Sunday Open Thread

by afew Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 12:08:25 PM EST

Roll up, roll up!

Sunday Open Thread | 55 comments (55 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

Come one, come all.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 12:08:48 PM EST

Earworm (4.00 / 3)

thanks, i can't get the intro to Magical Mystery Tour out of my head.

which is good, nice memory.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 02:47:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Beating the system (4.00 / 2)

One of my weirder friends has won over 1 mill on the trot - so to speak. Jorma is Finland's independent gambling guru, and yesterday he was at the trotting races in Kuopio. It was a multibet including all the winners of 7 races on the card. I dare say he invested more than 50K to make the bets. Knowing him, he probably spotted some weaknesses in the official odds that were mathematically exploitable. Anyway it's his own money* he's betting with, given to him by thousands of punters seeking to understand the magic numbers.

Untypically for a gambling wizard with a large house in the most exclusive part of Helsinki, he grew up as a rather outrageous punk musician who called himself called Skinny Rank. In some ways he hasn't changed much. He is loud and opinionated and laughs a lot, but he has a gift though I'm not sure what it is. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of gambling and the statistics thereof, and he thinks and calculates fast , but I don't think he has any synesthetic talents. He has more of a consuming passion coupled with a good memory.

* a syndicate of 3.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 12:37:46 PM EST

Re: Beating the system (none / 0)

I used to work at a racing track when I was a teenager. I used to clean the horses and their stalls, walk them after a race and exercise, water them, etc.

A lot of these races are fixed, I hate to tell you. The owners race in certain classes depending on how good their horsea are. If they aren't making the big money, they will hold their horse back, so that the horse goes down in the standings, and can win more consistently in the lower class.

You never know who is going to win, place or show, but there are other motives than just winning.

by stevesim on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 01:16:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Beating the system (none / 0)

This stable information is available to professionals too.

Of course you can never know, the whole point is in reducing the odds against you. If you can be over 50% sure consistently, then you can win in the long term. And often, like other markets we discuss, there are mathematical solutions, or lay offs, that can keep you on the good side of Lady Luck. What one might call the Actuarial Approach.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 02:27:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Beating the system (4.00 / 2)

I think your friend is both smart and lucky.

One can deduce the probable winners from looking at the program, but to win consistently like that, one requires luck.

Some people have it, most don't. I had a friend who would always win things - her husband and she counted on winning a trip every year as their vacation and they were seldom wrong. She walked into a home improvement expo and won the house that was the entrance prize.

I know some people who make a living at cards or gambling but these are more of a science, IMHO.

by stevesim on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 02:43:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

More of a science (none / 0)

I disagree that luck is involved: that's why I referred to the actuarial approach. No insurance company can predict whether a particular insuree will cost them money or not, but they do know the likelihood or percentage of a defined (large enough) group that will cost them.

There are many games of pure chance - such as roulette or coin spinning - in which what has happened before has no influence on what will happen next. A shuffled deck of cards has an equal chance at all times of being in a specific order. The pictures printed on the cards are irrelevant or rather perceptual.

But then there are other games where chance can be accommodated by a knowledge of strategy and the ability to count odds - Backgammon for instance. Texas Hold 'Em and 7 card stud poker are other games where knowledge, not luck, produces an advantage. The knowledge is different for every game.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 03:02:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Beating the system (none / 0)

I think you also need a special gift for determining critical elements in addition to all the memory and fast thinking. I had a friend, one of the most intelligent people I've ever met, with an encyclopaedic memory (he made a tidy living playing quiz machines at one point) who was obsessed with horse racing. Tried to make a living at that, but all he did was lose. If he couldn't do it, with all the intelligence and memory resource he could put into play, then I don't know how it's done

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 01:54:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Beating the system (none / 1)

Jorma is also an ace poker player, but when playing in a low (but still painful to me) stakes game, he is susceptible to alcohol. We even refer to it openly as nobbling. But then he's there for the company, not for his company.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 02:16:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 6)

Don't Suppress OWS: Ad Hoc Committee against the Suppression of the Occupy Movement

The Call for Mass Action against the Suppression of the Occupy Movement, says, "The state planned and unleashed naked and systematic violence and repression against people attempting to exercise rights that are supposed to be legally guaranteed. This response by those who wield power in this society is utterly shameful from a moral standpoint, and thoroughly illegitimate from a legal and political one."
1000 have joined in calling for, including Cornel West, who led Occupy Wall Street to protest the NYPD "stop and frisk" policy; Scott Olsen, the Iraq veteran who was shot in the head by the Oakland police in October; Boots Riley of The Coup; former poet laureate of the United States and U.C. Berkeley professor Robert Hass;, writers Chris Hedges and Rebecca Solnit; attorneys Michael Ratner and Gideon Oliver.
Travis Morales, an organizer of the rally, said today, "Now, after these evictions and mass arrests, we're seeing in the press lies about violence, drugs, filth and crime in the Occupy movement used to justify police brutality and destroy Occupy's widespread public support. On February 28 we are calling on thousands to come out publicly say "We Stand with Occupy" and oppose this suppression. We have seen historically that movements grow, and can only grow, by answering repression with even greater and more powerful mobilization."

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 12:41:10 PM EST

Re: Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 4)

Well, as the adverts say, it's gets better, even for the trans community

Upside down in a cloud - Dru Marland - The Times they are a changing

What would Sunday morning be like without a thumb through the saucy stuff in the Sunday papers? And what better than to gawp and guffaw at the tranny, looking all ill-at-ease in the grainy photograph taken outside a law court, under the headline "No nobby bobby keeps jobby", or "Sex swap ferry flirt rattles men in engine room". What larks! Thank goodness we're normal. We'd give 'em what-for if they tried that sort of thing round here.
And so it's off to the pub while the wife makes dinner, and somewhere out in make-believe land there's another ruined life that the papers intruded into, exploited, and went on their way.
Funny things have been going on lately, though. The characters in the Standard Tranny Narrative have been talking back to the newspaper writers (we can hardly call them journalists) whose exclusive domain it has formerly been. Goodness, they have even started writing their own scripts.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 01:58:14 PM EST

Re: Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

that Republican party implosion ? People are beginning to notice

New York Magazine - John Heilemann - The Lost Party

[T]he Democratic tussle in 2008, which featured two undisputed heavyweights with few ideological discrepancies between them, may be an exception that proves the rule. Certainly Republican history suggests as much: Think of 1964 and the scrap between the forces aligned with Barry Goldwater and Nelson Rockefeller, or 1976, between backers of Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. On both occasions, the result was identical: a party disunited, a nominee debilitated, a general election down the crapper.
With such precedents in mind, many Republicans are already looking past 2012. If either Romney or Santorum gains the nomination and then falls before Obama, flubbing an election that just months ago seemed eminently winnable, it will unleash a GOP apocalypse on November 7 - followed by an epic struggle between the regulars and red-hots to refashion the party. And make no mistake: A loss is what the GOP's political class now expects. "Six months before this thing got going, every Republican I know was saying, 'We're gonna win, we're gonna beat Obama,'" says former Reagan strategist Ed Rollins. "Now even those who've endorsed Romney say, 'My God, what a fucking mess.'"

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 02:03:41 PM EST

The "Unintended Consequences" syndrome (4.00 / 3)

After Citizens' United slithered through in an attempt to offset the internet for fundraising everyone thought the Republicans would roll because they have all the big-buck donors to produce the negative attack ads ... but they never considered that their own members would use these toxic bombs on each other before the Dem opponent shows up. Loooooooove It!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wp4O7v5320

by THE Twank (yatta blah blah @ blah.com) on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 02:33:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

Hmm, assuming obama wins in November,

Goldberg points out that this is what happened in 1976, when the party stuck with Ford over Reagan, was beaten by Carter, and went on to embrace the Gipper's brand of movement conservatism four years later. So who does Goldberg think might be ascendant in the aftermath of a Romney licking? "Sarah Palin," he replies. "She's an outsider, she has no Washington or Wall Street baggage, she's electric--and she's waiting, because if Romney doesn't win, she will be welcomed in."
But if it's Santorum who is the standard-bearer and then he suffers an epic loss, a different analogy will be apt: Goldwater in 1964. (And, given the degree of the challenges Santorum would face in attracting female voters, epic it might well be.) As Kearns Goodwin points out, the rejection of the Arizona senator's ideology and policies led the GOP to turn back in 1968 to Nixon, "a much more moderate figure, despite the incredible corruption of his time in office." For Republicans after 2012, a similar repudiation of the populist, culture-warrior coalition that is fueling Santorum's surge would open the door to the many talented party leaders--Daniels, Christie, Bush, Ryan, Bobby Jindal--waiting in the wings for 2016, each offering the possibility of refashioning the GOP into a serious and forward-thinking enterprise.

But the article also claims that Obama can rally conservative voters to come out and vote against him, and he could lose. In which case

If that happens, the implications for the Republican Party will be straightforward: It will be reshaped in the image of whichever of the candidates becomes president-elect. A Romney victory would signal the resurgence of the regulars, while one by Santorum would usher in an era of red-hot regnancy.

Which is why I can't fathom that the article roots for Santorum to win the GOP nomination on the argument that it will lead to a more moderate, technocratic Republican party. The prospect of a Santorum presidency (however unlikely) is scarier than a possible internal GOP backlash in Palin or Bachmann's direction with Obama in the White House.

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 03:20:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

Migeru:

But if it's Santorum who is the standard-bearer and then he suffers an epic loss, a different analogy will be apt: Goldwater in 1964.

Goldwater was the start, the symptom, of the right-ening of the Republican Party. If Santorum is Goldwater Mk II, God help America.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 03:25:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

I wonder if this Super PAC disaster can be explained by something from economics. There's an essentially infinite supply of money from these rich donors, but a limited market to spend it in--mostly TV and radio ads. So if it were a continuous campaign, then the cost of TV and radio ads would skyrocket, pushing out the ads for KFC and lawyers and hair appliances.

But it's not (yet) a continuous campaign, so the ad placements are limited by the number of slots. There is a limited number of TV channels and a limited number of hours per day.

Problem for the student is to analyze this in terms of economics and predict the result. Not for this election--it's too late to save this one. For the long term...

by asdf on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 06:41:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

I note that very few parts of the media - except those running ads, see the launch of the Sun on Sunday as newsworthy (though there are a few negative editorials).

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 02:41:12 PM EST

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

Well, as I mentioned earlier, Kelvin MacKenzie, an ex-Sun editor and Murdoch sycophant, was given several minutes of the Andrew Marr show this morning to drool all over it.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 02:48:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

Yes, I saw that. But I find it interesting that it has been largely ignored, except in relation to ongoing investigations and the basic gotcha appearances. My reading of a variety of sources is that this is the swansong for the Aged P.

It is a coup de théâtre in a show that will not have a long run.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 03:10:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

Is this diaryworthy, or is there not much more to say about it?

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 03:14:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

HISTORY was made today as millions of people got their hands on the first ever Sunday edition of The Sun.

-- The Sun

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 03:19:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 4)

Rupert will be happy with 2 mill. But I promise that will be down to 1.5 mill soon. The Sun audience are the people who slow down at traffic accidents. Unless you can provide them with 'traffic accidents', the Sun is doomed, and these traffic accidents are mostly engineered by tools that are no longer available.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 04:00:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

Greater minds than eye have said, "THE SUN never sets on the British Empire."

But as you always say, those words were said in analogue times.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 04:04:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 4)

Somebody (E.M.Forster?) pointed out that it never rises either.

by gk (g k quattro due due sette "at" gmail.com) on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 04:06:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 1)

Hemingway would disagree.

by sgr2 on Mon Feb 27th, 2012 at 01:52:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

Is that really what Hemingway's title referred to?...

by gk (g k quattro due due sette "at" gmail.com) on Mon Feb 27th, 2012 at 03:35:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

Doubtful. I think he had the real thing in mind.

by sgr2 on Mon Feb 27th, 2012 at 04:46:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

wasn't it a French General who said "the sun never sets on the British Empire, because God doesn't trust the English in the dark"?

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 06:56:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

Usually ascribed to Anon.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Mon Feb 27th, 2012 at 01:20:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 1)

Rupert has come out and said that he's sold 3 million copies today, however lots of rumours are flying that the print run was only 3 million, and on top of this there are reports that sales have been absolutely abysmal with rumourd sales down to as low as 450,000 (just 15% of the print run). The first edition wasn't that strong, and the Mirror and Star have apparently had good editions going today so we shall see.

Proper figures will not be available till distributors get the returns tomorrow (Newspapers are sold to shops on a sale or return basis, and When the delivery drivers drop Monday mornings papers they pick up last weeks wrapped returns that are then counted at the depots), and they wont be collated till at least Tuesday by the sales watchdogs.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 06:52:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

On top of that Module 2 of Leveson starts tomorrow, "The police and the press" now that holds real opportunity to hole the Murdoch empire below the waterline, and really expose all sorts of dirty little secrets. as corrupting foreign officials exposes the parent companyt to all sorts of repercussions in the American legal system.

At least Two senior police officers may be exposed, one who is under investigation by the IPCC for leaking the investigation to Rebekah Brooks, and another who it is reported has been in reciept of cash delivered by News International drivers whilst at work.

and thats before anyone else starts providing evidence, and Im sure there will be a few points of entertainment there.

It won't all be plain sailing for the Met either. they have lots of things still to explain.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 07:04:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 1)

I'm in line with the media - there's nothing much more to say for the moment, but we can wait on plenty.

There has been regular comment here in the Salon. It's enough. But the next segment of Leveson could raise questions in which we should be interested.

To my mind, the press in its current form is, if you will, in its death throes. I can think of very few print business models that will survive the shift to digital.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 03:37:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 1)

HACKGATE DAY 411: As the Sun rises on Sunday, will the sun set on Murdoch in the following days? | The Slog

Independent on Sunday deputy editor James Hanning probably doubled the ratings of this coming week's Leveson hearings when he wrote, in today's edition, that `Dramatic new evidence to the Leveson inquiry is expected to unleash a "bloodbath" of bitter recriminations between police and prosecution officials arguing over failings in a series of investigations into allegations of phone hacking, computer hacking and bribery by journalists.'
Hanning - a chap as well clued into the Hackgate saga as anyone - has used an army of News International moles to piece together an entirely convincing story about the Sun on Sunday launch being brought forward....to avoid being spoiled (or even ruined) by some of the evidence of Newscorp criminality about to spill out into the media. I am now well behind the music on this area - police and judiciary - of Hackgate, but given Mr Hanning is one of the more scrupulous and careful professionals around in the business today, I suspect a rearrangement of the furniture around our telly might be called for, starting tomorrow.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 07:18:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

My reading of a variety of sources is that this is the swansong for the Aged P.

Who or what is the "Aged P."?

by IM on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 03:22:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Great Expectations (none / 0)

The Aged P is the parent of Prudence Murdoch (b. 1958), Elisabeth Murdoch (b. 1968)[2], Lachlan Murdoch (b. 1971) James Murdoch (b. 1972), Grace Murdoch (b. 2001) and Chloe Murdoch (b. 2003).

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 03:41:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 1)

I am in my last week of sharing an apartment and this period is always the worst when emotions are frayed and one is really looking forward to never seeing the other again.

by stevesim on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 02:45:32 PM EST

Re: Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

Oh dear. Communal living has been the mainstay of my life.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 03:11:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

it might be easier with and for Scandinavians

by stevesim on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 03:26:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

My partings with roommates have always been tearful, wish-you/I-didn't-have-to-move-away affairs. Two of them are still lifelong friends that are big parts of my life.

Maybe your next one will be better. Fingers crossed.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Mon Feb 27th, 2012 at 02:30:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 1)

I usually end up with egomaniacs but some have become friends.

by stevesim on Mon Feb 27th, 2012 at 03:19:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

so Sven, you're in the business - which film do you think will win Best Picture?

by stevesim on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 03:35:04 PM EST

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

I've no idea. I've never been interested in Best Picture. I have no idea what 'Best Picture' means.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 03:43:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Boycotting Iran - in practice (none / 0)

The Islamic Republic's first Kentucky Fried Chicken | Ha'aretz

Amir Hussein Ali-Zadeh spent five years working going through the necessary motions needed to obtain the permits, but it probably was worth it. This week he opened the first Iranian branch of Kentucky Fried Chicken, the bread crumb coated deep-fried chicken, served with a side of fries and coleslaw, one of the culture symbols of the "Great Satan."
Ali-Zadeh emphasized his is an Iranian company, not American, and that it is called "Kentucky Fried Chicken - Iran." He added that he plans to add an additional 32 dishes to his menu to suit the Iranian taste.

by gk (g k quattro due due sette "at" gmail.com) on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 03:35:34 PM EST

Re: Boycotting Iran - in practice (none / 0)

I could murder some KFC at this moment.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 03:44:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Boycotting Iran - in practice (none / 0)

it's easy to make.

by stevesim on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 03:47:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Boycotting Iran - in practice (none / 0)

I know, I know, but those little legs devoid of bodies have to be purchased in advance.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 03:50:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Boycotting Iran - in practice (none / 0)

Darn it! You've made me hungry for fried chicken!

by ElaineinNM on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 03:52:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Boycotting Iran - in practice (none / 1)

New recipe for you, Elaine. Soak and boil any kind of raw beans in an Asian meat stock.

When 200 gms is tender (up to 1 hour), add two dessert spoons of tomato ketchup, two large garlic cloves, liberal sprinkling of dried mint, plenty of fresh-ground black pepper, salt and two dessert spoons of Canola (or more - depending on desired consistency). Then zap into a thick paste.

Great on good bread. The sophisticated cousin of peanut butter

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 07:09:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Boycotting Iran - in practice (none / 0)

Do you mean a miso stock, or chicken broth with Asian spices? I think I would like this with toasted sesame oil instead of the canola. Maybe a pool of the sesame oil on top with chopped green onions for garnish. I'm not sure about the catsup, though.

Sounds like an Asian version of hummus!

by ElaineinNM on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 08:52:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Stock options (none / 0)

The ketchup provides the necessary liquidity, but of course any tomato source would do the job.

The stock can be anything to your taste that adds flavour to the beans. I use these Vietnamese stock cubes. (available in a variety of flavours).

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Mon Feb 27th, 2012 at 08:20:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Boycotting Iran - in practice (4.00 / 9)

you mean something like this

by stevesim on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 03:56:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Boycotting Iran - in practice (none / 0)

always one of my favourite cartoons

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 06:54:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 0)

Somebody would have been 80 years old today.

But who?

The fact is that what we're experiencing right now is a top-down disaster. -Paul Krugman

by dvx (dvx.clt ät gmail dotcom) on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 04:23:59 PM EST

Confidential for dvx (none / 0)

Concert this coming Friday night 2/3 @20h with
KLARO! in Cologne
at Kultursalon FREIRAUM (Gottesweg 116a, 50939 Köln) T.(0)221.8231.240
Quartett KLARO!
Karolina Strassmayer | saxophon
Drori Mondlak | drums
Mike Roelofs | piano
John Goldsby | bass

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Sun Feb 26th, 2012 at 04:41:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 1)

Here's the Oscar Winners (for those who care (not that I do)):

BEST PICTURE: The Artist

BEST DIRECTOR : Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

BEST ACTOR: Jean Dujardin, The Artist

BEST ACTRESS: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christopher Plummer, Beginners

(Good for Plummer)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Octavia Spencer, The Help

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Midnight in Paris

(The other ones must have really sucked, Allen mailed it in.)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: The Descendants

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Rango

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: A Separation

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Undefeated

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Hugo

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: The Artist

BEST ORIGINAL SONG: "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets

(Give me a break.)

BEST EDITING: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

BEST ART DIRECTION: Hugo

BEST COSTUME DESIGN: The Artist

BEST MAKEUP: The Iron Lady

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Hugo

BEST SOUND MIXING: Hugo

BEST SOUND EDITING: Hugo

BEST ANIMATED SHORT: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT: The Shore

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT: Saving Face

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Mon Feb 27th, 2012 at 01:01:33 AM EST

Sunday Open Thread | 55 comments (55 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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