A question of etiquette

Wednesday is trash day in my neighborhood, so when I walked out the door this morning I wasn't surprised to see that the street was lined with trash cans. What did surprise me was the fellow who drove up in an SUV, parked illegally, then pulled a hefty bag out of the back of the truck and dropped it into an already overfilled receptacle.

After he drove off I was tempted to walk over and check to see if he had left a body. I didn't, though, because it seemed to me that examining the contents of my neighbor's trash can would be unthinkingly impolite. What say you all?

Gadgets

As I work to come to terms with my gadget problem, I find that I need boundaries but am unable to define them for myself. The difficulty is that the border between gadgets and non-gadgets is a little fuzzy. Which brings me to my question. Are the following examples of gadgets? Please explain your answers.

• stereo
  
• microwave
  
• car
  
• foreman grill
  
• charcoal grill
  
• DVR
  
• trash compactor
  
• toilet
  
• flashlight
  
• smart phone
  
• television

I sure wish the OG had an Obama presser discussion thread up...

...but they don't.

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is a bad movie

There, I said it. 

UPDATE: Slumdog Millionaire is alright, I guess, but it's no great shakes. 

Discuss

Where be his quiddities now?

On one hand...

Everything I've heard is completely consistent with PN's report, though that does beg the question of how this goof got elected and reelected in the first place.

(ed.note: Please no emails telling me this is the incorrect use of the phrase 'beg the question', though I know you're right. I've decided that this misuse is too widespread, too serviceable and too lacking in an alternative not to simply persist in using it.) | Josh Marshall |

On the other hand...

While descriptivists and other such laissez-faire linguists are content to allow the misconception to fall into the vernacular, it cannot be denied that logic and philosophy stand to lose an important conceptual label should the meaning of BTQ become diluted to the point that we must constantly distinguish between the traditional usage and the erroneous "modern" usage. This is why we fight. | BTQ |

On the gripping hand, Jason says:

The term "beg the question" suffers from being a terrible name for what it describes. Terms of art should ideally suggest to layfolk what they actually are on their face OR be sufficiently obscure that layfolk don't easily come up with another interpretation.

Linguists and Philosophers would do all of us a favor by adopting a different term, or just sticking with petitio principii.

Discuss.

Meta update: I think DRs suggestion is perfect, so I've updated the title accordingly. Feel free to continue to suggest titles, however. For the record, the old title was: It turns out that coming up with titles for blog posts is actually one of the hardest parts of blogging, so feel free to suggest a title for this post.

Marking time

I'm stuck in the Miami airport for the foreseeable future. I've decided to pass the time by letting as many kids as possible know that, despite the propaganda they hear, drugs are awesome. How do you keep yourself occupied in airports?

Addendum: I find that parents tend to get the wrong impression if you walk up and start talking to their kids about how awesome fucking is, which is why I've decided to focus on the pro-drug message.

Oh. My. God. That. Was. Bor. ing.

Consider this your debate reactions thread.

(unofficial) Palin debate predictions thread

The nature of the McCain campaign means that we've got to prepare for both stunt and non-stunt debate possibilities. My predictions are below. Yours are in comments.

Non-stunt prediction: Pundits will declare that Palin wins while losing and it won't be obvious that they're wrong. Up to a point, there's an upside to sputtering incomprehensible strings of buzzwords. Low information voters will make up a version of what you're saying that makes sense to them, and that narrative is apt to be more convincing than anything you might have come up with yourself. Another way of putting that is to say that low information voters aren't going to be familiar with any specifics you might come up with, so you're better off letting them connect the dots with examples from their own lives. The bar has never been all that high for Palin. She doesn't have to make sense. She just has to make about as much sense as a regulation issue Republican. Less maybe.

Stunt prediction: Monday at 8am Palin resigns as Governor of Alaska and issues a press release stating that she is bringing her team down. Tuesday, the McCain campaign, through Ed O'Callaghan in Alaska, issues an inscrutable press release stating that the campaign will henceforth cease advising Palin, limiting communication to such items as are necessary to coordinate actions. At the debate, Palin still doesn't know much about a disturbing range of issues, but is feisty, assertive, and coherent. Stakes out a far-right socially conservative agenda beyond anything McCain is proposing. Non-bible verse line of the night, "Well, John has his views and I have mine and we'll continue to negotiate."

Just say it, Byron

Do It, Nancy [Byron York]

When it comes to the bailout plans, from a Democratic perspective: If it is House Republicans who are the problem, who cares what they think? Isn't it a distinguishing characteristic of the House that the majority can pretty much do what it wants? It's the Senate where the minority can make lots of trouble and slow down the process. In the House, we have seen Nancy Pelosi and her top lieutenants steamroll over Republican objections time and again in all sorts of legislative matters. Before Pelosi, we saw a Republican majority do similar things. So if Pelosi wants the bailout to happen, and House Democrats are united behind her, why don't we have a bill? | corner |

Meaning what, exactly? Do you, Byron York, think that the revised Bush plan is a good one and that you want it passed, despite public sentiment and the resistance of your own party? Or do you, Byron York, think it's a bad idea, and politically unworkable, and just want to watch the Dems melt down?

Personally, I haven't been convinced that the bailout is necessary, despite my vanishing 401k. I kind of hope they can't agree on how to spend 700 billion dollars.

What about you, Bellman readers?

Nat King Cole fuck yeah

Been a long time since we talked about music. What sounds are y'all spinning these days?

I want to say two words to you. Just two words. Paper shredding.

Down in Tulsa, my grandfather Gus pulled his family through the Great Depression managing a gas station. Uncle Bob sometimes mentions "the farm", but my father's memory doesn't go back that far. I've been wondering, what if the bottom drops out? What's a good job to have? I don't want to say the sky is falling, but basic institutions of the market are failing almost daily. The ground under the foundations looks sandy.

In related metabellman news, this blog is accepting applications for resident economist.

To return to our strengths, we're going to need a name for the next historical era. I suggest, "the contraction". Got something better?

Bonus Content: Humbly submitted to you as the official song of the contraction:

$28, 500?

That's the cost per plate at tonight's big Obama fundraiser. I don't quite know how to square that with the $2000 limit on personal contributions. My best guess, based on a quick peek at Section 441a of the ever so helpful FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN LAWS Compiled by THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION (PDF!) is that part of what these sorts of events offer is a smorgasbord of political committees which allow attendees to package donations up to the aggregate limit of $37,500. But I don't think much of that guess, and anyway it doesn't jibe with my own bake-sale experiences. Anybody got a clue?

Also, the headlines keep talking about Streisand, but the other musical guest is Ben Harper. Which, I'm not a huge fan or anything, but better than Streisand and anyone who has ever followed the Dead has got to admire this.

Discussion question

Suppose you are watching a movie on DVD and find that from time to time you need to rewind because you've lost the thread. Suppose further that it is not an art movie. How many times would you allow this to happen before moving on to other diversions?

One LP to rule them all

Say that I didn't own any rock music of any kind on LP, and that I were going to spend some time at the record shop tomorrow. What rock titles should I be looking for?