Althouse: The Azalea Café...

March 30, 2012

The Azalea Café...

... is good for what ails ya.

32 comments:

Wince said...: But here's Marcia Clark: "Anyone who's seen a broken nose is aware of the fact that the blood spurts. That leads to a lot of bleeding."

Let's go to the tape, Marcia.

"Oh my nose!"

No Blood!; 3/30/12, 9:42 PM
chuck b. said...: The lilacs are blooming here, such as they are. I thought of you.; 3/30/12, 9:42 PM
HT said...: I had a dream that I was in the small lobby of a temporary employment agency. I was with a young person who is actually an intern where I work, and there was an annoying guy who was angling to get ahead of us in the employment process. He was wily. I remember using that word. Next thing I know, I look up and he is gone. The next scene is inside, on the job. Upstairs is Althouse-land. Living quarters with bedrooms and lots and lots of computers, monitors (the big old fashioned kind) and printers. I go up. I'm not really authorized to be there, a fact that I grasp only later when it is suggested that I might have been recorded - no, that i probably WAS recorded - while up there. Anyway, while I was still up there, a printer starts to print even though not a soul is there. AA and Meade had sent something remotely. Everything was a soft white or gray. Monotone, and it was twilight.

I go back downstairs, to the job, and then the intern suggests that I might have been recorded, and I realize with dread that I am probably done for. All that Althouse knows about me, is that I semi snooped in her living quarters. Then I see the wily guy, he had gotten in to the job as well.

Back to real life: I wake up that morning, get dressed, and go to a housewares sale. A man comes in with a walker. "Well hello Mr Wiley!" someone says.

That sort of thing happens to me all the time.; 3/30/12, 9:46 PM
pm317 said...: Not yet, in my garden..; 3/30/12, 9:47 PM
pm317 said...: But my beautiful crab apple is starting to bloom as is the pear tree.; 3/30/12, 9:50 PM
edutcher said...: Very pretty pic. Too bad it wasn't taken today in warm sunlight.

PS You never said much about the Ron Paul rally.

I take he's not Meadhouse's cup of lapsang soochong.; 3/30/12, 10:10 PM
David said...: Azalea in Madison in March?

Maybe AlGore was on to something after all.; 3/30/12, 10:28 PM
Kirk Parker said...: Here's one Amazon link that we won't see Althouse making.

:-); 3/30/12, 10:54 PM
traditionalguy said...: Pink Azaleas in that color are my favorite. When I grew up ours were reds, whites and a hot pink color.

But today my front yard has an island on a hill landscaped in with only a hundred pink ones of that color. It never fails to warm my heart when arriving home.

And that is also the signal for Masters Week to begin in Augusta. Atlantans like to spend a week remembering Bobby Jones and also thanking God for using a Presbyterian Scotsman to create the game of golf played in a southern spring, but then I fear that heaven may be a let down.; 3/30/12, 11:01 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: We have these rows of flowering trees here in downtown Rutherford NJ.. very beautiful.. but they give off a feculent stench that reminds me of fresh dog poop.

(not that there is anything wrong with that ;)

Dont want to offend dog lovers here.. counting myself amoung them.; 3/30/12, 11:02 PM
Petunia said...: My azalea is in full bloom too. Took some video of it yesterday in the setting sun. I wish the blooms would last longer. By this time next week they'll all be gone.; 3/30/12, 11:04 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: The power almost went out just now.. its thundering and raining here.; 3/31/12, 12:04 AM
Ralph L said...: The lilacs are blooming here, such as they are
They're about the only thing I miss about not living further north. We had some in No. Va., but I've never seen one in NC.; 3/31/12, 12:40 AM
Guildofcannonballs said...: Ailments, in Afghanistan, don't need chickenhawks.

Obama vowed to fight, and he killed Bin Laden, so we know he means it.

Everyone who voted for Obama ought to finish the fight he proclaimed in his campaign, as they knew he wanted Afghan blood.

And Pakistani blood.

The fact the United States' military, the finest institution of it's size (or of any size conglomeration that I know of), doesn't need help, from you, me, or anyone, doesn't mean Obama Chickenhawks shouldn't embarrass themselves by trying to sign up for service.

It seems the Obama Chickenhawk Douchebags get a pass, as they know, as do we, that they wouldn't be able to pass muster.

The fact not passing muster amongst your betters isn't that bad of a thing would be a revelation.

Not passing muster can propel.

I know.; 3/31/12, 2:08 AM
Jim in St Louis said...: *Groan*

Professor Althouse:
If you make another post like that again, we will have to send you to the punitentiary.

OK here is mine:
Q: What is copper nitrate?
A: Overtime for policemen.; 3/31/12, 2:24 AM
Carnifex said...: Today is the day. Today is the day a State will cease to exist for 2 hours as its citizens enter another state.
A state of excitement for some, and despair for others. Smart meters will whirl like dervishes, children will cease playing, and traffic will be non-existent. Phone calls will be left unanswered, and police calls too. All eyes will turn to New Orleans.

In New Orleans, a strange mist has settled on the town. A miasma with purpose, drive, and hunger. Such a thing not seen since the Mongol hordes swept across Europe. They teem, seemingly without number, milling, till the clock tells them it’s time. And with that unheard signal, they swarm. A Sea of Blue some call it. The Big Blue Mist by others. It is the UK fan base, and they gather where their beloved Wildcats play.

Other teams are shocked at the Mist. They don’t understand how one team can get more people to show for a practice, than they can get to their biggest games. And tickets, scalped, shared, borrowed, ordered in advanced, how do they get the tickets? Teams beg their regular ticket holders to not give them up, to keep the Mist out, but they fail. A few years ago, during the SEC tournament, a tornado hit the Georgia Dome, so play was moved to a smaller venue, with only faculty, and school personages to attend. The Mist swarmed in. They sat 400 UK fans. The other team, the University of Georgia, had 80.

The Mist will be outnumbered today though. Not something that ever happens. Ever. But today is special. Today, UK plays UL in the Final Four, for the chance at the National Championship. UK is the overwhelming favorite to win it all, so the Mist will be up against the united front of the other 3 teams playing today. And still it will be a close thing. UK fans began purchasing their tickets last year. Other teams start after Selection Sunday. Some start even later, like the UL fans.

UL is led by their coach Rick Pitino, who famously led UK to 2 Final Fours, winning 1 championship. He is infamous for having an extra-marital affair on the table of a Louisville restaurant that lasted 15 seconds(as testified in court by himself). The star player on the team is Peyton Siva, a point guard that until the Big East Tournament this year had been at best disappointing. He has since come on and played very well. It remains to be seen if that is an aberration. Their center is a serviceable if plodding sophomore named Deing, who may be very good in four more years.

UK is lead by Coach John Calipari, who has famously led 3 teams to the Final Four, and infamously for having 2 of those records stricken from the histories because of cheating. The NCAA ruled that Coach Calipari had no knowledge or hand in the cheating and his reputation was exonerated, but when does truth ever matter to a good story? In 3 short years at UK, he has been to 1 Elite Eight, and 2 Final Fours. This record is the same as Coach Pitino at UL, but it took Pitino 11 years to achieve it. This does not sit well with the UL fan base. UK is not led by anyone. Their most gifted player is 6-10 freshman phenom Andre Davis, who played point guard in high school until he had a 10 inch growth spurt. Davis has already won several National Player of the Year Awards. When presenting the Rupp Award to his star player, Coach Calipari, had to stop when he (the coach) became overcome with emotion, which started Davis’ mother crying too. But UK is not just Andre Davis. They have 6 players averaging double figures, and 7 that can go for over 20 at any time. Let that sink in…6 average double figures. Most teams have 2, and at best 3 doing that.

UK may lose the title. Stranger things have happened. But it is theirs to lose.; 3/31/12, 3:21 AM
Toad Trend said...: I remember being in Wilmington NC beginning of April and seeing the blooming azaleas. Beautiful sight.

Carnifex

Nice! I expect one rad pot o'gumbo of a basketball game. My prediction: UK by 3.

In the other tilt, Ohio State by 2.

BTW, my bracket was busted when NC and Mich St bowed out. I have UK winning it all but won't have enough points in the office pool to be in the money.; 3/31/12, 6:42 AM
Toad Trend said...: Jim in St. Louis

*double groan*

You asked for it.

Q: How do make a hormone?
A: Don't pay her.; 3/31/12, 7:00 AM
Jim in St Louis said...: Don't Tread:

Careful, you might have a Freudian slip, that's when you try to say one thing, but mean a mother.; 3/31/12, 7:20 AM
Craig said...: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz7dtbDy9UE&feature=player_detailpage

This is good for what ails you.; 3/31/12, 7:43 AM
MadisonMan said...: I still miss the lilacs that lined Randall Ave at the east end of Camp Randall. Don't understand why the University didn't replant them after making the "improvements" there.; 3/31/12, 8:03 AM
witzall said...: I suggest the pictured shrub is not azalea, but rhododendron 'pjm'.; 3/31/12, 8:07 AM
Bart Hall (Kansas, USA) said...: ALE's what cures ya.; 3/31/12, 8:19 AM
Almost Ali said...: I didn't win Mega Millions, but I'm still betting SCOTUS will NOT rule 5 to 4. No, my money is on 6-3, then 7-2, against.

There's also a case for 8-1, even 9-0, but this brings us back to millions to one. Still, I wouldn't fall off my chair.; 3/31/12, 8:29 AM
Saint Croix said...: Okay, so the Daily Caller has put up an article claiming to have discovered Trayvon Martin's twitter account. Worst ones compiled here.

I don't know if I trust any of the reporting involved in this case. Is that Trayvon Martin's actual twitter account? No idea.

But what I do know is those tweets are vile. Specifically they hate women and show contempt for white people.

Now here is what a Washington Post blogger has to say about those tweets.

"Kids are as indiscreet and as foolish and as occasionally wise as they ever were, but the medium is different. They make the same lame jokes. They strike the same lame poses. They are, in short, kids."

What the fuck?

"Of course he was innocent. He'd just turned 17."

Seriously, what the fuck?

Of course Trayvon Martin was not Shawn Tyson. They are two distinct people. But this idea that 17-year-olds are innocent! Or that we were all vile when we were kids.; 3/31/12, 8:30 AM
Almost Ali said...: Saint Croix said...
Okay, so the Daily Caller has put up an article claiming to have discovered Trayvon Martin's twitter account. Worst ones compiled here.

Except for one unidentified tweets, all the examples are retweets ("RT"), which is a pretty good indication that the account is a bot - which is next to impossible to track down or attribute.

(Twitter bots are usually created to auto-post retweets); 3/31/12, 8:52 AM
Craig said...: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz7dtbDy9UE&feature=player_detailpage

I like this one too.; 3/31/12, 9:40 AM
purplepenquin said...: Azalea Elementary is where I went for Grades 2-5. I was almost 16 before learning that was the name of a flower...; 3/31/12, 9:42 AM
Craig said...: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EaPCfkEBxA&feature=player_detailpage

Wrong link. Try this one.; 3/31/12, 9:49 AM
Saint Croix said...: Except for one unidentified tweets, all the examples are retweets ("RT"), which is a pretty good indication that the account is a bot - which is next to impossible to track down or attribute.

Also I have read that Martin's twitter feed was hacked by a skinhead. So they may very well be false (not just false but maliciously false).

I'm not making a point about Trayvon Martin. He could be entirely innocent of those tweets.

The point I'm making is about the media.

What blows my mind is the Washington Post blog. It says those tweets are normal.

They are?

Martin apparently had an earlier twitter account. And Almost Ali's point is still valid. We don't know if this is actually true. But
these tweets are not normal. They are a call for violence.

Are these tweets from Martin? I don't know. But I do know it's appalling for the MSM to ignore this, or spin it, or hide it.

Look into it! You're supposed to be journalists. It's your job to find facts, to validate them or invalidate them. We don't need ti hear your opinions. Your bias is not helping, New York Times!; 3/31/12, 10:20 AM
Synova said...: So...

Friday at school I found myself defending the purity of global warming belief of our lab TA.

We'd had an assignment of reading a Scientific American article from a few years ago claiming that AGW started 8000 years ago from methane spikes due to rice farming. And then we were supposed to talk about it in our lab.

Friday we go to class and the first thing out of our instructor's mouth (I honestly don't know if she's a "professor" or not) was that she was *very worried* that he'd given us the wrong idea. She was *very worried* that he'd presented the scientist as unreliable or the information as open to dispute.

So I ended up telling her that he'd gone on and *on* about how this fellow was reliable and well thought of and that he thought the methane thing was right on, but that the CO2 part needed more work, not that it was wrong, and that the pandemic CO2 response claim was thin. But that he really *really* made clear that this guy was respectable.

She sighed in relief. Seriously, have you seen someone in real life do that? It was soooo important that no one think they didn't have to believe in global warming and we all understood that anything published in a scientific journal (Sci.Am.?) had been reviewed by no less than 7 other people and was 100% reliable and absolutely and utterly true. It was "dangerous" she said, in tones of gloom, (I am *not* exaggerating) if anyone didn't believe in global warming. Dangerous, was her word.

OMG.

I didn't want her TA to get in trouble because he's a really nice guy, and if he's in graduate studies here he's vulnerable. But what did she expect us to *discuss* about the article? If we were supposed to swallow it without question where is "discuss?"

There is no "discuss."

Now this fellow going on about the Methane might be 100% right but his very own words in the article stated that his conclusions rested solely on the correlation of values. By this I conclude that he *is* a real scientist. But if we're not allowed to question and look for other causes of the correlations, or to check his numbers, we aren't scientists. Not even pretend ones.

Bah.; 3/31/12, 4:09 PM
Jose_K said...: The Boss uses teleprompetr like the One; 3/31/12, 4:51 PM