Do journalists (even the vanishing breed of those with integrity) ever say "I don't know" these days? Seems like they all fall back on "it's unclear" when they, well, don't know.
Fitzgerald is better than Hemingway? That's commie talk.
All this talk of bourbon in the comments today reminds me about a trip my wife and I are taking down to Tennessee this summer. Any suggestions on distilleries to visit for a tasting in TN or KY?
Yes! Stay in Kentucky. Or at least make the pilgrimage from Tennessee. Tennessee is a lovely state, and they've made a lot of good music, at least when they're not stamping out New Country bro anthems. But they make fake whiskey. Jack Daniels - it's for kids and Van Halen bassists. Kentuckians don't regard their whiskey as true bourbon. Go to the source. See the Maker's Mark distillery in Loretto (it's maybe my favorite sippin' whiskey, and Bill Samuels, who runs the joint, is a great guy if you get an audience with him.) Also, the Woodford Reserve distillery in Versailles kind of looks like a monastery. One in which the monks get all liquored up.
Perfect! Thanks Matt. We both like Maker's Mark and Woodford Reserve, so we'll put them on the list. And if we're lucky enough to see Bill Samuels, I'll tell him "Hi" from you. Much appreciated!
My wife loves Tricia Yearwood (for her cooking show more than her music), but if Jack White still lives in Nashville, it can't all be bad, as far as music goes!
M. They did it again last night, the rat bastards (I dunno if they're "rat bastards" or something else...) Killed off my last bottle of Makers Mark 46 I got at the distillery last summer in Loretto, Kentucky. Anyway, thanks, M. & Matt for a fun time. I guess Heisenberg was right and so are you guys. Sometimes you've gotta say, "I don't know"
Copied your fajita marinade recipe as the best thing on this post. As for aliens, let me just say that if you ever experience a close encounter with an alien spacecraft, you will be able to say with certainty "I know they exist." Same goes for a close encounter with The Holy Spirit. As for everything else, I think the verdict is still out....except I'm pretty sure I'm here. As Descarte said, "I think, therefore I am." What I am left wondering is, "if I don't think, am I therefore not"?
For some reason I, a paid customer I think, have not been receiving your Journalistic efforts from slack tide. A bit like checking my front door each day and not finding a cow turd sticking to it. Sad, but if necessary, I will deal with it. Otherwise you have an error in your distribution system or, I don't know . . .
Hmm. First, Ron, you should go to the archive to make sure you're getting what came out:
https://mattlabash.substack.com/archive If there are pieces missing from your inbox, they frequently get trapped in the "promotions" folder for Gmailers. But it says here you're yahoo mail? I am too, and I find some of the substacks I get ending up in spam. So you should check your spam box. And then if you find any, click on them and click "not spam" so yahoo moves it to your inbox and recognizes future messages. Unfortunately, if you just try hit things up in yahoo search's box, it usually doesn't bother to read spam messages. So you have to actually go into spam to check and correct it.
A great piece as always. As a card-carrying 'libatard,' I was only allowed to read the Weekly Standard after several Jim Beams. Still, although I didn't agree with much of what I read, I will say it was well written, and I could usually see how the writer arrived at his position. I have always found the conservative positions on political matters to be interesting, and many times, I have changed my mind on the issues of economics or politics. But all that said, the retards that call themselves 'conservatives' today are a disgrace to anyone who believes in rational thought. Where are the intellectuals like George Will or Jeb Bush? These were conservative voices that made sense. Now that 'conservatives' have sunk into matters of morality and religion, I cannot read them without wondering, "Where has the mind of America gone?" I guess my question to you is, "Will my tin foil hat protect me from Jewish Space lasers?"
I detect the faint odor of fake-concern here. There are Weekly Standard conservatives around; you just have to look for them. George Will is still with us, though I don’t know that Jeb Bush should be paired with George as an “intellectual.” I would urge you to stop reading those who make you wonder about where the American mind has gone, pour yourself another JB, and continue reading Matt (and his commenters). Trade in your tinfoil hat for a more stylish chapeau; an old fishing hat will do.
The weird thing, Edward, is I was only allowed to write for the Standard after several Beams. So we're even. And I'm saving your Jewish space lasers question for a potential future Ask Matt. Too good to waste.
You could probably expand on this by adding in the face-saving versions important to most men and all journalists: “We don’t know” and “No one really knows.” And for journos who add indecision into the uncertainty, there’s always the sage standby, “Experts disagree.”
Yep, that’s important advice. It’s somewhere between painful and funny to watch someone bs their way through something when all they needed to say was IDK. Not real good for your reputation either. One correction: single-malt scotch (not blended) is better than bourbon, it’s just too darn expensive. An “acquired taste” as they say. I once went all the way to Islay malts, and my -ex would say, it’s smells like you’re drinking diesel fuel, to which I replied something like: girls just don’t get it. Might be a factor in being divorced. Dunno.
I love scotch, don't get me wrong. Especially single malts. It's just not good everyday whiskey for me. Not that I drink whiskey every day. But enough days that I need to keep a rhythm going.
Matt, your mention of the universally mourned passing of The Weekly Standard leads me to recommend something to read with your bourbon. It’s a review of “Dilettante,” a recent book that is part memoir, part retrospective on the golden age of magazine publishing. You might enjoy it; I did.
I have a similar recipe, using Takara Marin, a little bit of sugar (uncertain of the amount) with all of your listed ingredients for marinating chicken wings. Sprinkle with sesame seeds before baking and voila!
Thanks for the lighter fare after the last couple of soul-searching pieces.
As to the revelation of extraterrestrial life, I think Tim Burton’s movie ‘Mars Attacks!’ will ultimately prove to be the most accurate predictor of that encounter.
Ended up loving that movie. After the first little bit of it, my wife and I sort of looked at each other with one of those mutual and silent WTF? looks, as it wasn't anywhere near what either of us were expecting at the time. But it turned out to be sort of like a train wreck...don't really want to watch, but can't seem to help yourself! Glad we did, as it turned out to be a hoot. We still laugh about that occasionally.
MA, like a lot of Burton’s work, is certainly an acquired taste. Love Jack Nicholson as president announcing to the nation just after Congress has been obliterated, that 2 of the 3 branches of government remain intact, ‘… and that ain’t bad’.
Acquired taste, yes. But once acquired, it's pretty sweet. Have seen it a couple of times now, liked it more each time. Really like that JN thing, too! (Casting Nicholson as president in this flick was near a masterstroke.)
Any movie with Annette Bening is likely worth seeing (and there’s more of her to see in “The Grifters”). As for the imminent invasion by hostile extraterrestrials, I haven’t kept up with the news of our Space Force (thank you for your service), but I hope they’ve all rummaged through their attics to find grandma’s 78 record of “Indian Love Call,” the Doomsday weapon to defeat the aliens.
Do journalists (even the vanishing breed of those with integrity) ever say "I don't know" these days? Seems like they all fall back on "it's unclear" when they, well, don't know.
I would like to state for the record, I never in a million years expected to read the sentence, "I suggest spatchcocking me..."
I do not wish to be spatchcocked. I would suggest something like pulled-John after braising in a crockpot with some chicken broth.
Full value received for my subscription, right here!
Fact!
Matt thanks for the trip down Humor Road. Beyond that "I don't know."
Fitzgerald is better than Hemingway? That's commie talk.
All this talk of bourbon in the comments today reminds me about a trip my wife and I are taking down to Tennessee this summer. Any suggestions on distilleries to visit for a tasting in TN or KY?
Yes! Stay in Kentucky. Or at least make the pilgrimage from Tennessee. Tennessee is a lovely state, and they've made a lot of good music, at least when they're not stamping out New Country bro anthems. But they make fake whiskey. Jack Daniels - it's for kids and Van Halen bassists. Kentuckians don't regard their whiskey as true bourbon. Go to the source. See the Maker's Mark distillery in Loretto (it's maybe my favorite sippin' whiskey, and Bill Samuels, who runs the joint, is a great guy if you get an audience with him.) Also, the Woodford Reserve distillery in Versailles kind of looks like a monastery. One in which the monks get all liquored up.
Perfect! Thanks Matt. We both like Maker's Mark and Woodford Reserve, so we'll put them on the list. And if we're lucky enough to see Bill Samuels, I'll tell him "Hi" from you. Much appreciated!
My wife loves Tricia Yearwood (for her cooking show more than her music), but if Jack White still lives in Nashville, it can't all be bad, as far as music goes!
M. They did it again last night, the rat bastards (I dunno if they're "rat bastards" or something else...) Killed off my last bottle of Makers Mark 46 I got at the distillery last summer in Loretto, Kentucky. Anyway, thanks, M. & Matt for a fun time. I guess Heisenberg was right and so are you guys. Sometimes you've gotta say, "I don't know"
Copied your fajita marinade recipe as the best thing on this post. As for aliens, let me just say that if you ever experience a close encounter with an alien spacecraft, you will be able to say with certainty "I know they exist." Same goes for a close encounter with The Holy Spirit. As for everything else, I think the verdict is still out....except I'm pretty sure I'm here. As Descarte said, "I think, therefore I am." What I am left wondering is, "if I don't think, am I therefore not"?
For some reason I, a paid customer I think, have not been receiving your Journalistic efforts from slack tide. A bit like checking my front door each day and not finding a cow turd sticking to it. Sad, but if necessary, I will deal with it. Otherwise you have an error in your distribution system or, I don't know . . .
Hmm. First, Ron, you should go to the archive to make sure you're getting what came out:
https://mattlabash.substack.com/archive If there are pieces missing from your inbox, they frequently get trapped in the "promotions" folder for Gmailers. But it says here you're yahoo mail? I am too, and I find some of the substacks I get ending up in spam. So you should check your spam box. And then if you find any, click on them and click "not spam" so yahoo moves it to your inbox and recognizes future messages. Unfortunately, if you just try hit things up in yahoo search's box, it usually doesn't bother to read spam messages. So you have to actually go into spam to check and correct it.
That was it. Do not know why because I had been getting them like clockwork, then, all.of a sudden gone. Fixed now, thanks.
A great piece as always. As a card-carrying 'libatard,' I was only allowed to read the Weekly Standard after several Jim Beams. Still, although I didn't agree with much of what I read, I will say it was well written, and I could usually see how the writer arrived at his position. I have always found the conservative positions on political matters to be interesting, and many times, I have changed my mind on the issues of economics or politics. But all that said, the retards that call themselves 'conservatives' today are a disgrace to anyone who believes in rational thought. Where are the intellectuals like George Will or Jeb Bush? These were conservative voices that made sense. Now that 'conservatives' have sunk into matters of morality and religion, I cannot read them without wondering, "Where has the mind of America gone?" I guess my question to you is, "Will my tin foil hat protect me from Jewish Space lasers?"
I detect the faint odor of fake-concern here. There are Weekly Standard conservatives around; you just have to look for them. George Will is still with us, though I don’t know that Jeb Bush should be paired with George as an “intellectual.” I would urge you to stop reading those who make you wonder about where the American mind has gone, pour yourself another JB, and continue reading Matt (and his commenters). Trade in your tinfoil hat for a more stylish chapeau; an old fishing hat will do.
The weird thing, Edward, is I was only allowed to write for the Standard after several Beams. So we're even. And I'm saving your Jewish space lasers question for a potential future Ask Matt. Too good to waste.
You could probably expand on this by adding in the face-saving versions important to most men and all journalists: “We don’t know” and “No one really knows.” And for journos who add indecision into the uncertainty, there’s always the sage standby, “Experts disagree.”
Yep, that’s important advice. It’s somewhere between painful and funny to watch someone bs their way through something when all they needed to say was IDK. Not real good for your reputation either. One correction: single-malt scotch (not blended) is better than bourbon, it’s just too darn expensive. An “acquired taste” as they say. I once went all the way to Islay malts, and my -ex would say, it’s smells like you’re drinking diesel fuel, to which I replied something like: girls just don’t get it. Might be a factor in being divorced. Dunno.
I love scotch, don't get me wrong. Especially single malts. It's just not good everyday whiskey for me. Not that I drink whiskey every day. But enough days that I need to keep a rhythm going.
I hear you bro.
Matt, your mention of the universally mourned passing of The Weekly Standard leads me to recommend something to read with your bourbon. It’s a review of “Dilettante,” a recent book that is part memoir, part retrospective on the golden age of magazine publishing. You might enjoy it; I did.
https://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2022/05/19/book_review_dana_browns_entertaining_at_times_chilling_dilettante_833121.html?mc_cid=88da3802a8&mc_eid=d052017145
Ahh nice, thanks Dennis.
I have a similar recipe, using Takara Marin, a little bit of sugar (uncertain of the amount) with all of your listed ingredients for marinating chicken wings. Sprinkle with sesame seeds before baking and voila!
I was once asked whether I was indecisive. I pondered this for a moment, then answered, "Well, yes and no." True story.
Love that story, love it love it love it.
Thanks for the lighter fare after the last couple of soul-searching pieces.
As to the revelation of extraterrestrial life, I think Tim Burton’s movie ‘Mars Attacks!’ will ultimately prove to be the most accurate predictor of that encounter.
I think an alien encounter will turn out like the SNL sketch with Kirstie Allie and Dana Carvey.
Ended up loving that movie. After the first little bit of it, my wife and I sort of looked at each other with one of those mutual and silent WTF? looks, as it wasn't anywhere near what either of us were expecting at the time. But it turned out to be sort of like a train wreck...don't really want to watch, but can't seem to help yourself! Glad we did, as it turned out to be a hoot. We still laugh about that occasionally.
As to an ET encounter, you just may be right!
MA, like a lot of Burton’s work, is certainly an acquired taste. Love Jack Nicholson as president announcing to the nation just after Congress has been obliterated, that 2 of the 3 branches of government remain intact, ‘… and that ain’t bad’.
Acquired taste, yes. But once acquired, it's pretty sweet. Have seen it a couple of times now, liked it more each time. Really like that JN thing, too! (Casting Nicholson as president in this flick was near a masterstroke.)
Any movie with Annette Bening is likely worth seeing (and there’s more of her to see in “The Grifters”). As for the imminent invasion by hostile extraterrestrials, I haven’t kept up with the news of our Space Force (thank you for your service), but I hope they’ve all rummaged through their attics to find grandma’s 78 record of “Indian Love Call,” the Doomsday weapon to defeat the aliens.
I've come to look forward to your sense of humor!
Ack! Ack! Ack!
Ha!! Yes. Makes more sense than what comes out of those (or our) politicians' mouths!! Ack! Ack!
I’m not sure, but it’s hard to beat Tom Petty, may he rest in peace.