Had to break down and go for a haircut today. I shaved my head two months ago, and tried again the other day but can’t reach the back because of the reconstructed shoulders, and Gerald was unable to come do it, so I ventured out to my barber, Joyce. I’ve been going to Joyce for 12 years now (prior to that, I went to the same barber from 1992- 2010), so she knows me pretty well. So… she felt comfortable blurting out “MY GOD WHAT HAVE YOU DONE” when she saw me.
The only way to fix it was shave it down to very little, so I am good until October, I guess.
Got a new book today- Evil Geniuses- The Undoing of America, and looking forward to reading that.
Speaking of, doesn’t SOMEONE WE KNOW WELL have a book coming out or something?
Benw
So you went to your barber with the world’ most aggressive mullet?
ETA: and based on your timeline you travelled least 1 year into the future to do it!! Hardcore
Phylllis
I read Anderson’s Fantasyland. It was really good. The library doesn’t have this one-might have to use an Audible credit.
Nicole
I took my ten-year-old for a haircut today. I tried my best to cut his hair early in the pandemic, and then, the last week of online schooling in June, the class did a Throwback Thursday where the kids were invited to dress up like from another decade and, me and the husband being Gen-Xers, the only thing we could throw together for him was 1980s (I was slightly hurt that the kid declined to wear my WHAM: Make It Big t-shirt from 1984 but we still did him up good). As his hair was getting long by this point, I teased and sprayed it into the best 1980s pop band look I could do.
And he loved it and refused to let me cut his hair after that, because he wants to have the option to go all Thompson Twins again and by this week it had gotten really awful. So I persuaded him to go to the woman who cuts my hair, promising him she’d keep the length but neaten it up.
She kindly didn’t make too much fun of the terrible job I did back in April. And ended up giving him a long shag, which makes me laugh, because it’s what she did for me in July so he basically has a slightly shorter version of his mom’s hair.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
didn’t want to go full-on Flock of Seagulls, eh? didn’t have a photograph? Something to remind you?
Kent
Pics or it didn’t happen
WaterGirl
Cole up top:
“Speaking of, doesn’t SOMEONE WE KNOW WELL have a book coming out or something?”
Yes he does! Look for a special edition of Medium Cool on Tuesday where we feature none other than our own Tom Levenson on the release of his book on August 18.
“Money for Nothing: The Scientists, Fraudsters, and Corrupt Politicians Who Reinvented Money, Panicked a Nation, and Made the World Rich”
It’s getting amazing reviews!
Martin
And you may find yourself
Living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself
In another part of the world
And you may find yourself
Behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house
With a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself, well
How did I get here?
jl
@Benw: thanks for catching the time travel. Seemed too normal for a Cole post. I was confused.
WaterGirl
@WaterGirl: In case anyone wants Tom’s book and hasn’t pre-ordered it yet, you can order Tom’s book here:
Independent bookstores link
Amazon link
Kropacetic
Speaking of which, I’m really hoping the USPS comes through. I renewed a professional license earlier this month. My current one expires in 10 days (my birthday). I was already a little late because money/work is hard to come by. It’ll suck if I have to start missing shifts.
NotMax
May I respite personal rant about how much I dislike August on TCM? Entire days with nothing or next to nothing that piques any interest to view/re-view. Also a sometimes daily roster demonstrating and reinforcing just how limited some actors are/were.
Fortunately, Prime queue is chockablock with choices at the moment.
/rant
Ruckus
9th circuit court throws out large capacity magazine law in CA.
Fucking assholes who think the citizens this country should be considered functionally at war with each other and legalize the means. Because the only time you need a large capacity magazine is when you are at fucking war.
WaterGirl
@WaterGirl: Or this review:
Amir Khalid
My current barber cuts my hair exactly how I want it — short buzz cut all over, give or take the occasional missed spot — at no charge. I don’t have to pay him. I don’t even have to leave home to get to his place.
zhena gogolia
@NotMax:
I’ve always hated Summer under the Stars.
dmsilev
@Ruckus: Look, if you’re out in the woods, you never know if you’ll be ambushed by an armor-plated deer. One has to be prepared for such things.
raven
@Martin: My wife used that at her retirement event. I cried, she laughed.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Amir Khalid: I started shearing my own melon when quarantine hit. I did it yesterday. Misjudged the sideburns and I now have a second bald spot, a much smaller one, over my left ear. I hope it grows back, but I have no plans to go anywhere without a hat in the next couple of weeks
Darkrose
I bought a set of clippers a month ago, but hadn’t worked up the courage to use them. Today I reached the point where I couldn’t stand my hair any more, only to discover that the clippers clearly weren’t designed for my 4C, 3″ long natural. I decided to try to trim it with the scissors provided, and then use the clippers, but by the time I was done trimming, it didn’t look half bad, so I decided it’s good enough.
Glad I did it early, because the fuckwits that manage our apartment complex decided that a Friday during a triple-digit heat wave that’s expected to last well into next week is a great time to do maintenance on the AC systems without notifying anyone. As of 4:30 pm, it was 84 downstairs. The one good thing is that the management company is kind of terrified of us because we’re two middle-aged lesbians who know our rights and have no problem calling in lawyers. They sent over a guy to install a portable AC unit. It’s noisy as fuck and we’ll have to sleep downstairs tonight, but it’s better than nothing.
This is on top of discovering earlier this week that FedEx never delivered the prescription cat food order. Their site says it was delivered last Saturday, but we were home all day and it never showed up. Fortunately, VetSource is shipping another bag at no charge, and our vet’s office was able to write a prescription that we took to Petsmart to tide us over. This week has been kind of a clusterfuck, though, and I’m glad it’s over.
PsiFighter37
@WaterGirl: My first thought was that we were talking about golden showers from Michael Cohen’s book.
NotMax
@zhena gogolia
Pleasant to learn am not alone.
WaterGirl
“MY GOD WHAT HAVE YOU DONE???”
That was good for a laugh out loud!
Benw
@Amir Khalid: if I had a nickel for every time I’ve had to warn someone that cloning yourself to get free haircuts is bad news I’d be rich
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Ooh, I like that. I was thinking of supporting one of my favorite indie book shops, Farley’s in New Hope, PA, a place we go to a lot for weekend getaways. But I typed my zip into that link and got 5 stores in downtown Philly, only 4 of which I’d ever heard of, and I feel like I should support the locals. Now I’m kind of torn.
raven
@Darkrose: I’ve been shaving my own head for years. Shave it with clippers and then with a razor.
WaterGirl
@PsiFighter37: That one will be worth reading, too, I imagine.
But I’m pretty sure no one will be raving about the writing and the brilliant story construction of Cohen’s book.
Ruckus
@Kropacetic:
My DL expired in July and in CA, for your first renewal after you turn 70, you have to take a vision, written and driving test. But they weren’t making appointments and most DMV offices are closed. So I was trying to figure out what do do when an extension came in the mail. I’d bet I’ll get another one, as long as I don’t do anything stupid behind the wheel first. Because we aren’t going to be out of this shit for a while, what with shitforbrains trying to kill us, and mitchthedick not doing his job any better than shitforbrains.
Amir Khalid
@Ruckus:
My understanding (I don’t know from guns, so I could of course be wrong) is that
Ruckus
@Amir Khalid:
I wonder if your barber is related to mine, because he sounds exactly like him.
Nicole
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: There is always something there to remind me.
WaterGirl
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: Independent and local, no matter who you pick, you can’t go wrong, right?
Nicole
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: (also, his hair didn’t have quite enough length on top to do Flock of Seagulls. But believe me, I TRIED)
Ceci n est pas mon nym
So I know there’s lots of creative cooks here at BJ. I’m looking for suggestions. I’ve got a first world problem here: sweetened condensed milk.
I’ve settled into a quarantine ritual of having a daily cup of espresso made with the Bialetti (stovetop espresso maker). A week or so ago I suddenly started thinking about Vietnamese iced coffee and how I missed it, strong coffee over sweetened condensed milk and then over ice.
So I put a can of the milk in the last grocery order and had my iced coffee today and man was that good. I’m definitely doing that some more. But I only use about a teaspoon at a time. What do I do with the rest of it?
So far a little internet research has turned up that one version of dulce de leche is basically pouring it into a baking dish and baking it. I might do that. Any other suggestions?
JCJ
@Nicole: Doctor, doctor! Can’t you see I’m burnin’ burnin’!
Feathers
@NotMax: And no Noir Alley! I always found Oscar month slimmer pickings than August. As a noir hound, I have far less interest in the respectable flicks.
But, alas, no cable now. I do have the Criterion Channel though, and the Noir Westerns series has been good watching during the hot weather. At least I’m not on a horse in the desert, with the law on my tail.
raven
@Amir Khalid: 20 round mags and some people taped two together but it could foul up the mechanism.
JPL
This post office hair cut that trump wants might be his undoing. BUT Chris Wallace is whining that Biden won’t go on his show, so both sides.
Geoduck
I’m another who was cutting what little is left of my hair long before COVID came along. OK, occasionally I’d blow $10 at the locally-owned no-frills chop shop, if I was feeling really lazy. And I wear a brimmed hat whenever I go out. Keeps the sun and rain off my skull, and I still have enough vanity that it covers up the Horrible Truth.
CaseyL
I don’t cut my hair; I still dream of it being down to my waist. It grows very slowly (or the ends break off); it has finally gotten down to the small of my back, if I pull it straight. At this rate I will achieve my goal of waist-length hair when I reach Full Retirement Age.
I haven’t colored my hair since even before the lockdown, and the (mostly gray) roots are about 2.5-3 inches long. At some point I may color it again. Or not.
Or maybe color the whole thing gray/silver/ white. A part of me thinks I should mark the Age of Covid by making a dramatic change in my appearance. Going all gray/silver/white would certainly fill that need.
trollhattan
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Gary Oldman circa “5th Element”
JaySinWA
@dmsilev:
Or wild boars. Trying to eat your children. Won’t anyone think of the children?
NotMax
@Nicole
Wait until he demands the Leningrad Cowboys look (Finnish band).
:)
trollhattan
Ways to know you have too much money now includes this.
Pupjoint
No hair cut since February. The lady that does my hair called me a couple of months ago telling me she cannot go back to work in the salon because her husband in immune-compromised. I told her it was a good decision. I finally got a Flow-bee yesterday (it has been not been available for months.) Worked pretty good, cut my hair down to 1/2 inch, with no mess to clean up.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Gary Oldman, undead and out of character (I was looking for a short one)
Nicole
@JCJ: Duncan Sheik does a really pretty acoustic cover of, “Hold Me Now.”
trollhattan
@Ruckus:
So much for that “out-of-control liberal 9th Circuit.”
PsiFighter37
@JPL: Chris Wallace is the worst. Registered Democrat, my ass.
Ruckus
@dmsilev:
Shooting an armor plated deer doesn’t require more shots, just better shots.
Putting 40 round through your neighbors house because you can is completely fucking asinine. It’s like one ass has a 600 hp engine in his car so everyone needs 600 hp. It’s fucking bullshit.
Nicole
@NotMax: Ha! That’s hilarious.
Feathers
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: used to make a ghastly thing as a kid: Pink Lemonade Pie. Stir to combine 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 1 can Frozen pink lemonade concentrate, 1 tub Cool Whip. Pour into graham cracker crust. Chill.
Made it again a decade or so and could barely eat any of it. But I loved and was proud of it as a kid. I think because it was the first “original” recipe I made. I found it somewhere, but my mom is a serious baker, and it wasn’t a hand me down from her.
I know it is used in other pies, Key lime, for example. It’s also in Thai iced tea. There is a Thai Iced Tea Pie as well I’ve always wanted to try.
JPL
@PsiFighter37: Couldn’t agree more.
MazeDancer
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
Sweetened condensed milk is the basis for many creamy pies.
Search “sweetened condensed milk pies” and you’ll see.
Though, dulche de leche is pretty tasty.
Lapassionara
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: OMG, I love sweetened condensed milk. On camp outs, we used to make something with it and coconut and Wonder Bread. We would put the piece of bread on a stick, then dip it into the sweetened condensed milk, then into shredded coconut. Then singe it in the flames like people do marshmallows for s’mores. Highly recommend.
laura
I’m 2 weeks away from retirement and am scheduled to get a long mohawk on 9/1. 3 inches wide in front, 1 inch at the back, and then it’s going to grow out and be what ever color it actually is.
Won’t be needing a high flow shower for hair washing, unlike some people.\\
Amir Khalid
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
You can also make that popular Malaysian drink teh tarik (AKA pulled milk tea).
Dulce de leche can also be made by boiling an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk for 2½ to 3 hours, ensuring it is completely submerged throughout, and then letting it cool to room temperature. ETA: As demonstrated by various YouTubers.
You can make ice cream with sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream, as demonstrated by Adam Ragusea.
NotMax
@Nicole
Linked to it as a curiosity some time back – ultra freaky is their video for These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.
:)
Mike in NC
@Martin: Ah, now I want to ask Alexa in the morning to play some Talking Heads. Also Mission of Burma and Nine Inch Nails.
Delk
Heh. Yesterday I was telling my husband about seeing the Thompson Twins with OMD at the UIC Pavilion. Good show – shitty venue. Never went back to the place.
bk
I highly recommend Yellow House by Sarah Broom.
CarolPW
@CaseyL: Your hair might break less if you didn’t color it. My sister let hers grow out and the gray is all sparkly and her hair is less brittle.
Ten years ago my hair was long enough that I could sit on the end of my braid, and unbraided it was almost to my knees. Was that long for at least 30 years, but over the last 10 years a series of health issues meant I started having problems with it. Hacked it off a bit at a time and now it’s shoulder-length. I miss the braid.
WaterGirl
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: Do you like rum?
Sweetened condensed milk is used to make Coquito.
This is the recipe I started with, but you can see that I substituted heavy cream for the sweetened condensed milk, but the original recipe could use up your condensed milk!
There go two miscreants
@WaterGirl:
Gleick’s Time Travel is a pretty interesting book, BTW.
Wyatt Salamanca
To this day, I still miss Kurt Andersen’s Studio 360!
Fortunately, there are archives of this wonderful, inspiring program
https://www.npr.org/podcasts/381444899/pri-studio-360
https://www.pri.org/programs/studio-360
There’s plenty of interesting books coming out in this fall:
Republic of Wrath: How American Politics Turned Tribal, from George Washington to Donald Trump by James A. Morone due out Sept. 8
Trump’s Democrats by Stephanie Muravchik and Jon A. Shields due out Sept. 15
Liar’s Circus: A Strange and Terrifying Journey into the Upside-Down World of Trump’s MAGA Rallies by Carl Hoffman due out Sept. 1
Spooked: The Trump Dossier, Black Cube, and the Rise of Private Spies by Barry Meier due out Jan. 26
A Perfect Phone Call: The Impeachment of Donald Trump by Rachael Bade and Karoun Demirjian due out Sept. 8
Crackup: The Republican Implosion and the Future of Presidential Politics by Samuel L. Popkin due out Sept. 1
White House, Inc.: How Donald Trump Turned the Presidency into a Business by Dan Alexander due out Sept. 22
Collateral Damage: Britain, America, and Europe in the Age of Trump by Kim Darroch due out Sept. 15
October Surprise: How the FBI Tried to Save Itself and Crashed an Election by Devlin Barrett due out Sept. 29
What Were We Thinking: A Brief Intellectual History of the Trump Era by Carlos Lozada due out Oct. 6
h/t https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/new-titles/adult-announcements/article/83634-fall-2020-announcements-politics-current-events.html
James E Powell
@Ruckus:
The battle was lost in 2000 and 2016. Our country won’t have a chance to revisit Heller until long after most of us are gone.
geg6
@CaseyL:
I’ve never colored my hair, but almost all of my friends who did, no longer do. Many of them just since all this shit started. They are loving the freedom and ease of it and almost all of them are shocked at how cool their various shades of gray/white look. The only exception is my friend who is a flight attendant. She’s afraid that if there are layoffs, the gray hair might disadvantage her. Still such a sexist industry.
NotMax
@Mike in NC
Alexa: “Not until you’ve cleaned your room.”
:)
Omnes Omnibus
@raven: If you have 30s, you don’t want to put more than 25 in them anyway.
Steeplejack
@trollhattan:
The Fifth Element feels like a movie that should not work on any level, yet when I run across it on TV I can hardly ever turn away. Just can’t resist.
Ruckus
@Amir Khalid:
Early automatic rifles didn’t have a large magazines, the Browning Automatic Rifle of the earlyish 20th century would use a 20 or 40 round magazine. We had them on my ship in the early 70s. The M16, which came out during Vietnam had a 20 round magazine. The .45 auto pistol I carried had a 10 round mag but the navy would only put 5 rounds into it, otherwise the springs would lose tension and not load.
All of those are weapons of warfare. And unless you live in a fucking war zone, you don’t need that. I used to hunt ducks and geese and there was a limit of 3 rounds for any shotgun. Mine would hold 5 and I had to have a plug in the magazine so that it could not. If I lived in a war zone, I’d want a shotgun, not a rifle. Does more damage up close, does less farther away. And that’s still 75 to 100 yds, but not over a mile.
CarolPW
@Lapassionara: We did that! Except we would use unsliced bread and cut it into cubes. The stuff is really good (but then, everything tastes really good when you are camping).
NotMax
@geg6
Even Maddow has strands of gray showing nowadays
raven
@Ruckus: The M-14’s we carried in Korea were 20 round mega as well.
Benw
@laura: you gotta spike it up with glue like 70s punks!
Maeve
Last time I got someone else to cut my hair was December. I’ve cut it 3 times since and I may be fooling myself but it’s not bad. I already had thinning shears (shears with teeth in them so they don’t cut off all the hair at once) because I don’t actually like going to the hairdresser and used them to to trim in the before times). trimming the front has been not so much of a problem but I discovered that you can trim the back with the help of a mirror and just feeling whether both sides feel the same. Plus my hair is slightly wavy so it doesn’t have to be perfect. And I resist doing too much at one time
I may be fooling myself …
My sister had her daughter cut her hair and ended up with it shaved in parts and dyed blue in places. We are both in our 60s. To be fair she had it died blue (or green or purple) in parts for some years now. And the shaved parts were overhung by longer hair and looked cool. She said it also felt cool.
raven
@Omnes Omnibus: yup
laura
@Ceci n est pas mon
Here ya go: https://www.thespruceeats.com/sweetened-condensed-milk-dessert-recipes-304317
Ruckus
@Geoduck:
What the hell is vanity? I gave up any concept of that about a decade ago. Bits covered, not too hot, not too cold, sun blocked so I don’t grow nasty cancer all over. Done.
geg6
@Benw:
And the 80s New Wavers.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steeplejack: It is Besson’s masterpiece. I loved Subway, La Femme Nikita, and Leon, The Fifth Element is so over the top that you just have to go along for the ride every time.
Uncle Cosmo
@Ruckus: My MD auto registration expires at the end of the month, & I panicked because I had outstanding speed-camera fines with the City that the MVA has to get signoffs for before they’ll renew, & although I paid them over the Net, there’s no one at any of the offices involved to process the paperwork & no way to reach a real live human bean to straighten things out.
Then I noticed that GOV Hogan decreed that expiring things like DL or registrations will be considered extended until 30 days after the current state of emergency is lifted. Presumably at that time state employees will return to the offices & there will be a chance to rectify matters. Eminently sensible. Whew!
Steeplejack
@zhena gogolia:
Missed your question about Endeavour last night but caught it when I was doing cleanup today. My sleep patterns are completely shot, and I have descended into a nocturnal hell where all too often I find myself hate-watching Mannix, Cannon and Barnaby Jones while marinating in the day’s awful news. But I digress.
I thought that Endeavour was okay. Maybe a bit of a rough start, but they’ve been off for a while, and they’re trying to get into a new groove after the climax of “Degüello.” So I’m cutting them some slack. I saw earlier that you had a strong negative reaction. Would be interested to hear about that, in a non-spoiler way.
Benw
@geg6: and the 90s punks! Um, again
;)
Brachiator
@NotMax:
Earlier this week there was an evening of Steve McQueen movies. I queued up Bullitt and The Great Escape to watch later. Also have a bunch of pre-Code films in the queue. Watched 1930s The Divorcee, with Robert Montgomery and Norma Shearer. A poster from the era notes that this was an MGM all-talking picture, and you really get the idea that they were learning how to do talkies. A lot of the camera work is odd and creaky, and few close-ups. Some of the acting is overly melodramatic, but Montgomery is natural and at ease. Shearer won an Oscar for her hammy performance, but she looks great in some of the gowns, etc.
But it is still amazing how movies could be frank about sex and desire for a while, and then go all puritanical after 1934.
raven
@Brachiator: The Sand Pebbles was on this afternoon. Great movie.
Ruckus
@trollhattan:
I was trying to remember which one the 9th was. You answered my question. I wonder if shitforbrains is allowing some who should know better to let their freak flag fly?
Omnes Omnibus
@Ruckus: I have seen what I looked like with 1/4″ of hair when I was in OCS. I have seen what I look like with hair. With is better. And, yeah, I still have my vanity. Sue me.
Jay
@raven: ditto
since 1983
Benw
@Omnes Omnibus: yup, it’s infinitely rewatchable! Every performance is absolutely pitch perfect.
Leeloo Dallas, MULTIPASS
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Delk: I saw the Thompson Twins open for The Police at Hollywood Park, which was torn down and is the site of the new Rams stadium.
Morzer
@Nicole: You could always go for the Fluff of Seagal approach…
Ruckus
@James E Powell:
Which might be sooner than normal……..
Jay
@Amir Khalid:
yurp, 2 15’s, taped end to end for quick swap.
they are trying to do , ( mimic) what a belt fed machine does.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ruckus: I haven’t read the decision, but it is always possible that the ban was a well-intentioned but poorly written law. It happens. Not every court decision is political.
Steeplejack
@Omnes Omnibus:
It is an utterly cheerful mess. That’s why it works.
Uncle Cosmo
@Nicole: That’s a catchy turn of phrase there – you ever think about setting it to music? :^D
Omnes Omnibus
@Jay: 15s?
raven
@?BillinGlendaleCA: My mom lived in an apartment that looked down on it on Crenshaw.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Excellent suggestions for the sweetened condensed milk. I knew you guys would come through. Thanks to all for the great ideas.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steeplejack: FWIW Exile on Main Street is my favorite Stones album and Sandinista my favorite by the Clash. Apparently sprawling messes are my jam.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: @Steeplejack: I missed the Endeavour comment also.
I watched it yesterday and I thought it was a good episode. i would be interested to hear what you guys thought.
I was totally unsurprised by what surprised Endeavour at the party. I saw that coming a mile away, did anyone else?
The last 15 seconds was surprising and I thought I should probably recognize the woman and know who she was, but I did not.
I have tried very hard to be vague so as not to include spoilers, but if someone else draws the line in a different place, let me know.
Morzer
@Steeplejack: I thought Season 7 of Endeavour suffered from some extremely unconvincing plotting. It was as if they decided that they needed melodrama and lots of it and narrative coherence could find itself another job.
Brachiator
I got a close haircut a while back before they locked things down again in Los Angeles county. I try to minimize travel for now and think that this cut will be able to last a while.
I think that barbers and hairdressers can work outside now. I hope that is helping them stay in business.
laura
@Benw: rest assured – I’ve only been waiting since 1979. My mom made me promise to keep it colored while working because it’s hard for women in the workplace. The time is now. I’ve got plenty of product for freeze in space and expect to be briefly taller than the spouse at full sail.
WaterGirl
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: If you end up making the coquito, save some for me! I only make it at christmas time. But I didn’t this year, so I guess I could make it now.
Christmas in August is a thing, right?
Lapassionara
@CarolPW: I can still taste it in my memory.
Geminid
@Amir Khalid: In the 2012 Aurora Colorado movie theater shooting, the shooter had a semiautomatic rifle with a 100 round drum magazine. It jammed, but with that weapon, a shotgun, and a handgun he still killed 12 people and wounded another 50. A ban on large capacity magazines was passed by the Colorado legislature, and it was upheld six weeks ago by the Colorado Supreme Court. The parties challenging the law argued that it was invalid under the state constitution. Today’s 9th Circuit ruling was 2-1. The state will probably ask for it to be reheard en banc, before all the 9th circuit appellate judges. If the case makes it up to the U.S. Supreme Court, the magazine ban may well be upheld, as similar laws have been upheld by other circuits. The Supreme Court recently declined to hear an appeal of a 6th Circuit ruling upholding a Massachusetts law banning high capacity magazines. One person who follows 2nd Amendment litigation called today’s decision an outlier, expects it to be overturned.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Amir Khalid: What sort of tea are they using? Powdered, apparently.
Nicole
@Uncle Cosmo: I am pleased you caught the reference. :)
Omnes Omnibus
Sixth Circuit and Massachusetts?
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Kropacetic:
In Ohio, our drivers’ licenses have to manufactured at central facility and then delivered to us through the mail. I’m wondering if the changes in at the USPS will effect when I’m going to get it. It’s not the end of the world; I have an “interim document” as well as the old license for the meantime.
But it’s just one example of people’s lives being disrupted. How many small businesses still rely on the mail for sending invoices and receiving checks from customers? Or poor/rural people for their bills and social security checks?
Brachiator
@raven:
It’s in the queue.
Ruckus
@Omnes Omnibus:
With is better. However….
At some point most men lose a bit, some lose all. Dad had hair on his death bed at 84. Grandfather had hair on his, same age. A cousin was losing his by 25, while mine was down to my shoulders. But now? I’m not shave smooth on top but it is getting shiny up there. And my cousin, 40 yrs later has the same amount. So I buzz cut everything else with the trimer and am done with it. Quick easy and done. Once saw a geezer on a plane with 3 waxed strands that looked to be about 5 or 6 separate hairs each, about an inch apart from each other, that went over his extremely bald noggin, that ran from just over his right ear to his left. He was sitting in the row in front of me when I was getting in the seat, so I could easily see the top of his very bald, but not hairless head. His wife saw me looking and the look was all I needed to know that she had been giving him shit for this for a while. Now that’s vanity.
Steeplejack
I got a haircut on March 20, a few days after I came back from Las Vegas and knew we were going into lockdown. Got my next one on June 24; thought the risk was acceptable because my barbers’ place is a two-seat operation and they often don’t overlap. My cutter was the only person there, and she was following good procedures.
In a luxurious world I would get a haircut every six weeks or so. In this world, I usually get one about every 10-14 weeks. Week 12 is when my hair suddenly starts bugging the hell out of me. It’s like a switch turning on. So I was really jonesin’ for that haircut in June. I’m just past seven weeks now—hair just starting to feel a little “long” when I wash it in the shower.
Amir Khalid
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
Yep.
Ruckus
@Omnes Omnibus:
If you get the chance I’d like a bit of professional opinion.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Omnes Omnibus:
FWIW, I love Washington Bullets from Sandinista myself
Mike in NC
@Ruckus: I read a book about infantry weapons of WW2 where the author thought the US would have done much better in replacing the BAR with the British Bren gun. Know a friend who lived in Hoboken who wished he had one to deal with the loud local deadbeats who congregated on his street corner.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@WaterGirl: Sure it can be Christmas any day you want. Time has no meaning any more. It takes an effort of will for me to figure out what day of the week it is most days. I’m still fairly secure on AM and PM, but I may become detached from that before much longer too.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steeplejack: I went from before X-mas to mid-June. Normally, I going about every three months. At about 11 weeks, it goes from “I should think about getting an appointment soon” to “I really shouldn’t be seen in public until I get an appointment.”
Ruckus
@Steeplejack:
I think it also works because the actors do such great acting to the story. There’s no real historical basis for any of it and they play it that way. It’s not presented as the future, only as a possibility and everyone plays it straight and right too, as I said above, the story. It’s appealing because while you can’t see any of it being real, they play it as if it’s as natural as breathing.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ruckus: I’ll try to take a look over the weekend.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Ah, the Police.
You made me remember this awesome Police tune that’s very relevant today
WaterGirl
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: I chuckled at AM vs. PM, but probably will not be laughing when it actually happens.
aliasofwestgate
@Ruckus: It remains one of my favorites just because it’s so different and was a breath of fresh air that year. That and it’s a wild ride from start to finish, and you tend to love every minute of it.
I saw it in theaters when it was released and i don’t regret it one bit! :D
The Pale Scot
@dmsilev:
I wanted to link to a Far Side cartoon that has a deer geared out for hunting with a call toot “Hey you guys, I got a six pack”, alas I couldn’t find it
Here’s a Calvin and Hobs ‘toon that’s almost as good
Googling “Far Side” along with any random word will give you the giggles for hours
Geminid
@Omnes Omnibus: my bad. 1st Circuit.
Martin
@Steeplejack: It’s a lot of important details. The soundtrack is perfect, for example. But it’s also a movie that knows what it wants to be and delivers exactly that.
Omnes Omnibus
@Geminid: Cool. I was having a confuzzled.
Omnes Omnibus
You know, this conversation would be improved by the presence of commenter Aziz, Light.
zhena gogolia
@Steeplejack:
It was disjointed and boring, and they keep doing the same shtick with Thursday, which doesn’t use Allam to his best advantage. Only Bright and Strange came out of it with any honor. I’m not looking forward to whatever the animals-in-cages arc is going to be. And the music just makes everything more horrible than it needs to be
ETA: And now that I’ve seen a few minutes of James Donald, my favorite actor, in The Great Escape, I’m going to bed!
Wag
@Martin:
Here’s an awesome cover version of that song
Angélique Kidjo
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z84rtbVbIEQ
Yutsano
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: I was steadfastly convinced at physio today that next week ended August. In fact August ends in two weeks. I may have to look up how exactly time dilation works.
And I am appalled no one has suggested tres leches cake yet. You do need a full can of sweetened condensed milk for it, but it is soooo worth it.
zhena gogolia
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Omnes Omnibus:
BTW, I agreed with your point on the Belarus thread
hilts
@Omnes Omnibus:
Does that make the White Album your favorite Beatles’ album?
geg6
@Benw:
It’s all good. I actually WAS a 70s punk. I just appreciate excellent hair game.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: I’m so out of it that I don’t know if that’s serious or snark.
geg6
@Omnes Omnibus:
Your sprawling messes are my masterpieces.
WaterGirl
@Yutsano: I have never had that. Is it kind of like a shortbread cake you might have with strawberries and whipped cream?
Jay
@Omnes Omnibus:
FN’s, later the Colt Canada, C7 and C7AC2
15 round mags.
Omnes Omnibus
@hilts: Oddly, that would be Rubber Soul.
Steeplejack
I didn’t want to whiz on the music respite thread this afternoon, but one of the things I have realized lately as we wallow through the rolling seas of the Trump/coronavirus dystopia is that I find little pleasure in music these days. Classic symptoms of anhedonia: lack of anticipation (wanting), lack of enjoyment, lack of motivation to seek it out. In fact, it’s not just music. I have a hard time finding enjoyment in much of anything.
Not looking for an intervention here. I’m a pretty stolid, deal-with-it person, but this year has worn me down, like everyone else. Just noting my state of mind. I keep up a (ragged) semblance of a routine and find enjoyment in occasional things, but there is a lot of gray. This place is a great source of solace.
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack: That should go on a plaque for 2020. And probably 2021.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: “Aziz, Light!” is a line from the movie.
@geg6: Well, yeah.
Omnes Omnibus
Dear god, it’s worse than we thought.
ETA: It has not affected my love of music, but I has affected some of my music choices. I noted in the respite thread that I am listening to a lot of Roxy Music, New Order, and Joy Division. And not happy dance stuff, but things more like A Song for Europe and Atmosphere. I suppose going full goth is the next step.
ETAA: The Paris After Dark feature here is playing into my musical mood.
hilts
I have to give a shout out to the person who uploaded Bob Dylan’s Desire to YouTube, an album containing one my all-time favorite Dylan songs, Black Diamond Bay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN50eDyIYF8
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Steeplejack:
I’m sorry to hear that you’re going through that atm. I know I miss just being able to sit down in a restaurant. This pandemic has stolen so much from all of us. I know I was supposed to have a pinning ceremony when I graduated nursing school but that never happened of course
NotMax
@Steeplejack
Full
servicesolace blog.;)
The Pale Scot
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
My sister and I would say you just need to drink more coffee
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: Ah!
geg6
@Steeplejack:
My hairstyle is pretty short, so I’ve been to see my girl Sam twice since a June. I’ve also been to my dentist twice since June. They both take the same precautions: call from car and be masked. Sam comes out and gets me, masked, and takes my temp and I sign off that I haven’t been in proximity to or contact with someone testing positive. Get in chair fully covered in plastic. Keeping masks on, cut hair. Pay with credit card or flex spending for dentist, wiping everything down or ahead of time by phone. Leave happy and styled or clean teeth. I feel pretty safe at both.
NotMax
@hilts
An interlude of bouncy Dylan.
Benw
@laura: yesssss!!
@geg6: awesome! I was a 90’s punk, we looked up to you!
hilts
@Steeplejack:
I can relate to much of what you’ve written, but I find solace in the increasing likelihood that Trump will lose despite his fucking with the postal service,
I look forward to many celebratory threads here and elsewhere once Biden is officially declared the winner.
I’ve already compiled a lengthy playlist to celebrate Trump’s defeat.
Steeplejack
@geg6:
I went to the dentist in June for a checkup and cleaning, postponed from April. Felt safe there, too. Strict protocols in effect. I really hate missing maintenance. My jaw was broken rather spectacularly 13 years ago; since then oral health is a big deal to me.
hilts
@NotMax:
Love that song! For me, Blood on the Tracks and Desire are Dylan’s last masterpiece albums.
Ruckus
@aliasofwestgate:
Same here, have seen it a number of times, it’s always enjoyable.
Jay
@Mike in NC:
the Bren was less a machine gun, than an automatic rifle. Accurate out to 2000 yards.
it was “hobbled” by being .303.
the Barr was more spray and pray, invented as a “trench clearing weapon” at the end of WWI.
aimed shots/‘bursts vs spray and pray.
Wyatt Salamanca
@Brachiator:
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen The Great Escape.
After my most recent viewing, I was struck by how it still holds up after all these years. The sequence showing the fates of the main characters after they escape is a masterpiece of editing and the musical score is terrific.
Ruckus
@Steeplejack:
That’s a damn good description of me at this time and probably a large percentage of most Americans.
It’s bad enough that COVID was going to get a lot of us no matter what but with shitforbrains making it far, far, far fucking worse, that would be bad enough. Add in all the shit he’s brought on on top of that, like his post office asshole who is dismantling the entire thing just for the possibility that shitforbrains might get a extra day of fucking us, all because we aren’t all paler than a piece of notebook paper and because we know an actual idiot when we see one.
Brachiator
@geg6:
@Steeplejack:
My sister in Texas had to go to the dentist. Similar experience. She found waiting in the car instead of the waiting room to be an odd experience.
Jay
@Steeplejack:
shit dude. The Jackals are here for you.
2020 for me,
forclosure, (during the moratorim, so f’lawters)
Moved,
Fundi compound,
minimum wage job,
covid, “essential worker”,
Shit hapens.
,
Kay
This Trump Administration “kill the postal service” plan is going well. Brilliantly executed. Jared must be running it.
Aleta
My dog has had one too many botch-y home haircuts and now his back looks patchy, his chest and throat straggly, his head and belly hair going all directions so he looks mangy and sicker than he is. And he has what the vet said would make him look like a unicorn— a mound growing on his forehead bone that’s getting big now. He’s still acting pretty normal except he gets hot and tired fast. He’ll feel a lot better if I can find someone with skill and kindness to trim and shave him. The previous place wouldn’t be good for him or us. I’ve been calling around but no luck yet. The small, kind places are booked up into the future. .
I don’t know why simple things take all day now.
Baud
@Kay:
Again showing that the worst Democrat is better than the best Republican.
Aleta
(NYT) The private health care technology vendor that is helping to manage the Trump administration’s new coronavirus database has refused to answer questions from top Senate Democrats about its $10.2 million contract, saying it signed a nondisclosure agreement with the federal Department of Health and Human Services.
In a letter obtained by The New York Times, dated Aug. 3, a lawyer for the Pittsburgh-based TeleTracking Technologies cited the nondisclosure agreement in refusing to provide information about its process for collecting and sharing data; its proposal to the government; communications with White House staff or other officials; and any other information related to the award.
A spokeswoman for Department of Health and Human Services said members of Congress should direct their inquiries to the government, not the company. But Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Health Committee, sent a letter to the agency in June seeking similar information and has not received a reply, her office said.
The arrangement was unusual, Jessica Tillipman, an assistant dean at George Washington University Law School who teaches about government contracts and anti-corruption, said in an interview.
… Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, and Ms. Murray … recently introduced legislation aimed at protecting data transparency — an issue Mr. Schumer addressed during recent talks with Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, according to a person familiar with their discussion.
“The Trump administration’s decision to hire a private vendor and then cloak that vendor in a nondisclosure agreement raises numerous questions about their motivations and risks the ability of our public health experts to understand and effectively fight this virus,” Mr. Schumer said in a statement Friday.
…
The contract — and in particular the sudden switch in reporting from C.D.C. to TeleTracking — generated objections from public health experts and outside advisers to the health agency, who say that the new system is burdening hospitals and endangering scientific integrity by sidelining government experts.
TeleTracking is majority owned by its chairman and chief executive, Michael Zamagias, a Pittsburgh real estate developer.
The manner in which the contract was awarded has also generated confusion. A government website initially listed it as a “sole source” contract, but H.H.S. officials later said there were six bidders, though they refused to name the others, saying they were “prohibited from sharing that information by federal regulations and statutes.”
Ms. Tillipman said it is also unusual for the government to keep the names of bidders a secret.
Baud
Ruckus
@Wyatt Salamanca:
One of the traits of all great movies. They elicit the same emotions every time you see them, because they are well written, directed and acted for exactly what they are. And of course some actors are so good that almost every movie they are in does that. Steve McQueen was one of those.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
You…. raaaang?
Willard, 70 something, richer than Croesus, a grandfather probably a couple of dozen times over, and so close to becoming half the man his father was. Will he ever make it?
Wyatt Salamanca
@Brachiator:
One of my favorite documentaries is Visions of Light https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXeuk1tO32k, a history of cinematography and it has clips showing how stilted and awkward the actors’ movements were when they first started shooting talkies.
Aleta
@Wyatt Salamanca: I can hear the music now and still see some scenes.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Baud:
Wow. I guess “look forward, not back” isn’t going to happen this time. Good. Now, hopefully the Dems also recognize the need to confirm as many judges to the federal bench as possible
Kay
@Baud:
I don’t think I recall a postmaster general who became as infamous as Louis DeJoy (now) is. And in such a short time!
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I really don’t understand why he can’t criticize Trump.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): it would make things awkward for Rs up for re-election, and my guess is Romney, and more than a few of his colleagues, sees ditching trump but keeping the Senate as the best possible result for November 3.
CaseyL
@geg6:
I’m not sure how universal the feeling is, and it is very likely more prevalent among people “of a certain age,” but I think “Oh, fuckit, why bother?” is at least a fairly common phenomenon nowadays.
I find it quite relaxing.
Baud
@Kay: It took DeVos years of hard work to reach that level of infamy.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Kay:
Well, I can’t remember any postmaster general deliberately trying to destroy the postal service. This is hopefully going to backfire hard on Trump and the GOP
Soprano2
We have a booklet my husband got a long time ago that’s just recipes using Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk. Makes the best fudge I’ve ever had. It also has a great cheesecake recipe.
gwangung
@Aleta: This bastard’s company has a web site? This company has IT infrastructure? Folks ought to be pounding on it asking for answers.
Wyatt Salamanca
@Ruckus:
Absolutely true, I could not have said it any better.
Kay
@Baud:
I’m pleased it’s such a big story. Disaster for Trump. Now all mail delays of any kind are his fault.
Wyatt Salamanca
@Aleta:
I especially love the music that accompanies Steve McQueen’s motorcycle chase and the scene when Richard Attenborough and Gordon Jackson are trying to evade capture.
Also too, I’ve always loved the musical score of The French Connection.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
That makes sense. But it does have the side effect of destroying what little credibility Romney had. What’s the point of trying to position yourself as a Principled Moderate when you won’t actually stick to your principles? That schtick is Susan Collins’ and I’d argue that stopped working for her when she voted to confirm Kavanaugh
Brachiator
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Most Republicans in the primaries, including some running for the first time, bent over backwards to show voters that they were Trumpy. Trump has infected the party. They cannot shake him loose.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@Omnes Omnibus:
Right there with you. I love Exile and my favorite Beatles is The Beatles. (Not that anybody calls The White Album by that name…)
NotMax
@Kay
Even the lackadaisical segment of the American public takes exception when Ben Franklin is being deliberately kneed in the nuts.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Brachiator:
Real quick. I just wanted to say sorry to you if I’ve been a pain lately
Kay
I feel like we need all new inspectors general. Not getting the job done. I mean, if you’re an “inspector general” for the USPS one would hope you would be aware of national mail delays before the entire country experiences them for 3 months.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@Formerly disgruntled in Oregon: And I should have read the thread first to avoid the repetition. Here’s to two great sprawling, messy, amazing double albums!
Wyatt Salamanca
@Baud:
Given Trump’s monstrous mishandling of COVID-19 and the unbearable death toll, simply voting this psychopath out of office feels cosmically inadequate. By Election Day, the death toll could be close to 300,000 and, as things stand, if Trump loses he’ll simply continue living a life of luxury in Mar-a-Lago. This bastard should spend the rest of his goddamn life in a federal prison.
hilts
@Omnes Omnibus:
When it comes to the Beatles, there’s no bad choice for a favorite album. They recorded a handful of songs I don’t like, but I love all their albums.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@Kay:
Mike Pompeo agrees ;)
FTFNYT: Another Inspector General resigns, raising questions about Pompeo
Link
Brachiator
@Wyatt Salamanca:
Thanks for the link. I will watch the entire thing later.
I watched the segment where they noted actors hovering around a table because that’s where the microphone was. But actors also had to learn a new grammar of acting; they could no longer use the broad gestures of silent films. And for a while the producers and directors tried to import the grand style of the theater. That didn’t work either. Everyone had to learn how to make movies again once sound came in.
It is interesting though, to note how someone like Hitchcock was able to easily move from silent pictures into talkies.
ETA: One of my favorite video essays is about the Spielberg Oner. A fairly short essay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q4X2vDRfRk
Brachiator
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Not even a problem. You and other Balloon Juice folk help keep me sane as we deal with the pandemic, and as we head toward the upcoming election.
NotMax
@Brachiator
Hitch had hiccups along the way too: Rich and Strange was a commercial flop.
;)
prostratedragon
@Kay: It’s one of those jobs where if your name becomes widely known, it probably means you’re doing something way wrong.
Wyatt Salamanca
@Brachiator:
That video was great! Thanks for sharing it. YouTube is the ultimate treasure trove. Every time I visit the site, i come away with great discoveries and learn something new. One day, I have to organize all of my favorite videos.
Brachiator
@NotMax:
True. Rich and Strange is not good. And here you can maybe see him trying to adapt to doing talkies. He soon got it right with stuff like The Man Who Knew Too Much, in 1934,
Steeplejack
@Jay:
Thanks. Sorry to hear about your woes.
Juju
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: melt chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk, some vanilla and stir until smooth then put in a buttered dish and refrigerate or let harden in a cool place. You can melt the chocolate and sweetened condensed milk in the microwave or over a double boiler. Add whatever tickles your fancy for some texture.
2liberal
Biden should declare an emergency about treason in high places, and put Trumps taxes and other documents in the public domain and usable for prosecutions.
2liberal
duplicate
Wyatt Salamanca
@2liberal:
I keep hoping that sometime before Election Day, a hacker or hackers will free Trump’s tax returns from captivity.
rikyrah
@Kent:
I know????
waynel140
Evil Geniuses is a great book. I’m halfway through it, having pre-ordered it on Audible. The second book I’m recommending is The Imposters, by Steven Benen, Rachel Maddow’s senior producers. In it he writes that the GOP has become a post-policy party and Trump is the best example, of many. Terrific book on how we got here.
Another recommendation is The Economists’ Hour, by Binyamin Applebaum. He destroys Milton Friedman
I doubt anybody will get this far in the comments. LOL
SWMBO
@waynel140: I got this far. Days later but I got here. Thanks for the recommendations.