Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

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

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

If you voted for Trump, you don’t get to speak about ethics, morals, or rule of law.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Come on, man.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

The words do not have to be perfect.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

Beware of advice from anyone for whom Democrats are “they” and not “we.”

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

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

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Cat Blogging / Another Open Thread

Another Open Thread

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I was lucky enough to remember to put the camera on the end table next to the chair, and caught these snaps. For those of you wondering what the wild and crazy decadent nights at Balloon Juice HQ look like, this is it:

I can’t believe it was just a little over a year ago and I was debating whether I should get a dog. If you don’t have kids, you owe it to yourself and the animals to have pets. Trust me, your quality of life will go through the roof.

And while we are at it, don’t forget to get your Balloon Juice swag at the CafePress store. All proceeds (and by all, I mean 100%) go to the lovely folks at Charlie’s Angels Animal Rescue to support their mission.

Reader Interactions

94Comments

  2. 2.

    slag

    Trust me, your quality of life will go through the roof.

    I don’t trust you. I love my cats. And they do make it a joy to come home and see their little furry faces greeting us at the door. But once they’re gone, it’ll be an argument before we get another pet.

    They’re great. But they’re also fuzzy little troublemakers. (and I should note: they’re pretty much irreplaceable little troublemakers)

  4. 4.

    General Egali Tarian Stuck

    you owe it to yourself and the animals to have pets. Trust me, your quality of life will go through the roof.

    Airborne!! to that, as we used to say, when I was a fool that jumped out of perfectly good airplanes.

    I already knew that, but had forgotten it in the ten years since having my last dog. And Earth Mother was looking out for me in crossing paths with the sweetest, smartest, and best behaved, (except when Deer are present) little guy imaginable.

  7. 7.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @jeffreyw: ZOMG those look deelishus.

    Why you and Mrs. J don’t weigh about 350 pounds each I don’t know.

  8. 8.

    Phoebe

    @slag: That’s what I said, but here they are, three cats who weren’t born yet when I said that. One of them’s in a cupboard under the counter and the other one is waiting outside that cupboard, pouncing on the door when it starts to open. As he should be.

  9. 9.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Bnut: seconded! Also, I’d like to put forward an idea right now for 2012 and a series of “Tunch for President” gear. I would wear/drink out of/carry that.

  10. 10.

    LiberalTarian

    Today while I was at work one of the cats made off with my left shift key. Sigh. I’ll probably find it, right?

    A naked shift key is not a pretty sight.

  12. 12.

    James in WA

    @kdaug:

    That was a fraking YEAR ago???

    Yeah, wow. I still remember those pics of Lily looking REALLY pitiful, with a bare skin patch; scared of her own shadow and looking really stressed out just sitting in the car. She sure has “turned a corner,” if I may misuse some Bushie terminology!

  13. 13.

    slag

    @Phoebe: Yeah. I can see that. Although I’m impressed yours can open the cupboard door. Mine gets in there and just sits there and waits for us to let her out.

  15. 15.

    eemom

    hmmm……I think we got some more inches of Cole leg than we did last time he posted a pic like this.

    Then there was that elbow shot in a car one time.

    STILL waiting for a pic of the full metal Cole. Sheeyit, all the OTHER cool bloggers show us their mugs.

  16. 16.

    Comrade Mary

    Doggies!

    And OMG, these golden-and-white photos are actually a lot closer to my dream-image of what the Tunch photos would look like. My psychic powers are obviously imperfect.

    I didn’t predict a glimpse of John’s calves, either. Nice ones.

  19. 19.

    SiubhanDuinne

    If RedKitten is around — and of course all other north of the 49th Juicers — Happy Canada Day!! You’re looking great for 143!

    RK, I hope you’ll take lots of pictures of Sam celebrating his first Canada Day.

  20. 20.

    TrishB

    I’m just happy that my little one ate a full dinner again tonight. It’s been a week since she decided food was icky, but it’s showing on her frame. She can’t have her full insulin dose when she doesn’t eat, so this has been killing me. Since when don’t dogs want food constantly?

  21. 21.

    IndyLib

    @slag:
    My big, goofy black tom cat can open the cabinet door beneath the sink in the bathroom and because there is too much stuff under there for his 17 lb fuzzy body to fit in there, he just knocks things out of the cabinet onto the floor. When he’s entertained himself sufficiently he shuts the door and delicately steps over all the stuff he knocked out of the cabinet and leaves the room.

    His new favorite trick is to leave beheaded mice on the mat on the front porch. No other injuries, just a separated head and body.

  22. 22.

    ellaesther

    Not sure how I feel about being able to envision your inner thighs and calves without, still, knowing what your face looks like.. but yeah… so, ok.

    The girls are lovely! Looks like Rosie knew what she was doing that day that she found you out and about and in need of another dog in your life.

  23. 23.

    beltane

    Pets are also good with kids. Not happy with one of my cats, though. He threw up all over the coach and now he wants to sleep on my bed.

  24. 24.

    KRK

    If I’m remembering correctly, when the BJ store first opened you were intending at some point to rotate which rescue organizations would be the beneficiary. Is that still the plan? Are you taking suggestions?

    Preemptive clarification: Charlie’s Angels is clearly a worthy organization and if you wanted to make them the permanent beneficiary that’s your call.

  25. 25.

    ellaesther

    @eemom: Yeah! Like me! I’m cool! I’m a blogger! And I show my mug!

    John Cole? You are not as cool as me. My mom (pls note the username of the commenter to whom I am replying, and remember what many have abbreviated my own username to…) says so!

  26. 26.

    Smileycreek

    Gotta love a man who loves his critters so much.

    Now I get why you’re no longer a Republican….too much empathy.

  27. 27.

    asiangrrlMN

    @ellaesther: I guess I’m not cool, then. I blog, but I don’t show my mug…at least not on the front page or the about me page. You can find…interesting…pics of me IN my blog, but you would have to go searching for ’em.

    P.S. I know what Cole looks like. Bwahahahahahahhaha!

  29. 29.

    ellaesther

    @beltane: You have a coach?

    Are you royalty? Or an English tour bus driver? Or — OMG — Cinderella?

    [pls note: author preemptively allows you to make any and all appropriate jokes when she makes her next typo]

  30. 30.

    KRK

    Also, too, I think you’d get some takers were the BJ store to offer “Team Tunch,” “Team Lily,” and “Team Rosie” gear.

  32. 32.

    Cliff

    John, Lily and tboggs pups with the extra oomph of Rosie pushed me over the edge.

    gots me a new rescued pupeh.

    *sigh*

  34. 34.

    ellaesther

    @asiangrrlMN: I HAVE SEEN A VERY INTERESTING PICTURE INDEED ON THE FRONT PAGE OF YOUR BLOG.

    Ahem.

    But perhaps now it has been archived, in order to maximize the mystery….

    And not incidentally: How on earth do you know what Cole looks like?

  35. 35.

    asiangrrlMN

    @ellaesther: Yes, well, it was in an entry so as I blogged on, the entry got pushed down. It can be found if one searches, but one would need to know the proper key words, and they aren’t the obvious ones. Ha!

    Actually, two different entries with four pics each.

    Cole: I have my vays….

  37. 37.

    eco2geek

    @eemom:

    Sheeyit, all the other COOL bloggers show us their mugs.

    You sort of provided your own answer there.
    /slap

    I’m relieved Cole got another dog to even out the weight distribution. Every time he posted a picture of Lily on his lap on the barcalounger I was worried the damn thing would tip over.

  41. 41.

    robertdsc

    Thank you for sharing your wonderful animals with us, John.

    Team Tunch fo lyfe, cuzz.

  45. 45.

    slag

    @IndyLib: I honestly don’t know what I’d do if my cats ever learned how to open doors from the outside. I imagine some solution involving velcro would be in order.

  48. 48.

    Cliff

    @asiangrrlMN:

    22″ tall to middle back, 25″ from collar to base of tail, I think she is way too petite to be pure rotti @ 7 months, only know mix bits are rotti-german shep, but she is tiny and points/sniffs like a hound .. so there had to be something else mixed in to reduce the size/girth.

  49. 49.

    eemom

    @demimondian:

    Electrical engineer?? Bwaaahaaaahaaaa.

    Though I CAN plug a cord into an outlet, change a lightbulb, and even flip the little circuit breaker thingies in the basement so the power goes back on. Does that count?

    Otherwise, I am just a simple mother whose name starts with E.

    ETA: And Ellaesther’s blog mom, also too. We E’s have gotta stick together.

  53. 53.

    demimondian

    @eemom: Hey, the demi-offspring have a mother who’s a drosophologist. She would tell you that there’s no such thing as a “simple” mother.

  54. 54.

    ellaesther

    @eemom: In fact, I wonder if you’re old enough to be my mom. Me being 45 and old. I suspect you might not even be old enough to be my babysitter. Or baby-sister.

  56. 56.

    slag

    @ellaesther:

    I just had such a lovely evening in my own darn backyard that I am a smidge-bit blissed out.

    Envious!

    I just had a lovely time watching part 3 of Jon Stewart’s interview with David Axelrod. It was nice but your’s sounds nicer!

  57. 57.

    Cliff

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Yea, So do I … still waiting on any available paperwork .. so far all I have to go on is observation and the sweetest local rotti male(cut) to compare against.

    she is very puppeh around older dogs, eliciting the owner scaring (many tourist dogs) harmless snaps and growls.

    aka… chill out puppeh, and I’ll meet you, just chill!!

  59. 59.

    demimondian

    Well, in 2 hours and thirty minutes, the youngest will be ten years old. This year is rife with significance for the kids: youngest turns two digits, middle turned 16 (and had his first experience driving on a street today), and the eldest turns 21.

    Suddenly, I feel very old.

  60. 60.

    eemom

    @ellaesther:

    well, I could be your older sister. Gonna be 48 next month.

    Yes….I will be 48. 2010 minus 1962 equals 48. Four-eight. Fifty minus two. “Middle aged” if life expectancy is 96. These are numbers. Numbers do not lie. Arithmetic is irrefutable. I will be 48.

    Er……sorry. My mental health professional recommended this form of “immersion therapy.”

  61. 61.

    Violet

    Late to the party, but wanted to say that your two doggies look the picture of contentment. What a happy family.

  63. 63.

    Janet Strange

    I’d just like to say thanks to all of the bj commenters. Tonight I found and downloaded about ten (free) iPad apps that look pretty cool, put Bell, Book, and Candle in my Netflix queue, and found the nearest place that carries what looks like some truly amazing vanilla. (That last one involved a trip over to the buttermilk pie recipe.)

    This is why I’m a blog addict. Especially this one. And the pets, of course.

  64. 64.

    fucen tarmal

    if they ever want to do a live action reality version of the comic strip garfield(not that they would, i hope its right under “do the right thing” a spike lee joint/ice show on the list of family entertainment adaptations)

    i nominate john cole for the lead.

  66. 66.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @eemom: You’re making me weep here. I’ll be 68 in early August. Not sure how that happened, I was 34 just a moment ago.

  67. 67.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @eemom: You’re making me weep here. I’ll be 68 in early August. Not sure how that happened, I was 34 just a moment ago.

    ETA: Half a frickin’ *lifetime* ago!

  68. 68.

    DickSpudCouchPotatoDetective

    @eemom:

    I was 48 sixteen years ago. And I don’t recall acting like it was a big deal, at the time.

    Maybe it’s a woman thing. I was in awesome shape when I was 48. I was riding a bike 100 miles a week, and felt fabulous. People in my family routinely live into their 90s, so when I was in my forties, I had half my life left to go.

    “Old” at 45? That’s just silly.

  69. 69.

    Janet Strange

    @IndyLib: Yep, started to thank you specifically for that one, but couldn’t remember who to thank for the rest. I’m a long time Mexican vanilla addict. In spite of occasional qualms about the source, there’s just no comparison. In the Olden Days, whenever someone was headed to Mexico, they had to bring back however many quarts . . . (liters?) at about $4 each they could bring across the border. I think they’re sold in liquor stores there and it counts a bottles of liquor for bringing things back across the border.

    Anyway, the place you recommended is probably more reliable for being sure there isn’t God know what in it. Not gonna be $4qt/L though.

  70. 70.

    General Egali Tarian Stuck

    Funny how that works. I was ready for Logan’s Run at 30, over the hill at 40, and now I don’t really give a shit about the age number. I just wish I hadn’t wasted all those years being dumb as a sack of hammers. Why can’t we be 50 when we first suck in our first breath of air. Would save a lot of heartache from one mistake after another from youthful indiscretion.

  71. 71.

    Yutsano

    Obligatory PUPPEH!! In more ways than one!

    So the whole excited/nervous feeling is taking over my brain now. Tomorrow I go to test and interview for the new job. My mom bullied my younger brother into going with me, o at least I’ll have someone to go on the long drive with. I most likely won’t be on much tomorrow as I still have to go to my current gig right after. Right now I’m just trying to remember to breathe!

  72. 72.

    eco2geek

    @Yutsano: Bonne chance!

    (Was that you who mentioned in a thread once that you needed to be aware of what was going on around you at work? My last job was like that. Made me wonder what you did.)

  73. 73.

    IndyLib

    @Janet Strange:

    Yep, been there with the Mexican vanilla. When I lived in Phoenix I always brought back cheap tequila and cheap vanilla from trips to Nogales. I’m pretty sure the vanilla was safer than the tequila, but it was a close thing.

    I love to use the Mexican vanilla in Mexican coffee and hot chocolate along with Mexican cinnamon (which is actually Ceylon cinnamon).

    Since I don’t drink anymore, I figure that I’ll shell out what I would have spent on the booze for the good vanilla.

  74. 74.

    jl

    Thanks for the cute doggy pics.

    What caught them dawgs’ attention in the second pic?

    Also, it might be my imagination but every time we get another one of these ‘thigh dogs at home’ pics, we get a little more beefcake (nice legs, Cole). Cole trolling for the ladies?

  75. 75.

    Yutsano

    @eco2geek: That’s entirely possible, as that state of affairs does match my work environment. It can be a touch chaotic, but we do have to pay attention to each other, especially when we “bounce” clients. It’s fun, or it used to be. Now it’s just grating.

    @IndyLib: I confess it: I’m a vanilla snob. I absolutely adore Madagascar vanilla. It to me has such a deep complex flavor unlike any other I’ve ever dealt with. Plus it’s readily available at Costco.

  76. 76.

    jl

    @Cliff: That is a cute dog. I read an article about how someone’s favorite sleeping posture is correlated with personality.

    Sleeping position gives personality clue
    Written by Hina Safdar on May 7th, 2010
    http://www.rewaj.com/health/sleeping-position-gives-personality-clue.html

    Translating into dog posture, I deem that dog to be a squid style sleeper, so it is friendly, helpful, avoids the limelight and is a good listener.

    Amirite?

    Or maybe in dog sleep posture it is a soldier: quiet, reserved, stolid, with high standards for itself and others.

  77. 77.

    Cat Lady

    Checking in from vacation in Santa Fe. Hi Stuck! Hi Ella!

    I’m visiting my oldest friend who is recovering from cancer and is also an ordained Buddhist priest. This avowed cat lady has been walking a dog every day. Not just any dog. The best. dog. ever. The answer to the koan “does a dog have a buddha nature”?

    Muji.

    Perfect weather. Green chile. Blue sky.

    Carry on.

  78. 78.

    IndyLib

    @Cat Lady:

    I love Santa Fe.
    Some of the best memories I have of spending time with my Mom were the spring breaks went there. We’d wander from gallery to gallery, check out all the jewelry stores and the jewelry for sale in the square. We’s always go to the Loretto Chapel to see the spiral staircase and I had my first cappuccino in the coffee house at the La Fonda. It’s such a beautiful, creative city.

  80. 80.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Yutsano: Hey, hon. Yes, you do have to remember to breathe. How far away is the interview? And, good that your brother will be going with you (stridently ignoring the mom bullying him into doing it). Remember, you can do this. More than that, you can ace this. Luck!

    @jl: I read that, too. I don’t sleep in any of those positions, so I guess my personality will remain a mystery.

  81. 81.

    tob

    Are you sure that is not an old picture of Jerry Garcia in a LayZBoy. In a b/w those furry things could be love handles.
    Or John you could just be eating to much! Being Jerry would be cooler but deadlier.

  82. 82.

    Staging a Comeback

    If you don’t have kids, you owe it to yourself and the animals to have pets.

    That’s true even if you DO have kids. There is a lot of literature out there that supports the idea that raising a child with a pet in the house helps turn that child into a more caring, empathetic adult.

    There really is no downside to having a pet that is not more than made up for by the positive.

  84. 84.

    Betty Cracker

    @Staging a Comeback: Co-signed. I have one child and two dogs. The dogs never demand that I take them to see “Eclipse” immediately, nor do they become embarrassed when I play “Blister in the Sun” on my ukulele in the presence of their friends. I submit dogs are more essential for parents than the child-free, if only to allow parents to maintain sufficient levels of self-esteem and receive adequate amounts of unconditional love through the teen years.

  86. 86.

    schrodinger's cat

    @John Cole: Are you being too modest? Now that we have seen your lovely legs we can’t wait to see the rest of your girlish figure.

    BTW where does Tunch sit? On your head?

  87. 87.

    Hugin & Munin

    SC@86: Tunch sits wherever he wants. 800 lb. Gorillas are jealous of him.

  90. 90.

    Ab_Normal

    @Betty Cracker:

    nor do they become embarrassed when I play “Blister in the Sun” on my ukulele in the presence of their friends

    Now I feel like a slacker, all I do is sing “Sunrise Sunset” acapella (and poorly).

  92. 92.

    Brachiator

    @Yutsano:

    So the whole excited/nervous feeling is taking over my brain now. Tomorrow I go to test and interview for the new job

    Good luck to you.

  94. 94.

    Dog is My Copilot

    We have two big dogs and two small dogs – all rescues. The small dogs are tougher to house train and we still have accidents in the house with them constantly. The two big dogs, golden retrievers – no problems in that department. All the dogs but one shed like crazy, too. The carpeting is constantly matted with dog hair (despite regular vacuuming) and I stopped trying a long time ago to get every single piece of dog hair off my clothing before I go to work. We love ’em all to death, though. They can be a pain at times, but they really add a lot to our lives. I really don’t know what we’d do for entertainment without the dogs!

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