Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty. ~Thomas Jefferson

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

No one could have predicted…

Consistently wrong since 2002

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

75% of people clapping liked the show!

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

They want us to be overwhelmed and exhausted. Focus. Resist. Oppose.

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Reader Interactions

189Comments

  1. 1.

    General Winfield Stuck

    The top dog looks like the Samoyed I once had. Sweet dog she was. The second pic looks like a cat and maybe a possum, or skunk. Just kidding, sort of.

  3. 3.

    asiangrrlMN

    Holy crap! A thread chock-full of kittehs and puppies! I haz a happy now. Thanks, Cole!

    P.S. That first dog is amazing, as is the first cat. They are all cuties, of course.

  4. 4.

    SiubhanDuinne

    I wish my spine were one-twentieth as flexible as that bottom kitteh. Or, really, any of them.

  6. 6.

    Svensker

    Every one squeeeeee-worthy. I could use a cuddly pet right now, all warm and innocent and content. Rough day.

    Is the bottom kitty doing an i-ching? Which way is front?

  9. 9.

    Lesley

    For a minute there I thought Tunch had turned into a dog (first pic).

    Is there an unphotogenic dog or cat in the world? I don’t think so.

    Here’s a lovely story of a cat returning home after being missing for a whole year. Get out your kleenex.

  10. 10.

    me

    According to the sources, who like others quoted in this article asked not to be named while discussing sensitive information, Nashiri’s interrogators brandished the gun in an effort to convince him that he was going to be shot. Interrogators also turned on a power drill and held it near him.

    Fuck…

  13. 13.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @me:

    After this report and it’s no doubt ghoolish contents, then we can get on with investigating Blackwater Murder Inc, the Cia’s contract assassins. We have just started down this rabbit hole for the journey to Dick Cheney’s Chamber of Death and Consequences.

  14. 14.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    My Congress-critter Jan Schakowsky is on the Real Time panel tonight with Chuck Todd and Jay Leno.

  15. 15.

    Anne Laurie

    Wow, the dog (Samoyed?) and cat in that first pic really look like they’re plotting something. And they’re NOT happy to be caught at it, either. I would absolutely have slept with my door shut for the next month!

  16. 16.

    Max

    Yeah for me! About two months ago I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes, with blood sugar level @ 800. I just tested before my evening meal and 500mg of Metformin and it was 93!

    That won’t mean anything to non-diabetics, but for those in the club, its a cause for celebration.

    I’m dancing around my living room and my dog is wondering whats up.

    Carry on folks!

  17. 17.

    steve s

    Omigod John Cole I’m personally building a statue of you out of things from my garage You are the most amazing person in the world Before you nobody ever adopted a shelter dog You are like a dumptruck full of Mother Theresas Omigod Omigod Omigod I can’t stop crying please let me kiss your butt John SMOOCH SMOOCH SMOOCH SMOOCH

    …oh wait, there wasn’t a pic of Lily this time. Please disregard my comment. Was just trying to fit in here.

  18. 18.

    Anne Laurie

    @General Winfield Stuck: You’d think the monsters would at least attempt to destroy all records of their misdeeds. But noooo, the mid-level Minions believe that only full documentation will provide justification when they’re finally indicted. And the Evil Jeenyuses like Darth Cheney (who, of course, got his start as a Minion under Tricky Dick Nixon) want every glorious, starburst-inducing detail of their crimes against humanity preserved for the benefit of history. Something in our ape brains seems to believe that “But they did it too / first !” is an unbeatable argument, even after our mothers spend 18 years asking us whether we’d jump off a bridge just because our idiot friends did…

  21. 21.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @Anne Laurie:

    But they did it too / first !” is an unbeatable argument,

    And the go to for most tyrants. “We did it to protect You”

  22. 22.

    Leelee for Obama

    @Anne Laurie: The Nazis kept great records too. They wanted to document their fabulous efforts to cleanse the Volk. These people make me want to drown myself.

    For the second time today, I’m wishing my Dad had moved us to Canada when I was a little kid. Health care, no torture. Win-win.

  24. 24.

    steve s

    @Leelee for Obama:

    I wonder, is the concentration of morons lower in other countries than in the US? Because if someone could make a good case for it, I’d consider moving.

  26. 26.

    General Winfield Stuck

    Many here have already seen this i suspect, but I missed it somehow when it first aired. Watched it last night and tells the story of NSA. or no such agency. We spend billions each year to eavesdrop on everyone in the world, and those dollars are wasted, it seems like.

    The Spy Factory NOVA

  28. 28.

    hidflect

    When the “big one” hits and food gets scarce I’m wondering who will eat who? I see that first cat is about the size of the first dog’s stomach!

  29. 29.

    Max

    Maude – Thanks.

    Is anyone watching Warehouse 13? I’m catching up on my dvr and I really like this show. I like Eureka too. Am I alone?

  30. 30.

    JK

    Joe Scarborough Is Shocked, Yet Awed by Single-Payer Logic
    h/t http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion/464837/joe_scarborough_is_shocked_yet_awed_by_single_payer_logic

    Jon Voight is still a raving lunatic.

    “There’s a real question at stake now. Is President Obama creating a civil war in our own country?” Mr. Voight tells Inside the Beltway. “The real truth is that the Obama administration is professional at bullying, as we have witnessed with ACORN at work during the presidential campaign. It seems to me they are sending down their bullies to create fist fights among average American citizens who don’t want a government-run health care plan forced upon them,” Mr. Voight says.

    h/t http://crooksandliars.com/logan-murphy/jon-voight-president-obama-trying-sta

    Fuck Jon Voight, Betsy McCaughey, Marc Ambinder, and the NY Yankees

  32. 32.

    Leelee for Obama

    @steve s: Not sure about the concentration in other lands. It may be just as bad, but perhaps their media just refuses to give them face time. I just yearn for what was almost done when I was 4 or 5 yo. I know what kind of lives my BIL and his family had, and cousins and such, in the Frozen North, and get a little bitter.

  33. 33.

    Anne Laurie

    Speaking of pets, I could use some prayers positive pings. Thought we’d dodged the bullet, but if the state coordinator of the regional branch of the national breed rescue doesn’t get off the pot, we’re going to end up with a fourth dog next weekend. * Sigh *. Don’t particularly want another needy rescue with ‘aggression issues’, but she can’t stay much longer in her current foster home because she’s twice the size of their other dogs and she’s tried to attack their elderly Queen Bee. But according to report she’s smart & cute & wants to love someone, and doesn’t deserve to be euthanized for doing what dogs will do. If she and our own Princess Buta-Hime-Sama don’t hate each other at first sight, our guys are as big as she is, and the Boyz will ensure that she gets enough exercise to keep her busy. Plus, right now I’m home all day so there can be Adult Supervision. On the other hand, we do NOT want to fill out the tons of paperwork to become a “certified” foster home… we just don’t have that level of commitment, and frankly most dogs needing fostering are too small, too old & too frail to do well in our house. (Plus, I’m not 100% sure the Spousal Unit can live with a pet, any pet, without wanting to keep that pet forever. And he feels the same way about me, so there you have it.) It’s just this one dog, right now, that we could offer a space until The Committee finds just the perfect permanent home. I’m just really, really hoping my mouth hasn’t just written a check that my lazy arse can’t cash…

  34. 34.

    General Winfield Stuck

    Baha. I’d happily fund any effort that would assist males to blow themselves.

    I bet yer a fun date.

  35. 35.

    steve s

    @Leelee for Obama:

    I’m just curious. It seems like I’m surrounded by morons here in the US, everytime a teenage girl is arrested as a child pornographer for taking a snap of her own tits, or a Supreme Court justice sees no reason an execution should be interrupted due to “innocence”, etc. And yet, I’m really, really dependent on data and averse to people’s impressions about things, which are so often so wholly wrong.

    For one example, I have several teachers in my family. For the past 30 years, I’ve heard how much extremely worse kids are now than just a few years ago. And I hear that every year. For decades. If this was true, by now, the schools would all be on fire, and patrolled by armed. Hobbsian rape gangs. The kids aren’t getting worse. The teachers are getting burned out, and they’re projecting it on the kids.

    Example two: I’ve got conservative relatives who think taxes in their lifetimes have gone up up up up up, and if you asked them to estimate how much they pay in taxes, they’d say 50%. The same people who just 4 months ago filled out an IRS form stating, for the record, that they made $60,000 last year and owe $8,000 in taxes. Which is 13%. I know because I’m a math tutor and they ask me to check it because they’re convinced that one error and the IRS sends the SWAT team to beat you up and steal all your possessions.

    Example three: I had a relative tell me, to my face, that what christians are going through in america right now is exactly like, probably worse than, slavery was for blacks.

    In short, what people think, and what reality is, are often wildly different, and I crave data. Is there a place less stupid than this one? Can I know that, reliably? If so, how do I move there?

  38. 38.

    Tattoosydney

    @asiangrrlMN:

    agh – you moved threads….

    how you?

    Saturday morning, which if I was very brave I would say was the first day of spring! 17 degrees (61 in your terms) and sunny… been shopping for chalks and books (Raymond Chandler and Jane Austen) and smallgoods (Portuguese sausage and raclette).

  39. 39.

    me

    It seems like I’m surrounded by morons here in the US…

    It certainly appears that instead of Fluorine, someone is putting Brawndo™ in the water.

  41. 41.

    steve s

    @me:

    I keep trying to get a friend to watch that. He’s strangely resistant. Of course, his shit’s all fucked up, and he talks like a fag…

  42. 42.

    Max

    @John Cole: If you like blues, I highly recommend Susan Tedeschi. All of her stuff is great, but her version of Angel from Montgomery is SOULFUL.

  44. 44.

    JoyceH

    First pic is MINE! Yaaay! Maggie and Sam! Maggie’s the dog, and yes, she’s a Samoyed and Sam the cat is her very best friend.

  45. 45.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @John Cole:

    Where is everyone? Any music suggestions?

    Depends on what you’re interested in. James McMurtry’s always good for some kick ass Tx singer-songwriter mood. “We can’t make it here anymore” (youtube) sort of fits the mood of the country these days.

    I’m watching Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room on NetFlix. Free market, bitchez!

    Weird hearing the term “mark-to-market” from back in the day. Yes, we’ve been here before.

  46. 46.

    Anne Laurie

    @Max: Congratulations! Plenty of people here (hello, RedKitten) can attest that getting your blood sugar down is hard work.

    I need to catch up with the last couple of seasons of Eureka via Netflix — we watched the first season together, but the Spousal Unit didn’t like it enough to keep watching. I enjoyed it much more, and can watch it when he’s not around, but just haven’t gotten the Round Tuit yet.

    I have watched the first few episodes of Warehouse 13 on Hulu, but so far I’ve been disappointed with the plots, and to some degree the main characters. Had high hopes for the show, and I *do* enjoy the supporting characters (Artie, Mrs. Franklin) so I’m hoping things will improve as the writers get a better “feel” for the Warehouse 13 universe.

  47. 47.

    Fern

    @steve s:

    Don’t know if the concentration is lower elsewhere, but there are places where certain kinds of moronishness are less socially acceptable and are not so actively encouraged.

  49. 49.

    Leelee for Obama

    @steve s: Well, I have to say that most of the examples you site are not new. I think the problem stems from people being essentially uneducated about much of anything important. The tax situation for example. You can empirically show those relatives that they pay only 13% of their income in Federal taxes. You would need to add that payroll taxes are such and such. They may pay state or city taxes as well. The whole shebang adds up to whatever percent it is. But they heard someone somewhere say they’re in a 50% tax bracket and that is that. 50% of their income would be pretty easy to figure out and they’d know they didn’t pay that much. But that’s not the issue for them-because they don’t want to pay anything and they’d rather pay less. Who wouldn’t? But the intellectual dishonesty is fed by smooth-talking think-tankers and politicians, and that is THEIR truth.

    The christian thing just blows me away. Considering approximately 85% of the Country identifies as Christian, how in the hell do they figure they are oppressed? Has the Inquisition started up again and I didn’t get the memo? Is there an auto-de-fe every Friday to burn Catholics, and it ain’t on the news? Again, intellectual dishonesty, fed by wealthy bastards who want to keep power and can’t manage it by themselves, so they have to wrangle support from the slightly better off serfs so they work against the really badly off serfs. In Aushwitz, those types were the Kapos.

    Every generation tells us the kids are worse-they never are for the most part. Kids are here to make their parents and other adults get grey hair, They are good at their job.

    I truthfully don’t know the answer to where is better, but I tell people all the time, Europe has a lot going for it these days because they no longer have World Wars-BTDT. Thanks to us, they’re in better shape and don’t kill each other in huge numbers and drag us into it anymore. Wish there was some Country that would do that for us.

  50. 50.

    Bad Horse's Filly

    @Anne Laurie: Phone rings.

    Great Dane Rescue: Hi BHF, you did such a good job with your Harlequin rescue, we wondered if you could help us out.

    Me: Sure, what can do.

    GDR: We have these two brothers, 2 years old, product of divorce. We need a foster home for them.

    Me: Well I could do that.

    GDR: Just until we can find separate homes for them.

    Me: Whaaaaat?!

    I think you know how this ended.

  51. 51.

    steve s

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    No, he’s a moron truck driver from Kentucky. I once worked in a University lab, with a German guy named Gunter, who lost people in the Holocaust, and I had to tell said moron truck driver when he stopped by for a tour not to mention how he thinks that he, a comfy retired truck driver who sits at home listening to AM radio all day, is experiencing what jews experienced during the holocaust, else Gunter would blow up and start yelling at him, probably in German, which you have to admit is a great language for yelling.

  52. 52.

    arguingwithsignposts

    Taibbi, blistering as ever:

    In reporting this story Bloomberg, following this quote, did not immediately add a phrase like, “Benmosche after uttering this appalling horseshit quickly stepped sideways so as to avoid the lightning bolt that rained down from the heavens, frying to a crisp two senior executives and the company’s communications chief, Christine Pretto.” Instead, Bloomberg saw fit to bolster Benmosche’s insane argument by writing this:

    The Office of Thrift Supervision “fell short” in its oversight of AIG’s credit-default swaps, Scott Polakoff, a former acting director of the regulator told lawmakers at a hearing in March.

    I think they edited the title. The original permalink is: aigs-new-chief-is-a-raging-dickhead, but the title is “Ladies and gentlemen, AIG’s new chief!

  53. 53.

    Morbo

    Another disc golf tournament tomorrow. Looks like rain… again. If it does we’ll have passed the point of having rain for more events than not.

  55. 55.

    Anne Laurie

    @John Cole: October Project. Nevermind the sissy-arse jackets, the singer is amazing.

    Or, for something completely different, Wicked Tinkers. Somebody here recommended them, and I am totally lovin’ the three CDs* I bought — Whiskey Supper, Banger for Breakfast, and Rant. The Spousal Unit, who has what is called “an ear”, could hardly bear their YouTube clips, but the discs are much cleaner and if he didn’t enjoy them (nobody of Viking descent seems to appreciate bagpipes) at least he can stand them.

    * Get off my lawn, young punks with your ’empeethrees’ and ‘eyepuds’!

  56. 56.

    Fern

    @steve s:

    How’s your Portuguese? I hear that Portugal is booming and has quite a liberal immigration policy.

    You can get into Canada if you have skills in certain high-demand occupations, but the climate here is not universally appreciated.

  57. 57.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @steve s:

    which you have to admit is a great language for yelling.

    I can’t think of a better language for yelling in than German (even though I don’t speak it).

    Coming from a fundamentalist background (I got better), I’m well aware of the “Christians in the US are persecuted” BS. I think it’s part of the way they claim their legacy from the hebrews as the “people of god,” because you can’t be real people of god unless you’re being persecuted (Jesus said something about that), and since they have a pretty comfy life (most of them), they assuage their guilt with faux persecution fantasies.

  58. 58.

    steve s

    The above should not be construed as putting down truck drivers. Class based attacks are horrible. I currently live in a trailer. Does that invalidate my physics degree, or my love for Wodehouse?

  59. 59.

    Anne Laurie

    @Bad Horse’s Filly: Shudder. Much as I love Great Danes, and I do think they’re wonderful, “oversized” 15lb. Papillons are about the realistic limit of what I can handle as housemates!

  60. 60.

    steve s

    @Fern:

    I hope they speak English in Portugal. Because a requirement for me to learn another language is there have to be a lot of speakers. Cost vs. benefit. Although they do speak Portuguese in Brazil…..

  62. 62.

    steve s

    @Fern:

    I do like the Pacific Northwest, and was planning to move to Portland next. Some parts of Canada are like that.

  65. 65.

    Fern

    @steve s:
    They are. And parts of southern Ontario are farther south than nothern California, though the job situation there is bad right now.

  66. 66.

    Leelee for Obama

    @steve s: A lot of my crafty blogs are written by people from Portland. They certainly make it sound wondrous grand. And the photos are gorgeous.

  67. 67.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @steve s:

    The above should not be construed as putting down truck drivers. Class based attacks are horrible. I currently live in a trailer. Does that invalidate my physics degree, or my love for Wodehouse?

    Hey, stupidity knows no boundary of class. I’ve known some great people who were truck drivers and others who lived in trailers. OTOH, Rush Limbaugh lives in a mansion.

  69. 69.

    JK

    @John Cole:

    Music Suggestions

    In The Court of the Crimson King – King Crimson
    Joe’s Garage Act One – Frank Zappa
    The Chicago Transit Authority – Chicago
    On Tour with Eric Clapton – Delaney and Bonnie
    Miles of Aisles – Joni Mitchell
    June 1, 1974 – Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Brian Eno and Nico
    Friday Night in San Francisco – Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía
    Pretenders – The Pretenders
    Velvet Goldmine Movie Soundtrack
    Woodstock – 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur’s Farm – review
    http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/29203906/review/29494969/woodstock__40_years_on_back_to_yasgurs_farm

    Kudos to Keith Olbermann for his nexus between politics and the war on terror.

  72. 72.

    Leelee for Obama

    @Fern: Yeah, and crafty stuff galore and back-to-basics food. They are a joy to read and I’ve got tons of bookmarks for when my time belongs to me again.

  73. 73.

    arguingwithsignposts

    Gad, Enron was so evil. I wonder when the Goldman-Sachs documentary will come out?

    It seems like Michael Moore’s new film is going to try to hit that. I wonder if it will swing the wingnuts to focusing their anger on the people who really ARE screwing them over.

  74. 74.

    steve s

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    When the Bell South guy came out with the DSL equipment, and was giving me a kindergarden explanation of how to work it, and I asked him which are the low pass, and which are the high pass filters, you should have seen the look on his face. It was like a dog had started asking him questions about vector calculus. :-)

  75. 75.

    Tattoosydney

    @steve s:

    “I wonder, is the concentration of morons lower in other countries than in the US?”

    Here in Oz, I suspect we have as many dumb people, but our wingnut levels are definitely lower.

    We have the odd faux-Kristols and the occasional bizarro world Maureen Dowd, and our general populace here are as susceptible to political and media manipulation. I suspect our media is as dumb as yours, but it’s not all dumb.

    The general population tend to spread more across the political spectrum (or there are more in the middle of the spectrum who swing), and our “middle” is more left than your “middle”.

    We have a long history of labour union/Labor party governments that means, I think, we are more left overall than the US, and our religious right is a lot more fusty, old world and ignored than yours.

    Something to do with us being founded by transported Irish political prisoners and prostitutes, and the Americans getting the Puritans.

  77. 77.

    Lesley

    @Fern:

    Remiss of you not to warn Steve about Harpo, and the hacks passing themselves as liberals in several provinces.

    In BC our “Liberal” party wants to privatize health care after the US model.

  80. 80.

    The Other Steve

    @steve s: I believe Pliny the Elder lamented that the kids are worse then ever and don’t want to learn and are just raving idiots.

    And that was around 2,000 years ago in Rome.

  82. 82.

    Corner Stone

    @steve s:

    else Gunter would blow up and start yelling at him, probably in German, which you have to admit is a great language for yelling.

    Oh man. Probably the best. Unless you include whatever nonsense language Milla’s character in The 5th Element was spewing before she learned English. I have to admit that was pretty cool.

  83. 83.

    Tattoosydney

    @Fern:

    “How’s your Portuguese? I hear that Portugal is booming and has quite a liberal immigration policy.”

    I think their economy may still be in the doldrums, but it’s cheap to live there, and easy to get in and stay in, they keep electing Socialist governments, it’s one of the prettiest countries you could choose to live in, a dinner of good red, sausage, bread and cheese costs about 7 euros, and they like drinking Caipirinhas in the street at 2am.

    My Portuguese is coming on well.

  84. 84.

    Corner Stone

    @steve s:

    I currently live in a trailer. Does that invalidate my physics degree, or my love for Wodehouse?

    Yes. Yes it does.

  87. 87.

    Calouste

    @The Other Steve:

    I’m pretty sure there were people pointing out to Pliny the Elder in his time that Plato* made a similar comment 400 years earlier.

    * ok, could have been a different Greek philosopher. Maybe Diogenes because he was a grumpy sod anyway.

  88. 88.

    Violet

    Music suggestion:

    I got into Rajery a few years ago. He’s a Madagascar musician. Saw him at a festival – excellent performer.
    Link

    I’m also a fan of Salsa Celtica

    I have no idea if the html works. Guess we’ll see. My kingdom for an edit button.

  90. 90.

    biblehumper

    Check out tonight’s Real Time with Bill Maher when it reairs in your area. Jeremy Scahill goes after Chuck Todd, much like Greenwald did a few weeks ago, but this time in person.

    The Villagers refuse to confront the various administrations with tough questions. It’s nice to see real journalists like Scahill, who are systematically denied access to Washington power circles, show enablers like Todd how it’s supposed to be done. This is now twice in less than a month that Todd (who sadly is probably still one of the better ones) has been exposed as a shallow, sputtering tool.

  92. 92.

    Mike in NC

    I’m only a so-so Monk fan, but I loved last week’s episode with the husband who lost his wife in a hit ‘n’ run.

    Word on the street is that Monk’s not just an obsessive-compulsive detective, but a tea-bagging birther. Just sayin’. Also.

  95. 95.

    Betsy

    Hi all! I just got back from camping and had my first shower in 5 days. Hallelujah, that felt good. I’m pretty tired though so I might crash soon.

  96. 96.

    Violet

    Hmmmm…..now my post went through. Maybe it’s the link?

    Band I was posting about: Salsa Celtica.

    Also, the Madagascar musician Rajery.

  97. 97.

    Tattoosydney

    @steve s:

    “I hope they speak English in Portugal.”

    They mostly do – particularly the young, pretty ones. The Portuguese have good genes that on their own almost make it worth learning to speak the language.

    Two years of lessons and conjugations of verbs still make my head hurt.

  99. 99.

    Violet

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    UGH. Enron. I worked with those guys. Never have I met a more arrogant, entitled, RUDE group of people than the folks at Enron. I’m sure there were a bunch of nice, normal, rank-and-file types that I didn’t interact with. But the ones I did…deserved what they got, imho.

    The Enron brass, though. Big bunch of criminals. That film about Enron is great. Pity we didn’t seem to learn our lessons. I felt so bad for the power company workers who lost their entire retirement funds through no fault of their own. The Enron guys deserve to go to prison for that, for sure.

  101. 101.

    Ash Can

    @J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford: She’s mine too. I can’t watch, but I hope she kicks ass and takes names. North side FTW.

    @Anne Laurie: The more I read your writing, the more I like it. And I liked it right off the bat. Also, good luck with the doggies. O.o

    @John Cole: Bettye Lavette. You’re welcome.

    Oh, and Max, you rock.

    Signed, Ash Can +4 Goose Island Harvest Ales. First of the season. (I’m not ready for football, but I’m ready for them.)

  102. 102.

    steve s

    @Fern: @Corner Stone: Dang. I really liked Wodehouse, too. I suppose the li-berry will be happy to get their books back. Now I’ll have to just borrow Jerry Clower tapes and whatever literature they have on NASCAR.

    *(all kidding aside, I used to do voice work, including a bit of radio, and Jerry Clower has a pretty bangin’ voice, speaking as a former professional.)

  103. 103.

    Tattoosydney

    @asiangrrlMN:

    It is, quite… It’s in a town called Sintra, which is a mountain retreat where the kings of Portugal used to go to hunt and quaff wine. Insanely beautiful.

    ps
    Um – thanks for rescuing one of my posts from moderation, dad, but there’s another one in there too.

  105. 105.

    biblehumper

    I also highly recommend Lucinda Williams.

    And while Tedeschi is good, check out her husband’s stuff. Derek Trucks is one of the 3 or 4 best guitarists on the planet — I’ve seen him with Clapton and several times with the Allmans — and his new album is excellent.

  107. 107.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @Violet:

    Yeah, this movie almost makes me want to renounce my Texanhood. Enron and Ken Lay not only screwed California, they screwed Gray Davis and got Ahnuld elected governor, thus Ken Lay screwed California again *from beyond the grave*!

    Prison was too good for these evil bastards.

    The only good thing is that Ken Lay wasn’t appointed Sec. of Energy. Man, we dodged a bullet with that one – perhaps the only bullet we dodged in the bush admin.

  111. 111.

    Max

    @biblehumper: Yes, I like him as well. I got turned on to both of them when I lived in Jacksonville.

    Believe or not, I’ve really been digging John Mayer’s Live in Birmingham album (Any Given Thursday). John Mayer is great in a live setting and a really great bluesy guitarist. (IMHO, but I’m not a musician)

  112. 112.

    Max

    @Max: Duh, Wrong Album mention.

    While Any Given Thursday is good, John Mayer Live from Los Angeles is the one I’ve been rocking.

  118. 118.

    burnspbesq

    I’m in the mood for weird, dissonant shit tonight, so I’m listening to Carter String Quartet No. 1.

    Oh, and can I just say fuck the baseball gods? Eighteen. That’s the answer. The question is, “how many Mets have been on the DL this season?”

  123. 123.

    stibbert

    @JK: lovely playlist, JK!

    ‘Court’ was among the first LPs i ever bought, i’ve been a Crim fan ever since! Have since purchased a buncha’ remastered live sets from disciplineglobalmobile.

    never did buy or give a listen to ‘Miles of Aisles’, but ’bout 10 years ago i watched a video of the concert, lo & behold, Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays were in the band!

    So if you’ve ever in need of some ‘nift jazz-fusion, check out ‘The Pat Metheny Group’, ‘specially the 1st record of the same name, and its ‘San Lorenzo’ tone-poem.

  129. 129.

    Corner Stone

    @mcd410x: Oh it’s hot alright. Dude was primed to take some heat but FSM help us all – Kenny is roasting without the SPF.
    After the Enron dealie all went public a friend and I were hitting balls at Memorial Park GC during normal biz hours. And who comes sidling up 2 spots away wearing a cap and a smug ass grin? Kenny Boy.
    Seems he couldn’t show his face at his place and was looking for a way to work some stress out. What a world.

  131. 131.

    General Winfield Stuck

    I’m finishing watching one of the weirdest flicks ever. Burn After Reading Clooney, Pitt, McDormand, and Malkovich.

  132. 132.

    OriGuy

    @Anne Laurie:

    Or, for something completely different, Wicked Tinkers. Somebody here recommended them….

    That might have been me; I think I’ve mentioned them here. They’re great fun live, at a Highland Games especially.

    Brother — Australian Celtic band with bagpipes and digeridoo
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj24oG92qOo

    I’m practicing to dance at the Pleasanton Highland Games on Labor Day weekend. If anyone is there Saturday morning, stop by the Country Dance stage at 10:45.

  134. 134.

    Calouste

    @steve s:

    The Algarve (the south) is a major tourist area with lots of British tourists and retirees, so English will work there. Although I don’t think there is a lot of work for an English language math teacher there. Maybe you can switch to being a golf or bridge instructor.

  136. 136.

    Max

    @steve s: Sorry to hear that. Not to knock where you dwell but we used to refer to it as “Lake Shitty”. I’m sure it’s much better than it used to be.

    Not that Jax was much to write home about. I don’t live there anymore.

  137. 137.

    steve s

    @Calouste:

    thinking about moving to China. Nice pay, english speakers get. And cheap rates for things in major cities. And I could train a squad of ninjas who go about the world chopping the heads off people who can’t work apostrophes…..

  138. 138.

    steve s

    @Max:

    No, it’s appropriate. I just have free living conditions here. when the economy recovers, I’ll be back out amongst the intelligent folk….

  139. 139.

    anonevent

    @Max: Nope, you’re not alone. I watch both of them. WH13 is definitely going in an interesting direction.

  142. 142.

    MikeJ

    One of my clients recently bought property in the Algarve. Stunningly beautiful area.

    Close enough to the atlantic coast for the better surfing too.

  143. 143.

    mai naem

    I have a friend who goes to Uruguay every year and teaches English as a second language. She makes Uruguay sound very nice. I have far off cousins who live in Lisbon who make it sound very nice. Also have family in Perth,Aus who make it sound very nice and in Toronto but I don’t think I would make it through a winter in Toronto.

  145. 145.

    Fern

    @mai naem:

    I don’t think I could make it through a Toronto winter either, and I live in Manitoba. At least we get some sunshine with our cold winter weather. Toronto is grey and damp and cold and miserable. And their summers are hot and humid and miserable.

  146. 146.

    Fern

    @Tattoosydney:

    Thing is I used to be able to use apostrophes just fine – but a few years of teaching adult literacy, and I have to think every time I write its or it’s.

    And yes – apostrophes on plurals are especially galling.

  148. 148.

    Tattoosydney

    @Fern:

    “One of my clients recently bought property in the Algarve. Stunningly beautiful area.”

    The Algarve is stunning, with charming little towns, but unfortunately overlaid with a heavy veneer of English tourists speaking loudly at the natives and small annoying pre-pubescent girls with shrimping nets who say “fuck” a lot.

    I am, however, an unabashed Portugal fan. It’s a wonderful country – and that’s not only because it’s the land good coffee goes to when it dies, but that helps.

  150. 150.

    Down and Out of Sài Gòn

    Echoing what Tattoosydney said: there’s enough tools and fools in Australia. But we don’t have the same tolerance for self-pitying fundamentalists, who are allowed to get along with their lives like anybody else. Anyone who compared their situation to the Holocaust or black slavery would be invited to harden the fuck up already.

    I’m in Brisbane, and it feels like the first day of spring. 29 C / 84 F temperatures through the area. Sweet.

  156. 156.

    MikeJ

    @Tattoosydney:

    That was from yesterday. Australia avoided the follow on and finished at 160. England ended the day 58-3.

    Of course after the 4th test England fans have no right to laugh at anyone’s poor performance.

    And my red sox lost tonight 20-11 to the fucking yankees.

  158. 158.

    JK

    @MikeJ:

    Now more than ever, FUCK THE NY YANKEES.

    As a fellow Red Sox fan, I feel your pain. They need to win the next 2 games of the series to show that they still have some pride left.

    My mind is quickly turning to the NFL. I smell another Yankees World Series title and have no interest in watching the playoffs.

  160. 160.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @Comrade Kevin:

    Chuck Todd, on Maher, has proven himself to be a complete fucking idiot. He is a grade-A moron.

    see, I think Chucky got thrown in the deep end, out of his level. He was fine during the campaign crunching numbers and the like, but he was a studio guy. When they offered him the WH gig, he should have turned them down. Unfortunately, the bright lights and the pay bump were probably too much to say no to, so he got thrown to the lions.

    The Russert death threw things out of whack at NBC. David Gregory is another one who’s out of his depth, IMHO, on press the meat (and he was even arguably out of his depth on the WH beat, but considering the general douchery of the WH press corps, he was more in his element).

    Todd seems like a nice enough guy. It’s a shame he’s been exposed like this, in a way.

    And yeah, pain medication doesn’t help you sleep any at all.

  162. 162.

    Lesley

    Here’s something that will never qualify as a cute pet.

    I have a hard enough time trusting real cats not to go for my jugular, but robot cats? With red eyes? Trained as caregivers?

    Shudder!

  164. 164.

    freelancer

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    If you are disturbed by Alex Gibney’s doc on Enron, wait for this:

    In the last two weeks, I have watched Frontline’s Episodes called Black Money, about corporate and national bribery.

    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/blackmoney/

    and their program from February called Inside the Meltdown

    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meltdown/view/

    and I started listening to a book on mp3 version on Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine.

    http://forgetthisnoise.blogspot.com/2009/08/meddling-with-primal-forces-of-nature.html

    Bit of a mistake.
    Watch some Wile E Coyote cartoons or something light after you’re done with the movie. Too much real, depressing shit erodes one’s hope for humanity. My existential dread level is pretty high lately, so I’ve switched to science documentaries, Cassini probe, LHC, stuff like that. Cool things we’re doing.

  166. 166.

    tc125231

    @JK: Fuck Jon Voight indeed, He was always a mediocre actor, he helped afflict us with Angelina Jolie, and now this drivel.

  167. 167.

    DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)

    I thought the plural of apostrophe’s was apostrophe’s’s.

    ;p

  169. 169.

    burnspbesq

    Am I the only one who finds it mildly unsettling that it is now possible to buy a replica of Michael Vick’s Eagles jersey … for your dog?

  171. 171.

    Little Macayla's Friend

    To Max @ # 16:
    Sounds like you have already heard this sort of thing before (and listened), but my own experience with type 1 for the past five years (“juvenile” diabetes at age fifty) was that it was a return to dietary normalcy. E.g., one of the best images I’ve heard (and tested) is that anything with high fructose corn syrup listed as the first ingredient is ‘jet fuel’ because of the sugar spike (glycemic index). In my own case, I’ll probably live longer since getting the diabetes 2 by 4 to the noggin. Not that I expect the for-profit insurance companies to believe a pre-existing condition can actually be an improvement. You can. At least it’s good for a laugh from the relatives at family feasts when you can honestly say your diet is the normal one (curious, but hyper-sensitive, strangers might not laugh).

  172. 172.

    Little Macayla's Friend

    Possibly repeating my comment, but first try disappeared without a moderation, etc., message (“new” WordPress blog change?).
    To Max @ # 16:
    Sounds like you have already heard this sort of thing before (and listened), but my own experience with type 1 for the past five years (“juvenile” diabetes at age fifty) was that it was a return to dietary normalcy. E.g., one of the best images I’ve heard is that anything with high fructose corn syrup listed as the first ingredient is ‘jet fuel’ because of the sugar spike (glycemic index). In my own case, I’ll probably live longer since getting the diabetes 2 by 4 to the noggin. Not that I expect the for-profit insurance companies to believe a pre-existing condition can actually be an improvement. You can. At least it’s good for a laugh from the relatives at family feasts when you can honestly say your diet is the normal one (curious, but hyper-sensitive, strangers may not laugh).

  173. 173.

    Little Macayla's Friend

    To Max @ # 16:
    Sounds like you have already heard this sort of thing before (and listened), but my own experience with type 1 for the past five years (“juvenile” diabetes at age fifty) was that it was a return to dietary normalcy. E.g., one of the best ideas I’ve heard is that anything with high fructose corn syrup listed as the first ingredient is ‘jet fuel’ because of the sugar spike (glycemic index). In my own case, I’ll probably live longer since getting the diabetes 2 by 4 to the noggin. Not that I expect the for-profit insurance companies to believe a pre-existing condition can actually be an improvement. You can. At least it’s good for a laugh from the relatives at family feasts when you can honestly say your diet is the normal one (curious, but hyper-sensitive, strangers may not laugh).

  174. 174.

    Little Macayla's Friend

    Maybe repeating my comment:
    To Max @ # 16:
    Sounds like you have already heard this sort of thing before (and listened), but my own experience with type 1 for the past five years (“juvenile” diabetes at age fifty) was that it was a return to dietary normalcy. E.g., one of the best images I’ve heard is that anything with high fructose corn syrup listed as the first ingredient is ‘jet fuel’ because of the sugar spike (glycemic index). In my own case, I’ll probably live longer since getting the diabetes 2 by 4 to the noggin. Not that I expect the for-profit insurance companies to believe a pre-existing condition can actually be an improvement. You can. At least it’s good for a laugh from the relatives at family feasts when you can honestly say your diet is the normal one (curious, but hyper-sensitive, strangers may not laugh).

  175. 175.

    WereBear

    @burnspbesq: No, you’re not the only one. It’s like Jews wearing Hitler t-shirts.

    We’ve broken down and ordered a cheap loveseat from Overstock.com, since every secondhand couch in this neck of the woods is much too large for our attic apartment. Mr. WereBear wanted two recliners, and the one from Sears fell apart in two years, while the one we inherited from his grandparents, easily thirty years old, is still doing fine. Crisis in seating ensued.

    There are many lovely things about the apartment that keep us here. But as an attic apartment, the rooms are small and further whacked out by fitting them under the eaves. It’s a ship cabin challenge.

  177. 177.

    JoshB

    I’m very late to the game, but wanted to post and claim my kitties. They are the two in the last pic, Teak (the one on the lower part of the chair), and Nezumi (on the upper part). This is probably the closest they’ve ever been, since Teak is much much older (around 10 years), and doesn’t have a patience for youth (Nezumi is 7 months).

  178. 178.

    harlana pepper

    @JoshB: I was wondering since somehow that is such a familiar sight for me, none of mine get along with each other, they “co-exist” – I sure wish they would spoon but ain’t gonna happen in this life.

  179. 179.

    WereBear

    Our cats get along well; the 2 year old & the 5 month old amuse each other, and stay out of the 12 year old’s fur.

    The 2 year old came in as a kitten with 2 cats ten years or more older, but he had serious deprivation issues that kept him from acting like a typical kitten, and we worked it out. Now that he’s so much better, and has a kitten of his own, it’s done him a world of good. Sorta catching up on the kittenhood he missed.

  180. 180.

    Cat Lady

    @JoshB:

    I caught my two curled up next to each other once, and as soon as they saw that I saw them like that, they jumped apart like they were guilty of something.

    I like your chair. Also.

  181. 181.

    JoshB

    That pic is a few months old. We ended up getting Nezumi a kitten so that she would have a playmate (Ushi, who is 5 months old), and they have become inseparable. Here is a video of them together:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InJeMb6XACA

    This is pretty much how they always are.

    @Cat Lady – that is the most comfortable chair ever.

  184. 184.

    ironranger

    Lovely Samoyed. Sams are the greatest dogs; extremely smart, affectionate with very funny personalities. The grooming when they blow their undercoats is a whole ‘nuther story. I once saw a youtube of a woman combing out her Sam, which can take at least a couple of hours, sped up. There was a mountain of hair on the floor at the end.

  185. 185.

    geg6

    Were Bear: Hey, I live in an attic apartment, too! I love it, even though I bump my head on the ceiling under the eaves when I make my bed. I love being up high, especially when it storms. I call it my nest. It’s an adorable apartment and I want to live in it forever. Which I probably will what with the economy, my low pay, and the bargain rate my landlord charges.

  186. 186.

    WereBear

    LOL, geg6. Yes, we love our “treehouse” which is what keeps us here despite the challenges.

    Maybe the 9 bookcases have something to do with it (all full of books.) And the five cabinets of music and movies.

    We are thinking seriously about going digital from now on!

  187. 187.

    bellatrys

    OMG, it’s Synchronized Galting!

    (Sorry about the tomatoes, too. Blight seems to be related to weird weather patterns, at least around here.)

  189. 189.

    Egilsson

    The 2 cats in the middle are mine!

    The one curling on his back is the sweetest cat in the world. He’s essentially boneless when you pick him up, and if you rub noses with him, he’ll groom you.

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