The Ultimate Brokeback Forum

Author Topic: News and Current Events - 2017 - 2022  (Read 753191 times)

Offline Sara B

  • Obsessed
  • *****
  • Posts: 49259
Re: News and Current Events - 2017
« Reply #2955 on: May 09, 2019, 02:26:56 AM »
"Archie"? What on earth are they thinking?

Is the name more highly regarded in Britain than in the U.S.? I mean that question seriously, because I don't think it's particularly well thought of  here in the U.S.

I don't mean to be disrespectful, but, honestly, when I think of an Archie, I think of the comic book character, or else someone who looks like Nigel Bruce and is not to be taken seriously.

I can’t say I’m too bothered about it, but the choice of baby names did rub up against some of my prejudices :).

Archie used to have the sort of image you mentioned, Jeff, but it started to become much more popular in the early 2000s, I think thanks to a long-running BBC derail set in the Scottish Highlands. Beautiful scenery and a handsome hero, Archie, played by Alastair Mackenzie. It’s now very popular and obviously will become more so. I don’t mind the name, but I have a preference for using the full name officially and then shortening it. But then “Archibald”... Good old English name I know, and the “bald” means “bold”, but...!

And then why some random surname? Unless they are both ardent fans of HF! Or is it a smiling reference to “Harry’s son”?

Of course in spite of my grumbles I’m very happy for them both, and loved the photo of them all with the queen and Philip.

Offline Sara B

  • Obsessed
  • *****
  • Posts: 49259
Re: News and Current Events - 2017
« Reply #2956 on: May 09, 2019, 02:33:28 AM »
I think I’m falling in love with Pete Buttigieg.:)  Apart from his cute looks he just seems so NICE, and he speaks so reasonably and to the point.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

  • Obsessed
  • *****
  • Posts: 8175
Re: News and Current Events - 2017
« Reply #2957 on: May 09, 2019, 07:30:47 AM »
Archie used to have the sort of image you mentioned, Jeff, but it started to become much more popular in the early 2000s, I think thanks to a long-running BBC derail set in the Scottish Highlands. Beautiful scenery and a handsome hero, Archie, played by Alastair Mackenzie. It’s now very popular and obviously will become more so. I don’t mind the name, but I have a preference for using the full name officially and then shortening it. But then “Archibald”... Good old English name I know, and the “bald” means “bold”, but...!

I have the impression that something similar happened, or began to happen, here in the U.S., maybe 40 or 50 years ago, when I swear people began naming their babies--especially the boys--after characters in soap operas.

Quote
And then why some random surname? Unless they are both ardent fans of HF! Or is it a smiling reference to “Harry’s son”?

I heard that on American television this morning, but I'm not sure I credit it. I was only thinking, if the Queen gives him a title, will he be Prince Archie?

Quote
Of course in spite of my grumbles I’m very happy for them both, and loved the photo of them all with the queen and Philip.

In the film I saw, Harry was smiling so broadly I thought his face might break.  :)

Offline Gazapete

  • Lost in Translation
  • Obsessed
  • *****
  • Posts: 7411
Re: News and Current Events - 2017
« Reply #2958 on: May 09, 2019, 07:34:08 AM »
I think I’m falling in love with Pete Buttigieg.:)  Apart from his cute looks he just seems so NICE, and he speaks so reasonably and to the point.

It looks as if he was having that effect on a lot of people :) But some also criticize his lack of real political proposals. Anyway he would be such an improvement from what is living in the WH today!

Offline brianr

  • Obsessed
  • *****
  • Posts: 8044
Re: News and Current Events - 2017
« Reply #2959 on: May 09, 2019, 01:03:07 PM »
Of course in spite of my grumbles I’m very happy for them both, and loved the photo of them all with the queen and Philip.
I guess we will get use to it. I mean Prince Harry sounded strange when he was a baby. In fact I had to look it up and found his offical name is Henry. Cannot remember what was used at the wedding.
it is not likely to be Prince Archie, certainly not until Charles becomes King, if then. Apparently Archie is the 23rd most popular name for baby boys in NZ. I woud not know, if my friends discuss babies it is grandchildren or even great grandchildren  ;D
And that photo is so lovely, the Queen looks so delighted. Our current affairs program put it up as the instagram of the day.

Offline Lyle (Mooska)

  • Obsessed
  • *****
  • Posts: 26069
Re: News and Current Events - 2017
« Reply #2960 on: May 09, 2019, 01:52:55 PM »
While Archie is one of the 20 most popular names for baby boys in Britain, it is not widely used for American children.

Although Archie the comic strip character is currently also in the TV series Riverdale, I'd have to think that a good many
Americans associate the name with Archie Bunker.

Offline Lyle (Mooska)

  • Obsessed
  • *****
  • Posts: 26069
Re: News and Current Events - 2017
« Reply #2961 on: May 09, 2019, 02:21:56 PM »
I think I’m falling in love with Pete Buttigieg.:)  Apart from his cute looks he just seems so NICE, and he speaks so reasonably and to the point.

Where are you seeing him in Britain, Sara?  That's good if he's getting attention elsewhere, too!

It looks as if he was having that effect on a lot of people :) But some also criticize his lack of real political proposals. Anyway he would be such an improvement from what is living in the WH today!

I don't get the criticism about "lack of real political proposals" in May of 2019, when the very first primary isn't until February. Unlike some of the announced candidates, Pete is doing well in polls where 60% of the people don't even know who he is yet. Don't you ant to get to know someone first? You don't go out on a first date and ask when you want to get married and if you want to have children, and how many, and how will you support them and such.

I know that a lot of the criticism about policy specifics is coming from Bernie Sanders supporters who are pouncing on every candidate. They play the victim card just like Republicans. You'll hear them say "the establishment and/or mass media is pushing him to somehow inhibit Bernie Sander's chances.
It's really annoying.

I find it really amusing in every election cycle that some are always saying they want to hear policy specifics from candidates. If they really do all they have to do in at least the last six election cycles is go on the candidates websites and read them before election day. They're all there.

And all the talk of "what will the candidates do for me" just sounds so selfish. Ever since I have been voting I hear political programs each election cycle that emphatically state that a President has very little actual control over the economy. They get too much credit when it's good and all the blame when it isn't, when most of the economic forces are out of their control.  And yet, it influences people's votes. Also, no matter how many policy proposals one puts out, no one could reasonably expect most of them to ever see the light of day.

So if every candidate has all the policy proposals on day one, they get pulled apart and argued about in a month. Then what do you do the next year plus?

As an antidote to this idea, I read an article earlier this year, before I even knew who Pete Buttigieg was, and I use it often if I comment on a news article or in an email.  I may even have posted it on the forum somewhere:

Political leadership, isn’t just a matter of ideology or policy. Campaigns tell stories, and in politics as in literature, style matters as much as plot. Roosevelt and Reagan, ideological opposites, both won by speaking in a way that gave Americans a sense of dignity and belonging and made them hopeful. They didn’t win by haranguing the public. They didn’t win by implying that anyone who disagreed must be either stupid or venal. They didn’t assemble majorities by degrading Americans into identity blocs. They didn’t force their party to pledge allegiance to the most extreme positions, or turn politics into a joyless exercise in orthodoxy. They hammered their opponents, but they did it with a smile. The choice between radical solutions and a unifying appeal is a false choice. If the Democrats end up with a hectoring, humorless, disdainful, divisive candidate who doesn’t speak to the whole country because he or she doesn’t have a vision for the country, then we’ll almost certainly enter the darkness of a second Trump term. If they choose a leader whose radicalism is hopeful and whose anger is generous, then we might just have a realignment.

Pete fits the positive aspects of this paragraph the last three months I've been aware of him.

And Bernie and his fervent supporters fit this: If the Democrats end up with a hectoring, humorless, disdainful, divisive candidate..." and also the part about "haranguing the public" and forcing people to "pledge allegiance to extreme positions."

By the way, Pete Buttigieg is supposed to be at a "meet & greet" fundraiser a couple blocks away from me at 5pm.  (And three other places in L.A. today.)  By the time I found out about it you could only get in if you had $1000.  Sheesh. It's not even clear that the sponsor's address is where it's actually being held. Sure would like to get a glimpse of him, though, so I might walk around the block this evening.

Offline CellarDweller115

  • Faithful Friend
  • Administrator
  • Obsessed
  • ******
  • Posts: 316812
  • Official Diner "Recapper"!
Re: News and Current Events - 2017
« Reply #2962 on: May 09, 2019, 04:38:19 PM »
I don’t mind the name, but I have a preference for using the full name officially and then shortening it. But then “Archibald”... Good old English name I know, and the “bald” means “bold”, but...!

Although Archie the comic strip character is currently also in the TV series Riverdale, I'd have to think that a good many Americans associate the name with Archie Bunker.


It's so funny you both mentioned "Archibald" and Archie Bunker.  When I heard the baby's name, I was immediately reminded of an episode of All in The Family, where both Archie and his son-in-law Michael were locked in the basement, and had gotten drunk together.

Archie is telling Michael stories of when he grew up during the depression, and that his father had lost his job.  Archie needed new shoes, but the family couldn't afford them, and he ended up having to wear one shoe, and one boot, and the other kids started calling him "Shoe Bootie".

They would holler at him "Tootie Fruitie, here comes Shoe Bootie!"

He then says that later they all found out his first name was really Archibald, and then he wished they would go back to calling him "Shoe Bootie".

Offline Gazapete

  • Lost in Translation
  • Obsessed
  • *****
  • Posts: 7411
Re: News and Current Events - 2017
« Reply #2963 on: May 09, 2019, 10:37:50 PM »
Tell us if you get to see him, Lyle!

I also find the criticism unfair, because I have heard Pete made many interesting proposals about some issues and also some I don't agree with. It doesn't matter much anyway, because I can't vote for him, but if I could I think he would be my candidate, even if I lean more left on some aspects.

Offline Sara B

  • Obsessed
  • *****
  • Posts: 49259
Re: News and Current Events - 2017
« Reply #2964 on: May 10, 2019, 03:40:45 AM »
Where are you seeing him in Britain, Sara?  That's good if he's getting attention elsewhere, too!

I don't get the criticism about "lack of real political proposals" in May of 2019, when the very first primary isn't until February. Unlike some of the announced candidates, Pete is doing well in polls where 60% of the people don't even know who he is yet. Don't you ant to get to know someone first? You don't go out on a first date and ask when you want to get married and if you want to have children, and how many, and how will you support them and such.

I know that a lot of the criticism about policy specifics is coming from Bernie Sanders supporters who are pouncing on every candidate. They play the victim card just like Republicans. You'll hear them say "the establishment and/or mass media is pushing him to somehow inhibit Bernie Sander's chances.
It's really annoying.

I find it really amusing in every election cycle that some are always saying they want to hear policy specifics from candidates. If they really do all they have to do in at least the last six election cycles is go on the candidates websites and read them before election day. They're all there.

And all the talk of "what will the candidates do for me" just sounds so selfish. Ever since I have been voting I hear political programs each election cycle that emphatically state that a President has very little actual control over the economy. They get too much credit when it's good and all the blame when it isn't, when most of the economic forces are out of their control.  And yet, it influences people's votes. Also, no matter how many policy proposals one puts out, no one could reasonably expect most of them to ever see the light of day.

So if every candidate has all the policy proposals on day one, they get pulled apart and argued about in a month. Then what do you do the next year plus?

As an antidote to this idea, I read an article earlier this year, before I even knew who Pete Buttigieg was, and I use it often if I comment on a news article or in an email.  I may even have posted it on the forum somewhere:

Political leadership, isn’t just a matter of ideology or policy. Campaigns tell stories, and in politics as in literature, style matters as much as plot. Roosevelt and Reagan, ideological opposites, both won by speaking in a way that gave Americans a sense of dignity and belonging and made them hopeful. They didn’t win by haranguing the public. They didn’t win by implying that anyone who disagreed must be either stupid or venal. They didn’t assemble majorities by degrading Americans into identity blocs. They didn’t force their party to pledge allegiance to the most extreme positions, or turn politics into a joyless exercise in orthodoxy. They hammered their opponents, but they did it with a smile. The choice between radical solutions and a unifying appeal is a false choice. If the Democrats end up with a hectoring, humorless, disdainful, divisive candidate who doesn’t speak to the whole country because he or she doesn’t have a vision for the country, then we’ll almost certainly enter the darkness of a second Trump term. If they choose a leader whose radicalism is hopeful and whose anger is generous, then we might just have a realignment.

Pete fits the positive aspects of this paragraph the last three months I've been aware of him.

And Bernie and his fervent supporters fit this: If the Democrats end up with a hectoring, humorless, disdainful, divisive candidate..." and also the part about "haranguing the public" and forcing people to "pledge allegiance to extreme positions."

By the way, Pete Buttigieg is supposed to be at a "meet & greet" fundraiser a couple blocks away from me at 5pm.  (And three other places in L.A. today.)  By the time I found out about it you could only get in if you had $1000.  Sheesh. It's not even clear that the sponsor's address is where it's actually being held. Sure would like to get a glimpse of him, though, so I might walk around the block this evening.

Lyle, what I had just seen came up on my YouTube, so not exactly British, I’m afraid. But I’m sure I have seen articles in the British press, though what with following up references here, Facebook etc, I’m not sure what was where! I’ll let you know if I see anything interesting.

My awareness of gay matters is not your average person’s - as I sometimes have to remind myself in conversation. ;D

Offline morrobay

  • Quiet Storm
  • Obsessed
  • *****
  • Posts: 20170
  • ...suspended above ordinary affairs...
Re: News and Current Events - 2017
« Reply #2965 on: May 10, 2019, 08:10:04 AM »

It's so funny you both mentioned "Archibald" and Archie Bunker.  When I heard the baby's name, I was immediately reminded of an episode of All in The Family, where both Archie and his son-in-law Michael were locked in the basement, and had gotten drunk together.

Archie is telling Michael stories of when he grew up during the depression, and that his father had lost his job.  Archie needed new shoes, but the family couldn't afford them, and he ended up having to wear one shoe, and one boot, and the other kids started calling him "Shoe Bootie".

They would holler at him "Tootie Fruitie, here comes Shoe Bootie!"

He then says that later they all found out his first name was really Archibald, and then he wished they would go back to calling him "Shoe Bootie".

I remember that episode, Chuck, even though it was 35+ years ago!  They tried to make it funny, but the depression story was so sad to me...his Dad losing his job and then the kids picking on him...

I'm surprised I didn't think of All In The Family's Archie when I heard what they named the kid, that's a pretty famous Archie...I thought of the comic strip first.
Bye, Felicia

"What a maroon."  Bugs Bunny

"I try to be good...I only manage it in streaks."

Offline Flyboy

  • A gentle word will calm the wrath...
  • Obsessed
  • *****
  • Posts: 12474
Re: News and Current Events - 2017
« Reply #2966 on: May 10, 2019, 08:52:51 AM »
I'm not young, and I've only met one person named Archie in my Life.......I associate it with the Comic book character and the TV show, Archie Bunker from All in the Family.......I know it's usually a short version of Archibald too..........

Offline Jeff Wrangler

  • Obsessed
  • *****
  • Posts: 8175
Re: News and Current Events - 2017
« Reply #2967 on: May 10, 2019, 09:30:22 AM »
I'm surprised I didn't think of All In The Family's Archie when I heard what they named the kid, that's a pretty famous Archie...I thought of the comic strip first.

I didn't think of Archie Bunker, either. I wonder why that is?  :(

Offline Lyle (Mooska)

  • Obsessed
  • *****
  • Posts: 26069
Re: News and Current Events - 2017
« Reply #2968 on: May 10, 2019, 10:52:14 AM »
By the way, Pete Buttigieg is supposed to be at a "meet & greet" fundraiser a couple blocks away from me at 5pm.  (And three other places in L.A. today.)  By the time I found out about it you could only get in if you had $1000.  Sheesh. It's not even clear that the sponsor's address is where it's actually being held. Sure would like to get a glimpse of him, though, so I might walk around the block this evening.

Tell us if you get to see him, Lyle!


So, I'd been out and about a lot yesterday and my feet/legs were bothering me and I wasn't in the mood to go stand around for a time and be disappointed, but when something is right nearby I keep saying to myself, just do it, you never know, and it's not out of your way, so I walked over to The Abbey and stood across the street from the location. There were news vans from the Los Angeles stations on the street. A dozen policemen from the Sheriff's station and just a few people, onlookers like me, around. It was nearing 5pm, so that's understandable and I got the sense that the town had no real idea this was happening and then I realized that I, myself, probably would not have known this was going on if someone hadn't told my friend Rich about it and he mentioned it to me, so...

I stood near one guy that I began chatting with and we wondered if Pete would be arriving by car and we'd get to see him go in or if there was a back entrance or even if he was already inside. There were two gates where the ticket holders were entering and being screened by security checkers.

This particular side street off Santa Monica Blvd. is very narrow at this point and in rush hour is often jammed with cars. Many people who were in the car lanes waiting for the light kept rolling down their windows and asking what was happening there. When I, or the guy I was talking to, answered, many didn't even know who Pete was. But many did, too.

So the best I was hoping for was to get a glimpse of Pete going into the venue near the appointed time of this event. The 5pm hour came and people were still getting checked in and a van pulled up, but it was the West Hollywood City Council members who got out of it.

About 5:25 I'd say we could hear introductory speakers talking about Pete. They had a decent sound system and the courtyard open space was conducive to being able to hear them pretty well, sans traffic noise.

So then I noticed two gentlemen across the street setting up a table on the sidewalk and I surmised that it was going to be Pete Buttigieg material, like campaign buttons, t-shirts, hats and the like and I decided to walk across the street and see. Sure enough, that's what it was. (Not uncommon that people selling things like that appear around campaign events.) I talked to the guy and he said he was connected to the campaign and traveled around with them from event to event and he'd be going to San Francisco tomorrow (today now). He talked about being in South Bend for the campaign kickoff and was quite enthusiastic about Pete, whereas many of these people are usually just interested in making the money. His name is Greg and I said I remember it by calling him ButtiGreg.

As I was checking my wallet to see if I'd brought any cash with me I happen to turn around and noticed that--The Abbey is a bar/nightclub where the event was happening. On the left side is an adjunct to The Abbey which is a bar and seating area which people can partake of drinks, watch video on monitors etc. while waiting to get into The Abbey proper. The Abbey usually has a cover charge to get in. This section is called The Chapel, or The Chapel at the Abbey. (Obviously if you don't want to pay a cover charge you could still go in and spend money there.)

By this time Pete had been introduced and began speaking which I could hear. I noticed that a few people had been walking into The Chapel area so I went inside, too. I noticed some people having drinks at the bar and in booths and watching the speech on video monitors which cover the wall. I started to as well. This adjacent area has a wrought iron gate area separating it from The Abbey.  I walked over to it and looked into the Abbey and lo and behold, I could see Pete on the stage area giving his speech. I'm not good at estimating distance, but he was only 100 feet away. 200 at most.

So, why would I watch the monitors when he was right there!  Success!  I couldn't believe it and got a thrill. Pete spoke for 17-18 minutes and so I saw nearly all his speech in person! Sometimes just "being there" pays dividends!  At the end of his speech, his husband Chasten came up on stage and they hugged.

Last line of his speech:  “If anybody tells you whether they’re not sure if America is capable in these twisted and dark times of delivering or vindicating our hopes, tell them you saw at The Abbey in West Hollywood the top tier presidential candidate on his way to the White House, moments after his husband introduced him.”

I watched the news later on and all the stations who covered it said this was a meet & greet fundraiser that was sold out and all the tickets were $25. Not true, as my friend and I were going to buy a $25 ticket and go. There were also tickets at $50, $100, $250, $500 and $1000!

Afterwards I bought a couple campaign buttons, one of which is the current Time Magazine cover!

So, in this case my persistence was rewarded big time and I was quite ecstatic to witness some history in the making!

If anyone is interested, I found this Facebook link to our local ABC7 news that has Pete's entire 17-18 min. speech
from The Abbey posted there:

https://www.facebook.com/ABC7/videos/2318128774910792/

If not Facebook, here's a couple youtube videos:

ABC7: Pete Buttigieg at The Abbey in West Hollywood
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cTqrhIyCcc

Intro and 1st half of speech:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGWuah24Y58

Offline Lyle (Mooska)

  • Obsessed
  • *****
  • Posts: 26069
Re: News and Current Events - 2017
« Reply #2969 on: May 10, 2019, 10:53:24 AM »
A strange sidebar to last night:  While I was talking to the guy at the table selling the Pete B. campaign items someone came up behind me and asked something like what's being sold there. I turned around to see Dennis Rodman standing next to me. I answered campaign items for Pete and I shook his hand. Some others on the street started taking photos of him.  When I was watching the news later in the evening there was news and surveillance video about Rodman participating in some shoplifting incident, which he denies. (?) And then they said Rodman was going to be traveling to visit his friend Kim Jung Il in North Korea in a couple months.  It's a strange world.