We’re in one of those odd circumstances where somewhere in the government, they’re attempting to enforce my worldview. Its odd.
This is my review of Alesmith Grand Prix Toasted Coconut Vietnamese Coffee Edition:
For context, I explained to my son once that in 1973 the CIA backed a certain Chilean military officer’s coup attempt to not allow control of the country to fall into the hands of Salvador Allende. Who though elected, was also well known to be a Marxist. Unfortunately, it worked. It worked so well, the CIA was emboldened to try to do the same thing in other countries in Latin America with sometimes disastrous results. What prompted the question? My son asked why the cast of Predator was in 80’s Central America in the first place.
For the next 20-30 years Chileans lived in constant fear of men with guns enforcing the one and only rule Augusto truly enforced: you may not be a fucking Communist—or I’ll kill you! We all know the result of the whole experiment in free market capitalism at gun point. It worked well enough but at a significant cost.
Which brings me to RFK Jr. and the MAHA crusade.* Being a bit of a gym rat myself, I do take a lot of time shopping around for products that do not contain certain chemicals and ingredients I find undesirable in my food. I was already doing that out of my own free will, knowing that I am not the only sociopath walking around supermarket aisles doing the same thing. The free (enough) market provides, right?
So when states like West Virginia and Oklahoma begin to write up legislation to ban certain food dyes due to RFK Jr’s disdain for chemical food dyes, I have the same uneasiness when the discussion of helicopter jokes comes up. Granted, there is some real science behind RFK Jr’s claims, even if there is plenty of room for dispute like every other topic on nutrition. In the end this is really just low hanging fruit they can go after for a “victory”. The real thing I would like to see if ending the corn and soy subsidies which make these ingredients ridiculously cheap, so others might be able to compete with an option that might be healthier. After all, the avocado oil mayonnaise I buy is $11 but if it means my family is eating less soybean oil I’ll keep paying for it.
Until of course, RFK starts kicking people out of helicopters because they were caught eating Fruit Loops. I’ll reassess my opinons then.
Ah yes, Vietnam, another country ruined by the CIA. At least in their case both sides are certain who won the war. This is probably the best version of the Grand Prix series. Starting with a base imperial stout, they mimic a Vietnamese Coffee. Which if you never had one is made with condensed milk and sometimes includes a raw egg depending on where you go. They even do something similar with beer that I tried out once upon a time and theorized it would work well with a stout. The flavors melt together and make this enjoyable, but might be a bit sweet for some tastes. I rather liked it. Alesmith Grand Prix Toasted Coconut Vietnamese Coffee Edition: 4.3/5 12% abv
* Yes, I realize throwing communists out of helicopters is not the same thing as outlawing food RFK Jr. thinks is garbage. I am just amused by communists thrown out of helicopters.
Helicopters are hard to fly,
Nice beer
So I’ve heard.
Bring back Sugar Pops and Sugar Frosted Flakes.
And put Sugar Pops back in foil.
I like Cheerios with no sugar
From Dedthred….
A medical diagnosis that, not 10 years ago, was as rare as an honest politician is somehow, after tens of thousands of years of human history, is now “an objectively serious medical condition”?
GTFOH.
I mean, delusion is definitely a serious mental health condition, but how is “TikTok convinced me I’m really a woman” considered one?
Just remember that soaring food prices lead to election consequences.
* Yes, I realize throwing communists out of helicopters is not the same thing as outlawing food RFK Jr. thinks is garbage. I am just amused by communists thrown out of helicopters.
I agree, banning food RFK jr. thinks are unhealthy is tyrannical. Throwing communists from helicopters is a moral imperative.
Yes but remember, our Constitution allows the federal govt to mandate you consume broccoli. Extra-judicial termination of Communists is NOT.
Spooner did nothing wrong, either.
Irony, lack of self awareness, or both?
Someone I know who teaches at an Ivy League school (not one of the big two), posted on social media something that caused him to say, “It’s hard to fathom the incredible, ignorant bubble that Trump supporters want to live in.”
Why not both!
Un-intentional self irony is the best kind.
You can’t even sub in the name of the recognized/default Dem leader because there isn’t one. Not Biden or Harris. Not even Newsom. The rest (Whitney, Cuomo, etc.) are also-rans, wannabes, decimal dust.
Denying the existence of the bubble is indicative one lives in said bubble.
At least RFK is giving cover for restaurants to fry in beef tallow again.
I need to find a Shake Shack
There are things we have little or no control over. Some of the things we do have control over controlling them requires discipline.
Aging. Cancer. Loss of sex appeal. Loss of sexual function. Prostate and eye lens lessening function due to growth past optimum state. Loss of or naturally deficient cognitive function. Loss of overall physical function. Gaining too much body fat. Etc. These things scare the shit out of us.
Because our control is zero or requires great attention and discipline we invent ‘cures’ and ‘the answer was right there all along!’.
Thus Food Weirdness is born. None of the stuff they hawk with fear constantly on TV, radio and the internet work. It is all snake oil. There is no juice from a magical clam that lives in a secret place over the rainbow. There is no secret melon of youth grown only in Avalon that will give you the skin of a baby.
Death comes for us all. Come to terms with that. In the mean time all things in moderation. Spend your time with the people you care about – nothing else really matters. Stop giving money to grifters.
Secretary Kennedy: I will decide what I am going to eat. Today that is going to be Beef Stroganoff.
Oh, and this morning we had boudin balls for breakfast. Why do I eat these things? Because they are fucking delicious, that’s why.
“juice from a magical clam…”
Having a rather childish sense of humor, this made me larf. I go to the corner of shame.
I’ll see you there.
While we don’t have control of them, I don’t find them necessarily crisis-inducing because these things are part of life and are inevitable and then death comes for us. Sad? Absolutely. Normal? Also absolutely. Fear of death? Not new, but certainly driving most medical research and advancement. The goal usually isn’t to decrease the suffering of the diseased and dying; the goal is to prolong their lives at any cost, including great suffering.
I actually agree that the Frankenfood makes us fat and sick and deranged, but I don’t think the majority of it is all the chemicals and dyes and preservatives. It’s the natural stuff doing jobs they shouldn’t be doing. Soy is packed with estrogen, but it’s in fucking EVERYTHING. Corn is a fattener. Sugar is a drug. High-fructose corn syrup is the worst of all worlds and doesn’t even taste as good as sugar.
That’s not even starting on that stupid food pyramid that guaranteed every generation that followed it would get fat and sick and deranged.
As we age we tend to burn fewer calories because our physical activities are more limited. Watching TV and napping is less strenuous than taking a walk.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/08/politics/rfk-jr-mercury-poisoning-brain-parasite/index.html
***
A New York doctor, after reviewing a scan of his brain, told him that his health issues could be “caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died,” Kennedy said
…
a spokesperson for Kennedy’s campaign, said he had “traveled extensively in Africa, South America and Asia” as part of his work as an environmental advocate and said he contracted a parasite in one of those trips.
***
The dumb bastard probably got brain worms from eating dodgy street meat. It happens fairly often in Mexico.
But there were no preservatives or fillers.
Agreed on pretty much all counts, but placebos are real and they work. The more people ‘invest’ in their belief in something, the more powerful the placebo is. The snake oil has just been replaced with the ‘scientific,’ medical, and academic wordery. They’re based on ‘some’ real benefits. Lidocaine certainly works, but I’m convinced the smell is the only ‘real’ reason menthol’s added. It does open up my nose a bit, but that doesn’t help pain. (Well. I’ve made it part of my ‘ritual.’ So, it kinda-sorta does, yeah?)
That is an extreme example, cuz menthol does *do* shit. I’m reminded of all things like candles scented like such-and -such that do such wondrous things for your skin, pores, anxiety, depression, ADHD, restless-leg syndrome, and… Pretty much everyone’s gonna come up somewhere on that long list. Snake Oil salesmen and grifters have just rebranded. I hate the player *and* the game cuz it’s brainwashed large portions of the populace. Globally. And I live in a family divided by it.
Mom might be going out to “a march” tonight. I’ll dutifully keep quiet about it all. I do have openings with her, but after a demonstration ain’t the time. Bro has long been entrenched, mentally/ philosophically, in everything Team Blue. It’s irritating. Grinding. They’ve fallen prey to all the buzzwords surrounding them, ‘glorious examples’ of otherwise intelligent people who’ve – with pride – fallen for blatant bullshit. Trick in my family: Obama being black. That alone.
IFLA is on Saturdays now?
“Here’s your sign” — Bill Engval
This is probably the best version of the Grand Prix series. Starting with a base imperial stout, they mimic a Vietnamese Coffee. Which if you never had one is made with condensed milk and sometimes includes a raw egg depending on where you go. They even do something similar with beer that I tried out once upon a time and theorized it would work well with a stout. The flavors melt together and make this enjoyable, but might be a bit sweet for some tastes. I rather liked it. Alesmith Grand Prix Toasted Coconut Vietnamese Coffee Edition: 4.3/5 12% abv
This sounds delicious.
Speaking of possible CIA involvement… Yea or nay? Best breakdown I’ve ever heard and made me understand it. I knew there was something hinky about Ukraine, but “we” don’t like Russia, so… I never said anything except “Don’t mess with my Russian cross stitch designers because they never did anything and quit giving them money and why are we there anyway?” I knew we’d made a promise to protect Ukraine, but…why? And was it a valid promise to make?
Anyway, so to add to this guy’s breakdown:
* minerals
* shipping lanes
* CIA involvement (possibly)
Any other ingredients I’ve missed?
Guy is basically right, though it’s just a dumber, louder, shorter version of what Putin said in his interview with Tucker Carlson.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belovezha_Accords#Key_points
***
According to the text of Article 6, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus form a “common military and strategic space” and “united armed forces.”
***
Kind of hard to square Ukraine membership in NATO with that.
On a related not, the overall Trump negotiation is good: Russia gets land, Ukraine stays independent, the war ends, the US gets money from them fancy rocks. Win-win-win-win.
Well, apparently, I needed dumber, louder, and shorter.
Homer: Listen, do you want the job done right or done fast?
Marge: Well, like any American, fast!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9zZYdo5JKA
Bioweapons labs?
Maybe that Russia invaded an independent neighboring state? I’m more than happy to arm Ukraine. They are doing the fighting and seriously degrading Russia’s military capacity.
https://war.ukraine.ua/donate/
Here you go, have at it. I’ll pass.
This is my go to dressing when I’m trying to avoid canola oils:
https://www.briannas.com/products/avocado-oil-classic-balsamic-vinaigrette/
Oh, nice. Briannas Asiago Caesar is my go-to for when I don’t feel like making my own; also my favorite dip when I’m about to destroy a bag of baby carrots…
I guess I’ll pinch-hit for the OM and rebuke all of you for consuming any kind of mayo.
Why does my phone have a middle finger Emoji, but windows does not?
How could you possibly want to avoid rape oil?
Pitching, or catching?
So you want it unlubed?
12% for a beer?! Damn. The highest I remember is 8.2% for Elysian Space Dust IPA. At that point, doesn’t it ‘become’ something else, enough to warrant another term?
I imagine a ‘beer to slow-drink like wine’ could be nice. I actually imagine it would be. With the egg, our opinions depart. See also: Egg-in-beer. That certainly began as a Beer+ egg-related -mishap. (“Well, don’tcha know – I ain’t gonna *waste* it! It’s still good.”
It doesn’t have to have been a mishap. Don’t forget those magic words “I dare you…”
Piraat (10.5% ABV) beckons.
I love the label art on that one. Makes me think of a song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPGLNYAgL-8
That’s getting into barley wine territory. NTTAWWT.
Correct, but an ‘I dare you’ is preconceived with their *being* a mishap. Its nature? Therein lies the fun.
The egg wasn’t a mishap, it was a happy little eggcident.
I’m sure they had their reasons.
GODDAMMIT. That stupidity was meant for UCS. I *did * want to thank you, R C. Barley wine I’ve at least heard of, and I imagine I’ve tried some at some point in time.
Why isn’t it more popular? Wine fucking sucks and always have. Grapes fucking suck. And then raisins are grapes mummified into tires, which fucking really suck. (I’m not alone, though we are apparently scarce.)
Ev, next time I’m near Indy I’ll bring you a couple Earthquakes.
Make ya wanna fight a phone pole.
Fun Fact – The sport of caber tossing derived from drunken scotsmen celebrating their victories over the defeated telephone poles.
/damned lies
83.92% of fun facts are inaccurate.
/statistics
@ Tres: I strongly, strongly approve.
Poor kid aint gonna know what hit him.
Tall Cans!
Meh, I tried Camo Black (12.2% ABV) in Chicago. Tasted so bad I poured out 3/4 of it. I drank booze made in plastic buckets in Africa that tasted better…by a lot.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/881/57931/
If you want to replicate it, just eat a bowl of cereal made with Fruity Pebbles and cheap vodka.
It also works as an emetic. Better than ipecac even.
“It’s hard to fathom the incredible, ignorant bubble that Trump supporters want to live in.”
He declaimed, from his bathysphere.
Is there a description of this ‘bubble’. I would be very interested in that.
I am guessing ‘ A world where people’s moral behavior is what might be called normal, marriages produce healthy happy children and that morality furthers prosperity and peace.’
In other words – they dont marry trannies, pedophilia is strongly condemned, Fathers dont shower with their pubescent daughters, lying is considered taboo, mutilating children physically and psychologically is considered evil and people mostly mind their own business.
I vaguely remember someone here describing a video of the Bidens or a description of something that leaked out or maybe I read it in a SugarFree documentary….hell, maybe I just dreamt it. My point is sometimes those people living outside our bubble could easily be confused with a SugerFree story.
Bring back Alpha-bits.
Those are just lucky charms
Speaking of one way helicopter rides
Earlier this week, arsonists in Southwest France took to the streets with gasoline in hand to torch Teslas parked at a store in Plaisance-du-Touche. The group destroyed at least a dozen Tesla sedans estimated to be worth around €700,000, or about $745,000 USD, calling the brand a “symbol of capitalism.”
The inferno comes weeks after a French-Swiss manifesto surfaced online, calling for “anti-capitalist coordination to target Tesla.”
“To all those whose health permits,” pines the anonymous call to action, “to collectives, organizations, affinity groups, to all those who call themselves anti-capitalists, to all those who demonstrate against imperialism, to deterritorialized people, let us warm ourselves by the fire. This is a call to set fire to Tesla dealerships.”
Donkey carts are the future.
“…anti-capitalist…”
Sounds about right. They are pissed that another country will no longer give them free shit. After all, we owe it to them because reasons.
Also occurs to me that it might be worth looking into who here in the US these ‘anti-capitalists’ associate with and if there is any funding involved.
While it’s unknown if the French arsonists were inspired by the manifesto, the blaze comes at a time when protestors around the world are targeting Teslas as a proxy for Musk, who represents a noxious blend of government austerity, oligarchy, and right wing politics of all stripes, not to mention capitalism more broadly.
That guy sounds like an asshole.
Just catching up. From the dedthread re: legs
Yvonne Craig
——-nothing follows———-
I just read the label on a can of VN coffee that I was gifted.
15 calories per serving. Contains artificial coffee and chocolate flavoring.
Product of Viet Nam though
As is my custom of late, yesterday afternoon I invited myself over to a neighbor’s to partake of expensive Scotch[1] and to discuss the affairs of the week. My neighbor is a naturalized U.S. citizen, born Canadian. He told me the most Canadian thing of which I’ve ever heard. A friend of his sister’s, who lives in Toronto, has decided to go the Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID) route. Her application was accepted and she’s now on a waiting list.
Footnotes:
[1] We’ve been alternating bottles of The Macallan 12, the best available in the liquor closet of the convenience store of our small Vermont town. There are two varieties: Sherry Oak and Double Cask. I imagine that I can tell the difference.
Perfect.
A waiting list for assisted suicide seems like the apotheosis of government health care.
LOL!
The true apotheosis will come when after she waits a couple years, she changes her mind, but they kill her anyway.
Officially stolen.
“she’s now on a waiting list.”
We’re all on a waiting list, no approval necessary.
I read about a guy that decided to kill himself in Mexico with helium. While there, he decided to sample hookers and blow and decided that maybe life is worth living after all. It’d be hard to make it into a Hallmark movie, but it does have a happy ending.
I remember the Kevorkian arguments for assisted suicide. Lots of heart strings pulled. Lots of warnings in opposition which were hand waived away. “No, that would never happen!”
Here we are. It is happening.
It is so easy to convince yourself that letting the vampire in will be ok.
Sounds like a good, maybe great, beer MS. Is it one to have with a meal or more of a dessert beer?
To be honest I drank all four in one sitting, I don’t recommend doing that .
Lol. Well, I hope you enjoyed it while it was happening.
Good Lord. I’d have to be feeling pretty sparky to open a second one.
Well, the spelling and grammar in my notes got progressively more entertaining.
The Bruins traded Marchand to Florida. Brad fucking Marchand. Jesus.
Stossel explains how Europe’s economy turned into a wine and cheese museum:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IOWBjoo7Ew
Ok, new tv set up. Took longer than I expected.
It’s crazy how much lighter the new one is, despite being slightly larger. I’ll be surprised if the new Amazon one lasts as long as the Panasonic has.
I remember it took 3 men to carry a 35 incher CRT up the steps.
Now I walk up with a 55er in one hand, plug it in and it starts. Samsung and probably the other brands too.
Oh yeah, the 35 incher cost $1400 about 20 years ago.
I remember it took 3 men to carry a 35 incher CRT up the steps.
Easier than a 45 inch CRT
Imagine a world run by hobbyists
Still, Musk isn’t the only one to suggest privatizing Amtrak; it’s been a conservative talking point for years. In 2003, urban planning expert Elliott Sclar wrote a report for the Economic Policy Institute in response to that faction, called Amtrak Privatization: The Route to Failure. “The passenger rail service is blamed for failing to show a profit,” he wrote. But this insistence that Amtrak should be profitable “is an effort to impose a highly selective business model on what is really a public service.”
If Amtrak were privatized, it could actually mean fewer rail options for the country. A private model would likely eliminate rural routes with low ridership that don’t make as much money as more popular ones. (Amtrak’s state-sponsored routes, in contrast, don’t have profit goals because the states simply want to provide residents with ridership options.)
——-
After cutting costs, a privatized Amtrak could also raise prices for consumers—either on tickets, or by adding extra charges for things like baggage. We’ve already seen private airlines take these steps, increasing baggage fees and charging other “junk fees” on top of base ticket prices. It’s also often more expensive to fly to a smaller town or “spoke city” than to a major airport hub, because—just like for rural rail lines—the demand for those routes isn’t as high.
Profit slavery will destroy our perfect utopia.
“Could” and “Would” are doing some heavy lifting here.
state-sponsored routes
And they wonder why we don’t want state-sponsored food?
would likely eliminate rural routes
What rural routes? Most states already only have at most one Amtrak route, and that only exists because the state is in between the coasts and Chicago. It’s not like the impoverished masses can get on an Amtrak train without driving a few hours first.
It’s only fair to make the more profitable routes subsidize expensive rural routes instead of providing better service where people want it.
“Amtrak’s business performance is strong. Ridership and revenue are at all-time highs, and transformative projects are underway that will greatly improve the customer experience,” a spokesperson told Fast Company. By maintaining this momentum, Amtrak says it’s “on track to reach operational profitability—for the first time in history—during this administration.”
Privatizing Amtrak now could jeopardize that progress, Cohen says. But still, profitability isn’t the point, especially when you consider the benefit rail transportation provides. This goes back to the idea of Amtrak being a public service—even a public good. By Cohen’s definition, to be a public good a service shouldn’t be something we need individually, but rather something everyone needs, and something that we all benefit from having.
Fast Company: management for retards.
Sounds like privatizing would be a benefit. Do it.
even a public good
Oh, so the seats are non-rivalrous? All you have to do is sit in one?
I have step-ladder.
I dont know my real ladder.
Tread lightly on this!
I’ve had two broken chairs for too long. Finally fixed one today.