Althouse: At the Yellow Tree Café...

October 22, 2017

At the Yellow Tree Café...

... you can talk about whatever you want.

(And please remember to use The Althouse Amazon Portal.)

49 comments:

David Baker said...: I see a pumpkin on the path, there, near the tree.; 10/22/17, 6:06 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Big test of Pats fans who have chosen to boycott the NFL.

Patriots vs the Falcons Super bowl rematch tonight.

I don't have a tv, so I can't honestly claim I'm boycotting.

BTW. I just saw a Drudge tweet linking to a story claiming half empty NFL stadiums all over the fruited... wait, I'm not Rush Limbaugh.; 10/22/17, 6:09 PM
David Baker said...: ..and if you don't see the pumpkin, no Halloween for you!; 10/22/17, 6:10 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I don't see the pumpkin, but I do see what looks like a teddy bear.; 10/22/17, 6:14 PM
LYNNDH said...: All I can see are the leaves that will need to be picked up, like I have in my yard. UGH; 10/22/17, 6:14 PM
Jaq said...: I am in Boston, maybe I will go find a sports bar, since I don't have a TV either. After the Jets got jobbed on that call last week calling back the touchdown, I was actually rooting against the Pats.; 10/22/17, 6:27 PM
Jaq said...: They do sell hats here that say something like Pats-3 Atl-28, 3rd quarter. We will see how the aged Brady does against a team that has to be totally fired up.; 10/22/17, 6:35 PM
David Baker said...: Mitigating strongly against life after death; not a single word ever from the other side.

A genuine miracle also wouldn't hurt. After all, they really had to shoehorn Pope John into sainthood, because even a tiny miracle was/is impossible to come by. But there's the will to believe, a state of mind captured best - I believe -by William James. Also by Kevin McCallister down in the basement of Home Alone; "It's only my imagination, it's only my imagination."; 10/22/17, 6:39 PM
Jaq said...: One thing I am curious about is will ESPN go full Stephen A. Smith in their coverage and make it all about the racial and ethnic historical grievances or inherited crimes of the players, or more specifically, the sins of the fathers of the fans, or will they recognize that they are in the "entertainment" business? (That's what the 'E" used to stand for!)

There's room for that stuff in sports coverage, but the pre-game to the WS is not the place.; 10/22/17, 6:42 PM
Jaq said...: “At least the Taliban were honest enough to say, ‘I’m the guy who’s gonna cut your throat,’ ” Bergdahl tells British TV journalist Sean Langan in an interview with the Sunday Times Magazine of London

Nobody likes a traitor!; 10/22/17, 6:46 PM
brylun said...: Life under Democrat rule: Dangerous, Filthy Homeless Encampments Force Closure of Hawaii Public Park Indefinitely; 10/22/17, 6:50 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: There's room for that stuff in sports coverage, but the pre-game to the WS is not the place.

10/22/17, 6:42 PM

The WS? The WS will be broadcast on Fox, not ESPN, thank goodness, so you needn't worry about Stephen A. Smith. The MLB playoff games that I have seen have been blessedly free of political content - and everyone is standing for the National Anthem.; 10/22/17, 7:02 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: Oh, and go Astros!; 10/22/17, 7:02 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I just got a text from my raving Pat's fanatic sister.

She was born in Massachusetts, to little to remember our RedSox devotion.

She's at the stadium in GA watching the game.

And her husband served in the military overseas.

The military even had their whole family in Japan for a few years.

I asked her how full the stadium was...

That's exactly what she would do to me if the shoe dropped on the other foot.; 10/22/17, 7:58 PM
Bix Cvvv said...: David Baker at 6:39 ---- "not a single word *ever* from the other side" --- maybe, maybe not. The ability to speak from the other side would seem to go along with the ability to not be overheard, or unwillingly recorded. People I trust have said they heard better than a single word from God on the other side. They have had no desire to go to the press about it, for obvious reasons. Same thing with miracles. My guess is there are about 80 miracles every day on an average continent (probably more in one or two of the continents, probably less in one or two others, but on average, 80 a day, per continent, from a global point of view). We're not talking here about people coming back to life after a couple days of being dead- that would be too obvious in this fallen world - but things like resurrection from the dead after a few hours of death (probably very rare, admittedly), recoveries from cancer, etc., that were unexpected and unexplainable (not all that rare) , and the complete withdrawal of biologically-determined forms of mental illness as a result of prayer, or prayer and fasting (one of the most common of miracles, I am guessing). That sort of thing. Anyway, John Paul was canonized during a period when canonizations were exponentially more frequent than they had been. It is not unlikely that a few people experienced miracles through his intercession, but did not tell the local bishop about it. I might not have, as just one example. Not that I don't like John Paul just that I think he would have been uncomfortable with the praise and excitement.
Also, perhaps they (people who did not report a miracle) had a philosophical disagreement with the accelerated rate of canonizations. Life is complicated, and life after life is probably just as complicated. I suggest, if you are an American, praying for the intercession of Solanus Casey. Great guy, he used to truck food around to people in the Detroit suburbs during the Depression, and, when he thought people were not watching, he would be present at beautiful miracles - if I remember right, one miracle had to do with ecstatic all night prayer and another with the gentle taming of wild beasts, although my memory could be wrong. Finally, sorry if I misunderstood your comment. There are millions of comments on the internet- I have contributed several where the commenter (me) did not understand a previous commenter.; 10/22/17, 8:02 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I just got a text back with a video pan and a steady hold on the Gillette lighted sign.

Wrong stadium. She's at Foxboro with her husband in a box seat.

She says "not this stadium. Patriots don't play that game".

What people used to say about their congressman... mine is alright, is that other guy that's the problem.; 10/22/17, 8:05 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: They are at the Dell suite on the 45 yard line.

I told her 'Enjoy'; 10/22/17, 8:16 PM
mockturtle said...: Exiled observes: The MLB playoff games that I have seen have been blessedly free of political content - and everyone is standing for the National Anthem.

Yes, isn't it wonderful??! Looking forward to a great series and of course I'll be rooting for the Astros, too, especially for Jose Altuve.; 10/22/17, 8:35 PM
David Baker said...: Bix Cvvv,

Also consider that our concept of time is obliterated when under anesthesia. One moment we're awake, the very next moment, it seems, we re-awake - absent memory or dreams. If it wasn't for the clock on the wall, the passage of time occurred in the blink of an eye. Yet we just went through an operation that took several hours.; 10/22/17, 9:04 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: I am curious as to what our valued commentator Buwaya thinks of the following:

So I'm on an important business trip with a subordinate at work (32-year old Filipino, bright, married, soft spoken), who picks up his suitcase from the baggage carousel at SFO airport, when I notice a small NRA patch on his bag.

Me: Is that NRA as in National Rifle Association?

Him: Hell yes.

Me: I see you've been holding out on me on politics.

Him: I don't like talking politics at work

Me: It's pretty bold to support the NRA in San Francisco.That might suggest you voted for Trump.

Him: (pause) I did. And my wife and parents did too.

Me: Holy shit, I knew I liked you. You're a closet Trumpster! How is that possible in SF?

Him: A lotta Filipinos voted for Trump. He reminds them of Duterte - the guy cleaned up this drug infested city Davao in the Philipines. They respect his strength.

Me: This is fantastic! Ok, here's the pivotal question - what percentage of Filipinos in SF voted for Trump over Hillary?

Him: (thoughtful pause) I'd say about 55%. None of 'em like Hillary.

Me: That high?! In San Francisco?! Isn't he a racist, sexist loudmouth?

Him: That's all just noise. Nobody cares about that.; 10/22/17, 9:32 PM
Ray - SoCal said...: My take on Asian voters in US:

Japanese American - Democrats. Prime example of George Takai
Ivy League and equivalent Asian college Graduates - Got indoctrinated and very Democratic.
Ethnic Chinese immigrants - surprising amount of Republicans. Lots of business owners, but often don’t want to get involved in politics.
Philippinos I saw as more Democratic leaning. Same with other islander populations.; 10/22/17, 9:42 PM
walter said...: Bix Cvvv said... My guess is there are about 80 miracles every day on an average continent
--
I agree. It's a guess.; 10/22/17, 9:45 PM
Churchy LaFemme: said...: I don't understand the Japanese American thing. Take George Takei -- the Democrats literally put him & his family in a concentration camp. The mind boggles.; 10/22/17, 9:59 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: David Baker said...

A genuine miracle also wouldn't hurt.

I take it you didn't watch the superbowl last year...; 10/22/17, 10:00 PM
narciso said...: Yes but warren who was the fatty general was the republican. It dies seem like Islamic state is taking a hit, in matawi; 10/22/17, 10:21 PM
mockturtle said...: I take it you didn't watch the superbowl last year...

Or the World Series!

Or the Presidential election!; 10/22/17, 10:28 PM
JackWayne said...: http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/356630-fbi-watched-then-acted-as-russian-spy-moved-closer-to-hillary#.We1EVcvV-iI.twitter

The question this raises for me is: if the Russians were all over Hillary, then how did they NOT get her emails?; 10/22/17, 10:34 PM
Bix Cvvv said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/22/17, 10:44 PM
Bix Cvvv said...: Walter: that was the last post I will ever post here. God loves you as much as God loves me. Never forget that. It is important to me that you remember that. And if you never read this post, that is fine, too. But if you do: never forget. See you next go-around, my friend.; 10/22/17, 10:49 PM
buwaya said...: US Filipinos were traditionally Republican.
Especially in Hawaii, where politics followed the ethnic split between the two then-largest population components, Democratic Japanese and Filipino Republicans.
California Filipinos were predominantly Republican, they were a large part of the Bay Area Republicans in the 80s-90s and made a high proportion of party workers. But they have moved to the Democrats to a greater degree since local politics has locked out the Republicans, and made them irrelevant as intermediaries with the local and state government. Much of local politics is determined by the utility of power.
Chinese were always more Democrat, but not especially so. These days they are mostly Democrat, also on grounds of political effectiveness.; 10/22/17, 11:13 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Well, Bix, it's too bad to see you go. Your story confuses me but I surely do wish you freedom, or at least from pain. Not to put great things with small, but I had terrible back spasms last night, but now at least I can walk. Be well old chum! And never say die on the happiness, you can find it in others.; 10/22/17, 11:51 PM
David Baker said...: Hard to qualify Trump's election as a "miracle." Many saw him coming from a mile away.; 10/23/17, 1:09 AM
David Baker said...: ...that is, thanks to Hillary.; 10/23/17, 1:11 AM
David Baker said...: PS> I'm getting out of the miracle business.; 10/23/17, 1:12 AM
Etienne said...: McCain got through another weekend session of chemo therapy, and came out swinging at draft evaders of the Indochina war.

Someone needs to tell him it's 2017.; 10/23/17, 1:51 AM
Big Mike said...: @Jack Wayne, of course they have them. The head of the Russian FSB during that time period she was Secretary of State recently retired with honors. If it had come out that Hillary was handling sensitive State Department Emails on an unsecured server and the FSB had not taken advantage of that cybersecurity blunder, he’d have been medically retired immediately with a terminal 9mm headache. We can safely assume that nearly every other major intelligence agency, allies and adversaries alike, also have her Emails.; 10/23/17, 2:29 AM
Big Mike said...: Small error — the FSB is the KGB successor agency that handles internal Russian affairs. I meant its sister agency, the SVR.; 10/23/17, 2:39 AM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: The Vietnamese Americans seem to be perhaps the most Republican and conservative of the Asian Americans - for the same reasons as Cuban Americans.; 10/23/17, 5:34 AM
Bob Ellison said...: Google says its new Pixel Buds translate languages "in real time".

That's incorrect. "Real time" means really right now, or so quickly that you can't tell that it isn't really right now. The Pixel Buds do it in delayed time.

Journalists are eating up Google's re-definition of a useful term, and I hate that.

Probably people who work in broadcast and related fields will have to create a new term, like "really real time" (RRT). Google is pulling a fast one here.; 10/23/17, 6:20 AM
Jaq said...: We always used the term "near real time" for processing that got done and reporred in seconds, but we were not Google, so the techies we were selling to would have laughed out loud if we had said "real time."; 10/23/17, 6:28 AM
Bob Ellison said...: tim in vermont, yes, "near real time" is a good term. This isn't even that, of course.

Google might try referring to the delay as "latency", and that would also be an abuse.

The proper term for what Google's neat little gadgets do is "quick".

I should have said "Google is trying to pull a slow one here."; 10/23/17, 7:08 AM
Bad Lieutenant said...: I think he said he and his wife voted for Sanders in the primary. Did not say who in the general.; 10/23/17, 7:13 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: Yeah, the Blaze article is unclear on whether it was primary or general, but the original Mo Dowd interview does says primary.

So I am wrong. And I must apologize to both Hillary and Jimmah.; 10/23/17, 7:38 AM
MadisonMan said...: This post made me pull up Yellow by Coldplay.; 10/23/17, 8:11 AM
CStanley said...: Althouse is masterful at framing photos. The sweet spot in this one is not the tree, it's the small bit of sky and sunlit patch of ground just to the left of the base of the trunk. Well done.; 10/23/17, 8:47 AM
Ralph L said...: The tree is pretty amazing, too.; 10/23/17, 9:58 AM
Jaq said...: I wouldn't say Althouse is a master at composition, but this one is really good.; 10/23/17, 10:28 AM
Jaq said...: Maybe a little too commercial.; 10/23/17, 12:44 PM
Bix Cvvv said...: Thanks, bad lieutenant. My cousin had back spasms and tried jogging 5 slow miles a day in the morning, he said that helped - I hope you get good advice and find something that works for you. By the way, I deleted the longer comment I wrote last night: it was, in fact, as you said, confusing - and I did not say anything that has not been better said elsewhere (about miracles and why people might not talk about them when they have experienced them, about Solanus Casey and the miraculously gentle bees, and about Solanus Casey and the transfiguration of one night in the Depression of the 1930s, and about the joy of not asking for a miracle for yourself until someone you care about gets a miracle she needs more than you) ... but I botched the balcony scene, probably because I forgot that my previous 2 small drinks were 100 proof bourbon and not the 80 proof whisky I am used to .... .

I am not commenting here anymore because there are so many other good commenters: I don't feel needed, and even 2 or 3 comments a week is a time commitment.... ! Thanks for the good wishes on pain management: i have had a lot of luck the last few years changing up diets, getting in more physical activity time, getting in much more sleep, and, also, several types of heat treatment and a few supplements seem to help. And prayer helps.; 10/23/17, 7:17 PM