CBA talks resume, but don't get your hopes up. Urban's out in Jacksonville but there's a job opening in Gainesville. Also: Sedition, activism, snacks, and business suits.
The Democrats aren't rudderless. The Build Back Better bill clearly indicates the progressive direction the party wants to move. Everyone in the House and the Senate lest two people is moving in that direction. Yes, there are a lot of problems with how the Dems are campaigning. But the failure of BBB is entirely on those two obstructionists in the Senate.
Well, and also on the 50 Republicans who have made it clear they won't lift a finger to help the Dems govern or come up with workable alternatives to anything. It didn't use to be this way.
True, but a major problem for Democrats is that the popularity of those bills is unevenly distributed, so there's effectively zero electoral downside for GOP opposition.
Also it takes more than 20 nanoseconds to describe what they will do and how it will help people, and neither the mainstream media nor the GOP has an attention span longer than that required to scream NO SOCIALISM every once in a while.
It's the meme from I Think You Should Leave with the man in the hot dog suit crashing the Weinermobile into the office building and then declaring "we're all trying to find out who did this!!" It's the meme with Eric Andre shooting Hannibal Burress. God dammit, it's all so fucking dumb. Our country is insane. We're Springfield. We're Pawnee. We're probably doomed.
Same here, just different specific manifestations. Ahh, the privilege I enjoy as a European-American inheritor of sufficient generational wealth in a state that's not on fire. Though Minnesota last night most likely recorded its first-ever December tornada in meteorological history... Baffin Island sounds nice.
The Democrats are shit at marketing. The GOP makes people care because they divide - either you're with them or you're not, but you know where you stand. Nobody's ever been re-elected just because they got 60% of their campaign promises met. Politics isn't about passing bills.
The BBB won't completely fail, but if the Dems were intelligent and moving as one they'd have pundits flipping their shit on national cable news so the diehards get motivated. Unfortunately, the fractious nature of Democratic politics (i.e. not to offend everyone at the same time, playing by the rules, and generally being menschen) won't stand for this.
I still think the GOP is butthurt that Bill Clinton stole much of their platform when he was elected.
I have often thought about not being a mensch and not playing by the rules, and within seconds the idea makes me ill. Granted, I am not Chuck Schumer and it's fine for me to want to be above the fray since I am not in the fray. But as much as I agree at some level the Dems need to be in the trenches, my personal morality vetoes the idea every time.
I'm 1000% with you, man. I do change management stuff at work and part of this is providing options to folks that object to stuff and making them feel like the "right option" is their idea. Democrats have a lot to learn and it's maddening.
The best way for Democrats to "win" is to enact public policy that's so good it can't be denied. Things that will actually help "regular" people. Things like cancelling student debt or healthcare reform. Cranky republicans may not want "handouts" but when they realize they can visit a doctor without the fear of crippling debt they'd get used to it pretty quick. But the reality is very few people in government actually want this meaningful change and its way easier for the two parties to do nothing, blame each other, and then high five behind closed doors.
Nah. They won't win like that. You're right it benefits everyone but the Republicans have telegraphed "taxes are bad and they take your hard earned money" for years, regardless of where the taxes go. So, they obstruct anything that might make their opinion go away.
What the Dems need to do is focus the appeal of legislation to individuals. Not "this is great for our country," but "this is great for YOU." As it's clear enough that the only thing Republican voters care about is themselves.
I saw it close up in my workplace a few years ago when jobs were all evaluated and reclassified. The number of categories of pay dropped to half of what it was, so some people who used to be a job grade higher than a coworker were now the same level, or they used to be the same level and now they were a slot lower. Even if they got a raise and in some cases they had a jump of 5% in pay they were incensed that they WERE A LOWER JOB LEVEL.
In my own work, one position that used to be an equivalent grade to mine is now one step lower, and a person tried to make the argument that because they fill in for me if I'm out sick (spoiler: they only sort of do it, they can't do everything I can) that they should be the same pay level as my position.
Even though they got a raise they weren't getting as much of a raise as I was and decided it was a joke. Which it really wasn't because when you have fewer categories there is always going to be some of that, but he was furious.
I've made this comment before, probably here, but nothing terrifies white boomers more than the idea that darker skinned people are getting some kind of benefit they feel is undeserved.
The Dems have been getting their ass kicked since 2010 and relied on demographic changes and Robbie Mook to right the ship, both of which have proven to be disastrous decisions. Trying to cast all the blame on Manchin and Sinema (who, of course, deserve unlimited scorn) is a convenient way for the party to avoid any serious introspection for a second consecutive decade.
Even the fact that they bother negotiating with two obvious bad-faith actors is a moral failure. Let us not forget that the entire strategy this summer and the key point of leverage was tying BIF and BBB together. Instead, they capitulated and, as the loony, naive left had been warning all year, the conservatives (in both parties) were happy to pull the rug out from under them - but not before these "negotiations" have whittled BBB into a fraction of the original vision.
Outside of that, there are very easy wins on the table for Biden that bypass congress and would galvanize voters - continue the CTC payments, deschedule marijuana and forgive student debt, for starters.
Easy wins on the table are great. But until they happen nobody's won. I mean, there's been ZERO movement on that third paragraph. At what point in time will those move ahead?
They won't, of course. We are far closer to living in some kind of Weimar-esque stasis of permanent minority rule than we are to the Democrats passing any meaningful legislation.
(For those unfamiliar, McLuhan's seminal 1967 book is actually entitled "The Medium is the Massage" -- the legend is that when the first printing came back with the typo, he thought it was better than the original title, plucked from his 1964 book "Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man")
I'm an awful proofreader because I just correct typos in my head and move on, so I went back to find that and you're absolutely right. It's more perfect that way than the correct spelling could ever be.
Re: That ties article - you're right, it's pathetic. Not just the enforcement of conformity but also the blatant gatekeeping, a ready excuse to not offer a job to a young applicant who is wearing the wrong suit or tie because he didn't learn the unwritten signaling rules from his (usually well-off, usually white) parents. He's told he's just "not a good fit." That kind of bullshit makes me so mad. I laugh at the old white guys who can't figure out rules for status when people are wearing whatever the heck they want.
Re: Urban Meyer: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Not so easy to coach when you have to deal with actual professional grown men, is it? Poor man-baby.
It reminds me of something that Steve Yzerman said about being the captain of the Red Wings, when he was asked some question about how he "grew into the role" or similar.
He said when the team was losing, he was a bad captain, when the team was winning, he was a good captain, and when the team finally won a Cup he was a great captain. Yzerman always seemed to have a keen sense of how much winning and losing was a TEAM effort and it won or lost with a bunch of talented players, not just a couple stars surrounded by scrubs.
Yup. And you know who I want as my coach? Someone who handles losing with grace and doesn't take it out on their players. Someone who still motivates and inspires players even in the midst of a shitty season. Having a happy clubhouse and great work environment is easy(ish) when you're winning. Show me you can do that when you're losing.
It sort of a parallel to your "born on third base" comment recently. As a college coach, Meyer was born on third base. In the NFL he started in the batter's box and was lost there.
(Not that anyone expected him to immediately make the Jags a playoff team, but he could have avoided shooting himself in the foot at every opportunity)
Harbaugh turned out to be pretty good in the NFL, but it's hard to think of who else has actually had success from the college leap. In terms of Meyer, it's probably also easier to be less of a dick when the teams are winning most of the time.
Though in this age, a lot of those college players he might have to deal with are getting NIL money and are not so easily led around by the noses. Not that we've seen revolts against coaches yet. But it's coming, and it should.
I think right now there is a fair amount of eyerolling but as personality cults start to ease and they are less impressed by being yelled at college coaches will also have to be more professional. Which is a good thing, they are young adults and the sooner they learn how to act like them (usually pretty quick transition unless they had helicopter parents) the better off they will be. And the happier too, probably. No one wants to be treated like a child when they aren't.
I wear suits everyday. It's fine. I like that in court. It makes the players easy to identify,
I don't know how big law works but I am sure my thrift store/hand me down and sometimes aspirational men's warehouse suits wouldn't fit in. And I am ok with that
I've been using the lack of baseball news to catch up on a number of things, including the Beatles. Having been born just after their breakup, my life like yours I bet Craig has still been surrounded by all things Fab Four this whole time. I have been vaguely paying attention, passively enjoying songs on the radio, videos, the occasional special/anthology, even owning many Beatles things or having them passed down/along from friends/family, but never did a deep dive. The really, really good "Get Back" documentary inspired me to do a deeper dive the last few weeks, and it hasn't disappointed, especially focusing on the later stuff from Rubber Soul on and less on the poppy stuff of the early 60's, into George, John and Paul's solo (and, lamentably, Wings) stuff after, much of which is of varying quality with the very notable exception of the exceptional "All Things Must Pass" by George. The timing of yesterday's video release was perfect for me to enjoy "My Sweet Lord" that much more. It's a wacky video but was great fun, and does keep you watching for cameos and enjoying the really great song. There's a lifetime of great stuff out there to go find and to just highlight one site I found this week, Kenneth Womack's excellent site "Everything Fab Four" which does deep dives, streams and book clubs - https://kennethwomack.com/ - check it out.
Check out https://theymaybeparted.com as well as the corresponding twitter account as well. Run by a Beatles wonk friend and dealing heavily in the minutiae of Beatleology. I still can't see myself sitting in front of the 8 hour documentary yet, but proud of those that have.
Nineteen Hundred and Eight-Five for the outro alone. (Which they sort of ruin with that little "Band on the Run" clip at the end. The big, bombastic finish would have been perfect without it.)
I’ve seen the ‘eat one of everything in the vending machine’ attempted many times, and for a lot less money, like $500 or less. It occurred over 10 years again while working in the financial sector and it involved MD level supervisors offering it up to just about anyone who would give it a try. Never successfully accomplished.
I’ve also seen donut eating contests (Krispey Kreme) 1 v 1 - most donuts in 15 minutes. Both participants puked. Also have seen a peeps eating contest, 50 in under 10 minutes, which was successful.
These ‘contests’ were always done out in the open and nothing hidden. Senior guys actually ran their own ‘book’ and big $$ was bet. This was when video recording with phones was in its infancy, so nowhere to post or record any of it. I can’t imagine this going on now at the particular firm I worked for, but I’ve been surprised before.
An engineering company my sister used to work for would do "pants checks" because they realized people were wearing colored denim pants to get around their "no jeans" rule. They also would give employees a tardy if they were more than 2 minutes late (even though they were salaried and worked at least 50 hour weeks anyway).
Shockingly they hemoraghed employees to other companies that treated them like adults and finally went out of business.
There was a website around a few years back where peeps were subjected to various conditions to see what happened, like dissolving them in various solvents or setting them on fire. I think it's gone now, sadly.
A college roommate of mine wanted to bet me that he could drink a gallon of milk in 5 minutes. I told him, "I'm not going to bet you because I'm certain you can't do it, but I'll tell you what - I'll buy the milk and you can say 'I told you so' if I'm wrong."
He requested *chocolate milk* which seems absolutely deranged. So I bought 2 half-gallons and told him, "The 2nd half-gallon is for me after you fail miserably at this."
After about 2 minutes he managed to finish the first half-gallon. I said, "Hey, you're on pace!" He stopped "to take a break for a second," took a deep breath, and then laid down on the couch for the next 90 minutes.
Wow, that’s phenomenal. I heard about that challenge, but never witnessed it. Another one is cinnamon, you can see a lot of people online trying that one - eating a tablespoon of it - all horrible failures.
You put the gum in your mouth and eat the peanut butter crackers. Peanut butter dissolves the gum.
Also, never forget the saltine challenge. 6 saltines in 60 seconds. Many a cocksure teen has died with on this hill with 3 crackers done and a mouth full of paste as the clock strikes 60.
If the serious MLB/MLBPA talks aren't happening until January, what was the point of starting the lockout in early December if they weren't even going to do anything for a month?
"locking the players out during the offseason would offer the owners several potential benefits. First, a lockout would likely impede any free agents from signing new contracts, while also indefinitely delaying the resolution of any upcoming arbitration cases. As a result, a lockout would leave a considerable number of players in a position of real uncertainty, which could lead some to agitate for the union to agree to terms on a new CBA more quickly, or on less favorable terms, than the MLBPA might otherwise prefer. Such agitation could also potentially create friction between different camps in the players union, driving a wedge between those players who are under definite contractual terms for next season and those whose salaries remain unsettled."
The whole decline of the ties thing reminds me somehow of the business card scene in American Psycho. Oh no, his card is embossed! Me, I hate them, period. I have two Jerry Garcia ties but like the Craigster I only wear them to weddings. They can symbolize the condition of bondage into which the bride and groom are entering at shotgun point.
I expect I will be getting multiple fundraising emails from Dems pitching their new 2022 campaign slogan: "But hey, maybe if we just vote harder it’ll all work out?"
When I saw the recent antivaxx incident written up I laughed and laughed. In Queens, New York? That's Blue Country. A Cheesecake Factory? Precious. Who ran this event, soccer moms from Suffolk County?
Antivaxxers can go step on a Lego, but at this point I'm not even upset at them. Just make them own the decision that they chose not to vaccinate, and put policies in place where COVID related medical treatments will not be covered should they contract the virus. I'll boost myself semiweekly if it's determined to be effective.
Not as blue as I wish. Don't forget that Trump was born in Queens. And there are large pockets of Republicans in the whiter and more Orthodox neighborhoods (including, sadly, my own). Never mind that there is a split between the party machine, which is moderate to conservative, and the up and coming progressives following AOC's lead. Though even the most conservative Dem is still pro-vaxx.
Ties have declined because men don't like to wear ties. I think we never really have. The first time I went to my old job's gala and the guest of honor was tieless, I saw the future. Personally, I like wearing a tie. When I went to my old job, I wore one every day as some sort of sign I was a professional doing a job (even though I didn't really need to). I doubt I will do so unless it turns out men in my office wear them now. And I almost always wear a tie for shabbos and holiday services in the synagogue, as do most men. Not all - you can tell an Israeli a lot of the time by the lack of a tie - but most. It seems more respectful, though I can't tell you why since it's not like Moses or Maimonides wore ties.
Guess what? Hats aren't dead in the Orthodox world, either! My father in law always wears a black hat to services, for one. There are reasons for this that are entirely based on hidebound tradition, but it means that the hat lives and some men still wear the heck out of them. Not many, but some.
I favor baseball caps a lot of the time, both for shade and, sadly, to keep my head covered in areas where I don't feel comfortable wearing a yarmulke. (Obviously, there are times that is not an option and risk wearing a yarmulke at most of those times. But a baseball cap and a suit looks odd.) Though "baseball cap" is rarely a cap for a baseball team, and certainly not right now. (My preferred cap these days is from the NY Botanical Garden, followed by a cap with the Nightwing logo from DC Comics.)
The only hats I wear are ballcaps or sun hats (to not get fried), winter hats (to not freeze), and I've got a couple of really fancy hats for RenFest which have ENORMOUS brims, as well as a bunch of feathers. So I don't have any problem taking hats off inside. I do keep them on if it's cold because otherwise my fingers and toes get too chilly.
I hate ties, hate them. My occasional court appearances have migrated to Zoom and unless it's in front of a judge that I will know will call me out, I've just stopped wearing a tie. Button up and coat is just fine.
I had a virtual appellate argument where the court stopped the other side's argument 15 seconds in and asked him to put on his jacket. So I don't take any chances.
Mine have all be fairly low stakes hearings in front of judges I know, so I feel pretty safe. If for some reason I found myself on zoom with an appellate court I would for sure look the part. There's one judge locally that I suspect for zoom court would make attorneys stand up and prove they're wearing a full suit and not shorts. But I try to stay out of that court as much as possible.
I would rather wear a tie than a jacket since I am sensitive to heat sometimes, but to each his own. (Ties are more interesting than blue blazers, anyway.)
I've been working from home for 7 years now. I pretty much live in shorts or sweats. Should have bought stock in Under Armour, Adidas, and Nike before pandemic started.
A friend of mine works for US Steel and they recently rang the opening bell on Wall St. to celebrate some anniversary that escapes me now. Most of the C-Suite was there and none of the men had on ties. Another friend watching at home texted that men wearing ties is officially dead.
I am in academia and have never had to wear a tie, but I do like dressing up on special occasions and referring to them as cravats.
We were planning on attending a Cangrejeros de Santurce baseball game in Puerto Rico tonight but their Twitter account tells me the game is suspended due to a positive COVID test. Our sunset sail last night was cancelled for the same reason. They aren't messing around in Puerto Rico. Proof of vaccination required to get into restaurants, 100% mask compliance in indoor public spaces, and entire businesses shut down for a single positive test for a few days while everyone else is tested
The Democrats aren't rudderless. The Build Back Better bill clearly indicates the progressive direction the party wants to move. Everyone in the House and the Senate lest two people is moving in that direction. Yes, there are a lot of problems with how the Dems are campaigning. But the failure of BBB is entirely on those two obstructionists in the Senate.
Well, and also on the 50 Republicans who have made it clear they won't lift a finger to help the Dems govern or come up with workable alternatives to anything. It didn't use to be this way.
And it works every time. Infuriating.
True, but a major problem for Democrats is that the popularity of those bills is unevenly distributed, so there's effectively zero electoral downside for GOP opposition.
Also it takes more than 20 nanoseconds to describe what they will do and how it will help people, and neither the mainstream media nor the GOP has an attention span longer than that required to scream NO SOCIALISM every once in a while.
It's the meme from I Think You Should Leave with the man in the hot dog suit crashing the Weinermobile into the office building and then declaring "we're all trying to find out who did this!!" It's the meme with Eric Andre shooting Hannibal Burress. God dammit, it's all so fucking dumb. Our country is insane. We're Springfield. We're Pawnee. We're probably doomed.
Same here, just different specific manifestations. Ahh, the privilege I enjoy as a European-American inheritor of sufficient generational wealth in a state that's not on fire. Though Minnesota last night most likely recorded its first-ever December tornada in meteorological history... Baffin Island sounds nice.
The Democrats are shit at marketing. The GOP makes people care because they divide - either you're with them or you're not, but you know where you stand. Nobody's ever been re-elected just because they got 60% of their campaign promises met. Politics isn't about passing bills.
The BBB won't completely fail, but if the Dems were intelligent and moving as one they'd have pundits flipping their shit on national cable news so the diehards get motivated. Unfortunately, the fractious nature of Democratic politics (i.e. not to offend everyone at the same time, playing by the rules, and generally being menschen) won't stand for this.
I still think the GOP is butthurt that Bill Clinton stole much of their platform when he was elected.
I have often thought about not being a mensch and not playing by the rules, and within seconds the idea makes me ill. Granted, I am not Chuck Schumer and it's fine for me to want to be above the fray since I am not in the fray. But as much as I agree at some level the Dems need to be in the trenches, my personal morality vetoes the idea every time.
I'm 1000% with you, man. I do change management stuff at work and part of this is providing options to folks that object to stuff and making them feel like the "right option" is their idea. Democrats have a lot to learn and it's maddening.
The best way for Democrats to "win" is to enact public policy that's so good it can't be denied. Things that will actually help "regular" people. Things like cancelling student debt or healthcare reform. Cranky republicans may not want "handouts" but when they realize they can visit a doctor without the fear of crippling debt they'd get used to it pretty quick. But the reality is very few people in government actually want this meaningful change and its way easier for the two parties to do nothing, blame each other, and then high five behind closed doors.
Nah. They won't win like that. You're right it benefits everyone but the Republicans have telegraphed "taxes are bad and they take your hard earned money" for years, regardless of where the taxes go. So, they obstruct anything that might make their opinion go away.
What the Dems need to do is focus the appeal of legislation to individuals. Not "this is great for our country," but "this is great for YOU." As it's clear enough that the only thing Republican voters care about is themselves.
A bunch of people will hate it even if they do benefit from it because someone else, who they have decided is less deserving, will benefit MORE.
They'd rather have NOTHING than have something, but less something than someone else.
I saw it close up in my workplace a few years ago when jobs were all evaluated and reclassified. The number of categories of pay dropped to half of what it was, so some people who used to be a job grade higher than a coworker were now the same level, or they used to be the same level and now they were a slot lower. Even if they got a raise and in some cases they had a jump of 5% in pay they were incensed that they WERE A LOWER JOB LEVEL.
In my own work, one position that used to be an equivalent grade to mine is now one step lower, and a person tried to make the argument that because they fill in for me if I'm out sick (spoiler: they only sort of do it, they can't do everything I can) that they should be the same pay level as my position.
Even though they got a raise they weren't getting as much of a raise as I was and decided it was a joke. Which it really wasn't because when you have fewer categories there is always going to be some of that, but he was furious.
This is all so sad.
I've made this comment before, probably here, but nothing terrifies white boomers more than the idea that darker skinned people are getting some kind of benefit they feel is undeserved.
The Dems have been getting their ass kicked since 2010 and relied on demographic changes and Robbie Mook to right the ship, both of which have proven to be disastrous decisions. Trying to cast all the blame on Manchin and Sinema (who, of course, deserve unlimited scorn) is a convenient way for the party to avoid any serious introspection for a second consecutive decade.
Even the fact that they bother negotiating with two obvious bad-faith actors is a moral failure. Let us not forget that the entire strategy this summer and the key point of leverage was tying BIF and BBB together. Instead, they capitulated and, as the loony, naive left had been warning all year, the conservatives (in both parties) were happy to pull the rug out from under them - but not before these "negotiations" have whittled BBB into a fraction of the original vision.
Outside of that, there are very easy wins on the table for Biden that bypass congress and would galvanize voters - continue the CTC payments, deschedule marijuana and forgive student debt, for starters.
Easy wins on the table are great. But until they happen nobody's won. I mean, there's been ZERO movement on that third paragraph. At what point in time will those move ahead?
They won't, of course. We are far closer to living in some kind of Weimar-esque stasis of permanent minority rule than we are to the Democrats passing any meaningful legislation.
Today's McLuhan Moment™ (when a -- or is that THE -- typo actually works better than what it should have been)
"It’d all be hung on the all of their scarlet-and-gray-pained basement rec room."
(For those unfamiliar, McLuhan's seminal 1967 book is actually entitled "The Medium is the Massage" -- the legend is that when the first printing came back with the typo, he thought it was better than the original title, plucked from his 1964 book "Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man")
I'm an awful proofreader because I just correct typos in my head and move on, so I went back to find that and you're absolutely right. It's more perfect that way than the correct spelling could ever be.
Re: That ties article - you're right, it's pathetic. Not just the enforcement of conformity but also the blatant gatekeeping, a ready excuse to not offer a job to a young applicant who is wearing the wrong suit or tie because he didn't learn the unwritten signaling rules from his (usually well-off, usually white) parents. He's told he's just "not a good fit." That kind of bullshit makes me so mad. I laugh at the old white guys who can't figure out rules for status when people are wearing whatever the heck they want.
Re: Urban Meyer: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Not so easy to coach when you have to deal with actual professional grown men, is it? Poor man-baby.
It reminds me of something that Steve Yzerman said about being the captain of the Red Wings, when he was asked some question about how he "grew into the role" or similar.
He said when the team was losing, he was a bad captain, when the team was winning, he was a good captain, and when the team finally won a Cup he was a great captain. Yzerman always seemed to have a keen sense of how much winning and losing was a TEAM effort and it won or lost with a bunch of talented players, not just a couple stars surrounded by scrubs.
Yup. And you know who I want as my coach? Someone who handles losing with grace and doesn't take it out on their players. Someone who still motivates and inspires players even in the midst of a shitty season. Having a happy clubhouse and great work environment is easy(ish) when you're winning. Show me you can do that when you're losing.
It sort of a parallel to your "born on third base" comment recently. As a college coach, Meyer was born on third base. In the NFL he started in the batter's box and was lost there.
(Not that anyone expected him to immediately make the Jags a playoff team, but he could have avoided shooting himself in the foot at every opportunity)
Harbaugh turned out to be pretty good in the NFL, but it's hard to think of who else has actually had success from the college leap. In terms of Meyer, it's probably also easier to be less of a dick when the teams are winning most of the time.
Good one. I blocked out Pete Carroll, because I don't like the guy.
True, and my thoughts immediately turned to Bobby Knight. I shudder to think what Meyer is like at home.
Meyer and Petrino sure, but Rhule was at Temple and Baylor, so I'll still give him the benefit of the doubt.
Though in this age, a lot of those college players he might have to deal with are getting NIL money and are not so easily led around by the noses. Not that we've seen revolts against coaches yet. But it's coming, and it should.
I think right now there is a fair amount of eyerolling but as personality cults start to ease and they are less impressed by being yelled at college coaches will also have to be more professional. Which is a good thing, they are young adults and the sooner they learn how to act like them (usually pretty quick transition unless they had helicopter parents) the better off they will be. And the happier too, probably. No one wants to be treated like a child when they aren't.
I wear suits everyday. It's fine. I like that in court. It makes the players easy to identify,
I don't know how big law works but I am sure my thrift store/hand me down and sometimes aspirational men's warehouse suits wouldn't fit in. And I am ok with that
Does everyone still with black, gray, and navy blue?
yes. I wear a dark brown one too
I've been using the lack of baseball news to catch up on a number of things, including the Beatles. Having been born just after their breakup, my life like yours I bet Craig has still been surrounded by all things Fab Four this whole time. I have been vaguely paying attention, passively enjoying songs on the radio, videos, the occasional special/anthology, even owning many Beatles things or having them passed down/along from friends/family, but never did a deep dive. The really, really good "Get Back" documentary inspired me to do a deeper dive the last few weeks, and it hasn't disappointed, especially focusing on the later stuff from Rubber Soul on and less on the poppy stuff of the early 60's, into George, John and Paul's solo (and, lamentably, Wings) stuff after, much of which is of varying quality with the very notable exception of the exceptional "All Things Must Pass" by George. The timing of yesterday's video release was perfect for me to enjoy "My Sweet Lord" that much more. It's a wacky video but was great fun, and does keep you watching for cameos and enjoying the really great song. There's a lifetime of great stuff out there to go find and to just highlight one site I found this week, Kenneth Womack's excellent site "Everything Fab Four" which does deep dives, streams and book clubs - https://kennethwomack.com/ - check it out.
Check out https://theymaybeparted.com as well as the corresponding twitter account as well. Run by a Beatles wonk friend and dealing heavily in the minutiae of Beatleology. I still can't see myself sitting in front of the 8 hour documentary yet, but proud of those that have.
"lamentably, Wings"??? What are you, a Commie?
live and let live... :)
jet is unquestionably the greatest thing produced by any beatle from 1965 to present
Nineteen Hundred and Eight-Five for the outro alone. (Which they sort of ruin with that little "Band on the Run" clip at the end. The big, bombastic finish would have been perfect without it.)
I’ve seen the ‘eat one of everything in the vending machine’ attempted many times, and for a lot less money, like $500 or less. It occurred over 10 years again while working in the financial sector and it involved MD level supervisors offering it up to just about anyone who would give it a try. Never successfully accomplished.
I’ve also seen donut eating contests (Krispey Kreme) 1 v 1 - most donuts in 15 minutes. Both participants puked. Also have seen a peeps eating contest, 50 in under 10 minutes, which was successful.
Jesus H. Christ, you've seen some shit, man.
These ‘contests’ were always done out in the open and nothing hidden. Senior guys actually ran their own ‘book’ and big $$ was bet. This was when video recording with phones was in its infancy, so nowhere to post or record any of it. I can’t imagine this going on now at the particular firm I worked for, but I’ve been surprised before.
Lol, they were wearing the complete package, suit and tie.
Allegedly, the engineering firm for which I work used to be all suit and tie, all the time, back maybe in the 80s and before.
"Casual Friday": No vest. ;-)
I do bow tie friday.
An engineering company my sister used to work for would do "pants checks" because they realized people were wearing colored denim pants to get around their "no jeans" rule. They also would give employees a tardy if they were more than 2 minutes late (even though they were salaried and worked at least 50 hour weeks anyway).
Shockingly they hemoraghed employees to other companies that treated them like adults and finally went out of business.
My casual Friday was the suit with no tie
The peeps eating contest made me feel like throwing up just thinking about it.
Surprisingly, the guy who completed it, didn’t throw up.
He was probably not a human but one of those lizard-people from V.
I wouldn't eat one Peep if you offered me $20. Those things are vile.
There was a website around a few years back where peeps were subjected to various conditions to see what happened, like dissolving them in various solvents or setting them on fire. I think it's gone now, sadly.
A college roommate of mine wanted to bet me that he could drink a gallon of milk in 5 minutes. I told him, "I'm not going to bet you because I'm certain you can't do it, but I'll tell you what - I'll buy the milk and you can say 'I told you so' if I'm wrong."
He requested *chocolate milk* which seems absolutely deranged. So I bought 2 half-gallons and told him, "The 2nd half-gallon is for me after you fail miserably at this."
After about 2 minutes he managed to finish the first half-gallon. I said, "Hey, you're on pace!" He stopped "to take a break for a second," took a deep breath, and then laid down on the couch for the next 90 minutes.
Wow, that’s phenomenal. I heard about that challenge, but never witnessed it. Another one is cinnamon, you can see a lot of people online trying that one - eating a tablespoon of it - all horrible failures.
Yeah, the cinnamon one is actually dangerous:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon_challenge#Health_dangers
At least with the milk drinking attempt, the only fallout was my idiot roommate feeling crappy for a few hours. :-)
I just went and watched a few of these idiots trying this - pretty fantastic fails.
You put the gum in your mouth and eat the peanut butter crackers. Peanut butter dissolves the gum.
Also, never forget the saltine challenge. 6 saltines in 60 seconds. Many a cocksure teen has died with on this hill with 3 crackers done and a mouth full of paste as the clock strikes 60.
I actually tried the saltine one and failed. Another is 2 slices of wonder bread in 60 seconds.
If the serious MLB/MLBPA talks aren't happening until January, what was the point of starting the lockout in early December if they weren't even going to do anything for a month?
Optics to make the owners look like they're in charge.
"locking the players out during the offseason would offer the owners several potential benefits. First, a lockout would likely impede any free agents from signing new contracts, while also indefinitely delaying the resolution of any upcoming arbitration cases. As a result, a lockout would leave a considerable number of players in a position of real uncertainty, which could lead some to agitate for the union to agree to terms on a new CBA more quickly, or on less favorable terms, than the MLBPA might otherwise prefer. Such agitation could also potentially create friction between different camps in the players union, driving a wedge between those players who are under definite contractual terms for next season and those whose salaries remain unsettled."
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/previewing-baseballs-cba-talks/
The whole decline of the ties thing reminds me somehow of the business card scene in American Psycho. Oh no, his card is embossed! Me, I hate them, period. I have two Jerry Garcia ties but like the Craigster I only wear them to weddings. They can symbolize the condition of bondage into which the bride and groom are entering at shotgun point.
My first thought was "that article reads like someone who views Patrick Bateman as an aspiration figure."
I expect I will be getting multiple fundraising emails from Dems pitching their new 2022 campaign slogan: "But hey, maybe if we just vote harder it’ll all work out?"
When I saw the recent antivaxx incident written up I laughed and laughed. In Queens, New York? That's Blue Country. A Cheesecake Factory? Precious. Who ran this event, soccer moms from Suffolk County?
Antivaxxers can go step on a Lego, but at this point I'm not even upset at them. Just make them own the decision that they chose not to vaccinate, and put policies in place where COVID related medical treatments will not be covered should they contract the virus. I'll boost myself semiweekly if it's determined to be effective.
Not as blue as I wish. Don't forget that Trump was born in Queens. And there are large pockets of Republicans in the whiter and more Orthodox neighborhoods (including, sadly, my own). Never mind that there is a split between the party machine, which is moderate to conservative, and the up and coming progressives following AOC's lead. Though even the most conservative Dem is still pro-vaxx.
anti vaxxers are everywhere
I'm guessing there's no Cheesecake Factory on Staten Island?
I just looked it up. Queens was 69%-30% Biden-Trump. Landslide, but still thousands and thousands of Trumpers.
Of course, but the more of a landslide it is, the less likely they come out of their caves.
Ties have declined because men don't like to wear ties. I think we never really have. The first time I went to my old job's gala and the guest of honor was tieless, I saw the future. Personally, I like wearing a tie. When I went to my old job, I wore one every day as some sort of sign I was a professional doing a job (even though I didn't really need to). I doubt I will do so unless it turns out men in my office wear them now. And I almost always wear a tie for shabbos and holiday services in the synagogue, as do most men. Not all - you can tell an Israeli a lot of the time by the lack of a tie - but most. It seems more respectful, though I can't tell you why since it's not like Moses or Maimonides wore ties.
i'm kind of sad we missed out on the fancy men's hat era of the early aughts to the pre 60's. but not that sad. baseball caps are way more comfy.
Guess what? Hats aren't dead in the Orthodox world, either! My father in law always wears a black hat to services, for one. There are reasons for this that are entirely based on hidebound tradition, but it means that the hat lives and some men still wear the heck out of them. Not many, but some.
I favor baseball caps a lot of the time, both for shade and, sadly, to keep my head covered in areas where I don't feel comfortable wearing a yarmulke. (Obviously, there are times that is not an option and risk wearing a yarmulke at most of those times. But a baseball cap and a suit looks odd.) Though "baseball cap" is rarely a cap for a baseball team, and certainly not right now. (My preferred cap these days is from the NY Botanical Garden, followed by a cap with the Nightwing logo from DC Comics.)
I've read that there are different styles of hat for the different sects/schools. I would love to see an illustrated guide.
Here is a very basic primer:
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-meaning-behind-of-different-jewish-hats/
Find a fancy hat you like and wear it anyway. You might start a trend!
At the very least you'll get compliments.
You will have to learn all the hat etiquette, though, about taking your hat off when entering a place, especially a private home....
The only hats I wear are ballcaps or sun hats (to not get fried), winter hats (to not freeze), and I've got a couple of really fancy hats for RenFest which have ENORMOUS brims, as well as a bunch of feathers. So I don't have any problem taking hats off inside. I do keep them on if it's cold because otherwise my fingers and toes get too chilly.
Still plenty of parts of Texas where you can rock a nice Stetson as part of your every day attire.
I hate ties, hate them. My occasional court appearances have migrated to Zoom and unless it's in front of a judge that I will know will call me out, I've just stopped wearing a tie. Button up and coat is just fine.
I had a virtual appellate argument where the court stopped the other side's argument 15 seconds in and asked him to put on his jacket. So I don't take any chances.
Mine have all be fairly low stakes hearings in front of judges I know, so I feel pretty safe. If for some reason I found myself on zoom with an appellate court I would for sure look the part. There's one judge locally that I suspect for zoom court would make attorneys stand up and prove they're wearing a full suit and not shorts. But I try to stay out of that court as much as possible.
I always have hard pants, but they are more likely shorts that suit pants
I would rather wear a tie than a jacket since I am sensitive to heat sometimes, but to each his own. (Ties are more interesting than blue blazers, anyway.)
I am tie, no coat for zoom court, like later today
I just can't with anything other than real pants/shorts. I feel icky if I am in pjs or sweats or athletic shorts after 10 am or before 10 pm
I've been working from home for 7 years now. I pretty much live in shorts or sweats. Should have bought stock in Under Armour, Adidas, and Nike before pandemic started.
A friend of mine works for US Steel and they recently rang the opening bell on Wall St. to celebrate some anniversary that escapes me now. Most of the C-Suite was there and none of the men had on ties. Another friend watching at home texted that men wearing ties is officially dead.
I am in academia and have never had to wear a tie, but I do like dressing up on special occasions and referring to them as cravats.
We were planning on attending a Cangrejeros de Santurce baseball game in Puerto Rico tonight but their Twitter account tells me the game is suspended due to a positive COVID test. Our sunset sail last night was cancelled for the same reason. They aren't messing around in Puerto Rico. Proof of vaccination required to get into restaurants, 100% mask compliance in indoor public spaces, and entire businesses shut down for a single positive test for a few days while everyone else is tested
Urban Meyer seems like the kind of guy that would be really active on LinkedIn.
Well, he will now!
I'm very surprised a man of Craig's age didn't remember noted Toto muse/actress Rosanna Arquette.
For $20, I will get that song out of your head. $50, it won't be with something worse.
the category is Favorite Arquettes. I'll take it for $200 Alex. The answer is - Patricia.
We put up with a lot of sloppy typos in here…but if I ever decide to unsubscribe, adding an “h” to the end of “Yankovic” might be reason number one
This isn't nearly as unhinged as promised on twitter last night I demand a refund.