This was the first thing I saw this morning and love it. I’m still pissed about this.
Nasty Woman: the latest fragrance coming to a debate near you pic.twitter.com/1MWQ5D1Imn
— Vox (@voxdotcom) October 20, 2016
There will be no recipe thread tonight. Honestly I’m not even sure where my kitchen is right now. The puppy has used up the one functional brain cell I had remaining. I’ll try for a pup and kitteh update later.
Maybe we can convince Adam to stop palling around the rich and famous and cook something up for us.
What nasty things do you have planned for today. Open thread!
Major Major Major Major
I still just can’t figure out what the take-away phrase is going to be from this election.
ETA: Nasty woman might be a winner though because you can say it out loud, but it still sums things up nicely.
narya
I”m making dinner for friends on Sunday. The menu so far:
venison loin, with caramelized onions & red wine sauce
barley (cooked like risotto)
the veggies are going to be onions, garlic, squash (buttercup, maybe?), fennel, and apples
and carrot cake for dessert! I grate and roast my carrots so they’re not a soggy mess, I use butter rather than oil, and I replace a lot of the butter with pumpkin (or any roasted fall squash, really; I have some roasted butternut from my farm share).
hueyplong
To keep optimistic in the period leading up to my votes against Trump, McCrory, Burr and Virginia Foxx, each day I watch Obama’s Trump bashing Correspondent’s Dinner video (5:33) and this year’s “Progress is on the Ballot” Clinton ad (2:20 or so).
I’d be indebted if someone could ID the music playing in the background of the “Progress is on the Ballot” ad. My lame Google investigating skills apparently are not up to the task.
TaMara (HFG)
@narya: That sounds awesome.
ETA: I love barley AND carrot cake
hovercraft
@Major Major Major Major:
Reposted from the morning thread downstairs:
Bill E Pilgrim
@Major Major Major Major: All hands, no cattle
Montanareddog
@Major Major Major Major:
Wrong!
Major Major Major Major
@Montanareddog: I don’t think ‘wrong!’ and ‘sad!’ are going to enter the lexicon outside of places like this because they aren’t immediately identifiable.
ETA: @hovercraft: ‘dispel with’ makes me think of Dungeons & Dragons.
“I dispel!”
“You didn’t prepare–”
“I dispel with COUNTERSPELL!”
SiubhanDuinne, etc. (Blame Omnes)
Phone banking for Hillary this afternoon, opera (Don Giovanni) tomorrow, possibly poll-watching Sunday.
We’re predicted to have a high of only around 66° today and tomorrow, and there are some strong winds. Refreshing!
Bill E Pilgrim
@hueyplong: My meager Shazam-button pushing skills just told me it’s this.
Learning to Fly – Stefano Ruggeri
Edit:
(“Recenlty” sic on his Web site)
p.a.
The closest I get to being an ‘inside politics’ person is the occasional TPM article, so I don’t see how the Institutional Republican Party can save itself nationally without changing the nomination process to actually prevent its own base from effectively participating, and hoping the base doesn’t notice. Not bloody likely. Only other short term solution really does seem to be a Reichstag Fire scenario. Longer term a split with the Fux News disinformation funnel in an attempt to re-educate the base somewhat towards reality.
Would a collapse and split eventually hurt the current Dem coalition? A scenario: a RW Nutz party, a Dem party of Clintonists and the left, and a party of GHWB Repubs (if there are any; not sure there are) and what have been Blue Dog Dems. The Clinton/left Dem party could be dominant, while whichever of the other 2 could gain an operational foothold in Congress would survive. I have no idea how this all shakes out if the national R party staggers but remains strong at the state and local level.
Interesting times.
scav
Recipe thread for puppy treats or equivalent, have you had one of those? We’ve certainly seen a few tricks for getting old cats to eat recently I’m pretty sure. Gather em all up into a single thread for easy later recovery. Plus a good excuse to post at least one photo of a soulfully begging puppy and an imperiously demanding cat up on top.
geg6
Cozying up to scholarship donors at a luncheon today. The local Wolves Clubs (kind of like the Kiwanis or Lions Clubs but mainly only in PA and OH) will be here, or at least 4 of the local Dens. These are all old Italian men, probably the youngest of our guests will be in his 70s. They consider it their big mission to fund college scholarships and they have donated thousands and thousands to my campus. So even though I find them a pain in the ass to deal with, I am grateful for their generosity to our students. There are thirty-four students on my campus who are receiving scholarships from one of the five local Dens that have endowed scholarships here and about a dozen or so of them will also be attending. I really hate these events where you have to manage superficial chit chat, especially if the students are shy. But knowing these students are getting that free money makes me slog through them.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
I’m waiting to see what early voting shifts I’ll be assigned as a poll observer. I may be helping with confirmation calls for observer training; credentials aren’t issued unless you take the training.
If anyone hasn’t seen the photos DBadHombresK posted below – wow. I didn’t see them in the original but what telling shots the the short fingered orange vulgarian. Hostility abounds, clearly. And the prayer shot – holy cannoli.
Major Major Major Major
@p.a.: at this point I think a scenario like that could well emerge from the eventual wreckage of the Republican Party, but they’re going to hang around for a long time yet. When we get there I’m not especially concerned with what happens to the Dem coalition, country before party and all that. At this point the Dems are the party of every non-craven non-idiot; it’s not a natural coalition.
ETA: I dont think Clinton and “the left” would end up in the same tent, the left hates her.
germy
I have a strange dilemma. Trying to decide the best way to deal with a trespasser. I’m thinking it’s someone with mental health issues; perhaps an obsessive-compulsive disorder.
We live on a street where people push shopping carts and fish through our trash for recyclables. I always put recyclables on top to make it easier for them. When I’m walking downtown, if they ask me for spare change, I always give them a dollar. (“There but for the grace of god go I” sort of logic). But there is one person who walks around very early in the morning just doing weird, destructive things. Like if I leave a barrel of yard waste for the town to pick up, I’ll find a soda or juice bottle in there. If the town does road work and leaves a traffic cone, it will be kicked over and flattened.
For the past few months, I’ve been finding food on a downstairs outside windowsill. Once it was a half-eaten hamburger. Another time it was a slice of toast. Once a ceramic vase was knocked over and shattered. It’s every Sunday morning.
If I call the police when he’s not here, there’s not much they can do (or will probably care to do). If I call them when I catch him on my property, I’m sure he’ll be long gone before they arrive. Again, I suspect it’s a combination of poverty and mental illness that makes him act out this way. I spoke to a neighbor and they said they’ve noticed stuff done to their property as well, but seemed to shrug it off as “life in the city.”
p.a.
@geg6: Can the old guys smoke their Parodi’s outside?
Elizabelle
@p.a.:
We can call that one “the Big Media Party.” Because they’d have their paws on the scale SO hard for the “moderate centrists.”
They’d love to escape the clutches of the truly stupid mouthbreathing conservatives AND those icky “liberals”.
The Moar You Know
They do that. My golden is coming out of puppyhood but we’re both sleeping a lot on weekends – him, because he’s a dog, and me, from keeping up with him.
My poor buddy just got a 10-week old lab pup. He looks like a zombie. Best thing I could tell him was “hey, it’s shorter than having a kid!”
Betty Cracker
The “nasty woman” gibe has already become an inside joke in my family. Here’s a text exchange between myself and the hubby from just a little while ago:
laura
My little brother, the king of the roadies, is in town for a minute and we’re going to fill out our ballots, ensuring a taco truck on every corner on 11/9.
Not so humble brag, my brother told Trump to fuck off -to his orange face twice, 10 years apart. The first time was when Trump and his 3-man security detail were insisting on entering the dressing room of an underage pop star who was an entertainer for a miss world pagent. Tom said Trump never said a word but let the security do all the talking.
After not getting an answer why an adult needed to get into a room with a minor who he was responsible for he told them to get the fuck away from the trailer or he’d call the cops. To this day, he said his gut told him Trump was a skeezy degenerate.
So proud of my Tom!
rikyrah
I still think ‘taco truck on every corner’ is my favorite phrase.
If only…
If only….
sigh…the deliciousness of that possibility.
rikyrah
Trump’s Debate Performance Showcased His Worst Qualities
by Michael O’Hare
October 20, 2016 4:59 PM
It’s long past demonstrated that Donald Trump is not in the normal range of aspiring political leaders, or even in the 95% interval. He’s a black swan, cruising around in unexplored regions of the possible, the part of the map that used to be marked with “here be dragons”. Still, it’s worth reviewing in order of importance why it’s unthinkable that he should be president; I’m surprised that his most despicable personal qualities end up at the bottom of the list.
(1) If nothing else in this list applied, he would be disqualified by his tin-pot dictator aspirations to subvert the most fundamental American principles, thinking he can just “not accept” the results of an election [yes, after recounts and appropriate procedural actions] and even toying with the idea that he would get to imprison his political opponents if he were to win. Trump is as close as we’ve ever seen to the candidate running to be the last elected president.
(2) He is embedded in a uniquely opaque cloud of combined ignorance and insouciance. I can’t be sure which of his whoppers are just lying to hear himself talk, and which are genuine misinformation, because he believes nothing beyond his own ego, and knows nothing about anything; not economics, not defense, not the law, nothing…and I bet he’s never read a whole book. What may be most important here is that he doesn’t care and won’t do anything about it: his ignorance is practiced and purposeful.
SFAW
@SiubhanDuinne, etc. (Blame Omnes):
What’s up with the new nym/nom? Apparently I missed all sorts of goings-on.
p.a.
If there’s not a taco truck on my street by 11/15 it’s all over between the Dem Party an me. Hillary, you are on notice.
Carmen come back! Tacos la Mexicana gone but not forgotten…
amk
Who damaged their own ‘brand’ the most in the current election cycle, the deadbeat, gopee or wikileaks?
Major Major Major Major
@SFAW: yeah, she used to be a mob enforcer!
ETA: @amk: Don the Con and only him. The other two merely became persona more non grata to the people who already didn’t like them.
geg6
@p.a.:
Alas, yes.
rikyrah
Donald Trump Again Fails to Mix in High Society
by Martin Longman
October 21, 2016 9:48 AM
Donald Trump can’t even attend a charity event with elite Manhattan Catholics without gutting lustily booed for his classless, boorish behavior and bad jokes. He apparently thought it would get laughs to call Hillary Clinton a crook and say that she was only at the event to “pretend she doesn’t hate Catholics.”
To be clear, ripping on your opponent and prominent guests is expected at the Al Smith Dinner. Hillary Clinton made many jokes at Trump’s expense and didn’t spare Rudy Giuliani either. She said she wished Michael Bloomberg had attended because “she’d like to hear from a billionaire.” She complimented Kellyanne Conway but said that Trump probably wouldn’t pay her. She jabbed him repeatedly for not being willing to accept his pending defeat. And she said that immigrants look at the Statue of Liberty as a beacon of hope but that Trump sees her only as a “four.”
As for Guiliani, she cracked, “Many don’t know this but Rudy actually got his start as a prosecutor going after wealthy New Yorkers who avoided paying taxes. But as the saying goes, if you can’t beat them go on FOX News and call them a genius.”
As you might expect, Giuliani was a visibly poor sport about it.
…………….
Trump has never been able to mix at these white tie events in Manhattan, which I suspect is a source of both his ostentatious striving and his bottomless resentment. But, personally, I think Jay Gatsby was a nicer guy, threw better parties, and did a better job disguising his mob connections.
LAO
@TaMara (HFG): How is young Bailey? Little Maggie has entered batshit crazy stage, which is quite tiring (and expensive — we are on dog bed number 2 and crate mat 4 — and don’t ask what she does to stuffed toys).
Question for all the dog/puppy owners out there — so poor Maggie got an upset stomach the other day (the streets of Manhattan are disgusting) so after 24 hours of diarrhea, I followed the vet’s advice (and my mom’s) and fed her rice with a little pumpkin, today I moved to rice and chicken. She’s hasn’t pooped now in 24 hours — that’s normal right?, Right? Please tell me I didn’t make it worse. She’s does seem peppier, now.
TaMara (HFG)
@laura: I love your brother. Go suck it orange cheese doodle.
SFAW
@Major Major Major Major:
Well, the “etc.” may mean that she still is, just is not publicizing it. So for the time being, I’ll do my best not to piss her off.
Brachiator
@Major Major Major Major:
“Bad Hombres” is being tossed around a lot at work the past couple of days, even by apolitical people after the context was explained by debate watchers. It may not have legs, but “Bad Hombres” and “Nasty Woman” is already showing up on t-shirts and other places.
Grumpy Code Monkey
Probably the biggest thing that depresses me about this election is that it is being decided entirely on personality (read: Trump’s impossible-to-ignore nastiness), and not a whit on policy. That’s the fault of the GOP base for letting their id run free and nominating the bastard, but it’s still depressing.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take the win however we get it and not look back, I just wish it were on a higher level.
Bright side is that Trump turns everything he touches into toxic shit, to the point where Democrats have a good shot at regaining the Senate and making significant gains in the House. Bonus, Trump’s probably going to sue the RNC and further deplete their coffers.
Early voting starts next week in TX. Already have a copy of our precinct ballot so I can research the local, non-partisan candidates (local school board, Austin Community College trustees, stuff like that).
The sooner this shitshow ends the better.
TaMara (HFG)
@LAO: Yes, that’s absolutely normal. Now you should be able to start mixing in a bit of her regular food with the pumpkin and rice – take a couple days to get her back on her routine.
BTW, if it’s really bad, I often take the dogs off food for 24 hours, then start the rice diet until they are back on schedule.
Bixby is zonked out on the couch – Bailey has absolutely wore him out. I just snicker and tell him, now you know what I’ve felt like for the last two years.
ruemara
Birthday today. A very long time ago, my birthday was not a good day and I have to ride out the PTSD every year. It just starts off the season of extreme depression for me. Meanwhile, the fools in my life are posting cheery messages on Facebook because all of them forgot, as is usual and most haven’t seen or spoken to me since May or longer. This year’s round is bad to the point of physical symptoms. If I’m not working or doing something to stay engaged, this is not a good day. It feels like once the survival level financial pressures were removed this year, i can’t recover from the bad episodes fully, like I lose ground each time. I am so sick of Facebook counting as human interaction. And here’s my mum Facebook messaging me wonder if she’s too early for my birthday. I came out of her womb, how is it she can’t remember? I really had high hopes for this year. And, no, there is nothing special planned except work. I just needed to get that off my chest.
Humdog
@germy: We put up a very bright motion light to catch the bear or raccoon bothering our garbage and temporarily blinded a trespasser. Our neighbors put up a sign, “smile you’re on camera,” and we haven’t noticed the trespassersince. Our neighbors are pot growers, so who knows if the camera is real or if the trespassers were vagrants or potential crop stealers, tho.
geg6
@LAO:
You did exactly right. And a little pumpkin in the food all the time does not hurt and is good for their digestive health. Our dear departed golden, Otis, had colitis (not unusual in goldens and he was the most anxious dog ever due to issues growing up before we rescued him) and the vet recommended it for him and said it’s a good addition to any dog’s diet. Just a spoonful or two a day. Yogurt, I have found, also is good when the pups’ tummies are not well.
RoonieRoo
@scav: I missed the how to get an elderly cat to eat thread. I actually have a question regarding elderly cat care that I would love to get some help on. My 17 year old is starting to need increasing grooming help. He’s doing the best he can and still actively works on his fur but cannot deal with his back, down his spine anymore as I suspect the rotation of his body is just not working anymore. Anyway, I’m doing my best to help him but I think I’m irritating his skin a bit as it’s gotten thinner with age. He’s a long hair so I’m having to really keep up on his fur to help with matting.
Does anyone have any tips or tricks you have learned with helping an elderly long hair cat care for his coat as his skin ages?
hueyplong
@Bill E Pilgrim:
That appears to be it. Really appreciate it.
[Not knowing what Shazam is pretty much puts me in the Luddite camp.]
LAO
@TaMara (HFG): @geg6: That’s a relief. Yesterday I was worried she’d never stop pooping and today, I’m worried she will never poop again.
Also, I can’t believe how much she loved the pumpkin. Was thinking of freezing a spoonful in a kong as a once or twice weekly crate treat, in lieu of peanut butter.
germy
@RoonieRoo: I see those “petting” gloves in the store. You wear the glove, pet the cat and it’s supposed to be a stress-free way of removing fur.
I check online reviews. Some folks say their cats love it. Others claim it pisses off the cat. What does your vet suggest?
slag
@Betty Cracker: That’s hilarious and very on-trend. My SO and I are so old skool that we’re still electronically communicating almost exclusively through Obama gifs. Going to be time to update the old repertoire soon.
Betty Cracker
@ruemara: Damn, that sucks. Wish you were next door so I could take you out for margaritas (or beverage of your choice since it’s your birthday) and a superhero movie. I only know your situation from what I read here, but it sounds like you have made significant changes for the better in your life. Sometimes it just takes a while for the “feels” to catch up, you know? Anyhoo, know that we are rooting for you. You are a good person — that shines through in your comments loud and clear.
Elie
@ruemara:
Happy Birthday, Rue — to a Nasty Girl — Enjoy!
Humdog
@ruemara: I am so sorry to hear this. Is there anything at all you can do for a small treat for yourself? It won’t cure anything but you may get some relief just getting out of your head for an hour. Maybe a temporary distraction is a reasonable goal for this sucky day.
Visit with a pile of puppies? Take care of yourself!
HRA
@ruemara:
I am sending you good wishes for the day and further on in a day we share as our birthday.
germy
@rikyrah:
hovercraft
Kellanne’s services are being missed by the GOP
GOP Rep. Says ‘A Lady Needs To Be Told When She’s Being Nasty’
BlueDWarrior
@amk: Honestly, Wikileaks may have. Their brand depended upon being seen as a neutral arbiter of information that the powers-that-be don’t want you to see, but now they look like hatchetmen for foreign state actors that want to cause chaos in our political system, and political nihilists who just want the Establishment to burn completely to the ground.
RoonieRoo
@The Moar You Know: As someone living with a 3 1/2 year old Lab, it doesn’t get much better. He STILL has puppy brain! Whenever we are out and about and meet another Lab person, as I lament the continuing puppy brain, I’m sagely informed that 5 years old is the magic age when the puppy brain starts to mature. Labradors need a warning label.
MattF
New York Daily News publishes a long editorial Bury Trump in a Landslide.
Haven’t read it (I’m, ahem, at work at the moment), but I will.
RoonieRoo
@germy: I think I might have some of those in one of my baskets of pet things. I think I’ll give that a try.
I’m taking him in for full blood work in probably another month and I’ve got the grooming issue on my list of questions for my vet.
Mark B
@germy: Putting up video cameras often act as a deterrent. Other than that, I don’t think there’s much you can do.
TaMara (HFG)
@LAO: Now that it’s on sale, I’ve been stocking up on the canned pumpkin. It also freezes well. So that’s a good idea.
I also just froze a liquefied chicken bone mix (thigh bones run through the vitamix with enough water to make a smoothie). I boil their rice with a few of those tossed in. I add the actual chicken (I keep it cooked, chopped and frozen) on their food in the morning along with some rice.
My vet hates dog/cat food and wishes we would feed them cooked food – I just look at him – like I need that guilt. Sure, Dr. if you want to come to my house and cook meals for two great big dogs and three cats, come on over.
Betty Cracker
@amk: That’s a damn good question. All three brands are currently shit in my view, but I already thought the GOP and Trump were shit, so WikiLeaks has taken the steepest dive in my esteem, FWIW. (Not that I ever fully bought into their noble truth-teller PR, but I didn’t comprehend the depth of Assange’s corruption and pettiness until this election cycle.)
geg6
@LAO:
My pups all love pumpkin, too. If yours will eat it without any other food, I don’t see any reason not to freeze it to put in a Kong. In fact, I’ve never thought of doing that and I’m going to try it.
Major Major Major Major
@BlueDWarrior: the lefties on my FB feed love Wikileaks. I think most of the people who were going to lose respect for wikileaks already had before this summer.
The Moar You Know
@LAO: No and yes. Needs to be watched very closely, but not cause for concern as of yet. Another 24 without pooping and you have a big problem.
ETA: the rice/pumpkin and rice/chicken thing is exactly the right thing to feed, so no worries on that score.
Brachiator
@rikyrah:
This is the secret of his appeal. Many of his supporters (hell, many citizens of all persuasions) used to talk about wanting a president that they could hang out with or have a beer with. This has come down to the next level: some people want a president who is as stupid as they are, who believe that the best solution to any problem is to make a quick decision, be tough, and knock heads when necessary.
Trump has been, and always will be, their ideal candidate. And they will be on the lookout for his replacement next election cycle.
greennotGreen
@RoonieRoo: I have been told that labs under two years are a dime a dozen in rescue, but there’s not enough money to buy one over five.
Fair Economist
@ruemara: Sorry to hear about all that – wish I could help.
geg6
@TaMara (HFG):
One of the local grocery stores around here has a high quality store brand pure pumpkin that I can get for less than $2 a 28-oz can. What a bargain! And it means I don’t have to keep a couple of cases in the pantry from buying it on sale. Canned pumpkin is outrageously expensive! The Libby’s brand is more than $3 a can!
MomSense
@ruemara:
Sending you a hug.
Chris
@rikyrah:
Huh. Is that true? All I knew about his early career was that he spent time going after the Mafia, also not something to be ashamed of. Pity he turned out to be as big a turd.
germy
@Mark B:
That’s sort of the way I’m feeling. A camera would be great to catch a thief, but in this situation he just comes and does weird stuff. Leaving food on the window sill, knocking small things over, rooting through our trash.
The person should be receiving mental health care; instead he’s left to wander the streets at five a.m.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@ruemara: Wishing you a birthday without stress, and with some kind of treat contained in some moment. May there be many much happier birthdays to follow.
scav
@hovercraft: stunning the amount of lacking anybclue can be compressed into the approximate shape of a man.
geg6
@ruemara:
Well, I going to wish you a happy birthday anyway. I’ll be sending some good vibes and the hope that you’ll do something nice for yourself today. Don’t let the bastards get you down!
RoonieRoo
@TaMara (HFG): I’ve been raw/homemade feeding for well over a decade. I highly recommend sweet potatoes when you cannot get pumpkin at the store. I actually use that as the base for my dog food as opposed to pumpkin because it is less expensive but hits the same nutritional/fiber needs.
I’m currently raw feeding 4 cats and two large dogs (not large by your standards – 70 lbs a piece “large”). After over a decade doing this, I know how to bring the cost down if you ever want some advice.
I’m sure you are very aware the feeding issues for giant breed dogs in their growth stages though. I raw fed my Lab from the beginning but I only did it with a nutritionist altering the recipe at each stage of growth.
Anyone that is interested in raw feeding, I recommend Monica Segal’s books as the best way to really learn how to make your own dog food and make it nutritionally balanced.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@HRA: I’m hoping your birthday is a dandy one, followed by many that are even better.
Elmo
@RoonieRoo: When my wife and I were raising Lab puppies for Canine Companions for Independence, we used to call that being visited by the brain fairy. The brain fairy *never* arrives before age 4.
The Moar You Know
@RoonieRoo: My last dog was a lab. She was still pretty puppy-like when she finally departed this vale of tears at age 14. I still miss her, think about her every day.
So we decided that a lab wasn’t hard enough and went with a golden this time. My God. A golden pup would drive an inexperienced dog owner to suicide. I thought a lab was bad, but they’re obedient little helpers compared to a golden puppy. He’s nine months now and I absolutely love him, but I won’t lie, there were a few times when he was younger when I was ready to throw in the towel. They’re more like a cat than any other dog breed I’ve known, so imagine a fifty-pound kitten and take it from there. My hair’s gone all white! (not kidding)
Chris
@BlueDWarrior:
Also, I think Wikileaks had a non-trivial following among liberals who weren’t necessarily all that radical, but were concerned about the unaccountable security state, etc. Watching them behave as a partisan Republican actor probably left a stink on them for many of these people that’ll never be washed out, even if the diehard left fringe thinks they’re awesome for doing it because Killary and yada yada.
Josie
@ruemara: I’m sorry you are dealing with this. I agree with your comments regarding Facebook. Much of the time it is a false presentation of happiness and beauty. BJ is much more of a supportive community that deals with real life concerns. You might consider not even looking a Facebook for a few days – maybe go for walk or a nice meal instead. Chocolate is also a good choice. I hope you feel better soon. I always look forward to your comments – keep sharing.
WaterGirl
After reading all the comments in the AL Smith dinner thread last night, I would like to see for myself – Is there video of Trump and Hillary from the dinner last night?
burnspbesq
At some point this weekend, I’m going to re-watch last night’s deciding game of the WNBA finals. One of the most exciting basketball games in years.
Larkspur
@ruemara: I am so sorry. It sounds like this is a hurt that’s never really going to ease. Treat yourself gently.
Please let me make a suggestion that might sound ridiculous or dismissive, but I mean it for real: choose a different date to celebrate your birthday. You don’t have to tell your mom or anybody else (except maybe us or actual close friends), but if you choose a date that commemorates a good event or accomplishment, make that date the one you celebrate, the one on which you do something special for yourself. Then when the previous actual date when you started breathing earth-air rolls around, you can go dark on Facebook, or just remind yourself that you know what your real celebration date is, so any messages or cards are just from people who aren’t aware of the date that really matters to you.
My best wishes to you, every single damn day.
barns
@rikyrah: You pretty much captured the essence of Trump. He’s a no class low life glorified slum lord from queens full of resentment because he can’t even buy his way into NY high society.
Starfish
Have you finished this Colorado ballot. I am on page 2. I have to care about County Issues now, and my will to live was zapped by having to vote to retain or get rid of all the judges.
amk
Big Ole Hound
@RoonieRoo: I have a golden/setter cross and his puppy brain is now 5 so there is hope. Having had quite a few field type dogs, setters, labs, pointer etc, I think that may be part of their delayed maturing process.
RoonieRoo
@greennotGreen: That is so very true. My other dog is a shar-pei/great Pyrenees mix and a big, big baby. Everything I learned training him, I had to completely throw out the window and start all over with new techniques for the lab when I got him. He is a freaking mess but he’s a fun challenge. We go to a class every single week with an awesome trainer. It’s a ongoing class so every month or so we are working on something completely new and fun. The crazy lab is the one that is literally game to try anything at all and is usually the first to learn a trick as he’s just so jazzed to be there and getting training treats. But he is exhausting.
RoonieRoo
@Elmo: Brain fairy!!! That is perfection!
debit
@WaterGirl: It should be on CSPAN.
RoonieRoo
@The Moar You Know: I’ve contemplated a golden for the next dog but then I watch the golden that is in our weekly class and I’ll take my puppy-brained lab. Yep.
germy
@WaterGirl: I went on youtube and typed Hillary Clinton Al Smith dinner speech and both came up. There’s even a full two-hour video of the event (which was too long for me)
amk
@BlueDWarrior: @Betty Cracker: Me too. The other two had no ‘brand’ to begin with and did their best to trash each other’s.
Eric S.
@Grumpy Code Monkey: I won’t deny that personality is the key driver in this election. With temp
Trump as the nominee how could it be otherwise?
Kevin Drum wrote a post a little while back arguing this election had had a lot of policy proposals. Building a wall. Banning Muslim immigration. Repealing the PPACA. Relieving college debt / paying for tuition. Raising the FICA cap.
I don’t fully agree but his point is that a lot of ideas, many incredibly stupid mind you, have been floated that have real consequences.
Calouste
@Major Major Major Major: Talking about people I have lost respect for this election cycle, lefties (for example the type of Bernie supporters who keep saying he is honest after he had been lying about his tax returns for months and now are supporting vegan Sarah Palin) are definitely on that list.
Starfish
@WaterGirl: Here is a link to Hillary Clinton’s speech on Facebook.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I kinda love this idea
I don’t think it will happen, but I could see Louie Goehmert or Steve King leading a Trump caucus and getting a couple of dozen votes in an early round.
(everybody heard the Texas congress critter, self-described genteel southern gentleman, saying about Trump and Clinton “sometimes a lady needs to be told when she’s being nasty”?)
greennotGreen
@ruemara: When I was in a very bad place emotionally years ago, I was driving along an icy road on a frigid night. The stars were so clear and bright! I marveled at how beautiful they were and realized that, even in that dark hour of the soul, if I could see beauty, I could come out on the other side alright.
Try to find some small thing today that is beautiful. Maybe just the rich colors of a fall leaf. Focus on that, and have faith that you will come out on the other side.
Good luck.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Major Major Major Major: in the Grunwald article I linked to yesterday about undecided Millenials, they didn’t like Trump, they don’t like Clinton, but they think Wikileaks is awesome.
I gather today’s great revelation is that John Pedestal thinks the Professional Left is annoying. I’m shocked to discover that there is gambling in this establishment
RoonieRoo
@Big Ole Hound: That is interesting that field work dogs as a whole might have that delayed maturity bent. I can see that being a personality plus for the field work they are bred to do.
Iowa Old Lady
The thing about Trump that’s surprised me most is his ignorance. He doesn’t know how govt works. He doesn’t know current affairs. He doesn’t know international relations. How do you get to be 70 and not know some of that stuff?
Marianne19
@LAO: You can mix canned pumkin and yogurt and freeze for a Kong treat, or I also like mashed banana and yogurt. I put a little peanut butter on top to seal it before freezing.
James E Powell
It’s going to be a very long time before I’m ready to make nice with Republicans or their persistent cheerleaders & enablers in the press/media. They’ve been spreading their bullshit & bigotry all over the country for most of my adult life. And not one of them has ever owned up and said he was sorry – Atwater’s alleged death bed statements notwithstanding.
burnspbesq
One of many potentially interesting stories for a Clinton transition: will Warren’s hissy-fit at Mary Jo White affect the selection process for AG?
germy
@Iowa Old Lady:
My wife was wondering about that after we watched the third debate. She remarked that his overall attitude was how STUPID everyone running the government was.
I told her it was a normal businessman’s contempt for government. The gov. is always trying to tax and regulate them (well, sometimes) and they deeply resent it; see it as theft and interference. They see everyone in government, from top elected officials all the way down to DMV clerks and postal employees as stupid.
I’ve had RW bosses with that attitude. Everyone is an idiot except for them. Also, the people who work government positions are “lazy” bureaucrats. Trump’s attitude is typical, it’s just magnified 1000X.
Major Major Major Major
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I don’t care what undecided voters of any generation think, I’m sure they’re all just as idiotic.
@Calouste: one of my lefty friends who I do respect (boy has that population dwindled) posted the other day about how “the fight that the American left has been cosplaying for the last five decades is finally here–we have an actual honest-to-god fascist to stop–and you’re all writing articles about the dangers of a two-party duopoly like freshman civics students.”
Brachiator
@ruemara: I hope that things get better. I like the idea of another poster. Pick a day to celebrate yourself, a day other than your birthday.
Hang in there.
hovercraft
@amk:
All of them Katie.
Patricia Kayden
@narya: That sounds delicious!! I’ll be there. What time and address?
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
@Grumpy Code Monkey: It’s being decided on policy by one side….and personality.
WaterGirl
@debit: @germy: Thank you!
I’m at 4 minutes and I think he’s doing good so far, except for being seriously hard on the politicians before he started with the jokes.
still okay at 7 minutes. still okay at 8:41. i am very surprised.
Ruviana
@RoonieRoo: The vet can also shave matted and messy areas which I have done to my elderly cat. Then I keep her brushed out with a fairly soft hairbrush.
hovercraft
@laura:
You obviously came from an excellent gene pool, good for Tom.
Patricia Kayden
@laura: Wowzers! So your brother witnessed Trump’s sexual proclivities up front. I have a feeling that quite a few Americans have similar stories to your brother’s.
scav
Math and geography. World’s longest pub crawl: Maths team plots route between 25,000 UK boozers Only thing to improve would be the satnav voice getting increasily slurred as we trundle along it.
WaterGirl
@WaterGirl: okay, trump went off the rails at the 10-minute mark.
Gelfling 545
@geg6: For my late pug who had that awful gassiness pugs can be prone to, I fed a couple of Tbsps of plain yogurt a day. It helped immensely with her social acceptability.
hovercraft
@ruemara:
Stay busy, it will get better.
hedgehog mobile
@ruemara: Sending hugs.
gogol's wife
@laura:
Great story!
All the stories about Trump are so believable.
germy
@WaterGirl: Has the booing started yet?
He repeated the “she got fired from the watergate committee!” lie that I’ve seen copied and pasted a million times by half-bright wingnuts.
Patricia Kayden
@rikyrah:
Bloomberg was there. Secretary Clinton joked that she wished he had spoken because she was interested in hearing from a Billionaire and Bloomberg was shown laughing. That was in stark contrast to Rudy’s look of outrage when the camera caught him after Secretary Clinton joked at his expense.
Amir Khalid
@Gelfling 545:
Does that work on humans too? I’m asking for a friend.
Another Scott
@germy: As soon as he said “Corrupt”, it was a rocket down-hill. The man is horrible in so many ways.
Cheers,
Scott.
bemused
@Iowa Old Lady:
He doesn’t know how healthy adult human relations work, not even a little bit.
MomSense
@RoonieRoo:
Yeah, my labs just basically cuddled with any humans who might give them food. When the rescue mentioned border collie I should have thought about what border collies can do seemingly without tiring for hours a day. We have to do 30 minutes of cardio, a minimum of 5 miles walking/jogging and provide lots of mental stimulation or she eats the house. The trainer said we are not supposed to feed her in bowls but set up these sort of food games like the spinning kong, putting small amounts of food in muffin tins with tennis balls on top, or freezing her dinner in large kongs so it takes her 20 minutes to get the food out. We actually play hide and seek with her. She takes turns hiding.
The only thing that remotely tired her out was my boys climbing a mountain with her that required scrambling up boulders. She was an angel the next day because she was so tired. I cannot climb a mountain with her every other day!
Brachiator
@Major Major Major Major:
I really like this. It’s weird how people see a potential tin-pot fascist in his early stages, and pretend that he’s either just another politician or, equally dumbass, a Republican just like all other Republicans.
As an aside, I am also amazed at how some otherwise fairly rational conservatives also view Trump as essentially harmless. I heard one guy say that the president is just like a team mascot, and that his (or her) decisions have little impact on the average citizen, so it was OK to vote for Trump because a conservative must never vote for Hillary because she would be evil.
Bill E Pilgrim
@hueyplong: It’s just an app for a phone, Android in my case but also for IOS/iPhones, you turn it on and point the phone at whatever music is playing, and it recognizes it and tells you what it is. Rarely seen it fail. I hear something when in a restaurant for example, wonder what it is, turn on that app, bingo. Now I know. In this case I played that ad on the laptop’s speakers and pointed the phone at it. One of the things that persuaded me that having a smart phone might be kind of useful. In, er well 2008.
Where it’s most useful actually is instrumental music. For pop songs, you can always just Google the lyrics, but for that symphonic piece you can’t quite place, piano sonata, whatever, that’s where it’s been really helpful.
Just One More Canuck
@ruemara: If you have your birthday in your facebook profile, take it out. That way, your birthday wont pop up in your fb friends’ newsfeeds
hovercraft
@WaterGirl:
You just have to keep an eye on the man to his right to know hoe he’s doing.
Brachiator
@WaterGirl:
Not a video, but the latest Rachel Maddow podcast had the audio of both Trump’s and Hillary’s speeches, with a little Al Franken commentary.
In addition to YouTube, some video of the event may be available at her site, Rachel Maddow Show.
piratedan
we all know the disdain I hold the political pundritry in… something that really bothers me is this partial credit program that they have Trump on…
Hey, he was lucid and made good points for the first 20 minutes! My understanding of the Presidency, leader of the free world, is that I would like the office holder to do more than simply look partially competant for 20 minute stretches. The job itself is a taxing grind and as such, the attention to detail, surrounding yourself with competant people and being willing to do the work that is needed to bring about effective solutions is pretty much want I want in a legislative executive who has the power to incinerate the world with the weapons at hand.
That’s my biggest issue with the media, they’re scorekeepers who apparently have no idea (much less any concept) that we’re dealing with policy that could well effect the nature of people’s lives and they have little understanding of the passions that drive us all. To be fair, they haven’t even articulated the fears of the wingnuts well, so it sounds as if they are nothing more than an ignorant mob who have completely embraced their id. While true, it’s not to say that the rural way of life isn’t under seiege, and as such, it manifests itself in all of the worst ways, with bigotry, misogyny and sexism. Yes, you can’t keep everyone down n the farm when they’ve seen the big city, but that’s not a condemnation of small town living, what is a condemnation of small town living is that business, as a general movement, doesn’t want to be associated with small towns and they have moved to the big city and bigger cities, leaving those small towns to wither and die in their wake and somehow, they blame the liberals for that trend. I’ve never really grokked as to why.
Patricia Kayden
@ruemara: ((ruemara)) Sending good vibes your way.
RoonieRoo
@MomSense: Digging out list of potential future dogs — crossing off border collie. :)
Mark B
@germy: I’m not advocating the use of cameras for actually catching the person who is trespassing, I think it’s more of a deterrent. If they know that they’re being watched and recorded, they will probably move on to somewhere else where they feel more safe. I have mixed feelings about big brother culture, but I put in a system at my house after some neighbors had their air conditioner outside unit vandalized by hobos looking to recycle the coils for beer money.
scav
@bemused: He can’t even read the crowd, a vocal crowd, of people from a restricted pool and socio-economic class he has theoretically lived with all his life. Ooooooo, business acumen and deal-making, where do I buy it. (His recognition of physical / cultural context isn’t so wired either. I can see him doing exactly this spiel at the next funeral or wedding. Likely will, possibly spliced in with Sherlock’s best man speech.)
MomSense
@RoonieRoo:
Unless you decide to buy a farm and raise sheep.
Major Major Major Major
@MomSense: but you can say that for most life decisions.
Grumpy Code Monkey
@RoonieRoo:
Hadn’t we done that already?
Mnemosyne
@SiubhanDuinne, etc. (Blame Omnes):
I’m glad you mentioned that, because I didn’t realize it was being broadcast so soon! I can’t see it on Saturday but I may try for the Wednesday repeat.
Miss Bianca
@SiubhanDuinne, etc. (Blame Omnes): “Blame All”?
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@MomSense: @RoonieRoo: There’s a great New Yorker cartoon of “ever since we got the border collie he colors within the lines”
Miss Bianca
@LAO: boiled white rice and baby food always seemed to do the clearing-up deed for my pups – if she seems happy and peppier I wouldn’t worry too much about the not-pooping – it’ll come!
Matt McIrvin
@Major Major Major Major: I think a non-negligible chunk of the foreign-policy antiwar left (the whitest, bro-iest chunk) is going to flip full fascist. It’s a little like the 1930s. Fortunately we’re not talking about a huge number of people, though they make a lot of noise.
gvg
@The Moar You Know: Hmm, my family had a good experience with a golden. Bonnie was basically perfect. had 1 puppy accident in the house then none till an illness years later. No items destroyed. she did turn out to be too big for my frail balanced challenged mother and pulled on her leash too hard till we got a gentle leader. Very sweet dog, a bit if a princess expecting our instant service but we spoiled her. That just meant that one little tiny woof was supposed to bring us instantly to let her back in. Golden’s really want to please people and she was easy to train. I did insist that squeak toys were for outside only. She liked to let the air out slowly with a long squeak that I couldn’t stand, especially after bed time. Outside solved that problem.
satby
@ruemara: @HRA: Best wishes to you both on your birthdays.
ruemara, it hit me hard when friends that I had for forty years went dark on me but it turns out it gave me the freedom and space to make friends that were more in synch to my life now, not just old habits from the past. And I agree FB isn’t socializing in any real sense, though I go on it daily. I’m sorry you’re going through a desert of friendship on your birthday, but you’re loved here and I hope that’s a bit of solace.
bemused
@scav:
We had a next door neighbor who was a bragger and a one upper. If someone bought a new vehicle, his had more features. If we had 30 below zero one morning, it was 5 to 10 degrees colder at his house. And so on. We and the other neighbors hung out with him and his wife for a few years. He wasn’t a Trump level egotist and we would just laugh among ourselves at him.
I was reminded of the neighbor this morning after looking at the Trump photo with Trump seething/glaring at Hillary smiling and greeting people after the Al Smith dinner and the gif of Trump tearing up his note and his face after the 3rd debate. It was a similar look I remember seeing on the neighbor’s face when he felt insecure. We had a couple, friends, visiting from out of state and had the neighbor and other neighbors over for drinks and eats. The neighbor was unusually quiet. As I watched him, I could see he kept staring and glaring at our male friend, who is very attractive, smart and fun plus had a model gorgeous wife. If our friend directed conversation to the neighbor, he just grunted and pouted. It was clear to me that he really didn’t like our friend. It dawned on me that the neighbor was jealous and felt insecure/outclassed and he couldn’t stand it.
We and the other neighbors eventually got fed up with the neighbor and haven’t socialized with him in years. The final straw was when all of our kids were in sports and he was demonstratively jealous when any of the other kids were doing better than his own kids. He really doesn’t have many friends anymore. I don’t know if he is aware on any level that he himself has driven people away but even if he did, I don’t think he is able to shed his egotism. I’m not a shrink but I doubt that narcissists even capable of changing.
gvg
@RoonieRoo: I had a show quality Angora years ago and at the show booths discovered a kind of comb with each of the teeth being little metal pins that rotate independantly. this was billed as a painless detangler. Now a lot of ad claims don’t hold up, but this comb worked very well. In recent years I have seen the type in the big pet stores too. All combing to untangle works best if you do small bits at a time, not try and pull the whole knot at one. If a certain area seems sensitive grab the fur in the other hand between the skin and the knot so that when you pull with the comb, you prevent the fur from pulling on the skin. If a knot is too near the skin, it can gradually get tighter and chafe the skin raw so at that point cut the tangle out.
Major Major Major Major
@Matt McIrvin: I could sort of see that, assuming I’m reading what you mean correctly.
Mnemosyne
@ruemara:
I won’t say “happy” birthday, but you know that everyone here wishes you well and is sending you peace and light.
When you first start mentally working though the crap in your past, it REALLY sucks, but I promise you that it gets better and you will feel much better once you do. It’s like getting a nasty infected wound cleaned out — it hurts like hell while you do it, but you will feel much better in the long run.
Monala
@ruemara: I think you can get rid of your birthdate in your Facebook profile. That will eliminate FB friends sending you birthday wishes because FB told them to do so.
Shana
@barns: The thing is though that he doesn’t even really try to buy himself into NY high society. Those folks all run in the charity circuit, actually raise real money for charities and give their own money for same. Trump doesn’t do that, he gets (or used to get) invited to same but rarely pledged any actual money or didn’t follow through on his pledges and they all noticed and have written him off as a deadbeat.
There was an article about this but I can’t remember where I saw it.
Aleta
@RoonieRoo: When my cat was similar I began to use a soft old toothbrush to gently groom her. (It was not even full size.) Even though I just stroked her in a few places, it seemed to make her very happy, as if she had been thoroughly groomed. I used rounded small manicure scissors (or right angle scissors) to clip out small pieces, bit by bit, of a mat a little at a time, because they pulled on her skin. This seemed to make her feel better too.
Kathleen
@ruemara: I sincerely wish for you that you are ale to create some peace, joy and comfort for youself on this day and every day. i know you’re a disciplined gym person but my go to when I’m blue is comfort food (mass quantities of carbs, sugar and even a cigarette from time to time. Peace to you!
MomSense
@Major Major Major Major:
Ha! You can’t stop wearing deodorant… unless you buy a farm and raise sheep.
Omnes Omnibus
@MomSense: I know a mushroom farmer who eschews the stuff.
Cckids
@ruemara: I’m sorry this is such a hard day, and that your mom isn’t more tuned in & empathetic.
Can you get outside somewhere today? When the dark side in my life threatens, if I can get out somewhere natural, it kicks in some shift in my brain that lets me see the light again. I hope you can find that as well.
Pogonip
@ruemara: Aw. I care about your birthday!
RoonieRoo
@gvg: With a lot of slow work, I’ve managed to get him mattless again but those under the arm spots matt up fast. I’ve gotten a lot better about how not to pull but a better comb would definitely help. The furminator has worked for that slow, slow combing out of matts but it pulls quite a bit even with me holding the fur. I’m going to look for a better comb and see if I can find the one you described.
RoonieRoo
@Aleta: The toothbrush is a great idea for under his check and along his neck and back of the head. I might try that for soothing him.
NoraLenderbee
@germy: We had someone leaving nasty things in the shrubs in our front yard–2-liter bottles full of urine (!), a crack pipe, trash. We put up a motion-sensitive light and a (fake) security camera. The light is real. The “gifts” stopped. Is mounting a light an option for you?
sukabi
@p.a.: or they could actually embrace and fund real education, stop pushing charter schools, demand some semblance of truth and fact checking in the news and quit lying to their base.
I expect that to happen when pigs fly
Gindy51
Any dog who is a herding dog will benefit from herding classes. See if there are any in your area and sign your border collie up for them. A friend of mine owns a Greater Swiss, yes they herd. Her dog had been such a pain in the ass, a rescue, that she was THIS close to sending her back. She went to a class for herding her last gasp effort at saving her relationship with her dog and BOOM! Herding IS this dog. Now she is a model citizen because her owner found the thing she does best and got her trained to do it. Now they go once a week to classes and she is winning shows with her talent.
WereBear
@RoonieRoo: Try adding Brewer’s Yeast to his food. Also dry gelatin can help with those joints so he can reach the tricky parts better. Brushing him is kinder on his skin than combing.
WereBear
@RoonieRoo: Oh, for mats, what you need is a mat knife. It is a shielded blade that just cuts through the mat, or even, off: safely. I use it on the twitchy semi-feral.
local observer
New line of his and her fragrances: Nasty Woman and Bad Hombre for Men, find them next to Trump ties in department stores near you
workworkwork
@germy: We’ve got one of those (The “Love Glove”) and our oldest loves it.
I just have to remember to put it on before he climbs on my lap.
workworkwork
@Starfish: We got ours done earlier this week. It really is exhausting.
However, I did learn that the CO constitution apparently contains an exemption to that whole “13th Amendment” thing.
Another thing to keep an eye out for are the Club For Growth issues that get sneakily put on the ballot, so I really appreciate the booklet they send out with the ballots.
germy
@NoraLenderbee:
The house next to us got the bottle of urine. We get half-eaten sandwiches and various other offerings left on our windowsill.
@workworkwork:
I want to buy a love glove now. Our cat deserves it.
workworkwork
@scav: Are they trying to do the Traveling Salesman problem but with booze?
No One You Know
@ruemara: Hi, ruemara. There are a few days like that in my own calendar. Here’s to hoping you can feel support, find ways to ease what must be lived with, and live to a new and better day.
Aleta
@RoonieRoo: Mine loved it gently down each side of her boney spine. There is a kind of toothbrush called tufted, made for the back side of back wisdom teeth, looks a little like this but soft not stiff, that I also used. Actually even the cats now and the large dog love being head-stroked with it.
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
@Shana: He doesn’t have many rich friends as far as I know. I mean real billionaires. They all recognize him for what he is, a phony not billionaire.
Some billionaire hedge fund guy explained it quite simply. I’m paraphrasing but it was something like “I’m a billionaire, I know other billionaires. A billionaire would not be trying to personally sell their brand name water and steaks.”