trip to North Carolina during a speech in Asheville. “Love coming to Asheville,” said Obama. “Michelle and I always talk about how after this whole presidency thing, we’re looking for a little spot to –” here an audience member said, “Come on down” — “Come on down? Play a little golf, do a little hiking, fishing, barbecue,” said Obama. “There’s two things that keep bringing me back here. Number one is I really like the people. And number two is 12 Bones, which I will be stopping on the way back to the airport.” On the one hand, a smaller city like Asheville doesn’t offer the same enormous population to lose oneself in as does New York or Chicago. On the other, the president and his wife clearly like the area.
“The president first visited the Asheville area during the campaign, and he liked it so much that he vowed to take his family there. The president and first lady are planning to spend a quiet weekend enjoying some of the many things this beautiful part of the country has to offer,” reported the White House. This, of course, led to a great deal of “vacation like the president” slogans from the city’s tourism industry. “Find out for yourself what makes the Asheville area a vacation destination worthy of a president!” reads an Asheville Chamber of Commerce posting.
http://wallstcheatsheet.com/politics/where-will-obama-go-after-the-white-house.html
raven
@Anne Laurie: Can you delete my link please?
raven
One of the killers in Vegas was female.
“A law enforcement official who has been briefed on the incident said one officer was refilling a soft-drink when the female shooter approached him from behind and shot him in the head, killing him instantly.
The women then shot the other officer several times as he was trying to draw his pistol. Initial reports indicate that Soldo was the officer shot at the soda machine, but that has not been confirmed.”
Ruckus
@raven:
Except that I’m one of those people. You know the ones without TV.
Didn’t recognize the reference as a TV show, thought it was a news show about, you know, something going on in Silicon Valley. The real one.
Ruckus
@raven:
Jeeezz, I hope not. I think it was funny. And as you said, you did give us hints. That some of us missed that as a hint doesn’t mean you didn’t warn us.
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: @Steeplejack: I am tired and read this from SiubhanDuinne as:
And I thought, wow, she really is grateful!
Anne Laurie
@raven: Done. Now all the latecomers are gonna be hella confused…
raven
@Ruckus: I should have said more than scruples, this ain’t no barracks.
raven
@Anne Laurie: Xin Loi twiced. Thanks.
eta
there is a pretty good description of it above.
WaterGirl
@raven: We used to have a phrase for this in the place where I worked:
“Clear only if known.”
Once I knew the backstory, I could see that your comment wasn’t just out of the blue as it first appeared, and your comment was related to what Ruckus had said. If you know you know Silicon Valley is a tv show and not a place, it all makes sense.
Clear only if known.
WaterGirl
@raven: Okay, you made me laugh out loud. It’s all good!
Pogonip
@WaterGirl: License to Carry a Concealed Weapon [gun].
Anne Laurie
New post up top, y’all.
Probably two, once Cole gets wind I’ve put one up :)
JPL
@raven: I pick up my son’s vegie share from a farmer and he collects them on Friday or Saturday. Anyway we watch Veep and Silicon Valley, since he has an app for that. He was explaining how obscene and just plain wrong the shows were to a friend. He then said he watched them with his Mom and the friend said, excuse me?
Ruckus
@raven:
This is school for big girls and boys.
It’s nice to be concerned that something might offend and to warn about it but at the same time we are supposed to be semi intelligent and somewhat aware. You hooked me, even if that wasn’t your intent and if rather than be mad I take this as a lesson, one that is rather important, that little is as it some times seems, I’ve (re)learned something valuable. Even if no one else takes that from this.
Dad told me many, many decades ago, to at least try to learn something every day. He was right then and it’s still right today. So sorta like a barracks.
raven
@JPL: I watch it with my bride and she thought it was hilarious too.
Ruckus
My biggest problem here is that a bunch of people I like and respect didn’t like it. If it was, say, T&H or one of those douche bags I would just attack. No can do in this case.
Ruckus
@WaterGirl:
Having worked with metal making things for most of my life, I developed a saying that works for me.
Perfect Enough.
When you make things for a living, you can realize that there is a minimum and that’s all that a lot of people do, but there is also a maximum, and that always attempting that, you are just wasting time and effort. The goal is to do enough to make whatever you are designing/building do the job well, without taking it to extremes that don’t do anything of value.
Perfect Enough.
Ruckus
@raven:
Message sent.
Message received.
SiubhanDuinne
@rikyrah:
Well, that’ll make Pat McCrory happy!
ruemara
@rikyrah: yeek. Asheville is gorgeous, but…NC.
SiubhanDuinne
@WaterGirl:
LOL!! For a horrible minute there, I was afraid autospellcorrectthingy had fucked with me again.
Steeplejack
@WaterGirl:
Well, the ladies do seem to respond to my Google-fu, but that’s a little over the top. LOL.
Woodrowfan
@debbie: she is a wonderful historian and writer.
WaterGirl
@Ruckus: Yep. I have two versions of your Perfect Enough.
One is: Close enough for government work.
The other is: Not everything has to be a 4-color publication.
(I picked this one up doing tech support for a graphic design group. Let me know if it needs explanation.)
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: @Steeplejack: Glad I came back to this thread just now.
I have been moving back and forth between impotent rage and tears on the other thread about Bowe B, and both your comments made me laugh.
And speaking of autocorrect, autocorrect kept trying to change “impotent” to “important”, and I was reminded of the old joke. This guy is picking up his buddy to take him in for his vasectomy. When his friend gets in the car, he’s all dressed up in a fancy suit. “Look at you, man, you’re all decked out”! The reply: “If I’m gonna be impotent, I’m gonna look impotent.”
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack: Well, you know, we ladies think smart men are very sexy.
WaterGirl
And now I see that the last three* comments are all mine, a sure sign of a dead thread.
*Yes, I know this makes 4 comments. I am hoping someone will come along and rescue me from the humiliation of apparently talking to myself.
Ruckus
@WaterGirl:
My last gig with a paycheck I laid out, edited and published using Quark and Adobe Creative Suite, 5, 80-90 page books with illustrations that I did and with full color front/back cover every year for 9 yrs. Among other duties. I’m somewhat familiar with the concept of 4 color printing.
Steeplejack
@WaterGirl:
You’ll have to get in line behind me and (by a huge margin) mclaren before you’ll be king/queen of the dead threads.
Uncle Cosmo
I could make a meetup within walking distance from a Metro station–MARC down from B’More during the day, hit a couple of museums–but Wednesday is booked. Thursday would be OK. I’ll check back to see if there’s sufficient interest for a reload then.
andrew
I would love to come to this, but I’m singing in the ‘Made in America’ concert in Kennedy Center that evening. Next time!