(Non Sequitur, Wiley Miller)
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How has Obama / Balloon Juice / the Universe disappointed you today?
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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
Bark louder, little dog.
Optimism opens the door to great things.
I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.
My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.
I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.
There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.
Their freedom requires your slavery.
Is trump is trying to break black America over his knee? signs point to ‘yes’.
This fight is for everything.
Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.
I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.
Accountability, motherfuckers.
Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!
Fear or fury? The choice is ours.
If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.
Let’s not be the monsters we hate.
Be a wild strawberry.
I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.
Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.
Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers
“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”
So fucking stupid, and still doing a tremendous amount of damage.
There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.
We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.
colleeniem
I’m mad at the Universe, because Pete Postlethwaite died of cancer at 64, too young in my opinion. Everyone should do themselves a favor and find the movie Brassed Off if they can. A wonderful movie, an even better actor.
RIP.
.
What a Calvin & Hobbes ripoff that strip is. Not good to put yourself in perpetual comparison to the greatest comic of all time.
General Stuck
@colleeniem:
I thought he looked poorly in The Town, I just watched the other day. RIP
BGinCHI
@colleeniem: That’s sad news indeed. Great actor. His last name is really fun to say too.
He’s also great in “The Name of the Father,” with D Day Lewis.
fasteddie9318
@General Stuck:
Agreed; I was surprised to see that he was only 64, because he looked much older in that film. Some of that could have been make up, I guess, but he really didn’t look good.
Hell of an actor though.
The Dangerman
I wanted Obama to use his Executive Powers to make First Monday a Holiday; dramatically disappointing. On the plus side, Arnold is no longer Governor for about 2 hours now, so, on balance, it’s all good.
Alison
No one has instituted mandatory nap time at my work yet.
This is a major fail. 2011 sucks. And I’m fucking tired.
Punchy
How many hours until Dick Rodriguez is canned?
And how many nanoseconds after the firing is Jim Harbaugh intro’d as the new skipper?
Comrade Javamanphil
@colleeniem: Brassed Off is indeed a complete gem, as was Mr. Postlethwaite.
PurpleGirl
Not disappointed about anything right now. Then too, also, I stayed home all day and stayed in very casual clothes. Didn’t even go to get mail. (Might do that later, though.)
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
Nope, not cooperating. I’m going to keep on being ecstatic that it’s not 2010 anymore for as long as possible.
The Dangerman
@Punchy:
I’m thinking he engages the 49ers and Michigan in a bidding war, takes the winning bid to Stanford, and signs an extension for that value; I’ve been to Ann Arbor, lovely campus and all, but Stanford is a pretty good gig.
Comrade Javamanphil
@.: As much as I love Calvin and Hobbes, it really is number 2 to Peanuts. You really have to understand what the comic strip landscape was when Peanuts emerged to truly appreciate how revolutionary and dark a strip it was.
Eric S.
The Girl’s flight back from Jackson Hole was delayed 7 hours. Mechanical problems. She landed at 12:30 AM and I was on chauffeur and bag porter duty. Today was my first day back to work after a mandatory 2 week lay off. None of my security to use any of our applications has been reinstated as of yet. I’m going into my 8th hour of boredom on less than 4 hours sleep.
If I get home and find my HDMI Switch was not delivered I will declare today a complete failure until the bartender pours my first pint.
singfoom
The universe has disappointed me today by making nicotine such an evil molecule. My attempts to kick it in the recent past have been unsuccessful.
Now armed with Nicorette and willpower, I shall overcome. The headache and irritation of the next 3 days will continue to disappoint. Can’t wait for the physical cravings to subside….
ETA: RIP Peter Postlethwaite. One of the best actors ever. Loved his work in the Sharpe’s series as the evil Seargant.
Jules
I’m disappointed at the universe because 2011 is only 3 days old and we already have an unexpected bill in the form of a new alternator for our truck….I had assumed we might get to Feb before something broke down.
We just never, ever seem to be able to get ahead.
A bit of overtime means that something is going to break at our house.
BGinCHI
Working at the library on a new course (on Film Noir) and there is no beer here.
Thanks Obama.
Martin
I’m disappointed that the common cold is still with us. I tried to make a go of it at work today all loaded up on meds, but we still have no heat (3 weeks and counting) and no hot water (9 months and counting). A long sleeve shirt, sweater, hoodie, and my rain jacket and I was still shivering in my office and had to leave at lunch.
Yes, we public employees are a spoiled lot.
Tim I
As a certified O-bot, I am deeply disappointed that the White House disallowed topless photos of the President at the beach.
Clearly, we are living in a fascist/socialist dictatorship.
BGinCHI
@Martin: Where do you work, 1842?
trollhattan
Attention: Dennis G
In honor of the looming Glorious Sesquintennial of Southern Manliness and Nobility, a Robert E. Lee documentary, slaves included.
miller-mccune.com/media/robert-e-lee-without-the-halo-26412/
Must-see teevee.
Punchy
Dear Pennsylvania:
Enjoy the new GOP leadership you just elected. I’m sure they’ll be swift to start regulating this abortion. Or not. Not to mention, I’m sure this quagmire will stay within the borders of PA and not flow out into neighboring states. Or not.
Oh to be a bottled water distributor in PA right now.
Foobar
I just received an email from my well-to-do, limbaugh-lovin, USA not-ready-for-AA-president, obama-a-secret-muslim email forwarding friend (we dont talk politics anymore)… regarding a environmental watershed preservation group. Coincidently, his house fronts the watershed. Thats some strong Jujitsu Triple Lindy NIMBYism or something.
Svensker
@singfoom:
You have heard it before, but I’ll reiterate – it is totally worth it. After you get through the tough few days (and why wouldn’t you be able to do that? srsly?) it will be easy. And then you will wonder why the hell you smoked for all those years, cuz it is a dumbass thing to do.
Oh, and I too blame Obama for the cold that is creeping up on me. And no Monday Night Football!
Tattoosydney
@singfoom:
Fuck nicotine. Evil fucking fucker.
/trying to give up too
Pangloss
@BGinCHI: The entire Obama administration has a distinctly Jaques Tourneur feel. That 2008 election was like Jeff Bailey and Kathy Moffat on the beach in Mexico.
BGinCHI
@Pangloss: Sarah Palin as The Woman in the Window?
Also, note to Jeff Bailey. If you want to hide out and/or drop out of society, don’t open a gas station with your name on it on a main road. That’s the kind of thing that leads to your film getting all noired up.
General Stuck
I now have running water again. You don’t miss it till it’s gone.
Nolo complaints
Yutsano
@Tattoosydney: If you need a nag from the other side of the ocean, I’m here for you hon. Trust me, according to the Dawg I’m quite adept at nagging. :)
CynDee
Has not disappointed me; just tuckered today and going to bed now with my clothes on after I put the garbage out. Pretty day around here. Nice air, nice doggie on the rug tracking something in his sleep.
Love 2011. Never thought I’d live this long, so I guess I’ll do all I can to make it count. After a good night’s sleepzz.
kdaug
@General Stuck:
I’ve heard the same thing about knees.
cynickal
I’m disappointed in the lack of Glenn Greenwald and/or FDL flamewars so far.
Also after calling for a manual OS update on my ‘droid, it’s still not updated.
singfoom
@Tattoosydney: Once you’ve got past the physical cravings, I’ve heard chewing gum (non-nicotine) helps a bunch for the first weeks where you’re missing something on the psychological level.
I also suggest the Robert Anton Wilson method for getting rid of bad self-behaviors. Every time you feel yourself want a cigarette, push your forefingernail into your thumb as painfully as possible. (From what I remember, he used that to stop saying I, read about it a long time ago).
My thumb is already sore. :)
gene108
The lottery ticket I bought only gave me back $15 and not the jackpot prize I was hoping for.
I personally hate every asshole, who wins the lottery, who isn’t me. Those jackasses keep buying my winning numbers.
Chris
I’m back at work. That’s how the universe has disappointed me today.
Chris
@.:
And Calvin and Hobbes is no longer running. That’s how the universe has kept me disappointed since 1995. “The greatest comic of all time” doesn’t even begin to describe it.
fasteddie9318
I blame Obama for trying to slow this country’s inevitable descent to rock fucking bottom. I’ve got a lot of popcorn stored up and I want to use it, goddamnit!
arguingwithsignposts
I’m personally pissed that I take a week off from this place and the planet is still going to shit. On the other hand, Lady Smudge has made a new friend. More photos at the link. Also, check out The Somebody’s list of good albums of 2010, if you haven’t seen it yet. It’s pretty big.
Dracula
I understood, in order of appearance: Obama, 2008, Mexico. You goddamn elitists make me sick.
Alex S.
Because of World of Warcraft I forgot to make a call. I blame the universe.
Jo
Obama has not disappointed me today, but frustrates me often.
Balloon Juice never disappoints.
I am a fluke of the Universe and the Universe is laughing behind my back.
trollhattan
@General Stuck:
Spent better part of a week last fall sans operating sewer line. Talk about getting kicked into Maslow’s basement. Anyhoo, it was a reminder simple things are very important, even when they cost a month’s wages to resurrect.
daveNYC
Sorry, I can’t think about Peanuts without remember how much of a waste of space it became over the last few decades.
Ross Hershberger
Nicotine gum rocks. It’s my favorite addiction. Target has 220-packs for about $36. I get two at a time. Who needs cigarettes?
I don’t know how he did it, but Obama has ruined my eyesight. I demand a Congressional investigation. I just spent 4.5 HOURS assembling a watch and I used to do that in 25 minutes. Damn winding rotor kept getting in the way of the case screws. Why does Obama hate my vision so much?
Maybe I should quit buying dials from Taiwan. But that’s his fault too.
BGinCHI
@arguingwithsignposts: Thanks for that. Great list, though it’s most of the records released last year….. (ha)
Happy to see Harlem (so great that record) and Frightened Rabbit.
arguingwithsignposts
@BGinCHI:
Actually, it’s less than 50 percent! :)
BGinCHI
@arguingwithsignposts: Are there any garages not full of bands?
I hope not.
Maude
@Alex S.:
And when you do call, you can’t even use that as an excuse.
I was dragging around all day.
Alex S.
@Maude:
Yeah, I’m going to need a while until I come up with something.
WaterGirl
@arguingwithsignposts: Okay, so that’s twice now that you have mentioned Lady Smudge’s new friend. Does that mean arguingwithsignposts has made a new friend (who has a cat) or that you and Lady Smudge have adopted a new kitty? (inquiring minds want to know!)
TooManyJens
The universe has disappointed me by making my weight stay exactly the same no matter what I do.
Maybe the half-marathon training will help, she said optimistically.
arguingwithsignposts
@BGinCHI:
And are there no poorhouses? I have a band in my own “garage” that I hope to release in the new year too. I’ll keep BJ denizens posted, if y’all wish. :)
aside: I watched that list develop over the last month, and it was down to about 150 at one point, but The Somebody is not a critic, but a music lover, so she didn’t rank the albums. She also flung a wide net. I don’t know that she’ll do that this year. If you don’t want to delve into all the links, there’s a link on the blog post to a song from every album. Lots of stuff I’d never heard before.
Maude
@Alex S.:
It was something you ate at lunch. You got awfully sick. People don’t want to hear details on that. It should get you out of an uncomfortable call.
Brachiator
@colleeniem:
Great actor and great body of work. Along with all the other memorable films mentioned, he was great in the supporting role as the lawyer, Kobayashi in The Usual Suspects.
Violet
@arguingwithsignposts:
Do you have a new kitty? Or was that a visiting kitty, like for the holidays? Inquiring minds and all…
arguingwithsignposts
@WaterGirl:
Sorry, WG, apparently only late night BJers have gotten the memo. There is The Somebody, who likes music, and has two cats. LS traveled with me to the city of caterly love over the holiday break.
ETA: also @Violet – the TSA security checkpoint was actually not that bad with the kitteh.
sb
@TooManyJens: I’m training for a full one, myself. It is not uncommon for runners of their first marathons to weigh the same or even a little more on race day. The weight really starts coming down in subsequent races.
The hardest thing for me is to get inspiration since I’m training solo and it’s my first time running in…. well, forever. I’d suggest Galloway’s book “Marathon” and McDougall’s book which I’ve recommended to everyone and their mother (Born to Run).
Good luck!
Svensker
@arguingwithsignposts:
Oooh, goodie!
Brachiator
@singfoom:
You think you got problems. The weirdest story I’ve seen in a while has to do with smoking in Japan (Pfizer Caught Short of Antismoking Drug in Japan)
The crazy thing is that sales of the drug in the US slumped after health effects were noted. So I wonder why it’s being pushed so hard in Japan, especially given some of its worst side effects.
You would think that the last thing in the universe the Japanese would want is a drug that encourages aggression and thoughts of suicide.
BGinCHI
@arguingwithsignposts: I’ll get to work listening. I know a lot of what’s there, but hope some strange stuff that I like emerges.
And do keep us posted on bands and gigs.
sb
” You would think that the last thing in the universe the Japanese would want is a drug that encourages aggression and thoughts of suicide.”
I see what you did there. :)
Martin
@BGinCHI: California. But surely there’s more waste to cut in the budget. Maybe they could take the roof off of my office and save a few bucks.
BGinCHI
@Martin: Once they bust the unions they’ll just fire everyone the year before they retire. Pension problem solved.
Feel better.
Uloborus
@Svensker:
I would smoke if it weren’t addictive. I like smoke and I like the visuals involved. I refuse to touch chemical addiction with a ten foot cigarette, though. I’ll put it down with ‘jumping off roofs’ with things that seem like fun but are too dangerous!
singfoom
@Brachiator: Jesus. I get aggressive and irritable enough when I go through nicotine withdrawal. I won’t be using anything beyond nicotine gum to come off of it, but an actual drug that you use to deal with the withdrawal that mirrors withdrawal symptoms? And increases suicidal ideation?
Treatment option fail. I’ve never even heard of said drug. There’s a tentacle joke in there somewhere, but I’m not going to drag it out. :)
Nellcote
I’m disappointed that BJ hasn’t solved the problem of the random left hand margin yet.
WaterGirl
@arguingwithsignposts: I’m so happy for you!
After the november elections, I took a break from BJ and everything else remotely political. Somehow passing the repeal of DADT made it okay enough for me to engage again.
So I must have missed the whole whole thing when you got together with your mystery person. :-) Can you point me to a BJ post or a date where I can go to scope out everything I want to know?
Sko Hayes
@Nellcote:
I’m having a hard time myself. Couldn’t read several comment threads or posts because the text scrolls off to the right of the page in a single line for an entire paragraph (and under the ads, of course).
Compatibility view will straighten out the post, but if you click into the comments, it’s off again.
I’m having the same problem on different computers, and different IE versions.
But in this thread and a couple of others, there’s no problem. Go figure.
alwhite
@Comrade Javamanphil:
Funny, I have thought Peanuts was number 2 for 30 years or so now. It started out as dark & funny but became cute & bleak.
I don’t recognize this strip though, what is it?
Anne Laurie
@alwhite: __
Non Sequitor, by Wiley (Miller), via http://www.gocomics.com. Sorry, should’ve credited better!
Mnemosyne
@arguingwithsignposts:
Awww! I love to see kitties getting along. It’s good to see that you recognize what a friendly gesture that tail is.
I don’t know why I was totally convinced that you were one of our many gay commenters, but I was. Imagine my shock when I figured out that The Somebody is a woman! ;-)
Mnemosyne
@BGinCHI:
You’re probably long gone from the thread, but the film major in me wants to know which side you come down on in the film noir debate: genre or style? In the light of A Star is Born (noir musical), Unfaithfully Yours (noir comedy) and Mildred Pierce (noir women’s film), I come down pretty firmly on the “style” side, but I’m always curious to see what “genre” proponents have to say.
MrBold
This is a status message on face book just sent in by youtube:
“YouTube: How cool is it that Justin Bieber Tweeted this fan-made video of his work?”
I just lost all respect for youtube.