@kims@mas.to avatar

kims

@kims@mas.to

Retired speechwriter. Big fan of Peppermint Patty and wooden jigsaw puzzles.

Ex-Wall St, ex-NYT, ex-dotcom stuff.
Ex-New Yorker, now in Las Vegas

I've been around since the days of usenet (met my husband there, our kids are now in their 20s). Most of my public writing is under my own name on Quora, or elsewhere under someone else's byline.

She/her

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mattblaze, to random
@mattblaze@federate.social avatar

So it's Jordan-without-the-baggage.

kims,
@kims@mas.to avatar

@mattblaze
The lesser of two Johnsons

kims, to random
@kims@mas.to avatar

They finally got me to cancel my subscription

Which one should they help elect? The one that asked SCOTUS to overturn the election? The one that's trying to impeach Biden? The one that thinks the guy under eleventy-seven indictments is the best person to lead the country?

I was looking to see which asshat wrote this, but it's the entire Editorial Board. Un-fucking-believable

kims,
@kims@mas.to avatar
kims, (edited ) to random
@kims@mas.to avatar

My fave review. Le Cinq in Paris, 2017:

The dining room, deep in the hotel, is a broad space of high ceilings and coving, with thick carpets to muffle the screams. It is decorated in various shades of taupe, biscuit and fuck you. There’s a little gilt here and there, to remind us that this is a room designed for people for whom guilt is unfamiliar. It shouts money much as football fans shout at the ref. There’s a stool for the lady’s handbag. Well, of course there is.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/apr/09/le-cinq-paris-restaurant-review-jay-rayner

kims,
@kims@mas.to avatar

@mattblaze
I had not. Wow, that's fantastic

My mother was a lunch regular there for about a decade, not initially as "a most favored patron" but she eventually won everyone in the room over (she is French) and was elevated to that status

I never had any interest in joining her

Thank for the link

kims,
@kims@mas.to avatar

@mattblaze
I don't know if you find much time for television, but if you haven't watched The Bear it's well worth the investment

Reichl's review is so much more damning when you realize that there are places (maybe only fictional ones) that think every patron deserves to be most favored

Another friend pointed me to this Globe and Mail piece about America at the Trump Hotel

When restaurant reviewers sharpen their Shun knives, they don't hold back...

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/restaurant-reviews/america-at-the-trump-hotel-the-food-is-amazing-but-you-shouldnt-eat-here-ever/article21833277/

kims, to random
@kims@mas.to avatar

At the beginning of the pandemic, I reverted to eating childhood comfort foods. It took nearly a year before my plate was back to more veggies than starches

In the last two weeks, I seem to have reverted yet again. Not since boarding school have I seen the bottom of a jar of Nutella that looks like this

design_law, to writing
@design_law@mastodon.social avatar

Friends, help me out with some wordsmithing?

I want to describe a situation where one side in a fight is put at an extreme disadvantage before the fight even begins.

How would you describe the act of putting one side at a severe disadvantage? The state of the disadvantaged party thereafter?

I don't want to use "handicap" or "handicapped." What are some good alternatives?

kims,
@kims@mas.to avatar

@design_law
Immobilized? Rendered defenseless?

dankennedy_nu, to random
@dankennedy_nu@journa.host avatar

If House Republicans want to talk about a serious power-sharing arrangement with Democrats, then fine. But unless that happens, there's no reason for a single Democrat to break ranks.

kims,
@kims@mas.to avatar

@dankennedy_nu
He's broken McCarthy's record and I believe he's nearing 3800 now

kims, to random
@kims@mas.to avatar

I didn't want Biden

I door-knocked for Warren. My second choice was Harris. I liked Bernie's policies but doubted he'd get anything done, and the Bernie Bros were a bit too MAGA-like in their cultish devotion. I wanted no more of that

I'd have begrudgingly accepted Buttigieg. Biden was better than Bloomberg, but not by much. Every time he insisted he could work with McConnell I wanted to scream. Did he memory wipe his VP stint?

And after yesterday's speech, I'm so grateful he's the President

kims, to random
@kims@mas.to avatar

I deleted my post about Thiel and the FBI because the source is suspect, and I forgot that I used to refer to BI as a tabloid masquerading as finance journalism

(They've gotten better since I left Wall St, but they still publish a lot of garbage)

kims, to random
@kims@mas.to avatar

Rewatching Fringe and it's always fun to notice the guest stars who've since become leading players in other shows

"Hey that's Richie from The Bear!"
"Is that Ian Gallagher from Shameless?"
Wait... Chadwick Boseman!?!"

But then there was the woman who was so incredibly familiar but my brain refused to place her. Seeing someone out of context is weird, even when they once upon a time were perfectly in context.

Anyway, hello Duchess of FBI

kims,
@kims@mas.to avatar

@cdamian
Fringe suffers from the "old man saint with the horrible past who is extended infinite grace" problem. It grates at times

But the female characters are well-written (Team Astrid FTW!), the ending is more satisfying than most shows of its ilk, and there are probably two laugh-out-loud moments every episode

This is our third watch through (the last time was in 2020 just after the pandemic hit its stride) and so far it's a fine distraction from <gestures at everything>

kims, to random
@kims@mas.to avatar

I will pay cash money to any reporter who asks Kevin McCarthy,

"Which six Republicans should end the gridlock by supporting Jeffries, the candidate who has consistently garnered the highest number of votes?"

And when he scoffs at the very idea that republicans should support a democrat, the followup question writes itself

kissane, to random
@kissane@mas.to avatar

Without looking it up—and if it’s not your actual job to know—where would you guess Twitter/X sits on the global top 10 social media platforms ranking? (Ranked by monthly active users.)

kims,
@kims@mas.to avatar

@kissane
My guess was largely based on being able to predict the top 8, but Telegram is bigger than X?

That one really surprises me

kims, to random
@kims@mas.to avatar

The news continues to lead with headlines like:

"Democrats are standing firm in their refusal to bail out the House Republican majority as it struggles to elect a new speaker"

The press so willingly adheres to the rules for Dems as framed by Republicans:

  1. You made us do it

  2. It was your job to stop us from doing it

  3. If you don't rescue us from the consequences of having done it (under terms favorable only to us, natch) any harm from our continued destructive behavior is all your fault

kims, to random
@kims@mas.to avatar

I think when we look back over the most consequential events of the last 50 years, one of the most underestimated will prove to be the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin

kims, to random
@kims@mas.to avatar

Microsoft owes $29 billion in back taxes for years 2004-2013, says IRS / Microsoft says it will ‘vigorously contest’ the numbers the IRS is presenting.

I wonder if all the executives who collected bonuses based on falsified profits, and the investors who reaped hundreds of millions in stock appreciation based on same, will have to give up their unearned winnings, too

Until we create and enforce penalties with teeth that punish actual people, this will forever continue

https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/11/23913505/microsoft-owes-irs-back-taxes

kims, to random
@kims@mas.to avatar

2.5 days of voir dire trying to seat a jury for a personal injury case. Plaintiff's lawyer has questioned ~50 people extensively. He has used the phrase "brutal honesty" no fewer than 200 times. "Are you capable of being brutally honest?" "Thank you for your brutal honesty."

Finally he gets to me and asks his question. I said I'm perfectly capable of brutal honesty but object to being asked. I said I believe that I can be 100% honest without ever having to be brutal. 1/2

kims,
@kims@mas.to avatar

I added that I find that people who are brutally honest are more interested in the 'brutality' than the honesty.

The judge, who hadn't said a word about any juror's answer in the two days we'd been there, looks at me, lowers his glasses, and says, "Thank you very much for saying that, ma'am."

One more q and we're dismissed for lunch. When we return, judge gives a long speech about the value of juries then says, "And because you all were 100% honest today, you're now all free to go." 2/2

kims, to random
@kims@mas.to avatar

Back in voir dire.

Every time the judge calls the lawyers up to confer privately, they play very loud static through overhead speakers

First time I thought it was an AV mishap. But after the fourth time? Very much deliberate

kims, to random
@kims@mas.to avatar

I enjoy traveling to LA for Halloween because when it comes to over-the-top decorations, few neighborhoods can compete with the special effects artists that live there

Props to the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas for setting a new bar so early in the season

kims, to random
@kims@mas.to avatar

I have seen a lot of optical illusions. I have a reasonable layman's understanding of how they work

I have stared at this for five full minutes trying to get it NOT to flip every 10-15 seconds and I cannot keep it from doing so

[Also, I have no idea how to write alt text for this]

kims, to random
@kims@mas.to avatar

Me: <tries to subscribe to Molly White's Substack>

Substack: Fuck you

Me: Please, sir, another chance?

SS: Ha ha! No

No sweat. I've been online since 1992, I'm a professional writer, I got this. I'll screenshot my sub attempt, send it to Molly, she'll find another pay option, and all will be right with the world

Me: <sends email with subj line reflective of my frustration>

Me: <immediately after hitting send> NOOO

I'm a complete fucking idiot. Can a mutual pls ping her on my behalf?

kims, to random
@kims@mas.to avatar

Reporter to President Biden:
"What's your advice to the next House Speaker?"

Biden: <pause> <chuckle>
"That's above my pay grade"

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