Openly Eccentric - Open Thread 3/27/2016

For all you Christians out there, Happy Easter Sunday. Yes, I'm aware of the bizarre twists and turns this completely Syncretic holiday went down. But at least you get a combination of Martyr complex with a Germanic Goddess of fertility. That would make for some really weird Fanfiction, I must say. Either that or the next big Tween Love story.

So, after the big day yesterday, I couldn't help but imagine Hillary having a few words for DWS. So without further ado, I present to you The Caucus99Percent Theater Troupe rendition of:

The Dead Gimmick Sketch

Ms. Clinton: Hello, I wish to file a complaint.
Debbie Wasserman-Schultz: We're closing for Senate Recess.
FSC: Never mind that, my toadie. I wish to complain about this candidacy which I purchased a decade ago from this very Party.
DWS: Oh yes, the, uh, the Inevitable Candidacy...What's, uh...What's wrong with it?
FSC: I'll tell you what's wrong with it, you idiot. It's dead, that's what's wrong with it!
DWS: No, no, uh,... It's an just a dip in the polls.
FSC: Look, Debbie, I know a dead Marketing gimmick when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now.
DWS: No no it's not dead, it's, it's restin'! Remarkable Idea, the Inevitable Candidacy, idn'it, ay? Fantastic Focus Testing!
FSC: The Focus Testing don't enter into it. It's stone dead.
DWS: Nononono, no, no! It's just message fatigue!
FSC: All right then, if it's just in need of a marketing surge, I'll wake it up! (shouting at a nearby Microphone) Hello, Mr. BLITZER! I've got a lovely fresh Neilsen Rating for you if you show...
(Debbie Points to a graph)
DWS: There, it moved!
FSC: No, it didn't, that was you lying about the Superdelegates!
DWS: I never!!
FSC: Yes, you did!
DWS: I never, never did anything...
FSC: (yelling and hitting a microphone repeatedly) HELLO Rachel Maddow!!!!! Testing! Testing! Testing! Testing! This is your nine o'clock alarm call!
(Takes Mike and thumps it on the counter. Throws it up in the air and watches it plummet to the floor.)
FSC: Now that's what I call a dead Gimmick.
DWS: No, no.....No, They're stunned!
FSC: STUNNED?!?
DWS: Yeah! You stunned them, just as they were going to vote! Inevitability Candidacies stun folks easily, Ms. Future-President.
FSC: Um...now look...now look, Debbie, I've definitely had enough of this. That Gimmick is definitely deceased, and when I purchased it a decade ago, you assured me that its total lack of youth appeal was due to it being a message that only appealed to the serious voters.
DWS: Well, it's...it's, ah...probably only because the voters are all racists.
FSC: They're ALL RACISTS!?!?!?!? What kind of talk is that?, look, why did it fall flat the moment I got out of the south?
DWS: The Inevitable Candidate prefers being flat and in the south! Remarkable idea, id'nit, your majesty. Great Focus Testing!
FSC: Look, I took the liberty of examining that gimmick when It lost the first time, and I discovered the only reason that it had been bandied about in the media in the first place was that it had been NAILED there.
(pause)
DWS: Well, o'course it was nailed there! If I hadn't nailed that gimmick down, it would have nuzzled up to those voters, Stunned them with the sheer truth, and VOOM! They'd have installed you as a Queen!
FSC: "VOOM"?!? Sweetheart, this gimmick wouldn't "voom" if you got Freddie Mercury to put on daily nationwide free concerts! It's FUCKING demised!
DWS: No no! They're Racists!
FSC: THEY'RE NOT RACISTS'! They're goddamned Hippies! This gimmick is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker! It's a stiff! Bereft of life, It rests in peace! If you hadn't bribed the media to play it, it'd be pushing up the daisies! It's metrics and minority appeal are HISTORY! It's off the map! It's Played OUT, Seabiscuit Is being flogged, Brunhilde is warming up backstage and It has forks protruding from every centimeter of exposed flesh!! THIS IS AN EX-CANDIDACY!!
(pause)
DWS: Well, I'd better replace it, then. (she takes a quick peek behind the counter) Sorry Madame Secretary, I've had a look 'round the back of the shop, and uh, we're right out of ideas.
FSC: I see. I see, I get the picture.
DWS: (pause) The other side could still nominate Trump.
(pause)
FSC: Pray, does that scare the hippies enough?
DWS: Nnnnot really.
FSC: WELL IT'S HARDLY A BLOODY REPLACEMENT, IS IT?!!???!!?
DWS: N-no, I guess not. (gets ashamed, looks at her feet)
FSC: Well.
(pause)
DWS: (quietly) D'you.... d'you want to come back to my place?
FSC: (Inhales Angrily)... GODDAMMIT BILL!! I KNEW there was a reason he said you were Perfect!

(Apologies to Michael Palin and John Cleese. I have to admit that I feel no shame stealing ideas liberally from the greats. After all, Scrub Jay is my spirit animal. Smile )

Moving along to the international news, which is what I tend to enjoy most of the time, Well, perhaps ENJOY isn't a word I'd use as much. Patronize would be probably more accurate.

While everybody is concerned about the bombings going on in Europe, back in Iraq, it's known as Friday. Seems like the instant the US announced we were sticking our nose back in, ISIS decided to ramp up their game. And why not? With us back in the country, they can look forward to millions of dollars paid to our local "Allies" who can then immediately go back to shooting our soldiers on their days off. I apologize for excessive cynicism but this one is so obvious that even a blind person can see this one from miles away.

I thought we had finally gotten the message that our environment is a fragile and rapidly Eroding gem. Well, can someone please forward that one to Fucking Japan? 333 dead whales. All for "Scientific Research". I'm not a vegetarian, but dammit, these kinds of stories are making me want to change my mind. At least non-factory killing societies acknowledge the sacrifice of life for food. IMHO, it can be treated with a bit of respect. This entire "we're just doing research" crap cheapens the value of the lives given.

Minor thing I'm Happy about... Tiny Plastic Men is back on the air! I personally love Canadian Comedy, and for those of you who might be fans of the "Mass Effect" series, it stars Mark Meer! Ok, this one is just MINOR news, but it's something that I really enjoy. Chris Craddock's a funny as hell actor/writer, it involves a lot of Improv actors from the Toronto/Edmonton area, and has no shame about being geeky comedy.

Which makes me kinda sad to go back to the middle East, after some fun news, but we're not the ONLY ones bombing the hell out of Yemen. Yep, not only are the Saudi's bombing them, they're using Cluster Bombs. You know the same things that Hillary Clinton never gave a shit about us using. Hell, I had a problem with us using Illumination Flares, because you couldn't tell what was a harmless piece of metal and what was dangerous. And those are supposed to be OBVIOUS.

Today, I think we should all have the right to just slap a climate change denier. Seriously. When stories like this are coming out of Papua New Guinea It's just not freaking funny anymore. Flint is just what the rest of the world is dealing with, coming home. I don't like to rage against Corporations, but their pursuit of money would have us all living like this if it mean one more dickhead executive got his own Turbomansion.

So, for music today, I decided to go with some selections that I enjoy which are a little more mainstream, but still not listened to enough, IMHO. I'm a huge fan of Mark Knopfler, so Here's some stuff off his more recent albums that the MSM decided to completely ignore in this country.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctB7V2x81ng][video:https://www.youtube.c...

And Some more Goth Music, because I enjoy it, and you need a positive note to end on.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDkjkdAT-Yc][video:https://www.youtube.c...

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Stephen Carll's picture

That was a fine take. Cheers

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“I'll show you politics in America. Here it is, right here. 'I think the puppet on the right shares my beliefs.' 'I think the puppet on the left is more to my liking.' 'Hey, wait a minute, there's one guy holding out both puppets!'”- Bill Hicks

detroitmechworks's picture

Comedy in the vein of Python anymore, but of course, it didn't happen in THIS country. TPM is close, but they're Canadian, after all. Smile

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Bisbonian's picture

Michael Palin and John Cleese...this is the very reason they wrote that sketch.

You nailed it. NAILED it.

Tell us a bit about Scrub Jays. We have Piñon Jays, Mexican Jays, and Scrub Jays, here.

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"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

detroitmechworks's picture

Palin said that he got the inspiration from a Mechanic who never wanted to do any work whatsoever, and would never acknowledge a problem.

Scrub Jays are a Medium Sized Blue Corvid that's very prevalent out west. They're highly intelligent, adaptive urban dwellers, and live in unusual family groups. (Usually Monogamous, but often have "Helper" family members that raise chicks, but don't have their own children.) Interestingly enough they found that the Scrub Jay actually holds "Wakes" for the deceased. They're also extremely highly aware birds who hide food, borrow from the caches of other Jays, and rehide their food if another Jay is watching them. And they get along VERY well with Humans, but can't really be tamed because they LOATHE being kept in cages. (And they cry like infants when chicks for their parents. Very highly advanced socially/intellectually. On par with Great Apes as far as cognitive testing)

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jiordan's picture

Looks like the Holy Grail and Life of Brian are on deck for afternoon movies. Oh, and brilliant steal, my compliments.

I'm in such a good mood after the 3-state blowout yesterday...watched Bernie color in the WA map on the Guardian site for a while and went to bed happy. Thanks for the news and the music, dmw--hope you and yours are having a great day!

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Bisbonian's picture

until yesterday. Great comedy! And, Hillary never appeared at all.

Every county!!

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"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

detroitmechworks's picture

felt the need to point out that this is just a "Come from Behind" moment. He's SOOO Far back...

At a certain point, they should take off the "Team Hillary" jersey if they want us to take em seriously.

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detroitmechworks's picture

And slept in. My usual Sunday. Doing Ok, just end of the month broke blues. Smile

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There's a long story about how I got to that point, but at one time I had made labels to sew in clothes that I made for myself. The labels read "La Papagaya Muerta". (Yes, I know there's no feminine papagayo in Spanish, but I'm not a guy, you know?)

Very funny translation, yours.

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detroitmechworks's picture

I admit that I am not much for "Cage Birds" because the idea of keeping an animal in a cage that really deserves to be out and about bugs me. I think of birds like cats. You wouldn't keep one of them in a cage 24/7, and yet we expect birds to be fine...

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Feels like a guilty pleasure, but have to admit: doubled-up laughing.

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Euterpe2

detroitmechworks's picture

Not sure what it is about that sketch that works so well, but I think it has to do with all of us being able to see it, and the MSM just ignoring it completely.

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Cosmic's picture

What a great morning eh? So, on Friday I was lucky enough to get to hear Noam Chomsky & Glenn Greenwald in person and Ed Snowden via Skype discuss Privacy with a moderator. It was Awesome! Then after that I buzzed downtown and saw David Crosby sing songs of peace and love (with bonus political rants thrown in) in a voice as pure as it ever was.

When I get some free time later today I'll put up a post about the Privacy event.

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Raggedy Ann's picture

What a great day! Essay, please! I want to experience it vicariously through your story!

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

detroitmechworks's picture

I always enjoy retellings of good conversations. They're awfully fun.

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mjsmeme's picture

coronation.jpg

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Raggedy Ann's picture

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

detroitmechworks's picture

recently with their parodies of the political class.

Of course, when you're kowtowing to the Powers that be, it is admittedly a bit like biting the hand...

But what a way to go out in style, eh?

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Szaephod's picture

Mark Fiores that is,

Like this one…

http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/video_climate_interruptus_20151113

Happy Easter to you and yours, DMW!

Great skit BTW!

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The spirit of party serves to enfeeble the Public Administration,
agitates with Jealousies and false alarms, and opens the door to corruption,
which finds access to the government itself through the channels of party passions.
George Washington

detroitmechworks's picture

IIRC he's been getting a lot of shit over there recently.

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Szaephod's picture

And then just to recover old (scorned) material, and even then I minimize my clicks there to deprive the GOS.

Best,

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The spirit of party serves to enfeeble the Public Administration,
agitates with Jealousies and false alarms, and opens the door to corruption,
which finds access to the government itself through the channels of party passions.
George Washington

Dumber than you think

Last week, President Obama made a historic trip to Cuba and the right-wing went absolutely insane. Republicans were outraged that our president had the audacity to reestablish a relationship with the country more than fifty years after the Cuban Missile Crisis. After the trip to Cuba, The Onion, a satire website, decided to post a fictional article about his trip home; but, in a hilarious turn of events, paranoid conservatives didn’t get the joke and Snopes actually had to debunk the article.

On March 23, The Onion shared a doctored picture of Air Force One flying low with a bunch of people on its wings and the photo was captioned,”Hundreds Of Cuban Refugees Clinging To Air Force One On Flight Back To U.S.”:

The comment section under the article soon filled with people who thought it was real:

onion1.jpg

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Alison Wunderland's picture

Just how stupid are anti-immigrant conservatives?

Is there a lower bound?

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Captain Obvious

TRUMP: Well, I thought the approach of fighting Assad and ISIS simultaneously was madness, and idiocy. They’re fighting each other and yet we’re fighting both of them. You know, we were fighting both of them. I think that our far bigger problem than Assad is ISIS, I’ve always felt that. Assad is, you know I’m not saying Assad is a good man, ’cause he’s not, but our far greater problem is not Assad, it’s ISIS.

SANGER: I think President Obama would agree with that.

TRUMP: O.K., well, that’s good. But at the same time – yeah, he would agree with that, I think to an extent. But I think, you can’t be fighting two people that are fighting each other, and fighting them together. You have to pick one or the other. And you have to go at –
...
TRUMP: Yes, the oil that ISIS is pumping, where they’re getting tremendous amounts of revenue. I’ve said, hit the banking channels. You know, they have very sophisticated banking channels, which I understand, but I don’t think a lot of people do understand. You know, they’re taking in tremendous amounts of money from banking channels. That, you know, many people in countries that you think are our allies, are giving ISIS tremendous amounts of money and it’s going through very dark banking channels. And we should have stopped those banking channels long ago and I think we’ve done nothing to stop them, and that money is massive. Massive. It’s a massive amount of money. So it’s not only from oil, David, it’s from also the bank, the bank. It’s through banks. And very sophisticated channels. They call them the dark channels. Very sophisticated channels. And money is coming in from people that we think are our allies.

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