I’m not watching the Senate hearings on January 6th Capitol security (or lack thereof) live, but the clips I’ve seen are infuriating because suspects are directly questioning witnesses:
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) February 23, 2021
Senator Ron Johnson (he came from Wisconsin!) used his question time to lie about the insurrection being an antifa false-flag operation. Come retrieve your village idiot, Mankato!
One of my two horrid US senators, Rick Scott, used his time to grouse about the National Guard presence in D.C., implying it’s unnecessary. I have no idea, but the Q-MAGA cult allegedly believes the real presidential inauguration is coming up early next month and that their orange calf will be reinstalled, so maybe it makes sense for the National Guard to stick around.
Anyhoo, open thread.
PS: Thanks for the birthday greetings last night! I did not see the thread until this morning because, as birthday princess with absolute control over home media for the day, I was making my husband binge-watch Twin Peaks with me. On his birthday, we had to watch Gladiator again.
Patricia Kayden
VOR
Yes, he was born in Mankato, Minnesota but please don’t hold Minnesota responsible for this gimbus. He’s Wisconsin’s problem.
Omnes Omnibus
Groan.
ETA: I would gladly send Johnson to Mankato. Let Minnesota have him.
Benw
The only person who is convinced I can hold both a laptop and a cat in my lap at the same time is the cat.
Yutsano
Heck lady you barely paid attention to your Twitter account! :P
I may have missed it below (I actually am paying attention to my work TYVM!!!) but brave Sir David ran away. I guess he’ll have to be content with playing with his millions in the private sector now.
Old School
Happy belated birthday!
Did you start from the pilot episode of Twin Peaks? Or move onto The Return?
MattF
The collective delusion of most elected Republican officials is, or should be, actually, very alarming. And I just don’t have anything to add to that.
StringOnAStick
I missed it last night, so happy birthday today Betty C. So glad I followed you here from Rumproast.
trollhattan
County seems to have resumed receiving vaccine shipments, because I now have an appointment for Pfizer jab #2 next week, now featuring drive-through in a multi-story parking structure. Genuinely curious how the heck that’s supposed to work but anyway, woot! [Note to self: fill tank, bring snacks.]
germy
Democrats asked good questions. Klobuchar is making her closing statement right now.
Redshift
Yeah, I can never watch any of these hearings live, I’d grind my teeth to nubs. I recall back in the before times I’d sometimes listen to them on NPR on my way to work, and have to switch stations when one of the asshole GOPers (but I repeat myself) came on, and try to guess when to switch back.
It’s bad enough that the major networks and CNN are still booking Big Lie proponents, who are still pushing the Big Lie, but even if we could do anything about that, we’re still stuck with them in Congress.
germy
This is how the hearings opened:
Redshift
@trollhattan:
And don’t drink coffee beforehand! 😉
JPL
@germy: I watched until Ron blamed the imaginary ghosts dressed in black.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
Ooooh, Gladiator! I remember how my husband had to drag me to see it originally, since I associated such movies with Victor Mature. And then I saw Russell Crowe, developed a major crush, and ended up seeing it another 4 times while it was in the theatres. Lucky for me Russell is a good actor. Master and Commander is also a favorite, along with LA Confidential.
bluefish
@Old School: I watched The Return, every excruciating minute. I loved the trippy visuals and see now that catatonic Dougie was a good representation of our wounded country. “Get out of the car, Dougie.”
Plus:
Happy birthday, Betty Cracker. You always make me chuckle … and think. Wonderful writer.
germy
@JPL:
Ron Johnson is his porn name.
germy
@A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan):
Here’s something Russell Crowe retweeted:
Old School
@bluefish: Yes, The Return was definitely at a different pace than the original series. I’ve only watched The Return as it first aired. Haven’t done any re-watchings like I have of the original run and movie over the years.
JPL
@germy: After that image, I need brain bleach.
trollhattan
@Redshift:
Heh :-)
“Hey, why’s that guy standing so close to the edge?”
germy
@JPL:
Supplies of bleach are low nowadays, ever since Trump’s amazing discovery of its curative properties.
William D
happy belated birthday…and I see that the Minnesota/Wisconsin confusion has been noted. As a person raised in Minnesota and who went to college in Wisconsin, I concede the state populations are quite similar, but Minnesota has been more successful in resisiting Republican Trumpification, at least on the Senate and governor level.
Read at TPM that RonJon’s star would-be witness is from Frank Gaffney’s outfit, which kinda tells you all you need to know
Obvious Russian Troll
That’s America’s Stupidest Senator, Ron Johnson.
Although I think Tommy Tuberville is making a strong challenge.
trollhattan
@A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan):
I was bowled over by “Master and Commander” and on learning it was based on a large book series, hoped it too would become a series (since Hollywood can’t seem to do anything but). So I’m sad it was one-and-done. But hey, we’ll get a seventeenth Batman and twelfth Fast and Snoriest for our viewing pleasure.
RandyG
@trollhattan: If it’s like the parking structure drive-through I went through yesterday…. many large structures have isolated entrances/exits and useable areas on the first floor diverted away from the main ramps that can be cleared of all other traffic and parking, and which lead back to an exit around the other side.
Best of luck! Hopefully it will be well-organized to get you through quickly.
trollhattan
@Obvious Russian Troll:
Does Tuberville even fog a mirror? Has anybody checked?
germy
@trollhattan:
I confess I’m looking forward to seeing what Matt Reeves does with the Batman saga. He’s a talented director/writer and the studio has given him complete artistic control over their “property”
VeniceRiley
So Mr. and Mrs. Cracker have a tradition of inflicting TV pain on each other for their birthdays? that sounds fun! Tell him you hate Spartacus. So much eye candy.
I think I’m fresh out of things to watch. I’ve even watched the stuff I have no interest in seeing. I watched Pandora, ffs.
Cheryl Rofer
Happy birthday, Betty!
I don’t expect much to come out of today’s hearings. There seemed to be some interesting tidbits from the head of the Capitol Police, but nothing earthshaking.
The FBI is in the middle of its investigations. I suspect that the various law enforcement departments involved are still figuring things out. The January 6 commission that Nancy Pelosi wants will do a more complete job.
trollhattan
@RandyG:
Yup, I’m sure it will be fine just puzzled that they changed the process while it’s still on the same university campus. Jab #1 they were within five minutes of the schedule, a very pleasant surprise.
Mostly don’t want to be behind a turbodiesel F350 for an hour.
Jeffro
Many thanks for the thread, Betty, and happy belated!
Now then…fuck Ron Johnson with an ebola-dipped rusty farm implement.
Baud
“What do you need from us to protect us from us?”
Old Dan and Little Ann
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!?!
LongHairedWeirdo
You probably already know this, but the reason that sort of thing is done is to create social media and Fox News videos. Of course, that means that Johnson is a corrupt ass, and maybe an idiot in addition.
(See, while he’s on the floor of the Senate, he’s supposed to be doing the people’s work, instead of campaigning.)
Boris Rasputin (the evil twin)
Happy (belated) Birthday, Betty! We jackals consider you a national internet treasure.
Jeffro
I see we’re also getting to a very silly place with these Cabinet hearings. Xavier Becerra’s not qualified? (but Ben Carson was?) Neera Tanden’s mean tweets are beyond the pale? (but Richard Grenell’s weren’t?)
Fuck ’em, Uncle Joe. Ram that Covid bill through and appoint anyone you want as “Acting” secretaries of this, that, and the other. Let’s make it a busy last week of February and then just keep onnnn going!
VOR
@William D: Yes, you could see the split between Minnesota and Wisconsin in the 2010 election. Minnesota replaced a Republican governor with a Democrat, Mark Dayton. Wisconsin replaced a Democratic governor with a Republican, Scott Walker. Both states have similar economies and demographics yet Minnesota did better recovering from the Great Recession from 2011-2018. Wisconsin elected Ron Johnson to the Senate in 2010, replacing Democratic incumbent Russ Feingold. Minnesota had elected Al Franken (D) in 2008, narrowly beating a Republican incumbent.
Miss Bianca
@A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan): Love Master and Commander. Have seen it numerous times. Love Crowe’s performance (*and* Bettany’s).
Only seen Gladiator once, tho. Apparently, that was enough for me.
: )
Chyron HR
@Patricia Kayden:
Same, though.
Boris Rasputin (the evil twin)
@trollhattan:Does Tuberville even fog a mirror? Has anybody checked?
Does he cast a reflection or a shadow? That’s where I always start.
Baud
@LongHairedWeirdo:
QFT
Major Major Major Major
Twin Peaks vs. Gladiator is quite a time difference!
SectionH
Happy Belated Birthday, Betty!
Ohio Mom
trollhattan:
My first jab was in a multi-level garage and it went off like clockwork.
Two floors were dedicated to the vaccination effort; where everyone who usually uses those spots is parking these days, who knows?
Though the garage and building above it are brand new and maybe the university hospital asked the atchitects for a design that would allow for such an effort?
Elizabelle
Happy last not vaccinated birthday, Betty Cracker.
May the limpkins put a sock in it, in honor of your birthday week.
UncleEbeneezer
Speaking of binge-watching, one of my faves, Snowfall, the series produced by John Singleton (RIP) about the rise of the crack/crime epidemic in 1980’s Los Angeles, and one of the best but most underrated shows on tv, is back this Thursday! So excited. I’ll say this again, if you loved The Wire and/or Narcos, check it out. It is very worth binging the first three seasons.
Major Major Major Major
@Jeffro:
Or we could run the government correctly.
I’m sure congress would be happy to take an actual recess after the COVID bill is done should there be any outstanding must-have secretaries.
Bluegirlfromwyo
@Jeffro: You mean the Fuck Your Feelings crowd should be able to take what they dish out? Perish the thought. //s
SectionH
@trollhattan Scripps is using a parking garage at their “La Jolla” hospital as a drive-through vax site. It works really well. First jab, back in January, I was in and out in about 45 minutes – about half the time it took at Petco Park (downtown) for Mr.S’s shot a couple of days later. Went back for my second shot last week and it took 28 minutes.
@Redshift At least they had port-a-johns at the end point at Petco, for use while waiting the 15 minutes post-jab. Yeah, I needed one, not Mr. S, but since he doesn’t drive, my being there wasn’t optional.
I got the Pfizer vaccine, but Mr S got Moderna, so his second shot is scheduled for this coming Saturday. We’re trying to figure out how to get him close enough to use the walk-up line at Petco, but not get caught in the traffic back-ups. The walk-up line seems to go a lot faster as a rule from reports from DiL who has UCSD friends working there.
Betty Cracker
@Major Major Major Major: IKR? The mister didn’t consider the temporal aspect of that agreement, which is not the first time he’s screwed himself that way when making agreements with me. True story: I once made a deal with him that if he would be 100% in charge of washing the dog(s), I’d wash the baby all the time. Well, the “baby” is now 22 years old and has been self-bathing for about 18 years, but the dogs still can’t manage to get clean without human intervention. Hahahaha!
Betty Cracker
@Old School: Pilot episode of original series.
NotMax
Stand by my off the cuff interjection when friends were trying to deconstruct Twin Peaks towards the end of the first season.
“It’s easy make the story obscure when the writers haven’t the slightest idea where it is going.”
All I remember from both seasons is wood. Lots and lots of wood, no matter where one glanced. If they could have figured out a way to make the wardrobe out of wood they would have.
In the same quirky vein, anyone remember the short-lived Wolf Lake?
Jeffro
@Major Major Major Major: I’d love to have the government run ‘correctly’, but one party is operating in bad faith/utter shamelessness/weapons-grade double standards, so if they won’t appoint President Biden’s perfectly normal and qualified nominees then they can seriously go to hell.
trollhattan
“Daddy, what does ‘hell on earth’ mean?”
“This, honey, this.”
Boy, will there be a lot of disappointed people when they learn it’s a no-host bar and no silver trays are being circulated.
RobertDSC-Work
I saw Gladiator 13 times in the theaters. The 13th time was with Crowe himself in the audience for a presentation afterwards talking about the movie.
My ex-girlfriend recommended the movie to me as a way to help deal with the pain of a broken heart. She was right. Watching the first 10 minutes of the movie helped with the pain a great deal.
gbbalto
@trollhattan: Definitely check out the books! O’Brian is a spectacular writer and all the books are worth reading. At least try the first 3. The movie had realistic combat scenes but was otherwise a disappointment compared to the books.
ETA About the best fiction writing I have seen – characters who seem to fit the era, conjuring up the visuals, etc
Major Major Major Major
@Betty Cracker: lol nice.
Major Major Major Major
@NotMax: the first 12ish episodes of Twin Peaks are very coherent! Well paced and solidly foreshadowed. Some of my favorite television writing. Perhaps you’re confusing weird Lynchian flourishes with a lack of planning?
Ken
@trollhattan: Maybe they’ll have you drive to the top of the structure, then have the line on the descent ramps so everyone gets to coast down. Slowly.
Major Major Major Major
@Jeffro: ok but you’re hitting snags from your own party. What’s so special about e.g. Tanden that makes her uniquely qualified foe OMB? Haaland is maybe worth going to the mat for but you do know there’s already an acting Secretary, yes? We don’t have to do what Trump did and rely entirely on acting secretaries and illegal recess appointments for years and years, just because Joe Manchin is upset about an apparatchik‘s tweets.
NotMax
@trollhattan
If you liked Master and Commander, and can find it (at the moment no longer on Netflix nor free with Prime), check out the Dutch film Admiral (a/k/a Michiel de Ruyter).
Omnes Omnibus
@William D: Michelle Bachman. Just saying…. And of course Tim Pawlenty and Jesse Ventura.
NotMax
@Major Major Major Major
Oh, quite familiar with Mr. Lynch, whose M.O. is to write off more than he can chew.
Betty Cracker
@Major Major Major Major: Agree. IMO, the 2nd half of season 2 and all of season 3 contained much higher Lynchian-flourish-by-volume. I still enjoyed it but I can readily understand why it wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea.
HalfAssedHomesteader
All things being equal, I’d rather Ahmaud Arbery was still alive today. RIP.
Major Major Major Major
@NotMax:
I am of the opinion that he shows you doors he does not open.
For S2, after the mystery was resolved, they were obviously flailing–but your comment was about the end of S1.
cain
@StringOnAStick:
it’s all good – you missed out on the secret zoom meeting – it was all shits and grins until Boxer showed up with a dead gator and proceeded to swallow it right there. It was horrifying – but what was worse was when Betty took out the good chocolate and ate it in front of us. Next year I’m bringing my own good chocolate. Sigh.
Jeffro
“entirely” is doin’ a lot of work there…maybe too much… ;)
Ken
@Betty Cracker: @Major Major Major Major: I’ve long suspected that the rotating directors played a role. Specifically, Lynch would get his turn, then the next three directors scrambled to try to explain WTF we just saw, and then it would be Lynch’s turn again.
Roger Moore
@trollhattan:
It’s interesting how many times Hollywood tries to start new series that wind up dying before they can get anywhere. I makes me think that for all they want to have a cash cow franchise, actually making one is much harder than they think.
germy
@Ken:
SERIAL, n. A literary work, usually a story that is not true, creeping through several issues of a newspaper or magazine. Frequently appended to each installment is a “synposis of preceding chapters” for those who have not read them, but a direr need is a synposis of succeeding chapters for those who do not intend to read them. A synposis of the entire work would be still better.
The late James F. Bowman was writing a serial tale for a weekly paper in collaboration with a genius whose name has not come down to us. They wrote, not jointly but alternately, Bowman supplying the installment for one week, his friend for the next, and so on, world without end, they hoped. Unfortunately they quarreled, and one Monday morning when Bowman read the paper to prepare himself for his task, he found his work cut out for him in a way to surprise and pain him. His collaborator had embarked every character of the narrative on a ship and sunk them all in the deepest part of the Atlantic.
(Ambrose Bierce, Devil’s Dictionary)
Old School
@Major Major Major Major:
My understanding is that Lynch wasn’t all that involved with the second half of S2 as he was off filming Wild at Heart. I always that it was telling that when Lynch did return to direct the season finale, the Windom Earle storyline was dispatched with pretty quickly.
NotMax
@Betty Cracker
My memory might be off and it was sometime during the second season that the discussion took place.
Ever watch Now and Again? Series never quite lived up to the cinematic style and panache of the pilot but held up well enough to keep those of us here avid viewers at the time. Recalling the Egg Man in the first episode causes an involuntary internal shudder to this day.
Origuy
@trollhattan: Junior will have a silver tray, but it won’t be canapés lined up on it.
bluefish
@Old School: Watched the series once. One and done. My husband asked me if I wanted to rewatch it. I gave him my best Dougie stare and mouthed N-O.
Ever seen the short of Lynch preparing quinoa and broccoli while smoking a cigarette? THAT’s entertainment. Love him but, you know, sometimes he just drags it out.
catclub
On his birthday, we had to watch Gladiator again.
[Not there is anything wrong with that.]
I nearly typed anythong up there. relevant.
catclub
Do boxer fart travel over zoom? Maybe they do.
trollhattan
@Origuy:
He and Kimmy are the ’80s all over again–that shouty, coked-up couple you really don’t want showing up at the party.
And since Donny was a Studio 54 regular back then….
Old School
@bluefish:
Haven’t seen that one. I’ll have to look around for it.
Last one I saw was the monkey one he put on Netflix.
germy
catclub
@germy:
better question would include ‘rightwing extremist groups’.
antifa is definitely an extremist group in foxworld. gives GQp wiggle room
Betty Cracker
@NotMax: Nope, never watched that one.
@catclub: I’ll take this opportunity to say that I like Gladiator just fine. Loved Master and Commander too and was disappointed that they didn’t make sequels.
germy
@catclub:
Fastest thumb in Texas.
Major Major Major Major
@Ken: @germy: For season 1, Lynch and Frost outlined everything and from what I’ve heard were pretty hands-on with the scripts. Season 1 is tight. In Season 2, after [spoiler spoiler “it is happening again”] and the mystery is resolved, Lynch stopped paying attention, and that was when things really started to slide. So you can find the show confusing all you want, but it’s not fair to say things were uncoordinated or just a bunch of ass-pulls. If you found the killer’s identity unsatisfying, that’s one thing, but this is just how Lynch’s stories tend to go.
NotMax
@Major Major Major Major
Chekhov weeps.
;)
Major Major Major Major
@Old School: The quinoa video is incredible. Bonus content on the Inland Empire DVD, iirc.
@NotMax: The law of parsimony is overrated. This is one of my favorite things about Vernor Vinge, too. His stories contain e.g. ancient unsolved mysteries and long-rumored locations that remain mysteries and rumors.
Miss Bianca
@Betty Cracker: Oh, Betty, that was some *eeeeevvvviilllll* genius on your part, as well as some serious long-range planning skills!
Geminid
@William D: I sometimes think that Wisconsin and Minnesota have diverged politically because Minnesota’s economy has been more dynamic, while Wisconsin’s has been relatively stagnant. Not sure why this would be but it also seems to the case with Virginia relative to Ohio. The jobs modern dynamic economies generate for the college educated might be a factor. Fifty years ago this group skewed Republican, but now it increasingly Democratic.
germy
@Major Major Major Major:
I never watched it, so I don’t know.
Raven
@Betty Cracker: Cinderella Man is really good
Mike in NC
@Betty Cracker: “Master and Commander” is a great movie but was a box office flop in 2003. The nautical history genre isn’t a popular one compared to the stupid Ironman, Batman, etc. flicks.
Miss Bianca
@gbbalto: Gotta say, I love the books, *and* I love the movie. I thought Weir and Co did a damned impressive job, considering the limitations of trying to boil down 20 super-erudite and atmospheric books into one movie.
That said, I would love to see some production company pitch a multi-year PO’B TV series to some outfit like STARZ. They’ve shown what they can do in that department with both Outlander and Black Sails.
Benw
@Miss Bianca: I’d watch the shit out of an episodic Aubrey and Maturin show!
Wolvesvalley
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Miss Bianca
@Benw: Me too!
gbbalto
@Miss Bianca: I agree that 20 books is too many to cover but I’d love to see a series based on the first 3 books, which I think would wrap up satisfactorily. Crowe was fine as Jack Aubrey but I was very disappointed in the casting/script for Maturin – didn’t have that sharp edge seen in the books.
Gravenstone
@Omnes Omnibus: How about a compromise? We send him back to Mankato, from 40k feet?
Major Major Major Major
@germy: ah, looks like I meant to @ Ken.
Major Major Major Major
Great news for privacy fans! Google is of course dragging their feet on this since it’s their bread and butter, but they plan to follow suit some time in 2022, lol.
Miss Bianca
@gbbalto: Well, no, and Bettany is tall and fair and handsome rather than lean and small and sallow and dark and froward-looking, but that’s Hollywood for ya. I liked him despite all that. ; )
Renie
@Betty Cracker: My son is a huge David Lynch and Twin Peaks fan. He was only 1 years old when it first aired but found it later on. Meeting Lynch is on his bucket list. If you are interested, here are some of his writings on it
gbbalto
@Miss Bianca: You captured my image of Maturin!
Benw
@Miss Bianca: someone let Netflix know about this overwhelming consumer demand!
@gbbalto: I thought they changed Maturin way more than Aubrey, too. Which is weird because “irascible doctor with a secret heart of gold” is a pretty popular character type!
ETA: I did like Bettany, though!
Gin & Tonic
Burned the last of my leftover must-use vacation days from 2020 by going skiing for the day. Good call, as the snow conditions were excellent by Northeast standards, and we’re expecting a warming spell the next few days.
No broken bones, either, which is always a plus.
germy
OzarkHillbilly
I guess I made the right choice then.
Omnes Omnibus
So, ice and corn?
Miss Bianca
@gbbalto:
@Benw:
Actually, you know who’s an almost perfect capture for Maturin the way I see him, in both looks and tone, is Brad Dourif’s Doc Cochran in Deadwood.
Ah, god, and speaking of Deadwood, a pre-Alzheimer’s David Milch might have been the perfect writer/producer for an Aubrey-Maturin series, come think of it (*now snivelling a little, quietly, for what will never be*).
Salty Sam
The insurrectionist in the tweet kinda looks like Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Asshole), which caused THIS little ditty to pop up:
My wiener has a first name
its J-O-S-H (HEY!)
My wiener has a second name
H-A-W-L-E-Y
I love to slag him every day, and if you ask me why I’ll say
He’s a worthless P-O-S, OK?, so fuck him sideways every day!
Martin
@Major Major Major Major: Safari has been doing this for about a year, so if you’re using Safari you don’t need to change browsers to get it.
Roger Moore
@catclub:
Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?
Gin & Tonic
@Omnes Omnibus: Actually had powder on some trails. No ice to speak of.
ETA: What’s the vertical in WI? 200 feet?
opiejeanne
@germy: Oh wow! That will be on my list for the fall. Louise Penny is one of my favorite writers.
Major Major Major Major
@Martin: indeed they have! Unfortunately most people don’t have access to Safari.
mrmoshpotato
Photoshopping Hawley(Fascist-MO) into a hot dog costume is disparaging to hot dog costumes.
trollhattan
Irony, thy name is Turtle.
NotMax
@Betty Cracker
A sampling (contains spoilers).
citizen dave
@Obvious Russian Troll:
“That’s America’s Stupidest Senator, Ron Johnson.
Although I think Tommy Tuberville is making a strong challenge.”
Was going to say I’ll see your Johnson and raise you either one of my state’s (Indiana) senators. Then I realized that lo and behold, they must be slightly less stupid because in general they don’t bloviate in public in the quantities of a Johnson. Don’t open your mouth and remove all doubt. I think Abraham Lincoln tweeted that the other day.
bluefish
@Old School: I saw that. Pretty amazing.
Omnes Omnibus
@Gin & Tonic:
700′ in my hometown.
lowtechcyclist
@Betty Cracker:
Remind me to never get in a negotiation with you!
Roger Moore
@Major Major Major Major:
The law of parsimony is important if your goal is to make short, tight works, but it obviously doesn’t apply everywhere. The most obvious example are mystery stories, where it’s important to give extraneous details just as much emphasis as essential ones in order to keep the audience guessing.
germy
@mrmoshpotato:
Did you see the original Hot Dog Man comedy sketch?
The photo has become a meme for anyone who refuses to take responsibility for something horrific.
rikyrah
TELL THAT TRUTH
Benw
@Miss Bianca: I didn’t see Deadwood, but I think you’d have to replace his flowing hair with a nasty old scratch bob! :)
Martin
@trollhattan: We did that once for a different purpose and it worked pretty well. You set up stations on multiple levels. At ground level you tell drivers which station to go to.
It’s a good setup when the stationary time at each station vastly exceeds the time to reach the station.
Each station can accommodate multiple vehicles, and staff rotate between them, so it’s a good efficiency of staff. The throughput is low enough to not congest at the entrance/exit. The staff have cover from the elements, and structures generally have power to tap into and lighting.
I think we had two stations per level in a one ramp structure, 8 vehicles per station, so a 6 story structure could do 96 vehicles with about an 80% occupancy (the time it takes for a space to open and a car to fill it). So for a 20 minute procedure (5 for the jab, 15 to monitor) you could do about 250 people per hour, rain or shine, and into the evening because structures are lit.
Depending on staffing you could even have more vehicles per station.
Gin & Tonic
@Omnes Omnibus: Huh. Didn’t realize you were Polish.
Major Major Major Major
@Roger Moore: This is a tough needle to thread for hour-long TV mysteries. A lot of the time you end up with the most important clue being really obvious since it’s the only extraneous thing in the whole episode! Obviously there’s a way to do it right, but the demands of the medium are at odds with the best practices for the story form.
A lot of novelists decide to do strict parsimony anyway, even though they’re writing novels, which can be pretty annoying. You’ve made a whole world! Show me something unnecessary!
Omnes Omnibus
@Gin & Tonic: Oh, god.ETA: There is a bad WWII era joke along those lines. in 1939, in the nearby farming community of Bevent, a old farmer was sitting at the car listening to the radio. On the news, they announced that the Nazis had taken Warsaw. The old farmer jumped to his feet and shouted, “They may have taken Wausau, but they will never conquer Bevent!”
NotMax
@Gin & Tonic
True story.
Heard over the P.A. system at a modest ski lodge in northeastern Pennsylvania. “It’s a beautiful day at [name of place]. All slopes are open and it’s just like skiing on a walnut sundae.”
Ambled over to the office after the announcement and asked the guy who made it (who was also an acquaintance of long duration), “What are the walnuts?”
Answer: “The rocks.”
germy
Any word on Tiger Woods?
Gravenstone
@germy: I thought he had emigrated to Russia several years ago?
germy
I didn’t know Lawrence Ferlinghetti died yesterday.
What a life! And a long one, too.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@germy: in surgery now, multiple injuries to his legs
MSNBC is all in on the story
cope
Let me take advantage of the OT nature of this thread and the subtopic of quirky TV and put it out there that “Resident Alien” on SYFY is pretty entertaining. Only four episodes have aired so far so you can get in on the ground floor and tell everybody you were watching it “back when”.
Old School
@germy:
Last I saw he was in surgery with multiple leg injuries after his car accident today.
patrick II
Ted Criz on “Ruthless” podcast hosted by former McConnell campaign manager Josh Holmes.
What an entitled asshole
mrmoshpotato
@germy: No, I haven’t seen it, but I stand by my words. :)
germy
@mrmoshpotato:
Here’s a link, if you want to see it (it’s brief):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLfAf8oHrMo
Gravenstone
@NotMax: Ever read Lucifer’s Hammer? The “hot fudge sundae” analogy they used for the comet also included the rocks as the “nuts” of the dish.
Geminid
@germy: Tiger Woods was in the network AM news a few minutes ago. They said he is still in surgery to treat leg injuries from this morning’s rollover crash. A single vehicle accident, happened about 7am.
cope
@Old School: From the L.A. Times:
“Law enforcement sources who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter told The Times that Woods was traveling at a high rate of speed and lost control of the vehicle before crossing the center divider. Woods’ SUV rolled multiple times before coming to a halt.”
mrmoshpotato
@patrick II:
LOL! If I was the Zodiac killer’s neighbor, I would’ve put up “Fuck you! Ted Cruz!” signs with musical notes on each end so you know to sing it!
trollhattan
@Old School:
Dude should know well enough to have a driver. He can certainly afford one.
mrmoshpotato
It’s 46 outside, and the heat just kicked on. WTF?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@patrick II:
really a wonder that his friends don’t even like him
Just Chuck
@citizen dave:
phrasing!
trollhattan
@Martin:
Sounds well thought through. If they’ve come up with a way to move more folks through in a given time, I’m all for it. I’ll just miss chatting with others in line about how darn lucky we all are.
mrmoshpotato
@Just Chuck:
Oh just be happy he’s not Senator Ron Cocknballs!
PST
@gbbalto: I likewise highly recommend the O’Brian series that begins with Master and Commander. I thought there was a strong echo of Jane Austen in them, in addition to all that manly combat and nautical adventure. I realize that may turn off as many as it turns on, but you can’t go wrong giving them a try.
Major Major Major Major
@cope: That’s on my list… thanks for the reminder!
trollhattan
@Benw:
If you never saw Deadwood, fix that! Truly one of the top TV series ever made.
Not for the squeamish, nor those vexed by salty language.
RobertB
@Major Major Major Major: I’m gonna beat on Vernor Vinge a little bit. He writes endings like AC/DC writes songs – they’re all the same. It’s a good same, but they’re all the same. A ton of parts all have to mesh in just the right way at exactly the right time for the good guys, or it’s The End of the World As We Know It.
c.f. Neal Stephenson, whose best books don’t have climactic endings, but just kind of stop.
NotMax
@germy
Triggered a memory, for some reason.
Never tried it (for all I know it might taste like liquified steel wool) but love this promo for Aviation gin.
Major Major Major Major
@RobertB: Neal Stephenson’s endings are terrible! Worse than Stephen King’s. Different strokes. Anyway I wasn’t talking about endings :)
Keith P.
@trollhattan: Yes! I still say that Deadwood is the best show that HBO ever made. Ended way too soon, although I thought the movie was a very good, unexpected gift.
NotMax
@Gravenstone
Yup. Read it many orbiting satellite bodies ago.
;)
opiejeanne
@Gravenstone: I remember that book. I bought it to read on our summer vacation, and it kept me up late finishing it.
There was another book I bought for the same reason, about a child who was exposed to some weapon during a war, and who spent years wandering what was left of the US with her face covered by an overgrowth of scar tissue that acted as a tight mask. I can’t remember the name of that one but both books were memorable.
Ken
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Don’t forget the parents of his kids’ classmates, who somehow got the idea that the Cruzes would have ignored the school’s quarantine restrictions , if the trip hadn’t gotten so much attention.
Betty Cracker
@Renie: Very cool! :)
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Saw a photo of the wrecked car on CNN, and it’s smashed up pretty badly — looks like it rolled end-over-end. Glad his kids weren’t with him.
zhena gogolia
Rap battle between Mike Lindell and Mitch McConnell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHSFDkZPBhU
RobertB
@Major Major Major Major: I do like Vernor Vinge though. I’ve read A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky three or four times each.
I used to like Stephen King. Then I read The Tommyknockers. Wow, that sucked.
And in the “separate the artist from the art” department, it turns out that Dan Simmons has gone full Fox News on us. Maybe he always has been that way, but kept it under wraps. That doesn’t change one word in Hyperion, or The Fall of Hyperion, but still…
LuciaMia
@Mike in NC: Master and Commander is one of my favorites too. Was delighted to see its now available on Amazon Prime.
Major Major Major Major
@RobertB: I just finished The Stand, it was great. I like King a lot but neither he nor I harbor any illusions about how his endings can sometimes suck. It’s a predictable consequence of his writing style, he tends not to outline.
Stephenson writes longhand and I understand doesn’t edit much so it makes sense for him too.
Geminid
@PST: The Master and Commander series is great. One of its best aspects is the granular detail the books get into relating to nautical matters and interpersonal relationships. That is made possible by the long periods of otherwise uneventful sailing. This makes for good literature, but not good dramatic movie making, so the movie makers jazzed the story up some with disappointing results. John Huston’s Moby Dick was also not a popular success, maybe for similar reasons.
And when Herman Melville put out the novel, it was a flop. Critics were sad that a formerly promising novelist had produced such a disappointing work. Melville became a literary failure, but his friend Nathaniel Hawthorne helped get him a job in the U.S. Customs House in New York. The rest of his life, Melville wrote poetry in his spare time, and produced a few stories like “Bartleby the Scrivener.” Then, shortly before his death, he wrote Billy Budd.
RobertB
@Major Major Major Major: I boxed up a bunch of old paperbacks, but kept three or four out. One of them is the unexpurgated The Stand. I loved that book when I read it way back when.
CaseyL
@cope: At least this time it looks like the incident was a real accident, and not an outraged wife coming after him with his own golf club.
raven
@Geminid: I have the “War Diary” and “Deck Logs” from my dad’s WW2 destroyer. Despite over 20 opposed landings in the Pacific the most common notation is “steaming as before”.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Major Major Major Major:
The book or the new CBS series? I tried to sign up for their streaming service for a free week to watch it, and I couldn’t access the stream, which google suggests is pretty common. I didn’t bother to dig any further to find out what the problem is once I made sure I wasn’t going to be charged for it.
Major Major Major Major
@RobertB: The newest hardcover edition is a thing to behold. Lovely object. Great paper stock, cool typeface, looks great under the dustjacket.
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: The book.
Geminid
@raven: One of the themes of James Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific was the long periods of relative inactivity preparing for short military operations. Rogers and Hammerstein sure made a good musical out of the short stories, though, and the movie South Pacific is still worth watching.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@trollhattan: It’s streaming free on Amazon Prime right now. I just watched it last Saturday night…what a great movie. In retrospect, I have no idea what won best picture that year but Master and Commander probably shoulda. The books on which the movie was based are great and I was hoping for sequels but it doesn’t appear that it’s going to happen.
Miss Bianca
@trollhattan: Indeed yes, I’ll second that – Deadwood is on my annual must-rewatch list. There are only a couple series on that list, very exclusive, it is.
Betty Cracker
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: We have CBS All Access, but I haven’t gotten around to watching The Stand yet, though I want to. I loved that book so much as a kid that I read it straight through, skipping a night’s sleep. My ass was dragging at school the next day!
Old School
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:
It was nominated, but the final Lord of the Rings film won.
catclub
@NotMax:
46 minutes times N?
Geminid
@Geminid: In contrast to Herman Melville, Mark Twain had a great career as a novelist and publisher. Twain’s last years were shadowed by the death of his daughter, though. Like Melville, Twain wrote an oddly spiritual work not long before his death, the short story titled “The Mysterious Stranger.”
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Betty Cracker: I know I’ve read it at least twice, but it’s been years. M O O N and that spells years!
(would I start a flame war if I asked if anyone else found MSBC’s wall-to-wall coverage of Tiger Woods just a tad bit excessive? )
trollhattan
@Keith P.: @Miss Bianca:
As accredited members of Balloon Juice Platinum I believe we know and treasure quality when we see it. :-)
prostratedragon
Belated birthday greetings, Ms. Cracker. And I’ll be starting a Twin Peaks binge tonight with the movie. After all, it’s Feb. 23.
Geminid
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I don’t get TV service, partly because I know I might never get the little I do done if I had TV. But I’m not surprised that MSNBC would give it such coverage. We live in the Age of Celebrity, and Tiger Woods is still probably the biggest celebrity in the sports world. And there are more sports fans out there than political junkies.
Betty Cracker
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: No flames from me! If I were watching the coverage, I’m certain I’d be annoyed by it. M-O-O-N, that spells excessive! ;-)
Major Major Major Major
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I do wonder if we’d see a character like Tom nowadays. The obvious answer is yes because most works don’t go through ultrawoke quality control, but… you’d never see it in YA in the current environment for example.
artem1s
@Major Major Major Major:
or we could use the opportunity to fix the broken senate approval process. If it takes Biden doing recess appointments and temporary directors to fix the partisan approval process, then so be it. Senate rules aren’t law and the constitution is vague at best about the appointment process. Time to tell the GOP to shit or get off the pot.
J R in WV
@Geminid:
Wife and I saw the Broadway show revival of South Pacific a few years ago. The guy who played the French planter and male love interest was an opera star, and it showed up well.
I had seen the musical show in the distant past without realizing the attack on mid-century racism that most of the suspense is pinned upon. Daring for the time it was produced on Broadway the first time. Wonderful show even if you aren’t a huge musical fan….
trnc
@germy:
Wouldn’t that be Non Johnson?
debbie
@germy:
I just heard. 😢 Tragic that he never got to witness the American Eagle at long last actually straighten up and fly right.
gwangung
@J R in WV: Yes, it was state of the art for its time. But it shows its age with its prescriptions for solutions, and allows for way too many liberties to be taken with Bloody Mary and her daughter (i.e., it allows too many local productions to be kinda racist in their depiction).
J R in WV
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Way past excessive.
As if anything to change the subject from White Nazis attacking the Capitol and half a million dead Americans due to the previous president’s abject neglect, nay actual hostile encouragement of the freaking plague.
Woods’ accident should have been a 27 second bit on the hourly headline news, tops. Otherwise, who cares? Obviously I don’t want him to be badly hurt, but he is self destructing, has been for years. Hard to work up much regret for self destructive behavior, just glad no one else was involved.
Ken
Even after all these years, I’m amazed by how easy it is to start a flame war. I’m not watching so have no idea what it’s like, but I’m imagining shaking a bunch of keys and saying “Oooh! Shiny thing!” in front of the reporters?
West of the Rockies
@Geminid:
Maybe LeBron or Brady are as well known. Brady and Woods are about the same age but are on quite different career trajectories.
Ken
@J R in WV: The problem with being in the sane 53% of the electorate is that we can’t immediately leap to a conspiracy theory that Nunes and Cruz arranged for Woods’ “accident” to distract people from the insurrection hearings.
West of the Rockies
@trnc:
Rim shot!
raven
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Turn it off if you don’t like it. And don’t go to Huff Post, CNN or any major news outlet because that is what is there.
There are those who call me...tim... (Still posh)
@mrmoshpotato: Or Long Ronnie Wadd.
J R in WV
@gwangung:
Yes, of course, but it premiered on Broadway on April 7, 1949… was written in 1948 when nothing was integrated, anywhere. Was a wonder it was ever produced, even though written by perhaps the best team of writers of Broadway musicals ever.
I cried in the Lincoln Center little theater that night. But as I age I get more emotional.
– – – – – – – – – –
Wife had her second cataract procedure this afternoon. What a day!
Dr. called her last night to talk about her desire, both eyes with distance vision, or one distance and one close up. She opted for good distance vision with depth perception and readers for close up.
I think that was the best choice, but all the props to Dr C for caring enough to call in the evening to be sure she made an informed choice. She had one eye farsighted and one nearsighted, very unusual and somewhat problematic… fixed now!
raven
@J R in WV: Of course it’s based on the book by James A. Michener.
There are those who call me...tim... (Still posh)
@J R in WV: Earlier I gathered that mainstream news had picked up on the moronic Nontroversy over Champ or whoever looking kinda like a 12 year old rescue German Shepherd. Prez should totally interrupt all networks with an urgent announcement assuring his fellow Americans that Champ is in the best of hands and the best of homes and thanks for their concern. It would be…Unifying!
different-church-lady
@Benw: No, I believe you can do it.
raven
Man they are speaking Mexican in the Tiger Crash presser!!!!
Geminid
@J R in WV: James Michener’s political themes are understated, but that makes them all the more illuminating. Michener expressed the ethos of the liberal New Deal, I think, and was a bridge across the reactionary 50’s for these ideals. His novels are long, but they are all worth reading. Caravans, set in 1950’s Afghanistan, is especially good.
raven
@Geminid: I loved “Sports in America”.
raven
raven
The presser was good and the young officer that was first on the scene was very effective.
Geminid
@raven: Michener wrote only a few nonfiction books. Iberia was another good one.
raven
@Geminid: a “few”
The Future of the Social Studies (“The Problem of the Social Studies”)
1939
Editor
The Voice of Asia
1951
The Voice of Asia, a compilation of fifteen articles published in 1951, presents Michener’s personal experiences travelling through Asia after World War II.
The Floating World
1954
Michener, in the text accompanying these prints, details how Japanese printmakers in the Edo period kept their art alive in the face of government restrictions.
The Bridge at Andau
1957
Michener chronicles the experience of hundreds of refugees, fleeing brutal persecution by the Hungarian State Security Police
Rascals in Paradise
1957
In this collection of short stories, Michener and Day present the thrilling tales of ten real life adventurers.
Japanese Prints: From the Early Masters to the Modern
1959
Featuring text written by Michener, this book presents sketches made by the artist Jack Levine during a trip to Japan.. Also features notes by Richard Lane
Report of the County Chairman
1961
Michener, who served as the Chairman of the Bucks County Citizens for Kennedy Committee, recounts the process of campaigning for John F. Kennedy in Pennsylvania.
The Modern Japanese Print: An Appreciation
1968
In this limited edition book, Michener provides commentary on ten works by Japanese woodblock print masters.
Iberia
1968
In this nonfiction travelogue, Michener explores the culture, history, and geography of Portugal and Spain.
Presidential Lottery
1969
Written in the run up to the 1972 election, this non-fiction volume examines the limitations of the US electoral system and proposes reforms.
The Quality of Life
1970
Michener presents his reflections and criticisms of US politics and culture in the 1970s as well as his recommendations for the future.
Kent State: What Happened and Why
1971
In Kent State, Michener investigates the 1970 shooting of unarmed college students by the Ohio National Guard.
Michener Miscellany – 1950/1970
1973
This compilation of essays features works by Michener published between 1950 and 1970.
Firstfruits, A Harvest of 25 Years of Israeli Writing
1973
Edited by Michener, Firstfruits collects outstanding Israeli short fiction from the first 25 years of the country’s existence.
Sports in America
1976
In this non-fiction volume, Michener examines the phenomenon of sports culture in America and its inherent issues.
About Centennial: Some Notes on the Novel
1978
In this unique offering from Michener, he outlines the process of writing Centennial in this book distributed only to libraries and select booksellers.
James A Michener’s USA: The People and the Land
1981
Edited by Peter Chaitin; foreword by Michener
Collectors, Forgers — And A Writer: A Memoir
1983
Michener reflects on early influences in his life in this limited edition book.
Six Days in Havana
1989
Based on his research trip to Cuba for his novel Caribbean, Six Days in Havana presents Michener’s recollection of the vibrant people and landscapes he encountered in Havana.
Pilgrimage: A Memoir of Poland and Rome
1990
Part travelogue, part memoir, in Pilgrimage Michener recounts his travels to Poland and Italy and reflects on his relationships with Pope John Paul II, Stan Musial, and others.
The Eagle and the Raven
1990
Recounts the period in Texas history when renegade Sam Houston emigrated to the Mexican state of Tejas and helped lead the 1836 revolution against Mexican president Santa Anna
My Lost Mexico
1992
Michener recounts the process of writing and editing Mexico, a novel which he sat aside for 30 years before finishing it in 1992.
The World Is My Home
1992
The World is my Home, Michener’s widest arching memoir, presents the writer’s reflections on both his life and career.
Creatures of the Kingdom
1993
Collection of fifteen animal-focused segments from Hawaii, Centennial, Chesapeake, The Covenant, Texas and Alaska, and one original story.
Literary Reflections
1993
Literary Reflections, a collection of Michener’s reminiscences, also includes the reprinted text of Collectors, Forgers—And A Writer and Testimony.
William Penn
1994
A monograph by Michener about the life and beliefs of William Penn, the founder and first governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
Ventures in Editing
1995
In this limited edition book, Michener offers commentary on the writing and publishing process.
This Noble Land
1996
This Noble Land: My Vision for America, describes the nation’s strength and weakness and the author’s hopes for its future.
Three Great Novels of World War II
1996
A compilation of World War II novels featuring Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific as well as Thomas Heggen’s Mr. Roberts and Leon Uris’ Battle Cry.
A Century of Sonnets
1997
This collection of poetry written by Michener contains over one hundred poems written over a span of seventy-years.
Uncle Cosmo
@Gravenstone:
One of my all-time favorite comebacks is embedded in that tome: The rich guy who codiscovered the comet (Hamner) is interviewing a bunch of CalTech wonks for a PBS special, & asks, So what happens if it hits Earth? The end of the world? and the reply is (I paraphrase):
FTR, IMHO, through the immediate effects of Hammerfall (a.k.a.”Hot Fudge Sundae, that falls on a Tuesdae this year”) Lucifer’s Hammer is one of the best end-of-civilization stories around. Unfortunately the second half of the book devolves into a bigoted-glibertarian wet-dream…
Miss Bianca
@raven: What is this a quote from?
Y’all are making me want to read Michener, which I’ve never felt like doing even though he was one of the few novelists my mother actually seemed to enjoy (she was more of a biography buff).
sandstrc
@Betty Cracker: The spouse and I had the same agreement: I’d be responsible for fixing her work lunch if she would dress the kids. The youngest kid is now 20. I’m still packing her work lunch.
Geminid
@raven: Ah. Thank you for enlightening me! Now that I think of it, I did read the Eagle and the Raven. I sometimes stop at the Sam Houston Wayside, on U.S Rt. 11 north of Lexington. It is near Houston’s birthplace. There is a large pink granite marker. Besides the states of Tennessee and Texas, one of the five sponsors is the Cherokee Nation.
NotMax
@raven
Product of a Quaker-infused education, the fount of which he bequested the rights to and royalties from his works.
Geminid
@Miss Bianca: Caravans is not that long, at least for a Michener novel, and is a very unusual story. And Centennial basically is set in Colorado, spanning from the rise of the Rocky Mountains to 1976. Tales of the South Pacific are short stories with common characters, and was Michener’s first published work. At least I think so, unless Raven tells me otherwise.
raven
@Miss Bianca: Kirkus
raven
@Geminid: Yep, he was a Navy officer in the Pacific and was an official historian.
Skepticat
@trollhattan:
Something similar you might enjoy—Canadian friends gave me the DVDs of “Hornblower,” an eight-episodes maritime adventure series based on the novels by C.S. Forester, and I was riveted. I lost them in Dorian but think I may have to buy another set, as I loved the Horatio Hornblower books, and these are faithful retellings.
Carolina Dave
@Betty Cracker: p!ease accept my birthday present for you. Don’t watch The Stand by CBS. 9 hours of your life you’ll never get back. I’m not sure how someone could produce a worse version. Even watching the first episode will require brain bleach afterwards. Bad casting, story told in flashbacks rather than linearly. No character development, bad dialogue, cartoon villains, and more! I hate watched every minute so others won’t have to. Your welcome. Instead read the reviews at IMBD.
SFAW
@Omnes Omnibus:
I would gladly send him into the Mindanao Deep.
J R in WV
@Ken:
We CAN leap to a conspiracy theory that the MSM jumped upon the Tiger Woods accident story to distract people from the insurrection hearings!! Common, Dude!?!?!??? Wake up !!!!
SFAW
@Skepticat:
If it’s the Hornblower with Gruffudd, I agree. I had never read the Forester books before watching, but binge-read them subsequently.
One of the things that struck me about the novels — after I overcame all the nautical and 18th/19th century slang and lingo — was that the books were sort of a management treatise, in a fashion similar to Twelve O’Clock High (the movie) was.
SFAW
And 24 hours late to the party, but:
Happy Birthday, Betty!
Benno
I actually love this in Stephenson’s books. It implies the world goes on after the close of the “story.” Robert Ludlum novels can be fun sometimes, but all those guys still gotta go to work the next day, too.