Althouse: At the Premature Patrick's Café...

March 14, 2011

At the Premature Patrick's Café...

... join us or get the hell out of here.

55 comments:

Unknown said...: It's never too early to turn green.

PS Glad to see it's nice and sunny there. The Blonde was having a bad headache this morning and they're usually tied to rain in the forecast.; 3/14/11, 10:54 AM
Sofa King said...: Happy Pi day!!; 3/14/11, 10:55 AM
PaulV said...: St Patrick Week; 3/14/11, 11:00 AM
X said...: We had our St. Paddy's celebration in Dallas this last weekend. We'll have it Thursday and this coming weekend too.; 3/14/11, 11:01 AM
SGT Ted said...: saint paddys day: when it is cool to be a white guy.; 3/14/11, 11:04 AM
lemondog said...: Yes, today is Pi day.; 3/14/11, 11:04 AM
ricpic said...: Talk about a redhead! That guy is a rarity. My dad had that kind of flaming red hair. Then it was gone and my mom was wistful.; 3/14/11, 11:04 AM
deborah said...: I haz a sadz.; 3/14/11, 11:06 AM
Clairvius Narcisse said...: premature intoxication; 3/14/11, 11:08 AM
Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...: Premature Patrickulation?; 3/14/11, 11:08 AM
MadisonMan said...: Yes, Happy Pi Day. I usually wait 'til 15:29 to write that.; 3/14/11, 11:38 AM
Fred4Pres said...: While it has been Wisconsin all day all the time at Althouse, I thank you for sparing us from Japanese nuclear hysteria.; 3/14/11, 11:42 AM
Fred4Pres said...: Does radiation speed up the corning of beef?; 3/14/11, 12:00 PM
Carol_Herman said...: Doesn't count until someone there does a green-spotted cow.

True, it may be cold in Madison. But every single picture from there shows clear skies. And, what looks to be wonderful sun-shiny weather.; 3/14/11, 12:00 PM
MadisonMan said...: Carol, It's not cold here at all. Beautiful early Spring Weather.

I should have worn gloves this morning for my walk in, but it's not cold.; 3/14/11, 12:03 PM
PogoПОССУМ said...: Peoples from Land of Ire drive me шально crazy.

On the Saint of the Drinking called Patrick, what is they sell?

Not водочка vodka.
Beer.

Phhht. Weak tea. My piss it has the more alcohol than Mr. Guinness.

But when Pushkin come to shove, and the водочка she is dry as the fart of popcorn eating, then beer will I say да yes to.

But not to wear the hat of green.
Nyet нет нет.; 3/14/11, 12:03 PM
Fred4Pres said...: There has to be some political metaphor in there.; 3/14/11, 12:12 PM
Fred4Pres said...: Pogo, then have a Jameson why don't ya. Jeeze Louise.

Hey, here is a tip my wife found at Cooks Magazine.

They did a blind taste test of the cheapest vodka available at the liquor store and Gray Goose. Everyone preferred GG.

Then they ran the cheap swill through a Brita water pitcher filer. It split even with the GG on the next tasting.

I am here to help.; 3/14/11, 12:16 PM
Fred4Pres said...: Now let's hope the rest of the GOP follow the example of the Wisconsin GOP. This guy seems to be getting it. Fight like Badgers!; 3/14/11, 12:19 PM
Paddy O said...: "...therefore for some time I have thought of writing, but I have hesitated until now, for truly, I feared to expose myself to the criticism of men, because I have not studied like others, who have assimilated both Law and the Holy Scriptures equally and have never changed their idiom since their infancy, but instead were always learning it increasingly, to perfection, while my idiom and language have been translated into a foreign tongue.

So it is easy to prove from a sample of my writing, my ability in rhetoric and the extent of my preparation and knowledge, for as it is said, 'wisdom shall be recognized in speech, and in understanding, and in knowledge and in the learning of truth.'

But why make excuses close to the truth, especially when now I am presuming to try to grasp in my old age what I did not gain in my youth because my sins prevented me from making what I had read my own? But who will believe me, even though I should say it again?

A young man, almost a beardless boy, I was taken captive before I knew what I should desire and what I should shun. So, consequently, today I feel ashamed and I am mightily afraid to expose my ignorance, because, [not] eloquent, with a small vocabulary, I am unable to explain as the spirit is eager to do and as the soul and the mind indicate.

But had it been given to me as to others, in gratitude I should not have kept silent, and if it should appear that I put myself before others, with my ignorance and my slower speech, in truth, it is written: 'The tongue of the stammerers shall speak rapidly and distinctly.'

How much harder must we try to attain it, we of whom it is said: 'You are an epistle of Christ in greeting to the ends of the earth ... written on your hearts, not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God.' And again, the Spirit witnessed that the rustic life was created by the Most High.

I am, then, first of all, countryfied, an exile, evidently unlearned, one who is not able to see into the future, but I know for certain, that before I was humbled I was like a stone lying in deep mire, and he that is mighty came and in his mercy raised me up and, indeed, lifted me high up and placed me on top of the wall.

And from there I ought to shout out in gratitude to the Lord for his great favours in this world and for ever, that the mind of man cannot measure.

Therefore be amazed, you great and small who fear God, and you men of God, eloquent speakers, listen and contemplate. Who was it summoned me, a fool, from the midst of those who appear wise and learned in the law and powerful in rhetoric and in all things?

Me, truly wretched in this world, he inspired before others that I could be-- if I would-- such a one who, with fear and reverence, and faithfully, without complaint, would come to the people to whom the love of Christ brought me and gave me in my lifetime, if I should be worthy, to serve them truly and with humility."

~Patrick of Ireland; 3/14/11, 12:20 PM
PaulV said...: No blog posts on BEDs? Banana Equivalent Doses of radiation.; 3/14/11, 12:28 PM
Deb said...: Savannah is the place to be for St. Patrick's Day.; 3/14/11, 12:35 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Gray Goose, marketing marvel.

No thanks.; 3/14/11, 1:10 PM
coketown said...: Every day is St. Patrick's day!; 3/14/11, 1:17 PM
Wally Kalbacken said...: Savannah is the place to be for St. Patrick's Day. It is a wild-assed blast.; 3/14/11, 1:22 PM
Chennaul said...: A Clockwork Lime.; 3/14/11, 1:28 PM
Peter Hoh said...: I'd like to draw some attention to this case, in which a blogger was found liable for damages because of what he wrote.

Though blogger John (Johnny Northside) Hoff told the truth when he linked ex-community leader Jerry Moore to a high-profile mortgage fraud, the scathing blog post that got Moore fired justifies $60,000 in damages, a Hennepin County jury decided Friday.

The jury awarded Moore $35,000 for lost wages and $25,000 for emotional distress.; 3/14/11, 1:29 PM
MadisonMan said...: peter, that's very interesting. I wonder if althouse has created a 'defamation zone' here.

Very interesting verdict considering the facts in the blog post in question seem to have been reported accurately.; 3/14/11, 1:53 PM
David said...: I think that's Lee Dreyfus on the left.; 3/14/11, 2:11 PM
David said...: Wally Kalbacken said...
Savannah is the place to be for St. Patrick's Day. It is a wild-assed blast.

If you enjoy vomiting undergraduates . . . .

They have that in Madison almost every night.; 3/14/11, 2:13 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: Celebrating St. Patricks Day on Pi Day is irrational. So is celebrating Pi Day on Pi Day.; 3/14/11, 2:20 PM
Peter Hoh said...: MM, I don't think that Althouse has defamed anyone.

One of the questions earlier in the case -- determined by the judge -- was that bloggers were not responsible for the content of comments on their blogs. (That is, if I am reading the coverage correctly.)

The Deets -- a Minneapolis blog I follow -- has a good round-up of post-verdict coverage.

Volokh is on the case.

I haven't been following John Hoff's blog prior to learning about the trial. My neighbor blogger points out that Hoff isn't, um, the most cautious of bloggers in this post.

The First Amendment, of course, doesn't just protect nice people who are circumspect in their choice of words.; 3/14/11, 2:25 PM
Almost Ali said...: Foolish Question of the Day:

"Why is there no looting in Japan?"; 3/14/11, 2:34 PM
Meade said...: Peter:

Jane Kirtley, a U of M professor of media law and ethics, called the lawsuit an example of "trash torts," in which someone unable to sue for libel, which by definition involves falsity, reaches for another legal claim. She predicted the verdict will be overturned.; 3/14/11, 2:47 PM
Peter Hoh said...: Meade, yes, that's the outcome that many are expecting.

Blogger ate my links post. Here's Volokh on the case. He also predicts that the judgment will be overturned.; 3/14/11, 2:51 PM
Peter Hoh said...: Almost Ali, I heard a radio report about a group of pedestrians (in Tokyo, I think) who, despite the absence of vehicular traffic, waited for the light to turn green before crossing a street.; 3/14/11, 2:53 PM
Chennaul said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/14/11, 3:15 PM
Chennaul said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/14/11, 3:17 PM
Anonymous said...: Did somebody say pie!; 3/14/11, 3:18 PM
Deb said...: Wally Kalbacken said...
Savannah is the place to be for St. Patrick's Day. It is a wild-assed blast.

If you enjoy vomiting undergraduates . . . .

That's not limited to St. Patrick's Day in Savannah either.; 3/14/11, 3:29 PM
Automatic_Wing said...: I vomited an undergraduate the other day and man, was it painful.

Worse than a gallstone, if you can believe that...; 3/14/11, 3:32 PM
Sofa King said...: Celebrating St. Patricks Day on Pi Day is irrational. So is celebrating Pi Day on Pi Day.

But it *is* transcendental! On the other hand, you may wish to reflect on the Tao of Tau.; 3/14/11, 3:41 PM
Toad Trend said...: @Maguro

"I vomited an undergraduate the other day and man, was it painful."

I know how you feel. I passed a Chevy the other day, I never thought I'd shake it.

wv - fethooka; 3/14/11, 3:45 PM
Carol_Herman said...: You know, if you win the golf tournament at the Master's, they give you a green blazer. (I always wondered where you'd wear it.) I forgot about St. Patty's Day.; 3/14/11, 4:01 PM
Fred4Pres said...: 3.14.11 is not π

Even 3.14 is not π

You might as well call 22 of July π day because at least 22/7 actually equals π. And pie = π, then π seems to taste better in the summer. Well at least you can have a fresh cherry pie around the 22 of July.; 3/14/11, 6:08 PM
AST said...: Pi is an irrational number, i.e. it can't be expressed a ratio of two integers. 22/7 is not pi.; 3/14/11, 8:07 PM
reader_iam said...: If you enjoy vomiting undergraduates . . . .

Me, I wouldn't eat them in the first place.

Ba-doom.

Peter: Very interesting case/link. I hope to goodness it IS overturned, because what a world of trouble there'd be if that sort of thing catches on.; 3/14/11, 8:32 PM
Almost Ali said...: Peter Hoh - For a moment there I thought you might ask me why they crossed the road.

No question though, the Japanese are an amazingly conditioned people, like a great school of fish moving as one through the universe. For honor, first and last.; 3/14/11, 8:35 PM
Martin L. Shoemaker said...: Flipping through channels, I happened to see a John Denver clip. John Denver? I had to stop. It was the local PBS station, doing some sort of plug in their never-ending pledge drive.

John Denver? Seriously? This is how they appeal to their white upper middle class elite audience? John Denver?

PBS isn't going to die because the Republicans will cut off funding. PBS is going to die because the younger generations will decide it's hopelessly, utterly uncool, and they'll just stop watching.

Full disclosure: I actually like a lot of John Denver songs, and my favorite Christmas album is John Denver and the Muppets. But I'm fully aware that I'm hopelessly, utterly uncool, and the younger generations have no interest in watching me. PBS is apparently less self-aware than me, and that's sayin' somethin'.

wv: funifix. This has been your daily funifix. Not that funny? Duh! I'm hopelessly, utterly uncool, remember?; 3/14/11, 10:14 PM
Peter Hoh said...: Martin, back when I was young, and John Denver was popular, PBS played reruns of Lawrence Welk to appeal to people of my grandma's generation.; 3/14/11, 11:16 PM
Martin L. Shoemaker said...: Heh. Good point, Peter. Rumor has it that some PBS stations are still playing Lawrence Welk, and he's been dead longer than John Denver.; 3/14/11, 11:38 PM
reader_iam said...: Haven't watched PBS anytime near recently at the relevant time slot, but Iowa/Illinois public television was for sure airing Welk early on Saturday evenings not more than a couple-few years ago.

That'd be why my son even knows who Welk is...though the memory is so fast fading, who knows where it'll end up?; 3/15/11, 12:02 AM
reader_iam said...: This is one of my own personal favorite memories of watching Lawrence Welk
in my own young childhood.; 3/15/11, 12:09 AM
reader_iam said...: That's so, even if my own personal all-time favorite Lynn Anderson song isn't that one, by a long shot.; 3/15/11, 12:12 AM
reader_iam said...: I've always posted that particular video version of Anderson's song (and, believe me, I've posted it "how-manyth" times, over time, online) because I do actually love it, forehead wrinkles, ruffly maxi-dress and all.

That said, there's this one from just a couple of years earlier, and its meta--especially, though not only, compared with the later video version--has something to say, too.

Cheers!; 3/15/11, 1:03 AM