u/Jonathan_Peachum

An old Jew and an old Muslim come to pray together every day, first at the Western Wall and then at the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.

They pray fervently for about an hour at each location and then go home.

This happens for years.

Finally, somebody asks them what they are praying for.

They answer: "Lasting peace and understanding in the Middle East."

So they are asked if they think their prayers will ever be answered.

The Jew responds: "It's like talking to a wall."

The Muslim responds: "It's like talking to someone with a heart of stone."

I have seen many posts here in which younger associates worry about a mistake they have made and ask whether it is going to cripple their chances for advancement.

Just in case it makes you feel any better, I am an old fart, retired biglaw partner but still do some consulting for my old firm. And I have just made an absolute howler of an error (luckily, only internally but in advice given to an entire team working on a transaction). Long story but I checked a register against the domestic name of a non-US company and not their English-language name that they use internationally).

I was corrected by one of the younger members of the team. I immediately owned up to the error. Heads did not roll, lightning did not strike, my consulting agreement was not terminated.

Shit like this happens. When it does, don't sweat it: own up, explain how the mistake was made, correct it quickly and vow to do better next time. There is nothing to be gained by anguishing over it and wondering if your career is over.

The final show is Saturday and I am considering going.

Has anyone seen this production? Is it good?

Thanks in advance.

[Content removed at popular request.]

So much of this sub is devoted to - justified - complaining, that I thought I would turn the tables for once.

Which biglaw firms are at least « decent » to work at - the usual horrible hours of course but at least some respect for work life balance and an atmosphere where people aren’t always at each other’s throats and don’t stab you in the back at every opportunity?

EDIT (AND AN IMPORTANT ONE): This question was brought about by genuine curiosity on my part and not because I am considering applying to firms. The exact opposite is true: I am a retired biglaw (but not V50) partner and wanted to know what things were like these days.

CAUTION SPOILERS

In "The Three Musketeers," it is an important plot point that Athos finds the executioner of Lille (le bourreau de Lille), who knows of the origins of Milady, and whom he persuades to accompany him and the other Musketeers on the voyage to Armentiers, where Milady is found and, after a makeshift trial, executed by the very same executioner.

In the sequel, "Twenty Years After", Mordaunt, the son of Milady, takes revenge on the executioner and stabs him to death...but the executioner is said to be the executioner of Béthune (a town some 40 km away from Lille).

Now, as I understand it, both The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After were written more or less contemporaneously (TTM was published in 1845 and TYA in 1846).

How could Dumas (or his collaborator Maquet) make such a mistake?

Désolé, je sais que c'est bête, mais j'ai maintenant plus que 70 ans et suis père et grand-père.

J'offre toujours un cadeau à ma femme pour la Fête des Mères. Je n'oublie jamais notre date d'anniversaire de mariage, ni sa date de naissance.

Et pour la nième année consécutive, aussi bien ma femme que mon fils ne m'ont même pas souhaité une bonne Fête des Pères.

Je sais, c'est un fête "inventée" pour des raisons de marketing, etc. etc. Mais je suis quand même un peu énervé.

Bon, ce sub existe pour pouvoir râler...et j'ai râlé!

Bonne soirée !

I'm not a fitness fanatic by any means but if I don't get in say 5 or 6 k every couple of days, I get very antsy.

Would it be totally nuts to try to get in a short run some time today if I managed to stay in the shade?

EDIT: Thanks for all the responses. I've scuppered the idea!

I think it is pretty much accepted wisdom that Johnny Fontaine is supposed to be based on the rumor that Frank Sinatra won the role in From Here to Eternity with mob influence.

If that is true, what of Nino, Johnny’s talented friend in the book who succumbs to alcohol?

I’ve always thought it was based on Dean Martin, who was popularly portrayed as a heavy drinker (although some believe this was just an act).

Any views?

We will do everything we can to make what works under the laws of your state and under Federal law work under our laws too, but please do not tell us "you must be wrong about your own law, because we can do that under our law."

We have laws in our jurisdiction, too. Sometimes they do not let us do what is permitted under your law, no matter how you frame it. We can suggest alternatives that will get you most of the way there without violating our laws, but that is about it.

Hear me out.

I don’t mean literally concede the season.

But this team is shot to pieces this year.

Instead of just trying to notch their way out of the cellar, why not use the season as a laboratory to see what might work in the future? Bring some more new talent up from the farm clubs and see what they are worth. Experiment with changing the batting order. Try some new pitchers. Do some trades.

And do it openly: apologize to the public for the miserable performance this year and explain they are going to do some on-the-field experiments to see what improvements they can make to give the fans what they deserve.

Apologies, some of you will have read my rants before, but this time I'm just asking if anyone has any good news on the topic.

I was diagnosed five years ago, had the RALP, and TBH, everything is OK on the cancer front (PSA hovers at about 0.03 but that is fine).

But ever since the RALP, not only have I had the usual incontinence and ED problems, but also severe loss of sexual sensitivity in my penis and no ability to orgasm (anorgasmia). My libido is fine, I get "worked up" over the usual things, but "south of the border"...nothing.

Have any of you (or people you know) struggled with this and somehow overcame it? (horrible pun unintended but accepted).

Any experiences sincerely appreciated.

So I am having my third (and probably last) colonoscopy (with a fibroscopy too as a bonus) and am doing the usual prep.

This time my gastroenterologist prescribed Moviprep Orange.

To my pleasant surprise, it doesn’t have that horrible taste that « plain » Moviprep had when I took it a few years ago and it made me want to vomit or perhaps just end it all then and there.

It’s not champagne, but it IS palatable.

So if you’re headed for a slinky tube session and you are prescribed Moviprep, you might want to try it.

I have seen instructions saying yes and some saying no.

What has your experience been?

I need my bubbles!

Diehard Mets fan here, even though I moved to Europe decades ago.

Can anyone explain to this old fart what is happening?

It was bad enough that the Mets crashed and burned in the second half of the season last year.

But this year they crashed and burned in the second WEEK of the season.

What the hell is going on? Poor management? Poor front office decisions? Too many injuries? Just rotten luck?

I'm 74 and have already had two colonoscopies in the past, so I "know the drill", so to speak.

About six days ago, I began to have bright red blood in my stool. This lasted for about four days, during which I naturally saw my gastroenterologist, who after seriously weighing the pros and cons recommended colonoscopy n° 3. I readily agreed, because I am apparently cancer-prone: I had prostate cancer 5 years ago (had the surgery) and a small cancerous mole on my ear last year (also had it removed surgically) and even at the beginning of this year, a benign "schwannoma" in my neck. So it's like cancer is trying to find the most vulnerable place in my body to "get" me.

But here's the thing. Over the last two days, the blood in the stool has stopped entirely. It went from 100 to zero, if you see what I mean; it didn't diminish gradually, it just stopped.

I haven't called back my gastroenterologist yet to tell him this, and am considering just having the procedure done again anyway, as given my age this is probably the last time that it will have any real relevance.

What is the Reddit collective wisdom here?

Thanks in advance for any views!

There is a new film out based on a book about women who were forced to act as « tasters » of food to be served to Hitler, to determine whether the food was poisoned.

Is there evidence of other 20th century leaders with similar « tasters »?

For that matter, are there current leaders who employ such teams?

I suspect this has been asked before, but does the expression "breaking balls" as used in The Sopranos, i.e., purportedly making an insult which is actually intended only to be teasing (with part of the drama in the series being when it either goes too far or is not recognized by the victim as simply teasing) have any truth either in the Italian (or Italian-American) community as a whole or within "this thing of ours"?

I don't speak a word of Italian but I do speak French, and the French equivalent, "casser les couilles", or describing someone as a "casse-couilles" really does mean someone who is annoying, somewhat akin to being "a pain in the ass" in English (or, when used, say, as saying to someone "tu me casses les couilles" meaning "you're really getting on my nerves").