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| bartist |
 Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 9:45 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6948
Location: Black Hills
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| Politics maybe tend to get uglier when a fringe movement gets undue power -- a party run by centrists isn't going to be so virulently partisan. The Repugs seem to have been taken over by the fringe, and the Across-the-Aisle handshakers have lost control of the wheel. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| knox |
| Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 10:53 am |
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Joined: 18 Mar 2010
Posts: 1245
Location: St. Louis
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Quote: And--to answer Joe's question--never once during the entire horrible presidency of George W. Bush did I hear the Democrats say "getting rid of Bush is our #1 priority."
To be fair, BWeeds, I think some Democrats were saying that very thing, but I basically agree that partisanship has trumped getting legislation passed (or bad legislation, like the Bush tax cuts, rescinded) far more in this administration. |
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| daffy |
| Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 8:37 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 1939
Location: Wall Street
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 9:46 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9008
Location: Shanghai
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Sad.
Would assume drugs played a role.
Some people can't handle success.
Feel bad for Cissy Houston ... |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 9:59 pm |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12893
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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daffy wrote: R.I.P. Whitney Houston.
Wow. I knew she'd had her problems, but still a shock. |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| jeremy |
| Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 10:20 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 6794
Location: Derby, England and Hamilton, New Zealand (yes they are about 12,000 miles apart)
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| Her first album was chock-full of infectious songs; a classic pop album. I could take or leave most of her later stuff, |
_________________
I am angry, I am ill, and I'm as ugly as sin.
My irritability keeps me alive and kicking.
I know the meaning of life, it doesn't help me a bit.
I know beauty and I know a good thing when I see it. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 10:52 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9008
Location: Shanghai
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I didn't care much for her songs, but she had the voice and the looks and a world of talent. A real complete package and she threw it away for nonsense.
She also had a real good support network of family in the industry -- mom Cissy, cousin Dionne Warwick, and a cautionary drug tale in Dionne's sister Dee Dee Warwick who also had a nice singing career.
Did you know that Cissy Houston did the original Midnight Train to Georgia and backed up Aretha on many of her hits? |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 11:05 pm |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12893
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| I really like "How Will I Know" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody Who Loves Me." I thought she was at her best with her up-tempo (disco?) numbers. Though she could do a mean torch song, too. |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 1:52 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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| I agree about the up-tempo. I think her "And I Will Always Love You" was terrible, and drained the song of its emotions for show-off pulverizing vocals. And I just wasn't crazy about the message in "The Greatest Love of All" which should be about the good kind of self-love, but just ends up sounding narcissistic and empty. But her early stuff was spunky and fun, if not something I've ever felt the need to go back and listen to again, and before she took on the diva persona she presented a playful, spontaneous quality that was winning. |
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You've got a great brain. You should keep it in your head.
-Topher |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 5:53 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| Here's an interesting and intriguing sidelight on Whitney Houston's passing: next Saturday night Maya Rudolph is scheduled to be the guest host on SNL. One of Rudolph's staples is her wicked impersonation of Houston. Will they use it in a potentially offensive but also potentially moving manner, or will they leave it alone? |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 2:13 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6948
Location: Black Hills
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My smudgy crystal ball says "leave it alone" I think.
Looking at her wiki bio, I see she and I share a birthday; she was six years younger than me. Way too early to step off. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| jeremy |
| Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2012 5:34 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 6794
Location: Derby, England and Hamilton, New Zealand (yes they are about 12,000 miles apart)
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So pleased to see Martin Scorsese be given the BAFTA Fellowship tonight (they should have thrown a knighthood in as well). Loquacious host, Stephen Fry, towered over Marty, but that's the only thing diminutive about this giant of cinema. He gave a lovely and gracious speech. An unduly modest man and true cinephile, he only grew in stature in my eyes (if that were possible),
In other news, The Artist cleaned-up; but more on that later.
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_________________
I am angry, I am ill, and I'm as ugly as sin.
My irritability keeps me alive and kicking.
I know the meaning of life, it doesn't help me a bit.
I know beauty and I know a good thing when I see it. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2012 9:34 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6948
Location: Black Hills
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| Mystified by the reception TA seems to be getting from award groups. Nice film, charming, but not great in any way. But this chat has happened already, and I just have to shrug and say "a chacun, son gout." |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2012 9:52 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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bartist wrote: Mystified by the reception TA seems to be getting from award groups. Nice film, charming, but not great in any way. But this chat has happened already, and I just have to shrug and say "a chacun, son gout."
Agree with everything about this post. (Except the French quote, which is usually "chacun a son gout.") But whatever--or "chacun...." |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2012 9:55 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9008
Location: Shanghai
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bartist wrote:
We had Bosnian neighbors for five years - sounds about right. They were also huge smokers, which seems to be prevalent in E. Europe. Just curious - what is your connection to that part of the world? Or do you like less touristy travel destinations?
Some of the Bosnian refugee community here has returned to Europe, though not sure if they've gone all the way home.
Maybe an E Europe thing, compounded by Turkish and Muslim culture. Since they're not supposed to drink -- though of course folks do -- smoking is a big substitute -- and then there's also the hookah cafe culture.
My uncle was King Zog.
Okay, not really, but I did just manage a King Zog reference.
Just visited the region.
Croatia and Montenegro are legit travel destinations, at least for Euros (Italians, Germans, Austrians primarily).
The other places a bit more out of the way and less touristed. Though Lonely Planet has Albania as it's #1 2011 destination. But the tourist stuff is primarily down in the south where we didn't go.
I ran into a Belgian UN peacekeeper in Pec, Kosovo, and after we talked a little over breakfast he eyed me warily and asked if I was there on business. He was pretty surprised to run into tourists, saying that he could think of a lot of other places to go to on holiday.
Bosnia also has a rather limited tourist infrastructure, as you'd might expect in a war-divided country. Sarajevo has some charm, and it was interesting to stand at the corner of the Latin Bridge, where Gavril Princip lucked into gunning down the Archduke and his wife, after the plot seemed to be over. Apparently during the Tito days, they put prints of Princip's footsteps into the sidewalk, which was a national monument and he was considered a hero. Not every Serb who crumbles a colonial empire. Unfortunately it was Sunday so the City Museum was closed and we couldn't see the preserved "footprints." Still it's amazing to stand on the spot where history took place.
I'd be surprised of many Bosnians have returned. Though possibly. I guess more likely for Bosniaks.
One other interesting tidbit: any highway signs in Bosnia and Kosovo (and maybe elsewhere, I forget) that had Belgrade listed had a large red X spray painted over the name. For signs where the Serbian name of a place was listed under the Bosnian name, there were also red X's over the Serbian name. The UN decided to put names on more than one language to avoid getting bogged down in disputes.
So even the highway signs bore witness to the underlying animosity in the region. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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