November 6, 2007

An Althouse coffeehouse.

I think I'm going to declare this an Althouse coffeehouse and let you guys take over for a while. I'm back in NYC after taking the red-eye from SF. The flight back wasn't 6-hours as it was flying there. It was only 4+ hours. I think maybe I caught 2 hours of sleep, but I have a 4 o'clock class, so I'm thinking: nap.

Talk about what you like but feel free to give me some vlog ideas. My MacBook camera healed itself somehow, and I'd like to do a vlog... if I can restore my weary self with a little sleep.

UPDATE: I got 2 more hours of sleep, so that makes 4 hours. I have this theory that if you just get 4 hours, you'll be okay. Also, I adjusted the time stamp on the previous post so this post would come out on top, since it was written after that one (which I started writing last night at SFO and couldn't finish before Delta called my zone). I have just one thing I really need to accomplish today — a class about Tarble's Case and Howlett v. Rose — that is, federal procedural law limits on state courts enforcing federal law.

55 comments:

Simon said...

Depending on whether you're planning to write about it separately, you could talk in a vlog about your take on the subject of yesterday's Stanford panel.

Lindsay said...

What do you believe are the essential elements of the perfect cup of coffee?

Simon said...

"Danforth is the most interesting fedcourts case since the 80s." What originally drew you to want to teach Federal Courts - was the subject matter something that grabbed your attention when you took the class at lawschool, or was there some other motivation? After teaching it for twenty years, do you still find it as engaging as you first did? What's been the most revelatory or outstanding moment during that intellectual journey?

KCFleming said...

Food fight!

Maxine Weiss said...

This video....doesn't the blond look exactly like a younger Althouse---

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h9qZRsgJDE

blogging cockroach said...

welcome back and too bad about the sleep
ooh did pogo say food fight...
what i'm interested in is your reaction to the sf food
not to mention the drink if you had any
parenthetically did you make it to wine country...
also are there still lots of homeless people
buttered all over the streets of sf
and do they make a mess
a cockroach might be interested in...
thanks

blogging cockroach said...

ps--
does anyone in california still drink chardonnay anymore...
i've heard it's been demoted to the white wine for the hoi polloi
pinot grigio seems to be trendy
but what would i know being an east coast cockroach and all

Simon said...

Maxine- not really.

former law student said...

California whites are problematic. They're either fresh, flowery, and fruity (most of them), or fruitless, buttery, and oaky (chardonnay and sauvignon blanc). For drinking with, say broiled salmon, only the chard-type will do.

Maxine Weiss said...

Don't mess with Peggy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlubMxyFSsU

Maxine Weiss said...

Former Law Student: "California whites are problematic"

(Hey, the blacks aren't exactly a walk in the park....if ya gets my drift.....)

Trooper York said...

Grusinskaya: Oh Baron Flix, I am so weary, so weary, today and I must travel overnight in my coach and leave this wonderful hotel. So sad, so sad.
Baron Felix von Geigern: But why must you leave so soon, my little éclair.
Grusinskaya: I must return to my career, as a schoolmistress and harsh taskmaster in the vineyards of law. I must use my dainty feet to crush the grapes of constitutional theory so as to distill knowledge and create a piquent vintage of legal scholarship that educate the palates of even the most oafish buffons who are the so called scholars whose education I am unfortunately tasked with.......it is truly daunting.
Baron Felix von Geigern: But you can leave that onerous task my little Sacher-Torte. Come with me and I will tell you of my twenty years of experience of in the family courts of the South Bronx, Mount Vernon and White Plains, where feminism has destroyed the family and prevented minority children from reaching their full potential as maids and coachman. Come and learn of the intervention of an overreaching government headed by raddled harridans who do not shave their misshapen limbs and take children from loving homes where they are learning their proper place in the world and putting them in foster homes where they imbibe such bosch as feminism and socialism. Come where the real legal grapes are crushed.
Grusinskaya: I am sorry my dear Baron, but it does not seem very enticing. I must go to back to my simple life of terrorizing pimple faced undergradutes and publishing photo essays of grotesquely small dogs and refuse strewn in the sand. Look at my delightful portrait of a bowl of spaghetti that was spilled on the sands of Brighton Beach. I hope to come across some interesting driftwood or perhaps a dead chinese immigrant who might wash ashore after a failed immigration foray.
Baron Felix von Geigern: But my little Kafenkantate, you must worry about your most personal and private needs. Who will tend your vortex? Who will keep it healthy, and pink, and properly exercised? Come and have coffee with me and I will tell of my vast experience in the art of the care and cosseting of such a succulent vortex. These strange and grotesque characters that you constantly correspond with have neither the talent nor the technique to keep your vortex happy and healthy as only I can. I, Baron Felix von Geigern say it, so it must be so.
Grusinskaya: I am so sorry my dear Baron, but I can not have coffee with you. In fact I can not even correspond with you as you are much too verbose for my taste. I prefer my social intercourse to be pithy and to the point as I am too busy to dally with extended prelimaries. So I must decline your oh so persistent overtures.
Baron Felix von Geigern: Lesbian.
(Grand Hotel, 1932)

michaele said...

I'd like to know more about your extra large head and a vlog could add an interesting visual element to the description. Does it run in your family? Have you passed it on?
Besides limiting your choices in purchasing hats, has it added any other complications to your life?

Richard Dolan said...

The 'roach says, talking about chardonnay: "i've heard it's been demoted to the white wine for the hoi polloi
pinot grigio seems to be trendy
but what would i know being an east coast cockroach and all."

Please. The "east coast" thing is irrelevant -- there's not much difference in drinking wines between this coast and that one. As for the varieties of grapes you mention (and many more you don't), they all have their distinctive personalities but whether the wine made from any of them is any good is mostly a matter of the winemaker's skill. Whether you like the wine from any grape varietal is a function of (a) personal taste, (b) your experience (it's hard to prefer one wine or grape varietal over another unless you've sampled widely enough to have some base of comparison), and (c) what you're having with it (if anything).

And who can even figure out what's "trendy" in wines (or anything else), let alone care about it? Better to forget about what others say and start sampling different wines until you know enough about what you like to choose for yourself. It's not a spectator sport -- quite the opposite -- and no one worth bothering about is keeping score or collecting your empty bottles.

Ann Althouse said...

Simon, you must have noticed that I never use vlogs to do little law lectures. As for the Stanford panel, the audio will be up on the web... I guess I should check for it.

Titusdj said...

Do you also dye your bush?

Specifically, what is going on down there?

Brazillian, hitler mustache?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Titusdj said...

Zebra Stripes?

Titusdj said...

What if a really hot student came on to you that you found attractive?

ricpic said...

In a coffeehouse they were talkin' wine
When a pogo stick yelled "Food Fight!"
Then a German catamite (?) started pitchin' woo
To a sleepy soulful Russian blogostar.
And the final word is that Pinot Noir
Knocks the crap out of all other brews.

Titusdj said...

Do you have a minimum/maximum age requirement for someone you would date?

Simon said...

Ann, I would say that you can't blame a chap for trying, but in this instance, if you're referring to my 9:09 AM comment, I didn't ask for a law lecture, I asked a few open-ended questions about you, which would certainly seem like appropriate subject matter for a vlog. :)

J. Cricket said...

I guess the word limits do not apply to Trooper Dork, who is apparently related to tc.

Simon said...

Titus - your 11:29 question's already been asked and answered (here). Do try to pay attention. ;)

Gahrie said...

All I need is a little Maddog to cleanse the palate. Of course I confine myself to only the grape flavor, none of these upstart trendy flavors for me. And I always try to let it age for a week at least.....

Titusdj said...

Sorry Simon, thanks for the info.

Titusdj said...

OK, here's one. You have been in NYC long enough to do an assessment of the men in NYC.

How would you compare the pickings in NYC compared to Wisconsin?

Ann Althouse said...

Police, we love Trooper York here.

Trooper York said...

Dr. Otternshlang: Welcome home Gruinskaya, I hope you enjoyed your sojourn in the land of fruits and nuts. All remains the same here. People come. People go. Nothing ever happens.
Grusinskaya: Yes it was a very strange trip indeed. A very persistent and verbose nobleman expressed interest in me in a flattering yet slightly frightening manner. I must confess that I am non-plussed over the situation. It reminds me of the futile pursuit by Mr. Preysing that has plagued me these last few months.
Dr. Otternshlang: Is that the mincing fop who has constantly posted inappropriate missives that asked such embarrassing personal questions?
Grusinskaya: No. He is that gruff businessman who seems only interested in commerce, not emotions. I am afraid that the offending correspondence originated with Mr. Kringelein his bookkeeper. He seems such a harmless sort, but when he puts his thoughts on paper they seem to wander to strange and unsightly places.
Dr. Otternshlang So how did Mr. Preysing pursue you if not through correspondence?
Grusinskaya: Oh he corresponds with me, but in very curt and graphic notes of one or two sentences in which he requests certain sexual acts that as a lady I can’t repeat.
Dr. Otternshlang: You seem to inspire many strange admirers.
Grusinskaya: Yes I suppose it is because I am truly an artist. Come see my wonderful photos from my recent trip. Here is my urination series. A dog peeing in the ocean. A vagrant peeing as he sleeps on a park bench. Children peeing down a mountain as they play king of the hill. I am afraid it is true; all the world is a urinal, while I futilely search for a bidet.
Dr. Otternshlang You are truly a philosopher. It is an honor to dine on the crumbs from your table. Would you like to take a picture of me while I pee.
Grusinskaya Certainly not doctor, it is so rude of you to ask.
Dr. Otternshlang: Lesbian.
(Grand Hotel, 1932)

Titusdj said...

Do you love Trooper more than me?

How do I rank?

A number please.

reader_iam said...

OK, I'm going to take a strong and important stand here:

So help me God, Althouse, if you vlog an answer to Titus' 11:24 comment I'll never, ever watch one of your vlogs again. And I'll delete your podcasts from my podcast archives.

As God and my fellow commenters are my witness, this is my firm line in the sand.

So there.

Maxine Weiss said...

Yes, a vLog from the guest room lavatory of the Ritz Cartlon would have been quite nice.

Another opportunity squelched--- due to Althouse fears that people would think she was too rich, or frittering away her children's inheritance on frills.

Don't flaunt that room at the Ritz, lest people think Althouse is living way above her means.

Love, Maxine

Trooper York said...

It’s not a competition Titus. Everyone knows you are number one. Remember, speak fruit to power. All the best.

blogging cockroach said...

back to wine for a moment
to answer richard dolan...
as a cockroach you must realize that the only wine
i get is what is spilled or in an uncorked bottle when nobody is looking
the man of the house here is very serious about his wine
mom on the other hand is a really great cook
but is perfectly happy with sutter home in a box
as long as it's cheap and reasonably dry
oh and did i say cheap...
she hates sweet wine which rules out almaden
her fave french wine is some cheap sancerre
which tells you a lot right there
and don't forget the cheap part
anyway dad subscribes to wine magazines and spends a lot
of money at this fancy wine store in brookline
which drives mom nuts because tommy never seems to have enough
money for video games not to mention other things like painting the house

they had company over the other night and mom cooked some poached salmon
with a sauce i don't know the name of but which was to die for
and dad opened a bottle of '94 chateauneuf de pape
the guests were the sales manager at dad's company and a really important client
turned out the really important client had his own wine cellar
with 1900 bottles of really important french wine
the really important client was having a lot of fun
making dad feel really unimportant talking about all the grand vins
said really important client has stashed away

now i don't want to be a disagreeable cockroach
but i do have to disagree with mr dolan a bit
it looks to me like dad's wine magazines are about nothing
if not about promoting trendiness and snobbishness
also you should realize that here in cambridge mass
people are not used to choosing not to mention thinking for themselves
in the social class dad and mom seem to want to belong to
everything repeat everything is a spectator sport
and they keep score
oh do they keep score

which i don't mind as long as they spill a few drops for me

former law student said...

bc: Sancerre is never cheap -- are you sure it's not Muscadet?

reader_iam said...

As to vlog topics ...

"Hyperbole: Sword or feather?"
"Sarcasm: In or out?"
"Satire: Fresh or tired?"

***

OT: It recently came to my attention that my son (7) thought the word he was hearing was "flog." ("But why are they called 'flogs'? Isn't that a bad spanking?")

I must say the humor of that has grown on me.

Anonymous said...

I'll bring this up since you-know- who is napping somewhere, and we're alone for a few minutes.

When is Ann's birthday? It's soon, isn't it? Shoule we throw a surprise party? All chip in for a gift? What's appropriate?

Richard Dolan said...

So the 'roach is drinking spilled wine? Reading through your post, the root of the problem was soon clear: "here in cambridge mass ...." So many strange customs and oddball opinions in that part of the world. (Having grown up in Salem, I know how dire a problem that can be.)

The only other mention I remember seeing about drinking spilled wine was in The Tale of Two Cities, where a cask breaks open on a Paris street and the locals all emerge from whatever dark corner they were hiding in and start lapping it up. Perhaps you picked up the spilled wine habit from some ancestor 'roach who (does a 'roach qualify as a who?) was there. For Dickens, it was just a little foreshadowing of the troubles to come, what with the mess on the cobblestones and all. Sounds like you're in it for more basic reasons (taste, sustenance, mind-altering experience, trendy confirmation of one's social standing), foreshadowing be damned.

And there's no such thing as an "important wine." Tell your Dad. I'm sure he'll be delighted to know that his little 'roach has figured it all out.

reader_iam said...

Speaking of wine and other elements of culture:

GOOD LORD! Apparently, my inner European is "Dutch" ... at least according to this quiz, linked to by Eugene Volokh, who's "French" ("Merde" is his response to that).

I'll have to call my Dutch aunt (yes, I really do have a Dutch aunt) and share.

ALTHOUSE, vlog idea: Who's your European, as determined by the quiz, or however?

reader_iam said...

"inner" European ... this is not an inquiry as to your romantic fantasies ....

lol.

Ann Althouse said...

Either way, mine is Italian.

Ruth Anne Adams said...

Michael H.: Althouse's birthday is January 12 [I believe 1951]. She shares the same birthday as Rush Limbaugh [same year] and Howard Stern [born in 1954].

My suggestion on an appropriate gift for the blogger who has everything: links.

If every one of her readers who writes a blog would link to their favorite Althouse post, that would make her day. It might even make a blogospheric event.

Simon said...

Reader: I saw that on Volokh too. And to my immense amusement - remember where I'm actually from - my inner European is apparently -- of all things -- French. My innner Sir Humphrey may never speak to me again.

blogging cockroach said...

oops
sometimes i just go on automatic pilot when i type
whole body memory and all that
i wrote chateauneuf de pape with salmon
not a chance
what i meant was puligny montrachet
duh
and then dad tried to impress the very important client with a bottle of cakebread chardonnay
nice buttery california chardonnay but it lacks balance said the very important client
there went 60 dollars shot to hell said dad later

dad opened the chateauneuf de pape the other night
mom said why are we drinking this...
dad said because i've had a hard day and i feel like treating myself
and mom said you're drinking this with spaghetti and meatballs
and dad said damn right
and mom said go right ahead i'm having the sutter home cab in the box

mom did get upset enough to spatter some nice sauce under the stove
yum

blogging cockroach said...

well about sancerre not being cheap..
mom is half french where she gets her cooking talents
and cheapness
she knows somewhere to get sancerre cheap
but it's very horrible sancerre
tastes like chateau antifreeze to me
but then again it's usually been on the tablecloth a while

blogging cockroach said...

one more thing and i'll shut up
the only one in the family i can communicate with is tommy
the boy who owns this computer
i help him with his homework and he helps me with the pc
actually it's an apple
he thinks and i'm sure he's right
that if he told his parents about me
they would call an exterminator
--shudder--

Trooper York said...

Mr. Kringelein: Good evening fraulien, I wonder if you had received my recent missive as regards to color we should order for your carpet. I know that aesthetics are so very important to you and would not like to commit a faux pas.
Grusinskaya: I am afraid that is a very personal guestion and I feel uncomfortable discussing this with you. Please cease and desist in sending these troubling notes, they give me an uncomfortable feeling. I just want to be alone.
Flaemmchen: Come, come my silly goose. You must not answer this rude boy. If you do, as god is my witness, I will never speak to you again.
Mr. Kringelein: Well then I will leave you alone and I appolgize if I gave any offense. I just had the foolish feeling that I was your favorite correpondent. I am devestated by your disapproval.
Grusinskaya: Fear not my friend, I care for you, just not in that way. I have lost my heart to Prince Nicolo D’Fellini, a red haired and well tanned prince of Piedmont who is my own true love. No one could replace him in my heart.
Mr. Kringelein: Nevertheless, farewell.
Flaemmchen: Thank God that foolish little man is gone. No quickly tell me about this love of your live. An Italian I see.
Grusinskaya: Yes, you see I like my men as I like my décor, robust and italianate and it’s a bonus if they are named Rocco or any other Italian surname. Thus my carpets will not be oriental, but from Tuscany with a bold flare of red and taupe.
Flaemmchen; Who cares what color they might be, the question is how do they taste on the tongue.
Grusinskaya: Lesbian.
(Grand Hotel, 1932)

halojones-fan said...

I usually take the red-eye from SFO to Philadelphia when I visit my folks. I get in around 6 AM, then go to their place; sleep until noonish and I'm good for the rest of the trip.

Joseph said...

You seemed quite enamoured with Steven Colbert a while back but haven't said much about him lately. Has his gig gotten old?

Titusdj said...

My ranking please and thanks for your input Trooper but I need to hear it from the queen.


Could down there be a flash like a strike of lightning looks?

Titusdj said...

Also, if you could tell us what is going to happen in Pakistan that would be helpful.

reader_iam said...

Final suggestion: I just visited the Washington Monthly's Political Animal and saw that Kevin Drum announced the contest results earlier today.

Any comment?

Titusdj said...

My comment regarding the wingnut awards is of course powerline won and malkin took second.

Powerline called Bush brilliant
and
Michelle Malkin put on a cheerleader outfit on and spelled defeatocrats-is there any contest between those two and the rest of the wingers? They are in a class by themselves.

I am horny

KCFleming said...

Who'd have guessed?

Anonymous said...

I tell you Ann, someone suggested you pose in a tub with soap bubbles over your nipples on a videoblog. As far as I'm concerned, I'd like to see you on a videoblog nude...no tub or bubbles or whatever. Think you can arrange that ?

Tom

Trooper York said...

Flaemmchen: My dear Grusinskaya, why are you trembling so.
Grusinskaya:I have just received a telegram from the Baron and it very, very troubling.
Flaemmchen: Why is that?
Grusinskaya: He has requested that I send him a tintype for his private collection.
Flaemmchen: That doesn’t sound so terrible.
Grusinskaya: But he requests that I send it sans garments; he wishes to gaze upon my nakedness to inflame his burning lust. Who knows how this will turn out, who knows what this will drive him to do.
Flaemmchen: Well just send him a piquant shot of you in a languid pose upon your bed under that beautiful bed crown with a full view of your room.
Grusinskaya: Why would I do that?
Flaemmchen: You could satisfy some of his curiosity. Didn’t he ask you if the carpet matched the drapes?
Grusinskaya: No that was another of my admirer’s.
Flaemmchen: Well from the evidence extant on you bidet we know that this is truly not the case, eh? Ha, Ha, Ha.
Grusinskaya: (Muttered under her breath) Lesbian.
(Grand Hotel, 1932)