Thanks for being on the road for us Joel. And then there is the story of John Kerry asking for swiss cheese on his Philly cheesesteak. Somehow stories of Democrats being out of touch with the common man resound stronger than the other way. Nobody really expected Bush I to understand a grocery store scanner.

Repost from the last boodle:

Last night I tried to use the Jamie Lynn Spears event as a teachable moment for my 17-year-old son, but he had no idea who she was. We went downstairs and caught the last five minutes of Zoey 101. It seems that a rival queen bee mean girl was blackmailing Zoey with something embarrassing. Zoey was about to confess to the whole school when all the other kids stepped forward Spartacus-style and each confessed something embarrassing about themselves. My son and I entertained ourselves by yelling "I'm pregnant!" Rocky Horror style before each line. According the to the WaPo TV column, they already have a fourth season of the show in the can. The subtextual fun than can be had for these unaired episodes is going to be on par with Rock Hudson/Doris Day movies.

Right after Zoey came a show called iCarly about a 13-year-old girl that has her own webcast. She tries to build her audience by sucking up to a prominent blog that is run by an overly prim 11-year-old dweeb. He tries to exchange a good review for romantic favors. Much awkwardness ensues. These tweeners have some fine television to watch.

K:LOTD - re your wonderings in the last kit as to whether or not "Tancredo has enough support to throw" - Milbank had this to say in his Washington Sketch this morning:

"A grand total of 18 staff members and supporters -- some wearing pins proclaiming "Proud member of Tom's Army Against Amnesty" -- stood to the side and fought back tears....

"The supporters passed by the restaurant and went upstairs to a hotel room to mourn their candidate's departure from the race. Conveniently, all the Tancredo supporters were able to fit in one elevator."

So I guess the answer is "not so much."

Dana Milbank's piece is at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/20/AR2007122002278.html?hpid=topnews

I have abandoned my support of Ron Paul and am a proud member of the Wonkette irregulars that has joined efforts with the Red State warriors to purge the internet of Paultards. These trolls spam message boards with incoherent ramblings that read like they were cut and pasted at random from the collected works of Ayn Rand and Robert Anton Wilson.

The Achenblog hasn't seen much action on the Ronbot front, but they have very finely tuned hearing and can emerge like sandworms at the slightest mention of their fearless leader who I think is secretly embarrassed by the extreme positions (even by his standards) of some of his supporters. Just not embarrassed enough to return campaign contributions from avowed white supremacists.

LiT and RD -- molecules post in the old place.
JA, Iowa has interesting placenames that range from Danish to Mudge's 'Merican/Murican dialect, and some fine tribal names.

S.V. Benet's poem fits this kit:
American Names
I have fallen in love with American names,
The sharp names that never get fat,
The snakeskin-titles of mining-claims,
The plumed war-bonnet of Medicine Hat,
Tucson and Deadwood and Lost Mule Flat.

Seine and Piave are silver spoons,
But the spoonbowl-metal is thin and worn,
There are English counties like hunting-tunes
Played on the keys of a postboy's horn,
But I will remember where I was born.

I will remember Carquinez Straits,
Little French Lick and Lundy's Lane,
The Yankee ships and the Yankee dates
And the bullet-towns of Calamity Jane.
I will remember Skunktown Plain.

Rue des Martyrs and Bleeding-Heart-Yard,
Senlis, Pisa, and Blindman's Oast,
It is a magic ghost you guard
But I am sick for a newer ghost,
Harrisburg, Spartanburg, Painted Post.

Henry and John were never so
And Henry and John were always right?
Granted, but when it was time to go
And the tea and the laurels had stood all night,
Did they never watch for Nantucket Light?

I shall not rest quiet in Montparnasse.
I shall not lie easy at Winchelsea.
You may bury my body in Sussex grass,
You may bury my tongue at Champmedy.
I shall not be there. I shall rise and pass.
Bury my heart at Wounded Knee.

.... Steven Vincent Benet

My favorite name in Iowa is near Ft. Dodge on the Missouri River: Sargent's Bluff. The only death on the Lewis and Clark voyage was young Sargent Floyd, who likely died of a ruptured appendix at the trip beginning. He is buried on the hill overlooking the river.

My second favorite name would be Kimballton, where my cousin owns a bookstore and coffeehouse. This town is home to a statue of the Little Mermaid, which reveal the Danish roots.
http://www.ksoil.com/elk_horn_and_kimballton_iowa.htm

Because I am part of the elitist Washington Establishment (actually Northern Virginia, but close enough) I have little sympathy for the ethos of the Ordinary Joe. You know, the notion that there is something innately superior about "authentic" folks what aren't ashamed to pick their noses in public. Folks who have no need for fancy educated people like lawyers, educators, doctors, and all that bad sort.

Perhaps this is because I have been on the wrong end of this kind of derision. Not that I am bitter. Especially since my plans for World Domination are all moving along perfectly.

Just kidding you mysterious people who monitor my thoughts!

Anyway.

I do agree that it is very easy to cross the line between "professional and cultured " to the land of "snobbish and effete." Especially when you live on this side of the Atlantic.

Pulling the cheese off of pizza becomes dangerously close. Has Romney not heard of portion control? For to manhandle any foodstuff in such a cavalier manner is to profoundly dishonor the cook. And given the ethnic associations of pizza, well, need I say more.

Joel writes: "No one really knows how significant the results here in Iowa will be. They sure love Huckabee here, but how will his message play in places like New York and California?"

I have asked myself this same question literally hundreds of times, without expressing it on the Boodle. I'm saying it now.

Right now, Huckabee is a big fish in a small pond. Should Iowans propel him further in the race, I believe in short order, he'll become a small fish in a very big pond. I'll write off Huckabee's rise in the polls to the Republican "Candidate of the Week" Syndrome. Or maybe it was what Cokie Roberts said recently on ABC's Sunday morning gabfest: There really isn't a Republican candidate.

Do you think back in '92, that it would have been wise to quarantine the Bay Area? How about all of Africa? Huckabee couldn't comment much at all about the recent NIE estimate about Iran.

I haven't talked much about my interaction with historians Ellis and Brinkley at the Texas Book Festival, but the question of HIV/AIDS was the one I posed to Brinkley about his work on the Reagan diaries: How could Reagan have missed the significance of a virus that is transmitted by sex and attacks the immune system? Brinkley talked about another of Reagan's deficits--a minor one--his lack of a warm welcome to Desmond Tutu.

The Vatican is still holding back on wanting to release Reagan's correspondence with the Pope, and the CIA is still redacting those parts of Reagan's diaries in which he writes about Saudi Arabia, according to Brinkley. Brinkley didn't go very far at the podium in terms of his criticism of Reagan. One has only to read that Brinkley's book is dedicated to Nancy Reagan, who, Brinkley said, assisted immensely in getting the material through government channels and into print. I digress.

The presidential contest is not a race for who can be the country's best Christian, but a race for who can be the country's best leader, and in this day and age that must include knowledge of science and foreign policy experience--and more. Please, please, please, Joel, give up the pizza and beer schtick for awhile.

But the Beer and Pizza "schtick" reflects how many Americans think. Far from being frivolous, such insights shine a much needed spotlight into the irrational portions of human behavior that are essential to understanding this election.

Sadly, FWIW, I know my way around a pizza. Haven't met one yet that I'd pull *anything* off of.

Does anyone know if he is lactose inloterant. If he is lactose intolerant, well, we should probably give him a pass on the cheese. Otherwise hot air coming from his direction would be way, way more than hot air.

(Did I really say that on the boodle?)

Sorry to mess up your nice fresh new boodle boss.

There was one dark period in college when I was known to occasionally use a paper towel to blot up the huge shimmering pools of grease that characterized the pizza from our local bistro. Then I discovered beer.

Mudge, great photos from the SF airshow. Will you repost here?

Much of the explanation for GWB's success in 2000 and 2004 had to do with public perception that he was "a reg'lar guy, don't ack like he's no smarter'n me." Personally I would always want the country to be led by someone much much smarter than me (and please no cracks about how numerous and easy to find those folks would be).

How difficult is it to order a pizza without cheese, or ask that half be made without cheese?

We already knew from the dog on the roof story that he had no common sense!

Someone who might or might not be a paternal relative of mine (I have to maintain my deep internet cover) is a former pilot that has become an amateur photographer. Here are his pictures from this year's Sun 'N' Fun air show at Lakeland, Florida:

http://www.pbase.com/gmckenna/aircraftflying

The backdrop is not nearly as stunning as the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, but the planes are still cool. Have we triggered the equal time knitting talk rule yet?

Don't the candidates kind of bring on the pizza and beer shtick themselves? I mean, if they don't communicate a clear vision and plan for the future (other than "Torturers R Us" and "Heave Ho to the Immigrants"), what are we left with?

And besides, eating a pizza with a fork is just *wrong*.

Well, if we're *all* going to post our airshow pictures, here's one of the Canadian Forces Snowbirds at the CNE Airshow this year.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1130/1325210920_0634310c0d_b.jpg

pizza with a fork...
pizza without cheese...

What's next? One pizza per person? Slippery slope, people, slippery slope.

A beer and a pizza would be good right about now. (That sentence, by the way, is considered to be *always* true, regarless of time, place, or circumstance.)

And it is universally true regardless of the spelling or misspelling of the word "regardless."

byoolin,
That is a great pic with the Maple Leaf and everything. When I went to Toronto a few years ago, passing a car dealer with the ginormous Canucki flag was the biggest real clue that I wasn't in the US anymore.

Really a spectacular shot byoolin

It's enough to make a man go back to eating cheese...

Just for the record, I find Ron Paul interesting but am no supporter. Any candidate with a military record is a rarity nowadays.

Rained out at work! So the Christmastime holidays begin early. Hallelujah! Oatmeal porter to begin! A round for the house, sir!

When I was younger and more foolish, a little pizza with my beer was a good thing. Especially on dollar pitcher nights and 10 cent draft nights. Five dollars on nights like those made for too much fun.

Yello and byoolin, you guys popped the lid off of the ol' box o' memories. Back in the late 70's, I was a (ship) owners representative to a shipyard on the banks of the Ohio River, building a couple of dump scows for us. My company was also sending me on errand-boy trips all over the midwest on rented airplanes, flown by the airplane's owner. Well, if I had to be in the air anyway, why not log the hours towards a private pilots license?

After a particularly rotten day at the office, I went out to the local airfield to vent some steam by just flying over the countryside. As providence would have it, the airfield owner had just taken delivery of a new Citabria Blanca, an acrobatic plane. The owner was a certified acrobatic instructor.

So, off we went, into the wild blue yonder. We went to 4000 feet, turned the plane upside down, and Jesse said, "It's your airplane" He coached me through all of the manuevers that you guys show in the pictures. What a rush!! Better than se... well, almost better. The biggest hoot was the graveyard spiral into the ground, yanking a 6.6g pullup, wayyy to close to the ground.

The next day, at the local (only) lunch counter in town, the buzz was all about some knucklehead doin' all kinds of goofy stuff up in the air, south of town. I just smiled to myself, deeply contented.

Hey all,

Mudge those were some great photos.

Here's a Christmas tune, with apologies to Rudolph:

You know Bernstein and Woodward and George Will and Givhan
Robinson, Ignatius, Dionne and K-man

But do you recall, the most famous Postie of all?

Joel, the strange-haired Postie
had a writing style so great
and if you ever saw it
you'd be number twenty-eight

Ink-stained were the other wretches
In their mean gin-soaked ways
they never let poor Joel
join in all their boozy forays

Then one foggy Christmas Eve
the bosses came to say
Joel with your mind so bright
please come cover this election right!

Then all the Posties loved him
(and not just 'cause they said "not me")
Joel, the Boodle thinks you're great
though your hair's a mystery!

I am also deeply contented, having come into the office late upon successfully completing a Doppler echocardiogram.

In other words, I have all the pieces in the correct places and they all play nice together.

So sayeth the tech, anyway, who appeared pleased I could banter with him on the magical machine's use of Super VHS to record its findings, as opposed to storing everything on a hard drive.

Purely an example of defensive medicine, folks, no need to worry.

Oh, and TGIF!!! *Happy-Long-Holiday-Weekend-complete-with-Yule-Log-on-my-desktop-screensaver Grover waves* :-)

Well done, SoC!! *applause*

And marvelous airshow pics, one and all! Althought that "sneak pass" series from the SF Bay is just unreal... *jaw drops*

:-)

Off to meetings then outa here till the 26th

Buon Natale!

Y'all.

Happy to repost, Slyness. Here it is:

FYI, a friend of a friend sent me this link to some photos he'd taken at the Fleet Week event in San Francisco harbor recently, showing (among many other things) the fantastic Blue Angels air show. Our friends up in Haute Maine may be interested as well, as there was a Canadian Navy destroyer there (in the pix) and some Canucki blyboys (OK, flypersons). A lot of his photos are really outstanding. (Heads up, Don--you'll love this.)

http://home.comcast.net/~bzee1a/

One of the major problems with national campaigning is that the candidate goes into many, many different regions and towns and places with their own particular lifestyles, and has to pretend to be "one of the guys (or gals; pace, Loomis). So when you go to Coney Island you have to eat a d@mn Nathan's hot dog. When you go to the Kutztown Fair you have to eat a perogie. In Chicago in a Polish neighborhood you have to eat kielbasa, in Maine a lobster rolls, ad infinitum and most certainly ad nauseum and possibly ad Pepto Bismol. So people who are not natural pizza eaters (one assumes Romney) have to do stupid things like scrape the cheese off. It's just a darn good thing we don't have any indigenous cannibals here, or you'd have to boil and eat a missionary (which given the tenor of the current campaign, I would heartily endorse). When you go to the Navaho reservation you have to eat frybread and put on a headress. God forbid you should campaiogn in *&^%$# Texas without some glasshat trying to make you wear a Stetson to prove you're a "regular guy." Hence, the embarrassment of Dukakis pouring a half bottle of beer or wearing that silly helmet while riding in that tank.

Yes, it's all crap, and it's what politicians hate about campaigning. And we all KNOW it's crap -- yet we perpetuate it at every opportunity. And even worse, god forbid if a candidate should actual screw up during one of these idiotic parochial rituals-- then the crap *really* hits the fan.

Running parallel to all this hooey is the "likeability" BS. Is Hillary "likeable"? Is she "like you and me"? Well, who gives a rat's patoot? Since when is "likeability" any kind of criteria for anything? Is the head of General Motors elected by his board because he's likeable? Was Richard Effing Nixon likeable? Lyndon Johnson? (I hated that SOB -- and as much as he effed up Vietnam, he was a good domestic president, maybe even "very good.") Many people hated Roosevelt (irrationally), witrhout question our best president of the 20th century (and many loved Reagan, although god knows why; I never saw the appeal for a split second; never even liked him as an actor, fer crissakes). To this day I have never understood people who claimed to have like Arbusto back in 2000. He always seemed like a smarmy ignoramus to me from Day One -- but there's people who claimed to be fond of him. And let us now turn our attention to Mr. Warmth, Darth Cheney. I mean, as Yoki would say, "Jaaasus!" So with Darth still on the landscape, who in their right mind could possibly have any objection to Hillary's personality? I mean, give me a fording break here, people. (And I'm not even a Hillary fan, but I have to defend the poor woman when there's crap like that flooding the political landscape.)

Huckabee actually seems like a pleasant guy, and I've always had a certain fondnes -- as well as a pretty fair amount of respect, re: his POW experience -- for McCain. But of course I couldn't vote for either one in a zillion, zillion light years.

The whole personality/likeability thing-- it's all crap, crap, crap. I wish somebody besides me would say so. (Somebody with a column or a major blog, for instance.)

Preach it, brother Mudge, preach on.

And now, darn you, Boodle, I was gonna have some leftover chicken-and-rice-a-roni for lunch, but now I have to go get myself a slice of pizza.

Or two.

You folks are a bad influence on me.

(Keep up the good work.)

Good job on the song, SoC. (In my mind's ear I could even hear ol' Gene Autry singing it.)

You are likeable, Mudge. Why don't YOU run?

ScottyNuke, I'm glad to hear your medical news!

"Where do you get off... where do you get "sweet?" I'm not sweet. I'm dark and mysterious and pissed-off and I could be very dangerous to all of you... I'm not sweet, and you should know that about me! I am The Enemy."

Mudge, I would venture the grey ship was HMCS Algonquin, she is a Westcoaster and we can almost see her number (DDH283). The post TRUMP Iroquois are ugly as sin compared to original configuration. The Iroquois class were the ships with the rabbit ear funnels, you can't possibly misidentified them. The gun was at the proper place too and the single mast worked better visually.
http://www.jproc.ca/cta/283adpho.html
In the picture of her in dry dock it's Quebec city you see on the other side of the St-Lawrence. That windblown shipyard is a d@mn cold and damp place in winter.
I worked alongside TRUMP people project for many years. And picked up some of their oops! too.
Canuckstanis boodlers (and taxpayers, presumably) will be happy to know that HMCS Huron, one of the four ships that were TRUMPEd at the cost of $4B in the early-mid 90's, has been sunk in a gunnery exercise last May (Aubray would approve of that). We even let Murican ships get a shot (or a 100) at her. She was decommissioned in 2000/01 for lack of crews and money to operate her. She was also cannibalized of her systems to help maintain the other three on the cheap.
Here's the sinking video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IimkffYBAc
I'm sure the Navy has better shots stored somewhere but heh!.

Me run? I'd love to, Jumper. But I don't think telling off three-quarters of the country in no uncertain terms is a sound political move. It would take me less than three minutes to lose the entire Red State country & western vote. The entire medical profession: gone. The legal and law enforcement fields: gone. Educators: gone. About half the military: in open armed rebellion. The entire South: gone. Anybody who ever watched American Idol: gone. Hell, I'm not even sure I could carry the Flying Spaghetti Monster vote.

Wanna be my campaign manager?

I'll vote for that, Mudge.

I know it seems that is all I do talk about, but well, I am deeply unqualified to note anything important except for an oridnary joe's outsider view on your foreign policy. It leaves me with nothing else but likeability and well "the VOICE".

I don't care what a guy sounds like on tv, or the radio, I don't care what he eats, or how many babies he kisses. I don't care about a politicians view of what the other guy believes, I really only care about what he will do for me.

Luckily in Canucki politics bland is personal colour de jour. Its a very good thing. I hope we see some serious disscussion of policy and goals rather than endless quests of personality.

I'm knitting with Cashmere right now, but keep the planes coming. Some gentlemen who shall remain nameless have some seriously wonderful picutres from Florida, and I loved the SF link.

Goog boodling today: RD's 9:50 *laughing or crying, take yer pick*, SonofCarl's poem/parody (*laughing* reminded me of entertainer Mr. Makin' Dust at our Thanksgiving shindig...did a long post about that day, but the Bot ate it faster than you can say "turkey"...Dust sang Autry and did a western song quiz), and Mudge's sermon. Hallelujah!

Will circle back to Mudge's harangue after I return to the house after running some nearby errands.

Too bad there's no Chatology next week. Today's Dilbert got a hearable laugh out of me. Could easily be CPOW.

http://members.comics.com/members/common/affiliateArchive.do?site=washpost&comic=dilbert

Mudge - I'm with you...the whole "likability" crap mystifies me. I don't want come total crank as president, but regular guy? I don't think so...As for GWB, "likable?" He makes me want to punch him with that macho, frat-boy, towel-snappin' my way or the highway personality of his. I can't bear to watch him anymore. Bleccchhhh.
I loved the pics Mudge and byoolin! Beautiful. We have the Blue Angels here every September for the Oceana Air Show. We live very close to the base, so it's so much fun to watch them practice for a couple of days before the show. One year a pilot friend of ours was speaking at one of the soiree's at the show and he got us VIP tickets for right on the tarmac (and free adult beverages-YES) during the Blue Angels show. Absolutely magnificent!

Great story, Don.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Oh and I thought that was a great kit!

More fog and hoar frost in MN today, with a storm rolling through tomorrow perhaps.

Likeable Janes and Regular Joes put our fair city in debt, completely broken, and with a racial divide rivaling NOLA. I'm beginning to think I find likeability a clear negative in a presidential candidate.

I will commence organizing the internet "money bombs for Mudge" immediately. Well, soon, anyway.

Including the medical profession in your rant reminds me that I hoot every time some pol invokes the free market for medical care. Since there is a government-controlled monopoly on "doctors." I can't even get my teeth cleaned or get a pair of glasses without the monopoly getting a cut of the profit.

SofC, great song!

And the SF Fleet Week photos are some of the most gorgeous (can you say that?) I have ever seen. Forwarded them on to my son and grandson -- private pilot and hopes-to-fly-jets.

Scotty, happy to hear that everything's OK with you.

You're likeable and are quite good in front of a microphone. Maybe you could stand in for EF in this next election...

I'm still expecting Error in '08.

Gotta run (but not for that).

bc

i'm here! i'm here!! i'm boodling again!! wow! i think i need to slow down - i just got a headrush! my tolerance to boodling is seriously low!

Oh, thanks for reminding me, Jumper. Add to my "to do" list for offending major segments: Wall Street, Big Business, Agribussiness, Detroit, probably half the labor unions (and ALL of management, everywhere), a good bit of Hollywood, the totality of Madison Avenue, the funeral industry, vegans, lobbyists, the brussel sprouts industry, anyone named Spears or Hilton, the breast implant industry (exception: cosmetic reconstruction, when deemed necessary), McDonald's, the infomercial industry (and the death penalty for Billy Mays and Richard Simmons), the entirety of Microsoft, from its founder to its least important subjunior janitorial staff; NASCAR (sorry, bc; but you can adapt to F1 fairly easily) and even more important, NASCAR culture; the mighty tofu lobby; and possibly Joan Rivers.

What, Did we stop talking about Pizza?

Whenever I order a pizza,I always ask for extra sauce. I tell them nice and sloppy. Because it just wouldn't be a really good pizza unless you drop something on yourself.

whew! i think i need to sit down!

oh wait...

i AM sitting!

THANKS A LOT! now i want pizza!

mudge - how bout reality tv fans?

bc;

Yer FAR too kind, m'friend. I'd be honored to stand in for Error, but I'm in the same boat as 'Mudge -- I'd offer nothing but harsh medicine and no promises to set the country back on track. I would like to think the result would sorta be a Horatius-at-the-bridge moment, but then I remember the electorate. *SIGH*

mo, deep breaths, young lady... *faxing some of those Boodle-withdrawl patches to ease the transition*

:-)

Now, the man on the stand he wants my vote,
He's a-runnin' for office on the ballot note.
He's out there preachin' in front of the steeple,
Tellin' me he loves all kinds-a people.
(He's eatin' bagels
He's eatin' pizza
He's eatin' chitlins
He's eatin' bullsh*t!)

Oh, set me down on a television floor,
I'll flip the channel to number four.
Out of the shower comes a grown-up man
With a bottle of hair oil in his hand.
(It's that greasy kid stuff.
What I want to know, Mr. Football Man, is
What do you do about Willy Mays and Yul Brynner,
Charles de Gaulle
And Robert Louis Stevenson?)

Well, ask me why I'm drunk alla time,
It levels my head and eases my mind.
I just walk along and stroll and sing,
I see better days and I do better things.
(I catch dinosaurs
I make love to Elizabeth Taylor . . .
Catch hell from Richard Burton!)

Excerpted from "I Shall Be Free" by Mr. Bobby Dylan

Sometimes Scotty, the harsh medicine is the right track.

FYI, on those Canadian planes - they are based out of mighty Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

Where there is actually very cool stuff to do. They have an internationally known spa (hot srpings) and some very very cool Tunnels of Moose Jaw.

http://www.tunnelsofmoosejaw.com/

MO!!!!! Merry Christmas!

Whatchu got against brussel sprouts, dude? They're just mini cabbages, fer goshsakes! I love 'em.

Sorry, mo: the reality TV industry has been voted off the island. It's not so much the shows I object to (tho' some indeed are objectionable, while a few seem somewhat benign). Rather it is the name "reality TV" itself that most offends me.

Along the same vein: "America's Team" and "America's Mayor" and any other person, place or institution that has the unmitigated chutzpah to call itself "America"s" this or that. It's bad enough that I hate the Dallas Cowboys just the way they are...but when they started that "America's Team" bulls--t, well, that just sealed their death warrant.

George H.W. Bush was allowed to diss broccholi; I'm allowed to hate brussel spouts. But your appeal has touched my heart, K-guy. The spouts can stay. I believe in Compassionate Curmudgeonry.

so mudge - i take it your weren't glued to your tivo to find out if tila tequila chose a man or a woman for a "shot at love" with her huh?? (i was really pullin for dani!)

thanks snuke! keep the patches comin!

dr - merry xmas to YOU! and kerric! is he around today?

kguy - i kinda have a soft spot for brussel sprouts myself... thanks for lettin 'em stay mudge...

so i guess calling this "america's boodle" is out of the question??

"America's Team" and "America's Mayor" and any other person, place or institution that has the unmitigated chutzpah to call itself "America"s" this or that. It's bad enough that I hate the Dallas Cowboys just the way they are...but when they started that "America's Team" bulls--t, well, that just sealed their death warrant.

Well, actually that term was coined by an editor at NFL Films.

We're a worldly Boodle, I'd say...

Even otherwordly at times...

:-)

I think I have penetrated to the heart of your phobia regarding the small green vegetables, Mr. Curmudgeon. You've apparently been eating "brussel spouts". Now, everybody knows how bad "brussel spouts" taste and it is no wonder you dislike them so. Try some brussel sprouts. I'm sure you'll find them more to your taste.

"Brussels sprouts" aren't even too popular in Brussels.

You are alarming me, Mudge; you're overlapping Ayn Rand's list.

I postulated the theory the other day that Obama is, subconsciously mostly, reminding everyone of actor Will Smith. Likeability be dashed, it's looks we are after.

Speaking of Obama, I heard it was Oprah coined the phrase "America's mayor" regarding whazzisface. So much for Oprah.

Ayn Rand couldn't possibly have a list; she's on MY list.

No wonder I don't like 'em--been trying to eat their spouts. I never get the d@mned memo.

you know - i think i'd vote for will smith! i really like that guy! geez! i guess obama's plan is working!

NFL Films coined that? Are you sure? And I held Ed and Steve Sabol in such high regard. I may have to speak with Steve about this.

To some extent, I don't care who coined or coins that "America's Blank" crap. It's gotta stop. That's the official position of the America's Crank for President Committee. I'm Curmudgeon. and I authorized this ad.

canadaian boodler question - what does "plug a parking meter" mean?

I despised Bill Clinton in just about every way, but the one thing I liked about him was that he loved to eat.

Hey mo, HI!!!

I think it's when you run out to feed a meter that's about to expire.

Nobody ever announces a new 'kit' over at that celebritology blog. Just for that I'm not giving them the cool new phrase I came up with for the storm they had over there on Wednesday: "Spears Storm".

mo, it just means "put money in." No clue on the derivation, unless it goes back to using "plugged nickels" (phoney coins) to do so.

I have a feeling everyone knows of this, But Scarborough is so hard to stomach, some might have missed it. Here it is anyhow. (Mika on Hilton)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VdNcCcweL0

When the Achenblog Little Theater Buskin' Boodlers produce their inaugural production of Kenneth Graham's "The Wind in the Willows", the part of Badger will be played Mr. C. Mudgeon.

Here's a bit from Chapter 11, just to give you the flavor.

The Toad, having finished his breakfast, picked up a stout stick and swung it vigorously, belabouring imaginary animals. `I'll learn 'em to steal my house!' he cried. `I'll learn 'em, I'll learn 'em!'

`Don't say "learn 'em," Toad,' said the Rat, greatly shocked. `It's not good English.'

`What are you always nagging at Toad for?' inquired the Badger, rather peevishly. `What's the matter with his English? It's the same what I use myself, and if it's good enough for me, it ought to be good enough for you!'

`I'm very sorry,' said the Rat humbly. `Only I THINK it ought to be "teach 'em," not "learn 'em."'

`But we don't WANT to teach 'em,' replied the Badger. `We want to LEARN 'em--learn 'em, learn 'em! And what's more, we're going to DO it, too!'

This one took an hour and a half: http://www.uclick.com/client/wpc/wpdom/ I just about gave up after an hour and 15.

Hi, Mo.
Scotty, glad your ticker is tockin'.
Great pics of Fleet Week, Mudge.
SonofCarl, good song.
Merry Christmas, all. Off to do my traditional last second shopping. Wonder if my wife wants that new mop, or some accessories for the table saw that I got her last year. Still don't understand why she got so emotional about it. Women, can't live with 'em, can't kill 'em.

"Nobody ever announces a new 'kit' over at that celebritology blog."

Omni, that's because 'kit', 'boodle' and 'umbrage' are all terms highly specific to and by unspoken agreement specific to Achenblog. Celebritology readers respect this blog *so highly* that they do not use those terms.

(I did, once, and Liz Kelly nailed my head to the floor. She said I had transgressed the Unwritten Law, and if it's good enough for Liz Kelly, it's good enough for me.)

That's my story, and I am sticking to it.

SCC: "all terms highly specific to and by unspoken agreement specific to Achenblog"

Obviously, I meant something else there. I think if one replaces the second 'specific to' with something like 'used only in' it makes more sense.

mo, I don't know about plugging the park meter. But again I'm not a native speaker although I have been around THEM a long time. The only plugging I know that is a Canadianism is plugging a car. It's not really the car that is getting plugged but the block-heater. The BH is a small electric resistance screwed in the engine's block. On cold nights it keeps the coolant kind-of-warm for an easier start in the morning. It is not uncommon to see rows of electrical outlets set out in the parking lots of appartment buildings for that purpose.

People that are civilized eat pizza with a knife and fork . Ever been to Italy ?

Mo I had never heard the expression either, but when I googled it sure enough it is a Canuck expression for "feeding the meter".

I pile my pizza so high with stuff that I need to use a shovel to eat it.

SCC parking meter.
I don't know what a park meter would actually measure, parkitude?

Civilization is highly overrated, 2.55, especially compared to one of Don's pizzas.

It really depends upon how and why Romney takes the cheese off his pizza. I could absolutely forgive him if he used his fingers, and simply explained that he was carbing up for his next marathon run and that he was a vegan and didn't eat animal fat, only soy cheese. But never if, he used his knife and fork so deftly that he could teach ettiquette class to John Kerry. But now if he took out a K-Bar and agressively scraped off the cheese with a flourish and flipped off the dripping gob onto his plate, putting it down on the floor, feeding it to some waiting mongrel hound, saying, "bread isn't good for dogs, it gives them gas" - then he's MY MAN!

Universal Achenblog to Internet Translator

kit: post
boodle: comment section
boodler: commenter
take umbrage: flame

I thought that maybe "plug the meter" was something Cool Hand Luke would do.

I eat deep dish or Chicago style pizza with a knife and fork, but my wife insists that's not real pizza anyways.

Happy solstice to all! Sunset at Chez Frostbitten North will be at 4:30 this afternoon, tomorrow 4:31. I'm leaving for Tampa tomorrow so by the time I return on Jan. 4 the days will be noticeably longer. That is if we ever see the sun again. The fog continues with a nice icy rain/snow jeopardizing my departure. All I want to do is make it to Minneapolis tomorrow. At least there if I'm stuck I can finish Christmas shopping.

Travel safely, frostbitten!! :-)

Enjoy the warm Florida sunshine, fb. Beware the traditional central Florida Christmas cold snap. It sometimes gets down to 40F.

just so's y'all know why i was asking about "plugging a meter" (i blame dr)
http://www.tunnelsofmoosejaw.com/faq.asp#q
"**Vehicles with out-of-province license plates do not have to plug parking meters."
i figured it meant "feed the meter" but i didn't wanna just assume ya know...

More Blue Angels - I live between Lake Washington (where the Seafair air show is) and Boeing Field (where the Blue Angels park), so I get to see and hear them for about a week every year. They are a thrill, even for a non-military type like me. I'm glad they're here for a show and on our side...
From someone's blog:
http://robertwadephoto.blogspot.com/2007/11/blue-angels-at-seafair-2007.html

From the Seattle Times - 2006 - can't find the 2007 photos -
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/photogalleries/localnews686/1.html

Frontpage alert.
I eat pizza with a fork and knife. I eat fried chicken with a fork and knife. I was once (maybe justly) ridiculed for eating a very thick hamburger with a fork and knife. I bet I could eat a pear the tradional French way, with a fork and knife. Sandwiches and apples I eat with my fingers, although I sometimes quarter the apple with a knife. Chips I eat with my fingers.

Hey, we got an early out (don't know if its official or off the books, but either way...), and it being Friday, and it being Christmas weekend (four-day holiday), I am, like, soooooooooooooooooooooooooo outa here. (Gotta hit the ol' campaign trail, yanno.)

MUDGE! you can't leave me!!! shoot! just when i get a chance to boodle everyone goes runnin for the hills!
*kicking ground and pouting*

If y'all are pulling out of the boodle early for Christmas, then please be sure to see my greetings at http://tbgboodler.blogspot.com/ before you go!

Off to the mountains. A very nice friend is letting us use her cabin. I just hope we don't get lost. When the directions include things like "Yes, I mean for you to drive over that cement slab" it makes you wonder.

Happy Weekend!

Travel safely, 'Mudge! :-)

No no no, Mo. I left work at 12:00 so that I could Boodle. Work is insane, but Boodling is good medicine.

Travel safely, TBG!!! :-)

Travel safely, me! ;-)

*off to battle the wilds of I-270*

Happy Holidays to one and all!!!! :-)

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/restaurants/pizza.htm
Please refer to website above: in Italy, pizza has little to no cheese on it, and is eaten with a knife and fork.
So I guess Romney needs to run for office in Italy!

To everyone that is travelling, have safe journey. To everyone have a great holiday.

TBG enjoy your birthday tomorrow.

I sense a change in the boodler-force. Some will be here, others shall uphold good tidings and cheer off-line.

God bless every one. Take this as you wish, be the accompaniment a grain of salt, or the translator-machine into good wishes and thoughts. I feel this blessing very deeply for this virtual corner tap, that nearly always has somebody in the peanut gallery: At least the key is under the mat and the W LCOME light is lit. (Mudge, get the electrician after the holiday as the 'e' is burnt out. Can we use a compact florescent light this time?)

Thanks, JA, for opening this real estate.

Drive safely. Stay warm. Tickle somebody. Feed a bunny. Recite a poem. Eat some pizza.

And, Mo! Such a treat. Tickle your mommy for us. She is a boodler-true through and through.

Ed, he would be my man too! Especially if it was salmon or steak pizza... a dog can dream.

Out in the intertubes I found this crazily inventive science-fictiony conspiracy theory that had me laughing out loud, waking the dog, etc. Tim and others must view.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjgidAICoQI&feature=related

Mo, Kerric is here there and everywhere. If he works in the office he has a sneak around and he boodles, but some days he is out in the plant, where there are no signals. I will pass on your greetings!

I gotta go. There is a wine glass with my name on it and my beverage in it.

mo!!! Hope I didn't miss you.

Safe travels Scotty, TBG, frosti and other mobile boodlers. CP, such a lovely message--thanks.

Mudge, I think I fall into about five of the categories that you don't think will vote for you, but it wouldn't be true. You're opinionated--I like that in a candidate. It's far, far too rare.

Off to pick up part of the fam at the airport. Will be feeding them and doing touristy things for the next few days. I always so look forward to seeing them and am so exhausted and somewhat relieved when they go. Such is family.

If I don't get back here before Tuesday, Merry Christmas to all who would like to receive such wishes. To all, pull your families close, and savor any downtime and thoughtful moments you might be able to find. Peace, all.

Bah, humbug. I'm still at work - from home - but I have the stiff neck, churning stomach that I only get *at* work. Soon I will get a reprieve for the weekend, then some on call days next week, then some time off. So I'm envious of all y'all in the earlier time zones, but have fun and stay safe and have a great holiday!

rainforest, snakes in the house! I just could not deal with that. I once saw a black snake in the yard at my place in Virginia, and it bothered me from then on (just the memory, not the actual snake which I never saw again). A perfectly nice, non-poisonous black snake - but they just freak me out. I can't look at pictures of snakes, even...Ask kbertocci what my reaction to the lovely young lady with a snake draped around her neck whom we saw in South Beach.

Oooooh, I hope everybody hasn't headed for the hills already. Although I do hear an echo. . . .

I remember eating a pizza in Stockholm very early on in my living there. I (naturally) picked a slice up with my fingers and I swear -- the *entire* restaurant became suddenly silent. I mean, you could literally hear a pin drop. My friend gently told me that it was best to eat it with a knife and fork (kniv och gaffel), which I did. Instantly, the restaurant noise level became its normal loudness. Kinda embarrassing, but kinda funny, too.

I spoke w/ a friend in Michigan yesterday -- banker in wealth management (I took a shower after the call) -- he's what used to be known as a "country club Republican" or RINO (Republican in name only). He has voted for the Democrat in the last two presidential elections, but he has such a man-crush on Romney now, and I don't get it. Well, yeah, I do. He came from a reasonably wealthy family, went to private schools, lives in the area outside of Detroit where Henry Ford's estate is (Grosse Pointe) -- where earlier in my existence in the state, people of my tribe were not allowed. He has not had to suffer or even consider that there are actually people who do suffer. He's not so crass as to suggest that poor people are poor because they refuse to lift themselves by their bootstraps, but he doesn't seem to consider that he didn't have to do that, as he was born to the right parents -- i.e., moneyed. There is such a disconnect with reality among people like this, such a cognitive dissonance, that it is hard to fathom. He is Episcopalian, and appears to be "sort of" tolerant of the existence of other religions, but at the end of the day, I suspect that he wouldn't tolerate the "others" so much if left with the choice.

I consider him a friend, but he's one of the friends with whom I can no longer discuss politics and what actually happens to people who are not like him as a result of the policies of those he favors. That Romney appears to think torture is just, well, just plain hunky-dory doesn't seem to bother him -- because it won't bother *him* personally. So, big, you know, effing deal! And, yet, his daughter is in the Navy (Annapolis trained on our dime) and his thought is that she won't be waterboarded at any time in her life, as she's on the *right* side. Uh-huh.

Where did my (our) country go? And so quickly?

On that note, ladies and gentlement, enjoy your holiday.

I don't even want to know the voice-over, I'm sure it's sidesplittingly bizaare.

I read the author's response to some comments and he seems a little shaky on rational thought, and grammar. And what a "theory" is. Theories have evidence. An idea that has not yet been tested is a hypothesis.

The video is a creative rendering of tectonic shift, indeed.
The earth's mass may have increased early on in its youth and continues to increase very slightly due to continual meteoric bombardment but I don't think by the dino age that there was anything near that kind of earthly girth-increase as displayed
(that looks like the earth's volume increased 20% to 50% at a very rough glance, which is funny).

Rather, the earth's mass increase would be more on the order of the kind of increase in mass your furniture gets when you haven't dusted it for years, if even that.

Forget dino-destroying comets for that kind of mass boost since Pangaea to today: that'd have to be a full-size moon smacking into the earth which would not just crack the plates apart, but completely pulverize the whole face of the earth.

As for outward expansion... well, I'll let Tim snicker at that one. The Earth is a long way from becoming a red giant.

It is the kind of confusion people often get when they learn the universe is expanding. I heard this at a NASA lecture-- when space expands, does that affect atoms, etc.? No. A kind of limited explanation is given here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe_expansion

I look forward to seeing a groundbreaking "knitting" model of universe expansion.

Visualize how, as time passes, knitting continues to expand between the two fixed points that the knitter's hands move about, without physically inflating the hands themselves.

Someday we'll find that dark matter and energy is really just excess cosmic yarn that hasn't been used yet.

However, I'll yield to the boodle's experts to polish the nuances and how the unfurling of the universe relates to purling. I also look forward to the "mitten" model of gravity, BTW.

The fact that the Washington Post is writing about how a presidential candidate eats pizza is ignorant, childish and grasping at straws for "news". People! Let's look at the issues and not waste time in ridiculous news stories. Granted, it makes the author look foolish, but on a broader level, makes Americans look foolish because you think we like to read this kind of lame reporting. Get a life.

The fact that the Washington Post is writing about how a presidential candidate eats pizza is ignorant, childish and grasping at straws for "news". People! Let's look at the issues and not waste time in ridiculous news stories. Granted, it makes the author look foolish, but on a broader level, makes Americans look foolish because you think we like to read this kind of lame reporting. Get a life.

Your message is not improved by repetition. :-)

I believe this column appeared in the blogs section as opposed to the hard news articles . . . who is the "you" you speak of?

Forget this political election nonsense; where's the news about me? I'll tell you where: it's in Science.

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/318/5858/1841a

Granted, it's not like they've ever published any actual science by me. Nor did they see fit to include my name. And the photo credit is incorrect. But that's me in the picture, by gum. You have 5 possibilities of guessing which one is me.

Oddly, even though this story has been on-line for hours now, I have yet to see an uptick in the viewing statistics on YouTube. Where is the famous "Science bump?" Frankly, I'm very disappointed.

Tim! I see you, in the blue shirt - no beard. Right? Way kewl.

This one of the most absurd blog posts I have seen. For you to imagine what the "average voter wants" is beyond condescending. We have had eight years of President who doubtless feels comfortable with a pizza and he is currently running at 30% approval. When voters list their major concerns "pizza eating" and "common guyness" don't even rate. And FYI, Dukakis lost the election when George Bush I Willie Horton-ed him. STop twisting history to fit your preconceptions.

So this is what passes for political discourse these days? Divining the worth of presidential candidates by watching how they eat pizza and drink beer?

Pathetic. What a bunch of worthless, mind-numbingly stupid crap.

Pizza?...

This is such a perfect example of the shallow, pretentious, narcissistic, pompous idiocy that modern political coverage has become.

In Jon's immortal words, why are you hurting America?

Pizza!...

The Republican candidates are falling over each other to be the biggest torturer and you're writing about how they eat their pizza.

When you dreamed of becoming a journalist, what this what you had in mind?

**I just can't imagine the American people electing as president someone who does that to pizza.**

Geez, I'm a DEMOCRAT and even I'm offended at that ridiculous comment. When will the Punditrocracy stop treating Americans like children? We don't care how he eats his pizza!

Hey, WaPo, why don't you just turn your coverage over to some high school kid and be done with it? Quit pretending you hire actual journalists anymore, OK?

Forget health care, taxes, jobs, Iraq.

How does Obama or McCain eat their PB&J? How am I to make a decision until I know

For people visiting this blog for the first time, this is a HUMOR column.

Keep that in mind.

Have some pizza.

Oh lordy, the trolls are out in force tonight! Folks, get a grip, this is a humor blog...

"For people visiting this blog for the first time, this is a HUMOR column. "

Sure, except that none of it was actually funny.

"For people visiting this blog for the first time, this is a HUMOR column. "

Sure, except that none of it was actually funny.

JA, I laughed the whole time while reading this kit. It is so funny. I mean talking about the man eating pizza with a fork and knife. And pulling the cheese off the pizza. Way too funny. He messed up big time. But his stuff was wobbly anyway. And getting cute with pizza will not endear him to many.

Merry Christmas, Mo. I meant to say that earlier.

Be safe all of you that are traveling, and do check in.

And thanks for the pics and the answer to my questions, Mudge. And that speech was fantastic.

As for the folks in New Orleans, the decision was already a given, but I would love to know why was it so important to do this before Christmas. I mean those of us that live in public housing are only days from being homeless, why did the people in charge have to do this before the holiday? How can anyone enjoy their holiday knowing they're going to be out in the streets after the holiday? It was mean-spirited to do that. I wonder sometimes when people hold office,do they forget that they are human beings still.

Have a great holiday, Achenblog, and every one.

But okay unclenching a bit, it looks a lot more like Achenbach is just sarcastically reporting on vacuous campaign reporters, and not himself reporting vacuously on the campaign. So, my bad.

Achenbach: " Years ago I heard an anecdote about Mike Dukakis, and I'm sure I'll mangle it, but here's the gist as I dimly recall it: Coupla big union guys, beefy fellows, came to see Dukakis at his home in Brookline, thinking about endorsing him. Dukakis asked them if they wanted a beer. Sure, they said. So he gets out a beer and two glasses, and pours half the beer in one glass and half the beer in the other.

Lost the election right there."

You know, Joel, that is an amusing anecdote, haha, yes, Dukakis was an effete pointy-headed east coast liberal. He probably even drank coffee with his pinky pointing out.

Let me tell you another story about presidential candidates and beer. There was this guy not so long ago who ran for president, and the media just loved this guy, because 'he's the kind of guy you'd like to have a beer with.'

And seven years, 9/11, two failed wars, three trillion dollars of federal debt and one trashed Constitution later, here we are.

So while these anecdotes about presidential candidates and beer-drinking are precious, maybe you and your defenders here in the comments could try to understand why some of us out here are so greatly irritated by this kind of craptastic coverage-by-charming-anecdote.

I'd much rather have an intelligent, effete East Coast intellectual who knows his arse from a hole in the ground in the White House than some ignorant, easily-manipulated failing-upwards-his-whole-life-thanks-to-his-family-name yahoo who can barely string together a coherent sentence in his native language.

I see that the same legion of folks who usually haunt Liz Kelly and Robin Givhan have descended here. Good. Now that you are all in one place listen up.

Your objections are based on the false assumption that pieces such as this and Deadly Serious News are mutually exclusive. This assertion is blatantly false. It is quite possible to read and appreciate both. Indeed, I assert that to do so is essential .

For you are expressing a dangerous form of intellectual snobbery. You are assuming that you can embrace some information as Important while ignoring other information as frivolous. By doing you so you are ignoring the cumulative and synergistic nature of information. Items that in isolation might appear insignificant can lead to deeper insights when examined as part of an overall analysis. This is what the grown-ups refer to as "all-source analysis."

Further, and more frighteningly, by deliberately ignoring information deemed unimportant, you are but a cognitive hop skip and jump away from being one of those close-minded fools who deliberately ignore information that contradicts your preconceived notions.

Deliberate ignorance is never a virtue.

Any fool can pick olives, peppers, or pepperoni off a pizza but it takes a man with real sticktoitness to remove the cheese. It is also indicative of a willingness to dig in and get ones hands greasy if not dirty.

RD, I can't speak for the others but my objection is not that Joel wrote about this, but that so many others do the same and we are deluged with this crap, and it will only get worse as the general election campaign season nears. It becomes the hallmark of campaign coverage. It's how we end up with stories about Al Gore's wardrobe and other trivial BS becoming major media topics.

I guess reporters on the presidential beat get bored covering the same policy speeches over and over and over again so they have to look for something 'fresh'. I would probably do the same were I in their shoes.

The answer, I think, is to rotate reporters in and out of the campaign so that they don't spend too long on the same beat. I truly believe a fresh set of eyes would help a newspaper greatly improve its campaign coverage.

Thanks for keeping us informed of the real issues in this campaign, like how a candidate (even one as forgettable as Romney) eats his pizza.

Jesus Christ on a pogo stick: is this REALLY what our discourse has become? Thanks for making it just a *little* bit worse. If we can all keep this up, we'll rid this country of the last tattered threads of democracy that still remain.

What an utterly worthless column. You're on your way to the big time, my boy. You should apply at the Washington Post. Today!

Dear Joel,

Today I went to the bathroom and didn't wash my hands. Then I ate a twinkie with ketchup. So do you think I'm qualified to win the hearts of the voters? Would it help if I quit showering?

Or maybe people paid to do "journalism" ought to spend their time concerning themselves with things that actually, you know, matter, instead of vapid trivialities about whether or not Mitt eats pizza right.

Sorry to harsh your buzz dude, but you are aware that there are these things called "issues" that actually, you know, like affect things and stuff, right?

The bunker is waaaaay open for business, but due to circumstances beyond our control, I'm gonna wanna see some ID before I let you in.

Mo, you still out there?

Let me know ASAP if anyone needs us to lay down some covering fire as you zigzag across the open areas to get here. I think we may have some smoke available, if need be, too. Bring some coupons for Dominoes or Pizza Hut.

going back to the Dukakis anecdote: of course Dukakis didn't have much in common with those big burly union guys. Do YOU want Joe Sixpack as your president? I sure don't. Was Dukakis campaigning for president of the union? No. He was campaigning for President of the USA.

The more we demand our candidates act like 'one of us' (whomever 'us' is on a given day) in order to get our vote, the more we get phony crap and pandering, like the GOP's terminal 'who loves baby Jesus more?' shtick.

Again, the problem isn't the occasional reporting of trivia here and there; it's how the reporting on the process becomes overwhelmed with trivia. Voting for "a guy I'd like to have a beer with" is the culmination of the dumbing-down of the process.

FSM wept.

True, r€nato. Posts such as the one by "Charles Hammond" are more to my point.

But realize that your assertion that issues with an element of whimsy have become "major media topics" still suggests an either-or mentality. Such things are not pushing other issues from the front page. They are here to add unusual, humorous, and potentially insightful information to the mix. They are adding, and not detracting, from the national discussion.

I wonder if some less friendly blog has decided to unleash its minions upon the Achenblog.

Charles Hammond writes "Jesus Christ on a pogo stick." I wonder if they serve that at the Iowa state fair.

Yes, but the deep-fry it, frosty.

RD, I really don't wish to re-hash here the history of the coverage of the 2000 campaign, but a lot of it did indeed cover trivial crap like Al Gore's earth tones, and a lot of rather important topics like W's covering-up of his past DUI incidents or the circumstances surrounding his National Guard service didn't get anywhere near the coverage they merited. In fact, one could have predicted quite a bit about the nature of the Bush regime by how they handled various issues in both campaigns: the extreme secrecy, the 'accidental' destruction of inconvenient documents, crony capitalism, and so on.

I'm not at all arguing for either/or and I believe you're projecting on to me the comments of others. I'm simply asking for more balance: more substance and less trivia. There's room for Joel's sly, humorous tales of life on the campaign trail; it's the extreme imbalance in overall media coverage which makes some people here highly allergic to what Joel is writing.

Thanks to all who wished me well in my travels tomorrow. I am flying from Bemidji and figure my odds of making my connection in Minneapolis are about even.

Welcome to all the new boodle handles, and the boodlers behind the names.

r€nato, you seem like a reasonable person and I understand your point. But I think the hostility to Joel and the Achenblog is profoundly misplaced. If anything, the Achenblog, when viewed in its entirety, promotes profoundly intelligent discussions of the issues of the day mixed in with a lot of good-natured silliness. It is a complex place populated with complex thinkers.

I assert that if you hang around and follow this blog over a period of time you will see that it is part of the solution, not the problem.

r€nato, you and the other drive-bys have no clue how to interpret Joel's writing. You don't understand that his column isn't really a column at all; it's just the equivalent of a casual conversation in a neighborhood bar among a bunch of friends who understand the mground rules and the context. Then you and a couple of other people come wandering in, and start injecting yourselves in somebody else's conversation. Now, you can argue all night long about the propriety of Joel having a conversation with his friends, but that's what was going on. Now if you want to stick around and listen for a while until you get the drift, that's fine. Take off your coat, sit down, have a beer.. and shut the he11 up until you hear enough to understand how it works here in the corner bar. The problem isn't Joel and his column; it's what you and your buddies think you have stumbled into, and your expectations of same. You are welcome here; you're expectations are not.

I've got several bottles of good wine for the bunker and I'm bring all the appetizers I had planned for Christmas Eve. Asparagus roasted in prosciutto, vegetable samosas and coconut chutney, sausage rolls made with hot italian sausage and puff-pastry, a fine cheese and fruit selection, greek olives in cheese pastry, mini-quiche (homemade pastry), skewers of ginger/garlic marinated grilled shrimp and scallops with a soy dip, hummus and tappenade with pita chips, mince tarts, taffy tarts, brownies, plum pudding with hard sauce and whiskey sauce.

Is that the sort of ID you require, 'Mudge?

Oh, Yoki, Yoki, you sweet-talker, you.

Jeez, Yoki, you put us all to shame!

If I bring cheese straws, will you let me in, Mudge?

Can we agree on a password on the backboodle?

You're always welcome, with or without the cheese straws, Slyness.

But don't forget the cheese straws.

This morning I was about to wake up and say "Joel, at least you're not picking on the candidates for what they eat", then saw today's entry. Yeah, you went there.

Joel raises some valid points in the midst of humor-- is wanting your president to be the kind of guy you'd feel comfy splitting a beer with really necessary to vote for this person? I'm delighted almost everybody saw the absurdity. Alas, a few missed the fact that it was highlighted on purpose.

For instance, everything I read about Kuchinch refers to his being a vegan. Now, after reading the in-depth article about how he had some intestine removed thanks to Crohn's disease, I no longer see the veganism as indicating any kind of "flakiness".
Crohn's disease tends to also afflict people with lactose and grain intolerance, and increases risk of colon cancer as well. If I had painful surgery after continually suffering crohn's disease and being told I was at risk for colon cancer and seeing red meat on the top of the list of risk-increasers, I'd go vegan too in a heartbeat. (dairy already would have been off the books long since). I know many people who went vegetarian or vegan because they just couldn't like nor digest meat. It happens.

So to me Kuchinch's veganism is not a subject of humor. But it's often mentioned, as kind of a codeword for "THAT kind of person." Whatever the reporter means.

Interestingly, in this above situation, I'm sure Kuchinch would just simply pass up the pizza if offered, and say "folks, I'm here to talk about the future of our country..." and then do so while downing some gluten-free energy bars.

Hmm, eating pizza with knife and fork is acceptable in Italy and other lands. That's nice. Mitt was eating in Iowa, not Rome, last I checked.

I'm sure the Iowans were fascinated by the concept. Naturally, everybody knows Iowans only eat food if it's deepfried on a wooden stick, or on a cob, so they'd never have seen such hoity-toity silverwrangling.

That aside, it's custom to smash wineglases under the feet after drinking them at Jewish weddings, but such a behavior would get some stares in other situations, no? Mazel tov! Dai, dai dai dai...

(I'm JUST waiting for the day when one of the candidates in fact does exactly that after a glass of wine or two.)

But more historically, since we're going all cultural-like here. A kind of ur-pizza was mentioned in Virgil's "The Aeneid". The Trojan refugees under the leadership of Aeneas are prosphesied that they are doomed to wander until the day they are so hungry they eat the plates they put their food on.

Well, they land up in Italy after varied adventures by way of South Africa and also a love affair with Queen Dido gone bad, and sure enough they cook some flat bread, put their food on it as plates and eat it. And their wandering was soon at an end.
This was either a open-face sandwich or an early pizza variant (no tomatoes back then, not sure if they had seasick goats furnishing pre-churned cheese).

There are no forks in the Aeneid and there would not be forks in Italy for over a thousand years. So you bet the very first ur-Romans ate their pizza without fork n knives. Possibly they ate them on sticks.

That is, if we're going to be all picky about "original pizza-eating ettiquette."

In fact, I think I'll go and eat some flamingo tongues with fermented fish sauce (the original ketchup of the Romans). On pizza pie crust from a stone oven, with a side of caviar. That'd be truly a delish feast for drunken and spoiled emperors.

Sing me a song of sixpence...

I've applied for a bunch of jobs in my day. A bunch. Oddly enough, through all the multitude of interviews I've been forced to endure, I don't recall anyone ever asking me how I eat my pizza or drink my beer. Had they done so, honest to god, I would have walked out right then and there. It wouldn't have been because I have some embarassingly peculiar way of taking nourishment; rather, I simply wouldn't want to work for the kind of lunatic you'd have to be to consider that a relevant line of questioning.

I assume Doggril wouldn't apply to take over the Miss Manners column or teach finishing school, then.

Judith Martin can breathe easy.

Joel Achenbach is in a position to discuss whether Mitt Romney will prolong the American troop presence in Iraq or finish it quickly. He talks about pizza.

If we get a President who prolongs the war, more journalists' families will experience what Bob Woodruff and Michael Kelly's families experienced.

Achenbach, your reporting has consequences.

Now start reporting like you care about the consequences.

Honestly, is someone sending these people here?

doggril, if you think the people who interviewed you didn't check out all manner of your personal idiosyncracies, mannerisms, etc., both spoken and unspoken, your social class, how you carry yourself, and a whole host of similar "how you eat your pizza" items, you are very much mistaken. They just didn't ask you about your pizza habits. But they scanned you just the same.

OK, I'm gonna need a highly technical ruling from Weingarten himself on this point. I felt sure that Wilbrod's "ur-pizza" was almost certainly a Googlenope, so I checked. But there were in fact 1,550 hits. But when I checked some of them, I saw that they were text-messaging shorthand for "your pizza." So in my judgement, ur-pizza does indeed appear to be a Googlenope, at least in the context Wilbrod meant it. So heartiest congrats, Wilbrod, pending verification and pilpul from Weingarten.

McCain reported in Reader's Digest that he favors prolonging the war in Iraq to finish the job and get Iraq stablized. How about dem apples?

Biden favors a withdrawal and supporting the locals in their efforts to self-govern. This is actually a strategy that is working in Iraq but took years to implement because this present administration wanted to spend billions on contractors who feel themselves to be free of U.S. law when it comes to their employees being raped.
How about dem apples?

McCain is the only republican candidate openly against torture as an interrogation technique, including waterboarding. When this current administration said "We do not torture." We just export the prisoners where they can be tortured. How about dem apples?

Personally I'm depressed enough by the serious reporting. I'm afraid my dad will have a stroke before 2008 is over, just watching the "serious" reporting on the candidates.

So pour some beer on your pizza, sit down and relax. I don't care if you need to pick the cheese off your pizza or not.

Those people, folks, are imperfect human beings running for a job that is going to be the most difficult ever handed to anybody in recent times. Watch how they handle their imperfections. See how many smart, capable, and honest people they attract to their teams.

Heavens knows we need a major improvement in our executive branch's flexibility in dealing with crises.

many of the recent comments have the theme of "geez, how superficial is it that romney is being criticized for how he eats when there are more serious issues out there." i think it's not an accident but some kind of romney campaign/supporter push back. whatever.

heading to the bunker...

I know somebody's gonna ask, so here it is, from Wikipedia [note closely the last two sentences]:

"Pilpul (Hebrew: פילפול, loosely meaning "sharp analysis") refers to a method of studying the Talmud through intense textual analysis in attempts to either explain conceptual differences between various halakhic rulings or to reconcile any apparent contradictions presented from various readings of different texts. This method, based on Avot (6:6), the Babylonian Talmud (Shabbat 31a), Rashi (commentary on Tractate Kiddushin of the Babylonian Talmud, 30a, s.v. "Talmud") and Maimonides (Yad HaChazakah, Sefer Madda, Laws of Torah Study, 1:11), requires derivation of the conceptual structures underlying various Jewish laws. Before World War II, variations of this method were popular among Lithuanian and Polish Jews. Since then, pilpul has become prominent in most Ashkenazi and many Chassidic yeshivas.

"Beginning around the seventeenth century, the colloquial usage of pilpul came to refer to a popularized method of conceptual extrapolation from texts in efforts to reconcile various texts or to explain fundamental differences of approach between various earlier authorities. Many leading rabbinic authorities harshly criticized this method as being unreliable and a waste of time. In fact, some students of the Talmud around this time began employing this pseudo-pilpul, apparently often motivated by the prospect of impressing others with the sophistication of their analysis. These students typically did not apply appropriate standards of proof in obtaining their conclusions (if any), and frequently presupposed conclusions that necessitated unlikely readings of "proof-texts". As such, pilpul has sometimes been derogatorily called bilbul, Hebrew for "confusion". Many authorities spoke out in support of similar methods of actual pilpul as being reliable and even central to Talmud study whenever traditional standards of proof were applied rigorously.

"Pilpul has escaped into English as a colloquialism used by some to indicate extreme disputation or casuistic hairsplitting. This usage has especially fallen into use among critics of Haredi Jews, impugning their Talmud study as non-productive."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilpul

btw, loved the blue angels pics and the songs. and mo, good to hear from you.

tomorrow i'll be flying east and going to pennsylvania to be with my folks.

happy holidays everyone!

Come on, stay out and giggle at the trolls, L.A. Lurker.

I JUST know Joel's next kit title will read: "Romney: Hoist on his Pizza Petard?"

He doesn't scare easy. Hard-hitting reporting will be kept up, even through trollstorms.

In fact, this will only ensure that Joel will indeed be there when Romney's Watergate happens. I predict it will be when Romney asks for bottled Perrier (s'il vous plaît) when visiting a good ol' Iowa farm with water from wells.

And then he will use his pig-wrangling and people skills to get the farmer to help him lay a waitcloth and silver tray on the back of a hog to serve Romney his perrier, for a pork-fect photo op.

Now, Wilbrod, that's a mental image to make me giggle.

*dialing pizza order in the bunker*

"Bottled Perrier" made me stop and ask myself, "Is there such a think as Perrier on tap? Draft Perrier?"

I'm sorry, I can't help it. There's nothing on TV except "Notting Hill."

Pizza must have struck a particular nerve.

I kinda-sorta sympathize with the idea that presidential candidates shouldn't be written about or judged on the basis of affability, but I just don't see us electing someone who behaves like Woodrow Wilson or Herbert Hoover anytime soon. A Warren Harding is far more likely.

On the side, both Wal-Mart and Publix are selling frozen pizzas made in Italy. Notably less goopy than the domestic version.

In the pilpul department, I spent a productive week this month learning how to avoid getting tangled in it. I guess you'd call the course "Occam, not pilpul".

Finally, a contractor mowing a road edge near here did indeed turn a 16 foot python into what I hope was a nice holiday steak tartare for the vultures. The incident makes me appreciate the black racers that are all over my neighborhood, but rarely seen, and then only when racing out of the way.

Hey, L.A., where in Pennsyltucky are ya going?

I don't care about the candidates dietary preferences. Period.

Get that through your thick skulls, please.

No one cared about how Kerrey ordered a nasty tourist meat sandwich. I don't care how a guy from Utah fails to understand pizza, either.

No one cares. Stories like this only prove that the media are a bunch of scandal-mongering elitist nitwits frantically trying to prove their non-elitist bona fides.

Big tip-off: the amount of coverage in 2000 spent on praising Bush as a guy you would have a beer with, even though he doesn't drink (unless the press has been sitting on a big story) and wouldn't have a drink with you unless you have seven-figure assets.

Conclusion: any press coverage of candidates' dietary intake is idiotic at best.

Wouldn't that be "snake tartare"?

Holy cow!!! "Fat Purple Godzilla" is a Googlenope!!!!!!!

(Who'd a thunk?)

This is a repeat, but it is worth repeating. Here's Science/SongwriterTim's video (okay, to be technical about it, he had some help) of "Hotel Mauna Kea" for your viewing pleasure:

http://www.sciencefriday.com/videos/watch/54

Very nicely done, Tim et al.!

"Perrier on tap" is what you get after drinking a bunch of Perrier. Or maybe they call it "Coors" when it's on tap.

Haven't posted a youtube link for a while so here's one that I stumbled on.

I wonder why the US military never uses humor in their recruiting ads. Here's an ad from Finland.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvKiMhySszI&feature=related

Slyness, ah if only I had the photoshop to make that image even more mental...

Well, gosh, Mitt's de-cheesing the pizza is the best thing I've heard about his candidacy so far. Why would Mittster trolls object?

Boodle was highly informative today*. Thank you all. Happy Holidays.**

*Expanding Earth RULES!

**Note that I've joined the War on Christmas, & I'm not on the christianism side. Censor that, WAPO!

And a very Felicitous FSM Banquet Day to you, too, MedallionoF.

Though he is usually a smart guy, this post could explain the influx of outraged comments...

http://atrios.blogspot.com/

see item titled 'Lord Please Make Them Stop"

Nice headline in London Times today --
Mitt meets Mitty.

Sorry, no one in real america cares about the way candidates eat pizza. Can you please act as a professional journalist?

People here eat pizza with a fork and knife. I wasn't planning on having pizza for lunch but now it's pizza for lunch.

Great air show pictures. The Blue Angels are beautiful pieces of hardware.

Mostly, I can't look at pictures of snakes either. If I do, I end up having bad dreams about being chased by them.

Joel, if you have the opportunity to get corned beef hash for breakfast in Iowa, give it a shot. It's very often the real home-made thing, and different from the hash anywhere else (more German). And pack a toothpick. If you don't need a toothpick after eating the hash, you didn't get the real thing, but you could still use it to pop a politican's balloon.

Yes, that post certainly seems to be the nexus of infection. Take a blog extract out of context, prime the readers as to why they should be outraged, and then send them on their merry way to attack. Charming.

I guess it's the price of doing business on the internet.

Quite a striking young lady in that bubble bath, though.

Yes, inane trivia is much easier to write about than policy. And, free from the drudgery of actual fact-finding, it's much more fun to cover.

Yes, something important may be happening when America elects its next president. So watch that pizza carefully as Joel climbs the D.C. punditry ladder.

hi everybody--I'm in Key West, the door to the balcony is open and I'm listening to the sound of the surf. Do have some pictures but I'm falling asleep so will post them tomorrow.

regarding reading a book, I want to share that the offspring came home from college enthusiastic about all the inspiring books she read this semester--her life was somewhat like the description; some days her agenda was just "read a book." She is touting one tome particularly, and I don't remember if I have read it, but the whole family is scheduled to read it soon, since she says, "You HAVE to read this! THIS BOOK CHANGED MY LIFE!" The title? _All