Althouse: At the Winter Twilight Café...

December 18, 2011

At the Winter Twilight Café...

... walk quietly with us.

28 comments:

Ignorance is Bliss said...: My daughter, a sophomore just got a fellowship at her college where she'll get to do hands-on, cutting edge research. It starts next semester and will likely continue until she graduates. A wonderful opportunity for her.

It also means she will probably never live at home again ( she is currently on the opposite coast from me ). God they grow up fast.; 12/18/11, 7:48 PM
edutcher said...: Nothing says chill winter night like an end of year sunset viewed through a snow-patched stand of trees.

Snuggle up, you crazy kids, with a cup of hot chocolate or anything else that warms your bones.; 12/18/11, 7:52 PM
MadisonMan said...: Need ice on that water.

IgnoranceIB: That is something to be proud of. But the reality of never having a kid living at home anymore isn't one I want to contemplate (my oldest is "only" a freshman). Wow.; 12/18/11, 8:05 PM
Peter Hoh said...: Twilight gives way to dark rather quickly at the upper latitudes this time of year, especially on a clear night.

There's a lovely shade of blue that makes a fleeting appearance between sunset and darkness.

Not sure that it can be caught on film.; 12/18/11, 8:09 PM
Carnifex said...: Snow!! Boo hiss!! Hateful stuff. I told the Grandkids that we're gonna get snow Christmas Eve, so Santa can land, but it will melt by morning.; 12/18/11, 8:28 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: The Patriots put Tebows on both knees.

or

The god of Tom Brady is more Powerful than Tebows ;)

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. Matthew chapter 6 verse 5

I'm just saying.; 12/18/11, 8:33 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: MadMan said...

But the reality of never having a kid living at home anymore isn't one I want to contemplate...

I still have her two younger brothers around. Haven't figured out how to get rid of them yet.

And yes, I'm very proud of her.; 12/18/11, 8:44 PM
Petunia said...: Peter, I got some great pics of that color the other week in southern Wisconsin. I made one my profile pic but am not sure how well it will show up.; 12/18/11, 8:50 PM
NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...: Kim Jong Il ill no more.; 12/18/11, 9:14 PM
Manfred said...: Well that was a speedy, and interesting, trifecta for Death.; 12/18/11, 9:37 PM
Wince said...: And so it's Christopher Hitchens, Vaclav Haval and Kim Jong-Il.

Proof there is no God?

Or proof that God just has a deep sense of irony?

Or a good idea for the three wise men in a creche?

I can see even Hitchens laughing at this one.; 12/18/11, 9:39 PM
Psychedelic George said...: Here's a story I'd never heard of until today...A Russian submarine almost fired a nuclear torpedo during the Cuban Missile Crisis...

"On October 27, 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a group of eleven United States Navy destroyers and the aircraft carrier USS Randolph trapped a nuclear-armed Soviet Foxtrot class submarine B-59 near Cuba and started dropping practice depth charges, explosives intended to force the submarine to come to the surface for identification. The captain of the submarine, Valentin Grigorievitch Savitsky, believing that a war might already have started, wanted to launch a nuclear-tipped torpedo, despite the Soviets being informed that practice depth charges were being used.[3]

Three officers on board the submarine — Savitsky, the Political Officer Ivan Semonovich Maslennikov, and the second in command Arkhipov — were authorized to launch the torpedo if agreeing unanimously in favor of doing so. An argument broke out among the three, in which only Arkhipov was against the launch,[4] eventually persuading Savitsky to surface the submarine and await orders from Moscow. The nuclear warfare which presumably would have ensued was thus averted.[5]"

Wiki

Jeez....It really is amazing we've made it this far from Nagasaki without the use of another one of those things.; 12/18/11, 9:49 PM
somefeller said...: Headline: Kim Jong Il dies.
Subtitle: Hell becomes slightly more crowded.; 12/18/11, 10:31 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: The Tree of Life.

Holy cow. Did I just see that? The most comprehensive cinematic exposition of Christian doctrine I have ever seen. And none of the reviews, even from Christian publications, get is right. Unreal.; 12/18/11, 10:35 PM
Peter Hoh said...: Freeman, what do you think of this review?

Here's another review for you to review, if you're so inclined.; 12/18/11, 11:03 PM
The Scythian said...: Time Person of the Year is "The Protester", and the issue's cover, depicting a mysterious masked woman, is already on its way to being iconic.

Who is this masked woman? Is she an Egyptian protesting abuses by Mubarak's secret police? A Greek protesting austerity measures imposed by the EU? A Syrian protesting the fascist Ba'athist regime?

Nope. She's Sarah Mason, of the Occupy LA protests.

Well, she had to have her house foreclosed by heartless bankers or something, right? Maybe she was thrown out of work by the economic meltdown and has been forced to live on the streets?

Nope. She blew her paychecks on clothes and make-up to look good for her job in an art gallery, and then got a credit card to pay her electric bill, which she used instead to spend (to use her own word) "recklessly".

Whose fault was that? America's capitalist system.

I wish I could make this shit up. You can read more here.; 12/19/11, 2:09 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: Freeman, what do you think of this review?

Here's another review for you to review, if you're so inclined.

The first review I'll have to watch later as I can't do a video right now.

The second review makes the same error most of the reviews make here:

The two opposing ways of life, says Mother, are “the way of nature” and the “way of grace.” The father (Pitt, that is) would seem to represent nature (striving, pushing, grasping) and the mother grace (accepting, appreciating, rejoicing.)

That is not, I think, correct.

And it causes another error here:

The dreamy seeker may prefer “Tree” for its open-ended embrace of questions.

It is not at all open-ended, in my opinion. It comes off that way to people who make the first error because they then miss so much of the allegory.; 12/19/11, 7:21 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: This review gets closer than most, but it still makes the same error.; 12/19/11, 7:35 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: Ebert, who completely misses the religious allegory, does not make the same error and comes much closer to the truth as concerns the family sequences.

This is because Ebert understands subtlety in art and isn't instantly swayed into some stereotype. He misses the allegory because he lacks familiarity with the Christian doctrine. If he didn't lack that, he would surely have gotten it. And he'd have been the only one!; 12/19/11, 7:44 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: Or perhaps Ebert gets it and has decided not to tell. He's influential enough that in his case it might be a good idea to hold off until after the awards are handed out.; 12/19/11, 7:49 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: Or he leaves it to the viewer to figure it out. Ha. That certainly hasn't been happening.; 12/19/11, 7:56 AM
Joe Schmoe said...: The god of Tom Brady is more Powerful than Tebows ;)

Lem, your quote reminded me of Edward G. Robinson's line in the Ten Commandments: "Nyah, where's your God now, Moses?" I wonder if anyone said that to Tebow after the game...; 12/19/11, 8:11 AM
KCFleming said...: Now I want to read Freeman Hunt's review.; 12/19/11, 8:15 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: Maybe I'll write it later today. Will see.; 12/19/11, 8:16 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: I am not influential at all, so nothing I write is going to mess up anyone's award season.; 12/19/11, 8:17 AM
Heart_Collector said...: The bottom picture looks like the ads where seal team rises up from the water weapons ready.; 12/19/11, 8:35 AM
Toad Trend said...: Interesting article written about how big telecom has gotten involved in the auto industry, and how 'change' is being brought about.

http://nickwaun.com/Blog/2011/12/16/the-telecom-reaper/; 12/19/11, 8:39 AM
Peter Hoh said...: Thanks, Freeman. I haven't seen the movie yet, but it's on my list.; 12/19/11, 11:38 AM