"This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage."—The Texas State Constitution. According to Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a Houston lawyer and Democratic candidate for attorney general, the 22-word clause, found in the 2005 constitutional amendment designed to ban same-sex marriages, "effectively 'eliminates marriage in Texas,' including common-law marriages. ... 'Whoever vetted the language in B must have been asleep at the wheel,' she said."
Obviously, the clause was included to prevent the creation of civil unions or domestic partnerships or some other marriage proxy for same-sex couples, but because the clause doesn't actually specify same-sex couples, it appears as though Texas rendered itself out of the marriage business altogether. Oops!
(Almost certainly nothing will come of this, until some MRA tries to get out of alimony payments on the argument that his marriage was never legal anyway lolsob.)
Quote of the Day
Yeah, This Is Appropriate
[Trigger warning.]
Request Is Made to Bring TV Cameras Into Polanski Hearing:
As a rule, oral arguments before a state court of appeals would not make for scintillating television. But a hearing in the Roman Polanski case, set for Dec. 10 in the California Court of Appeal for the Second District in Los Angeles might be an exception. The court this week notified lawyers in the case that it has received a request to permit television coverage of the hearing, and expects to receive others, based on informal queries.I'm really curious about who's made the request the televise the hearing. Almost certainly, it will have been someone from a camp that has vociferously claimed to be concerned about both the victim and justice, neither of which will be better served by broadcasting the proceedings.
The matter has yet to be decided, and the lawyers will be allowed voice their opinions on the pros and cons. If the news cameras are allowed, they will give those lawyers an unusual opportunity to speak past the appeals court — which is hearing issues related to claims that the 32-year-old sex case against Mr. Polanski was tainted by misconduct — to officials in Zurich, where Mr. Polanski is being held, pending possible extradition to the United States.
Caster Semenya Keeps Her Title
Caster Semenya, the South African teenager who won the 800-meters at the world track championships so decisively in August that she was asked to undergo gender testing, which reportedly revealed she is intersex, will be allowed to keep her title and her gold medal.
Good stuff.
[H/T to a whole bunch of Shakers, and thanks to each of you.]
Top Chef Open Thread
Chef Tom Colicchio will drink. your. milkshake!!!
He will also be happy to mix up a batch of his special sauce for your buns, if you're into that sort of thing.
Goodbye to Lou!
by Nezua
Hola, just stoppin in to drop this upon ye at the behest and request of our fine host, Liss. I'll let the piece do the talking and hope it works for you. But I do want to say thanks so much for inviting me into these hyeah fahhhhn environs. It is, truly, a delight and an honor.
Al ratito,
Nezua
_______________________________________________
[Transcript below.]
You can also catch it here, in a dark room at the XOLAGRAFIK Theater, or at La Frontera Times...
Transcript for News With Nezua Video "Goodbye to Lou" by Nezua
SPOKEN:
Hola Gente, and welcome to News With Nezua! (Translation from Spanish, "What's up, people, and welcome to News With Nezua!"
[Flamenco/Latin style music. Rhythmic accordian, strings, shakers, handclaps, bass, catchy.]
SUNG:
"Guerrero!" (translation from Spanish: "Warrior!" or "Soldier" or "Fighter!") "Ole!"
[Latin music fades into acoustic song, with voice: "Goodbye to Lou....Goodbye to Lou" to the tune of Patti Smythe's Goodbye to You and OVER TEXT: "GOODBYE TO LOU"]
SOUND OF Applause and Cheers, from an audience
SOUND OF Acoustic Song faint and fading
SOUND OF a WHOOOOSH, as Lower Third graphic zooms Screen Right
Lower Third Graphic: "nezua, theunapologeticmexican.org"
SPOKEN (in a somewhat low/soft tone):
And perhaps now it's only proper to observe a moment of silence.
SOUND OF CHEERS and CLAPPING and HOOTS OF DELIGHT
SOUND OF 20TH Century Fox Production company music sting. Brass, snare drum rolls, cymbals, strings: very anticipatory and military and triumphant sound.
SPOKEN: (LOU DOBBS)
This will be my last broadcast here on CNN, where I have worked for most of the past 30 years and where I have many friends and colleagues whom I admire deeply and respect greatly.
SOUND OF CHEERING and APPLAUSE FROM AUDIENCE rises as Lou Dobbs speaks. COUGHING as the audience quiets down again.
SPOKEN: (LOU DOBBS)
Over the past six months, it's become increasingly clear that strong winds of change have begun buffeting this country—
SOUND OF MUTED LAUGHTER from somewhere in audience
SPOKEN: (LOU DOBBS)
...and affecting all of us.
SOUND OF WIND RUSHING
SPOKEN: (LOU DOBBS)
...and some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond the role here at CNN...
SOUND OF TRUMPET PLAYING SPARE MOURNFUL NOTES (from "TAPS")
SPOKEN: (LOU DOBBS)
...and to engage in constructive problem-solving, as well as to contribute positively to a better understanding of the great issues of our day.
Movie screen begins showing luminescent holes as
SOUND OF flames licking and burning
BOUNCY BASS RIFF begins as scene FADES TO BLACK.
-END SKIT-
BOUNCY BASS RIFF lowers as Nezua speaks
SPOKEN: [NEZUA]
Lou Dobbs has finally come to his senses and left CNN. You do have to give Lou credit. Ah, acknowledging that he's not part of the solution; that he's saturating the airwaves with negativity.
He says his colleagues and many people have urged him to be part of the solution and not the problem, and begin contributing positively. And Lou understands, ah, that the best way to do that is to take his voice, to take himself off of CNN. And you can feel it! You can feel the positivity; it has increased in the world!
Feel it. [said quickly and with dramatic flair as Nezua looks to air and sky about him]
SOUND OF SCI-FI/DIVINE HUM
SPOKEN: [NEZUA]
See? So we have to thank Lou for that.
And of course now everybody's speculating "What's next for Lou Dobbs? Will it be politics? Will it be radio? Or will he return to his wildly successful Space.Com venture?"
-END STANDUP, BEGIN SKIT-
SOUND OF DRAMATIC DRUM pound and RISING ALIEN MECHANICAL WHIRRING TONE and PINGS as text on screen reads "BROKEN STRATOSPHERES" and "MOON WATER TAINTED BY TEQUILA???". SOUND continues under entire segment
SPOKEN in COMICAL GARBLE-VOICE as if cross between Charlie Brown's Teacher and FAKE LOU DOBBS: [NEZUA]
"Grblerrgrlbblowrerr-CRIMINAL-growblwgrrble-ILLEGAL ALIEN-rrrrrblegroable--MEXICAN-grrrblerowamrmarebwllel--ILLEGAL-grblegrrblrgrllrwor-LEPROSY"
-END SKIT-
SOUND OF RUSHING/ZOOMING as image of NEZUA comes together from many shattered pieces, ending with a muted bell's echo fading out
SOUND OF NEWSROOM and PAPER BEING PULLED OUT OF TYPEWRITER as man in video background pulls paper from typewriter on desk
SPOKEN: [NEZUA]
You do sort of wonder what happened to Lou Dobbs, don't you? The Lou Dobbs Reports used to be purely financial News. What happened to Lou? What set him off?
SOUND OF EERIE BELLS FAINTLY RINGING
SPOKEN: [NEZUA]
We don't really have to wonder because Lou told Larry King when being interviewed what the pivot was for him, and he said it was September 11. It was September Eleventh, and then he talked about people having to compete with cheap labor. So...9/11 happened and before ya know it, Lou Dobbs finds himself obsessed with "furreners" sneaking across the border.
It's not really an unfathomable reaction, and he wasnt the only one to have it. In fact, our immigration laws themselves went through this same change, this same reaction. They became extremely punitive, fearful, paranoid, and prison-oriented after 9/11.
Catch and Release became Detain and Deport; we got 287(g) which brought that intensity of the border guard situation and the borderlands to every city, and a general terrorizing of the Latino and the Immigrant communities is what happened. Yes, a terrorizing. People terrified, living with PTSD symptoms now...aware that any moment someone could stop them, could hassle them, split up their family, barge down their door....
And if you wonder when the SWAT style raids, and the focusing upon the immigrant community as a source of danger within started, that was under Jeb Bush, in Florida, after 9/11 and the Cuban immigrant community was the first ones to suffer this. And from there, that spread. Until now, when we almost take it for granted that the United States approach toward immigrants is aggressive, hostile, punitive...it wasn't always that way.
September 11th spun everybody's head. Some people's heads are still spinning. I think Lou Dobbs is one of those people. This reaction after 9/11 to 'root out the danger within.' These people can't examine an entire body of facts because they can't question the things that retain their power. Lou Dobbs, Rupert Murdoch, many members of the GOP...all these people that are freaking out about the BROWN PEOPLE; the Dangerous Brown People Slipping Through the Cracks; check 'em on the plane, check 'em on the border, check 'em on the streets....they are incapable at looking at the actions of the United States of America as being part and parcel of why blowback comes to the nation.
So these people are off on this tirade, they're off on this mission to root out the Dangerous Brown people. And when you view it like that, Lou Dobbs...he makes sense. His arc makes sense. He hasn't stopped, he hasn't slowed down, we definitely have to enjoy what has happened here, to an extent. But not to lose sight of the larger picture. Lou Dobbs is just another pawn in the game.
-BEGIN FINAL (MOVIE THEATER) SKIT-
SPOKEN: [NEZUA]
People on the Left...people who believe in human rights above profits, people who believe in The People, we are unifying more than ever.
SOUND OF HORN and LATIN MUSIC kicking up
SPOKEN: [NEZUA]
There's really nothing to do but keep fighting, keep struggling, keep loving and of course, always: keep dancing
SOUND OF spare and polite clapping as MUSIC takes us out to final credits
SOUND of RUSHING OF AIR and IMPACTS as if ARROWS flying into wood
SPOKEN:
Xolagrafik
SOUND OF field or jungle insect and bird life. Whoops and Trills.
-end-
Quote of the Day
"I don't really know [who my favorite vampire is]. I always think of the wrong people. I always think, 'Ethan Hawke in Interview with a Vampire,' and someone will say, 'He's not the vampire. He's the interviewer.'"—Our new favorite vampire and emo prince Rob Pattinson, getting it way wrong. Ethan Hawke wasn't even in Interview with the Vampire. Awwwwwww. Good try, though!
Today's Edition of "Conniving and Sinister"
Strips One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70. In which Liss reimagines the long-running comic "Frank & Ernest," about two old straight white guys "telling it like it is," as a fat feminist white woman and a biracial queerbait telling it like it actually is from their perspectives. Hilarity ensues.
Assvertising
As if Reebok's talking boobs weren't enough for one day, here's a new Virgin Mobile spot [via] in which a woman actually disembodies her own mouth so she can keep talking on the phone while she takes a shower at the gym:
Woman 1: [wrapped in towel, in gym locker room, talking on mobile phone] Yes, Mom, everything's fine. ... Really, stop worrying. ... I saw the doctor this morning. [sets down her phone on a bench, and her mouth rips off and goes with the phone; her mouth carries on talking while she walks away] He said it's probably not contagious as long as I, you know, air it out a bit. [Woman 2, also wrapped in a towel and sitting on the bench, looks at the disembodied talking mouth, confused and slightly horrified] ... I know! ... No, no, no, no, that smell means it's healing. [Woman 2 looks disgustedly from mouth to general direction of showers] ... Yeah, like the top layer has to die before the rest of it heals. ... Ha ha ha! [Woman 2 scoots down the bench, away from mouth.]There's so much wrong with this ad I literally don't know where to begin. But let's start here...
Male voiceover: Never stop talking. With totally unlimited calling. Get the new LG Rumor 2 only from Virgin Mobile with no annual contract.
There are, in the real world, examples of disembodied female mouths, and they are almost always associated with demeaning women. There's the mouth urinal, for example, and there's the sex toy called the Fleshlight (get it? har har!), and it's not the only one on the market, but it may be the best-known. And it's been specifically designed for a dick to be stuck in it (the patent was granted for a "device for discreet sperm collection"), so a guy can approximate the fun of a blowjob without the hassle of the human woman (or man) attached to the mouth doing the blowing.
The sexual objectification and exploitation of women's bodies is one of the most basic expressions of misogyny, and the disembodiment of women's body parts (especially the breasts, vulva, vagina, buttocks, anus, and mouth) is sexual objectification combined with abject dehumanization.
That Virgin Mobile would almost certainly argue they weren't trying to sexualize the disembodied mouth (a dubious claim given the setting of a women's locker room and a conversation about a rash/wound that existed on a body part covered by a gym towel) doesn't absolve them of the responsibility to not feed into existent cultural imagery of and narratives about disembodied women's mouths. This shit doesn't exist in a void.
[Assvertising: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six, Twenty-Seven, Twenty-Eight, Twenty-Nine, Thirty, Thirty-One, Thirty-Two, Thirty-Three, Thirty-Four, Thirty-Five, Thirty-Six, Thirty-Seven, Thirty-Eight, Thirty-Nine, Forty, Forty-One, Forty-Two, Forty-Three, Forty-Four, Forty-Five, Forty-Six, Forty-Seven, Forty-Eight, Forty-Nine, Fifty, Fifty-One, Fifty-Two, Fifty-Three, Fifty-Four, Fifty-Five, Fifty-Six, Fifty-Seven, Fifty-Eight, Fifty-Nine, Sixty, Sixty-One, Sixty-Two, Sixty-Three, Sixty-Four, Sixty-Five, Sixty-Six, Sixty-Seven, Sixty-Eight, Sixty-Nine, Seventy, Seventy-One, Seventy-Two, Seventy-Three, Seventy-Four, Seventy-Five, Seventy-Six, Seventy-Seven, Seventy-Eight, Seventy-Nine, Eighty, Eighty-One, Eighty-Two, Eighty-Three, Eighty-Four, Eighty-Five.]
Wednesday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by Shaxco, makers of Liss' Trigger Warnings. Now sold in convenience packs of 20.
Recommended Reading:
Lindsay: Debra Haffner and Jim Wallis on Stupak
Tami: When Allies Fail - Part One
Mary: Pink Sparkly Links
Aunt B: "Pray for Obama"
Tigtog: Family-Friendly Workplace Policies Enhance Competitiveness
Resistance: "Cultural factors help limit recession's impact"
Renee: Couples Retreat Erases Black People
Andy: As Catholics and Gays Battle Over Marriage Equality in DC, Elections Board Rejects Prop 8-Style Ballot Initiative
Also: For the DC Shakers, IvyCeltress emails that there will be a Tweetup tonight at the Hard Rock Café (near Chinatown Metro) at 6 p.m. with free food and a cash bar to pay respects to the Washington Blade, which has closed its doors.
Leave your links in comments...
Rape is Hilarious, Part 47
[Trigger warning.]
Over at Jezebel, Anna has posted a clip from this morning's The View, in which actress Sofia Vergara "jokes" that she must have been raped at 13 in order to have an 18-year-old son.
Sherri Shepherd: You are a single mom of a teenage son who's eighteen>!Charming. For the record, Vergara had her son when she was 19.
Vergara: Yes, I knooooow. It's horrible!
Shepherd: Girl, you look good!
Vergara: I cannot lie about my age, because they count and they, you know...
Joy Behar: Yeah, you can't.
Shepherd: Well, you could have had him when you were 12.
Vergara: Yeah, thirteen.
Shepherd: Thirteen, yeah.
Vergara: I was raped. [laughs and flips her hair]
[Some of the other women laugh and someone says "Ohhh."]
Barbara Walters: What's it like to have a teenage son and how does he feel when people say, "Boy, your mother is really hot!"?
[Whoopi Goldberg coughs.]
[Rape is Hilarious: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six, Twenty-Seven, Twenty-Eight, Twenty-Nine, Thirty, Thirty-One, Thirty-Two, Thirty-Three, Thirty-Four, Thirty-Five, Thirty-Six, Thirty-Seven, Thirty-Eight, Thirty-Nine, Forty, Forty-One, Forty Two, Forty-Three, Forty-Four, Forty-Five, Forty-Six.]
To All A/V Shakers: HELP!
Over at Chez Cowboy, we've been experiencing an intermittent home theater issue that has me completely stumped, so I'm hoping that there might be some Shakers out there who could lend some advice.
Equipment:
- Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD DVR (cable box)
- Pioneer VSX-94TXH receiver
- Sony LCD tv (older model with DVI input
- Panasonic Blu-ray player
The receiver supports 4 HDMI inputs and goes HDMI/DVI out to the tv. This problem never happens when watching a blu-ray because the player is using HDMI to the receiver. I cannot use HDMI from the cable box to the receiver (I get audio, but no video), most likely because of HDCP maybe not supporting the receiver as a repeater or some stupid crap like that. I know that HDMI from the cable box worked at one point but maybe a firmware update changed that. In any case, this has forced me to use HD component cables to the receiver and that's where the problem happens, maybe due to interference. I did purchase a box that goes in between the receiver and cable box to try to remove this component cable interference but it's not helping.
Any resolution ideas would be greatly appreciated!
The NQDTR: A Discussion
Alright: we've had The Not Quite Daily Teaspoon Report running for a week now.
The main question I'd like to discuss here is whether Shakers are liking the "no-congrats" rule for the post, or would prefer to allow a more conversational approach in comments.
The reason I started it with the no-congrats rule is because I'm aware there are a lot of Shakers who don't go into the comment threads here much at all. And I can see how that'd make sense: if you only have limited time to come to Shakesville, you want to maximize your reading time of the actual posts. So I wanted to keep it tightly focused to draw in more of those folks, because of course the whole point of the NQDTR is that you need to read the comments, and I figure people are more likely to read it if they know that the "signal-to-noise" ratio, if you will, has been kept high.
That said, there's a lot of value to be found in the kinds of discussion we tend to have in comments here.
As I see it, there are three options:
1) Tightest focus: as it currently stands.
2) Slightly more relaxed: allow discussion, but not "just congrats" comments. This one might, for instance, have people talking about ways and means of teaspooning, but would still avoid the "You are the r0xx0rz!" kind of comment. This retains the signal-to-noise ratio at a fairly high point, and has a value-added component.
3) No special rules; same as any other Shakesville thread.
My goal here is to make the NQDTR the most valuable it can be to the most Shakers.
So?
Dear Maude
Re: the Sarah Palin Newsweek cover coverage, Atrios notes:
Of the CNN piece Digby talks about, Wolf Blitzer twittered:That would be the CNN piece, btw, in which Yellin compliments Palin for "show[ing] her gams" and "openly embrac[ing] her femininity."CNN Jessica Yellin did a very good report in SitRoom on Sarah Palin and her sexuality -- the fact that she's good looking. Did you see it?Sweet Jeebus.
I don't even know what to say anymore.
See also: Echidne.
Page Six Fail. Again.
[Trigger warning.]
Blogging about contemptible content at the New York Post's Page Six is like shooting fish in a barrel, but sometimes I stumble across something they've posted so thoroughly revolting I can't let it pass without comment.
The headline? Brat Packer called real brat.
The story? "Breakfast Club star Anthony Michael Hall has been ordered to stay away from his ex-girlfriend Diana Falzone after he allegedly stalked her and attacked her in her New York apartment."
Yeah, the awesomeness of yet another trite pun in a headline aside, those allegations, if true, don't make him a "brat." They make him a violently abusive criminal.
Extra fuckery points for bringing up his alcoholism and bipolar disorder, despite the fact there's no suggestion by his accuser, nor in his spokesperson's statement, that either had anything to do with the assault. Assholes.
Assvertising
Shakers JJ, Debra, Natbsat, Garbo, Shauna, and MLM have all emailed me about the new Reebok commercial for their EasyTone shoes:
[close-up of woman's breasts in bra]It's like Disembodied Things meets the worst of Assvertising. Lordy begordy.
Right Breast: Hey, did you see? Uh, nobody's staring at us anymore.
Left Breast: Are we still hot?!
Right Breast: Kuh-learly! You know what? It's all because of that stupid butt down there.
Left Breast: Yeah! Stupid butt! Gets all the attention now!
Right Breast: She's so tight now, so round, so pretty.
Left Breast: And so...stupid!
[close-up of woman's butt in underpants]
Male voiceover: Make your boobs jealous with the shoe proven to tone your butt up to 28% more, and your hamstrings and calves up to 11% more, than regular sneakers. Reebok EasyTone, with balance-ball inspired technology. Better legs and a better butt with every step.
Shaker Garbo emailed Reebok to complain and got the following response, which she describes quite rightly as "the classic 'sorry if you were offended but normal people weren't' non-apology" (emphasis mine):
Thank you very much for your feedback. All consumer feedback is helpful, as it provides us with an understanding of the public perception and opinion of our products and marketing.Says Garbo re: many consumers look at the ads in exactly that light, "i.e. correctly, as opposed to you, humorless feminist." That feminists would object is figured into their marketing strategy. What they're hoping is that it will be posted in feminist forums, but enough feminist readers will still hate their bodies more than they hate the ad, hate their bodies enough to be interested in the product nonetheless. Just another reason feminism and fat/body acceptance are inextricably linked.
The Reebok EasyTone ads were created to clearly illustrate the unique benefits of the footwear in a fun and bold way. The feedback we have received tells us that many consumers look at the ads in exactly that light, however we acknowledge that some consumers do take exception with the content of the ads.
You can be assured that your feedback will be relayed directly to our marketing team.
Regards,
Reebok Corporate Communications
[Assvertising: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six, Twenty-Seven, Twenty-Eight, Twenty-Nine, Thirty, Thirty-One, Thirty-Two, Thirty-Three, Thirty-Four, Thirty-Five, Thirty-Six, Thirty-Seven, Thirty-Eight, Thirty-Nine, Forty, Forty-One, Forty-Two, Forty-Three, Forty-Four, Forty-Five, Forty-Six, Forty-Seven, Forty-Eight, Forty-Nine, Fifty, Fifty-One, Fifty-Two, Fifty-Three, Fifty-Four, Fifty-Five, Fifty-Six, Fifty-Seven, Fifty-Eight, Fifty-Nine, Sixty, Sixty-One, Sixty-Two, Sixty-Three, Sixty-Four, Sixty-Five, Sixty-Six, Sixty-Seven, Sixty-Eight, Sixty-Nine, Seventy, Seventy-One, Seventy-Two, Seventy-Three, Seventy-Four, Seventy-Five, Seventy-Six, Seventy-Seven, Seventy-Eight, Seventy-Nine, Eighty, Eighty-One, Eighty-Two, Eighty-Three, Eighty-Four.]
SYTYCD Open Thread
Well, I've been saying since the beginning that Ellenore was my favorite female contestant, and last night I finally felt like she got a piece of choreography that showed why I love her so. Travis' work even made me like Ryan, who I haven't liked for some reason, though Iain has been championing him from the start.
It was a good night overall; I especially loved Kathryn's and Legacy's paso doble and Noelle's and Russell's foxtrot. (How great was the costuming for the foxtrot?)
Most notable about last night's episode for me was Nigel's return to Critical Levels of Lechery, which was making Iain shout at the television, and the disproportionate focus on the male dancers at the expense of their partners, which hasn't been so bad this season until last night. At one point, I turned to Iain and said, "I guess the Top 10 is going to be all men!" since it seemed like every guy was being told he was going straight to the Top 10.
Except Kevin. Who's probably going home.
