lookin

The Monsignor swears off Linguine alle Vongole right before bedtime

That's offal! I grew up near the Pennsylvania Dutch country and often enjoyed a slice or two of scrapple with breakfast. That is until my high school English teacher told us what was in it. "Pigs' ears!", she said. "And snouts!" "Ew!", said I, and never ate it again. I have a recipe for making it with pork loin and went so far as to add sage and thyme to my spice rack, against the day when I get the urge. But I have a feeling it would come nowhere close to the delicious stuff we got from the Farmer's Market all those years ago. A friend who's a very good cook tells of a couple of ladies from New Orleans who served up turkey necks on rice with gravy at an annual food fest. He said it was one of the best dishes he ever had. It's funny how completely a dish can lose its appeal just by knowing what's in it. Mince pie was another favorite until the self-same English teacher told us it was made with hamburger. That was enough to put me off it. Love hamburger. Love raisins. Love pie. But hamburger for dessert? I'm sure it's my loss for never having the lip-smacking pleasure of a steaming bowl of cuttlefish testicles, but there you are.

I never thought of it this way and it shows the limitations of communication in a low-bandwidth medium like a message board, as well as my own. There have been many threads, especially on Daddy's site, dealing with posters' personal losses, usually pets but sometimes family, friends, and lovers, or even the memories of those losses. I don't recall a single instance when those personal losses were not treated with respect, compassion, and support. And such threads were never highjacked. It's one of the things I like about the folks who populate both boards. I feel terrible that I wasn't able to realize from your post the personal connection you had with Philip Seymour Hoffman and, even if that were not the case, you make a good point about pausing to respect the passing of any fellow human being, even if (s)he hasn't touched one of us personally. It never hurts to bow our heads when one of our fellows is taken from us. Again, sincere apologies for not being aware of your connection.

Is this a trick question? For me, the most appealing way to post is to post what you feel like posting. But it's not always an effective way to prevent highjacking. And the most effective way to prevent highjacking so far seems to be castigating those who highjack. But, again for me, it's not very appealing. My thought was to post a "Do Not Highjack" statement in threads that you don't want highjacked, letting folks know up front that you want them to stay on message, and not to bother responding if they can't. This may not qualify as effective and appealing, but it's the best solution I can think of. What would Justin Bieber do?

A few days ago, another poster commented that his serious thread was trivialized by off-topic comments and by posters trying to be funny or by showing discomfort with a serious topic. I know I've been guilty over the years of straying off topic and I'll add my apologies for my irrelevant comments and feeble attempts at humor. I also know that most of my threads have been highjacked, often before they got off the ground. But it's rare that I don't enjoy whatever course they end up taking. Maybe it's because I like the banter as much as I like the subject matter of the thread. If it were really important to me to stay focused on a particular topic, I'd either limit my discussions to friends off the Board, or I might try to bring the thread back on topic. If that didn't work, I'd figure I was just interested in something that others weren't. At least not that day. Maybe they wanted to think about it for a while. It's sure not my intention to offend anyone with my posts, so I'm now a little gun shy about posting anything even slightly off-topic. If a poster were to put a "Do Not Highjack" statement in the thread, I'd definitely honor it. What do others think? Is that a workable solution? Or is there some better solution for making a thread highjack-proof? By the way, this may be a deadly dull topic so if anyone wants to take this thread into alien airspace, please be my guest.

Personally, I'd be grateful for any pointers Her Majesty cares to share.

Perhaps he's on his way to a Nobel Prize in Physiology as the knocker in question is nearly as big as his head. The unblurred photo seems to show more of a love bite than a suckle so I expect the Peace Prize is out.

Sadly, it looks like the heroin that Hoffman got was the fentanyl blend. Unless he was an informed and practiced user, he didn't stand much of a chance. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2550708/Authorities-investigate-possible-link-killer-heroin-fentanyl-batch-Philip-Seymour-Hoffmans-death.html

Go for it! You're both champions in my book!

For me, things got a little clearer when I realized I wasn't required to have an opinion about everybody else's behavior. More relaxing too. I can generally judge my own behavior OK because (1) I have most of the necessary information and (2) I can sometimes do something about it. Drug use is an especially tough one. Not everyone's brain is wired the same way and reactions to the same drug can vary for different folks. Some are easily addicted and some not so much. Even alcohol can be a pleasant diversion for some and a life-changer for others. All I know is how it affects me. I think I'd enjoy the effects of heroin, if I could get past the idea of sticking a needle in my arm or someplace. But even then I wouldn't know until after I'd done it. And what if I turned out to be one of the unlucky ones? There's apparently a blend of heroin and fentanyl making the rounds, leaving lots of dead bodies in its wake. The drug dealers are said to factor a lost-customer rate of 5% or so into their calculations figuring they'll make it up in new customers looking for a higher high. For me, it's best not to bother. The hardest part is figuring out how someone's actions may impact others. Hoffman's death will no doubt cause misery for his partner and kids. I regret his actions more than I do Bieber's whose parents would be devastated, but are capable of taking care of themselves. I don't buy into the idea that either one 'owes' anything to his fans or to society at large. If JB's fans or S-A-L want to tie their wellbeing to a goofy nineteen year old kid I think they've got deeper issues than he has. So my plan is to remain a casual observer of his antics, hope for the best, and give him a hearty klop should we ever become more intimately involved.

OK, I'll dummy up. If he wants my advice he knows how to find me.

Much credit to the original material. Would it be an intrusion to ask where you found it?

Lost version of The Importance of Being Earnestine opens to mixed reviews A retitled and recast production goes on to great success

No doubt he would be gratified to know how many here are ready with free advice and suggestions for making him a better member of society. Perhaps we could form a Dutch Uncle Lecture League to help keep him on the straight and narrow. Step on it!! It's those D.U.L.L. guys again!

If you're looking to float any deposits, I'm happy to plunk down a little something into the pot. Let me know if a sinking fund or a lump sum would better keep you flush.

Your place! My dad's a cop and he's been in a bad mood. Plus mom's got her church ladies over tonight.

I think (at least I hope) you mean these comments for MsGuy. Trying to draw me into an informed sports conversation is kind of like asking a resident of Pompeii to offer a few humorous remarks on the subject of lava. (not one of my analogies, alas, rather an old Tom Lehrer wheeze)

Really! Especially bi. That's barely sliding one foot out the door. I bet in another year or two it won't count unless you swear you're a pig bottom who's into cross-dressing and hot wax facials.

Folk singer, activist Pete Seeger dies in NY Like so many folks, my political awareness dawned with a Pete Seeger tune in the background. He dropped out as a Harvard sociology major in 1938 after hearing his professor say ''Don't think that you can change the world. The only thing you can do is study it." With his banjo and message of hope he set about proving his prof wrong for the next seventy-five years. Will we ever see his like again?

It's uninteresting and boring and full of stereotypes and stuff we've seen before and disappointing and completely insular to the point of alienation and its mother wears combat boots! (This is a TV show we're talking about, right?)

Perhaps you should start dating.

I've been meaning to get myself to a Palm Springs Weekend for years but the stars haven't aligned. One of these days I'd like to go mostly to meet some of the posters I've long enjoyed. Lucky's always a treat, and Charlie I know I'd love chatting with, and Oliver sounds like one of the nicest folks on Earth. Probably couldn't swing a weekend with an escort, so it would be more for the general socializing and hanging out by the pool. And Palm Springs itself is a pretty nice place. At least it was when I was there in the seventies and eighties. Plus now they've got Marilyn! The ultimate souvenir would be a few shots of some of the BoyToy posters looking up her dress.

Forty minutes and fifty petaflops later, Yoshi models the world's first brain fart

Thought sure we'd see a Skin Flute here but the Sprinkle Organ will do just fine.

Perhaps because I should have said right-click rather than left-click. A thousand pardons! MsGuy kindly fixed this one, but try the right-click trick the next time a picture fails to appear. On a Mac anyway, it's been kind of the Swiss Army knife for bad images. (Other than my own, more's the pity. )