The New Year is beginning to creep across the globe, maybe hoping that nobody will notice.
East Asia first –
North Korea welcome in 2019 New Year Celebrations: https://t.co/as3jiAm9Au via @YouTube
— Muhammad Rehan Kiani (@raihankiani) December 31, 2018
Kim Jong Un will also give a speech.
My phone perspective, the time of the New Year 2019, roasting the stove, eating squid, and drinking tea … #Beihai #China #food #emotion #life #travel #photography #foodphotography pic.twitter.com/BL7mNQpZbF
— Sunlight Lin (@lin_sunlight) December 31, 2018
#India ?? you are one hour into the new year #HappyNewYearIndia pic.twitter.com/3tsPFRUNpQ
— Sonica (@5onica) December 31, 2018
2018 through the Prime Minister's lens: Dmitry Medvedev's photographs from Russian regions pic.twitter.com/bigPPDWBkG
— Government of Russia (@GovernmentRF) December 30, 2018
And some not-so-happy greetings –
Moscow Patriarch Kirill threatened Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomew with the "Last Judgment" unless he withdrew his recognition of Tomos for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Not very nice New Year greeting.https://t.co/qnnaaCukju
— Anders Åslund (@anders_aslund) December 31, 2018
Not quite to Europe yet, but here’s an old German postcard from Tallinn that doesn’t look too different from the Town Hall Square now.
Happy New Year! In the pic: New Year’s postcard from #Tallinn, dating back to 1912, a glimpse to the Town Hall Square. #raekojaplats #Estonia #headuutaastat #hyvääuuttavuotta #GottNyttÅr pic.twitter.com/epYNJSrwyx
— Sofi Oksanen (@SofiOksanen) December 31, 2018
From more recent years past –
Today in #SpyHistory: On December 25, Gorbachev resigned as leader of the USSR. The Soviet Union ceased to exist on December 31, 1991. pic.twitter.com/kDDYs1lEqZ
— The Spy Museum (@IntlSpyMuseum) December 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/noboa/status/1079810941368320002
What are you doing in the countdown? What good things happened to you this year? How can we make 2019 better?
Open thread!
Cheryl Rofer
Oh, and I almost forgot Ultima Thule!
TomatoQueen
Today (31st): celebrating 63rd birthday by watching The Thin Man marathon on TCM
Tomoz (1st) writing 2019 on everything wot needs it
lgerard
Speaking of countdowns
Who is ready for Seb Gorka’s new radio program debuting tomorrow?
Further proof that zombies are hard to kill
Phylllis
2018: We bought the perfect little house for us in what is turning out to be a great neighborhood.
Tonight (31st): Bubbly to toast in the new year, and college football until we run out of steam (prolly @ 9-ish).
2019: Antman and The Wasp hits Netflix on 1/29. Pitchers and catchers report in 43 days. Other than that, trying not to plan too far ahead.
Gelfling 545
My baby sister turns 60 tomorrow. Baking her birthday cake now & trying to decide on a filling.
JPL
@Gelfling 545: Raspberry! What time should we help her celebrate?
Mandalay
Putin’s new wall between Crimea and Ukraine looks nice. It has slats, and the barbed wire on the top is done tastefully.
Ohio Mom
Just got back from picking up cake and ice cream for tonight’s dessert. Happy Birthday to a new year!
The economy permitting, this year I plan to start in earnest to get this house ready to sell sometime in the next decade. Hopefully updating the bathrooms first. Nothing too fancy, mostly replacing the cracked tiles and the 1980s’ bright gold faucets. And getting rid of the yellow floral wallpaper in the master.
germy
debbie
@lgerard:
Fitting that he will be broadcasting at a Christian network named for Witch Trials.
JPL
@Mandalay: How soon before trump tweets about the beautiful Russian wall? Geez
debbie
I’ve got all my lucky food lined up for tonight and tomorrow. Hope they’re luckier than previous years’ picks.
Miss Bianca
“The New Year creeps in, on little cat feet”…
JPL
My SIL is going to visit and spend the night. We are going to have appetizers, wine and watch “Mermaid”. Surprisingly it’s available to stream on prime for free. Older movies are often more difficult to find.
@Cheryl Rofer: Do you have New Year’s plans?
debbie
@Mandalay:
Psst. Should we tell them about that gap?
debbie
@JPL:
He’s presently occupied with displaying his gross stupidity:
This is like pinning TARP on Obama.
debbie
@debbie:
Oops, continuing on from the dot dot dot:
debbie
Pelosi’s purse:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DvxXSgAU0AEU6KO.jpg
JustRuss
Volunteering at the men’s shelter tonite, figured they might have tough time getting volunteers. I never cared much about New Years when I was young ‘n’ sexy, now that I’m old and cranky I really could not care less. Planning to be in bed by 11, hopefully I’ll finally shake the cough that’s been dogging me for two weeks. Good riddance 2018!
James E Powell
@debbie:
If memory serves, that propaganda pretty much worked.
Mike in NC
Just got back from visiting a neighbor who is in the hospital with pneumonia. Traffic was pretty crazy. New Year’s Eve is a terrible time to be driving almost anywhere.
MazeDancer
When I lived in Santa Fe, hung out with quite a few Astologers, which is pretty rewarding and easy to do in Santa Fe. We used to celebrate New Year’s Eve at GMT midnight. Much more civilized.
jeffreyw
@Ohio Mom:
Mrs J turned 64 yesterday, just in time for the New Year, again. Happy New Year!
JPL
@debbie: He’s going after Schumer because the last election showed that Pelosi attacks are no longer working.
The military is tweeting that Times Sq is dropping a big ball tonight and they stand ready to drop a much bigger ball if necessary. CNN just reported it.
I just want one day that is f.king normal. I’m not even asking for boring, just normal.
Cheryl Rofer
@JPL: I made a nice turkey – green bean – pasta casserole for lunch and will do some piano practicing. Quiet evening.
The kitties have not even asked to go out yesterday and today. There is snow everywhere, and it is cloudy with snow likely to come tonight. Today it almost got up to freezing.
joel hanes
Got a cold; will have dinner with family and go to bed early.
Learned this year that the guy who hosts the New Years party I’ve been going to in recent years is a Trump voter.
So I’ll not be going to that one again, even if healthy.
Dorothy A. Winsor
I’m working on one of the 2000 piece puzzles I got for Christmas. I have new books waiting and drafts to be revised. Life is good.
I see lots of people saying good riddance to 2018, and horrible things happened, but I’m never eager to get rid of the old year. Life happened. It was complicated and rich and terrible and wonderful. It’s now woven into who I am.
BC in Illinois
RIP 2018 (2018 – 2018)
Nicole
For the first time in several years, we are going out to a party, with the 8-year-old in tow. It’ll be 10 adults and 7 kids at friends’. Makes me think of New Year’s Eve parties when I was child, when the parents just brought the kids, we kids played together and eventually fell asleep in a back bedroom while the adults continued to have fun. Tonight we’re gonna party like it’s 1979!
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Cheryl Rofer:
Is it an alien communications relay, as one article I read speculated? Inquiring minds want to know. Probably not though.
Cheryl Rofer
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: Probably not.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@JPL:
WTF? Just to assunge Trump’s ego? JFC.
JPL
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: I was streaming CNN when I heard it, and I’m going to try to see what actually they tweeted and what account.
HRA
Mr. A and I are going to a granddaughter’s wedding from our suburb home into the city of Buffalo NY at a hotel in 2 hours. It is about 35 years since we went out to celebrate on this day and just as long when we lived in the city. Happy New Year to all.
Skepticat
A friend and I just finished more than a week of harvesting seafood, going to the big island to buy supplies, cooking, baking, and making calendars for a food sale to raise money to feed and care for the 60 or so free-range cats in our trap/neuter/release/pamper program on our tiny island. It’s the only time of year there are more than about a dozen people here, and almost all will leave in a few days (thank goodness); however, they’re leaving behind enough proceeds to help out with cat food and meds (which are very expensive here) for several months. Normally, my friend and I pay for all of it from our own shallow pockets, but it’s certainly worth it to us. It’s going to be an early night, and 2019 will have to stagger its way in without my help.
Yutsano
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: Seems an odd place to put it. You’re thinking more of the Black Knight theory. There doesn’t seem to be any good answers for that one…
Sister Golden Bear
Good news: I’m back from a relaxing four days in Palm Sorings.
Bad news: I may have a sinus infection. Blech. Hoping it’s just allergies from the windy day we’re having plus leftover nasal dryness from the 15% humidity out in the desert.
Trying decide whether to go out tonight. We’ll see if the decongestants work.
*shakes fist at clouds*
Jim, Foolish Literalist
for some reason, that really cracked me up
Cheryl Rofer
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
debbie
@JPL:
I think Trump sees Schumer as the weak link and that he will out-macho Schumer into being his little bitch. Stand tough, Chuck!
debbie
@Cheryl Rofer:
They don’t seem to be getting the reaction they expected.
Philbert
@JPL: Found it, tweeted from US Strategic Command @US_Stracom, and has a video of bombing… it ends with a traiangkuar/b2(?) outline and the words …..WHITEMAN. !!!!!!!!!!!!
Libby's Person
I’m spending some time today trying to figure out how to adjust sweet old Libby’s new front-and-rear lift harness and then trying to convince her that no, it’s NOT a monster and yes, I really DO think she can walk with it on and it IS a good thing for her let me help her climb the stairs. She’s large and skeptical, so this should be … interesting.
JPL
@Cheryl Rofer: @Philbert:
Thanks. I was watching just listening so I missed the video.
Now you understand why I just want one day of normal.
rikyrah
@HRA:
Congratulations ?
Cheryl Rofer
@JPL: The folks on national security Twitter are like, “STRATCOM, you okay?”
James E Powell
@debbie:
I don’t think he sees Schumer as weak so much as he sees the house is completely out of reach. Schumer should just follow the McConnell Method and never give him anything, but we shall see.
Yarrow
Going to have a nice meal at home of several courses, mostly from leftovers or things from the garden with one small splurge. Probably half watch some of Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen on CNN but maybe not.
Not a lot. The candidate I volunteered for won, which was exciting and overall a good thing. Other than that it has mostly been meh. I guess it was less terrible than the past two years, so maybe that’s good?
Republicans and their enablers indicted, impeachment of various traitors and lots of those traitors wearing orange jumpsuits.
Libby's Person
That video is so inappropriate. Who was its intended audience?
It does take me back. I was working in southern Death Valley many years ago, when the existence of stealth bombers were first announced. One day this black triangle flew back and forth overhead for about an hour. It was so strange-looking; it threw me for a bit before I realized that it must be a stealth bomber on a test flight.
Kenneth Kohl
@Philbert:
Of course it would…
Meeting family (Inlaws) at a quaint Chinese restaurant on Main Street in Buffalo, then back home well before the bewitching hour.
https://youtu.be/izsVhm_vs2I
Maybe get a jump on Twilight Zone Marathon. Probably.
Gin & Tonic
Since there are two toddlers here whose parents are elsewhere, I predict a quiet and early evening.
Marcopolo
Hope all the jackals here have the NYE experience they desire. I am about to go play board games for the next 8 or so hours with short time outs for eating & drinking.
However, I am saving my major celebration for Thursday when Nancy Smash gets the gavel. I am guessing it will be in the morning—I don’t care & I expect to do a shot & make a toast to oversight & having adults back in the control room of our government.
See y’all on the other side—2019.
JPL
@Cheryl Rofer: Either Darth won, or it’s the trump effect.
Patricia Kayden
@lgerard: Yay. Another outlet for Republican liars!! As if we need any more outside of Fox News.
debbie
@James E Powell:
My opinion of Trump is lower than yours. I think Trump’s looking to shame Schumer into submission.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Gin & Tonic: Quiet? What are you drugging the toddlers with?
Patricia Kayden
@debbie: If Schumer is somehow holding up Trump nominees, I have nothing but praise for him. He’s been pretty useless in the Senate so this is some good news. Thanks Trump.
JPL
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Every year for more than three decades we did that on NYE. We went to a few parties when we were young and then changed our routine. I did it for a few years when I first moved, but now my SIL comes down and we eat, drink and watch movies.
Cheryl Rofer
JustRuss
@Philbert: Whiteman is the name of the base where a lot of these bombers reside(named after one of the first American pilots to die in WW2), so, not quite as horrible as it looks at first glance. But yes, it’s crazy that they tweeted this, glad they’re getting roasted by the Twitterverse.
JPL
@debbie: He’s bragging about the stock market even though this year finished lower. He doesn’t care because he knows his base loves him, even though he’s a lying narcissist.
Mike in NC
2018 was largely forgettable, except that the Stable Genius cost his party 40 House seats. 2019: no Mexican wall, no Space Force, no wasteful parades, no invitations for dictators to come visit. Nothing on Fat Bastard’s idiotic wish list should be granted. Looking forward instead to investigations and indictments to come fast and furious.
Ohio Mom
@Gin & Tonic: How is your hospitalized friend?
CapnMubbers
Green Balloons in the Google Doodle!
JPL
2019 will be the year of the grandma! The end of January a baby boy will be born to my son and his wife. Prepare to find out that I’m going to become more obnoxious then normal, but without pictures. I’m sure the baby will read at six months. lol
When his dad was eight months he had a few unusual words. The pediatrician once dropped his stethoscope and the little baby said shit when it dropped on the floor. The doctor looked around and shook his head and said nah, that could’t be …
JanieM
@JPL: LOL. I can’t claim that degree of precocity for my son, but we were in the checkout line at the grocery store once when he was about three, and he turned to me and said, “Oh, shit, I forgot Big Bird.” The little old lady behind us was so shocked she couldn’t even find any words, she just glared. My son and I had a little talk later about context.
All the best to everyone here for the coming year. May it have more high points than low!
ETA – Congrats to JPL on impending grandma-hood.
zhena gogolia
We’re eating leftover Christmas brisket, maybe watching Vanity Fair on Amazon Prime, to bed at regular time. Tomorrow will be tamales at a friend’s house. Happy New Year, Juicers!
A Ghost To Most
Skirt steak is currently absorbing spices, lime, and Sherry for fajitas later. Peppers and onions to roast. I hope you all eat as well as we will.
Gelfling 545
@JPL: Dinner at 6,cake at 8! Oddly enough, I just finished spreading the raspberry filling. Added a bit of radpberry liqueur to the chocolate frosting as well.
Luthe
Well, I escaped a toxic environment in 2018 (yay); however the means of egress was being fired (BOO). So 2019 will be the year of a new job and a new place to live (if I say “will” enough, I shall bring things to fruition. I hope).
Anyone out there need a housing policy analyst? I know ArcGIS!
A Ghost To Most
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I gave my wife an M.C. Escher puzzle (hand holding reflective globe). It took her 3 months to finish.
CaseyL
I plan to be asleep before midnight :)
Haven’t gone to a NYE party in ages; just lost the appetite for it. Prefer to stay quietly at home, avoiding crazy people.
And i think nearly everyone in Seattle took today off: it is sooo quiet out there. Hardly any traffic. Sunny, though. Just gorgeous outside.
JPL
@Gelfling 545: Nice
@JanieM: He did speak early, and still does many decades later. I was careful with my language when he was young, but after the last presidential election, he mentioned that I might be careful using the f…word. After the last presidential election every one did.
A Ghost To Most
@Luthe: GIS folks are in demand these days. That might be an angle. Good luck.
MoxieM
I walked a whole .6 miles (1.03 km) today. Huge! Enormous! Fantastic!! Ausgezeichnet!!! (Well, if you have a mangled back it’s a big deal). Strapped on my new brace, and got out my old Nordic poles from when I used to walk and hike and stuff. Wow! so much better than a cane. It will only help others insofar as I won’t, I hope, be such a cranky asshole. But wow it’s a really exciting start to a new year for me.
I wish everyone some kind of terrific breakthrough in whatever challenges you.
Cheryl Rofer
STRATCOM deleted the tweet.
JPL
@MoxieM: Congrats! That really takes determination and you should boast. You did good!
SiubhanDuinne
@TomatoQueen:
Happy Birthday and Happy New Year!
Gelfling 545
@Kenneth Kohl: I haven’t really found a good eat in Chinese restaurant since May Jen’s had a fire. Supposedly they’re rebuilding -I hope.
Baud
@JPL: Congratulations!
JMG
Have had cocktail snacks and champagne as we watched Bruce Springsteen on Broadway and then John Mullaney (very very funny) on Netflix. Now we’re watching live shots of the Champs Elysee as a bunch of people stand in the cold waiting for the fireworks. Kind of just like NYE in the US, but earlier and with better food and drink.
Gelfling 545
@Patricia Kayden: I really think he’s done quite well the last 2 years. The GOP agenda got few Dem votes when they got any at all. He and Pelosi have bern heroic.
grammypat
OT, but it’s an open thread already … The FAA issued a “VIP Notice” for McAllen, TX on Jan 3. I assume that this is the type of airspace restriction typical of a visit by AF-1, and suspect that the date is an attempt to bigfoot Nancy SMASH’s receipt of her gavel. Does anyone here have a better grasp on this topic?
debbie
@JPL:
He must have missed the bulletin that 27% is not a majority. //
MomSense
Going to a party at the home of some dear friends. He just got a bad cancer diagnosis right before Christmas and decided he really wanted to have a big party with all of us while he feels well enough. It’s going to be bittersweet.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@Luthe:
There are several agencies and consultancies in the San Francisco area that do. My agency just hired one, but we probably need more. Where are you?
And Happy New Year and good luck!
JPL
@debbie: It is if you can’t count that high.
JMG
OK, maybe it’s not quite like the US. They are showing light show on the Arc de Triomphe that’s sentences from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on a red, white and blue background with a Led Zeppelin soundtrack.
PS: They just segued into Jefferson Airplane. “Somebody to Love.” There’s like a quarter-million people out there listening to this and watching the Universal Declaration, a longish document, scroll past.
Luthe
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: I’m in CT but I’ll move! Give me a week to throw my stuff in boxes and a few days to drive the U-Haul and I’m there.
Also, are you the other Mawrtyr around here or am I thinking of someone else?
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
We’re going to our good friends’ house to celebrate kicking out 2018, but we’ll call it a year at midnight Chicago time – our excuse is that they’re from there and we’re too old and tired to make it to midnight Pacific time. We’ll raise a toast to the intrepid parents nearby who are hosting our teenager and five of his friends for a sleepover.
debbie
@JPL:
Congratulations! Hope you enjoy the heck out of it!
I will be struggling to stay up until the ball drops. I feel compelled to time the automatic gunfire that has become a NYE tradition,. :/
JPL
@grammypat: Yup take the news away from Nancy. That’s not all bad because he energizes our base which is much bigger than his.
Ohio Mom
@MoxieM: What a lovely new year’s wish — Thank you! And good luck with the ambulating. May today’s initial steps be the first in many (accumulated) miles.
debbie
@JPL:
And even more importantly, it won’t stop her the least little bit.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@Luthe:
Yes! I am. I think there’s one more of us hiding
in Taylor atticsomewhere around here.You can reach me through one of the front-pagers if you want to talk about braving the housing prices and techbros of SF.
Catherine D.
@JPL: Ha! Back in the days before seat belts and car seats, I was riding with my father and grandfather. Someone cut us off, and my father bit his tongue as he threw an arm across me. I piped up “sondabitch, right, Daddy?” Got him in a lot of trouble ?
Miss Bianca
@MomSense: Oh, my! Bittersweet is the word. : (
Ohio Mom
@grammypat: I’m sure McAllen has its charms, but what could be the purpose of a visit there for a “VIP”?
debbie
@Miss Bianca:
Seconded.
Miss Bianca
Here at the Mountain Hacienda I am making split-pea mix soup, D’s bread is in the oven baking, a bottle of Danish mead is on hand for toasting the New Year, and an odd but oddly delicious mix of “Call the Midwife” and “Farscape” episodes planned for the evening. Snow is coming down steadily, so I don’t think the plan of having the neighbors over to watch the rogue fireworks on Pike’s Peak at midnight (yeah, we can see them from our house!) will fly – one, because the neighbors won’t be able to get up the driveway, and two, because even the nutters who hike up Pike’s Peak to set the fireworks off will likely not be able to get there this year!
Just finishing up invoices for the year so that I can start the New Year off with some money in the bank. New Year’s resolutions are all related to my hobbies of horse sports, playing music, and writing – so I appreciate @MoxieM’s New Year’s blessing – back atcha, in spades!
chris
Staying in here at the hermitage as usual but one way or another I’ll be awake. I’ll be in bed with a book (Sandman Slim is great, thanks M4) which should keep me awake. But if it doesn’t Bert will wake me as he runs for his crate when the hillbillies across the river light fireworks and fire guns at midnight. Poor born and bred gundog is terrified of things that go bang. On the bright side I will be asleep by the time they drop the ball in NYC cuz I’m on Atlantic time. So I got that going for me.
Happy New Year to all!
grammypat
@Ohio Mom: @Ohio Mom: That’s what I’m asking because
“I assume that this is the type of airspace restriction typical of a visit by AF-1….”
chris
@grammypat: Wall!
lgerard
@grammypat:
Some stable genius could not have picked a place along the border more opposed to a wall
Then there is this
I am sure that someone will find some alternative facts though
Ohio Mom
@chris: I should have thought to look at a map.
zhena gogolia
@debbie:
She doesn’t give a shit about that kind of crap. Most adults don’t.
opiejeanne
@TomatoQueen: Happy Birthday, and many more.
My mom’s birthday is today, and if she were still here she’d be 98 today. She told me once that when her mother went into labor, Grandma was annoyed that she’d have to leave the New Year’s Eve party in the front room of her mother-in-law’s house and go to another room to have the baby. It is a really big house, so there may have been a birthing room at the back. I can’t imagine what the party was like after that.
This was in the Ozarks and there was no booze because the womenfolk were present. Southren Babdists (sic) are that way.
grammypat
@chris: Yeah, McAllen is in the lower Rio Grande Valley where “Wall” is going thru that guy’s butterfly sanctuary. Color me suspicious, but the date is too cute by half if this is an early warning that the Toxic Toddler is planning to be in the area.
schrodingers_cat
@MomSense: How is your Indian friend with the cancer diagnosis? Is she still with us? The last time you wrote about her, she was in palliative care.
Emma
We have several minor but annoying illnesses in the family so my sister and BIL couldn’t make it for New Years lunch. I decided to clean out the fridge. I took some chicken bone broth I had made last weekend and made some Cuban chicken soup to put away for the working part of the week. As my father was passing by, he said casually: this is tonight’s dinner, right? So it will be soup for dinner and my sister’s spectacular bread pudding for dessert. Life is good.
Today’s planned dinner (broiled cod, yuca puree with cheese, and salad) will be tomorrow’s dinner instead.
(edited for clarity)
Fair Economist
@Ohio Mom: McAllen was the center of a truly massive Medicare fraud and money laundering operation. Trump is probably just going to offer a fellow criminal some support.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@zhena gogolia: also, I think even Fox has stopped showing the Sixty-Minute-Hates live
grammypat
@lgerard: It’s the timing rather than the exact location that causes me pause. The crime statistics are similar to El Paso which, when Juarez had the highest murder rate in the world … El Paso had the lowest in the US.
Steeplejack
Just got in from a minor expedition. I was going to get a (much needed) haircut, but I thought to call ahead and discovered that Sandy was not in today. My usual guy, Khalid, does appointments only on Monday, but Sandy does almost as good a job and does walk-ins. Guess it’ll be Thursday. (They’re closed tomorrow and Wednesday.)
Went to Phase 2 of my plan, local brewpub for a late lunch/early dinner—bacon cheddar burger and a pint of some designer ale. Ate at the bar and pondered life’s rich tapestry, also caught up on some Balloon Juice threads. Then I went by Target, wandered around for a bit and ended up buying a four-pack of boxer briefs. Way too many choices. I shop so infrequently that sometimes I have trouble remembering what I bought last time. I did remember Hanes, and I think I lucked out and got the right model. Small victories.
Came home, and glad to be home. It was dark and mucky out—a raw 47° and misting rain. But it’s warm and cozy inside. The housecat is toasting on her blanket beside me, and I’ve got some bubbly chilling for later. Will investigate the TV options in a bit.
I will be glad to see the back of this year. Here’s hoping 2019 is better. Happy New Year to all Juicers and jackals everywhere!
dr. luba
Tallinn is not Europe? Huh?
Skepticat
@grammypat: They usually call it a TFR (temporary flight restriction), but a VIP TFR is for the president or VP. The TFRs around Palm Beach are a total nightmare for days on end.
schrodingers_cat
I am going to stay at home. Its too damn cold to go out in December in New England. We will be having a quiet dinner with some shrimp and onion bhajia, jasmine rice, brussel sprouts, and pot roast with Indian spices that I had made earlier. And then we will watch Raazi (Agreed). Based on a true story of an embedded spy, married into a high ranking Pakistani military family during the Bangladesh War.
Here is Alia Bhatt as Sehmat at her wedding. The lyrics say, sweetheart don’t turn around and look back.
I love the pretty Kashmiri embroidery on all their outfits.
I am looking forward to it.
debbie
@zhena gogolia:
When she passes a CR on Thursday, I hope it includes a reinstatement of the pay raise for Federal workers. If not that, then a zeroing out of Trump’s golfing budget.
Miss Bianca
@Emma: Soup for New Years is good! Thought I had some black-eyed peas, but found the split pea mix first.
Now since the oven is going to be hot from the bread-baking, think I’ll make some mince tarts.
NotMax
After midnight for some, well before for others. Regardless, enjoy the fireworks and champagne by proxy.
Hau’ouli Makahiki Hou!
JanieM
@Catherine D.: That one made me laugh out loud. And it reminded me of how when I was little my dad used to say “S of a B” — because in the fifties you did *not* use bad words in front of your children, right? — and for years I thought he was saying something like “hess of a bee” and I wondered what a “hess” was, and what it had to do with bees.
@JPL:
LOL again. My kids got a bit puritanical when they got older, so I had the experience of being chided for bad language by the generation before me and the generation after me.
Eh, this era is worth more than a few f*cks, whatever we have left to give.
Josie
@grammypat: I’m sure it’s some kind of PR stunt to do with the wall. Having lived most of my life in the McAllen Edinburg area, I can assure you that most people there do not want that monstrosity. It goes against everything that the area stands for – the bi-culural nature of the Rio Grande Valley and the appreciation of its unique habitat.
Bill Arnold
@Cheryl Rofer:
It was pretty tacky. Also, those were not “balls” being dropped. I mean, nowhere close to spherical.
(I have seen a B2 only once. Spotted it (in south FL iirc) as a line in the distance, then it banked to be fully recognizable.)
pat
A couple of threads ago there was news from Ozarkhillbilly about a woman who had fallen and broken her arm and injured her back in a cave where there is no rescue possible, she has to pull herself through tiny spaces to get out.
Has there been any more news yet?
grammypat
@Skepticat: Thank you. It appears to expire Jan 4, so it’s at least limited to one day.
But, I just can’t help but suspect that it’s a(nother) political stunt at taxpayer’s expense. That is: Anything to steal Nancy SMASH’s thunder.
I’m hoping that there’s a large protest.
debbie
@JanieM:
My 8th grade math teacher (a very pious Catholic) frequently employed “Cheese and Crackers” when we got a bit rowdy.
Jay
Put the chains on the truck, did a little expedition across the ice to town, got a new snow shovel, ( broke the 12 year old one yesterday), picked up some wine for tonite and New Years day,
white knuckled it back home, up hill all the way on solid ice,
Warm fire, batteries full, pork chops for dinner, movies later.
Happy Holidays to all you Jackals, best wishes for you all for 2019.
Hulk 3, the Pelosi Smash starts January 3rd at a theatre near you.
Quinerly
@pat: so odd… I was just going to check in and ask about an update, too. Pretty sure OzarkHillbilly said it was in Texas. I have been trying to find something on line. Nothing turns up in the Google.
Aleta
Cold here. Lost power for awhile. Managed to show my niece a good time while she was with us, over the break from her grad research in virology. The making of the family potika w/ the cousins, the annual potluck at a farm with 20 friends, hikes to beaches with the dogs, talking, talking. Though I worried I wasn’t up for constant interaction and her pressing need for fun and feats of strength, I did OK.
I asked her how she got interested in viruses. Thought it might be a teacher who set her interest on fire. She said, ‘When I was little I always liked predators’ (true — I remember her dinosaur stage, followed by sharks, tigers, etc.) and viruses are predators.’ Within hours my partner and I both came down with vicious predator viruses. Said goodbye to her yesterday; tonight we’re finally home w/ the cats although dragging and moaning about our bad coughs and fever aches.
Josie
@Josie: bi-cultural. For some reason, I am not permitted to edit my comment.
Elizabelle
@Quinerly: Actually, the caving woman was from Texas. Pretty sure the cave (and rescue site) is in Missouri.
If Ozark shows, we have to ask him the name of the cave or location.
NotMax
@pat
From what he related, it’s a pretty tricky to deal with accident. Wouldn’t expect much in the way of news about it for at least a day other than they’re stabilizing her and assessing the injuries.
debbie
ABC, NBC, and Fox all seem to be starting their NYE celebrations at 8pm. I can’t imagine a longer, more boring evening.
Cheryl Rofer
Cheryl Rofer
debbie
@Cheryl Rofer:
Interesting that their motto (according to their Twitter page) is “Peace is our Profession.”
Luciamia
Been on a bit of a,cleaning and picking up streak, getting set for the N.Y. I guess. Had a sip of Calvados and it gave me even more energy. Nibbles and some Preseco later.
Quinerly
@Elizabelle: thanks for the clarification. Nothing turns up on Google re cave rescue here in MO. I missed that in Ozark’s AM post. The Texas part stood out for me.
Aleta
And why does SAC have a twitter account anyway.
Ruckus
@Luthe:
2005 was the year I left a toxic work situation – IOW quit my job.
I was going to give you the tale of my doing that. But you don’t need to hear that….. Good luck finding a gig. I found one in 2013 by the skin of my teeth. And my cousin thinking it would fit me far better than him. Decent job, good boss, still there, getting ready for retirement.
Cheryl Rofer
@debbie:
debbie
@Cheryl Rofer:
A classic!
Quinerly
He’s such an ass.
“In an exclusive interview set to air during Fox News’ ‘All-American New Year’ special Monday night, President Trump suggested that only Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s “psychiatrist” knows whether she thinks she can win the White House in 2020.”
geg6
We’re staying home, of course. Got lobster tails and surprisingly nice asparagus and I’m making a long grain and wild rice pilaf with lots of the sacred trio in it. Snagged a bottle of Mumm’s Napa cuvée for an awesome price. Have it cooling next to the tiramisu I splurged on today. If you live in an area that has the Giant Eagle grocery chain, I can not recommend their tiramisu enough. Pricey, but as excellent as any tiramisu I’ve ever had. And I’ve had a lot since it’s my absolute favorite dessert.
debbie
@geg6:
I’ll have to check out the tiramisu. All I know is that their cakes are so sugary, my teeth hurt. And I’m a sugar fan.
geg6
@debbie:
Try it. It’s wonderful.
Mnemosyne
@Cheryl Rofer:
Were they feeling that their masculinity has been diminished because the next big appearance of the stealth bomber will be at tomorrow’s Rose Parade? Or should the city of Pasadena be concerned about what the pilots have planned for tomorrow? ?
eemom
@Steeplejack:
Happy New Year to you, my good neighbor! The weather did indeed suck today.
Hope to finally meet you at some DC area jackal roundup in the 2019.
pat
@Quinerly:
I don’t think he said where the cave is, but the woman was from Texas.
I’d like to know if there are some restrictions on entering a cave where if you fall you can not be rescued!
MoxieM
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: Hello Ladies — Am a Wellesley grad (Radcliffe daughter) and Smith mom… Seven Sisters Unite!! I cried when my kiddo chose Smith, not gonna lie.
JanieM
Auld Lang Syne, by the Chorollaries of MIT. Ignoring the promotional blurb, the singing is lovely. I wish they had done a longer version. Or maybe they did and I just didn’t dig deep enough.
Cheryl Rofer
@Mnemosyne: Everyone is wondering!
germy
stinger
This afternoon I watched the last and favorite of my Christmas movies, Remember the Night (a Beulah Bondi/Elizabeth Patterson vehicle with cameos by Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray). I’m in what I hope is the last stage of a bad cold, so will go to bed without regard for the time. Before the holiday ends, I plan to watch two more films, both set in a magical Italy, that can make me forget January weather for an hour or two — Enchanted April and Much Ado About Nothing. I’ll make either chili or ham and bean soup. I was hoping to go on a First Day Hike, but the forecast says patches of freezing drizzle (making the drive to a state park pretty risky) and a high of 22F with winds of 10-20 mph (making a 2-mile hike pretty miserable). I’ve never done a First Day Hike and would really like to, but with increasing age I get more self-protective all the time. Oh, well — Italy!
stinger
@debbie: Godfrey Daniels!
germy
@stinger: Mother of Pearl!
Quinerly
@pat: The whole love of caving thing is a mystery to me. I had a bit of a panic attack (totally new sensation for me) at Carlsbad in January. The tour group was small, great guide, an obviously huge cave. Towards the end of the tour, the guide cuts the lights. The silence but for a drip of water and complete darkness got to me. I truly came close to screaming. My heart was beating out of my chest. Never experienced anything like it in my mostly charmed ? life.
trollhattan
This Iranian incident raises painful questions.
Jackie Chan did a sex scene?!?
The place sounds like end-to-end fun, Iran.
Ohio Mom
@debbie: My favorite comment in the thread was from a former staff member of the Office Government Ethics, reminding those in charge of the twitter account to make sure they comply with federal records law by keeping a copy of the deleted tweet.
Of course there are already many non-official copies saved, all over the country. As well as the image seared in my memory.
I guess we should be glad saner, smarter heads have prevailed.
dexwood
In and out again here… Great place. Thanks, John and front pagers. So many fine folks commenting here. Happy New Year, all.
Dan B
@Quinerly: The caves is from Texas. The cave is probably in the Ozarks. Lots of holey stone in the Ozarks.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Trying to remember who I knew who said that, then I remembered it’s not a person I know, it’s Kathy Bates in Dolores Claiborne.
daverave
@Libby’s Person:
I’ve seen them flying in the same place (above the Ibex Dunes) several times.
Quinerly
@Dan B: Ozark lives about an hour from me. I’m in St. Louis.
Yutsano
It’s only 1610 here, but before I go down for a nap:
Felice Anno Nuovo y’all!
debbie
@Ohio Mom:
Bet they didn’t save a copy. :/
I’ve been working my way through Season 20 of South Park (“Hey! Let’s get J.J. Abrams to do a reboot of the National Anthem!”), but I see there’s a Twilight Zone marathon on a broadcast channel. Huh.
debbie
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Yikes!
HeleninEire
Happy New Year from Dublin. Just got a messenger video call from my first Dublin friend, David. Wasn’t quite sure what it was but I picked up and then I see myself on the phone. Good thing I wasn’t naked!
Happy and healthy 2019 to all my Balloon Juice peeps. See you back in the US next month.
Ken
@A Ghost To Most: The hardest jigsaw I ever did was of four white eggs, one broken, against a white background. I got the patch of yolk and the border done in a few hours, then the rest of it was entirely shape-matching – might as well have worked it upside down.
JanieM
Another Auld Lang Syne — beautiful version with orchestra, chorus, and — signers. Pretty cool.
Ken
@Josie:
Maybe he’s going there to accept the oversize check from the GoFundMe guy? In which case the money will vanish, so at least we can be sure it won’t be spent on wall.
(From what I’ve heard about the GoFundMe guy’s past, it’s pretty likely the money will vanish and never be spent on wall anyway.)
Ken
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
You might think the aliens had terrible luck, putting their secret relay in an orbit which just happened to be in the flight path of New Horizons, but it turns out that every body in the Kuiper belt is an alien communications relay.
opiejeanne
We still have quite a bit of standing rib left over because no one took any home, and the cook decided one massive roast wasn’t enough so he brought a second one for Christmas Eve’s dinner.
I’m cutting some of that lovely stuff into strips and making a beef stir-fry with peppers and onions and snow peas, and some of the massive package of sliced mushrooms that was left in our fridge.
Should be tasty.
We’ll find something to watch a little later tonight. The temp has dropped to 35 and it’s not quite 4:30. Supposed to be very cold but clear tonight, maybe below 30. No chance of snow, though.
I’ve started piecing together a wall-hanging quilt today; I have no idea where it will live once it’s finished. It’s pretty cool, black and yellow, an homage to bees, but I am asking myself what I was thinking when I picked up the fabric for this project.
Amir Khalid
@trollhattan:
Jackie Chan’s character probably shared a tender moment, no more, with a woman. To some people, that’s as bad as having sex.
SiubhanDuinne
@jeffreyw:
Wish I had known that on the day. Some years ago, I wrote a birthday poem for a friend who was turning 64, and since then I’ve recycled it for others celebrating that landmark, rewriting only the final couplet for the celebrant. So here you go:
Sloane Ranger
Fireworks around Sloane Ranger Manor have finally stopped. Half the street was standing around outside watching them.
Pleased the old place has survived another New Year’s celebration. I was in the bathroom just now and I swear that a rocket missed crashing through the window by mere inches.
Call me a New Year Grinch but, as I get older, I am more and more convinced that explosive projectiles should be banned in built up areas unless operated by trained professionals!
Dan B
@Quinerly: I know. It gets my attention when you post because my mother is from Ft. Smith and Clarksville, Arkansas and we lived in Batesville when I was ten – the other side of the Ozarks. We visited caves in the Ozarks and were there when Blanchard Springs cave was first explored. It was a lot more interesting terrain, rocks, and caves than west of Akron. St. Louis was a thriving metropolis we traveled through on visits to my grandfather’s.
Dan B
@Dan B: My point us some commenters locations are easy for me to remember because of my past associations. Others just don’t stick in the memory banks.
zhena gogolia
@stinger:
WHAT ABOUT STERLING HOLLOWAY?
Steeplejack
Here’s the STRATCOM tweet with video that caused the minor furor:
Steeplejack
@eemom:
Thank you! Wishing you the best for the coming year.
chris
Jeez! They’ve started the fireworks three hours early. Bert will be in his crate (safe space) all night, poor guy.
Ken
As for what I’m doing for the countdown, some friends invited me to a party. I’m debating because it’s been raining most of the day and I’m worried it will all turn to ice tonight.
For tomorrow, I’m going to watch the Doctor Who episodes I’ve recorded. From the previews I’ve seen, he’s got a new female companion who’s pretty hot.
(Just kidding! My only issue with the new Doctor is that my ear hasn’t learned Jodie Whittaker’s accent yet, and I have trouble catching some dialog.)
jeffreyw
@SiubhanDuinne:
LOL, great stuff. Thank you!
jeffreyw
Second season of Victoria is up At Amazon Prime.
NotMax
@Ken
Bought someone a semi-gag gift of a jigsaw puzzle many moons ago.
Round, and the image? Nothing but solid red. 24″ in diameter, IIRC.
Steeplejack
@Ken:
Closed captions are your friend.
Anne Laurie
@Sloane Ranger:
If it’s any consolation, we Americans have to attempt to persuade the idiots among us not to fire guns at random to ‘celebrate’ NYE.
Miss Bianca
@SiubhanDuinne: SD, your poetical contributions are always a delight, but I am in awe of this one.
Happy New Year to you, and jackals all!
Brachiator
Fun story on HuffPo on how attitudes about stuff has changed over the years. For example.
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5c2a47aae4b05c88b7029f37?ec_carp=2735750201050267855
Hoping the New Year brings some new attitudes.
Brachiator
@Ken:
I’m also going to be binge washing New Who. I understand that there is also a New Year’s special episode.
Gin & Tonic
@Elizabelle: When he posted about it he intentionally blanked out the name of the cave. I do not expect he will be more forthcoming tomorrow.
SiubhanDuinne
@NotMax:
OMG, I had that one! It was a bear.
TomatoQueen
@SiubhanDuinne: Thank you and a Most BadAss New Year to you!
Ben Cisco
Taking a personal inventory of 2018.
Every goal I set for myself at the beginning of the year was met.
I got out of a job that had entered the diminishing returns phase. (Found out after the fact that I would have been jettisoned had I not left – bonus)
I moved back to my home state and closer to my mom. Enjoying being able to spend that time with her.
Got a job – a good one – making what I asked for instead of what they wanted to pay.
I’m grateful for what has come my way, and looking forward to doing more in 2019.
Happy New Year jackals!
SiubhanDuinne
@Miss Bianca:
Thank you, Miss B! Same thing right back at you, and to the entirety of Jackaldom!
Brachiator
@Ben Cisco:
Glad things are working out.
Looks like 2019 may be that year of challenge and change for me.
Happy New Year to all!
SiubhanDuinne
@TomatoQueen:
LOL, thanks!
Ben Cisco
@Brachiator: I hope you get everything you seek.
BruceFromOhio
Bourbon and Bananagrams, and an early bedtime.
Happy New Year, Nova Scotia!
TomatoQueen
@opiejeanne: Thank you and happy birthday remembrance of your mom. I come from a line of long-lived Los Angeles women, so hope in spite of bad habits & bad luck to make it into my 90s. My mom, who died at 79, never tired of complaining that I was born two weeks late but I wasn’t fortunate enough to have a picturesque behind the stove birth, just a modern naval hospital one.
BruceFromOhio
@Cheryl Rofer: @Ben Cisco: Jolly good! Good fortune to you!
chris
@BruceFromOhio: Thanks, Bruce. Same to all the Ohios.
Redshift
Cataract surgery this morning seems to have gone well. I’m wearing an eye patch to the New Year’s Eve party even though I don’t need it any more.
Happy New Year, fellow jackals!
J R in WV
@Quinerly:
The injured caver is FROM Texas, I’m not at all sure the cave is in TX, lot of caves in MO where OzarkHillbilly lives and caved in the past. Not that there aren’t lots of caves in TX, but he didn’t say it was there, and he probably isn’t that familiar with TX caves.
J R in WV
@pat:
No, cavers are pretty independent, they’ll even use a torch to cut open a steel gate to enter a closed cave. Not the respectable ones, the uncontrollable ones. Wild ones. Uninhibited ones.
But there’s no restrictions as far as difficulty of rescue or that, most restrictions are regarding environmental issues, like endangered species present. Or just private property, no trespassing.
stinger
@zhena gogolia: Not a fan, but at least he didn’t ruin this picture for me!
MomSense
@schrodingers_cat:
She’s now in hospice care. I drop things off from time to time but she isn’t seeing non -family anymore. It’s very sad for her son especially.
Pogonip
@geg6: The only things I really miss about Clumbus, Ahia, home of THE Ohio State University, are Giant Eagle, the State Auto nativity, and (suburb) Whitehall’s holiday lights.
Kenneth Kohl
@Gelfling 545:
We went to Ming’s Cafe; it’s on Main Street, directly across from St, Joseph’s in University District.
https://mingcafe.business.site/?fbclid=IwAR288jMIGUUILV0wPSyD_fe3Z5Kkk4X0a5GrE7E0jiD5YIjc84fKSpdO-
May Jen’s due to open soon!
https://buffalonews.com/2018/12/06/may-jen-buffalos-oldest-chinese-restaurant-is-coming-back/