This time I really, really mean it:
In other words, see you in an hour or so.
BTW- if you are looking for a last minute gift for yourself, I HIGHLY recommend the Bissell SpotBot. I was a little concerned it would leave circular patches where I used it, but it is very gentle and works like a charm. It’s a must have for people who have Jack Russell terriers who shit on the floor to punish their owner for their sins.
Cris
It’s not evident on the story itself, but my RSS feed displayed the headline for this New York Times Caucus article as “The Caucus: Senate Passes 9/11 Health Bill as Republicans Back Down.”
Which makes me want to go all Russ Hodges. Republicans Back Down! Republicans Back Down! *Republicans Back Down!*
Michael D.
Just in case I forget to say it later, Merry Christmas, Christian BJers.
I’ll be doing Chinese Food and a movie in the theater on Saturday. Any recommendations?
schrodinger's cat
Will the Bissel work on kitteh barfs too?
Uloborus
@Cris:
…when was the last time the Republicans were represented as backing down? You mean this ISN’T good news for John McCain?
Cris
Kung Bao Shrimp and Mu Shu Pork with extra crepes.
Maude
@schrodinger’s cat:
It’s a good company. Their rug cleaners work and last a long time.
MattR
@Cris: Dammit. You beat me to the snark.
@schrodinger’s cat: Bring your kitteh into the store and ask for a demonstration.
Kristine
@Michael D.: Yup.
A very Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year
let’s hope it’s a good one
without any tears.
Now I am off to bake these cookies (you need to page down about halfway). Only I will use crystallized ginger instead of fresh because that’s what I have. And I will toast the pecans first. Add a little instant espresso to boost the chocolate flavor. And finally, substitute a little white whole wheat flour for the all purpose to make them healthy.
Yeah, I know–I don’t believe it either.
Happy Hols, everyone!
MikeJ
@Michael D.: True Grit.
Not in the food. The Coen Bros. I’m not a big western fan, but I’m a movie fan. Xmas day I’ll be there with my popcorn.
Maude
@Kristine:
Does a tad of instant expresso boost chocolate flavor in any cookie recipe?
I used to make chocolate crinkles and had to use so much chocolate to get the flavor. They are the ones that you roll in confectioner’s sugar and they are really lovely.
arguingwithsignposts
happy kwanzukkahchristjulstice, BJ. And Cole, the real question is: will you respect us in the morning? Cudlip.
MikeJ
@Maude: Coffee boosts the awesome in everything it touches.
Maude
@MikeJ:
I drink a lot of it.
Kristine
@Maude: That’s my understanding. I learned about it from Ina Garten/Food Network, and I would check out one of her chocolate recipes to gauge amounts. The recipe that springs to mind is the one for chocolate ganache cupcakes.
I doubt I’ll add more than a teaspoon, maybe a teaspoon and a half. The trick is to accent the chocolate, not to add coffee flavor.
AhabTRuler
JCole: Have you ever thought about developing a coke habit? I ask because the Bissell SpotBot(TM) is god’s way of telling you that you have too much disposable income.
slag
Screw that. My last-minute* gift to myself is going to be all hardwood floors. Installed. End of January!
*=And by “last-minute”, I mean something I’ve been trying to get done since summertime and am only just now succeeding at.
The Grand Panjandrum
Nice video of Dan Choi getting his West Point ring back from Harry Reid after DADT repeal was signed into law. Props to Barry, Nancy and Harry for having a pretty damn good run over the past two years. I just hope that pony arrives in the FDL mailbox soon or we’re going to see them all chained to the White House fence until they do.
EDIT: So John does this mean I’ll stop by tomorrow morning and see at least a dozen new posts up from you? Or do you really, really, really, REALLY mean it?
Mary G
Dang, I just talked myself out of getting that at Costco!
I was reading a few comments at Hot Air and laughing at all the “Obama sold us out” type language now being flung at the Republicans who voted for the 9/11 responders and DADT and START at the last minute.
Example:
Edit: Link http://hotair.com/archives/2010/12/22/breaking-deal-reached-on-911-responder-health-bill/comment-page-1/#comments
Sounds familiar, no?
Also, the clouds opened up briefly this afternoon to let us see a bitty patch of blue sky and one ray of sunshine after a week’s straight rain. So great. Last night it rained so hard my driveway turned into a lake and a little water got into my garage because the drains were overwhelmed. Lost 3 big cartons of cat litter. Better than a mudslide, though.
MikeJ
@slag: If you had used the bully pulpit there would have been no long delay.
Dean
Where you fishing at there dude? That’s not Stranglethorn Vale is it?
arguingwithsignposts
@The Grand Panjandrum:
Awesome video is awesome. thank you. and thanks harry reid, who gets a lot of shit that should be directed elsewhere.
slag
@MikeJ: Maybe. But the project only really started to go downhill when all of my potential contractors started demanding to see my birth certificate.
R-Jud
I… did you see… but… what?
— Pat Motherfucking Robertson, 17 December 2010
ErinSiobhan
OMG… you FISH?!
That’s what my six year old daughter is for.
Maude
@slag:
Pre finished flooring?
Oak, light or dark?
Hardwood floors are beautiful.
Bnut
Just want to say to all th BJ crowd: Happy Whateveryoucelebrate. I discovered this blog a year ago during the holiday season and I am hook/line/sinker in deep. Maybe this year someone else will get snatched up.
Chat Noir
Do we have any word about Suzanne and her new baby (and new kitteh) yet? Lots of good vibes going her way in AZ.
We were going to see a movie on Xmas Day, but nothing appeals to us. I wanted to see “The King’s Speech” but it’s no where near SE Michigan and I can’t find out when it plays here.
The husband’s job is moving us to Chicago (his company is paying for the move!) in the new year. Does anyone have any suggestions or advice on how to move three cats from Oakland County, MI, to Chicago, IL, with minimal stress on said three cats and two humans? The Wheaten Terror loves a long car ride to anywhere so moving him is not an issue.
Any suggestions are appreciated.
jibeaux
I move we resume the wine blogging thread here.
Roger Moore
Maybe your problem going Galt from B-J is because B-J is your way of going Galt from the rest of the world. How do you go Galt from going Galt?
jibeaux
@Chat Noir:
Read this?
So that whatever happens at least you’ll feel better knowing that didn’t?
Lysana
@R-Jud:
Well, look who finally had his broken clock moment.
jacy
@Michael D.:
Movie? I’m for True Grit, while the S/O wants Tron. Either way, it’s a Jeff Bridges Christmas.
Phyllis
My early present to me came today, ‘The Autobiography of Mark Twain’. I shall savor it in bits. Mainly because the thing weighs a ton.
True Grit is part of our Christmas day plans as well. I have a furlough day and another holiday in January, and I’m hoping The King’s Speech will be in these parts one of those days so I can sneak off and see it on my own. Not a flick the SO would go out of his way to see, I don’t think.
Linda Featheringill
@Chat Noir:
Moving cats:
It has been my experience that the kitties wail pitifully for 20-30 minutes and then they shut up and settle down. Unless you stop for something, then you have to go through the whole thing again.
My daughter once did a move with the felines in cages that had wire on top so they could see all around. They seemed happier with that. After the requisite wailing, of course.
When you get to the new place, put them in their cages in the room where their bathroom is, with the bathroom already set up [with a familiar brand of litter]. Open the cages and walk away and close the door for 20-30 minutes or so. Then I’d open the door and invite them to explore.
Good luck.
Edited because I can’t spell.
arguingwithsignposts
@Chat Noir:
well, can’t offer any suggestions re: catigration, but chicago is teh awesome. :)
(catigrating Lady Smudge with two others over the holidays, too – so, wish us luck)
soonergrunt
Happy whatever to you all.
The bissell spot bot thing is OK, but have children to abuse and only one small well behaved dog, so instead I got one of these:
LG 47″ 120Hz LED/LCD TV
Phyllis
@jacy: Jeff Bridges under my tree. Now that would be a great Christkwanzfestivus.
Omnes Omnibus
Stupid double post.
Omnes Omnibus
@Michael D.: Moo shu.
Bill H.
Or have cats who barf everywhere just because they are cats.
@schrodinger’s cat: Yes.
@Chat Noir: Cats are eventaully pragmatists. They will bitch like hell until they get bored with it, and then will decide that “this is the way it’s always been.”
Alison
@Chat Noir: Bring cleaning supplies with you, and/or extra towels or blankets or whatever for their carriers.
My old cat crapped in his carrier while we were on the freeway. That was fun. Where “fun” means “awful”. Had to just pull out the blankie, wrap it up and leave it in the ditch along the road. Yeah, I littered. Oh well.
Best of luck – hopefully your aminals are a little less wacko than mine was…
change
The only way Hopey McChange got any of this done was by rolling over for us on taxes and on the budget.
So, the Republican House–full of Tea Party freshmen–gets to write next year’s budget.
I don’t know about you, liberals, but it sounds to me as though the insane duck was a pyrrhic victory for you.
And you don’t even realize it.
Shame.
arguingwithsignposts
@change: how does it feel, having that rammed down your throat, Rush?
Chyron HR
@change:
Tea Party freshmen like Scott Brown, huh?
How’s that Massachusettsy thingy workin’ out for ya?
Gravenstone
@change: Clutch that straw, drowning man, clutch that straw.
change
@Chyron HR:
Brown was never a part of the Tea Party.
change
Even liberal Chris Matthews says there’s going to be a big showdown over the budget next year, a government shutdown if Hopey doesn’t play ball.
March will be high noon in Washington, and the Tea Party is ready to do battle for fiscal sanity.
Chyron HR
@change:
Vroom-vroom, another one goes under the bus! Airbrush him out of the pictures! Send him to Siberia!
burnspbesq
@Phyllis:
As soon as my hardcover copy showed up, I said, “OK, that’s a Christmas gift for the spouse” and bought an e copy for my iPad. That’s too much book for me.
South of I-10
One more day of work, then vacation until January 3. I won’t know what to do with myself!
Perfect Tommy
Overlooked in the media frenzy covering the passage of the DADT repeal, First Responders bill and the START treaty was the passage of H.R. 81: The Shark Conservation Act of 2009.
H.R. 81 restricts the practice of shark “finning” by making it illegal:
(i) to remove any of the fins of a shark (including the tail) at sea;
(ii) to have custody, control, or possession of any such fin aboard a fishing vessel unless it is naturally attached to the corresponding carcass;
(iii) to transfer any such fin from one vessel to another vessel at sea, or to receive any such fin in such transfer, without the fin naturally attached to the corresponding carcass; or
(iv) to land any such fin that is not naturally attached to the corresponding carcass, or to land any shark carcass without such fins naturally attached;
The bill the House in March and passed by Unanimous Consent in the Senate with changes on 12/20.
The House passed the Senate amended version by a voice vote on 12/21.
The bill now awaits President Obama’s signature.
General Stuck
rented the movie The Town down at the local mart, so hope it’s good.
And is this “change” troll some kind sputtering nonsense bot churning out one lame right wing idjit phrase after another. I bet it is Jane remote controlled, pulling your alls dicks.
robertdsc-PowerBook
@change:
LOL.
burnspbesq
If you are wonky about net neutrality, you might enjoy this.
http://yalelawandpolicy.org/interalia
The full text of the rules that were adopted by the FCC yesterday should be in the Federal Register tomorrow or Monday.
General Stuck
Just spent a while surfing around the FDL asylum and they are proud as peacocks for causing all these liberal bills to get passed and holding the Obambis hand down making him sign them against his corporatist sellout will. It’s like Peter Pan declared marshal law over there.
soonergrunt
@General Stuck: It is. Very surprising. Who knew Ben Affleck could act?
I must admit, I didn’t see that one coming.
General Stuck
@soonergrunt:
cool
metalgirl
@Maude: @Kristine:
You should use espresso powder which you can get from here: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/espresso-powder-2-oz . They also have it in an 8 oz. pkg. They recommend about 3 Tbs per normal cake recipe. I add it to other candies that aren’t chocolate and it’s delicious :)
Good luck with your baking!
Anne Laurie
@Michael D.: __
Su Chang’s for us — best Chinese restaurant north of Boston.
Probably TEMPEST afterwards. But anybody looking for a more butch movie, UNSTOPPABLE is a whole bunch of noisy entertainment value. Good salt-of-the-earth proletarian message, and Startrekschris Pines holds his own well enough against Denzel Washington that I’m now confident movie critics will start using the man’s original first name eventually.
SiubhanDuinne
@Alison #40:
Crap is biodegradable. That, or a JRT will eat it.
If the blankie was some natural fibre, you’re golden.
JMC_in_the_ATL
@Chat Noir: I have made multiple cross-country moves with cats, and after trial and error, I have developed a few methodologies:
1. I prefer pet carriers that open from the top as well as the front. It is easier to load cats feet first than head first. PetSmart sells one that is marketed as a small dog carrier that I like.
2. Open up the carriers and set them out a few days before the move and place them in the cats’ napping spots, so the cats have time to get used them. Include one of the towels from #3 below so if they choose to use the carrier for napping, the towels smell familiar.
3. Buy a bulk package of cheap kitchen towels from wherever and put one on the bottom of the crate. Toss and replace whenever there’s sufficient puke / crap / pee. While one’s ideal is not have any of those happen, in my experience at least one will. The towel will sop up much of the liquid, making the cat slightly less miserable, and make cleanup easier.
4. I save all receipts used for pet moving expenses and include them in my moving tax deduction on my 1040A. Your mileage may vary. I’m a CPA and am comfortable with the idea of defending that deduction to the IRS, if that matters.
5. I would pick up their food the night before and the water day-of. Cats are very resilient regarding food and water in the short run, and it strongly decreases the chance of accidents.
6. Going by Google Maps, it looks like a single-day move. I have a heck of a lot more to add for multi-day moves, but no need overload with information.
Anne Laurie
While we’re talking housepride, anybody got advice or recommendations about steamers for cleaning? I’d like something that would remove cleaning-up-after-dogs residue from sealed hardwood & vinyl, and also for use after the Spousal Unit fries meat in our unvented kitchen. Are any of the combo units actually any good, or should I resign myself to two separate cleaning devices?
burnspbesq
@soonergrunt:
I also have that on my iPad waiting to be watched. Curious to see if Jon Hamm can actually act.
Reviews have convinced me I’m going to see “True Grit.” why is it that so many discussions of the Coen brothers’ work fail to mention “Millers’s Crossing,” which I thought was one of the best movies of the 1980s.
lol
@Chat Noir:
Get some Fel-Away artificial cat pheromone. Expensive but surprisingly effective at soothing nerves.
SiubhanDuinne
I know this is already out there, but I’ll ask again: ANYONE HEARD FROM SUZANNE?
soonergrunt
@General Stuck: Another good one is The Hurt Locker.
Once you get past the minor detail nits (weapon scopes don’t have crosshairs, for example) it’s a pretty good movie. Jeremy Renner, who is also in The Town, does a great job portraying this guy whose life is balanced on the knife-edge between heroism and disaster. The scene near the end where he’s in the stateside commissary and he’s looking at the entire aisle of breakfast cereal and he just kind of has a BSOD cause it’s overwhelming to him just felt so incredibly real. I sat in the theatre with tears running down my face because I knew exactly what that was like to be faced with so many options for a simple decision that it’s overwhelming when just a week prior I was making snap life and death decisions with little to no information and here I can’t even decide if I want to get the granola or the maple nut crunch.
Renner did as good a job in The Town as he did in The Hurt Locker.
Spiffy McBang
…is that an undead warlock doing the fishing?
Bnut
@General Stuck: I would not say he can act. He is actually a rather decent director though. After ‘The Town’, watch ‘Gone Baby Gone’, which is a much better representation of the modern Boston crime drama. ‘The Town’ is very good film, I would say mostly due to Ben’s brother Casey, who has turned out to be the actor Ben wanted to be. Plus, it has the best shooutout scene since Heat, IMHO.
Edit: sorry, a little drunk. Meant that Casey is awesome in Gone Baby Gone, and Renner steals the show in the Town.
General Stuck
@soonergrunt:
The Hurt Locker was a great movie. Seen it a couple of times.
soonergrunt
@burnspbesq: I love anything by the Cohen Brothers.
The Hudsucker Proxy is one of the funniest things I’ve ever watched.
@SiubhanDuinne:
Sorry, no. I haven’t been around here a lot in the last few days though.
Bnut
@soonergrunt: LOVE the Hudsucker Proxy. See A Serious Man if you haven’t.
John Cole
@Dean: South of Uldum.
Anne Laurie
@soonergrunt: __
… and for Something Completely Different, check out Renner in “The Unusuals“, available on Netflix instant streaming.
Wonderful quirky show in general — which is, of course, why it was cancelled so quickly — but I particularly noticed Renner doing ‘The Guy at the Still Point’ that Bill Murray has been striving & mostly failing to pull off since the 1970s.
Joseph Nobles
All returning Democratic senators have signed a letter to Harry Reid saying that the filibuster must be reformed. January 5, it’s on!
Calouste
@change:
Ok DougJ, you can stop spoofing now, that gave the game away.
soonergrunt
@Bnut: I’ll put it on the list.
Intolerable Cruelty is another lesser known Coen Brothers movie that’s worth a rental.
Annie
@arguingwithsignposts:
Good luck. Please post some pictures of the Lady with her new friends!
@Chat Noir:
When we moved back from Sarajevo to DC, our vet gave some drugs to help calm our kitty while she was on the plane. We bought business class tickets so she could travel with us. She did fine — several times popped her head out of the her box, looked around, and then went back to sleep. My husband said the only mistake was that the vet didn’t give me drugs. Clearly, I seemed to need them more than she did. I was a wreck worrying about her.
soonergrunt
@Anne Laurie: I will, thanks!
We’re going to start netflix after the last of the Christmas bills, so probably some time in late January, early February in time for my birthday.
schrodinger's cat
@Chat Noir: If you can move the cats after you move in the furniture, they will be much happier. When we moved from Maine to Maryland, for a week we lived in an almost bare house and the kittehs were not happy.
While driving with kittehs we avoided driving after sunset, they seemed much happier. We also took them out for shorter drives, before moving so that they wouldn’t be spooked about riding in a car.
Kristine
@metalgirl @Maude: I used Medaglia Doro espresso powder today–it’s what I had in the cupboard. I think I only used about a tsp and a half. I didn’t want to kill anything. Maybe I should have used more.
Guittard extra dark choc chips (63% cacao) taste better than Ghirardelli 60 %. IMO.
Late getting to the cookies. First batch is in the oven, and they smell good.
My rec? If you make a lot of thick doughs, don’t get the Kitchenaid Artisan. Step up to the Pro. Granted, this cookie dough is thicker than usual, but it crawled up the sides of the bowl and tried to escape–I had to beat it back with a spatula. The mixer seemed to struggle a bit. Haven’t tried to make bread dough with it yet.
jibeaux
@Calouste:
Yup, even without the “the”. Not to mention this —
change
Chris “Tingle Up My Leg” Matthews was a speech writer for Jimmy Carter and an aide to Tip O’Neil, and even considered running for Senate from PA as the Democrat nominee.
He’s a liberal, no matter how much you want to deny it.
Chyron HR
@change:
CHRIS MATTHEWS: ‘BUSH BELONGS ON MOUNT RUSHMORE’
Lemme guess, Free Republic is a hotbed of liberalism?
jibeaux
@Calouste:
Hmm, it’s got the Democrat as an adjective and the obligatory misspelling, and missing the reference entirely. I think it could go either way. DougJ, bland spoofs are bland. Bring back birdzilla.
jibeaux
@Chyron HR:
Even the liberal Free Republic…
soonergrunt
@change: That you think Tip O’Neill or Jimmy Carter were or are actual liberals just goes to show what a stupid motherfucker you really are. Please hang yourself, because you are sorry-assed oxygen thief.
Carol
@MikeJ: DVDs and Chinese Takeout. I have no specific movie recommendations, but make sure it’s at least a 2-dvd collection. Chinese Food? Takeout whatever it is, and green tea.
Geeno
John, you have to fish in the schools, or it won’t count towards the guild fishing achievement.