Open Thread - Thurs 10 Nov 2022 - Stuff
Stuff!
Elections, Statues and Cowboys...
Elections:
Well, I have to admit that I didn't vote in the elections a few days ago. I thought about it, I filled out my mail-in ballot with mostly blanks or write-ins. Anyway, on Tuesday we had a huge wind storm, with very low temps for this time of year (around 22 days ago we had record highs! go figure!) and I didn't go out and drop off the ballot at a collection box. Instead I dropped it off in the woodstove to help start a fire. Ohh, well. No loss.
Our Ballot Collection Box, for Nov 2022
I suppose the good news is that the repubs don't have control of my state. And maybe not the US Senate. And Fetterman won. I like Fetterman. I hate Dr. Oz. He's so damned slimey. Locally, the slimey democrat Congressman won again. Ewww. But his opponent was even worse. And Senator Patty Murray, the 'mom in tennis shoes' won, which is good, I guess. Her opponent was not so great. Six terms for Murray now, she's 72. I dimly remember her promising back in the tennis shoe days to serve only two terms, or maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part. Time to find a younger successor, Patty!
Roman News:
I found this news highlighted in several places, for instance on the webpages for the BBC, RT and my local news. Under a Roman bathhouse in Tuscany, in an ancient thermal spring, were found several dozen supremely well preserved bronze statues. The statues date to the time when the area went from being under Etruscan control to Roman control (2nd C BC to 1st C AD). 6,000 coins were found as well. The find adds to the knowledge about how the transition between Etruscan and Roman control happened, and how, even if the Etruscan and Roman elite families in the area were fighting outside the sanctuary and spring, they were practicing religion together inside that sanctuary. Check out the links above because they've got different pictures. So cool!
This statue found in the thermal spring looks, to me, like the current popular vision (minus the hair-do) of what constitutes a good looking woman. Huge eyes, pouty lips and all. (source, BBC article above)
Inspired by the statue above:
Monday I was at the gym, yes, me, at the gym! Anyway, the music playing was mostly 70's and 80's mainstream rock, good beat, great for getting the reps in. Then suddenly this song I'd never heard before came on, and... I about fell off the ab machine laughing. The video for the song, which I looked up after I came home, features women, and an actual doll (with the guy in the car), that look remarkably like the statue pictured above. So here's the video. Clear your mouth before listening to the chorus! You'll laugh!
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HflDc7PUT2g]
So, thanks for reading and here's the open thread - and remember, everything is interesting if you dive deep enough, even gym music, so tell us about where you're diving!
Comments
Hey everyone!
Hope your day is going, and has gone, well! I'm gonna be raking leaves, now that the winds and the rain have stopped. Fun! Actually, it's one of the chores I like a lot about Fall, so it is fun!
Let us know what's up, how you doing? Now that the midterms are over, should we start into the holidays?
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Midterm election winner? The status quo types in both parties
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/progressive-agenda-clob...
Boy...
ain't that the truth. In my state, it's impossible for someone from a third party to win. They aren't even listed on the ballot, it's only the 'top two' which are always the Dems and the Reps. So how can anyone different win? Ever?
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Autumn Leaves
A bit windy to corral the leaves today.
It's like hearing cats. The go wherever they want.
Good luck with yours and thanks for the OT!
Wind and Leaves...
herding cats is an appropriate comparison! I wait until it's rained once or twice, and then do the raking, so the leaves aren't quite so light and wind friendly. Ended up not raking today anyway, family stuff intervened.
Thanks for the great song!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
It's beyond my imagination that the election results
were what they were. After all everyone was enamored with Joementia
not keeping one election promise. But then after watching the relentless
cavalcade of ad's from the right about crime and guns and the left going
on about abortion that most people have figured out that neither party
cares about us the people.
On the Joementia not keepeing an election promise, I heard yesterday
he has promised to veto any SS-Medicare cut, that's not a good sign at all.
Therefore I put on my tinfoil hat and say tptb pretty much knew the what
the result of this election would be long before voting started. As the saying
goes if voting mattered they wouldn't let us vote.
Indian summer will officially come to an end today. Novemeber has been late
Sept like and yesterday after hitting 72 today it will hit 76. Tomorrow the
high will be in the high 40's and that will be the highest high for the next
2 weeks.
Winter is coming in more ways than one, buckle up everyone
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
I think the tinfoil hat is appropriate...
I think they knew when they let the abortion ruling go through. I think the Dems wanted that, for obvious reasons, and the Repubs as well, but it didn't play out quite like they hoped (for the Repubs). I dunno, we may be too 'tinfoily', but I think not!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Good morning...
It has been a weird week for me. A buddy came over to help me repair a soffit. I was up about 12 feet when my ladder slipped out from under me. I landed on a deck on my side. Luckily with nothing broken, but plenty bruised and sore even to today. Seventy somethings on ladders aren't a good idea.
Like you Sima, I didn't vote. No one to vote for in my very red state. Georgia next door has more interesting elections, and I guess there's a run off there for the US senate.
I got a battery powered leaf blower a few years ago. I use it to keep the decks cleared. We still have some time before the end of leaf fall, so we've not raked the yard. Hurricane remnants pass by tomorrow and will put more on the ground. We rake them onto a tarp and drag them down to the garden.
We once traveled to Bath. Lots of cools statuary, coins, and artifacts there too.
Thanks for the OT!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Listen to yourself
70 and ladders are a no no!
Feel better mate!
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
Good morning Lookout - I concur
Just put ours away after doing gutter guard install so that I never need to clean them again. No falls, but a few hurried dismounts from other than the bottom rung, one involving a dive into the Mexican Sage. Now I need to figure how to hang xmas tree lights since I can't hook them over the gutter anymore and hope we get enough rain to keep the solar panels clean.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
I used to do the gutter cleaning stuff...
and hubby used to do the Christmas lights. But we've stopped. We found a local company that will do them both for a reasonable price and... well, it's young adults up on the roofs, not us oldsters.
Solar panels? I want some. Want to set them up to power the wellhouse first!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Ack, I hate going up ladders...
I'm so scared of falling off one. That you were up a ladder really puts me in awe. And the fall makes me sad, but you are right, 70 somethings up a ladder aren't a good idea.
Your comment on leaf fall made me rethink my plans for today. I noticed that the trees still have about 1/3 of their leaves. So nope, didn't rake today. Instead did family stuff. When I do rake them up, I might try the tarp idea. Usually, it's wheelbarrow load after wheelbarrow load, all onto the compost heap.
Bath rocks. It's where I introduced my husband to Roman things. I think it was a good spot for that introduction :).
Feel better, heal well, after that ladder fall!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Is this
the real thing, or just a fantasy?
IDK.
https://twitter.com/macakcarli/status/1590722413343698946
"⚡️⚡️⚡️#InsideOur
source in the OP said that Sullivan proposed to Zelensky the formula/drafts of the negotiation track with the Kremlin, which should become the basis of the new Minsk/Istanbul/Riyadh-3. According to preliminary agreements, Ukraine withdraws Kherson, and the front is established along the Dnieper and further frozen along the line of contact in the Zaporozhye / Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Ukraine receives electricity from the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, and its critical infrastructure is no longer fired by rockets. The West is providing a $50 billion loan and some of Russia's frozen/confiscated assets to rebuild Ukraine. Separately, Kyiv receives modern air defense systems and artillery installations / tanks.
Resident
⚡️⚡️⚡️#Inside
Our source in the OP said that negotiations between the US and Russia have been going on actively for the past month, and Saudi Arabia is the negotiating platform. The main negotiation line is at the level of close associates, from the US side it is Sullivan, ..."
Time Will Tell...
NYCVG
Is it possible
that there's actually an adult with a functioning brain somewhere in DC?
Coulda knocked me over with a feather...
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
You are so optimistic!
'an adult with a functioning brain somewhere in DC'? I think it's more that the profit is waning, or something. But maybe, just maybe there's a person with a brain in DC. Would be nice!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Could be. Profits are running out.
One pundit noted, cannot remember who, that there could be some backdoor negotiations as MIC profits have been set for long term contracts. Now only direct cash payments to Ukrainian elites who will steal most to all of it anyway. If a peace deal is reached I would bet that Poland then comes in Western Ukraine to reclaim traditional areas.
Poland into Western Ukraine?
That's pessimistic, but I can see your point. It's a good one. That would make NATO freak, wouldn't it?
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
I've been noticing hints
about this too. Maybe, just maybe, saner heads are prevailing. Or maybe the war isn't making enough money anymore. Next, I bet the news starts to talk about how 'nazi' the Ukrainians are, after ignoring it for the last year or so...
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Veto any SS cuts". Yeah, right.
He's got his own plan to put everyone on a Medicare Advantage plan, subsidized so that it's "almost free".
On to Biden since 1973
That's what I think too
Like Biden and his handlers would ever do anything against the for profit health conglomerates. Come on, all of us know better.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
One more court hearing this afternoon,
then it is 3 days away from work!
The cool front moving in tomorrow will become a cold front Saturday. Winter is arriving!
I once felt ashamed if I didn't vote. Now, I am feeling somewhat ashamed for voting! Lol!
I loved the statues at Bath, Rome, Athens, and Easter Island. It is wonderful they discovered the ones featured in the OT.
The community center gardening group is next door, weeding and cleaning up the community garden. They brought a blue tooth speaker, and they are working to the sounds of flamenco, bossa nova, and classical music. I have been watching and listening from my deck. Nice!
I must listen to the cowboy riding song after court. I do not need any distraction. With every guy in cowboy boots, including my Dear One, I might not be able to focus on the matter at hand.
Thanks for the OT, Sima, and I hope the kids are alright.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
3 day weekend sounds great!
The goats are doing well. The kids have a new home and are really doing well there, they've learned to go hiking with their new owners! We've got one goat who's become an escape artist. She's gonna escape into the mouths of the local coyotes if she ain't careful!
The gardening group music sounds fun!
Enjoy the cowboy riding song! I would not be able to listen to it until in a 'safe' place either. The people at the gym probably think I'm nuts anyways, so it was ok there :).
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Good morning SIMA. I always vote to show my
dissatisfaction with the uniparty and to try to keep the state constitution as uncluttered as possible. Every now and then there is something like this year's prop 1 that really needs to be enacted, but most of the crap they propose should be, it enacted at all, legislation, not an amendment.
A whole boatload of projects just put to rest, so today is mostly going to be rest except for a visit to ye local infusion center for my fix and making some banh-mi for dinner while idly trying to get a stack of OTs queued up to cover upcoming travels and day trips.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
I generally vote for this same...
exact reason. To express my dissatisfaction. However, the ballot this year was really, really... nothing important on it, only two choices for each position (WA state is a 'top two' oligarchy) it just seemed dumb to go out in the storm and deposit the ballots. Now, I did vote in the primaries, because there I can express dissatisfaction, and vote for other parties and so on.
Good luck with the stack of OTs. I have to do that myself soon!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
I've been at home all week
I've been at home all week with a sick teenager and 3 year old. I think I might be starting to come down with it now. Merde. Meanwhile the husband is leaving for the next 4 days. Fun times!! Anyway, it comes down to: this election is not high on my brain power list right now. Hopefully this all clears up before we leave for Thanksgiving back in Kansas with family for the first time in over a decade.
If it was easy, everyone would do it.
Get better, get better!
Being sick this time of year is kinda normal, but I hate it. I try to avoid people this time of year, so I can avoid getting sick. Which means, of course, that I get sick in December or January. Heh. Oh well.
Get better before going back to Kansas!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
My mail in ballot was mostly blank.
More interested in state measures that made it onto the ballot. I think I did not miss voting in any election since I turned 18. Missed several elections over the last decade and nothing changed. I did write to my so-called liberal Congresswoman a number of years ago that Russiagate could help contribute and devolve into an armed conflict with Russia. I got back a nasty reply basically calling Russia an evil country.
Ha! Same thing happened to me
I wrote a very polite letter to our senator (the one who is the chair of the armed service committee)
several years ago to point out the fact that all of these military expenditures were draining the
country of resources and destabilizing world security. Got some utter BS form letter back
about supporting our heroes in uniform, or some such. The clown is a bought and paid for
congressional salesman for the MIC. (Jack Reed). Not a representative of the people. And
they are trained to spew all of this nonsense about freedom and democracy. I asked a
pretty simple question. Can you figure out a way to re-tool the arms industry in this state
to create a sustainable alternative? I even gave suggestions. Crickets.
I have voted in most elections too..
Even when I lived in Britain. This time though, with the weather and the political stupidity, I just didn't care. I get 'letters' (basically emails) from my congressman and senators a lot. Around election time, even more. Most of the time they only tangentially respond to my concerns, or deliberately misinterpret them. It's so frustrating.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
All letters and emails I receive from politicans
or support groups ask for a donation.
I did watch the video about Save a Horse after court, and all I saw was men wearing tennis shoes, and my husband, A/K/A Dear One, had on work boots. He mowed about 4 acres for the last time until spring. He may celebrate with a shot or two of whiskey.
I can always suggest he put on a pair of Tecovas, his color choice, as they are all damn hot.
He has the taco meat nice and hot, time to go eat!
Great the kids are being magical and making memories for folks!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981