Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Never forget that he train is barreling down on Trump, even as he dances on the tracks.

In my day, never was longer.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

I conferred with the team and they all agree – still not tired of winning!

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Come on, man.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you don’t.

The lights are all blinking red.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

The revolution will be supervised.

How can republicans represent us when they don’t trust women?

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

Let there be snark.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

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Reader Interactions

234Comments

  3. 3.

    Midnight Marauder

    I just posted this in a different thread a little bit ago, but look at Harry Reid dance in this one:

    Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called the public option a “relative term”

    “Remember, a public option is a relative term,” Reid said. “There’s a public option, there’s a public option, and there’s a public option. And we’re going to look at each of them.”

    Got that? There’s a public option, a public option, and a “public option.”

    Or something.

  10. 10.

    Paddy

    Oh, I just have to crow about my din-

    Crispy Polish sausage with tender cabbage and onions sauteed in the drippings from the sausage & garlic mashed potatoes. Um yum, perfect for as chilly and overcast day as we’ve had.

    If you want some extra enjoyment for your evening, David Shuster had a FL state rep on earlier to talk about Grayson’s cojones, and Shuster totally made the rep dance over R’s hypocrisy on Nazi references. It was a beautious thing, and it is here.

  12. 12.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @Demo Woman:
    Already did, as I do every day. By way of an update, I wanted to let you guys know that my bank concluded their fraud investigation and today credited my bank account with the funds from the two fraudulent checks. (They already credited the NSF fee the day I reported the problem). The joys of belonging to a credit union never fail to amaze me. Unfortunately the detective on my case is in court testifying in an attempted murder trial (husband marine attacked his pregnant wife with a hammer), so I am way down on the list of priorities. Luckily Mum arrives tomorrow YAYYYYYYY! Time for me to get fat and happy, Mum’s stew is legendary, no housework, no laundry and no cooking for six weeks and my dogs will be spoiled rotten for the entire visit (they just love that). There is something very, very special about coming home from work to a clean house, with the smell of dinner cooking hitting you as you walk in the door and knowing that no matter what kind of a day you have had Mum will be there to say “there there”. *sigh* I might actually get back to updating my blog now that things are turning out right for me for a change.

    PS) since we are asking for votes please if you have the time go over to “Urban Dictionary” and pull up the listing for natural born citizen here

    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=natural+born+citizen

    The first 5 definitions are straight out of the birfers play book and go to Vattels two citizen parents definition (which is bullshit) if you feel the urge please thumbs down the first five and thumbs up Doc C’s definition at #6

    Fan chew very much.

  13. 13.

    General Winfield Stuck

    WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)–The Senate Finance Committee approved an amendment to health-care legislation Thursday that would allow states to use federal funds to set up public health insurance plans for lower-income and middle-income people.

    This is velly intellesting. The Tom Carper idea for a state by state PO, with states operating them, but not required to, seems to have passed the Senate Finance committee just a while ago. I don’t know much about it other than red states can opt out if they want and the federal government will put up seed money for the states that want it, to get started.

    Kinda sounds like a clusterfuck in waiting to me, but might get thru the senate with regular order, and bypass the reconciliation process, which would certainly be messy as well, for what the end product might end up being.

  14. 14.

    Throwin Stones

    Colorado gave up 54 points to the Toledo Rockets.
    WVU should not have a problem at home tonight.

  15. 15.

    Colette

    I made a big batch of garlic croutons from Acme sourdough bread, and I may just sit here and eat all of them for/instead of dinner. With a beer, or possibly a shandy. If I get off my ass long enough to cook more, we’ve got a marinated tri-tip ready to grill and some organic strawberries. I believe that covers all the major food groups.

  17. 17.

    abo gato

    MMMmmmm, I am feeling better after 4 days of post flu shot shit….I thought it wasn’t supposed to make you feel like crap?

    Feeling better enough to make home made pizza tonight. Sweet Italian sausage, mushrooms, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella…..oven is heating to 500 now and the dough is just about ready to start to roll out to as thin as I can get it.

    This is the shiznit as far as home made pizza recipes.

  18. 18.

    Darius

    Shorter Politico:

    If Chicago doesn’t land the 2012 Olympics, this is EXCELLENT NEWS!!! FOR REPUBLICANS!!!

    If Chicago does land the 2012 Olympics, this is… EXCELLENT NEWS!!! FOR REPUBLICANS!!!

  21. 21.

    JK

    @Midnight Marauder:

    Harry Reid is a clueless, useless, worthless tool and a fucking pussy continued

    Former Nevada state Republican Party Chairwoman Sue Lowden will announce her bid to challenge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today, immediately becoming the highest-profile candidate in an increasingly crowded field hoping to unseat the Nevada Democrat.

    “I feel strongly that it is time for Senator Reid to be accountable to the voters of Nevada,” said Lowden in an interview with the Fix. “He has forgotten about the people who elected him to be there.”

    Lowden also said she was “pleasantly surprised” by polling that showed her leading Reid since she hadn’t been on a ballot of any kind in the state since 1996 when she lost her re-election race for the state Senate.

    h/t http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/nv-senate-lowden-announces.html

  23. 23.

    freelancer

    Sully from this morning:

    Another reader:

    I think you’re being overly touchy yourself in your response to your interlocutor (“Is Darwinist a Loaded Term?”). The simple fact is that one can head off to websites hosted by the likes of Ray Comfort, Human Events, Vox Dei, and other, less respectful sources of internet-based religious dialogue and see “Darwinist” used as shorthand for “atheist,” as though atheism requires the replacement of Christian (or Jewish, or Muslim…) ideology with a central pillar based upon the theory of natural selection. One cannot deny that, for the vast majority of atheist-theist dialogue, “Darwinist” is used as a pejorative by theists. That you don’t intend to use it so is admirable; that you seem to be ignorant of the taint the word carries in such discussions is naive at best.

    Another:

    The problem is not (just) that it’s a pejorative – although it is. The problem is that the modern theory of evolution has rejected or far surpassed many of Darwin’s own ideas about his theory. The core truth remains, but the use of the term implies that the credibility of evolutionary theory comes from the person of Darwin rather than from 150 years of peer-reviewed research. I’m not a biologist but it’s been my impression that this term is absolutely detested throughout the scientific community, as if the modern laws of physics were called Newtonism. This isn’t mere touchiness.

    I rest my case.

    Excuse me. Andrew. Might I borrow a cup of smug?

  28. 28.

    Steeplejack

    Are you sure your monitor screen is clean? From the inside, too? Make sure here.

    Just procrastinating a few minutes before heading for the beach for four days. Yee-haw. I just got home from work an hour or so ago, I’m waiting for a load of clothes to come out of the dryer, and my brother is picking me up at 9:00 p.m. EDT. It’s only 130 miles (from the D.C. area to Rehoboth Beach, DE), but the trip is about three hours, I think. Lots of small roads.

    As I said before, I will try to follow Balloon Juice on the laptop or, failing that, on the not-too-smart-phone.

  30. 30.

    RedKitten

    @Litlebritdifrnt: I’m excited for you for your mum’s visit.

    There is something very, very special about coming home from work to a clean house, with the smell of dinner cooking hitting you as you walk in the door and knowing that no matter what kind of a day you have had Mum will be there to say “there there”.

    That sounds absolutely heavenly. No wonder some people are nostalgic for the June Cleaver-esque housewife, if that’s what the homecoming was like.

    My mom is coming next week for a couple of days, so it’ll be a brief bit of spoiling, but a lovely one nonetheless. (And when she leaves, I’ll let you know how many little bowls of leftover food have accrued…)

  31. 31.

    jeffreyw

    Point of order!

    It is not proper to pour the beans/sausage mix into the rice on the stove. The beans are used as a topping for the rice on the plate at the table.

  32. 32.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @Demo Woman:

    Ha! My mother give a recipe for stew? Unpossible. It basically involves “contents of the fridge that will not last another day, leftovers, metric tons of potatoes, a can of tomatoes, possibly a can of beans, an oxo cube, and dumplings” that and some sort of soy protein fake meat (she is now a vegetarian) and jobs a good en. I grew up on this stuff. (we were poor) She would begin the week with a pound of minced beef (ground beef) she would make “mince and tatties” (ground beef in a rich gravy, perhaps some carrots and peas in it, with boiled potatoes), the leftover meat and potatoes would the following day be turned into a stew, the leftover stew would the following day be turned into a curry (served with rice), the leftover curry would the following day turn into a weak soup with the occasional bit of ground beef floating around in it. She never failed to amaze me as a child in her ability to create a filling meal out anything, I am pretty sure you could give my mother a bag of potatoes and a stock cube and she could come up with something that would leave you satisfied. It helps being a child of WWII and the depression I suppose but I am nowhere near as creative.

  34. 34.

    Midnight Marauder

    @freelancer:

    Excuse me. Andrew. Might I borrow a cup of smug?

    Speaking of Sully, he’s been wringing his hands most of the day about Grayson putting Republican obstructionism on blast; how the “extremism” on both sides is getting out of hand.

    It’s impossible to watch the vast ignorance, hate and extremism in this country right now and not almost despair.

    Again, I know we talk about how clueless Sullivan is when it comes to any issue not related to gay rights or torture, but that is the definition of fucking dense. Really, Sully? You can’t see how one precipitated the other? How one is just scaremongering and the other is factually accurate hyperbole?

    His most hilarious post of the day is this, however:

    Anti-Yglesias Award Nominee

    How depressing to see Matt [Yglesias] excuse Grayson’s behavior

    What.a.tool.

  36. 36.

    Anne Laurie

    Enjoy some beach for me, Steeplejack! (The Spousal Unit grew up on Lake Michigan, so he can’t understand the pleasure I take in oceans — to him, they smell funny. Of course, to me, Lake Michigan smells like nothing at all, which is even more suspicious.)

  37. 37.

    Midnight Marauder

    @JK:

    Harry Reid is a clueless, useless, worthless tool and a fucking pussy III (cont’d):

    Progressives Prepare to Pressure Reid to Include Public Option in Senate Health Care Bill

    “If Harry Reid does not have the leadership skills to get 60 votes for cloture and give a Democratic president an up-or-down vote on health care, progressives will help defeat him in 2010, even if that means Republicans take that seat,” said the head of one progressive organization, who’s still working out the detail of the campaign. “There is no use for Reid’s vote if 60 Democratic votes means nothing on cloture, and no use for Reid’s leadership if his leadership is so blatantly ineffective.”

  38. 38.

    JK

    @ellaesther:

    Maybe, law enforcement will catch a break and arrest Bin Laden and Zawahiri when they show up in NY for the New York Film Festival.

  39. 39.

    MikeJ

    an oxo cube

    Am I a bad person because when I walk down the Embankment and I see that big Oxo sign over the Thames I pray for a beef stock spill?

  40. 40.

    Steeplejack

    @Anne Laurie:

    Will do. Just got a reprieve from the bro-man until 9:15, so of course I’m using it to check back here. D’oh.

    I’m with you. I love lakes, but nothing compares with that salty ocean smell. I’ve been in the middle of winter, and I love it just as much then as in the summer.

    Weather this weekend is supposed to be pretty good, though. Highs in the low 70s and “bracing” evenings. I think there may even be a hot tub involved. And a greyhound and an Italian greyhound for skritching. Life is good.

  42. 42.

    Anne Laurie

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    You and me have to have a bet, which one of our mums puts a single baby carrot into a ziploc bag in the freezer!

    Ha! We buy the baby carrots because they also make good low-cal dog treats. So, of course, whenever the humans eat carrots our spoiled moderately-little lapdogs consider it Poaching Their Grub, and produce an impressive display of indignation. Possibly even poutrage!

  45. 45.

    RedKitten

    @Litlebritdifrnt: Mom doesn’t do baby carrots, but I do think we should at least compare notes afterwards to see which mother put the most ridiculous item in a ziploc or in a plastic wrap-covered little bowl.

  48. 48.

    Calouste

    @MikeJ:

    No.

    Although when I see that OXO sign I think of the fancy but rather expensive bar with the nice views that is on one of the top floors of that tower.

  49. 49.

    JK

    @Steeplejack:

    Thanks for those great Animals clips from last week.

    Will you be completely off the grid for the next 4 days or will you be checking in on BJ intermittently?

  50. 50.

    JK

    @Steeplejack:

    Thanks for those great Animals clips from last week.

    Will you be completely off the grid for the next 4 days or will you be checking in on BJ intermittently?

  51. 51.

    JK

    @Steeplejack:

    Thanks for those great Animals clips from last week.

    Will you be completely off the grid for the next 4 days or will you be checking in on BJ intermittently?

  52. 52.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @MikeJ:

    Mike – I would not survive without oxo cubes, there is nothing better on a chilly night when you are cold to the bone than an oxo with boiling water in a cup (that and bovril “put the kettle on sarge, its taters out ‘ere”) Thank the FSM that both World Market and Fresh Market sell them over here.

  54. 54.

    Comrade Kevin

    Yay, hockey season starts tonight! I can forget about the A’s, and get into having the Sharks go like gangbusters until April, when they’ll disappoint me again. I’ve got my #12 jersey out, and a 6-pack of Labatt’s cooling in the fridge.

  55. 55.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @RedKitten:

    I will place a bet on three teaspoons of gravy in a “beneful” plastic container with the lid on, three french fries in a ziploc bag, a quarter of a sandwich on a plate covered in plastic wrap, and a single cube of cheese wrapped up in foil.

  56. 56.

    raff

    In keeping with the food-leaning comments, I’d like to offer this crazy-simple recipe for an eye-of-round roast beef that’s full of win for 3 reasons:

    1) Eye-of-round is very lean (not much fat) & inexpensive.
    2) Simplicity: total prep-time: 3 minutes. Even the lamest bachelor has the basic ingredients on hand & the only real skill involved is the ability to tell time.
    3) Variety: in a main course, sandwiches, soups, whatevs.

    So, without further ado is the completely fool-proof recipe for an eye-of-round roast:

    a) Preheat oven to 500F.
    b) Spice roast – salt, pepper, garlic, etc.
    c) Place spiced roast in roasting pan & knock the heat down to 475F.
    d) Let roast cook for 7 minutes per pound (i.e. 3lbs = 21 minutes)
    e) Turn off the oven but DON’T OPEN THE DOOR. Leave the roast in the oven for 2 & 1/2hours
    f) Remove & carve – or refrigerate & use later in sandwiches & stuff.

    Tah Da!

  59. 59.

    Anne Laurie

    @ellaesther:

    Ah, well then, you should ask the Spousal Unit about the years with the alewives! Now THAT’S a smell!

    Yeah, he told me about that. We now live north of Boston, and the western terminus of the T (subway/elevated) is… Alewife Station. Complete with a non-representational example of Public Art that’s supposed to represent a school of the little fishies that were pushed out by urbanization. They used to sell genuine resinated alewives made into souvenir ballpoints, but when I suggested the Spousal Unit buy a batch to give as gifts to his family back in Michigan, he was… not amused.

  60. 60.

    Linkmeister

    @raff: alternatively, turn the heat down to 325 degrees after the first ten minutes and use an instant thermometer to determine when it reaches an internal temp of 155 degrees. Remove from oven, let rest for ten minutes. Carve. You will actually have some rare and medium rare.

    For bonus points, quarter some red potatoes, baste them in olive oil and put them into the pan with the meat when you turn the heat down. They’ll come out nicely roasted.

  62. 62.

    Ash Can

    @Litlebritdifrnt: @RedKitten:
    LOL! This talk of saving bits of food cracks me up. I’m the Doggie Bag Queen; when we go out to eat I get all the leftovers wrapped up because I can’t bear to let food go to waste. In fact, I’ll delierately order something that tastes good the following day, warmed over in the microwave, if I’m not absolutely sure I’ll clean my plate. But tiny bits of food? Pshaw. When I’m cleaning up the dinner plates at home, it’s down the hatch with those. No wonder my keester’s getting wide.

  63. 63.

    Citizen_X

    Has anyone else been watching Ken Burns’ National Parks series? I’m enjoying it; yes, it’s a Ken Burns production, melancholy violins and all, but it’s salted with quite a bit of glorious outdoor photography, both new and historical. (It’s also being replayed over the weekend.)

    But what strikes me is how much, more than any other Ken Burns project, it’s pure wingnut kryptonite. If you saw this film in 1975, that wouldn’t have been true; by that time, there was pretty much mainstream support for the idea of National Parks. But now? Let’s just say that you have heard every single historical argument against any given park (or all parks) that you hear in this series a thousand times before. Self-serving nonsense from 1890 is, once again, Republican boilerplate today.

    So: has anyone heard any fulminating from the right over this series, or the fact that this ‘socialist propaganda” is playing on public TV? Anyone else like it? Hate it?

  64. 64.

    Janet Strange

    BHF – I made the Honey of a Pie last week and it was yummy. Thanks! (Highly recommended, folks.)

    Variation on cornbread from someone who grew up in East Texas with cornbread at every meal: Don’t stir the oil into the rest of the ingredients when you’re mixing everything up. Put it in the pan and the pan in the hot oven while you’re making the rest of it. Then pour and stir it into the batter right before you pour the batter into the pan – leaving a generous amount of very hot oil in the pan.

    My grandparents did this to melt the lard, my parents to melt the Crisco. I use oil but I still heat it in the pan first. Makes a lovely brown crispy crust on the cornbread.

  65. 65.

    Citizen_X

    Sorry if this shows up twice. I used the dreaded s-word.

    Has anyone else been watching Ken Burns’ National Parks series? I’m enjoying it; yes, it’s a Ken Burns production, melancholy violins and all, but it’s salted with quite a bit of glorious outdoor photography, both new and historical. (It’s also being replayed over the weekend.)

    But what strikes me is how much, more than any other Ken Burns project, it’s pure wingnut kryptonite. If you saw this film in 1975, that wouldn’t have been true; by that time, there was pretty much mainstream support for the idea of National Parks. But now? Let’s just say that you have heard every single historical argument against any given park (or all parks) that you hear in this series a thousand times before. Self-serving nonsense from 1890 is, once again, Republican boilerplate today.

    So: has anyone heard any fulminating from the right over this series, or the fact that this “so cial ist propaganda” is playing on public TV? Anyone else like it? Hate it?

  68. 68.

    Ed in NJ

    @Darius:

    According to the right, if Obama is successful in bringing the Olympics to Chicago, he’s lining the pockets of his cronies, and if we don’t get the Olympics, his international star is dimming and he’s brought ridicule to the U.S.

    Of course if he didn’t get involved, the above analysis would still apply. So there’s that.

  70. 70.

    MikeJ

    @Citizen_X: I’ve been watching. I had no idea that there was a brass plaque with a picture of the first National Parks super, Stephen Mather, in every park. I now want to form a group of people that take pictures at each memorial. I think we should call ourselves the MatherPlaquers.

    But putting aside my joke, I’ve not heard anyone complaining about the National Parks, but I’ve not gone looking either.

  73. 73.

    Brick Oven Bill

    Tonight, I am very happy. Iron Teabag debuts on Sunday.

    Earlier today, I was very angry. There is a fantasy in my mind that one day government bureaucrats will have to interact with each other, without being paid by the hour.

  74. 74.

    Linkmeister

    @Darcy: Oh, I don’t know that Wyoming was special. That Senator from Arizona who filed spurious mining claims at the Grand Canyon’s most scenic sites and put outhouses at Indian Gardens was quite a piece of work too.

    I’ve hiked down the Bright Angel Trail and back up the Kaibab Trail (bass-ackwards — the former is less steep, so we should have made the return trip that way), stopping at Indian Gardens. I can’t imagine that beautiful place with private porta-potties.

  77. 77.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @Ash Can:

    My mum is a huge fan of “re-fries” ie left over french fries cooked again in the deep fat fryer the next day, they actually have a whole different taste and are wonderful. My Mum likes them for breakfast. (Look she is weird okay, I know this, I live with it).

  78. 78.

    Skepticat

    @Linkmeister: Or alternatively to the alternative, make parallel cuts about half an inch deep along the top and sides, insert as much garlic as you choose (I choose a lot), add salt and pepper, and then cook at 350 for half an hour per pound. Meat thermometer suggested.

    This thread is making me wish I’d had more than tapioca and scotch for dinner.

  79. 79.

    RedKitten

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    I will place a bet on three teaspoons of gravy in a “beneful” plastic container with the lid on, three french fries in a ziploc bag, a quarter of a sandwich on a plate covered in plastic wrap, and a single cube of cheese wrapped up in foil.

    All right. And I’m betting on 2 tablespoons of margarine in a finger bowl, half a baked potato on a plate covered in plastic wrap, accompanied by an ounce of sautéed onions, half of a bread roll in its original bag, and two mouth-fulls of wine left in the bottom of the bottle, with the neck covered with foil.

  80. 80.

    gnomedad

    @Anne Laurie:

    Yeah, he told me about that. We now live north of Boston, and the western terminus of the T (subway/elevated) is… Alewife Station.

    At which there is (or was, when I visited in 1993) a news kiosk called “Alewife News”. A friend, remembering my delight at this, later sent me a t-shirt bearing that logo. Fun to wear around Chicago, though it generated disappointingly little comment.

  81. 81.

    geg6

    Citizen_X: I’ve been watching the whole thing. It has been fantastic, I think. A piece of great American history, wonderful stories, amazing photography, breathtaking scenery, and everything America shoulf be about. I said it the other night, whatever else this film does for you, it soothes your soul, the beauty and loveliness of it all.

  84. 84.

    JK

    @Citizen_X:

    Yes, it’s a Ken Burns production, melancholy violins and all

    I completely disagree with your criticism of Burns’ production values. The music perfectly captures the right mood. Burns hasn’t overdone anything in terms of production values.

    Burns has an incredible knack for finding the most compelling personal stories for his documentaries. His documentaries work on so many levels. Peter Coyote does a great job narrating and Sam Waterston, Tom Hanks, et al do a great job providing the voices of the main characters in the story. The cinematography is breathtaking.

    I haven’t heard any wingnut criticism of the National Parks documentary. If the wingnuts have a problem with Burns’ latest film, what difference does it really make? They’re just a bunch of clueless, useless assholes.

  86. 86.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    “and two mouth-fulls of wine left in the bottom of the bottle, with the neck covered with foil.”

    Oh now that is just wrong, I mean even my mother would not leave two mouthfuls of wine, you ever hear that joke, there was this woman once that made ice cubes out of left over wine, who knew there was such a thing as left over wine? I am not going to play this game if you are talking about left over wine. I will raise you a half portion of macaroni cheese in a margarine carton however.

  87. 87.

    Mark S.

    Does WVU always wear these ugly all-yellow uniforms? I keep expecting Curious George to run out on the field.

  88. 88.

    Incertus

    @wasabi gasp: Wow. I don’t know how I missed that Erickson actually got elected to something, but hopefully the person who runs against him next time can use this as an attack ad. “Councilman Erickson wants you to live in fear!”

  89. 89.

    Dr. Squid

    One-handed commenting because I gots a new daughter in my left arm. Rayna Lynn Squid, 7lb11.5oz, 19 inches, 5:41 Pacific time.

    Piccies later when I find the right USB cable.

  92. 92.

    RedKitten

    Oh now that is just wrong, I mean even my mother would not leave two mouthfuls of wine, you ever hear that joke, there was this woman once that made ice cubes out of left over wine, who knew there was such a thing as left over wine? I am not going to play this game if you are talking about left over wine. I will raise you a half portion of macaroni cheese in a margarine carton however.

    Let me explain: the two mouth-fulls of wine left over would be from bottle number three, not bottle number one.

  94. 94.

    JWW

    Dog Lover’s

    Tyson, my neighbors 8yr old Yorkie was killed by two Pit Bulls. The little guy brought joy to so many and never hurt a sole.

    My other neighbor thought she had to have the two dogs for protection. They are just puppies, 7 months old. I saw this coming and warned them both more than once.

  95. 95.

    ellaesther

    @Dr. Squid: Hey!! Congratulations! That is just lovely. All the best!

    (And as luck would have it, Lynn is my middle name, too [and my mother’s and my daughter’s — see what we did there?])

  96. 96.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @RedKitten:

    Ah – that I understand, at which point one is too drunk to actually go and retrieve the bottle and pour the wine into the glass. Been there done that. Unfortunately there is no t-shirt.

  99. 99.

    Kirk Spencer

    Oh, wow, a food thread. OK, while I just posted this to my blog I’ll kick it here.

    Perpetual stew. It’s a philosophy more than an actual recipe, one I’ve recommended to many college students and ‘newly out of the house’ folk.

    Buy a good, large crockpot. Fill the crockpot 1/3 full of broth – beef, chicken, it doesn’t matter. Chop up an onion and toss it in – same with a couple of carrots and some celery, and anything else you want to at this time. Now here’s where the fun kicks in. See, you’re not going to eat from this for at least three days.

    Instead, every time you eat a meal look at the leftovers. Not the scrapings from your plate, the veggies and meats and fruits you’ve still got in dishes that you ‘should’ put in the refrigerator for tomorrow – if only it were more than a couple of bites. What you’re going to do instead is put them into the crockpot.

    Don’t put in pork and beans – dunno why but the taste never seems to mesh with everything else. And I’d be hesitant about the last piece of cake or pie or couple of cookies. But the meats and veggies and fruits, yes. Add them, regardless of the recipe. Fried, baked, candied, steamed, curried… doesn’t matter, put it in.

    Every day you’re going to add your leftovers, and you’re going to check the level of the liquid – adding broth if you have it, water if you don’t – so the pot won’t dry out and burn. Starting the third day, you can start having a bowl of the stew for a meal.

    At one time it was one of my three meals a day every day for a month. When I came in from a long, long drive in sleeting rain there it was – no effort, just ladle, bowl and spoon. (Actually that night it was ladle into a cup, tuck into massive pile of blankets, and I barely finished before going to sleep.) Of course I had to intentionally stock it a bit as well, eating it that frequently – it was worth it.

    I had a perpetual stew going for almost a year. I’d eat it one or two times a week except for that month. The flavors shifted. Anything that’s been in for more than a week becomes part of the porridge/thickening. The bits – the chewies – were what were added in the last few days. It always changed from the apples and apricots and beans and peas and lamb and chicken and hamburger and pork chops and…

    And it’s always ready even when you suddenly have a mob drop in, or you just cannot bear doing one more thing today, or just because.

  101. 101.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @Midnight Marauder:

    Screw Andrew Sullivan. This is the reason I stopped reading him. While he’s right on torture, he’s a shithead elitist quasi-libertarian. The hypocrisies inherent in his worldview are legion.

    Grayson is a hero for telling it like it is and not backing down. I wish Reid would grow some spine like that.

  103. 103.

    General Winfield Stuck

    Rumors are just that, rumors. This one has Chuck Hagel taking over for Gates as SecDef next year or so. The response from Bloody Bill and his Goldfarb minion is curious though not surprising.

    BBill calls Hagel “an advocate for retreat everywhere” and Goldslob pens him in as an Israel Hater.

    Hagel is a guy that voted with George Bush as much as anyone on the GOP side and is one right wing stingy ass mofo on any kind of social program spending, and no friend to liberals. Though he did turn against the Iraq war and for paled cheeked chickenhawk Kristol — he was a decorated combat soldier in Vietnam. though Kristol did surrender his dignity and continues to do so every time he opens his prissy yapper.

    The beat goes on.

  108. 108.

    freelancer

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    I still read Sullivan because I find him very relatable and readable. There are times where I’m shocked at how oblivious I can be about seemingly obvious things, and I think even though he can be dead wrong (bell curve as well as his debate with Sam Harris), he’s a smart, prolific voice in our discourse and he actually tries to be as intellectually honest as possible.

    I think his initial reaction to the Grayson flap is his self-identified conservativism. He’s used to the Dems as a party being a shiftless, spineless body that can’t bomb-throw like the Republicans can, so when they do it’s shocking. Even though last night’s Maddow segment destroyed the argument that Grayson was alone or even culpable in the lack of civility in our discourse.

  110. 110.

    Kirk Spencer

    @Litlebritdifrnt: Thank you, I try (grin).

    @cleek: Yes, it’s good. What happens is that the continued heat breaks everything down and dulls the flavors. It makes a full, complex BACKGROUND of everything that’s been in the pot for more than a handful of days. The bright notes are what you’ve added in the past few days. Because of the complex of flavors everything works – nothing particularly fights.

    It is, by the way, often ugly. It’s a mush with leftovers in it. If you’re trying for pretty you need to garnish, maybe toss in some extra foods for This Meal.

    Oh – one thing I also recommend when sustaining a perpetual stew. Every week or so toss in a couple tablespoons of vinegar. And if you toss in bones (instead of using them to make a broth), fish them out after a week or so.

    Yes, Cleek, it still works and works well. Extremely nutritious and very filling, and with a bit of salt and pepper to finish it’s tasty as well.

  111. 111.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @Kirk Spencer:

    You stole my recipe for Stuck’s Magic Gumbo, you diabolical fiend. Only I add to the leftovers whatever is in the fridge without prejudice, so long as it’s not fungal rotted, plus I’m always on the lookout for some fresh roadkill, for a bit of extra magic.

  112. 112.

    Midnight Marauder

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    Screw Andrew Sullivan. This is the reason I stopped reading him. While he’s right on torture, he’s a shithead elitist quasi-libertarian. The hypocrisies inherent in his worldview are legion.

    Grayson is a hero for telling it like it is and not backing down. I wish Reid would grow some spine like that.

    I stopped reading him completely during the summer when the Borg (or whatever we referred to the collective of shittastic replacements over there) were absolutely atrocious.

    But recently, I’ve dipped a toe in the water just to see where his heads at with the ongoing madness in The Village. And that was some of the most maddeningly obtuse things I’ve read in a long time.

    I am eagerly waiting for a Dissent of The Day where someone with even the most minimal awareness of Republican hypocrisy puts him his place.

    And kudos to the good doctor. All the best to you.

  113. 113.

    Cat G

    @abo gato: They make me feel run over too. Got mine earlier than usual so I’m ready for the H1N1 shot..oink oink. I have a sister in Portland, who gets “sick” for a day or so every few years. She’s just finished 2 weeks with the swine flu, says it’s the 2nd sickest she’s been in her life (#1 was viral encephalitis abt 30 years ago). She couldn’t believe how fast the flu came on and that it should be taken seriously. So many health care workers are sick they’re postponing elective surgeries. At her hospital they’re requiring masks on people coming into ERs, banning visitors under 18 yrs old, no more than 2 visitors at a time, prob going to require staff to be immunized. It’s really stressing their organization.

  114. 114.

    Midnight Marauder

    @freelancer:

    I still read Sullivan because I find him very relatable and readable. There are times where I’m shocked at how oblivious he can be about seemingly obvious things, and I think even though he can be dead wrong (bell curve as well as his debate with Sam Harris), he’s a smart, prolific voice in our discourse and he actually tries to be as intellectually honest as possible.

    I move for this to somehow be added to Sully’s definition in the Lexicon. That is precisely how I feel about him these days.

  115. 115.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @Cat G:

    Young folks ought really to get the shot. I’m pretty sure I had the Swine flu as a youngster in the late fifties. But even if not, should have a degree of antibodies present from casual exposure. But people born after 1968, the last outbreak in the US have no natural immunity and can get very very sick and even die.

  116. 116.

    Brachiator

    @freelancer:

    Excuse me. Andrew. Might I borrow a cup of smug?

    Sullivan simply doesn’t understand science and insists on trying to interpret it as simply a kind of philosophy with practical impact on the world. And so, for Sully, Darwinist sounds very much like Burkean.

    The funny thing is that Sullivan is totally blind to the degree to which he totally misunderstands science and scientific concepts.

    But the natural legacy of Darwin’s insights into evolution is manifest in the recent African hominid discoveries.

    http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-fossils2-2009oct02,0,3420742.story

    A treasure trove of 4.4-million-year-old fossils from the Ethiopian desert is dramatically overturning widely held ideas about the early evolution of humans and how they came to walk upright, even as it paints a remarkably detailed picture of early life in Africa, researchers reported today.

    Suck on that, creationists!

  117. 117.

    geg6

    Kirk Spencer: My mom used to make leftover casserole. She’d throw into a casserole whatever was leftover in the fridge: veggies, starches, and meats (chopped up). Since there were usually leftover mashed potatoes and gravies, it always came out like a shepherd’s pie, albeit one that tasted different every time. It was always delicious and very nutritious. It was often one of my favorite meals of the week. My mom, too, was one of those women who could make a fabulous meal out of seemingly nothing and with 6 kids, it was a good thing.

  118. 118.

    robertdsc

    Congrats, Dr. Squid!

    In other news, my Medicare Advantage adventure concluded last night. I racked up 25 hours of overtime. We got about 90% of the job done by the impossible deadline the idiot customer set us up for and the rest will complete over the weekend. Good, but exhausting, times.

  119. 119.

    freelancer

    @Brachiator:

    Yeah, Ardi is a helluva find, but to the creationists, they’ll just hear their preachers guffawing and saying “Those scientists! They found another skeleton of a munky! and they think it’s a human! Y’ever see a human skull look like that? NO! Scientists have no idea what they’re talking about, they’re fools, all of them. All fooled by Gawd. Science is a religion that will not win out! …Now if any of y’all got my email newsletter, you know what I’m about to preach, for those of you with your blackberrys on you feel free to follow along…”

  120. 120.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    Actually it was the Asian Flu in the late 50’s but was H1N1 I think, and there was the Swine Flu hysteria in 1976 with the mass vaccinations, but it turned out to be only a few cases that never left Ft Dix.

  122. 122.

    Martin

    .@Dr. Squid:

    Congrats, and kudos for avoiding the obvious name of Calamaretti, though that’s kind of a cute name, now that I think about it.

  123. 123.

    Brachiator

    WTF ! !

    David Letterman acknowledged on Thursday’s show that he had sexual relationships with female employees and that someone tried to extort $2 million from him over the affairs.

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_tv_letterman_extortion

    Sen. John Ensign’s former mistress and her husband sought an $8.5 million settlement from the Nevada Republican before the affair became public, The New York Times reported Thursday. Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, a friend of Ensign, acted as an intermediary in negotiations last spring with the lawyer for Cynthia and Doug Hampton before Ensign publicly admitted the relationship with Mrs. Hampton, the Times said.

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091002/ap_on_go_co/us_ensign

    So does this mean that Letterman is already vetted if he ever decides to run for public office?

  125. 125.

    Linkmeister

    Dr. Squid, I think you should advise PZ Myers at Pharyngula of the new addition to your family and send him a photo. He’s always up for new cephalopods. ;)

    Congrats to the happily enlarged family!

  126. 126.

    Martin

    Suck on that, creationists!

    God put those bones there to distract the unbelievers while the Rapture takes place.

  127. 127.

    General Winfield Stuck

    God put those bones there to distract the unbelievers while the Rapture takes place.

    I knew that/

  129. 129.

    IndyLib

    @Brachiator:
    Huffpo had the fossil story link to National Geographic with a huge pic on their main page for a couple of hours this afternoon. I laughed my ass off. It was so obvious it was wingnut bait.

  130. 130.

    Brachiator

    @freelancer:

    Yeah, Ardi is a helluva find, but to the creationists, they’ll just hear their preachers guffawing and saying “Those scientists! They found another skeleton of a munky! and they think it’s a human!

    That’s OK. Every fossil discovery paints the creationists more firmly in a corner of denial while the rest of the world moves on.

    Ah. Science and Food! Those interested in Evolution Explained in a Fun way should go to the InterTubes on Friday morning, 10 AM Pacific Time and listen to the KPCC program, Air Talk. Also available on iTunes.

    Food Also.

    http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/

    Friday Oct. 2nd — Larry Mantle talks with evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. Then, an Occidental College student cafe sample menu featuring… pancetta-wrapped quail? And it’s FilmWeek on AirTalk. This week’s releases include The Invention of Lying, Zombieland, Whip It!, and A Serious Man. All that and the latest news.

    Hmmm. Quail.

  131. 131.

    jwb

    @freelancer: Naw, I think Sully just has to go off on what he perceives as some lefty thing every once and a while so he can convince himself that he’s still really conservative. (Whether he is is neither here nor there, but he has pretty severe anxiety over it, so it often negatively affects his thinking.)

  132. 132.

    jeffreyw

    Red beans are soakin, I’ve been captured by the crowd.

    Gonna be heavy on the chicken, this recipe. Needin some stock, anyways.

  134. 134.

    Jay in Oregon

    Evening all.

    Good to see arguing is up and around.

    Tonight had promise. We went to dinner, and I know she is trying. I am trying.

  136. 136.

    flukebucket

    Great game. It is fun to watch Devine run. WVU looks pretty solid. It will be tough to get by Cincinnati though

  137. 137.

    jeffreyw

    I read Sullivan’s blog everyday, but I find it easier to just scroll past anything that mentions religion, or Dawkins. Much like I do with anything here by B.O.B.

  138. 138.

    Cat G

    @Midnight Marauder: I’ve read Sully for years and disagree with him frequently, but there generally a good scope and rhythm to his blog. The thing I really really don’t understand is why anyone would continue to identify & be loyal to belief systems that despise their personhood (Catholocism/conservatives v gay.) He is very naive in his persistent view that his brand of intellectual conservatism has anything to do with being Republican or “conservative.” His reflex response to an issue is conservative and as he begins to perceive reality he moderates. He and Larison are consistently worth reading. I think the general dearth of quality conservatives – both as philosopers and policy wonks – really a detriment to the country. @General Winfield Stuck: You’re right, most people have no residual immunity and it appears to be highly communicable. My sister said that she can really understand how people die from the swine flu. She got up one morning with sniffles, thought it was prob an allergy and by 4 p.m. had serious symptoms and was too weak to stand up. Apparently one of the most dangerous aspects is dehydration.

  140. 140.

    Brachiator

    @Dr. Squid:

    One-handed commenting because I gots a new daughter in my left arm. Rayna Lynn Squid, 7lb11.5oz, 19 inches, 5:41 Pacific time.

    Congratulations. Don’t forget to get that birth certificate nailed down!

  141. 141.

    Libertini

    Thanks everyone who voted for me in Calendar Girl contest. I won!!!

    You can still vote for me in the United America Pageant People’s choice poll here.

    And of course vote for Bitsy EVERY DAY, like I do! Hated that I missed all the dog and cat chit chat last night.

  144. 144.

    Ben Richards

    You libs are so ridiculous. If evolution is really true, why don’t monkeys ever have human babies or keep evolving into humans??? I have yet to see a solid answer for that one.

  147. 147.

    jeffreyw

    Of course, it may have been because she reminded me it was last week, dammit, but thanks for askin why she was pissed.

  148. 148.

    Brachiator

    @Crashman06:

    My fiancée and I will be getting married on October 2, 2010. Tomorrow is our future anniversary… Weird!

    Of course, those getting married on the tenth of next year will be having even weirder Calendar fun: 101010.

    Or how about August 9 of next year? 080910.

    But don’t let me put any ideas in your head.

  149. 149.

    Midnight Marauder

    @Cat G:

    I’ve read Sully for years and disagree with him frequently, but there generally a good scope and rhythm to his blog. The thing I really really don’t understand is why anyone would continue to identify & be loyal to belief systems that despise their personhood (Catholocism/conservatives v gay.) He is very naive in his persistent view that his brand of intellectual conservatism has anything to do with being Republican or “conservative.” His reflex response to an issue is conservative and as he begins to perceive reality he moderates. He and Larison are consistently worth reading. I think the general dearth of quality conservatives – both as philosopers and policy wonks – really a detriment to the country.

    It really does amaze me to watch him go through the motions of what you nicely describe as “his reflex response to an issue,” with his conservative self-flagellation. I wonder as well how he can continue to support institutions and entities that would see him and his kind just as soon eliminated if they had their way.

    His naiveté really does find new ways to make the mind reel. His head-shaking at Yglesias supporting Grayson’s smackdown really was a new low (high?).

  150. 150.

    ellaesther

    @jeffreyw: Nah, weird is when you both forget to note the date, and it takes talking to your kid about how lucky you are to have found each other to remember that, oh hey – we missed our anniversary!

    People don’t believe us when we tell them this story, and yet some version of this story happens at least once a year (we had two separate ceremonies, so we have TWO anniversaries to keep track of). They especially don’t believe me, cause I’m the girl. And girls are supposed to be all up on this shit!

    I do girl wrong, apparently.

  151. 151.

    gnomedad

    @Brachiator:

    Of course, those getting married on the tenth of next year will be having even weirder Calendar fun: 101010.

    42 in binary. Cool.

  152. 152.

    valdivia

    congrats Dr. Squid!

    Did you guys catch the Iran story? Apparently they are willing to send their enriched uranium to Russia which is apparently a big breakthrough if it happens. I can’t wait to hear wingnuts and neocons head exploding over this.

    And explain to me again why if Chicago gets the olympics this is bad?

  156. 156.

    geg6

    ellaesther and asiangrrlMN: Count in the Girls Who Don’t Do Girl Well Club. It was the anniversary of our first date the other night (the “talk” night) and I didn’t remember until he told me. I never keep track of that stuff. Even my jerk of an ex was always reminding me of our anniversary. Whatever. I have more omportant things to think about…like the super hunky and amazingly straight designer on Project Runway.

  163. 163.

    Libertini

    @asiangrrlMN: Just once, thanks! And you already did. But just in case…

    Vote for Kristina, Ms. Classic Georgia, 2nd row, here

    http://www.tftj.com/News/Poll_Vote.htm/250

    I am, of course completely unable to top the new baby news! That’s the best – congrats doc!

    And there’s no such thing as doing girl wrong, but I understand the sentiment and want to be a member of that club too!!!

  165. 165.

    Cat G

    @valdivia: It’s interesting, eh? Here’s an interesting one about Project Sapphire which was about retrieving weapons grade uranium from one of the Stans:

    One of my peeves about Republicans is how they constantly badmouth public employees. In my book the folks who did Sapphire are heroes. The story is worth reading.

    At the other end of the spectrum is a jerk like John Bolton who can only run his mouth and make enemies. He had the arms control/non-proliferation job at State and among other non-accomplishments, he let the initiative to recover over 34 tons of Soviet era nuke material halt over a liability dispute. What a stupid, dangerous fool.

  167. 167.

    Anne Laurie

    @Kirk Spencer: And the crockpot is set on what, low? The Spousal Unit is convinced eating stew that’s been sitting on ‘low’ for more than 12 hours will kill someone dead. I’ve pushed it to 36 hours, but the last bowlful after that got dumped because even though it still tasted okay to me, I was afraid if I ate it he’d have a fatal heart attack.

  168. 168.

    freelancer (itouch)

    @Andy K:
    that seems to have been posted almost everywhere. But like all proud nerds, I cannot get enough Sagan. Thanks.

  169. 169.

    Citizen_X

    @JK:

    I completely disagree with your criticism of Burns’ production values. The music perfectly captures the right mood.

    Perhaps I came off as too critical. I was mainly pointing out that, yes, one would identify this in a moment as a Ken Burns production.

    But I’ve been watching it religiously, and would recommend it to everyone else here. I was kind of surprised that I haven’t heard much discussion of the series.

    And note that this history of the Parks ends in 1980. No good news after then?

  170. 170.

    MikeJ

    The Spousal Unit is convinced eating stew that’s been sitting on ‘low’ for more than 12 hours will kill someone dead.

    Point out to him that pasteurization is done by getting the material to 145°F for 30 minutes. The crockpot keeps it at least that hot, which you can demonstrate with a thermometer.

  171. 171.

    Colette

    @MikeJ: I’ll go you one better: we spend a week every summer at Camp Mather, an idyllic collection of cabins in the Sierra owned by the City of San Francisco that was built to house workers on the O’Shaughnessy Dam (the one that created the Hetch Hetchy reservoir and destroyed the Hetch Hetchy Valley, the “second Yosemite,” in the process. God bless you, Stephen Mather, wherever you are.

  172. 172.

    Anne Laurie

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    I’m pretty sure I had the Swine flu as a youngster in the late fifties. But even if not, should have a degree of antibodies present from casual exposure. But people born after 1968, the last outbreak in the US have no natural immunity and can get very very sick and even die.

    I’m with you, near the edge of the don’t-bother-you’ve-got-residual-immunity age break, and I’ve “compromised” with the Spousal Unit that I’ll get the seasonal shot and leave the H1N1 doses for those who are liable to need it more. Every time I get a flu shot, I spend a week with achy joints and fever as my immune system overreacts, but I’ve dutifully done it when I was working in a office with pregnant ladies and/or those with weakened immune systems. Right now I’m unemployed & don’t spend much time in crowds, so normally I’d skip the aggravation, but relationships are all about compromise, sigh…

  173. 173.

    Ash Can

    Hooray for Dr. Squid and the baby squidlet!

    As for the Girls-Who-Don’t-Do-Girl-Well Club, am I the only girl in the world who thinks Valentine’s Day is a load of horseshit? (Fortunately I married a guy who feels the same way.)

  174. 174.

    MikeJ

    God bless you, Stephen Mather, wherever you are.

    Just a few weeks ago I drove on the Mather Parkway on the way home from Rainier. When I lived in DC I’d often go to Mather Gorge, home of Great Falls.

  176. 176.

    Johnny Pez

    Lexicon alert:

    Tweety entry should mention that the nickname comes from Warner Brothers’ “Tweety Bird” cartoon character, and refers to Chris Matthews’ BIG YELLOW HEAD.

  179. 179.

    Something Fabulous

    @Crashman06: Oh, were you the one planning to go off to Canada to propose? I’ve been wnodering how that turned out!! Congrats to y’all, too!

  180. 180.

    Anne Laurie

    @Ash Can:

    am I the only girl in the world who thinks Valentine’s Day is a load of horseshit?

    Well, yeah, we eat out a couple times a week, but never on “Amateur’s Night”. On the other hand, any opportunity where he has to buy me some expensive chocolate I am NOT passing up!

  181. 181.

    Martin

    @Anne Laurie:

    Also point out that a few hundred years ago, he’s likely to have been happy at least once in his life with a dead horse someone stumbled upon after who-knows-how-long heated in a dirty cast-iron pot. And he’d still be eating it 3 days later without benefit of refrigeration.

    We didn’t get to where we are through 4 million years of Parmalat and Sub-Zero freezers.

  184. 184.

    slag

    @Ash Can:

    am I the only girl in the world who thinks Valentine’s Day is a load of horseshit?

    I’m convinced that all holidays fit this description. No need to single out V-Day, I don’t think.

  185. 185.

    jeffreyw

    @Martin:

    LOL dunno about the car, afraid to look, but it went under, “thumpetythump”, as she described it. Poor coydog.

  186. 186.

    arguingwithsignposts

    Jay in Oregon – hope things are improving, man. I’m in the city by the bay right now. things are going well this week. I keep having this dread, though, that things will turn for the worse next week. It’s a weird feeling.

    Glad to know everyone’s trying.

  194. 194.

    freelancer

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    No, sorry.

    BHO’s my guy, but I’ve been watching the flack from Odierno, the coverage of Samoa’s Tsunami, Indonesia’s earthquake, and in the meantime, taking a palette cleanser and watching Doug Stanhope’s Word of Mouth, the new ep of Psych, and the Rifftrax of Road House. Going to go to bed now, but I’ll catch up around 11am CST.

    What’s going on?

  201. 201.

    Xenos

    @raff: I use that eye round of roast on a monthly basis. Makes enough to be the center of two meals for a family of 7, for a total cost of less than 20$ (at BJs). And any excuse for making Yorkshire Pudding has got to be seized.

  203. 203.

    Kirk Spencer

    @Anne Laurie: What MikeJ and Martin said.

    Low on most crockpots is vicinity 200F. You will be adding moisture this once or twice a day to balance the loss.

    I said most – I had one that ran at 180F.

    Either temperature will kill bugs.

    The risk – the times I’ve tossed it for other than learning that pork and beans makes it taste bad – was if the power went off for more than a (short) handful of hours. Then the temp is going too low and I don’t want to open the refrigerator door to save it.

  204. 204.

    linda

    watching overnight abc — whose top stories were david letterman and elizabeth smart (who has a new book out that will really get the pervs jacked) — and the chatterbunny actually posed the question: ‘did david letterman do the right thing by telling the truth?’

  206. 206.

    Fulcanelli

    @Dr. Squid: Congrats on your new addition, Doc! Lookin’ all pink & healthy.

    However, in the future you might not want to let her know you had her naked on the internet moments after she was born. Could be traumatic…

  207. 207.

    Steeplejack

    @JK:

    Should be able to check in now and then. I’m doing it now from the beach house. Internet connection is painfully slow compared to the gushing fire hose back home, and this old laptop has some issues too. That’s one of the things I’m going to doink around with this weekend.

    We got down here about midnight last night, stayed up until 2:00. I didn’t sleep very well and was up before dawn. Reserving the right to have a siesta later if needed.

  210. 210.

    Rommie

    Wow, the commentary in a lot of the Gods and Generals clips on YouTube is scary over the past couple of months. I left a comment about the bad writing of Jackson’s speech to the 1st Brigade (something the movie had too much of, and helped it pale in comparision to Gettysburg) and got a mouthful of Southern Pride.

    It used to be a general consensus that GnG was not that good of a movie, especially in comparison to Gettysburg. Now it’s all of a sudden an inspirational epic to a lot of folks. I guess Red Dawn isn’t an isolated incident after all.

  211. 211.

    Brick Oven Bill

    And though only the best of them will be appointed by their predecessors, still they will be unworthy to hold their fathers’ places, and when they come into power as guardians, they will soon be found to fall in taking care of us, the Muses, first by under-valuing music; which neglect will soon extend to gymnastic; and hence the young men of your State will be less cultivated.

    Being as I’m bored, somebody seems to be sleeping off two beers from last night, and there has been practice for the new gig, here is an Iron Teabag original, which I am fond of:

    There she is, lying down on the carpet…
    Is she asleep, Lord I thought I heard her snore…
    Would she wake up, if I made advances…
    Or would she sleep, through the love that she’s been waitin’ for?

    Now this is a song that does not under-value music, thereby encouraging a higher degree of cultivation. JayZee could not pull off this song.

  212. 212.

    kay

    @Fulcanelli:

    Naked newborn pictures “don’t count”. This is just a longstanding universally acknowledged rule of childhood, and I insist you recognize it.
    Dig out your rule book. It’s in there.

  213. 213.

    CynDee

    @Foodies with dibs and dabs: I don’t need my mum to do this. I’ve done it myself ever since I went hungry for two years in my youth.

    I keep a number of really small containers with lids, like little tiny jelly or condiment jars, and just use them. They don’t get in the way and you can see what’s in them. It’s amazing how I can incorporate these little bites into another meal, or snack.

    Occasionally one of these items makes it to the back of the fridge and goes bad; then it has to go.

    Things are “better” now, but after 5 years of unemployment, and even if I get to be the richest person in the world, I will seldom throw any piece of food that is still edible and wholesome.

  216. 216.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Ash Can: I hate V-Day. Then again, I hate all holidays, so it’s not that surprising I hate V-Day. I can buy chocolates on any day, thank you very much.

    @Dr. Squid: Aw, little squid is just adorable! Congrats again.

    @Steeplejack: Steep-man, check in when ya can. Have a great time.

    arguing, you’re in the Bay Area? Do you have time to catch a show or two? Hang in there, man.

    Jay, that’s it! One fricking little step at a time.

  217. 217.

    bedtimeforbonzo

    The National Parks miniseries really does soothe the soul, as geg6 said upthread. Muir, Mather, Rockefeller emerge as great Americans.

    An East Coast native, I see now that I will not have truly lived if I do not get the opportunity to see, among other sites, Yosemite and Yellowstone.

  218. 218.

    bedtimeforbonzo

    @asiangrrlMN: I hated Valentine’s Day as a single. I hate it now as a married man of five years. Too much pressure. Feels too forced. Too fabricated. Everything that love should not be.

  219. 219.

    R-Jud

    @Dr. Squid: Congratulations to you and Mrs. Dr. Squid. Rayna is lovely, but the second picture of her brings to mind something I was thinking about while washing the Bean’s face this morning: babies’ nostrils are funny-looking.

    Food:

    If the weather holds we will be hiking in Wales this weekend, home on Sunday afternoon. I have already planned Sunday dinner:

    Homemade bread a la Bittman with roasted garlic to spread;
    Venison stew with red wine and stilton;
    Mashed sweet potatoes;
    Various steamed veggies;
    Apple & blackberry pie.

    I’ll be making a HYUUUUUUGE stew as I plan to set some aside and freeze it for my sister-in-law; we are building up a bank of heat ‘n’ eat meals for after she has her baby.

  220. 220.

    asiangrrlMN

    @bedtimeforbonzo: When I was in junior high school, I wrote an editorial for the school paper about the commercialization of Christmas, and I haven’t changed my mind about holidays since. As for V-Day, it’s so artificial and contrived. I would rather give something to someone on the spur of the moment just because I was thinking of that person than have to make a big hoo-ha about it on one specified day of the week. So, now, I use V-Day as a day to tell all my friends and family how much they mean to me. It’s my own little tradition.

    @R-Jud: All nostrils are funny-looking. We just don’t get to see them up close and personal that often, fortunately.

  223. 223.

    RedKitten

    @Dr. Squid: Take good care of her. :) Speaking from my own experience, I felt fantastic until about day 3, when the euphoria wore off and the exhaustion kicked in.

  225. 225.

    Brick Oven Bill

    This is not true SGEW:

    Here is the next verse:

    There she is, wide awake and looking angry…
    Shaking her fist, and storming around floor…
    Well she woke up, when I made advances…
    That woman, she won’t see me no more…

    Da da da da da

    A rude awakening for sure.

    It is a song about snuggling.

  228. 228.

    Brick Oven Bill

    Be honest SGEW, you read those lyrics, thought of me, and got a tingle.

    You would have snuggled back.

  229. 229.

    SGEW

    [Insert repeated formal request for the permanent banning of Brick Oven Bill for sexual harassment here.]

  230. 230.

    Brick Oven Bill

    Being duly noticed that SGEW would not snuggle back, my polite pass is retracted, will not be repeated, and here I stand, rejected, and very sad.

  233. 233.

    Jay in Oregon

    @SGEW:

    [Insert repeated formal request for the permanent banning of Brick Oven Bill for sexual harassment here.]

    Yeah, this last exchange is beyond the pale.

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