zed

Evening ES how you doing this fine Sunday evening?

Hey Pups don’t forget to Digg this post!

Whoops are we alone?

not quite

Not quite.
Dugg!

Like Strickly Ballroom,
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

Evening Pups! How ate you all tonight…
We just had our Turkey and oh man are we full… just the two of us so yes we WILL have lots of left overs… of course Tucker got his share for his dinner!

Nothing like it!

Good evening, sir. just fine.

First snow of the year.. good tunes and hot chocolate.

On the mind…
The transition plods on.
Hillary and more tomorrow morning.
I think I will roll over and go back to sleep.

Hey stranger how ya doing? Good to see ya here…

Now now Newt! have you caught up yet so maybe you might be able to come by for some vittles sometime?

good to see you all too! though too sleepy to be capable of original thought

Ahhh.. the life of a Mac master… sort of like the old Maytag repair man. /s

Snow… no thanks it gets cold enough here in the Bay Area for me.. got the Buck stove roaring … well at least it is keeping us warm.

No, but I am close.

I am a victim to my own purity of character. /s
I have taught all my clients how to fend for themselves, should the need arise, and they listened well.

Hope everybody had a wonderful holiday, with great food and great company!

Now that is an assumption gone to far… But it is the great hope of all IT support Gurus. Just hope it comes true for ya Newt…

I am a victim to my own purity of character. /s

Jeeez… that may be an ad slogan!

I’m sure I stole it, from where I cannot imagine. Therefore, you are free to steal it from me.

night all (slinking off to bed)

Hey hey Eureka, hey all.

Just driving by for a few, as I really need to get some sleep soon. I have my jet-lagged friend from the UK staying here this week. He’s been sawing logs for a good couple of hours now :-)

Very heavy indeed….

Fiduciary responsibility to the client is unique…outside the realm of the Oligarchy rip off artists. Let’s see Pualson, Bernanke, Bush, Rubin. Care to start a list?
Good for you..we with ethics are caught in a purity trap. The light is good here.

noooo don’t go.

Not pragmatic

Hey LL, hope you have a very enjoyable time with your out of town guest. I love to have guests and take them ’round to all of the great local spots.

nite spurious

Christine! A little bird told me that your holiday was a great success, so happy to hear it!

Actually a solid foundation or guiding principle for life.

This is true… and probably to many words.

Thanks for clearing that up ;-)

Kevin Drum eats his hat:

On another note, you may recall that I promised to eat my hat if Hillary Clinton agreed to be Obama’s Secretary of State, and let no one say I’m not a man of my word.

Hi sophie! I left you a reply in the last thread re: Thanksgiving. And yeah, we’re looking forward to a fun week. The weather here should be mostly good :-)

It was, and I’m so, so happy about it. And, gosh, I worked through most of it.

We’re both wrong. I found it.
It’s an Aaron Sorkin-penned line from the West Wing.
Said the President:

“It feels strange to score political points by doing the right thing. I’m victim to my own purity of character.”

Sorry, Eureka…

So glad to hear you’ll be having good weather, most auspicious for a guest visit. Have too much fun!

Wonder Woman meet Christine…. ;-)

It was foggy and raining here when he arrived — he said it felt like home ;-)

Big kisses, you are adorable. I’m off to bed.

Seriously, to have family visiting while having to work and providing all with a good time is to orchestrate a near miracle, bravo!

nite chris

Peace and sweet dreams, you have earned it!

G’night Chris, I’m not too far behind you.

Must be from…..England? It is foggy here tonight, southern california, can you believe it?

I’m here! (a little late)

nahant, you are pretty sly tonight. the first comment AND the Digg.

so I Dugg yer Digg and left the following comment at Digg:

“Did you know that a Digg comment counts as an extra Digg vote?

Double your impact. Always leave a comment at Digg!”

Hey all.

Yep, he is straight outta Liverpool :-)

nite spurious good to see you here at late late nite… sleep well..

Hey Hmmm

Virginia should be a nice change of pace then….

Any big touristy plans?

“Did you know that a Digg comment counts as an extra Digg vote?

Double your impact. Always leave a comment at Digg!”

I think I have seen that statement before:>) So hey pups be sure and leave a comment at Digg!

I have been leaving it at almost every opportunity…hope it catches on!

Nice to see the world at a slightly-less-than-fever pitch tonight, especially since I’m in a calm before a trip.

Not to be obnoxious to anyone from the cold regions of the world, but it was in the high 70’s here today. Very beautiful.

Where ya goin?

Yes, we want to get down to Charlottesville and visit Monticello (I haven’t been there in almost 25 years, time to go back!), and then various forays to Richmond, and the Northern Neck (Chesapeake Bay area) to see some friends and family. Basically a chill-out week :-)

I have noticed that you have been always leaving a comment @ Digg.

we pretty well finished off our turkey tonight. turkey curry with apples and onions. not bad, and didn’t resemble Thanksgiving dinner much at all!

still eating pecan pie though…never tire of that.

Sounds heavenly. May the weather be beautiful and the traveling be safe and jolly…

Hi Sophie! @4 hours from now I’ll be in Tokyo. Yay!

Geeeeesh. Preview, she is my friend. That’s 24 hours. Or should have been.

4 hours? where are you travelling from?

never mind!

Thank you sophie!

Gotta get out of here…hope everyone has a great night. Ciao!

Tokyo, wow, that is quite a trip. I’ve never been, but I would love to go. Great food and shopping in Tokyo I hear.

From SF.

Travel really does broaden. My waistline’s the proof.

Peace, sweet dreams, and extra sweet traveling to you LL. Enjoy!

I for one, would love to eat at all of the great dining spots in Tokyo, sounds awesome….

Yes, one of my favorite destinations. Any given five minutes of walking down any given street is guaranteed to produce at least 10 mind-bending sights. Highly recommended, if you should get the chance. I get to go there a couple times a year for work. Therefore, I love my job.

Evening – on my mind:

Loathsome new HVAC system (freezing my butt off)

Paul Krugman at book salon Wed 2pm – yipee!! Gonna find a copy
“The Return of Depression Economics” and scarf it down pronto

Loving your job is an extra sweet bonus in life…

That might not even be possible, even eating out 3 times a day over a long life. If I understand correctly, there are over 200,000 restaurants and bars in Tokyo…!

I recommend you start with fresh sushi breakfast at the fish market.

I know, that is cool, isn’t it? Krugman!
Too bad this whole blogging thing didn’t work out for Jane. /s

I really am grateful. And wish the same good fortune to everyone.

I loved Tokyo!

Obviously you have excellent taste.

I could eat fresh sushi breakfast at the fish market every day. Love it!

Osaka was wonderful as well. Fukuoka City… now I could live there.

I keep going back to Tokyo, and happily, so haven’t seen many other areas of Japan. But The Sweetie and me spent 3 days in Kyoto a couple years ago. That was just amazing.

Anyone else read Skippy’s post earlier today about the oldest stash of marijuana ever found – estimated at 2,600 years old, I think. Very entertaining…

Yeah, I remember that sinking feeling from about a hundred years ago, when I realized I had washed a Derby™ jacket with a pocketful.

LOL!

I spent a couple of week touring the country, visiting clients, which was very nice because I had local friends meet me and provide the best tours in every destination. Got a bit north of Sendai (the east coast up that way was amazing!) and as far south as Fukuoka City. Had so much fun I didn’t seriously regret missing Kyoto until several years later.

Love Tokyo’s department store restaurants. And the excellent (plastic?) models of meals.

Also, for the vertically challenged, fun to ride jam packed elevators and view something other than belt buckles.

Sounds so educational and fun at the same time. What could be better?

Dynasty weed

Exactly! Very educational. I’m all about that…

In elevators I get definite Bill-Murray-in-Lost-in-Translation moments. I am a pale giant stinking monster amongst the civilized humans.

May you have a safe and pleasant journey amoungst the civilized humans… ;-)

The whole trip was perfect… The food, the people.. About five days into it, on an after sushi dinner stroll, some friends walked into a giant pachinko place… so I started playing for fun. I had no idea real money was involved at all… and still won several grand in about an hour!!

The best part of the trip may have been when outside of Osaka and Tokyo… all the girls thought we were famous American rock stars. Groups of girls would follow us everywhere, giggling.

First time I got into a packed elevator and realized I could see, I burst out laughing. Courteously, everyone else joined in the laughter – no idea what I was laughing about.

Tampopo and Eat Drink Man Woman are two great flicks… doubly so when thinking about Japanese cuisine.

Sweet….

Made me laugh.. and I am not in an elevator. *g*

Much as you love cooking… you really should consider seeing both movies I mentioned @96… if you haven’t seen them already.

Didn’y john Lennon get locked up for pot in Tokyo…He was ripped at the time and thought the name menat Toke eyow! s

Fortunately he left the big stash in China… an earlier incarnation. /s

I hear Japanese law is very strict about that stuff.

I have seen Eat Drink Man Woman, great movie, I have not seen the other although I will look for it. thanks.

By the way what does Buriedfed mean… after all everyone has a reason for the name of their group? Sounds nefarious.

Sophie, even with a strong dollar, actually buying was pretty much out of the question. But window shopping — spectacular!

And so many beautifully groomed and dressed women. We were back and forth, Japan – Korea for about three weeks. A study in contrasts.

Speaking of books has anyone read these from the salon?

The Practical Progressive: How to Build a Twenty-first Century Political Movement Author: Erica Payne

The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008
Author: Paul Krugman

The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems
Author: Van Jones

It’s the song title. I read the lyrics to the song, which are rather choppy, and still can’t be sure. My guess is Fed refers more to Fed up than Federale’.

Still can’t get over how choppy the lyrics are in writing, yet they work quite well in the final song.

Seriously, who dresses better than wealthy Japanese women? I would love to window shop in Tokyo!

So far behind on books.. Reading Turkmeniscam now (which is really good) with The Shadow Factory next on the top of the pile.

Eureka, I gave you the wrong name on that amazing heavy cream. It was Organic Valley, seems they have pasteurized as well as ultra pasteurized.
It’s a co-op, so perhaps it was just a one-off lucky strike.

I must admit I have not read these, although I have a stack I am reading right now. I am a bit behind. I am finishing up The Shock Doctrine, by Naomi Klein, then I’ve got The Three Trillion Dollar War, by Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes and then American Theocracy, by Kevin Phillips. My book stack runneth over…

Thank you, sophiehunter. You are very kind.

I once made the mistake of mentioning to a young woman cashier at a toy store that I used to work at Pixar. I have never, ever seen such gushing in my life.

Read a chunk of Practical Progressive online. Interesting. Tough site navigation for dialup though.

I wonder if it wasn’t that thick on purpose, like Devonshire.

Devonshire (or Devon) Cream is a clotted cream produced commercially in Devon Cornwall and Somerset England. It is a thick, rich, yellowish cream with a scalded or cooked flavor that is made by heating unpasteurized milk until a thick layer of cream forms on its surface. The milk is then cooled and the layer of cream is skimmed off. Clotted cream has 55-60 percent fat content and is so thick it does not need to be whipped.

Of course I have left out new cookbooks I have recently purchased including, Alinea, by Grant Achatz; il viaggio di vietro, by Marc Vetri; Chanterelle, by David Waltuck, amongst several others. I love to read cookbooks, call me crazy!

It’s weird isn’t it? Never a star struck type myself. We made a point of not talking to the packs of giggling girls… because we would have had to tell them we weren’t famous. I guess we could ave claimed to be distant cousins of Elvis or something. /s

It is said with utmost sincerity. Namaste.

Miles plays an harmonious axe…he seems to have a chorale behind him dressed to send a message (hard to see)…somewhere in the middle of the song a guy with trash lids for cymbals (seeming to express discontent)..the expessions of the group say a lot about the attitude expressed..Hey it might be totally popular in Tokyo where they shop until they drop.
Interesting never met anyone who did not enjoy their experience in Japan. From my USMC comerades to business and ministerial friends later in life.
Even the criminal organizations have codes of ethics unlike ours in the Capital.
Still a sexist society.

OV is in most organic outlets around here. Being the tallest man in the elevator we will all laugh with you. Domo alegato. Hike..as in Mount Fuji.
Ah the great woodcuts of the masters. The Pagodas… in the fog

Amazing most everyone had english and seemed eager to use it. I felt a bit of a boor – should have done some language homework.

Somehow I stumbled onto Japanese tummy warmers.
Haramaki, they’re called.
And if you forget the name, google “granny tummy wraps” and it brings it up.

my gift to you (in excahnge for the help with egg noodles)…an original concoction by BB…Baked Rule Squach..scrapped into a square white pyrex bowl…add a mixed butter and organic safflower oil…dribble with honey…generous crumbled brown sugar sprinkled with red pepper flakes sprinlke in thompson seedless raisins and organic pecans topped with organic cranberry sauce…microwave to taste. It was pretty tasty with the pepper to offset the sweet.
Have you been to Ah Fong’s in Brentwood or Hollywood…chinese wrapped chicken is oh so nice.

Could have been. Hope so, I’d love to find it again. Their web site makes it seem possible the heavy cream will turn up again, though no suggestion it’s been processed that way.

I do too. There must be a few others besides us!

I taught so many of my friends and clients english. I think the most rewarding moments are when a friend says to you… last night I had a dream in english.

It was my inability to make heads or tails out of Japanese writing which caused me the most trouble…

Hey Margot, hope you had a fabulous Turkey Day! Cookbooks rule!

Thanks. Interesting concept. Who would have thought?

Think I’ll wrap a wool scarf around my waist – right now!

Sounds super tasty, thanks!

Sorry I was so late in replying, I was watching Barack Obama’s speech at the Alfred E. Smith dinner on YouTube. Very hilarious, sorry I don’t have a link. Still don’t know how to do it although many have kindly tried to school me.

Time for me to turn in.

G’ nite firedogs

Peace and sweet dreams ES.

That’s kind of what I did, but I used a sweater and tied the arms tight around my waist. It really worked.

nite eureka
sophie – here’s the beginning of your youtube tutorial if you want it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq4zrOoHXeg

I’ve always been a cookbook reader too. Discovering rec.food.cooking in the early days of usenet, about did me in.

That’s the url of the Al Smith Dinner complete, as broadcast on C-Span.

Oh goodness, I don’t notice stuff like that. I’m scatterbrained. Make that “multitasking.” lol

Thank you newt!

nite eureka. thanks for presiding.

I “multitask” too….!

Cooking is my passion. I love to do something creative that makes other people happy. People do love to eat….

Select that text – the url – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq4zrOoHXeg
from the web page you want to link to, and “copy” it. I believe on the PC it’s Control-C.

Thank you so much! I will give it a try.

‘fraid I’m mostly an armchair cook these days.

My late-lamented mother was a really good sport about the kitchen though -let me have at it sans supervision.

When I was quite young my grandmother sent me a copy of the Fannie Farmer Cookbook for Children, and I started cooking dinner for the family quite often. Sometimes the various components were served hours apart and often I decided to experiment with ahem, creative shortcuts. Everyone survived.

I’ve heard the question about why doesn’t Obama campaign for Jim Martin against Saxby Chambliss, the SOB who took down Max Cleland in his first election.

Well, maybe Obama IS campaigning for him.

Look, isn’t Chambliss’s main campaign theme that Georgians should vote for him so that the big scary librul Democratic Presidunt (who just happens to be Black but I don’t have to mention that because y’all know by now) can’t like, y’know, do just whatever he wants.

So what’s Obama doing? Showing that he’s NOT scary by seeming to be the only adult in Washington DC, and appointing or nominating a bunch of centrist, COMPETENT people to important positions, people who are NOT scary, and not your usual stereotype liberals, either.

That campaign strategy worked against McCain; maybe it will also work against Chambliss.

Bob in HI

OK! I’ve got a big wool scarf wrapped around me now, boobs to hips. Long wondered what I should do with it. Lovely thing but ghastly shade of yellow.

That is what it is all about….still, glad everyone survived ;-)

You might just have something here….

Interesting take. Thanks.

I think that we progressives have to think about winning the bigger war. Hopefully, we will win some battles but we will lose some battles. We cannot underestimate the power of the ugly right-wingnuts. They may have lost this battle, but they do not think they have lost the War. We need to pick our battles carefully and fight valiantly and fiercely. We need to pick one big thing and get it done first. I say we choose Healthcare. If we can get healthcare done, we do those rightwing bastards in for a long time. We also need to be careful about how we think about getting healthcare done. We cannot throw the baby out with the bathwater, as they say, we need to be willing to compromise at first. I would love to wake up tomorrow or next week and see every progressive idea put into action, but it isn’t going to happen. Let’s get one really big thing done first, and then move forward from there….

Sorry, written very poorly, but I am tired. Hope the idea transfers well enough….

Not so bad. But I have a slightly bigger target in mind.
Yes I want healthcare done, and done right.
And I would like to see a safe and sane foreign policy.
But I want a bigger fish than just beating the Goopers on an issue.

I want to take down a prominent Democrat. I mean a very big fish. If we are to win, we need our own party to respect our goals, and they have proven intractable in this. So I say we bump one of them.

Show them (our own) that failure to act on our behalf is potentially politically fatal to them. Until we get our own on our side, how do we expect to beat the Republicans?

I appreciate where you are coming from, seriously. I have studied what both sides say will win the “War” of ideas between progressives and conservatives, and rethugs say that if we get healthcare done, they are done. This is their own viewpoint. I say we fulfill their prophecy. Pick one big thing that is progressive, get it done, we win, we go from there after everything else.

I hope you are right.
I am out

nite sophie
nite pups

Peace and sweet dreams newt.

Why is healthcare so important? If we nationalize healthcare, like so many other industrialized countries have done, we make ourselves competitive from a business/manufacturing perspective. We can make “stuff” again and compete with the rest of the world while offering our people a living wage.

Aw, man. I always miss everyone.

Attaturk is upstairs!
The Liberationator

EPU’d and late to party

SH, have you had the pleasure of Nigella Lawson’s “How To Eat, The Pleasures and Principles of Good Food” ISBN 0-7011-6911-7

Sophie, you make a good case.

It speaks to two worrisome factors:
The current dems seeming difficulty distinguishing between compromise and capitulation.
Nothing ever satisfying the wingnuttia echo chamber.

Your suggestion precludes settling for small victories, thus setting up capitulation (in the name of bipartisanship) on the important stuff. It forecloses arguments based on previous cooperation.

It is all about “winning” in the long run, not being fussy about compromising in the short run. We need to think about “Winning” period. Winning doesn’t happen overnight, it happens in small steps, small wins. Winning people over to our viewpoint, winning our “WAY”.

I say again if we win national healthcare, we win BIG, BIG, BIG !!!!

I’m also with Newt on his intra-party take down. We have an embarrassment of candidates to choose from.