Walked into the living room and look at what I found:
Steve’s paws were glamorously displayed:
I’m going to watch the second episode of Legends (TNT), which I thought was pretty good, and then the third episode of Outlander, which is also fun. At some point I need to binge watch six episodes of True Blood, because the series finale was tonight. Then it is bed time, because I have to hit the hospital again tomorrow to be tortured having multiple CT scans. Mind you, the scans themselves don’t hurt, it’s the staff contorting my arms and shoulders into excruciating and awkward positions to get a good image. Been through this before a few times, and it sucks.
What are you all up to this evening?
Denali
Amazing paws.
kc
Look at Steve’s big ol’ head. Love him.
Mike E
The lion and the lamb.
rikyrah
Steve is huge.
El Caganer
I’m surprised you don’t have another animal demanding to be the center of attention. Or isn’t she that kind of JRT?
rikyrah
Legends confuses me. I don’t think that I will stick with it.
Anne Laurie
Lily says you weren’t anywheres, and her feet got cold!
(That’s her excuse and she is sticking to it.)
Nicole
What the series finale of True Blood is really saying: Women just need to let men make their major life decisions for them. Because men know best what women really need.
Le sigh. Well, they can’t take away my memories of Russell Edgington. And now the weather. Tiffany?
Hal
I’m trying to think of the last show I really liked that went so quickly terrible. So far True Blood is the winner. Buffy had it’s ups and down in it’s last couple of seasons as a for instance, but still had something to give. True Blood should have ended 3 seasons ago.
NotMax
File under Who Knew?
ruemara
I’m liking Legends so far, but I am also watching Battleship. I’ve been haunting the petco when it’s ASPCA day. I just need kitten time. Class 2 of kickboxing. These gloves feel so awkward and I kick like a pilsbury doughboy doing his Elaine Bennis dancing impression. And hit just as hard. It’s not doing it that’s hard, it’s tolerating how awful you are at it.
Violet
Lily! Love her! So sweet. Look at that little face. Steve is huge. Shawn is the animal whisperer, isn’t he?
Console
@Hal:
The Showtime shows hold the crown for this. Dexter, Weeds, and Homeland. They know how to run something into the ground over there.
Gin & Tonic
Eating a bowl of fresh raspberries, from the local farmer’s market. With cream. Yes, real heavy cream. Suck it, haters.
Console
Best shows on right now are The Knick, Manhattan, and Outlander. Rectify just finished and I think The Honourable Woman just finished (I’m behind on that one) but those are definitely worth watching.
And The Strain keeps pulling me back in…
Mike in NC
After being up in NoVA for a week, we’re dealing with two pissed off cats and starting to catch up on the DVR: The Strain, Manhattan, The Last Ship, Tyrant, etc. plus Netflix…
Tenar Darell
Anyone watching either The Knick or the season finale of The Last Ship? I watched both after Sunday dinner with my Dad. I wasn’t following the latter, but I’m already hooked on the former. (Dad is hooked on both now).
Earlier today I made the mistake of trying to watch a silent movie and do some chores too. Pro-tip, do not try this at home, you will rewind a lot. It was Broken Blossoms, from 1919 with Lillian Gish. I’m glad these films still exist, the performances are amazing, some shot techniques they developed are still used today! But I always forget how casually racist they will be until I actually watch them.
Culture of Truth
I did not know you adopted a lynx.
Violet
@Anne Laurie:
I think that must be true. Look at her little feet all tucked up. She knows a warm lap when she sees one.
Dog On Porch
I drove through Saint Helena, Ca. earlier this afternoon. Power outages from that 6.1 earthquake down valley in Napa city had shut the town down. I felt the quake myself last night, a county over in Sonoma. I guessed it at being in the 3.5 to 4 point Richter level, and went back to sleep. I was mucho surprised this morning to read otherwise.
Hang in there, Cole. I certainly wish you the best.
Amir Khalid
So, where was Rosie? I thought she wuvved Shawn as much as the other two obviously do.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
I think I finally have a title for the novel. Finding Phoebe.
It’ll be a lot easier to market with a title.
Console
@Tenar Darell:
I watch The Knick but I haven’t seen the newest episode. So far I really like it. I’ve seen the first two episodes of The Last Ship but I couldn’t take it seriously enough to keep watching. Once the first guy to die was the black dude, I spent the rest of the two episodes picking the show apart.
Not Adding Much to the Community
I am up to criticizing True Blood as miserable drek forced upon good actors, with the exception of Anna Paquin. I had always thought her one-note character in the X-Men movies was on purpose, until I saw this.
That dispensed with, my Significant Otter hasn’t seen Game of Thrones yet, so we’re going to carve another chunk out of season one tonight. Cheers.
Suzanne
Starting my new job tomorrow morning.
So I had corrective color done on my hair yesterday, which took almost three hours and was exorbitantly expensive. The stylist did a great job, but used a styling product that left my hair feeling goopy. As I was my hair once a week, this would drive me batshit by next weekend. So I decided to wash it, but not before trying a homemade pumpkin hair mask. As I applied the goop, Spawn the Younger watched me and said, “Ohhhh, dat CRAZY.” When I took the shower cap off when it was done, Mr. Suzanne said, “Uh, it looks like you had an accident in there.” However, my hair is no longer striped different colors, and is nice and soft, and even smells a little bit like pie.
I did cut myself in the shower while shaving, and I really and truly felt like a Juicer.
StringOnAStick
I spent a good part of the day being a volunteer course marshal for the USA Pro Cycling Challenge as it flew through my little city. The race was great, the riders amazing. This was Jens Voight’s last race of his professional career, one that started in 1997; he’ll be 43 next month and he led for most of today’s stage and has made some big breakaways on the other 6 days too. To do that well against people half his age is amazing; go, old dude!
If you’ve never seen a pro cycling race in person, the speeds these guys ride at will stun you. So cool to watch, but wow being a volunteer is stressful because if a car or a pedestrian gets out on the course, serious injuries/death are a possibility and people can be so fcking stupid/selfish/ignorant. This town has had signs on every impacted street and every major street for 2 weeks stating they would be closed from 12:30 to 2pm today and lighted signs saying ROAD CLOSED as the race was nearing town, and I still had jackasses getting in my face because they couldn’t drive across the route until the race was over (the closures were temporary and are over with pretty quickly). Ah well, it was exciting and I got Tshirt……
Mnemosyne
@Tenar Darell:
Ironically, Broken Blossoms was considered quite enlightened for its time because the hero was Chinese. Sure, he was a white actor (Richard Barthelmess) in yellowface, but it was fairly unusual to have an Asian person portrayed as anything other than a villain in a Hollywood movie.
But, yes, I’ve learned to warn people when I recommend old movies, because there’s almost always something embarrassing that’s waiting to jump out.
Tenar Darell
@Mnemosyne: I pick out films from reviews, write them down, and borrow from the library. Anything labelled significant or influential usually interests me. But yeah, I was expecting a D.W.G. film to have issues; I’ve actually never watched Birth of a Nation through, just seen clips. That one would probably make me throw things at my own tv.
Gex
I am going to have a serious word with the place that serviced my new scooter on Friday. I put the first 200 miles on no problem. I go back to have them install the windshield they didn’t install when I got it, and on my second ride the damn side view mirror falls off. I had a very exciting ride on a bumpy road, holding my legally required side view mirror on, trying to steer one handed, and hoping to God I didn’t die.
I mean, full marks for making a passive-aggressive point about me carrying tools with me but only partial credit for trying to get me killed.
Mnemosyne
@Tenar Darell:
Birth of a Nation is bad enough in itself, but Griffith was genuinely clueless that anyone would be offended, hard as that is for us to believe today. He made Intolerance afterwards as an attempt at a mea culpa, but it was too little, too late.
My favorite silent star is Buster Keaton and he has a pretty low number of racist scenes compared to others from the same period, but I still wince when they turn up. (Though I will defend his blackface scene in College this way: it’s supposed to be a disguise, he doesn’t act in a stereotypical way until he thinks his nemesis is looking at him, and the other restaurant workers are rightfully pissed when he’s unmasked.)
Mike J
@Gex: I’m picturing a scooter from Quadrophenia and trying to hold the mirrors on.
Tenar Darell
@Console: I really like The Knick. I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes. Thackeray is a delightful ass, but Algernon’s story is the most fascinating. I’m do glad how they have him training in Europe, because I remember reading somewhere that that kind of specialized training happened. I’m really really hoping they don’t mess that character up.
Last Ship, yeah, I could definitely see that. I watched most of the first episode, read some summaries, and tonight. When my inner critic conspires with my inner snarkist to turn on during a show, it’s impossible to enjoy it after that.
Tenar Darell
@Mnemosyne: Not surprised to hear that about Griffith. I’ll have to dig up Intolerance and Keaton’s College next. Thanks for the recommendations.
The edition of Broken Blossoms I had had an intro by Lillian Gish, and also an article from an old film magazine with Griffith about how he chose his female stars. That was kind of creepy when he was talking about looking for an innocent quality, but definitely sexist and ageist. But with the close ups he did of the eyes and of faces, and without the ability to use CGI, I can see why he wanted unlined faces. (I don’t have to like it, but I get it).
Radio One
I think The Good Wife is a great television drama for people who have invested trust in people in government and in the legal field. Not that it’s all true, just that it’s a good story.
Mnemosyne
@Tenar Darell:
I should say, if you’ve never seen any Buster Keaton before, you should start with either Sherlock Jr. or The General. College is good, but it’s not top-tier.
Sherlock Jr. is very modern with lots of camera trickery that’s still impressive today, and The General is a meticulous Civil War film (though a comedy!) so it depends on what you’re in the mood for.
YellowJournalism
@Tenar Darell: Way Down East is a good Grifith film to watch for the amazing ice flow scene. I also like Orphans of the Storm for its Frenh Revolution setting and the fact that both Gish sisters are in it.
Intolerance has some great moments and is a remarkable piece of film history, but it lags during some of the interconnecting stories.
max
Miley Cyrus has big brass balls:
Good on her.
max
[‘If you don’t like Miley Cyrus (I mean the person, not the music) you just suck.’]
WaynersT
THUNDERPAWS – its not a cat it’s a liger.
Steeplejack
@Steeplejack:
Damn it, FYWP! Fell through the moderation trapdoor for an ill-chosen word. Apologies for the eventual dupe.
Original message:
Night shift checking in on West Coast time. Finished Day 1 of my working vacation in Las Vegas with wingnut brother and problematic aged mother. Had a really good brunch at Mom’s “local” casino in Summerlin (upscale area northwest of town)—eggs Benedict with smoked salmon and cooked spinach instead of Canadian bacon—followed by a trip to REI to help wingnut brother get a tough, outdoorsy equipment bag for his three-week motorcycle trip in Peru and Bolivia. Had a smidge of family drama, nothing too serious, then wingnut brother and I returned to his house in Henderson (southeast of town). Spent the evening listening to him stress out about the trip and trying to convince him that his cell phone is not going to automatically work in South America just because some guy at Verizon Wireless told him they have an international plan that works with his Galaxy S5. Mercifully no discussion of politics or controversial issues of the day.
More last-minute errands and stressing tomorrow, then I trundle him off to the airport early Tuesday morning, after which I begin the real work of the vacation—dog-sitting a middle-aged whippet and a newly acquired, fresh-off-the-track greyhound and mom-sitting the problematic parent.
Temp got up to 98° today. It’s a dry heat, sure—they start bitching about the humidity when it gets all the way up to 30 percent—but it seemed to hit me hard. Maybe I’ve got a little jet lag. Is that still a thing?
On balance, so far so good. Wingnut brother doesn’t have a DVR on his cable box, which seems barbaric, but all the other amenities are up to snuff. I will buy a pillow at Target, though, because his guest bedroom pillows suck. First World problem.
Watched Breathless on Masterpiece Mystery! tonight and don’t know quite what to make of it. It was kind of all over the place.
wasabi gasp
Main Sequence – My Unpatience Self
wasabi gasp
Vetusta Morla – La Mosca en tu Pared
Amir Khalid
How about some late-night salsa?
Not Adding Much to the Community
@Steeplejack: 98 degrees? Just be glad you weren’t here when it was really hot. It was about 112 degrees the last week of June. Good times.
Mustang Bobby
Waking up at 3:00 a.m. to be the good blogger and finding it’s 80 F outside with 90% humidity. Welcome to South Florida’s idea of summer nights.
wasabi gasp
Caliente, but not salsa…or Florida.
NIKITA – ХИМИЯ
[nsfw]
Amir Khalid
I’m not sure I could imagine a more unhappy story in sports than a football player getting killed at a match.
NotMax
@Mnemosyne – @Tenar Darell
For those new to Keaton, would recommend Seven Chances, Steamboat Boat Bill Jr. or The Cameraman as entry movies.
Betsy
@Gin & Tonic: I have raspberries from my backYARD, so, nannynannybooboo.
Actually, your rasp & cream sounds delicious and you didn’t have to get the prickers in your hands, so, good for you for supporting local farmer.
Rosalita
I binge-watched seasons 1 and 2 of SouthLAnd this weekend, man I miss that show.
tommydee
Recovering from my own dislocated shoulder. Do believe that it does hurt — for weeks. Plus the totally freaky MRI.
Happy healing Cole.
PhoningItIn
Steve looks like the armored car in “Into the Storm”–those grappling hooks will withstand 170mph winds!
Medicine Man
I like how John’s cat is larger than either of his dogs.
Comrade Carter
The Maryland thing is okay, they’re in the Big Ten now, but the Ravens hat needs to be, wants to be, replaced by a Green Bay Packers hat… If not a Milwaukee Brewers hat.