Open thread: Last Chance Saloon

January 5, 2015 • 2:45 pm

by Grania

As Jerry will be in the air for several hours to come, he thought a last Open Thread (well, maybe not the last ever – but the last for now)  would be appropriate.

latest
Red Dwarf

I discovered that there are rather a lot of Last Chance Saloons in popular culture, funnily enough more in the UK  than in the US where the original eponymous saloons hail from. On that note:

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41 thoughts on “Open thread: Last Chance Saloon”

  1. Here in Oakland we have Heinhold’s or the First and Last Chance. Supposedly Jack London used to go there (and is supposed cabin shipped down from Alaska is out in front of it), and it is supposedly the oldest bar in CA (though disputed with some bar in Mariposa). It’s called First and Last Chance because it’s at the old port where everyone used to ship out or ship in. It’s a good bar – just regular drinks and regular dudes. And it looks super cool: http://heinolds.com/hew/bar_info.html

  2. My favorite Red Dwarf line:

    Rimmer: Look at you with your long hair. It’s a disgrace. Your should have hair like mine.

    “Cat”: Sure I got hair like yours…. Just not on my head.

      1. My favourite Red Dwarf line comes from my hero Lister:

        No way are these my boxer shorts. These bend!

    5. You may remember Rimmer’s monologue about how all wars are won by the side with the shorter hair. This almost certainly originated with a friend of mine 2-3 years before, who told it to many people, including some friends of friends who worked for the BBC.

  3. Gotta love Red Dwarf. Going back in time to get a chicken vindaloo and then having [***] kill Kennedy so they could return…beautiful.

    *** Go watch it. 🙂

  4. The Coursera class “Introduction to Genetics and Evolution” has begun.

    Video lectures for Week 0 and Week 1 have been released. Week 0 is an optional overview of evolution, including an interview with the one and only Prof Ceiling Cat. It’s at Coursera.org, but my phone doesn’t cooperate with links.

    Is anyone else here taking the class?

    Has anyone ever joined a study group in the forums? Would a WEIT studygroup make sense?

    1. I intend to. Life has interrupted…

      I’ll see about study groups when I get around to it.

    2. I am taking the class and love it so far. A total beginner, I am excited. I am using a desk computer for the class and have been able to watch the videos, pleased that my spotty internet service has not been a problem yet. Punnett squares are fun! What a great resource this free course is.

    4. I started. The course is brilliant. I’d encourage anyone with an interest in genetics and evolution (That should be almost everyone reading this!) to join (it’s free) and follow the lectures. The optional text is Why Evolution is True – a book I bought a couple of years ago and greatly enjoyed.

      The course has already started but it is not too late to join it. Here’s a link to get you going: https://www.coursera.org/course/geneticsevolution

    5. Yes, I am taking the class as well.
      Maybe we should form a study group.

      I am woefully ignorant and hope the class can expand my understanding.

  5. On the subject of study, can anyone recommend a good illustrated textbook for human biology? Nothing too specialized, but something that covers all the various systems of the body without dumbing it down too much.
    Thanks in advance!

  6. I don’t think that the Buena Vista Cafe on Hyde Street in San Francisco qualifies as a Last Chance Saloon as depicted here, but it is located near the turn around for cable cars down by the wharf and is rightfully famous for it’s Irish Coffee.

    Another very fine science fiction bar is Spider Robinson’s Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon.

  7. Lister, Rimmer and Cat discover the bodies of 3 long-dead and desiccated women on another ship that they encounter. That ship’s service mechanoid (Kryten)is still programed to think the women are alive…

    Rimmer: “They’re dead.”
    Kryten: “Are you a doctor?”

  8. When we are all done with the open thread, let me know. I brought a needle and a scissors.

          1. It was very good. I don’t know what the sauce was; it was light, slightly brown and had raisins in it. The “ravioli” was thin, similar to a crepe. This dish was one of the specials that night.

            My appetizer was veal meatballs roasted in marinara, whipped ricotta, basil & focaccia.

            The restaurant is City Cellar in West Palm Beach, FL. This dinner was followed by a walk to the water to watch a 25 minute fireworks display.

          2. Loverly way to close out the year! No clue when or if I’ll ever make it to that part of the country, but I’ll be sure to look up the place if I do….

            b&

          4. Maybe our gravel inspector friend can step in here, but I’m pretty sure that that’s not where DVDs come from.

            Well, okay, the raw materials for the polycarbonate, sure, but that still leaves out a lot of processing….

            b&

  13. The recent season 10 of Red Dwarf on Dave (not as good as the original series 1-6, but had its moments) had them go back to 23 AD and meet Jesus, then take him back to Red Dwarf.

    There they accidentally let him read an encyclopedia, where he learned the history of Christianity.

    He then went back to 23 AD to insult everyone and trash his own reputation, so that Christianity would never come into existence.

  14. “…the US where the original eponymous saloons hail from.”
    You seem to have found a new wqy of using that word. I can’t call it “wrong” but until now, eponyms, like Henry Ford’s car, the hero of Shakespeare’s Danish play, or Blur’s album, were a different kind of thing from what they eponymised. Aren’t things of the same kind with the same name just namesakes?

  15. Oooh, we’re quoting favourite Red Dwarf lines? Excellent. One of my top moments was Rimmer’s goodbye speech when he was leaving Red Dwarf to join the holoship. I love the pathetic way he attempted to say something nice but couldn’t bring himself to do it:

    (Words to the effect of)”Look, I know we’ve never really got along that well, but over the years I’ve really come to think of you all as…people…I’ve…met.”

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