Mid-Morning Art Thread [Kris]

A View through Three Arches of the Third Storey of the Colosseum
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg

Neoclassicism is a style of art that values clean line, clear imagery, a heavy dependence on classicism, and a message that idolizes and romanticizes the Greco-Roman world, especially Rome. In this work, Eckersberg presents a view of the Eternal City from one of its most recognizable monuments—the Colosseum. The viewer is positioned high in the structure looking out through the arches at the rest of the city. The artist takes great care in rendering each block. Each has been meticulously drawn and is an individual piece within a massive whole. The viewer sees both the age and the agelessness of the Colosseum.

A major element of this work is composition. Eckersberg uses the cookie-cutter patterns of the upper-storey archways to frame a vista of the city. Here, the painting pushes aside total naturalism for a more romantic message. Through the left archway is the Castel Sant’Angelo. In the real world, that mausoleum-turned-fortress is 1 ½ miles from the Colosseum. Additionally, this view would include the domes and facades of several Renaissance- and Baroque-era churches, and possibly the Pantheon. Eckersberg removed all these for an unobstructed view of the building. He has also modified the perspective, moving the building closer to the viewer.

The other landmarks through the remaining arches are difficult to identify. Since this work is about the specific idea about Rome, I would suspect that these views are also finagled to complete the artist’s vision.

Eckersberg also uses contrasting color to enhance his message. The arches are a warm golden hue that frame a beautiful blue sky and green landscape. The clouds seem to rise from the horizon and come at the viewer. They create this aura over the city and break up the solid blue form of the sky and bring to mind the contrasting forms on the land. The buildings along the horizon separate the land from the sky and repeat the golden tones of the arches, uniting the extreme foreground and the extreme background of the painting. The buildings also mimic but contrast with the Colosseum itself. The background buildings have a pronounced horizontality where the Colosseum is severely vertical. Their blocky forms repeat the blocks within the arches.

Neoclassicism, as the name suggests, is about reintroducing presumed virtues and ideals of the classical world into the modern (18th/19th century) era. This work is a love letter to ancient Rome. While the buildings framed by the arches are both ancient and modern, it is the Colosseum that dominates this work. It provides context and a view-point through which to view this world. It is a symbol. The massive arcade separates the viewer from the cityscape beyond. The artist has placed me behind this colossal, ancient wall and can only see what the arches reveal. I am also above the city. To me, it seems like Eckersburg is placing barrier between the Past and Present. In the foreground is the grand Past—the eternal glory of Imperial Rome at its height. It is in ruins, sure, but it is still magnificent. In the far distance is Eckersburg’s Present—only a small reflection of past brilliance. The two are separate and distinct from each other, but it is the Past that supplies the framing for Eckersburg’s dream.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:30 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Hey

Posted by: Ciampino - they used to say you haven't tasted nothing until you taste chocolate at July 20, 2022 09:30 AM (qfLjt)

2 First!

Posted by: stu-mick-o-sucks at July 20, 2022 09:30 AM (w9Wax)

3 I been there.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 09:30 AM (LvTSG)

4
Kris: [Learned analysis]

Horde: "Boobs!"

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022 09:31 AM (/U27+)

5 Needs moar neoclassical boobs

Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at July 20, 2022 09:31 AM (Rcp6g)

6 The original Golden Arches

Of course I'll supersize that!

Posted by: nurse ratched at July 20, 2022 09:31 AM (U2p+3)

7 I want pizza.

Posted by: Czech Chick at July 20, 2022 09:32 AM (Ypbog)

8 Bunker, Manning, Griffin.

Posted by: stu-mick-o-sucks at July 20, 2022 09:32 AM (w9Wax)

9 Wut?

Posted by: Ziba at July 20, 2022 09:32 AM (4h9M3)

10
That's some prime real estate that's going to waste there.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022 09:32 AM (/U27+)

11 The Arches National Park is in Italy? I thought it was in Utah.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at July 20, 2022 09:32 AM (7bRMQ)

12 Three Arches Burger Company
Three Arches Band

I'm seeing some great commercial possibilities.

Posted by: rickb223 at July 20, 2022 09:33 AM (1cmKJ)

13
#5. QED

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022 09:33 AM (/U27+)

14 Arch villas!!

Posted by: Muldoon at July 20, 2022 09:33 AM (kXYt5)

15 Wakes up
Looks around
Always appreciate Kris' explanations. Thanxs!
Goes looking for coffee.

Posted by: Diogenes at July 20, 2022 09:33 AM (anj39)

16 FIRST!!!!!

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 09:33 AM (Zz0t1)

17 Kris: [Learned analysis]

Horde: "Boobs!"
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

I laugh. But it is soooo true.

Posted by: rickb223 at July 20, 2022 09:33 AM (1cmKJ)

18

*hic*

Posted by: Hillary Clinton at July 20, 2022 09:34 AM (SWi3y)

19
Three Arches Gorge Dam

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022 09:34 AM (/U27+)

20 Looks like a random wall in the middle of nothing.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 09:34 AM (Zz0t1)

21 There's grass growing on the 3rd story of the Colsseum?

I forget who started the Colosseum, but I believe it was finished under Vespasian or one of his sons, Titus or Domitian. It was certainly an Imperial project. So a film showing Julius Caesar at the Colsseum would be wrong.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 09:34 AM (txdEq)

22 Throw in some flowers and they could be arch anemones!

Posted by: Muldoon at July 20, 2022 09:34 AM (kXYt5)

23 These seats are terrible. I can barely see the gladiator's intestines falling out of his abdomen.

What a gyp.

Posted by: Archer at July 20, 2022 09:34 AM (gmo/4)

24 That's some prime real estate that's going to waste there.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022 09:32 AM

I know, right?

Posted by: Al Czervic at July 20, 2022 09:34 AM (4p7Em)

25 Enemy, Nemesis, Rival

Posted by: stu-mick-o-sucks at July 20, 2022 09:35 AM (w9Wax)

26 Looks like a random wall in the middle of nothing.
Posted by: Sponge

It actually looks like the Aqueduct.

Posted by: rickb223 at July 20, 2022 09:35 AM (1cmKJ)

27 Is this supposed to be morning or afternoon?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 09:35 AM (txdEq)

28 Title needs more prepositions.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at July 20, 2022 09:35 AM (4p7Em)

29 I like this painting. Sure as hell beats a nekkid lardass on an ottoman.

Posted by: Xipe Totec at July 20, 2022 09:35 AM (QSjkU)

30 Very nice, would hang

Posted by: Skip's phone at July 20, 2022 09:36 AM (tm5zI)

31
It actually looks like the Aqueduct.
Posted by: rickb223 at July 20, 2022 09:35 AM (1cmKJ)

Isn't that by Jethro Tull?

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 09:36 AM (Zz0t1)

32 21 There's grass growing on the 3rd story of the Colsseum?

....
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 09:34 AM (txdEq)

Not now, but probably at the time of the painting (or time portrayed in it).

Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 09:36 AM (6TxNR)

33 31 Isn't that by Jethro Tull?
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 09:36 AM (Zz0t1)

=========

*breaks out jazz flute*
*makes rock and roll classy again*

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 09:36 AM (LvTSG)

34 I like this painting. Sure as hell beats a nekkid lardass on an ottoman.
Posted by: Xipe Totec at July 20, 2022 09:35 AM (QSjkU)

There really isn't much that doesn't.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 09:36 AM (Zz0t1)

35
Early infrastructure project

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022 09:36 AM (/U27+)

36 Okay, I looked it up. Vespasian began the Colosseum project (well, not him personally, but he gave the orders!), and it was finished under his son Titus. Only 8 years for a government project. Amazing!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 09:37 AM (txdEq)

37 Horde: "Boobs!"

********

Too much Archie

Not enough Betty and Veronica

Posted by: Muldoon at July 20, 2022 09:37 AM (kXYt5)

38 Kris: [Learned analysis]

Horde: "Boobs!"
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022 09:31 AM (/U27+)

5 Needs moar neoclassical boobs
Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at July 20, 2022 09:31 AM (Rcp6g)

The Matrix is f*ckin' with us again.

Posted by: Oddbob at July 20, 2022 09:37 AM (nfrXX)

39
It actually looks like the Aqueduct.
Posted by: rickb223 at July 20, 2022 09:35 AM (1cmKJ)

__________

So, chariot races?

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022 09:37 AM (/U27+)

40 Thank you for sharing both the picture and the analysis/insights!

Posted by: DadVan at July 20, 2022 09:38 AM (LRhmV)

41 fvcking archie

Posted by: Reggie at July 20, 2022 09:38 AM (oTZbj)

42 TLDR.

What movie is this about?

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 09:38 AM (Zz0t1)

43 I remember the Colosseum without the vegetation. I'm old though so mis-remembering is my specialty.

Posted by: grammie winger at July 20, 2022 09:38 AM (45fpk)

44 21 There's grass growing on the 3rd story of the Colsseum?

I forget who started the Colosseum, but I believe it was finished under Vespasian or one of his sons, Titus or Domitian. It was certainly an Imperial project. So a film showing Julius Caesar at the Colsseum would be wrong.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 09:34 AM (txdEq)

Not anymore.

The official name of the Colosseum is the Flavian Amphitheatre. The name Colosseum comes from a huge statue of Nero that used to be nearby. It was built over his old palace. I think the floor of the amphitheatre is where the pool used to be.

Posted by: Kris at July 20, 2022 09:38 AM (OyyDO)

45
Like, would hang

Posted by: DB at July 20, 2022 09:38 AM (geLO8)

46 Why an aqueduct??

Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at July 20, 2022 09:38 AM (yikp0)

47 Finally, no French stuff.

Very nice. Would hang.

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 09:38 AM (YntaV)

48 Okay, I looked it up. Vespasian began the Colosseum project (well, not him personally, but he gave the orders!), and it was finished under his son Titus. Only 8 years for a government project. [/]Amazing!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius

All without heavy equipment operators.

Posted by: rickb223 at July 20, 2022 09:39 AM (1cmKJ)

49 You can barely make it out, but on the third arch, near the very top is an inscription.

See Lucia at the House of Eros for good caput.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at July 20, 2022 09:39 AM (7bRMQ)

50 The detail in the aging stonework is amazing. Would have been better with some man eating lions laying about.

Posted by: Maj. Healey at July 20, 2022 09:39 AM (m7R0k)

51 We should bring back chariot races, or at least flat track motorcycle racing.

Posted by: Xipe Totec at July 20, 2022 09:39 AM (QSjkU)

52 That arch picture reminds me of that three boobed lady from Total Recall!

Posted by: Sasquatch, the Original Trans-Wookie at July 20, 2022 09:39 AM (XW5w0)

53 Finally, no French stuff.

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 09:38 AM (YntaV)

You don't like it in the butt?

Posted by: The French, Offended at July 20, 2022 09:39 AM (Zz0t1)

54 48 All without heavy equipment operators.
Posted by: rickb223 at July 20, 2022 09:39 AM (1cmKJ)

========

"You're too kind."
-Heavius Stomachus

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 09:39 AM (LvTSG)

55
Finally, no French stuff.

_________

Kris today, not CBD

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022 09:39 AM (/U27+)

56 [/]Amazing!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius

All without heavy equipment operators.
Posted by: rickb223 at July 20, 2022 09:39 AM (1cmKJ)

CLOSE!!!

Posted by: The Barrel at July 20, 2022 09:40 AM (Zz0t1)

57
"This is the day, Judah. It's between us now."
"Yes. This is the day."

chills

Posted by: DB at July 20, 2022 09:40 AM (geLO8)

58 no haystacks.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at July 20, 2022 09:40 AM (89T5c)

59 I like it! Thanks for posting and for the analysis, Kris.

I'll have to include Neoclassicism with Scholastic-something and some Pre-Raphealites in my list of art movements whose works I actually like.

Posted by: .87c at July 20, 2022 09:40 AM (ltjFF)

60
It's a little late for Pride Month, but here's another Eckersberg:

https://tinyurl.com/2eas5s5s

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at July 20, 2022 09:41 AM (Zhwz2)

61 Them art majors you their tongues prettier than a $20 whore.

Posted by: rhennigantx at July 20, 2022 09:41 AM (ex2Cx)

62 Classical architecture rocks.

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 09:41 AM (YntaV)

63 Lovely. Thanks for the insights, Kris.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 20, 2022 09:41 AM (PrR4G)

64 Why an aqueduct??
Posted by: andycanuck

Because Churchill Downs and Pimlico hadn't been discovered yet?

Posted by: rickb223 at July 20, 2022 09:41 AM (1cmKJ)

65 Classical architecture rocks.
Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 09:41 AM (YntaV)

Boulders too!

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 09:41 AM (Zz0t1)

66 36 Okay, I looked it up. Vespasian began the Colosseum project (well, not him personally, but he gave the orders!), and it was finished under his son Titus. Only 8 years for a government project. Amazing!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 09:37 AM (txdEq)

Hagia Sophia was built in 5 years.

Posted by: sniffybigtoe at July 20, 2022 09:41 AM (Y5qcH)

67
Finally, no French stuff.

-----

I'm happy our run of Barbizon painters is over, too. I don't hate them or anything, but... meh.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at July 20, 2022 09:42 AM (Zhwz2)

68 Classical architecture rocks.

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 09:41 AM (YntaV)

Were you stoned when you said that?

Posted by: OrangeEnt at July 20, 2022 09:42 AM (7bRMQ)

69 here come the puns

Posted by: DB at July 20, 2022 09:43 AM (geLO8)

70 I was at the Colosseum for a Rams game as a kid, I don't remember it being in such bad shape.

Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at July 20, 2022 09:43 AM (Rcp6g)

71 So, this painting is from the sniper’s perspective?

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 09:43 AM (YntaV)

72 Perfect place to dispose of somebody you just whacked. It's an Italian thing.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at July 20, 2022 09:43 AM (lz5hY)

73 >>36 Okay, I looked it up. Vespasian began the Colosseum project (well, not him personally, but he gave the orders!), and it was finished under his son Titus. Only 8 years for a government project. Amazing!

It's astonishing what can be done without union labor.

Posted by: Maj. Healey at July 20, 2022 09:43 AM (m7R0k)

74 Okay, I looked it up. Vespasian began the Colosseum project

Was that before or after his Vespa dealership opened?

Posted by: rickb223 at July 20, 2022 09:43 AM (1cmKJ)

75 you WTF use

My brain hurts

Posted by: rhennigantx at July 20, 2022 09:43 AM (ex2Cx)

76 Don't get mad at me.

I just call 'em like I see 'em!

Posted by: Muldoon at July 20, 2022 09:44 AM (kXYt5)

77 I like and would hang this painting.

I found it a bit jarring on first look. The vegetation in the foreground looks seamless that that in the background, making the Collosseum arches look out-of-place. It all works well for me once I understood what the artist is depicting from what viewpoint.

Posted by: Gref at July 20, 2022 09:44 AM (AMIL/)

78 I'm happy our run of Barbizon painters is over, too. I don't hate them or anything, but... meh.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at July 20, 2022 09:42 AM (Zhwz2)

Why? They were the model for all styles to come.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at July 20, 2022 09:44 AM (7bRMQ)

79 72 Perfect place to dispose of somebody you just whacked. It's an Italian thing.
Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at July 20, 2022 09:43 AM (lz5hY)

Just dig the hole before you kill the dude cause if not and somebody shows up you will be digging out there all day!

Posted by: rhennigantx at July 20, 2022 09:44 AM (ex2Cx)

80 I was at the Colosseum for a Rams game as a kid, I don't remember it being in such bad shape.
---------------------------
Did the Christians finally win??

Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at July 20, 2022 09:45 AM (yikp0)

81 Looking at those trees...is that a larch in the arch?

Posted by: Diogenes at July 20, 2022 09:45 AM (anj39)

82
We're only now just duplicating the cement used in Roman architecture, using fly ash instead of pozzolan. Somewhat lower strength but much greater durability.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022 09:46 AM (/U27+)

83 Vespasian began the Colosseum project (well, not him personally, but he gave the orders!), and it was finished under his son Titus. Only 8 years for a government project. Amazing!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022
*
Hagia Sophia was built in 5 years.
Posted by: sniffybigtoe at July 20, 2022

***
Dictatorships can often be very efficient. You can finish even big projects quickly when it's possible to whip the workers or threaten them with deportation to Bithynia-Pontus.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 09:46 AM (txdEq)

84 Pleasant...

Would Hang.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at July 20, 2022 09:46 AM (qZQHw)

85 Perfect place to dispose of somebody you just whacked.
----------------------
That's why the Romans invented concrete.

Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at July 20, 2022 09:46 AM (yikp0)

86
It's astonishing what can be done without union labor.
Posted by: Maj. Healey at July 20, 2022 09:43 AM (m7R0k)

You know what can be done without Union labor?

Jack shit, pal. Next time anyone on this job site so much as changes the time without calling the Clocksetters' Local 101, they better be ready to eat through a straw for awhile.

Posted by: Future Italians at July 20, 2022 09:46 AM (Zhwz2)

87 Looking at those trees...is that a larch in the arch?

Posted by: Diogenes at July 20, 2022 09:45 AM (anj39)

No, it's a Trigonoma Tree.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at July 20, 2022 09:46 AM (7bRMQ)

88 Neoclassicism, as the name suggests, is about reintroducing presumed virtues and ideals of the classical world into the modern (18th/19th century) era.

I would settle for modern gladiatorial games featuring lefties vs. lions.

The blocks you mentioned got me to thinking. There's a new CGI engine, Unreal Engine 5, which produces absolutely astonishing detail in things like blocks and bricks. You'd swear they are real, possibly because they're based on photogrammetry. Anyway, one wonders if that will eliminate the need for artistic skill, or if people will always want, and be willing to pay for, the real thing.

Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022 09:46 AM (/NCI4)

89 Boobs!

See also: the Arch of Titus.

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 09:46 AM (YntaV)

90 Many of the great cathedrals of Europe took over 100 years to build. Quite a statement of faith, I would say.

Posted by: Xipe Totec at July 20, 2022 09:46 AM (QSjkU)

91 We're only now just duplicating the cement used in Roman architecture, using fly ash instead of pozzolan. Somewhat lower strength but much greater durability.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

So ya gotta burn a lotta flies....

Posted by: JT at July 20, 2022 09:47 AM (T4tVD)

92 I like the idea of the painting and the detail in the Colosseum stones. But the painting has a static feel and the colors in the foreground are somewhat dull. Except for the way the stones are shown, nothing really catches the eye. Perhaps I'm spoiled by the Pre-Raphaelites.

Kris' explanation, as always, is an education. Adding to my appreciation of art adds to life. That's a bit hyperbolic, but true.

Posted by: JTB at July 20, 2022 09:49 AM (7EjX1)

93 Just dig the hole before you kill the dude cause if not and somebody shows up you will be digging out there all day!
Posted by: rhennigantx at July 20, 2022 09:44 AM (ex2Cx)

See? Now this is the importance of good project management.

Posted by: Diogenes at July 20, 2022 09:49 AM (anj39)

94 Painting: mural inside typical spaghetti joint.

Posted by: Durable Yet Minimal gp-Based Barrier at July 20, 2022 09:49 AM (qpX6U)

95 The painting is hanging in the National Gallery of Denmark and measures 43.8 x 61.1 x 7 cm
The National Gallery of Denmark asks this question to the viewer on their website:
Does the artwork infringe on your rights?

I am tempted to answer YES.

Posted by: redridinghood at July 20, 2022 09:49 AM (NpAcC)

96 Okay, I looked it up. Vespasian began the Colosseum project
*
Was that before or after his Vespa dealership opened?
Posted by: rickb223 at July 20, 2022

***
Around the same time he created the pay toilet.

No kidding. The Treasury was pretty low after Nero, so Vespasian, who was careful with a denarius, established little pay toilets for an income stream. His son Titus objected. Vespasian is said to have waved a gold coin under Titus's nose. "Does this smell bad?"

To this day, I'm told, the French call the pay toilet the vespasienne.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 09:49 AM (txdEq)

97 90 Many of the great cathedrals of Europe took over 100 years to build. Quite a statement of faith, I would say.

Posted by: Xipe Totec at July 20, 2022 09:46 AM (QSjkU)

Some of the wars to get your neighbor's gold and silver went well, some did not.

Posted by: Gref at July 20, 2022 09:49 AM (AMIL/)

98 One of my absolute favorite artists is Francesco Piranesi, who specialized in idealized classical ruins. They have an unbelievably powerful atmospheric effect. His stuff is mostly (perhaps exclusively?) black and white.

Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022 09:49 AM (/NCI4)

99 So ya gotta burn a lotta flies....
------------------------------
They're attracted to ash-holes, so they're relatively easy to catch.

Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at July 20, 2022 09:49 AM (yikp0)

100
See also: the Arch of Titus.
Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 09:46 AM (YntaV)

Titus was funny, then he went all liberal fucktard and is no longer funny.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 09:49 AM (Zz0t1)

101 93 Just dig the hole before you kill the dude cause if not and somebody shows up you will be digging out there all day!
Posted by: rhennigantx at July 20, 2022 09:44 AM (ex2Cx)

See? Now this is the importance of good project management.
Posted by: Diogenes at July 20, 2022 09:49 AM (anj39)

========

Get them to dig it. They'll dig the hole super deep trying to extend their lives by a few more minutes.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 09:49 AM (LvTSG)

102 FIDUCIARY ADVICE - a limerick

The emperor told me "Come off it!
The Coliseum's nothing to scoff at."
I replied, "All the same,
We must shut down the Games
The lions are eating up all our prophets!"

Posted by: Muldoon at July 20, 2022 09:50 AM (kXYt5)

103 On Tuesday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “Surveillance,” Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi stated that while he is “a lone voice” amidst “a lot of pessimism out there” who thinks that the United States economy will manage to avoid a recession due to the continued growth provided by American consumers, “there are parts of the economy” like housing “that are already in a recession.”

.. thanks President FuckUp

Posted by: SMOD at July 20, 2022 09:50 AM (RHGPo)

104 Comedian Adam Carolla also roasted Prince Harry during an appearance on Fox News, referring to the royal as a “colossal blowhard” manipulated by his wife, Meghan Markle.

“Who cares what this imbecile has to say? Like, number one,” Carolla said. “Like, we go, ‘Oh, he must know something.’ He doesn’t know anything. Meghan Markle has like infiltrated his brain and ruined him.”

“He’s just such a colossal blowhard, but a bigger picture — it’s just easier to make fun of the United States for everyone,” he continued. “And that is only because of how big we are, right? So, it’s like we are so powerful. We have done so much.”

Posted by: SMOD at July 20, 2022 09:50 AM (RHGPo)

105 AOC Pretends to Be Handcuffed After Arrest at Abortion Protest Outside of Supreme Court, While Pretending To Be A Congresscritter

Posted by: SMOD at July 20, 2022 09:50 AM (RHGPo)

106 Hagia Sophia was built in 5 years.
Posted by: sniffybigtoe at July 20, 2022 09:41 AM (Y5qcH)

When Justinian first proposed the Hagia Sophia, his architects were convinced the massive dome could not be done. He fired them and hired mathematical theorists to design it. The result is spactacular, although the architects were right in a sense. The dome came crashing down within a few years of completion. It had to be redesigned. The dome has been describe as being suspended from heaven by a golden chain.

Posted by: Kris at July 20, 2022 09:50 AM (OyyDO)

107
To this day, I'm told, the French call the pay toilet the vespasienne.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 09:49 AM (txdEq)

Wow. Hold a grudge much?

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 09:50 AM (Zz0t1)

108 To continue from one of yesterday’s threads:

Coliseum >>>>>>>>>Colbert

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 09:51 AM (YntaV)

109 I am tempted to answer YES.
--------------------
Claim you're a Goth.

Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at July 20, 2022 09:51 AM (yikp0)

110 Many of the great cathedrals of Europe took over 100 years to build. Quite a statement of faith, I would say.
Posted by: Xipe Totec at July 20, 2022 09:46 AM (QSjkU)
++++
I strongly suspect only religious institutions would undertake such an operation. Spending multiple generations to construct something designed to be used into the infinite future requires absolute faith that the future belongs to you but even more important that the future belongs to your ideas (after all, you will be long dead). That kind of investment makes no sense for an individual or a company and even governments usually have too short an expiration date.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at July 20, 2022 09:51 AM (5zVb8)

111 ...established little pay toilets for an income stream.

*******

ISWYDT

Posted by: Muldoon at July 20, 2022 09:52 AM (kXYt5)

112 To continue from one of yesterday’s threads:

Coliseum >>>>>>>>>Colbert
Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 09:51 AM (YntaV)

The random mentioning of Colbert is the equivalent of shitting the thread.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 09:52 AM (Zz0t1)

113 When Justinian first proposed the Hagia Sophia, his architects were convinced the massive dome could not be done. He fired them and hired mathematical theorists to design it. The result is spactacular, although the architects were right in a sense. The dome came crashing down within a few years of completion.

They said he was crazy to build it in a swamp.

Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022 09:52 AM (/NCI4)

114 The Art reminds me of this view in Utah:

https://tinyurl.com/bdzyw393

Posted by: DB at July 20, 2022 09:53 AM (geLO8)

115 I will gladly send a beer to anyone that can find a moar RUSSIA headline:

Russian sports star, 25, and two wealthy tourists are killed in a helicopter crash before being 'dragged away and eaten by brown bears' during £4,250 sightseeing trip

Posted by: rhennigantx at July 20, 2022 09:53 AM (ex2Cx)

116 Ooh the agony. My arches are killin' me, here.

Posted by: Julius Caesar Saladus at July 20, 2022 09:53 AM (dp1/c)

117 115 I will gladly send a beer to anyone that can find a moar RUSSIA headline:

Russian sports star, 25, and two wealthy tourists are killed in a helicopter crash before being 'dragged away and eaten by brown bears' during £4,250 sightseeing trip
Posted by: rhennigantx at July 20, 2022 09:53 AM (ex2Cx)

=========

No mention of vodka or "non-alcoholic drinks" (ie, beer).

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 09:53 AM (LvTSG)

118 Not bad, but do not love.

Would probably not hang

Posted by: ghost of hallelujah at July 20, 2022 09:54 AM (sJHOI)

119 When I hear pay toilet I think of the one time I traveled cross country on a bus. What a completely miserable experience.

Posted by: Xipe Totec at July 20, 2022 09:54 AM (QSjkU)

120 ...established little pay toilets for an income stream.

It's just a wee little thing.

Posted by: rickb223 at July 20, 2022 09:54 AM (1cmKJ)

121 Russian sports star, 25, and two wealthy tourists are killed in a helicopter crash before being 'dragged away and eaten by brown bears' during £4,250 sightseeing trip
----------------------------
Sounds like the brown bears got their monies worth.

Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at July 20, 2022 09:54 AM (yikp0)

122 AOC Pretends to Be Handcuffed After Arrest at Abortion Protest Outside of Supreme Court, While Pretending To Be A Congresscritter
Posted by: SMOD at July 20, 2022 09:50 AM (RHGPo)

Omar arrested herself, walking alone with her hands behind her back.

They both broke ranks and waved to their 'fans' in the crowd, stupidly showing that it was all a stunt for the media.

Because they're incredibly fucking stupid cows that exist only to DESTROY AMERICA.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 09:54 AM (Zz0t1)

123 Doc Marie’s is a lesbian bar that opened on July 1st of this year with the hope of bringing more inclusivity to the city of Portland. But just one week after their grand opening they were forced to shut down because of complaints that the bar was not a “safe space.

MOAR PLEASE

Posted by: rhennigantx at July 20, 2022 09:55 AM (ex2Cx)

124 Ooh the agony. My arches are killin' me, here.

Posted by: Julius Caesar Saladus

Oh, boo hoo. Open up the old aqua ducts. I don't care.

Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022 09:55 AM (/NCI4)

125 This type of art is absolutely something I would hang; I've always enjoyed architectural art, especially those with a classical touch.

Posted by: Tom Servo at July 20, 2022 09:55 AM (trdmm)

126 Claim you're a Goth.
Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at July 20, 2022 09:51 AM (yikp0)
*****
Was thinking about going with neoclassicism = white privilege.

Posted by: redridinghood at July 20, 2022 09:55 AM (NpAcC)

127 See also: the Arch of Titus.
Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 09:46 AM (YntaV)
*
Titus was funny, then he went all liberal fucktard and is no longer funny.
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022

***
Titus the Roman emperor was a fascinating man. A military commander like his father, he was left in charge during the siege of Jerusalem; his troops were responsible for the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD or so. Then he became Vespasian's Praetorian prefect and was diligent, aka secret police, in ferreting out threats to his father. When he became emperor, everybody feared him.

But he governed wisely. He rarely missed a chance to grant a favor, and one evening he realized he had done no favors for anyone that day. "My friends, I have missed a day!"

When he died, he said that he had but one sin on his conscience . . . but didn't tell us what it was!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 09:55 AM (txdEq)

128
Russian sports star, 25, and two wealthy tourists are killed in a helicopter crash before being 'dragged away and eaten by brown bears' during £4,250 sightseeing trip
Posted by: rhennigantx at July 20, 2022 09:53 AM (ex2Cx)
-----
We love UbearEats. Super convenient when you just want to grab a bite and hibernate.

Posted by: The Bears at July 20, 2022 09:55 AM (Zhwz2)

129 127 When he died, he said that he had but one sin on his conscience . . . but didn't tell us what it was!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 09:55 AM (txdEq)

=========

He jerked off in the soup once.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 09:56 AM (LvTSG)

130 Maybe the sin Titus was talking about was when he dismissed his long-time lover, Berenice, when he became emperor, fearing that the Roman people would never accept a Jew as his wife.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 09:56 AM (txdEq)

131 Doc Marie’s is a lesbian bar that opened on July 1st of this year with the hope of bringing more inclusivity to the city of Portland. But just one week after their grand opening they were forced to shut down because of complaints that the bar was not a “safe space.

The new progressive thing seems to be that the employees demand to be handed ownership of the business. So far I'm unaware of anyone that's actually given in, but if giving in becomes a trend that's going to be really bad.

Posted by: Ian S. at July 20, 2022 09:56 AM (ZGrMX)

132 "a moar RUSSIA headline:"

Russian sports star, 25, and two wealthy tourists stuck in dingy hotel downing vodka all night because their helicopter broke down and the tour pilot never showed up.

Posted by: Durable Yet Minimal gp-Based Barrier at July 20, 2022 09:56 AM (qpX6U)

133 On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Steve Rattner, who served as counselor to the Treasury Secretary in the Obama administration, stated that while there will be some relief on gas prices, “it’s not going back to $3 or $3.50 any time soon.” And inflation will not get “down to anything like 2%, which is the Fed’s adamant goal, any time in the immediate or medium-term future, for that matter.”

Posted by: SMOD at July 20, 2022 09:56 AM (RHGPo)

134 Doc Marie’s is a lesbian bar that opened on July 1st of this year with the hope of bringing more inclusivity to the city of Portland. But just one week after their grand opening they were forced to shut down because of complaints that the bar was not a “safe space.

MOAR PLEASE
Posted by: rhennigantx at July 20, 2022 09:55 AM (ex2Cx)

So, they're admitting that bulldykes are MORE rude to women than heterosexual males?

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 09:56 AM (Zz0t1)

135 @129
Dude.

Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022 09:56 AM (/NCI4)

136 I understand that Vespasian’s son Domitian went into the voting-machine business.

That’s how he was able to steal the Senate vote and become Emperor.

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 09:56 AM (YntaV)

137 131 The new progressive thing seems to be that the employees demand to be handed ownership of the business. So far I'm unaware of anyone that's actually given in, but if giving in becomes a trend that's going to be really bad.
Posted by: Ian S. at July 20, 2022 09:56 AM (ZGrMX)

=========

This attitude must be encouraged at Fortune 500 companies.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 09:57 AM (LvTSG)

138 These are not the Golden Arches I was hoping for.

Posted by: redridinghood at July 20, 2022 09:57 AM (NpAcC)

139 Capitol Police are covering for them too, claiming that being issued, basically, a traffic ticket is the same as "arrested".

Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at July 20, 2022 09:57 AM (yikp0)

140 34 I like this painting. Sure as hell beats a nekkid lardass on an ottoman.
Posted by: Xipe Totec at July 20, 2022 09:35 AM (QSjkU)

There really isn't much that doesn't.
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 09:36 AM (Zz0t1)

Nothing is going to beat the lady riding the giant pig.

Posted by: Allie at July 20, 2022 09:57 AM (UnA8+)

141 I like this painting.

Just yesterday, I was reading John Michell's 1998 essay "Freudian Analysis," where he slams the painter Lucien Freud:

"We all have our weak spots and one of mine is that Freud makes me feel sick. Nothing personal, of course; it is not his character and habits but his hellish view of the world that has me retching. You cannot deny that he is a wonderfully accomplished artist, and that just makes it worse.

"Freud is a confirmed literalist, painting the superficial and offering it as a true likeness. His main subject is human flesh. It is ugly stuff, and there is no harm in being reminded of that. We all have this ugliness, but we also have other aspects, and a portrait that makes no reference to these is properly called a caricature."

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at July 20, 2022 09:57 AM (AW0uW)

142 He jerked off in the soup once.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 09:56 AM (LvTSG)

I knew it I knew it!

Posted by: Mayor Buttplug at July 20, 2022 09:57 AM (ex2Cx)

143 Arches are cool. I suspect math is involved, but that is for another blog.

Posted by: GnuBreed at July 20, 2022 09:57 AM (JOtiF)

144 Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced Tuesday he is no longer a candidate for New York’s tenth congressional district. He withdrew after two months campaigning, lamenting it’s clear “people are looking for another option.”

Posted by: SMOD at July 20, 2022 09:58 AM (RHGPo)

145 On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Steve Rattner, who served as counselor to the Treasury Secretary in the Obama administration, stated that while there will be some relief on gas prices, “it’s not going back to $3 or $3.50 any time soon.” And inflation will not get “down to anything like 2%, which is the Fed’s adamant goal, any time in the immediate or medium-term future, for that matter.”

Maybe, as per Larry Summers, your focus should be on the money supply, and not social justice wars. Just a thought.

Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022 09:58 AM (/NCI4)

146 Doc Marie's is a lesbian bar that opened on July 1st of this year with the hope of bringing more inclusivity to the city of Portland. But just one week after their grand opening they were forced to shut down because of complaints that the bar was not a "safe space."
----------------------
That means aggressive trannies took the place over.

Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at July 20, 2022 09:58 AM (yikp0)

147 On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Steve Rattner, who served as counselor to the Treasury Secretary in the Obama administration, stated that while there will be some relief on gas prices, “it’s not going back to $3 or $3.50 any time soon.” And inflation will not get “down to anything like 2%, which is the Fed’s adamant goal, any time in the immediate or medium-term future, for that matter.”
Posted by: SMOD at July 20, 2022 09:56 AM (RHGPo)
++++
Interesting. Larry Summers has said similar, and argued that the Fed was too focused on woke shit than their actual job. If they're trotting out Obama's economic team to take aim at the administration's and the Fed's handling of the economy, that's probably meaningful.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at July 20, 2022 09:58 AM (5zVb8)

148 144 Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced Tuesday he is no longer a candidate for New York’s tenth congressional district. He withdrew after two months campaigning, lamenting it’s clear “people are looking for another option.”
Posted by: SMOD at July 20, 2022 09:58 AM (RHGPo)

========

His wife has a billion dollars she skimmed from the city. I think he should just enjoy his retirement.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 09:58 AM (LvTSG)

149 Take it on the arches, pal.

Posted by: DB at July 20, 2022 09:58 AM (geLO8)

150 Walking around inside the colosseum was one of the creepiest things I ever experienced. Standing at the entrance where they marched in the condemned, looking up and seeing all the rows upon rows, levels upon levels of people that would be looking down at you waiting for you to die for their enjoyment, and seeing the spot the emperor would be sitting, and all under a nice blue sky was..god...damn...creepy. For a brief second it almost seemed like it came to life. There was nothing romantic about it.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at July 20, 2022 09:59 AM (VwHCD)

151 Now this is some funny stuff.

>>@TheInsiderPaper

>>BREAKING - EU chief: 'Russia is blackmailing us… using energy as a weapon'

Trump warned you. You laughed at him. Not so funny now, is it?

Posted by: JackStraw at July 20, 2022 09:59 AM (ZLI7S)

152
Many of the great cathedrals of Europe took over 100 years to build. Quite a statement of faith, I would say.
Posted by: Xipe Totec at July 20, 2022 09:46 AM (QSjkU)

___________

Groundbreaking to completion
Notre Dame de Paris: 182 years
St. Peter's Basilica: 120 years
York Minster: 242 years
Cologne Cathedral: 642 years, with a 228 year gap

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022 09:59 AM (/U27+)

153 35
Early infrastructure project

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022 09:36 AM (/U27+)
----
Shovel-ready jobs.

Posted by: Ciampino - It's not a Rotunda at July 20, 2022 09:59 AM (qfLjt)

154 He jerked off in the soup once.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 09:56 AM (LvTSG)

I thought that was the #27.

Cream of Sumyounguy

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 09:59 AM (Zz0t1)

155 92 I like the idea of the painting and the detail in the Colosseum stones. But the painting has a static feel and the colors in the foreground are somewhat dull. Except for the way the stones are shown, nothing really catches the eye. Perhaps I'm spoiled by the Pre-Raphaelites.

Kris' explanation, as always, is an education. Adding to my appreciation of art adds to life. That's a bit hyperbolic, but true.
Posted by: JTB at July 20, 2022 09:49 AM (7EjX1)

Yeah. This is the biggest problem with Neoclassicism. It's a very limited movement. It's all virtue and heroes and glory, but it's shallow and very strict. Romanticism is much deeper, more expressive, and has a deep pool of subject matter to choose from.

Posted by: Kris at July 20, 2022 09:59 AM (OyyDO)

156 Plusses:
a. composition
b. not French

Minuses:
a. details (sky looks fakey)
b. does not give artboner

Posted by: ghost of hallelujah at July 20, 2022 09:59 AM (sJHOI)

157

Where are all the white hookers at?

Posted by: Barticus at July 20, 2022 09:59 AM (oz+Nk)

158 >>BREAKING - EU chief: 'Russia is blackmailing us… using energy as a weapon'

Trump warned you. You laughed at him. Not so funny now, is it?
Posted by: JackStraw at July 20, 2022 09:59 AM (ZLI7S)

Yes. I find it fucking HYSTERICAL.

Reap it, bitches.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 10:00 AM (Zz0t1)

159
Where are all the white hookers at?
Posted by: Barticus at July 20, 2022 09:59 AM (oz+Nk)

Ever see "A Funny Thing Happened on The Way to The Forum"

Posted by: Nevergiveup at July 20, 2022 10:00 AM (Irn0L)

160 BREAKING - EU chief: 'Russia is blackmailing us… using energy as a weapon'

Who could have seen that coming? Oh yeah, everyone with two brain cells to rub together.

Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022 10:00 AM (/NCI4)

161 So, they're admitting that bulldykes are MORE rude to women than heterosexual males?

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 09:56 AM (Zz0t1)

More likely to have been a trans thing. Guys in dresses get *very* bitchy when lesbians want nothing to do with them.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at July 20, 2022 10:01 AM (nC+QA)

162 Titus's brother, Domitian, hasn't been treated well by history. Possibly because he was a jerk. He tended to paranoia, faring plots against his life, lamenting that "No one believes threats against an emperor until they succeed." I forget how he passed -- possibly by assassination?

Then the time of the Five Good Emperors began and would run about 80 years to the death of Marcus Aurelius, when Commodus became The Boss Man.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 10:01 AM (txdEq)

163 151 Now this is some funny stuff.
>>@TheInsiderPaper
>>BREAKING - EU chief: 'Russia is blackmailing us… using energy as a weapon'
Trump warned you. You laughed at him. Not so funny now, is it?
Posted by: JackStraw at July 20, 2022 09:59 AM (ZLI7S)

=========

They didn't just laugh at him. They worked against him.

The people of the EU should demand their blood.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:01 AM (LvTSG)

164 Those arches are never gonna last as they don't have proper keystones at the top of the arch.

I wouldn't get too close, or even think of walking under them. That's just me. Time will tell.

Posted by: OneEyedJack at July 20, 2022 10:01 AM (MFphb)

165 Oddly on topic, in a way, I just noticed that I've made a breakfast of vienna finger cookies while reading the morning AoS.
Is this indicative of a complete breakdown in my value system, concurrent with society at large?
Or is this just a 29+ bennie?

Posted by: From about that time at July 20, 2022 10:01 AM (4780s)

166 Arch Stanton

Posted by: Count de Monet at July 20, 2022 10:01 AM (4I/2K)

167 "Arches are cool"

Lost to history are the inverted arches that the Ur people ingeniously used to hold things down, instead of holding them up. No extant remains have yet been found.

Posted by: Durable Yet Minimal gp-Based Barrier at July 20, 2022 10:01 AM (qpX6U)

168
His wife has a billion dollars she skimmed from the city. I think he should just enjoy his retirement.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 09:58 AM (LvTSG)
-----
Yup. A functionally retarded, race-baiting red-diaper baby loots the treasury and retires in splendor.

The perfect expression of the 21st-century American politician. An archetype.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at July 20, 2022 10:01 AM (Zhwz2)

169 Now this is some funny stuff.

>>@TheInsiderPaper
>>BREAKING - EU chief: 'Russia is blackmailing us… using energy as a weapon'

Trump warned you. You laughed at him. Not so funny now, is it?
Posted by: JackStraw at July 20, 2022 09:59 AM (ZLI7S)
++++
It's weird. We all know - because Biden told us - that Putin would never "bite off his nose" to spite his face on energy. Europe's market power is too great for Putin to be able to afford weaponizing energy flows, because it would bankrupt Russia. Biden promised!

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at July 20, 2022 10:01 AM (5zVb8)

170 160 BREAKING - EU chief: 'Russia is blackmailing us… using energy as a weapon'

Who could have seen that coming? Oh yeah, everyone with two brain cells to rub together.
Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022 10:00 AM (/NCI4)

=========

And they could have just let Putin have his goals in the Ukraine without propping up Zelenskyy as well. Instead, they're spending billions to make matter worse.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:02 AM (LvTSG)

171 Romanticism is much deeper, more expressive, and has a deep pool of subject matter to choose from.

It's a little know fact that Romanticism led directly to Hallmark Channel movies.

Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022 10:02 AM (/NCI4)

172 >>BREAKING - EU chief: 'Russia is blackmailing us… using energy as a weapon'
Trump warned you. You laughed at him. Not so funny now, is it?
Posted by: JackStraw at July 20, 2022 09:59 AM (ZLI7S)

The 1980's called. They want their foreign policy back!

- - Baroke Hussein Owebama

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 10:02 AM (Zz0t1)

173 No kidding. The Treasury was pretty low after Nero, so Vespasian, who was careful with a denarius, established little pay toilets for an income stream. His son Titus objected. Vespasian is said to have waved a gold coin under Titus's nose. "Does this smell bad?"

IIRC, Titus' complaint was that it was undignified for coins with the emperor's likeness to be used for such a disgusting thing as a pay toilet.

One of the many legends around Caligula is that he would have people executed who carried money into the toilets, since holding a coin with the emperor's face while you were on the john was lese-majeste.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at July 20, 2022 10:02 AM (AW0uW)

174 Russian Bears Eat Wealthy Tourist And Famed Athlete in Helicopter Crash Tragedy

Russian bear: *burp*

Posted by: Maj. Healey at July 20, 2022 10:02 AM (m7R0k)

175 112 Actually, Sponge, I was thinking of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, finance minister under Louis XIV.

*whistles, turns and walks away slowly*

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 10:02 AM (YntaV)

176 168 Yup. A functionally retarded, race-baiting red-diaper baby loots the treasury and retires in splendor.

The perfect expression of the 21st-century American politician. An archetype.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at July 20, 2022 10:01 AM (Zhwz2)

=========

Also, remarkably unoriginal. They're culturally appropriating from the South Americans at the very least.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:02 AM (LvTSG)

177 Vlad Putin runs Barter Town.

Posted by: JackStraw at July 20, 2022 10:02 AM (ZLI7S)

178 The other landmarks through the remaining arches are difficult to identify. Since this work is about the specific idea about Rome, I would suspect that these views are also finagled to complete the artist’s vision."

Given it's symbolic importance, I imagine one of them has to be the Vatican complex.

Posted by: Tom Servo at July 20, 2022 10:03 AM (trdmm)

179 This painting makes me feel very archy.

Posted by: Puddinhead at July 20, 2022 10:03 AM (8Sqzu)

180 115 I will gladly send a beer to anyone that can find a moar RUSSIA headline:
Russian sports star, 25, and two wealthy tourists are killed in a helicopter crash before being 'dragged away and eaten by brown bears' during £4,250 sightseeing trip
Posted by: rhennigantx at July 20, 2022 09:53 AM (ex2Cx)

There was a local idiot around these parts who got all bent outta shape when he let his toy chihuahua out in his unfenced back yard and a black bear made off with it for dinner.

Bears gotta eat too ya know.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at July 20, 2022 10:03 AM (qZQHw)

181 Oddly on topic, in a way, I just noticed that I've made a breakfast of vienna finger cookies while reading the morning AoS.
Is this indicative of a complete breakdown in my value system, concurrent with society at large?
Or is this just a 29+ bennie?
Posted by: From about that time at July 20, 2022

***
Did you dunk them in your coffee? They're just the right length for that.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 10:03 AM (txdEq)

182 One of the many legends around Caligula is that he would have people executed who carried money into the toilets, since holding a coin with the emperor's face while you were on the john was lese-majeste.

Where would they keep the coins? I mean, do togas have pockets?

Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022 10:04 AM (/NCI4)

183 Actually, Sponge, I was thinking of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, finance minister under Louis XIV.

*whistles, turns and walks away slowly*
Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 10:02 AM (YntaV)

SAVED by a clever edit!

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 10:04 AM (Zz0t1)

184 173 One of the many legends around Caligula is that he would have people executed who carried money into the toilets, since holding a coin with the emperor's face while you were on the john was lese-majeste.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at July 20, 2022 10:02 AM (AW0uW)

=========

His French was very good for a guy who spoke Latin as his mother tongue.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:04 AM (LvTSG)

185 >>>>BREAKING - EU chief: 'Russia is blackmailing us… using energy as a weapon'
Trump warned you. You laughed at him. Not so funny now, is it?
Posted by: JackStraw at July 20, 2022 09:59 AM (ZLI7S)

I hope they have to burn their furniture and eat their children.

Posted by: Maj. Healey at July 20, 2022 10:04 AM (m7R0k)

186 Last time I was there it was full of cats. Not eels. Not chickens. Of course this was 68 or thereabout.

Posted by: Eromero at July 20, 2022 10:04 AM (gktX6)

187 Beautiful.

Posted by: Adirondack Patriot at July 20, 2022 10:04 AM (lf83v)

188 Russian Bears Eat Wealthy Tourist And Famed Athlete in Helicopter Crash Tragedy

Russian bear: *burp*
Posted by: Maj. Healey at July 20, 2022 10:02 AM (m7R0k)

Ask the Bear, but I bet the athlete was kinda stringy

Posted by: Nevergiveup at July 20, 2022 10:04 AM (Irn0L)

189 This painting makes me feel very archy.

Nice pun, he said archly.

Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022 10:05 AM (/NCI4)

190 >>It's weird. We all know - because Biden told us - that Putin would never "bite off his nose" to spite his face on energy. Europe's market power is too great for Putin to be able to afford weaponizing energy flows, because it would bankrupt Russia. Biden promised!

Either yesterday or the day before Russia announced they met their annual dollar goal from exporting oil in the first 5 months of the year thanks to the price hike in oil.

Joe Biden - Super Genius

Posted by: JackStraw at July 20, 2022 10:05 AM (ZLI7S)

191
One of the many legends around Caligula is that he would have people executed who carried money into the toilets, since holding a coin with the emperor's face while you were on the john was lese-majeste.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at July 20, 2022 10:02 AM (AW0uW)

____________

I understand that a lot of the accounts of Roman emperors are exaggerated and not all that reliable because the writers had an axe to grind.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022 10:05 AM (/U27+)

192 Who says slave labor can't do great things?

Posted by: Puddinhead at July 20, 2022 10:05 AM (8Sqzu)

193 This painting makes me feel very archy.

Nice pun, he said archly.
Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022 10:05 AM (/NCI4)

Youse guys can go fuck yourself.

Posted by: Archie Bunker at July 20, 2022 10:05 AM (Zz0t1)

194 >Ask the Bear, but I bet the athlete was kinda stringy

Posted by: Nevergiveup

chewy on the outside, crunchy on the inside

Posted by: DB at July 20, 2022 10:05 AM (geLO8)

195 166 Arch Stanton
Posted by: Count de Monet at July 20, 2022 10:01 AM (4I/2K)

There are two kinds of people in this world, my friend; those who think there's something in that grave, and those who know there isn't.

Posted by: Tom Servo at July 20, 2022 10:06 AM (trdmm)

196 "Those arches are never gonna last as they don't have proper keystones at the top of the arch."

Had some masonry work done on this 1905 brick house. Guy says 'holy shit these windows have no lintels!' Have had my fingers crossed ever since.

Posted by: Durable Yet Minimal gp-Based Barrier at July 20, 2022 10:06 AM (qpX6U)

197 191 I understand that a lot of the accounts of Roman emperors are exaggerated and not all that reliable because the writers had an axe to grind.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022 10:05 AM (/U27+)

==========

A pattern that continues forever. US Grant has been maligned by history because his primary biographer, Henry Adams, had wanted a position in Grant's administration that Grant denied him.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:07 AM (LvTSG)

198 IIRC, Titus' complaint was that it was undignified for coins with the emperor's likeness to be used for such a disgusting thing as a pay toilet.

One of the many legends around Caligula is that he would have people executed who carried money into the toilets, since holding a coin with the emperor's face while you were on the john was lese-majeste.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at July 20, 2022

***
Right -- I wouldn't have expected that Titus thought it *unfair* to the plebeians to have to pay at the comfort station.

As for the other, I hadn't heard that, but it sounds like Caligula.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 10:07 AM (txdEq)

199 Groundbreaking to completion
Notre Dame de Paris: 182 years
St. Peter's Basilica: 120 years
York Minster: 242 years
Cologne Cathedral: 642 years, with a 228 year gap
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022 09:59 AM (/U27+)

TXDOT's I-45 South aka the Gulf Freeway from Houston to Galveston. Begun in 1946, first opened 8/14/1952, construction continues to this day.
76 years (so far!) in the making.

Posted by: Count de Monet at July 20, 2022 10:07 AM (4I/2K)

200 110 Many of the great cathedrals of Europe took over 100 years to build. Quite a statement of faith, I would say.
Posted by: Xipe Totec at July 20, 2022 09:46 AM (QSjkU)

A lot of the cathedrals took so long to build because they were expensive and were paid for, many times, by donations from pilgrims. The Gothic cathedral craze saw each city trying to one-up the others. This got very expensive. Some had to pause construction for decades which is why some, like Chartres, have mismatching towers--different generations of architects.

Posted by: Kris at July 20, 2022 10:07 AM (OyyDO)

201 Vienna cookies for coffee, vienna sausages for beer. Breakfast should be taken seriously.

Posted by: Eromero at July 20, 2022 10:07 AM (gktX6)

202
US foreign policy too often assumes that adversaries will behave in a logical manner. This frequently leads to catastrophe.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022 10:07 AM (/U27+)

203 Did you dunk them in your coffee? They're just the right length for that.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius
===
The occasional bite.

Posted by: From about that time at July 20, 2022 10:07 AM (4780s)

204 Just read the Watergate article at Front Page Mag that JJ included at the end of his list.

Texted the link to the conservative part of my family.

https://tinyurl.com/2dpm67f6

Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 10:07 AM (krQz2)

205 His French was very good for a guy who spoke Latin as his mother tongue.
---------------------------
Oh, the gall of the man!

Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at July 20, 2022 10:07 AM (yikp0)

206 188 Russian Bears Eat Wealthy Tourist And Famed Athlete in Helicopter Crash Tragedy

Russian bear: *burp*
Posted by: Maj. Healey at July 20, 2022 10:02 AM (m7R0k)

Ask the Bear, but I bet the athlete was kinda stringy
Posted by: Nevergiveup at July 20, 2022 10:04 AM (Irn0L)

I would dance wildly all day if I found out that one of the weatlhy tourists was Bill Gates.

Posted by: Tom Servo at July 20, 2022 10:07 AM (trdmm)

207 Bears gotta eat too ya know.
Posted by: Hairyback Guy at July 20, 2022 10:03 AM (qZQHw)

It was a barely satisfactory amuse-bouche, if you must know.

Posted by: The Bear at July 20, 2022 10:08 AM (PiwSw)

208 Never been an arch-conservative, myself.

Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 10:08 AM (krQz2)

209 A pattern that continues forever. US Grant has been maligned by history because his primary biographer, Henry Adams, had wanted a position in Grant's administration that Grant denied him.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:07 AM (LvTSG)

Henry Adams was the Mitt Romney of his time.

Posted by: Count de Monet at July 20, 2022 10:08 AM (4I/2K)

210 It was a barely satisfactory amuse-bouche, if you must know.
Posted by: The Bear at July 20, 2022 10:08 AM (PiwSw)

-------
So your bouche was not amused?

Posted by: 496 at July 20, 2022 10:08 AM (VJsqe)

211 One of the many legends around Caligula is that he would have people executed who carried money into the toilets, since holding a coin with the emperor's face while you were on the john was lese-majeste.
*
Where would they keep the coins? I mean, do togas have pockets?
Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022

***
Oh, they probably had pouches on a shoulder strap -- a purse, Shakespeare would have called it.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 10:08 AM (txdEq)

212 >Cologne Cathedral: 642 years, with a 228 year gap
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

they took a long lunch

Posted by: DB at July 20, 2022 10:09 AM (geLO8)

213 148 144 Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced Tuesday he is no longer a candidate for New York’s tenth congressional district. He withdrew after two months campaigning, lamenting it’s clear “people are looking for another option.”
Posted by: SMOD at July 20, 2022 09:58 AM (RHGPo)

========

His wife has a billion dollars she skimmed from the city. I think he should just enjoy his retirement.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 09:58 AM (LvTSG)

I'm amazed at the hubris for thinking he had a shot.
I suppose to govern like he did that would have to be a trait.

Posted by: Inogame at July 20, 2022 10:09 AM (53oGX)

214 Suddenly, I’m reminded of Messalina’s bare breast in the BBC “I, Claudius.”

Gonna hafta watch that series again.

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 10:09 AM (YntaV)

215 3 I been there.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 09:30 AM (LvTSG)
----
Many times. Mum always took me with her when shopping (no babysitters then) and the popular market was near there. However too young to appreciate and it took many years before I understood what I was seeing.

Posted by: Ciampino - There's a park near there, full of stray cats that the city looks after at July 20, 2022 10:09 AM (qfLjt)

216 Some had to pause construction for decades which is why some, like Chartres, have mismatching towers--different generations of architects.

Whatever happened, it worked. I love that place.

Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022 10:09 AM (/NCI4)

217 Hagia Sophia was built in 5 years.
Posted by: sniffybigtoe at July 20, 2022 09:41 AM (Y5qcH)

The Pentagon was built in 9 months.

Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 10:10 AM (6TxNR)

218 213 I'm amazed at the hubris for thinking he had a shot.
I suppose to govern like he did that would have to be a trait.
Posted by: Inogame at July 20, 2022 10:09 AM (53oGX)

=========

Meh. He was mayor for two terms. NY-10 is part of NYC (talk about a gerrymandered district...).

It's much less of a leap than his run for president.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:10 AM (LvTSG)

219 Russian Bears Eat Wealthy Tourist And Famed Athlete in Helicopter Crash Tragedy

Those stinger missiles are so easy to operate even a bear can do it.

Posted by: Diogenes at July 20, 2022 10:10 AM (anj39)

220 Russian Bears Eat Wealthy Tourist And Famed Athlete in Helicopter Crash Tragedy

Russian bear: *burp*
Posted by: Maj. Healey at July 20, 2022 10:02 AM

Russian bear: Hand me that rabbit, will you?
*wanders off behind tree*

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at July 20, 2022 10:10 AM (4p7Em)

221 151 Now this is some funny stuff.
>>@TheInsiderPaper
>>BREAKING - EU chief: 'Russia is blackmailing us… using energy as a weapon'
Trump warned you. You laughed at him. Not so funny now, is it?
Posted by: JackStraw at July 20, 2022 09:59 AM (ZLI7S)

=========
They didn't just laugh at him. They worked against him.

The people of the EU should demand their blood.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:01 AM (LvTSG)

Bingo, they should have run out of lamp posts by now.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at July 20, 2022 10:11 AM (VwHCD)

222
We are happy to report that with the aid of American weapons, the Ghost of Kiev was able to kill three dirty, vodka-soaked Ivans. I personally ordered it, in fact.

Also, I am proud to announce that these brown bears, these two Patriots of Color, are being awarded US citizenship, and that the female one will be my new Secretary of Defense.

Posted by: Brandon at July 20, 2022 10:11 AM (Zhwz2)

223 Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced Tuesday he is no longer a candidate for New York’s tenth congressional district. He withdrew after two months campaigning, lamenting it’s clear “people are looking for another option.”
Posted by: SMOD at July 20, 2022 09:58 AM (RHGPo)
---
How do you say "I suck" without saying the words "I suck"?

"The people decided to go in a different direction," is one.

Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 10:11 AM (krQz2)

224 221 Bingo, they should have run out of lamp posts by now.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at July 20, 2022 10:11 AM (VwHCD)

=======

Maybe when winter comes.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:11 AM (LvTSG)

225 ATF Agents Going Door To Door Looking For Your Guns!

https://tinyurl.com/yrpjxjfs

Posted by: Maj. Healey at July 20, 2022 10:12 AM (m7R0k)

226 Posted by: Count de Monet at July 20, 2022 10:07 AM (4I/2K)

Was thinking recently that the three-level flyovers pretty much make a paper map impossible. You'd need a *book* for each city since it would need separate pictures of each interchange.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at July 20, 2022 10:12 AM (nC+QA)

227 The Pentagon was built in 9 months.
Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 10:10 AM

Dunno if we want to brag about that.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at July 20, 2022 10:12 AM (4p7Em)

228 7 I want pizza.

Posted by: Czech Chick at July 20, 2022 09:32 AM (Ypbog)
----
These days you're more likely to find Arab food shops instead of pizza.

Posted by: Ciampino - You let in one Arab and soon they've taken over at July 20, 2022 10:12 AM (qfLjt)

229 Where would they keep the coins? I mean, do togas have pockets?
Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022 10:04 AM (/NCI4)

Romans carried around little money bags which were slung from the cord binding the shirt they wore under the toga.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at July 20, 2022 10:12 AM (AW0uW)

230 >>US foreign policy too often assumes that adversaries will behave in a logical manner. This frequently leads to catastrophe.

I would suggest just the opposite in this case. It was blindly obvious that the EU put themselves in a precarious position by relying so heavily on Russian energy. Trump warned them, and they shouldn't have needed to be warned, that they were not only setting themselves up for this happening but it made no sense at all to be on the one hand continuing to build NATO while at the same time sending Russia billions in oil money.

This punch has been telegraphed for years. The super geniuses in Davos somehow missed this one.

Posted by: JackStraw at July 20, 2022 10:12 AM (ZLI7S)

231 I understand that a lot of the accounts of Roman emperors are exaggerated and not all that reliable because the writers had an axe to grind.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022

***
Probably so. On the other hand, some writers would have exaggerated the virtues of a given imperial family because members of it were still around and in power -- relatives of a former emperor who would not take kindly to unpleasant truths becoming well-known. Those whitewashed accounts, of course, do not make such good copy as Suetonius's The Twelve Caesars does.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 10:12 AM (txdEq)

232 Caroline Simon
@carolinesimon66

Happening now: House Democrats introduce a bill to move up the date on the immigration registry, which would provide green cards to millions of undocumented immigrants.

The proposal was floated as part of their reconciliation plan last year, but ran into a parliamentary issues.

Posted by: redridinghood at July 20, 2022 10:12 AM (NpAcC)

233 Either yesterday or the day before Russia announced they met their annual dollar goal from exporting oil in the first 5 months of the year thanks to the price hike in oil. ...
Posted by: JackStraw at July 20, 2022 10:05 AM (ZLI7S)
++++
Not only that, Russia was able to defend the Ruble, which nobody in the West expected to be possible. The Ruble went into free fall after the invasion, which was the expected behavior. It's recovery was a shocking surprise, because Russia didn't have enough Forex it defend their currency.

Russia pulled it off through a totally unexpected action: they used gold. The central bank set the gold price based on the desired exchange point and started selling gold at that price to individuals in Russia. They essentially laundered the currency through gold stocks in their possession. They were able to repatriate a lot of Rubles and drive up the currency value as compared to other currencies - and did so by using the Russian people as an intermediary by selling them gold.

That was a bold, brilliant and totally unexpected move that negated a lot of our sanctions and defended their currency. Putin's finance minister is earning his keep.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at July 20, 2022 10:13 AM (5zVb8)

234
The Pentagon was built in 9 months.
Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 10:10 AM (6TxNR)

________

Supervised by Leslie Groves. After the war, Eisenhower told him that whatever he'd done he'd never be Chief of Engineers.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022 10:13 AM (/U27+)

235 "The people decided to go in a different direction," is one.
Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 10:11 AM (krQz2)

His appeal is becoming more selective.

Posted by: Ian Faith at July 20, 2022 10:13 AM (PiwSw)

236 214 Suddenly, I’m reminded of Messalina’s bare breast in the BBC “I, Claudius.”
--------------------------
Yeah, and 1970's PBS didn't censor it.

Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at July 20, 2022 10:13 AM (yikp0)

237 Doc Marie's is a lesbian bar that opened on July 1st of this year with the hope of bringing more inclusivity to the city of Portland. But just one week after their grand opening they were forced to shut down because of complaints that the bar was not a "safe space."

How can Portland become more inclusive?

Posted by: N.L. Urker, at July 20, 2022 10:14 AM (eGTCV)

238 236 214 Suddenly, I’m reminded of Messalina’s bare breast in the BBC “I, Claudius.”
--------------------------
Yeah, and 1970's PBS didn't censor it.
Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at July 20, 2022 10:13 AM (yikp0)

==========

"I'm watching art, mum!"
-So many British boys

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:14 AM (LvTSG)

239 Was thinking recently that the three-level flyovers pretty much make a paper map impossible. You'd need a *book* for each city since it would need separate pictures of each interchange.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at July 20, 2022 10:12 AM (nC+QA)

The iPhone 18: Now with 3d Holographic Mapping!

Posted by: Count de Monet at July 20, 2022 10:14 AM (4I/2K)

240 US foreign policy too often assumes that adversaries will behave in a logical manner. This frequently leads to catastrophe.

I would suggest just the opposite in this case. It was blindly obvious that the EU put themselves in a precarious position by relying so heavily on Russian energy. Trump warned them, and they shouldn't have needed to be warned, that they were not only setting themselves up for this happening but it made no sense at all to be on the one hand continuing to build NATO while at the same time sending Russia billions in oil money.

This punch has been telegraphed for years. The super geniuses in Davos somehow missed this one.

Posted by: JackStraw at July 20, 2022 10:12 AM (ZLI7S)

Well, we are talking about the imbeciles who started 2 world wars.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at July 20, 2022 10:14 AM (VwHCD)

241 Ha!

These an inscription on the arch in that painting that translates to, "Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo were here"

Posted by: Archer at July 20, 2022 10:14 AM (gmo/4)

242 Happening now: House Democrats introduce a bill to move up the date on the immigration registry, which would provide green cards to millions of undocumented immigrants.

Not surprising. If they want to get anything done in the next 10 years, they're going to have to do it in the next 3 months.

Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022 10:15 AM (/NCI4)

243 The voters said they will call me if anything comes available. They still have my resume on file.

Posted by: Wilhelm DeBlasio at July 20, 2022 10:15 AM (krQz2)

244 they took a long lunch
Posted by: DB at July 20, 2022 10:09 AM (geLO

++++
Three martini lunch? Nah, bro. That's more like a three million martini lunch!

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at July 20, 2022 10:15 AM (5zVb8)

245 I like the painting, but, am disappointed the artists went for what he considered to be a romantic ideal rather than trying to do something that was closer to a "past, present and future" theme.

I guess I think the artist could have easily done a sort of "Ozymandias in oil" with this painting.

Might hang.

By the way, thanks Kris. I always appreciate your perspective on perspective.

Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing (5pTK/) at July 20, 2022 10:15 AM (5pTK/)

246 The groundbreaking for the Pentagon took place on September 11, 1941.

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 10:15 AM (YntaV)

247 How can Portland become more inclusive?
Posted by: N.L. Urker, at July 20, 2022 10:14 AM (eGTCV)
++++
They could let non-leftists walk down the street unmolested...

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at July 20, 2022 10:15 AM (5zVb8)

248 Suddenly, I’m reminded of Messalina’s bare breast in the BBC “I, Claudius.”

Gonna hafta watch that series again.
Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022

***
There is a wickedly sensual scene earlier in the series with Patrick Stewart's Sejanus and one of Augustus's daughters, where they use words to inflame each other -- a sort of verbal sado-masochism.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 10:15 AM (txdEq)

249 These an inscription on the arch in that painting that translates to, "Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo were here"

Posted by: Archer at July 20, 2022 10:14 AM (gmo/4)
---
"People called Romans, they go the house."

Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 10:16 AM (krQz2)

250 If that's the third storey of the Colosseum then why is there grass at the base of the arches? Bad research?

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at July 20, 2022 10:16 AM (XG2Fi)

251 These an inscription on the arch in that painting that translates to, "Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo were here"

It's next to the inscription that says, "for a good tempus, call Messalina at XXV-IIXX."

Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022 10:16 AM (/NCI4)

252 How can Portland become more inclusive?
Posted by: N.L. Urker, at July 20, 2022 10:14 AM (eGTCV)
++++
They could let non-leftists walk down the street unmolested...
Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at July 20, 2022 10:15 AM (5zVb

---
You're just not getting it.

Posted by: A Portlandian at July 20, 2022 10:16 AM (krQz2)

253 US foreign policy too often assumes that adversaries will behave in a logical manner. This frequently leads to catastrophe.

There aren't a lot of current adversaries that would actually behave in a logical manner. *Maybe* Xi. Definitely not Putin or the mullahs or any jihadis. So yeah, don't assume anything.

Posted by: Ian S. at July 20, 2022 10:17 AM (ZGrMX)

254 ATF Agents Going Door To Door Looking For Your Guns!

https://tinyurl.com/yrpjxjfs
Posted by: Maj. Healey at July 20, 2022 10:12 AM (m7R0k)

None of your business. Come back with a warrant. Get off my lawn.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 10:17 AM (Zz0t1)

255 US foreign policy too often assumes that adversaries will behave ~~in a logical manner~~ like Americans. This frequently leads to catastrophe.

Suggested edit.

Posted by: Oddbob at July 20, 2022 10:17 AM (nfrXX)

256 "People called Romans, they go the house."
Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 10:16 AM

I love that scene.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at July 20, 2022 10:17 AM (4p7Em)

257 39
It actually looks like the Aqueduct.
Posted by: rickb223 at July 20, 2022 09:35 AM (1cmKJ)
__________
So, chariot races?

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022 09:37 AM (/U27+)
----
They also would flood it and have ships there. Floor was wood.

Posted by: Ciampino - no pirates of the Carib there at July 20, 2022 10:17 AM (qfLjt)

258 How can Portland become more inclusive?
Posted by: N.L. Urker, at July 20, 2022 10:14 AM (eGTCV)
++++
They could let non-leftists walk down the street unmolested...
Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at July 20, 2022 10:15 AM (5zVb

There is that.

Posted by: N.L. Urker, at July 20, 2022 10:17 AM (eGTCV)

259 Dave in Fla from prior thread
4) There are only two ways politically to get rid of the GOPe. You can either reform it by doing everything possible to elect America First candidates, or destroy it by allowing the Democrats to fully control Washington for a decade, then hope to have a new party rise from the ashes.

Agree completely and that is why in 22 and 24 my voting priorities are
1) MAGA
2) if MAGA is not available, the nastiest craziest commie available. To hasten the destruction AND then the rebuild

Posted by: Ron DiSantis at July 20, 2022 10:18 AM (PsUT0)

260 There is a wickedly sensual scene earlier in the series with Patrick Stewart's Sejanus and one of Augustus's daughters, where they use words to inflame each other -- a sort of verbal sado-masochism.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 10:15 AM (txdEq)
---
Wait. Patrick Stewart was Sejanus?! I'll have to IMDB that shit.

Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 10:18 AM (krQz2)

261 Probably so. On the other hand, some writers would have exaggerated the virtues of a given imperial family because members of it were still around and in power -- relatives of a former emperor who would not take kindly to unpleasant truths becoming well-known. Those whitewashed accounts, of course, do not make such good copy as Suetonius's The Twelve Caesars does.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 10:12 AM (txdEq)

It's thought that Shakespeare treated the Tudors very dutifully and loyally, and went out of his way to show the treachery of their early opponents, such as Richard III.

Posted by: Tom Servo at July 20, 2022 10:18 AM (trdmm)

262 This punch has been telegraphed for years. The super geniuses in Davos somehow missed this one.

Posted by: JackStraw at July 20, 2022 10:12 AM (ZLI7S)

Well, we are talking about the imbeciles who started 2 world wars.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at July 20, 2022 10:14 AM (VwHCD)
-----------

Nuh uh! Because, this time, things will be different!

/EU politician who believes 6,000 years of recorded human history has no bearing on today

Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing (5pTK/) at July 20, 2022 10:18 AM (5pTK/)

263 When Justinian first proposed the Hagia Sophia, his architects were convinced the massive dome could not be done. He fired them and hired mathematical theorists to design it. The result is spactacular, although the architects were right in a sense. The dome came crashing down within a few years of completion.

Yet he was reelected in a landslide.

Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 10:19 AM (6TxNR)

264 Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced Tuesday he is no longer a candidate for New York’s tenth congressional district. He withdrew after two months campaigning, lamenting it’s clear “people are looking for another option.”
Posted by: SMOD

The peasants are revolting.

It's astounding that these guys can utterly fail at their most basic duties leaving a trail of destruction and desolation in their wake !and then expect to be promoted to wreak more havoc.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now the Summer of Our Discontent at July 20, 2022 10:19 AM (FVME7)

265 Excellent write up, Kris!

And call me Old School, but yes, this is Art. Would hang.

Posted by: Wally at July 20, 2022 10:19 AM (NUVHn)

266 It's thought that Shakespeare treated the Tudors very dutifully and loyally, and went out of his way to show the treachery of their early opponents, such as Richard III.
Posted by: Tom Servo at July 20, 2022 10:18 AM

Oh, dear, Richard III.
- Baldrick

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at July 20, 2022 10:19 AM (4p7Em)

267

The peasants are revolting.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now the Summer of Our Discontent at July 20, 2022 10:19 AM (FVME7)

They stink on ice!

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 10:20 AM (Zz0t1)

268 There was also Sesame Street's Monsterpiece Theatre with host, Alastair Cooookie!!!, presenting Me, Claudius!

https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=RSOu5C55kUA

1:52 minutes

Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at July 20, 2022 10:20 AM (yikp0)

269 If you look closelyat the ruins, the inscription says that we must reduce the world LatinX population from 300 million to 20 million.

Posted by: stu-mick-o-sucks at July 20, 2022 10:20 AM (w9Wax)

270 So a film showing Julius Caesar at the Colsseum would be wrong. [/i

Damn straight. Public opinion was that the Colosseum was paid for by the sack of Jerusalem. Real sports fans (Romans invented that, at least) used to pine for the great old days of combat games at the Campus Martius, the way that we miss Ebbets Field.

The gin-pole crane caught on during Roman times, and inspired computation of mechanical advantage. Not that your superbes concerned themselves with such things, but work-site analysts really thought they had something there, as it revolutionized the loading of big stuff onto ships. So, "heavy equipment" of a sort.

Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at July 20, 2022 10:20 AM (x61Im)

271 269 If you look closelyat the ruins, the inscription says that we must reduce the world LatinX population from 300 million to 20 million.
Posted by: stu-mick-o-sucks at July 20, 2022 10:20 AM (w9Wax)

==========

It is impossible for the Earth to support a population of 300 million. There's simply not enough farmland.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:21 AM (LvTSG)

272 Wait. Patrick Stewart was Sejanus?! I'll have to IMDB that shit.
Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 10:18 AM (krQz2)

It was the first time I ever noticed him in a role. Many still hold that "I, Claudius" was the best television mini-series ever produced. For me, it's either that or James Clavell's Shogun.

Posted by: Tom Servo at July 20, 2022 10:21 AM (trdmm)

273 How did the English learn Welsh?

They hired Tudors.

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 10:21 AM (YntaV)

274 Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced Tuesday he is no longer a candidate for New York’s tenth congressional district. He withdrew after two months campaigning, lamenting it’s clear “people are looking for another option.”
Posted by: SMOD

How's it feel to be a straight white guy in the Dem Party, Bill?

Posted by: Wally at July 20, 2022 10:21 AM (NUVHn)

275 And, off to the barrel. The heavy barrel.

Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at July 20, 2022 10:21 AM (x61Im)

276 Yes, Patrick Stewart played Sejanus. In what I’ve always suspected to be a bad hairpiece.

Posted by: Zombie Robbo the Llama Butcher at July 20, 2022 10:21 AM (YROkV)

277 Does surviving an Italian taxi ride around the Flavian Amphitheater count as seeing it?

For one of more human scale, the one in Trier Germany is pretty good.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 20, 2022 10:21 AM (1pkUZ)

278 Just now saw that John Hurt played both Caligula in I, Claudias and Richar Rich in A Man For All Seasons.

What was this guy's "type"? Oleaginous slime?

Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 10:22 AM (krQz2)

279 His wife has a billion dollars she skimmed from the city. I think he should just enjoy his retirement.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 09:58 AM (LvTSG)

Actually I think she and he should get the Virginia Hill and Bugsy Siegel treatment

Posted by: Nevergiveup at July 20, 2022 10:23 AM (Irn0L)

280 Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced Tuesday he is no longer a candidate for New York’s tenth congressional district. He withdrew after two months campaigning, lamenting it’s clear “people are looking for another option.”

Related-ish: disgraced CNN flunky Chris Cuomo tried to sign up to be a volunteer firefighter and they told him to fuck off.

Posted by: Ian S. at July 20, 2022 10:23 AM (ZGrMX)

281 It's thought that Shakespeare treated the Tudors very dutifully and loyally, and went out of his way to show the treachery of their early opponents, such as Richard III.
Posted by: Tom Servo at July 20, 2022 10:18 AM (trdmm)

Well Henry VII was a Tudor so kind of expected the winner would be treated as legitimate.

Posted by: Someguy's at July 20, 2022 10:23 AM (L4he4)

282 This punch has been telegraphed for years. The super geniuses in Davos somehow missed this one.

Posted by: JackStraw at July 20, 2022 10:12 AM (ZLI7S)

Trump understood that our adversaries would act in ways that were rational for them.

When he said that Putin was a good leader for Russia they said "he is running around praising Putin all over the place." Well, no, he wasn't. He was saying that the Russian leader was acting in ways to befit Russia, not the "world community." That world community thing is what got Americans to decry "America First."

Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 10:23 AM (6TxNR)

283 Supervised by Leslie Groves. After the war, Eisenhower told him that whatever he'd done he'd never be Chief of Engineers.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

Well, he was a big Lez.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now the Summer of Our Discontent at July 20, 2022 10:23 AM (FVME7)

284 None of your business. Come back with a warrant. Get off my lawn.

I read about that yesterday. Maybe linked in the MR? Anyway, I wouldn't be happy if it were me but all in all, it sounds like it went as well as it could have. For better or worse, investigating potential straw purchases is a legit function for ATF. And if they had brought a warrant, they would have been able to enter the house and snoop through all his stuff instead of staying outside and asking him to present specific items.

Posted by: Oddbob at July 20, 2022 10:23 AM (nfrXX)

285 Yes, Patrick Stewart played Sejanus. In what I’ve always suspected to be a bad hairpiece.
Posted by: Zombie Robbo the Llama Butcher at July 20, 2022 10:21 AM (YROkV)
---
That's kind of what I was picturing in my mind.

Sejanus is the single most memorable character in that series, IMO.

Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 10:24 AM (krQz2)

286 >>Trump understood that our adversaries would act in ways that were rational for them.

>>When he said that Putin was a good leader for Russia they said "he is running around praising Putin all over the place." Well, no, he wasn't. He was saying that the Russian leader was acting in ways to befit Russia, not the "world community." That world community thing is what got Americans to decry "America First."

Exactly.

Posted by: JackStraw at July 20, 2022 10:24 AM (ZLI7S)

287 115 I will gladly send a beer to anyone that can find a moar RUSSIA headline:

Russian sports star, 25, and two wealthy tourists are killed in a helicopter crash before being 'dragged away and eaten by brown bears' during £4,250 sightseeing trip Posted by: rhennigantx at July 20, 2022 09:53 AM (ex2Cx)

=======
From 1986 to 2007, a special gun for defense against Siberian bears and wolves, and for survival hunting, the TP-82, was in the standard Soyuz spacecraft survival kit.

https://tinyurl.com/2p8rf5v3

Optimized from the start for cosmonaut use, the TP-82 looked like an oversized pistol, but was actually a double-barrel shotgun mated to a short-barrel rifle. Of the three barrels, the upper two were smoothbore and chambered for 12.5x70mm ammunition. The lower, rifled barrel fired 5.45x39mm ammunition.

Before the TP-82, a 9mm Makarov pistol was in the survival kit. But a senior cosmonaut, Valeriy Leonov, requested a better gun for defense against bears and wolves if a Soyuz landed in Siberia by error or due to a launch abort. In 2007 the Russians went back to putting a 9mm in the survival kit.

Posted by: Gref at July 20, 2022 10:25 AM (AMIL/)

288 Exactly.
Posted by: JackStraw at July 20, 2022 10:24 AM (ZLI7S)

Look at us!

We're frenz!

Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 10:25 AM (6TxNR)

289 Trump understood that our adversaries would act in ways that were rational for them.

When he said that Putin was a good leader for Russia they said "he is running around praising Putin all over the place." Well, no, he wasn't. He was saying that the Russian leader was acting in ways to befit Russia, not the "world community."

Bingo. The world community hates that, but everyone else hates the world community.

Posted by: Ian S. at July 20, 2022 10:25 AM (ZGrMX)

290 Sometimes you eat the bear.

Sometimes the bear eat you.

Posted by: Adirondack Patriot at July 20, 2022 10:26 AM (lf83v)

291 Very nice indeed. Thanks.

Posted by: Art Van De Lay at July 20, 2022 10:26 AM (1YkZA)

292
Ray Kroc would have insisted that two of those arches be.painted gold.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars at July 20, 2022 10:26 AM (pNxlR)

293 I absolutely love this one, would hang, and (normally) I'm no fan of neo-classicism. It usually seems contrived and often overly romanticized as a style, but this one somehow avoids the usual problems. Maybe it's because I love Rome, so I'm predisposed to like a framed set of views like this.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at July 20, 2022 10:26 AM (TWF6x)

294 The voters overwhelmingly wished me luck in my future search.

Posted by: Wilhelm DeBlasio at July 20, 2022 10:27 AM (krQz2)

295 Would any of you like to hear my speech about Trump's irrelevancy again?

Posted by: His Impotency Gov Larry Hogan at July 20, 2022 10:27 AM (sWM8x)

296 It's next to the inscription that says, "for a good tempus, call Messalina at XXV-IIXX."
Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022

***
I keep wanting to name a female cat Messalina. I'm holding the name in reserve for just the right cat.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 10:27 AM (txdEq)

297 Sometimes you eat the bear.

Sometimes the bear eat you.
Posted by: Adirondack Patriot at July 20, 2022 10:26 AM (lf83v)
---
If you're lucky.

Posted by: Leo at July 20, 2022 10:27 AM (krQz2)

298 So, chariot races?

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022 09:37 AM (/U27+)
----
They also would flood it and have ships there. Floor was wood.
Posted by: Ciampino - no pirates of the Carib there at July 20, 2022 10:17 AM (qfLjt)

the floor was a bit small for chariot races; they would have been held at the Great Circus (ie roundabout) a mile or so away. Tradition holds the Peter was crucified on the edge of the Great Circus where everyone could witness it; the Vatican was built on the spot where that is said to have happened.

Posted by: Tom Servo at July 20, 2022 10:27 AM (trdmm)

299 Would any of you like to hear my speech about Trump's irrelevancy again?
Posted by: His Impotency Gov Larry Hogan at July 20, 2022 10:27 AM (sWM8x)

Shut up, Jeb.

Posted by: Ian S. at July 20, 2022 10:28 AM (ZGrMX)

300 Whatever else about Bill DeBlasio, he turned a lesbian.

So let your mind swirl that around a bit.

Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 10:28 AM (6TxNR)

301 The voters overwhelmingly wished me luck in my future search.
Posted by: Wilhelm DeBlasio at July 20, 2022 10:27 AM (krQz2)

Actually, I think they overwhelmingly requested that you play a nice rousing game of Hide and Go Fuck Yourself.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 10:28 AM (Zz0t1)

302 295 Would any of you like to hear my speech about Trump's irrelevancy again?
Posted by: His Impotency Gov Larry Hogan at July 20, 2022 10:27 AM (sWM8x)

==========

"Here's $50,000 for that."
-Every Fortune 100 company

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:28 AM (LvTSG)

303 Looking at this picture and reading the Roman discussions in the thread reminds me that since the weather is going to be in the 90s and humid this weekend, perhaps I'll turn on the A/C and watch Cleopatra. I love that movie.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at July 20, 2022 10:28 AM (AW0uW)

304 Tradition holds the Peter was crucified on the edge of the Great Circus where everyone could witness it; the Vatican was built on the spot where that is said to have happened.
Posted by: Tom Servo at July 20, 2022 10:27 AM (trdmm)

Except the Vatican isn't anywhere close to the Circus Maximus.

Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 10:29 AM (6TxNR)

305 Make no mistake, Caligula and Nero were nasty pieces of work, deserving of their ignoble ends.

Posted by: Xipe Totec at July 20, 2022 10:29 AM (QSjkU)

306 304 Tradition holds the Peter was crucified on the edge of the Great Circus where everyone could witness it; the Vatican was built on the spot where that is said to have happened.
Posted by: Tom Servo at July 20, 2022 10:27 AM (trdmm)

Except the Vatican isn't anywhere close to the Circus Maximus.
Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 10:29 AM (6TxNR)

=========

Wrong side of the river and everything.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:29 AM (LvTSG)

307 Whatever else about Bill DeBlasio, he turned a lesbian.

So let your mind swirl that around a bit.
Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 10:28 AM (6TxNR
---
Can't. My beard gets in the way.

Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 10:29 AM (krQz2)

308 Sejanus is the single most memorable character in that series, IMO.
Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 1

***
They are all pretty memorable. When I read about that period in history, I picture those actors.

At the end of Sejanus's last episode, as the Praetorians are about to march him off to execution, Stewart gives the faintest smile, as if Sejanus is thinking, "Well, it was a good run, and I lived life to the fullest. Let's see what's next!"

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 10:30 AM (txdEq)

309 As for the other, I hadn't heard that, but it sounds like Caligula.
=====

Little Boots always runs true to form.

Posted by: mustbequantum at July 20, 2022 10:30 AM (MIKMs)

310 I understand that the Collosseum is actually owned by the Vatican.

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 10:30 AM (YntaV)

311 Wrong side of the river and everything.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:29 AM (LvTSG)
---
The Vatican grew up on the wrong side of the river...

Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 10:30 AM (krQz2)

312 Whatever else about Bill DeBlasio, he turned a lesbian.
------------------------
Hey, I know a great bar in Portland where he can hang!

Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at July 20, 2022 10:30 AM (yikp0)

313 Vatican is built on Peter's grave.

Posted by: Someguy's at July 20, 2022 10:31 AM (L4he4)

314 The GOP's newest legislator, Rep. Mayra Flores (R-TX), is defending her Thursday vote to help get green cards to the adult children of the Fortune 500’s foreign contract workers and managers, who take jobs and career opportunities from Americans.

GOPe is less than a month. Could be a new record.

Posted by: Maj. Healey at July 20, 2022 10:31 AM (m7R0k)

315 They also would flood it and have ships there. Floor was wood.
Posted by: Ciampino - no pirates of the Carib there at July 20, 2022 10:17 AM (qfLjt)

They only did that once tho.

Posted by: Kris at July 20, 2022 10:31 AM (OyyDO)

316 This punch has been telegraphed for years. The super geniuses in Davos somehow missed this one.
Posted by: JackStraw at July 20, 2022 10:12 AM (ZLI7S)

They didn't miss... they want to kill drilling everywhere they are not concerned if people starve or freeze.
To them they only need to push harder to remove fossil fuels from the equation.

Posted by: Inogame at July 20, 2022 10:31 AM (53oGX)

317 There was also Sesame Street's Monsterpiece Theatre with host, Alastair Cooookie!!!, presenting Me, Claudius!

https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=RSOu5C55kUA

-
Didja see that Sesame Street has come under attack for a vicious racist hate crime?

https://bit.ly/3coUu94

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now the Summer of Our Discontent at July 20, 2022 10:31 AM (FVME7)

318 234
The Pentagon was built in 9 months.
Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 10:10 AM (6TxNR)

________

Supervised by Leslie Groves. After the war, Eisenhower told him that whatever he'd done he'd never be Chief of Engineers.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 20, 2022 10:13 AM (/U27+)

For the few non-history nuts here, Leslie Groves was the Army project manager for the Manhattan Project. He got the assignment immediately after he finished with Pentagon work. A timing coincidence.

Posted by: Gref at July 20, 2022 10:32 AM (AMIL/)

319 Rome is indeed the Eternal City. It IS Western Civilization.

I am not Catholic, but it does suit me that Rome executed Jesus, and set out to eradicate Christianity, and the Roman Empire is no more, but the Throne of St. Peter sits in Rome.

FAFO Roman Empire!

Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 10:32 AM (6TxNR)

320

No shit boys, there I was, roman around the docks, looking to get my gladius polished, and...

Posted by: Barticus at July 20, 2022 10:32 AM (oz+Nk)

321 Joe Biden is flying to Rhode Island today to visit a power plant in Somerset to deliver "remarks on tackling the climate crisis and seizing the opportunity of a clean energy future to create jobs and lower costs for families."

And get a Newport Dairy ice cream cone, I'm sure.

Posted by: Adirondack Patriot at July 20, 2022 10:33 AM (lf83v)

322 Make no mistake, Caligula and Nero were nasty pieces of work, deserving of their ignoble ends.
Posted by: Xipe Totec

Like Billy Batts ?

Posted by: JT at July 20, 2022 10:33 AM (T4tVD)

323 Tiberius reminds me of Joey.

I always think about I, Claudius when I read about the grand proclamation from "Caesar Tiberius" in the Gospel.

Tiberius didn't do shit.

Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 10:33 AM (krQz2)

324 303, MPPP, the movie version of Shaw’s “Caesar and Cleopatra” is pretty good, too. Claude Rains and Vivian Leigh.

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 10:33 AM (YntaV)

325 Just read a small blurb by Dick Morris - he's saying it'll be Trump v. Hillary in 2024 and Trump will win handily.

All along I've been thinking Trump would have an uphill climb because so many people already hate him. Resistance to Trump is built-in.

Now I'm starting to change my mind. At least Trump would be the 'devil we know'. People may not love him, but they know what to expect from him.

Posted by: 496 at July 20, 2022 10:33 AM (VJsqe)

326 Sejanus is the single most memorable character in that series, IMO.
Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 10:24 AM (krQz2)

Sejanus is certainly memorable; but John Hurt's Caligula is the most memorable depiction of that character ever done on film or tv, ever. I realized right then what an incredible actor John Hurt was going to be, because once you see him fill that role, every other depiction of Caligula falls completely flat. He's believable, charming, funny, and a vicious psychopath all at the same time. He can tell you a joke, have a drink with you, or murder you horribly, and its all the same to him.

Posted by: Tom Servo at July 20, 2022 10:33 AM (trdmm)

327 They didn't miss... they want to kill drilling everywhere they are not concerned if people starve or freeze.
To them they only need to push harder to remove fossil fuels from the equation.

Posted by: Inogame at July 20, 2022 10:31 AM (53oGX)

Sounds like people need to push harder to remove them from the fucking planet.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at July 20, 2022 10:33 AM (VwHCD)

328 295 Would any of you like to hear my speech about Trump's irrelevancy again?
Posted by: His Impotency Gov Larry Hogan at July 20, 2022 10:27 AM (sWM8x)

Who will now likely campaign against the GOP for governor.

Posted by: Inogame at July 20, 2022 10:34 AM (53oGX)

329 For the few non-history nuts here, Leslie Groves was the Army project manager for the Manhattan Project. He got the assignment immediately after he finished with Pentagon work. A timing coincidence.
Posted by: Gref at July 20, 2022 10:32 AM (AMIL/)

He wasn't just a project manager, he was an Army General.

I know his Grandson. If you watch Fat Man and Little Boy, his grandson (also named Leslie Groves) says that he captured his grandfather very well. And you can see it in the grandson, too.

Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 10:34 AM (6TxNR)

330 Well, we are talking about the imbeciles who started 2 world wars.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads
===
This point isn't made nearly enough.

Posted by: From about that time at July 20, 2022 10:34 AM (4780s)

331 Didn't they recently find what they think is St. Peter's tomb? After they "lost" it for a few 100 years.

Posted by: sniffybigtoe at July 20, 2022 10:34 AM (UuD2k)

332 GOPe is less than a month. Could be a new record.

Posted by: Maj. Healey at July 20, 2022 10:31 AM (m7R0k)

Eye turned her.

Posted by: Dan Crenshaw at July 20, 2022 10:34 AM (7bRMQ)

333 Michael Singer has an interesting recap of Alger Hiss and ... a new character I'd not heard of until recently on his sub stack today (remove spaces):

https://michaelpsenger.substack.com/ p/ matt-pottinger-the-intelligence-agent

lots to think about

Posted by: BlackOrchid at July 20, 2022 10:34 AM (w0NJk)

334 Just now saw that John Hurt played both Caligula in I, Claudias and Richar Rich in A Man For All Seasons.

What was this guy's "type"? Oleaginous slime?
Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022

***
He also played the Elephant Man, and an infamous "post-Wilde but long before Stonewall" gay man in Britain, Quentin Crisp, in The Naked Civil Servant (often very funny). He was also the voice of Hazel the heroic rabbit in the original Watership Down, and the guy who gets the alien bursting from his chest in Alien. So not just slime.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 10:35 AM (txdEq)

335 The government of India on Tuesday accused the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) of using “erroneous assumptions” and an “unscientific” model to extrapolate the true mortality rate from India’s coronavirus pandemic. W.H.O.’s estimate was almost double the official tally produced by Indian health officials.

Posted by: SMOD at July 20, 2022 10:35 AM (RHGPo)

336 I read about that yesterday. Maybe linked in the MR? Anyway, I wouldn't be happy if it were me but all in all, it sounds like it went as well as it could have. For better or worse, investigating potential straw purchases is a legit function for ATF. And if they had brought a warrant, they would have been able to enter the house and snoop through all his stuff instead of staying outside and asking him to present specific items.
Posted by: Oddbob at July 20, 2022 10:23 AM (nfrXX)

Problem is the coercion... if he had said 'no, come back with a warrant', they would have gone to the Judge with 'see? this guys hiding something, we have probable cause'...

Posted by: Romeo13 at July 20, 2022 10:35 AM (oHd/0)

337 334 He also played the Elephant Man, and an infamous "post-Wilde but long before Stonewall" gay man in Britain, Quentin Crisp, in The Naked Civil Servant (often very funny). He was also the voice of Hazel the heroic rabbit in the original Watership Down, and the guy who gets the alien bursting from his chest in Alien. So not just slime.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 10:35 AM (txdEq)

==========

I just ordered the 4K of the Australian western The Proposition where he plays "old craggily man who says ominous things".

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:35 AM (LvTSG)

338
Joe Biden is flying to Rhode Island today to visit a power plant in Somerset to deliver "remarks on tackling the climate crisis and seizing the opportunity of a clean energy future to create jobs and lower costs for families."

That miserable shitweasel should walk there. Be a leader, Joe!

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars at July 20, 2022 10:36 AM (pNxlR)

339 GOPe is less than a month. Could be a new record.

This should be described as "getting bees up your shorts", after Tucker's hilarious analogy / real story.

Posted by: Ian S. at July 20, 2022 10:36 AM (ZGrMX)

340 331 Didn't they recently find what they think is St. Peter's tomb? After they "lost" it for a few 100 years.
Posted by: sniffybigtoe at July 20, 2022 10:34 AM (UuD2k)

There are so many apostles and Christians buried in Rome that it's hard to be sure.

Posted by: Someguy's at July 20, 2022 10:36 AM (L4he4)

341 John Hurt was also good in 1984

I mean he's great! in pretty much everything

and agree on I, Claudius being one of the best ever miniseries

but the other one isn't Shogun (great book tho) but Brideshead Revisited

Posted by: BlackOrchid at July 20, 2022 10:36 AM (w0NJk)

342 314 The GOP's newest legislator, Rep. Mayra Flores (R-TX), is defending her Thursday vote to help get green cards to the adult children of the Fortune 500’s foreign contract workers and managers, who take jobs and career opportunities from Americans.

GOPe is less than a month. Could be a new record.

Posted by: Maj. Healey at July 20, 2022 10:31 AM (m7R0k)

A quarter of the people (not citizens) in her district probably qualify. Unfortunately. All politics are local.

Posted by: Gref at July 20, 2022 10:36 AM (AMIL/)

343 I understand that the Collosseum is actually owned by the Vatican.
Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 10:30 AM (YntaV)

--------

Yes, but Caesars World still runs the gambling operation.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at July 20, 2022 10:37 AM (XG2Fi)

344 325 Just read a small blurb by Dick Morris - he's saying it'll be Trump v. Hillary in 2024 and Trump will win handily."

I've said previously that my marker for knowing that we are living in a virtual Clown World run by some 12 year old autist will be if 2024 ends up being "Trump vs Hilary - The Rematch!!!"

Posted by: Tom Servo at July 20, 2022 10:37 AM (trdmm)

345 A pattern that continues forever. US Grant has been maligned by history because his primary biographer, Henry Adams, had wanted a position in Grant's administration that Grant denied him. Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:07 AM (LvTSG)

Imagine what they'll be saying about Trump in 1000 years. It will be an article of faith that he had Russian hookers peeing on a bed. That may be the only thing he's remembered for.

Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at July 20, 2022 10:37 AM (7B5FA)

346 John Hurt was also in “King Ralph.”

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 10:37 AM (YntaV)

347 A pattern that continues forever. US Grant has been maligned by history because his primary biographer, Henry Adams, had wanted a position in Grant's administration that Grant denied him.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:07 AM (LvTSG)

Tell me about it...

Posted by: Ty Cobb at July 20, 2022 10:37 AM (BgMrQ)

348 There are so many apostles and Christians buried in Rome that it's hard to be sure.
Posted by: Someguy's at July 20, 2022 10:36 AM (L4he4)

---------

You can't swing a cat there without hitting a Christian saint.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at July 20, 2022 10:38 AM (XG2Fi)

349 Joe Biden is flying to Rhode Island today to visit a power plant in Somerset to deliver "remarks on tackling the climate crisis and seizing the opportunity of a clean energy future to create jobs and lower costs for families

------

I will also be supporting down-ticket Dems by doing a half-naked inverted twerk-show. Don't forget about that, jack.

Posted by: Brandon at July 20, 2022 10:38 AM (Zhwz2)

350 They didn't miss... they want to kill drilling everywhere they are not concerned if people starve or freeze.
To them they only need to push harder to remove fossil fuels from the equation.

Posted by: Inogame at July 20, 2022 10:31 AM (53oGX)

Sounds like people need to push harder to remove them from the fucking planet.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division

Let people freeze one winter. The survivors will.

Posted by: rickb223 at July 20, 2022 10:38 AM (1cmKJ)

351 The peasants are revolting.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now the Summer of Our Discontent at July 20, 2022

***
I know, I've seen 'em. Middle class is no bargain either.

Posted by: V.I. Lenin at July 20, 2022 10:38 AM (txdEq)

352 For the few non-history nuts here, Leslie Groves was the Army project manager for the Manhattan Project. He got the assignment immediately after he finished with Pentagon work. A timing coincidence.
Posted by: Gref at July 20, 2022 10:32 AM (AMIL/)
++++
And as a general, he commanded far more people in that project than he ever would have in battle. And he pulled it off in a big way.

My favorite little sub-story in the Manhattan Project is the need for huge quantities of electrical conductors for the manufacturing facilities. He couldn't get the copper he needed in a timely manner because of war production. He went to the Treasury and them he needed to borrow physical silver to make into wire for the production facilities, to be returned after the war. He got it. He did it. The losses of silver were minuscule.

That was a ballsy request and pretty "out of the box" - and it helped get the job done. Groves was a brilliant project manager.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at July 20, 2022 10:38 AM (5zVb8)

353 Joe Biden is flying to Rhode Island today to visit a power plant in Somerset to deliver "remarks on tackling the climate crisis and seizing the opportunity of a clean energy future to create jobs and lower costs for families."

YOU shovel COAL into the BOILER?

Posted by: Ian S. at July 20, 2022 10:38 AM (ZGrMX)

354 Talk about telegraphing a punch, we had 50 years warning about Biden.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now the Summer of Our Discontent at July 20, 2022 10:38 AM (FVME7)

355 Yes, but Caesars World still runs the gambling operation. Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at July 20, 2022 10:37 AM (XG2Fi)

And the salad concession.

Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at July 20, 2022 10:38 AM (7B5FA)

356 >>They didn't miss... they want to kill drilling everywhere they are not concerned if people starve or freeze.
To them they only need to push harder to remove fossil fuels from the equation.

They should be concerned. Desperate people who feel they have nothing to lose don't always behave orderly.

Ask the former president of Sri Lanka.

Even if a complete transition to "clean energy" was possible, and it isn't, shutting down the fossil fuel industry that powers the world before having a replacement ready to go was idiotic.

Posted by: JackStraw at July 20, 2022 10:38 AM (ZLI7S)

357 Just read a small blurb by Dick Morris - he's saying it'll be Trump v. Hillary in 2024 and Trump will win handily.
____________________________________________

Never had any use for Morris. After his whoremongering was exposed, he suddenly became embraced by certain media outlets because he knew where the Clintons' buried the bodies.

Well, we now know that the Clinton's will never face accountability for their corruption, so Morris has no value. He just runs around with Beltway Cocktail party rumours and has no real information to share.

Posted by: Adirondack Patriot at July 20, 2022 10:38 AM (lf83v)

358 Joe Biden is flying to Rhode Island today to visit a power plant in Somerset to deliver "remarks on tackling the climate crisis and seizing the opportunity of a clean energy future to create jobs and lower costs for families."

That miserable shitweasel should walk there. Be a leader, Joe!
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars

Or ride his bicycle......

Posted by: JT at July 20, 2022 10:38 AM (T4tVD)

359 and the guy who gets the alien bursting from his chest in Alien. So not just slime.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 10:35 AM (txdEq)

And the guy who gets the alien bursting from his chest in Spaceballs. Hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my ragtime gal....

Posted by: OrangeEnt at July 20, 2022 10:38 AM (7bRMQ)

360 Imagine what they'll be saying about Trump in 1000 years. It will be an article of faith that he had Russian hookers peeing on a bed. That may be the only thing he's remembered for.
Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at July 20, 2022 10:37 AM (7B5FA)

I have some semi-rational Lefty friends and they were all on the Russian hookers story, and then I told them Trump was a germophobe and actually made them realize the story was BS.

I mean, you don't have to be all that familiar with Trump to know that. But the newsies didn't care.

Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 10:39 AM (6TxNR)

361 What was this guy's "type"? Oleaginous slime?
Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022

He was in Transformers too?

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 10:39 AM (Zz0t1)

362 When he said that Putin was a good leader for Russia they said "he is running around praising Putin all over the place." Well, no, he wasn't. He was saying that the Russian leader was acting in ways to befit Russia, not the "world community." That world community thing is what got Americans to decry "America First."

Exactly.
Posted by: JackStraw at July 20, 2022 10:24 AM (ZLI7S)
----------

PDT also understood, when negotiating, both sides have national interests. In fact, President Trump outright said, when he went into negotiations with foreign countries, he would put America first, but, likewise, he also expected his counterpart to put their country first.

Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing (5pTK/) at July 20, 2022 10:39 AM (5pTK/)

363 and agree on I, Claudius being one of the best ever miniseries

but the other one isn't Shogun (great book tho) but Brideshead Revisited
Posted by: BlackOrchid at July 20, 2022

***
My second choice: Bleak House w/ Gillian Anderson as done on the BBC in 2006 or so.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 10:39 AM (txdEq)

364 During an interview aired on Tuesday’s “PBS NewsHour,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said that people should believe the Biden administration on economic issues like the CHIPS Act despite them getting inflation wrong because inflation “is a global problem driven largely by the pandemic, by Putin’s war. And the Fed has taken strong action and our administration, the president’s administration, is doing everything we know how to do to bring down inflation.”

Posted by: SMOD at July 20, 2022 10:39 AM (RHGPo)

365 John Hurt was also good in 1984

I mean he's great! in pretty much everything

Posted by: BlackOrchid at July 20, 2022 10:36 AM (w0NJk)
---
Sometimes my favorite movie is A Man For All Seasons.

It was interesting to find that Hurt played Richard Rich, who Hurt plays to such a T that I have a visceral reaction almost every time I think of that character.

Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 10:39 AM (krQz2)

366 341 John Hurt was also good in 1984
I mean he's great! in pretty much everything
and agree on I, Claudius being one of the best ever miniseries
but the other one isn't Shogun (great book tho) but Brideshead Revisited
Posted by: BlackOrchid at July 20, 2022 10:36 AM (w0NJk)

No love for Rich Man, Poor Man?

Posted by: Nick Nolte at July 20, 2022 10:40 AM (BgMrQ)

367 Leaked Russian report that Russia was losing was plastered headline for days.

Leaked Polish report that Ukraine is losing over 300 men a day, has no experienced command, relies almost entirely upon Western "advisors?"
Nothing.

Posted by: People's Hippo Voice at July 20, 2022 10:40 AM (BRCHO)

368 John Hurt's Caligula
-------------------------------
And all of the best scenes. Killing the Senator [?] who said he'd offered his life in place of the sick Caligula to the gods; the play he put on for Claudius, Herod and one other guy; making up the humiliating passwords for the Praetorian commander; playing dice and being assassinated.

Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at July 20, 2022 10:40 AM (yikp0)

369 GOPe is less than a month. Could be a new record.

Posted by: Maj. Healey at July 20, 2022 10:31 AM (m7R0k)

A quarter of the people (not citizens) in her district probably qualify. Unfortunately. All politics are local.
Posted by: Gref at July 20, 2022 10:36 AM (AMIL/)

We have to understand that the new Hispanic GOP wave are NOT going to toe the traditional "conservative" line, they are going to represent their own communities. These are the things that come along with transitioning to a working class based party, rather than an ideological one. They are actually opposed to new illegal immigration; but they are going to support those that have already been here awhile. Deal with it; that's the price for their support. (and we NEED their support right now)

Posted by: Tom Servo at July 20, 2022 10:40 AM (trdmm)

370 Didn't they recently find what they think is St. Peter's tomb? After they "lost" it for a few 100 years.
Posted by: sniffybigtoe at July 20, 2022 10:34 AM (UuD2k)

The story is too long to summarize, but digging begun during Mussolini's time found an ancient cemetery and further work after the war found a spot which appeared to have been a place of reverence from the earliest days of Roman Christianity.

Bones have been found which are purported to be St Peter's, but there is simply no way of knowing for certain - the spot and the remains must be taken on faith.

In his wonderful book, Absolute Monarchs, John Julius Norwich describes the search and the controversy. Tom Bissell, in his book Apostle, takes a tour of the area of the tomb and bones.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at July 20, 2022 10:41 AM (AW0uW)

371 Joe Biden is flying to Rhode Island today to visit a power plant in Somerset to deliver "remarks on tackling the climate crisis and seizing the opportunity of a clean energy future to create jobs and lower costs for families."

He's having a meeting at a plant, in front of the workers, that he's going to put out of work?

Seems ballsy.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 10:41 AM (Zz0t1)

372 The GOP's newest legislator, Rep. Mayra Flores (R-TX), is defending her Thursday vote to help get green cards to the adult children of the Fortune 500’s foreign contract workers and managers, who take jobs and career opportunities from Americans.

GOPe is less than a month. Could be a new record.
Posted by: Maj. Healey at July 20, 2022 10:31 AM (m7R0k)

---------

Meet the new breakfast taco, same as the old breakfast taco.

Posted by: ShainS -- Welcome to the boneyard, it gets worse here every day at July 20, 2022 10:41 AM (HDU5E)

373
Or ride his bicycle......
Posted by: JT

Brandon Falls Guided Bicycle Tours ... your hosts will have you dropping like flies!

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars at July 20, 2022 10:41 AM (pNxlR)

374 "And the Fed has taken strong action and our administration, the president’s administration, is doing everything we know how to do to bring down inflation.”

It's funny because they don't know how to do jack shit.

Posted by: sniffybigtoe at July 20, 2022 10:41 AM (UuD2k)

375 Grizzly Bear! US Existing Home Sales Crash -14.24% YoY In June As Fed Strangles Housing Market (Median Price 13.27% YoY As Inventory Still MIA)

Posted by: SMOD at July 20, 2022 10:41 AM (RHGPo)

376 Nice. Now do Jughead, Betty and Veronica.

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at July 20, 2022 10:41 AM (rdL4Y)

377 358 Joe Biden is flying to Rhode Island today to visit a power plant in Somerset to deliver "remarks on tackling the climate crisis and seizing the opportunity of a clean energy future to create jobs and lower costs for families."

That miserable shitweasel should walk there. Be a leader, Joe!
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars

Or ride his bicycle......
Posted by: JT at July 20, 2022 10:38

By 2035 all planes will be EVs. My word as biden

Posted by: Preznit Ruprect the Monkeyboy at July 20, 2022 10:41 AM (YbtTW)

378 Trump v Hillary is NOT going to happen. It's as likely as every other prediction by Dick Morris.

331 Didn't they recently find what they think is St. Peter's tomb? After they "lost" it for a few 100 years.
Posted by: sniffybigtoe at July 20, 2022 10:34 AM (UuD2k)

There are so many apostles and Christians buried in Rome that it's hard to be sure.

We took a tour under the Vatican about 30 years ago. The priest tour guide showed us a big lump of earth and said it was Peter's grave.

Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022 10:41 AM (/NCI4)

379 We have to understand that the new Hispanic GOP wave are NOT going to toe the traditional "conservative" line, they are going to represent their own communities. These are the things that come along with transitioning to a working class based party, rather than a~~n ideological~~ grifter one. They are actually opposed to new illegal immigration; but they are going to support those that have already been here awhile. Deal with it; that's the price for their support. (and we NEED their support right now)
Posted by: Tom Servo at July 20, 2022 10:40 AM (trdmm)

FIFY

Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 10:41 AM (6TxNR)

380 Just read a small blurb by Dick Morris - he's saying it'll be Trump v. Hillary in 2024 and Trump will win handily."

Not saying he's wrong because we're all just guessing at this point but when was the last time he was right about something?

Posted by: Oddbob at July 20, 2022 10:42 AM (nfrXX)

381 By the way, because I'm a bit slow, okay, a lot slow, it dawned on me why other countries had a vested interest in getting rid of Donald Trump: EU leaders were afraid President Trump might give the EU population ideas which ran counter to their globalist agenda.

Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing (5pTK/) at July 20, 2022 10:42 AM (5pTK/)

382 That was a ballsy request and pretty "out of the box" - and it helped get the job done. Groves was a brilliant project manager. Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at July 20, 2022 10:38 AM (5zVb

My dad was a carpenter at Oak Ridge (which wasn't actually called Oak Ridge until a name was selected after the war). He got a 6-month deferment from the draft because it was essential war work, then when it came time for his next deferment, he said, everyone else is going, I might as well, and he spent the next 4 years in uniform. When we think about the Manhattan Project, we think about Alamogordo, but Oak Ridge was a pretty big deal too.

Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at July 20, 2022 10:42 AM (7B5FA)

383
My mom's friend was dating this handsome, but none-too-bright fella when "I, Claudius" came out. She invited him over to watch it.

The courtship ended when the title card came up, and he pronounced the "v's" in "Clavdivs."

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at July 20, 2022 10:42 AM (Zhwz2)

384 During an interview aired on Tuesday’s “PBS NewsHour,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said that people should believe the Biden administration on economic issues like the CHIPS Act despite them getting inflation wrong because inflation “is a global problem driven largely by the pandemic, by Putin’s war. And the Fed has taken strong action and our administration, the president’s administration, is doing everything we know how to do to bring down inflation.”
Posted by: SMOD at July 20, 2022 10:39 AM (RHGPo)
++++
Screw her. Inflation has been driven by two things, with a new third thing:
1. Fed jiggery-pokery since 2001
2. The "load money into cannon and fire it indiscriminately" approach to COVID response.
3. Irrational energy policy

The war in Ukraine is a side show and the pandemic didn't do that, the government's *response* - it's unscientific, irrational, ineffective, oppressive, destructive and evil response - to the pandemic did that.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at July 20, 2022 10:42 AM (5zVb8)

385 It'd be a nice picture of the town, if that big, stupid arch weren't in the way. Like that other painting of the couple watching the beautiful sunset -- why didn't Munch just wait until the creepy yelling guy got out of the way?

Posted by: red speck at July 20, 2022 10:43 AM (gS3OW)

386 Rome executed Jesus, and set out to eradicate Christianity, and the Roman Empire is no more, but the Throne of St. Peter sits in Rome.

Wow. I thought I was the big anti-Roman here.
Rome 'washed its hands' of a local court decision, adopted Christianity as its official religion, and its priest- hood carried over into the structure of The Roman Church. You get a solid Not Quite Hardly on that one.

Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at July 20, 2022 10:43 AM (x61Im)

387 They have grass and dirt inside to the third storey level? Shitty janitorial work, harrumph!

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at July 20, 2022 10:43 AM (dzpdH)

388 I just noticed that Kris got post 400,000.

Congrats.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:43 AM (LvTSG)

389 Top general says U.S. military faces "unprecedented challenges" in finding recruits as the Army slashes its force size

-
Have you tried the bathhouses?

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now the Summer of Our Discontent at July 20, 2022 10:43 AM (FVME7)

390
He's having a meeting at a plant, in front of the workers, that he's going to put out of work?

Seems ballsy.
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden

Look, pal!
They want me to run, pal!
92% would vote for me, pal!
Check the polls, pal!

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars at July 20, 2022 10:43 AM (pNxlR)

391 GOPe is less than a month. Could be a new record.

my shocked face :-|

Posted by: brak at July 20, 2022 10:43 AM (j5Tg0)

392 Posted by: Adirondack Patriot at July 20, 2022 10:38 AM (lf83v)

-------
I have no love for Dick Morris either. My point was that I'm starting to think Trump may get a lot of people to hold their nose and vote for him because at least they know what to expect - the devil you know v. the devil you don't know.

By the way, I do tend to think Dick Morris is pretty savvy politically. He's a total dirt-bag and a complete sleaze, but he's pretty savvy.

Posted by: 496 at July 20, 2022 10:43 AM (VJsqe)

393
We took a tour under the Vatican about 30 years ago. The priest tour guide showed us a big lump of earth and said it was Peter's grave.
Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022 10:41 AM (/NCI4)

-----------

"Now you wanna see the Holy Grail?"

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at July 20, 2022 10:43 AM (XG2Fi)

394 Joe Biden is flying to Rhode Island today to visit a power plant in Somerset
====
That would be a newer power plant just upstream from the older power plant that they spent millions on, which will long reside in our base electric rates, for massive scrubber towers which were completed, and then razed along with the rest of the facility, within months.
Progressive economic thinking at it's finest.

Posted by: From about that time at July 20, 2022 10:44 AM (4780s)

395 393 "Now you wanna see the Holy Grail?"
Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at July 20, 2022 10:43 AM (XG2Fi)

=========

Choose wisely.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:44 AM (LvTSG)

396 ..And they could have just let Putin have his goals in the Ukraine without propping up Zelenskyy as well. Instead, they're spending billions to make matter worse.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:02 AM (LvTSG)

The Ukraine misadventure is the stupidest thing, ever. On Putin's part, Ukraine's part, and Biden's part.

Know what the U.S. does to secure bases in many a far-flung port? We LEASE the damn things! How much CHEAPER would it've been for Putin to have paid Ukraine billions to lease a warm-water port and Donbass land-bridge from the govt. in Kiev, and everybody wins?

Betcha, given a 2nd term, that Trump would've negotiated that deal between the opposing parties, and there'd have been no war as a result.

Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX

Posted by: Jim at July 20, 2022 10:44 AM (tkOps)

397 By the way, because I'm a bit slow, okay, a lot slow, it dawned on me why other countries had a vested interest in getting rid of Donald Trump: EU leaders were afraid President Trump might give the EU population ideas which ran counter to their globalist agenda.

Same reason they're shrieking about Viktor Orban and Jair Bolsonaro.

Posted by: Ian S. at July 20, 2022 10:44 AM (ZGrMX)

398 372 The GOP's newest legislator, Rep. Mayra Flores (R-TX), is defending her Thursday vote to help get green cards to the adult children of the Fortune 500’s foreign contract workers and managers, who take jobs and career opportunities from Americans.

This is substantially more conservative than the US Chamber of Commerce GOPe position, which is open borders and amnesty for everyone.

Extending green cards which are LEGAL RESIDENT not citizenship to the families of other LEGAL immigrants is totally reasonable.

Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 10:44 AM (6TxNR)

399 My second choice: Bleak House w/ Gillian Anderson as done on the BBC in 2006 or so.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 10:39 AM (txdEq)
--------------

Gillian Anderson did a great job as Lady Dedlock.

Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing (5pTK/) at July 20, 2022 10:44 AM (5pTK/)

400 388 I just noticed that Kris got post 400,000.

Congrats.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:43 AM (LvTSG)

--------
Won't be long before Sponge yells "400,001!"

Posted by: 496 at July 20, 2022 10:45 AM (VJsqe)

401 Even if a complete transition to "clean energy" was possible, and it isn't, shutting down the fossil fuel industry that powers the world before having a replacement ready to go was idiotic.

Posted by: JackStraw

====

In their world view, the petroleum economy is artificial because of "subsidies."

Therefore, ruining it, in and of itself, is the Prime Mover for the yet to be defined New System.

Posted by: 2009Refugee at July 20, 2022 10:45 AM (mIpqM)

402 Interesting, Gurgle Translate translates "Romanes eunt domus" as "Romans go home" and was marked as Correct by Gurgle users. Obviously John Cleese was unavailable to review the phrase.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at July 20, 2022 10:45 AM (PiwSw)

403 389 Top general says U.S. military faces "unprecedented challenges" in finding recruits as the Army slashes its force size

-----------

So the pool of emotionally disturbed homos turned out to be smaller than expected?

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at July 20, 2022 10:45 AM (XG2Fi)

404 He's having a meeting at a plant, in front of the workers, that he's going to put out of work?

Seems ballsy.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 10:41 AM (Zz0t1)

---------

"We're freeing you from job lock! Just be glad that we aren't shipping you to China as well to do your old jobs as slaves, since they already have plenty of those ..."

* Texts Hunter to whip out his calculator -- among other things -- to figure his 10% *

Posted by: ShainS -- Welcome to the boneyard, it gets worse here every day at July 20, 2022 10:45 AM (HDU5E)

405 If you saw All the President’s Men, you may remember Woodward’s discovery that Hunt was also at the CIA and that he worked part-time at a PR firm called Mullen. Mullen never comes up again in the movie. In fact, as Woodstein soon found out, it was a CIA front.

But that little detail never made it way into any of their Post articles. Because on July 10, 1972, according to CIA records to which O’Connor gained access, Mullen’s president, Robert F. Bennett made a deal with Woodward - O’Connor calls it “a conspiracy of obstruction” - to feed him Watergate stories in exchange for a promise to omit from Post reporting any mention of Mullen’s role as a CIA front. It was a highly curious arrangement, given that, as O’Connor notes, “Bennett had no stories to feed Woodward, who, with Deep Throat’s help, hardly needed Bennett. So if Woodward kept quiet, and intentionally so, about Mullen, it was for the Post’s purposes, not the CIA’s.”

Posted by: SMOD at July 20, 2022 10:45 AM (RHGPo)

406 When he said that Putin was a good leader for Russia they said "he is running around praising Putin all over the place." Well, no, he wasn't. He was saying that the Russian leader was acting in ways to befit Russia, not the "world community." That world community thing is what got Americans to decry "America First."

Exactly.
Posted by: JackStraw at July 20, 2022 10:24 AM (ZLI7S)
---
Ug. I'm having frustration flashbacks. How I hated that moronic press bleat that if Trump attributed a positive attribute to Putin that he "praised" him.

And just finding the crowd of sheep that would bleat that out away from TV screens, too.

Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 10:45 AM (krQz2)

407 And the Fed has taken strong action and our administration, the president’s administration, is doing everything we know how to do to bring down inflation.”
Posted by: SMOD at July 20, 2022 10:39 AM (RHGPo)

Damn SMOD. Talk about low hanging fruit. Here's your shot!

Posted by: Diogenes at July 20, 2022 10:45 AM (anj39)

408 The early Christians were meticulous about keeping track of the Saint's tombs.

But one.

The tomb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse at July 20, 2022 10:45 AM (C1rbv)

409 Very cool art, thanks Kris.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards (Logan Tiberius 2012-2021) at July 20, 2022 10:46 AM (xcxpd)

410 My dad was a carpenter at Oak Ridge (which wasn't actually called Oak Ridge until a name was selected after the war). He got a 6-month deferment from the draft because it was essential war work, then when it came time for his next deferment, he said, everyone else is going, I might as well, and he spent the next 4 years in uniform. When we think about the Manhattan Project, we think about Alamogordo, but Oak Ridge was a pretty big deal too.
Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at July 20, 2022 10:42 AM (7B5FA)
++++
The largest industrial facilities ever constructed up to that point in human history were build in Oak Ridge. The bombs were engineered and assembled in Los Alamos, but the refining, enrichment and industrial innovation happened primarily in Oak Ridge and Hanford, WA.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at July 20, 2022 10:46 AM (5zVb8)

411 SMOD?

My hope is in the Yellowstone caldera.

Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse at July 20, 2022 10:46 AM (C1rbv)

412 I'm also pleased that this isn't Impressionist or Abstract nonsense.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards (Logan Tiberius 2012-2021) at July 20, 2022 10:46 AM (xcxpd)

413 The war in Ukraine is a side show and the pandemic didn't do that, the government's *response* - it's unscientific, irrational, ineffective, oppressive, destructive and evil response - to the pandemic did that.
Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!)

I know it's hard to believe but socialism is failing. Again.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now the Summer of Our Discontent at July 20, 2022 10:47 AM (FVME7)

414 Top general says U.S. military faces "unprecedented challenges" in finding recruits as the Army slashes its force size

-----------

So the pool of emotionally disturbed homos turned out to be smaller than expected?

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at July 20, 2022 10:45 AM (XG2Fi)

--------

Yet another reason why we need to import another 30 million third-world illegal alien peasants before November 2024.

Posted by: ShainS -- Welcome to the boneyard, it gets worse here every day at July 20, 2022 10:47 AM (HDU5E)

415
--------
Won't be long before Sponge yells "400,001!"
Posted by: 496 at July 20, 2022 10:45 AM (VJsqe)

That's WAY too far down the list.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 10:47 AM (Zz0t1)

416
By 2035 all planes will be EVs. My word as biden
Posted by: Preznit Ruprect the Monkeyboy

And all of us on the ground will be getting clotheslined by their extension cords, right, pal?

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars at July 20, 2022 10:47 AM (pNxlR)

417 408 The early Christians were meticulous about keeping track of the Saint's tombs.

But one.

The tomb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse at July 20, 2022 10:45 AM (C1rbv)

She also doesn't have any relics. On account of the bodily assumption and all.

Posted by: Someguy's at July 20, 2022 10:47 AM (L4he4)

418
I might as well, and he spent the next 4 years in uniform. When we think about the Manhattan Project, we think about Alamogordo, but Oak Ridge was a pretty big deal too.
Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at July 20, 2022 10:42 AM (7B5FA)

Depends how you look at it. If the heavy lifting is what counted (and to a large degree, it was), then Oak Ridge was the bigger deal. YMMV.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at July 20, 2022 10:47 AM (Zhwz2)

419 Yet another reason why we need to import another 30 million third-world illegal alien peasants before November 2024.

They won't want to be gender-bent either.

Posted by: Ian S. at July 20, 2022 10:48 AM (ZGrMX)

420 You would have to be mentally ill to want to join today's Army.

Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse at July 20, 2022 10:48 AM (C1rbv)

421 The early Christians were meticulous about keeping track of the Saint's tombs.

But one.

The tomb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse

Well, that's the patriarchy for you.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now the Summer of Our Discontent at July 20, 2022 10:48 AM (FVME7)

422 Joe Biden is flying to Rhode Island today to visit a power plant in Somerset.

Well, the trip to Hoover Dam kinda blew up the schedule.

Posted by: Diogenes at July 20, 2022 10:48 AM (anj39)

423
He wasn't just a project manager, he was an Army General.

I know his Grandson. If you watch Fat Man and Little Boy, his grandson (also named Leslie Groves) says that he captured his grandfather very well. And you can see it in the grandson, too.

Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 10:34 AM (6TxNR)

According to the book, "The Making of the Atomic Bomb," Groves was going to be promoted to Brigadier General as a reward for his Pentagon project management and to have a General's authority on Manhattan. His promotion was to occur several weeks after he took over Manhattan. He insisted he get the promotion before he took over. He told his superiors he wanted to be known to the scientists as a general from the start, not as a colonel later promoted to general, so they'd have more respect for his authority. Groves got the promotion on his terms.

Posted by: Gref at July 20, 2022 10:49 AM (AMIL/)

424 "Top general says U.S. military faces "unprecedented challenges" in finding recruits as the Army slashes its force size "

Maybe some more training wearing red high heels?

Posted by: gourmand du jour at July 20, 2022 10:49 AM (jTmQV)

425 You would have to be mentally ill to want to join today's Army.
Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse

BOOM shakalaka BOOM shakalaka

Posted by: AAAARMY Training, Sir! at July 20, 2022 10:49 AM (4g4yr)

426 383 >>>The courtship ended when the title card came up, and he pronounced the "v's" in "Clavdivs."

Lol. That's what I used to call it when I was a kid. (When I heard the theme music, I knew it was time for bed.)

Posted by: red speck at July 20, 2022 10:49 AM (gS3OW)

427 388 I just noticed that Kris got post 400,000.

Congrats.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:43 AM (LvTSG)

Cool! Drinks are on me!

Posted by: Kris at July 20, 2022 10:49 AM (OyyDO)

428 427 Cool! Drinks are on me!
Posted by: Kris at July 20, 2022 10:49 AM (OyyDO)

=========

I don't think anything younger than 20 years old.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:50 AM (LvTSG)

429 "Top general says U.S. military faces "unprecedented challenges" in finding recruits as the Army slashes its force size "

Maybe some more training wearing red high heels?
Posted by: gourmand du jour at July 20, 2022 10:49 AM (jTmQV)

If you're slashing your force size, isn't a lack of recruiting size a GOOD thing?

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 10:50 AM (Zz0t1)

430 Rome 'washed its hands' of a local court decision, adopted Christianity as its official religion, and its priest- hood carried over into the structure of The Roman Church. You get a solid Not Quite Hardly on that one.
Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at July 20, 2022 10:43 AM (x61Im)

They don't get off that easily. The Sanhedrin passed the judgement, but it was Roman soldiers that enforced the sentence. They scourged him, hung him on the cross, and punctured his side with a spear. The Sanhedrin stood aside and watched with smug looks on their faces.

The fact that Rome turned to Christianity AFTER seeking to extinguish the religion altogether is exactly my point. They were the rulers of the Earthly realm for a time. Now they are history. St. Peter's Throne stands in the Eternal City, alive and well. And Colosseum is a ruin.

Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 10:50 AM (6TxNR)

431 Over the weekend, video emerged of Russian forces downing a jet operating over Eastern Ukraine, though at the time, it was unclear exactly what type of aircraft they had intercepted. The footage was uploaded to Telegram by a Russian war correspondent with a history of being sanctioned by foreign nations for spreading disinformation and propaganda on behalf of Moscow.

It wasn’t long before the wreckage of the aircraft was located, and upon inspection, it soon became apparent that it was actually one of just ten or fewer Su-34Ms in existence, with a registration number of RF-95890.

Posted by: SMOD at July 20, 2022 10:51 AM (RHGPo)

432 He told his superiors he wanted to be known to the scientists as a general from the start, not as a colonel later promoted to general, so they'd have more respect for his authority. Groves got the promotion on his terms.

That's pretty damn savvy.

Posted by: Archimedes at July 20, 2022 10:51 AM (/NCI4)

433 For the few non-history nuts here, Leslie Groves was the Army project manager for the Manhattan Project.
---
Groves selected the site and managed the construction of Oak Ridge, TN for uranium enrichment. Building the Pentagon in nine months is impressive, but I think Oak Ridge is more impressive. Oak Ridge went from a population of roughly zero to 75,000 in two years, becoming TN's fifth-largest city at the time. The K25 and Y12 plants at Oak Ridge continued to enrich uranium until 1985.

Posted by: Meade Lux Lewis, Domestic Terrorist at July 20, 2022 10:51 AM (sWM8x)

434 If you're slashing your force size, isn't a lack of recruiting size a GOOD thing?
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 10:50 AM (Zz0t1)
------------

The Junta needs cannon fodder for Ukraine.

Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing (5pTK/) at July 20, 2022 10:51 AM (5pTK/)

435 I know it's hard to believe but socialism is failing. Again.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now the Summer of Our Discontent at July 20, 2022 10:47 AM (FVME7)

----------

"There's always a last time for everything, comrade!"

* Begins whistling "Don't Stop Believing" *

Posted by: ShainS -- Welcome to the boneyard, it gets worse here every day at July 20, 2022 10:51 AM (7hxLo)

436 Dr. Mobeen Sayed discusses a survey of 39,000 women who report menstrual irregularities post mRna jab. (More than half had issues)

also decries how latest mask mandates, such as San Diego and Canada, are based on junk science:

https://tinyurl.com/3j4spntv

Posted by: kallisto at July 20, 2022 10:51 AM (dCxaZ)

437
When we think about the Manhattan Project, we think about Alamogordo, but Oak Ridge was a pretty big deal too.
Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon

And Hanford.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at July 20, 2022 10:52 AM (63Dwl)

438 bridge to nowhere?

Posted by: kulak anachronda at July 20, 2022 10:53 AM (sGtp+)

439 sorry but I need to share a bit of Brideshead because it is so very fun:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=af6MrqLCM8c

... and sad, and thoughtful, and poignant ...

anyway this bit has a lot of Sir John Gielgud in it. he was fantastic in this!

Posted by: BlackOrchid at July 20, 2022 10:53 AM (w0NJk)

440 If you're slashing your force size, isn't a lack of recruiting size a GOOD thing?

They need a bigger force size to send after us.

Posted by: Ian S. at July 20, 2022 10:53 AM (ZGrMX)

441 Groves selected the site and managed the construction of Oak Ridge, TN for uranium enrichment. Building the Pentagon in nine months is impressive, but I think Oak Ridge is more impressive. Oak Ridge went from a population of roughly zero to 75,000 in two years, becoming TN's fifth-largest city at the time. The K25 and Y12 plants at Oak Ridge continued to enrich uranium until 1985.
Posted by: Meade Lux Lewis, Domestic Terrorist at July 20, 2022 10:51 AM (sWM8x)
++++
It's also one of the few war towns to successfully shift into being a real city after the war, in part because it remained (and still remains) a major atomic base. It went from being an army base to being managed by the Atomic Energy Commission (the precursor to the Department of Energy), to independence. Management of nuclear materials for the Navy and weapons, as well as the production of medical isotopes still occurs there.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at July 20, 2022 10:54 AM (5zVb8)

442 When we think about the Manhattan Project, we think about Alamogordo, but Oak Ridge was a pretty big deal too.
Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon

Waoompappaoompapamowmow.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 10:54 AM (Zz0t1)

443 There was some guy several years ago who tried to sue both Italy and Israel for the Crucifixion of Christ. It got tossed out of court. (True story, not some elaborate pun.)

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 10:54 AM (YntaV)

444 Lol. That's what I used to call it when I was a kid. (When I heard the theme music, I knew it was time for bed.)
Posted by: red speck at July 20, 2022 10:49 AM (gS3OW)

-------
I used to have a TV cue for bed as well. When the message self-destructed in Mission Impossible I was shuttled off to bed.

Posted by: 496 at July 20, 2022 10:54 AM (VJsqe)

445 And the guy who gets the alien bursting from his chest in Spaceballs.

"oh no, not again!"

Posted by: stu-mick-o-sucks at July 20, 2022 10:55 AM (w9Wax)

446 Top general says U.S. military faces "unprecedented challenges" in finding recruits as the Army slashes its force size

-----------

So the pool of emotionally disturbed homos turned out to be smaller than expected?

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at July 20, 2022 10:45 AM (XG2Fi)

***
How the hell these generals keep their job is beyond me. Recruiting was both one of my best and worst assignments. The hole these assholes have dug is going to take a generation to repair. Or the draft.

Posted by: Diogenes at July 20, 2022 10:55 AM (anj39)

447 Who didn't read it, at least once, as "I, Clavdivs"?

Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 10:55 AM (krQz2)

448 He told his superiors he wanted to be known to the scientists as a general from the start, not as a colonel later promoted to general, so they'd have more respect for his authority. Groves got the promotion on his terms. Posted by: Gref at July 20, 2022 10:49 AM (AMIL/)

I understood it was the Brits that he wanted to impress.

By the way, we still do promotions for show to this day -- it's called "frocking," where an officer who deals with foreigners or people from a sister service is allowed to pretend to have a higher rank.

Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at July 20, 2022 10:55 AM (7B5FA)

449 Videos and pictures indicate that Russian air defenses have shot down a Su-34M, the latest and rarest variant of the country’s new attack aircraft, over eastern Ukraine.

In the morning of July 18, 2022, Russian correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny published a video of what he described as the air defenses of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LNR) destroying a target above Alchevsk, west of Luhansk.
-----------------------
At least it shows Iran that Russian AA missiles work.

Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at July 20, 2022 10:56 AM (yikp0)

450 408 The early Christians were meticulous about keeping track of the Saint's tombs.
But one.
The tomb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse at July 20, 2022 10:45 AM (C1rbv)

Mary probably died not long before the Great Revolt of 70 AD, and the Roman response wiped a lot of Judea clean. I imagine a whole lot of stuff was lost then, including the original core of the early Christian Church in Jerusalem. Which of course left the remaining Church in the hands of Paul and his followers.

Posted by: Tom Servo at July 20, 2022 10:56 AM (trdmm)

451 214 Suddenly, I’m reminded of Messalina’s bare breast in the BBC “I, Claudius.”

Gonna hafta watch that series again.
Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 10:09 AM (YntaV)

Are you not entertained?

Posted by: Dr. Varno at July 20, 2022 10:56 AM (vuisn)

452 If you're slashing your force size, isn't a lack of recruiting size a GOOD thing?
________________________________________________

Translation of "slashing your force size": Eliminating the traditional role of the military in projecting military force to protect national interests. Instead, we will expand Diversity and Inclusion Programs, concoct bogus programs to eliminate imaginary white nationalism and toxic masculinity, and expand the role of gays and transgenders in our officer ranks.

Posted by: Adirondack Patriot at July 20, 2022 10:56 AM (lf83v)

453 The Army is a big pyramid. Need lots of recruits every year, most get out after their first enlistment.

So in an organization that is known for up or out, in a force reduction, you have to try to get people in while saying "we are not a growth industry."

Decisions have consequences.

Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 10:56 AM (6TxNR)

454 I don't know why they even bothered with U-235 when it was so difficult to separate and refine. Plutonium was more readily available and was even more powerful. We dropped the uranium bomb on Hiroshima, but I doubt we had the uranium to make more bombs. They would probably have been plutonium bombs had Japan not tossed the towel. BTW, those bombs likely saved the Japanese race, as if we had to invade we would have had to kill virtually all of them. IMHO.

Posted by: Xipe Totec at July 20, 2022 10:57 AM (QSjkU)

455 I get paid more than $85 every hour for working on the web. I found out about this activity 3 months prior and subsequent to joining this I have earned effectively $15k from this without having internet working abilities. Simply go to the BELOW SITE and start your work... Www.Salarycash1.com

Posted by: Sarah at July 20, 2022 10:57 AM (O3yIH)

456 Alex Berenson is back on twitter and splashing around in the pool like a sugared-up little kid.

Here he posts Team Covide's greatest hits, such as Molly JongFast predicting doom on the order of 7 per cent US population deaths:

https://tinyurl.com/yzvks6xm

Posted by: kallisto at July 20, 2022 10:57 AM (dCxaZ)

457 How the hell these generals keep their job is beyond me. Recruiting was both one of my best and worst assignments. The hole these assholes have dug is going to take a generation to repair. Or the draft. Posted by: Diogenes at July 20, 2022 10:55 AM (anj39)

Just like the police, for lots of folks on the other side destroying the military is a feature, not a bug.

Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at July 20, 2022 10:57 AM (7B5FA)

458 Top general says U.S. military faces "unprecedented challenges" in finding recruits as the Army slashes its force size

-----------

So the pool of emotionally disturbed homos turned out to be smaller than expected?

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at July 20, 2022 10:45 AM (XG2Fi)
---
Even bankrolling bottom transition surgery is not getting enough perverts in the door!

"We're slashing everything!" -- The Pentagon

Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 10:57 AM (krQz2)

459 When we think about the Manhattan Project, we think about Alamogordo, but Oak Ridge was a pretty big deal too.

Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at July 20, 2022 10:42 AM (7B5FA)

Yup. All of the U-235 in Little Boy came from Oak Ridge's uranium isotope separation units. And I believe most or all of our U-235 since 1945 came from Oak Ridge.

Posted by: Gref at July 20, 2022 10:57 AM (AMIL/)

460 Didja see this? Stephen King gets trolled into thinking he was talking to Zelenski on the phone. But wait! There's more! He excuses Stepan Bandera saying that he was a great man whose murder of Jews was just a slight flaw worth overlooking.

https://bit.ly/3RO5bCf

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now the Summer of Our Discontent at July 20, 2022 10:58 AM (FVME7)

461 Mary probably died not long before the Great Revolt of 70 AD, and the Roman response wiped a lot of Judea clean.
==
She wasn't in Judea, Ephesus. John took her into his own home.

There is a house there. Google it.

Posted by: Turkey at July 20, 2022 10:58 AM (B2SKR)

462
The hole these assholes have dug is going to take a generation to repair. Or the draft.
Posted by: Diogenes at July 20, 2022 10:55 AM (anj39)

------

Unless, of course, the long-term goal is a smaller, domestically-focused force whose main adversary is an atomized, terrified civilian population. In that case, the smaller pool of mentally-ill wokesters should suffice.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at July 20, 2022 10:58 AM (Zhwz2)

463 460 Didja see this? Stephen King gets trolled into thinking he was talking to Zelenski on the phone. But wait! There's more! He excuses Stepan Bandera saying that he was a great man whose murder of Jews was just a slight flaw worth overlooking.

https://bit.ly/3RO5bCf
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now the Summer of Our Discontent at July 20, 2022 10:58 AM (FVME7)

=========

Stephen King is an idiot.

He wrote pretty good for a while, though.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:58 AM (LvTSG)

464 By the way, we still do promotions for show to this day -- it's called "frocking," where an officer who deals with foreigners or people from a sister service is allowed to pretend to have a higher rank.
Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at July 20, 2022 10:55 AM (7B5FA)

Well yeah but brevet or frocked rank just means "not really that rank." It doesn't fool anyone.

Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2022 10:59 AM (6TxNR)

465 I love that Berenson is back on the tw@tts

Posted by: kallisto at July 20, 2022 10:59 AM (dCxaZ)

466 Translation of "slashing your force size": Eliminating the traditional role of the military in projecting military force to protect national interests. Instead, we will expand Diversity and Inclusion Programs, concoct bogus programs to eliminate imaginary white nationalism and toxic masculinity, and expand the role of gays and transgenders in our officer ranks Posted by: Adirondack Patriot at July 20, 2022 10:56 AM (lf83v)

In other words, become like the rest of the world. Hopefully we'll be able to save some core of SOF operating capability to do the actual work.

Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at July 20, 2022 10:59 AM (7B5FA)

467 Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 10:57 AM (krQz2)

Yeah, has nothing to do with things like Locking an entire BRIGADE up... 3000 Soldiers... in Germany, because 3 of them had a few beers and got on some electric scooters.

3000 Soldiers restricted to base, and NO ALCOHOL.

Posted by: Romeo13 at July 20, 2022 11:00 AM (oHd/0)

468 Obama's generals face one problem: the military is still just too ready.

Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 11:00 AM (krQz2)

469 NOODlum.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at July 20, 2022 11:00 AM (Zz0t1)

470 Stephen King is an idiot.

He wrote pretty good for a while, though.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:58 AM (LvTSG)

I'll give him credit - he managed to convince an entire generation of writers and readers that a nihilistic view of the universe was the only way to go.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at July 20, 2022 11:00 AM (AW0uW)

471 How the hell these generals keep their job is beyond me.
_____________________________________________

They are lapdogs of the radical leftists in Congress and the White House. They will never be removed as long as they follow the political agenda of Congress.

Posted by: Adirondack Patriot at July 20, 2022 11:01 AM (lf83v)

472
Unless, of course, the long-term goal is a smaller, domestically-focused force whose main adversary is an atomized, terrified civilian population. In that case, the smaller pool of mentally-ill wokesters should suffice.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at July 20, 2022 10:58 AM (Zhwz2)
------------

The problem with using mentally ill wokesters as your Praetorian Guard is that one never knows which direction they're going to point their guns. Cash and reason just doesn't work with crazy people.

Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing (5pTK/) at July 20, 2022 11:01 AM (5pTK/)

473 Noodus mannicus

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 20, 2022 11:01 AM (txdEq)

474
I was in East TN a couple times recently, and wanted to take the kids to the K-25 museum. No dice. Federal property, closed completely two years running, because of the Nasty Cold.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at July 20, 2022 11:01 AM (Zhwz2)

475 It's also one of the few war towns to successfully shift into being a real city after the war, in part because it remained (and still remains) a major atomic base.
---
I've only visited a couple of times, but it seems like a really nice town.

My grandfather worked there during the construction. Everyone lived in identical Airstream trailers. Arriving after work after a few (or more) drinks, he stumbled into the wrong trailer and went to sleep on the couch. A neighbor knocked on the door and told my grandmother, "Come and get your husband out of my damn living room."

Posted by: Meade Lux Lewis, Domestic Terrorist at July 20, 2022 11:01 AM (sWM8x)

476 In other words, become like the rest of the world. Hopefully we'll be able to save some core of SOF operating capability to do the actual work.
Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at July 20, 2022 10:59 AM (7B5FA)

Meanwhile, we are still droning people in Syria... and if we don't have Spec Forces on the ground in Ukraine, I'll eat one of my ship ballcaps I wore on deployments.

Posted by: Romeo13 at July 20, 2022 11:01 AM (oHd/0)

477 > Videos and pictures indicate that Russian air defenses have shot down a Su-34M, the latest and rarest variant of the country’s new attack aircraft, over eastern Ukraine.
__________

The Russians shot down one of their own aircraft? The lol's keep on rolling.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at July 20, 2022 11:01 AM (BFigT)

478 Noodus Mannixmus

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at July 20, 2022 11:01 AM (YntaV)

479 472 The problem with using mentally ill wokesters as your Praetorian Guard is that one never knows which direction they're going to point their guns. Cash and reason just doesn't work with crazy people.
Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing (5pTK/) at July 20, 2022 11:01 AM (5pTK/)

=========

It's not like the far left is proving that it eats institutions it infests on a daily basis.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 11:02 AM (LvTSG)

480 Stephen King is an idiot.

He wrote pretty good for a while, though.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, learning the value of horror with Wes Craven at July 20, 2022 10:58 AM (LvTSG)
---
Both things I have come to believe.

1. One of the best writers of our age.

2. Political idiot.

Posted by: Axeman at July 20, 2022 11:02 AM (krQz2)

481 We are on a pre WW2 troop footing right now. We never learn from history that weakness invites bad actors to test the waters.

Posted by: Anti doesn't matter at July 20, 2022 11:02 AM (CXyxz)

482 She wasn't in Judea, Ephesus. John took her into his own home.

There is a house there. Google it.
Posted by: Turkey at July 20, 2022 10:58 AM (B2SKR)

As Ed McMahon would say, I Did Not Know That.

Posted by: Tom Servo at July 20, 2022 11:02 AM (trdmm)

483 Stephen King is an idiot.

He wrote pretty good for a while, though.

Dude needed an editor like nobody since though. Even the last Harry Potter wasn't as padded as a lot of King's stuff.

Posted by: Ian S. at July 20, 2022 11:02 AM (ZGrMX)

484 422 Joe Biden is flying to Rhode Island today to visit a power plant in Somerset.

boy, will his arms be tired

Posted by: kulak anachronda at July 20, 2022 11:03 AM (sGtp+)

485 Gen Milley, when he admitted to communicating with China, should have been court-martialed and confined in Leavenworth, at the very least.

Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing (5pTK/) at July 20, 2022 11:03 AM (5pTK/)

486 454 I don't know why they even bothered with U-235 when it was so difficult to separate and refine. Plutonium was more readily available and was even more powerful. We dropped the uranium bomb on Hiroshima, but I doubt we had the uranium to make more bombs. They would probably have been plutonium bombs had Japan not tossed the towel. BTW, those bombs likely saved the Japanese race, as if we had to invade we would have had to kill virtually all of them. IMHO.

Posted by: Xipe Totec at July 20, 2022 10:57 AM (QSjkU)

Groves decided to pursue both uranium and plutonium weapons in case one couldn't be ready in 1945. He did not want himself and the scientists to look back on a bad decision that had terrible consequences.

Posted by: Gref at July 20, 2022 11:04 AM (AMIL/)

487 We are on a pre WW2 troop footing right now. We never learn from history that weakness invites bad actors to test the waters.
==
What's with this "we" B.S. We know that. In fact the aholes running things know that. They want this chaos. Biden didn't win.

Posted by: It is a feature not a bug at July 20, 2022 11:04 AM (5jmeP)

488 Posted by: It is a feature not a bug at July 20, 2022 11:04 AM (5jmeP)

We means the United States . We haven't divorced yet.

Posted by: Anti doesn't matter at July 20, 2022 11:06 AM (CXyxz)

489 The Russians shot down one of their own aircraft? The lol's keep on rolling.
----------------------
I think all the major militaries are FUBAR -- the Chinese have had the Little Emperors as recruits for the past 30 years and alot of corruption, as at the Pentagon too I'm sure, as well.

Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at July 20, 2022 11:06 AM (yikp0)

490 We means the United States . We haven't divorced yet.
==
No. Everybody knows. This weakness is intentional. It is desired so as to effect the eventual outcome.

The US can not be taken over, so it must be rotted out and destroyed from within. During that process, it will be used as a cash machine for the oligarchs, grifters, and slavers. Look at those countries not "woke" aka weak and you see the hands that means to rule. China, some sort of Caliphate in the Middle East, Russia. The US already in the slop hatch, and circling the bowl.

Posted by: It is a feature not a bug at July 20, 2022 11:10 AM (76RhD)

491 the artist really captured the aged patina of the stones, also that kind of haze that sometimes envelops the city of Rome.

Posted by: kallisto at July 20, 2022 11:11 AM (dCxaZ)

492 Demand destruction is responsible for the reduction in fuel prices. Not Biden.

API
Crude +1.86mm
Cushing +523k
Gasoline +1.29mm
Distillates -2.153mm

DOE
Crude -445k
Cushing +1.143mm
Gasoline +3.498mm
Distillates -1.295mm

Posted by: sniffybigtoe at July 20, 2022 11:56 AM (UuD2k)

493 Can we have some pictures of French hay stacks?

Posted by: Lost In Space - Protesting Peacefully Since 2020 at July 20, 2022 12:19 PM (mOs5Q)

494 That building on the left is absolutely not the Castle Saint Angelo. It is the ruins of the Basilica of Maxentius, which would have had vegetation growing on top of it at that time. The Castle of Saint Angelo was built up during the Renaissance and maintained as a Papal military asset up til modern times it was never a ruin. Plus it was round.

It is obvious that the artist was situated in the NW part of the coliseum. The aqueduct looking arches in the left are at the base of the ruins of the Temple of Venus and Rome; the ruins of the Forum are behind both that and the Basilica of Maxentius.

The middle frame show the Tower of Milizie (very recognizable artifact of the Rome Skyline) which would make the white building in the foreground what is today the University of St. Thomas Aquinas.

To cap it off the church framed in the right arch is certainly the Church of Saint Francis of Paola al Monti.

So I am sorry Kris, no Romanticism here - he just painted what he saw.

Posted by: Viso Latte at July 20, 2022 01:25 PM (681h8)

495

Expansive and expensive property and the floor is a bloody mess,will cost a fortune for triple glazing.

OFFERS OVER 1MILLION.

Posted by: safristi at July 20, 2022 01:56 PM (qktfm)

496 304 "Tradition holds the Peter was crucified on the edge of the Great Circus where everyone could witness it; the Vatican was built on the spot where that is said to have happened.

The Vatican site overlaps not the Great Circus (Circus Maximus), but the Nero Circus.

Posted by: craig at July 20, 2022 02:27 PM (iblX1)

497 496 The Vatican site overlaps not the Great Circus (Circus Maximus), but the Nero Circus.

Good catch. The Vactican is across the river.

In fact the Castle Saint Angelo which Kris misidentified was built as a fortification for the papacy as the Vatican was outside the city walls. They built a tunnel from there to the Castle to facilitate evacuation.

The Castle was also treasury as well as the prison and execution yard of the Popes.

Posted by: Viso Latte at July 20, 2022 02:37 PM (681h8)

498 60
It's a little late for Pride Month, but here's another Eckersberg:

https://tinyurl.com/2eas5s5s
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at July 20, 2022 09:41 AM (Zhwz2)

He did great work! I like his style.

Posted by: Bonnie Blue - the ungrateful colonial at July 20, 2022 03:35 PM (gao0c)

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