Althouse: At the Crossroads Café...

November 8, 2008

At the Crossroads Café...

... talk about whatever you like.

50 comments:

campy said...: In Madison, even the trees lean to the left.; 11/8/08, 1:46 PM
Trooper York said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/8/08, 1:47 PM
Trooper York said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/8/08, 1:48 PM
Justin said...: Can someone please provide instructions for linking to a specific comment within a post? I've never been able to figure it out.

Thanks in advance.; 11/8/08, 1:57 PM
George M. Spencer said...: I'm hoping that Pres.-Obama will pick to head the EPA Robert Kennedy, Jr.

Only then will chelation therapy get the thimerosal out of our lakes, rivers, livers, and cerebellums.

What an array of sulfurous essays he's written at HuffPo.; 11/8/08, 2:03 PM
Darcy said...: Justin, are you asking how to do this?; 11/8/08, 2:04 PM
chickelit said...: Darcy: I think he wants to know how get a specific comment page to pop up. I guess it's just a matter of knowing the address of that page.

Has anybody seen Robert Johnson around here? or the Devil himself?; 11/8/08, 2:42 PM
Justin said...: Darcy,

No. I understand how to make hyprelinks.

What I'm asking, is how can I make a hyperlink to a specific comment. So that when someone clicks the link, they immediately go straight to a single comment within a page of 200 comments.

I've seen it done before. The URL looks something like this:

http://althouse.blogspot.com/2008/11/at-crossroads-caf.html#comments2984723947293478

I just don't know how to find that really big number.; 11/8/08, 2:44 PM
George M. Spencer said...: Maybe try "View Source" in your browser's View menu.

Happy hunting?; 11/8/08, 2:48 PM
Justin said...: I figured it out. Here's an example.

Now, does anyone know how to do it without looking at the page source? That would be handy.; 11/8/08, 2:48 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Justin put "c" after the "#"...

Instead of:
http://althouse.blogspot.com/2008/11/at-crossroads-caf.html#7010969719403829284

Make it:

http://althouse.blogspot.com/2008/11/at-crossroads-caf.html#c7010969719403829284

I don't know why that's needed, but it works.; 11/8/08, 2:49 PM
Ann Althouse said...: You get the basic URL but clicking on the time under the comment. Then add the c.; 11/8/08, 2:50 PM
Darcy said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/8/08, 2:51 PM
Darcy said...: Well, I'm glad I paid attention to this. I didn't know how to do that.; 11/8/08, 2:53 PM
fivewheels said...: Not many campaign stories went unspoken, but I wonder why no one has started talking about Michelle Obama for 2016 yet?

She's a lawyer, seems smart, and she will have been first lady. That makes her completely 100 percent totally qualified and a presumed front-runner, right?; 11/8/08, 2:58 PM
Alex said...: I just hope that Obama starts selecting the most radical left-wingers for his cabinet posts. Then I hope he proposes huge tax increases, national health care, mandatory service for teens, immediate pull out from Iraq. I really hope he nominates Bill Ayers for Sec of Education!; 11/8/08, 3:07 PM
chickelit said...: Does that iron fence kitty-corner from the tree encircle stately Ann manor?; 11/8/08, 3:09 PM
Justin said...: Ann Althouse said...

You get the basic URL but clicking on the time under the comment. Then add the c.

That's exactly what I needed. Thanks!

The missing "c" appears to be a bug. Google should fix that (and may other things).; 11/8/08, 3:16 PM
Trooper York said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/8/08, 3:20 PM
ron st.amant said...: The sellers of the property we're trying to buy are playing hardball...we're playing harderball...I think we're winning.
This is taking longer than the election for crying out loud.; 11/8/08, 3:25 PM
Palladian said...: It's beautifully dreary outside right now.; 11/8/08, 4:06 PM
Trooper York said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/8/08, 4:39 PM
MadisonMan said...: chickenlittle, that's the fence around the Chancellor's house. The trees aren't leaning left, campy, they are leaning away from the Chancellor.; 11/8/08, 4:42 PM
MadisonMan said...: trooper, what would titus say to that?

I want to know why the telephone poles are so orange in the shot. They must be new.; 11/8/08, 4:44 PM
MadisonMan said...: By the way, the street coming into the picture from the right is fun to drive on, very nice opposing curves as you turn onto it from Prospect and go down the hill.; 11/8/08, 4:46 PM
Maxine Weiss said...: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15398.html

"As governor of America’s “last frontier,” Palin is certainly the 2008 campaign’s frontier candidate. Many of her life experiences and her basic frame of reference are a bit exotic to those living in the Lower 48 — down in civilization. Many of these traits are cute in an offbeat, "Northern Exposure" sort of way, but there is also the flip side of the frontier, or the Jack London, "Call of the Wild" dimension. Nature in the frontier needs subduing, and Palin seems eager to get at that task. Most notably, Palin is openly hostile to the popular furry animals, such as polar bears and wolves, that populate Alaska’s wilderness. "

_________________________

(I do think there is something to that. It's hard to juxtapose the image of a suburban soccer mom with tidy lawns and designer SUVs......with a wild frontier woman who dons army fatigues and shoots wolves from the air.)

(But, I'll get used to it, especially afer 4 years of living under socialism and compromised national security.); 11/8/08, 4:49 PM
Maxine Weiss said...: But then to add to the confusion...they keep saying Palin's a clotheshorse who spends her time combing the racks at Neiman Marcus.

Well, which is it?

Is she a fashion-obsessed glamour queen? Or, is she a wild moose-huntin' frontier gal ?????; 11/8/08, 4:52 PM
rhhardin said...: Fall candy.; 11/8/08, 4:56 PM
Trooper York said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/8/08, 5:01 PM
Palladian said...: "By the way, the street coming into the picture from the right is fun to drive on, very nice opposing curves as you turn onto it from Prospect and go down the hill."

This sounds like a prophecy of the Obama presidency. Nostradamus?; 11/8/08, 5:03 PM
Maxine Weiss said...: " This part of Palin’s record as governor became a problem when a 527 group picked up on the fact that she supports aerial hunting of wolves. A heavily rotated commercial from this group was devastating, showing defenseless wolves being picked off from the sky as they bite their backs in agony. Wolves are a costly problem to ranchers in Alaska because they prey on their livestock, but the problem for Palin is that they also strongly resemble Huskies. This image probably did not sit well with a dog-loving suburban mom whose idea of nature is a large-lot subdivision in the exurbs, where Huskies are always the stars of the dog park. In this one commercial, Palin goes from a goofy, fun-loving mom to a brutalizer of man’s best friend. The focus groups on this ad must have been off the charts. "

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15398.html

___________________________

Yes yes YES, mildly disturbing.

Not exactly what comes to mind when you think of the warm & fuzzy, genteel suburbs...picnics in the park and barking dogs.....

But then again, Palin looked so sleek and plush in her crisp Neiman-Marcus wardrobe....that you were able to get past all that.

I remember once my college roommate was telling me all about how her mother was a mountain-climber, and sky-diver etc... And I kept trying to imagine my own Mother on the side of of a mountain yelling 'throw me the rope' ...or my own mother jumping out of a plane. My personal image of 'Mom' is .....lunching at Dept. Store tea rooms, and combing the sales racks.

Suburban women just don't hunt, I don't think.

But, I also think it just won't matter in 2012 if Palin is at the top of a ticket, running against a confirmed Socialist.

People will make the leap....make the jump in 2012.

After all, they did in the 2008 election.; 11/8/08, 5:10 PM
chickelit said...: Madison man:

I thought the Chancellor lived over in the Highlands neighborhood--over by stately Link Manor.; 11/8/08, 5:22 PM
Donn said...: Pal:
This sounds like a prophecy of the Obama presidency. Nostradamus?

Ahhh...the power and the glory.

8^); 11/8/08, 5:27 PM
chickelit said...: Nostradamus?

la cosa nostra, damn us; 11/8/08, 5:32 PM
TitusGuessWho'sComingToDinner said...: I hate these kind of days. It has been gross here.

It makes it hard to take the rare clumber out to walky poo.

But I did spend a big chunk of the day spooning with the rare clumbers.

I love spooning them. I love them so much. They are so gentle. They are gentle giants. They following me everywhere I go. When we are laying on the expensive leather divan are faces all touch and we just look at each other in the eyes.

Why can't I show this time of intimidacy with a human?

What's wrong with me?

My rare clumbers are male but they squat to go pee rather than lift their leg which is generally unusual in male dogs. And when the squat and pee they look at me. It's very initmate.

Also, I hope Alabama gets beat by LSU in football today. When I saw Bruno/Sasha Cohen cheerlead at that Alabama football game I cringed. I now hate Alabama football.; 11/8/08, 5:39 PM
TitusGuessWho'sComingToDinner said...: I think I hate mormons now too because of them giving 80% of the money to the Prop 8 vote.

Sundance will be moving out of Park City.

No gay ski trips to Utah.; 11/8/08, 5:41 PM
TitusGuessWho'sComingToDinner said...: I just jerked off.; 11/8/08, 5:47 PM
Ann Althouse said...: MadisonMan said..."By the way, the street coming into the picture from the right is fun to drive on, very nice opposing curves as you turn onto it from Prospect and go down the hill."

Yes, but be careful. There are no stop signs at the crossroad at the top of the hill.

I'll never forget the time I was walking home alone late at night after a party, through new-fallen snow, thinking how perfectly beautiful the world was, and then, It was right at the top of the hill, a little squirrel scampered into the road, making me think life! how perfect! how beautiful! And a car immediately swept up the hill and flattened the squirrel.; 11/8/08, 5:49 PM
chickelit said...: It's beautifully dreary outside right now

It's a suck ass day in Brooklyn today.

I hate these kind of days. It has been gross here.

It's just another perfectly gorgeous day out here: 76 degrees, and not a cloud in the sky.; 11/8/08, 5:53 PM
Trooper York said...: Sure brag about San Diego. That's where all the chickens go to retire.

After a long and profitable relationship with RH Hardin.; 11/8/08, 6:04 PM
Palladian said...: "I'll never forget the time I was walking home alone late at night after a party, through new-fallen snow, thinking how perfectly beautiful the world was, and then, It was right at the top of the hill, a little squirrel scampered into the road, making me think life! how perfect! how beautiful! And a car immediately swept up the hill and flattened the squirrel."

Huh, see for me that would have made even happier. Squirrels are evil.; 11/8/08, 6:11 PM
Trooper York said...: Tales from Amy's Garden Post Election Edition

Fiver: There's something very queer about the warren this evening...
Hazel: Is it dangerous?
Fiver: It's not exactly danger, it's... oh, I don't know. Something oppressive... like thunder.
Fiver: I feel it too. I think there will be lighting and thunder soon.
Hazel: Well the lady in the cottage must think so. She has been making strange noises ever since election day. It sounds like they are strangling a cat.
Fiver: That's good, I hate cats. By why do you think she is strangling a cat and not choking a chicken.
Hazel: Well she keeps moaning and shouting "My pussy, my pussy." And something about an Obama. Is that a kind of cat?
Fiver: That can’t be right. I thought she said she wanted to get a dog.
Hazel: People are strange sometimes. I prefer rabbits.
(Watership Down, 1972); 11/8/08, 6:16 PM
George M. Spencer said...: Isn't this week's New Yorker grisly gloomy?

The black-and-blood red tunnel on the cover....a "Goings On About Town" photo of the stripper (?) being eaten by a cephalopod...a Talk of the Town" piece titled "Tombstones"...the unreadable Woody Allen piece...the suicidal Chevron ads whose headlines read "I will leave the car at home more" and "I will at least consider a hybrid" and "I will finally get a programmable thermostat"...the feature about Mexican narco-gangs titled "Days of the Dead" illustrated with a photo of the "Holy Death cult" skull saint...the oh-will-it-never-end profile of piercing-eyed can't-wait-to-put-on-his-pants-in-the-morning Thomas Friedman...a feature about psychopaths titled "Suffering Souls" complete with a photo of a staring madman...a short story titled "Leopard"...an article about insane post-modern financial derivatives...a cartoon about hell...reviews titled "Heretics" "Angry Young Man" and "Dirty Secrets"...and a cartoon about the living dead....

Where's the happiness, Manhattan?; 11/8/08, 6:38 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: What I know about the Kennedy administration was learned by reading.

Smithsonian used to be so interesting. My favorite part was letters from the readers remarking on articles. What an erudite bunch. It ran a couple of pages. Then they got another new editor who cut that section back to just a few letters and to about half a page. That told me all I needed to know about the new editors attitude toward his readers.

Then they ran an article in relation to the John Kennedy assassination anniversary. Readers were asked where they were when the event occurred. That series of letters then ran for several pages. All the remarks were about how glorious the age of Camelot was, how idealistic, youthful, energetic, positive, and optimistic everyone was. How amazing incredibly beautiful the time was. Every single one glowed with praise and rued a lost past.

Except for one. A response from Tom Clancy. He had a wee on their little party. He remarked the administration wasn't all that remarkable. He reminded readers of several notable failures and obvious shortcomings. He suggested had the administration lasted, it would not be remembered so fondly. This caused me adore Tom Clancy, even though he's a schmuck.

I was so put off by the whole thing, the rebuff to the readers, the hard leftist turn, the ceaseless pontificating, the whole desktop publishing look, I ended the subscription I held since junior high school.

It occurred to me though, reading through all those responses, those writers, were recalling an idealized, sanitized youthful optimism -- their own youths. Their optimism was entirely of their own making and had little to do with facts on the ground. As is their present pessimism.

And now, I'm seeing that phenomenon occurring again right before my eyes. I'm going to enjoy this. As an observer. But this will not affect my own naturally occurring cheerful optimism nor my own self-indulgent satanic pessimism. I'm just going to watch my wonderful country, the less wonderful world, willfully create their own optimism. Myth making. That's what is happening. Observe a new myth. This is how it's created. Begin by overlooking faults, dismissing them, excusing them. Next exaggerate any gain, whatever actual good there is, suddenly is really REALLY, REALLY everlastingly good. Yay! Dance! Glee! Canonize! Deify. Mythologize. Expect comparisons to Camelot, and know then you're in the arena of myth. But know also, this is all occurring within the minds of the mythologists.

But know also, optimism is very real. Just as real an uplifter as pessimism interprets into very real and actual drag. Therefore, I choose to enjoy the optimism in my fellow Americans, no matter how ridiculous it is. I could go for another Camelot myself, even though I know it's all occurring entirely within the minds of all you silly dumkopfs, present company excepted, of course. I vastly prefer my fellow citizens as silly little shits, than as obnoxious unbearable cnuts. <--- See what I did there? Letter transposition. Disguises a word unacceptable in polite mixed company, one worse even than the s word before it.

This completes my remarks about ridiculously delusional self-constructed optimistic mythos.

And now for something entirely different.

Here's what I made for lunch. Sorry you couldn't be here, I'm sure you'd have been wonderful lunch dates.; 11/8/08, 7:12 PM
Donn said...: CA:
But this will not affect my own naturally occurring cheerful optimism nor my own self-indulgent satanic pessimism.

Wow, that also describes me perfectly. Are we mentally healthy?; 11/8/08, 7:23 PM
Darcy said...: That was a beautiful post, Chip Ahoy. I'm going to try to enjoy it, too. Why not?

And your lunch looked yummy.; 11/8/08, 7:36 PM
chuck b. said...: I love to take a deep breath on a cold day.; 11/8/08, 8:34 PM
ricpic said...: Adorable shmucks, they're the best kind.
A black tree in a colorful scene is good, too.
All smiles coming at you then a whack from behind.
And an exclamation point in an otherwise boring view.; 11/8/08, 9:29 PM
blogging cockroach said...: yes chip ahoy that was a beautiful lunch
i adore hummus
if you don t eat those lettuce leaves completely
and leave the remains on the plate
or better yet drop one on the floor
well i ll have a beautiful lunch too

now about the beautiful
kennedy administration
i was a young grad student
when camelot happened
the main thing i remember
is seeing kennedy getting off
an airplane looking really snappy
or hot as they say today
and thinking man that guy
must get some action
then i thought naw
he s the president of the u s
that s really sick to think those thoughts
hoo boy was i wrong; 11/9/08, 12:46 AM
knowitall said...: I would hope that if Michelle Obama would run for office, the mainstream media give her the same treatment they gave Sarah Palin. Probably won't, they're on the same side as the liberal illuminati.; 11/12/08, 3:18 PM