Why am I a Democrat? This is the question I am pondering on today. Because, you know it’s mathematically impossible for them to pass anything in the Senate with a 59 seat majority. Republicans only need a 51 seat majority.
3.
Jim
Those laser pointers aren’t good toys for cats. The cat can never catch it; it’s just teasing them.
4.
Nellcote
Could we make Open Threads that come w/an animal picture non-political please.
Thank the gods for the e-cigarette. I have finally stopped smoking using this thing but still get the sensation and the nicotine, minus the 4000 plus chemicals.
7.
Demo Woman
Since this is an open thread, I will mention that the NYTimes has an interesting obit about the passing of Erich Segal. It included the following paragraph.
“Love Story” was in the news again in the late 1990s, after Al Gore, then the vice president, was reported to have described himself as the inspiration for Oliver Barrett. (Mr. Gore denied having been the source of the observation.)
Maureen Dowd years ago started a rumor and the Times still runs with it. I’m not surprised.
How’s the Saltwater vs. Freshwater research going?
12.
wmsheppa
@nellcote Make that a third. Sucking me in with pictures/videos of cats only to discover more discussion of the epic fail that is health care just depresses me.
@jeffreyw: The wind must be southerly, since I know this isn’t a handsaw.
18.
HumboldtBlue
Thank the gods for the e-cigarette.
The makers of the e-cigarette are about to be sued by Gerry Brown and the State of California. Marketing the product at kids, false and misleading statements in advertising.
Later tonight, can we have a Drunken Raving Open Thread? I am SO in the mood for that.
As am I. I just walked away from an exchange on Twitter with a classic idiot who called bisexuality “coonery.” Urban Dictionary tells me this means he claims black men being bi are either acting in a stereotypical manner, embarrassing the race, or both. I realized I needed to get away from it as soon as he dove into the “we’re all entitled to our opinions these days” defense. Yeah, and I’m entitled to tell you you’re being an ass. Take it or GTFO.
20.
jacy
Having nothing to do with politics – My daughter is in her second semester of college as an art major, took her shopping for school supplies today. Over $160 in art supplies for one class! Luckily her university has a textbook rental program, which only costs $20 per class, or I might shoot myself.
I’m thinking at this rate, med school would be cheaper.
And in the car I switched from NPR to the local college station, because at this point Death Cab for Cutie is less depressing than the news.
Pretty much any animal hard-wired to go after lateral movement will be fun with a laser pointer. One of our Rat Terriers goes absolutely bonkers for them. Our other one (who’s a few beers short of a six-pack) just sits back and stares at him with this wrinkly WTF? look on his face.
This isn’t definitive, but has some good points. Steve Novella (the author of the post) is a Neurosurgeon at Yale and the creator of the Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcast.
23.
SGEW
Several things:
I got one of those laser pointers for my cat, and she went crazy for it . . . BUT! I started to feel really sorry for her, because she never actually has something to capture and chew on for all of her labors. How very frustrating! Little chewy toys for her, now. And paper bags. And my feet. And my checkbook (dammit all kitteh!). But no more insubstantial teasing vapor dot for her.
@Dreggas: Those things really work?! Hmmm . . . ’bout time to try it, I suppose.
Why had I not realized that someone had put entire episodes of Mr. Show up on YouTube?
Did something happen yesterday or something? My political internets has given me nothing but steaming piles of fail today. Weird.
I’ll still order the parts online if need be (i live in california). I read about Brown’s lawsuit and to me it’s a bunch of BS. They claim that just because there are multiple “flavors” for these things that that is automatically marketing to kids.
I bought mine here in CA, at a smoke shop. No flavors were available save for regular and menthol. Honestly I wish there were flavors.
Methinks the state is not happy that there’s a possibility they’ll lose tobacco tax revenues if these things catch on.
I am under no illusion that I am still ingesting nicotine and But I am not ingesting all that tar, carbon-monoxide, cyanide, and other chemicals that can cause cancer. I can breathe again, I don’t stink like smoke, my sense of smell and taste is better and there’s no second hand smoke to bother others.
27.
HumboldtBlue
e-cigarettes and California …
Brown Sues Electronic Cigarette Maker for Targeting Minors and Misleading Advertising Claims
Oakland-Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today sued Florida-based electronic-cigarette retailer Smoking Everywhere to prevent the company from targeting minors and making “misleading and irresponsible” claims that electronic cigarettes are a safe alternative to smoking.
“Smoking Everywhere launched a misleading and irresponsible advertising campaign targeting minors and claiming that electronic cigarettes do not contain harmful chemicals,” Brown said. “We are asking the Court to take these cigarettes off the market until the company has proven the products are safe.”
Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are battery-operated devices with nicotine cartridges designed to look and feel like conventional cigarettes. Instead of actual smoke, e-cigarettes produce a vapor from the nicotine cartridge that is inhaled by the user. Smoking Everywhere, one of the largest e-cigarette retailers in the United States, claims in its advertisements that the e-cigarettes have no carcinogens, no tar, no second-hand smoke, and are therefore safe and healthy.
However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined that electronic cigarettes contain a variety of dangerous chemicals, including nicotine, carcinogens such as nitrosamines and, in at least one case, diethylene glycol, commonly known as antifreeze.
Today’s lawsuit seeks to prevent the company from selling its products until there is evidence to substantiate its claims that they are safe. The lawsuit will also require the products to display the state-mandated Proposition 65 warnings of ingredients known to cause cancer or reproductive harm and seeks to prevent the company from making false and misleading claims and promoting the products to minors.
Max the Wheaten is a big fan of the laser pointer. When I first got him as a puppy (11 wks), I was dating a cop who used to take the laser sight off his gun and tease him.
I recently put new batteries in the one I now use and it is countless entertainment for me, and a good “just before bed” exercise for him. I run him up and down the stairs a few times and he’s down for the night.
I read about that one. Also read the FDA report and info about the FDA report before I switched to these things. The FDA was being alarmist in many ways, the nitrosamines in the samples they tested were lower than those of a regular cigarette, and lower than the levels found in the patch. As for the diethylene glycol the amount found was far less than is found in a cigarette and was only found in one sample.
I find it amazing that all these associations and groups want me to quit smoking, but the moment i find a replacement that is actually working for me and not harming anyone else they want to ban it.
31.
Brachiator
Meanwhile, as teabaggers gloat over the Democratic loss in Massachusetts, businesses are putting out the sign, “Help Wanted. Americans Need Not Apply.”
India’s top three outsourcing companies are ramping up hiring and increasing pay as global corporations, mainly from the U.S., send more work offshore to cut costs as they emerge from the downturn.
…
Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and Wipro expanded their global workforces by an average of 5.1 percent last quarter, together adding 16,701 employees, company documents show — an early sign that the Great Recession may ultimately benefit India as cost-conscious companies outsource more work, just as they did after the dot-com bust.
D5reg I’m a smoker as well, I’m just pointing out what our acting Governor is doing. Acting governor you say? Yes indeedy, acting Governor Gerry Brown.
34.
Tax Analyst
@ #3 Jim said:
Those laser pointers aren’t good toys for cats. The cat can never catch it; it’s just teasing them.
Well, duh…
But seriously, its more of a toy for humans to, yes, tease their little fluffy ball of wonder a little bit. If the cat gets tired of the pursuit you can rest assured he or she will stop running and jumping, sit back and watch it a bit more and then move on to something more tangible, like scratching the crap out of your sofa or something. I love cats, but I don’t think this puts any permanent damage to their psyche’s. They remember some things, but unlike human beings I don’t think they focus or obsess on failure a whole lot.
And if you feel guilty after running them around in circles you can always do something nice for them. “Guilt” is something humans do real well. So then you get them less confusing toys, cat treats, etc.
35.
Joshua Norton
@HumboldtBlue: Yes. And greater wingnuttia is making a noose because he’s wasting his time on that and isn’t in court rigorously defending Prop. 8.
As much as i want to smack him for going after e-cigs, he’s only going after one company and I plan to vote for him. Oddly enough the only campaign commercials I’ve been hearing are for Meg Whitman. What’s annoying about those is the fact that it’s rehashed republican shit wrapped in the words “new ideas”. Been wondering who was going to challenge her.
37.
Mrs. Peel
I find it amazing that all these associations and groups want me to quit smoking, but the moment i find a replacement that is actually working for me and not harming anyone else they want to ban it.
Of course it’s all about you. Actually, I believe the concern is more what would happen to a kid’s lungs than yours.
38.
Tax Analyst
BTW – many years ago I had a cat that used to sit on top of my small portable black and white TV set – way back then they used tubes and so the top of the set was pretty warm and comfy. One night I had a basketball game on and when Loki woke up from her nap she leaned over and started batting at all the little men running back and forth. She thought she had ’em, but they still kept running…she would lift up her paws after an apparent “hit” and see nothing. She kept on trying for 3 or 4 minutes and then gave it up and went back to sleep again on her nice, warm comfy set.
Unless a kid is stealing their parents credit card, getting someone else to buy them the kit, or has a fake id to use at a smoke shop odds are they are not buying e-cigarettes. I don’t advocate people smoking, in fact switching to the e-cig was a means to help me quit, or at the very least do less harm to myself and those around me.
40.
bedtimeforbonzo
@Jim: Besides, cats are a lot like kids on Christmas who, after pining over some big high-tech toy they couldn’t wait to find under the Christmas tree, are bored with it by dinner time and out in the driveway making the most of the box it came in — in the case of my 11-year-old, using it to expand and fortify the ramp he built for the skateboard he received 5 years ago and the scooter (these are huge with today’s pre-teens) he got 3 years ago.
My two felines, Baby and Tiger, kept themselves busy this afternoon as I napped with a rolled up piece of scrap paper my son discarded with last night’s homework.
Tiger is especially fond of rolled-up balls of aluminum foil.
So shiny.
And scratchy.
41.
bedtimeforbonzo
@Dreggas: My best buddy at work has been using one of those — which actually has a decent aroma, if you are using what I think you are, since Thanksgiving — and is down from a pack a day to 5 real cigs. Impressive.
I just got the Win 7 update disks for my laptop (after screwing around with the company in charge of mailing them for two months) and I was wondering if anyone here would know if 7 gives you the option to dual boot with vista? I’m leery of starting the process with out some kind of fall back position, just in case things don’t go as well as planned.
Which I know, of course, could never happen, it being microsoft and all, but, I’m a nervous nelly at heart.
(And I know that the update route is generally considered the wrong way to go, but that’s just how I roll- wrong and proud.)
43.
Tax Analyst
@ #40 bonzo:
Besides, cats are a lot like kids on Christmas who, after pining over some big high-tech toy they couldn’t wait to find under the Christmas tree, are bored with it by dinner time and out in the driveway making the most of the box it came in—in the case of my 11-year-old, using it to expand and fortify the ramp he built for the skateboard he received 5 years ago and the scooter (these are huge with today’s pre-teens) he got 3 years ago.
At first I thought the fortified ramp stuff was being done by your 11-year-old cat and I was thinking, “hmmm…my cat wasn’t that inventive”
Glad to find that it was your clever child instead.
44.
bedtimeforbonzo
@J.: Love the cat pic. Jet-black cats are so, well, jet-black. And shiny. Mine, Baby, is a Minx, bored without a tail, just a stubble of a bump; cute watching her scamper like a bunny. Best cat I’ve ever had for purring away on your stomach and inducing you into a peaceful nap.
I’m sure there is a skateboarding cat on YouTube somewhere, although I’m not sure about a ramp-building feline.
Cats do seem do be inventive — when, of course, they want to be.
Dogs are dogs, and that’s why I love ’em so.
My dog of dogs, the late, great Bonzo, delighted in fetching tennis balls like no other dog I have ever seen. We’d go up to the field near my old house and he could not get enough of fetching his tennis ball, the older and bouncier the better.
Bonzo loved it when I timed my throw so the second or third hop would be particularly high and he’d catch the ball in midair, seemingly flying for a second or two. I can still see it in my mind’s eye even though he crossed the rainbow bridge in 2002. Have had four dogs since the great Bonzo and often tell him in my thoughts that’s how many it’s taken to adequately replace him, if you will, although CoCo, a dear, dear Golden (2003-08) was very special and I’ve yet to get over her death — not a day goes by where I don’t find or see something that reminds me of my pretty girl. I had to take a week off work — my boss knows my affinity toward man’s best friend — and drank way too much, her sudden passing crushed me so much.
The great Bonzo was all boy, all muscle, a majestic mix of Rotty, Lab and Shepherd.
Never had I had a dog with such a good nature, the neighborhood kids riding him like a pony — or coming over when it snowed, making snowballs and watching Bonzo catch them, the white encircling his mouth like you see on celebrity faces in those milk ads.
One day I thought I killed Bonzo. We were just getting over a heat wave, but I guess it was still pretty damn hot. Since we hadn’t played fetch in the field for a while due to the August heat, we both eagerly went at and, both of us forgetting that he was 10 (the great Bonzo lived to be a ripe and satisfying 13), went at it too long, enjoying ourselves despite the dreaded Delaware humidity.
When we made it back to the house, Bonzo sprawled out on his blanket in the dining room and panted and panted and panted. I thought he was going to have a heart attack. What a fright — cancelled my dinner plans for Sunday pasta at Mrs. Robino’s to make sure he survived.
Yes, I was dumber than the dog.
Good, ol’ Bonzo — my brother rescued him as a pup (naming after the Garbonzo bean, for reasons he never made quite clear) and I took over for his care after Frank suffered a disabling injury a decade ago — didn’t like shiny new tennis balls. He liked them old and dirty. And when we played fetch, he would roll that ball in his mouth over and over again before handing it over, making sure it was good and slobbery. The effect was such that when I tossed it 30 yards or so there would be a trail of slobber in the sky, Bonzo’s comet. My sister hated those slobber balls as much as I loved ’em.
Someday I will reunited with my Big Boy and I have little doubt he will great me with an old, dirty tennis ball, all slobbered up.
Unless a kid is stealing their parents credit card, getting someone else to buy them the kit, or has a fake id to use at a smoke shop odds are they are not buying e-cigarettes.
This is why no one under 18 smokes.
51.
WaterGirl
@Tax Analyst: What a great story. I especially like the part about looking at her paws but finding no evidence of the kill.
I can’t get myself to look at any of the non-pet threads on BJ, let alone anywhere else on the internet, so I really appreciate this one!
52.
bedtimeforbonzo
Watching NFL Network last night, it got me to thinking that this year’s Final Four features, arguably, two of the top-five quarterbacks of all time.
And as much as he has become (been?) quite the diva, Brett Favre has had the greatest season of any 40-year-old in sports history.
Meanwhile, Peyton Manning has been Peyton Manning.
Got to thinking how these two rank, all-time.
My Top 5:
1. Joe Montana: Give him 2 minutes left on the clock, and you’re done.
2. Johnny Unitas: Defined the position — Peyton Manning before there was a Peyton Manning.
3. Tie — Peyton Manning and John Elway, who, as an NFC fan in Philadelphia where we always seemed to get Elway on the 4 o’clock game, I enjoyed the most, watching No. 7 bring the Broncos back week after week, year after year — for years, he seemed like a one-man team.
4. Brett Favre: Has all the records — for now. I suspect Manning will break many of them before No. 18 is through.
5. Tie — Tom Brady and Terry Bradshaw: Hard to argue with all of those Super Bowls rings.
“P.S. I am siding with your sister on the slobbery tennis balls.”
Yeah, I think it’s one of those Mars vs. Venus things.
58.
Tax Analyst
@ #51 WaterGirl:
Thanks! Loki was a neat cat. I can’t look at the political stuff today either.
@ #47 bonzo: Believe it or not, Loki used to do a similar thing with fetching, at least for a little while. I took apart a golf ball…at the time the innards were a hard rubber core wrapped up tightly in these rubber-band like strings. The remaining core was remarkably bouncy, so I cleared one wall of furniture (20-year old bachelors can do that) and would throw the core hard down close to the base of the wall so that it would bounce off the floor, ricochet off the wall and bounce five or six feet off the floor and maybe 8 to 12 feet out. Loki would make these tremendoun leaps from the side and bat the ball in mid-air, then land, scramble back to her feet and chase the darned thing all over the whole place. On a particularly nice day I tried just tossing it down the apartment stairwell (I lived on the 2nd floor). She would chase it and bat it side to side down to the driveway area below, bat and play with it for a while and then pick it up in her mouth and prance back upstairs with it!. So we did this a lot for a while, until one day when she finished her batting and playing she just plopped down and sat there. So of course I went and fetched – brought the core upstairs again and did the tossing. That was OK with her, she played some more, but once again just left it there when done playing. I fetched several more times, but finally figured I had enough exercise. Loki would do no more fetching after that day.
But she would still do whole “leap, bat, and play” on my wall tosses for a couple more years.
That cat was a lot of fun.
59.
WaterGirl
@bedtimeforbonzo: Funny. Though I can never remember who is supposed to be from Venus and who is supposed to be from Mars.
Does that make me bi-something-or-other?
A sign of gender confusion?
Or maybe it’s just a sign that I didn’t buy into the whole venus-mars thing very much?
/prefers silliness to politics tonight
60.
Tax Analyst
@ #59 WaterGirl – Yes, silliness goes down much easier than politics tonight.
I think its supposed to be Men = from Mars, Women = from Venus, but the whole thing is kind of gibberishy and hard to be taken seriously when you back away from it a few inches.
I have little doubt that sisters for the most part hold slobbery tennis balls in great disdain.
Not particularly a big fan of them myself, but I guess it would depend whose slobber we’re talking about
@Tax Analyst: Those are my favorite kind of cats, those with some inner dog. I’ve had two like that — Kitty Boy, a very handsome outdoor cat, a grey Tabby with white markings, who adopted me (I was not able to domesticate despite many attempts) and who could be counted on to shadow Bonzo and me on our walks to the field whether it was 25 degrees with snow on the ground or 75 and sunny with soft breezes, and Tiger, the most talkative cat I’ve ever had who, my wife tells me, cries at the side door every night when I get home from work as I spend 15 minutes or so walking Hamilton, our 14-year-old Beagle who lives for those walks; well, those walks and food (only Beagle I’ve ever had — found him roaming Paper Mill Road at dusk six springs ago while making a pizza run at work — and in a life full of upwards of a dozen dogs, I have never encountered once that lives to eat like Alexander Hamilton).
66.
bedtimeforbonzo
Olga, Danny and I just finished watching an instant classic, the latest episode of ABC’s freshman sitcome hit “Modern Family.”
I am sitting here with Olga as she eats her nightly apple watching AC360 and his latest reportage from Haiti and just heard something absolutely awful, just awful.
Speaking to a nurse who said she has done quite a lot of amputations, Anderson Cooper pressed her on the conditions she was working under. (I don’t know if you saw the doctor last night hold up the hack saw — a hack saw — that he has been left to perform such operations.)
The nurse, in a heavy accent, sounded like she was saying they at least had Morphine.
But no.
After she realized Cooper did not understand her, the nurse made it clear that all these patients are taking while various limbs are being amputed is Motrin.
Motrin.
Dec. 26, 2003, in a freak accident at work, my left thumb was severed — thankfully, a clean break that happened so fast I did not feel much for the first hour; of course, shock helps, too. But by the time the ER doctor saw me 90 minutes later, the shock had worn off, the nerves had been exposed to the cold air, and it hurt like hell — plenty of Morphine injections later, I was in heaven.
I am sitting here with Olga as she eats her nightly apple watching AC360 and his latest reportage from Haiti and just heard something absolutely awful, just awful.
Speaking to a nurse who said she has done quite a lot of amputations, Anderson Cooper pressed her on the conditions she was working under. (I don’t know if you saw the doctor last night hold up the hack saw — a hack saw — that he has been left to perform such operations.)
The nurse, in a heavy accent, sounded like she was saying at least they had Morphine on hand.
But no.
After she realized Cooper did not understand her, the nurse made it clear that all these patients are taking while various limbs are being amputed is Motrin.
Motrin.
Dec. 26, 2003, in a freak accident at work, my left thumb was severed — thankfully, a clean break that happened so fast I did not feel much for the first hour; of course, shock helps, too. But by the time the ER doctor saw me 90 minutes later, the shock had worn off, the nerves had been exposed to the cold air, and it hurt like hell — plenty of Morphine injections later, I was in heaven.
Morphine.
Not Motrin.
Amazing.
70.
bedtimeforbonzo
Back in Washington, Captain Obvious, Wolf Blitzer, pressed David Gergen on some insight regarding Tuesday’s Democratic Disaster.
“If this White House doesn’t accomplish something — and soon — their ability to govern will be questioned,” Gergen said.
Modern Family is very good. It has been the one new show I have picked up this season. Although Cole got me to watch White Collar the other night, and that was pretty good.
72.
bedtimeforbonzo
Did you see tonight’s Modern Family, Steeplejack?
In a rookie season in which I thought only one episode was so-so — MF has set a very high bar for itself — I thought it was the best of the lot.
What a great show and whole my whole family — I’m 47, the wife is 38 and Danny is 11 — can enjoy. Several laugh-out-loud moments tonight.
The loopy husband who is particularly good with technology and staring at women’s breasts usually steals the show, but tonight, he was more of a straight man. Claire, his wife, was excellent tonight, as always — she does the slow burn better than anyone on TV today.
And speaking of straight man, the relationship and more rich between the married gay guys just gets better each week. The beefy one is my favorite. When he took the flowers out of the microwave and, moments later, when the florist arrived and they caught on fire, my son and I busted a gut. (And isn’t their daughter growing up fast — btw, her facial expression as the flowers went up in flames: priceless).
Of course, Ed What’s-His-Name (the guy who played Al Bundy; it’s late, I’m about to call it a night and don’t feel like Googling) is the heart of the show. His interaction with his gay son, as usual, was terrific, but what was great was his exchanges with Chazz Palmetari. (Usually, these high-profile guest spots backfire, but if hit isn’t beneath his acting station, I’d love to see Chazz show up again.)
Oh, yes, Manny is just wonderful.
And Sophia Veraga points the varoom back in the varoom. (Check her out in John Singleton’s excellent “Four Brothers,” where after about 15 minutes, you’ll instantly recognize, and probably be impressed as I was that she can nail drama as well as comedy).
73.
WaterGirl
@bedtimeforbonzo: I didn’t see your post until just now – I walked away from the computer shortly after posting the cat video.
Terrible, terrible news from Haiti. Hacksaws and motrin. The story that haunts me is the young girl who leg was crushed in the rubble. By the time they got her out, they could not help her at the hospital they got her to.
She died before they could get her to the hospital that was equipped with what they needed. Her last words to her mother, just before she died: “Please don’t let me die, Mommy.” I’m not sure how you live with that.
P.S. I hope they were able to reattach your thumb?
I was so distracted by the head dunking and the drinking of the water that runs down his own face afterwards that I missed him looking around. But you are so right! That’s exactly what’s going on.
75.
bedtimeforbonzo
@WaterGirl: Yeah, that cat just loves a cool shower in the sink — yet that cat doesn’t want to get busted.
Funny all the way around.
I wonder what he/she was thinking. Like: “This is great. I’m going to do it again. But wait – ‘Is anybody watching?’ Oh, f— it, forget my humans and their hang-ups, I’m going in for another dunk.”
P.S. Cole is right about “White Collar,” breezy one-hour entertainment in the best old-school way, and great chemistry between the G-man and conman. Like the G-man and Tiffani Theissan’s yellow lab, too.
Also, check out “The Good Wife,” one of the best written dramas on TV and a well-kept secret.
76.
bedtimeforbonzo
@WaterGirl: Yeah, Haiti puts it all into perspective, doesn’t it?
I saw that piece on the little girl, too, and reading her last words again has my eyes watering up again. Just terrible. As a parent, to live with that kind of memory is just unfamothable.
Yeah, Dr. Danyo did some pretty awesome reconstructive surgery on my thumb many weeks later — he first wanted to see if the ER re-attachment would grow back naturally, although, as he suspected at our first consultation, it did not. The customer’s son I was working with at the time, of all people, found the sliced-off part and put it in a styrofoam cup with ice and gave it to the paramedics when they got there. That was important, Danyo said, because without it, my nail would have never grown back naturally and, more than anything, that gives the appearance of a real thumb. One thing Danyo was wrong about was his prediction that I would regain 90 percent of my dexterity, which, until you lose one of your fingers, you take for granted. The good doctor’s estimate was off by about 40 percent — I’ve dropped and cracked many of my once-favorite mugs, among other things, because of a poor grip.
All I remember was the whole thing was a sort out-of-body experience, waiting for the paramedics to arrive and watching my well-meaning co-workers run around like the Keystone Kops. I also remember thinking a stiff drink would be nice.
77.
WaterGirl
@bedtimeforbonzo: Between losing my cat a few weeks ago, Haiti, and now this loss in MA & health care, I am overwhelmed. I just cannot read the political stuff right now. I think I need to watch this video 2 or 3 times a day for awhile. Seriously. I wonder if it will ever get old?
We seem to completely agree on TV. White Collar, The Good Wife and Modern Family are some of the best new shows on tv. The gay couple are my favorites on Modern Family. I love NCIS but the new spin-off is just okay.
78.
WaterGirl
@bedtimeforbonzo: Yeah, the story of the little girl haunts me.
As long as we’re talking about Haiti, I will share a thought I had after John posted the thread about the young woman who died while spending a year working at an orphanage in Haiti. I thought that everyone who was lost had a story, so it wasn’t much of a jump to think about featuring each one.
Then I did the math. If the death toll is along the lines of what they are thinking, and if John featured one a day, it would take 250 to 300 years to make it through all the people who were lost. Somehow that made the magnitude of the loss more understandable to me.
So glad you have your thumb back, even if it is only at 50%. That part sucks Big yah! for the son of your client. Maybe it’s for the best that your memory of the whole thing isn’t very clear.
My boys loooooved the laser pointer, right up until the point they didn’t. Now, they don’t much care for it at all.
80.
Paul in KY
I play with my 3 cats with a red laser pointer. 2 of them tear around the house after it, the 3rd (my male named C.B.) seems to have figured out I am behind it & doesn’t deign to chase it.
What I do after awhile is I allow them to ‘catch’ it (paws over it) & then I tell them ‘good girl, you caught it!’ & start petting them, etc. I think that hopefully allemorates the fact that there’s nothing tangible to catch.
I also have a much more powerful green laser pointer. All 3 cats are scared of it (I’m guessing because the light is much more powerful).
Loved the cat videos. God bless the poor people of Haiti.
I DVR’d last night’s episode, haven’t watched it yet. I also DVR’d the rerun of the pilot last night, which I missed the first time around.
I got turned on to the show by my brother a couple of months ago. I was initially skeptical–“Another lame sitcom?”–but I have to admit I was impressed, and it keeps getting better and better.
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maody
http://www.picshag.com/pics/012010/cat-on-a-cat.jpg
cat on cat. superb mood lifter.
mai naem
Why am I a Democrat? This is the question I am pondering on today. Because, you know it’s mathematically impossible for them to pass anything in the Senate with a 59 seat majority. Republicans only need a 51 seat majority.
Jim
Those laser pointers aren’t good toys for cats. The cat can never catch it; it’s just teasing them.
Nellcote
Could we make Open Threads that come w/an animal picture non-political please.
freelancer
@Nellcote:
Seconded.
Dreggas
Thank the gods for the e-cigarette. I have finally stopped smoking using this thing but still get the sensation and the nicotine, minus the 4000 plus chemicals.
Demo Woman
Since this is an open thread, I will mention that the NYTimes has an interesting obit about the passing of Erich Segal. It included the following paragraph.
Maureen Dowd years ago started a rumor and the Times still runs with it. I’m not surprised.
J.
@maody: That cat pic is FANTASTIC.
And speaking of cats, they make excellent dishwashers. And they’re much more energy efficient. ;-)
Annie
Sort of like the Democratic Congress — never quite managing to catch the prize…but running in circles anyway.
jeffreyw
Not a deficit hawk.
freelancer
So, John,
How’s the Saltwater vs. Freshwater research going?
wmsheppa
@nellcote Make that a third. Sucking me in with pictures/videos of cats only to discover more discussion of the epic fail that is health care just depresses me.
Shit, now I’m doing it too.
MikeJ
@Demo Woman: Tumulty, not Dowd.
And Segal did say that Gore was one of the several people that were the real Oliver.
Robin G.
Later tonight, can we have a Drunken Raving Open Thread? I am SO in the mood for that.
trollhattan
Frickin’ laser FTW. Iz are kittehs learnin’?
jeffreyw
This seems apropos to the thread.
MikeJ
@jeffreyw: The wind must be southerly, since I know this isn’t a handsaw.
HumboldtBlue
The makers of the e-cigarette are about to be sued by Gerry Brown and the State of California. Marketing the product at kids, false and misleading statements in advertising.
Blue Raven
@Robin G.:
As am I. I just walked away from an exchange on Twitter with a classic idiot who called bisexuality “coonery.” Urban Dictionary tells me this means he claims black men being bi are either acting in a stereotypical manner, embarrassing the race, or both. I realized I needed to get away from it as soon as he dove into the “we’re all entitled to our opinions these days” defense. Yeah, and I’m entitled to tell you you’re being an ass. Take it or GTFO.
jacy
Having nothing to do with politics – My daughter is in her second semester of college as an art major, took her shopping for school supplies today. Over $160 in art supplies for one class! Luckily her university has a textbook rental program, which only costs $20 per class, or I might shoot myself.
I’m thinking at this rate, med school would be cheaper.
And in the car I switched from NPR to the local college station, because at this point Death Cab for Cutie is less depressing than the news.
protected static
Pretty much any animal hard-wired to go after lateral movement will be fun with a laser pointer. One of our Rat Terriers goes absolutely bonkers for them. Our other one (who’s a few beers short of a six-pack) just sits back and stares at him with this wrinkly WTF? look on his face.
freelancer
@Dreggas:
This isn’t definitive, but has some good points. Steve Novella (the author of the post) is a Neurosurgeon at Yale and the creator of the Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcast.
SGEW
Several things:
I got one of those laser pointers for my cat, and she went crazy for it . . . BUT! I started to feel really sorry for her, because she never actually has something to capture and chew on for all of her labors. How very frustrating! Little chewy toys for her, now. And paper bags. And my feet. And my checkbook (dammit all kitteh!). But no more insubstantial teasing vapor dot for her.
@Dreggas: Those things really work?! Hmmm . . . ’bout time to try it, I suppose.
Why had I not realized that someone had put entire episodes of Mr. Show up on YouTube?
Did something happen yesterday or something? My political internets has given me nothing but steaming piles of fail today. Weird.
SGEW
@freelancer: Curses.
freelancer
@SGEW:
They also have most of the skits individually by name.
The Story of the Story of the Story Everest
Again, it’s not saying that they’re horrible, just that the marketing maybe ahead of the study of their actual efficacy and safety.
Dreggas
@HumboldtBlue:
I’ll still order the parts online if need be (i live in california). I read about Brown’s lawsuit and to me it’s a bunch of BS. They claim that just because there are multiple “flavors” for these things that that is automatically marketing to kids.
I bought mine here in CA, at a smoke shop. No flavors were available save for regular and menthol. Honestly I wish there were flavors.
Methinks the state is not happy that there’s a possibility they’ll lose tobacco tax revenues if these things catch on.
I am under no illusion that I am still ingesting nicotine and But I am not ingesting all that tar, carbon-monoxide, cyanide, and other chemicals that can cause cancer. I can breathe again, I don’t stink like smoke, my sense of smell and taste is better and there’s no second hand smoke to bother others.
HumboldtBlue
e-cigarettes and California …
more here
Max
Max the Wheaten is a big fan of the laser pointer. When I first got him as a puppy (11 wks), I was dating a cop who used to take the laser sight off his gun and tease him.
I recently put new batteries in the one I now use and it is countless entertainment for me, and a good “just before bed” exercise for him. I run him up and down the stairs a few times and he’s down for the night.
Dreggas
@SGEW:
It’s been working for me. It’s rechargeable and far cheaper than smoking.
Dreggas
@HumboldtBlue:
I read about that one. Also read the FDA report and info about the FDA report before I switched to these things. The FDA was being alarmist in many ways, the nitrosamines in the samples they tested were lower than those of a regular cigarette, and lower than the levels found in the patch. As for the diethylene glycol the amount found was far less than is found in a cigarette and was only found in one sample.
I find it amazing that all these associations and groups want me to quit smoking, but the moment i find a replacement that is actually working for me and not harming anyone else they want to ban it.
Brachiator
Meanwhile, as teabaggers gloat over the Democratic loss in Massachusetts, businesses are putting out the sign, “Help Wanted. Americans Need Not Apply.”
jeffreyw
@MikeJ: And this is most certainly not a hammer.
HumboldtBlue
D5reg I’m a smoker as well, I’m just pointing out what our acting Governor is doing. Acting governor you say? Yes indeedy, acting Governor Gerry Brown.
Tax Analyst
@ #3 Jim said:
Well, duh…
But seriously, its more of a toy for humans to, yes, tease their little fluffy ball of wonder a little bit. If the cat gets tired of the pursuit you can rest assured he or she will stop running and jumping, sit back and watch it a bit more and then move on to something more tangible, like scratching the crap out of your sofa or something. I love cats, but I don’t think this puts any permanent damage to their psyche’s. They remember some things, but unlike human beings I don’t think they focus or obsess on failure a whole lot.
And if you feel guilty after running them around in circles you can always do something nice for them. “Guilt” is something humans do real well. So then you get them less confusing toys, cat treats, etc.
Joshua Norton
@HumboldtBlue: Yes. And greater wingnuttia is making a noose because he’s wasting his time on that and isn’t in court rigorously defending Prop. 8.
Dreggas
@HumboldtBlue:
As much as i want to smack him for going after e-cigs, he’s only going after one company and I plan to vote for him. Oddly enough the only campaign commercials I’ve been hearing are for Meg Whitman. What’s annoying about those is the fact that it’s rehashed republican shit wrapped in the words “new ideas”. Been wondering who was going to challenge her.
Mrs. Peel
Of course it’s all about you. Actually, I believe the concern is more what would happen to a kid’s lungs than yours.
Tax Analyst
BTW – many years ago I had a cat that used to sit on top of my small portable black and white TV set – way back then they used tubes and so the top of the set was pretty warm and comfy. One night I had a basketball game on and when Loki woke up from her nap she leaned over and started batting at all the little men running back and forth. She thought she had ’em, but they still kept running…she would lift up her paws after an apparent “hit” and see nothing. She kept on trying for 3 or 4 minutes and then gave it up and went back to sleep again on her nice, warm comfy set.
Dreggas
@Mrs. Peel:
Unless a kid is stealing their parents credit card, getting someone else to buy them the kit, or has a fake id to use at a smoke shop odds are they are not buying e-cigarettes. I don’t advocate people smoking, in fact switching to the e-cig was a means to help me quit, or at the very least do less harm to myself and those around me.
bedtimeforbonzo
@Jim: Besides, cats are a lot like kids on Christmas who, after pining over some big high-tech toy they couldn’t wait to find under the Christmas tree, are bored with it by dinner time and out in the driveway making the most of the box it came in — in the case of my 11-year-old, using it to expand and fortify the ramp he built for the skateboard he received 5 years ago and the scooter (these are huge with today’s pre-teens) he got 3 years ago.
My two felines, Baby and Tiger, kept themselves busy this afternoon as I napped with a rolled up piece of scrap paper my son discarded with last night’s homework.
Tiger is especially fond of rolled-up balls of aluminum foil.
So shiny.
And scratchy.
bedtimeforbonzo
@Dreggas: My best buddy at work has been using one of those — which actually has a decent aroma, if you are using what I think you are, since Thanksgiving — and is down from a pack a day to 5 real cigs. Impressive.
Uriel
I just got the Win 7 update disks for my laptop (after screwing around with the company in charge of mailing them for two months) and I was wondering if anyone here would know if 7 gives you the option to dual boot with vista? I’m leery of starting the process with out some kind of fall back position, just in case things don’t go as well as planned.
Which I know, of course, could never happen, it being microsoft and all, but, I’m a nervous nelly at heart.
(And I know that the update route is generally considered the wrong way to go, but that’s just how I roll- wrong and proud.)
Tax Analyst
@ #40 bonzo:
At first I thought the fortified ramp stuff was being done by your 11-year-old cat and I was thinking, “hmmm…my cat wasn’t that inventive”
Glad to find that it was your clever child instead.
bedtimeforbonzo
@J.: Love the cat pic. Jet-black cats are so, well, jet-black. And shiny. Mine, Baby, is a Minx, bored without a tail, just a stubble of a bump; cute watching her scamper like a bunny. Best cat I’ve ever had for purring away on your stomach and inducing you into a peaceful nap.
Cool blog, btw.
Faved.
Annie
@Robin G.:
I am sooo there. Right now I am drinking and smoking…Got shit done today, so I still have to prepare for class tomorrow, but what the hell…
Dreggas
@bedtimeforbonzo:
It looks like a pen, lights up at the end when you take a drag and only releases a puff of vapor which vanishes almost instantly.
bedtimeforbonzo
@Tax Analyst: Lol . . .
I’m sure there is a skateboarding cat on YouTube somewhere, although I’m not sure about a ramp-building feline.
Cats do seem do be inventive — when, of course, they want to be.
Dogs are dogs, and that’s why I love ’em so.
My dog of dogs, the late, great Bonzo, delighted in fetching tennis balls like no other dog I have ever seen. We’d go up to the field near my old house and he could not get enough of fetching his tennis ball, the older and bouncier the better.
Bonzo loved it when I timed my throw so the second or third hop would be particularly high and he’d catch the ball in midair, seemingly flying for a second or two. I can still see it in my mind’s eye even though he crossed the rainbow bridge in 2002. Have had four dogs since the great Bonzo and often tell him in my thoughts that’s how many it’s taken to adequately replace him, if you will, although CoCo, a dear, dear Golden (2003-08) was very special and I’ve yet to get over her death — not a day goes by where I don’t find or see something that reminds me of my pretty girl. I had to take a week off work — my boss knows my affinity toward man’s best friend — and drank way too much, her sudden passing crushed me so much.
The great Bonzo was all boy, all muscle, a majestic mix of Rotty, Lab and Shepherd.
Never had I had a dog with such a good nature, the neighborhood kids riding him like a pony — or coming over when it snowed, making snowballs and watching Bonzo catch them, the white encircling his mouth like you see on celebrity faces in those milk ads.
One day I thought I killed Bonzo. We were just getting over a heat wave, but I guess it was still pretty damn hot. Since we hadn’t played fetch in the field for a while due to the August heat, we both eagerly went at and, both of us forgetting that he was 10 (the great Bonzo lived to be a ripe and satisfying 13), went at it too long, enjoying ourselves despite the dreaded Delaware humidity.
When we made it back to the house, Bonzo sprawled out on his blanket in the dining room and panted and panted and panted. I thought he was going to have a heart attack. What a fright — cancelled my dinner plans for Sunday pasta at Mrs. Robino’s to make sure he survived.
Yes, I was dumber than the dog.
Good, ol’ Bonzo — my brother rescued him as a pup (naming after the Garbonzo bean, for reasons he never made quite clear) and I took over for his care after Frank suffered a disabling injury a decade ago — didn’t like shiny new tennis balls. He liked them old and dirty. And when we played fetch, he would roll that ball in his mouth over and over again before handing it over, making sure it was good and slobbery. The effect was such that when I tossed it 30 yards or so there would be a trail of slobber in the sky, Bonzo’s comet. My sister hated those slobber balls as much as I loved ’em.
Someday I will reunited with my Big Boy and I have little doubt he will great me with an old, dirty tennis ball, all slobbered up.
Dreggas
@bedtimeforbonzo:
I have a few “analog” cigs left, I will probably finish em off, but all day today I’ve used this thing with no problems.
bedtimeforbonzo
@Dreggas: Yeah, that’s the one. David is quite dramatic when he “smokes” — making those unaware think that he is actually smoking inside the building.
MikeJ
@Dreggas:
This is why no one under 18 smokes.
WaterGirl
@Tax Analyst: What a great story. I especially like the part about looking at her paws but finding no evidence of the kill.
I can’t get myself to look at any of the non-pet threads on BJ, let alone anywhere else on the internet, so I really appreciate this one!
bedtimeforbonzo
Watching NFL Network last night, it got me to thinking that this year’s Final Four features, arguably, two of the top-five quarterbacks of all time.
And as much as he has become (been?) quite the diva, Brett Favre has had the greatest season of any 40-year-old in sports history.
Meanwhile, Peyton Manning has been Peyton Manning.
Got to thinking how these two rank, all-time.
My Top 5:
1. Joe Montana: Give him 2 minutes left on the clock, and you’re done.
2. Johnny Unitas: Defined the position — Peyton Manning before there was a Peyton Manning.
3. Tie — Peyton Manning and John Elway, who, as an NFC fan in Philadelphia where we always seemed to get Elway on the 4 o’clock game, I enjoyed the most, watching No. 7 bring the Broncos back week after week, year after year — for years, he seemed like a one-man team.
4. Brett Favre: Has all the records — for now. I suspect Manning will break many of them before No. 18 is through.
5. Tie — Tom Brady and Terry Bradshaw: Hard to argue with all of those Super Bowls rings.
Your rankings?
WaterGirl
@bedtimeforbonzo: Loved your stories. Thank you!
P.S. I am siding with your sister on the slobbery tennis balls.
Dreggas
@bedtimeforbonzo:
It is amusing to do that I admit.
burnspbesq
@jacy:
Hell, right about now even Jackson Browne is less depressing than the news.
bedtimeforbonzo
@Tax Analyst: . . .
“She kept on trying for 3 or 4 minutes and then gave it up and went back to sleep again on her nice, warm comfy set.”
Smart cat.
bedtimeforbonzo
@WaterGirl: . . .
“P.S. I am siding with your sister on the slobbery tennis balls.”
Yeah, I think it’s one of those Mars vs. Venus things.
Tax Analyst
@ #51 WaterGirl:
Thanks! Loki was a neat cat. I can’t look at the political stuff today either.
@ #47 bonzo: Believe it or not, Loki used to do a similar thing with fetching, at least for a little while. I took apart a golf ball…at the time the innards were a hard rubber core wrapped up tightly in these rubber-band like strings. The remaining core was remarkably bouncy, so I cleared one wall of furniture (20-year old bachelors can do that) and would throw the core hard down close to the base of the wall so that it would bounce off the floor, ricochet off the wall and bounce five or six feet off the floor and maybe 8 to 12 feet out. Loki would make these tremendoun leaps from the side and bat the ball in mid-air, then land, scramble back to her feet and chase the darned thing all over the whole place. On a particularly nice day I tried just tossing it down the apartment stairwell (I lived on the 2nd floor). She would chase it and bat it side to side down to the driveway area below, bat and play with it for a while and then pick it up in her mouth and prance back upstairs with it!. So we did this a lot for a while, until one day when she finished her batting and playing she just plopped down and sat there. So of course I went and fetched – brought the core upstairs again and did the tossing. That was OK with her, she played some more, but once again just left it there when done playing. I fetched several more times, but finally figured I had enough exercise. Loki would do no more fetching after that day.
But she would still do whole “leap, bat, and play” on my wall tosses for a couple more years.
That cat was a lot of fun.
WaterGirl
@bedtimeforbonzo: Funny. Though I can never remember who is supposed to be from Venus and who is supposed to be from Mars.
Does that make me bi-something-or-other?
A sign of gender confusion?
Or maybe it’s just a sign that I didn’t buy into the whole venus-mars thing very much?
/prefers silliness to politics tonight
Tax Analyst
@ #59 WaterGirl – Yes, silliness goes down much easier than politics tonight.
I think its supposed to be Men = from Mars, Women = from Venus, but the whole thing is kind of gibberishy and hard to be taken seriously when you back away from it a few inches.
I have little doubt that sisters for the most part hold slobbery tennis balls in great disdain.
Not particularly a big fan of them myself, but I guess it would depend whose slobber we’re talking about
My pet = OK
Your pet = not so much.
WaterGirl
@Tax Analyst:
So funny and so right!
WaterGirl
I think am just going to watch this funny video over and over until either health care passes or it is given up for dead.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KswnjMa-MQ&feature=player_embedded
WaterGirl
Just ignore me…
Since almost no one is on this happy thread, I am trying to figure out how to do some things I don’t know how to do.
<a href=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KswnjMa-MQ&feature=player_embedded” title=”Funny Cat Video”
Matt
I smell patent infringement.
bedtimeforbonzo
@Tax Analyst: Those are my favorite kind of cats, those with some inner dog. I’ve had two like that — Kitty Boy, a very handsome outdoor cat, a grey Tabby with white markings, who adopted me (I was not able to domesticate despite many attempts) and who could be counted on to shadow Bonzo and me on our walks to the field whether it was 25 degrees with snow on the ground or 75 and sunny with soft breezes, and Tiger, the most talkative cat I’ve ever had who, my wife tells me, cries at the side door every night when I get home from work as I spend 15 minutes or so walking Hamilton, our 14-year-old Beagle who lives for those walks; well, those walks and food (only Beagle I’ve ever had — found him roaming Paper Mill Road at dusk six springs ago while making a pizza run at work — and in a life full of upwards of a dozen dogs, I have never encountered once that lives to eat like Alexander Hamilton).
bedtimeforbonzo
Olga, Danny and I just finished watching an instant classic, the latest episode of ABC’s freshman sitcome hit “Modern Family.”
Awesome show.
bedtimeforbonzo
@WaterGirl: LOL!
For a moment I thought I was watching my Tiger, except my Tig is much thinner.
Tiger is the only cat I have ever had with a fascination with water — although certainly not to that extreme!
That head-dunking is just too much and, clearly, he/she just can’t get enough.
Love the way he/she does the head-dunk, takes a moment, then looks around as if to see if anyone is watching this craziness.
Cool cat.
bedtimeforbonzo
@WaterGirl: Well, on an unhappy note . . .
I am sitting here with Olga as she eats her nightly apple watching AC360 and his latest reportage from Haiti and just heard something absolutely awful, just awful.
Speaking to a nurse who said she has done quite a lot of amputations, Anderson Cooper pressed her on the conditions she was working under. (I don’t know if you saw the doctor last night hold up the hack saw — a hack saw — that he has been left to perform such operations.)
The nurse, in a heavy accent, sounded like she was saying they at least had Morphine.
But no.
After she realized Cooper did not understand her, the nurse made it clear that all these patients are taking while various limbs are being amputed is Motrin.
Motrin.
Dec. 26, 2003, in a freak accident at work, my left thumb was severed — thankfully, a clean break that happened so fast I did not feel much for the first hour; of course, shock helps, too. But by the time the ER doctor saw me 90 minutes later, the shock had worn off, the nerves had been exposed to the cold air, and it hurt like hell — plenty of Morphine injections later, I was in heaven.
Morphine.
Not Motrin.
Amazing.
bedtimeforbonzo
@WaterGirl: Well, on an unhappy note . . .
I am sitting here with Olga as she eats her nightly apple watching AC360 and his latest reportage from Haiti and just heard something absolutely awful, just awful.
Speaking to a nurse who said she has done quite a lot of amputations, Anderson Cooper pressed her on the conditions she was working under. (I don’t know if you saw the doctor last night hold up the hack saw — a hack saw — that he has been left to perform such operations.)
The nurse, in a heavy accent, sounded like she was saying at least they had Morphine on hand.
But no.
After she realized Cooper did not understand her, the nurse made it clear that all these patients are taking while various limbs are being amputed is Motrin.
Motrin.
Dec. 26, 2003, in a freak accident at work, my left thumb was severed — thankfully, a clean break that happened so fast I did not feel much for the first hour; of course, shock helps, too. But by the time the ER doctor saw me 90 minutes later, the shock had worn off, the nerves had been exposed to the cold air, and it hurt like hell — plenty of Morphine injections later, I was in heaven.
Morphine.
Not Motrin.
Amazing.
bedtimeforbonzo
Back in Washington, Captain Obvious, Wolf Blitzer, pressed David Gergen on some insight regarding Tuesday’s Democratic Disaster.
“If this White House doesn’t accomplish something — and soon — their ability to govern will be questioned,” Gergen said.
Steeplejack
@bedtimeforbonzo:
Modern Family is very good. It has been the one new show I have picked up this season. Although Cole got me to watch White Collar the other night, and that was pretty good.
bedtimeforbonzo
Did you see tonight’s Modern Family, Steeplejack?
In a rookie season in which I thought only one episode was so-so — MF has set a very high bar for itself — I thought it was the best of the lot.
What a great show and whole my whole family — I’m 47, the wife is 38 and Danny is 11 — can enjoy. Several laugh-out-loud moments tonight.
The loopy husband who is particularly good with technology and staring at women’s breasts usually steals the show, but tonight, he was more of a straight man. Claire, his wife, was excellent tonight, as always — she does the slow burn better than anyone on TV today.
And speaking of straight man, the relationship and more rich between the married gay guys just gets better each week. The beefy one is my favorite. When he took the flowers out of the microwave and, moments later, when the florist arrived and they caught on fire, my son and I busted a gut. (And isn’t their daughter growing up fast — btw, her facial expression as the flowers went up in flames: priceless).
Of course, Ed What’s-His-Name (the guy who played Al Bundy; it’s late, I’m about to call it a night and don’t feel like Googling) is the heart of the show. His interaction with his gay son, as usual, was terrific, but what was great was his exchanges with Chazz Palmetari. (Usually, these high-profile guest spots backfire, but if hit isn’t beneath his acting station, I’d love to see Chazz show up again.)
Oh, yes, Manny is just wonderful.
And Sophia Veraga points the varoom back in the varoom. (Check her out in John Singleton’s excellent “Four Brothers,” where after about 15 minutes, you’ll instantly recognize, and probably be impressed as I was that she can nail drama as well as comedy).
WaterGirl
@bedtimeforbonzo: I didn’t see your post until just now – I walked away from the computer shortly after posting the cat video.
Terrible, terrible news from Haiti. Hacksaws and motrin. The story that haunts me is the young girl who leg was crushed in the rubble. By the time they got her out, they could not help her at the hospital they got her to.
She died before they could get her to the hospital that was equipped with what they needed. Her last words to her mother, just before she died: “Please don’t let me die, Mommy.” I’m not sure how you live with that.
P.S. I hope they were able to reattach your thumb?
WaterGirl
@bedtimeforbonzo: I just watched it again. Way cool cat.
I was so distracted by the head dunking and the drinking of the water that runs down his own face afterwards that I missed him looking around. But you are so right! That’s exactly what’s going on.
bedtimeforbonzo
@WaterGirl: Yeah, that cat just loves a cool shower in the sink — yet that cat doesn’t want to get busted.
Funny all the way around.
I wonder what he/she was thinking. Like: “This is great. I’m going to do it again. But wait – ‘Is anybody watching?’ Oh, f— it, forget my humans and their hang-ups, I’m going in for another dunk.”
P.S. Cole is right about “White Collar,” breezy one-hour entertainment in the best old-school way, and great chemistry between the G-man and conman. Like the G-man and Tiffani Theissan’s yellow lab, too.
Also, check out “The Good Wife,” one of the best written dramas on TV and a well-kept secret.
bedtimeforbonzo
@WaterGirl: Yeah, Haiti puts it all into perspective, doesn’t it?
I saw that piece on the little girl, too, and reading her last words again has my eyes watering up again. Just terrible. As a parent, to live with that kind of memory is just unfamothable.
Yeah, Dr. Danyo did some pretty awesome reconstructive surgery on my thumb many weeks later — he first wanted to see if the ER re-attachment would grow back naturally, although, as he suspected at our first consultation, it did not. The customer’s son I was working with at the time, of all people, found the sliced-off part and put it in a styrofoam cup with ice and gave it to the paramedics when they got there. That was important, Danyo said, because without it, my nail would have never grown back naturally and, more than anything, that gives the appearance of a real thumb. One thing Danyo was wrong about was his prediction that I would regain 90 percent of my dexterity, which, until you lose one of your fingers, you take for granted. The good doctor’s estimate was off by about 40 percent — I’ve dropped and cracked many of my once-favorite mugs, among other things, because of a poor grip.
All I remember was the whole thing was a sort out-of-body experience, waiting for the paramedics to arrive and watching my well-meaning co-workers run around like the Keystone Kops. I also remember thinking a stiff drink would be nice.
WaterGirl
@bedtimeforbonzo: Between losing my cat a few weeks ago, Haiti, and now this loss in MA & health care, I am overwhelmed. I just cannot read the political stuff right now. I think I need to watch this video 2 or 3 times a day for awhile. Seriously. I wonder if it will ever get old?
We seem to completely agree on TV. White Collar, The Good Wife and Modern Family are some of the best new shows on tv. The gay couple are my favorites on Modern Family. I love NCIS but the new spin-off is just okay.
WaterGirl
@bedtimeforbonzo: Yeah, the story of the little girl haunts me.
As long as we’re talking about Haiti, I will share a thought I had after John posted the thread about the young woman who died while spending a year working at an orphanage in Haiti. I thought that everyone who was lost had a story, so it wasn’t much of a jump to think about featuring each one.
Then I did the math. If the death toll is along the lines of what they are thinking, and if John featured one a day, it would take 250 to 300 years to make it through all the people who were lost. Somehow that made the magnitude of the loss more understandable to me.
So glad you have your thumb back, even if it is only at 50%. That part sucks Big yah! for the son of your client. Maybe it’s for the best that your memory of the whole thing isn’t very clear.
asiangrrlMN
@WaterGirl: I am getting there, too, WaterGirl. That video is a hoot.
@J.: Love your sleek black dishwasher! I want one.
@jeffreyw: Very nice.
My boys loooooved the laser pointer, right up until the point they didn’t. Now, they don’t much care for it at all.
Paul in KY
I play with my 3 cats with a red laser pointer. 2 of them tear around the house after it, the 3rd (my male named C.B.) seems to have figured out I am behind it & doesn’t deign to chase it.
What I do after awhile is I allow them to ‘catch’ it (paws over it) & then I tell them ‘good girl, you caught it!’ & start petting them, etc. I think that hopefully allemorates the fact that there’s nothing tangible to catch.
I also have a much more powerful green laser pointer. All 3 cats are scared of it (I’m guessing because the light is much more powerful).
Loved the cat videos. God bless the poor people of Haiti.
Steeplejack
@bedtimeforbonzo:
I DVR’d last night’s episode, haven’t watched it yet. I also DVR’d the rerun of the pilot last night, which I missed the first time around.
I got turned on to the show by my brother a couple of months ago. I was initially skeptical–“Another lame sitcom?”–but I have to admit I was impressed, and it keeps getting better and better.