Open Thread – Meteor Shower!
Here’s wishing you clear skies. The annual Leonid meteor shower is headed this way and the best viewing will be two or three hours before dawn on November 17 and 18. Actually it isn’t headed this way, we’re headed THAT way as Earth nears the place where the soon-to-be meteors have been patiently waiting.
The Leonids have been responsible for some of the most intensely spectacular celestial events in history. Every 33 or 34 years the showers are so intense, they are actually called “meteor storms” with hundreds, and sometimes thousands of meteors seen in an hour.
I remember a few years ago when we were expecting a meteor storm, and we drove up to Hatcher’s Pass in the middle of the night. Well, just as things were supposed to pick up, the clouds rolled in and all we saw were what I can only imagine were breathtaking displays that visibly lit up the sky behind the clouds. Soon, the cloud cover obscured even that. Not that I’m bitter, or still holding on to that disappointment… (shakes fist at sky)
But, back to this year’s Leonid meteor shower . There is always uncertainty about the intensity and frequency of the meteors one is likely to see streaking across the sky, but IF you have clear skies, you can expect to see at least 20 meteors per hour. The waxing gibbous Moon will set several hours before dawn, so moonlight will not wash out the pre-dawn display. And prediction is always approximate at best. Surprises are always possible, so there may be more than that.
The Leonids get their name because the meteors appear to fall from the constellation Leo, the lion, even though they are not actually associated with it in any way. The Geminid meteor shower appears to come from the constellation Gemini – the Perseids appear to come from Perseus, the Orionids from Orion, etc. Meteor showers occur when the Earth’s orbit crosses a trail of debris left behind by a comet. The Leonids are the dusty debris trail from Comet Tempel-Tuttle. So each year as the Earth passes through the leftover star dust, the tiny particles hit the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, and begin to glow, creating a streak across the sky. Most meteorites burn up in the atmosphere and are no bigger than a grain of sand, or a small pea.
The meteorites we see in museums are usually associated with asteroid material and are not predictable on yearly cycles. Meteor showers, however, are of cometary origin and come around like clockwork as the Earth follows its orbit around the Sun.
Each time Comet Tempel-Tuttle gets closest to the Sun in its orbit, called “perihelion,” it sheds a significant amount of material. This creates clumps along its orbit. If Earth passes through one of these clumps this year, viewers could see hundreds of meteors per hour at the shower’s peak. If Earth simply passes through the “normal” part of the comet’s debris trail, the number of meteors visible will be much lower.
For your best view, get away from city lights. Look for state or city parks or other safe, dark sites. Lie on a blanket or reclining chair to get a full-sky view. If you can see all of the stars in the Little Dipper, you have good dark-adapted vision.
So, gaze east, find Leo and best of luck! If you’re in Alaska you’ll want to bundle up and bring a thermos of hot chocolate. And don’t forget to make a wish!
raining and overcast …it is a no go 🙁
Sorry to post this on this thread, but it is open thread…
Folks talked about “death panels” coming from the left. Here are the death panels, from a state with a Republican governor:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/17/arizona-budget-cuts-organ-transplants_n_785107.html
There was a report on that on NPR yesterday morning. Very, very depressing. Not to mention the whole bioethics component (he was already approved by this program).
As ever, the skies here are overcast, as they always seem to be when something worth seeing is above. Hope those that can see it, will also get to see it.
As a now Alaskan, I admit my favorite Leonid meteor shower memory is reclining on the still-sunwarmed rocks of Gross Reservoir outside Boulder, Colorado, and watching the beautiful streaks across the sky.
I admit, though, that some of my most spectacular “shooting stars” were seen in the early early morning while running in Bethel, Alaska, along the Hoffman Highway to the airport.
I once saw one that looked like the ship out of “Plan Nine From Outer Space” – like a flaming Dixie plate!
Thanks, AKM, for the groovy star map.
Nicely explained AKM, you obviously know your stuff about meteorites/meteor showers. Here in the southern hemisphere, even though close to the equator, many of the best known meteor showers simply don’t register, they are mostly over the horizon. Add to that the fact that the seeing is not usually very good and the celestial component of life on earth is a little lacking. Once in a while I find myself traveling late at night and stop in a soybean field just to get a view of the rather unfamiliar asterisms that populate the dark umbrella. On a really good night you can see the Magellanic clouds vaguely.
In less than 100 years we have gone from a very limited understanding of the universe and of the nature of life, to the vast and complex insights of today and the seemingly frantic pace at which those insights increase on an almost daily basis. This is the result of large scale collective action and the focused application of resources. Science is not an ideal institution. Within it there is as much bickering and bad faith, controversy and outright partisanship as in most politics, though I have to admit that politics is now beginning to run away with those traits. But the outstanding thing about it (science) is that almost without exception, progress is made.
Once or twice here recently I saw a reference to plate tectonics and continental drift. Since this is an open thread and in the spirit of offering good discussions of science I would like to make a clarification. Continental drift is a term that was coined to describe Wegner’s original hypothesis that the continents had moved over time. It is distincly different from plate tectonics for several reasons but the most important single reason is that 100 years ago or so, we have little knowledge of the gross structure of the earth and even less about the earth’s crust especially under the oceans. Though Wegner compiled some impressive evidence that continents now far apart were in the past contiguous, no geologists could accept the idea that anything as massive as a continent could possibly slew around on any type of substrate.
It was not until after the end of world war two that geologists began to realize the implications of many discoveries that had accumulated without being pursued much during the war. One was a greatly increased database of the ocean floors topography, another was a much more global scope of seismic data that was refined to three dimensions. There were many other advances that contributed, not the least of which was for example a greatly improved understanding of and technology for investigating the physical chemistry of rocks and minerals. Another was the realization that natural radioactivity could serve as a clock with which to measure absolute ages instead of the almost entirely relative age system that had been developed solely on the basis of superposition of rocks in stratigraphic sequences.
No single scientist proposed the “theory of plate tectonics”. The theory emerged out of the confluence of several different lines of investigation happening to notice each other. Yet another of the fields that led to this convergence was the study of what is called igneous petrology, essentially the science of how igneous rocks form and what their range of characteristics is. This field required advances in many types of experimental techniques, analytical instruments, and a more global knowledge of the so called exotic types of rocks that occur in only a few places and types of situations. The basic theory of plate tectonics consists of the set of ideas that describe the outer regions of the earth’s interior, account for most of the features we can observe at the surface, and are in accord with the data we have about the physical nature and chemical composition of the earth both as a whole in a very general way, and at the near surface in much more specific ways.
As with many things in science, there is a bit of confusion in terminology that scientists routinely accept but which can flummox the layman. Earth’s “crust” consists of a very thin layer of rocks that are highly differentiated. That is to say, some rocks are almost pure silica (quartz sand for example), while others, such as anorthosites are similar to parts of the moon, and others, such as the ultramafic rocks are similar to some primitive meteorites. The counterpart to the crust is the so-called mantle. This is a large outer layer of the earth that is thought to be relatively more homogeneous, with a generally primitive composition, and also undergoing a kind of mixing on a time scale of hundreds of millions of years. The confusion of terms arises from the fact that in geology we also have a term, “lithosphere” which refers to an outer zone of the earth’s solid body but which included all the crust and a small part of the mantle. The compliment of the lithosphere is the asthenosphere, but the distinction is of critical importance because it is on the definitions of these features that the theory of plate tectonics depends.
The boundary between these two regions within the earth is the point at which the relative movement of surface features is originated. The entire surface of the earth is divided into several very large and many more quite small “lithospheric plates”. The critical point is for the layman that the plates include both oceanic and continental “crust”. I know of no plates that are purely made up of contiental rocks though there are a few that are made up of just oceanic rocks.
I have already digressed so far that I am in danger of loosing track of the point and though this is an open thread, pointless babble seems inappropriate, so I will cut to the chase.
The “theory of plate tectonics” is even after 50 years of intensive study, still problematic in many ways. It is difficult to study and undertand what is happening 200 miles below the earth’s surface. It is difficult to understand what the earth was like 2 billion years ago. But the salient fact is the theory affords us the opportunity to use it to make predictions. We test those predictions, and if they hold true, that supports the theory, if they do not, it causes us to go back and look again, and do more testing and according to the results, modify the theory.
The bottom line is this, plate tectonics has revolutionised exploration for minerals, and though it has not been a panacea, it has been a huge factor in keeping the global economy running. It has provided the means for discovering new sources of vital resources.
I can’t speak for all geologists, but I would be perfectly happy to be able to invest my life in increasing our basic understanding of the earth, instead of wasting my time and abilities trying to make an economic case for something that will induce the greedy to risk their capital.
I know too that the whole process of resource exploitation is awkward, oil is the perfect example, everybody uses it, but we all know as well that doing so is not in our long term interest. It applies to everything we do, so we should be mature enough about it to define what the tradeoffs are and make deliberate and well considered choices about what to do.
I call that the scientific point of view.
KN, once again I’m so appreciative of the clarity with which you express your thoughts. Are you a member of the Smithsonian? I am, and have been buying their DVD series for members, How the Earth Was Made. It’s terrific. I mentioned plate tectonics this week, referring to an incident from first grade, when I pointed out to a classmate how South America and Africa fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. I was very pleased that one of the DVDs has a New York segment, in which to prove the theory that New York and Morocco had once been neighbors, scientific experiments were done on rocks from the Palisades (the NJ/upstate NY side of the Hudson) that showed they were identical to (volcanic) rocks from Morocco.
Are you in Brasil? I spent a couple of the best months of my life there.
Zyxomma – No I am not a member of Smithsonian, I have been through the Natural History museum a few times and it is exceptional. I take it you may be in the NYC area since you mention the Palisades sill. I lived in NYC back in the 60s while in college. Don’t get me started on basaltic rocks.
Yes I am in Brasil and have been since late April of 2004, what was supposed to be a 2 month job has become something of an epic. Still no end in sight. I have seen quite a lot of Brasil as I have done work here since the early 90s. Presently I am in Northern Mato Grosso near the confluence of the Arinos and Juruena rivers. It is amazing how much things have changed here in six years. What part of Brasil did you visit? It is a fine country, not perfect by any means but with many good features. I wish I was better at learning languages.
There needs to be, IMHO, a link-category on the ‘flats for: “WOW – Things You’ll Be Glad You Know.” There is just so much really interesting and fascinating and incredible and truly informative stuff shared by mudpeeps! I’d park, for starters, AKMs meteor information and KNs plate information, in the category. beth.
Thank goodness for stinky garbage!!!
We had really nasty, cold, rainy weather all day today and I read the meteor post jealously, knowing that my sky was full covered in dark, drippy clouds.
The garbage pail in the kitchen was a little stinky so I decided to empty out the unidentifiable substances in the refrigerator and put the whole stinkin’ mess in the container outside. When I stepped out of the front door I discovered, much to my surprise, that the 50 mile per hour gusts we had earlier must have blown the clouds away because there’s lots of twinkly little stars in the sky…and I might be able to see the meteors after all!
You would think her God slamming the door shut again,with the Miller loss would tell her something.I will Never understand why just because someone disagrees with her or her family they are called haters.I dislike her politics and think she is a fraud pushed upon us but hate would give her too much credit.To me her and her family are nothing but bullies.
Palin tells Barbara Walters that she can beat Obama and I can see why she would believe that.
She was not qualified to govern and yet was elected to do so.
She quit mid-term but that did not end her career.
She did not write a book but is credited with writing a best seller.
She has lied and been caught but it’s never her fault and she has gone on to earn millions.
She has gone on to become a national laughing stock and embarrassment but it only makes her stronger.
She successfully has played the victim card so that the media treat her with more kindness than she deserves (I suppose they are afraid of her lamestream wrath).
She has been propped up by FOX and Money Men in the GOP because….?
She is golden and so now is her daughter who should have been voted off DWTS weeks ago but will most likely win the whole thing because of Sarah’s ardent fan’s.
I can see why she thinks that she is blessed by the hand of God…nothing ever really goes against her. Let us pray that an election finally will.
Sarah Jones knocks it out of the park again.
“Palin pre-emptively strikes at all criticism from her safe havens of Facebook, Twitter and Fox PAC. She slyly suggests males who dare not to worship her are impotent and or pedophiles, thereby rendering them speechless; So unrelated and bizarre a charge is used with malice of foresight as shock and awe against the enemy. The media duly reports such accusations and before you know it, we have America’s foremost martyr on our hands. ”
http://www.politicususa.com/en/willow-palins-facebook-propaganda
Ms. Jones does indeed hit another homer! I hope she gets the broad circulation her insight deserves.
Well, enjoy the stars tonight folks, cause Palin is still at it! Have fun with this one.
Sarah Palin: I couldn’t afford to stay governor
By Rachel Weiner
The New York Times’ long magazine profile of Sarah Palin reports that she’s seriously considering a presidential run. But it also contains an interesting anecdote about her decision to step down as governor of Alaska in 2009:
One afternoon in June 2009, Gov. Sarah Palin was sitting in the Washington office of her friend Fred Malek, whom she met through McCain during the 2008 campaign. She was listening to the former White House aide to Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford map out logical next steps to her political career. Focus on amassing a good record as governor, he advised her. Run for a second term. Develop some policy expertise. Do some extensive overseas travel. Generate some good will by campaigning for fellow Republicans.
Malek told me that he could tell that this wasn’t what Palin wanted to hear. Here’s the problem, she replied impatiently: I’ve got a long commute from my house to my office. I don’t have the funds to pay for my family to travel with me, and the state won’t pay for it, either. I can’t afford to have security at my home — anybody can come up to my door, and they do. Under the laws of Alaska, anybody can file suit or an ethics charge against me, and I have to defend it on my own. I’m going into debt.
Three weeks after talking to Malek, Palin resigned and cut a book deal.
The Anchorage Daily News reported in March 2009 that Palin owed more than a half-million dollars in legal debts after fighting numerous ethics violation claims. The state personnel board went on to declare that the legal fund set up while she was governor to help pay those debts was itself illegal. (The fund was shut down and relaunched.) Palin cited the ethics charges in a post-resignation interview with ABC News: “[I]t has been costing our state millions of dollars. It’s cost Todd and me. You know the adversaries would love to see us put on the path of personal bankruptcy so that we can’t afford to run.”
Oops. I see someone has already started parsing her word salad and lies.
Her claims that ethics complaints cost AK millions: LIE. The total cost that was published 2 days before her resignation speech was $296,000. Accounting estimates showed that nearly 63% was her own fault by blatantly trying to obstruct Troopergate probe by filing complaint against herself with her handpicked Board.
http://www.adn.com/palin/story/850854.html
The claim that the state would not pay for her legal counsel is another lie. The state entered into a contract with Van Flein’s (Palin’s lawyer)firm to cover a portion of the costs; state never received in bills or invoices from firm. Palin felt it better to seek out private funding sources.
http://media.adn.com/smedia/2010/06/24/14/Palin%20report%202010-06.71097.source.prod_affiliate.7.pdf – see page 2 of 9; paragraphs 2-4
The claim that Obama or DNC behind complaints: NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER. Van Flein asserted this on Greta Van Susteren in July 2009 yet when pressed, could not offer ONE shred of evidence. Furthermore, a fair amount of complaints were from a REPUBLICAN, Andree McCleod. So, another LIE from Palin and her camp. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,530620,00.html
Even as governor, she was practically a no show governor.Even the much vaunted ethics reform she claimed as a key achievement was incomplete; supporters had to make a rewrite. In 2008, after she was absent from a special session she called, many legislators sported Where’s Sarah? buttons. She only showed up in Juneau 15 percent of the time when she was governor.
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/sep/08/nation/na-palinstyle8
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/083108/sta_325768173.shtml
She simply was a new face at a time of rising oil prices, allowing her to buy popularity. She capitalized on anti-incumbent sentiment against Frank Murkowski. However, when oil prices dipped and more came out about her admin’s workings-private e-mail accounts, appointing high school friends to top jobs w/o qualifications, firing an aide because he dated the ex wife of her husband’s former business partner and the Monnegan/Wooten matter, and her increasing absenteeism in early 2009 to raise her national profile and her popularity dipped. She knew more money to be made in lower 48 from speaking to her fawning worshippers than actually doing job she asked people to entrust her with. She is a low info sociopath; cheerfully dumb and uninterested in facts yet knows where the dollars and adoration are and they aren’t in Juneau.
Posted by: Handsome19781
I loved the title of this post…I think you will too:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/37577_Coming_in_2012_-_The_Dumbest_Presidential_Candidate_Ever
We never get to see meteor showers. And at the moment, it’s cloudy and rainy. *sigh* Even when the skies are clear, we have too much light pollution. People who really want to see the stars and meteors go east or to the mountains. But this isn’t a nice time of year to camp out in the mountains – there’s already some snow.
Seeing the Milky Way is the one thing I really miss from my days in southwest Kansas. We used to see it clearly all the time. And the meteor showers. It was awesome.
The voting is different for DWTS than how one voted for people on America’s got talent show. I
tried to vote for contestants on DWTS and finally gave up. I also read where people can “beat” the system and can vote hundreds of times. If the voting procedure is not corrected next year—-I don’t think there will be another DWTS program.
I think they should just put a fork in DTWS now. It’s done. The producers are probably slapping each other’s backs and counting their money on the way to the bank. They had best put their bucks in a savings account because this has cost them many fans.
And , as someone else said, Bristol, honey, the Palinbots could not have made you more unpopular in any other way….
I think Bristol is lovely. Hear me out. Why not let them vote her all the way to the finish? Give her that ugly trophy. I would ask for a new design while we are at it. DWTS made this about a popularity vote being combined with their dancing scores. I am sure that there have been celebs that people didn’t think should have won in the past.
I think the deeper question is, “how do the dance stars feel about this?” If they get a popular partner, that could propel them to win which translates into dollars. They win by popularity and the hard work is left on the dance floor. I would just do the “cabbage patch” and call it a day. If the dancers don’t have to work hard, it might change their motivation. Thus, leaving the show as predictable as a soap opera. I think she has done well. I don’t think Brandy should have been voted off, but I don’t vote. So, instead of crying about Bristol, people should just vote for who they think should win. Why penalize a young lady for dancing? Being a celeb does not seem so fun. When you put yourself out there under the microscope of the public eye, people are going to attack like rabid dogs. The way of the world.
The obvious is – that is does not hurt to have a mom as well known as toilet paper on the scene every day, all the time, and a bit too much. However, this is life and in life nothing is ever truly free. Kind of like socialized liberal elite health care (snark) being handed out to people who don’t work hard. I vote for good health care for all!!! As Joy Behar would say, “who cares!!!”
Mark Ballas addressed this on TMZ. Good rebuttal.
http://www.tmz.com/
He doesn’t seem to have a problem with it. No worries.
http://rnbdirt.com/brandy-maksim-visit-jimmy-kimmel-live-after-dwts-elimination/15267/
another good one.
I rarely comment on anything Palin kid, but Bristol is about as far from lovely as you can get on my lovely person scale. She’s a little snot who lies constantly and has mean bones throughout her body. Outward looks mean nothing when there is festering goo inside. Bristol doesn’t have the stamina to remain a celebrity without encumbering more personality damage. Her story is unlikely to be lovely when all is said and done.
Even a shooting star is humbling, I have yet to see something as fascinating and grandiose as a meteor shower.
Haven’t read through it yet, I try not to let my own version of Palin Derangement Syndrome get me 24/7, I have work to do! : )
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/magazine/21palin-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&hp
I’ve roused the kids in the wee small hours of the morning from time-to-time in order to witness this meteor shower. Alas! More often than not, the autumnal pattern of Maryland is to be cloudy or rainy. One year we got to see smatterings of it. Maybe tonight IS “the night”!
By the way, I am giving myself well-deserved lashes for my opening my mouth and braying with ignorance. See below.
“Despite railing against the evils of government-subsidized health care for the last two years, Andy Harris chose to introduce himself on the national stage yesterday by demanding earlier access to his taxpayer-subsidized government health care benefits, and expressing shock that he would instead be treated like all other federal employees in having to wait 30 days for his coverage to kick in,” Kratovil aide Kevin Lawlor said in an email. “It has taken Rep.-Elect Harris less than two weeks to start grabbing national headlines for his arrogance and sense of entitlement.”
It’s just been so many years since MY start date, I had forgotten (or never realized) that there was a waiting period for FEHBP to kick in. Once they do start up, the best part about the healthcare program through federal employment is that there are NO pre-existing conditions that will deny you or your insured loved ones healthcare. Nor is there a lifetime cap with ANY of the policies that are offered through FEHBP (I asked about that specifically, when my husband was treated for cancer). You can stick with one plan for the rest of your life, or as long as they are part of the FEHBP system.
*hangs head in shame*
I guess I pulled a Palin. I’ll do some form of penance, like read a dull dry textbook!
I saw that. There is so much footage out there that reeks of hypocrisy, it is not even funny. If people are not engaged in politics, it gets covered up. Did you watch CNN on election night? The Republicans on CNN came out.
I try to watch Fox sometimes, because in every bad piece of news- there is some truth. I have a hard time watching it as a general rule because it is really right leaning during the day. If I watched it all the time, I think I would have questions about the President. I am finding that even the far left annoys me at times. Sometimes things are so overblown on both sides it is overwhelming. I have noticed that the left does not have a problem slamming the President either. Let’s just hope that this accountability will be a new norm.
While I hope President Obama will be re-elected. The next President may not have it so easy. Blogs, news, etc. Rough times are these to be in the public eye.
“Did you watch CNN on election night?”
I don’t have cable. On principle, I refuse to pay extra money to watch television.
The FOX news station in my area does a decent job of reporting the NEWS, it doesn’t feel too terribly lop-sided. I find myself flicking the channels to get the traffic update more than anything else. Plus it has “The Simpsons” and “House”. I do have my indulgences.
I watch them all. Addicted to politics (political newbie). Watch CSPAN so I don’t have to hear the chats. Disappointed with CNN’s Gloria Borger, she usually seems impartial to me. Not so much that night.
I think there is room for a new (station). I would love to see an impartial news cast. Pros and Cons of both sides. Report the facts. I know it is hard because everyone has an opinion these days. MSNBC should just add Dem news to the label. Fox (meaning Sean H.) should just say, “Fair to Republicans.” MSNBC “Lean Forward Dems.” CNN tries but… Maybe there has always been this much bias and I am watching too much television. I read a ton though!!! Has politics always been this bad????
I think Sarah Palin will be having her own meteor shower today and not in a good way.
Bristol is still on DWTS. Any surprise? Might as well give her the trophy and send the rest home. They don’t have a mother with a network of Tea baggers.
I see where they are going to talk about DWTS on CNN–coming up.
I find it sad because part of the draw of the show (or so I thought) was seeing who got BETTER and EARNED the right to stay until the end. I mean, you always know that the audience can influence it due to…whatever…but it’s so lop-sided this time.
I wonder if Bristol is embarrassed? I mean, surely she realizes that she’s not improving at a pace to warrant her continuing on the show, right?
Ugh. I’m going to stick with watching the ballroom dancing championship competitions. Particularly when they pit the best of the various styles against one another. That’s entertainment!
Bummed for Brandy. I think she is an awesome dancer but the show is about having people call in and vote at the end of the day. People simply are not voting. So, whomever wins-wins.
People are so upset about this and for good reason. And now Bristol will become as polarizing as her mother with the us/them attitude.
Not true, people tried to vote and couldn’t get through. There is a forum thread on this subject (DWTS).
do you have link?
Go to the thread on the forum Hope. There is a link there.
I have friends who called me and said they couldn’t get through on the phone lines and that the web site was down.
Funny reply to an opinion piece:
Teenage Mother vs Respectful young man is the example of Americans values. Bristol the teenage Mom that America hails as the role model for young woman, Willow using curse words showing she was taught well and Sarah the Governor who quit, can’t read and is using people for money. Yes we have our American Palin. The Royals might have their odd way but Wills brings respect. Notice Kate isn’t having a baby to get married. She was given a ring not the surprise announcement of baby/Daddy. Children represent how they were raised by their parents and both Bristol and Wills are example of how they were raised. Mainly Moms play a major role so this tells us about Diana and Sarah. It was clear from the start Bristol couldn’t dance but with politics involved we see Bristol winning and still can’t dance as other who are great are voted off. The show is doing a disservice to the viewers and other dancers.
Posted by: qqbDEyZW
Mayhap at one point she’d have been embarrassed — I don’t think she is now, though. She’s gotten too much ‘positive’ feedback these past few weeks to be having any niggling doubts hang around; if any doubts were stil there, she’d have done like so many others have done: claimed an incredibly sore knee, ankle, toe, whatever, and bowed out gracefully while wishing the other contestants good luck.
Sadly, she’s taking the rabid, blind adoration of her mother as adoration for herself; she doesn’t comprehend the votes she receives are not votes for her gracefulness, growth, elegance…talent. Like her mother, she’s taking the automatic approval of all things $P from kool-aid infused (and saturated), idolizing, $P wanna-bes, as validation and vindication.
There is surely a special place in Hell for John McCain for having unleashed this multi-tentacled plague upon our nation. beth.
People love when they can find a critic that will say the things that they only think about saying. However, we need someone with substance and we have too many issues facing our country. Remember when the naysayers thought that the U.S. was (stupid and drinking Kool-aid) when voting for President Obama? Well, maybe they need to have a taste of their own kool-aid to realize that it might taste the same. We have a flock of newbies coming in and proof is in the pudding. Time for the talking to be silenced by positive action. How any poll can really understand what motivated people to vote is beyond me. Let’s not forget people that a restless and tired folks also vote for our current President.
tired folk rather…(also voted)
— Hope – I can’t help but wonder: With the *consistent* backhanded ‘compliments’ of POTUS, this administration, and progressive thoughts, combined with the *consistent* (and thinly-disguised) apologetics of all things Palin, if you’ve volunteered to ‘take on’ the mudflats for Palinbots?
There seems to be, at least to me, a strong underlying current of complete approval for conservative, GOP, T-Bag, and Palin (AND complete dissing (polite ‘tho it may be) of all other) permeating –and inexorably seeping out of– your posts. Across the threads — *all* of them. “Disingenuous” is the word that comes to mind. IOW, I can’t help but seriously wonder: A troll by any other name…? beth.—
i voted for Barack Obama because he is a gentleman and a scholar. two years later i am very pleased with the things he has accomplished. in spite of the power arrayed against him… i agree with Beth and i “HOPE” that now you’ve been tagged you will slither away.
Beth,
I am a moderate Dem. I think both sides take too much money to win elections by allowing special interests to come in and shape their agendas. We spend more time on the next election versus getting things done. I think we should hold our party accountable even if we vote for them. Yes, proudly voted for President Obama. Want DADT to end, want health care, etc. etc. etc. The former Gov. not a big fan. I think her criticism (mine included of her) has been counterproductive and has assisted in the growth of her base. Outing people as trolls because they think differently seems a bit rough Beth. Isn’t debate and exploration of differing point of views healthy? I respect your feedback but disagree with your assessment.
I’m with ya there Beth McCain should rest in Hell for bringing that on the rest of us.
Embarrassed? Not hardly. She is as delusional as her mother. She believes she can dance. She stands there and wiggles her hips while her partner dances around her. She’s all over Face Book wrangling up the Tea Party votes.
Just like momma. A pretty face with no substance. Can someone tell me again how being a teenage unwed mother makes you a “star?”
I was so disgusted with the show last night. I’ve loved watching it and will probably watch next week just to support Jennifer and Kyle who are both awesome. Bristol should have gone home at least three weeks ago. And if you were watching, did you see the look on Derek’s face? He literally stood there with his mouth hanging open. Surely those fools voting for Bristol can see that she isn’t in the same league with Brandy, Kyle, and Jennifer – or Rick, Audrina or Kurt, for that matter.
I posted something on facebook, like many others. I have to say that part of the fault lies with the judges, who were trying to encourage Bristol by saying tactful nice things. They need to just be honest, let the audience boo and get on with it. I’m not going to continue watching a dance contest that is really a popularity contest based on politics.
I was able to vote, but I do it on the website. Since we are west coast, maybe that’s the difference. I didn’t try calling in, so I don’t know whether I could have gotten through or not.
And I was so sick of seeing Sarah, Todd and Piper at the shows. Yes, they should be supporting their daughter, but she didn’t need to be interviewed every time she was there. ABC has lost my respect.
“Surely those fools voting for Bristol can see that she isn’t in the same league with Brandy, Kyle, and Jennifer ”
I think you’re making a mistake in assuming that the people who are voting for her actually WATCH the show. I suspect that many of the voters are spending their time voting instead of watching the show. They don’t care how she dances or what she looks like. I don’t think they even care which Palin daughter it is, as long as she’s connected to the Quitter Queen.
I read somewhere that people figured out how to vote HUNDREDS of times, spurred on by postings on the Sea of Pee and other similar sites. This has nothing to do with Bristol or even with dancing…it’s all about making Sarah win in some twisted, vicarious way.
Apparently, they can register an email address that *looks* valid with no confirmation. Thus, they register as many phony emails as they wish, and use them to skew the vote.
Bristol has no shame — just like her mother, another sinverguenza.
I am rarely home on Monday nights so I don’t usually follow the show, but I have heard that there was a bump in ratings this season, and many people are attributing it to the Palin factor. But I wonder if this strategy will come back to bite ABC in the nether regions.
Many of those ‘bump’ viewers will cease to be fans once Bristol is gone, one way or another, at the end of the season. In the meantime, the producers have destroyed all credibility and made the show into the political equivalent of a middle school girls’ bathroom catfight. I suspect that many of the regular viewers will abandon the show after this season. ABC may find that a temporary ratings bump prompted by a calculated ploy may result in a much less popular show far in the future.
She had no business being on the show in the first place (‘star’???) and should have been eliminated weeks ago.
I’ve watched every season of DWTS except this one…I refused to watch it as long as Bristol is on- she is NOT a Star… I may not watch it ever again after hearing how the voting process as been “gamed”…. typical Palin tactic, now passed on to daughter…
For those who missed my post yesterday, here’s the link to comment to the EPA to try to put an end to mountaintop removal. I personalized my comments (which is supposedly more effective). Please sign:
http://www.ilovemountains.org/epa-guidance
One reason the mining companies (Massey et al.) get away with this is because the residents of the Appalachian coal states are not wealthy. The more of us who support clean water, the better for their health, and the health of the planet. These are the oldest mountains on the planet, and it’s obscene that 500′ of their tops are destroyed after clear cutting their forests. The area is home to the greatest biological diversity to be found outside of a rain forest. Thanks for signing. Health and peace.
And please check out this video of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., explaining the process:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RsXm8mNEsc&feature=email
Comments to the EPA are due by December 1st. C’mon, mudpups!
The clock’s ticking on Sarah. Compare her neck and especially her hands to her face — she’s had serious work done but it stops just below her chin. Once she hits fifty, the time in the tanning booth will trump the best that Botox can do, and her grifting ability will plummet like Ronald Reagan’s wattles.
In 1972, I was camping on a plateau not far from Taos, NM, during the Perseids. Completely clear night; the Milky Way looked like a starry sidewalk. Meteors too numerous to count. Then, one that didn’t burn up turned the sky Technicolor as it entered the atmosphere. It probably fell into the Pacific. It appeared that three weather satellites observed it, but I can’t be sure.
The LA Times has picked up the Tina Fey story (Palin jokes cut from PBS broadcast), with video:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2010/11/pbs-cuts-sarah-palin-jokes-from-tina-fey-special.html
I just watched it. It’s 15 minutes of video. The relevant part kicks in around 11:55.
Palin has a pot/kettle moment:
http://www.frumforum.com/palin-hearts-simon-cowell
Enjoy:
http://synd.imgsrv.uclick.com/comics/po/2010/po101116.gif
🙂
Bwa ha ha…snicker. Good one.
…and perhaps a side of Fava beans?
That’s what I kept thinking when I saw how close they got to those bears. Were they really that close, or was it the camera angles or some fancy editing? Only problem was there were kids in the boat – the bears could have had the rest and spared us all a lot of grief.
Palin tells reporter that she is pondering a run:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/45264.html
Ugh, I knew she wouldn’t just fade away after her taste of the national political stage in 2008. And they list Todd as one of her main advisers? What credibility does HE have? I want to see people running for president (and other political offices) who are smarter and better educated than I am. Neither Sarah nor Todd fit that description.
Pat,
Tard has a GED, darn you!
LOL
“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut! For the life of me I couldn’t think of the title the other day. I feel it’s a must-read for everyone. There will not be a quiz. But I might query people about it. It’s less and less a work of fiction it seems.
Plot summary
In the story, social equality has been achieved by handicapping the more intelligent, athletic or beautiful members of society. For example, strength is handicapped by the requirement to carry weight, beauty by the requirement to wear a mask and so on. This is due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th amendments to the United States Constitution. This process is central to the society, designed so that no one will feel inferior to anyone else. Handicapping is overseen by the United States Handicapper General, Diana Moon-Glampers.
Harrison Bergeron, the protagonist of the story, has exceptional intelligence, strength, and beauty, and thus has to bear enormous handicaps. These include headphones that play distracting noises, three hundred pounds of weight strapped to his body, eyeglasses designed to give him headaches, a rubber ball on his nose, black caps on his teeth, and shaven eyebrows. Despite these societal handicaps, he is able to invade a TV station, declare himself Emperor, strip himself of his handicaps, then dance with a ballerina whose handicaps he has also discarded. Both are shot dead by the brutal and relentless Handicapper General, who demonstrates the hypocrisy of such equality in the first place. The story is framed by an additional perspective from Bergeron’s parents, who are watching the incident on TV, but because of his father’s handicaps, and his mother’s average intelligence, they cannot concentrate enough to remember it.
A similar (though less developed) version of this idea appeared in Vonnegut’s earlier novel, The Sirens of Titan.
sheesh. I was awake at 4 am, but never looked outside. It was still drizzling anyway. Perhaps I’ll have another sleepless night and will get rewarded with some meteors. It’s a bright clear day now.
Why isn’t there a Scorpionic meteor shower? Hmm? I bet it would be spectacular!
My cat is still on the ‘other’ time.
maybe I’ll look up at 4 am tomorrow!
Your kitty and our’s too:-)
Mine, too! I wonder how long it’s going to take for them to catch on.
but back in the rill world of CitizensUnited, many people have only faith-based health care…they pray they don’t get sick.
Richard Trumka shares this: “Health Coverage Declines But Companies’ Profits Soar”
http://www.facebook.com/#!/note.php?note_id=461355194350&id=100000036724034
One of many reasons I am proud to be FEA, NEA, AFL-CIO. There are those who talk about it; there are those who do what must be done.
*thrilled shiver of excitement*
I’ve spent many a night
in a clearing in my forest
swaddled in old quilts
reclining on a chaise lounge
bottle of wine and a bendy straw 😉
so I don’t have to sit up and miss a moment
stargazing
meet me in the clearing?
sweet shalom
I’ll be out in the early hours tomorrow with doggies Burrito and Mocha– waving to you from Colorado.
Beautiful Colorado!!!
What a wonderful sight that would be.
I just read an excellent column by Warren Buffet in the NY Times that you all might also enjoy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/opinion/17buffett.html?src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB
Good read.
We have those that wonder if we should have just let it all fall or fail. Where are the bailout folks standing up for the President? Maybe there are and I just don’t hear their voices with all of the rhetoric out there. I just wonder though if someone saved my job, if I wouldn’t be screaming at the top of the roof. Pardon me if I am off base here but I don’t see much gratitude. I hear a lot of voices talking about how horrible the President is and I am wondering what would they have done? I actually had a gal tell me, “how is the President working out for you now?” I told her more or less that even God took 7 days to create the world. Considering the President is not God, he is actually done a lot. He has had a megaphone of critics and he stil is trucking on. I remember him campaigning on these things, did people think that he was going to say- Nevermind. Just joking folks! How will the next Republican President do and who will we had a large megaphone to next???
I was at a national park in Alaska this summer, and I did see a sign that the trail improvements had been funded through the American revitalization act. Of course, I’m sure most dim-wits don’t understand that was the “bail out” money. It went to some good use in that instance.
I think it sad that they need signs.
Got up extra early this morning and was rewarded by this wonderful post. What a great way to start my day!
Even if I am unable to see the shower myself, you’ve made it more real to me. I look forward to hearing personal accounts and seeing photographs online. Thanks for the heads-up and the wonderfully digestible information!
Today is my daughter’s birthday and for years we have tried to see ‘her’ meteor shower….seems its been cloudy, cold and rainy in Kansas on Nov 17 for many of her 22 birthdays!!
A few years back, we had some clear skies during the showers. I went out on the back side of the airport on Pt. Woronzof to get away from the ambient light. They were pretty cool. There was one every few seconds it seemed.
It’s pretty darn cold out tonight for star gazing, but I will check it out.
Last week the night sky was spectacular, how insignificant we are !
And yet each of us is as spectacular as the whole universe 🙂
Funny how you’re both 100% correct!