DonkeyCigars

Finally got around to knocking this out on a very long flight. It was okay--no, it was good, not just okay, but also very immature in a "Fresh Voices" or "XXL Freshman" kind of way. A little rough around the edges, a bit stilted and often meandering and choked, but the heart and soul was there. And it's an authentic voice-- a 2nd generation immigrant of the Killing Fields who is gay and high all the time-- and coping with that transitional space between tradition and modernity. If you've read Three Women at Chuck's Donuts (again, here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/02/10/three-women-of-chucks-donuts) you've read the best story. Still, a life cut down even before his prime and in a tragic way (drug OD) and a budding new voice and author taken too soon. God bless us.

Empire of Summer Moon is an all-timer for me.

No Vic, but you have to understand our household. Three men that weigh over two-hundred pounds a piece, a woman that's a little plump (Dutch girl), and a daughter who's thirteen. You see what I mean? It ain't going to work and I ain't going to purchase their product ever again. Goodbye!

Lumber is down, but good luck getting a framing crew to frame it. Hearing lots of stories of crews being poached by other builders or GC's just to up and leave a job or bail/ghost on another builder after agreements because there is a ton of money thrown around to get things built and people closed/moved in. Sounds like they can't build new homes fast enough.

I came back here to read this again. Truly one of the best posts I’ve ever read.

I don’t know, she seems like a miserable person. Or at least a miserable person to be with from what I think Brad Pitt intimated.

Family of 6 (female heavy) checking in. Did you have two bags solely dedicated for make up and toiletries and hair stuff? No? I envy you. (I have a hand scale so you know the weight before heading to the airport and both were 40+ lbs.)

Okay this was truly laugh out loud funny. I lived it; I was there. Bwaha.

I never understood how that affectation became code switch for “I’m a mousy and unattractive woman but smart and thoughtful and that’s my pivot to try and make hay in this hard life where I was born with little to work with”. Anna Gastomeyer knocked it out of the park with the Schwetty Balls skit though.

“all things considered” is great stuff and consistent and as you stated. the weekend and morning editions is full on liberal/progressive agenda and a barely above basically trump jokes. I guess there is a different demographic or something, but it’s like two different radio stations. no matter what I’ll always be an NPR fan because tiny desk concerts are awesome.

I know I’m in the minority here based off last years thread, but I like Mike McCarthy. I want to give him this year to see how he coaches and how the team responds to him. I have listened to his pressers this off season, and from watching him and his interactions with the team and coaches on hard knocks, I like his style and coaching. I’m rooting for him, but let’s see.

“I’ve had more shots than a cocker spaniel”. I’m stealing that one.

Lost a bag. This is fine. The most confusing part is that I checked 7 bags. 6 arrived. How do you lose one of the 6? Logically they’d either all 7 be lost or none. They aren’t baby ducks with one prone to walking off or getting lost. They get scanned and checked and thrown on a conveyor belt and loaded.

I love this. I’ll happily pay for the privilege of less wait times.

The funniest part is that the Cowboys didn’t want to pay him what he was worth and laughed at him when he got paid because he was in Buffalo… then he was an All-Pro and helped Josh Allen’s breakout and a Super Bowl appearance. Whoops.

Maybe. Probably. I don't know. Who knows.

I think this is directly related to the phenomenon of "voting against" someone versus "voting for" someone. Biden was a candidate and winner because people coalesced around him in order to vote against Trump and vote him away. He doesn't have many raving fans or a lot of rabid, organic and true diehard champions-- just a coalition of pragmatic people who saw the resourcefulness and usefulness of a centrist who had name brand and awareness. I'm sure there was a small minority of people who were in love with Biden as a candidate, but most voted as utilitarians. Trump, for all his flaws and whether you love him or hate him, he had a fanbase who politically worship him and his autistic cult of personality. There were people who voted for Trump as utilitarians as well (hold your nose voters), but for the most part, if you voted for him you probably loved the guy. I think that is the difference in why the propaganda was strong with the blindly loyal Trumpers versus the Biden voters who actually wanted Bernie or someone else (but was not a political possibility at the time).

Thanks for the edification on the wave hair stuff. Also, will a black person please explain the milk crate trend of *checks notes* the last 72 hours? What is the origin story there? Why are there so many milk crates available somehow? What is the purpose and how did this become a thing?

I don't know about "fine with big spending" as much as it is, like anything else in this world, "fine with spending on things that have a direct or outcome on those who are spending". And you know what? There probably is a fantastic ROI and business case for a couple of things that the Dems want to invest a ton of money on. But there is no effort or energy into building out the business value and outcome with what sort of ROI one can expect, so people just assume the worst. And with government(s), you generally can't go wrong with assuming the worst, historically speaking.

Can we talk about your username or has that been done? Not sure how El Fenix is still a thing.

The ensemble cast in this trailer feels tired. Questlove guy being funny, Danish and an old Angelina Jolie who exhausts me with her whole deal. I'll have to hear from you guys if this is worth a watch.

FIFY But kidding aside, Derka is mostly right. Biff and Wild Turkey and Trashman can all have their opinions and be right too. The Ted Lasso tent is a big one.

Had that same thought.

Havana syndrome first showed up in—no surprise here—Havana, Cuba, in 2016, when CIA officers and State Department employees first reported distress. In the years since, reported Havana syndrome cases among US foreign officers have popped up in Moscow, China, London, Virginia, and, most recently, Vienna and Germany. In July, the New Yorker declared Vienna, which has a long history as a playground for spies, the new “Havana syndrome hotspot.” About 24 US spies and diplomats have reported symptoms since Biden took office. What’s causing it? Health officials aren’t sure, but they’ve suggested what’s happening to these victims is not unlike what happens to a Hot Pocket when you heat it up. Last year, a committee of 19 experts said their best guesswas that victims were hit with “directed, pulsed radiofrequency energy” that includes microwaves. Who’s behind it? Let’s see...mysterious microwaves directed at American officers in cities all over the world...sounds like something straight out of the Cold War playbook. Bingo. Officials working for both the Biden and Trump administrations have privately blamed Russia’s military intelligence unit, the GRU, whom they suspect may be using the pulsed energy attacks to steal data from computers or smartphones.

I read it was microwave pulses meant to steal data and infiltrate systems; the biological effect and hazards on people are the secondary benefit, but not the main purpose and direct initiative. 🤷‍♂️