This is a monster day for college football fans (see below). But here’s a playground for those who don’t give a rat’s ass.
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by Betty Cracker| 137 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads
This is a monster day for college football fans (see below). But here’s a playground for those who don’t give a rat’s ass.
Comments are closed.
raven
Fack em and the horses they rode in on!
RobertDSC-iPhone 4
I have 2.5 hours to go at the second job. When I’m done, I’ll have worked 76 hours in the past 7 days.
NotMax
The cooking marathon has begun. Expect to be finished in 4 or 5 hours.
Repeating this for the
A mostly forgotten clever little nugget of a whodunnit on TCM this Sunday at 8:15 a.m. (ET), Green For Danger.
Alastair Sim infuses the role of a slightly off-kilter Scotland Yard detective with his trademark mordant whimsy. To a modern audience, the film may at first come across as pokey, even stilted. But stick around for Sim to show up and thenceforth steal the show.
NotMax
Mmmmm, great aroma. Somebody could make a fortune marketing a frying onion-scented air freshener.
Betty Cracker
@RobertDSC-iPhone 4: Wow. Hope you have some downtime on the agenda.
geg6
This is football related, but who the hell picked out the WVU uniforms? Ugliest shit I’ve ever seen. Almost as ugly as the stupid college with horrifying blue turf.
Phylllis
Reconciling myself to the fact that I’ll probably have to go to Pittsburgh for a week-long training in late November. Too far to drive, bleh.
Suffern ACE
I say I miss ice box cake and wouldn’t ya know there’s now an ice cream cake. I guess I’ll keep this one another week.
RobertDSC-iPhone 4
@Betty Cracker: Early tomorrow morning is a trip to the laundromat. So excited, lol.
Other than that, though, there is nothing going on. Just vegetating in front of the Playstation and watching Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.
Phylllis
@efgoldman: I no longer do weddings. Or Pampered Chef/Thirty-One/Scentsy or whatever home party flavor of the month it is. Because, bleh. You’ll be in my thoughts.
SiubhanDuinne
@NotMax:
Somehow I’ve never seen the film, but I remember the book (Christianna Brand) very well. May haul it out from the bookshelf soon and reread it.
Poopyman
Today’s Tea Party email: Send
Lawyers, Guns, andMoney.NotMax
@geg6
Summer camp I worked at eons ago got a entire gymnasium’s worth of wrestling mats for free once.
The high school which the owner taught at had ordered new ones, and they arrived colored red and white. But the school colors were red and gray, and the administration refused to pay for red and white. The company did make up and ship some in the correct colors but didn’t want the others back, so the school offered them first come, first served to whomever might want ’em.
geg6
How weird is this? My sister’s dog Cookie, a white Spitz, died a year ago. She is just recently ready to get another one. She found a cute black puppy online in Washington state. The puppy is now old enough to be shipped and they got the particulars. New puppy is a Norwegian buhund, a Spitz breed. Her name is Oreo. And she’s arriving on the first anniversary of Cookie’s death.
I think it was meant to be. :-)
geg6
@Phylllis:
If you want to do a BJ meetup, let me know!
Phylllis
@geg6: That would be cool. I’ll know for sure on Monday.
burnspbesq
Plenty of good football tomorrow: Arsenal – Chelsea and Man U – Everton.
burnspbesq
Sent the kid a care package with his Bluetooth speaker (which he forgot to pack) and about $20 worth of treats from Trader Joe’s. Cost 65 bucks to send in a USPS Priority medium flat-rate box, and he had to pay 28 pounds in
ransomcustoms duties to get it from Royal Mail.Sheesh. This international-student shit is frakkin’ expensive.
Suffern ACE
@burnspbesq: there’s a duty on Chocolate covered Jo Joes.
Wally Ballou
In other sportsball news, the MLB postseason has its first great pitching duel, as the Nats lead the Giants 1-0 in the 8th.
geg6
@Phylllis:
Maybe we can talk Kay into driving over, too. And if we’re lucky, maybe Cole will overcome his agoraphobia and he and Shawn can join us!
Phylllis
@efgoldman: As we say in these parts, ‘if momma ain’t happy’…..
srv
@RobertDSC-iPhone 4: Slacker
WereBear
How awesome! I hear they have wonderful personalities.
As someone who had a Norwegian Elkhound mix, I will be eager to hear puppeh news.
Betty Cracker
@burnspbesq: That’s outrageous! Might be cheaper to order stuff online for shipping directly to him.
Doug r
@Wally Ballou: since the Expos left Montreal they are dead to my wife.
Phylllis
@geg6: Even better. Kay and I were at the same conference in Austin back in March and managed to completely miss each other.
Betty Cracker
Got my new progressive lens glasses today. It takes some getting used to, but it’s wonderful to no longer have to take my glasses off and on a thousand times a day. Now I can watch TV, text, read Balloon Juice, etc., all with the same pair of specs.
jacy
I have a dear friend who adores college football — I told her when I was queen of the universe that I wouldn’t ban it, but only for her.
College hockey on the other hand, that’s something I can get behind.
big ole hound
@Phylllis: Don’t do weddings, funerals, baptisms etc etc.and do not buy presents for any of them. Guess what, nobody notices if you send a nice card. A small check is enclosed if I have talked to them in the last year.
WereBear
@jacy: Maybe I should get on your good side now, just in case that Queen of the Universe thing pans out for you.
NotMax
@jacy
It may have been on The Tonight Show that Robert Morley was asked what he would do if he were emperor of the world.
His response (paraphrasing from memory) was that he would universally ban any type of ball used for any sport.
geg6
@Phylllis:
Her daughter lives here (or she did anyway), so I think she makes the drive from Ohio somewhat regularly. And Cole is just an hour and a half or so away. Maybe Mike in Sewickley could be tempted.
geg6
@WereBear:
Well, Cookie was a wonderful, sweet and very loving dog, so I’m partial to Spitzes. My whole family misses Cookie. So glad she found another with so many eerie parallels.
Suzanne
Any news on Violet?
Wally Ballou
Giants tie it in the 9th with a chance to take the lead, but Posey gets tagged at the plate.
kindness
Nats/Giants game is great.
jacy
@WereBear:
So far it’s not working so well, but I figure I’ve got to be due for a change of fortune eventually….
Suzanne
@jacy: How are you feeling? How’s the recovery going?
Has the ex stepped on a rusty pitchfork yet?
Mnemosyne
We have to go to dinner with my brother and his wife, and I’ve had a nagging headache all day that won’t go away. Feh.
(No, we can’t get out of going to dinner. We hardly ever see them even though they’re relatively close by, so when they actually want to get together, we’re kind of stuck.)
wmd
There’s professional sport ball going on today. Giants and Nationals are going to extra innings.
Wally Ballou
Giants and Nats going the the 10th, still 1-1.
I still don’t understand why Matt Williams lifted Zimmermann when he did in the top of the 9th. Did he swap notes with Brad Ausmus or something?
khead
Football has been so good I totally forgot about the Nats.
Just One More Canuck
@jacy: How are you doing?
sharl
@Doug r:
Heh, whatta coincidence – I was just half-listening to the local NPR affiliate’s “Hot Jazz Saturday Night” show, which is apparently baseball-themed tonight, judging from the content. Early in the show they led off with an excerpt from the CBC show “As It Happens”: an interview with the Expos owner (I think; at least someone in management) on why they had to sell the team back in 2004. Didn’t sound like it was the same as this excerpt (6m47s), but roughly matching in content and sadness IMO.
Gin & Tonic
This is almost the perfect transitional season here in New England. Bought what may have been the last of the local sweet corn at the farmer’s market this morning, along with 7 pounds of green tomatoes to make a relish, but it’s also been apple cider for several weeks, and the local Macouns are great as usual. So dinner included the sweet corn, but also braised lamb shanks, because it’s cool and rainy, so it was good to have the oven going. That last sentence needs editing, but I’m draining the last of the wine and won’t.
Mike J
Does Japan still exist? There was supposed to be a cyclone bearing down on them. Dort of makes the F1 race scheduled to start there in four hours iffy.
SiubhanDuinne
@Suzanne:
I’m one of the (I’m sure) very many Juicers concerned about Violet. I know there are protocols and privacy issues, and I don’t suggest that anyone violate those norms, but gosh, if someone who had access to her email address and real name could just check….
Really hope that doesn’t sound stalky. If Violet wants a few days off the grid, more power to her. But our widespread concern goes to show, I think, what a tight-knit community this can be. I hope Violet feels the love. She has really become a valued commenter.
Howard Beale IV
@Mike J: Japan still exists due to their financial entropy. When it comes to their population shrinkage, that’s a whole separate issue. The way things are going they may wind up with a lost century as opposed to a lost decade.
jnfr
Waiting for the Doctor w/ Mr. J. Then we’re going to watch X-Men: Days of Future Past. So not thinking about the rest of the world tonight. This week has been killer.
schrodinger's cat
Caturday thread needs kitteh, tiny but bossy.
Ruckus
@SiubhanDuinne:
I agree with you on this.
Hope Violet is OK, add another voice to the questioning crowd.
GHayduke (formerly lojasmo)
10 mile singletrack run today…my “long run” before my singletrack half marathon in two weeks.
Gladly, the rest of me is more sore than my bum ankle, so maybe after ten years, that’s finally on the mend for good.
God, I hurt.
Ruckus
Just saw this gem from WV.
Charleston cop in KKK video
geg6
They are showing classic episodes of SNL at 10pm every Saturday on NBC this fall to celebrate it’s 40th anniversary. Tonight it’s Steve Martin and the Blues Brothers. Talk about must see tv.
raven
@geg6: They did that last year too.
geg6
@raven:
Last week, they showed the Richard Pryor episode. You may remember the notorious word association sketch with Pryor and Chevy Chase. “Dead honkey.” LOL!
Mike J
@GHayduke (formerly lojasmo):
I helped move a dozen el Toro‘s up to winter storage in a barn. They aren’t heavy individually, but lifting a dozen of them way up high on a trailer is a pain.
geg6
@efgoldman:
Especially when you’re in the middle of what sounds like a nasty divorce and child custody battle.
Debbie
@geg6:
Loved seeing Pryor again, but I was surprised they didn’t bleep the n-word in that sketch.
Sir Laffs-a-Lot
College hockey rocks (said the Minnesotan).
Bobby Thomson
My dad just died about an hour ago. He was one of the good guys, and made a difference in hundreds of lives. I’m going to miss him a lot.
GHayduke (formerly lojasmo)
@Bobby Thomson:
Sorry for your loss, Bobby.
Omnes Omnibus
@Bobby Thomson: My condolences to you and your family.
Gin & Tonic
@Bobby Thomson: Very sorry to hear that. Mine died over 30 years ago, and I still find myself thinking about him.
TooManyJens
@Bobby Thomson: I’m sorry for your loss.
JPL
@Bobby Thomson: Hugs. I agree with Gin and Tonic that you will always miss him but the sadness wanes.
jacy
@Just One More Canuck: @Suzanne:
Recovery is going really good, but I have to have 6 months of chemotherapy as an “insurance policy” even though they can’t find any more cancer anywhere. But it did turn out to be an adenocarcinoma (it was actually technically four kinds of cancer, but the bad one was the adenocarcinoma, because dog forbid I should do anything by half-measure. I had a 20 page pathology report and they had to have a conference call between six specialists around the country to find out what they should do about me. Despite the fact that it makes fascinating cocktail conversation, I could do without the notoriety.)
The husband is still as bad — I think he’s mentally ill. In front of the kids the other day he accused me of plotting to kill the whore because, “You always said you could commit murder and get away with it.” He wasn’t joking when he said it. Soooo, to a good lawyer on Tuesday to request a psychiatric evaluation and start the wheels rolling to get me out of this dogforsaken hellhole and back to Colorado.
Oh, and I got a new car — a Volvo that the kids have dubbed The Svenmobile. It has heated seats. I like it very, very much. So it’s not all bad…..
Karen in GA
@Bobby Thomson: Oh, Christ. I’m so sorry. I remember hearing the death of a parent being described as the universe shifting. It’s a strange thing to live with, but one learns. Somehow.
My condolences to your family.
cckids
@Bobby Thomson: I’m sorry. I lost my dad in April; it is very hard. Peace to you & your family.
satby
@jacy: jacy, been thinking about you too and Watergirl asked me in an email earlier this week if you had posted lately, so she has too. Hoping you’re recovering.
jacy
@Bobby Thomson:
My condolences. I’ll think good thoughts for you and wish you the strength to handle it. I always tell my kids that we never really die because we live on in every person we were ever kind to or did a good deed for and that that part of us exists forever and ever and helps keep the light burning in the dark. I hope you find peace with your loss.
SiubhanDuinne
@Bobby Thomson:
Oh, Bobby, I am so sorry. May your dad rest in peace, and may you find comfort in happy memories. {{{Hugs}}} to you and all who loved him.
Gin & Tonic
Still battling away, top of the 13th in the Giants-Expos game.
khead
Very sorry for your loss Bobby. Lost my Dad two years ago last week and I still ain’t right.
Wally Ballou
@Gin & Tonic: Giants radio guys said Petit doesn’t look like himself tonight, but he sure got out of that 12th nicely.
satby
@Bobby Thomson: Oh man, so sorry for your loss. The sharpness of the pain lessens, but even 25 years later I miss my dad. The memories keep them alive in us.
jacy
@Just One More Canuck:
This is the first couple of days I’ve been really at the computer — complications that thankfully were resolved completely and then too many things to accomplish this week before chemo starts. But hopefully no more long absences! I missed everybody.
satby
@Ruckus: Yeah, me too. Violet, let us know you’re out there if you’re lurking. We’re all here for you.
trollhattan
@Bobby Thomson:
So very sorry. He sounds like a special man.
Tommy
@Bobby Thomson: My gosh I am sorry to hear that.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Bobby Thomson: I’m very sorry for your loss.
raven
@Bobby Thomson: Aw man, I’m so sorry to hear that.
Betty Cracker
@Bobby Thomson: I’m so sorry. Wishing peace and strength to you and your family.
SiubhanDuinne
@Bobby Thomson:
Bobby, you’re going to be very busy and distracted over the next several days, but when you have a chance, please tell us a little about your dad. I’d love to know more about him.
SiubhanDuinne
@jacy:
That’s such good advice and a great message.
I’m very glad about the recovery and the car, sorry about the husband. Sheesh.
Wally Ballou
The Giants-Nats game is assuming Homeric proportions. 1-1 in the 14th, now the longest postseason game in the Giants’ 132-year history.
burnspbesq
@Sir Laffs-a-Lot:
Got a copy of the alumni magazine yesterday. Judging from the photo essay, the national championship trophy was the guest of honor at every public function within 50 miles of Schenectady this summer. Apparently, in the Capital Region a ticket consisting of Shane Gostisbehere and Lyle Thompson could give Cuomo and his running-mate a battle in the governor’s race.
Tommy
@Wally Ballou: There a game where the Cardinals are not playing. Who knew :).
dp
I don’t care, I’m an LSU fan ;-(
Gin & Tonic
@Tommy: It’s a game I wish I had on my TV right now.
burnspbesq
@Bobby Thomson:
So sorry for your loss.
schrodinger's cat
@Bobby Thomson: My condolences.
JPL
@jacy: We are so glad you are back among us. Although chemo sucks, may your treatments be okay. I had a few volvos and you are right, the seats are nice.
srv
@Bobby Thomson: Rest In Peace, sounds like he had a good run.
opiejeanne
@NotMax: Recording it tomorrow in the wee hours, thanks for telling us about it.
sharl
@Bobby Thomson: I am sorry to hear this; condolences.
For whatever it’s worth: fond memories of such a good person will, in time, get you through a lot of the rough spots; at least that’s been my experience.
Mike J
@dp: I dated a girl who lived in, err, was it Evangeline hall? I think that was it. I don’t really care about college sports, but will cheer for LSU when I don’t have any other reason to decide who to be for.
schrodinger's cat
@jacy: Good luck with the chemo. If the hospital where you will get chemo has a nutritionist, see her/him before the treatment starts. The chemo will affect your appetite and you need to get enough nutrition to heal.
Yatsuno
@Bobby Thomson: My goodness. Nothing prepares you. May your family finds solace.
schrodinger's cat
@Yatsuno: How have you been? Long time no see.
Ruckus
@Bobby Thomson:
Sorry for your loss. RIP
I agree with Gin & Tonic. My dad passed away in 2001, St Pats day. Which was fitting as he was Scotch/Irish. We had a traditional Irish wake after holding him in my arms as he died. Drank a lot of Jamison in his honor that night. Still think about him but it’s in remembrance not sorrow. And I still use the skills of the trade he taught me. And some of the tools he gave me.
Tommy
@Ruckus: I just had to stand up and walk away. Started to cry. I could not imagine my father not being around for me. Dad.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@jacy: Glad to hear you’re feeling better, and relieved. The soon to be ex sounds as like a clinical consult will result in a diagnosis. Perhaps treatment will help all of you (expect the OW).
Mike in NC
Would rather watch paint dry than watch football.
chopper
@Bobby Thomson:
Man, I’m sorry. My pop’s been gone almost 8 years now and it’s still hard to think about.
Steeplejack
The picture-in-picture is getting a workout as I try to keep up with the Giants-Nationals game (now starting the bottom of the 16th inning), college football and other stuff. Normally I can go months without using the PIP and it gets deployed only for competing NFL barn-burners.
Mike in NC
@Bobby Thomson: Condolences.
opiejeanne
@Bobby Thomson: So sorry. I lost my dad two years ago on Sept 18. I still pick up the phone to call him now and then, the impulse to share a story with him is so strong.
Ruckus
@Tommy:
If your dad is a good guy, you remember what he taught you. You remember the good times. Don’t forget the hard times either, they are important lessons as well. I have to think of it a couple of ways. First, all our lives end at some point. Did they have a good life? A long life? One of my cousins died at about 6 months old, what used to be called crib death. Little guy didn’t even have a chance to find out anything. Mom got in 95 yrs, 50 more than her dad. It’s a guessing game, life is what it is, take whatever it gives you and keep on moving. Second, was he/she a good parent/son/daughter/brother/sister/person? Then celebrate that because not everyone is, it was your luck to know them, to learn something, anything from them.
I’m not trying to be callous but I’ve been going to funerals since I was 10 and my grandmother passed. Family, friends, people in the sport I practiced and worked in for 30+ yrs, parents, siblings. It’s hard but it is life, you get a little used to it, but mostly you get to be accepting, because that’s the way it works.
OldDave
@Bobby Thomson: I’m so sorry to hear this and wish you and yours the best in this difficult time. I lost my father seventeen years ago today and can only say the hurt lessens over time, but never quite goes away.
Tree With Water
I’m a Giants fan, and they are headed into the bottom of the 17th against the Nationals in a 1-1 game. They’re playing in DC.
opiejeanne
@Tommy: The thing you discover is that they are still with you. after they’ve gone. You find yourself talking to them and sometimes arguing with them.
And all of what Ruckus said.
Wally Ballou
@Tree With Water: James Fallows quipped on Twitter that the Nats’ last pitcher is RGIII.
opiejeanne
@Ruckus: You said that so much better than I ever could, and it’s all exactly right.
Howard Beale IV
@Bobby Thomson: My condolences to you and your family.
Bobby Thomson
Thank you all for your kind words. Since finding out last night he had asked to stop antibiotics for an upper respiratory infection and be “kept comfortable,” I’ve had this going through my head. I know the pain will never really go away but that I can choose to avoid patterns of thought that exacerbate it. He would be the first one to give me a kick in the butt for wallowing in self pity.
CaseyL
@Bobby Thomson: I’m so sorry for your loss, and hope you have friends and family nearby to help you through.
Amir Khalid
@Bobby Thomson:
My dad passed away on his way home from a holiday with my mother in Indonesia. He died in the airport in Singapore before boarding the flight home to KL. That was 31 years ago, and I still think about him.
My condolences.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Ruckus: @opiejeanne: Well put, both of your comments. I lost my dad almost 33 years ago.
@Bobby Thomson: My condolences.
Ruckus
@opiejeanne:
Called my dad a fucking asshole one day when I was 16-17. He had done something rather innocuous and unknowingly in my direction and deserved it. Best part was that he just about laughed his ass off at me for saying it. That’s nearly 50 yrs ago, still see it clear as day.
Yeah, you remember stuff.
Steeplejack
Dagnab it. Brandon Belt just homered to put the Giants up 2-1 in the 18th inning.
WaterGirl
@Bobby Thomson: I just read your terrible news, I’m so sorry.
Nothing can prepare us for losing a parent. A parent has been here on earth for every second of our lives, and for me it seemed almost impossible that they could really be gone. But reality always wins.
We all grieve in our own way; do whatever you need to do to take care of yourself.
Ruckus
@Bobby Thomson:
If we have the opportunity we all get to a point where the fight to put one foot in front of the other is just gone. I’ve watched it happen many, many times. It’s not an age thing it’s a human thing. Those around us with that fight still strong rarely understand it but most of us will arrive there one day.
Steeplejack
@Bobby Thomson:
Very sorry to hear that. My condolences to you.
I lost my dad three years ago. He was 83 and it wasn’t unexpected, but it always hurts. Remember the good times.
Anne Laurie
@Bobby Thomson: I’m so sorry to hear that. As Uncle Joe Biden says, May the day soon come when his memory brings a smile to your lips before the tear in your eye.
Howard Beale IV
@Steeplejack:
For any division series, that’s impressive in of itself.
A Humble Lurker
@Bobby Thomson:
Condolences.
Steeplejack
@Howard Beale IV:
Well, the Giants just won it, after a 6½-hour game. Washington is down 2-0 in the series, and I don’t like their chances for a comeback.
PhoningItIn
@RobertDSC-iPhone 4: Congratulations…?
Count me envious, anyway. I’m burned out looking. Overqualified for everything evidently means good for nothing!
opiejeanne
@Steeplejack:
tell me about it. I’m an Angels fan and we’re in the same boat, as are the Tigers.
PhoningItIn
@Bobby Thomson: I’m sorry for your loss…lost mine about seven years ago.
Steeplejack
@opiejeanne:
Yeah, this seems like the round of the routs.
Just realized the Cardinals-Dodgers game is on the MLB channel on my cable system (Cox). Dodgers up 2-0 after seven innings.
jacy
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):
It’s really heartbreaking, because he was a wonderful dad and my best friend. He began to get depressed, but is one of those people who thinks a mental health problem makes him weak. And one day he was just gone, completely someone I didn’t recognize, like a light switch had been turned off. But I can’t make him better, so I just need to get the kids clear of him and hope that someday he gets the help he needs before he ruins what’s left of his relationship with them.
Tree With Water
“There were no losers in that game”.
Always easier to say when your team wins, of course. But it was a truly an epic game that will be remembered for a long time.
Go Giants…
catclub
Buster Posey and baserunning:
1. Why in the world did they send Posey?
2. Then he gets thrown out running the bases AGAIN!
3. Pulling Zimmerman after the walk was the criminal error.
He had been hitting his spots and got bad calls on that walk.
Tree With Water
@catclub: Posey is from Georgia. Ty Cobb was from Georgia. Therefore, Posey can run like Ty Cobb. That’s my best guess as to what Boche and Flannery are thinking.
I agree with Washington Post reporter Tom Boswell. The decision was conventional, even non-controversial under ordinary circumstances. But the man and the hour had met– a regular season no hitter and a complete [playoff game] shutoff performance pitched within the same week– and Matt Williams failed to hear the clarion call of baseball history blasting in his ears.