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Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.
TIMESTAMPS
The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20101231065246/http://www.balloon-juice.com:80/2010/12/28/open-thread-nfl-otherwise/
Whatever happened to E.D. Kain? Not complaining, just curious. He had one knock down drag out in the comments and then he disappeared. Was it too much for him?
For my sins, I got to sit in the waiting room of the Toyota dealership for 5 hours today so they could replace the front struts of my car. At least I got a big chunk of my Beanpole Beanie done for our trip to Chicago in February.
Yes. We are voluntarily going from Southern California to Chicago in February to visit my ailing father-in-law. He’d better appreciate it, is all I’ll say. ;-)
(Note: link above is not to my blog or the blog of anyone I know, just a picture that popped up in a Google search for the pattern. Sorry.)
@Mike Kay #8: Thanks so much for the reminder. I thought I had put the KC thing in my calendar, but I guess I didn’t. Very grateful. /Obot
I always love this program. I’ve tried to catch it every year but I know I’ve missed a few. What a great overview of people whose art has had an impact on this country (not all are US citizens).
@Linda Featheringill: You have my complete and unequivocal sympathy. Started law school in the fall (at age 50) and every day has been like that—and by “that” I mean trying to figure out what on earth I’m doing/supposed to be doing (and I’m wondering what would have been so wrong with looking for, you know, a job at a coffee shop or something, if what I really wanted was to not be teaching).
The initial learning curve is steep in new situations, I’m told, but worth it. (I’m not holding my breath on that one.)
All the best to you!
My neighborhood cineplex is at Suria KLCC, the shopping mall in the podium block of the Petronas Towers. Went there yesterday to see Fair Game, whose opening scene takes place at … the Petronas Towers! (But the guy Naomi Watts meets with sounds more like an Indian from India than an Indian Malaysian.)
It’s the second movie I’ve seen this year that’s related to the George Walker Bush administration’s stories about WMDs in Iraq, after Green Zone. Both are really good, but neither has done all that well at the box office. Pity.
OT for an NFL thread, but if you like good jazz singing, two recent records you should check out are “Sing!” by Fay Claassen (featuring the unbelievably good WDR Big Band from Cologne, Germany) and “You Are There” by Hilary Kole.
@asiangrrlMN: Well I was going to guess they’d give up seven minutes into the first quarter, but then I saw at The Strib that the game had already started. I’m not watching. It looks like The Strib isn’t even bothering to live blog it tonight. It is over.
Could he really have been so thin-skinned to turn his back on, by blogosphere standards, a decently sized audience?
If I were a blogger and I was given the opportunity to write at the equivalently sized libertarian site you could not pry me away from the task of making those fools eat it and like the taste. What could be more fun? And more worth the effort?
Unless he is in the wilderness undergoing a conversion and will emerge with the Scandinavian sotialist values I imagine many of us share.
@Amir_Khalid: It’s too soon. People don’t wanna remember all that shit yet. It’s what took me so long to watch Green Zone on OnDemand. But when I did, it was worth it.
(I’ve lived in Britain for only a rather small portion of my life, though my parents were solidly English, and I’ve been a U.S. citizen for years but at moments like this it’s Rule Britannia all the way. Sort of makes up for the World Cup. Nearly. Well, a bit.)
@Jewish Steel: I dunno and I’m hesitant to speculate without any information. As for eschewing a forum of this size, I can barely tolerate the place and I’m just a commenter.
It’s the second movie I’ve seen this year that’s related to the George Walker Bush administration’s stories about WMDs in Iraq, after Green Zone. Both are really good, but neither has done all that well at the box office. Pity.
Hopefully, both movies will have ‘long tails’ in the home (school) viewing market.
I’m especially looking forward to seeing Fair Game on Netflix, and probably buying my own copy as well. We don’t get to many movies while they’re in theatres anyway, but I was half-afraid of getting so pissed off by Cheney and his affiliated liars that I’d throw something at the screen, which would embarrass my longsuffering Spousal Unit :) .
(P.S. to the grammar pedants: ‘It is to be hoped’, then)
Interesting to no one but me, I suppose, but since my father died five years ago, and I can’t watch with him, I absolutely cannot give a crap about football, NFL or college.
Sicilian tuna in olive oil, really sharp provolone, and crusty bread could easily be my last meal.
Black and white cats on the bed allow me to keep my thermostat about five degrees lower at night. I spend the difference in my electric bill on treats, so it’s a wash.
Tonight, I’m pinning my MN hopes on the basketball Gophers over Badgers, but it’s at Madison, so who knows. Still, checking out Vikes / Eagles for, I don’t know, masochistic reasons I guess.
I was flipping back and forth between ESPN2 and NBC and caught Jared Allen’s “Culinary Institute” answer during the pointless “Where I went to college” bit.
@BGK: I hear you. My old man hated to pay long distance but when something good happened in the games that we knew we were both watching I knew he’d call. Seven years and I still miss it but I keep up the fire.
@burnspbesq: Makes sense to me. I fled England because I can’t stand the class system (etc etc). But there’s something about the first teams you ever rooted for, and they were Manchester United (before Munich) and Peter May’s cricket team. It’s in the bone. But politically you are of course completely correct.
@burnspbesq:
Lolz. I get it. Asking my English relatives to cheer for Ireland or Wales (especially Wales) is a massive stretch. It’s all rather subjective, though. If they’re playing France or Australia, then they might be the lesser of two evils.
@asiangrrlMN:
That’s the Tobster. He’s getting pretty big now. It’s really hard to capture his true color. It’s not jet black, tho it can seem to be when the light is just so.
Imagine if GWB had taken his vacations in his childhood (somewhat) home instead of Crawford? And then he got caught in the snow in 2002 and that the AUMF was never passed and the USA never invaded Iraq.
Far too many forget what a hell the winter of 2005-2006 was.
Far too few will give Obama any credit for sticking to his withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2011.
Cleaning up after a complete idiot is a thankless job.
No argument. I don’t hold him responsible for brain-dead batting, any more than I hold him responsible for Warne, McGrath, Symonds, and Langer getting old. But he’s 36, and although he’s still a world-class fielder, he hasn’t batted for shit in 18 months. And he’s the only Australian captain ever to lose the Ashes three times. Let him retire with dignity after the World Cup.
The new technology might be the death of me. Most frustrating.
Depending on the size of your new workplace, you may want to ask & make sure it hasn’t been “customized”. Last time I was completely stymied by a certain routine that seemed to be completely effing insane and also to have nothing to do with what the manual claimed should be happening, it turned out the company I had recently started working for had rejiggered everybody’s version of Word to be “backwards compatible” with the procedures of a long-forgotten word-processing program that the company’s IT department was imprinted on. I think the original routine had been set up to deal with the memory limitations of 5-inch floppy disks, but it was still being used on 4GB hard-drives because “We have ALWAYS done it this way, and we’re HAPPY with it.”
Cannot believe how great this season has been for the Vikes.
What, you say?
We got rid of Childress. We’ll probably be rid of Favre. We might have found a prospect at QB. I see Webb, Peterson, Rice, Harvin. This defense. And Frazier.
I’m against public funds for a stadium. But the Dome fiasco probably means that they’ll get a stadium now.
It’s feels like a Christmas gift from the football gods.
@amk: Don’t know much about South Africa, but the Indian team usually looks good on paper but then their entire batting line-up just crumbles, like a house of cards. That said I remember India’s extremely unlikely World Cup win in the mid eighties. I was a wee little kidlet then.
@asiangrrlMN: I saw the replay of that when I came back. Nicely done.
@Barb (formerly Gex): I agree! And may I say, Webb is impressing the hell out of me. I’ve said for years that we need to stop bringing in old QBs “just to get the Super Bowl.” You get to the Super Bowl by bringing up your young talent and working your way there. I’ve thought since the preseason that Webb will be that guy.
@schrodinger’s cat: The present Indian line-up is pretty good with some out-to-prove- myself young blood. Of course, there is always huge sponsorship deals. The Indian captain landed himself a 3 million dollar ad contract recently.
Cricket question: Why are there always two batsmen running between the wickets?
I thought one batsmen was bowled to at a time, but whenever I see someone get a hit, there are two batsmen running between the two sets of wickets on either end of the pitch.
Do they take turns batting, depending on which set of wickets they end up in after running? Is there something I’m missing, because the cricket matches I’ve watched I think only one batsmen is being bowled to at a time, so what purpose does the other batsmen serve?
I’ve never gotten a satisfactory explanation to clear up my confusion yet.
@amk: Captaincy, from what I gather, has been a sore point for the Indian team for the last several years. They have good players, but lacked a good captain to lead the team.
@gene108: They have the winningest cap’n now. So let’s see.
@schrodinger’s cat: He is still playing. He scored his 50th century just this month. The only player to do so in the cricket history. That little guy is still accumulating records (which are unlikely to be broken for along time to come) along with lotsa runs and moolah. But one great cricketer who never goes the I’m a diva route. Zero personal scandals. Gotta love him for that.
Please call your senator’s office (especially the Mass residents) and ask him or her to support Paul Waggoner’s release. He has been wrongly accused of kidnapping a Haitian child and has been held in a Haitian jail for over two weeks. You can read more of the story here:
@gene108: They take turns hitting the ball. There are two ways to get a run, you get runs when you hit the ball, depending on far you have hit the ball, you can get a 2 or a 4 (beyond the boundary) or 6 (into the stands) kinda like a home run. You get runs, running between the wickets.
An example wherein the second batsman can get a chance to bat.
So say the batsman hits the ball gets a 2, if he runs once and gets to the opposite wicket, and the other batsman now is in the batting position.
ETA: I think my explanation may have added to your confusion.
@Ron: Oh my fucking god. Still with this? Really? Fuck you, Matthews!
@Barb (formerly Gex): No stadium with public monies. I agree with all you’ve said. (Just had to reiterate my loathing for using public monies for a stadium).
I’m sorry… heh There is plenty I like about Grant Co, then there are other aspects.
Actually it is Baker Bulldogs, it does serve a good part of the County as well as Baker City. Lost in the finals last year, this year they pulled it off. Cool, nice for the kids.
@de stijl: Well, we could call Brad Johnson or Brett Favre again. Maybe Brooks Bollinger? Childress left this franchise completely fucked at QB. Forgive me for seeing some potential in this guy. It’s not like the Eagles aren’t playing for anything.
You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that’s in the side that’s in goes out, and when he’s out, he comes in and the next man goes in until he’s out. When they are all out, the side that’s out comes in and the side that’s been in, goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out. When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out, try to get him out, and when he is out, he goes in and the next man in, goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay all out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the men have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game.
Webb makes Tim Tebow look like Y.A. Tittle. He could be fine in a Antoine Randle El – type role or as a straight-up wide out or slot.
But we’re talking about what he could potentially do in the future, so who knows. My guess is that he is not going to be Michael Vick 2.0 but who knows.
I shuddered because I was having a Kordell Stewart flashback.
@de stijl: You don’t understand. The Vikings have a different scale to evaluate QBs by. The first of which is, “Is he under 35 years old?” If we evaluated ourselves by Steelers standards…
There are always two batsmen and two bowlers (don’t ask me why, it’s just always been that way). The two bowlers alternate every over (an over consisting of six deliveries).
Bowler A, at one end of the pitch, bowls to Batsman A at the other end of the pitch. If the batting team scores an odd number of runs off a batted ball, then the batsmen will have exchanged ends, and Batsman B will be “on strike,” facing Bowler A’s next delivery.
On a batted ball, both batsmen must either run or stay home. If they run, either batsman can be put out by the defense if the ball strikes the wicket before he crosses the line (example: the fall of the first Aussie wicket in the second innings of the test that just ended; the guy who didn’t hit the ball hesitated before running, and paid for it).
@asiangrrlMN: I want to know why Michael Vick isn’t still known as ‘the fucking bastard who tortured and killed dogs’. Why isn’t this guy buried in beer cups and half eaten hot dogs whenever he steps out on the field?
Wow. Vikes are ahead. Whohoo! (twirls finger in the air)
There are always two batsmen and two bowlers (don’t ask me why, it’s just always been that way). The two bowlers alternate every over (an over consisting of six deliveries).
I think you have everything right except the two bowlers part. There is only one bowler, at any given time. a bowler bowls an over ( 6 deliveries at a time). In one day internationals, there are limits to the number of overs a bowler can bowl. The captain decides, who bowls.
@de stijl: I will use whatever convoluted reasoning I can find to use the word “shellacked”. Also “whiffed”, as in “Boy, four Vikings just whiffed their tackles and let Vick the dog killer (for asiangrrlMN) run for an easy 1st down”.
I cannot believe that it’s possible Seattle could be the 4 seed at 7-9 if New Orleans goes 12-4 and the other wild card team goes 10-6 (GO PACKERS!). I understand the division winners automatically getting into the playoffs, but if a wild card team has a better record they should be seeded higher.
I chose my handle quite awhile back because I really enjoy Piet Mondrian, Vantongerloo, and those guys, but more than anything I just like the look of the lowercase words “de stijl” for some reason.
Where is Markos Moulitsas today? I just read this at Benen’s:
On the mental list of slights and outrages that just about every major figure on Wall Street is believed to keep on President Barack Obama, add this one: When he met recently with a group of CEOs at Blair House, there was no representative from any of the six biggest banks in America.
After Markos bellyached and faux-radicaled his way through a solid month of bullshit about how the reporting about Obama’s meeting with business leaders showed that he was “groveling” and “apologizing” to “Wall Street,” the actual fucking meeting included not one motherfucking representative of Wall Street. It seems that not all “business” is “Wall Street.” Whaddya know. Whaddyafuckingwellknow.
Now, should Obama be meeting with business leaders? You might think not, and that would probably be a legitimate complaint. Is Obama too friendly to Wall Street? You might think so, and that would probably be a legitimate complaint. Does Obama’s meeting with business leaders SHOW that he is too friendly to Wall Street? Only if that meeting features big bankers. It didn’t.
General Stuck
i don’t have much to say, but thought I’d arrive early to this thread and set up a perimeter for the coming attack.
AxelFoley
I’ll man the canons.
stuckinred
John must be locked down with his Eeers.
gwangung
TD, Moutaineers!
Just Some Fuckhead
Whatever happened to E.D. Kain? Not complaining, just curious. He had one knock down drag out in the comments and then he disappeared. Was it too much for him?
Linda Featheringill
First day on the new job.
The new technology might be the death of me. Most frustrating. Fortunately, I don’t think anyone is expecting me to be wonderful on the first day.
Still, it was a long and tiring day. And I feel sorry for myself. And I’d like to go galt. But it is nice to be earning a little money.
David
from boingboing:
As of Dec. 28, 2010, only 1,942 of the 251,287 leaked United States embassy cables had been released by Wikileaks.
Mike Kay (Democrat of the Century)
Obot Alert: Annual Kennedy Center Honors tonight at 9 PM on CBS
http://www.kennedy-center.org/.....ts/honors/
PeakVT
I’ve got the worst case of earworm of this song today (lame video w/o intro advert).
CJ
E – A – G – L – E – S EAGLES!
You may now return to your regular readership capture.
stuckinred
@Linda Featheringill: You’ll figure it out, stick with it and don’t be afraid to ask for help.
amk
LOL. Perfect toon. Catches the whiny clueless americans perfectly.
gwangung
@Linda Featheringill: Yay for working! (And most place expect a bit of a learning curve for learning new tech…)
demkat620
Go Iggles!
R-Jud
@Linda Featheringill:
This happened to me the last time I worked in a job that required MS Access.
If the culprit is any sort of mass-produced software, just google “[program name] tutorial”, and there might be something useful.
Linda Featheringill
Thanks for the encouraging words. Tomorrow is another day. [Twin Peaks?]
Mnemosyne
For my sins, I got to sit in the waiting room of the Toyota dealership for 5 hours today so they could replace the front struts of my car. At least I got a big chunk of my Beanpole Beanie done for our trip to Chicago in February.
Yes. We are voluntarily going from Southern California to Chicago in February to visit my ailing father-in-law. He’d better appreciate it, is all I’ll say. ;-)
(Note: link above is not to my blog or the blog of anyone I know, just a picture that popped up in a Google search for the pattern. Sorry.)
SiubhanDuinne
@Mike Kay #8: Thanks so much for the reminder. I thought I had put the KC thing in my calendar, but I guess I didn’t. Very grateful. /Obot
I always love this program. I’ve tried to catch it every year but I know I’ve missed a few. What a great overview of people whose art has had an impact on this country (not all are US citizens).
stuckinred
@SiubhanDuinne: How was the movie?
You Don't Say
@Linda Featheringill: The first days of a new job are always like that. It will get better.
Go Mountaineers! Go Hawkeyes!
Currants
@Linda Featheringill: You have my complete and unequivocal sympathy. Started law school in the fall (at age 50) and every day has been like that—and by “that” I mean trying to figure out what on earth I’m doing/supposed to be doing (and I’m wondering what would have been so wrong with looking for, you know, a job at a coffee shop or something, if what I really wanted was to not be teaching).
The initial learning curve is steep in new situations, I’m told, but worth it. (I’m not holding my breath on that one.)
All the best to you!
stuckinred
@Currants: Whew! I finished my doc when I was 50 and I felt ancient. Of course it was in Adult Education so there was plenty of support.
Linda Featheringill
@Currants:
The best of everything for you and your new law career. Hooray for you!
SiubhanDuinne
@stuckinred: Exceptional! More anon when I can see what I’m typing :-)
Chuck Butcher
It isn’t NFL but it is football, 12/5/10 Baker Bulldogs are Oregon 4A State Champions. Not too bad for a little place in the middle of nowhere.
Cat Lady
@PeakVT:
I just LOVE his cover of this. Beck’s just off the hook. And I just want to pinch his cute cheeks.
kdaug
@Just Some Fuckhead: Yeah, kinda wondering that myself.
It’s cool ‘n all, nothing against the guy.
But I recognize this place ain’t for everybody, and sure as shit ain’t for the thin-skinned.
(BTW: Why does that always seem to be “conservatives”?)
asiangrrlMN
@Linda Featheringill: Hang in there. First day sucks. Should get better.
May I just say I am devastated that Brett Favre will not start tonight? And, Al Michaels, last year’s winning season was not like fool’s gold. Sheesh.
daverave
say, is that a Mooslim in that hammock??!?
stuckinred
@asiangrrlMN: you may
Mike Kay (Democrat of the Century)
Village up in arms over Obama’s remarks on Michael Vick.
Course, the very same Villagers are inviting jail bird scooter
libby to their new year’s parties.
schrodinger's cat
@Just Some Fuckhead: Being a gentleman, he resented having to rub shoulders with the unwashed masses and decided that he had had enough.
ETA: This is just a guess on my part.
asiangrrlMN
@stuckinred: Dev-a-stated. My only hope is that the announcers talk nonstop about Favre every time the Vikings offense is on the field.
Mike Carey. Yum.
@stuckinred: Huh?
ETA: Every time the announcers mention Favre, everybody drink!
Jewish Steel
@Just Some Fuckhead:
@kdaug:
I asked this question and was shushed
Far-Left liberals just tramplin’ my 1st amendment rights. Damn!
stuckinred
@asiangrrlMN:
It’s over
over
no good times
no bad times
there’s no times at all
just the New York Times
Just Some Fuckhead
@Jewish Steel: Yeah, I saw you ask that but I never followed up on the replies. I don’t shush very well. I’ll just ask John.
gbear
I wonder how far into the second quarter the Vikes will go before they quit caring about the game? Vacations await!
stuckinred
@asiangrrlMN: You may prefer to hear it.
Overs
Tonal Crow
@David: The cables are great, but I’m really waiting for the internal bank correspondence.
gene108
@asiangrrlMN:
You figure, considering the Vikings were 10-6 and in the play offs the year before?
Tonal Crow
@CJ: B-E-A-R-S
!
asiangrrlMN
@gbear: An optimist, I see. I don’t think they care right now!
@stuckinred: Ah. Ta. Your musical repertoire is vast.
@gene108: I know! Gr. Gr. Gr.
burnspbesq
Crikey. Aussie batsmen fold meekly one more time, and the Ashes stay with the bloody Poms. Fuck.
stuckinred
@Tonal Crow: Bear Down!
stuckinred
@asiangrrlMN: It’s an illness.
2liberal
I looked up Tom Bradys’ game logs vs the Steelers.
Really nice numbers:
Win 6 Loss 1
average game:
25-36=287 yards 2 TD .43 INT 1.5 sack
QB rating 147
this includes two playoff games, one of which brady did not finish due to injury.
Tonal Crow
@asiangrrlMN: Favre should have quit when he was ahead. He’s been dreadful for much of the season.
R-Jud
@stuckinred: Sitting on the windowsill near the flowers?
Is it sad that I didn’t have to look that up?
schrodinger's cat
@burnspbesq: You are watching a cricket test match?
Amir_Khalid
My neighborhood cineplex is at Suria KLCC, the shopping mall in the podium block of the Petronas Towers. Went there yesterday to see Fair Game, whose opening scene takes place at … the Petronas Towers! (But the guy Naomi Watts meets with sounds more like an Indian from India than an Indian Malaysian.)
It’s the second movie I’ve seen this year that’s related to the George Walker Bush administration’s stories about WMDs in Iraq, after Green Zone. Both are really good, but neither has done all that well at the box office. Pity.
stuckinred
@R-Jud: Not at all, a killer song on a killer album. I guess I didn’t think I’d live long enough to live Bookends.
asiangrrlMN
@Tonal Crow: Um, what? They aren’t even playing tonight. And, Favre should have retired years ago.
@stuckinred: I think it’s fascinating.
Catch? Catch. Sigh.
Wah, wah, wah, refs hate the Vikes! OUT! Wah, wah, wah, we wuz robbed!
burnspbesq
OT for an NFL thread, but if you like good jazz singing, two recent records you should check out are “Sing!” by Fay Claassen (featuring the unbelievably good WDR Big Band from Cologne, Germany) and “You Are There” by Hilary Kole.
Tonal Crow
@asiangrrlMN: Hey, it’s the runup to the playoffs, and the B-E-A-R-S are in, so I couldn’t pass up a chance to say “B-E-A-R-S”!
burnspbesq
@schrodinger’s cat:
Naw. Logged in and it was already over. The Aussies didn’t even make it to lunch on Day Four.
R-Jud
@stuckinred: Well, I’m glad you did.
I was always kinda partial to “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme” myself. Or as I like to call it, “the album I play all through October.”
gbear
@asiangrrlMN: Well I was going to guess they’d give up seven minutes into the first quarter, but then I saw at The Strib that the game had already started. I’m not watching. It looks like The Strib isn’t even bothering to live blog it tonight. It is over.
Jewish Steel
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Could he really have been so thin-skinned to turn his back on, by blogosphere standards, a decently sized audience?
If I were a blogger and I was given the opportunity to write at the equivalently sized libertarian site you could not pry me away from the task of making those fools eat it and like the taste. What could be more fun? And more worth the effort?
Unless he is in the wilderness undergoing a conversion and will emerge with the Scandinavian sotialist values I imagine many of us share.
jeffreyw
Jack Galt
Just Some Fuckhead
@Amir_Khalid: It’s too soon. People don’t wanna remember all that shit yet. It’s what took me so long to watch Green Zone on OnDemand. But when I did, it was worth it.
asiangrrlMN
@Tonal Crow: Uh huh. You’re just gonna toss the Bears in the convo like that? I see how you are.
And, he was TOTALLY out! No touch—what the hell is a cheesehead doing at the game?
0-7.
P.S. No, he didn’t HAVE to challenge, Al Michaels. Jackass.
ETA: Governor, the Chinese would have stayed home. Jackass.
@jeffreyw: I like your pie, too. What kind?
jeffreyw
I like pie.
PS
@burnspbesq: Hey, it’s our turn!
(I’ve lived in Britain for only a rather small portion of my life, though my parents were solidly English, and I’ve been a U.S. citizen for years but at moments like this it’s Rule Britannia all the way. Sort of makes up for the World Cup. Nearly. Well, a bit.)
Violet
@burnspbesq:
Heh. I take it you’re not an England fan. This result is very good news in my household.
stuckinred
@R-Jud: Hell, I love em all
Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
asiangrrlMN
Brett’s name mentioned four more times. Four more drinks, everybody!
@gbear: It’s probably for the best. Four minutes left in the 1st, and they are playing at half-speed.
@jeffreyw: That’s adorable! Is that Toby on the right (on the couch)?
ETA: That looks too dark to be Toby. Do you have another cat besides Bea, Homer, and Toby?
Just Some Fuckhead
@Jewish Steel: I dunno and I’m hesitant to speculate without any information. As for eschewing a forum of this size, I can barely tolerate the place and I’m just a commenter.
Anne Laurie
@Amir_Khalid:
Hopefully, both movies will have ‘long tails’ in the home (school) viewing market.
I’m especially looking forward to seeing Fair Game on Netflix, and probably buying my own copy as well. We don’t get to many movies while they’re in theatres anyway, but I was half-afraid of getting so pissed off by Cheney and his affiliated liars that I’d throw something at the screen, which would embarrass my longsuffering Spousal Unit :) .
(P.S. to the grammar pedants: ‘It is to be hoped’, then)
CJ
@Tonal Crow:
Can you guys get a real field sometime soon?
BGK
Interesting to no one but me, I suppose, but since my father died five years ago, and I can’t watch with him, I absolutely cannot give a crap about football, NFL or college.
Sicilian tuna in olive oil, really sharp provolone, and crusty bread could easily be my last meal.
Black and white cats on the bed allow me to keep my thermostat about five degrees lower at night. I spend the difference in my electric bill on treats, so it’s a wash.
BGK +5
de stijl
Tonight, I’m pinning my MN hopes on the basketball Gophers over Badgers, but it’s at Madison, so who knows. Still, checking out Vikes / Eagles for, I don’t know, masochistic reasons I guess.
I was flipping back and forth between ESPN2 and NBC and caught Jared Allen’s “Culinary Institute” answer during the pointless “Where I went to college” bit.
burnspbesq
@Violet:
I’m an American of Irish ancestry. Asking me to root for England is a bit of a stretch.
burnspbesq
I wish I had enough light in my office to take a decent picture. Laettner just got her head stuck in the mini-blinds trying to look out the window.
stuckinred
@BGK: I hear you. My old man hated to pay long distance but when something good happened in the games that we knew we were both watching I knew he’d call. Seven years and I still miss it but I keep up the fire.
trixie larue
For Prez Obama, there will be no rest. Gird your loins, as it is said.
PS
@burnspbesq: Makes sense to me. I fled England because I can’t stand the class system (etc etc). But there’s something about the first teams you ever rooted for, and they were Manchester United (before Munich) and Peter May’s cricket team. It’s in the bone. But politically you are of course completely correct.
Violet
@burnspbesq:
Lolz. I get it. Asking my English relatives to cheer for Ireland or Wales (especially Wales) is a massive stretch. It’s all rather subjective, though. If they’re playing France or Australia, then they might be the lesser of two evils.
John - A Motley Moose
@Just Some Fuckhead: That’s all right, the rest of us can barely tolerate you.
Sorry, I couldn’t resist. You left yourself wide open for that one.
Ron
Oh man, the righties are all having starbursts over Tweety’s neo-birtherism.
jeffreyw
@asiangrrlMN:
That’s the Tobster. He’s getting pretty big now. It’s really hard to capture his true color. It’s not jet black, tho it can seem to be when the light is just so.
Jewish Steel
@Just Some Fuckhead:
I am always ready to speculate.
Once upon a time the departure of beloved characters was handled with more grace.
Or, uh, gracia.
Just Some Fuckhead
@John – A Motley Moose:
Steeplejack
@Linda Featheringill:
You’ll get the hang of it. Good luck!
Just Some Fuckhead
@John – A Motley Moose: I’m pretty impervious to anonymous comments by meese.
asiangrrlMN
@BGK: Love love love your moo-cow cats. They are so cute. Sorry about your father.
Gaaaaaaaaaaah! Gaaaaaaaaaah! I don’t care! I don’t care! Anyone playing the Favre drinking game should be drunk by now.
@Ron: Explain, please?
@Steeplejack: Hiya. How you be?
amk
@burnspbesq: Here’s a brit gloating as well as cringing on that Ashes win after 24 years in down under.
I was rooting for limeys too. :) . Time for punter to be punted out.
debit
The Vikings have hands of shit tonight, offense and defense. My team.
ETA: Except for that guy. Interception, woo.
BGK
@asiangrrlMN:
BGdad with Ava, roughly 6.5 years ago when Ava was still a little stinker.
A veteran and lifelong ardent Democrat who would’ve thoroughly enjoyed the wasted post-mortem mail the McCain campaign sent him in 2008.
stuckinred
@BGK: Nice photo.
burnspbesq
@amk:
Funny. Very funny.
junebug
Imagine if GWB had taken his vacations in his childhood (somewhat) home instead of Crawford? And then he got caught in the snow in 2002 and that the AUMF was never passed and the USA never invaded Iraq.
Far too many forget what a hell the winter of 2005-2006 was.
Far too few will give Obama any credit for sticking to his withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2011.
Cleaning up after a complete idiot is a thankless job.
burnspbesq
@amk:
No argument. I don’t hold him responsible for brain-dead batting, any more than I hold him responsible for Warne, McGrath, Symonds, and Langer getting old. But he’s 36, and although he’s still a world-class fielder, he hasn’t batted for shit in 18 months. And he’s the only Australian captain ever to lose the Ashes three times. Let him retire with dignity after the World Cup.
debit
That fumble was a sign for me to go back to watching B5. I’ll check back in after half time.
Steeplejack
@asiangrrlMN:
Feeling progressively better. Stayed out of work today and just got up a while ago from a long nap to catch the football.
MattR
@debit:
The NFL allows Muslims to play? Why do they hate America?
Anne Laurie
@Linda Featheringill:
Depending on the size of your new workplace, you may want to ask & make sure it hasn’t been “customized”. Last time I was completely stymied by a certain routine that seemed to be completely effing insane and also to have nothing to do with what the manual claimed should be happening, it turned out the company I had recently started working for had rejiggered everybody’s version of Word to be “backwards compatible” with the procedures of a long-forgotten word-processing program that the company’s IT department was imprinted on. I think the original routine had been set up to deal with the memory limitations of 5-inch floppy disks, but it was still being used on 4GB hard-drives because “We have ALWAYS done it this way, and we’re HAPPY with it.”
amk
@burnspbesq: You want to humiliate him further, dontcha ?
cckids
@Linda Featheringill:
Hang in there! In a month, you’ll be wondering what you were stressing about.
SiubhanDuinne
@jeffreyw: YUM (pie, not parasites)
asiangrrlMN
@BGK: Awwwwwwwww! Ava is a doll-baby. Your dad looks happy! P.S. I can haz Angus pic?
@debit: Is tied now!
@Steeplejack: Good. Glad you’re feeling better. Hopefully, the cold will be gone by tomorrow.
And sack for Winfield (yum). fumble recovery, touchdown run back for six, bitchez.
7-7.
j low
@Chuck Butcher: Doncha mean Baker City Bulldogs? Former Prospector here.
schrodinger's cat
@burnspbesq: Aaaww poor Aussies. When is the next World Cup? I will be happy if Australia doesn’t win this one.
burnspbesq
Wait a sec.
West Virginia is being completely shut down by the Wuffies?
That’s pathetic.
Barb (formerly Gex)
Cannot believe how great this season has been for the Vikes.
What, you say?
We got rid of Childress. We’ll probably be rid of Favre. We might have found a prospect at QB. I see Webb, Peterson, Rice, Harvin. This defense. And Frazier.
I’m against public funds for a stadium. But the Dome fiasco probably means that they’ll get a stadium now.
It’s feels like a Christmas gift from the football gods.
burnspbesq
@schrodinger’s cat:
February.
amk
@schrodinger’s cat: My bet is on India/South Africa.
schrodinger's cat
@amk: Don’t know much about South Africa, but the Indian team usually looks good on paper but then their entire batting line-up just crumbles, like a house of cards. That said I remember India’s extremely unlikely World Cup win in the mid eighties. I was a wee little kidlet then.
Chris
Suck it Mountainiers!! Go Wolfpack
Couldn’t resist it John….LOL
Ron
@asiangrrlMN: is one place where this story is being told.
schrodinger's cat
@BGK: Your cats are adorable. I have two kittehs curled up beside me on the bed as I type this. My cats are tabbies though, brown and orange.
Punchy
West Vag just played an abortion of a bowl game. Yikes.
debit
@asiangrrlMN: I saw the replay of that when I came back. Nicely done.
@Barb (formerly Gex): I agree! And may I say, Webb is impressing the hell out of me. I’ve said for years that we need to stop bringing in old QBs “just to get the Super Bowl.” You get to the Super Bowl by bringing up your young talent and working your way there. I’ve thought since the preseason that Webb will be that guy.
Jesus, we just scored again. What a drive.
ETA: Challenge? Okay…
schrodinger's cat
@burnspbesq: Thanks! will try to watch it. Where is it being held, do you know?
gene108
NCSU thumps WVU 23-7 to win the Champs Bowl.
First team to hang more than 21 on WVU this year.
Having your team win just makes everything better.
debit
That is a bullshit call. What a fucking bullshit call.
Barb (formerly Gex)
@debit: Still, do you see him finding open guys? I’m seeing some nice throws. And he already keeps his eyes down field when he’s scrambling.
ETA: Now, time for the D to do their thing again.
amk
@schrodinger’s cat: The present Indian line-up is pretty good with some out-to-prove- myself young blood. Of course, there is always huge sponsorship deals. The Indian captain landed himself a 3 million dollar ad contract recently.
gene108
Cricket question: Why are there always two batsmen running between the wickets?
I thought one batsmen was bowled to at a time, but whenever I see someone get a hit, there are two batsmen running between the two sets of wickets on either end of the pitch.
Do they take turns batting, depending on which set of wickets they end up in after running? Is there something I’m missing, because the cricket matches I’ve watched I think only one batsmen is being bowled to at a time, so what purpose does the other batsmen serve?
I’ve never gotten a satisfactory explanation to clear up my confusion yet.
Ron
@asiangrrlMN: Grr, let me try this again. (This will teach me to attempt posting a link using my phone’s browser).
The story is here among other places.
gene108
@amk: Captaincy, from what I gather, has been a sore point for the Indian team for the last several years. They have good players, but lacked a good captain to lead the team.
schrodinger's cat
@amk: Is Sachin Tendulkar, still playing? or has he retired?
ETA: I remember when he was the new boy wonder of cricket, God I feel so old.
de stijl
debit, Barb:
Joe Webb is your long term guy? Serious?
(Shudders)
debit
@de stijl: Why shudders?
I seriously like him, even as raw as he is.
ETA: I missed the start of the game. Anyone know why Jackson isn’t starting as QB?
burnspbesq
@schrodinger’s cat:
Seven venues in India, plus three in Sri Lanka and two in Bangladesh. Sri Lanka built two brand-new stadiums.
amk
@gene108: They have the winningest cap’n now. So let’s see.
@schrodinger’s cat: He is still playing. He scored his 50th century just this month. The only player to do so in the cricket history. That little guy is still accumulating records (which are unlikely to be broken for along time to come) along with lotsa runs and moolah. But one great cricketer who never goes the I’m a diva route. Zero personal scandals. Gotta love him for that.
Sputnik
Please call your senator’s office (especially the Mass residents) and ask him or her to support Paul Waggoner’s release. He has been wrongly accused of kidnapping a Haitian child and has been held in a Haitian jail for over two weeks. You can read more of the story here:
http://www.bostonherald.com/ne.....position=6
And here:
http://mmrcglobal.org/paul-wag.....er-21-2010
Paul is a friend of a friend, so it would mean a lot if you could give your senator a call on his behalf.
schrodinger's cat
@gene108: They take turns hitting the ball. There are two ways to get a run, you get runs when you hit the ball, depending on far you have hit the ball, you can get a 2 or a 4 (beyond the boundary) or 6 (into the stands) kinda like a home run. You get runs, running between the wickets.
An example wherein the second batsman can get a chance to bat.
So say the batsman hits the ball gets a 2, if he runs once and gets to the opposite wicket, and the other batsman now is in the batting position.
ETA: I think my explanation may have added to your confusion.
debit
Oh my god, I can’t believe this.
ETA: I am so glad I decided to check back after the half.
BruceFromOhio
I think someone hath spiked the Eagles defense Gatorade.
asiangrrlMN
That would be a touchdown run by Webb, bitchez! Woot to the mofo hoot! I like Webb, too. I think he has much po-ten-shul!
@debit: On the IR list.
@Ron: Oh my fucking god. Still with this? Really? Fuck you, Matthews!
@Barb (formerly Gex): No stadium with public monies. I agree with all you’ve said. (Just had to reiterate my loathing for using public monies for a stadium).
Chuck Butcher
@j low:
I’m sorry… heh There is plenty I like about Grant Co, then there are other aspects.
Actually it is Baker Bulldogs, it does serve a good part of the County as well as Baker City. Lost in the finals last year, this year they pulled it off. Cool, nice for the kids.
Barb (formerly Gex)
@de stijl: Well, we could call Brad Johnson or Brett Favre again. Maybe Brooks Bollinger? Childress left this franchise completely fucked at QB. Forgive me for seeing some potential in this guy. It’s not like the Eagles aren’t playing for anything.
BruceFromOhio
@asiangrrlMN: He’s like Vick, but without the dogs.
amk
@gene108: Glad you asked. You see…
******
End of lesson
debit
@asiangrrlMN: I just bought my boss a box of Vikings tissues “to dry your tears for the last two games.” I guess the joke is on me.
debit
@Barb (formerly Gex): Maybe Sean Salisbury is free. Or Daunte Culpepper.
Barb (formerly Gex)
@debit: Daunte is free. And probably delusional enough to think he should be starting in the NFL still. Wait, I know. What’s Jeff George doing?
asiangrrlMN
@BruceFromOhio: Snicker. Vick lite, as they called him.
Weird question: When did Michael Vick become Mike Vick? Part of the rebranding effort?
And, oh, yeah. Vikings just may not lose!
@debit: Ha! Well, there’s still a quarter to go. I’m not celebrating yet.
@Barb (formerly Gex): Fran Tarkenton? Is he available?
de stijl
@debit:
Webb makes Tim Tebow look like Y.A. Tittle. He could be fine in a Antoine Randle El – type role or as a straight-up wide out or slot.
But we’re talking about what he could potentially do in the future, so who knows. My guess is that he is not going to be Michael Vick 2.0 but who knows.
I shuddered because I was having a Kordell Stewart flashback.
BruceFromOhio
EPIC fucking collapse. Man, I was thinking Eagles had this easy after all the Vikings trauma. Not!
Hats off to the Vikes fans that have held on through the tragicomedy of 2010, your payoff is now being served.
schrodinger's cat
@amk: Yes he does seem remarkably down to earth.
Barb (formerly Gex)
@de stijl: You don’t understand. The Vikings have a different scale to evaluate QBs by. The first of which is, “Is he under 35 years old?” If we evaluated ourselves by Steelers standards…
Well, that’s something to shudder about.
BruceFromOhio
@de stijl: I shuddered because I was having a Kordell Stewart flashback
Aww! He was so promising, so fun to watch, until he wasn’t.
debit
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a QB called for a facemask before.
burnspbesq
@gene108:
There are always two batsmen and two bowlers (don’t ask me why, it’s just always been that way). The two bowlers alternate every over (an over consisting of six deliveries).
Bowler A, at one end of the pitch, bowls to Batsman A at the other end of the pitch. If the batting team scores an odd number of runs off a batted ball, then the batsmen will have exchanged ends, and Batsman B will be “on strike,” facing Bowler A’s next delivery.
On a batted ball, both batsmen must either run or stay home. If they run, either batsman can be put out by the defense if the ball strikes the wicket before he crosses the line (example: the fall of the first Aussie wicket in the second innings of the test that just ended; the guy who didn’t hit the ball hesitated before running, and paid for it).
asiangrrlMN
@debit: Yeah, but that was pretty blatant.
@BruceFromOhio: For some reason, this cracks me up mightily. But, so true.
gbear
@asiangrrlMN: I want to know why Michael Vick isn’t still known as ‘the fucking bastard who tortured and killed dogs’. Why isn’t this guy buried in beer cups and half eaten hot dogs whenever he steps out on the field?
Wow. Vikes are ahead. Whohoo! (twirls finger in the air)
Three-nineteen
In other news, Iowa is up 14-3 against Mizzou in the Insight Bowl. How Iowa lost that Gopher game is beyond me.
And in other Gopher news, the Minnesota basketball just got shellacked by Wisconsin. GO, BADGERS!
debit
What we could use right now is another demoralizing interception.
ETA: Unless the QB runs it in. Rats.
BruceFromOhio
Non-NFL comment: It looks like TRex did not renew his domain, and now the link in JC’s blog roll is dead?
I hope you are okay, David. Long live TRex.
de stijl
@Three-nineteen:
You realize that the score was 62-60 with 50 seconds to go? Yes, the Badgers won, but it was not a shellacking.
(mutters to self “stupid Gophers!”)
debit
@BruceFromOhio: That makes me sad. I really enjoyed his biting sense of humor.
Three-nineteen
@de stijl: I count any loss by 5 or more to a team ranked at least 10 spots lower as a shellacking (plus it’s fun to type).
asiangrrlMN
@gbear: No kidding. Yes, allow him to play (since he did his time), but make his life hell. The vagaries of the NFL. Who can understand them?
They actually dissed Favre. “As a fan, I would have wished he stayed home.” Damn. That’s cold, Cris.
And, Brett Favre damn well better retire this year.
ETA: Webb to Harven, bay-bee! Nice pass. Add a healthy dash of AP, and it’s first and goal!
EETA: AP TD! 10 pt lead!
de stijl
@Three-nineteen:
Then we’ll just have to agree
to disagreethat you’re a poopyhead ; – )debit
During that AP run I made a series of noises so high pitched and annoying my cat emerged from kitchen and yowled at me.
And TD!!
schrodinger's cat
@burnspbesq:
I think you have everything right except the two bowlers part. There is only one bowler, at any given time. a bowler bowls an over ( 6 deliveries at a time). In one day internationals, there are limits to the number of overs a bowler can bowl. The captain decides, who bowls.
de stijl
Nice timing on the “Don’t be silly, Adrian Peterson.” commercial.
BruceFromOhio
@Three-nineteen: I see your
spellingtyping fun, and offer that the Eagles are getting a thorough shellacking at the hands of the Vikings.Shellack, shellack, shellack, it just rolls off the keyboard.
Three-nineteen
@de stijl: I will use whatever convoluted reasoning I can find to use the word “shellacked”. Also “whiffed”, as in “Boy, four Vikings just whiffed their tackles and let Vick the dog killer (for asiangrrlMN) run for an easy 1st down”.
Three-nineteen +3, working on +4
asiangrrlMN
@Three-nineteen: Thanks for working that in.
ETA: Shellacked is an excellent word. Whiffed, not so much.
Damn. This is a much better game than I had anticipated!
Go, JOE!
debit
@asiangrrlMN:
No kidding. I have really enjoyed it. And I realize that it might be panic half the time, but damn, I love watching Joe scramble then run.
BruceFromOhio
2:00 and … it’s … OVAH. Peace and love to all the cilantro haterz.
debit
@BruceFromOhio: At 27 seconds left, I’m going to agree with you. Cilantro lovers unite!
ETA: And it’s done. I swear to god, I thought it was going to be 40-something to 3, Eagles.
Three-nineteen
...aaaaaaand Iowa intercepts in the endzone to end the first half 17-10! GO BIG TEN!
asiangrrlMN
@debit: Way to go, Vikes!
Down with cilantro!
schrodinger's cat
@asiangrrlMN: What’s wrong with cilantro?
Three-nineteen
I cannot believe that it’s possible Seattle could be the 4 seed at 7-9 if New Orleans goes 12-4 and the other wild card team goes 10-6 (GO PACKERS!). I understand the division winners automatically getting into the playoffs, but if a wild card team has a better record they should be seeded higher.
asiangrrlMN
@schrodinger’s cat: Tastes like soap.
debit
Okay, guys, it’s way past my bedtime. Good night, all.
schrodinger's cat
@asiangrrlMN: It doesn’t. It is delicious and nutritious.
de stijl
@Three-nineteen:
Shellacked and variants are excellent words, yes, but I always like it when Universalist / Unitarianism (or whatever it is) gets brought up.
Why? Everyone types UU. I like typing UU because it looks like boobies. I know, I know. I’m horrible.
It just cracks me up for some reason. I know it’s incredibly juvenile and stupid and Beavis and Butthead level humor, but it still does it for me.
+0 believe it or not.
MoeLarryAndJesus
Well, at least that Vick=MVP argument has been put away where it belongs.
As I’ve been saying, this year’s MVP is Tom Brady and it should be unanimous. Just a ridiculously great season.
MoeLarryAndJesus
@de stijl:
de stijl, are you familiar with the record label with the same name?
Three-nineteen
@de stijl: Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.
de stijl
@MoeLarryAndJesus:
Not until I just Googled it.
I chose my handle quite awhile back because I really enjoy Piet Mondrian, Vantongerloo, and those guys, but more than anything I just like the look of the lowercase words “de stijl” for some reason.
Anne Laurie
@de stijl: Ha! I give you Madarame and the 2-D Complex:
de stijl
@Anne Laurie:
I knew I should’ve kept my mouth shut.
UU
FlipYrWhig
Where is Markos Moulitsas today? I just read this at Benen’s:
After Markos bellyached and faux-radicaled his way through a solid month of bullshit about how the reporting about Obama’s meeting with business leaders showed that he was “groveling” and “apologizing” to “Wall Street,” the actual fucking meeting included not one motherfucking representative of Wall Street. It seems that not all “business” is “Wall Street.” Whaddya know. Whaddyafuckingwellknow.
Now, should Obama be meeting with business leaders? You might think not, and that would probably be a legitimate complaint. Is Obama too friendly to Wall Street? You might think so, and that would probably be a legitimate complaint. Does Obama’s meeting with business leaders SHOW that he is too friendly to Wall Street? Only if that meeting features big bankers. It didn’t.
Suck it, Markos.
Tonal Crow
@CJ: There’s something wrong with outdoor football in Chicago in December????
Tax Analyst
@Linda Featheringill: Congratulations. Hang in there.