I was going to take a picture of a blue heron flying by when I was walking my dogs the other morning. But then my dogs saw a squirrel and almost snatched me off my feet while I was fiddling with the camera, so I accidentally took a blurry picture of their asses instead:
Poorly trained pets can severely hamper a career in wildlife photography. Please feel free to discuss whatever.
gogol's wife
I like it — very avant-garde.
gogol's wife
God, the autoplay audio ads have gone, which is great, but now I have gifs of a bald 73-year-old guy with six-pack abs. That’s just not right.
scav
@gogol’s wife: WHAT have you been up to!? I just have a greying medico to be ‘asked live’ and an attempt to sell me a Maytag dishwasher. I think I’d rather have your life.
gogol's wife
@scav:
Sometimes I swear I get ads in response to something I merely THOUGHT. (Not in this case, though.)
Violet
I love it! So artistic. I bet if you enlarged the photo, put it in a frame and hung it on the wall of a local coffee shop you could sell it.
realbtl
I’m at the Truffle Pigs restaurant and hotel in Field BC on a before-the-snow-flies tour. Lovely top down Miata weather though winter is coming.
OzarkHillbilly
You’re lucky you didn’t break your grandmothers legs.
Speaking of which, been meaning to say how jealous I am that you still have both yours. My paternal grandmother died before I was born and I lost Grams 35 years ago.
shortstop
@gogol’s wife: Ah, you lusted in your thoughts. Well played, sister.
shortstop
Shout-out to fellow Chicagoans here: How about that Richard Posner, eh? Eh?
Violet
So I saw someone link something about Luke Russert and Joe Scarborough joining some panel on Chuckie Toddler’s version of MTP. NBC has lost their collective minds. There’s no way that sort of thing is going to help ratings.
beltane
@Violet: The old people who watch MTP regularly won’t take this panel of twits seriously, and there is nothing about this trio that will attract younger viewers.
Betty Cracker
@OzarkHillbilly: I know I am very lucky to have them both. As old as they are, they’re still very much themselves and complete opposites to one another — one fiery, sweary and cantankerous, and the other a very proper Southern lady who can take the hide off you without raising her voice or saying an unkind word.
The Fat Kate Middleton
Took my sister’s dog (who loves me more than he loves her, neener neener) out for a walk last summer. He, too, saw a squirrel, and left me with two broken ribs and a seriously messed-up knee. I still love him.
shelley
No regrets, Betty. There’s something so cheering about dog butts.
piratedan
shamelessly cadged from LGF commenter Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance….
So let’s take stock of today so far:
The good:
1) DOJ is investigating the Ferguson and St Louis police.
2) Early voting restored in Ohio and voter restrictions overturned
3) SSM bans in Michigan and Indiana ruled unconstitutional
4) McDonnell convicted
5) BP found negligent over spill in the gulf
6) U.S. Airstrikes took out a bunch of ISIS leadership
7) Decision by D.C. court to undo ACA withdrawn (full court to hear the case)
The bad:
1) RIP Joan Rivers
overall a good day.
TBH we don’t see as many of these days with the endless onslaught of 1% money attempting to keep control in the hands of wealthy white guys as they attempt to keep us in virtual servitude on multiple fronts… just thought it was an apt synopsis of the day.
also an apt summation by our own Thin Black Duke regarding Rivers’ life:
I’m old enough to remember when Joan Rivers first came upon the scene and I understand why she was important. Problem is, in her early years, Rivers punched up, but in the twilight of her career, she almost exclusively punched down, and I think that’s what some people are having problems with.
ranchandsyrup
as predicted, Halbig is no more. huzzah!
Violet
@beltane: Agreed. If they think Luke Russert is going to bring in younger viewers they’ve lost their minds. He’s not good looking enough to bring in viewers for that reason. He’s the walking definition of nepotism tinged with pity (Sorry your dad died, Luke. Here, have a job.). And he’s shown no real ability to be anything except a talking head. I guess he’s perfect for the role in their eyes, but it’s our eyeballs they want to have watching the screen.
gogol's wife
@shelley:
My husband likes to run videos of our canine nephew backwards so that his little butt comes rushing toward the viewer.
shortstop
@shelley:
Reason I like this place is about 98 percent of us would agree with this statement and not find it remotely weird.
mai naem
@Violet: He’s not even a good talking head. Granted, he’s come a long way from when was cringeworthy when started at MSNBC but he still spits out just regular cliched crap that he’s obviously read/heard somewhere. His thoughts never appear to be original. What is it with MSNBC? Ronan Farrow who’s still cringeworthy, Luke Russert and Abby Huntsman who does her punditting okay but must be putting on her make up with a trowel.
MomSense
I have a photo much like that one–two blurry lab asses wagging their tails. Right after I moved in to my neighborhood, about 4 years ago, I took care of my boss’ dog for a week. The two old labs tried to outdo each other all around the neighborhood. They were vying to be ahead of the other, constantly pissing and sniffing where the other had just pissed and sniffed, and man were they pulling on the leashes as they dragged me around the neighborhood.
Some of my neighbors still tease me about it. I was being dragged around the neighborhood by two heavy panting labs while doing a combination double dutch jump rope and paso doble as I tried not to get tangled in the leashes.
Of course about 3 1/2 seconds after going back in the house they collapsed into snoring heaps on the floor.
Violet
@mai naem: Oh, Ronan Farrow. When I was home sick a few weeks ago I caught some of his show. Just his voice alone is grating. And the show. Shudder. I think I read that ratings for it are awful. I’m not surprised. I wonder how long they’ll keep him around.
The Pale Scot
My trip back to homeland fell short
So i won’t be seeing the Screaming Orphans or Danielle Miraglia in Hoboken and Fanwood
piratedan
@Violet: I have faith that our esteemed village would be happy to replace him with Dancing Dave Gregory to provide the necessary liberal balance in their reporting :-)
beth
NBC News just had a story about a sick dog that had surgery – the vet removed 43 socks from its stomach! Didn’t these people notice they were missing?
Roger Moore
@shortstop:
It’s nice to see it there in black and white, isn’t it.
Geeno
Dinner was, once again, the high note of my day.
Potacos – you take all the fixings you’d put in a taco into a baked potato.
Taco meats, jalapeños, jalapeño jack cheese – etc. etc.
Delicious. Leaves a pleasant aroma in the house, too.
OzarkHillbilly
@Betty Cracker: Heh. From what I heard growing up, my father’s mother was nobody’s fool and could cuss you out in 7 different languages, only 4 of which were known and none of them were English. My Grams on the other hand was the very picture of a Texan Southern Baptist virtuous woman. All honey. Very prim, very proper.
When my mother told Grams she was marrying this “Polack from the south side of Chicago” (actually Slovenian, from Joliet) Grams threatened to disown her. Ma said “Fine.” and went upstairs to pack her bags. “Wait a minute, wait a minute… I just wanted to make sure you were serious.” Grams said.
Years later when Gramps died, my mother was less than a month from giving birth to her 7th child. So my old man packed up all us kids and headed down to Dallas for the funeral, sans Ma. Poor Grams, she hadn’t told anyone that her converted Catholic daughter (the shame!) was pregnant yet again, at the scandalous age of 42.
My mother’s favorite cousin is a lesbian in a long time relationship. But every time we went to Dallas, Bobby June and Maxine were fixtures at all the family gatherings (we’re talking 60s-70s).
Dog bless her, I and my siblings grew up blissfully unaware of all these assaults on her… principles. She loved everyone and that was all that really mattered
JPL
@beth: Surely you know that dryers eat socks all the time, except that seems like a lot of missing socks. I hope the god is okay.
OzarkHillbilly
@beth: I thought it was the dryer!
srv
Dress preppy with Presidential Prep?
Is there a khaki/boat shoes uniform for the NRA?
BGinCHI
@shortstop: Shocked at his humanity.
Who knew?
Geeno
@OzarkHillbilly: I feel your pain. Maternal Grand-mother died in childbirth in 1948 – 13 years before my own birth. Paternal Grand-mother in 1983 (31 years ago this month) just after I started my junior year at Kent State (out-of-town). Because my paternal Grand-father died in 1956 – 5 years before i was born – the only grand father I ever knew was my maternal Grand-father (RIP – 1997 at age 93).
BGinCHI
@piratedan: Add Rivers to the top list to make 8.
Good day.
kindness
While not BJ calendar quality it is always nice to see the kids Betty.
Geeno
@BGinCHI: Now, now. Joan did good work in her youth – when she was actually funny. That she milked the celebrity bit as long as they would let her was unfortunate.
BGinCHI
@Geeno: Golf clap.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Geeno: I am not familiar with her early work . By the time I became aware of her, she was already a caricature. I was not not a fan of what I saw of her work.
OzarkHillbilly
@Geeno: If they would let me, I would milk that sucker dry.
Scamp Dog
@Geeno: my paternal grandfather was also born in 1904, although he died in 1987. Grandma died in ’93. Both maternal grandparents were gone before I was born.
I still miss the grandparents that I knew.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Violet: I didn’t think the roll-out of MTP wtvr.wtvr could get sillier than the videos of Chuck Todd’s family wishing him good luck, but putting Luke Russert on is classic “everyone I know”ism from the Village. I can’t imagine the various branches of NBC and other outlets don’t look at him and think…” the fuck? ” I hope they talk to Wonkette and Buzzfeed. and Scarbogough? If I believed in a deity I would light candles in prayer for smugness to become more painful than shingles.
Christ if they bring Auntie Matalin and Uncle Carville on the same panel to pinch Lukey’s cheeks, I may finally go Elvis on my TeeVee.
And I would miss my TeeVee.
PhoningItIn
@beth: Washing machines do that. You’d have to catch Pup with one between his teeth…
Gin & Tonic
@Geeno: as long as they would let her
Who’s this mysterious “they”? Rivers was certainly divisive, as we’ve seen here, but she pushed doors open herself. What she had, and what she maintained, were her own doing.
Violet
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I googled Luke Russert and the first thing that came up was a headline from Tucker Carlson’s vanity rag that says:
I figured if they hate it too, that has to be bad. Our of curiosity I clicked through and there’s a sampling of tweets echoing the sentiments here–nepotism, useless, no meritocracy, embarrassing, etc.
Gravenstone
I think I’ve stumbled across the reincarnation of His Tunchness.
Complete with aftermarket tail.
hilts
@Violet:
How well do you know Chuck Todd?
Todd played the French horn throughout high school and at 17 years old was the principal horn in Florida’s All-State Orchestra. He attributes his “drive for perfection” to his years of practicing and perfecting his horn skills.
This and other fun facts about Chuck Todd are available at Politico
http://www.politico.com/gallery/2014/08/how-well-do-you-know-chuck-todd/002006-028559.html
NBC could not have made a worse choice for MTP moderator than Chuck Todd. The guy is dumber than dirt. NBC should just cancel this fucking show and replace it with a test pattern.
Gin & Tonic
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I think anybody under, say 35 (is that the audience that doofus is supposed to attract?) who’s been to college takes one look at Lil Russ and knows exactly who and what he is.
Violet
@hilts: They could have done so many interesting things with the show. I liked the idea of having a panel of moderators. I think bringing in local news people from around the country on a rotating basis to be part of the panel would really spice it up.
Part of the problem with the Sunday Shows is that there are a gazillion political and talking head talk shows on these days. Cable news has that all day long. It used to be that Sunday was when these people got to tell their story so it was interesting and newsworthy. Now it’s just more talking points, most of which we’ve seen already throughout the week. Yawn.
Elizabelle
@beth:
re the Great Dane with the 43 socks: From the LA Times:
Put this up on an earlier open thread, and maya asked:
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Violet: Wow, if the perpetually-fired Birdseye heir is mocking Prince Luke, it must be almost unanimous. But let’s wait for Meghan McCain to weigh in.
@Gin & Tonic: He does remind me of the guys (mostly) I knew in college who thought they could win any political argument, which I tended to avoid even then) by starting a sentence with “Well, my DAD says…” I guess there’s something to be said for the fact that he’s not just sitting back on what I’m sure is a massive trust fund, but the fact that he’s willing to take jobs he’s so obviously unqualified for suggests a lack of self-awareness that must be some kind of psychological condition.
Just One More Canuck
I saw the picture and thought it was a post from Cole
hilts
For anyone who loves to hate Joan Rivers or Jerry Lewis, here they are trashing each other
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBWsr2x01jY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTs0_8TT_bE
cckids
@Violet:
I’m continually surprised that he’s still there, also will never understand how he got the spot to start with. Where did he come from, anyway?? His show is too awful to even have on as background while I vacuum or do paperwork.
cckids
@beth:
Wow. When he was younger, our pomeranian would collect socks & stash them under one specific chair, but he didn’t eat them. That is messed up.
piratedan
@Violet: maybe if they actually had members of the Press involved, you know journalists and stuff instead of GOP water carriers I might be able to feign interest
RoonieRoo
I’m impressed that you can walk both of them at the same time!
NotMax
@Violet
Which, in the halcyon days of yore, was the show’s format.
But Todd, Russert and Scarborough? Three white males?
gogol's wife
@cckids:
The story I’m interested in is how the media (Vanity Fair, New York Times) helped Mia Farrow roll out the PR campaign for her son’s new talk show in the form of smearing Woody Allen and humiliating Frank Sinatra’s widow.
tybee
@beth:
bet the dog’s name was Maytag.
AkaDad
@hilts:
At least Joan died right after doing something she loved. Getting surgery.
Too soon?
Pogonip
@beth: So THAT’S where all my missing socks went! Cough up, Rover!
So to speak.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
About 18 minutes until the Green Bay game starts. Go, Pack, go!
Pogonip
@piratedan: I never thought Joan Rivers was funny.
jacy
All my pictures of my dogs are blurry. But then I’m a lousy photographer and can barely use my iPhone to make phone calls. And my dogs are all spazzes.
(And for the couple of people who were asking, my surgery is set for the 15th — and my oncologist hopes that we may be able to do it robotically — which has something to do with putting the mass inside a plastic bag and then deflating it safely and pulling everything out through a much smaller incision — she’ll decide once I’m on the table if it’s feasible. She also said that in her opinion — and she’s been doing this for 30 years — that from lab results and imaging, she would say there’s roughly a 15% chance it’s invasive cancer, a 45% chance it’s a “low-malignancy” cancer that can be cured simply by removal, and a 40% chance it may actually be benign. She also said that while all radiologists aren’t idiots, she wouldn’t trust them to accurately diagnose much of anything. So, cautiously, yay! Or semi-yay. It’s much better news than anything else I’ve gotten so far…. )
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@jacy: That sounds like pretty good news to me. I say we add it to the list of good things from today.
Iowa Old Lady
@NotMax: You’d think they’d notice. But no, they never do.
Hungry Joe
Should have posted this many hours ago: My wife and I were up before 5am today to join the national “Fight for $15” marches. This one was in San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood. Ten protesters — eight of them fast-food workers — were arrested when they plunked themselves down in the middle of a busy intersection and refused to move.
Our city council passed a (rather tepid) minimum-wage ordinance a few weeks ago. The mayor vetoed it. Council overrode his veto. The Chamber of Commerce and other such groups sprang into action: They’re collecting signatures to delay its implementation and put it on the ballot in 2016. Paid signature-gatherers are telling baldfaced lies (yes, captured on video); I got into quite the screaming argument with one of them in front of a grocery store because he was telling people that the petition supported low-wage workers.
Betty Cracker
@jacy: Sounds like good news to me too!
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Hungry Joe: Excellent. Well done.
Bob In Portland
Wouldn’t you know, it’s the Russians who provide the world with pictures of its invasion force.
Gin & Tonic
@Bob In Portland: Huh. And here I believed you when you said you didn’t “do” Twitter. Silly me.
Elizabelle
@gogol’s wife:
And for that reason (smearing Woody Allen) I never wanted to hear anything from young Ronan.
Who does look like Frank Sinatra’s son.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Elizabelle: I think the whole approach was beyond tacky – especially as to Mrs. Sinatra, since we’ve figured out that Woody is at best a slimebag with poor judgment – but holy fuck Rona looks like a young Frank.
satby
@shortstop: love Posner, even though he’s a old school Republican. Have trouble linking on the Kindle, but if I could, Kung-fu Monkey obligatory link here: “I Miss Republicans”
Bob In Portland
@Gin & Tonic: I copied the link from Russia Today. Did you see the article about NATO sending lethal weapons to Ukraine?
Gin & Tonic
@Bob In Portland: I copied the link from Russia Today
I’m shocked.
Sir Laffs-a-Lot
Actually, Betty, they seemed to have you exceptionally well trained.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Bob In Portland: Hey Bob! Had your coffee yet? You don’t want to wait too late in the day if you have caffeine sensitivity.
Russia’s Top 100 Lies About Ukraine (from August 11 – it may be out of date now).
RT hasn’t heard of Google Image Search or TinEye, it appears…
HTH!!!
Cheers,
Scott.
Jebediah, RBG
Hope I’m not too late for Betty to see this– I think the picture is groovy and would make a proper album cover.