Will this be live blogged? Where is he going?
Where is he going?
The birthplace of [redacted, but somebody famous] and me.
He is going to a farm in the country, where he'll have space to run around and play with other dogs all day long.
I thought he was going to be wearing ice cream suits and sip mint juleps all afternoon.
"Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu" Redux, to mix Updike titles.
||
Stupid battery life. I've been sitting in court waiting for my case to be called all morning, and my phone's about to die, which means no iPod on the hour trainride back to work. Feh.
|>
I enjoy cleaning out my office so much. That's pretty interesting.
Flip, you going to be sipping juleps as well?
Down here in the underbrush of the comment thread, it's probably safe to discuss the uninteresting thing that isn't happening, to the extent anyone wants to do so.
2 is a revelation to me. I thought you were a life-long North Carolinian, Apo.
My father was getting his masters in church music at the Baptist seminary in your new town when I was born. We moved to NC when I was three.
9: I don't know. People keep trying to get me to agree to travel here, visit there, presumably in the expectation that without a Midtown telephone number and institutional e-mail address I will be dangerously adrift, but I find it pretty difficult to imagine the unemployed life myself, unemployed. I have had one job or another since my first paper route, and until now people have been happy to pay me to do something or other. On the bright side, I think I understand now what SF people are trying to do when they get all numinous about the Singularity.
Am I supposed to know what you're all talking about?
15: Dunno. Are you married to a certain commenter who lives in a major Northeast city, but not for long?
16:Somebody's getting a divorce?
15: Meetup in the city where a shy commenter lives, but is moving away from, and so the meetup is to say goodbye. The post originally announced time and place for the meetup, but the shy commenter got shy. Probably a result of poisoning from eating eggs mixed with melted plastic.
I guy I knew in high school posted a facebook status indicating that he'd moved to Austin. I want to say "Welcome!" but I don't really feel like taking the time to get together and reminisce, unless there were a bigger group of friends from high school, ie a mutual friend coming to visit or something.
Is there a tactful way to say "Welcome, let's not get together over coffee!" ?
Welcome, here's a coffee shop that's good and you should go there by yourself to try it?
shy
I believe you meant "prudent".
I'd also like to note publicly my opposition to the fact that the meetup location is apparently a hotbed of occult activity. And that their website plays music on loading (a cardinal offense).
Not that I'm ungrateful in the least, of course.
Is there a tactful way to say "Welcome, let's not get together over coffee!" ?
What about just "Welcome to Austin!"? If an invitation is extended from his end, I'm sure you could find a polite way to decline.
13: Dude. Do you have a near future plan, or just job-hunting?
Yeah, I don't automatically presume that anyone who welcomes me somewhere is inviting me out to coffee.
11: Huh, I was very nearly born in NC because that's where my parents were in grad school, but they moved to New Brock State instead just before I was born. I could almost have had your opposite story, though.
23: I've been job-hunting for the past few years. Maybe I'm losing my sex appeal too picky the demand for slightly-used lawyers in my line is less than one would hope.
||
I have no idea how they sound, but this band has a great name.
||>
If an invitation is extended from his end, I'm sure you could find a polite way to decline.
What's a polite way to decline an open-ended invitation, if he says something like "We should get coffee, sometime!" ? Just vaguely accept without setting a day and time?
Eh, it's not the end of the world if we end up getting coffee, I suppose.
You all know of him, actually. I was hopelessly infatuated with him in 9th and 10th grade. Then. somewhere in the archives, I found and linked to his long-abandoned personal website. It was a delightful mash-up of philosophy and mysticism.
If an invitation is extended from his end, I'm sure you could find a polite way to decline.
You've got a kid, heebie, remember?* You can be plausibly booked for the next 17 years or so.
*You even got a shower gift to help you keep from forgetting her, remember?
Just vaguely accept without setting a day and time?
Check. Something like, "I agree we should catch up some time", and then just let it gently fade away.
What's a polite way to decline an open-ended invitation, if he says something like "We should get coffee, sometime!" ?
"Oh, I'd love to! But unfortunately, I'm allergic."
"Coffee sounds good. Of course, my schedule depends on the baby these days."
Just vaguely accept without setting a day and time?
IME, this works perfectly. Unless you say "Great, how's Thursday", the openended invitation will just sit there until you both forget about it.
...the meetup location is apparently a hotbed of occult activity.
How much has Cambridge changed? I haven't been back for long time, but still this surprises me.
26: It's cold out there these days, isn't it. We've had several unpaid volunteers through my gov't office (which isn't hiring, and is in fact offering bonuses for quitting) while they look for work.
What's your line?
36: I am not as entitled to blame the larger economy as much as some people are; the sector is cool in the U.S. for various other reasons as well.
That link made my head hurt; not stuff I know anything about. (Come to think of it, that describes everything a lawyer might do except litigation. Everything else I describe vaguely as 'transactional', and then stop thinking about it.) Good luck, anyway.
Flip, all I can say is it's tough out there--my advice for the newly jobless is to start belt-tightening immediately. We're doing OK 14 months in, but we (I) resisted cutting back far too long and our cushion is not what it should be as we near then end of benefits in April. And then when you get a job right away, you can be glad for the extra money you can plow into the economy.
39: That is good advice. I've tried to be prudent for a while (I sort of expected something like this to happen), have paid off my student loans and have accrued a cushion to live for a few years, but not forever.
have accrued a cushion to live for a few years, but not forever.
How horribly profligate of you not to be ready to retire already.
41: I couldn't help it! I kept running out of socks!
You have a cash cushion that's good for a few years?? Wow.
43: Bigfirm lawyer, single with no kids (I think?)? I'd call that prudent, but not particularly surprising. Once the loans are gone, assuming you're not house-poor the money's awfully good.
the money's awfully good
But hookers and blow adds up fast.
I didn't realize my wife and kids were costing me that much. Damn.
Sounds like he cut back on the hookers almost immediately. Strong work, Flip.
47: From another perspective, I tend to think of myself as having failed -- not even epically! just sort of drudgingly -- in both professional and personal respects. I'd much rather have paid more attention to the girlfriend referenced here when it mattered than spent those early years of my career breaking my back for superiors whose respect for me and the yield of my labor was suspect at best.
Oh man. Obviously, from way over here, I can't actually speak to your personal or professional failings. But given the economy (and particularly the way things are for lawyers) odds are that being let go isn't related to any particular shortcoming of yours, and odds are also that this is a bad week for you to be able to fairly evaluate yourself, rather than being unduly harsh. You should probably cut yourself a break for a while before beating yourself up. (And then skip it anyway -- what's the point?)
I agree with LB. Allow yourself at least one more week of hookers.
(And then skip it anyway -- what's the point?)
Spoken like a woman who was raised without religion.
Here's nothing of any interest! I put a mix up at my blog, linked in my name below. Highlights include John Cale from the fake Wes Anderson soundtrack, a dude named Macka whose backup dancers rape melons onstage and whose listed song my band once covered, a Quincy Jones track via Kill Bill, and a bunch of things that were in people's best of 2009 lists.
My advice to you is to start drinking heavily.
And yeah, you got fucked by the fickle finger of fate. No sense making it worse by beating up on yourself.
50: That way lies madness, Flip. I can tell you from personal experience that reviewing the old videos and thinking of how they should have been shot and edited differently is an Rx for blowing one's brains out after writing a pathetic note as a pause/play in an Unfogged thread.
I came very close to just that a few times last year. If it weren't for feeling responsible for the newly adopted kittens' welfare I might very well have completed the deed.
It's better to keep the "Yesterday's dead, and tomorrow is blind and I live one day at a time..." earworm going. (And get off beta blockers and up the vitamin D and exercise dosages, or whatever it takes.)
True. Some unexpected time off from work is a great time to get back in shape (or further hone your already sterling physical conditioning, whichever).
Maybe I'll begin at last my one-man war on crime learn to bake do that spoken-word tour finish Fallout 3 get a hobby.
Some unexpected time off from work is a great time to get back in shape
I wish I could bring myself to do that whenever such time presents itself, but I usually take it as an excellent opportunity to completely disregard the chances of a debilitating hangover the next morning.
If you're torn between crochet and tatting, I'd stick with crochet. I tried picking up tatting last year, and it's frustratingly difficult to fix errors once made, and the results are fragile.
Other hobbies I have no opinion on.
58: That Great American Novel isn't going to write itself, Flip.
58: Run down a deer. Work up to it. Start with a slug. Or a carrot.
tatting
I wouldn't have figured LB as the ink type. Interesting.
Or at least start a blog and abandon it 1 month later.
61: "Unemployed lawyer writes novel" is such a cliché, though. Maybe I'll start a webcomic.*
* My drawing makes everything look like a drunk hamster.
The Civilization games will make the days and nights just fly right by, Flippanter.
I support the webcomic idea. You could call it Drunk Hamsters.
67: There's a band in town called Drunk Tigers, and there was a band at my high schoool called Microwaveable Hamster; therefore, it should be called Microwaveable Drunken Hamster Eggs.
You could climb every mountain. Or ford every stream.
I think Drunken Hamster, voiced by Jackie Chan, could be the animation sensation of the new decade. Especially the Drunken Hamster pummeled the shit out of Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Add "if" after "Especially", slp.
My drinking makes everything look like a drawn hamster.
And quartered. The ASPCH will be coming by to speak to you shortly.
That Btock guy's got nohtinge on me. WOOOOOO!!!1!!
-E
Hang in there, Flippanter. 56 is wise.
So, it's my fault. I hadn't heard from Sifu and Blume, and I wanted to make sure that they knew about it.
Sorry, farewell guy. I should have put something more subtle down.
Jesus, Flip. No judgments. This economy blows goats. I am fucking excellent at what I do (he says, modestly) with at least very good if not great connections, and I've come up with Dick All. No wife and kids, resources for a few years' living? Shit, rent a cheap hacienda for a few months on a beach in Mexico and just chill yourself out. Plenty of time to get back on the horse.
(My advice above was intended for the married with responsibility type I assumed you were. If it was just me, I would have headed out on an adventure. THen again, I don't mind flipping burgers and drinking Miller Lite (do you know how much ACTION the grill guy at Applebee's gets?).
do you know how much ACTION the grill guy at Applebee's gets?
How much?
And by 'action' are we talking all the deepfried onion blossoms conceivable, or what?
deepfried onion blossoms
Is that what they're calling it these days?
Extrapolating from the guys at Country Kitchen back in the day, a LOT.
83: What's the mechanism (for the getting of the action, not the extrapolation)?
Flip, I took a class on International Business Transactions, and we covered project finance a bit. It sounded kind of interesting. Why wouldn't people be interested in lending money for a big project without recourse to the other assets of the borrower? Madness.
The extrapolation is done linearly. Here we're looking at action as a function of the squareness of the establishment at which the grill guy works. As you can see, because Applebee's is hipper than Country Kitchen, we predict that employment there will result in more action.
Next slide, please.
56: Biohazard, I know you had bad times with a beta blocker, but I love mine. I was taking a vitamin D, and still do when I remember, but then I read an evidence-based medicine blog which said that the evidence for everyone recommending it was kind of weak. I'm innumerate in statistics, so I couldn't really understand what he was saying. Unfortunately, I don't get tuition reimbursement as a benefit for another year.
||
I was going to threaten to drunk dial Blume if she and Sifu didn't come, but I don't have her cell on my phone anymore, and it's not in my e-mail. So no drunk dialing, and since they didn't respond, I bet that they're busy or dissing us.
|>
Why wouldn't people be interested in lending money for a big project without recourse to the other assets of the borrower?
Many wouldn't be interested precisely because they wouldn't have recourse to the other assets of the borrower.
Sorry I wasn't clear, Mitch. The question was meant facetiously.
breaking my back for superiors whose respect for me and the yield of my labor was suspect at best.
That closing "at best" makes me think of this lyric.
90: Does anyone have their address? We could toilet-paper their residence, if they don't show.
We know that they live within a certain radius of a certain bar, so we could TP all the houses within that radius.
95 gets it right. If, for example, you know there's a need for more power in a particular area and the power plant to be built is going to have a monopoly on supplying it, the cash flow from that power plant is pretty damn secure, often more secure than any borrower assets that you'd have to go through the process of seizing and disposing of.
77
Jesus, Flip. No judgments. This economy blows goats. I am fucking excellent at what I do (he says, modestly) with at least very good if not great connections, and I've come up with Dick All. No wife and kids, resources for a few years' living? Shit, rent a cheap hacienda for a few months on a beach in Mexico and just chill yourself out. Plenty of time to get back on the horse.
The downside of this plan is that you will come to realize how much you hate working.
And that's when you turn to a life of crime! It's foolproof.
87: The credit of a given entity may not be sufficiently highly rated to obtain a favorable interest rate on debt that would be used to fund the development, construction and maintenance of a facility. In that case, a project finance structure may be useful even if it imposes stringent equity requirements. Additionally, there is an entire universe of public-private partnerships (PPPs, P3s), wherein public authorities (national, state, municipal) grant the rights to develop, construct, operate and/or maintain public facilities (airports, bridges, roads) to private entities, in return for, typically, very large up-front payments and, usually, compliance with exacting specifications as to technical standards, etc. The U.S. market for PPPs lags the growth in Europe, Asia and Latin America, largely because of the availability of tax-free public bonds, but it is being endorsed as state and local governments find themselves pressed to maintain public infrastructure. The proposed National Infrastructure Bank, inter alia, would leverage private infrastructure financing with public funds to bridge the gap between the enormous amount of investment required by the U.S. infrastructure plant and the straitened circumstances of governments at all levels in the current downturn.
98: Sounds like the voice of experience talking.
98: The more enlightened among us can figure that out on the job.
||
The utterly shit e-mail system we use at my work has an unsend feature. It also puts sent mail in the inbox without a separate sent folder.
Outlook looks really good in comparison. Gmail for business sounds awesome.
|>
Meetup attendees: I sent you an e-mail with my cell phone number in case you get lost.
We know that they live within a certain radius of a certain bar, so we could TP all the houses within that radius.
Exactly what sort of radius are we talking about?
89: My dislike of the beta blockers is strictly personal, I don't react well to them no matter that other people have no problems. If it's doing what it's supposed to be doing for you and not screwing you up in other ways that's great.
Lots of these things seem to be idiosyncratic. The DE reacts to Lipitor by losing her short-term memory to the point of scariness, while I just developed random muscle cramps.
I tried adding the D because lately I'm almost never out in the sun and the docs had Rxed the DE lots of it for bone loss. What surprised me was a lightening of mood after a few days. I hadn't expected any psychological effects, I just figured it was cheap and safe, so why not take it. Then I looked it up and saw the possible links to depression.
Really, I have nothing but anecdata, however I don't care if it's a placebo effect as long as it works.
Why don't you go out into the sun? I recommend a lunchtime swimming habit.
I can't tell if this is objectively entertaining or if I'm just self-absorbed: the guy from 29 wrote back "Do you live in Austin? If so, we oughts to kick it sometime."
I'm 95% sure that the extra "s" is affect, not a typo, based on the rest of his, uh, pizazz. Did I mention that my love was harshly rejected in 9th grade, but I pined for another year? Because I'm having way too much fun with the schadenfreude here.
We could be busy and dissing you. Why is it either/or?
Do you remember the exact wording of how he rejected you? I think people need to understand there are consequences for their actions, even decades later.
If so, we oughts to kick it sometime.
One doesn't often have occasion to Google "how to build a Burmese tiger trap," but it's nice to know that the information is available.
111: Yes. He stopped talking to me.
We'd been hanging out quasi-intensely for a week or two and I was very infatuated. Then one day at school he abruptly wouldn't talk to me. At one point I cornered him and asked him point-blank what happened, and he looked at me, turned, and ducked into a nearby bathroom. So to get back at him, I pined wistfully for about a year.
At some point in our twenties, I bumped into him and he apologized, out of the blue. But didn't explain.
So sad to read the title of this thread. I was genuinely looking forward to the hook up ("It's called a Meet Up, Fleur!" I can hear Knect's voice across the ocean) with all the Boston folk and bidding farewell my Mr. Prudent. Regardless, I wouldn't miss the chance to dine in a place named after Charo, nor would I skip out on my appointment with Ms. Duvet. I have secured a baby sitter, and will leave my picturesque little village in about an hour.
106- 3 or 4 blocks if I recall correctly.
I'm on my way over, my robotic workers are misbehaving.
108: Go outside in Van Nuys at noon? Are you mad?
I did it every day for three years. It seemed like a reasonable thing to do at the time.
Btock liveblogging: Btock and Fleur are comparing notes on the whole unfogged v. spouse situation.
Is she being vehement and forceful? Because I believe that would be appropriate.
In my experience Fleur is always vehement and forceful.
How about the Haiti earthquake thing? And the irony that the strongest quake in the last five years hit precisely the poorest country in the continent, if not the world.
That is, the one time I met her she seemed quite vehement and forceful.
Now Brock is getting a psychic reading.
Actually I take it back. Fleur is getting her psychic reading first, and then Brock will get the one she's treating
him to.
So, did Brock eat anything weird yet?
It's a tapas place; he is ordering three plates at a time every 10 minutes or so.
One can get a psychic reading at a tapas place?
101
Sounds like the voice of experience talking.
To a certain extent yes.
Fleur is giving Brock hints before he goes in for his Tarot reading.
129: at this one, as it turns out, yes.
132: I'm not sure. Now we're learning what the cards say about Knecht.
So, with the tapas, there are lots of little empty plates on the table? Have you tried putting non-food objects on plates and leaving them temptingly in front of Brock? Just to see. Wristwatch, cell phone, gloves -- you could try almost anything.
102
The more enlightened among us can figure that out on the job.
Perhaps a better way to have phrased it is, you may come to realize how much you like not working.
While I admit I'm not familiar with that one from recent direct experience, I'm pretty sure I'd can guess how I'd feel about it.
136: How about eating one of the tapas and hoping he would just assume he'd already eaten it?
139: You'd steal tapas from a starving man? That's cruel. In a manner which attempting to trick him into eating gloves absolutely is not.
Now we're learning what the cards say about Knecht.
I call foul. Knecht is apparently across the ocean, and therefore cannot receive a tarot reading. Unless, of course, Fleur's tarot reading is (vehemently and forcefully) about Knecht.
Surely there better choices than tapas, if the goal is to watch Brock be baffled by food. You could have gone to one of those places where all the food is served raw and you have to cook it yourself. Hot pot or shabu shabu or whatnot. Watch in awe as Brock eats raw beef, not realizing the purpose of the boiling broth in front of him!
Brock managed to steer the conversation with the Tarot reader to sci-fi movies. Also, more food just showed up: a ceviche shot.
Brock just failed to eat the rock salt his dish was nestled upon.
Tapas for tapeworms!
Is this tapas place that also does readings a cantabrian joint? I totally forgot the name in the now-cleansed post.
Good god, people, let Brock be fed as many small dishes as may cause a gleam in his eye! A tapas bar is perfect. The man's been eating styrofoam and raw onions or something while watching war movies.
I was eating marshmallows out of the bag, but since I read "tapas bar", I've been smearing the marshmallows with generic chocolate-hazelnut spread and putting them on a plate.
Generic Nutella? Does it taste like Nutella?
Gnutella: the open source filbert spread.
150: Pretty much. Been a while since I've had Nutella, so I'm not sure. Anyway, it's not '365 brand', but it is what our Whole Foods has instead of Nutella. (I'm not willing to stop at a second grocery store if I got like 95% of the stuff on the list and can get close on the missing items.) The marshmallows are stale, so I've finished now.
I haven't seen hazelnuts called filberts in a long time. Man, that takes me back. Filberts.
You know what's good? Anise and cranberry juice.
We are having serious difficulty finding an appropriate karaoke joint.
156: I'm sure if you ask enough people, you can home in on one.
Things have regressed: various enters have figured out how to manipulate the light-sensitive led table.
156: I think we'll all enjoy the live-blogging more if you go to an inappropriate karaoke joint.
I have a report of Karaokee happening at, of all places, Charlie's Kitchen tonight, starting at 10:00 PM.
I seem to think that the ingestion of marshmallows has been mentioned recently here before, and I have to say: marshmallows? Really? Is this a household staple?
There's nothing wrong with that, it's just, you know, not something I would tend to have.
I have suggested the eminently reasonable plan that we go to a cheap non-karaoke bar and get Brock so drunk he sings anyways.
You know, parsimon, you can obtain things that you wouldn't tend to have.
GIVE HIM THE THIRD DEGREE AND HE'LL SING LIKE A CANARY.
Also, Charlie's Kitchen? Is that in Cambridge Cantabridgia wherever? That place is still there?
162: We have a three-year-old. It's hot chocolate season. (But, no, we don't keep them around all the time.)
Okay! Charlie's it is! We are en route.
Your commitment to at least the appearance of sobriety in the service of reportage is greatly appreciated, Sifu.
168: Also, I'm lying. I bought the marshmallows of my own volition (though I have shared them with the rest of the house).
At charlie's now. Waiting for karaoke to start.
Brock ordered a hamburger at the karaoke place. Picking out songs.
I may be able to capture performance video
ATM: we need a Blume/Brock duet. Best we can do so far is "Paradise by the dashboard light" because Brock doesn't know "Islands In The Stream". Thoughts?
"Summer Love" from Grease is always fun.
Brock doesn't know it! What a dork.
177: "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart" is basic. "Ebony and Ivory" is advanced. "You're The One That I Want" from Grease is also good.
"Paradise by the Dashboard Light" is very advanced. And "Closing Time" is a good choice for the end of the night, especially if you've consumed three martinis--mostly because you started with one and then started to wonder what a "three-martini lunch" is like--and want to somehow find yourself in bed, relatively chastely but still not what your girlfriend would expect, with a girl you'd always been interested in, back before graduation.
180 reminds me why I hate karaoke bars (aside from my peeve about the pronunciation of "karaoke"). Is the duet selection that crappy? No Gram & Emmylou, even?
Holy shit Fleur rules at Karaoke
ATM: we need a Blume/Brock duet. Best we can do so far is "Paradise by the dashboard light" because Brock doesn't know "Islands In The Stream". Thoughts?
Jackson
I've seen Love Hurts here and there, if that's your drift.
Jesus, are you irritated by the English pronunciations of karate, Tokyo, and Toyota?
Oh, You're The One That I Want is a great karaoke song and karaoke can be great fun.
186 to 183. and 185 is correct: The Doggone Girl Is Mine!
I can nail "Estoy Aqui" by Shakira. I can also get totally lost. But when I am good, I am very very good.
190: That's big talk. The "ahogándome, entre fotos y cuandernos, entre cosas y recuerdos que no puedo comprender" part of the chorus is intense.
I did okay at "Baby Got Back" but to be honest I dropped a couple verses
It was a double guacamole burger, for the record- boy needs his nutrition. With a Guinness to drink.
I had to bug out to catch my bus just before the singing started. Did Fleur manage to push her way to the front of the line?
I thought there were like 50 people in line ahead of us.
Fleur seems to have picked a song Brock has never heard before.
"Love Hurts" is a good start. But there are so many others!
And no, I'm not really irritated by karate &c, but karaoke is pronounced "carry-okie" only in a world gone to hell.
Kobe! Everyone at the not-meet-up take a shot!
199: As if I needed one more reminder.
Everyone at the not-meet-up take a shot!
Can we take shots if we are playing the home game?
Everyone at the not-meet-up take a shot!
Way ahead of you.
||
Just across my Facebook live feed: [apostropher's friend] is attending CEREBRAL BALLZY, SPERMCOUNT, SHITHORSE.
|>
198-203: Shots for some people! Little not-American flags for everyone else!
Jesus, I am waiting for the harrowing. When does it start?
And no, I'm not really irritated by karate &c, but karaoke is pronounced "carry-okie" only in a world gone to hell.
Which people pronounce it differently when speaking English? How do they pronounce it?
206: That other Jesus had a mere stopover in Hell. I'm here 24/7.
207: None, that's the problem. Karaoke:carry-okie::nuclear:nucular.
Analogies are banned for a reason, Jesus.
Everyone at the not-meet-up take a shot!
"Everyone at the not-meet-up" is different from "everyone not at the meet-up", isn't it? Oh well. I'm taking this as my cue to start drinking.
212: Yes. I meant everyone out at the bar who wasn't really out at a bar, because, whoa, earlier. But I also certainly meant not to forestall any (non-)non-blog-related drinking plans.
The meet-up updates have tapered. Predictions?
Nuclear karaoke. Louder than bombs.
"Louder than Bombs" would be a good name for something. Maybe a band.
218: I honestly can't tell if you're joking.
You know what's good? Pho-spice dusted seared pork belly. God damn. Order some of that and feed Brock the napkin.
It was Labs bait. But it snagged teo instead.
Heh. Burned again by my near-total lack of musical knowledge.
It's actually kind of impressive that you went straight to "band name", not knowing of it already. You and Morrissey apparently have similar titling instincts.
The word "louder" made "band name" seem like a good possibility.
When does Btock show up? Btock! Btock! Btock!
Do tell.
I just saw that AWB will be in DC in March. Also, Christopher Cross & Karla Bonoff are coming to town. WTF?
(Now the John Hiatt concerts: I will see one of them.)
"Teo Chats About Music" should be a regular feature. I imagine it going sort of like this.
karaoke is pronounced "carry-okie" only in a world gone to hell
Even in Muskogee?
Hmm, I'll catch Mission of Burma in February. I will bring ear plugs. My tinnitus is bad enough as it is.
Black Cat is also hosting:
The Cure vs The Smiths Dance Party
See? On topic (for some value of…).
Carry me home to old Muskogee.
It has a certain ring to it.
231 sounds about right, but I don't know where we're going to find two other guys as uninformed as me.
What about Klosterman? - he never even heard of the Beatles!
I'll probably hit up Mission of Burma.
Cure v. Smiths is fun, it's a bit of costume party back there. Doesn't really get going till late, though.
I know that Unfogged is no place for sentimentality, but I really loved seeing everyone tonight. Vehemently and forcefully. I have never met Brock before, and was surprised by what a great guy he is, given that his comments always reminded of Knecht's comments about me (very Rodney Dangerfield) back in the days when my only association to the term "Unfogged" was the special button I press in my station wagon to see clearly in bad weather. For a skinny fellow Brock really consumed mass quantities of food. It was amazing. Also amazing was Sifu's rendition of "Baby Got Back" for Blume. He was exceptional - who knew?? I am sorry that I missed Blume's German version of 99 red balloons ... but I have a feeling we will all be singing again sometime!
I'm not allowed to play Joanna Newsom on band trips.
Gah, I have to be at work by 0800. And that is EST, not Unfogged Standard (ha!) Time.
Unfogged seems to be back on Mountain Standard Time, or something close to it.
I'm not allowed to play Joanna Newsom on band trips.
An understandable policy. What about Marnie Stern?
244: Considering the Mountain Goats are also out for 50% of the band (the policy there is: if the 50% is asleep, okay), I'm guessing no on Marnie Stern.
I missed this Brock and the egg story that everyone keeps mentioning. What thread was it in?
I'm not allowed to play Joanna Newsom on band trips.
My feelings about Ms Newsom are well known. Also, recent Mountain Goats blow compared to less recent Mountain Goats, and Marnie Stern isn't nearly as good as Armsmasher thinks.
I just saw that AWB will be in DC in March. Also, Christopher Cross & Karla Bonoff are coming to town. WTF?
Will they do karaoke with AWB?
Brock really consumed mass quantities of food.
Brock is a Conehead!
247 - Sorry, Darling. What happens in Cambridge stays in Cambridge.
Holy shit YES to 251. The night's standout performance by a mile, and I don't just mean among our meet-up group.
But I was set up. I named about 2 dozen songs I'd be happy to sing, and somehow ended up with "Blaze of Glory" (which was not on the list). No one can sing that. It wasn't until I once heard a Bon Jovi cover band attempt to sing "Living On A Prayer" that I appreciated what a good singer Bon Jovi really is. Oh well. I gave it my best.
I took control of the situation and put my name down myself for five or six better songs, but before I got to sing any of them, everyone had to leave. Because of "work", they claimed, even though I believe any of them worked the midnight shift.
And I didn't actually order a lot of food--the plates were just really small. I didn't count, but I don't think I ordered more than a dozen or so, and some of those were shared.
It was good to see everyone.
It wasn't until I once heard a Bon Jovi cover band
I could have gone through my whole life happy if I would not have known such a thing existed.
Well, 'more happily than I can now'.
Notice the last sentence here. And there are at least two more out there.
What song did Fleur and I sing? That was embarrassing, too.
The fact that I was cognizant of the embarrassment at the time implies that not nearly enough preparatory drinking occurred, obviously. But as I said, everyone had to head home early, just around the time those last few beers were kicking in.
256: Cruel, apo! Couldn't you have let Moby go on living in relative ignorance and relatively non-misery?
256:There's at least 1/2 more out there.
And now Brooks Brothers wants to sell me $500 shoes. Nothing but the finest leather should trod through salty slush.
I suppose that BB has wanted to sell me $500 shoes for a long time, but they've never specifically e-mailed me about it before.
257: That you've forgotten the name of the song suggests you may have been sufficiently drunk. Or it could be you have that valuable survival mechanism that allows you to suppress details of your most embarrassing moments.
259: "From Connecticut to Tennessee and everywhere in between you can always tell where the party is when Bon-Journey is in town!"
That reminds me: does anyone from the meet-up know what happened to my shoes?
259: Looking at the awards that band has received, apparently my musical tastes are out of sync with my community.
Unless everyone loves them for the Journey 1/2. Then I'm fine.
259: Notice how they promise "a night of singing along and parting with friends".
264: How are you feeling? Jaw tired?
||
After gritting my teeth all the way through yesterday's NPR segments on the deficit, I quite enjoyed this morning's interview on the subject with Dean Baker.
|>
That reminds me: does anyone from the meet-up know what happened to my shoes?
When I walk these streets
With these wingtips laced up tight
I play for keeps
'Cause it's karaoke night
Yeah I sang at Charlie's Kitchen
Still I'm standin' tall
I saw dozens of faces
And I rocked them all.
'Cause I'm a Landers
Getting ready to move!
And I'm wanted, waaaanted,
But where are my shoes?
Did you ever go back and pick up your bag?
If you can leave your bag that far behind, it's time for the hernia operation.
271: I did. mcmc was kind enough to drive me back over there.
268 is actually pretty funny, because despite the unclear wording of 264, my shoes aren't missing, they just look like a large dog chewed on them. And I can't for the life of me figure out what happened.
260, 273: The Brooks Brothers e-mail was probably intended for you, Brock. Your shoes were probably chewed up by an overzealous BB salesperson.
I was more just sort of wondering who buys a $500 pair of shoes and isn't a woman.
re: 275
I don't have any $500 shoes, but I have several $300+ pairs.*
* that said, I don't pay full price for 'em.
238 makes me want you people to bring that show on the road south. Richmond? DC?
Somewhat related to 277, Catherine's resolutions include dating more men. Ogged, where are you??
275:
Stanley. He is a total shoe whore.
276: Yeah, but $300 is two hours' wages in your country.
276: I have one pair that expensive. They are five years old and in near perfect shape because I'm afraid to wear them for fear of ruining something that cost that much.
I am sorry that I missed Blume's German version of 99 red balloons
I guess Blume got her answer to "Hast du etwas Zeit für mich?", then.
Holy shit, the only $100 pair of shoes I own was a gift, and I've worn them hundreds of times (i.e., am getting lots of use out of them). I can't imagine what I'd do with pricier shoes.
I can't imagine what I'd do with pricier shoes.
You put them on your feet and worry about puddles. That's what I discovered after buying one pair.
So anyway, speaking of bulletin boards, I thought for several years that they were called that because of their unique cork-like texture, being made of a material called "bulletin".
You can find expensive shoes for much-reduced prices if you're willing to overlook the risk of wearing a murderer's or murder victim's haunted shoes and the attendant Japanese-horror-movie consequences online. I got a pair of Edward Green boots on Ebay for $100 last month.
My experience is that the more expensive the shoe the more likely it is to cause blisters and generally be uncomfortable to wear. Also more likely to be butt ugly, but that's due to my somewhat eccentric taste in footwear.
I just wear them. They last pretty well. Also, they can be repaired properly, so not much point in being precious about them. I'm about to get one pair of suede boots resoled, which is going to cost very little, and make them nearly as good as new.
I always knew Edward Green would turn up murdered one day.
You should have hidden the body better, M/tch.
re: 288
I used to think that, too. But have been persuaded otherwise by the last couple of pairs I've owned, which have been very comfortable and [I think] seem to have cured me of some niggling shin/ankle problems.
Not because of the expense per se, but because relatively unpadded but quite flexible leather soles seem to suit me better than more built up 'trainer' type soles or heavier boots/shoes.
291: You're right. But I was so pissed off that he didn't wear the same size boot as me after all that I wasn't thinking straight.
If Brock was a quicker thinker, he could have grabbed the debit card I left at the bar and bought new shoes with it.
289: Yes, but you can get $80 shoes resoled as well. I suppose the uppers don't last as long, but my (resoled) shoes are half-covered in dried salt right now and if I cared about the uppers, I'd have to clean them or something.
Also, dress socks are often thinner than the socks one usually wears. Add that to a shoe that isn't really broken in due to not wearing it much, and blisters are a natural result.
289: You must live some place where traditional professions such as cobbler still exist.
re: 295
I think this is one of those national divide things. 40 quid shoes in the UK tend -- although there are exceptions, of coruse -- not to be built with the sort of construction that allows for easy resoling or repair.
292: I found some awesome semi-formal shoes when I worked at a science museum, which required standing for eight hours straight, but I haven't found another pair since. They were damn comfortable, made in Germany, IIRC. The downside is that they were very broad at the toe, so I looked like a dapper duck.
JRoth wears $300 Red Wings.
Spending money on nice men's shoes is often worth it. They get much more comfortable if you are willing to spend more than $150.00. I dont know that it is worth it to go above $300, but $150-300 is the range to go for nice, comfortable men's dress shoes.
re: 299
I can think of at least three in Oxford.* However, in this case, the shop that shoes come from will ship them to their specialist repairer and then return them.
* the UK has at least one national chain of cobblers that you can find on most high streets. Oxford also has proper old fashioned shoe shops, that can do this stuff.
Hey, I have a Brock-like question: these hot dogs that were in the fridge and have a kind of whitish slime on them, they're fine if I rinse off the slime and give them a good cooking, right? I mean, what is that stuff?
297: Pittsburgh has plenty of cobblers, meaning at least two.
298: For the $80, I'm talking about rubber-soled shoes that I wear to work when it is wet/slippery or on days when I expect to have to walk more than a mile or two. The leather soled shoes I have are more expensive, but I don't wear them often as one of the above conditions usually applies.
303: If you can persuade yourself that it's congealed fat (or a fat/water emulsion), eat them. If on sober thought you're not buying that, throw them out, Brocky McBrockerson.
302: I'm sure there are some here in Comeblowus, but the ones that I knew of have all closed down.
Speaking of shoes, the ones on that ancient guy they found up in the Alps a while back were pretty interesting. Ötzi wasn't paleolithic, but it would be funny to see the modern paleolithic-diet guys sporting such contraptions.
303: They usually print a date on the package. Is that date
I go to a cobbler off Madison Avenue where I have seen Hillary Swank dropping off shoes to be repaired, because I'm a feminist.
JRoth wears $300 Red Wings.
You aren't kidding about how pricey Red Wings are, brother. I have a pair of Iron Age workboots that I got over 10 years ago - pretty worn, but functional. They were in the factory seconds room for $55, iirc.
Purchased with My Greatest Regret, not that I'm sentimental about them or anything.
Further to 303, the baked beans are definitely not good. Yuck.
I'm guessing whatever restaurant JRoth is at isn't going to get a very favorable review.
308 got cut-off. I'd written "Is that date less than or equal to today?" Except that I used the symbol, and apparently it was treated as a tag.
There is a cobbler not three blocks from my house. He is a tiny little Russian man named Sam with a tiny little Russian wife who keeps the books and a short but not at all tiny gloriously surly Russian sister-in-law who hems things on the weekends.
311: Don't eat those if the can is bulging out.
308: The date just applies to opening the package; it's been unsealed for [mumblemumble].
305: The mystery is why the congealing would happen at this late date. Oh, I know: I sealed them so well in the package that the moisture couldn't escape! This may actually be true: the first week or so, the package was semi-open in the deli drawer, allowing air circulation. The other day I wrapped it up better, complete with a rubber band, and that was when the slime began.
Either that, or I'll be puking in half an hour. Updates as events warrant!
as events warrant!
That would be a good name for a Warrant tribute band, but I'm guessing that a Warrant tribute band couldn't compete on price with Warrant.
Man, if I'm going to risk food poisoning, hot dogs just aren't good enough to warrant that.
316: Is the Paleolithic Diet fad taking over Unfogged? Spoiled meat was probably a Caveman staple.
317: Maybe if they were a half-Warrant, half-Journey cover band? They could call themselves "Journey in the Backseat of a Police Cruiser".
have a kind of whitish slime on them [...] what is that stuff?
Are they uncircumcised hot dogs?
hot dogs just aren't good enough to warrant that.
Well first of all, I basically disagree with this (and they're good dogs: Winter's brand, all-beef, natural casing), but, also, my commitment not to waste food is pretty unrelenting. Also, there's bread that'll go stale if not eaten with the dogs.
That would be a good name for a Warrant tribute band
No. "Unwarranted".
natural casing
I'll take that as a yes.
Since JRoth didn't report back, I'm going assume it did not go well. I'll walk-up to the Presby ER for a mini-meet-up.
Also, there's bread that'll go stale if not eaten with the dogs.
How does that work?
There's a JRoth meat up going on right now.
People! Sanctity of off-blog toxification!
I believe you mean "off-dog cow meat ick ate shun".
Still here, dog is still contained within my GI tract.
327: The bread is a "French loaf" (basically a long, narrow Italian loaf) that was purchased for garlic bread and breadcrumbs. It's already substantially stale, and its only hope is being eaten as an ersatz hot dog bun. I'm not interested in crumbing the remains of it.
Still here, dog is still contained within my GI tract.
Shorter JRoth: Nothing Of Any Interest Is Happening
In 12 hours, he'll be commenting that he has no memory of what happened today, but his $100 shoes are ruined.
332: You could make Swiss apple roesti. (If you haven't seen the fxcuisine videos, you really should. I love that guy.)
I've always liked bread pudding. Papa al pomodoro can be very good and filling.
Guys, I have enough remaining bread to provide a bun for one hot dog. Exactly what sort of elaborate concoction do you expect from ~1.5 oz. of stale-ish white bread?
339: Just ask McQueen for help and you can feed the whole blog.
Exactly what sort of elaborate concoction do you expect from ~1.5 oz. of stale-ish white bread?
I heard there was this guy wandering around near the Sea of Galilee....
Alternatively, you could make a series of old-bread dishes in amuse-bouche-sized portions, photograph them with warm lighting and shallow focal depth, incorporate the photos into a blog post that will get picked up by all the major foodie sites, then get to work on a cookbook deal. I mean, it's not like you have a job or anything, so what do you have to lose?
...a blog post that will get picked up by all the major foodie sites....
"Picked Up by All the Major Foodie Sites: Short Stories and a Novella in the Style of H.P. Lovecraft, coming soon from Oh God The Worms Are Feeding Upon My Soul Press."
345: You might have to use canned tomatoes. Not ideal, of course, but preferable to hot dogs in any case.
339: You could have made a very small batch of croutons.
do any of you dfhs know anything about replacements for halogens (in desk lamps)
i like this lamp
but it has a 50w halogen. are there good options for cfl or led replacements
otherwise i might get this lamp this lamp which is sort of between steampunk and catlady.
And apparently Jesus will still find that preferable to eating a hot dog.
I seriously have to question the sanity of anyone who'd prefer a "salad" made with canned tomatoes to a good hot dog.
You don't don't have to use canned tomatoes, you could get fresh ones shipped from far away. But some canned tomatoes aren't so bad, at least compared to the questionable content of a "good" hot dog. Meat slurry, ick.
You don't don't have to use canned tomatoes, you could get fresh ones shipped from far away.
And they would be highly blah at best! YUM.
Meat slurry, ick.
"Slurry With a Fringe on Top."
Of course they would suck. This isn't about tomato quality, it's about tomatoes versus hot dogs, foxtail. Whose side are you on?
For you, Jesus. Though really emulsified sausages (and surely you don't scorn the fine and delicate flavor of mortadella or weisswurst?) are the closest to homoeomerous regions of space you're going to come in the sausage world.
I am objectively pro-crouton.
Certainly I don't scorn mortadella. Mort Adella is, in fact, my Italian porn star name.
||
The picture set is horrifying, but I liked this picture of the Venezuelan rescuers loading up. They're doing what we were taught in sandbag class: facing each other in the bucket brigade. Easier that way; less twisting. They look trained and supplied.
I just took a full day training in handling emergencies. It is amazing how much people have studied the problem, and amazing the difference that sophistication makes in being able to handle disasters.
|>
Mort Adella is, in fact, my Italian porn star name.
I really liked your work in Meat Slurry, Yay
I did really well in goldbrick class.
Sandbag class was fantastic. It might have been called Levee Emergency Response or some crap like that. But it was a few hours on how levees break, an hour on how to ring sandbags around leaks (do NOT stop the leak! Build a ring/well around the leak on the dry side until the pressures equalize on both sides of the levee and clear water (no sand content) slowly trickles out.), and then practice building sandbag walls. There's a lot of detail in filling and overlapping them to be stable.
366 sounds great. I love optimization, and I find learning and practicing the optimal way to do things immensely satisfying.
Ack, that picture set is horrifying.
But some horribly fascinating stuff in there too. E.g #12.
You're a marvel.
Not yet, but I'm working on it.
It was great. Apparently the workers in the Civilian Conservation Corps become blisteringly fast at laying sandbag walls. We were not so adept.
372: I never knew that was still around. Back home, they planted pretty much every tree that wasn't in somebody's yard or along a river bank.
Update: no hot dog-related issues. I think I'm in the clear.
Aside from the two kids, of course.
If Brock was a quicker thinker, he could have grabbed the debit card I left at the bar and bought new shoes with it.
I just saw this. I'm not sure what quick thinking has to do with it--if I'd noticed that you left the debit card, this is what I would have done. I just didn't notice it.
If it makes you feel any better, I lost my hood at the bar, too.
Your hood? What was your car doing in the bar?
My coat's hood. But since the coat belongs to me, it's also my hood. Or was, until I lost it.
You know, they have these little clips that you can use to attach your mittens to the sleeves of your coat so that you don't lose them. Your hood could have used a couple of those.
I'm not sure that would have helped. The hood was already attached to the jacket with four or five snaps. (Snaps? Is that the technical term?) I don't know how it came off.
380: Are you completely certain you didn't eat it?
I lost my dignity, but have recovered my debit card, thanks to Nathan Williams.
"Snaps" is probably the technical term. You know, if you keep trampling your jacket to the extent that its hood becomes detached and lost, and beating on your shoes to the point where a large dog appears to have chewed on them while they're on your feet, plus losing your bag (what is that, a backpack?), people may begin to wonder whether bars are your thing.
379: To keep the mittens, the clips seem kind of worthless. Your supposed to have your mittens tied together by a really long string that runs up one sleeve, behind your back and down the other. Though I suppose what with the risk of strangulation and all, maybe the clips are the best you can do.
So there is there a way for us simple people to make it read other threads. I find it oddly enjoyable to have playing in the background.
Your supposed to have your mittens tied together by a really long string
I guess we can tie Brock's hood to his jacket and in turn to his bag, possibly also to his debit card, should that be a problem, but I am concerned about the risk of strangulation, as you say. I'm not sure what to do, really, if snaps, laces and straps aren't enough.
I had a cat like this once, who wouldn't keep his collar on come hell or high water, and we eventually worried he'd strangle himself on the thing in ridding himself of it. He wound up collarless, which was fine.
He wound up collarless, which was fine.
Assuming he could find his way home every single time.
I'm not sure what to do, really, if snaps, laces and straps aren't enough.
Petition for the appointment of a Guardian ad Barroom?
if you keep trampling your jacket to the extent that its hood becomes detached and lost, and beating on your shoes to the point where a large dog appears to have chewed on them while they're on your feet,
I don't understand how any of this happened. Brock seemed perfectly controlled, right up to when he started swinging the karaoke mic in circles like a rodeo roper. It didn't seem like there was enough time for all this stuff to happen after that. What do you remember about the cab ride, Brock? Was there a dog in the back seat with you? A hungry dog?
I don't recall a dog in the cab, no. The shoes are a total mystery. I mean, I'm pretty sure I just scuffed/tore them a bit by accidentally scraping them against a rough curb or something when we were walking outside, but it would have needed to be a pretty significant scraping, and I don't remember doing that, and it's not something that's happened before. But I'm not a great walker, a little stumbly by nature, so it wouldn't shock me.
The missing hood, I can't even guess.
Perhaps your tapeworm is becoming more aggressive to the point of venturing outside your body and snacking on your clothing?