I may or may not have picked a fight at Jezebel. My point: as someone who lost a parent suddenly, I think it's more than fine for Bobbi Kristina to have been banned from seeing Whitney's body, especially by her family. She may be 18, but there's no way she knew how much she could have traumatized herself. Whitney was likely blue (my dad was - I didn't see him and resent the person who told me this) and puffy. Seeing her dressed up in the funeral home is fine. [jezebel.com]
I just did my first harvest on some alpine strawberries, Pineapple Crush, and they were not kidding that they taste like pineapple. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
I've never heard of these. I wonder if someone allergic to strawberries (me) would be allergic to these, and if not, will they grow in LA? #crosstalk(Edit comment)
I had some pineapple tomatoes last year as well, they had that hint but I swear biting into those (sorry, I don't have a photo uploaded) you first get the taste of a strawberry then a huge blast of pineapple flavor. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
Sadly, I didn't realize the yield was really tiny (only a few are usually ripe at a time and the fruit is tiny) so I will need to plant a shit-ton more of these next year. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
No not tomato, tomatillo. I know they're like tomatoes, but the pineapple flavor was strong. Too strong in fact, for me. Aunt Mollys are better. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
The reason you probably haven't seen these white strawberries in CA is that they are kind of new to the area, alpines haven't traditionally been purchased by nurseries (you won't find it at home depot) since they are grown for flavor not yield.
You know, I am not sure. I only started growing a few Fragaria cultivars this year as a contrast to the garden strawberries (which you can buy in stores and stands) that I have. The strawberry you are more familiar with is a hybrid of two Fragaria cultivars. I'm guessing you might still be allergic to them but they might be worth a shot.
No, they will not grow in LA, they only grow in nice places like OC. (Yes, they grow in So Cal)
I ordered a pineberry (strawberry that's white with red seeds) since I had a coupon for burpee, so I will see how that performs as well. #crosstalk
Be careful what you post on Gawker or any other internet blog because apparently Big Brother is watching you closely: the New York Police Department got a subpoena forcing a popular New York City blog named [Gothamist.com] to reveal the identity of someone who posted a threatening comment about NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly on its pages. A single random threat where some guy was clearly just venting steam about something. The NYPD arrested the guy at his home today.
So where exactly will the government draw the line on who it is going to investigate and arrest for posting unfavorable comments on the internet? Given that this was a single random comment I think this is a huge blow to freedom of speech on the internet and it frightens me. I strongly disagree with people posting threatening comments on the internet but I also believe very strongly in our right to free speech. #crosstalk
Please join us a few posts down. Also, he posted a big old death threat where he was extremely detailed with the type of gun and caliber and all that good stuff. I wouldn't call it necessarily random. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
but what astounds me are the insanely high number of trolls (or troll-y websites) that threaten death on obama, michelle, or his daughters with nary an arrest made. but the nypd commissioner? send out the goons... ugh. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
Meanwhile Sarah Palin's website included a map of the United States showing pictures of Gabrielle Giffords and other members of Congress with crosshairs through their pictures (implying they should be shot) and noone associated with her website gets arrested or even publicly reprimanded. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
I met a couple that had been married for 20 years and they showed me their wedding bands. They were gold replicas of cigar lables because they got married on the spur of the moment in Las Vegas and all they had to use for rings were two cigar lables. It was quite sweet.
Totally off topic but your post just reminded me of them and made me smile. #crosstalk
If it's just steamed milk I don't have a problem with it -- I would prefer that to hot chocolate or juice. The decaf espresso is weird tho. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
Actually, there's a bodega near us that sells them! I was shocked when I saw them one day because I assumed (wrongly, apparently) that no company would be stupid enough to continue making them. Then again, maybe if we give kids candy cigarettes they'll stop asking for candy condoms. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
Gothamist commenter arrested for threatening to kill Ray Kelly. Interesting story on how that site decides whether or not to cooperate with a subpoena to identify and track down a commenter. The comment in question is such that the person should also have been arrested for general stupidity and being a danger to himself or to the average IQ level of Brooklyn. I like the list of comment types that are likeliest to be deleted by the editors, just on general principle. And I have no problem with that. Their commenting is wildly inferior, generally, but largely because such a high % of the comments meet the 'we will delete' criteria, but remain on the site. Disqus has (or encourages) so many trolls.
Thanks for fixing the link. Not sure how mine went all awry. I hope no one decides to kill me over it, but I will understand if they do. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
Well, yeah, but you work at NBC, where they have thousands of people working at 30 Rock, whose only job is to monitor every comment made about your nightly newscast (and, btw, could you stop telling us the fucking weather every goddam night. It's cooold! Or, it's not cold enough! Or, snow's a-comin'! Or, where's all the snow? Or, Europe is really cold! Or, Chicago is 47 degrees in February!! I know you all own The Weather Channel now, but really, we don't need the weather taking up 90 seconds on the national news every night. And if you're not secretly Brian, then just ignore most of this comment. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
My son spent the night with my parents this weekend, and they went through a pile of Golden Books my mom had taken from my grandma's house when she died. She was horrified to come upon one long-forgotten-about book: Little Black Sambo. Can anyone believe that once upon a time, that was a book put out by a publishing house and for children, no less? She doesn't know what to do with it, but she doesn't want to toss it - some people collect these things, like Oprah. Ugh. How do you handle something like that? You sure don't give it to Douglas Wilder for his non-existent slave museum, that's for sure.
ETA: I also grew up where there were restaurants called Sambo's - they were pancake houses. Really.
I'd put it on eBay. It may not be your cup of tea, but as you note there are collectors and the book is part of publishing history. And, a quick search of eBay shows one of the Golden Books up to $47 with 9 bids and there's buy-it-nows at $55, $99 & $125.
Jesus. How did you explain that to him? I doubt he's ever even heard of it. So how do you open that can of worms?
One of the most disgusting things I've ever seen in my life came out of my grandfather's desk. I have no idea where it came from. It was a jokey card soliciting donations to (God I hate writing this) send a Coon back to Africa on the Coonard Shipping line. I have no fucking clue why he had it. Or why he felt the need to save the frigging thing. To the best of my knowledge he wasn't racist. He called black people "colored" but I think that was a generational thing. All I do know is it made me think of him in an entirely different light and it took me a long time to get over it. I'm still pretty disgusted with him and he's been dead for almost 15 years.
OK on a completely different note you made me think of this movie. CSA is a faux documentary in a world where the Confederacy won the Civil War. One of the most interesting things is the modern commercials for products that existed way back when. It's on Netflix and Amazon Prime.
The story and the slur Sambo are two different things. The Sambo in the story is Indian while the derogatory name Sambo is leveled at Africans.
The story has nothing to do with blacks or slaves. It should never be in a slave museum!
I remember reading that story as a kid. There was nothing at all that struck me then as being racist.
I reread the story recently. There is absolutely nothing in it that is disparaging or disdainful to anyone or anything. It's all about a very clever and fast-running little boy named Sambo who escapes from a tiger by running around a tree--so many times and so quickly that the tiger turned into a golden blur which became butter.
The racism seems to stem from later when people would call black people "Sambo" in general, referring to people of mixed heritage, African/Native American or African/Caucasian. The name pops up in Uncle Tom's Cabin, and was a common slave name.
The Sambo/tiger story came from India, and the name Sambo had no bad connotations at all.
What's really interesting, is that later on in America, a chain of family restaurants sprouted up called Sambo's--and were decorated with a kind of oh-aren't-black-kids-cute fuzzy racism. They were finally vilified and shut down. But get this: the original name had nothing to do with any of this--it was a combination of the owners' names: Samuel Battistone and Newell Bohnett.
So bottom line: the Indian children's story about tigers and butter is fun and wonderful and without a speck of racism. It's too bad that the word Sambo has been tainted by other issues.
Did you know that in the original version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Oompa Loompas were from the "very deepest and darkest part of the African jungle where no white man had been before?" Obviously they eventually changed it.
Here's an interesting article about Oompa-Loompas, whangdoodles, and all the other stuff.
I think that was also kind of a PC knee-jerk. That was nothing derogatory or belittling or racist. But I do like the idea of strange orange creatures even better. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
Thanks for that. I hadn't read the story since I was little, and didn't remember it, so yes - the way Sambo was used as a slur was my association. My mother was horrified and didn't even open it, so obviously, she made the association, as well.
They didn't even look at it; he has a lot of black/mixed race friends, so I guess she didn't want to offend him.
My grandfather was raised on a farm in North Carolina, and was so racist that he almost died from refusing a blood transfusion, as "there might be some Negro blood mixed in." My grandparents were super-Christian and would do anything for anyone, of any color, and very heavily involved in charity work, but that last bastion of his racist upbringing was simply never culled out of him. I loved my grandad to some extent, but I had little respect for him. #crosstalk
It wasn't until 11:30 AM that I realized that I left the house wearing brown shoes and a black belt. If anyone asks, it's fashion forward. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
Just say that either the shoes are black--just slightly worn--or that the belt is actually really dark brown. If people continue giving you crap about it, claim to be color-blind and threaten an ADA discrimination lawsuit. Problem solved. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
I contemplated going home during lunch so I could change. Mostly, I am coping by just hiding at my desk all day.
My pants even have cute red, white, and black checks in the back pocket linings that were supposed to tie everything together. Now the effect is ruined! #crosstalk
You could always kind of blouse your shirt over your belt a little, so as to hide it from the viewing public. It is the kind thing to do. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
To follow up on the Lent post, two questions (yes, I will snark in them, but I'm also genuinely curious, and I'm hesitant to ask anyone I know in "real life" because, well, the answer might end with, "You know, if you're really curious, why don't you come by on Sunday and..." And, let's face it, nobody wants that.
1) What's the deal with Lent, anyway? I get that you're supposed to give up something that you like. From what I've cobbled together by hearing people whine about it on their Facebook statuses, it is somehow supposed to bring you closer to God. But how?
2) Specifically for those of you of the Catholic (or formerly Catholic) persuasion, how long do you have to keep the ashes on your forehead? And are you allowed to cover them up? Granted, this is one of only approximately 72,000 ways in which I would make a lousy Catholic, but if it was a matter of getting the ashes, then taking them off when you want, I'd be scrubbing my forehead in the bathroom in the back of the church before heading out. If that was against the rules--or if the social pressure to not wash them off immediately was too great--I'd at least throw on a baseball cap or something. #crosstalk
For me it's an acknowledgment of the sacrifice Christ made. It lasts forty days because that's how long he fasted in the desert and is also the length of time between Ash wednesday and Easter. I'm not catholic anymore but I still do this and now I'll STFU about it. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
No need to STFU, and I'm sorry if it sounded like I was trying to mock people who do observe Lent--obviously it's not my thing, but I don't have any animosity toward people who do. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
Good Friday/Easter are the holiest times of the year in Catholicism, and part of Lent is supposed to be preparing yourself spiritually and physically for them. Ever since Vatican II and the era of cafeteria Catholicism, giving up something for Lent has become something like "omg I'm totally giving up Facebook!" or "bye bye chocolate :(" but it used to be about hardcore fasting and praying. Like, forget no meat on Fridays, how about no eating on Fridays?
My biblical theology professor in college said no meat on Fridays was no sacrifice at all, especially when you could just have lobster instead. He advocated going to a sub shop and watching them prepare the steak and cheeses, and then going home for peanut butter and jelly. #crosstalk
1. You don't have to give up anything. You can choose to do something else that enhances your relationship with God and spirituality. For example, some people choose to pray the rosary every day or volunteer at the homeless mission on weekly basis. Every priest I have had has advocated doing this sort of thing rather than just giving up something you enjoy because it takes more effort and is more significant.
2. You don't have to get ashes. Ash Wednesday is not a day of obligation. There is no hard and fast rule as to how long you have to wear the ashes, although some people keep them on until they get ready for bed. It's really up to the individual. The ashes' purpose is to humble the heart of the wearer and to remind us of that physical life ends on earth - the whole "ashes to ashes, dust to dust" thing. #crosstalk
And yes, you can wash the ashes off whenever you want, even though you're supposed to keep them on the whole day. I mean, you're not damned to hell, and you didn't "do less Ash Wednesday" than your neighbor or whatever for washing. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
For half a second, I thought some lady had an upside cross on her forhead and I thought "Old lady Satan worshipper" until I realized it was Ash Wednesday. I also realized new levels to my (generations) of lapsed Catholicism. I've never gone to church on Wednesday. It seems like effort but I suppose you are supposed to walk around with it all day but it would make me feel self conscious, like the embarrassment I get when I see people who don't remove their face paintings. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
Encountering pretty much anything at all Tea Party-related immediately makes this guy dance around in my head.
Jack: What do you think the role of government should be? Steve Austin: Limited. I believe in small government. Jack: Excellent answer! Steve Austin: Or no government at all. If it works in Antarctica, why can't it work here? But if we have to have government, make it as small as possible. Dwarves. Tiny buildings. Pizza bagels for lunch. #crosstalk
The first attempt was taken by the gremlins, so let's try this again:
Well, it's Lent season again. I'm going to keep to my annual tradition of giving up self-denial, so once I leave the office it's off to pick up some ice cream, make a stop at the liquor store, then back home to--research--material for #2080Hotness (and maybe a few other things).
It's going to be a rough 40 days, but it's worth it. For the spirituality and all that. #crosstalk
I'm going to give up giving stuff up. No more giving stuff up for me! It's going to be tough, not giving stuff up, but somehow I'll make it through. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
I like to come on crosstalk to share cute pictures of kitty cats with the other lonely cat ladies. Now where did I leave my dentures? #crosstalk(Edit comment)
None of the other old ladies at the nursing home will talk to me because they think I'm strange. But I'll always have crosstalk! #crosstalk(Edit comment)
Everyone remembered to wish Salome Valentine a happy birthday on her birthday. Maybe if I keep posting pictures of kitty kats people will remember to wish ME a happy birthday! #crosstalk(Edit comment)
So when is your birthday? If it's today, you need to tell us. If you follow xtalk at all, you know we're not shy about asking for attention. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
It showed up in CT (I saw it), and then disappeared after it was edited. So I just went to the history, and Lo! There was it was. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
Of course, if he wants me to decrease the kitty input, all he has to do is start posting a bunch of stuff himself. I only go to great effort to post everything that amuses me in order to try to keep Crosstalk hopping. If he does it instead, I won't feel the need! #crosstalk(Edit comment)
This might be one of the funniest things I have ever read:
This week the shriveled husk of million term United States Senator and malevolent lich Jesse Helms was sealed in a bleak crypt deep beneath the sands of his native Stygia, North Carolina. Flowers placed on his grave by grieving shitheads withered and died within seconds.
Helms, known to friends and slaves alike as an unredeemed racist, was famous in the Senate for his passionate defense of segregation, opposition to the civil and voting rights acts, and his black crusade against the sun and all things which draw life from it.
As one of the first conservative talk radio hosts of the 1960’s Helms pioneered the technique of getting poor stupid whites to vote against their own interests by tricking them into hulking the fuck out over black people, immigrants, and the betrayal of the Confederacy by jews, liberals, and the hated abstract concept of literacy. He went on to parley his repulsive backwoods celebrity with the curbstomp set into a long career in government where he played a prominent role in the unbelievably vicious and petty dixiecrat movement. His leadership resulted in a fundamental realignment of the American domestic political scene over the question of just how much we should hate n----rs ("A whole lot", contended Helms).
Long considered a strong contender for "worst person in the entire world" Helms in his declining years began to find that limited title constraining. Last summer recess he gathered together all the educated mulattos and wizened negro shaman from the swamps and dungeons of his grim feudal demesne and began a search for the blackest of black tomes, arts, and metal. That search culminated last week in his ascension to lichdom with the completion of a vile phylactery in the form of a fat lipped bejeweled bone sambo, pulsating with false life and the rhythm of hot jungle beats. His triumph over death itself coincides with a departure from this plane of existence for the astral realms, where he will spend the next thousand years pursuing recognition as the "worst person in the entire metaverse."
Here on Earth Helms will be remembered as a southern gentleman, a family man, and the kind of guy that’ll eventually turn out to have dozens of child sized skeletons buried in his yard and whose family members when interviewed will say they thought he just liked collecting tiny shoes.
Is there a cash prize associated with the Guinness Book of World Records? I always wondered why people would care to be in it.
Smallest man?
From the AP: Dangi says he's only 22 inches (56 centimeters) tall — about the size of a toddler — and he's hoping to claim the title. Guinness World Records said in an email Wednesday that its officials would arrive in Nepal's capital Sunday to measure Dangi.
It confers a dubious legitimacy to whatever record it is you're claiming, making it more likely that you can get paid for public appearances and whatnot. How lucrative this turns out to be depends on the record, I suppose. #crosstalk(Edit comment)
I may or may not have picked a fight at Jezebel. My point: as someone who lost a parent suddenly, I think it's more than fine for Bobbi Kristina to have been banned from seeing Whitney's body, especially by her family. She may be 18, but there's no way she knew how much she could have traumatized herself. Whitney was likely blue (my dad was - I didn't see him and resent the person who told me this) and puffy. Seeing her dressed up in the funeral home is fine. [jezebel.com]
#crosstalk
(Edit comment)For the cat complainers, he is not a cat. #crosstalk (Edit comment)
Somethingsomethingsomething #crosstalk (Edit comment)
Heyyy! Happy Lent, y'all. #crosstalk (Edit comment)
Cattle Rustling on the Rise in Texas: [usnews.msnbc.msn.com]
You can't make this shit up. #crosstalk
(Edit comment)Oh, Texas?
Good, Buggalo still safe!
#crosstalk
(Edit comment)I just did my first harvest on some alpine strawberries, Pineapple Crush, and they were not kidding that they taste like pineapple. #crosstalk (Edit comment)
Ever seen a pineapple plant? It's like a little kid's drawing of how plants work, but it's totally real! #crosstalk (Edit comment)
The reason you probably haven't seen these white strawberries in CA is that they are kind of new to the area, alpines haven't traditionally been purchased by nurseries (you won't find it at home depot) since they are grown for flavor not yield.
You know, I am not sure. I only started growing a few Fragaria cultivars this year as a contrast to the garden strawberries (which you can buy in stores and stands) that I have. The strawberry you are more familiar with is a hybrid of two Fragaria cultivars. I'm guessing you might still be allergic to them but they might be worth a shot.
No, they will not grow in LA, they only grow in nice places like OC. (Yes, they grow in So Cal)
I ordered a pineberry (strawberry that's white with red seeds) since I had a coupon for burpee, so I will see how that performs as well. #crosstalk
(Edit comment)Be careful what you post on Gawker or any other internet blog because apparently Big Brother is watching you closely: the New York Police Department got a subpoena forcing a popular New York City blog named [Gothamist.com] to reveal the identity of someone who posted a threatening comment about NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly on its pages. A single random threat where some guy was clearly just venting steam about something. The NYPD arrested the guy at his home today.
So where exactly will the government draw the line on who it is going to investigate and arrest for posting unfavorable comments on the internet? Given that this was a single random comment I think this is a huge blow to freedom of speech on the internet and it frightens me. I strongly disagree with people posting threatening comments on the internet but I also believe very strongly in our right to free speech. #crosstalk
(Edit comment)Sad- Marine Makes Last Stand in Foreclosed Home: [usnews.msnbc.msn.com]
Looks like the poor guy was completely screwed over. #crosstalk
(Edit comment)Now available: Babyccinos. Fake "coffee" for your your kid, only $2 each.
[moms.today.msnbc.msn.com] #crosstalk
(Edit comment)I met a couple that had been married for 20 years and they showed me their wedding bands. They were gold replicas of cigar lables because they got married on the spur of the moment in Las Vegas and all they had to use for rings were two cigar lables. It was quite sweet.
Totally off topic but your post just reminded me of them and made me smile. #crosstalk
(Edit comment)Gothamist commenter arrested for threatening to kill Ray Kelly. Interesting story on how that site decides whether or not to cooperate with a subpoena to identify and track down a commenter. The comment in question is such that the person should also have been arrested for general stupidity and being a danger to himself or to the average IQ level of Brooklyn. I like the list of comment types that are likeliest to be deleted by the editors, just on general principle. And I have no problem with that. Their commenting is wildly inferior, generally, but largely because such a high % of the comments meet the 'we will delete' criteria, but remain on the site. Disqus has (or encourages) so many trolls.
[gothamist.com]
(Edit comment)#crosstalk
Wow(Fixed link)
Who knew the life a blogger could be so dangerous.... #crosstalk
(Edit comment)Yeeesh. I could possibly maybe understand a, "___ should be shot" or "I'd like to kill ____" but that was a little (way) too descriptive.
Incidentally, since my local newspaper has gone to facebook comments only online, the racism has almost completely vanished. #crosstalk
(Edit comment)As interesting as it is, though, I can't stop giggling at this:
"We do our best to moderate the comments with our tiny staff" #crosstalk
(Edit comment)[gothamist.com] gothamist_commenter_arrested_
for_th. php
#crosstalk
(Edit comment)How did you...
I worked so hard on the disguise.
(No, not really Brian... of course wouldn't I say that if I really were Brian? ) #crosstalk
(Edit comment)That's why I hand-deliver all my death threats.
I go for the personal touch. #crosstalk
(Edit comment)My son spent the night with my parents this weekend, and they went through a pile of Golden Books my mom had taken from my grandma's house when she died. She was horrified to come upon one long-forgotten-about book: Little Black Sambo. Can anyone believe that once upon a time, that was a book put out by a publishing house and for children, no less? She doesn't know what to do with it, but she doesn't want to toss it - some people collect these things, like Oprah. Ugh. How do you handle something like that? You sure don't give it to Douglas Wilder for his non-existent slave museum, that's for sure.
ETA: I also grew up where there were restaurants called Sambo's - they were pancake houses. Really.
#crosstalk
(Edit comment)Don't forget your Tintin in the Congo. #crosstalk (Edit comment)
I'd put it on eBay. It may not be your cup of tea, but as you note there are collectors and the book is part of publishing history. And, a quick search of eBay shows one of the Golden Books up to $47 with 9 bids and there's buy-it-nows at $55, $99 & $125.
BTW: The one with bids have two days remaining.
(Edit comment)Jesus. How did you explain that to him? I doubt he's ever even heard of it. So how do you open that can of worms?
One of the most disgusting things I've ever seen in my life came out of my grandfather's desk. I have no idea where it came from.
It was a jokey card soliciting donations to (God I hate writing this) send a Coon back to Africa on the Coonard Shipping line.
I have no fucking clue why he had it. Or why he felt the need to save the frigging thing. To the best of my knowledge he wasn't racist. He called black people "colored" but I think that was a generational thing.
All I do know is it made me think of him in an entirely different light and it took me a long time to get over it. I'm still pretty disgusted with him and he's been dead for almost 15 years.
OK on a completely different note you made me think of this movie. CSA is a faux documentary in a world where the Confederacy won the Civil War. One of the most interesting things is the modern commercials for products that existed way back when. It's on Netflix and Amazon Prime.
[www.amazon.com]
(Edit comment)#crosstalk
The story and the slur Sambo are two different things.
The Sambo in the story is Indian while the derogatory name Sambo is leveled at Africans.
The story has nothing to do with blacks or slaves. It should never be in a slave museum!
I remember reading that story as a kid.
There was nothing at all that struck me then as being racist.
I reread the story recently.
There is absolutely nothing in it that is disparaging or disdainful to anyone or anything. It's all about a very clever and fast-running little boy named Sambo who escapes from a tiger by running around a tree--so many times and so quickly that the tiger turned into a golden blur which became butter.
The racism seems to stem from later when people would call black people "Sambo" in general, referring to people of mixed heritage, African/Native American or African/Caucasian.
The name pops up in Uncle Tom's Cabin, and was a common slave name.
The Sambo/tiger story came from India, and the name Sambo had no bad connotations at all.
What's really interesting, is that later on in America, a chain of family restaurants sprouted up called Sambo's--and were decorated with a kind of oh-aren't-black-kids-cute fuzzy racism. They were finally vilified and shut down. But get this: the original name had nothing to do with any of this--it was a combination of the owners' names: Samuel Battistone and Newell Bohnett.
So bottom line: the Indian children's story about tigers and butter is fun and wonderful and without a speck of racism. It's too bad that the word Sambo has been tainted by other issues.
#crosstalk
(Edit comment)Did you know that in the original version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Oompa Loompas were from the "very deepest and darkest part of the African jungle where no white man had been before?"
Obviously they eventually changed it.
Here's an interesting article about Oompa-Loompas, whangdoodles, and all the other stuff.
[www.afrika.no]
(Edit comment)#crosstalk
That was nothing derogatory or belittling or racist.
But I do like the idea of strange orange creatures even better.
#crosstalk (Edit comment)
Thanks for that. I hadn't read the story since I was little, and didn't remember it, so yes - the way Sambo was used as a slur was my association. My mother was horrified and didn't even open it, so obviously, she made the association, as well.
Phew. #crosstalk
(Edit comment)They didn't even look at it; he has a lot of black/mixed race friends, so I guess she didn't want to offend him.
My grandfather was raised on a farm in North Carolina, and was so racist that he almost died from refusing a blood transfusion, as "there might be some Negro blood mixed in." My grandparents were super-Christian and would do anything for anyone, of any color, and very heavily involved in charity work, but that last bastion of his racist upbringing was simply never culled out of him. I loved my grandad to some extent, but I had little respect for him. #crosstalk
(Edit comment)It wasn't until 11:30 AM that I realized that I left the house wearing brown shoes and a black belt. If anyone asks, it's fashion forward. #crosstalk (Edit comment)
I contemplated going home during lunch so I could change. Mostly, I am coping by just hiding at my desk all day.
My pants even have cute red, white, and black checks in the back pocket linings that were supposed to tie everything together. Now the effect is ruined! #crosstalk
(Edit comment)To follow up on the Lent post, two questions (yes, I will snark in them, but I'm also genuinely curious, and I'm hesitant to ask anyone I know in "real life" because, well, the answer might end with, "You know, if you're really curious, why don't you come by on Sunday and..." And, let's face it, nobody wants that.
1) What's the deal with Lent, anyway? I get that you're supposed to give up something that you like. From what I've cobbled together by hearing people whine about it on their Facebook statuses, it is somehow supposed to bring you closer to God. But how?
2) Specifically for those of you of the Catholic (or formerly Catholic) persuasion, how long do you have to keep the ashes on your forehead? And are you allowed to cover them up? Granted, this is one of only approximately 72,000 ways in which I would make a lousy Catholic, but if it was a matter of getting the ashes, then taking them off when you want, I'd be scrubbing my forehead in the bathroom in the back of the church before heading out. If that was against the rules--or if the social pressure to not wash them off immediately was too great--I'd at least throw on a baseball cap or something. #crosstalk
(Edit comment)Good Friday/Easter are the holiest times of the year in Catholicism, and part of Lent is supposed to be preparing yourself spiritually and physically for them. Ever since Vatican II and the era of cafeteria Catholicism, giving up something for Lent has become something like "omg I'm totally giving up Facebook!" or "bye bye chocolate :(" but it used to be about hardcore fasting and praying. Like, forget no meat on Fridays, how about no eating on Fridays?
My biblical theology professor in college said no meat on Fridays was no sacrifice at all, especially when you could just have lobster instead. He advocated going to a sub shop and watching them prepare the steak and cheeses, and then going home for peanut butter and jelly. #crosstalk
(Edit comment)1. You don't have to give up anything. You can choose to do something else that enhances your relationship with God and spirituality. For example, some people choose to pray the rosary every day or volunteer at the homeless mission on weekly basis. Every priest I have had has advocated doing this sort of thing rather than just giving up something you enjoy because it takes more effort and is more significant.
2. You don't have to get ashes. Ash Wednesday is not a day of obligation. There is no hard and fast rule as to how long you have to wear the ashes, although some people keep them on until they get ready for bed. It's really up to the individual. The ashes' purpose is to humble the heart of the wearer and to remind us of that physical life ends on earth - the whole "ashes to ashes, dust to dust" thing. #crosstalk
(Edit comment)Encountering pretty much anything at all Tea Party-related immediately makes this guy dance around in my head.
Jack: What do you think the role of government should be?
(Edit comment)Steve Austin: Limited. I believe in small government.
Jack: Excellent answer!
Steve Austin: Or no government at all. If it works in Antarctica, why can't it work here? But if we have to have government, make it as small as possible. Dwarves. Tiny buildings. Pizza bagels for lunch. #crosstalk
The first attempt was taken by the gremlins, so let's try this again:
Well, it's Lent season again. I'm going to keep to my annual tradition of giving up self-denial, so once I leave the office it's off to pick up some ice cream, make a stop at the liquor store, then back home to--research--material for #2080Hotness (and maybe a few other things).
It's going to be a rough 40 days, but it's worth it. For the spirituality and all that.
(Edit comment)#crosstalk
I like to come on crosstalk to share cute pictures of kitty cats with the other lonely cat ladies. Now where did I leave my dentures? #crosstalk (Edit comment)
Not too lonely... #crosstalk (Edit comment)
How you doin? #crosstalk (Edit comment)
So where are the pictures?!? I'm tired of doing all this work myself.
And where the fuck did I leave my cane? #crosstalk
(Edit comment)KITTy cats, did you say?
#crosstalk
(Edit comment)They won't let me keep a cat at the nursing home so I'll post pictures of cats on crosstalk instead! #crosstalk (Edit comment)
None of the other old ladies at the nursing home will talk to me because they think I'm strange. But I'll always have crosstalk! #crosstalk (Edit comment)
Everyone remembered to wish Salome Valentine a happy birthday on her birthday. Maybe if I keep posting pictures of kitty kats people will remember to wish ME a happy birthday! #crosstalk (Edit comment)
In case I forget, wouldn't want your feelings to be hurt! #crosstalk (Edit comment)
So when is your birthday? If it's today, you need to tell us. If you follow xtalk at all, you know we're not shy about asking for attention. #crosstalk (Edit comment)
This whole thing started out stupid and didn't stop there:
[gawker.com]
Whatever. #crosstalk
(Edit comment)I missed that! (How did I miss that?)
It's a good thing I'm not sensitive. ;) #crosstalk
(Edit comment)This might be one of the funniest things I have ever read:
This week the shriveled husk of million term United States Senator and malevolent lich Jesse Helms was sealed in a bleak crypt deep beneath the sands of his native Stygia, North Carolina. Flowers placed on his grave by grieving shitheads withered and died within seconds.
Helms, known to friends and slaves alike as an unredeemed racist, was famous in the Senate for his passionate defense of segregation, opposition to the civil and voting rights acts, and his black crusade against the sun and all things which draw life from it.
As one of the first conservative talk radio hosts of the 1960’s Helms pioneered the technique of getting poor stupid whites to vote against their own interests by tricking them into hulking the fuck out over black people, immigrants, and the betrayal of the Confederacy by jews, liberals, and the hated abstract concept of literacy. He went on to parley his repulsive backwoods celebrity with the curbstomp set into a long career in government where he played a prominent role in the unbelievably vicious and petty dixiecrat movement. His leadership resulted in a fundamental realignment of the American domestic political scene over the question of just how much we should hate n----rs ("A whole lot", contended Helms).
Long considered a strong contender for "worst person in the entire world" Helms in his declining years began to find that limited title constraining. Last summer recess he gathered together all the educated mulattos and wizened negro shaman from the swamps and dungeons of his grim feudal demesne and began a search for the blackest of black tomes, arts, and metal. That search culminated last week in his ascension to lichdom with the completion of a vile phylactery in the form of a fat lipped bejeweled bone sambo, pulsating with false life and the rhythm of hot jungle beats. His triumph over death itself coincides with a departure from this plane of existence for the astral realms, where he will spend the next thousand years pursuing recognition as the "worst person in the entire metaverse."
Here on Earth Helms will be remembered as a southern gentleman, a family man, and the kind of guy that’ll eventually turn out to have dozens of child sized skeletons buried in his yard and whose family members when interviewed will say they thought he just liked collecting tiny shoes.
#crosstalk
(Edit comment)Sounds like something Ignatius J. Reilly would have penned.
In other words, brilliant.
I'm eager to hear Myrna Minkoff's take on this. #crosstalk
(Edit comment)Is there a cash prize associated with the Guinness Book of World Records? I always wondered why people would care to be in it.
Smallest man?
From the AP:
Dangi says he's only 22 inches (56 centimeters) tall — about the size of a toddler — and he's hoping to claim the title. Guinness World Records said in an email Wednesday that its officials would arrive in Nepal's capital Sunday to measure Dangi.
#crosstalk
(Edit comment)If I recall, there is no monetary incentive provided by Guinness, any money they get for performing the feat/existing would come from other sources.
They want the attention I think, otherwise there really is no point. #crosstalk
(Edit comment)Let him enjoy his notoriety, he can't chase Mario around forever. #crosstalk (Edit comment)
William Shatner opens his one-man show on Broadway. Get your tickets while they're hot!
[todayentertainment.today.msnbc.msn.com] #crosstalk
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