November 7, 2014

I find myself attracted to trifling stories this morning.

I got started with: "Cab company responsible for failed ride to airport, appeals court says."
Larry and Donna Peters... had sought damages of $5,225 for airline tickets, which had to be re-booked in a short time frame; $300 in ticket exchange fees; and $615 for hotel fees for the days they missed because of their late departure.
Small claims.  More smallness: "Hugh Jackman sliced the tip of his finger onstage during a preview of his Broadway show 'The River' Wednesday night":
A witness said the “Wolverine” star accidentally cut himself with a knife as he chopped a lemon around 30 minutes into the performance, and noticeably bled for an hour.
That caught my eye while I was reading the NY Post in an effort to learn exactly how the movie "The Social Network" hurt Mark Zuckerberg's feelings:
"They just kind of made up a bunch of stuff that I found really hurtful. They made up this whole plot line about how I somehow decided to create Facebook to attract girls."
And he'd never even heard of an appletini.

I also felt drawn into the details of this 1912 brothel menu. Interesting, what 50¢ bought back then and the language used to convey the differences between the various services.

I don't know. Maybe it's the after-effects of the election. Everything was so big the other day. It was a wave election. No! It was a tsunami!! (There are "About 15,700 results" for the Google news search "tsunami election.")

Oh, shut up, all you blowhard commentators and pollsters who didn't know what was going to happen before that gigantic thing happened. Your post-show is pointless. I watched none of that last night.

I taught my law school class — about Christmas decorations — had a glass of wine in a cafĂ© with a friend, watched the most boring episode of "Survivor" ever with Meade, and went to sleep at 10. Had a dream about going to a bookstore and lugging along an entire bookcase full of one's own books, as if the owned books needed to socialize with the unbought books. Woke up at 5 and started reading the above-mentioned stories on my iPhone in bed. Got into a conversation about the election and its aftermath again. Meade said: "I'm ready to love Obama." But to explain that is to get past the topic of this post, the attraction of trifling things.

30 comments:

Scott said...

When looking at the brothel menu, it's worth noting that $1 in 1913 is worth $24.04 today. So sex wasn't really so cheap back then.

damikesc said...

It also looks fake as all royal hell, honestly.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Ordering a cab 4 days in advance is just asking for the pinkey special imho.

The Social Network was written by Aaron Sorkin as a complete hatchet job. Somehow though it managed to humanize Zuckerberg.

Sean Gleeson said...

The brothel menu is a rather obvious fake. Mrs. "F. A. Tasse"? Seriously, you were gulled by that?

tim in vermont said...

Be careful, "I'm ready to love Obama" sounds a lot like the last line of a novel, a certain novel. JK/LOL

As far as the value of money over time, it was worth more and less at the same time. How much did it cost then to get to Paris from NYC in six hours?

sparrow said...

Please tell us about the Christmas decorations - was that part a case or something more homespun?

Ron said...

"stink fingers and jerkoff matinees for young men under 21 Wednesday, 2:30-4:00" should be a sign under every faculty members office hours on their door.

Ann Althouse said...

"Please tell us about the Christmas decorations - was that part a case or something more homespun?"

The Christmas decoration cases are Lynch v. Donnelly and County of Allegheny v. ACLU. This is where we learn that one creche did not violate the Establishment Clause but another did and a Christmas tree with a huge menorah also did not violate the Establishment Clause.

sparrow said...

Thanks Ann

Heartless Aztec said...

I'm thinking fake. But one can always hope.

Wince said...

Against a backdrop of moans and screams.

"I'll have what he's having."

Ann Althouse said...

Fraud? Fraud! you say?!! This is a fraud perpetrated upon the American people!

Something must be done. This will not stand. Get Hugh Hefner on the phone, stat.

MadisonMan said...

"I'm ready to love Obama" sounds like code for something else.

One imagines that the Cab Company has spent much more than the fine now on Court Costs. And yet they're thinking of appealing? When you're in a hole, quit digging.

I was playing cabbie last night, bringing back someone for the airport after a flight got cancelled. No charge.

rehajm said...

I see a syllabus for a Winter term Econ class in that menu.

Peter said...

ONe can sue for up to $10,000. in Dane County small claims court?

That's quite a bit for a "small" claim, isn't it?

George M. Spencer said...

"I would like to feed your fingertips to the wolverines."

"I'm afraid we are out of badgers. Would you accept a wolverine in its place?"

Anonymous said...

The Bob Dylan Brothel Menu:

Blowin' in the Wind a.k.a. Song to Woody
(fellatio only)

Knockin' on Heaven's Door
(cunnilingus only; for analingus see "My Back Pages")

All I Really Want to Do
(vaginal intercourse: missionary position only)

Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat Jumping a.k.a. I'll be Your Baby Tonight
(vaginal intercourse: any position)

Rainy Day Women No. 12 & 35
(lesbian sex show; for sex with two women see " Bob Dylan's 115th Dream")

Bob Dylan's 115th Dream
(vaginal intercourse with two women)

My Back Pages
(anal stimulation to customer; for anal sex see "Subterranean Homesick Blues")

Subterranean Homesick Blues, a.k.a. Brownsville Girl a.k.a. Highway 61 Revisited a.k.a. Dirt Road Blues
(Anal sex in various positions)

Tangled Up in Blue.
(Light bondage; 'Wind Blowin' at an additional cost)

Gotta Serve Somebody
(Light-to-moderate S & M; nun costume available at additional cost)

It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
(Heavy S & M; customer must sign injury waiver)

Just Like a Woman
(Transvestite sex; not available at all times -- please schedule ahead)

Buckets of Rain a.k.a. A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall
(Urinary Play)

Floater (Too Much to Ask)
(Service not rendered at Bob Dylan Brothel)

Love Minus Zero/No Limit
(Kissing allowed at additional cost)

I Shall Be Released
(Customer's choice: price subject to negotiation)

It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
(Bob Dylan Brothel rules state that premature ejaculation is not cause for refund: all prices are final)

"4th Time Around"
(after four visits you receive $50 off of your next visit.)

Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine): all billing is discreet.

Fernandinande said...

There are "About 15,700 results" for the Google news search "tsunami election.")

No. Not even close.

There are 326 results for "tsunami election" (with quotes, and with the period in the logically correct place, namely not quoted). Go to page 34 at 10 results per page = the end = 326 results.

Fernandinande said...

Google news search

I missed the "news" part: that reduces the # of results to a grand total of four.

Anonymous said...

Coincidentally, with my post I think I made a new Dylan playlist for the Professor.

deepelemblues said...

Is that brothel menu the real deal? Some of the turns of phrase there seem a bit modern to me.

Sertorius said...

The brothel menu is a fake. To point out only the most obvious problem, the prices are in dollars, rather than pounds, for a London brothel.

The slang terms for the various acts are also American slang, not English.

If you google, there are several people who have picked it apart.

Michael Fitzgerald said...

The only thing missing from this post is the "Obama the boyfriend" tag. Meade's boyfriend.

Anonymous said...

Fernandinande said:

There are "About 15,700 results" for the Google news search "tsunami election.")

No. Not even close.

There are 326 results for "tsunami election" (with quotes, and with the period in the logically correct place, namely not quoted). Go to page 34 at 10 results per page = the end = 326 results.


The quotes around the term, tsunami election, or the period are not included in the search term. Search google again by keying in, tsunami election. No quotes or period. You'll find that google itself numbers the hits at the top left of the page, which, about five minutes ago stood at 16,300.

Meade said...

What about Lay, Whore Lady, Lay?

Ann Althouse said...

"There are 326 results for "tsunami election" (with quotes, and with the period in the logically correct place, namely not quoted). Go to page 34 at 10 results per page = the end = 326 results."

Nope. That's not the way to search for news articles about people calling the election a "tsunami."

I put the search in quotes in the post because I was quoting what I'd searched. I see the basis for confusion. If I'd searched for what you're saying, I could have written "'tsunami election.'"

There's nothing special about that as a phrase, where you have to say the words together for it to be what I'm looking for.

Ann Althouse said...

LOL betamax

Don't forget "Music From Big Pinkey."

Meade said...

Yeah, and "The Basement Porno Tapes". Please, Mrs. Henry indeed.

Danno said...

My guess this is a fake. But at least it didn't have one of its services listed as Teabagger Special. When I saw the Playboy link I first wondered if this was an article by Ana Marie Cox, who also has a reference to writing for Playboy in Wikipedia.

Gospace said...

The menu looks fake. But my uncle, a merchant mariner, swears that Turkish brothels immediately post WWII had three prices posted. One for locals, one for Europeans, and a third for Americans. Care to guess which was highest?