Saturday Morning Open Thread

So who else loved the Monk finale last night?

Comments

[Thomas Collins]

Uh-oh. I didn't even know there was a detective show named Monk until I read the TM post and did some Googling. I guess I am a true 24 fanatic who ignores all other shows. :-))

I hope the day ends with a BCS Championship Game controversy. Let's say Alabama beats Florida 33-31 on a last second field goal, Cincinnati edges Pittsburgh 21-19, Nebraska upsets Texas 45-33 and Boise State clocks New Mexico State 63-7. Which two teams go to the BCS Championship Game? Could Florida have an argument that, looking at the season as a whole, it is more worthy than TCU, Cincy or Boise State?

[mefolkes]

Hey, I watched it and loved it. Tony Shaloub is a fine actor. It was great seeing some loose ends wrapped up, and I loved the way they had Monk's late wife's daughter handling his overbearing possiveness with tenderness and understanding.

[mefolkes]

Duh, I apparently need my caffeine fix. I meant "possessiveness".

[Ignatz]

We discovered that show this year and became addicted just in time for it to end.
Tony Shaloub was the best thing on Wings and is still amazing.

[Ignatz]

And let me add the resolution was kind of unexpected but very satisfying, unlike so many series wrap ups.

[Captain Hate]

TC, the BCS didn't really *solve* any problems per se other than removing the hard and fast bowl game requirements that would have kept two teams that were obviously superior to everybody else from playing each other. The BCS still grabs its ankles for the bowl cities and all their garbage pageantry; and anything short of an 8 or more team playoff (per Div 2 & 3) leaves the present conundrum in place.

[Captain Hate]

Damn Ignatz; I had forgotten what a funny show Wings was.

[matt]

I watched a great B Ball game; Lakers vs Heat....

[anduril]

Has any creative person ever used this image (Did Obama Give Finger to Mayor Who Supported Clinton?) to construct a poster or image titled along the lines of: Here's To You, America? Seems to beg for such treatment.

[Boatbuilder]

Jumping to this thread because the last one has seriously degenerated.

Do we really need to bash Krauthammer because he may or may not be sufficiently orthodox on abortion?

Krauthammer is one of the best of the good guys, and continues (unlike some of our less steadfast advocates) to fight the good fight with dignity, courage, class and brains. I disagree with him on a few things, but don't think he warrants even being mentioned in the Sully-Hitchens realm, just because he was at one time a liberal (weren't we all?). More like Podhoretz, if you ask me, and I don't see him reverting any time soon.

[Captain Hate]

I saw that when you linked it elsewhere, anduril. I'm just glad that the Jug-eared dunce hates America so much that he hasn't caused an international incident by doing something so flagrantly immature to a foreign person of importance. Nobody with a functioning cortex can believe it's accidental.

[Thomas Collins]

Captain Hate, I too would prefer a playoff system for Division 1-A (such as a 16 team playoff with the 11 Division 1-A conference champions and five at-large picks). It appears, however, that the schools and bowls have decided they can make more money under the present system. Thus, I am left resigned to the current system but hoping every year for controversy.

[anduril]

Agreed, Captain, but I remain amazed that these repeated incidents have garnered so little attention--even allowing for MSM bias and protectiveness.

[Captain Hate]

Boatbuilder, my only quarrel with the Hammer is his misreading of Palin, which he seemed to acknowledge and then repeat his mistake. I agree that he's several orders of magnitude more serious than Hitch, and Sully shouldn't even be included in the same discussion. I agree he's one of the good guys.

[Old Lurker]

LUN is a very good Steve Hayward piece on Climate Gate. Via RCP.

[JorgXMcKie]

I was merely pleased that they didn't hose up the ending for 'Monk'. My wife and I have liked it from the beginning, but I began to tire when the show became less about cases and solving them and more about Monk's twitches.
The ending, although quite predictable was done very nicely.

[Janet]

The WaPo has another piece on the Salahi couple (Justice slaps Salahis on the Wrist). The paper has been ruthless in discovering everything the couple has done wrong in their lives. It is a bit suspect...like over-the-top demonizing of them to take the eyes off White House incompetence. I'm starting to feel a little sorry for them.

[Boatbuilder]

CH--True. He is, after all, a pointy head. But he's OUR pointy head.

[anduril]

Powerline has an amusing comment on the unfolding Baucus scandal:

There is something hilariously outlandish about the disgrace of Montana Senator Max Baucus having nominated his girlfriend to be a candidate for the position of United States Attorney for Montana. David Bernstein captures the relevant details in "Baucus scandal."

Bernstein quotes the helpful explanation of Baucus's spokesman on the withdrawal of Baucus's girlfriend from consideration for the position: "Mr. Baucus and Ms. Hanes...decided that she should withdraw her name from consideration because the couple wanted to live together in Washington, [Baucus spokeman Ty] Matsdorf said." Bernstein comments" "Matsdorf, it should be noted, is Baucus's spokesman, and that's the best he could do!"

Bernstein also comments on Ms. Hanes's qualifications to serve as United States Attorney: "[S]pending the last six years working as a Senator's field office and state office director (i.e., not even working as a lawyer) hardly seems like the kind of credentials one expects from a U.S. attorney candidate, and certainly not one purportedly recommended 'solely on the basis of her credentials.'"

Bernstein credits Main Justice with breaking this story and with securing this testimonial from Ms. Hanes's ex-husband: "She was recommended for the position because of a very close and personal relationship with Max Baucus and she withdrew because of a very close and personal relationship with Max Baucus."

[anduril]

Fascinating discussion of issues surrounding the Bobby Wayne Woods case: Woods Executed. It was claimed that Woods was "childlike," retarded.

[Pofarmer]

More Green Oh shoots.

Reynolds scraper sold out.

They were a pretty large player in the earth moving market.

[anduril]

Now this piece, with links, looks fascinating: Why Did Capitalism Fail?

The most suprising thing about the financial crisis is that the problems were so widespread in the banking system but absent, or nearly so, in the so-called "shadow banking" system.

It was investment banks and commercial banks that loaded up on mortgage backed securities, rather than hedge funds, endowments, pension funds or money market funds. Why did risk become so concentrated in some of the most regulated institutions in the world?

Because the regulators held a monopoly on what constituted prudent banking and directed the banks to buy more mortgage backed securities. Jeff Friedman explains the process in The American:

Our government at work.

[anduril]

Oh, my! Could be JOM: ClimateGate Professor Calls G-Warming Skeptic 'A**hole' on Live TV.

[Janet]

The other funny thing about the Salahi's crashing the state dinner is that NOW the left is all concerned about proper documentation. With illegals entering our country,... not so much.

[pagar]

OLs LUN @ 12:24

"Someone needs to break the bad news to the players that it's closing time for the climate horror show."

I have no idea why we still have people posting that we still have to disprove AGW, even through the entire fraud was made up.

"Climate change is a genuine phenomenon, and there is a nontrivial risk of major consequences in the future. Yet the hysteria of the global warming campaigners and their monomaniacal advocacy of absurdly expensive curbs on fossil fuel use have led to a political dead end that will become more apparent with the imminent collapse of the Kyoto-Copenhagen process"

[Porchlight]

Boatbuilder, I disagree with Krauthammer on a couple of things but I hope I made it clear on the other thread that I'm a fan of his.

pagar, unfortunately if the MSM continues to ignore/stonewall/spin, the majority of people won't even know about the fraud, let alone understand it.

[Porchlight]

OK, way, way OT here for the cooks and epicures...I was thinking of ordering a case or two of jars of conserves from June Taylor Jams. These are to be for Christmas and hostess gifts.

If for simplicity's sake I only order one kind, what should it be? I want it to be all fruit - no herbs or other flavoring.

What do you think would please the most people and not be too dull? I'm leaning toward the mirabelle (golden) plum or the Arctic Rose white nectarine. The Santa Rosa plum is also lovely but I gave that one a couple of years ago.

[narciso]

no, they are deliberately ignoring Tarek's tie to the pro Hamas group, in turn connected to Rashid Khalidi, as well as the intervention of Defense staffer Michelle Jones.

[anduril]

What's OT on an "open thread"? Except Linux, I mean.

[centralcal]

Porchlight: I vote for the Arctic Rose white nectarine. I am sure some, like myself, have never had nectarine jam and would be delighted to try it. Sounds yummy.

[boris]

Off Topic

[clarice]

porch, they all look yummy. I suppose you need to send me one of each so I can sample and report back. %^)

[Porchlight]

Thanks, ladies! I've never had the nectarine either and it looks more exciting than the mirabelle. Plus "Arctic Rose" reminds me of our favorite Alaskan. ;)

clarice, send me your address! :) I wish we could have a big JOM holiday party...

[glasater]

Porch--
Thank you for that link!

Here's one that is a favorite: Chokecherry Jelly that is a real favorite in our home:)

[GMax]

Pagar

Here is the fruits of Mann made gorebull warming:

by a stunning 59 percent to 26 percent margin--also better than two to one--Americans say that it is either very likely (35%) or somewhat likely (24%) that some scientists have falsified research data to support their own theories and beliefs about global warming.

That 26% matches up pretty well with the contingent that calls themselves "Progressives."

[clarice]

I was joking about the free jam sampler,porch --But thanks.!

One summer I remember making peach and ginger jam with my mom and boy was that yummy! Now and then I'll make a small amount of jam when I have too much fruit(mostly strawberries or blueberries which cook up fast) and don't want it to go to waste..but never a big batch which is much harder.

[Porchlight]

glasater, thank YOU for that link! My mom used to make chokecherry jelly when she was a girl in South Dakota. What a neat site, I look forward to checking it out.

The June Taylor site also has yummy stuff like candied citrus peel, fruit butters and marmalades, and fruit syrups. All handmade with maximum fruit and minimum sugar. Last Christmas I bought the blackberry-lemon verbena syrup and used it to make champagne cocktails! Yum.

[Jane]

Hey I have a good party house and I'm more than happy to host!

[Porchlight]

bold off?

clarice, I have been thinking about making freezer jam - small batches and no worries about messing up the canning process. Maybe with next year's Texas peaches.

Jane, sounds great to me...

[Porchlight]

bold off?

clarice, I have been thinking about making freezer jam - small batches and no worries about messing up the canning process. Maybe with next year's Texas peaches.

Jane, sounds great to me...

[clarice]

If you have a couple of pints of soft fruit-like berries, you can make a quick jam with sugar (and maybe a little pectin )and keep it for a couple of weeks in a clean glass jar in the fridge without worry.

Very fast and easy--

[Porchlight]

Sorry for the duplicate post...am getting weird vibes from TypePad...

[Porchlight]

Mmm...I have pectin in the pantry just waiting for that application....

[hit and run]

Jane:
Hey I have a good party house and I'm more than happy to host!

I party like a frat boy. Is that going to be a problem?

[centralcal]

If anyone missed it awhile back and would like to see it today, Beck is replaying his show with the all black and mostly conservative audience. It begins with Charles Payne tracing his childhood footsteps and then goes to the studio w/audience.

Was a quite fascinating show.

[daddy]

Plus "Arctic Rose" reminds me of our favorite Alaskan. ;)

How does Arctic Rose remind you of me Porchlight?
Arctic Pale Ale I could understand, but Arctic Rose?

Oh. Never mind:(

[Elliott]

You rose to 30,000 ft. all last week, no?

[Pagar]

"they are deliberately ignoring Tarek's tie to the pro Hamas group, "

Narciso, it doesn't seem impossible to me that someone needed to get a message to Obama. Through why they would need to do it this way with everyone in the Obama Administration apparently pro Palestinian, I do not know. Didn't we have a bunch of not pro Israeli messages on JOM about the same time?

[clarice]

Hi, Elliott. Are you home?

[DrJ]

Daddy, obviously those are northern rose petals in bear skat. It gives it that delicate fragrance.

[Jane]

I party like a frat boy. Is that going to be a problem?

Absolutely not. I expect nothing else.

[hit and run]

TC:
Cincinnati edges Pittsburgh 21-19

Or,perhaps 45-44

[BD57]

I liked it (the last episode, I mean).

Agree with previous poster about daughter's generosity to Monk's quirks - and that Monk is obviously more at peace & more stable (Natalie's crooked "e" not a problem, going to the movies .... and the change in wardrobe at the end).

Of course, "Monk - the Movie" is next .... ;)

[Pagar]

It's not just Sen Baucus.

"Homeland Security chairman faces ethics probe"

LUN

[Elliott]

Yes, I made it back, thus missing the climate change rally and this:

Earlier today at a special service in Westminster Central Hall religious leaders urged Christians to change the way they lived to help others.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams said: “It looks like in the last few decades, perhaps the last few millennia, that the human race has not been very good news for the rest of creation, just as our own civilisation has not been very good news for the rest of the human race.

“That’s catching up with us.”

[Barbara]

Porchlight -
clarice, I have been thinking about making freezer jam - small batches and no worries about messing up the canning process.

Freezer jams are easy and really quite good. I put up some Santa Rosa Plum jam one year after I had canned a number of batches because that last batch didn't seem to set up as well.

The frozen jam retained all the lovely color, fragrance and taste of fresh jam right off the stove, and it seemed to keep forever. It was a wonderful surprise in the freezer after all the canned jam had been consumed or given away, and was great to spread on toast or use as a sauce for ice cream. Yummy.

[mefolkes]

Simply amazing how this thread has drifted. Since the Middle East was brought in, I'm surprised that no one brought up the fact that Tony Shaloub's Christian Lebanese family was forced out of Lebanon by the Islamist goons. So, in a very small way, I'm indebted to the goons for having unintentionally given us one of our best actors.

Thanks for the mention of the jam and jelly company. I was raised on home-made chokecherry jelly. It's terrific.

[DrJ]

Welcome home, Eliott!

[daddy]

DrJ,

Loved this comment of yours from the other night but had no time to say so:

"J..... understands the concepts perfectly, she just can't add and substract.

My ex claimed she was the same way -- she had the concepts down but could not get the particulars. The most amusing of these was when she call a stereo subwoofer an "underdog".

Elliott,

the Roman Museum under the Cathedral in Cologne was very cool. What I found fun was there was a string of 2,000 year old busts of the Roman Emperors. It was fascinating that I could immediately recognize Caesar and Augustus, also Claudius, Nero, and Hadrian. Screwed up Marcus Aurelius for Antonius Pius,and didn't recognize Tiberius or Caligula until reading the plaques, but that was fun. Suspect you would do much better, but thought it cool that 2,000 year old guys could seem so familiar.

[clarice]

That goofy old Archbishop..Good to have you back and thanks again for representing us so well in Manchester.

[hit and run]

Elliott,welcome home indeed.

Now,for your take on Tiger,please.

You did hear that Lefty called Elin to offer his support,right? Oh,and to ask how one beats Tiger.

[daddy]

Wow Elliott,

"just as our own civilisation has not been very good news for the rest of the human race."

“That’s catching up with us.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury sounds like a Brit version of Jeremiah Wright. "England's chickens are coming home to roost!

Well, as Mark Twain said in that 100 year old comic essay finally published just last month, "Conversations With Satan", that when Twain bumped into the Devil in that German Hotel lobby he recognized him on sight, because he was dressed like an Anglican Bishop.

[Gmax]

Looks like I larwined the the thread. Have not done that in awhile. Nobody, and I mean nobody can hold a candle to Larwin though. Has she been heard from recently?

[Gmax]

How do you beat Tiger? With an 8 iron, apparently.

I think Chi Chi Rodriquez once played a whole round with a coke bottle as his only club, and took some money off a mark.

[Porchlight]

Our favorite female Alaskan, daddy. :)

Barbara, thanks for the encouragement! I'd like to use local fruit but we don't have much except peaches, and those not till next summer, and citrus of course. Maybe I will try a marmalade...

My favorite Tony Shalhoub movie is Galaxy Quest. :)

Hi Elliott, welcome home! Difficult to number all the ways in which the Church of England disappoints, isn't it? Glad you missed out on that little gem.

[Gmax]

How do you beat Tiger? With an 8 iron, apparently.

I think Chi Chi Rodriquez once played a whole round with a coke bottle as his only club, and took some money off a mark.

[Porchlight]

Gmax, I haven't seen her here, but I've seen others hat tip her (most recently at Ace's, I think).

[clarice]

Heh, daddy. Gosh, I love Mark Twain.

[centralcal]

Topic hopping, but I just read this over at Newsbusters (yet another Shep Smith profile - gack):

As for his career, Smith says he's unsure of what will happen next:

"I don't have any idea. I have been thinking about that sort of thing a lot lately. I've been doing this for a long time," he says. He has about 18 months left on his contract; after that, "I don't know what the company will want or what I will want. I don't know what opportunities might be out there."

Only 18 more months to his contract. Hhhmmm, maybe we can start helping him with ideas about finding some new opportunities.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

gmax: She sends terrific email roundups out almost every day to all the main bloggers and other interested parties. In fact, not long ago everyone contributed to help get her a new computer and monitor with oversize print and letters because her eyesight is so poor.

Sign up for her email updates: [email protected]

[DrJ]

Glad you liked that one, daddy. It happened about 20 years ago, so clearly it left an impression on me.

Back in the Bay Area any time soon?

[DrJ]

Glad you liked that one, daddy. It happened about 20 years ago, so clearly it left an impression on me.

Back in the Bay Area any time soon?

[DrJ]

Oops...

[hit and run]

How was your surgery,Sara?

I hope it was completely non-eventful and that your pain is non-existent.

[Patrick R. Sullivan]

Stop the presses!

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Tiger Woods' caddie says he supports his boss while the world's No. 1 golfer copes with allegations of extramarital affairs.

[Rick Ballard]

H&R,

Which do you prefer - Norse sagas or Indian epic poetry? Just curious.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Warning to all: Be careful peeling potatoes without a peeler. That's what I did on Thanksgiving and sliced my middle finger on my left hand between the bottom knuckle and my palm. I stopped the blood, washed it, put NeoSporin on it and a bandaid and forgot about it. By Tuesday, my finger had swollen to unrecognizable size and my Mother's ring that I wear on that finger was embedded in my skin. It was horribly infected.

Last night they sliced me and cleaned out the infection, disinfected the area, put me on an antibiotic IV for a few hours, after putting in 3 stitches, and then sent me home with horse pills as an antibiotic and a mild pain killer. The relief I have today is amazing. I can actually type normally again, although I have to be careful not to bump my finger on anything.

This morning I knocked it against the edge of my laptop, saw stars, and nearly passed out.

Thanks for the good wishes yesterday.

[GMax]

I hear Max Baucus put up attorney Melodee for the US Attorney job because he had become quite familiar with her briefs...

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

GMAX: Oops, it is [email protected], 2 ns.

[Ann]

Sara:

Loved the Michelle has no clothes headline. Glad you feel better, too.

[clarice]

Telegraph reports Phil Jones got 13 million pounds in grants for his climate research.

[centralcal]

GMax, you are starting to sound like bad. grin.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

I got this from American Digest and posted it at P2P. My reaction was an overwhelming sadness. Not for Bambi, but for all those duped by him.

Slip Sliding Away (a Video Parody)

[Gmax]

Nope cant hold a candle to Bad. But apparently I am catching up with Larwin...

[Gmax]

Nope cant hold a candle to Bad. But apparently I am catching up with Larwin...

[clarice]

Sara, glad you're ok.

[narciso]

You know his character in the "Siege" mentioned a similar circumstance, that was a Lawrence Wright screenplay btw, based in part on his experience in Egypt, Wright not Shalhoub's.

[Janet]

Perhaps the Archbishop could hold off lecturing us on living green until he finishes a coarse on the Basics of Christianity. A big expert on - living green, sharia law - but not so much on Christianity.

[centralcal]

Oooh, owie, Sara. Glad the finger is better.

[narciso]

Hope you're feeling better, Sara, that seemed to be a pretty nasty cut there, My mother has a similar experience with tomatoes but it was nowhere as severe

[Old Lurker]

True that, Janet. Or human history.

[Janet]

Sara @ 5:26 great video. Very clever.

[Gmax]

Narcisco did you manage to get rid of the computer virus?

[Janet]

I like this bold thread. Better bold than italics. My old eyes can read this better.

[narciso]

No, I haven't gmax, nothing seems to work, I think it has a gremlin or a ghost or something.

[DrJ]

narciso and I have been trading email all day to rid him of the malware. Maybe we need an exorcist!

[narciso]

Dr. J, has been helping out as much as possible, and I thank him for all his assistance

[Thomas Collins]

So far, so good, hit and run. Boise State whacked New Mexico State (although not as much whack as my prediction), Cincy edged Pitt, as you pointed out, and Alabama is now leading Florida at the half in a close game (19-13). If the Tide can hang on while the Gators keep it close, and the Huskers come through against the Longhorns, we could have our controversy.

[centralcal]

Narciso: I got a really nasty trojan at my work computer (while at Pandora of all places - clicked on a pop-up ad by mistake). Tried several malware programs to no avail.

Went to Symantec/Norton downloaded Anti-Virus program. Whap - trojan gone! The best part is that it is a 30-day FREE trial. If you cancel before the 30 days, your credit card is only charged a penny. My boss gave me the okay to keep the year's subscription, however.

Maybe you should try that.

[Thomas Collins]

It's now 26-13 'Bama.