Watch closely and feel yourself sucked into the Tunch event horizon:
I’m really not sure which is the sadder commentary. That I am filming my cat doing nothing (for four consecutive posts), or that you all will watch it. It’s a toss-up. I’ve named this video “Allegedly a predator.” At least he is finally talking on camera, as he always talks when I make eye contact with him.
BTW- I didn’t realize the humor in the musical background until I was watching the video. I also have no idea why it is so loud in the video since it is not very loud in the room at all.
Genine
OK, It’s only due to my faith in you that I believe Tunch does actually move.
I love Tunch though.
robertdsc
Tunch iz KING!
Joshua Norton
I’m not sure he understands what his character’s motivation is. He’ll never get into Julliard at this rate.
Of course, his problem may be a case of lousy directing.
Also.
SrirachaHotSauce
Tunch is the Rush Limbaugh of Balloon Juice.
freelancer
Yeah Cole,
You can’t note the bastard to death, he’ll be stretched too thin.
And can I get an open thread, or are you having too much fun with your new toys?
John Cole
@freelancer: These all are open threads.
demkat620
That cat is plotting your destruction.
PeakVT
I doubt I’m the first to think of Michigan J. Frog upon watching these videos, but just in case…
Update: Who would trust their money to a bank named Strategic Capital Bank in the first place?
gbear
After watching the previous series of videos, I’m starting to expect that Tunch will get hit in the face with a little cream pie soon.
Tunch seems to have a habit that my cats have: They want to be petted and they want you to see and hear and know that they want some petting, but they can’t be bothered to come close enough for you to reach them. “I want you to pet me HERE”, they say…
John Cole
@PeakVT: You are not the first.
Irony Abounds
why the phrase “jumping the shark” come to mind ;)
freelancer
Wow, 4 open threads, I’m not drunk enough to be that verbose.
Yet. We’ll check in later. (I’m going to go watch Role Models, a blast I’m sure)
PeakVT
@John Cole: My faith in humanity is reaffirmed. (And I’m too lazy to read 3 old threads on Tunch.)
asiangrrlMN
So cute. This is the best one yet. I like his meow. It’s a cross between angry and indignant.
Ninerdave
I’m sitting on my back deck, drinking a Coconut Porter (which is delicious and I hate coconut). Trying to befriend a little stray schnauzer which has taken up residence on the side yards of my house and the neighbor’s house.
He’s extremely skittish, however, I have gotten him close to me while I was sitting still. Although, it’s taken me all of my leftover steak and two chicken breasts, so I’m not sure who’s playing whom.
Right now he’s on my neighbor’s side of the yard looking through our “neighbor hole” (long story) at some new chicken set down by a water dish I set out for him.
Goal is to try and get him in tonight (only to be terrorized by Fu (cat) I’m sure), at which point my wife will promptly kill me when she gets home from work tomorrow.
Then we’ll either keep him, ’cause he’s breaking her heart (she doesn’t know how I can work around homeless animals, she’s a nurse and I don’t know how she can work around blood and poo), or he’ll go to the Oakland Animal Shelter this weekend with me.
It’s fucking cold here in Oakland this weekend, so I hope I can get him inside (only to start a flea infestation I’m sure).
Oh and John, I can watch videos of tunch do nothing all day and I’m not ashamed (well ok, a little) to admit it!
Danton
The music is somewhat appropriate… if the cat was in a bathtub.
NLB
Ahh, this makes me miss my cat.
.
Okay, totally different topic: does anyone else find Bill Maher an insufferable, unfunny bore these days? I used to watch his show religiously (pun intended) but cannot even get through the opening monologue anymore.
.
Jon Stewart has managed to stay funny with Obama, so why is Maher so irritating lately? I don’t care if he critiques the POTUS — just be FUCKING FUNNY. That’s all I require.
.
Anyone else?
Elroy's Lunch
Ah, the continuous Tunch cam with a Little Feat soundtrack. Seriously good music. Tunch will grow up with good musical taste.
And if you’re doing the female vocalist thing try finding some old Valerie Carter. Lowell George wrote some songs and helped produce her album. Really nice voice but she never pursued a mainstream singing career. Had some help from Jackson Browne too I think.
Laura W
@NLB:
I’m thinking yes? I watched the last 40 min of the 10:00 show and then caught the 11:00 from the start, and found myself not listening to or committing to any full sentence of either shows. It could just be my mood tonight. And lack of attention span for yet more political chat and rehashing of every story I’ve watched all week on teevee and here, at BJ Central.
I got my Serta Ultimate 4″ Memory Foam mattress topper today. It’s on the bed. I intend to go make it mine. Enough blah blah for one damn week.
Brandon T
@NLB:
I’ve always seen Maher as just barely on the line between funny and a self-righteous annoying prick. Not having the comic figure of Bush to rail against definitely hasn’t helped.
Stewart can be self-righteous, but he (or his writers) do a good job of balancing it out with self-parody. Maher doesn’t.
J. Michael Neal
I am, but I’m mad about (at?) my ex-wife, so no one probably wants to hear about it.
Doctor Science
I don’t know why the exciting TunchCam makes me laugh until tears run down my face, but it does.
Now I shall go back to listening to Adam Lambert. Seriously, I think this is the definitive version of “Ring of Fire”.
Will
‘Cause there’s a fat cat…on the futon…with the bluuuues
NLB
@Brandon T and @Laura W: Agreed. Good point about Maher’s self-righteousness and the fact that I, too, am probably just burned out by Friday night w/ the week’s political chatter.
.
But, he’s just terrible since Bush has been out of office. His guests suck, he acts like a defensive prick, and more importantly — he’s not funny.
RPh
He’s just waiting until you fall asleep.
Then it’s:
Something you like + my poopie = Angry John & my satisfaction.
Oh yeah … plus the ” jumping on the bed … bothering you … waking you up … and the ” pay attention to me look” “.
Repeat until dawn.
Cat companionship is sooooooooooooo much fun.
Tattoosydney
Random animal post – owl getting its head scratched.
Comrade Luke
I start the video thinking “I’m sure he’ll move. John wouldn’t post another video of Tunch just sitting there.”
Then about 3/4 of the way through I start thinking “You’re kidding. He HAS to move this time.”
He’s toying with you John. It’s what cats do. Enjoy the paw in the face at 4am :)
Joshua Norton
What I find to be most annoying about Maher is he goes for that whole phony “balance” farce. He has the same brain dead, right wing jackasses on that spew the same party line you hear on cable 24/7. I’m really not interested in sitting through their sock puppet, canned crap in hopes of hearing a good joke.
Joshua Norton
@RPh: Not to mention that if you die in the night he’ll probably eat you.
KRK
Not to get carried away, but this is how realignments happen.
Steeplejack
That’s pretty much the definition of a codependent relationship, which is pretty much what we have here at Balloon Juice.
That being said, er, more Tunch, please!
Steeplejack
@Joshua Norton: Win.
jhaygood
Fat man indeed…
TenguPhule
All we need is virtual beer and BJ would be Cheers.
Hob
I clicked on that and got “An error occurred, please try again later.” Which was the error, you filming the cat again or me clicking on it?
TenguPhule
A.k.a. Cole steps over Tunch on the couch
Notorious P.A.T.
Andy Warhol would be proud )
AhabTRuler
Dear God. I go out for a few hours to graduate, and this is what you all are reduced to. Couldn’t you have huffed de-greaser or drunk schnapps??
asiangrrlMN
@AhabTRuler: Happy graduation! What did you get?
AhabTRuler
@asiangrrlMN: BA in History.
Would you like fries with that?
Justin
Tunch is so fat that he’s broken Youtube. I can’t get any of his videos to come up.
Comrade Kevin
@Justin: Neither can I.
asiangrrlMN
@AhabTRuler: Wow! How old are you? We all gave our ages in the last thread. You might be the youngest. I got my BA in psychology. I used my degree for exactly one year. Now, I have an MA in Writing & Consiousness. You be the judge of how useful that particular degree is.
Congrats, anyway. What’s your next move?
Justin, he’s not fat! He’s big-boned!
Fake hubby! How are you feeling?
Ninerdave
@Justin:
Let me give you a summary:
1) John bops Tunch in the face twice with a mouse on a stick; Tunch does nothing
2) John moves the mouse on a stick in front of Tunch; Tunch does nothing
3) Tunch does nothing
4) Tunch meows twice over the course of a minute, then starts sniffing the air, presumably trying to sense if John is tender enough to eat when he falls asleep.
AhabTRuler
@asiangrrlMN: Awwwww, I’m shy! I’m afraid that my age will lend me credibility, and I don’t want that!
Seriously, I’m a mere stripling @ 34.
Delia
@Justin:
This just shows how immensely popular videos of Tunch doing nothing are.
Try opening BJ in a new tab. It worked for me.
binzinerator
Whoa. I finally saw the Pamela Anderson ad. Everyone’s been talking about it and all I kept seeing was pictures for the furminator tool and that putrid disgusting hunk of rotting meat. Also I for some reason kept thinking it was an ad for Pamela Geller aka Atlas Jugs. But no.
And now, an ad for Pamela Anderson’s extreme video, featuring a bloated boobed (but only one in profile) presumably Pam Anderson.
And no it’s not very safe for work. And that appendage that looks like an arm but appears as if it’s coming out of her lower belly is really disturbing.
Yuck all around.
Ok I recall John saying it would be gone shortly. Good riddance.
Finally, yeah the background music is noticeable but it makes it look like Tunch is waiting for when he comes in to do his solo. I heard a meow and I was expecting a little riff to follow to begin his solo but I guess he realized was early and had to wait for the next time around.
That is all.
Delia
@AhabTRuler:
Congratulations. You’re now fully qualified as an expert commenter on BJ.
asiangrrlMN
@Ninerdave: I fully expect number five to be of Tunch filming John’s prone body and cackling with glee (Tunch, that is).
AhabTRuler, even cooler. Way to go! Have a beer and watch Tunch, uh, do nothing.
AhabTRuler
Oh, and I also got a new Denki Groove CD in the mail today.
Here’s a sample. Not from the album I got today. Pretty good, but not the best example, just the best on youtube.
Like the Themroc I linked to in the movie thread, the pickings are pretty slim for album cuts, but a great group. I recommend highly. Themroc you can get relatively cheap through amazon, or amazon.co.uk. Unfortunately, if you want Denki Groove, you are going to have to shell out coin for Japan imports. I have a very good selection, plus a lot of individual stuff from the members, but I don’t want to talk about how much it all cost.
@asiangrrlMN: Hey, I have my own kitty to watch, and lately she’s been on a tear.
L. Ron Obama
Youtube was down for about 20 minutes. No doubt crashed by extremely high demand for Tunch videos.
I guess my favorite part is the button that says the video is available in high quality. I didn’t see it until I finished watching, so I had to play it again. Wow… what a difference!
Justin
@asiangrrlMN: And thank God he is big boned, because anything less than triple extra large titanium reinforced bones would collapse under the weight of all that fat. He would ooze off the couch like an immense liquid metal jelly, and it would be like the dripping acid scene in Alien: “Oh my God, Tunch is going right through the hull!”
burnspbesq
@Elroy’s Lunch:
Thank you for an excellent suggestion. Listening to “Ooh Child.” Never fails to send chills up my spine when she takes off into the second octave above middle C.
AhabTRuler
@AhabTRuler: sorry that’s, I have my own kitty…
and I drink only slightly more than you do, in that I am not actually allergic, but that a rarely, rarely ever do…
…unless its Champers (especially Vuelve), then I am its friend.
CaseyL
John, based on my own kitties’ reaction to music, I think Tunch is either singing along or is complaining that the music’s too loud.
Which, to him, it may be. To his sensitive feline ears, it might be as loud as it sounds on the video.
He’s just adorable, BTW. Eat-him-with-a-spoon adorable. And so is his voice. Thanks for sharing him with us.
asiangrrlMN
@AhabTRuler: And your kitty haz a serious cute.
@Justin: Ok, this was funny. Snicker.
Colette
Tunch is a fortunate feller, having such a devoted can-opener/toy-jiggler. My poor old fat cat Spot had surgery today, and is now lying on a towel looking pitiful with tubes sticking out of him. Luckily he’s had a big dose of pain meds so he’s also purring and can’t quite figure out how to get his tongue back in his mouth.
@AhabTRuler:
Congratulations! Don’t fret, in a few years you’ll move up to Starbucks and come home smelling like coffee instead of fry grease. And just think of the stimulating conversations you’ll be able to have! My 25-year-old political philosophy degree has made me the hit of many a cocktail party. Or so I’ve heard.
Colette +3, but subtract 1 for the shot of espresso. I just pour in a bunch of stimulants and depressants and let them fight it out in my system.
John Cole
Alright, I was off watching BSG 2.5. While watching, I made several decisions.
1.) Season 3 better be better or I am kicking someone’s ass.
2.) Tunchcam needs to become the next internet phenomenon. I will post videos of him doing nothing with music in the background until it is an internet fad. And really, as far as internet fads go, how is this any different from the dancing baby?
“I don’t get it. It is just a fat cat with random music. What does that cat do?”
“Nothing, isn’t it great!”
I think this is CNN material and good for ten million hits. In fact, I promise a daily Tunchcam.
3.) I am getting Shayla and renaming her Jillie. Unless someone comes up with a better name. But I have practiced it tonight, and I like the way it sounds when I yell Jillie (this is how I “test” any pet name- “what does it sound like when I yell it?” You can see why John Henry is going to be the name of my dog one day. Also, Dermontti). Also, Tunch and Jillie sounds like Punch and Judy, FWIW.
4.) I am not posting anything tomorrow other than a morning open thread until I finish getting my garden in. Christ, I am behind on that account.
Try yelling “Jillie.” I think it really works.
John Cole
Also, congrats to Ahab. With a history degree, I expect we will be saying congratulations to you again in 2-3 years after your masters, and then again a few years after that once you pile it higher and deeper.
burnspbesq
Sad day for a lifelong Mets fan: Jerry Koosman pled guilty to income tax evasion and faces a year in Federal prision (at age 66).
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4199726
biff3000
LOL That fat bastard is toying with you, dude. Turn off the camera, and he’ll be strutting around like a toreador to “The Final Countdown”. Turn on the camera, he’s an immobile slug of cat-lard, listlessly batting at that toy like it was a pinata filled with arugula. “I’ll teach Mr. Two-legs to video me for the amusement of his imaginary friends on the lightning box!”
AhabTRuler
@John Cole: Dude, I named my cat Momo Sprout (de la Hope y Changey), how could I possibly criticize anothers choice of names. It’s a very personal thing.
Justin
Actually, John, season 3 is considered something of a low point in the whole series. Read the episode summaries on Wikipedia so you can knowledgeably skip to season 4.
burnspbesq
@John Cole:
It is not unheard of for people with history degrees to consider law school. If he ever breathes a word about that, the BJ Bar Association will gather for an intervention.
burnspbesq
NCAA men’s lacrosse semifinals tomorrow. Duke-Syracuse at noon Eastern, followed by Virginia-Cornell. Both games on ESPN2.
Go Devils!
freelancer
Okay,
“Role Models” I can’t remember who had the masochistic Apatow marathon last weekend, but you’re totally right and I couldn’t get the word “Man-child” out of my head. I laughed a few times. For a movie that, in its last act, embraces quirky individuality as a virtue in its last act, it sure has a lot of jokes at the expense of the LARPer community. (Not that I mind, I was once dumped, just after HS by a girl who was a Civil War Re-enactor)
My date laughed, but she brought up something I hadn’t noticed. Now that Apatow films have gone mainstream, they’re losing their appeal fast. They’re in mindless humor Happy Madison territory, except the story they keep telling is of the post-adolescent man-child. It’s as if Thoreau’s description of men (people) leading lives of quiet desperation had never even occurred to the MTV generation, and thus we get the scripts of tens of hundreds of post-modern hookup comedies.
Freelancer +7
AhabTRuler
@John Cole: No, unfortunately I want to become soulless, scum-sucking filth, errr, get my JD.
AhabTRuler
@burnspbesq: Don’t start! I already promised Satan!
asiangrrlMN
@John Cole: Good lord. I read that as you’re behind in planting Christ’s garden, and I almost had a heart attack.
Jillie is a great name for your new girl. Remember to separate the two in the beginning and to do intros very slowly. Yay yay yay! A stray kitty gets her forever home. Soon, it’ll be Tunch-n-Jillie cam!
I gotta ask, WTF is the + – ratings y’all are doing? I wanna play!
AhabTRuler, I’m shaking my head sadly at you. Another lost to the dark side!
As for Tunch-n-Jillie cam, we will make it an interwebs smash!
John Hamilton Farr
All hail the TunchCam! I think these posts could substitute for 95% of everything I read online this week.
When I was teaching English as a second language, I had a student from Moscow named Marina. (This was in the Breshnev era.) She said there were four television stations, and that whenever the Soviet president was giving a speech, that was all there was on the first three channels. If you turned to the fourth station, you got a hectoring announcer saying, “What are you doing here? It is the duty of all Soviet citizens to watch Channels One, Two, or Three!”
I don’t know if that was really true, but something about it feels oddly soothing.
AhabTRuler
And I have already picked out skin samples for my copy of the Necronomicon.
burnspbesq
@AhabTRuler:
OK, well, if your fate is already sealed, then I will just wish you luck in finding a specialty that engages you. I like what I do (international tax), but there are far too many miserable fucks in the profession who are only continuing to do it because they can’t find anything else to do.
freelancer
@asiangrrlMN
Cole Started it. (a while ago)
It’s a quantifiable measure of how much you have been drinking at the time you are posting, aka Freelancer +7 means I have had seven drinks tonight. Capisce?
freelancer +8
TGIBackspace
EDIT: TG4Backspace, haha
asiangrrlMN
@freelancer: Ah. got it. Then I can’t play. Phooey.
AhabTRuler
There is no dark side, really.
Matter of fact, it’s all dark.
asiangrrlMN
@AhabTRuler: Alas, tis true. Where, oh where, can the light be found? Is it yonder? Alas, no t’isn’t.
TenguPhule
“You seem to think there are good people and evil people, Commander. In fact, there are only evil people. They just happen to be on different sides.”
gwangung
@AhabTRuler: Not nearly good enough. You need to offer organs at the very least…
Colette
@AhabTRuler:
But there is a Far Side …
John Cole
@asiangrrlMN: In the interest of credit where credit is due, I did not start it at all, Dan Rather did in the aftermath of the Texas National Guard records:
I just thought it was the greatest thing ever, and co-opted it and vowed to make it continue on. It really is multiple levels of awesome.
John Cole, +0. Although I did have coffee after 12 noon, which is why I can not fall asleep.
AhabTRuler
Momo sez: In the time you watched Tunch sit there, I booked up and down the hallway and almost wiped on jumping on top of the old speakers!
TenguPhule
Yes, until we see cam of Tunch +3, hanging from Cole’s leg.
TenguPhule -2, Knurd.
Tattoosydney
@asiangrrlMN:
Hello there… not too bad. I have gotten lots of sleep, although I had to work from home yesterday afternoon… I feel like a human being for a change…
burnspbesq
Strange and sad: a former President of South Korea killed himself by jumping off a cliff.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/23/world/asia/23korea.html?_r=1&hp
Tattoosydney
@AhabTRuler:
Damn you and your compelling music that makes me go out and buy stuff…
[wanders off to the Itunes store]
None there… so which Denki Groove album should I be buying off amazon?
asiangrrlMN
@Tattoosydney: Yay! If I had Hugh Jack’s number, I’d call him to give you some TLC.
@John Cole: OK, that is the best story, ever! I don’t drink, though (for the most part), so I guess I can’t play this game. Drats.
@AhabTRuler: Raven and Shadow say: In that space of time, we have stared haughtily and disdainfully at HER, demanding our just due of treats, scratches, and water from the tap. That is all.
asiangrrlMN
@burnspbesq: That’s very sad. A similar thing is happening to the former president of Taiwan. The first Democratic Progressive Party president, and he was arrested for bribes and such. He went on a hunger strike, but he backed off.
Both my parents worked very hard to get him elected, and my dad almost took a post in his administration. If my dad had, he probably would be in jail right now, too.
Now I haz a sad.
burnspbesq
And in case you missed the announcement today, the California Supreme Court is going to release its opinion in the Prop 8 case at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time on Tuesday.
burnspbesq
@asiangrrlMN:
I can share?
TenguPhule
And at 11:00 am, they get to stand in the unemployment line with everyone else.
/only half joking. Ye Gods, the state is fucked.
AhabTRuler
@Tattoosydney: Yeah, unfortunately, Denki Groove doesn’t have a lot on itunes either. If you can read Japanese, I think you can download them from a Sony Japan website, but I don’t know the details because I can’t read Japanese.
I think that the best two are Vitamin and <a href=”http://www.amazon.com/A/dp/B00000ILSN/ref=ntt_mus_ep_wlb_dpt”)A. The former is reasonably priced, the latter a bit more expensive. Sometimes, you just have to sit on an album until the price comes down.
asiangrrlMN
@burnspbesq: You can share. If Prop 8 is upheld, I will have an even bigger sad, plus a mad.
@TenguPhule: Yes. The first of many states to be in such a position, I fear.
Fake hubby, that sounds more like your scene, not John’s.
Tattoosydney
@John Cole:
Don’t forget the little people who got you your start when you’re off dancing and spending your ill gotten internet gains with Perez Hilton and the “Leave Britney alone” guy in some disco somewhere…
freelancer
@Cole:
Holy shit! I actually remember that, but you co-opted way later than the Rather scandal, it had to be in late 06/early 07. (I’m too lazy to parse your archives.)
Like anybody else, I’ve notice Jesse “the Body” Ventura on a media tour lately, and I’ve admired a lot of what he’s said in the mainstream press, confronting torture apologists and the like. It’s not my main intention to blog whore (when I post the link, my whole comment disappears so just click on my name and read from there if you’re so inclined), but I’ve got a couple posts up on him, but not because of all the good pub he’s been getting.
He’s been doing everything, including NWO 9/11truth conspiracy nut Alex Jones’s (no relation) radio show too. His stance on torture is admirable, like many people, but he’s a bit of a nut, and the fact that it makes him seem normal to kick Elizabeth Hasselbeck’s ass on national TV doesn’t make up for it as far as I’m concerned.
TenguPhule
@asiangrrlMN
So did you check out Nation, Witches Abroad or finish Guards, Guards?
asiangrrlMN
@freelancer: He is a nut, freelancer. I admire his current stance, but he’s quite batty otherwise. Even as a governor, he was more about doing what benefited him than what benefited the state. Fortunately, he liked light-rail, so we got that. Still, I like him better than Ratface Pawlenty.
TenguPhule, no. My friend didn’t have The Nation, and I am curiously reluctant to start Guards Guards! because I don’t think I’ll like it. Plus, I’m in a dark mood.
Anne Laurie
Y’know, John, looking at Tunch in “action” and especially listening to him, I think he’s got some Siamese/Oriental genes in his ancestry. Including, poor basterd, the “easy keeper” fat-sparing genes that help him bloat up like a zeppelin even on starvation rations.
I’ve also got to spend some time this weekend “putting in” the vegetable garden, but since this is New England & I’m lazy that involves refreshing the potting mix in the planters and transplanting the seedlings someone else started. This is the first year I’ve actually mail-ordered tomato plants, which is some kind of bourgeouis decadence, but I wanted to be sure of getting at least a couple of the heirloom types that really REALLY impressed us last year. Don’t know about your local garden centers, but we’ll be hitting our shops to fill out the list tomorrow rather than Monday because *everybody* around here raids the veggie transplants over the Memorial Day weekend.
AhabTRuler
@AhabTRuler: The second album is titled “A” and is here. I do definitely recommend Vitamin.
TenguPhule
The Graveyard Book (Gaiman) then?
asiangrrlMN
@TenguPhule: Is that his newest? I don’t think I’ve read that one yet. I’m working on Fragile Things. Man, he’s hot. Gaiman, I mean. Yum.
Hm. I have to check up on my friend’s cats tomorrow. I’ll see if she has The Graveyard Book. I like most of his work except for his annoying habit of ending things happily (relatively speaking).
Hey! Are you a lawyer? Seems like we have quite a few on this board.
TenguPhule
Its a dark modern version of the Jungle Book, except with ghosts instead of wolves.
And no, no happy endings. Bittersweet at best.
asiangrrlMN
@TenguPhule: Cool. I will liberate it from my friend’s shelf if she has it. Otherwise, I will buy it.
TenguPhule
No, but I played one in high school and am friends with several. :P
TenguPhule
You can try your local library first, they should have it.
Not on my personal list of favorites, though it has several CMOA in it.
I always swing towards action/comedy/romance.
asiangrrlMN
@TenguPhule: Ah. I see. I swing towards psychological drama, twisted depravity, darkness, and lust. This would be why you like Pratchett and I like Gaiman.
freelancer
I understand your stance on Pawlenty just from reading Marc Gisleson’s Blog Norwegianity, who refers to him as GovBridgeFAIL. His willingness to sacrifice local popularity to gain national standing with the GOP is insane though. (Maybe if I’m enough of a dick to the Dems, I can be one of the top 5 choices of 19% of the electorate), etc.
I was sugar coating it when I said Ventura was a nut though. His interview yesterday, the claim was made that the twin towers were a controlled demolition, and he didn’t say anything in protest, he didn’t even claim ignorance. The host went on to talk about the elites and the New World Order, and instead of being like , ‘yeah, yeah, I get it’; Jesse seemed to hit his stride right around there. The Dems AND the GOP are all in on it together, according to him, and the only way to get us out of this mess is to vote 3rd party, always! Now, I see it some times, especially with bedfellows like Reid, Schumer, and Dodd, but what goes on in that interview is a glimpse into pure spotlight-hungry madness.
Paraphrasing here: “Did you know that the night lincoln was killed, the illuminati rounded up 8 other people and executed them sight on scene? They didn’t want the truth about the conspiracy to come out.”
Ventura: “Uhh, no I’ll have to plead ignorance to that, but it’s amazing what the history books leave out, isn’t it?”
Some Random Chick
Speaking personally, I spent this evening participating in that grand experiment I’ve heard so much about called, “getting a life”. I closed the laptop and mingled tech-free amongst the unwashed masses for literally hours tonight.
Upon returning to my preferred version of reality, this was the first post I saw. AND I LOVED IT. Sorry I missed the earlier posts.
Tunch, and I believe most cats, are actually zen masters. Studying them (and recording their wisdom for posterity) is a good and necessary step towards improving the human condition.
I have a one-eyed, 14-year-old cat with two HUGE tumors on her belly. When I take the time to tune out the constant, chattering bullshit that makes up 80% of my life, and just watch her interact with the world, it is a sort of meditation.
Observing cats gives us mere humans a manual for separating the essential from the bullshit. What is essential:
# finding that perfect patch of sunlight and just going belly-up and digging it
# playing with the odd piece of string only when it is entertaining, and showing disdain for anyone who expects you to *play* or perform on their timetable
# unequivocally expressing your needs and wants, when you have them: food, water, affection, attention, and admiration. In other words, speaking only when you have something to say, and expecting a timely response
# singing along when you hear a good tune
Society would break down if the entire human population were to follow the cat model of behavior. I’ve seen how my cat treats my dog.
However, I firmly believe that on an individual level, humans could learn a lot, and live a more simplistic, happy life by adopting a little of the feline world-view.
TenguPhule
This is why dogs are superior.
asiangrrlMN
@Some Random Chick: What is this real world of which you speak? I kid, I kid. I agree, though. When I watch my boys as they interact with each other or, frankly, themselves, I feel at peace.
@freelancer: You got it in one, freelancer. He will do the right thing when it benefits him or it’s something he likes. Otherwise, no dice. I guess he’s living in Mexico right now. He has threatened to return and run again (for what, who knows, once it was POTUS), but so far, he hasn’t. The fact that I would almost rather have him than Pawlenty probably tells you how much I loathe Ratface.
Turgidson
Tunch doesn’t move his hind legs in any of the 4 videos. That’s somehow the most amazing thing I’ve seen in days.
AhabTRuler
@Turgidson: Are you suggesting that Tunch is the FDR of blogging cats? Because if the answer is yes, well, I would like to subscribe to your newsletter!
freelancer
Concur.
Not to be an asshole and turn this into a flame thread, but I believe Some Random Chick is beyond +12, or is on some substance I envy her for right now. If Cole emulated tunch, he wouldn’t have a job (what does John do for a living?) he’d ignore stimuli right in front of his face (did someone mention a woman offering herself to you earlier today, Cole?) and he’d look down condescendingly on everyone he sees (you love us all, Senators included, don’t you, buddy?) She’s clearly off her rocker.
freelancer +10
Tattoosydney
@asiangrrlMN:
What else is there?
asiangrrlMN
@freelancer: Woah, freelancer, maybe you should slow down a bit yourself?
asiangrrlMN +0
Tattoosydney, me like!
TenguPhule
The Four Horseman as a rockband against the End of the World.
Some Random Chick
In many ways, yes, but as societal role models, I tend to disagree. Based on my own
experienceobservations, running our society based on dog creedo leads to the following:#some “leaders” pissing themselves
#other “leaders” tearing out each other’s throats
Obviously the two are not mutually exclusive, which I think neatly defines the Bush administration.
There are other plenty of other dog-mentality-based-society concerns, but I’ll just throw in “licking each others asses” as a final visual. (Democrats are not excluded from this analogy – though I wish they were).
freelancer
@asiangrrlMN:
appreciate the concern, but it’s the luck of the Irish-Lapsed Catholic. I guess you do perform a bit of a double take if somebody on the internet is like ‘slow down’. Really, I’ve only drank a bud light in the last hour. I guess if you were going by John’s metric of Rather’s bourbon’s/per hour, then yeah, I’d be incoherent at this point. All is well, I assure you.
asiangrrlMN
@freelancer: Cool. I have a tolerance of one drink over three hours, so I am not a good judge of what is or isn’t too fast/much/little/not enough.
freelancer
Since last december John had a Comment of the Year post and we had to scour through 365 days of posts, only to elect one he had (rightly) posted above the fold, can I just suggest Renato so far for best comment of 2009?
I laughed more at this than I did Dick Cheney’s asteroid/moon conflation at SadlyNo. I emailed it to two wingnut aunts and got a serious Thank You reply from one of them.
Some Random Chick
Freelancer, no flame war perceived here. I’m a long-time lurker and newly minted commenter. I freely admit to being +4 before liquid courage allowed me to jump into the conversation.
A further admission, as I said, I just came home, read the post, and (again, thanks to the +4) decided to share my take w/o reading the other posts.
I was just thinking in an “overall philosophy to life” kind of way about the zen cat thing. If I tried in all aspects of life, I’d
probablydefinitely lose my job as well. In a perfect Zen cat world, let’s just say there are certain cretins I would, at minimum, use their desk drawer for a litter tray.No, in real (work) life, the cat philosophy of life cannot be sustained. I think it can be at least an ideal in the personal life.
Again, newly brave commentator, and not trying to offend. The comment sections of Balloon Juice are in a dead heat with the actual posts as to my favorite part of the blog.
Feel free to let me know if/when I’ve stepped over the line. I’ll save my comments for the +3 minimum so no hurt feelings.
Tattoosydney
@asiangrrlMN:
Off to cook dinner – we are having a leg of lamb, marinated in garlic, wholegrain mustard and Portuguese piri piri sauce.
In the mean time, an introduction to a criminal.
Tattoosydney
@Some Random Chick:
There’s a line? Good god, I wish someone had told me – I’m sure I have stomped all over it many times.
Please don’t. We love new commenters. Now, what are your views on the works of Terry Pratchett. *grin*
freelancer
@SomeRandomChick
No Harm, No Foul. We Juicers (is that our adopted nickname? ugh.) welcome new voices all the time. As far as having a comment invite a flamewar, I’m afraid I was being a bit deceiving in that there are no real rivalries here. I was using your comment for humorous effect to say that yes, as ridiculous as human beings would be to live like felines, John shares at least three common behaviors with his beloved Tunch.
Welcome to the club, and enjoy/ignore the spoofs. Who knows? If you’re relevant enough, and have a talent for snark, you may even post here one day. I don’t know about TimF, however DougJ was once a lowly commenter here. Michael D used to post, but now we only see him in threads from time to time, and I for one, miss his voice and what he had to add to the site.
@TatooSydney:
Who’s Terry Prachett?
[/snark]
Tattoosydney
@Some Random Chick:
To clarify:
means “Please don’t only save your comments for when you’re +3.”
Some Random Chick
Oh no you don’t! I just got metaphorically sent to the corner for a cat comment! You guys clearly have rules I’ve yet to divine and way more information (background and current) on the topic than myself.
I did read diligently the recent comment thread on this or some other books series (sorry, cannot remember the specifics) but, based on the comments and suggestions in response, I ordered “The Colour of Magic” and “The Light Fantastic” on 5/22.
Never heard of the series before, but I’m always looking for good books (WHY are so many novels SO BAD!) So, I ordered.
To do my homework before responding to your question, I googled again and see that the author announced he has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s.
I think I would rather be diagnosed with any other disease than that. It is the only disease I know of that kills who you are, without killing your body.
So, cannot comment on his work – can’t read it until next week. Cannot comment on his condition, – just found out via the Google. Can thank commenters for recommending him (and hope they are right) and prepare myself to feel cheated by his disease if I do love the books.
Call me a geek of the highest order, but I wept when Douglas Adams died.
Old Gringo
Most likely the camera you are using has a shotgun pattern condenser microphone – or some type of cardioid pattern and the speakers are behind Tunch or the sound is reflecting off the walls behind him. It picks up sound directly in front of it but not to the sides, off-axis, or the back, you. Common in camera mics. Try turning the music down. The mic will pick up the slack because the music is constant.
Tattoosydney
@Some Random Chick:
I don’t know if we have rules on here… just a lot of shared memes and a lot of swearing. I first dropped in about two years ago, and they haven’t shut me up yet – although I have been sworn at by a few people.
You are a geek of the highest order. Fortunately, so am I (and a lot of other commenters).
Tattoosydney
@asiangrrlMN:
Oi! Fake wife! have you deserted us for bed?
Tattoosydney
@Some Random Chick:
I’m sure you read the comments that noted that those two come with the warning that they were early novels. They’re funny, and a good way to get into his books, but his style and finesse (both a little lacking in the early books) develops rapidly, so if you don’t like those two, try a later book before you give up on him absolutely.
freelancer
I read Hitchhikers in high school like everyone else, but it wasn’t until I knew him online as a speaker that I loved him. After watching this, I felt torn apart.
But then, I have felt the same for so many of my heroes: I found Cosmos by Carl Sagan 10 years after he had gone.
I found the works of Bill Hicks weeks before my 21st birthday in 2003, when he had been gone 9 years at that point.
Stanley Kubrick died the day after I had first watched A Clockwork Orange.
I’m used to getting to know my idols after they, themselves are gone, but their work remains.
As for people I was familiar with, I wept when Arthur C Clarke died as well as the day George Carlin passed.
OriGuy
So this is the closest we get to a Friday Night Music Thread.
The Battle of Evermore, done by Robert Plant with Fairport Convention.
Rising for the Moon, Fairport Convention with the late Sandy Denny.
Edit. I posted this before I saw freelancer’s post. Sandy Denny fits with his list.
Old Gringo
Hitler Bottles?
Better photo of an original Hitler Bottle.
That is geekery, albeit microphone geekery.
freelancer
My supportive, nurturing parents are highly offended by that remark!
Tattoosydney
@OriGuy:
Yep. Apparently they’re all musicked out.
freelancer
You had to jinx, didn’t you?
freelancer
okay, bedtime, my girl’s getting fed up.
I can hear her calling me back home.
MelodyMaker
I’m gonna go ahead and comment before reading any other comments:
“Myea” –Tunch
That says it, almost…
Be very careful, people, if you want to welcome a new “pet” to share your “home.”
Seriously! I had one cat for ten years and then two cats for five years and now I have three.
aww, fuggit. I can sleep in the car til October.
Watch out for the Persians. I’m saying.
OriGuy
@freelancer: You got in before my second edit. My short-term memory sucks.
Some Random Chick
OK, thanks guys. You are all just as cool
?in real life?
(did I really write that?) as you appeared to be from a distance when I was enjoying your posts on the intertubes.
I’m glad I finally joined a conversation, instead of just reading one thinking, “why can’t I find people to hang out with like that?”
Bill Hicks – yeah, I was one of the ones who paid attention too late. What were your thoughts on the belated Letterman apology to his Mom? My thought: better late than never, but better in time than late. Still, big turnaround for old Dave.
Terry Pratchett – I read the caveats, but I’m the OCD person who has to read a series IN ORDER. So I won’t give up too soon.
Possibly to ruin any amount of street cred I’ve amassed tonight, I had a similar experience with “Strangers With Candy.” Just as soon as I’d watched and paid attention to 3 or 4 episodes, the show was canceled. I do now have all episodes on DVD, though.
Good times, good times.
For god’s sake, it’s after 4 am. I’m going for a cat nap.
Later folks.
MelodyMaker
El Oso. Soul Coughing.
Burnt White and Blue. Matt Wilson
MelodyMaker
one more:
Anna Stesia come to me, talk to me, ravish me; liberate my mind.
Sex in teh Summer? Gettin’ it On. Calhoun Square, Joint 2 Joint…
sorry. gnigh
ps. I’m still 42
Ash Can
I watched all four installments of Tunchcam last night after a martini and a couple of glasses of wine, and laughed till it hurt. I’m rewatching it all this AM now that I’ve sobered up, and I’m still laughing. Tunch just adamantly refuses to move that big round furry can of his, doesn’t he? Love it.
flukebucket
Damn. I missed all of the real fun last night.
Tunchcam ROCKS!
linda
well, i don’t know how long john’s going to be able to make those videos; tunch barely seems to be tolerating his nonsense now… just wait, some night when you’re deep into lalaland, you’re gonna get a facefull of kitty. :-)
TenguPhule
@Some Random Chick
Oie Vey, Color of Magic and Light Fantastic are not recommended for initial entry into Discworld unless your RPG geekdom is at least +5 Vorpal and you enjoy horrible jokes about lampshading.
Guards Guards, Small Gods, Witches Abroad, Mort, The Truth, Going Postal & The Wee Free Men will all introduce you a bit more gently to the insanity wonderland.
GReynoldsCT00
My cat was sitting on my lap when I watched this and he found it riveting…”WTF is that cat and why can’t I get to him!?”
We love Tunch, we could have worse habits than enjoying his videos. A break for the normal debate of the asshattery in the political arena is welcome.
AkaDad
I think that’s Tommy Lee, and I don’t think it’s her belly.
Svensker
@Tattoosydney:
re: owl head scratching — what a little cutie!
TimO
I’m having Tunch-envy. I wish I could lie around all day and not hear shit from anyone.
Poopyman
AKADAD:
That’s what I was thinking. That “SKIN THAN” banner hides a body. And it ain’t dead at all.
Now off to cut the grass and other chores before I can enjoy the holiday weekend ….
patrick
I’m an avid collector of albums recorded live, and Waiting For Columbus might be the best live album ever recorded.
It’s easily in the top three.
Rex
Every so often I am bowled over by the quality of writing, wit and insight of this blog. Then a series of posts like this comes along and I feel better again.
The Tim Channel
Tunch, like Rush Limbaugh, requests that you take a thirty day hiatus from using his likeness or mentioning his name.
Just sayin’.
Enjoy.
Steeplejack
@John Cole:
Jillie! Jillie!
Yeah, it does sound pretty good. [Waves at startled neighbors]
ET
Hey Jonh don’t feel too bad. As soon as I take out my camera to take a picture of my cat Milo doing something adorable he rains on my parade by doing something boring or just running away.
Showed those videos to Milo and he was particularly enamored with the one with the toy action (third I think). His eyes were following the action. Not as actively as he does my pipes screen saver but there was definite interest.
Nazgul35
Maybe he’s stunned at the volume of the music?
Or perhaps, Tunch, being a very smart cat, won’t play unless he’s paid…
Fire up the Paypal account…