Welcome to the DBD, a W4C community board where one can talk about pretty much anything, like…
This is the new Reverb Hard Rock Hotel in Hamburg. It sits atop one of the city’s renowned flak towers - which are nearly indestructible. So they made a hotel out of it rather than let it fall into disrepair. It’s not open yet, but it’s taking bookings.
I would scrape together some money and then go into Berkeley to hit Tower Records and Rasputin's on Telegraph. I would agonize over my choices for hours.
During law school I lived at Bay & Hyde, just off the cable car line and up the hill from Tower Records on Columbus. I remember waiting in line for Ticketmaster concert tickets in the days before it all went online. Bridge School, DMB…I nostalgia.
and then there was Tower Records Classical a bit further down Telegraph. i used to treat myself a trip there once a month on pay day and bought 1-2 classical CDs. it was nice to have the entire store dedicated to classical music and have particularly knowledgeable salespeople.
i had little exposure to classical music until frehsman year. i used to study in the Music Library and Morrison Reading Room where you could check out CDs and listen to a wide variety of stuff.
The flak towers had also been designed with the idea of using the above-ground bunkers as a civilian shelter, with room for 10,000 civilians and a hospital ward inside. During the Battle of Berlin, occupants formed their own communities, with up to 30,000 Berliners taking refuge in one tower during the battle. These towers, much like the keeps of medieval castles, were some of the safest places in a fought-over city and so the flak towers were some of the last places to surrender to the Red Army, eventually being forced to capitulate as supplies dwindled
this was the hardest of the 3 books to get thru as a kid when i read LOTR the first time.
it seemed to drag on and on w/o much action. the movies did a much better job of keeping it moving. i suppose a 1 hr battle scene at Helm's Deep is more interesting than Sam and Frodo lost in the wilderness somewhere.
it has been a long time since i have re-read these books. maybe something fun for the summer.
Forget the teams. Forget the records. Forget the narratives. This wasn’t supposed to be a fair fight. It had nothing to do with the San Francisco Giants. It had nothing to do with the Philadelphia Phillies. Styles make fights, and sometimes fights aren’t fair.
The Oakland Athletics hit the east coast today opening a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays in St Petersburg, Florida. Mitch Spence took the mound for the A’s and faced 28-year-old righty Zack Littell for Tampa Bay.
Gavin Stone pitched the best game of his young career, tossing seven scoreless innings to beat the Mets 3-0 in the nightcap on Tuesday at Citi Field in New York.
The Dodgers entered the day with a five-game losing streak, and ended it with a two-game winning streak.
The Dodgers had several opportunities to lose their sixth game in a row, but the moribund offense woke up late before exploding on borrowed time in extras to beat the Mets 5-2 in 10 innings in the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader at Citi Field in New York.
Despite it having been 3-0, has been a great series! Every game has been close and has come down to the end. I think Minny is actually more talented, but Luka is just a way better finisher of games in crunch time than anyone on Minny. Glad it’s continuing a bit because I don’t think the Finals start until like next Thursday
Minnesota often seems to have no plan on offense down the stretch. It's just a lot of passing around the perimeter and then someone hoists up a tough shot. In this game they made some shots.
They'd also like to count on their own defense to win it for them, but Luka and Kyrie have mostly been beating that with great individual plays. (And also . . . letting Rudy Gobert just switch on to Luka to defend a potential game-winner one-on-one was baffling. How was that the plan?)
[NYT] The Alito's neighbors posted some "Fuck Trump" and "Bye Don" signs on their yard. Mrs. Alito took offense, calling them vulgar. The neighbor declined to remove the signs. Then Jan 6 happened and they put up "You are complicit" and "Trump is a Fascists". That's when Mrs. Alito started giving them the stink eye and flew her flag upside down in response.
Hahahhhh, is just so funny. These hard core MAGA types are so unbelievably thin skinned, is amazing. Obviously a character trait fed by social media and our current media environment generally, which presents everything as a black and white existential struggle. Love that she has earned national infamy for being that way, as the country as a whole needs to unlearn these distortions
That nine-year stretch was brutal. Contrast that with the fourteen-year period from 1947 through 1960. The Bears only lost two Big Games ('55 and '57) in that span.
i read a good amount of this since i have overachieving partner and 2 young ladies in the house.
interesting read about how society views natural talent vs hard work. now that i think of it, i tend to position myself w/ the "work smarter not harder" crowd. i had not considered the gendered component of it so much.
The Gender Bias We Don't Talk About - Hard Work vs. Natural Talent
Men are more likely to describe themselves as 'naturals,' while women tend to emphasise their hard work. And it seems that 'naturals' are more likely to be perceived as more skilled and capable.
I have slept in a tree house in an orange grove in Olympos, Turkey. There are Roman ruins in the area, so there are local restrictions that prevent constructing buildings in the area. To get around that restriction, enterprising locals built tree houses. They ain't special - a floor, roof, a thin mattress, and not enough walls to keep out the dew/bugs. Somewhere on the mountain next to Olympos, I involuntarily sacrificed a Cal baseball hat to the Gods.
Ooh, that reminds me. I slept on the concourse of Happy Valley Stadium to secure Rugby Seven tickets back in the late 1990s. This was at the dawn of things going online and not all places did tickets online, especially in Asia. It was a miserable experience because concrete sucks the heat out of you.
I've slept in the gatehouse of Thornberry Castle, an early 16th century English manor. It had arrow slits and other defensive obstacles, but it wasn't really meant to be a military fort so much as a country manor for Duke Tudor. The castle was central to much of the kingmaking through he War of the Roses and the English Civil War. It is an exquisite place to stay.
In northern Vietnam in 1999, we – friend from SF, random guy from OR that I met on plane from Bangkok, and two Swiss women we met in Hanoi – did a trip from Hanoi up to Chinese border and then looped back.
1st night, stayed at a very communistic-looking hotel (while our guide applied for permission for us to continue our trip north). Second day, truck got stuck in mud and came way too close to sliding off the road. Spent a lot of time getting it rolling again. Then came upon a construction site – filling a hole in the road with big rocks – that was done for the day. But the handful of us helped the team with their project and we were able to keep going.
Point being that we ended up in some random town at nighttime. Our guide knew (perhaps?) someone who offered up their attic. Super-thin futon mattresses on the plywood sheathing. Walked thru the mud to get to the outdoor toilet (where the adjacent pigs were the wastewater plant).
Was 5,000 dong for the night. Which at first I thought was 50,000 dong (about $3) – what we paid for the hotel the previous night at the hotel – but then realized it was an order of magnitude cheaper. So around 33¢. I think it even included basic breakfast!
the most interesting part is that there were no exterior walls in the room that we picked. you just walked into the main living and sitting area. the bedrooms had doors and walls. the main shower was against the side of a tree, which was the best part.
howler monkeys were going all night. i found it amusing. our travel partners were happy to leave the tree house and get to some fancy resort.
i have been once and my uncle and another close friend from grad school lives there. my mom is headed there next week to visit this same uncle for his 85th bday.
in fact, this friend and his daughter were just staying w/ us last week. school was closed and they encourage the students to travel and study and get new experiences. so this 16 yr old went to school for a week w/ our 17 yr old in a US school. to be sure, the levels and English didnt quite match. still it was a valuable experience for them both.
TOWER
Records
I would scrape together some money and then go into Berkeley to hit Tower Records and Rasputin's on Telegraph. I would agonize over my choices for hours.
During law school I lived at Bay & Hyde, just off the cable car line and up the hill from Tower Records on Columbus. I remember waiting in line for Ticketmaster concert tickets in the days before it all went online. Bridge School, DMB…I nostalgia.
and then there was Tower Records Classical a bit further down Telegraph. i used to treat myself a trip there once a month on pay day and bought 1-2 classical CDs. it was nice to have the entire store dedicated to classical music and have particularly knowledgeable salespeople.
i had little exposure to classical music until frehsman year. i used to study in the Music Library and Morrison Reading Room where you could check out CDs and listen to a wide variety of stuff.
, Dark
It was a decent board game from 1981. I wish I kept mine because they now sell for over $300 on eBay
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Tower_(game)
i think i have played that before. i dont fully remember how it works though ..
of Power
What is Hip?
flak ___
lots of interesting stuff to learn about flak towers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flak_tower
The flak towers had also been designed with the idea of using the above-ground bunkers as a civilian shelter, with room for 10,000 civilians and a hospital ward inside. During the Battle of Berlin, occupants formed their own communities, with up to 30,000 Berliners taking refuge in one tower during the battle. These towers, much like the keeps of medieval castles, were some of the safest places in a fought-over city and so the flak towers were some of the last places to surrender to the Red Army, eventually being forced to capitulate as supplies dwindled
THE TWO __s
this was the hardest of the 3 books to get thru as a kid when i read LOTR the first time.
it seemed to drag on and on w/o much action. the movies did a much better job of keeping it moving. i suppose a 1 hr battle scene at Helm's Deep is more interesting than Sam and Frodo lost in the wilderness somewhere.
it has been a long time since i have re-read these books. maybe something fun for the summer.
I "read" LOTR when I was in 7th grade or so. It was a slog. I got thru the Two Towers, but quit about 50 pages into the Return of the King.
PRO
Bullpen > ace (Giants beat the Phillies 1-0 in 10)
https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2024/5/28/24166757/giants-phillies-recap-zack-wheeler-luis-matos-spencer-howard-sean-hjelle
Forget the teams. Forget the records. Forget the narratives. This wasn’t supposed to be a fair fight. It had nothing to do with the San Francisco Giants. It had nothing to do with the Philadelphia Phillies. Styles make fights, and sometimes fights aren’t fair.
Athletics Stymie Rays 3-0 in St. Petersburg
https://www.athleticsnation.com/2024/5/28/24166733/athletics-rays-spence-miller-andujar
The Oakland Athletics hit the east coast today opening a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays in St Petersburg, Florida. Mitch Spence took the mound for the A’s and faced 28-year-old righty Zack Littell for Tampa Bay.
Let's play 2!
Gavin Stone, Dodgers complete doubleheader sweep of Mets
https://www.truebluela.com/2024/5/28/24165586/gavin-stone-will-smith-miguel-vargas-dodgers-doubleheader-mets
Gavin Stone pitched the best game of his young career, tossing seven scoreless innings to beat the Mets 3-0 in the nightcap on Tuesday at Citi Field in New York.
The Dodgers entered the day with a five-game losing streak, and ended it with a two-game winning streak.
Dodgers pull victory from jaws of defeat, snap losing streak at 5
https://www.truebluela.com/2024/5/28/24165462/dodgers-comeback-freddie-freeman-daniel-hudson
The Dodgers had several opportunities to lose their sixth game in a row, but the moribund offense woke up late before exploding on borrowed time in extras to beat the Mets 5-2 in 10 innings in the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader at Citi Field in New York.
T-wolves extend series, beat Dallas in a close game.
i went to bed early on this one figuring that if game 5 happened, the last half of game 4 would not be the pivotal moment in the series ..
Despite it having been 3-0, has been a great series! Every game has been close and has come down to the end. I think Minny is actually more talented, but Luka is just a way better finisher of games in crunch time than anyone on Minny. Glad it’s continuing a bit because I don’t think the Finals start until like next Thursday
Minnesota often seems to have no plan on offense down the stretch. It's just a lot of passing around the perimeter and then someone hoists up a tough shot. In this game they made some shots.
They'd also like to count on their own defense to win it for them, but Luka and Kyrie have mostly been beating that with great individual plays. (And also . . . letting Rudy Gobert just switch on to Luka to defend a potential game-winner one-on-one was baffling. How was that the plan?)
Yeah, and Ant seems really passive/tentative at the end of games. I think the team is waiting for him to drive and kick but he hasn’t done that much
DBD AV CLUB
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
[NYT] The Alito's neighbors posted some "Fuck Trump" and "Bye Don" signs on their yard. Mrs. Alito took offense, calling them vulgar. The neighbor declined to remove the signs. Then Jan 6 happened and they put up "You are complicit" and "Trump is a Fascists". That's when Mrs. Alito started giving them the stink eye and flew her flag upside down in response.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/28/us/justice-alito-neighbors-stop-steal-flag.html
Hahahhhh, is just so funny. These hard core MAGA types are so unbelievably thin skinned, is amazing. Obviously a character trait fed by social media and our current media environment generally, which presents everything as a black and white existential struggle. Love that she has earned national infamy for being that way, as the country as a whole needs to unlearn these distortions
Somehow, I doubt that she bitched at all the people with "Let's Go Brandon" and straight-up "Fuck Biden" flags, stickers, and decals
CAL
Go Bears!!! (We've got the Axe)
I saw a woman this morning with a CALIFORNIA t-shirt on. But it also had a picture of the pink panther so no Go Bears for her.
i was just appreciating the fact that after the 9 game streak by the Cardinal, we have won 4 of the last 5.
sadly, there were no Big Game victories to be celebrated the entire time i was at Cal despite the otherwise good football years (88-92).
That nine-year stretch was brutal. Contrast that with the fourteen-year period from 1947 through 1960. The Bears only lost two Big Games ('55 and '57) in that span.
The '55 loss was the only loss under Waldorf. The '57 loss was under Pete Elliott.
ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE
gender equity stuff
i read a good amount of this since i have overachieving partner and 2 young ladies in the house.
interesting read about how society views natural talent vs hard work. now that i think of it, i tend to position myself w/ the "work smarter not harder" crowd. i had not considered the gendered component of it so much.
The Gender Bias We Don't Talk About - Hard Work vs. Natural Talent
https://medium.com/womenintechnology/the-gender-bias-we-dont-talk-about-63cead86bda1
Men are more likely to describe themselves as 'naturals,' while women tend to emphasise their hard work. And it seems that 'naturals' are more likely to be perceived as more skilled and capable.
unusual sleeping arrangements
I have slept in a tree house in an orange grove in Olympos, Turkey. There are Roman ruins in the area, so there are local restrictions that prevent constructing buildings in the area. To get around that restriction, enterprising locals built tree houses. They ain't special - a floor, roof, a thin mattress, and not enough walls to keep out the dew/bugs. Somewhere on the mountain next to Olympos, I involuntarily sacrificed a Cal baseball hat to the Gods.
https://glampinghub.com/turkey/mediterraneanregion/antalya/treehouse-south-turkey/
lets hope other people chime in w/ non-treehouse arrangements otherwise a treehouse wont seem so unusual!
I know a bunch of people who slept on the hard steel floors of aircraft carriers related to Cub Scout trips.
Ooh, that reminds me. I slept on the concourse of Happy Valley Stadium to secure Rugby Seven tickets back in the late 1990s. This was at the dawn of things going online and not all places did tickets online, especially in Asia. It was a miserable experience because concrete sucks the heat out of you.
I've slept in the gatehouse of Thornberry Castle, an early 16th century English manor. It had arrow slits and other defensive obstacles, but it wasn't really meant to be a military fort so much as a country manor for Duke Tudor. The castle was central to much of the kingmaking through he War of the Roses and the English Civil War. It is an exquisite place to stay.
https://www.thornburycastle.co.uk/
In northern Vietnam in 1999, we – friend from SF, random guy from OR that I met on plane from Bangkok, and two Swiss women we met in Hanoi – did a trip from Hanoi up to Chinese border and then looped back.
1st night, stayed at a very communistic-looking hotel (while our guide applied for permission for us to continue our trip north). Second day, truck got stuck in mud and came way too close to sliding off the road. Spent a lot of time getting it rolling again. Then came upon a construction site – filling a hole in the road with big rocks – that was done for the day. But the handful of us helped the team with their project and we were able to keep going.
Point being that we ended up in some random town at nighttime. Our guide knew (perhaps?) someone who offered up their attic. Super-thin futon mattresses on the plywood sheathing. Walked thru the mud to get to the outdoor toilet (where the adjacent pigs were the wastewater plant).
Was 5,000 dong for the night. Which at first I thought was 50,000 dong (about $3) – what we paid for the hotel the previous night at the hotel – but then realized it was an order of magnitude cheaper. So around 33¢. I think it even included basic breakfast!
actually, the two women were given the daughters' beds?
a treehouse in Puerto Viejo (Costa Rica)
https://www.costaricatreehouse.com/
the most interesting part is that there were no exterior walls in the room that we picked. you just walked into the main living and sitting area. the bedrooms had doors and walls. the main shower was against the side of a tree, which was the best part.
howler monkeys were going all night. i found it amusing. our travel partners were happy to leave the tree house and get to some fancy resort.
Hamburg
i have been once and my uncle and another close friend from grad school lives there. my mom is headed there next week to visit this same uncle for his 85th bday.
in fact, this friend and his daughter were just staying w/ us last week. school was closed and they encourage the students to travel and study and get new experiences. so this 16 yr old went to school for a week w/ our 17 yr old in a US school. to be sure, the levels and English didnt quite match. still it was a valuable experience for them both.