Via Jezebel, the story of a missed opportunity to be well rid of bad rubbish:
Upon hearing that [Westboro Baptist Church] WBC intended on protesting the funeral of Robin Williams (because of course they would) Australian comedian Adam Hills challenged the hate-group on his show The Last Leg. Via the Advocate:
“If you really believe in standing up to those threatening the Christian way of life, Westboro Baptist Church, how about putting your money where your mouth is, taking a direct flight to Iraq [to protest ISIS],” he said this week, also offering to pay for first-class airfare.
Naturally, many people offered to donate money to help ferry the WBC loons to their doom. In response, WBC tweeted the following:
We accepted! Whence tickets? @PhilCooke: An offer to fly WBC members 2 Iraq 2 protest. Sounds like good idea to me.
But then Hills demurred and donated the cash raised online to worthy causes instead. Fuckitty fuck. Sometimes being a non-sociopath is just no fun at all.
Speaking of the bugfuck-crazy ISIS/ISIL fucks, it looks like the authorities may have already figured out the identity of the sick fuck who sawed that unfortunate journalistâs head off. I successfully avoided all but about five seconds of media rebroadcasts of the snuff film excerpts, but when I heard the murdererâs voice on the news, I figured it wouldnât take an âEnry âIggins to place his accent and thus significantly narrow down the vast pool of religion-crazed sociopaths from which he slithered.
Iâm not crazy about our drone program (or US meddling in that part of the world in general), but development of a Hellfire missile capable of targeting based on dialect and the proximity of AK-47s starts to sound like a good idea. But that money could undoubtedly be better used weeding violent, racist dickheads out of domestic police forces or funding universal pre-K. Le sigh.
This is one of those scenarios that tend to separate liberals from conservatives, I think. It’s easy to hate people like that sadistic, head-lopping Johnny Jihadi asshole. It’s understandable to have a knee-jerk desire to see a Hellfire missile light his ass up, just as it’s possible to understand why commenters on murder case stories in newspaper sites share their lurid fantasies about what THEY would do to the killer.
But the difference between most liberals and hardcore wingnuts is that we get that our knee-jerk reactions aren’t a sound basis for policy. Like I said, sometimes being a non-sociopath is just no fun at all.
Unrelated: I made shrimp étouffée last night. It was good:
In my recipe, I use a tiny bit of filĂ© powder, which is usually used in gumbo, not Ă©touffĂ©e, but I like it in both. Anyway, in my Ă©touffĂ©e recipe, timing is very important. If you donât have all your stuff lined up ready to add at the proper moment, you can screw up the entire dish, which would really suck after hulling all those fucking shrimp, boiling their stinky-ass shells to make stock, chopping all those fucking veggies and whisking that goddamn roux for half an hour.
I thought I had filĂ© powder within armâs reach, but then I couldnât find it at the critical moment, so I was casting about for a substitute online. Before I got far into that process, I was informed that I did have filĂ© powder after all; a certain person had merely failed to put it back where it belongs after he used it. So, dinner saved.
But during the 30 seconds in which I contemplated filĂ© powder substitutes or forgoing it altogether, I learned that filĂ© powder is ground sassafras leaves. It occurred to me that Iâd been using that ingredient for years without the foggiest notion of what it was. For all I knew, it was the dried and powdered form of the scrotal secretions of musk rats.
How many other common ingredients fall into that mystery category? I was having dinner with a friend awhile back, and I ordered Caesar salad. He said he used to like Caesar salads until he found out there were anchovies in the dressing, and then he could never eat it again.
This wasnât because heâs vegan or something — anchovies just gross him out. When I pointed out that Worcestershire sauce also has anchovies in it, he was horrified and vowed to never use Worcestershire sauce again. That seems really strange to me. Have you ever found out about a mystery ingredient in a food that made you unable to ever eat it again?
Please feel free to discuss whatever.
srv
I’m confused as to why those are separate solutions.
Villago Delenda Est
The ISIS fucks (and their financial backers, the vile bandit House of Saud, the Kuwaiti royals, and the Wahhabists) need to be drone striked into extinction.
After we’re done with them, we’ll go after Ted Cruz’ dominionist dad and Ted Cruz.
trollhattan
Jess look at yew and all them fancy furrin diacriticals. Show-off!
Also, too, I am now hungry.
Uh, it was years and years before I connected cilantro and coriander. Like decades. ETA not that I dislike either, it was just a “duh” moment. Now, discovering pork snouts and thymuses are chorizo ingredients did/does give me pause.
Quaker in a Basement
Oh, hell no. I mean, I’ll even eat a McRib.
trollhattan
@srv:
One shiny thing at a time is our limit.
Frankensteinbeck
YES.
Poopyman
I somehow got on the Tea Party mailing list, for which I consider myself blessed by God.
Here are the subject lines of the last two emails:
I often wonder at the unjustness of The Universe that caused me to be born with principles – and hence an inability to grift the rubes in such a highly profitable (I’m sure) manner.
wmd
WTH is with an abhorrence of anchovies? seriously.
My theory is that in 70s sitcoms characters would order a pizza with everything – except no anchovies, and that somehow became a meme that anchovies are no good. They’re just salty and fishy little fillets. tasty in a lot of different things.
How long before the DEA bans filĂ© powder because it’s a could be used to extract Safrole, which is a precursor to making MDMA (esctasy).
Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937
Polish sausage contains poles. yuck.
Amir Khalid
Fermented fish and shrimp sauces, like budu and cincalok. I’m okay with belacan, an essential ingredient of the sambal that goes with nasi lemak, but belacan is dry. Seeing a sauce bottle with half-rotted fish and shrimp inside — eww.
FlipYrWhig
@Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937: oh, I thought it was “polish sausage,” because you could use it to make tarnished surfaces shiny again.
raven
@wmd: The anchovies gig came from Firesign Theater’s How Can You Be In Two Places At Once When You’re Not Anywhere At All (1969)
MattF
@Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937: Now, here I had assumed it contains polish.
kc
More anchovies for me!
? Martin
No, that’s cinnamon.
trollhattan
Unrelated to anything, my various Napa in-laws are all okay but one couple’s home is evidently now wall-to-wall broken glass and assorted crap. It was a pretty good shake and much of Napa’s housing stock is quite old–the home in this case is early 20th century.
Can’t begin to guess how much wine was lost.
Bob In Portland
British dairy farmers having a sad.
Amir Khalid
@wmd:
I remember an episode of Futurama that was all about Fry’s quest for anchovies to put on his pizza.
MattF
But, seriously. Wrt mystery ingredients, I do figure it out eventually. So, after many years of subsisting on the ‘Pastrami Special’ at a local restaurant when I was a grad student, I finally looked it up– pastrami is beef. Sigh of relief.
trollhattan
@FlipYrWhig:
Any why does my stereo have a “bass” control? You don’t fish with a stereo!
Bob In Portland
Polish apple growers having a sad.
Gin & Tonic
Today in Donetsk, to commemorate Ukrainian Independence Day, the pro-Russian separatists paraded their Ukrainian prisoners through the center of town, in direct contravention of the Geneva Conventions about treatment of prisoners of war. Following that procession, the separatists sent through street-cleaning vehicles, directly emulating Russian treatment of German prisoners in 1944.This was documented, contra our friend Bob, in numerous sources, with photographs and video.
If anyone can bear to watch this spectacle, here it is.
Amir Khalid
@Bob In Portland:
You do realise, don’t you, that the Russian consumer is also suffering here, because thanks to Putin there’s now a shortage of dairy products at the supermarket?
gene108
Unless we get involved in overthrowing Assad and/or allowing him to operate without whatever sanctions we put on him, less the chemical weapons, ISIS will be hanging around Syria and Iraq for quite some time.
I think the big lesson for me from the Arab Spring, four years into it, is that not every country that had a revolution will turn into a Western style secular democracy or even a religion based democracy and sometimes the devil you know (Libya) maybe better than the devil(s) you don’t know.
And some of the people, (the lucky ones) who wanted to have a revolution were kicked in the nuts (as opposed to killed) by the powers that be and sent home, without much of an uproar from people in the West.
scav
@trollhattan: ð Ð Ć the fun to be had.
Anything once put in a sausage casing should become out of sight, out of mind. Granted, I’m not one put off much by innards — except brains, and liver has to be in patĂ© form for some unknown reason.
Another Holocene Human (now with new computer)
Keith Ablow on Ed Show Friday quoted with just some out and proud racist bilge about Eric Holder. How is this misogynistic, fatphobic asshat (note: shaved head for smoother entry) not getting more flack for his open, despicable racism and race-baiting on basic cable?
raven
@scav: Chicken lips?
raven
oopsie dupesie daisy
trollhattan
@Amir Khalid:
Putin has now turned into Sheriff Bart, “Nobody move or the
n#$%erRussian people get it!”He’s nucking futs.
Bob In Portland
Baltic countries having a sad.
This is the closest I can get to salted fish before the kickoff of the Niners’ game.
Amir Khalid
@trollhattan:
Mine has a “treble” control too, and no matter how I adjust it, it doesn’t give me three times as much of anything.
Another Holocene Human (now with new computer)
Obvs I’m running MSNBC reruns while doing my Sunday laundry, but um, Ed Schultz just called out Keith Ablow for not knowing what “literally” means, whoa … when Ed Schultz calls you an inarticulate, lazy talking head fuck, that’s, uh, that’s not very good.
MattF
People could reflect on the fact that ISIS’s savagery is a very typical terror tactic. Are you going to let them manipulate you? Are you going to copy their savagery, just because? Are you going to be like Dick Cheney and hide under your big desk? It’s not a left/right difference, it’s a smart/dumb difference. Once again.
RaflW
I stopped drinking bottled pink grapefruit juice when I noticed it (then, at least) had conchineal extract for color. As in, ground up bugs.
On the other hand, discovering that Squirt soda had glycerol ester of wood rosin as an ingredient made me love it all the more. I have no f’ing idea what chemical, taste, texture, performance or preservative effect an alcohol sugar from dried tree sap does for a grapefruit-like soda, but I just say “yum!” Because I am admittedly weird.
WaterGirl
I urge everyone to go read this blog post by Dave Zirin: On the Little League World Series, Jackie Robinson West, and Michael Brown
Gin & Tonic
@Bob In Portland: Hey, Bob, I know you’ll want to bookmark this. Ukraine Today, an English-language Ukrainian TV broadcast, started up today.
srv
@gene108: Saddam, Ghadafi, Mubarak, Assad and Putin were the good guys.
scav
@raven: Might have to have a plate before me to decide. So much depends on the exact day. And texture.
RSA
When I was a kid and my family moved to Maryland, I had scrapple once in a while. No longer. The ingredients weren’t really a mystery, but it’s a good excuse now.
Joel Hanes
@raven:
The other half of that phone conversation is on a later record: on Side 1 of “Don’t Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers”, George Tirebiter watches late-night gastro-evangelist Rod Flash, decides he’s hungry, and discovers that there’s nothing in his refrigerator except some tabs of mescaline — so he resorts to ordering a pizza.
from memory because I can’t find the script online
[consults Yellow Pages]
“Poppers …. pepperonis …. pizzas … Nicks. Swell! ..
[dials]
” This is George Tirebiter, I’d like an N-200R please … Hello? I’d, uh, like to order a pizza to go, with no anchovies.”
“What?”
[ to self ] “They never come up into the hills.”
Bob In Portland
@Amir Khalid: You do realize that the Russians didn’t start these sanctions, don’t you?
I just pointed this out because Russia wants the EU farmers to ask Fogh Rasmussen how sure he is about those WMDs. (Okay, some of you, like Scotty, may not understand, or feign misunderstanding. Fogh Rasmussen is a NATO official who essentially repeats the talking points of Kiev, to include all those Russian invasions. He assured the world back in the Shock and Awe days that Saddam had WMDs.)
Ukraine passed a law a couple of weeks ago that Russia can’t use its pipelines across Ukraine to deliver gas to Europe, so maybe Slovakians can burn Baltic fish or Polish apples to fire up their furnaces this winter.
WaterGirl
@RaflW: Yep, beware of “natural coloring” and “natural flavor”. If they can’t list it, I don’t want to eat it.
Edit: Get Florida’s Natural Red Grapefruit Juice – the only thing in it is red grapefruit juice.
Was your bottled grapefruit juice the “Simply” brand? I noticed quite some time ago their “simply” whatever, was not altogether simply. Nice bottle shape though, and easy to hold on to.
JPL
@Another Holocene Human (now with new computer): It’s okay if you are on Fox because they are not a news channel. They have that family values guy Bill O’Reilly to balance things out. (i’m kidding)
greennotGreen
These are not secret ingredients, but when I was in China in April I tried chicken feet – no thanks. I also tried Equisetum which they called “fern” but we call horsetail. Also yuck. And if you make chicken soup including chicken heads, please ask your guests to refrain from fishing out the heads, displaying them on a plate on the table, and taking pictures of them. I subsequently poured out my soup into the weeds.
raven
@Joel Hanes: Commminnnng mottheerrrrrrr. . . .
Another Holocene Human (now with new computer)
@FlipYrWhig: My wife was looking for Poland-themed crafts on Etsy (yeah, I know) for some Polski friends of ours and was surprised that the search returned pages of nail polish.
raven
@WaterGirl: And watch the game too.
Ruckus
@Quaker in a Basement:
Won’t eat any McCrap. It’s not the ingredients that are supposed to be in there, as non food like as many of them may be, it’s the ability of them to make me violently ill. As in Linda Blair violently ill. Thought it was a fluke the first time. The second time? I can be a slow learner some days but that message I got.
MattF
Also, I know I’ve mentioned this before, but according to a Southern Belle who’s an old friend, the secret ingredient in Southern-style potato salad is gin.
Hal
What a wasted opportunity. Get Westboro and ISIS in one big bunker and bomb the hell out of if.
Speaking of angry people, a friend of mine posted on Facebook a link to a Salon interview with Cornell West by Thomas Frank. He has some valid criticism but did Obama shit in his bed or something? West always sounds like someone’s jilted ex when talking about Obama. Every interview is always punctuated by “Obama was supposed to be the black X but he turned out to be the black Y.” I always find that type of criticism superficial but appealing to certain liberal critics of Obama who would never go there. Still, it must be a great boost to your ego to have people come up to you, as West says people do all the time and say; “Brother West, Brother West, you were right about Obama.” I’m sure Ann Coulter hears the same thing.
Amir Khalid
@greennotGreen:
You know, they do wash the chicken feet before they cook’em. That said, the chicken feet don’t spook me like chicken heads do, with their spooky half-closed eyes …
raven
@Ruckus: Fluke is good, it’s flounder in other places.
JPL
@greennotGreen: When I lived in Dallas, there was a hole in the wall Chinese restaurant that was excellent. When I discovered that every part of the chicken was used, including the blood, I just didn’t enjoy it as much.
Normally, I’m not like that though.
RaflW
@WaterGirl: I do buy FL natural pink grapefruit. It’s good.
It was some mass-market 16oz glass pink GF juice that had crap in it, so easy to avoid.
Also, thanks to teh Googlz I know know that glycerol ester of rosin is made in part with the aid of sulphuric acid.
Industrial food manufacturing sure is fascinating.
raven
@JPL: You spoke of tennis earlier. Did you see that Dan McGill died?
MattF
@Amir Khalid: On the other hand, there’s some evidence that chickens can do pretty well without their heads.
raven
@MattF: You have to bring Palin up don’t you?
JPL
@raven: Yes and I didn’t realize that he was that old.
ruemara
cartilage & gristle in anything makes me want to puke. Also, my dell can’t connect to my updated network, so I have to hard connect. My Macbook Pro won’t start up because it went from having over 50g of free disk space to only 237mb, despite just sitting down on a desk in the month since I’ve used it. And of course I’m backlogged with work so I have about 8lbs of paper to sort and I need to log in on something to get a file access issue fixed. Fuck.
greennotGreen
@Amir Khalid: It wasn’t squeamishness on my part. Chicken feet just don’t taste good to me.
srv
In Soviet Russia, Siberia finds you!
raven
@JPL: First baby born in Athen Regional.
scav
@Amir Khalid: The Chinese chicken feet I had mostly seemed a pure batter/sauce experience, rather like wings with the side benefit of utterly freaking my father out in public (abetted by mother and sister). Never thought to use them in soup, although I’m very fond of the cows feet additions. Must add to repertoire.
Patricia Kayden
@Another Holocene Human (now with new computer): Fox News viewers are obviously cool with racism so perhaps that’s why Ablow is not getting much push back. Racism/homophobia/sexism seems to be par for the course for Fox News. Doesn’t even raise an eyebrow anymore.
Mike J
Meh. There are just as many knee jerk reactions here stating that the US should never attempt to do anything anywhere because sometimes in the past we’ve done things for bad reasons, or supported bad people, or things haven’t gone well, or there was another good cause we should have supported and didn’t.
Alex S.
@Bob In Portland:
What do you suggest? Should Slovakia declare war on Ukraine?
raven
(CNN) — American Peter Theo Curtis, who was held hostage for two years by Islamist rebels in Syria, was released Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said.
“Particularly after a week marked by unspeakable tragedy, we are all relieved and grateful knowing that Theo Curtis is coming home after so much time held in the clutches of (al-Nusra Front),” Kerry said in a written announcement.
Ruckus
@raven:
Yes it is good. Which is how I know you and I are talking about a different kind of fluke. But you knew that.
JPL
@raven: I saw that on the AJC. Just like you, he loved that town. Did you ever meet him?
srv
Vietnam Bomb Tours
raven
@JPL: Saw him close at events but never really met him. I have met Diaz, his successor a couple of times. Hard for me to think he was younger than I am now when I moved here. damn
Violet
No balls. Get them on the damn plane.
raven
@srv: Wonder if they show a daisy cutter?
Betty Cracker
@Hal: One time West’s mother pointed out that Team Obama gave a lowly luggage porter tickets to the inauguration and didn’t supply VIP seats to West, and he’s never gotten over it.
Patricia Kayden
@Hal: Not being able to get inauguration tickets seems to have really ticked West off.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/05/17/cornel-west-obama-cussed-me-out-for-attacking-his-policies/
WaterGirl
@raven: When is the game? How’s the face? My mom always used to say stuff hurt the most on the “day after the day after”.
Betty Cracker
@Mike J: I see a difference between being gun shy due to ginormous, deadly policy fuck-ups committed within very recent memory vs never seeing a country populated by brown people you didn’t want to bomb.
Mike J
@gene108:
Another lesson to learn is that if you want to have any influence on how things turn out you need to be engaged at a level beyond bombing.
The Sailor
@Bob In Portland:
So, the problem has been happening for 2 years, and you accept an anecdote from the Milk lobbyist.
Got it.
Mnemosyne
@MattF:
My favorite potato salad recipe includes 3 tablespoons of vermouth.
I usually leave the anchovies out, though. Not because they gross me out, but because I don’t like fish.
gene108
@srv:
I think outside of Saddam and Ghadafi, the rest are still alive and with the exception of Mubarak, still running their countries.
This is not about “good guys” or “bad guys”, but the fact that you have Libya, Iraq and Syria embroiled in civil wars, with people who viewed 9/11/01 as a good thing and something they’d like to emulate.
Assad and Putin do not want to attack America.
We maybe getting to the point of the enemy of my enemy is my friend stages of dealing with ISIS, because our purported allies in the region – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UAE – are probably bankrolling ISIS.
As seen with the Lebanese Civil War, with outside backers picking sides, these conflicts can last decades.
Violet
@raven: Hey there! Saw your post yesterday but you were gone from the thread by the time I had the chance to reply. Glad the wound site is doing well. My dog bite is really bruising now. I have a giant purple circle on the back of my leg. It’s bigger than a tennis ball. The scratches are going down but it’s sore. Using it–like with driving since it’s on my right calf, makes it hurt.
Another Holocene Human (now with new computer)
@MattF:
I guess a lot of humans can’t help themselves. I lived in Boston during 9/11 and it did not reduce me to pants-shitting terror. Of course I was horrified, but afraid? No. But it looked like everyone around me pretty much lost their mother-loving mind.
Another Holocene Human (now with new computer)
You know who frightens the fuck out of me? Cliven Bundy’s hordes and other white supremacists. Not that I think I’m going to get shot (today) but because I fear the outbreak of civil violence and ethnic killings given the level of propaganda and rhetoric, the way the fears have been stoked, their inhuman attitudes towards other people not in their tribe, and the seeming ineffectiveness of civil authorities to put a stop to it.
raven
@WaterGirl: The game is now, ABC. 2-0 Korea bottom of 3. They tried to figure out why the Asian teams were so dominant many years ago and, when the did pubic hair tests, it turned out they were simply more physiologically developed than the Americans at that age. Look at how much bigger the Koreans are.
Mug is ok, not much pain. I took one of the pills last night but I don’t sleep well with the “codone” stuff so I’ll probably lay off tonight.
thx
Amir Khalid
@Bob In Portland:
These particular sanctions are import bans, imposed by Russia, whose effect is that Russians can’t get enough fish or dairy or fruit and veg at the shops. I could not hope to better Trollhattan’s description #29 of these sanctions’ absurdity and unfairness. I guess you’re fine with that, just so Putin can show them nosy foreign governments he’s not to be trifled with.
WaterGirl
@RaflW: I mostly try to not buy anything that has more than 5 ingredients or so on the label.
Not a big soda drinker, but for years Squirt was my go to soda when I did have it. Something changed when they switched from the bottle to cans – and you never see the pulp floating like it used to in the bottle. Then I switched to ginger ale. Then a few months ago I tried Blenheim ginger ale with the pink cap. It tastes like GINGER and reminded me of what ginger ale tasted like when I was a kid.
I am totally spoiled. Now the Canada Dry ginger ale tastes like crappy sweetened water, just like 7-up and sprite. For me, it’s Blenheim or nothing.
Another Holocene Human (now with new computer)
@gene108: Decades of utter political repression will tend to do that.
No experience working together.
No organized opposition except ideological extremists.
Old regime still controls a lot of the levers of power even if the head has been chopped off.
But you don’t need the Arab Spring to teach you that–there’s always France.
raven
@Violet: It’s a hematoma, right? I got one riding my bike in 96. I was going to class and this woofer went behind my bike and nailed me on the calf. I belonged to some frat boys in this house so I went up and banged on the door. Dude came out and I jumped his ass, “fucker, your dog bit me and I’m not going to let it slide”. He looked at me, broke into tears and said” it’s not my dog and my best friend just died in the Air Tran crash in the Everglades”. I felt as small as one could.
raven
dupe
Bases loaded 1 out Chicago!
Joel Hanes
@raven:
“He’s so good with the servants, Fred”
“Stop calling me Fred! My name’s Adolph.”
“Hi Mom. Bombs away, Dad. Hot dog! groat cakes again! Heavy on the 30-weight!”
“Don’t wolf your food!”
call_me_ishmael
Up here in Americas Hat, we’ve got a very popular drink called a “Bloody Caesar” that’s made from Vodka and something called Clamato juice.
I would have thought that the constituent ingredients of something called Clamato would be pretty obvious, but I’ve told a few incredulous people that it consists of a mixture of tomato juice and clam juice(!). Most of them didn’t finish their drink.
srv
@raven: An OV-10 pilot once told me one of his first missions was to mark a particular hilltop for ARVN.
He kept waiting for an airstrike, but nothing. Eventually a C-130 lumbers along, and drops this gigantic thing, hurtling down.
His backseater screamed “OMG! OMG! They NUKED Vietnam!”
Violet
@WaterGirl:
Haagen-Dazs used to have an ice cream line called “Five”. Those ice creams had five ingredients.
Amir Khalid
@Betty Cracker:
The poor baby. If that had happened to me, I’d pout for six years too.
Another Holocene Human (now with new computer)
@gene108:
Or American Irish bankrolling the IRA via Sinn Fein long after Irish people in Ireland and Northern Ireland were gagging and had had more than their fill.
Btw, where are the indictments for Peter King and other American Sinn Fein bankrollers for supporting terrorist organizations, the way George the Worst sicced his US District Attorneys on the musselmen for supporting charities with 6-degrees-of-terror-links.
WaterGirl
@Violet: I’m sure you know about arnica, right?
Go get ArniFlora gel at the health food store, and your bruising will heal so much faster. Also, have you ever tried arnica int he little blue or purple vials (little round balls). They will help with your healing.
Violet
@WaterGirl:
If you haven’t tried Hot Lips Ginger Ale, give it a try if you see it. It’s expensive but one bottle won’t break the bank. Really gingery.
Violet
@raven: Oh, god. That’s awful. I got the vet records from the owners yesterday. They were really nice about the whole thing. Everything checks out. They take good care of their dog. Given that the worst of the whole thing is the bruising, and that the teeth never broke the skin, I’ve decided not to worry about infection. There’s no sign of it. Just, as you said, a large hematoma.
That dog must have hit me with some terrific force to leave a bruise like that. I still can’t believe he bit me through the fence. Since it’s on the back of my leg it hurts to cross that leg, which is kind of a pain. And of course it’s shorts weather and I’ve got this giant ass bruise on my leg, which I’m sure will look lovely for the next week or two. Oh well. Could have been much worse.
raven
@srv: Instant LZ!
Another Holocene Human (now with new computer)
@Patricia Kayden: I know it’s cable but other countries wisely step in when there’s serious Father Coughlin shit like this going down. Are we so jaded that this is just par for the course? This kind of rhetoric kills people, when does it stop?
Once upon a time the USSC stated that free speech ends when you cause immanent harm. Granted, the Roberts court is full of fucking shit, but come on, at this point, aren’t we at that point? Loughner shooting a MoC after Palin’s targets over America. Abortion providers murdered after names/addresses posted on a website in red. (Btw, animal rights fundies target researchers the same way but the FBI investigates them as a terrorist group, and rightly so, yet the right wing is left alone.) Libel running unchecked on every network, whether it’s the President’s citizenship status, or legislators lying about state and federal budgets, or police officer wives and girlfriends auxiliaries leaking fake info to right wing blogs to smear a dead kid. In the US it’s not libel if it’s true, but isn’t it libel if it’s a LIE?!
But yeah, Roberts court, it’s okay if it’s a Catholic with a “sincere belief” that their blatant lie is true. Sure, Hobby Lobby didn’t have an issue when 20+ states had contraception mandates … #butthatsnoneofmybusiness.
Violet
@WaterGirl: I’m pretty sure I’ve got arnica lying around. I’ve never found it to work that well for me. I’ve used it before but haven’t noticed much difference. Thanks for the reminder, though. I can always give it a try again. Waiting for the scratches to heal first before I put anything on it.
Iowa Old Lady
I’m allergic to shell fish so basically, that looks like poison to me.
raven
@Violet: Yea, I’m kinda wondering about how much care I need to take on this scar. It’s pretty cool and runs from below my ear to my jawbone!
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Hal: as somebody tweeted, Cornel West and the Tea Baggers were among the small number of Americans who ever believed Obama was a radical. Your reference to a jilted ex is apt, maybe never eminented Ă©minence grise is apter.
Joan Walsh never has anything to say about Frank’s weekend tantrums, but she keeps putting them up so they must draw clicks.
WaterGirl
@raven: Just tuned in, thanks! 2-1 Korea now.
My friend had to get MOHS on her face a couple years ago and they had to go 4 layers. They had to do some amazing crazy surgery thing afterwords but now you can’t even tell she had it done.
Another Holocene Human (now with new computer)
@srv: WTF!
Also noted, Crimean Tatars being barred from entering Crimea.
Same old, same old in the Russian empire.
trollhattan
@scav:
I, uh, tried them once at a dim sun joint, bobbing around in the dish they looked so…odd. That was enough.
MattF
@Another Holocene Human (now with new computer): Welp, if you’re a Stalinist, you do things the way the old man did them.
raven
@WaterGirl: 3-1 now. Yea, it doesn’t matter much to me. My nose got busted really good playing tackle football in Carle Park without pads many years ago. This mug is beyond hope! The cancer being gone would be cool.
WaterGirl
@Violet: I used to eat that! I have wondered what happened to that line.
Bob In Portland
@Alex S.: The South Stream runs through Slovakia, I believe. US sanctions were directed in part against a Russian company that’s building South Stream. You think that was a coincidence?
I would suggest that Slovakia and the rest of the EU back off the US-directed full press against Russia and insist that they sit down and discuss a peaceful settlement to the eastern Ukrainian crisis.
gene108
@Mike J:
I think being consistent in what we condemn countries for would help.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia support terrorists, they are our allies.
Iran backs terrorists and we have to put sanctions on them
Violet
@raven: Did you have a skin graft? Or just the surgery and waiting for the wound to heal?
My dad’s surgeon said the vaseline will help it stay moist as it heals, which is better for the skin or something.
What do you mean by “how much care I need to take”? Scars are cool. Chicks dig them, or so I’ve heard.
WaterGirl
@Violet: I will look for that. The blenheim costs 1,89 a bottle or 10.00 a 6-pack, but it’s completely worth it.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Speaking of assholes, I wonder if Maureen Dowd is sufficiently recovered from her adventures in pot-taking to be embarrassed by this:
Alex S.
@Bob In Portland:
The South Stream does not run through Slovakia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Stream
raven
@Violet: No graft, they made a football shaped cut and stitched it. I’m mos def on the vinegar and water and vaseline regimen which is supposed to help with scarring. As far as “chicks”, I told my bride I might have to go with the full beard again even though she doesn’t like it. She said she loved me and didn’t care what I looked like. That was obvious the day she married me!
WaterGirl
@Violet: I got pretty banged up 3 years ago on 4th of July and I used arnica gel (ArnFlora) on the closed-skin parts and calendula gel (CalFlora) on the open-skin parts. It was like a miracle, Seriously, I could see changes in the black and blue and swelling from morning to evening.
Gave some of both to a friend of a friend whose face got pretty banged up in a car accident, and they call it the magic medicine. Her face healed very quickly, no scaring, etc.
Go get yourself some of both – if you’ve had it around forever I’m not sure how good it will be.
Another Holocene Human (now with new computer)
@Hal: Cornel West didn’t get an Inauguration 2009 invite, probably over some sort of ragequit kerfuffle towards the end of the campaign but I don’t really recall the details.
West is a brilliant guy who does good work in the community but he also has an aspect of self-centered jerk to him. Google how he treated Melissa Harris-Perry. What an ass.
raven
Lota one handed catches by the Illinois right fielder.
Violet
@WaterGirl: Haagen-Dazs just decided to discontinue it. I guess it didn’t sell well? The “pints” were not quite a pint so maybe that ticked people off? I think Ben and Jerry’s kept theirs at a real pint. Not sure if the other H-D lines stayed at a pint or went smaller.
Bob In Portland
@Amir Khalid: Russia has been making deals with Turkey, Finland, Argentina, Chile et al for alternate sources. Funny how no one gave a shit about sanctions against Russia. Lots of jokes here at BJ. It works both ways. Poland wants the EU to pay them for the apples rotting in their fields.
So you agree that both sides should sit down and try to settle this war? Or do you think it’s okay for US sanctions against Russia, Ukrainian sanctions against Russia and EU sanctions against Russia, but Russian reprisal sanctions are bad? Or do you not care about eastern Ukrainians’ lack of food and water, but worry that Moscovites won’t be getting their vegetables this winter?
Another Holocene Human (now with new computer)
@RaflW: cochineal is about the only safe, stable natural red. The others are like mercury and lead salts and shit.
Or you can take your chances with Red 40.
Hey, y’all asked for all natural. I, for one, welcome our crushed beetle overlords.
(Beetles don’t squick me, actually. Roaches, otoh, and flies….)
trollhattan
@Violet:
Glad to hear it wasn’t worse. Folks probably don’t appreciate how strong dog jaws are and at least one breed–the mastiff–ranks among the top 20 critters, ahead of the gray wolf and mountain lion in measured bite pressure.
So at least it wasn’t a mastiff.
dr. luba
@Violet: Check out the arnica to see if it’s herbal or homeopathic. Many of the arnica ointments/gels out there actually contain little or no arnica. Arniflora, for instance, is “Arnica montana 1X HPUS* 8%” which is a 10 times dilution of an 8% tincture–0.8%. Or so it would seem. Many others are much more dilute (2x or 3x). Which may be why most studies have shown that arnica is not more effective than placebo.
raven
@trollhattan: I had a dog bite me on the arm and I, they way it popped, I thought he had broken a tooth off. Turned out he got into the muscle and popped a couple of fibers.That shit hurt, all they did at the hospital was trim and bandage it and send me on my merry way.
trollhattan
@Violet:
We have a steady supply of aloe veras in our garden, so use that a good deal to aid healing, including burns. Works pretty well, too, although it won’t keep the skin moist over an extended period without reapplication.
Another Holocene Human (now with new computer)
@Bob In Portland: I’ve been trying to ignore your dumb ass but this is really too much.
Russia is sending mortars and other armor into another sovereign country to provide more fuel for their failing “uprising”, displacing tens if not hundreds of thousands of people out of their homes, destroying property, and endangering the environment on a massive scale (lots of heavy industry and icky chemicals in vats in Donbas) but you’re wanking about dairy and fruit import bans. Who seriously gives a fuck.
Not only that, but your fake-o both sides do it tit for tat narrative completely ignores the reality that this is a unilateral action by the Russian government that has them on the verge of being sanctioned by the World Trade Organization.
But I guess WTO is also in the pay of Big Banderite. Who knew?
raven
God damn Koreans!
They really are good.
Violet
@raven: Aww, that’s sweet. My dad’s foot is healing quite well but he had a skin graft so that’s a bit different. They still have him on the vaseline but they had to go deep for his MOHS (seriously, looked like the took a toe), so it’s taking awhile to heal. Plus he’s had some other health challenges and he’s older so it all takes longer.
Don’t bother with the full beard unless you decide you want to have a beard again. A cool scar is a conversation starter and you can always tell them it’s from a knife fight or it’s a bobsled injury or something. Plus, if you wear an eye patch and scarf on your head you’ll look like a pirate!
wasabi gasp
My appetite suffers if the food still has a face.
Isaya – Tom Yam Kung
Violet
@WaterGirl: Do I get them at a regular ph ar ma cy? Or do I need to go to a place like Whole Foods?
Another Holocene Human (now with new computer)
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: My friend Lauren was among them. She fell in love with Obama (her words) and fell out of love. She then joined a weekly 9/11 TROOF! conference call. I wish her well in her new delusions. (Her other delusions involve her children, and that is a really sad situation I don’t care to say more about here.)
ruemara
@Another Holocene Human (now with new computer): he has no reputation as doing good within the community. He’s just the official speaker-to-white-people, an entirely self appointed position.
JPL
@raven: Someday we should have an Atlanta area meet-up. I’d love to meet the princess, because she sounds pretty special. We could plan our gathering in Gwinnett, since there are several folks in that area.
Mnemosyne
@Violet:
You should probably go display it to that neighbor, if only to make him feel bad. Keep an eye out for red lines shooting out from the bruise and a sudden upsurge in pain — that would indicate an infection.
The Sailor
@Bob In Portland: Russia invaded the Ukraine, the Ukraine did not invade Russia.
BTW, Russia Today is not a reputable news source.
raven
@JPL: Soon as football is over!
Violet
@trollhattan: I’ve got aloe vera. I bumped the bbq grill when it was on and lightly burned my arm the other day. I put the aloe vera on it right away and by morning it didn’t hurt at all and it’s healed really well. Thanks for the reminder. Maybe I’ll try that on my leg since I don’t have to go out to get it.
raven
@Violet: I’ve always had a goat. A full beard and a shaved head don’t cut it so I’m not sure which way I’ll go.
gogol's wife
@The Sailor:
HaHa, you think you’re going to cut the Gordian knot with a couple of obvious truths. Forget it, Jake. (Don’t get me wrong, I sympathize with your effort.)
raven
@JPL: You know Cole’s mom is a UGA grad?
JPL
@raven: I had forgotten about that.
gogol's wife
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Nothing can embarrass that woman. I thought Amir said she got demoted. When oh when does it take effect?
raven
Damn, 7-1. Looks bad.
JPL
@gogol’s wife: She’ll continue her Sunday column.
darn.. another home run for South Korea.
Bob In Portland
@The Sailor: Are you referring to Crimea? So then you’re okay with the the sanctions and their repercussions. Fine.
I’m guessing that you were upset when NATO divided up Yugoslavia too, right?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@gogol’s wife: She’s going to one column a week, and then as I understand it long form pieces for the Sunday magazine. I don’t know if that’s a demotion or somewhere between a lateral move and cushy semi-retirement. I will say that admiring Ingraham tweet is the first time I’ve seen anyone refer positively to MoDo in a long time. I don’t think its just us Obots who think she lost her grip on her own schtick.
dslak
Putin sure is dreamy without his shirt on.
raven
Ohhh, headshot.
Violet
@Mnemosyne: I’m keeping an eye on it but so far it looked better yesterday and better again today. The scratches part I mean. The bruising is obviously worse but that’s normal. There are no red marks. I’ve taken pictures of it every day in case I need it but I don’t think I will. They were really nice about it in the end. Made an effort on Saturday to get the dog’s records for me. They’ve also modified their fence already so the dog can’t get his muzzle through it. They seem like good people and responsible pet owners. I don’t feel the need to make them feel worse. Everything I requested they do they’ve already done, so they were pretty good about it.
They know I can report them and then their dog would have to be quarantined. I don’t want to do that to them because that would be a massive pain for them. So long as they’ve taken appropriate steps so the dog can’t bite a toddler through the fence–or anyone else–then that’s fine with me.
They seem to be responsible people and maybe didn’t know the dog behaved like that. We talked to their neighbor who was astonished the dog had bit me. He said he pets the dog all the time and he’s really nice, very friendly and low key. So maybe the dog only behaves like that when they don’t see it or something. I talked to my across the street neighbor who knew exactly what dog I was talking about and how stealthy the dog is and how he’ll come out of nowhere barking and shaking the fence, teeth bared. So I know I’m not the only one.
Violet
@raven: Time to try out a hipster mustache? Soul patch?
raven
@Violet: My dog Henry doodle bug was a great dog. One day hey and his dad, Ralph, were in the back of my truck and a guy came by. He talked to them for quite a bit then reached in to pet Henry. Henry had wagged away and then bit the shit out of the dude. Ya never know.
FlipYrWhig
@Another Holocene Human (now with new computer):
When was he last “brilliant” or doing “good work in the community”? Frankly, I find him to have an aspect of minstrel show to him: acting out as an exaggerated stereotype of what white people think he is.
Kay (not the front-pager)
My sister was horrified to find out that creme of tartar is the stuff the scrape off the sides of old wine barrels.I just thought it was interesting, and wondered again what cream of tarter does (notice I spelled both the 1st and 2nd words in that ingredient 2 ways. I’m not a good speller).
karen
I’m at my wits end with my Contessakitty. I don’t know what to do so maybe you all with the kittehs might.
She is peeing in the carpet at the entrance of my bathroom. I’ve tried to mop up the pee with paper towels which weren’t all that helpful, then soaked the area with Nature’s Miracle Urine destroyer. I found a real towel that I put over it a few days ago. It’s still wet so I don’t know if she’s peeing there again or that the towel was not adequate to mop up the moisture.
I don’t have a lot more towels and to make things worse, I’m home from my cancer surgery but my wounds are not healing right. I also have RA that has not been treated since before my surgery. I don’t have the stamina or energy to go back down on the floor to scrub every time. Thoughts?
Mnemosyne
@Violet:
Some of the dog folks here might be able to give some advice you can pass along to the owners. There was a dog in our neighborhood who had a really big, scary bark every time people walked past, though there was no way for him to get through the fence. They got a second (smaller) dog to keep him company and though his bark is still a little intimidating, he seems willing to let his buddy take the lead and doesn’t sound like he’s about to come through the fence at you anymore.
raven
@Violet: I@Violet: Homey don’t play dat. When you had a beard like this you don’t mess with no hipster stuff!
raven
Ho boy, 2nd and 3rd no outs!
JPL
Frank Bruni had a nice column about the Little League World Series and providing the opportunity for children to achieve. I stopped reading Dowd, because she appears to just call in her columns now.
The Bruni oped
Violet
@FlipYrWhig: I feel the same way. The large afro hairstyle. The “Brother” appellation to people’s name. Who talks that way? I guess people do in church but do black folks refer to everyone by “Brother” or “Sister” in regular life? It seems very stylized to me. Like you said, almost minstrel show quality.
He does have some good points at times but they can be overshadowed by his performance–or his performance is a distraction. Like people focus on that and not what he’s saying almost.
raven
@Violet: My experience in the Army in the 60’s was that the “brothers” referred to each other as “brothers” as short for soul brothers. I never felt it was for me to judge one way or another.
Gin & Tonic
@Bob In Portland: So you agree that both sides should sit down and try to settle this war?
Just curious. Who are the two sides, in your view?
SiubhanDuinne
@Betty Cracker, top:
Please tell me you saved them to put in the curtain rods if necessary — you know, if someone fails once again to replace the filĂ© where it belongs.
WaterGirl
@dr. luba: I should have taken time-lapse photographs of my legs when I was all messed up. Not quite sure how swelling and bruising can be affected by a placebo. Can you explain it?
Violet
@raven: Don’t tell me you weren’t a hipster! That’s a hipster beard before there were hipsters. That’s a “no messing about beard” to quote the family member sitting next to me at the moment.
Violet
@Mnemosyne: Yeah, if anyone has suggestions for the owners I’m happy to talk to them. They’re not on my regular walk although I do walk by there from time to time.
Howard Beale IV
Sir Richard Attenborough dies, age 90.
raven
The Brothers’ Vietnam War: Black Power, Manhood, and the Military Experience
Bloods was another way.
Bloods: Black Veterans of the Vietnam War: An Oral History
WaterGirl
@Violet: Somewhere like whole foods. A place that starts with P would not have them, nor would Walgreens or CVS.
Mnemosyne
@karen:
You can try covering the spot over with something like aluminum foil or plastic, though you’ll have to tack it down to make sure she can’t move it out of the way. The soft towel would be too enticing.
You should probably also make a vet appointment for her — she could be reacting to your stress, or there could be something wrong, like a UTI.
Another possible reason: if you haven’t been able to keep the box as clean as you normally do, she could be staging a protest. Do you have a really, really good friend who might be able to stop by and scoop every day until you’re up to it? Another option would be to hire a petsitter to do it for a few weeks until you’re feeling better. Or go the WereBear route and get a Litter Robot — it’s expensive, but it would save you a lot of time and physical pain, so it may be worth it in the end.
Another Holocene Human (now with new computer)
this tweet says it all
https://twitter.com/LarryWoolfolk/status/503607649011630081/photo/1
raven
Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On/What’s Happening Brother
What’s Going On”
Mother, mother
There’s too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There’s far too many of you dying
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today – Ya
Father, father
We don’t need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today
Picket lines and picket signs
Don’t punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see
Oh, what’s going on
What’s going on
Ya, what’s going on
Ah, what’s going on
In the mean time
Right on, baby
Right on
Right on
Another Holocene Human (now with new computer)
@WaterGirl: Many conditions are self-limiting. They get better on their own. Through post hoc propter hoc fallacy (better described here as a cognitive bias or quirk) human associates the placebo remedy with the improving condition but there was no causal link.
Violet
@raven: Yeah, but is that the way they currently refer to each other? In the African-American community do people say “Brother Cornell” and “Sister Melissa” or whatever when they’re talking to or about other members of the community? I mean on a regular basis? I don’t get the impression that’s the case but maybe it’s something a white person wouldn’t see even if they’re watching Tyler Perry movies or BET? I understand that people may do that from time to time but not all the time.
Cornell West affixing “Brother” to everyone’s name (or “sister”) just comes across as an odd affectation. It seems stylized and perhaps done for white people’s consumption. Like he’s behaving as a white person’s ideal of what an “authentic black man” is. Which is where the minstrel-y vibe comes in. For me anyway.
Mr Stagger Lee
@WaterGirl: You ought to read the comments section on ESPN, many a case of White Butt-hurt over Nevada losing to JRW. Some calling for a 2 out of 3 series(of course if JRW won that it would have been calls for 3 out of 5 or 4 out of 7). I see that South Korea will win this despite the valiant effort of JRW, but yes some Whites are cheering that.
raven
The South Koreans and the “brothers” from Chi-Town are dappin after the game.
Another Holocene Human (now with new computer)
@FlipYrWhig: West was considered brilliant within his field in academia. For what that’s worth.
Linus Pauling was considered brilliant in his field in academia too. Then he started shilling mega-doses of Vitamin C as a cancer cure.
West’s rap album was pretty universally panned.
Not everyone who does dumb things or says dumb things is dumb. See: Ann Coulter. Casey Serin. Sharon Stone.
WaterGirl
@Another Holocene Human (now with new computer): I guess I should just end the conversation here before I get cranky. This conversation is almost worse than talking about religion or abortion.
corrected screwed up formatting
WaterGirl
@Mr Stagger Lee: Is it wrong that I’m beginning to see this kind of overt racism as mental illness?
Achrachno
@Another Holocene Human (now with new computer): Cochineal insects are not beetles. They’re mealy bugs, related to scale insects and the like. Harmless little beasts, as long as you’re not a cactus..
Mnemosyne
@WaterGirl:
FWIW, it sounds like what dr. luba is saying is that arnica cream does work, but homeopathic arnica cream doesn’t, because herbal medicine can be valid but homeopathy is bunk. Not sure which kind you were using, though.
Violet
@karen: I’m sorry for your challenges with your kitty. She may be reacting to your stress. Things are different and she doesn’t know what to do so she’s a little freaked out.
Agree with Mnemosyne that a vet appointment is probably a good idea and the vet may also have some suggestions. The next time you see Were Bear in a thread, you can ask her too.
Also agree that getting someone to help for the sort term would be good. Anything you can do to take pressure and stress off you so you can focus on healing is a good idea. Do you have someone who can help with some of your tasks so you can relax a bit?
Another Holocene Human (now with new computer)
@Violet: But it’s not that odd when you’re talking about an academic stuck in an academic’s version of radical politics circa the era he was trying to get tenure. Idk that he’s trying to reach white people at all. The last really serious thread I read about West had dozens of white academics crying that West had gone crazy and abandoned them and their field, so maybe my view of this is skewed?
I kind of think West is a jerk and don’t pay very close attention to him, to be honest. I was trying to be fair because he genuinely seems to speak to some people and I feel I need to respect that, even if it doesn’t appeal to me. It wasn’t pitched to me anyway. Probably wasn’t pitched to you either.
karen
@Mnemosyne:
I’ll see if I can find tacks to put down the aluminum foil.
I’m paying for a pet person to do the litter, feed her and give her insulin.
How do I absorb the moisture and should I be using Urine Destroyer?
Kay (not the front-pager)
@karen: I’m sorry. It’s so distressing when formerly “trained” (hah!) cats begin peeing in inappropriate places. It seems to be their way of telling us they are upset about something. I had a cat who started peeing around the house after his long-time companion cat died. It may be that Contessakitty senses your illness and is worried about you.
A couple of the suggestions the vet gave me: 1) try putting slightly crumpled foil over the area. Cats don’t like the feel or sound of it when they step on it. 2) Put some cat food or treats nearby. Cats are fussy and usually won’t eliminate where they eat.
If the above suggestions don’t work can you or someone else take her to the vet for a urine test? She may have a bladder infection that she can’t tell you about.
As to the already-existing situation with the carpet, 2 products we have had good luck with are Fizzion and Bubba’s Pet Stain and Odor Terminator. I got both from Amazon. We never had much luck with Nature’s Miracle and husband hates it’s smell. OT – I bet I’m the only one who automatically comes to Balloon Juice to click the link whenever I need to order something since John mentioned the blog makes a little something every time someone clicks there from here.
I do have to say, it could be worse. My son’s 4 lb. dog started barking at my 17 lb. Maine Coon to try to get him to play. Reilly let us know it upset him by starting to pee in our bed while we were in it. Now that’s upsetting.
SiubhanDuinne
@Howard Beale IV:
Ah, that makes me sad. RIP, Sir Richard.
Another Holocene Human (now with new computer)
@Achrachno: I did not know that. So not beetles, beetle food. Heh.
karen
@Violet:
I’ve been able to get a pet person to come in daily to do the litter, feeding and injecting insulin.
But yes Violet and Mnemosyne, I will be calling the vet tomorrow,
Thanks for the advice.
Another Holocene Human (now with new computer)
@Mr Stagger Lee: No thank you.
Mr Stagger Lee
@WaterGirl: To be fair not all the White commentators were this psychotic and there were some AA ones who frankly need to get a clue, the US game was one for the books(both teams played a hell of a game, no shame for Vegas) and maybe Nevada would not have done better against the Koreans, but I would like to think some of these Yo-Yos are the last of the bitter enders.
karen
@Kay (not the front-pager):
Thanks for the advice and yes,in the bed is quite upsetting. Hopefully you smelled and saw it beforehand.
Violet
@Another Holocene Human (now with new computer): But he appears places that are mostly seen by white people–like The Colbert Report, for instance. He’s smart enough to know his audience there I’d guess.
I took a class in graduate school taught by a black man stuck in the era he got tenure, as you described. Complete with the brightly colored all-polyester leisure suits and wide collars. Lessons were all about race relations and from a very 1960’s/70[‘s viewpoint. Any attempt to bring in current events was completely shot down. It was bizarre. We all got through it by parroting stuff his words back at him so we would pass.
Mnemosyne
@Kay (not the front-pager):
FWIW, what I’ve seen from cat behaviorists is that the cat does that to demonstrate to the perceived threat (in this case, the dog) that he has Big Scary Humans backing him up and the threat had better back off, man!! He pees to mingle his scent with yours and take on your Big Scary qualities.
(Not that he thinks that you’re Big and Scary, but that he thinks that the threat will find you Big and Scary. In a weird way, it’s an expression of trust that you’ll protect him from the threat.)
gogol's wife
@SiubhanDuinne:
His one line in A Matter of Life of Death is something like, “It’s heaven, isn’t it?”
Violet
@karen: Maybe that’s part of the problem? If the pet person is new it might be freaking your kitty out. Do you have any time or energy to do something to comfort her? Whatever she would like best, like playing with a toy or the laser pointer or snuggling or her favorite activity? Something to reassure her that things are “normal”? That might help. Or it might not, but if she’s nervous or upset then something to calm her might help.
How is she on catnip? Bouncing around or sleepy and lazy? Would that help?
trollhattan
@Mnemosyne:
Neighborhood house on my walk to and from light rail had a chow chow (second-dumbest breed) that would climb some kind of garden shed and bark down at passers-by from above the fence. It was really startling when I forgot to look for him. Anyway, this went on for years (“stoopid chow!” /Homer voice) then one day, the inevitable had happened and when I passed the fence he was right there on the sidewalk, hiding behind the corner where the fence turned to the garage. I thought “Oh shit, here he comes” but nope, instead of coming at me he ran away with his tale tucked.
Whether the change was from the shock of being out of his territory, the shock of falling 6 feet or he was simply a big, loud chicken I never knew. He’s since gone on to the big kennel in the sky, so my kid no longer fears going down that street.
Bob In Portland
@Another Holocene Human (now with new computer): Yes, and you have been howling for a few years now about the US sending all those weapons to the anti-Assad folks, right? You support the sovereignty of Syria, right? Why, you jumped up and shouted how the US’s plans to bomb with Syria’s borders were a violation of international law. I just must have missed it, right?
No, the US can violate international law because it rewrites it or ignores it but you are on top of Russia for any violations. Got that right? Okay for the US and its buddies to train and arm ISIS even though they’re halfway around the world, but Russia can’t help ethnic Russians on their border. Well, that sounds pretty damned fair.
As to refugees fleeing the area because the rebels won’t surrender to the Ukrainians, they’re fleeing the shelling and the bombing done by the Ukrainians. The Ukrainians have been using white phosphorus too. I guess that’s the Russians’ fault too. The rebels didn’t shut the water off to Lugansk, the Ukrainian army did. Did anyone tell you different?
As far as the charge of Russia sending in armor, is this based on the slo-mo artillery invasion that Kiev announced yesterday, or the armored column that the Ukrainian army claimed to destroy last week? Maybe it was armor hidden in those white trucks, eh? Which of those stories did you believe? Do you believe?
You seem absolutely sure of these charges. The slo-mo invasion story originated with (or at least was announced by) NATO and Fogh Rasmussen. Did you trust Rasmussen when he assured the world that Saddam had WMDs twelve years ago? Why do you trust him now?
As far as who is shelling the factories, who do you blame again? Or maybe it’s because the rebels are fighting that the Ukrainian army that it’s Russia’s fault that Ukraine bombs industrial sites and hospitals indiscriminately.
Why do you think Russia took over Crimea? Do you even have a clue? For that matter, do you have any idea why the US is leading these sanctions against Russia? Any clue why the US is rattling sabers about Ukraine? Seems to me that there are plenty of places in the world where America can be doing good. Why doesn’t US lead in sanctions against Saudi Arabia and Qatar and Kuwait? After all, they’re the main financiers of ISIS.
Oh, and tit for tat. That’s what happens in the world. Do you have any problems with Ukraine stopping Russia from moving its gas to its European customers?
So it’s okay if the US supplies weapons and training to ISIS, and it’s okay that our allies do that, just as long as we kill them before they reach the oil wells in Kurdistan. It’s okay for NATO to send military aid to the Ukrainian army, right? It’s okay for the CIA to aid support to the Ukrainian government. It’s okay that oligarchs hire gangs of Nazi thugs for their militias, right? Oh, wait, you were told that there are no fascists in Ukraine.
By the way, who told you that the uprising was failing? That guy Gordon in the NYT? Or maybe you got it from those press releases out of Kiev. Yeah, you know all about what’s happening, don’t you?
You gotta do better than that. Otherwise you’re just a hypocrite. Which matches US foreign policy.
SiubhanDuinne
@gogol’s wife:
I haven’t seen that in forever, and honestly had forgotten that he had a small part in it. Thanks for the reminder! Will have to watch it again soon.
FlipYrWhig
@Another Holocene Human (now with new computer):
A lot of my professors had _Race Matters_ on their coffee tables in 1994. Since then?
raven
@Violet: You’re drillin a dry hole with that attempted analysis. Don’t mean nuthin.
eta From the Urban Dictionary
brother
n. Comrade. Companion. Friend. Typically used by and to individuals of african american heritage.
Ruckus
@Violet:
My last dog, Bud became very protective and very territorial. One night walking him, came across a couple out with their dog. Dude didn’t say a word just started to reach out and pet Bud. I was able to warn him in time but Bud would have bitten him. Bud was an elderly “gentleman” who I rescued at around 10-11 yrs old. When I first met him he seemed to be fine with everyone, allowed you to pet him, walk him and he was quiet and well behaved. The true colors came out once he got accustomed to his surroundings. He was great with me but was a one person dog. He got better once he figured out who was the alpha in our group of two. But outside that group, not so much. My vet didn’t seem to think his behavior was all that abnormal. Sounds like the dog that jumped at you may be somewhat the same.
raven
@Violet: We were egg snatchers, flashin sunshine children. . .
Kay (not the front-pager)
@karen: Oh, no. We were actually in the bed when he did it. The first time he was sitting on my husband’s legs. The second time he was between our pillows. While our heads were on them.
Violet
@raven: Could be. I’m curious about it though. He’s definitely got a style. Is it nothing more than habit?
@Ruckus: The dog was a blue heeler, which I understand are territorial and protective. That’s why it was surprising that the neighbor was so surprised by the dog’s behavior. Maybe the dog considers the neighbor part of “his family”?
Every time I’ve walked by this house this dog has terrified me. You don’t see or hear him until he’s on the fence, the fence shudders and the dog is barking and growling and snapping through the fence. I’ve jumped every time. I go by so infrequently that I forget he’s there. My neighbor said the same thing–the dog terrifies her too, so I know I’m not the only one. I find it hard to believe the owners don’t have done idea of how the dog behaves but maybe not.
I think the dog needs a “job”. Maybe they need to get some cattle for it to herd. Heh.
Bob In Portland
@Another Holocene Human (now with new computer): Here’s an article from Russia Today. True or false? What are your sources telling you? Has that invisible Russian armored column helped the rebels in this? Maybe the turning point was that invisible slo-mo Russian artillery invasion? That must have been it. Or here’s a possibility: Maybe Ukraine’s valiant thrust into the heart of Lugansk that was once again going to end this war against terror went a little too far and now they’re cut off from reinforcements and supplies.
Anyway, what’s happening today, and who are your sources?
raven
@Violet:Think of it this way. Dr. Valentin Narcisse in Boardwalk Empire often refers to Brother Marcus Garvey. There has been a great deal of criticism of the how Dr. Narcisse is portrayed as a black liberationist and a heroin dealer on the show but I think the language is a fairly accurate reflection of an upper class African-American intellectual. I hope someone will correct me if I am wrong.
Ruckus
@Violet:
You could be right. I think that outdoor, working type dogs need something to do and a big place to do it in. We know their traits for a reason, they have been bred for them over long periods of time. Of course not all dogs in a breed are going to have the same level of traits but most will have them to some degree. We should respect that, but of course many humans don’t even give it a second of thought.
Don K
Actually, finding about an unusual ingredient in something I like makes me more likely to try the ingredient on its own.
Violet
@raven: Isn’t Boardwalk Empire set in the 1920’s and 30’s? I haven’t seen it. I’m not at all saying that referring to people as “Brother” or “Sister” isn’t done. It’s done all over place, including in white Baptist churches and LDS churches (mostly white). I just don’t think it’s a common usage in casual conversation these days, even in the African-American community. So it stands out.
FlipYrWhig
@Violet: It’s an affectation. It’s part of his “brand.” I have colleagues who date back to Black Power days and they don’t do it, not to each other, not to anyone else, or at least not in everyday conversation.
karen
@Violet:
She’s acting up some. I have toys but she never really plays, she likes to knock magazines and phones off my coffee table. I guess I’ll try to give her more treats so we can bond better. I was gone for almost three weeks between the hospital then rehab for two weeks so I’d believe she was traumatized. I came back on the 11th, would she still be traumatized? She’s about 14 years old.
Violet
@karen: Yeah, she could easily be traumatized depending on her personality. That was only two weeks ago. You may also smell different or be acting different. And the person who is coming in may be great but that’s also a change for your kitty.
Is there any behavior modification stuff you can do? Maybe when the cat person comes you give your kitty a treat so she associates cat person and you with treat? All good stuff.
Given her age it may take her longer too. Older people have a harder time adjusting to change. Your older kitty may have that problem as well. Or there could be a health problem. As a not so young kitty that’s not out of the question.
Hope for the best for you and your Contessa!
Funkula
I think that the two themes of this post are connected. When applied to food, “realizing your gut reactions don’t make good policy” prevents you from making rash decisions and swearing off things you like because they contain something you think you don’t like. In my case, the presence of anchovies in Caesar dressing and Worcestershire sauce made me reconsider whether I dislike anchovies, not whether I like the others. I still don’t eat them intact because I’m not fond of foods overloaded with salt, but I now recognize that they’re a great flavoring agent.
Violet
@FlipYrWhig: That’s my impression too. The African-American people I know do not speak that way, including members of my family. It seems affected. And yeah, part of his “brand.”
satby
@Violet: I got a injury like yours once breaking up a dogfight. He nailed you with his snout I bet. My bruise went down to the bone on the front of my leg and there’s still a slight discoloration 6 years later. Second the arnica, and take some horse chestnut pills to improve the capillaries in your leg. Once the swelling is down start with some mild heat packs to absorb the bruise faster.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Bob In Portland: https://balloon-juice.com/2014/08/23/you-cant-blame-the-youth/#comment-5094863
HTH!!
Cheers,
Scott.
Gin & Tonic
@Bob In Portland: ethnic Russians
Not ethnic Russians, Bob. Russian Russians. Every leader of the separatist movements in Donetsk and Luhansk is a Russian citizen, born and raised in Russia, most trained by the Soviet military and/or intelligence services. This is not a secret. They are, simply, foreign mercenaries.
Violet
@satby: Thanks. I’ll put arnica gel on the list. Have never heard of horse chestnut pills. I’ll look into that too.
muddy
@Kay (not the front-pager): Eew! I was moving house years ago, and packing had been going on a while. One cat was not in favor of this disruption, and began to pee in my bed. The problem was I’d never see it in advance, I had a waterbed then and she’d go down inside the sheets at the bottom and do it. So I couldn’t see it, but would find out when I stuck my legs down in the bed. What a sneak. At least it on that bed it wasn’t harming the mattress. She never did it again there or anywhere naughty after the moving was over.
Cats are very opinionated.
J R in WV
Homopathic “medicines” are herbal solutions diluted so far that there may or may not be a molecule of the original herbs in the final solution. They can’t work except through the placebo effect.
Herbal medicines contain as much of the specific herbs/extract/several methods of preparation as the herbalist can get into the medicine. They often work quite well.
Burns: I once baked corn bread in an iron skillet in a 450 degree oven. The handle of the skillet was that temp – 450. I put it on a trivet on the counter, and it went to slide off the conter onto the floor. I grabbed the handle!!! OUCH!!
I treated the burn with (first) vitamin E oil, which I opened an oral capsule and spread the Vitamin E oil over the burn and all around the palm of my hand, which looked branded at first, a dark sear on the palm of the hand.
After applying lots of E oil, Mrs J filled a big bowl with cold water and ice cubes, and I put the right hand into the water for a very long time. That hurt as much as the original injury! But I stood it, and let the hand get numb in the ice water.
More oil later on, after I gave up on the ice water.
The next morning the seared mark was gone, and my hand was OK, no pain. I could barely believe it. Burns of quite a severe type can be helped a whole lot with vitamin E and cold water.
Of course, this is just my experience and not medical advice…
As for Karen’s kitty, stress is my best guess. Good luck at your Vet!
satby
Another way dogs get aggressive at the borders of their yards is by invisible fencing. The dog begins to associate the electric shock he gets from approaching the border as people walk by with the people (after all, the fence is invisible). No idea if they or their dog ever used that. It sounds like they’ve tried really hard to control and eliminate the possibility that the dog can poke between the fence openings again, and it is instinctive for dogs to protect their territory,so the dog’s behavior wasn’t that odd.
Ronzoni Rigatoni
@WaterGirl: Aside from the chemical “flavor packs” added to restore the real flavor lost through pasteurization, sure it’s all juice. Happily, I live in Florida where fresh squeezed right off the tree is available.
WaterGirl
@Ronzoni Rigatoni: Don’t they have to put it on the label if they add something to the juice?
Cervantes
@Violet:
Leaving aside veracity, there seems to me a large gap between the two statements above.
Bob In Portland
@Gin & Tonic: @Gin & Tonic: The only place I used “ethnic Russians” in the linked post was here:
Are you saying that there are only Russian citizens fighting in eastern Ukraine? That there are no Ukrainian citizens? That’s your reality?
And yet it’s been about five months now, this war on terror and yet the Ukrainian army can’t defeat this foreign occupying army. Or actually offer proof of Russia supplying the weaponry to these Russian citizens.
How’s the war on terror going today?
The Sailor
@Bob In Portland:
Which is state run media. Putin shut down the last independent ones.
You’re not helping your case by quoting a brutal dictator’s own news outlet making up lies on why he invaded another country.
Gin & Tonic
@Bob In Portland: Don’t be coy. You’ve used that phrase quite a few times over the months, and you know it. You also know full well, that the Donetsk and Luhansk separatist movements are being led by ex-Russian military and intelligence guys. Yes, they have some local support, but less than you seem to think. While we’re at it, let’s keep in mind why central and eastern Ukraine have such a large portion of the population whose grandparents were born in Russia – because Stalin exterminated many millions of Ukrainians and resettled Russians into those territories.
Yes, it’s been five months, and the Ukrainians have not yet defeated the foreign-supplied separatist movement. How long did it take the Vietnamese to expel the foreign armies?
Are you arguing that, in the 21st century, a sovereign nation-state cannot take military action to quell an armed and foreign-supplied insurrection? And cannot request assistance from its putative allies?
Bob In Portland
@Gin & Tonic: So define what you mean about there being no ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine.
Okay, Stalin exterminated millions of Ukrainians 80 years ago. and then 75 years ago Ukrainians exterminated millions of fellow Ukrainians. Your point about today? That the Ukrainian army is only killing genuine Russians?
I hope you’re not writing from the US, because we’ve had some problems in the past about resettling areas of this great land after killing the original inhabitants. Or did that one fly under your radar? How long do Native Americans have a legitimate claim on America?
This is what this argument all hinges on, whether there is a genuine uprising in the east or if it’s all a Russian masquerade. I suspect that there was a lot of dissension over the coup last winter in those sections of Ukraine who voted for Yanukovych or are Ukrainians that passive?
Was the uprising in Syria against Assad real or did it only become real once the Sunni half of Islam got involved with the US in trying to overthrow Assad?
Cervantes
@Bob In Portland:
My opinion? Until Justice is served.
What was that thing someone said about moral arcs and so forth?
Gin & Tonic
@Bob In Portland: So define what you mean about there being no ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine.
You’ll have to remind me where I said that.
I suspect that there was a lot of dissension over the coup last winter in those sections of Ukraine who voted for Yanukovych or are Ukrainians that passive?
As I’ve said repeatedly, there wasn’t a coup. There was a popular uprising at the culmination of which Yanukovych fled the country in the dead of night. But leaving that aside for the moment, many, probably most Ukrainians (like most people) are in fact pretty passive. They go to work, they buy gorceries, they feed their family, they spend time with their kids, they don’t care about much else. Some people in eastern Ukraine were upset that they no longer had Yanukovych as President. Not much of that was for noble reasons of political ideology, like, say, the rule of law, or the power of the ballot. A lot of it was for pretty crass motives – so and so got me a job, he’s connected, therefore I want him to stay in power. Donbass politics on its best day makes Cook County look like a Sunday-school picnic. Were those people, regardless of the reason they were upset with Kiev, willing to take up arms and possibly die for their goal? Not very many, frankly. Which is where guys like Strelkov come in. Would there have been an armed uprising without the Russians? You think there would, apparently, although I have no idea what actual facts on the ground underpin that thinking. The sense in Ukraine is that there would not, that the Russian spark lit the fire. Yes there are Russian-speaking Ukrainians adding fule to the fire, along with actual passport-carrying Russians. But without that spark, no fire.
There’s a wonderful and widely-used Soviet-era saying: “ŃĐș ĐČŃĐŽĐŸĐŒĐŸ” or “ĐșĐ°Đș ОзĐČĐ”ŃŃĐœĐŸ” meaning, sort of “as is known.” But it’s not “as everybody knows” or “as we all know” because that implies some human agency. “As is known” is stronger; it’s from the days when there was one TV channel and no independent newspapers, and rumor and word of mouth were king, yet information traveled almost as quickly as in Internet days. So, in Ukraine, “as is known” the Russian involvement was and remains indispensable.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Gin & Tonic: Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.
tybee
@raven:
one of my favorite albums.
Aardvark Cheeselog
@RaflW: (glycerol ester of wood rosin) It’s an emulsifier. The distinctive aromas of citrus are all oils, so to make a citrus-smelling soda you need something to keep them in solution.
Bob In Portland
@Cervantes: Nice sentiments, but I’m guessing that the US isn’t going to dissolve itself any time soon and let the Native Americans take back it all.
Did Stalin starve millions in Ukraine when he imposed agrarian reform? Yes. Have Russians lived in parts of Ukraine for hundreds of years? Yes. Isn’t hundreds of years enough to establish rights as occupants? Are the Ukrainians still fighting whatever wars came before the Crimean War?
Bob In Portland
@Cervantes: Nice sentiments, but I’m guessing that the US isn’t going to dissolve itself any time soon and let the Native Americans take back it all.
Did Stalin starve millions in Ukraine when he imposed agrarian reform? Yes. Have Russians lived in parts of Ukraine for hundreds of years? Yes. Isn’t hundreds of years enough to establish rights as occupants? Are the Ukrainians still fighting whatever wars came before the Crimean War?
Aardvark Cheeselog
@Mike J:
Or because making the world a better place by dropping bombs on people we don’t like hasn’t worked out too well for at least 60 years.
Aardvark Cheeselog
@Joel Hanes:
âDonât wolf your food!â“Don’t eat with your hands, kid! Use your entrenching tool!”
Bob In Portland
@The Sailor: This is a story published today. Did you read it? It says that there’s an enormous battle going on where thousands of Ukrainian forces are cut off from reinforcements and supplies.
I asked simply if it’s true and how do you know if it’s true or not. Do you rely on the New York Times’ coverage? One of the key Times reporters in Ukraine cowrote Judith Miller’s articles leading us to war in Iraq. How do you know he isn’t still lying? Explain. So if the New York Times and NATO and our government lied us into a decade and a half of war, do you hold the NY Times are more or less reliable than Russia Today? What did the Times say about the battle going on now? Nothing. So, in your world, it didn’t happen.
So scan the western press and let me know how you know that all was quiet on the eastern front today.
The Sailor
@Bob In Portland:
You mean, when they were part of the Soviet Union?
Also, citation needed.
And quit moving the goal posts.
Bob In Portland
I can follow links, you can follow links. This:
First off, it wasn’t a response to a discussion about leaders of the rebel groups. I was talking about the rebel groups.
But this is parsing the ridiculous. Has Russia been helping the rebels. Of course, was most of the leadership Russian? Yes. Is it now? Over the last week or so those Russians have been replaced by locals. I presume this is so that when negotiations finally start there is a Donbas face representing the rebels.
You minimize the political divisions of Ukraine. If right after the coup (the Confederacy was a popular uprising, ISIS is a popular uprising among Sunni) Yatsenyuk had gone to the east and ensured that their rights would be protected there probably wouldn’t have been a revolt.
He didn’t and there was. So how do you think is the best way to bringing peace to the region? By shelling Lugansk? Do you think that Poroshenko can exterminate the rebels? Is that the best way? Are you opposed to a looser federation wherein different regions have a say on the language in their schools and courts, where fascist gangs don’t wander the streets.
Oh yeah, there are no Nazis in Ukraine. And the Ukrainian army isn’t shelling civilians.
Gin & Tonic
@Bob In Portland: You minimize the political divisions of Ukraine.
How many times have you been to Ukraine, Bob? How many Ukrainian newspapers do you read? How many Ukrainian political web sites? How often do you watch Ukrainian TV? How many political parties can you name?
Here’s video from today (Independence Day) in Kramatorsk.
Cervantes
@Bob In Portland:
First, the question I answered was about how long the claim is legitimate, not how people are likely to deal with it. Second, I don’t know anyone who thinks “take back it all” is in the cards. Third, I don’t recommend extrapolating from these painful notions to the case of Ukraine, which is painful in its own idiosyncratic ways.