October 2014 archive
Oct 29 2014
Late Night Karaoke
Oct 29 2014
TDS/TCR (Brisket)
The Ebola Beat
Now for something completely not about Ebola
The real news, the Web exclusive 2 part extended interview with Wendy Davis, and this week’s guests below.
Oct 29 2014
2014 World Series Game 6: Giants at Royals
So you think the Royals have home field advantage? Think again. Trailing as they do 3 – 2 they have to sweep both home games or they are done for the season whereas the Giants are only have to win once.
Nothing has changed at all and I still think Bochy is an idiot for not pitching Bumgarner 3 times (yet).
Now shallow commentators grasping at straws and trying to spark up some of that 1985 magic (though why you would want to is beyond me) will point out that 8 of the last 10 times a team has trailed 3 – 2 with 2 at home to play they’ve gone on to win. And I say- past history is no indicator of future performance.
If you want to root Blue put your hope in the fact that Ventura is just about the hardest throwing pitcher in Baseball and Peavy is entirely ordinary. If Bochy leaves him in to get in trouble he’s just an even bigger idiot than I already think.
Sunday was another enjoyable blowout if you favor orange.
Bottom 2nd, Leadoff Single, Single, Sacrifice, RBI Sacrifice. Giants 1 – 0.
Bottom 4th, Leadoff Single, Single, RBI Single. Giants 2 – 0.
Bottom 8th, Leadoff Single, Single, 2 RBI Double, Error, Runner Advances, RBI Single. Giants 5 – 0 Final. They lead the Series 3 – 2.
Starting tonight for the Royals is Yordano Ventura (R, 14 – 10, ERA 3.20). Post Season he is without a decision with an ERA of 4.42 based on 18.1 Innings Pitched with 20 Hits, 3 Home Runs, and 9 Runs scored.
He will be matched for the Giants by Jake Peavy (R, 7 – 13, ERA 3.73) who is also without a Post Season decision with an ERA of 3.68 based on 14.2 Innings Pitched with 12 Hits, 1 Home Run and 6 Runs scored.
It looks like a pick ’em on paper but Peavy was totally outclassed in Game 2 and this is a re-match. The Royals won 7 – 2.
So we shall see if we extend to tomorrow.
Oct 28 2014
Annie Lennox on feminism, gay, and transgender
Annie Lennox has been interviewed several times lately and expressed some ideas worth noting.
We’re coming to a place where [feminism] needs to be inclusive.
I think the LGBTQ community are a part of that movement and we’re all sort of connected on this particular level and it’s very exciting – watch that space.
I am so happy to see now that transgender women and men are able to come out of the shadows finally and say ‘Look we’re here. Why do we need to pretend we don’t exist?’
It’s a very interesting time.
–Lennox
Oct 28 2014
The Breakfast Club (No Pain Inside)
Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:30am (ET) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.
This Day in History
The Statue of Liberty is dedicated in New York; Benito Mussolini takes control of the Italian government; The Cuban Missile Crisis ends; Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and actress Julia Roberts are born.
Breakfast Tunes
Oct 28 2014
On This Day In History October 28
This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.
Find the past “On This Day in History” here.
October 28 is the 301st day of the year (302nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 64 days remaining until the end of the year.
On this day in 1893, Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Pathetique, the last symphony written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is premiered in St. Petersburg. Nine day s later, Tchaikovsky died suddenly at age 53 possibly from cholera but others have theorized that he might have committed suicide. Tchaikovsky was homosexual and often suffered from bouts of depression and doubts about his creative talents throughout his life. At one point while composing the 6th, he tore up the manuscript and discarded it.
Tchaikovsky dedicated the Pathetique to Vladimir “Bob” Davydov, his nephew While the relationship was apparently never consummated, Davydov was reportedly one of the great loves of Tchaikovsky’s life.
The theme in this first movement is most familiar since it has been frequently used in movies and songs.
The second theme of the first movement formed the basis of a popular song in the 1940s, “(This is) The Story of a Starry Night” (by Mann Curtis, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston) which was popularized by Glenn Miller. This same theme is the music behind “Where,” a 1959 hit for Tony Williams and the Platters as well as “In Time,” by Steve Lawrence in 1961. All three of these songs have completely different lyrics.
British progressive rock band The Nice covered Symphony No. 6 on their album Five Bridges.
Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony has proved a popular choice with filmmakers, with extracts featuring in (amongst others) Now, Voyager, the 1997 version of Anna Karenina, Minority Report, Sweet Bird of Youth,Soylent Green and The Aviator.
Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony has also been featured during the 2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony, being danced by Russia’s national ballet team.
Oct 28 2014
IRS-Gate
No, not the one that has the Tea drinker’s panties in a bunch.
Another actual real scandal that will be largely ignored because somehow it’s not as sensational as bleeding from the eyes or that post the head sits atop of.
IRS Whistleblowers: Agency Executives Behind Multibillion-Dollar Corporate Tax Giveaways
By Nafeez Ahmed, Truthout
A 10-year veteran Internal Revenue Service (IRS) attorney has demanded a congressional audit of the IRS to investigate the agency’s alleged role in allowing US corporations to illegally avoid paying billions of dollars in taxes even as it cracks down on individuals and small businesses.
In a letter to Treasury secretary Jacob Lew, IRS commissioner John A. Koskinen and IRS chief counsel William Wilkins, Jane J. Kim, an attorney in the IRS Office of the Chief Counsel in New York, accused IRS executives of “deliberately” facilitating multibillion-dollar tax giveaways.
…
a former IRS attorney in the Office of the Chief Counsel for over 15 years, said on condition of anonymity – for fear of retaliation from the agency – that Kim’s allegations are not isolated, but represent a deep-rooted trend: “The problem is the IRS upper management don’t want a big case going forward. They are purposely not working big cases. Employees are quietly encouraged not to expedite them, and to settle or dismiss them. I’ve seen the IRS sit on straightforward billion dollar cases for years, and then decide not to pursue.”
…
So, just like the case of the Fed being super deferential to the banks they are supposed to be regulating. Move along people, nothing to see here.
Oct 28 2014
TDS/TCR (Yee Haw)
Laboratories of Fiscal Disaster
Oh, you mean our WMD.
The real news and this week’s guests below.