You said, "baby, we don't speak of that." Like a real aristocrat.

by von

Regrettably -- particularly given Eric's announcement below -- I am taking a leave of absence from the blog, effective immediately.  I hope that I won't be gone long.  Be cool.  

UPDATE:  In the waning hour, I claim victory.  Jeffrey Goldberg, remarking on General Petraeus' friendly fêting in conservo-Washington, reports:

I asked John Podhoretz, the editor of Commentary, what all of this means. He said, "The meaning is - seriously - that we asked him and he said yes." I also asked Podhoretz if Gen. Petraeus's recent testimony about Israel - he said that Washington's perceived closeness to Israel is a drag on America's reputation in the Arab world - has caused any fallout in the Commentary crowd. "None," he said.

Not a surprise.  Friends of Israel -- and I am one -- need to recognize that the game has changed.  Obvious truths are nearly ready to make policy.  The status quo will not stand.  And folks like Andrew McCarthy, whom I used to regard as a useful idiot, is now just an idiot.

(I decided to go out with a bang, in the event that my hiatus is longer than hoped.)

Comments

[Hogan]

I hope everything/everyone is OK . . .

[JanieM]

What Hogan said.

And on a more lighthearted note, von's post (despite the hint of return) has a strong flavor of this:

Thirdly and finally,, he said, I wish to make an ANNOUNCEMENT. He spoke this last word so loudly and suddenly that everyone sat up who still could. I regret to announce that--though, as I said, eleventy-one years is far too short a time to spend among you--this is the END. I am going. I am leaving NOW. GOOD-BYE!

Hey, us kids will just have to talk among ourselves for a while. Surely we can find something....

[Slartibartfast]

has a strong flavor of this

That story has an unpleasant ring to it.

[JanieM]

That story has an unpleasant ring to it.

Groan....

[russell]

ouch.

von, hope all's well. we'll look forward to seeing you again on the flipside.

[Jesurgislac]

Gil-Galad was an Elven-king.
Of him the harpers sadly sing:
the last whose realm was fair and free
between the Mountains and the Sea.

His sword was long, his lance was keen,
his shining helm afar was seen;
the countless stars of heaven's field
were mirrored in his silver shield.

But long ago he rode away,
and where he dwelleth none can say;
for into darkness fell his star
in Mordor where the shadows are.

Stay out of Mordor, von, and take care...

[JakeB]

I was startled to realize last time I ran across the song Jes quotes that the lyrics can be sung to the music of "Ring of Fire".

[McKinneyTexas]

Yeah, Von, take care, hope all is well. Damn.

[John Thullen]

Come back, Shane.

[Marty]

well, just damn.

[Julian]

I hope you're doing well and that you can come back soon, Von. We will miss you.

[Free Lunch]

I was startled to realize last time I ran across the song Jes quotes that the lyrics can be sung to the music of "Ring of Fire".

What other tune would you sing it to?

[Mike Schilling]

Hernando's Hideaway.

[Mike Schilling]

Or (with a few minor adjustments) the Ode to Joy, Greensleeves, or Clementine.

[Slartibartfast]

I hum "Ring of Fire" to myself, under my breath, as kind of a self-caution/bracing technique, right before I dig into that lovely salsa made from fresh tomatoes, onions, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and a dash of finely chopped habanero (to really make the sweat pop out).

Kind of prophetic, really.

I figure Johnny must've had a similar recipe.

[von]

I had a favorite bar in Chicago that had Ring of Fire, The Misfits' "Skulls," and Naked Raygun's "Treason" on the jukebox. (Back when there were non-ironic jukeboxes.) It also had a vending machine that would dispense a handful of peanuts for 25 cents. Good spot, until I saw the dude depositing the peanuts. Dirty hands on my nuts? Someone's fantasy, surely, but not mine.

After that, I just enjoyed the music ... and lots of bourbon.

p.s. Don't read too much into the hiatus. It almost certainly isn't what you think. And it is starting, now, at 8:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

[Tony P.]

It almost certainly isn't what you think.

Ah. So von is NOT taking time out to:
1) Run for elective office;
2) Undergo a sex change; or
3) Plot a casino heist.

In all seriousness, come back soon, von.

--TP

[joel hanes]

Breaking News

According to The Poorman Institute

Top NASA scientists have predicted that, if current trends continue, by 2013 98% of all non-pornographic internet content will be generated by Eric Martin.

[John Thullen]

Go away, Shane.

No, really. come back.

[Jesurgislac]

It almost certainly isn't what you think.

Then you haven't decided to immigrate to (a) another planet (b) another dimension (c) another blog?

[Hartmut]

A good tune for the Gilgalad song was made for the BBC adaption. Someone put it on youtube with clips from the Jackson movies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BquuEMC0ei8>here
I cthulhufied it in late February

The Fall of Cthulhu (a fragment)
OT: The Fall of Gil-Galad
T: J.R.R. Tolkien
M: Stephen Oliver(1981)

Cthulhu was the Star Spawn's prince
His mere name made all mortal wince
Hist vast realm was all vile and ick!
The islands in the Pacific

His wings were short his talons long
His body odour very strong
Around his mouth his hideous face
It sprouted wiggly tentacles

But long ago he went to sleep
For strange aeons down in the Deep
Into the sea sank Spawn of Star
With/In R'lyeh where the shoggoths are

[blogbudsman]

As the last shelf of moderation melts into the fridged waters, the oppressive spread of Global Inanity continues its trek to absorb humanity. Run, Flee, Never look back.

[elm]

On Goldberg -- former active IDF officer and Israeli prison guard --'s first sentence:

Gen. David Petraeus, who led the successful surge in Iraq

(emphasis mine)

To quote Daniel Larison: http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2010/04/06/by-its-own-standards-the-surge-failed/>"The surge failed."

Perhaps this is a minor point, but this is how people establish false pieces of common knowledge -- by referencing them early and often as self-evident truths.

[elm]

I will, however, agree 100% with von that McCarthy is an idiot. I read the first few pages of the linked NRO column and it's hard to see anyone taking that seriously.

[russell]

What other tune would you sing it to?

Highway 61.

this is how people establish false pieces of common knowledge -- by referencing them early and often as self-evident truths.

The refinement of propaganda to fine art was one of the signal achievements of the 20th C.

Lie, lie, and lie again. Nobody can lie that much and keep a straight face, you must be telling the truth.

[Marty]

To quote Daniela Larison:

"Is anyone going to argue seriously that there has been significant progress on any of these “key elements”? These are political elements of the plan that the administration itself emphasized as essential, and I don’t think anyone can say that the goals have been reached. There are other political elements listed on the “fact sheet” that are still neglected over three years later. If anyone wants to separate the security gains that have occurred in part because of the additional brigades present in Iraq during 2007-08 from all of the other stated goals of the plan, he is free to do so, but it is absurd to say that it is not credible to judge the success of the plan according to the standards set up by the administration that proposed it. "

In general, this shows a lack of depth in understanding the accomplishments to date. There have been huge steps forwaard in all these areas, none are complete, most are not what we would have hoped for. We spend so much time trying to figure out if they have achieved what we wanted we still forget that the idea was to get them to take over.

Better or worse they have taken over and, in fact, we shouldn't be there anymore.

That couldn't have happened without the surge and Daniel Larison is naive if he thinks that doesn't represent success.

[Oyster Tea]

Marty,

And how do you know that it wouldn't have been the same or even better if we'd left before the surge?

[Marty]

OT, I would be happy for you to pick a point before the surge where any of the discussions going on today about the elections wouldn't have long turned to violence. Even if they do, the surge gave them the opportunity no to.

[Mike Schilling]

Agreed Andrew McCarthy is just an idiot, but I'm wondering what evidence ever pointed to his being anything else?

[Jesurgislac]

I would be happy for you to pick a point before the surge where any of the discussions going on today about the elections wouldn't have long turned to violence.

That would be April 2003. Back then, Iraqis were pretty much united in the idea that elections would be a good thing and the US should leave: of course those discussions turned to violence too.

That's what makes praise of "the surge" so shortsighted: over a million Iraqis have died by violence since the US invaded, and right-wingers still feel capable of patting themselves on the back because the rate of increase of the number of people killed because the US invaded is slowing down.

[Oyster Tea]

It's like a baseball game that we lost 23 - 2, but we're celebrating the 7th inning when we scored a run.

[bobbyp]

von: "Obvious truths are nearly ready to make policy. The status quo will not stand."

That would be the truth and/or status quo of the moral travesty that is the foundation of the zionist enterprise? The ongoing illegal occupation of the gains from the '67 war? The fact that they have 'non-sanctioned'(heh) nuclear weapons? Their ongoing brutality toward the Palestinians? The fact that the future for Israel qua jewish state consists of the grim choice as between apartheid or genocide?

That kind of status quo? Well, in that case, I'd agree.

Go in peace.

[bobbyp]

Marty: "We spend so much time trying to figure out if they have achieved what we wanted we still forget that the idea was to get them to take over."

It is inevitable that they will, sooner or later, "take over". So what's your point?

[JanieM]

Treating this as an open thread, here's a query for a slow Friday night.

Back in the dark ages (about 1981), I had occasion to look at the source code for some software that my company had bought that was a bit buggy. Searching through a file, I found this comment line at the end of a routine:

"Pop goes the fil-um, good night!"

Positive that this oh so familiar line was from the end of some favorite weekly cartoon from my childhood, I was surprised and annoyed to find that I couldn't remember what cartoon (or other TV show) it was from. To this day I haven't figured it out, even with the help of the otherwise nearly omniscient Google.

Anybody got any ideas?

[Bernard Yomtov]

JanieM,

Buggy software? Say it ain't so.

Consider yourself lucky to have found a comment.

[joel hanes]

JanieM :

Maybe a reference to Pop Goes the Country ?

Was the commend just before or after a file close or delete? I'm trying to figure out what "fil-um" might be.

It doesn't scan as part of the "Pop Goes the Weasel" lyrics, but it does scan as "Shave and a haircut, six bits".

[JanieM]

joel hanes -- thanks for tackling it!

I should have clarified: In the line I remember hearing as a child, "fil-um" was "film." As if to say: you have been watching this cartoon / TV show which is made of film, and it (the physical object) is about to run out, so good night!

In the software, the comment line was meant to be a similar kind of a joke, as in. I know it's hard to remember from so long ago (and lots of ObWi readers are probably too young to actually remember at all), but in 1981 programs were mostly linear: they might prompt the user for some specific inputs, but they weren't really interactive. They started, they carried out some calculations, they ended. This comment line was just before the end.

It's cool that you picked up on the rhythm. The line wasn't exactly sung, more like chanted, and yes, it fit with "Shave and a haircut" and not with "Pop goes the weasel," with which I think it had nothing to do.

"Pop Goes the Country" was too late. My childhood took place in the 1950's. In the 1970's I was basically not watching TV at all, except maybe for M*A*S*H reruns, so I don't think it's from anything that late.

[bobbyp]

From '72 to '83 it wasn't re-runs of M.A.S.H. you were watching, Janie!

But age does play tricks, as I well know.

[JanieM]

Age does play tricks, bobbyp, but not on this occasion. I can remember my household gathering in the TV room of the house I lived in from 1977 to 1981, sometimes multiple times on any given day (this was in the Boston area). See http://www.tv.com/mash/show/119/summary.html>here:

The popularity of M*A*S*H was quite evident in the 1978-79 season. CBS aired new episodes during primetime on Monday and programmed reruns of the series in the daytime and on Thursday late night, giving the show a remarkable seven appearances on a single network in a five day period.

[JanieM]

And http://www.finest-kind.net/articles/mash_in_syndication.php>this corroborates my memory of the gang of us sometimes watching it three times a day:

M*A*S*H, of course, was broadcast by CBS from 1972 to 1983. While it was on the air, however, CBS aired repeats of the series during the afternoon and late at night. The series was also sold into off-network syndication in the late 1970s. Off-network syndication continued long after M*A*S*H went off the air in 1983.