Althouse: In the Lobby Lounge Café...

December 27, 2024

In the Lobby Lounge Café...

... you can talk all day.

But don't look for me there. I'm already gone.

79 comments:

RCOCEAN II said...: Looks like a nice hotel. Assuming the rooms are as good as the lobby; 12/27/24, 9:03 AM
n.n said...: Up here, I'm already gone!

These scenes are making me envious.; 12/27/24, 9:06 AM
rehajm said...: IknowIknow! That's the Driskill...; 12/27/24, 9:11 AM
wendybar said...: Wow!! Good one!!; 12/27/24, 9:19 AM
Enigma said...: Father John Misty: Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KtCl61q-RI; 12/27/24, 9:25 AM
Dave Begley said...: I've been there. And it is in Austin. Very old. I had a fabulous breakfast there. I was in Austin for a screenwriters' conference. I heard Lawrence Kasden speak. Super interesting. He's a Michigan alum like AA.; 12/27/24, 9:26 AM
Dave Begley said...: I ate at the 1886 Cafe and Bakery. Also drank at the Bar. I gave the 1886 Cafe 4 stars; not sure why I didn't give it 5. Hope Ann and Meade ate there. Huevos rancheros muy bueno.; 12/27/24, 9:34 AM
Peachy said...: Nice Lobby.; 12/27/24, 9:57 AM
Gusty Winds said...: Well, I know it wasn't you who held me down
Heaven knows it wasn't you who set me free
So oftentimes it happens that we live our lives in chains
And we never even know we have the key

But me, I'm already gone
And I'm feelin' strong
I will sing (I will sing) this victory song
'Cause I'm already gone
Yes, I'm already gone
And I'm feelin' strong
I will sing this victory song
'Cause I'm already gone; 12/27/24, 10:12 AM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Damn, this is Awesome!...

https://x.com/NFL/status/1872033215667462362; 12/27/24, 10:24 AM
Jersey Fled said...: Speaking of hotels …

https://www.foxla.com/news/downtown-la-vacant-building-fire; 12/27/24, 10:33 AM
Leland said...: Trans Siberian Orchestra played at Houston's Toyota Center the next day. It would have been awesome to have a Pentatonix and TSO together for a holiday concert.; 12/27/24, 10:43 AM
Kate said...: That did it. I found you by searching for an American Art Deco hotel with an inverse stained glass dome. Hope you guys had fun!; 12/27/24, 11:10 AM
Kevin said...: Only 70 more cafes like this and you'll hit 3,000 posts for the year!; 12/27/24, 11:21 AM
wildswan said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/27/24, 11:25 AM
wildswan said...: There a great article on Kazakhstan at the site https://www.pillarcatholic.com/ (cover story today)

Though it was written for another purpose, the article helps in understanding why the pilots of the Azerbaijani Air plane, which recently crashed, struggled across the Caspian to reach Kazakhstan. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch was written about a Soviet camp in Kazakhstan and the whole terrible 20th century history of the country has made it a somewhat tolerant island in the intolerant Iran-and-Stans Sea. The article's title is ‘Don’t forget us’ — The Catholic Church in Kazakhstan. Meet the Catholics of Karaganda. December 27, 2024"; 12/27/24, 11:37 AM
rehajm said...: ¡Si si Dave- muy bueno!; 12/27/24, 12:09 PM
mindnumbrobot said...: Does anybody else have black-eyed peas, collard greens, and cornbread for New Year's Day? I understand it's known as a Southern thing, but I'm curious if any of our Yankee brethren have adopted the tradition.; 12/27/24, 12:17 PM
Dave Begley said...: When do we get a movie review by Ann about the new Dylan movie?; 12/27/24, 12:21 PM
Bob Boyd said...: Is that where you saw all those dudes holding their pinky fingers out?; 12/27/24, 12:57 PM
donald said...: Sittin at La Plaza and Palm Canyon Drive. Home of Maraca’s, the best danced Carne Asada I’ve ever eaten doing some world class people watching g. Bout to head to Joshua Tree. Gonna be a helluva day. .; 12/27/24, 1:07 PM
Eva Marie said...: A dancing carne asada? What were you drinking?; 12/27/24, 1:09 PM
Big Mike said...: Look at that hotel. Plutocrats! No wonder Althouse is friendly with the likes of Ben Wikler and leans Democrat. The party of Geoge Soros and Bill Gates has a natural affinity for the sort of people who’d stay in a hotel like this one.; 12/27/24, 1:51 PM
Iman said...: Más tequila, cabrón!; 12/27/24, 1:52 PM
Narr said...: Them are good eatin'.

Southron here, as is my wife. The tradition has been stripped down in recent decades---black-eyed peas count, the other things are optional.; 12/27/24, 1:52 PM
wendybar said...: New York Post
@nypost
Feds finally release photos showing then-VP Biden meeting son Hunter’s China biz partners — days before he leaves office https://trib.al/Ir7TIwO

America First Legal
@America1stLegal
/1🚨BREAKING🚨

The Biden-Harris NARA, Biden’s lawyers, and Obama’s legal representatives just delayed the release of Biden’s Vice Presidential records, including records on Hunter Biden and his foreign business dealings, until November 6, 2024 — the day AFTER the Election:

America First Legal
@America1stLegal
·
Follow
Replying to @America1stLegal
/4 Following the Presidential Records Act, NARA had planned to release these photographs on October 23, 2024 — thirteen days before Election Day.

America First Legal
@America1stLegal
·
Follow
Replying to @America1stLegal
/5 Lawyers and representatives for President Biden and President Obama delayed NARA’s release of these photos — as they did with other critical records — until after Election Day.
https://x.com/America1stLegal/status/1871255712946418081?; 12/27/24, 2:11 PM
Leeatmg said...: Stayed there once and recognized it immediately. What a beautiful hotel. The bar is pretty cool too.; 12/27/24, 2:16 PM
RCOCEAN II said...: Those carne asadas cant hold their liquour. Just give them a little tequila in the marinate and they're dancing around the grill.; 12/27/24, 2:47 PM
RCOCEAN II said...: BTW, just went out to run some errands and heard some NPR discussion of President Joe Biden. Seems he's going to see the Pope as his last foreign trip. Its amazing how misinformed you'd be if just listened to PBS/NPR - even though their listeners think they're "super smart" unlike those "dumb trumpers".

The NPR Reporterette pretended to be shocked that Joe's on vacation, isn't ringing the alarm bells about Trump (cf: Trump's "threat to Democracy") and isn't doing much except "Sundowning" and falling off his bike at the beach.

Nothing about all recent disclosures about no cabinet meetings, written questions being required of cabinet members, or limited work hours for over 1 year.; 12/27/24, 2:52 PM
RCOCEAN II said...: BTW there's nothing better than well prepared carne Asada - and i don't mean a taco.; 12/27/24, 2:54 PM
Tofu King said...: I do black-eyed peas and collards but make smokey grits instead of cornbread. I'm from the East Tennessee mountains.; 12/27/24, 2:56 PM
Dave Begley said...: The Pope should be direct with Biden: Buddy, you are going straight to hell. The number of lives lost by your incompetency, greed and mendacity is in the thousands.; 12/27/24, 2:59 PM
TaeJohnDo said...: I hope y'all got to go to another Texas Icon while you were there. No, not the Alamo... Buc-ees!; 12/27/24, 3:05 PM
Quaestor said...: Althouse writes, "But don't look for me there. I'm already gone."

I'll ask Mr. Gatsby.; 12/27/24, 3:24 PM
Clyde said...: Clyde's Top 15 Favorite "New" Songs of 2024 - Part 12 of 16

#5 Dolly Parton - "Southern Accents" - Petty Country (A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty) - 2024

I really like Tom Petty, country music and cover albums, so I awaited the release of this album with eagerness. The first song released was this one, and although I enjoyed the entire album when it came out in June, Dolly's cover of "Southern Accents" remains my favorite track. Releasing it first was almost like starting a fireworks show with the big finale. The video of Dolly singing this song in a room full of Tom's artifacts with the home videos playing in the background just made it more poignant. RIP, Tom, and thank you, Dolly!

Dolly Parton - Southern Accents; 12/27/24, 3:44 PM
Enigma said...: Nope. I never heard of that before. I love collard greens and cornbread, but cannot stand black-eyed peas.; 12/27/24, 4:33 PM
Enigma said...: @Dave Begley: The Pope should be direct with the Pope: Buddy, with your wokeness you are not a Catholic at all. Roman Catholic history has plenty of incompetency, greed, and mendacity too.; 12/27/24, 4:37 PM
Iman said...: Carnitas for Teh Win!; 12/27/24, 4:55 PM
Aggie said...: I want to be careful how I ask this: What were they wearing?; 12/27/24, 5:00 PM
Dr Weevil said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/27/24, 5:09 PM
Dr Weevil said...: wildswan:
The plane flew to Kazakhstan because the Russians refused to allow it to land at three closer airports in Russia, and Aktau was the nearest airfield outside of Russia. They also jammed GPS over the Caspian, obviously intending that the plane crash in the sea, so they could pretend that they didn't hit it with a Pantsir antiaircraft missile. Yes, Putin's Russia, and Kadyrov's Chechnya, where it was trying to land, are that evil.

The Azerbaijani crew did an amazing job getting the plane on the ground with almost half the passengers surviving. Once they lost rudder and elevator control, they had no way to go up or down, right or left, except by changing the thrust on the engines. There's a memorial to the crew at the airport in Baku: link. A woman who writes about the South Caucasus on Twitter (@KonulikShahin) has lots more, including interviews with two members of the cabin crew who survived, an older man and a younger woman. As she says, "I want to mention the heroism of our pilots and crew. They saved 29 lives and left crucial evidence to ensure this tragedy wouldn’t be covered up." I would say it's more an atrocity than a tragedy, but otherwise she's absolutely right.; 12/27/24, 5:13 PM
narciso said...: https://x.com/shipwreckedcrew/status/1872773842948767902; 12/27/24, 5:18 PM
narciso said...: Both the pontiff and the potentare are not long for this world; 12/27/24, 5:22 PM
Dixcus said...: The Associated Press has counted and finds that the number of homeless in America is up 17% to a record 770,000 Americans now homeless.

The AP has not reported - and is uninterested in - how this could possibly have happened on Joe Biden and the Democrats watch. Democrats claim they want to help the homeless, but all they seem to do is create more of them.

Never fear tho, the AP are now laser-focused on these bums so they can blame Donald Trump starting in January.; 12/27/24, 5:26 PM
narciso said...: https://x.com/HansMahncke/status/1872448423963623533 surprise; 12/27/24, 5:29 PM
Jaq said...: Remember when Kiev's air traffic control sent an airliner over a closed airspace over a combat zone where multiple aircraft had been shot down in previous weeks then blamed the shootdown on Russia? A "bloody shirt" that they wave to this day?

I don't know what happened in this case, but I know that the Ukrainians have been shown to be such inveterate liars since they took power in a coup in 2014, that listening to Kiev's story on this almost certainly leaves you knowing less than if you had never heard it.

But the US shot down an Iranian airliner, not too many years ago, not even in a combat zone. And a former Italian prime minister has told us that NATO shot down an Italian airliner once, full of civilians, because they believed that Gaddafi was aboard, a far more serious crime, and we have the planeload of prisoners that the Ukrainians shot down last year, I suspect because they thought a certain general was going to be on the flight, but that's just because they were using the fact that the general appears to have gotten off the flight at the last minute to blame Russia for destroying its own valuable aircraft to kill a bunch of prisoners that they could have killed in many cheaper ways. There was also a rumor that this general was meeting Ukrainian generals trying to negotiate some kind of deal, this was before the shootdown, so there was another possible motive. So, shit happens in war, and in the case of the NATO and US shootdowns, peacetime, whatever the real story is.; 12/27/24, 5:35 PM
Jaq said...: BTW, the investigation of the Italian air liner was halted. That never happens, not until they have established a cause.; 12/27/24, 5:41 PM
narciso said...: https://x.com/eugyppius1/status/1872336145855738336 the rest of the story; 12/27/24, 5:48 PM
Dr Weevil said...: And here's Jaq, telling bald-faced lies as usual. He writes that the Iranian airliner shot down by the USS Vincennes over the Persian Gulf was "not even in a combat zone". As I recall, Iranian troops had been firing at US targets less than an hour before and less than 10 miles away. Wikipedia more or less confirms that, though without giving the timing. They are obviously as determined as Jaq is to lay all the blame on the US: "A helicopter deployed from the cruiser reportedly received small arms fire from Iranian patrol vessels as it observed from high altitude."

As for his second paragraph, who's "listening to Kiev's story"? No one! Everything we know about the latest Russian shootdown of a civilian airliner is coming from Azerbaijan (owner of the plane) and Kazakhstan (site of the crash). Kyiv (only assholes call it "Kiev") has nothing whatsoever to do with it.; 12/27/24, 5:51 PM
Kakistocracy said...: MAGA vs. Musk: Immigration Fight Cracks Populist-Tech Bro Alliance ~ WSJ

The elite strikes back!

Tech-led wealth concentration collides with the heart-landers' need to the make the payments on the pickup truck. They're giving the shiny new jobs to foreigners!

Where is immigration czar Stephen Miller on this issue?; 12/27/24, 6:02 PM
narciso said...: So effendi almohsen was just unstable not a jihadist not an anti islamist; 12/27/24, 6:16 PM
narciso said...: Strobel catchs the car when everybody else threw in the junkyard; 12/27/24, 6:25 PM
Dixcus said...: 50 J6 defendants have filed a $50 billion dollar class-action lawsuit against the United States Department of Justice.

Be a shame if Donald Trump's new DOJ head settled that out of court for $49.5 billion - thus saving half a billion dollars compared to if they went to trial.

This is how Democrats fund themselves with taxpayer dollars. It's about time Republicans got a piece of that settlement pie.; 12/27/24, 6:36 PM
narciso said...: Its called sue and settle, there should be some accountability; 12/27/24, 6:48 PM
Mikey NTH said...: I always liked those sorts of lobby. You feel special just walking into them. Like unto a set, and there you can be a 1940s movie star once you get into a suit and tie.; 12/27/24, 7:12 PM
MadTownGuy said...: The chatter around bird flu has ramped up.
On X:
"20 Big Cats Die in Bird Flu Outbreak at Washington State Sanctuary"
and ..
Cat food recalled after death linked to bird flu contamination
"Northwest Naturals is recalling a line of its pet food a cat died from a batch of food contaminated with bird flu. Batches with best by dates between May 21, 2026, and June 23, 2026 should be tossed."; 12/27/24, 7:18 PM
MadTownGuy said...: The chatter around bird flu has ramped up.
On X:
"20 Big Cats Die in Bird Flu Outbreak at Washington State Sanctuary"
and ..
Cat food recalled after death linked to bird flu contamination
"Northwest Naturals is recalling a line of its pet food a cat died from a batch of food contaminated with bird flu. Batches with best by dates between May 21, 2026, and June 23, 2026 should be tossed."; 12/27/24, 7:18 PM
Mason G said...: "Northwest Naturals is recalling a line of its pet food a cat died from a batch of food contaminated with bird flu. Batches with best by dates between May 21, 2026, and June 23, 2026 should be tossed."

From the link:

Northwest Naturals is telling people to toss two-pound bags of the company’s Feline Turkey Recipe that have a best-by date between May 21, 2026, and June 23, 2026. The bags tested positive for virulent bird flu, the company is warning.

Customers can contact the store where they bought the pet food for a refund, Northwest Naturals said.

Telling people to toss the food doesn't sound like a recall to me.

Rhetorical question: If I threw out the food like the company is advising, do you think the store I bought it from would give me any money back without proof of purchase?

Bonus rhetorical question: How long do you save receipts?

Bonus rhetorical question #2: "Raw and frozen" food with "best by dates between May 21, 2026, and June 23, 2026"? Frozen, maybe- but... raw?; 12/27/24, 7:33 PM
Mikey NTH said...: The most magnificent hotel lobby I was in was the Amway Grand in Grand Rapids. It had been built as the Pantlind in the early 1900s and restored. The only other classy places were the Dearborn Country Club and the Dearborn Inn.; 12/27/24, 7:40 PM
Peachy said...: What ever happened to Leftwing neo-Fascist Antifa arsonists?
Some are still lighting things on fire.
& this...
"Can’t say I’m surprised, but Antifa activists confirming Portland DA Mike Schmidt was known to be sympathetic explains a lot."; 12/27/24, 8:06 PM
Dr Weevil said...: I love how some people claim that Althouse censors non-MAGA comments, when she allows comments from dozens of non- and anti-MAGA people, and only deletes two particular commenters (assuming for the moment that Perve Benson and Pizzaturtle are in fact two different commenters) who can't help demonstrating in their ephemeral comments exactly why they are deleted.; 12/27/24, 8:11 PM
Kakistocracy said...: Elon Musk accused of censoring conservatives on X who disagree with him about immigration ~ NBC

But I thought Musk was a free speech absolutist, expressing a deep concern for the First Amendment... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯; 12/27/24, 8:39 PM
Dr Weevil said...: "Raw and frozen" makes sense to me: it means they were frozen when raw, never cooked, and when you thaw them out they'll be just right for a pet that likes raw meat. If they had been cooked, it would presumably have killed the bird flu, but also made them not taste as good to the raw-meat-loving pet.; 12/27/24, 8:39 PM
Original Mike said...: Pizzaturtle!; 12/27/24, 8:44 PM
Peachy said...: Accused! well - that settles it.; 12/27/24, 8:49 PM
Narayanan said...: If they had been cooked, it would presumably have killed the bird flu,
============
so why not advise cook before serving to pets; 12/27/24, 8:51 PM
Rusty said...: Not a hotel lobby but the old Chicago Public Library. All of it.; 12/27/24, 9:02 PM
Mason G said...: ""Raw and frozen" makes sense to me: it means they were frozen when raw, never cooked, and when you thaw them out they'll be just right for a pet that likes raw meat."

That sounds reasonable. I was reading "raw and frozen" as two different things- raw refrigerated food and raw frozen food, not one thing- raw frozen food that was thawed.; 12/27/24, 9:11 PM
Big Mike said...: And now I read that — more than six weeks after the election — Wisconsin election officials discovered 193 absentee ballots in Madison that went uncounted during November’s general election. It is claimed that the missing ballots did not affect the outcome of any election, though they could have.

The City of Madison Clerk’s Office said it informed the state election board on Dec. 20 of the 193 missing absentee ballots and that they would contact each of the voters to notify them of the mistake, though whst good that does is unclear.

The ballots were supposedly found in sealed carrier containers when the clerk’s office was going through its post-election processes. The office has signaled it will make changes to avoid such a mistake in the future.

Suuuurrrre they will. My cynical hypothesis is that these ballots were mostly from deployed military members, who are well-known for voting Republican. And we are talking Madison, after all.; 12/27/24, 9:45 PM
Original Mike said...: "The ballots were supposedly found in sealed carrier containers when the clerk’s office was going through its post-election processes. The office has signaled it will make changes to avoid such a mistake in the future."

Really? Why is "go through all containers" not protocol already?

The only change likely to succeed is fire the person(s) responsible. The next person in line won't be so sloppy.; 12/27/24, 9:57 PM
Mason G said...: "The ballots were supposedly found in sealed carrier containers when the clerk’s office was going through its post-election processes."

Seems to me, they should be going through their "post-election processes" immediately after voting ends, not a month and a half later.; 12/27/24, 10:16 PM
Dr Weevil said...: le Douanier:
As far as I can tell, that's the only two commenters she deletes every single comment of. There was a third, initials M.E.G., who seems to be the same jerk as the one I'm calling Perve Benson. I don't doubt that she occasionally deletes individual comments if they're really offensive, though I can't think of an example offhand.

Comments do often disappear shortly after posting, but that's a bug in the spam filter, as she has often explained, and they generally reappear when she notices. That's happened to me at least 6-8 times, and I'm sure I'm not banned.

My main point was that she does not ban all anti-Trump comments, as Pizzaturtle (not his actual pseudonym) alleged. Kakistocracy and Freder Frederson are two obvious counter-examples.; 12/27/24, 10:35 PM
Jaq said...: So what we hear now is that the Ukrainians were attacking Grozny with drones, the Russians were blocking GPS to defeat the drone attack, the airliner was denied permission to land due the drone attack, due to the GPS being out, because of the drone attack, and the airport being fogged in, which would not have been that big a deal if the GPS were working and the airport was not under attack by Ukrainian drones. And air defenses were working on the drone attack. So it sounds a lot like what happened in the Iranian shoot down, which you said was understandable. Well, it's understandable if America does it, and a heinous crime against humanity if Russia does it. That would all be fine if this war was any of America's business, which it's not.

The reason for these drone attacks deep inside of Russia is the "bring the war home to Russians" and well, the war was brought home, all right.; 12/27/24, 11:19 PM
Original Mike said...: I assumed Pizzaturtle was a reference to anti-de Sitter Space, Spezzwhatever, le Douanier, etc., etc. Is Pizzaturtle a separate entity?; 12/27/24, 11:20 PM
donald said...: Uh, danged.; 12/27/24, 11:24 PM
Dr Weevil said...: Original Mike:
I prefer not to name the always-deleted assholes, partly to not give them the narcissistic pleasure, partly because tweets replying to them are often deleted along with theirs. I thought 'Perve Benson' and 'Pizzaturtle' would be close enough to imply D--ve S---son and S---zz---a, respectively. Are you saying the latter is the same commenter as 'anti-De Sitter Space' and 'le Douanier'? If so, they can both go to Hell, too.; 12/27/24, 11:38 PM
Dr Weevil said...: Oh look! Jaq is too stupid to apologize for claiming that the information about the Russian shootdown of an Azerbaijani airliner came from Ukraine, when it comes in fact from Azerbaijan, who would know. They have 29 survivors, including two crew members, cell-phone pictures and video from inside the plane during the flight, and the actual tail of the plane with visible holes showing inbound damage on the left side, outbound on the right.

The Azerbaijanis say that the plane tried to land in Grozny three times and failed because of thick fog. During or after the third try (not clear which) it was hit by shrapnel from an antiaircraft missile (a Pantsir, the experts say) and limped to Kazakhstan to crash land near an airfield. They are the ones who are saying that the GPS jamming was done over the Caspian after the plane had been hit, the Russians knew it had been hit, and it was nowhere near any Ukrainian drones. There is some discrepancy as to whether the pilot decided to go to Kazakhstan himself (one crew member says this), or was forced to go to Kazakhstan because Russia refused permission to land at three much closer airports in Russia (everyone else says this). What Jaq writes here is a combination of 'spin' and outright lies to try to make it look like the Russians are entirely faultless. Why does he always do that?

By the way, I did not say the Iranian attack was "understandable", I said that Jaq lied about it not having happened in a combat zone. It was still a serious fuckup, for which the U.S. apologized and paid compensation. Last I heard, Russia has refused to admit fault for shooting down Malaysian airliner MH17, even though the man in command of the missile battery (Igor Girkin, a Russian from Russian, not the Donbas) admits that he did it.; 12/27/24, 11:54 PM
Dr Weevil said...: And speaking of Jaq's lies, he was assuring us a couple of weeks ago that the reports of North Koreans fighting in Ukraine and adjacent areas of Russia were all lying Ukrainian propaganda. Here's a wounded Russian soldier talking about (and showing) the Koreans he's sharing his hospital room with: link. And here's a leaflet found on a dead Korean soldier telling him not to surrender: link.; 12/28/24, 12:03 AM
Dr Weevil said...: Are the Russians embarrassed about shooting down a civilian airliner? Not at all! Here's a Tweet from a Ukrainian, so Jaq can just assume it's a lie, though it comes with embedded video proof (link):

"Russians have released a propaganda video in which Russian air defense shoots down Santa Claus over Moscow.

You couldn't have picked a worse time to release this video on purpose."; 12/28/24, 12:07 AM