Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Humiliatingly small and eclipsed by the derision of millions.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

“Facilitate” is an active verb, not a weasel word.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

Radicalized white males who support Trump are pitching a tent in the abyss.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

No one could have predicted…

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

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103Comments

  2. 2.

    frosty

    Agenda: lawn mowing and yard work. Just finished mowing earlier than my usual 2:00 PM hottest part of the day time and it was sweatier than any of my 2:00 mowings.

    Weeding and vegetable harvesting is gonna have to wait until sundown. Sheesh.

  3. 3.

    Peale

    I feel the need to shout out about my parents 50th wedding anniversary. I’m regretting now that I followed their wishes to keep it quiet and not make a fuss. I wish they would have let me fuss somewhat.

  4. 4.

    md S Oregon

    Up earlier than I meant to be, but it’s gonna be 105 and I have frozen strawberry preserves to make for my kids. Off to the local fruit stand!

  5. 5.

    Phylllis

    Too hot to do anything outside. We did the grocery run first thing and I thought I was going to melt. Since the air conditioning is paid for, I’m making use of it to work through the latest stack of books from the library.

    Finished Paul Theroux’s Deep South this morning. A little odd to read a national bestseller that features people I’ve known and worked with for years, including a college classmate.

    Starting on spill simmer falter wither by Sara Baume and I’m already entranced.

  6. 6.

    MomSense

    I need to walk the dog, then some chores that cannot wait until tomorrow, and finally I’m going to work the rest of the day.

  7. 7.

    Iowa Old Lady

    My grad school roommate is driving across the country and will stop to spend the night. This will be the first time I’ve seen her in at least 10 years.

  9. 9.

    jeffreyw

    We’ll be boiling down tomato juice and keeping an eye on the weather radar. Hoping for thunderstorm, planning to run out with a half gallon Mason jar to capture some lightning – it’s the secret ingredient in my Awesome Sauce.

  10. 10.

    Gin & Tonic

    Huh. Comment disappeared. I wonder what bad word I used.

    Got my bike ride in bright and early, because it will be unbearable later. Probably won’t do much else.

  11. 11.

    Ultraviolet Thunder

    I like that cup. So seventies! Needs to be on a desk, full of pencils.
    Raining in Detroit. Finally. This is the most rain we’ve had in 3 months. It’s like a swamp out there.
    We did a bit of yard work last weekend and someone has spoken for some big yew branches I cut down. Probably making a longbow or something.

  14. 14.

    hedgehog mobile

    Pedicure. Take diabetic cat for boarding later; we’re off to Kansas City tomorrow for the World Science Fiction Convention (recommendations for BBQ?) Royals game on Thursday.

  15. 15.

    Ceci n'est pas mon nym

    @Peale: We just celebrated 38. Well, it was more like “noted in passing” than “celebrated” but you can be damn sure I’m throwing a party for 50!

    We did a catered restaurant thing at 25, and it was worth every penny to celebrate our joy with friends from different aspects of our lives.

  16. 16.

    TaMara (HFG)

    @Peale: Congrats. My folks didn’t want a fuss, so we threw a ‘card party’ and had all their friends and family send anniversary cards. They were touched, if not a little overwhelmed by it.

  18. 18.

    Schlemazel

    Heat and humidity are taking a break today so its back to the ladder & scraping and painting.

    I know he is a dick and a flake but when he hits the nail he can get it right on the head. THIS clip is Bill Maher explaining what matters this November. It has a few good laughs including Ann Coulters newest book title.

  22. 22.

    MattF

    NY mag, on The Night That Hillary and Obama founded ISIS. Here’s a passage:

    Obama felt like one of the characters trying to start a luxury denim business on the HBO show How to Make It in America. Then, finally, he decided the only person who could really help him was Hillary.

    They were down in the kitchen one night eating Popsicles and staring into each other’s eyes when he asked if he could tell her a secret. Hillary laughed and said, “Is it about how you’re really a terrorist?” He looked at her and said, “Yes, actually.” She stopped eating her Popsicle. “Donald Trump was right about you?” He nodded. “About everything.”

    He explained that he had actually been born in Kenya in 1919, and that he was 97 years old. He’d made an American birth certificate out of simple graph paper and aged it with tea bags. (“Honestly, it took me, like, 20 minutes.”) He explained that his parents told him from an early age that he should grow up to become the president of the United States so that he could eventually destroy the country from the inside.

  23. 23.

    Origuy

    @Peale: Congrats to your parents. My sisters and I had an open house for my parents’ 50th. Their friends and neighbors all came. It was bittersweet because Mom had COPD and everyone knew she didn’t have much longer. Two months, as it turned out. She was just holding on for the party.

  24. 24.

    Emma

    @MattF: And would you believe someone thought it was meant to be serious? Have we become so reality-deprived this election season?

  25. 25.

    Elmo

    Seconding all those who say it’s too hot to do anything. But I want to share my amazing new toy with y’all – the iPool. It’s not an Apple product, but it might as well be, it’s so well designed and fun to use. It’s a 7×10′ above ground pool with a harness attached to an overhead bar with stretchy surgical tubing, so you can swim in place. It looks awkward as hell, and I only bought it for my wife to do water stretching and so forth. I didn’t think the harness thing would work.

    I’ve been using it every day that I’ve been home since this heatwave started, sometimes multiple times a day. The harness barely registers, and you’re just swimming and never reaching the other side. It’s AMAZING.

    Folks with joint issues who need a place to swim – Ozark, I’m looking at you – might want to check it out.

  28. 28.

    CaseyL

    @Peale: There should have been a fuss :)

    For my grandparents’ 50th, my aunt organized a huge party, with the entire family (unto the 2nd cousins twice removed, verily) attending. She circulated an album ahead of time for people to contribute their favorite memories, stories and photos. This was no small achievement, being decades before the Internet was invented.

    My favorite memory of the party was the night before, when Aunt, Mom, and I stayed up into the wee hours making fancy fruit arrangements: strawberries, blueberries and melon balls arranged in giant goblets.

    We had the idea that hollowing out the strawberries and inserting blueberries would look really cool. We had the additional idea that lining the goblets with them, blueberry-side out, would also look really cool. I’m pretty sure we were smoking weed to get us through the task, which may explain why we thought this.

    Because there we were, busily stuffing the blueberries into the strawberries and putting them on the glass, filling the rest of the glass with melon balls, getting into it and hitting our strides, when Mom looked upon the fruits of our labor (sorry), and said “Good God, it looks like a million bloodshot eyes staring out at the world.”

    Which it did. And of course we – being inclined to zaniness under even ordinary circumstances, enhanced by being high from the weed and exhaustion – laughed so hard we all fell down on the floor.

    The party was a huge success. And people loved the giant goblets lined with bloodshot eyes.

    Peale, congrats to your folks. My grands made it to their 69th anniversary before mortality claimed them. May yours make it at least that far.

  31. 31.

    max

    I found this in the back of a cupboard when I moved in. I have no idea what to do with it. I mean, it’s so ugly it’s kinda cute, right?

    No.

    Nightmare fuel. Whoever made that cup either makes Trump merchandise or worships Cthulu. Possibly both.

    max
    [‘Going to be working outside today. Fun.’]

  32. 32.

    Scout211

    I like the suggestion above as a pencill holder for your desk.

    What I recommend that you not do is use it for beverages because many ceramic cups are not safe to drink out of, especially if they have been washed in a dishwasher or used in a microwave. And that cup has an unknown history.

    Cute, but likely not safe for beverages.

  35. 35.

    Mary G

    @Peale: My grandfather insisted on having their 50th at McDonalds. It was the only place he liked to eat out. My mom was furious, but it was a lot of fun.

  37. 37.

    amygdala

    Feeling sort of guilty that the forecast is for the 60s when the rest of the country is sweltering.

    The Toronto Globe and Mail has a multipart series on conflict photojournalists that is interesting, even if hard to view (and read) in spots.

    As for the mug, I’d definitely keep it, and use it for makeup brushes and pencils. That would play off those red toenails.

  38. 38.

    wmd

    What to do with the ugly mug:

    Get some model paint and change the nail polish on the toes once a month or so. See how long it takes people to notice you’re doing this.

  39. 39.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    Nursing what I’m convinced is plantar fascitis in my left heel, which is teh SUXX0R11!!ELEVENTY!!one!

  40. 40.

    CaseyL

    The mug is adorable, but I would repaint the main part in a brighter color. If you’re feeling ambitious, maybe paint it to look like someone wearing a T-shirt with a snarky message – and then, to borrow/steal from wmd’s suggestion, change the message from time to time.

  41. 41.

    Poopyman

    Just got off the tractor from mowing. A cloudless day, currently 95 degrees with the dew point at 80. I’m thinking I’ll forego further outdoor activities until sunset.

  44. 44.

    gogol's wife

    @the Conster, la Citoyenne:

    Put a bottle of water in the freezer. When it’s frozen, take it out. Sit on a chair and put the bottle under the sole of your foot and roll it back and forth for a while.

    Stand on a step with your toes on the step and heels hanging off. Hold the railing and dip your heels several times.

  46. 46.

    eric

    From GOS:

    GOP insiders: Trump can’t win

    ‘Trump is underperforming so comprehensively…it would take video evidence of a smiling Hillary drowning a litter of puppies while terrorists surrounded her with chants of ‘Death to America,’’ said an Iowa Republican.

  49. 49.

    dmsilev

    @eric: I’m pretty sure “video evidence of Trump drowning a litter of puppies” is coming in maybe 2 or 3 weeks. Just after he punches out a nun.

  51. 51.

    Gin & Tonic

    @CaseyL:

    My grands made it to their 69th anniversary before mortality claimed them.

    My in-laws will be reaching 70 next month. Kind of hard to do any sort of celebration, as they don’t get out much, most of their friends are dead, and they had very little in the way of family after the war.

  52. 52.

    drdavechemist

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    Reunions like this are a rare treat, but grad school is such an intense experience that the friendships seem to be immune to time and distance. I attended a celebration of the retirement of one of my research mentors earlier this summer and it prompted me to re-establish contact with a grad student who I hadn’t seen in more than twenty years. She happened to be passing nearby on her way to a conference, so we met up for brunch and it was amazing that we were pretty able to pick up right where we left off–lots of good memories! Hope your reunion is equally satisfying.

  53. 53.

    Redshift

    @the Conster, la Citoyenne: Yep, it sucks. I used to get it occasionally, but it always went away after a week or so. When I finally had a case that wouldn’t go away after several months, I had to get new shoes. I used to love going barefoot or wearing flip flops, but I can’t any more. Which also sucks, but I rarely get it now.

  55. 55.

    eric

    @dmsilev: I believe that is called Thanksgiving at the Trump household…just after the mexican staff reenact the running of the bulls from their home country.

  57. 57.

    Suzanne

    Mr. Suzanne and I were going to canvass this morning, but he is still feeling miserable and Spawn the Younger isn’t feeling well, either.

    Have a little bit of shopping to do, then may just hide inside for the rest of the day. It’s hot. So hot.

  58. 58.

    bystander

    @the Conster, la Citoyenne: I think that most people with PF have it in both feet.

    Also, hedgehog, go see the World War I memorial on the bluff overlooking the Union Station, have a drive on Quality Hill, check out the Frank Lloyd Wright house in the Valentine district. Nelson Atkins Museum for Caravaggio, Breughel and exceptional Chinese Art.

  59. 59.

    Pogonip

    @bystander: So freeze two bottles of water.

    If the fugly cup looks like it might be more than 50 years old, see what it might be worth. If not, use it as a gift-exchange gift or toss it.

  63. 63.

    ThresherK (GPad)

    @MattF: I can’t describe how fun it is to have “Popsicle” capitalized. It just makes the whole piece work.

  71. 71.

    Ruckus

    You make a list?
    That would mean that you have things to accomplish. Then when you don’t get them all done you feel bad. What’s the point of that? Almost everything can be put off to another day. Join us at Procrastinators Forever. There are no meetings, we forgot about them. There are no rules, we couldn’t be bothered to write them. Tomorrow is a concept that never changes and has no end, why do you want to be a slave to that?

  73. 73.

    Brachiator

    A wonderfully precise post on why there are relatively many ties in Olympic swimming:

    Modern timing systems are capable of measuring down to the millionth of a second—so why doesn’t FINA, the world swimming governing body, increase its timing precision by adding thousandths-of-seconds?

    As it turns out, FINA used to. In 1972, Sweden’s Gunnar Larsson beat American Tim McKee in the 400m individual medley by 0.002 seconds. That finish led the governing body to eliminate timing by a significant digit. But why?

    In a 50 meter Olympic pool, at the current men’s world record 50m pace, a thousandth-of-a-second constitutes 2.39 millimeters of travel. FINA pool dimension regulations allow a tolerance of 3 centimeters in each lane, more than ten times that amount. Could you time swimmers to a thousandth-of-a-second? Sure, but you couldn’t guarantee the winning swimmer didn’t have a thousandth-of-a-second-shorter course to swim. (Attempting to construct a concrete pool to any tighter a tolerance is nearly impossible; the effective length of a pool can change depending on the ambient temperature, the water temperature, and even whether or not there are people in the pool itself.)

    In many other areas, just because you can measure something, or even measure it with precision, does not mean that your results are significant.

  74. 74.

    Ruckus

    That mug looks like something my roommate would own. And drink out of daily. She actually has cups along the same theme. The cow cup, you’ll never guess what part of the cow the cup sits on.

  76. 76.

    Brachiator

    Kenny Baker, the man who played R2-D2 in the Star Wars films has died at the age of 83, after battling a long illness.

    RIP, you little giant.

  78. 78.

    Ruckus

    @Elmo:
    A home therapy pool. Have used one at my ortho’s office, about twice that size and built in ground out of stainless steel but that looks great and it would be a lot cheaper. A lot. Of course living in a drought area that much water would be a huge extravagance. And living in an apartment makes it an impossible extravagance.

  80. 80.

    Glidwrith

    My parents have that same cup, also tucked into the back of a cabinet.

    On the not so great side, just had one of my kitties diagnosed with diabetes. $800 later, we’ve got her on insulin. Good news is I caught it before she lost any weight and kitties tend to revert from the disease.

    Ironically, it wasn’t my 18.5 lb cat that went diabetic on me!

  82. 82.

    Brachiator

    A prior version of this note is stuck in moderation. Take Two

    A great post on Why There Are So Many Ties In Swimming

    It comes down to limitations with respect to how well you can construct the swimming pool.

    The explanation is more clear than the Olympic pools in Rio. Check it out.

  87. 87.

    pamelabrown53

    @MattF: I, too think the mug is kinda fun. A little kitsch goes a long way. Someone, up-thread suggested pencils. Too tall; out of proportion.. Cut some wild flowers low ( the flowers shouldn’t be higher than 1/3 of the mug) or some cheap flowers like miniature carnations and maybe place it on a bedside table. A gift and link from past owners to present.

  88. 88.

    Elmo

    @Ruckus: I have a shallow well. It took us three weeks to fill the pool, a little at a time so as not to run the pump dry.

    But even without a heater the water is running 76F or better, and it was so inexpensive compared to the “real” therapy pools!!

  89. 89.

    JGabriel

    Tamara @ Top:

    I found this in the back of a cupboard when I moved in. I have no idea what to do with it. I mean, it’s so ugly it’s kinda cute, right?

    It looks embarrassed, Tamara. It looks like it’s got one toe crossed over the over in frozen anxiety while it waits to get scolded.

  90. 90.

    SiubhanDuinne

    My eyes and brain apparently want to turn things into optical illusions for no damn good reason at all. I stared and stared at the picture of that hideous mug, especially at the slightly patterned whitish squished thing between its feet, trying desperately to make sense of it. Was it meant to be a deflated soccer ball? Wadded-up underwear? Extremely droopy genitalia?

    Could. Not. Figure. It. Out.

    It was probably fifteen minutes before I realized that the Thing Between the Feet was merely a bit of the pierced metal patio table showing through a space in the ceramic. The entire rest of the background might have provided a clue, but oh no, I had to fixate on the Thing and not look at context. (And even now that I’ve figured out the illusion, I still kind of have to adjust my brain to remind myself what it actually is.)

  92. 92.

    Cat48

    I will be laughing about The Cut story abt Isis all day. The other news is dreary or about stupid Trump. He’s campaigning in CT this weekend bc he’s certain he can carry the state. Clueless

  93. 93.

    Ruckus

    @SiubhanDuinne:
    It can be a hard thing to learn but always look at the big picture first. Then go for details. This is vital in reading blueprints for things like aerospace hydraulic actuators. But you can’t fixate only on the big picture or you will miss important info. Like if this is about a woman’s feet (the toe nails – and yes I’m showing my age. I’ve almost gotten over waking up one day and realizing that I’ve fallen into the group known as old.) then it’s possible that she’s pregnant. So it’s not just a cup with feet, it’s a pregnant lady cup.
    Does that make it better?

  94. 94.

    Bess

    Wonderful cup. Harkens back to a time during which many people celebrated creativity.

    It doesn’t strike me as a good mug for drinking, doesn’t feel stable. I’d use it as a planter for some tiny sedums. I can see it with a couple of Burros Tails hanging over the side….

  95. 95.

    JAFD

    @the Conster, la Citoyenne:
    My sympathies, sincere and heartfelt. Stretching exercises there are. Eventually mine went away.

    OTOH, having had both plantar f and gout, gout much worse is.

    On doctor’s orders, am taking naproxen sodium (generic Aleve) daily for gout. Don’t know if good for PF, but ask your PCP.

    Good luck!

  97. 97.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Ruckus:

    Does that make it better?

    Well, it certainly makes it more interesting.

    Edit: Must check my calendar to see if I am scheduled to read blueprints for aerospace hydraulic actuators any time soon.

  98. 98.

    Ruckus

    @SiubhanDuinne:
    It was an example. One that I use regularly. One of the customers at my job is a large aerospace controls supplier. We build tooling for them to use building things. Sometimes you have to interpret what they are trying to accomplish so that you can make sense of the designs. That’s looking at the big picture. Then you have to try to understand the details to figure out how to make the part. Their engineers are supposed to go through the same process so that we don’t have to. But just like all of us they aren’t perfect either.

  102. 102.

    grandpa john

    @Elmo: many years ago ,we had an inground pool for daughter and friends, after they all left home and the liner went, we let it go. One reason nobody used it much in the summer was the water got so warm that it was like swimming in a bathtub, it didn’t cool you down. For several years it was the receptacle for scraps, sawdust and shavings from the woodworking shop until I finally got around to having it filled and planted grass over it.

  103. 103.

    Ruckus

    @grandpa john:
    “Always postpone things. You might be dead before the absolute limit is reached, or find out that the limit is not as absolute as you first thought. At which time you can continue your ignore.”

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