Althouse: At the Rock Face Café....

December 17, 2014

At the Rock Face Café....

... take a hard look.

(And if you're shopping, please use The Althouse Amazon Portal.)

44 comments:

FleetUSA said...: The beauty of nature; 12/17/14, 11:23 AM
madAsHell said...: I might see the face of a bull, or a bear in that picture. Of course, I've also seen Jesus on a tortilla.; 12/17/14, 11:41 AM
wildswan said...: The whole Scottsboro Boys Case centered around questioning the validity of the story told by two women who today would be seen as victims of rape and not questioned at all. Hmm; 12/17/14, 11:48 AM
Paco Wové said...: Via the Instantman: No Free Speech at Marquette.; 12/17/14, 11:58 AM
David said...: Anyone notice that the Obamacare sign up period has come and gone without complaints about the web site(s)? Web sites can be fixed, and this one was, which is why it was always unwise to make the easy target web deficiencies the man issue of criticism.

The main issues include the disincentives to careful care, the cost additive bureaucracy and the ultimate distortions that pricing regulation will bring.; 12/17/14, 12:21 PM
Hagar said...: There are so many scandals going, some are bound to get lost in the shuffle.; 12/17/14, 12:57 PM
Lyle Sanford, RMT said...: Your photos are getting better and better, at least to my eye.; 12/17/14, 1:31 PM
rehajm said...: Major theater chains decide not to play the James Franco/Seth Rogen comedy The Interview.

Movie patrons call the action a respectful humanitarian gesture.; 12/17/14, 2:00 PM
FullMoon said...: "It sure didn’t take much to knock out BART’s new, $484 million rail line to Oakland International Airport — just a bit of plastic tarp and rope that landed on an electric rail during a recent storm.

Trost said BART is investigating how a piece of soft plastic could do so much damage. In the meantime, agency officials have to worry about what other bits of trash could float onto the outdoor tracks and knock out their prized new addition."

In the short term, BART’s plan is to increase line inspections from once every four hours to once an hour on stormy days.

At peak hours, however, trains run every five minutes.

You can't ecpect much for your $484 million dollars these days.; 12/17/14, 2:11 PM
MadisonMan said...: I'm glad BART goes out to Oakland now. It's sometimes cheaper to fly there than to SFO. Thanks for the info -- even if the line breaks easily.; 12/17/14, 3:07 PM
MadisonMan said...: The flight I'm thinking about in March is $200 cheaper into OAK compared to SFO!; 12/17/14, 3:31 PM
Clyde said...: One thing I don't see is The Interview. All of the theater chains are kowtowing to the terrorist threats to any theater that dares to show it. Looks like it will have to go straight to video... Where it will be a big hit because of the curiosity factor. Plus getting to watch Kim Jong-Un get it in the end. We may have to order it directly from Amazon if the stores puss out the same way that the theaters are doing.; 12/17/14, 3:36 PM
Anonymous said...: Remember Ebola? Republicans made a big deal out of it before the midterm elections.

Was it finally cured or do they just not care about it anymore?; 12/17/14, 3:47 PM
Fred Drinkwater said...: David: Speaking from personal experience, my relevant state exchange website (CA) has been a disaster again, this time around. Try to make changes in your income and family members? Who would want to do that? Don't be silly!
The (amazingly) bright side is, the actual people on the phone help lines have been, so far 1) intelligent and polite, and 2) able to make the changes I need. Of course, I'm paying their salaries, for a service I shouldn't need, but why quibble?; 12/17/14, 3:58 PM
FullMoon said...: madisonfella said...

Remember Ebola? Republicans made a big deal out of it before the midterm elections.

Was it finally cured or do they just not care about it anymore?

"Former Democrat Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums is circulating an opinion piece urging more federal funding for U.S. hospitals to fight the Ebola outbreak, saying it’s a matter of national security."; 12/17/14, 4:16 PM
paminwi said...: David at 12:21pm: don't you read the liberal bible, the NYT? Even they are saying the whole system from beginning to end doesn't work!

But, yeah - GO OBAMACARE!

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/02/business/white-house-praises-gains-on-health-site.html?smid=tw-share&pagewanted=all; 12/17/14, 4:32 PM
David said...: Sony's statement in announcing that it will pull "The Interview" from theatrical distribution.

“Those who attacked us stole our intellectual property, private emails, and sensitive and proprietary material, and sought to destroy our spirit and our morale – all apparently to thwart the release of a movie they did not like,” the statement reads.

“We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public,” it continues. “We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome.”

Brave words.

So a terrorist threat to attack theaters which would be playing a movie they disapproved of did the trick. This may have been Sony's decision, or it may have been the result of numerous theaters saying that they would not exhibit the film.

Cue the lawyers. Those insurance policies are getting a close reading.; 12/17/14, 5:04 PM
FullMoon said...: North Korea kills Sony movie.

They better not fuck with football or basketball broadcasts, or there be serious repurcussions.; 12/17/14, 5:08 PM
David said...: Fred Drinkwater:

Perhaps the web sites are not working well and the press is not reporting it? That's possible. At the very least people can log in.

My son signed up and it was simple and easy. But he has no dependents and it was not a complex application.; 12/17/14, 5:08 PM
David said...: FullMoon said...
North Korea kills Sony movie.

They better not fuck with football or basketball broadcasts, or there be serious repercussions.

Yep. You don't want to piss off the President of the United States.; 12/17/14, 5:10 PM
FullMoon said...: Obama gonna open up with Cuba. Now maybe I can trade one of my cars to a Cuban for a '57 chevvy; 12/17/14, 5:17 PM
Saint Croix said...: Althouse called me a "beta" once. I think these terms are pretty silly. We should stop using the Greek.

Alpha = leader
Beta = follower
Gamma = outsider

I've never been comfortable following other people, or leading other people. That makes me a Gamma, an outsider.

Here is the urban dictionary on the Gamma male. I think the first and second definitions are right. As you drop down, there is a lot of anger at the gamma. Either from alphas (he's not following me!) or betas (he's not following alpha!)

But the outsider is an American archetype. The non-conformist who goes his own way. Cool Hand Luke. Dirty Harry. Wolverine. He's not part of your hierarchy, he's outside your hierarchy.

What makes Althouse the blog so interesting (I think) is that she is uncomfortable with followers. It would be a boring blog indeed if Althouse said something and we all go ditto. She has no interest in that, and neither do we.

I think she attracts men who want to lead, or to work out strategies for leadership, or who want to practice attacks on other hierarchies.

It's an outsider blog. It's a very cool place to be an outsider. But most of us come back here over and over so we are, in a sense following her and her blog. Which creates tension, and makes this an interesting place to visit.; 12/17/14, 5:32 PM
Big Mike said...: @FullMoon, get in line, buddy.; 12/17/14, 5:37 PM
Saint Croix said...: Christianity defines everybody as beta, as a follower of Christ.

Think about that for a minute. None of us are alpha. None of us are the leader. Jesus is alpha. We are betas.

I am comfortable with this because I do not believe Jesus is a false god. Everything he says is true. Follow it and I am good.

No longer do I have the stress of trying to be alpha, trying to lead other men. We are all followers, followers of Christ.

Protestants are the original non-conformists who broke with the Catholic Church hierarchy. We are outside your hierarchy. The Pope is a follower, just like us.

Note how peaceful all this is. Of course there can be disagreements about what the rules are. Are you following Christ? We can challenge each other. We can have beta rage.

But the problem of following a bad leader, that is gone. The urge to power, to be alpha, that has always been a dangerous urge. Hitler defined himself as "the leader." He was alpha. Feel free to go Godwin on anybody who claims to be an alpha male. What kind of leader are you?

Teaching men to be followers of Christ makes us better men.

I need to stop being an outsider. And other people need to stop pretending they are alpha. Anybody who is a Christian is, by definition, beta. You are a follower of Christ.; 12/17/14, 5:51 PM
Chef Mojo said...: Gee. Nice to know that we can watch whatever North Korea says we can watch.

America, fuck yeah my ass.

Saw a good idea on Twitter:

US Government pays for production costs and distribution rights for The Interview. Then they stream it worldwide, free of charge, while broadcasting video and audio into DPRK, 24/7.

Oh course, that would require balls, which our country is sorely lacking in.; 12/17/14, 6:08 PM
Laslo Spatula said...: There are always faces in the ambiguous.

I am the Innocuous Laslo.; 12/17/14, 7:30 PM
Saint Croix said...: Everyone Draws What They Think The Grinch's Dick Looks Like

Too funny.; 12/17/14, 7:33 PM
rhhardin said...: All rocks stem by fission from a single enormous ancestor. Concerning this legendary body, one can only say this: it did not remain intact.

- Francis Ponge; 12/17/14, 7:48 PM
Laslo Spatula said...: I have visual hallucinations: psychiatric. Sometimes weeks go by without them, sometimes they don't. I have seen faces where there is no rock, no tree, no snowdrift, no cloud, I have seen a different face upon a face in front of me.

Is the photo taken of a rock wherein you subsequently see faces or did you take a photo of the face you saw in the rock?

i am Innocuous Laslo.; 12/17/14, 7:52 PM
Revenant said...: So a terrorist threat to attack theaters which would be playing a movie they disapproved of did the trick. This may have been Sony's decision, or it may have been the result of numerous theaters saying that they would not exhibit the film.

I'm torn between anger and schadenfreude.

After all, the US government knows, and knew, that the North Koreans are behind this. Were Obama a little less of a pussy -- or, for that matter, if he was actually worth all the money Hollywood spent getting him elected twice -- he would have come out and openly stated (a) that North Korea was behind the terrorist threats and (b) that any such attack would be considered an act of war against the United States by the government of North Korea. And then announced he was buying a ticket to see the film.

But of course he *is* a pussy, and he has no interest in Hollywood beyond the money they can give him. Which he doesn't need anymore, because he's not eligible for re-election.

I do feel sorry for Rogen and Franco, though. I've been fans of theirs ever since "Freaks and Geeks".; 12/17/14, 8:30 PM
Big Mike said...: I was born in a country that was dangerous to try to push around. Now I live in a country where any tin pot dictator can threaten with impunity.

Yet I never emigrated, stayed in the same country all my life.; 12/17/14, 8:35 PM
Gahrie said...: Was it finally cured or do they just not care about it anymore?

No, Obama convinced the media to stop reporting on it.; 12/17/14, 8:38 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: If I owned a movie theater, I would up the security for that one night. Problem solved.

I cannot believe they pulled the film.; 12/17/14, 8:40 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Isn't this sort of thing, stepping in when America is threatened with terrorism, one of the few things the government is supposed to be for?

Way to go, Government. Way to go.; 12/17/14, 8:49 PM
Titus said...: I wanted to follow up on my Prada pants, which I shit yesterday.

Reluctantly, I contacted Jacques from Niemes. She is my Prada Genius Consultant, and calls me whenever there are new arrivals.

She told me to not be conscious, she has heard similar stories, but unfortunately the pants are unreparable. I was devastated for awhile, but then tossed them in the trash. I so wanted to hold them next to my heart, but I couldn't, because they had chilopte shit in their beautiful silk interiors.

I only have 17 Prada, flat front fitted pants, in a variety of colors left. (31W 32L). But some of them are three seasons old. The shit Prada's were from the fall 2014 collection, which is incredibly difficult to fathom.

I need to mourn for some time, but will move forward, and be strong again.

Thank you all for your support and condolescences.

Now it is time to watch Amercian Horror Story-Freak Show, created by gay diva Ryan Murphy....Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, Angella Basset, Francis Conroy-tour de force.

kiss kiss; 12/17/14, 9:02 PM
FullMoon said...: I'm beginning to suspect Titus is gay, (not that......); 12/17/14, 9:53 PM
Gahrie said...: Titus:

Given the likely condition of your sphincter, I recommend Depends, now and in the future.; 12/17/14, 10:02 PM
chillblaine said...: "I think she attracts men who want to lead, or to work out strategies for leadership, or who want to practice attacks on other hierarchies."

Very insightful in a threadfull. And I tend to regard her silence as assent, absent a 'trigger warning.'; 12/17/14, 10:39 PM
chickelit said...: Freeman Hunt wrote: Way to go, Government. Way to go.

Remember, the present Administration strongly believes in the harm films can do.; 12/17/14, 11:41 PM
H said...: What I learned from the internet today:

THERE ARE 50 FALSE ACCUSATIONS OF RAPE ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES EVERY DAY!

How I got this:

11,723,732 number of women enrolled in college (2012)

1 in 5 women on campus are raped. 5% in each of the four years on campus.

Number of rapes per year 586187

60% of rapes go unreported

Number of rapes reported 234475

2-8% of rape reports are false reports (use 8% in calculation)

Number of false reports per year 18758

Number of false reports per day 51.; 12/18/14, 7:17 AM
Big Mike said...: @Althouse, you teach at the most disgusting university in the Midwest.; 12/18/14, 8:04 AM
Fernandinande said...: rhhardin said...
All rocks stem by fission from a single enormous ancestor. Concerning this legendary body, one can only say this: it did not remain intact.
- Francis Ponge

I'd prefer a geologist's poetry to a poet's geology.

The three main ways rocks are formed

"I'm not a robot"

I was interested in hearing Gort's ideas about rock formation. And his poetry.; 12/18/14, 9:20 AM
khesanh0802 said...: Incredible rock! Thanks for the picture.; 12/18/14, 9:24 AM
Fernandinande said...: Big Mike said...
@Althouse, you teach at the most disgusting university in the Midwest.

All public universities practice racism; perhaps UW-Madison is just being slightly less dishonest about it.; 12/18/14, 9:29 AM