John Labbe
@johnlabbe.bsky.social
Born a Mainer, now a (suburban) Chicagoan. Toastmaster, Bates '73. Woodworker and maker of fine sawdust.
Methinks the lad doth protest too much.
December 18, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Methinks the lad doth protest too much.
For me: seeing Un Homme et Une Femme in a cavern-like indy theater in Quebec, seeing the 70mm version of Kubrick's 2001 at the Music Box with my future son-in-law, whose immediate reaction was "WTF was that?," and seeing City Lights at Orchestra Hall in Chicago with the CSO playing the sound track.
December 13, 2025 at 2:54 PM
For me: seeing Un Homme et Une Femme in a cavern-like indy theater in Quebec, seeing the 70mm version of Kubrick's 2001 at the Music Box with my future son-in-law, whose immediate reaction was "WTF was that?," and seeing City Lights at Orchestra Hall in Chicago with the CSO playing the sound track.
I'm reading this book now, and it's just maddening. I think most of us have dealt with some holes in our shamefully weak safety net, but seeing all the holes depicted so clearly is devastating. And with the rise of Christo-fascism, the net will be torn even more.
December 5, 2025 at 3:52 PM
I'm reading this book now, and it's just maddening. I think most of us have dealt with some holes in our shamefully weak safety net, but seeing all the holes depicted so clearly is devastating. And with the rise of Christo-fascism, the net will be torn even more.
I wonder how much of the disdain for seatbelts was rooted in a right-wing scorn for things European. Cars made in Europe were fitted with seat belts much earlier than American cars. Did some think that the belts were "communist?"
December 4, 2025 at 5:11 PM
I wonder how much of the disdain for seatbelts was rooted in a right-wing scorn for things European. Cars made in Europe were fitted with seat belts much earlier than American cars. Did some think that the belts were "communist?"
It's absolutely stunning that millions of otherwise rational and well-informef people reacted to this bit of news with "Yup. I could believe that." about those two men. True or not, the reaction to the truthiness is a story in its own right.
November 15, 2025 at 2:48 PM
It's absolutely stunning that millions of otherwise rational and well-informef people reacted to this bit of news with "Yup. I could believe that." about those two men. True or not, the reaction to the truthiness is a story in its own right.
I bet it was fascinating. We boomers did a lot of ambition-projecting with our kids, and now the field of choices is so much broader, and I think the idea that sports and extracurriculars are essential to success has become parental dogma.
October 16, 2025 at 4:04 PM
I bet it was fascinating. We boomers did a lot of ambition-projecting with our kids, and now the field of choices is so much broader, and I think the idea that sports and extracurriculars are essential to success has become parental dogma.
He saw something about her on TV the other night, didn't he?
October 8, 2025 at 3:15 AM
He saw something about her on TV the other night, didn't he?
Here's a fun coincidence. In Illinois, high school districts are numbered and named for the township in which they are located. Maine Township High School District is #207.
October 2, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Here's a fun coincidence. In Illinois, high school districts are numbered and named for the township in which they are located. Maine Township High School District is #207.
In my limited experience, owners of classic American cars may tend a bit more rightward than those who prefer older European cars. And the folks who get into the older Datsuns and Toyota models even less so.
September 30, 2025 at 3:12 AM
In my limited experience, owners of classic American cars may tend a bit more rightward than those who prefer older European cars. And the folks who get into the older Datsuns and Toyota models even less so.
My question about JDV's reputed extra-curricular activity is this: when he finishes, does he light up a Chesterfield?
September 26, 2025 at 12:07 AM
My question about JDV's reputed extra-curricular activity is this: when he finishes, does he light up a Chesterfield?
Sneakers dies not get anywhere near the love it deserves.
September 16, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Sneakers dies not get anywhere near the love it deserves.
They're seeing dollar signs. BIG dollar signs.
September 15, 2025 at 10:57 PM
They're seeing dollar signs. BIG dollar signs.
Reed and Kellogg probably never imagined needing the blackboard space required to handle this sentence. It would be like one of those university blackboard from a quantum physics lecture.
September 12, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Reed and Kellogg probably never imagined needing the blackboard space required to handle this sentence. It would be like one of those university blackboard from a quantum physics lecture.
The explanation could be as simple as the desire to insert themselves into the scene for ohito ops, but I doubt that either of these clowns even so much as brush their teeth in good faith.
September 12, 2025 at 12:13 AM
The explanation could be as simple as the desire to insert themselves into the scene for ohito ops, but I doubt that either of these clowns even so much as brush their teeth in good faith.
Zen and the Art of Tricycle Repair
September 8, 2025 at 3:46 AM
Zen and the Art of Tricycle Repair
From the video evidence I've seen, he can barely lift an 8-iron.
August 26, 2025 at 6:59 PM
From the video evidence I've seen, he can barely lift an 8-iron.
Same. I remember ones like this in Augusta and Gardiner.
August 12, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Same. I remember ones like this in Augusta and Gardiner.
This is pretty frightening, actually. It feels like a win-win situation for the right and an irresistible force against which the left have no power.
July 9, 2025 at 1:15 PM
This is pretty frightening, actually. It feels like a win-win situation for the right and an irresistible force against which the left have no power.
Does Cruz ever vacation in the state that he serves, or the country of which he is a citizen? And, no, his time in Washington, D.C. does not count even though he does next to no work there.
July 8, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Does Cruz ever vacation in the state that he serves, or the country of which he is a citizen? And, no, his time in Washington, D.C. does not count even though he does next to no work there.
Those little guys can be really sharp. This morning, it was the pointy corner of a chisel I was sharpening that reminded me of a woodworker's truth: sharp, pointy things do not play well with fingers (or hands).
June 29, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Those little guys can be really sharp. This morning, it was the pointy corner of a chisel I was sharpening that reminded me of a woodworker's truth: sharp, pointy things do not play well with fingers (or hands).
Uncle Tom's Butthole. Buttholes for the King's Navy. And a poem: The Midnight Butthole of Paul Revere.
June 28, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Uncle Tom's Butthole. Buttholes for the King's Navy. And a poem: The Midnight Butthole of Paul Revere.