Going into a food coma, myself. Picked up some beautiful poblanos and chorizo sausage yesterday, and dad cooked up some stuffed poblanos, chorizo corn tamales, and a black bean dish. Dessert was rhubarb with a wholewheat crust.
Open Thread
This post is in: Open Threads
Violet
Stuffed poblanos. YUM. And rhubarb…never enough rhubarb. Love it. Sounds delicious. I’m having leftover homemade curry tonight. Tons of veggies in it.
Just posted this in the thread below, but now there’s an open thread, so it’s more appropriate here.
This may have already been discussed here, but it caught my eye. Given the love for “Red Dawn” on this blog, I thought there might be some interest in this: Red Dawn is being remade, but this time the Chinese are the enemy.
Interesting article discussing America’s fear about loss of influence in the world, etc.
Litlebritdifrnt
It is taking all of my willpower not to pick my rhubarb right now. It needs a little longer but the temptation is almost too much to bear. I envy you that dessert John. BTW did you pick up some Amelia tomato plants as I advised?
Litlebritdifrnt
Violet, either you killed the blog or I did!
Yutsano
@Litlebritdifrnt: I blame the lack of sharing of the rhubarby goodness. My mom’s is bolted and done, she’s thinking she’ll have to tear it up and start anew there. At least the garden they planted is going well, even if my raspberries are still slowly flowering.
Violet
@Litlebritdifrnt:
I hope I didn’t kill the blog! Probably most people are doing more interesting things on the Saturday night of a holiday weekend than sitting in front of the computer and checking a political blog. What does that say about us?
I’ve had reasonable luck with frozen rhubarb. It’s not as good as fresh, and certainly not as good as fresh picked from your own garden, but it works in a pinch. I’ve made rhubarb crumble using the frozen (pre-chopped for convenience!) and it’s been very well received.
Mark S.
538 has some analysis on repealing the 17th Amendment. I didn’t know that “Democrats control both chambers in 27 legislatures, to eight for the Republicans, with 14 states split.” Maybe the teabaggers haven’t thought this through.
Personally, I think it would be a lot easier (and cheaper) to bribe some key members of a state legislature than it would be to win a statewide election.
Mark S.
@Yutsano:
Did you go see a movie today?
Peter J
Has something been done with the blog code in the last day or two? It now looks like this on Opera.
scav
I’m attempting Aushak (Afghan leek dumplings). Not a clue why: I’ve never had any. I just like leeks. Found people playing the Dr Who theme on Tesla Coils which I find entirely Radiophonic Workshop appropriate and mad as pants.
WereBear
We just got back from the yard where we had absinthe for the first time.
I had read that it had become legal again, so when I saw the box on the shelf at our funky little liquor store, my teenage Rimbaud dreams came true! (Well, without the opium.)
Mr. WereBear insisted we do the traditional thing with the sugar cube, since it came with an absinthe spoon, so I picked up fairly proper glasses at the Dollar store, and we had a lovely time overlooking the lake (one of the advantages of our micro apartment, and why we don’t leave.)
It’s got a buzz, fer certain.
Jennifer
I want some real, honest-to-goodness fried chicken, but there’s no place to get it when the plate lunch places aren’t open (which they aren’t on weekends). KFC is not real, honest-to-goodness fried chicken, nor is any boneless breaded patty. I want the real thing. Guess it’s going to have to wait until at least Tuesday.
J.W. Hamner
Starting to get fired up for the World Cup… 2 weeks! I was thinking of adopting an African team to root for with the US… does anybody have suggestions? I rooted for the Black Stars in 2006, and that would be fine, but I was thinking of Cameroon (The Indomitable Lions).
Seebach
Question for bigger Hopper fans than I:
I know that people are hard to explain, but I’m confused to see that a man who was a self-identified Republican was so strongly involved in counter-cultural media. Easy Rider, Andy Warhol, Apocalypse Now, Rebel Without a Cause…?
Does this speak to the integrity as an artist, or is this about how Republicans used to not be all insane, or what?
arguingwithsignposts
@Mark S.:
Maybe?
And fwiw, I’m adjusting to a new noisy neighbor in the apartment complex i’m in. Lots of banging doors and loud talking late into the evening right across the hall. The apt. across has been unoccupied for the last year, but now it appears to be the neighbors from hell.
Looks like I may be looking into moving. sigh.
suzanne
I recruited my husband, my mom, and dragged my daughter at the buttcrack of dawn to the National Day of Action rally in Phoenix today, and we registered new voters much of the day. Very hot, but very successful.
Now want a big-ass plate of Mexican food.
Yutsano
@arguingwithsignposts: Sic Smudge on them. Either she’ll calm them with her feminine wiles or cull them with her mighty paw of justice. Either way the end result should bring you peace.
@Mark S.: For some reason my pain level spiked today, so I took drugs and flaked. I plan on making it up to her next weekend after I’ve healed some more and feel a bit more like myself.
Violet
@J.W. Hamner:
I’m getting a wee bit excited for the World Cup too. I’m not a futbol fan, but it’s such a big deal and it’s fun to follow along.
What African countries have made the cut? Who do you have to choose among? Sorry, I haven’t been following it at all.
JL
Ten minutes ago I was content with the prospect of leftover spaghetti for dinner. I am suddenly in the mood for Mexican food. Thanks a lot.
Mark S.
@J.W. Hamner:
Ivory Coast has a pretty loaded team but they’ve got a nasty draw (Brazil and Portugal).
RedKitten
Damn, John — that meal sounds delicious!
I made ribs for supper. You can never go wrong with ribs. This weekend is sort of a last hurrah, as I will be joining the Y on Monday, to try to turn my lardass into a hardass (or at least to make it a slightly smaller lardass — my expectations are realistic.) So Zumba classes, here I come!
Mark S.
@Violet:
South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, Ghana, Cameroon, and Ivory Coast (scroll down for groups).
I’m surprised Egypt missed it again.
HE Pennypacker, Wealthy Industrialist
After a tough day of weeding a lawn, I’m grilling salmon on a cedar plank tonight. My honey is making a salad of grilled turnips, turnip greens, and quinoa. It’s a fine start to a holiday weekend.
Violet
I had the TV on earlier today and “Inside Edition” came on. Their lead story was the ‘Sarah Palin is being spied on by a creepy journalist’ story. They claimed the photo she published shows McGinnis looking through binoculars. Is that true? I thought he was just sitting on the deck.
Fwiw, the “Inside Edition” take on it was completely supportive of $arah, quoting Glenn Beck and her Facebook, and made McGinnis seem like a creepy perv.
Does she have the entire media complex under a spell or something? It seems like no one in the MSM is willing even to question a thing she does or says and anyone she speaks out against is not given even a speck of the benefit of the doubt. It’s so weird to see this happen over and over again.
AngusTheGodOfMeat
@suzanne:
I was down there at Steele Park today. I signed a petition too. Was that you? I was wearing the red Dbacks cap and constantly taking pix with my Blackberry.
mcd410x
JC: That sounds awesome.
Yutsano
@Violet: She’s a ratings magnet. As Nick has informed us over and over again, truth and facts are secondary to ratings and therefore money. So if they get more eyeballs by selling the creepy old perv story peeking over Saint Sarah’s private walls, then by golly that’s the angle they are running with. I think to be a modern media person you have to be at the very least a total cynic in over to survive.
@Bad Horse’s Filly: Canadian geese, like penguins, do share parenting duties among the flock. Most likely they are the minders for the day while the others get some chow and possibly relax some. I’ve seen unrealistic gaggles like that before, it’s really funny to watch the goosesitters keep the younglings in line. And awww for teh cuteness.
Bad Horse's Filly
Any Canadian Geese experts here? I ran into an interesting gaggle on my ride today. About 35 goslings and 2 adults. I’m still shaking my head on how this happened. I can’t imagine predators got the rest of the adults – even at 9-10 per clutch, that would be at least 6 other adults.
Violet
@Mark S.:
You could go with South Africa, since they’re the host country, but that seems a bit predictable.
I checked out the groups, and based on not much knowledge, I’d say go for Cameroon or Ghana. Maybe you could cheer for several African teams, in hopes that one gets out of the group stage.
Mark S.
@Yutsano:
Sorry to hear that. Hope you feel better.
debit
Today I mowed the lawn, went grocery shopping, put new brake pads on my bike (front and back) tried to resurrect my floor fan (failed) walked the dog, made gazpacho, showered three times (it’s hot), told the cats a MILLION FUCKING TIMES THAT IT’S TOO HOT TO SNUGGLE, and now I wish that a ice cold glass of some California white wine would magically appear in my hand since I’m too tired to go to the liquor store.
Yutsano
@Mark S.: And of course now I have to go do housework. Lucky me. After this I am going to dinner, and I’m pressing really hard for Italian.
J.W. Hamner
@Violet:
Nigeria – Group B (Argentina)
Algeria – Group C (Same as US, thus can’t root for them)
Ghana – Group D (Germany)
Cameroon – Group E (Netherlands)
Côte d’Ivoire – Group G (Brazil)
The Indomitable Lions have the best chance to move past the group stage I think.
debit
@Bad Horse’s Filly: I think I read somewhere that they babysit. A couple of pairs will nest in the same area and take turns watching the youngsters so the other parents can eat and sleep.
Ah, I see Yutsano beat me to it.
JGabriel
Tom’s Hardware: Unhappy AT&T Customer Shoots AT&T Employee
I can’t be the only one who thought, “What a pity it wasn’t Verizon.”
.
Bad Horse's Filly
@debit: That makes as much sense as anything. Though I would think the coyote that lives in that field could’ve had a field day with all those little ones. The pictures still make me laugh. Who knew, Geese have daycare.
bemused
@Violet:
I just want to know if anyone in the media has commented on the goofy gap in that poorly built fence. If it wasn’t Sarah’s fence but some liberal’s fence, I have a hunch there would have been hours of speculation & ridicule.
Violet
@J.W. Hamner:
Why not cheer for all of them (except when Algeria plays USA) and hope that one or more make it out of the group stage. That’s probably what I’ll do when/if I watch games where I don’t really have a dog in the hunt.
D-Chance.
An article of interest from Robert Reich, via the Weigelless Washington Independent (and has that site suffered without him).
The take from the article? Americans need to… go shopping.
Yeah, because that worked out so well 8 years ago.
It’s a damn good thing everyone is decked out in either their red or their blue jerseys; otherwise, it would be impossible to tell the sides apart from each other.
Violet
@bemused:
I haven’t seen a comment, but I’ve seen photos of it on MSM news on TV. It’s such a terribly built fence, in some ways the photos speak for themselves.
Mark S.
@J.W. Hamner:
Yeah, Cameroon has a good draw. I might have said Ghana had the best chance but their superstar Michael Essien will miss it due to injury.
J.W. Hamner
@Violet:
Probably I will do that… who, besides an Argentinian, would root against a Nigerian upset in that group? However, I’ve found it to be more fun to adopt a team and pretend I’m a rabid supporter for a few weeks. It’s just a different experience if you invest yourself early IMHO.
fucen tarmal
@Seebach:
my take on hopper and the “counter culture” informed largely by the billy character in easy rider is, he was sort of on the non-issue edge of it. he was the type who went where the women were putting out went, where the lsd or speed or whatever was plentiful. more of the pragmatic hippie freak with mild to not so mild psychotic symptoms drawn more by the not fitting in with the normals, than because of an ideological leap or philosophical objection to the mainstream.
in that, i think he represented a lot of people who were in the counterculture for traditional reasons, sex, drugs, hedonism, things that “conservative” youngsters, and all youngsters are drawn to. he just happened to get further than most into the iconic core.
Mark S.
LEAVE TODD’S FENCE ALOOOONE!!!!!
Mnemosyne
Took the cats in to get their nails cut while the cleaning people were here. Tried to bring some semblance of order to my knitting books and magazines because they were starting to take over the apartment.
Does anyone know a good database for magazines for the Mac? Delicious Library only does well with things that have barcodes or ISBNs, but there don’t really seem to be any good alternatives and I really don’t want to have to write my own.
bemused
This food talk is killing me. We are eating late after being out gardening all day. We planted a new crabapple tree to replace an old one & a cherry tree.
I have one small shade perennial flower bed that I want to be all white flowering plants. Anyone have any suggestions for white flowers good in shade & zone 4? So far I have white astilbe, white lamium, a couple of hostas with white stripes & a few native woodland plants.
scav
ok, that was just weird seeing feet go across MSV Skandi Neptune’s camera. I’m getting rather fond of these ROVs.
Aushak a success (nice little yogurt/garlic sauce). But remembering that I made bulgogi earlier in the day, apparently I’ve been eating warzones. equally weird.
RedKitten
@bemused: Goatsbeard would work, as would white Bleeding Hearts. White violets are pretty as well.
Cat Lady
I’ve stuck with Sully through all of his manic depressive episodes because when his filters are down he can really nail some stuff – he’s done some great writing on torture, and he never equivocated about that. His Iranian election tweet posting was yeoman’s work, and his Palin obsession is well, an obsession that may turn out in time to be really important. But the swimming pig stuff…. I think I’m out.
bemused
@RedKitten:
Thanks. We are close to Canada so I was just looking through my Lois Hole book on perennials & just noticed Goatsbeard.
Probably everyone has seen the sweet video of 8 month old Jonathan after getting a cochlear implant & hearing his mother’s voice for the first time. I just saw it on Daily Beast. I defy anyone to watch this & not get teary.
scav
@bemused: Dutchman’s Breeches are supposedly good in Zone 4 and dappled light.
PanAmerican
What happened to the BJ Copa Mundial person?
SIA
I’m babysitting a friend’s rescue puppy. The 13-lb german shepherd mix and I seem to be in an intense power struggle. Jesus, I don’t remember any of my puppies acting so hyper & willful. She’s peed in the house twice (though I’ve been out with her constantly), drawn blood on my hand twice, fights with the leash, chases my cats and barks constantly. Anne Laurie, this is the one you were telling me about ways to socialize her with our pack. Yikes! Do you make house calls? :)
I have raised/trained numerous dogs over the years but this adorable baby has me stumped. Oh well, it’s just till Monday morning.
bemused
@scav:
Thank you too.
My husband just finished making me a rain barrel out of a Seagram’s whiskey barrel & we can finally eat. There is still a little whiskey aroma in the water so I don’t know if the veggie plants will like it.
debit
Ah hah hah hah! I win! I can hear Chloe eating her dry food in the kitchen. We fought a long and hard battle, wherein she claimed it was impossible, totally impossible for her to eat anything but canned crap, but I remained firm. Okay, I gave her a half a can every morning. But! She’s eating it. In fact, now she’s bringing bits of kibble out to the living room to show me she’s eating it. I shall tell her she’s a very good girl indeed.
ETA: I realize gloating is unseemly. But she’s really, really stubborn about food and this has been an issue for months.
Cat Lady
@debit:
I hope Chloe is a pet.
:-D
RedKitten
@bemused:
No, I haven’t seen that! I’ll have to go take a look, and send it to my brother (he has a cochlear implant too).
D-Chance.
Bill Maher’s idea of what a real black president says and does…
but… oh, lookee, Glenn Beck! Fauxrage diversion!
debit
@Cat Lady: Heh. Chloe is my 9 year old JRT/something rescue dog. Here she is destroying a series of rawhide chews: http://yfrog.com/2edt3j
schrodinger's cat
Ran 6 miles in the morning. For dinner we had garlic shrimp with a Turkish potato salad and a green salad.
Me.too.also.
Anybody have an opinion on three wheel bikes?
I have just had a knee replacement and I am afraid of falling. I have a PORCHE now so I am spoiled. Any comments/ideas welcome.
Ps. I am 77. I live in Minneapolis and the biking is marvelous.
burnspbesq
Duke – Notre Dame for the national championship on Monday.
Even if you’re not a lacrosse fan, if you’re any kind of a sports fan and you can find a replay of the Duke-Virginia game, you should check it out. Epic game: two evenly matched teams going at each other for 60 minutes, big momentum swings (Duke scored seven unanswered goals in the second half, but UVa got back into it), great plays, horrible mistakes, huge hits … this one had it all.
Bad Horse's Filly
@Yutsano: I just saw your reply (ahead of mine…omg, time travel is real). Thanks, again that makes sense, I’d just never seen such a discrepancy before. I was really glad could take pictures because I for sure thought no one would believe me if I told them.
Fern
@bemused: Sweet woodruff. It’s a ground cover-ish sort of plant. Nice foliage that stays good-looking all summer, and the sweetest little white flowers in spring. It fills in nicely, but is not aggressive. It comes up and blooms quite early. I used to just love seeing those delicate little white flowers in spring. It makes a lovely understory beneath shrubs and taller plants.
Another thing that would work is some kind of cranesbill geranium – also do well in partial shade.
Both did very well in my zone 3a garden – so you should have no trouble with them.
Oh, and sweet cicely would be really pretty – it’s a little taller that the other things I suggested.
Columbine would work too.
If you want something shrubby, mock orange might work, but I don’t know how well it would work someplace very shady.
Personally I loath and despise bleeding hearts, but that’s probably just me. I had to dig one up once, and let me tell you that was a challenge – those roots went on for ever. I never did forgive it. Also, they bloom for such a short time. But the foliage is quite nice-looking. Not like lilacs that bloom gloriously for a week and then look ratty for the rest of the summer.
jeffreyw
Picnic!
ms badger
@Violet:
Kids, this is why you turn the TV-ish thing off. Now go outside and play.
themann1086
Roy Halladay throws a perfect game, 20th in MLB history.
Yutsano
@Bad Horse’s Filly: Question though, as it’s not obvious in the picture: is there a water source nearby? It’s rather unusual for the goosesitters to take them very far from water unless the food source is all that’s available. Especially if, as you say, there are coyotes running around there.
handy
@themann1086:
2nd this season!
handy
@handy:
2nd thrown by a pitcher this season, not by Halladay. Looks like the Phils did themselves well by that acquisition.
suzanne
@AngusTheGodOfMeat:
I was volunteering for Mi Familia Vota, getting new voters registered both at Steele Park and at the Capitol. So if you signed a petition, that wasn’t me. But good on ya.
suzanne
@Bad Horse’s Filly:
Even they know it takes a damn village.
Mike E
@themann1086:
Funny thing, I have his game jersey and wasn’t wearing the thing the whole game! I got #34 on now, though. Atta boy, Roy! Now, let’s go Flyers!
Lurker
A weird discussion happened at work this week. A young, twenty-something co-worker expressed his sincere belief that Social Security and Medicare would not be there for him in his old age. He insisted that both programs were total failures, and he claimed he could earn far more money on his own by investing. OK.
Hoping he had made the right investment decisions, I asked him if he indexed.
He had no clue what I meant.
Turns out he doesn’t have a single dime invested in a retirement account, despite his beliefs.
In fairness to this kid, he’s paying down student debt and has no savings to invest at this time. Still, if I thought the only financial support I would have in retirement would be my own investments, I’d at least research investing.
J.W. Hamner
I’m working my way through Ken Burns Civil War on Netflix… Fredericksburg… Jeebus.
Recall
Proving that no one does douchebag like David Brooks:
JenJen
Helluva sports night!! Halladay’s perfect game, and this Stanley Cup game is off the chain.
So, I was just about to join a Yahoo! World Cup fantasy league and it occurred to me that maybe this cast of characters over here already started one. No? Yes? Can I play? Please?
handy
@Recall:
So much fail, but just right off the bat usually the thing most people feel in the aftermath of a plane crash is grief and mourning over the loss of their loved ones, whereas having your entire way of life, and that of your children and your children’s children, completely destroyed pretty much leads to outrage–like every time. It’s amazing Bobo doesn’t get something basic about human emotion, which is amazing considering he’s (presumably) human himself.
jharp
Anyone here have any experience dealing with moles in the yard?
What a fucking pain in the ass. The little bastards dig the hell out of things.
I go after them with a shovel. It’s either that or traps and the trapping ain’t easy. I’ve tried and I used to trap stuff 35 years ago.
Anyways, they are fascinating creatures but the rule around here is ALL MOLES MUST DIE. And squirrels.
scav
@Recall: he can’t really possibly actually think this thing in the gulf is affecting fewer than hundreds of families. His head has simply got to be a helium balloon because there’s no other thing that explains his rising so far.
ETA: and a pure vacuum in the skull would presumably implode.
AhabTRuler
@jharp: C4.
Comrade Luke
I’m surprised this hasn’t been posted yet.
Mitch McConnell continues to be a fucking asshole.
Yutsano
@Comrade Luke: I’d like t be surprised. I really would. But Mitch acting all butthurt has been true since the Republicans lost the majority in 2006. I have no idea how in the hell he keeps his job being such a WATB. He must keep the lard rolling for Kentucky.
AhabTRuler
The feed from the BP spillcam is currently featuring a ROV that is ‘resting’, sitting (I think) in its cage with its lights off, mostly in the dark. But it appears to only be a few hundred feet away from one of the plumes, and when one of the other ROV’s lights illuminate the cloud of expanding a rising oil and gas, it is strangely and disturbingly beautiful. I mean, we are talking watching ‘C-beams glitter in the dark’ territory here, but I still find in fascinating.
ETA: Looks like it is wakey-wakey time.
Steeplejack
@Peter J:
Just flipped over to Opera (10.53 on Win XP), and it looks fine to me.
I don’t suppose you could have accidentally de-zoomed your view to something less than 100 percent?
jharp
@AhabTRuler:
I don’t believe it would work and I’m not kidding. The MFer’s dig down pretty deep and you’ve got to wait until conditions are right and still get lucky to find them near the surface.
They’ve (moles) been around 100 million years. And live almost exclusively under ground.
I figure they’ll be around long after us humans are gone.
Anyways, I’ve killed two this season in hand to hand combat. And two have escaped. I’ve got plans for them tomorrow though.
scav
@AhabTRuler: I saw that too.
Steeplejack
@jharp:
Gotta put in a word for the moles. My grandmother was a legendary gardener, and she was “live and let live” about the moles. I can’t remember exactly how she phrased it–and it certainly wouldn’t have been like this–but her view was that your garden isn’t supposed to be the perfect implementation of your perfect view of nature. Gotta let reality and chance intrude. That would be the moles. (Squirrels, too.)
asiangrrlMN
@jeffreyw: You grill as beautifully as you cook. Those deviled eggs look killer!
@Yutsano: I thought that was a bonus in Kentucky? I dunno. How you feel now?
@Steeplejack: That’s a pretty cool way of looking at things. And, stop messing with my head! You’re not supposed to be here for another hour at least.
Steeplejack
@asiangrrlMN:
Oh, I get it. Well, I got off work a little before 11:30 p.m. EDT, so I’ve been home for over an hour. And I’ve got three days off! Don’t have to go back until Wednesday, which seems like an eternity right now. Me likey.
Steep + 2.
Yutsano
@Steeplejack: Boo hiss. I have to go back to work tomorrow. It’ll be okay though, I’m at the point where I don’t care what the hell they do with me.
asiangrrlMN
@Steeplejack: Excellent. So you can kick back, relax, and enjoy a few (as duly noted by your + number). Any champers tonight for you?
@Yutsano: No. Do not go in. You are not healed enough to work. (Yes, I got a mother hen side, too. Deal).
Steeplejack
@asiangrrlMN:
Oddly enough, I am drinking champagne for the second night in a row. Stopped by the grocery on the way to work and thought, What the hell. That, and I am out of rum, which requires a special trip to the state liquor store.
Yutsano
@Steeplejack: Prosecco. Screw champagne and its overpriced bitterness in the ear. Prosecco has a nice fruity assertion, a light buzz even from the first glass, and won’t cost you half your retirement fund for a sip. And no this has nothing to do with the fact I dated a Sicilian nationalist.
@asiangrrlMN: I really don’t want to risk my employment situation, not after my brother just lost his job and I’m the only one pulling in an income right now. I’m gonna show him how to apply for unemployment insurance at some point. I also told him to do nothing for two weeks, any kind of moves he makes right now will be done in haste and may yet be terrible decisions.
Platonicspoof
@bemused:
You’ve already received a lot of good suggestions.
This list of perennials is sorted by zone and shade, but not color.
Possibly my favorite local white flower, Romneya coulteri, is not for shade (likes a.m. and p.m. full sun, south exposure), not for zone 4 (6 and higher), and not for small spaces (6′ tall and spreads by suckers), but great flowers over a period of weeks.
asiangrrlMN
@Steeplejack: You live in a state-controlled liquor store state? Which state is that again? If you don’t mind sharing, of course. I’ve never tried champagne before. Hm.
@Yutsano: Booze war! I’ve never had that, either. Double hm. And, is there any nationality you haven’t dated yet?
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: I just had a German champagne at the wedding I was at in Arizona. It was all right but I was hunting around to see if she had any prosecco since the wedding dinner was Italian themed. No such luck though, but it didn’t matter as I had to drive that night anyway. I still got petted by both bridesmaids though, that was kinda fun.
Arab. Never dated an Arab guy in my life.
BTW WA is a controlled liquor state. The stores are everywhere though.
asiangrrlMN
@Yutsano: I thought you said you got pegged by both bridesmaids which sounded infinitely intriguing.
I think some of our cities are city-controlled, but not the whole state. Huh. Suddenly, I am not so sure. I will go check.
P.S. I am listening to the pink feathered-winged boys version of Kylie’s version of Dancing Queen again. I need something to get me in the mood to clean.
@Steeplejack: We can’t buy any liquor in grocery stores here. But, no state-controlled liquor stores, either.
Steeplejack
@asiangrrlMN:
I live in NoVa, just outside D.C. You can buy beer and wine at the grocery store, but for hard liquor you have to go to the ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control) store. It’s a little weird, but not as bad as the ones in Alabama, which make you feel like a heroin addict queuing up for methadone.
Steeplejack
@asiangrrlMN:
Spit-take! Damn you, spilled some champagne.
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: I watched the Sydney version like three times last night for no good reason whatsoever. Her version live is bizarrely addictive. It was fascinating to watch though.
OMG, watching Food Network. Showing something called Indonesian corn fritters. I think I could so lift that and figure out how to do it. Gonna wait until corn is in season though since it takes fresh corn.
jharp
@Steeplejack:
You’re grandmother has an excellent point.
Trees being my real passion I do appreciate the moles for oxygenating the roots and generally helping the enviro.
I guess I’d better back down a tad. The moles that dig up my yard must die.
And they really are fascinating animals. Powerful guys, clearly built to dig. And really nice fur. And the 100 million year existence thing…. … wow.
asiangrrlMN
@Steeplejack: Damn. Time ran out before I could add, except that 3.2 crap beer. That can be sold in grocery stores.
Mnemosyne
@jharp:
You know that the Balloon-Juice community’s answer to your mole problem is that you should get a cat. Or a terrier. Or possibly both.
asiangrrlMN
@Steeplejack: Ha! Score one point for me.
@Yutsano: Well, this version is live, too. And, you can add some corn fritters to the list of things you will cook for me when we meet.
@jharp: There was pure poetry in your post. I liked it!
Mnemosyne, I was laughing until I realized it was true, and what’s more, it might actually work.
Steeplejack
@asiangrrlMN:
Well, where do you buy liquor, then? In privately owned liquor stores, I presume?
Seems odd not to let people pick up beer and wine in grocery stores. But then it also seems weird to have to go to a special state-run store to get hard liquor. Arrggh, matey!
Steeplejack
@jharp:
So why not cut them some slack? Think of your patch as a “mole preserve.” That has a nice ring to it.
jharp
@Mnemosyne:
I’ve got a cat. Not any help at all.
The terrier is a good idea. It’s true. The do a lot of damage killing the moles. But it’s probably the best way.
asiangrrlMN
@Steeplejack: Yup to all you said. We also have weird hours set for liquor places. I know I’m gonna fuck up the blockquotes, but whatever.
fuckyouwitharustypitchforkwordpress
Weird, eh?
Steeplejack
@jharp:
Jeez, let the moles live. I’m beggin’ ya. So you’ve got a few trails threading across the lawn. What’s the big deal? It’s not like that perfect croquet lawn occurs naturally in nature very often.
jharp
@Steeplejack:
It’s the digging up of my nice lawn that I spend a lot of time and money on. And the fucking up of my stepping stones,
Maybe it’s time for me to move back to the country. The suburbs are kind of against nature.
Yutsano
@jharp: Jack Russell Terrorist. Or I was watching TV with my mom the other day and we saw a crossbreed we couldn’t believe: a border collie crossed with a JRT. All we could say was that dog would NEVER stop. Insane what people will do these days. Oh and my mom wants a labradoodle now.
asiangrrlMN
OK. I looked up the old thread on blockquoting, so I’m just doing this to test it out.
Will this work? Sure. Now it works! The…helicopters…are…not…laughing! (Ah, good times).
@jharp: True that. Suburbs aren’t meant for nature.
@Steeplejack: Yeah, but can you blockquote multiple paragraphs?
Steeplejack
@jharp:
Word.
Steeplejack
@asiangrrlMN:
Works fine for me. Separate paragraphs in one block, no boldface.
Looks like E.E. Cummings poetry, but whatever.
jharp
@asiangrrlMN:
In Indiana, my residence, a few rules on alcohol.
No Sunday carryout. Statewide. This means today. During the largest gathering of white trash in the world, the Indianapolis 500, no carryout sales. The poor folks who show up without beer are out of luck.
Just recently, the rules were changed to allow carryout sales on election day.
And just in the past several weeks everyone who buys alcohol gets ID’d. Everyone. I’m nearly 50 years old and buy beer at my local CVS drug store and they check my ID every time.
Unbelievable.
asiangrrlMN
@Steeplejack: I was mad that I couldn’t do it properly the first time. So I lost my capitals.
@jharp: We have the same Sunday rule. What do you mean carryout? They can drink it in the store? Indiana changed it for election day? That’s kinda funny. And, yeah, they card everyone here now, too, but that’s been for the last year or so. Why do you think they came down so hard in the last few weeks?
@Steeplejack: You don’t carry ID on you? The mind, it boggles. I carry mine EVERYWHERE.
Steeplejack
@jharp:
Man, that is harsh. I am currently living the urban hiker lifestyle and maintaining a wafer-thin wallet, so I typically don’t carry my driver’s license or ID with me. I rely on my craggy but
agedweathered good looks to forestall the ID checks. It would suck to have to en-thicken the wallet just for an occasional “Papers, please” moment.jharp
@asiangrrlMN:
By carryout I mean buying to consume off the premises. You can drink at a bar but can’t take packaged liquor or beer home.
And election day it used to be be you couldn’t buy carry out or in a bar. Or buy to consume on the golf course.
And yep. Indiana just changed it for election day. And I don’t know why other than the fact that we’re catching up with the modern world more every day.
Steeplejack
@asiangrrlMN:
I have a debit card with my name and photograph on it. If it comes down to identifying my mutilated body, they can do it from that as easily as they can from an official state ID. And I use the debit card a hell of a lot more than I do the driver’s license/ID.
Yutsano
@jharp: Mmm. I love the smell of blue laws in the late evening/early morning. And yeah suburbia bites the big biscuit. Could be why my parents finally bought a horse ranch.
@Steeplejack: I have my driver’s license and a passport. I have zero issues proving who I am should it become necessary. Of course I was born in Hawai’i so I haz no birf certificate. I guess that proves I was hatched huh?
jharp
@Steeplejack:
“I am currently living the urban hiker lifestyle and maintaining a wafer-thin wallet”
I gave up the wallet at least two decades ago. For me it’s a money clip or rubber band around my cash, a credit card or two, and my drivers license.
Seriously, what else do you need?
asiangrrlMN
@jharp: I thought it was so people could either drown their sorrows/celebrate an important day. I was kidding on the drinking in the store part. Heh. Wait a minute. You say you can buy booze at your CVS. So, you’re telling me you can’t on Sundays? How bizarre.
@Steeplejack: Oh, OK. That makes sense, then. I thought you meant you didn’t have any ID on you at all.
@jharp: Brush. Hair scrunchie. Chapstick. Pens. Checkbook. Excedrin. A book. Change. Band-Aids. Sunglasses. Keys. Safety pins. Itching cream. Need I go on?
Yutsano
@jharp: My wallet has:
Driver’s license
Health Insurance cards
Debit and credit card (one of each)
Various business cards I need for work etc
A couple of grocery/coupon cards
AAA card/concierge card from work
Stamps
Cash
A couple of spare receipts
And a $5 Canadian bill
I’m either too complicated or pretty typical American, I’m not sure which.
@Steeplejack: Oh dear FSM no. The passport is securely stored at home. But whenever I need a new job it’s the best I-9 satisfier out there. I only take it out for that and when I fly. It’s fun to watch the TSA scan it with those eyeglass thingies.
Steeplejack
@Yutsano:
You carry your passport around with you everywhere? Crikey!
I guess I am helped by the fact that I look like everybody’s image of the Man. In fact, quite often I get people stopping me on the street and beseeching me to intercede on their behalf with some problem, and I have to break it to them that I have no official standing and that there are, in fact, many levels of oppression and corruption above that I have no access to.
Steeplejack
@jharp:
Word on that as well. And I don’t even carry the driver’s license.
jharp
@Steeplejack:
“And I use the debit card a hell of a lot more than I do the driver’s license/ID.”
With all due respect I cannot understand the debit card concept.
To me you can pay today and if the merchant fucks you you have no protection. Use the debit card.
Or you can pay 30-45 days later and if the merchant fucks you you don’t have to pay them.
And you pay the same price for both of them.
Debit cards are banned in my family. I’ve never had one. And my wife and kids are not allowed to have them.
jharp
@asiangrrlMN:
“You say you can buy booze at your CVS. So, you’re telling me you can’t on Sundays? How bizarre.”
Yep. Exactly what I’m saying. And it is bizarre.
Yutsano
@jharp: Debit cards are good for me because I don’t spend money I don’t have. Of course I obsess about my checking account balance going below $1000 so it almost never happens. Plus it’s much easier to me than writing a check, plus I go through a credit union that has debit purchase protections almost parallel to a credit card. The real secret is going through a CU. Banks are the suxxors with debit cards.
Anne Laurie
@bemused:
Candytuft (iberis) has a long blooming season, and looks nice as a border even when it’s not in flower.
There are lots of wonderful white/cream daffodils that will bloom before the trees leaf out, and then the astilbe/hostas will hide the “ripening” daffodil leaves as they yellow & die back.
Also, irises are supposed to be sun-lovers, but we’ve got some Siberians that have demonstrated they will bloom in the shady bits of our property where grass won’t grow. Ours are purple and pale blue, but I know I’ve seen white varieties in garden catalogs, too.
asiangrrlMN
@Steeplejack: Ha! I can see you turning this into a biiiig advantage for you.
@Yutsano: Wait, I fake-married a furriner? Oh, wait! I fake-married TWO furriners! Aaaaaaaaaaargh!
@jharp: So, does the change happen exactly at one minute after midnight? Are CVS even open at that time? The ways of the indigenous fauna fascinate me!
Steeplejack
@jharp:
I don’t pay anything for the debit card. And “getting fucked” has not been a problem. I don’t use the debit card for “sketchy” purchases, e.g., Crazy Eddie’s Brooklyn Stereo Emporium and Storm Door Warehouse. I use it for the grocery store, the state liquor store, the bookstore, Amazon, etc. Companies that I know and trust, or at least am comfortable dealing with. The closest I have come to getting fucked is three years ago when I was mugged. The yoots who took my wallet ran up about $100 in charges at various mini-marts on their route away from our rendezvous with destiny, but when I got out of the hospital I called the bank and was able to get all those charges removed from my account. No hassle.
asiangrrlMN
Ok, folks. I’ve set a deadline of 2 a.m. Central Mumble Mumble Time to start nekkid housecleaning (let’s hope I don’t have a John Cole and the mop episode). Give me three songs to get me into the mood for some fierce cleaning action!
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: Yes. Yes you did. :) Of course I think the biggest mistake Hawai’i ever made was giving up the monarchy. They’re still alive and around BTW, I think part of the treaty they signed says they can never be politically involved again. Have to check on that though.
Just checked Wiki, nothing specific I could find except the last queen saying she won’t try to take back control.
@asiangrrlMN: You ask, I comply:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1voj6H8CHY
jharp
@asiangrrlMN:
“So, does the change happen exactly at one minute after midnight? Are CVS even open at that time?”
I’m pretty sure it happens at 11:00 pm on Saturday night. Statewide. No more carryout sales.
It truly is unbelievable to me.
I distinctly remember the Formula 1 races they held here about 10 years ago. Folks from all over the world were here. My friend was a store manager at Kroger and told of racing enthusiast being aghast that they couldn’t buy booze.
Steeplejack
@asiangrrlMN:
Gimme a break, sister. I’ve given you practically a whole mix CD’s worth of stripper/cleanin’ songs. (They are equivalent in my mind.) “Spooky,” Atlanta Rhythm Section; “Flesh for Fantasy,” Billy Idol; “Ain’t That a Bitch,” Johnny “Guitar” Watson; “I Can’t Keep from Crying Sometimes,” Deirdre Wilson Tabac; “Here Comes My Baby,” the Mavericks, etc., etc.
If you can’t get your shit clean with that shit, then that’s some sad shit right there.
(Ooh, YouTube frenzy comin’ on. Stop me before I link again.)
asiangrrlMN
@jharp: Sorry for being so fascinated with this, but it’s just bizarre. It’s like a bastardized version of Cinderella and her pumpkin. WEIRD!
@Yutsano: Didn’t the monarchy get overthrown? And, yes, that video/song is definitely one to get me in the mood.
@Steeplejack: You underestimate how much I loathe to clean. Seriously. I’m gonna pump the Here Comes My Baby, though. That one really gets my blood pumping. (Not even gonna ask about the stripping/cleaning association in your mind). And, post more! I will be taking breaks from cleaning and checking in from time to time. Link broken. You fix (h/t, you).
Steeplejack
@Yutsano:
What you said.
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: Liliuokalani was more or less forced at gunpoint to sign her abdication yes. She didn’t really have her ducks in a row to mount a total wresting of control away from the United States yet, plus she couldn’t get a foreign power to back her.
Another song that gets me moving, plus LOVE the singer’s voice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp5foT32tKM
Anne Laurie
@SIA:
Puppy just wants you, and your dogs, to know: You are not the boss of her. She is, of course, wrong about that. If the little darling has a crate, this is the time to use it. Hang a towel or tablecloth over the crate if she makes too much noise, then let her out & praise her when she dials it back. As an adjunct, the Mack silicone earplugs from the drugstore work nicely — not for her, of course.
If she’s not crate-trained, get a four- to six-foot length of something that won’t tangle and tie one end to her collar and the other to your belt. This is the “professional” version, in case my description isn’t clear, but for one weekend a length of stout clothesline or nylon rope will work perfectly fine. The only time Puppy gets off your belt is when she’s locked up in a secure area & you’re in the shower. This way, she can’t chase the cats, she can’t find stuff to chew that she shouldn’t, and she can’t sneak off to pee when your attention wanders. Of course she’ll carry on like a psycho banshee for a while, but that’s why disposable earplugs are widely available. Seriously, this seems like a “punishment” to some people but it’s actually very calming for a puppy to know that she doesn’t have to defend herself from a whole big world of scary new stimuli, because now it’ll be your job to decide what’s okay and what’s dangerous.
asiangrrlMN
@Yutsano: That’s the same song. You fix. Then I’m out. You guys try not to have too much fun without me, and if you do, pics!
@Yutsano: Be safe. Talk to you later. Night.
On that note, cleaning time.
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: Bleah. I haz link fail. Okay really do need to go to store then get my tail to bed before it gets too late. Clean, but just enough hon. You know what I’m talking about. Night y’all.
Steeplejack
@Steeplejack:
WTF?! How are my links broken?! I am the king of linky!
Okay, again:
“I Can’t Keep from Crying Sometimes,” Deirdre Wilson Tabac.
“Here Comes My Baby,” the Mavericks. Bonus: go-go dancers show proper cleaning form.
Okay, YouTube downward spiral: I love that mash-up of the Deirdre Wilson song with the I Am Cuba movie. Favorite part starts about 0:55 when the horn section comes in. Love, love, love it.
jharp
Night all.
I enjoyed your company. Especially on this night with my teabagging sister in law staying with us. I haven’t seen her for 10 years and it’s been a challenge.
Kinda odd how they ridicule Limbaugh and then parrot every single one of his talking points.
It’s actually pretty depressing. I always loved my sister in law but I gotta take a stand here.
Steeplejack
@jharp:
Stay strong, bro’.
Steeplejack
@asiangrrlMN:
If we’re going down that country road . . . “Just Call Me Lonesome,” Radney Foster.
Above is the good video, but better sound is here.
Steeplejack
@asiangrrlMN:
“All Around the World,” Lisa Stansfield.
Anne Laurie
@Yutsano:
Insane is a good word for it. We wondered if our 16-inch-at-the-shoulder, black-and-white rescue “papillon” might have some border collie genes, because she’s that fast and that smart and that driven, except what kind of antisocial maniac would deliberately produce the equivalent of a loaded revolver packed inside an adorable pink cellphone casing? But my Dog Guru back in the midwest says that their border collie / aussie / sheltie rescue groups have been overrun with such crossbreds. Dedicated dogsport people decide they “need” a smaller dog with the BC drive and a papillon’s (relative) bidability or a terrier’s devotion, so they breed a litter of five or six puppies, keep the “best” one or two, and place the others in “good homes”… many of which just aren’t ready for a dog with that level of intensity. So the dog gets banished to a basement or tied up in the yard 24/7, which makes it even more wired & unmanageable, until the neighbors call the police and the poor beast gets turned over to a shelter, where most of them will be euthanized because they’re NSF “normal” homes. And, you know, the criminals here are experienced dog people who are supposed to love their companion animals!
Shorter me: Sometimes, people just suck.
Steeplejack
@Anne Laurie:
Word. This is what makes me feel so good about the coming age of genetic manipulation. Ugh.
Steeplejack
@asiangrrlMN:
“Heartbeat City,” the Cars.
Steeplejack
@asiangrrlMN:
“(I’m Gonna) Kick You Out,” Twelve Caesars.
Steeplejack
@asiangrrlMN:
Light but intense buffing–“Wicked Game,” Chris Isaak.
Yutsano
@Anne Laurie:
Sounds like Sarah Palin’s wet dream, at least to me.
Hell when they showed the dog on TV they could barely get the thing to sit. The poor dear was twitchy and nervous and just ready to GO! It didn’t care where or what it needed to do. All border jack breeders should be shot period.
@Steeplejack: I should hate you for linking to The Mavericks, but damn if that song isn’t such a fun one, even if Yusuf’s lyrics are a bit depressing. Plus Chris Isaak = massive swoon. When someone told me he was almost 50 now I accused them of lying. Plus living in San Francisco and never married. Hmm…
Steeplejack
@asiangrrlMN:
RIP Dennis Hopper: “The Pusher,” Steppenwolf.
Steeplejack
@Steeplejack:
Or maybe this: “Ballad of Easy Rider,” the Byrds.
Steeplejack
@Yutsano:
I cannot be a snob about music, and damned if the Mavericks don’t bring it with the thunder in that video. I joke about the go-go dancers, but they make the whole thing.
And, yes, that Chris Isaak video is teh awesome. You take him, I’ll settle for Helena Christensen. Heh.
Steeplejack
Okay, I’m packing it in. Champagne is depleted and thread traffic is slow. Leavin’ it for the morning shift to pick up.
Take your pick:
Movits, “Fel Del Av Gården.”
James Brown, “Super Bad.”
Yutsano
@Steeplejack: The video works, and I’ll tussle with anyone who disagrees. Plus it really takes a lot of nerve to do a song at a tempo or style that runs totally counter to the lyrics, and then SELL it. Really neat piece of musicianship they do there.
Steeplejack
@Yutsano:
What you said. But the song lends itself to many interpretations. The “original” one, for those of us who were around back in the day, was the one by the Tremeloes.
And here’s
Yusuf’sCat Stevens’s version. Always makes me think of The Royal Tenenbaums.Steeplejack
Okay, really gone now. I feel like a . . .
“Deadweight,” Beck.
Yutsano
@Steeplejack: I’m going with you I think. At least I got to tease wifey some, got back to thinking about broccoli-cheddar scones again, and got a rec in for the OMSI. I’d call that a full night. :)
Steeplejack
@Yutsano:
OMSI? ¿Que?
SIA
@ Anne Laurie
Thanks for the advice. I was already doing some of it but will try crate again. She freaked when I put her in it before (and its a roomy one) but she def needs some kind of time out situation. I didn’t have plans for the weekend so didn’t think keeping her was a big deal, but its turning out to be all-consuming.
Anyway your advice always is appreciated.
Platonicspoof
@bemused:
Last white garden suggestion (and probably thread comment):
Also use “moon garden” as a google search term, too.
Edit: Triple score! The rotating tagline is “Also, too”.
asiangrrlMN
@Steeplejack: Thanks, Steepman. You’re the best. I am going to bookmark this thread so I can give a listen when I have more time. Right now, just a quick break.
fucen tarmal
god molest pennsylvania…
the state sells all the liquor, and attempts to break the mon-otony/opoly have failed so often, people are tired of hearing about them,but they want to privatize the interstate toll road that connects the two major cities.
i have to go out of state and smuggle in boodles gin, or i can special order it, which conveniently doubles the price.
bemused
@Recall:
I actually gasped when I read that. Absolutely mindblowing. Of course, know-it-all, know nothing Brooks is again a guest on one of the sunday am shows sharing his smug, supercilious pearls of wisdom.
There is something about corporate regulation/accountability that touches a self-serving, free market, too bad-shit happens, conservative prick’s nerve.
Brooks really revealed his true, self-centered, in denial mindset in that chat. It’s not the first time either.
WereBear
@bemused: I suggest White Lavender (they say zone 5 but it can go higher if you mulch) and white Greek Yarrow is highly thought of for alpine rock gardens.
And since it’s a vine, Moonflower over all.
burnspbesq
@jharp:
Debit card is a massive convenience. It’s an alternative to writing a check. IMO, debit card use should be mandatory at supermarkets.