December 27, 2020

At the Sunday Night Café...

IMG_1891 

... you can talk about whatever you want.

77 comments:

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Song for a Winter's Night

farmgirl said...

https://www.wcax.com/2020/12/24/super-senior-kevin-parizo/

For Shouting Thomas...

Political Junkie said...

YouTube Elvis 1973 My Way Hawaii.

I am not a big Elvis fan, as he died around my 7th birthday, but wow.
Voice, Charisma, Style - he had it all.

Hard to believe less than 4 years later he was dead at 42.

J. Farmer said...

I am not a big Elvis fan, as he died around my 7th birthday, but wow.
Voice, Charisma, Style - he had it all.,


I always thought it was a clever remark when Camille Paglia described Presley as the "first protestant saint." A good friend of mine in Pigeon Forge, TN is a huge Elvis fanatic. Her parents used to own one of the several tourist trap dinner theaters there, and it was an Elvis revue. I've attended a few Elvis-themed events with her, and we always attract attention, being about 30 years under the median age.

I was always a sucker for the ballads. Are You Lonesome Tonight would be my favorite, but I hate that spoken bridge in the middle, so I have to default to Love Me Tender.

Favorite Elvis reference in a non-Elvis movies? Tie between Elvis' ghost in True Romance or the Flying Elvises in Honeymoon in Vegas. Favorite Elvis impersonation? Andy Kaufman.

Narr said...

Not a yuge Gord fan but that was very nice.

Viktor Krauss (Alison's bro)--No Time Like the Past. A mellow retro ramble. (c. 4 mins.)

Sibelius, Luonnotar, Mattila. Creation myth, elemental, and always gives me chills. (c.12 mins.)

Narr
You know how

Sally327 said...

Alec Baldwin's wife, his current one, is under fire for faking her Spanish accent/background. Turns out Hilaria, aka Hilary, was born and raised in Boston and her Spanish accent tends to comes and go, sort of the same way the other Hillary's southern accent would depending on the audience. I find all of this amusing, especially that part of Hilaria's defense where she talks about how there are lots of white people in Europe.

Mikey NTH said...

Another nice night in Michigan - some rain and a fire in the fireplace.

From a long time lurker, thanks for this place.

jim said...

Not original, but ... Was that as good for you as it was for trump?

walter said...

" I find all of this amusing, especially that part of Hilaria's defense where she talks about how there are lots of white people in Europe"
--
Hilarious.
Also..remember Michigander Madonna's Euro accent phase?

stephen cooper said...

In an obscure Christmas video, full of cute dogs, full of amazing Christmas lights on amazing homes, full of loveable snow monsters and amazing winter backdrops and full of loveable little animatronic little characters enjoying this holy season ( a work of art at the genius level, in my humble opinion, but you also need to watch the sequel, Ho Ho Ho) .....in an obscure video released several Christmases ago by Sia, who apparently is more of a songwriter than she herself knows, the singer explains that, when we (we meaning the singer and her friends, to whom the song is dedicated) get to Candy Cane Lane, we are gonna eat all the Candy Canes.

But in a place like Candy Cane Lane, there must be a veritable overabundance of candy canes, and, as much as we would like to think we and our friends are gonna "eat them all", we are not gonna eat then all: no matter how many of us friends there might be gathered together as friends at Candy Cane Lane, we are not gonna do any such thing.

The kids these days don't often use the phrase "a veritable overabundance," they say "a buttload", or "lots and lots".

The important thing to remember is, that there are actual places in this world where people have a good time, where people find friends, or, for those people who are lonely in this world, where people reflect on past days, when there were friends who were kind to them --- for such people, there is always the memory of those days where they experienced the experience of contemplating the beauty in this world.

Don't ever let anyone tell you that you are not as special today to God as anyone else is today.

You are.

narciso said...

https://mobile.twitter.com/TheCriticalDri2/status/1342949866054553606

Howard said...

Lightfoot is the best.

narciso said...

How about that


https://mobile.twitter.com/maximus_4evr/status/1343371587911704576

Lawrence Person said...

Enjoy excerpts from Dave Barry's Year End Review.

J. Farmer said...

I find all of this amusing, especially that part of Hilaria's defense where she talks about how there are lots of white people in Europe.

Stupid Twitter seems to believe they're unmasking her by identifying her as "fully a white girl from Cambridge." I guess they don't understand that Spaniards are white. Another wrote, "You have to admire Hilaria Baldwin’s commitment to her decade long grift where she impersonates a Spanish person."

This reminds me of when people thought Larry the Cable guy was committing some fraud because his southern accent (gasp!) wasn't real. People like Madonna and Lindsay Lohan get a lot of ridicule for their fake English accents, but at least they're quasi-discernible. Where did Eartha Kitt and Tina Turner get those accents?

My mentor was born in Portsmouth, England and did not move to the states until he was 16. He never had a whiff of an English accent. But if he was talking on the phone to his sister (who still lived in England) and was on the phone long enough, he would start going into an accent. It was always interesting to hear.

Narr said...

Paglia's late and short. Elvis is no mere saint, he's a demigod.

Of all places, there's an episode of Scott Yoo's show Now Hear This--the Hadyn one--that features a Croatian(?) musician who does a mean Elvisian Auld Lang Syne.

The local alternative rag, the Memphis Flyer, does an "Elvis-sighting" list of pop-culture references to Elvis--movies, TV shows, etc. every year. It's usually pretty long.

Narr
I don't try to keep up, myself

stephen cooper said...

Bob Dylan's accent is super-fascinating - it is sort of a Minnesota accent, and it sort of isn't.

True story. One of my pals, long dead, used to be an Air Force Recruiter in northern Minnesota. One day he is helping a recruit - who later rose to the ranks of being a master sergeant - fill out the forms.

Married?: she told him - no, she was single.

Age?: she told him. She was 20.

Sex?: she didn't tell him right away.

Instead, before answering, she asked him - Why do you want to know?

He said, oh, that just means male or female.

She said ---- Oh, sorry, I thought you meant "how many times". Female.

True story.

Trust me, Bob Dylan does not sound like anyone else from Northern Minnesota. Neither did MSgt "Why do you want to know" - she probably never did sound like anyone else from Northern Minnesota either.

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
stevew said...

My Boston accent comes and goes, that is more or less pronounced, depending on who I am with and talking to.

This was a lovely Christmas, all things considered. I expect the end of the Covid nonsense - wishful thinking or something else?

Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris, has been invisible to me. Am I not paying attention or is he really just not having any kind of engagement and impact on the news cycle? The biofreeze of Joe.

Birkel said...

My favorite Christmas song, by Dan Fogleberg:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kmZ2VHSkVYY

narciso said...

In other news


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hKDXVo-OKeQ&feature=youtu.be

DINKY DAU 45 said...

Pelosi puts out the RIVER CARD, trump has to call or fold! We called Fold. He did. Bluster but no Beef.He did get his minute of attention though as unemployment shut down ,that'll teach em, get a job right!I suspected Pocket Veto,I was wrong

mockturtle said...

Enjoy excerpts from Dave Barry's Year End Review.
Thank you, Lawrence Person. Enjoyed it.

narciso said...



It nearly captured the insanity

https://georgiastarnews.com/2020/12/27/two-georgia-representatives-to-challenge-electoral-college-votes/

J. Farmer said...

Trust me, Bob Dylan does not sound like anyone else from Northern Minnesota.

For what it's worth, I don't know anyone from Gainesville who sounds like Tom Petty. Or anyone from Malibu who sounds like Jeff Bridges.

But what I really want to know is, what was Tiny Tim? Some bizarre performance art? I saw a clip of him on Carson once singing to some girl, and it looked like something out of a Warhol picture.

Mutaman said...

He folded. Trump always folds. What a pathetic little man.

narciso said...


Try again

https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-to-use-impoundment-control-act-to-gut-wasteful-spending-boost-stimulus-checks

Chuck said...

12/27/20, 8:52 PM
Blogger Mutaman said...
He folded. Trump always folds. What a pathetic little man.


He’s a negotiator. He makes deals. So this time, the deal that he made was, uh, well; I don’t know. But he sure negotiated the fuckin’ shit out of this, din’t he? Never even needed to leave the golf course.

Like Lindsey Graham said, this was a great deal when Congress passed it. But then Trump wanted to change it, and Trump was right about that. Except that signing the bills was the right thing to do, and he did that. Lindsey shot a 104 with 14 gimmes. Trump shot 74, with 11 mulligans, 3 pickups, and 18 gimmes.

Owen said...

Mikey NTH @ 7:46: “...thanks for this place.”

My sentiments exactly. Thanks Prof A for creating the space, and thanks to commenters for making it informative, congenial, challenging, funny and very human. Happy almost 2021: hang in there, folks.

Ken B said...

Where's Yancey “ off by a factor of 40 is good enough for me” Ward? 'Cause he's off by a factor of 45. So far.

Ken B said...

Farmer is right about the spoken part of Are You Lonesome Tonight. But I like the lively, early stuff, especially Jailhouse Rock

J. Farmer said...

Kamala Harris on Twitter yesterday...

@KamalaHarris
Our Kwanzaa celebrations are one of my favorite childhood memories. The whole family would gather around across multiple generations and we’d tell stories and light the candles.

Whether you’re celebrating this year with those you live with or over Zoom, happy Kwanzaa!


Lol. So pathetic.

mockturtle said...

Was Kwanzaa even a thing when she was a child?

narciso said...

Most likely not in jamaica nor in canada where she grew up.

DavidUW said...

Her Indian mother who raised her in Canada assuredly celebrated Kwanzaa. Snort.

narciso said...


Lol

https://apelbaum.wordpress.com/2020/12/28/the-russians-made-me-do-it/

stephen cooper said...

J. Farmer - My guess is that Tiny Tim acted that way to pick up chicks.

That is all.

He was a normal guy until one night the Tiny Tim act worked out for him ---- It worked for him once with a drunk chick, she fell for it, and he kept up the act.

If he had married his high school sweetheart he would have just been a normal guy in every way. Probably would have been an English teacher after graduating State U, or been a painter or a carpenter.

No kid these days would go the Tiny Tim route. They would post a few 'hilarious' videos and then leave it behind them.

Laura said...

Negotiate? With all the breathless headlines about unemployment benefits expiring and none about pork? Good luck with that.

Oh, there's collusion all right, but doubt you'll get the media to report on themselves.

narciso said...


Per the recent discussion of rowlings other work

https://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/guest-post-lethal-white-and-strike5/

walter said...

Was the 10 mil for Pakistani gender studies preserved?
That's crucial..

walter said...

..and the funds for Asian reassurance...

Jay Vogt said...

Bob Dylan does not sound Minnesotan. For the real Minnesota accent, I don't think anyplace beats Saint Cloud. Kinda right in the middle of the state.

My mother in-law was raised in Chicago about 8 mile to the east of where Hillary Rodham was born and raised and about 10 years earlier. My wife was was born and raised about 7 miles to the west and 15 years later than Hillary. When Hillary speaks she sounds like a blend between my wife and my mother in-law. For years that kind of drove me nuts.

walter said...

Jay,
For laughs, look up some Arkansas era Hilary.
Could have made an appearance on Hee Haw.

William said...

I was just listening to some of the pop hits of the late forties and early fifties. Nostalgia for Xmas. I know 90% of pop culture is dreck but some dreck is dreckier than others. Perry Como, Eddie Fisher, Johnie Mathis, Pat Boone. The sludge content of their dreck is off the charts. Maybe all those Great Depression and WWII vets were suffering from PTSD and couldn't take anything with rough edges, but the music of that era is remarkably bland. I know many here will claim that in his later years Pat Boone became a heavy metal rock god and changed the course of American music,but I'm referring to his early years before he got his nipples pierced....That's part of what made Elvis stand out. He was the shock of the new and, in that era, he was even more shocking than Kiss or Alice Cooper.

narciso said...

From that link you can see how rowling has name checked a whole host of figures from the recent times going back to the 60s

Mutaman said...

So the Democrats will move on Monday to increase the $600 individual payments to $2,000. The Republicans will reject the bill in the Senate, thus providing the Dems with some useful material in the Georgia campaign.

I move under the Impoundment Act of 1974 to declare Trump a political genius. FORE!

narciso said...

Although rokeby is not a real fit for mick jagger.

Birkel said...

Democraticals cheer the billions in pork while also cheering the destruction of small businesses.
This is a good look.
Please continue this approach.
No voters are paying attention.

heyboom said...

Why Trump signed the bill

narciso said...


Shes full constanza

https://mobile.twitter.com/proteinwisdom

Michael K said...

Blogger Mutaman said...
He folded. Trump always folds. What a pathetic little man.


Speaking of pathetic little men, (are you a man?) trolls get worse and worse. We need a better class of trolls.

Mutaman said...

Hey Michael, I demand under the 1974 Impoundage Act, that you stick it where the sun don't shine,

walter said...

When are you getting (one of) the Trump vax, "Chuck!"?

Michael K said...

Blogger Mutaman said...
Hey Michael, I demand under the 1974 Impoundage Act, that you stick it where the sun don't shine,


I assume that is a favorite spot for you, troll.

Churchy LaFemme: said...

Just watched the first four Harry Potter movies with my sister an 10 year old niece. It's amazing how well they have held up, and how enjoyable they are. Yes, yes, you can point out plot flaws in both the books & movies, but a very welcome re-visit.

Mutaman said...

Step 1: refuse to engage publicly for months.
Step 2: watch a super majority pass a bill.
Step 3: forcefully threaten to veto it unless demands met.
Step 4: back down and sign it; look weak.

narciso said...

Yes ive caught up with them over the last few weeks they are effective counter programming for the madness we have been seing.

Gospace said...

Churchy LaFemme: said...
Just watched the first four Harry Potter movies with my sister an 10 year old niece. It's amazing how well they have held up, and how enjoyable they are. Yes, yes, you can point out plot flaws in both the books & movies, but a very welcome re-visit.


Magic, superpowers, and time travel all create plot holes. SO when watching a movie or reading a book that has any of them- one must do more than simply suspend disbelief, but simply accept that what's happening couldn't be happening any other way- because reasons.

Same way that half the problems I see on shows could be solved- if the characters talked to each other, and more importantly- LISTENED!

Wonder Woman 1984 was a few minutes through as I left for work today. Even though it has a bevy of beautiful women in it, I have zero desire to watch it all the way through after seeing the opening minutes. When I arise later today I'll ask the kids (and grandkid) if they enjoyed it.

narciso said...

Yes the first one was kind of silly but it had heart, this one well read the drinkers review, pedro pascal has sort of played a villain in kingsman and equalizer sequels. But this falls flat.

narciso said...

With 200 million dollars they cant do better than the steve austin/jamie summers weekly teleplays of the 70s that i watched as a boy.

narciso said...

They had one with john houseman with an army of fembots and a weather machine i didnt remember that clearly

narciso said...

Gal gadot is striking even in fair like the fast and furious or that film she did with jon hamm, name escapes me.

Joe Smith said...

"Gal gadot is striking..."

Odd, she does zero for me...I don't see what the fuss is about.

But different strokes...

Readering said...

Michael K definition of a troll: Anyone whose comments raise his blood pressure. Never mind the idiotic, misogynistic comments he makes trying to have that effect on others. Unfortunately, only a few readers dare to be commenters against the commenting community that has somehow formed around AA's posts. I keep asking: How did that happen?

Churchy LaFemme: said...

I plan to see WW84 in a theater this weekend and so have avoided reviews. I did like the first one, and yes GG was born to play that role.

Back to Harry Potter -- there was no guarantee that casting those kids would work, but it did and they each came to own those roles. You could pour all the millions in, and without that trio, it would have landed with a thud.

Gahrie said...

Unfortunately, only a few readers dare to be commenters against the commenting community that has somehow formed around AA's posts. I keep asking: How did that happen?

Few on the left are willing or able to compete on the debate floor. That's why they spend so much time insisting that everyone else should just shut up.

Churchy LaFemme: said...

Gotta love spamlish.

StephenFearby said...

London Times December 28, 2020
By Brian Mahon

Pastafarians and atheists protected under Facebook [woke] hate speech rules

'Pastafarians and atheists are protected under Facebook’s hate speech provisions, internal documents show.

Pastafarianism is a movement that promotes a light-hearted view of religion and opposes the teaching of intelligent design and creationism in public schools.

Its website says: “With millions, if not thousands, of devout worshippers, the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is widely considered a legitimate religion, even by its opponents — mostly fundamentalist Christians, who have accepted that our God has larger balls than theirs.”

Facebook has a series of documents which sets out how to moderate content on its site. As part of this, the company has set out what it defines as hate speech.

In documents seen by The Times it says: “We define hate speech as a direct attack on people based on what we call protected characteristics — race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, and serious disability or disease.

“We also provide some protections for immigration status. We define attacks as violent or dehumanising speech, statements of inferiority, and calls for exclusion or segregation.”

The group defines a religious affiliation as a group that discusses the meaning of life, the existence of a deity or the expectation of behaviour of humans to each other that consequently results in people identifying with the group.

This includes denominations or traditions within larger religions such as baptists. The document however says that cults are not protected under its hate speech policies.'

[Since the Althouse blog definitely has a cult following, this means that members of the Althouse cult are not a protected species under Facebook's rules.]

"...A Dutch court ruled in 2018 that Pastafarianism was not a religion, denying a follower of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster the right to wear a colander on her head in her passport and driving licence photo."

(For some unknown reason, this article was published in the Times of London's Ireland section.)

BUMBLE BEE said...

AA troll == all heat, no light.

Rusty said...

Readering said...
"Michael K definition of a troll: Anyone whose comments raise his blood pressure. Never mind the idiotic, misogynistic comments he makes trying to have that effect on others. Unfortunately, only a few readers dare to be commenters against the commenting community that has somehow formed around AA's posts. I keep asking: How did that happen?"
The irony is.......outstanding.
What Althouse and her readers consider trolling; You're all boring. You have one topic that you pursue with diligence but offer no insights. Sarcasm isn't wit. None of you, with rare exceptions, is witty. You don't have a sense of humor. Comes as a shock I know, but "Orange Man did...." isn't humor. You're all boring. That's a sin in the intersphere. For some reason. Once you guys get a public sector job your personalities suffer. You have to take it out on the rest of us.

Bruce Hayden said...

“What Althouse and her readers consider trolling; You're all boring. You have one topic that you pursue with diligence but offer no insights. Sarcasm isn't wit. None of you, with rare exceptions, is witty. You don't have a sense of humor. Comes as a shock I know, but "Orange Man did...." isn't humor. You're all boring. That's a sin in the intersphere. For some reason. Once you guys get a public sector job your personalities suffer. You have to take it out on the rest of us.”

I agree there. Last night, we got a new troll. He comes in, makes juvenile taunts and idiotic Trump jokes. And attacked long term contributors who called him out with his/her/xer juvenile taunts. We see a real person behind even Readering, who jumped to defend this troll. This new troll showed the intellectual development of a middle schooler with xer posts. We don’t need it. It isn’t funny, or even interesting. We tolerate it from our middle schoolers, because we hope they will grow out of it. They mostly do. We are seeing it now with our older teenaged grandsons. While they don’t, yet, really contribute to adult conversations, they are now beyond argument by taunting and ridicule.

The purpose of these trolls is to make the blogging experience on the right side of the blogosphere uncomfortable. I remember when Dr K dropped out for awhile during the 2016 election season. That is what they want. Many of us have found a home, of sorts here, and they figure that if they shit in it enough, either we will all go away, or Ann and Meade will have to start moderating again. They aren’t really attacking us directly, but rather attacking our blogging venue. And their goal is not to enlighten, or even humor, us, but to shut us up.

Michael K said...

Unfortunately, only a few readers dare to be commenters against the commenting community that has somehow formed around AA's posts. I keep asking: How did that happen?

How did that happen? Easy. The left commenters rarely, if ever, offer policy alternatives. At least Inga does even if her links often don't support her arguments. The rest of you just post ad hominem or nasty mindless trash. Some, like Chuck and Ritmo, get so obscene and hostile that they get banned.

The trolls detract from the blog without contributing anything but Trump hate. That's why I spend more time at Chicagoboyz where it is mostly about issues. Ann seems to be trying to avoid Trump topics and I don't blame her. He really makes the left insane.

Narr said...

I come here for the Trump-bashing I can't find anywhere else . . .

Why would an adult think "dar[ing] to be commenters against the commenting community that has somehow formed around AA's posts" is even important, anyway?

Narr
I'm a mere accretion, myself

Michael K said...

Narr, maybe with Trump gone from the White House, sanity will return.

I doubt the left can let him go.

Original Mike said...

"maybe with Trump gone from the White House, sanity will return."

Have you forgotten BushHitler?

This is who these people are.

Anonymous said...

Michel K...'At least Inga does.'

Doc, I doubt Inga will ever appreciate what you just said, but I do. I hated every time you called her a 'bedpan commando'. I don't pay much attention to her, but she lit you up. I have some who do that to me, like Narr, the Demon.

I was in a hospital once. I fell into a conveyor belt at a glass factory, and the full weight of my body came down on my hand that grasped the thin rail of the conveyor.

Oh, man there was blood all over, and I had my thumb hangin' from a thread. Somebody called the ambulance, which was not an occasional occurrence, because it was a GLASS FACTORY. Beer and soda bottles. The guys at the furnace went to the hospital more then the guys like me out on the floor.

So, I go to the hospital, in the middle of the night and the Doctor on call was a fat fingered gynecologist. Stitched me up with a Z-plasty, and a poor job it was. Stopped the bleeding though. Don't have use of the thumb now, but he sewed it back on, at least.

Nurses were rude, and seemed kinda pissed that they they had to deal with me. I didn't even ask for anything. Didn't use a bedpan, I just got my frk'ng thumb seared off.

Oh.

I think maybe if we gave them a Military Jet Flyover, it would have been different.

Michael K said...

Doc, I doubt Inga will ever appreciate what you just said, but I do. I hated every time you called her a 'bedpan commando'. I don't pay much attention to her, but she lit you up

Like Trump, I rarely go after someone who has not attacked me. She went on and on about "ripping him a new asshole" the other day.

Several years ago, we had a few courteous exchanges. Not since Trump, though.