Froth Slosh B'Gosh

Goodbye, Post Gazette

So the P-G called, and asked if they could help with renewing my subscription. I told them I wasn't renewing. She asked if price was the problem, and I said, no, its the direction the paper's taken over the past two years. 1: The cowardly decision to not endorse someone for president. 2: The racist MLK day editorial. 3: The batshit insane endorsement of Rick Saccone over Conor Lamb. It wasn't that the paper endorsed Saccone, it was the rational; He's an experienced state rep (who hasn't accomplished anything of note in Harrisburg over a decade aside from getting the state sued on state/church separation issues) and that Lamb will vote to impeach Trump (a "fact" not in evidence). The last straw was firing Bob Rogers and replacing him with an unfunny hack who regularly produces misogynist cartoons. She protested, "I'm just a billing clerk, I can give you the comments line." I said, No, you're a representative of the paper who called and inquired about why I wasn't renewing and I told you why. I've also been contacting your advertisers, so they know why your circulation is dropping. Now you have something to tell your supervisor when he inquires about success rates in re-upping subscribers.

I've subscribed to that paper for 30 years.  No more.

 

Rosfeld Not Guilty

I've avoided commenting on this case, because I wanted to get all the facts before coming to a conclusion. While I found the initial reporting on this tragedy troubling, I was also interested on why the prosecution didn't call a use of force expert to testify, and why they didn't call the driver of the car to testify. I found Rosfeld's testimony compelling, especially his describing that he thought he saw an object in Rose's hand. The law states that you must view the facts of the case based on what a reasonable police officer would conclude, and forced to make a split-second decision based on the facts at hand. Did Rose deserve to die? No. But is Rosfeld guilty of premeditated murder? Also, no, and so says not me, but a jury of his peers.

Steelerbation

So our local jock sniffers keep complaining about talking about Antonio Brown, yet they continue to talk about Antonio Brown.

Froth Goes To Nicky's Thai Kitchen

So yesterday was Mrs. Froth's birthday, so we bundled up the kids and headed to Nicky's Thai Kitchen for a birthday meal!  Mrs. Froth and I had been here once before for lunch, and we liked it, but we weren't sure how the kids would react.  The Frothling is an adventurous eater, so we knew she's be fine, but Frothette is a very picky eater, and the Frothite is not quite 3 years old, so we weren't sure about her either.

Frothette played it safe with the chicken noodle soup, but she was amazed at the size of the tureen it came in.  Luckily, Frothite helped out!  Frothite chowed down on pork dumplings, so much so that we ordered another six which she eagerly devoured.  The Frothling ordered mixed seafood with snow peas, and Mrs. Froth enjoyed a plate of Param Chicken.  AS for me, I had the Shitake Duck.  When our pleasant waitress asked me how hot I wanted it, I told her "Thai hot."  It was searingly spicily delicious, but a cup of hot sake and some Thai beer tamed the flame.  I also had the squid appetizer, which was very tasty.

We spent $200 including the tip, but it was a wonderful feast, and there were plenty of leftovers.  I took my leftover duck and mushrooms and made a nice udon soup for lunch today. 

IOKIYAR

Because it always is.

"And you have zero issue posting your pro-life stance all over the place when you had no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last week when we thought that was one of the options," Shannon Edwards, a forensic psychologist in Pittsburgh with whom the congressman admitted last month to having a relationship, wrote to Mr. Murphy on Jan. 25, in the midst of an unfounded pregnancy scare.
A text from Mr. Murphy’s cell phone number that same day in response says, "I get what you say about my March for life messages. I've never written them. Staff does them. I read them and winced. I told staff don't write any more. I will."
The congressman has been lauded by the Family Research Council, for his stance on abortion, as well as for family values, generally. He also has been endorsed by LifePAC, which opposes abortion rights, and is a member of the House Pro-Life Caucus, an affiliation that is often cited by his office.

And he will pay no price politically, because he's a Republican.

Froth Goes To TJ Buffet Sushi and Grill

This place is foul. 

Before I get to the incredible nastiness of this place, some background: This place sits where the old Tokyo Sushi Buffet used to be, next to Best Buy on McKnight Road, and the Tokyo was great for sushi.  There was a massive u-shaped buffet, with sushi around 2/3rds of it, the sushi chefs in the middle cranking out many different varieties of sushi and sashimi.  There was a grill, and a pretty extensive buffet of your standard Asian buffet staples, but most everyone went there for the sushi.  Unfortunately, the Tokyo had recurring problems with its steam tables, and was cited several times by the Health Department for holding food at unsafe temperatures.  The problem would be corrected, but then several months later, the same thing, until the place abruptly closed over a year ago.  TJ's recently opened in its place.

When walking into TJ's, I was struck by an overpowering stench of fish.  Now I like fish, but this was not a "good" fish smell.  The sushi selection is miniscule, nothing like the old Tokyo buffet, and was dominated by imitation crab and cream cheese.  The spring rolls stank of old cabbage.  The squid was actually pretty good, not rubbery, but was coated with a raw-flour tasting batter.  The shell on shrimp was breaded before being fried, who the heck breads shell-on shrimp?  You just wind up peeling the breading off with the shell!  Ribs were fatty and tough.  Crawfish were mushy.  There were oysters and mussels on the raw bar, but given the off-putting fishy smell, I wasn't about to try them.  If you wanted beef, there was one choice, roast, and you have to carve it yourself.  There were two things I had here that were good.  The seaweed salad was fantastic, and the baby clams pretty good.  The rest of the buffet is your bog-standard Asian buffet stuff, poorly prepared and in tasteless sauces.  Oddly, the entire staff was Asian, except for the cook at the grille, who was Hispanic.  Now there's nothing wrong with a Hispanic chef/cook, even in an Asian restaurant, I just found it odd.  Verdict:  Not worth the trip.    

Three hours later, colon blow.  Avoid this place!

Brave Tim Murphy Ran Away!

What a craven, gutless little coward.

It was supposed to be a chance to “Join Representative Tim Murphy as he discusses his Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act.” But Mr. Murphy. an Upper St. Clair Republican, canceled a workshop scheduled at Duquesne University’s student union at 2:30 p.m. this afternoon.

The decision was hastily made: A Duquesne University spokeswoman told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette of the cancellation roughly 45 minutes before the event was set to begin.

“We were disappointed to learn that Congressman Murphy’s long-planned tour of the Duquesne University Psychology Department and discussion with students on his Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act had to be cancelled today,” said a spokeswoman for Mr. Murphy. “Duquesne staff brought to our attention at the last minute that organizations not affiliated with the university were planning to disrupt the discussion and campus security was unable to guarantee the safety of all involved.”

Brave Tim Murphy ran away.  Bravely ran away away!  When danger reared its ugly head he bravely turned around and fled!  Bravely taking to his feet he beat a very brave retreat!

Light-Up Night!

Fantastic photograph of the Allegheny County Police Mounted Unit at Pittsburgh's Light-Up Night Friday.  I'm planning on contacting the studio to see if I can get a professionally framed and printed and framed copy.

Cheering Them On

 

I used to like basketball, but I find the pro game and men's college basketball essentially unwatchable.  Last year, I discovered the Duquesne Duke's women's team, and I really enjoy it.  No showboating and actual teamwork.  I took the Frothling to Duquesne's home opener Sunday afternoon.  You can see us near the top of the screen, sitting behind Lehigh's bench (the Frothling picked the seats).  She's wearing a pink sweater, and you can see her enthusiastically waving her pom-pom when the Dukes score! 

Its also inexpensive entertainment.  Tickets, parking and snacks (you can watch the Frothling eat popcorn at the 1:10 mark) for under $20.00.

I Wish I Had A Camera

So much to blog about!  There was the FBI's announcement that the e-mail search turned up nothing, the non-assassination attempt on Trump, or the Post-Gazette's cowardly non-endorsement, but something on my way home from work really struck me.

I work in the South Hills of Pittsburgh, primarily in Bethel Park and South Park townships.  Now these areas, especially Bethel Park, are pretty affluent.  So what do I see  at the main intersection?  A Trump supporter with a brown cardboard box sign on a pole reading Vote Trump.  Now this part of Allegheny County has a fairly large population of Republican or Republican-leaning voters, so seeing a Trumpkin there wasn't unusual.  What was unusual was his garb.  He was dressed in a manner that someone who knew nothing of steel working might imagine how a steel worker dresses.  He was wearing some sort of overall, and had what looked like a grey-plastic civil defense helmet from a costume shop atop his head, I guess to emulate a hardhat.  Like I typed earlier, I wish I had a camera! 

I suspect he might have been an out-of-town operative attempting to garner working class votes by pretending to be a steel worker?  Of course, most of the mills are long gone from this area, and as noted, Bethel Park is pretty affluent, it is unlikely to harbor a large number of blue collar workers.

But I guess that's what you get when you have no GOTV operation.  A show, instead of an effort.