His name was Caesar Cardini. He was an Italian restaurateur and hotelier who moved to the US for work and eventually opened his restaurant in Tijuana largely in response to American Prohibition.

Very tricky. It’s a difficult road back to international accord, or at least what most Americans and Europeans thought of as international accord even though it was pretty spicy for everybody else.

But I think people in this thread are overestimating how long people’s memories are. Tricky doesn’t have to be long. I’m not convinced the Democrats have the momentum or frankly savvy to fully fix things, but I could be wrong. If in ten years people in the US and Europe look back and say “Damn, those were crazy times, but I’m glad we got that tariff thing sorted out,” I’m not going to be shocked.

I do think the Republicans getting taken behind the woodshed is important not just because the Democrats are more globalist (which they are) but because it’s proving that as crazy as things get, the US still has to play by the rules with regard to democratic elections, which have here sort of acted as a final safety valve.

I do think it’s nearly impossible that the US will ever have the sort of military power it formerly had as Europe continues to weigh its options, which… good.

I agree. The idea, that it’s what a child thinks a car or truck is, is actually very sweet. I’m shocked Tesla came up with it.

They’re shit cars and worse trucks. They don’t work, by which I mean they constantly break and they’re shittily made and the software is bad. They’re not price competitive. They haven’t aged well and that’s going to get worse. And they’re made by a company owned by a horrible person and bought almost exclusively by people who are socially malevolent. All that’s ample reason not to like them.

I also dislike that Tesla used and has now tainted this idea, so I actually dislike Tesla for more moral reasons than people who think it’s ugly; they just think Tesla’s incompetent, which is a weakness and not actually evil. That means I pass the anti-Tesla purity test with bonus points.

At least I still have the VW bus.

Never is a long time. Germany systematically murdered thirteen million people in the forties. Obviously that does come up, but Germany largely rehabilitated its image by the 90s. Maybe earlier if we’re just talking West Germany.

I’m not saying with any certainty that the US will ever be as comfortable in the world as it previously was. But if people can get over the Holocaust in fifty years, I think the US has a puncher’s chance to sort things out.

Connery’s stance on violence as a means of control, not self defense, is documented in a pretty famous Barbara Walters interview.

Connery: I think it depends entirely on the circumstances, and if it merits it.

Walters: What would merit it?

C: Well, if you have tried everything else. And- women are pretty good at this. They can’t leave it alone. They’ve got to have the last word, and you give them the last word. But they’re not happy with the last word. They want to say it again. And get into a really provocative situation. Then, I think it’s absolutely right.

You may not be familiar with all of this, which is entirely fair because it’s not reasonable to have watched every celebrity interview in history, but I would encourage you to watch it as context. He was inarguably talking about hitting women in his life to shut them up.

First time I saw that interview, I remember being shocked by how blunt and honest it was, because like most people I liked Connery as a movie star. He did not sanitize his opinions. Outside a card game with the boys on a Thursday night, you’re not going to hear a more honest endorsement of violence in a relationship.

Chardonnay isn’t usually vinified sweet enough, sadly, to stand up to Corn Pops and Honeycomb. There probably is one, somewhere, but it’s a reach. You’d really want Sauternes or Tokaji Aszu. They’re produced from grapes infected with a rot that gives them honey flavor notes.

Champagne and Port I like. Rice Crispies I’m curious about. Why and from where?

Not sure I like pairing Moscato. It leans very heavily into stone fruit rather than into the berries and cream in Oops All Berries. I like Prosecco better. It can be a bit nutty.

For me, personally, ideally I want something with some lees aging. That often gets into rich, bready flavors. So a demi sec Champagne or Cremant would work. A rose Cremant d’Alsace maybe even?

Edit: Also Sherry.