Pacing!

Huh. I had no idea there was sparkly fresh snow here.

Married life one and two.

In my defense, I was distracted by my downloading of the new My Bloody Valentine album.

Not only did we watch Groundhog Day both yesterday and today, but we also watched the Groundhog Day episode of Xena: Warrior Princess. Highly recommended.

I watch Groundhog Day every day.

There's a pretty good chance we'll watch it tomorrow. My kid feels that movies should be watched repeatedly.

Until eventually someday he has them all figured out, gets the girl, and can go get wasted at SXSW and stop talking to Harold Ramis forever.

I have never watched Groundhog Day, I must admit. I've also never watched a movie I only heard about tonight, From Time to Time, starring Maggie Smith as Mrs. Oldknowe/Lucy Boston in an adaptation of The Chimneys of Green Knowe, but I need to prewatch it before sharing with the girls, especially because I think I recall a black character in the time-travel portions. My early birthday present was a book about Lucy Boston's very cool patchwork qults and it's making me want to reread all the Green Knowe books.

You really need to see Groundhog Day. It's great.

I'm a lazy drunk. That was me.

This is what I find laziness gets me. More work the second time around.

I still say the parking brake doesn't need to be set and I'll never had any problems because I didn't use it.

And that my grammer is perfek.

My special and I aren't married, but I did have occasion to ask him recently if he thought we would pass an immigration marriage fraud interview.*

We had fun brainstorming how we'd answer the questions. "Well, you see, officer, we have blended our lives and finances, but we still keep separate knives."**

*He's not an immigrant; this was purely hypothetical.

**Completely true. He is much more finicky about sharp knives and careful storage. Also his knives are higher quality.

separate knives

Like the Phil Collins song.

I went to Netflix to watch it and it seems they took it off streaming shortly before Groundhog Day. Sad trombone.

9 - I think the only one I've read in that series is the one with the gorilla. Does the Maggie Smith movie have a gorilla?

if he thought we would pass an immigration marriage fraud interview.

We walked into ours with a baby. Worked.

Then returned the baby to its rightful parents?

A cow-orker once told the story of her daughter and son-in-law, who were declared credible after her son-in-law was found to have broken a rule - is there something one can't do between submitting the application and braving the interview? - and her daughter became upset in a manner that read to the interviewer as the behavior of A Woman Seriously Committed to a Future Together.

I have assumed that their application was obviously legitimate in legitimate ways as well, because if not I'd have to get humorless about the methodology.

Is any parent truly rightful?

I believe Solomon had a technique for finding out.

18: No, I think that's the River at Green Knowe, which was the only one we owned when I was growing up. They all have the intense weirdness that one does, though.

re: 15

Heh, I recently bought a new knife and that's definitely mine. Hands off wife.

We actually did do one of those immigration interviews. Although it was a bit pointless. We got married about 4 months before the Czechs joined the EU, so whatever the result, we'd only have to have waited a short while. They did seem to take it fairly seriously, but after a few minutes when it became clear we were a real couple, the interviewer and I largely discussed football.

9 - have never heard of that either! Will have to try to find it. Love the Green Knowe stories, though have never managed to get the children interested.

They played it last night at a local indie movie theater. Some in the house went. I liked it the first 132 times I saw it. (Although "too early for flapjacks?" and a few other moments remain firmly ensconced in the pantheon.)

It has been somewhat interesting to see the transformation of people's views of Groundhog Day over the years* (for instance Roger Ebert's re-review from 2005 which helpfully links to his positive but perfunctory review from when the movie originally came out in 1993). I recall rather liking it when I saw on first release it but not really thinking that much about it. Then a few years later we were staying in a motel en route to a vacation destination, and I picked it out of the limited selection of VCR tapes in the lobby looking for something to pacify the kids. Was much more impressed with it from that and subsequent viewings.

*I think the transformation is pretty well complete. I guess when we get to a fully mature understanding and are accomplished pianists it will be the end of movies or something.

I saw it with helpy-chalk! (And CA.)

(I mean, when it came out in the 90s.)

6, 8, 28.last: when will the cycle repeat?

Have performed the Heimlich Maneuver on anyone recently?

I saw it for the first time last week (I guess just before Netflix withdrew it from Instant). Pretty enjoyable, plus now I understand why both X-Files and Stargate had episodes on the same theme.

For a long time I had wondered what the fuss was about, thinking it an inane movie I'd seen cursorily in my teens. Turns out I was mixing it up with Caddyshack (rodents).

Yes, it's not as though Caddyshack is a universally beloved movie by those with senses of humor.

People often forget that it was the sequel, Caddyshack II, which relied more heavily on the stuffed rodent to make up for its much weaker cast.

By far my favorite scene in Caddyshack is the one in which Bill Murray goes out with the old man to play through the rain, witnessing a miraculous performance before the old codger gets struck by lightening.

We didn't have to interview to prove our relationship was real (though we have met in person with the Border Agency, and they asked us a few general questions). Instead, we just had to send 5 pounds of documentation off of our relationship. I'd much rather have answered nosy questions than had people reading our emails, but at least it got me here.

25: Nice knife!

Blume and I are on the same page as far as knife storage, since I bought her a knife storage solution as a present before we lived together, and we still use it. We are also on the same page as far as knife quality. We are also, unfortunately, on the same page as far as knife sharpness, which is to say we both agree we would prefer it if our knives were sharper, but haven't really put together how to get that done right for our fancy knives*.

* I do know about the many previous unfogged knife sharpening threads, yeah.

38: I'd be surprised if there wasn't a professional doing it in your area; it's always nice to have them brought back to complete sharpness before then embarking on your own program of maintaining the edge. (As before, I recommend the pull throughs, and it is easy enough to get one suited to whatever brand of fancy knife you have. Or to see what the manufacturer recommends.)

It's just a little weirder with Japanese knives.

40: Which kind do you have? A lot of Japanese brands recommend a whetstone, which are less convenient but do sharpen up nicely. Minosharp makes good ceramic sharpeners designed for Japanese knives.

Both of the Japanese knives I own recommend whetstones but concede they are often impractical and thus suggest going with a pull-through. I do think it's better to have a sharp knife with an edge and angle slightly different than what it originally had then to have a dull knife, so I just go with that. (And apologies, I'm clearly not really adding anything to what you already know, just a topic I like.)

I did get a pull-through knife sharpener for my wife for Christmas based on discussion here. Results rated as positive so far. From researching that, there are ones made at a different angle for "Japanese" knives (I don't know the extent that the categories are actually standardized). And on preview, I know less than Paren.

Yeah, we have a Minosharp for Global knives.

I always mix up my terminology in regards to sharpening/honing, etc, which irritates me, but since it's my job to know (a few) brands of knives and how to sharpen them it is actually something I spend a surprising amount of time on.

I like the Minosharp we have. I eventually would like to get one of the electric sharpeners done by I.O. Shen which are marketed under some horrible name like "Knife Wizard" but are actually amazing.

41: Shun and...something-or-other? Some moderately obscure brand.

44.2: Wizard knife-grinder!

Before this thread gets too far afield we need to list the ways that LB is like or unlike Bill Murray (or his character in the film, I guess).

Like:
Neither have been in my kitchen.

Unlike:
Not a celebrity in an emergency.

(I have nothing.)

47: both huge potheads.

45: Gorgeous. We don't sell Shun's so I'm not as familiar with them, though I think all of the generic Japanese knife advice applies. But you should definitely decide on a plan so you can go back to marvelling about how sharp they are (/obnoxious advice). I think that's my favourite thing about getting a new knife.

I get my knives sharpened by On The Edge, which is one woman with a van of sharpening equipment who travels to various farmer's markets and the like (She'll be at Savenor's next weekend, and the Cambridge Community Center the weekend after that). She did a good job on my Global knives, and gave me the impression that she knew what she was doing, even with wackier blades.

I received this knife for my birthday. Yes, it's as awesome as it looks. I've since been making lots of dishes requiring sliced, chopped and minced vegetables.

Oh hey that might be the other one we have. Anyhow it is very similar to that one.

51: So lovely. I need to curb my knife lust, as we already have enough. Really.

This is what we have. Anyhow yeah seems like a shame to not have them optimally sharpened.

54: Jesus's knife is longer than yours.

I store my knives in cardboard and electrical tape.

I believe I've related before that the knife I use most often (which I found being given away in a cardboard box when some people in a former apartment building were moving away) stains easily, with the result that I really enjoy sharpening it, because after doing so the edge of the blade is polished and gleamy and clean giving a pleasant contrast with the rest of the blade.

Q: How does a JAP sharpen his knives?

A: By eating at restaurants 100% of the time.

Thanks, I'll be here all week except shabbos.

Srsly I just have some Ikea knives. I have an impossible cooking space.

The pronoun in the 58.Q threw me.

"You know you're my Andie McDowell."

Does he mean that he's trapped in endless maddening repetition of the same events while he tries and fails to get you to fall in love with him?

Ah, Green Knowe. If ever any of you are near the original Cambridge, you can go visit the house, which is deeply strange (It's up the Ouse a bit, at Hemingford Grey). My wife loves it, but I find it unnerving.

Also, Bill Murray unsurprisingly turns out to be a super awesome human being, famous for appearing to his fans at random times and places and being a great guy. Some Bill Murray stories here , and here (go down to the video at the end of the post) .

And here he is giving a young kid some important life advice .

re: 57

Non-stainless carbon steel apparently stains easily. I had the choice buying the new one a month or so back and decided I'd wuss out and go with the stainless.

re: 62

The Telegraph also had some Murray stories recently.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/9842124/Eight-brilliant-true-stories-about-Bill-Murray.html

63: It is a trade off, higher carbon steels are not stainless, but are harder and will hold a better edge (and hold it longer). You can do a bit better with expensive sieve stainless alloys, but none of the big german style knife makers seem to bother and use something like 5140 for the durable finish and low cost.

Some common supplies still make carbon (e.g. Sanitizer) and most of the Japanese producers are carbon at least on the edge and this is why they will tolerate the tighter angles

Sanitizer should have been Sabatier

At least he didn't say "You are my Andie McDowell in Sex, Lies and Videotape."

I'd be a lot more disturbed by ending up as James Spader.

Is the tradeoff for high carbon steel really just that it gets stained? Because … what's the big deal if it's stained? I guess if you use it to cut a lemon in half and leave it just sitting in the lemon that's probably bad for it. So you just rinse your knife off; what's the problem?

It'll rust easier, too.

I thought it took a better edge but lost it faster -- you can get your knives sharper but have to sharpen them more often.

What opinionated cook said. Carbon steels hold edges better and if you're into bushcraft knives and such there's also an advantage in toughness (resistance to chipping and shattering). There's high end stainless like S30V that's closed the gap but it's expensive and tricky to heat treat.

And if you'll notice on those Japanese knives they're using VG10 which is another high end stainless which like S30V was specifically developed as a knife steel.

71: honing isn't the same as sharpening. If you put a very tight edge on a knife, you'll need to maintain it (this is why butchers home every few cuts) but the edge itself will last well if it is hard steel.

home

I hope this was intentional to get a rise out of Bill Murray.

Who is very tightly wound.

Hence all the weed.

Hey, what was the first penalty? I didn't understand it?

Hey, what's with the creepy Black Crown people? I don't understand them.

This is not the superbowl thread!

Sez you!!

You've hidden the superbowl thread rather well this year.

When did "superb owl" become a popular meme? I remember it being a thread title here last year and now it's everywhere. Was it a thing all along and I didn't notice?

I was wondering the same thing. I think as a widespread meme it's new this year.

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Hey, 'tariat. Looks like four or five of us will be meeting up at the Huntington Library, Museum, and Gardens in San Marino, CA at 10:30am on Saturday, 2/23. If anyone else is interested in joining--lurkers welcome, as always--please email me to RSVP, and I should be able to get you a free entry pass.

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I had forgotten that today was the celebration of the proud owl. I have a t-shirt with the word "nevermore" in the shape of a raven which I would have worn today instead of yesterday had I remembered.

Jamais plus.

In A Void, the line is "Quoth that black bird, 'Not Again!'."

Football sucks.

I don't usually agree with that, but I'm finding this Super Bowl mindnumbingly dull so far. I guess Beyonce is enjoyable enough.

84: I think BoingBoing has been pushing it today.

This is not the superbowl thread!
Aha! So you wish us to discuss the Superbowl on ari's book thread. Seems rude, but ok.

Now this is novel.

This is crazy. Oh, New Orleans.

If the lights go out and the PA starts playing "Those Were The Days" look out.*

*equatorial guinea reference

I wonder whose ads get picked for "unexpected blackout timeout" break. I guess I could find out.

Electric lighting sucks.

95.last: I was wondering that very thing.

Boy there are Alderaan levels of flop sweat in that building right now.

96: they need to but out 96,000 votive candles. New Orleans is, after all, a gumbo of cultures.

bust

What kind of idiot utility managers don't know that Beyonce's ass draws power to it???

I'm imagining the fans chanting for Beyonce to return to entertain them.

Things really look grim for the Niners right now.

Oh good why not use the break to stoke Alex SMITH CONTROVERSY.

Bill Cowher is completely worthless.

They should replace him with Colin Kaepernick.

I assume that there is some contractual problem with the ad order that prevents just running ads now.

What else are they supposed to talk about? Fault tolerant stadium lighting systems? How this would never happen in Romney's America?

A truly intelligent CBS executive would have scrambled to get more ad buys for right now.

105 made me laugh.

Now all the players are sneaking beers while they wait! What a mess!

If there's not at least one incident of blackout cannibalism I'm going to be disappointed.

"Okay, okay, show's over, people. Go back to what you were doing."

Yes, this is NorCal whining, but the officiating has sucked in this game. As has this game.

The Ravens get at least three obvious pass interferences per game. It was bundled with Ray Lewis's antler spray.

I hear Omar made some threats.

Would antler spray heal my limp?

Hey, there was a blatant pass interference that didn't get called on SF.

I wasn't really rooting for Baltimore before, but I guess if a Ravens victory will make you guys unhappy I will.

Rooting for God's linebacker, but only out of spite, is divine.

The blackout was pretty much the happiest I'm likely to get during this game, regardless of what happens. If the Ravens win I wonder if Lewis has to kill more dudes 'cuz supersition?

Oh great. Ever since the LORD cursed me for becoming Roberto Tigre, I should be more careful in my endorsements.

120 cont'd: it's like those Budweiser ads. It's only weird if it doesn't work.

Hee.

OK, 122 was pretty great.

This game got close in a hurry once the lights turned back on.

I think it's safe to say that, win or lose, Ray Lewis will kill some more dudes cuz he's God's linebacker avenging angel.

125: Flacco tired himself out yelling at the lights.

Ouch.

That's a "football move" and a fumble. Thanks, Roberto!

Halford, please stop rooting for B'more.

And that was a huge break for the Niners. I retract my earlier whining about bias on the part of the officials; they just suck, full stop.

What the FUCK is this pro agriculture bullshit.

It's okay, Halford: ranchers are a kind of farmer.

Dodge is trying to restrict their sales to the ever-smaller portion of the population that actually farms, presumably.

Oh whoops. That bullshit paid for my ski vacation.

The plight of the modern paleo.

You missed your calling, Halford. You would have been an awesome WWF villain.

Halford when you pick a team you do not mess around.

Aggh LORD I take it all back. Joe Montana full of grace....

Oh, look, another blown call.

Not a good night for homophobia.

You can "interfere" with a "pass"? I didn't know that!

The mood had certainly changed in this downtown bar, let me tell you. Otoh, watching football sober is a mug's game. Sigh.

I can't believe CBS refused to air that SodaStream ad they just showed.

144: ?

Oh wait, I guess the one they banned didn't air; that was a different one.

If this score sticks
1: a down-and-out, working class town will get a much needed morale boost;
2. I'll win $100 in the office pool.

Oh wait, I guess the one they banned didn't air

That's generally how it works.

One of the best Super Bowls ever...not over yet.

Why wouldn't Harbaugh (John) call a timeout before the two-minute warning?

To get to the other side.

Damn your inconstancy, Halford.

I'd like to reverse my reversal re. whining about the biased officiating.

If any good is to come of this, I hope it's convinced you all of the power of reverse prayer.

Does Kraabypants get paid?

halford's been eating Wonder Bread for the past 12 minutes.

153: Nope, intentional safety took it away.

Nope. The safety wrecked it. (It's one of those pools based on the last digit of the score for each team.)

But woot Baltimore!

157 -> 155

A lot of interesting elements to that game.

NFL 34 CBS 31.

I loved the blackout!

At least Harbaugh lost.

I love how perfectly Halford's kiss-of-death endorsements tracked the progress of the game.

I look forward to Halford publicly rooting for the Red Sox.

And the Celtics!

Track Halford's rooting interests through the game here.

How 'bout them Lakers.

Protip: Don't approach any limousines tonight.

Oh, I see, they won because God wanted them to. That's convenient.

Think of how many people Ray Lewis would have killed if they had lost.

Actually I was rooting for Baltimore

... because I'm a feminist,

Godly is our side
Obstruction of justice plea
Wafer is so sad

That no industrious blogger made an over-under site for Ray Lewis murders tonight is why this country can't have nice things.

I almost got my iPad out to comment about how without our servicemen's sacrifice, there would be no Super Bowl. Exactly how far back are we reaching during this montage of very modern looking soldiers?

Also I fucking hate Paul Harvey.

173: I only really care -- and even then not very much these days* -- if the Patriots are playing, a rooting-interest holdover from graduate school, when I occasionally would take Amtrak up to Foxboro and buy scalped tickets. The team was so terrible that it was a cheap way to while away a Sunday back then. As for the Niners, they're one of several NFC teams I like well enough. Plus, NorCal 4evah.

That said, my ten-year-old is pretty bummed, so you can taste his delicious tears, if you'd like.

* I'm not sure when or why I stopped being a sports fan.

176: Paul Harvey was a pretty horrible human being, and that advert was assful.

It's OK, battling small children in sports is my specialty.

Why are there strippers on my screen?

And that little boy that nobody liked grew up to be... Roy Cohn. And now you know... the rest of the story.

Did zombie Paul Harvey narrate a pro-military commercial or something?

When I root for the Ravens, I close my eyes and think about Ozzie Newsome.

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Hey apo. Do you know your site's domain is for sale? Truly it is at the crux of the biscuit.

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181: it's worth googling, actually. But imagine Carey McWilliams doing the voiceover instead of Paul Harvey.

181: here. Now you can't say I never did anything for you.

DoD's Facebook page did have a post today that said: "Secretary Panetta sends a Super Bowl shout out to troops thanking them for their service and dedication to the nation, making it possible for millions of Americans to enjoy Super Bowl Sunday."

The visuals in that ad are really stunning. It's too bad that Paul Harvey was such a fascist piece of shit and that Dodge trucks are, in the main, built for men who have tiny penises.

Md 20/400 is FB friends with the DoD?!

185: Ah, I half saw that (was doing work work during commercials, halftimes and blackouts), but I missed his name and did not recognize the voice. Or was it someone doing an impersonation? Actually, don;t answer; I really don't care.

187.last: Will your data collection methodology suffer now that you have a limp and can't ride a bike?

190: I'm not sure I follow. I mean, even though I have a limp, I can still have sex with men who have tiny penises.

Frenemies. I like to know what the official line is at work.

The whole "if it weren't for the armed forces the US would be/wouldn't have X" thing is, I have decided, a comdey act. They keep on adding items to see when people will finally realize that it is a joke. If it weren't for the armed forces the US would be speaking English!

And having a dead man give the speech was appropriate given that average age of farm operators in the US (map by county) is 57.1 years.

29.7% over 65.

It's too bad that Paul Harvey was such a fascist piece of shit..

It's different on the radio. Nobody held fascism against Lord Haw Haw.

193-94: also mentioned (although only obliquely!) in my book, which is proof-positive against cholera and gout.

If I weren't such a complete hack at the internet and computers, I would totally edit together an ad narrated by Paul Harvey for my book. Better still, I would edit together Paul Harvey narrating Bill Emblom's review of my book.

You should get Rauchway, who proved his video editing skills at EoTAW v1, to edit together an ad for you.

Like Rauchway wants to help me sell books. Yeah, right.

(I'm kidding.)

If it weren't for our troops, foreigners would have made soccer our national sport. I for one am grateful.

The Monroe Doctrine really let South America down on that front.

I guess Beyonce is enjoyable enough.

No no no. If I'm going to watch heavily made up chicks with pelvic thrusting it's going to be actual porn and not this tease bullshit.

This was a great super bowl. The Niners deserved to lose for three straight passes from the five yard line with the game on the line. The Niners are the better team too, which means they will probably be back soon enough -- Kapernick is freaking incredible.

One of those little hyper-technical NFL rule "anomalies" potentially got exposed on the intentional safety at the end of the game. In addition to the no-call the play before, the SF-Harbaugh complained that there should have been holding called on Baltimore on the punt/safety. And there probably "should" have been (but to no consequence), at least one Raven was clearly wrapping his arms around a 49er. But the penalty for an offensive foul in the end zone is ... a safety. And it is not like they stop play immediately on a penalty and call the safety, they let the play run out (after all something more advantageous for the defense like a turnover might arise). So it was to the Raven's advantage to hold like mad to give their punter time t extend the play before stepping out of bounds.

I expect to see a minor update to the rules similar to that done for the Holy Roller which will only kick in during the last 2 minutes of a game/half and/or 4th down. Probably to set the clock back to the time of the infraction thereby negating the (very minor) advantage gained by breaking the rules.

Super Bowl technicality blogging has an illustrious history.