• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I personally stopped the public option…

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

No one could have predicted…

Naturally gregarious and alpha

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Peak wingnut was a lie.

It’s not even safe to go out and pick up 2 days worth of poop anymore.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

False Scribes! False Scribes!

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

All this crying. this is why i don’t click on stuff.

Nevertheless, she persisted.

This fight is for everything.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn – Nancy Pelosi

‘Forty-two’ said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm.

I don’t care how fun he is after a few whiskies. fuck that guy.

Saul Alinsky is my co-pilot.

What fresh hell is this?

Call the National Guard if your insurrection lasts more than four hours.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Mobile Menu

  • Look Forward & Back
  • Balloon Juice 2021 Pet Calendar
  • Site Feedback
  • All 2020 Fundraising
  • I Voted!
  • Take Action: Things We Can Do
  • Team Claire, and Family
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • BJ PayPal Donations
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • Nature & Respite
  • Information As Power
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Nature & Respite
  • Look Forward & Back

Shameless self promotion

You are here: Home / Archives for Shameless self promotion

The Play’s the Online Thing

by ruemara|  August 30, 20201:00 am| 25 Comments

This post is in: Artists In Our Midst, Dispatches From the Quarantine, Popular Culture, Something Good Open Thread, Shameless self promotion, The Decadent Left In Its Enclaves On The Coasts

Hello, welcome to day 4956 in the hellscape called 2020. I jest, sort of. One of the biggest issues for those of us in the arts, is how to ply our craft under this absolutely ridiculous set of conditions. One of the ways that writing twitter has come up with is Zoom scene studies. What’s a scene study, you ask? Well, some enterprising, brave soul decides to either organize an online Zoom performance of their work or, in the case of one group I have been working with, some outgoing person takes on the task of collecting writers, actors and directors to perform scenes from scripted works for the community. Our little group is called The Thing For AWD because our founder is trying to raise the profile of women directors. Since I know the founder, I accepted the opportunity to direct an episode. Whew. I felt as much stress as my last project. But my hair was flames in my photo.

The Play's the Thing

It’s a very interesting thing to see actors develop their craft in front of you and to  see how different directors bring different techniques to scenes. Artists adapt, unlike me to the lack of block editor when it seems my attempts at inserting html breaks aren’t working, like right now. It’s been fascinating to see how distance learning and performance has embraced tools like Zoom, Twitch, Hangouts or Skype. If you have an interest, there’s probably an activity going on online. Here are a few  cool home options:

  • Atlas Obscura: Wonder From Home
  • Kev On Stage: Keep Your Distance Comedy
  • Folk Dancing at home Event Calendar

I gotta admit, I’m impressed. When I see folks talk about how doomed & fucked we are, I always wonder if they’re deliberately obtuse or just enjoying a good despair wallow. Humans adapt. That’s why we’re a pernicious scourge on every other creature on the planet. We adapt like fucking weeds. We’re life and we find a way. I hope you’re finding a way to connect, enjoy some kulcha and make a little joy in your corner of the world. Know anything interesting, drop it below in thread. I will be narrating the scene setting for the next The Thing for AWD tomorrow afternoon at 4pm PST, so if you feel like watching a scene study for a movie script, sign up to attend. It’s not like we’re out of seats. Open respite thread.

Obligatory artistic cat  pic

Odo yodeling
Odo cat, singing a high note for his on-screen performance

 

 

The Play’s the Online ThingPost + Comments (25)

FloridDuh! Woman: Electoral Edition

by Adam L Silverman|  August 3, 201911:40 am| 38 Comments

This post is in: 2020 Elections, America, Crazification Factor, Domestic Politics, Open Threads, Politics, All Too Normal, Assholes, Clown car, Clown Shoes, Floriduh Woman, General Stupidity, Not Normal, Our Failed Political Establishment, Shameless self promotion, The Wingularity

This is a little too on the nose for even Florida if you ask me.

Laura Loomer files to run against Rep. Lois Frankel. Running Loomer’s campaign: Trump’s 2016 Florida state director, Karen Giorno

FL-21 is a blue district, based in Palm Beach County, home to Trump’s winter getaway club, Mar-a-Lago pic.twitter.com/srDjzZtvu4

— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) August 2, 2019

Loomer is originally from the Miami area, but who has lived in Arizona and New York as well, has, apparently recently moved back Florida just to run for Congress. The Democratic incumbent is Lois Frankel, who has been representing this district,  since 2017 and prior to that represented Florida as the representative from District 22, which after redistricting is now represented by Congressman Ted Deutch.  Frankel has also been the mayor of West Palm Beach, and was the minority leader in the Florida state House of Representatives.

From what I know of Loomer – deliberatively and almost shamelessly provocative, racist and bigoted, especially against Muslims, friendly with either those in the alt-right and extreme right circles playing footsie with white supremacists and neo-NAZIs or actually with white supremacists, neo-NAZIs, the men’s rights nutbars and Milo, as well as being a fantacist and a conspiracist – I think the real reason for Loomer’s run is both to suck up money through donations and to force social media platforms to let her back on. I fully expect that she is going to use her candidacy to try to force twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to let her back on and monetize those platforms because if they don’t they’re aiding her political opponent in the election. All while monetizing her election as an income stream because she doesn’t actually have any actual employment.

Open thread!

FloridDuh! Woman: Electoral EditionPost + Comments (38)

Article In Foreign Policy And Chernobyl Questions

by Cheryl Rofer|  May 22, 201912:30 pm| 71 Comments

This post is in: Readership Capture, Rofer on Nuclear Issues, Shameless self promotion

I’ve got an article in Foreign Policy. It’s more than the headline – Anne I. Harrington and I look at the kinds of masculinity that have been associated with control over nuclear weapons and how Trump fits into that.

Also – I think this week’s was the third (?) in the Chernobyl HBO series. As I’ve said before, I’m not watching because I have no desire to see a dramatization of acute radiation syndrome. But I was on a rapid reaction team at Los Alamos to try to figure out if we could help as the news of the accident unfolded. So feel free to ask questions here, and I’ll try to answer them.

 

Article In Foreign Policy And Chernobyl QuestionsPost + Comments (71)

Early Warning Open Thread

by Cheryl Rofer|  January 10, 201912:24 pm| 66 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Science & Technology, Shameless self promotion

I’ll be on a BBC Radio show on Saturday. It will be available on the internet afterwards. I will tell you about this again.

Chemists' Dirty Secrets –  a necessarily simplified history of chemical weapons. Sat evening on @BBCRadio4 https://t.co/pM5enbbtaC Brilliantly produced and researched by @F1onaHill, with contributions from @DanKaszeta @JPZanders @HamishDBG & @CherylRofer & Prof Gary Stephens.

— Andrea Sella (@SellaTheChemist) January 10, 2019

Open Thread!

Early Warning Open ThreadPost + Comments (66)

Getchya Fresh News Here!

by Cheryl Rofer|  November 1, 20189:50 am| 98 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, Blogospheric Navel-Gazing, Our Failed Media Experiment, Shameless self promotion

The New York Times reported today on a story you saw in Balloon Juice more than a month ago, based on accounts in Finnish media. A wealthy Russian businessman was buying up properties along an important Finnish sealane. The Finnish authorities raided those properties, which had some of the look of preparing for military action. Finnish government and business websites were then hit with a DDoS attack.

Anyhow, welcome to the party, New York Times!

And open thread!

Getchya Fresh News Here!Post + Comments (98)

The Bullying Swagger

by Cheryl Rofer|  October 18, 201810:24 am| 53 Comments

This post is in: America, Dolt 45, Open Threads, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome, Shameless self promotion

May I modestly point out my second article in Pakistan Politico? The print edition was published last week, and the online edition went live today.

America First seems to mean breaking earlier agreements and imposing unilateral demands. There are no explicit statements of what happens if those demands are not met, and, in the case of North Korea, the demands have been fading as North Korea ignores them. So bluster and swagger are a big part of America First.

Let’s see how swagger and America First work out for the Khashoggi affair. I wrote the piece before that happened. Click over and read the whole thing.

 

The Bullying SwaggerPost + Comments (53)

Occult Open Thread

by Major Major Major Major|  August 9, 201811:11 pm| 47 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Site Maintenance, Shameless self promotion

Good evening…

I put the remember-me checkbox back on the desktop site*, so now you have to humor me. ?

*(If you would like to use the remember-me checkbox on your mobile device, you’ll have to scroll all the way down and request the desktop site.)

This caught my eye while browsing the local news: Why Do San Francisco Psychics Need Permits From the Police?

Fortunetelling isn’t just mentioned in the San Francisco police code. It gets its own section — starting with a rundown of all 70 things SFPD counts as fortunetelling.

This includes: clairvoyance, cartomancy, phrenology, tea leaves, tarot cards, coffee grounds, crystal gazing, astrology, palmistry, telepathy, and placing or removing curses.

“Fortunetelling,” the police code reads, “shall also include pretending to perform these actions.”

[…]

The application process for a San Francisco fortunetelling permit involves a background check, fingerprinting and even a public hearing. The fees are just under $350 — more than a permit for a masseuse, but less than one for a tow operator or walking-tour guide.

But why?

Unlike other Bay Area cities that require fortuneteller permits but don’t explain why, like Benicia and Lafayette, San Francisco says these permits are to help fight fraud. The police code says the regulations should “protect the public by preventing people who have been charged with deceptive practices from having easy access to persons who may be vulnerable to fraud or confidence games.”

Fair? Although…

Of course, when it comes to fortunetelling, the very notion of fraud is a subjective one.

Well, as long as it helps.

The S.F. District Attorney’s Office has received zero complaints in the last couple of years. The SFPD wasn’t able to say how many reports it has received about this kind of fraud recently, because fortunetelling fraud is not a unique category of crime it tracks.

Next, a shameless plug! Speaking of urbanite occultists, my new short story is now available for free online if you’d like to read it.

show full post on front page

Occult Open ThreadPost + Comments (47)

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to page 4
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Do Something!

Call Your Senators & Representatives
Directory of US Senators
Directory of US Representatives

Vaccine Venting (latest)
Vaccine Venting (all)

I Got the Shot (latest thread)
I Got the Shot! (all)

Take Your Shot – Explain the %

🎈Ways to Support Our Site

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal
Shop Amazon via this link to support Balloon Juice ⬇  

Recent Comments

  • Miss Bianca on It’s the Policies, Stupid (Apr 13, 2021 @ 9:16pm)
  • Ken on Tuesday Evening Open Thread: Madame Vice President, Confusing the Haterz (Apr 13, 2021 @ 9:16pm)
  • sab on Finally Pulling Out (Apr 13, 2021 @ 9:15pm)
  • Steeplejack on It’s the Policies, Stupid (Apr 13, 2021 @ 9:15pm)
  • Jay on It’s the Policies, Stupid (Apr 13, 2021 @ 9:15pm)

Team Claire, and Family

Claire Updates
Claire is Home!

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year

Featuring

John Cole
Silverman on Security
COVID-19 Coronavirus
Medium Cool with BGinCHI
Furry Friends

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Submit Photos to On the Road
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Meetups: Proof of Life
2021 Pets of Balloon Juice Calendar

Culture: Books, Film, TV, Music, Games, Podcasts

Noir: Favorites in Film, Books, TV
Book Recommendations & Indy Recs
Mystery Recommendations
Netflix Favorites
Amazon Prime Favorites
Netflix Suggestions in July
Longmire & Netflix Suggestions

Twitter

John Cole’s Twitter

[custom-twitter-feeds]

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc