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You are here: Home / John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House" / Friday Night Open Thread (Shut Up I Know There is Already One)

Friday Night Open Thread (Shut Up I Know There is Already One)

by John Cole|  June 22, 20188:47 pm| 193 Comments

This post is in: John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House"

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Before we get to anything else, let’s all keep commenter Tavernwench in our thoughts- she was run into by an SUV a couple days ago, and had to spend a couple nights in the hospital and is in all sorts of pain and still kind of in shock (mentally, not the physical shock), so let’s send her some happy thoughts and positive vibes.

In other news, this is my go-to excuse for not blogging in the future:

It’s been another rainy, crappy day here at Fort Steve, and it’s my birthday, so I went down to the big city and picked up Tammy. She insisted we take a picture and I smile but instead I acted like an asshole so this is all you get:

Fucking beauty and the beast. Also, LOOK AT ALL THE MOLD ON MY SIDING. The house was just powerwashed last summer. Ridiculous.

In other news, the back yard is still a god damned disaster, but everything is growing like CRAZY. Hell, some seedlings that I decided weren’t big enough to put into the raised beds and threw into the compost pile have decided to have the last laugh, and I now have tomatoes growing sideways out of my compost bin:

Get off on your bad self, renegade tomato plants. I am curious which variety they are. Peas are going bananas:

The tomatoes are also thriving (these are the ones I grew from seedlings):

And the ones I picked up at a local store in case my seedlings didn’t make it:

Peppers and watermelon are doing well, and could use a little weeding, which I would do more frequently if I DID NOT SINK SIX INCHES INTO THE BACK YARD BECAUSE IT IS A MUDDY QUAGMIRE:

And the onions and garlic:

In other news, I sprinkled all sorts of wildflower seeds in between the perennials I planted all over the place, walked on them to mash them into the mulch and soil, and they are popping up all over the place, so hopefully I will have some blooming late in the season.

That’s it. I’m off to eat tacos and cake. Not together. I’m 48. How did I get so fucking old?

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Previous Post: « Friday Evening Open Thread
Next Post: Mississippi Man! And He Sticks the Landing!!!! »

Reader Interactions

193Comments

  1. 1.

    schrodingers_cat

    June 22, 2018 at 8:50 pm

    Happy Birthday!!!

  2. 2.

    MelissaM

    June 22, 2018 at 8:50 pm

    Happy birthday, you curmudgeon! And you’re younger than me, so don’t whine that you’re old.

  3. 3.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 22, 2018 at 8:50 pm

    How did I get so fucking old?

    It’s simple. You continue to not die. HBD.

  4. 4.

    Mnemosyne

    June 22, 2018 at 8:51 pm

    The Pale Scot recommended that you add willow and/or mulberry trees to your backyard since they love water and will soak it up.

  5. 5.

    hellslittlestangel

    June 22, 2018 at 8:51 pm

    How did I get so fucking old?

    If you dropped dead today, what would literally EVERYONE say? “He was so young.” Go figure.

  6. 6.

    Mnemosyne

    June 22, 2018 at 8:52 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I saw 92-year-old Dick Van Dyke dance (and rap!) on Wednesday night. I’m still in awe.

  7. 7.

    efgoldman

    June 22, 2018 at 8:52 pm

    I’m 48. How did I get so fucking old?

    Go fuck yourself, youngster.
    Fucking kid….
    How do you keep the squirrels, groundhogs and deer from eating your veggies?
    Mrs efg has to keep our tomatoes inside what used to be a breezeway.

  8. 8.

    JPL

    June 22, 2018 at 8:53 pm

    Happy Day! The pup looks happy and that’s all that counts.

  9. 9.

    lollipopguild

    June 22, 2018 at 8:53 pm

    I love you man! CAKE! Will there be dancing later?

  10. 10.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    June 22, 2018 at 8:54 pm

    Happy Birthday Cole

    @Mnemosyne: I saw 92-year-old Dick Van Dyke dance

    cool

    (and rap!)

    hmmmmmm…..

  11. 11.

    HinTN

    June 22, 2018 at 8:54 pm

    Time JC, time. Turned around the other day and discovered I was on Medicare. Shit son, you ain’t old.

    ETA fixed the autocorrect that I thought I fixed before publishing. Sigh

  12. 12.

    jl

    June 22, 2018 at 8:54 pm

    Happy Birthday to Cole. I thought that was how Cole smiled. Why did Cole wreck if for me?
    Thnx for garden pix. Looks great.

    Thanks in advance for the rain garden pix!

  13. 13.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    June 22, 2018 at 8:55 pm

    48? Horseshit. I’ve been alive–technically–two more years than you have, but I’m only 23. If I’m 23, so are you, damn it. Fuck 48. Fuck 50. Fuck anything over 23.

  14. 14.

    HinTN

    June 22, 2018 at 8:56 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Not in those quantities and not as fast as that requires.

  15. 15.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 22, 2018 at 8:56 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Are his rapping skills better than his Cockney accent?

  16. 16.

    Scuffletuffle

    June 22, 2018 at 8:57 pm

    Happy birthday, youngster!

  17. 17.

    jl

    June 22, 2018 at 8:57 pm

    I dunno, I think that IS Cole smiling. He’s lying to us. Yet another blogger scandal on BJ.

    Edit: Someone tell Cole if he smiles, it will make him look even grouchier. That will do the trick.

  18. 18.

    CaseyL

    June 22, 2018 at 8:57 pm

    @efgoldman:

    How do you keep the squirrels, groundhogs and deer from eating your veggies?

    Well, see, he has this lake in his back yard…

    Happy birthday, John! Thanks for all you do to keep us jackals happy non-homicidal!

  19. 19.

    Mnemosyne

    June 22, 2018 at 8:57 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Well, he has a cameo in you-know-who’s upcoming movie, so I think that’s where he picked it up. That dude is a bad influence.

  20. 20.

    TenguPhule

    June 22, 2018 at 8:58 pm

    Nearly 75 years after federal officials shuttered a Japanese-American internment camp in Rowher, Arkansas, the Trump administration is examining a site about 2 miles away as a potential temporary shelter for immigrant children.

    The Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday that the government is considering an unused Department of Agriculture property in nearby Kelso as an immigrant shelter, as well as a possible shelter at Little Rock Air Force Base.

    Unlike at the base, the site in Kelso has very little infrastructure and would require tents for housing, said Democratic state Rep. Mark McElroy, who is “adamantly against” the proposal.

    Among his concerns are the heat, humidity, mosquitoes and cottonmouths that he said would threaten anyone who lived in a tent.

    “There’s no infrastructure, there’s no sewer, there’s no water to it, there’s no gravel,” said McElroy, who lives directly across from the federal site. He added that the land is prone to flooding.

    There are no words.

  21. 21.

    Mnemosyne

    June 22, 2018 at 9:00 pm

    @HinTN:

    I’m pretty sure it was meant as advice for future years, not an immediate fix. ?

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    He actually made a joke about his cockney accent not allowing him to visit England anymore. ?

    Though apparently Americans rib him more for it than the Brits do.

  22. 22.

    dmsilev

    June 22, 2018 at 9:00 pm

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.):

    48? Horseshit. I’ve been alive–technically–two more years than you have, but I’m only 23

    Thirty-five is a very attractive age. London society is full of women of the very highest birth who have, of their own free choice, remained thirty-five for years. Lady Dumbleton is an instance in point. To my own knowledge she has been thirty-five ever since she arrived at the age of forty, which was many years ago now.

  23. 23.

    encephalopath

    June 22, 2018 at 9:00 pm

    John McAfee believes himself to be living the life of Sam Lowry. It all makes sense now.

  24. 24.

    TenguPhule

    June 22, 2018 at 9:00 pm

    if I DID NOT SINK SIX INCHES INTO THE BACK YARD BECAUSE IT IS A MUDDY QUAGMIRE

    Just think of it as a chance to relive basic training.

  25. 25.

    TenguPhule

    June 22, 2018 at 9:02 pm

    @efgoldman:

    How do you keep the squirrels, groundhogs and deer from eating your veggies?

    2 dogs and a mountain lion pretending to be a cat?

  26. 26.

    khead

    June 22, 2018 at 9:03 pm

    Happy Birthday John.

    Since this is a cheery thread, have some pics of the handome Coal Kitteh

  27. 27.

    Wag

    June 22, 2018 at 9:03 pm

    How did I get so fucking old?

    Never stopped breathing. Keep it up! Happy birthday.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gd33Ybvj8TA

  28. 28.

    TenguPhule

    June 22, 2018 at 9:03 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    It’s simple. You continue to not die.

    The Reaper is still confused as to how John survived that last incident with the car and the field.

  29. 29.

    hellslittlestangel

    June 22, 2018 at 9:03 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:
    Chim Chiminey Chim Chiminey Chim Chim Cheree,
    A suckah MC is bloomin’ lucky as can be

  30. 30.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    June 22, 2018 at 9:04 pm

    as people have been saying, Arnold is a goof who’s been claiming to have dirt on trump for months, but I’m pretty sure Michael Cohen really does have dirt, like fill in Cole’s backyard amounts of dirt

    Manu Raju @ mkraju
    Tom Arnold, after bluntly warning Trump about what Michael Cohen has on the president, refuses to say to PoppyHarlowCNN on outfrontcnn whether Cohen is cooperating with the feds. He says he’s spending the weekend with Cohen.

    Jeet Heer @ HeerJeet
    Hey, it’s Roseanne Barr’s ex-husband on CNN, acting as a mouthpiece for the president’s former lawyer & making veiled threats about having “tapes” on the President. A normal day in the Bananapants Republic.

    he will also be on MSNBC this evening, per a chyron I saw a few minutes ago. The Very Serious (But Not As Serious As Joyce Vance) Former US Attorney who comments on MSNBC says Cohen is hurting his credibility as a witness, but I suspect the documents will overpower any attempts to smear him by association (IANAL)
    ETA: Barbara MacQuade! sounds like a mid-seventies procedural about a tough-as-nails, but good-hearted, cop or DA. In Boston.

  31. 31.

    Pogonip

    June 22, 2018 at 9:07 pm

    Happy birthday, Cole!

  32. 32.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    June 22, 2018 at 9:07 pm

    How did I get so fucking old?

    You’re 10 years and change younger than me, Cole. Omnes is correct with the answer.

  33. 33.

    debbie

    June 22, 2018 at 9:07 pm

    Bet those peas will be a whole lot better than the ones I just had from Whole Foods. Yuck.

  34. 34.

    Jeffro

    June 22, 2018 at 9:08 pm

    Oh my god, after all these years of BJ reading and I did the math and I’m a half year older than you, Cole.

    Happy birthday but let’s pretend you’re turning 49 ok?

  35. 35.

    TenguPhule

    June 22, 2018 at 9:08 pm

    What exactly is the new policy? Where are the separated children? When will they be reunited with their parents? Migrants, advocates and law enforcement officials are struggling to interpret the new landscape amid a mix of hope, fear, confusion and frustration.

    At a border crossing in Nogales, Abel, a school bus driver from Guatemala, and his 17-year-old son sat in the 100-degree heat Thursday, hoping to be allowed into the United States to seek asylum. Abel said gangs had been recruiting his son, so they decided to flee.

    They had no idea that families were being separated at the border until Wednesday, when they heard other migrants talking about it. They said they hoped not to be separated, but they responded “si” in unison when asked whether they would be willing to spend months in detention together.

    “What other option do we have but to come?” Abel said. “We can’t go back. If they see us, they’ll kill us. . . . We trust in God, and in the laws of the United States.”

    Irresistable force meets impenetrable object.

  36. 36.

    p.a.

    June 22, 2018 at 9:10 pm

    …SINK SIX INCHES INTO THE BACK YARD BECAUSE IT IS A MUDDY QUAGMIRE

    grow rice

  37. 37.

    Major Major Major Major

    June 22, 2018 at 9:10 pm

    Happy birthday! Enjoy your cake tacos, liar.

  38. 38.

    A Ghost To Most

    June 22, 2018 at 9:11 pm

    Happy birthday, John.

    I see George Effing Will is urging people to vote against the GOP. Strange days.

  39. 39.

    khead

    June 22, 2018 at 9:12 pm

    @khead:

    Handsome. Heh. Also, Cole, I never really cared about birthdays until I hit 49. So, it ain’t gonna get easier.

  40. 40.

    TenguPhule

    June 22, 2018 at 9:12 pm

    @p.a.:

    grow rice

    Rice needs more water then mud.

  41. 41.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    June 22, 2018 at 9:12 pm

    @dmsilev:

    Ehh, I guess 35 would be a good age–if I were to ever reach it. But I think it’s unlikely I will. I’ve been 23 for 27 years, and it looks like I’ll be 23 for at least another 75-100…

  42. 42.

    WaterGirl

    June 22, 2018 at 9:12 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Mulberry trees are a nightmare, but Willow is a good idea. As long as it’s not planted anywhere near the foundation of the house. But that’s a big yard, so that wouldn’t have to be a problem.

  43. 43.

    efgoldman

    June 22, 2018 at 9:12 pm

    @debbie:

    Bet those peas will be a whole lot better than the ones I just had from Whole Foods

    This time of year, local farm stands are open beside the road
    @TenguPhule:

    2 dogs and a mountain lion pretending to be a cat?

    Alas i have neither. Local leash laws keep the dogs home, and the cats that wander thru our yard are old and lazy and don’t stalk anymore – they just want the sunny rocks.

  44. 44.

    TenguPhule

    June 22, 2018 at 9:15 pm

    @efgoldman:

    Alas i have neither.

    Your greenery large enough to justify a fence?

  45. 45.

    nicdanger

    June 22, 2018 at 9:16 pm

    Happy Birthday Mr. Cole.Turning 48? pshaw,that was me 15 years ago.Hope you had a great day,and that the tacos and cake are delicious.

  46. 46.

    TenguPhule

    June 22, 2018 at 9:16 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Mulberry trees are a nightmare,

    Mulberry grow fast AF, don’t plant them unless you want them to try and take over the whole area.

  47. 47.

    trollhattan

    June 22, 2018 at 9:16 pm

    @efgoldman:
    My Friday is thus complete.

  48. 48.

    efgoldman

    June 22, 2018 at 9:17 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    Your greenery large enough to justify a fence?

    Not practical, uneven granite ledge. Could be done, but way too expensive.

  49. 49.

    TenguPhule

    June 22, 2018 at 9:17 pm

    @efgoldman:

    This time of year, local farm stands are open beside the road

    Some of us live in cities.

  50. 50.

    Ohio Mom

    June 22, 2018 at 9:17 pm

    Happy Birthday and many more, John. Look how much you have accomplished in these four plus decades, including and not limited to this fabulous blog. The world is a better place for you being here.

    On another note, maybe if you didn’t have those soil dikes lining the fences, the rainwater would have some place to go?

  51. 51.

    efgoldman

    June 22, 2018 at 9:19 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    Some of us live in cities.

    And also in the close in suburbs

  52. 52.

    TenguPhule

    June 22, 2018 at 9:19 pm

    @efgoldman:

    Not practical, uneven granite ledge.

    If you’re really desperate, you could borrow a neighbor’s dog to mark their territory around the garden. It should discourage some of the pests. But you’d have to make sure to get frequent reapplications weekly.

  53. 53.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    June 22, 2018 at 9:22 pm

    @WaterGirl: We had a fruitless mulberry in our front yard, not a big problem. According to the Googlemobile it’s still there.

  54. 54.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 22, 2018 at 9:22 pm

    @WaterGirl: But Mulberry trees give you mulberries.

  55. 55.

    Greg Ferguson

    June 22, 2018 at 9:22 pm

    Happy Birthday, Cole!

  56. 56.

    debbie

    June 22, 2018 at 9:22 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    There are farmers’ markets around here, but none have peas, alas.

  57. 57.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    June 22, 2018 at 9:25 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Unless they’re fruitless.

  58. 58.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 22, 2018 at 9:26 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Well, most of Cole’s efforts in the yard have been fruitless….

  59. 59.

    smedley the uncertain

    June 22, 2018 at 9:26 pm

    Happy B’Day OM!!! I’ll slow down a bit so you can catch -up. Hit my natal day in August to start my NINTH decade.
    The Sail boat goes in the water this weekend. My Plan is to be sailing on my 80th. May be the last year but it’s been a glorious ride…

  60. 60.

    japa21

    June 22, 2018 at 9:26 pm

    Happy birthday John. Mine was yesterday. They devised June 21 (most years) to be the longest daylight of the year (here in the Northern Hemisphere) just for me. That is how old I am, so don’t moan about being 48.

  61. 61.

    trollhattan

    June 22, 2018 at 9:26 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:
    Standard California landscape fast-grow tree is the fruitless mulberry, which are fast green and murder on sidewalks and drains. But no fruit.

  62. 62.

    The Ancient Randonneur

    June 22, 2018 at 9:27 pm

    David Simon is back on Twitter and he is displeased with @jack (Jack Dorsey).

    https://mobile.twitter.com/AoDespair/status/1010326429568028672

    Very much worth a read.

  63. 63.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    June 22, 2018 at 9:27 pm

    I don’t know if the Cleveland Plain Dealer is a liberal paper, but the headline on the front page isn’t good:

    “Confusion reigns after Trump acts”. Talks about the children being separated. Feds seek longer lockups; no clear plans to reunite families.

  64. 64.

    A Ghost To Most

    June 22, 2018 at 9:28 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:
    And drunken birds.

  65. 65.

    jl

    June 22, 2018 at 9:28 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Won’t sacrifice himself to the mud for peppers and watermelon. Sad. He needs a BJ commenter intervention.

  66. 66.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 22, 2018 at 9:28 pm

    @trollhattan: I am only familiar with the fruited variety.

  67. 67.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    June 22, 2018 at 9:29 pm

    @trollhattan: Our’s was in the middle of the yard, so no problem with sidewalks or the driveway.

  68. 68.

    Jeffro

    June 22, 2018 at 9:30 pm

    I know what was bugging me from Trumpov’s scummy presser earlier today: who set that event up, that quickly? Who wrote the script, had the “Angel Families” on hand, paid for all of it?

    Inquiring minds want to know!

  69. 69.

    Gelfling 545

    June 22, 2018 at 9:31 pm

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): You might want to consider my father’s custom. After a certsin point he observed anniversaries of his 21st birthday.

  70. 70.

    The Ancient Randonneur

    June 22, 2018 at 9:31 pm

    @The Ancient Randonneur:

    Here’s a taste:

    7) And what is evident, @jack, is that while the giants of our digital revolution are masters of the universe when it comes to the technical challenges of the information age, they are — by and large — moral midgets when it comes to the ethics and responsibilities of speech.

  71. 71.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    June 22, 2018 at 9:31 pm

    @japa21: Yesterday would have been my parent’s 71st wedding anniversary.

  72. 72.

    Wapiti

    June 22, 2018 at 9:32 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I’m not sure how much of witness the Feds are going to need; they’ve got a few metric tons of documents from Cohen.

  73. 73.

    Mary G

    June 22, 2018 at 9:32 pm

    Happy Birthday Cole! I’m old enough to be your mother, but just barely.

  74. 74.

    Mary G

    June 22, 2018 at 9:34 pm

    @The Ancient Randonneur: They should have known better than to fuck with the writer of “The Wire.”

  75. 75.

    MagdaInBlack

    June 22, 2018 at 9:34 pm

    Happy Birthday !

    I’m so jealous of your garden ☺️

  76. 76.

    Ruviana

    June 22, 2018 at 9:34 pm

    @The Ancient Randonneur: Worth it just for “fuckmook!”

  77. 77.

    cthulhu

    June 22, 2018 at 9:34 pm

    Happy birthday!!

    John McAfee a great example of the highly differential outcomes for people with mental illness comparing those with money and those without. Seen the same demarcation many times in LA.

  78. 78.

    NCSoder

    June 22, 2018 at 9:36 pm

    Happy Birthday John! Here’s to many, many more assuming we make it through this Administration. I’m not quite old enough to be your mother – but close. It gets better in many ways – but then your knees and back and vision start to go.

  79. 79.

    Dorothy Winsor

    June 22, 2018 at 9:36 pm

    Best wishes to Tavernwench. Being run over by an SUV can’t have been good.

  80. 80.

    raven

    June 22, 2018 at 9:37 pm

    Happy birthday babysan.

  81. 81.

    NotMax

    June 22, 2018 at 9:38 pm

    How did I get so fucking old?

    48? You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet.

    Trust me on this.

    May both you and @japa21 have a jazzy birthday weekend.

  82. 82.

    Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ

    June 22, 2018 at 9:38 pm

    Happy Birthday!!!!!

  83. 83.

    Gravenstone

    June 22, 2018 at 9:39 pm

    @Mnemosyne: My whole yard is a mix of native and weeping willows, aside from the token spruce line. I hate the fucking things. Willow is a very brittle wood and there are constant downed branches any time the wind gets above a modest breeze. Already had about a third of them removed and will likely trim back, if not drop several more.

    Oh, and the worst wet spots are right where the fucking trees are. Soak up water, my ass.

  84. 84.

    japa21

    June 22, 2018 at 9:39 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Apparently, I was their anniversary present from my folks. They just never realized it.

  85. 85.

    MazeDancer

    June 22, 2018 at 9:39 pm

    Happy Birthday, John Cole, may all your most treasured wishes come true soon.

  86. 86.

    Adrift

    June 22, 2018 at 9:39 pm

    Happy birthday youngster! All I have to add is ‘WEAR BOOTS’ Wellies if you got ’em. And yes, you can get by one only one piece of cake.

  87. 87.

    Another Scott

    June 22, 2018 at 9:40 pm

    @WaterGirl: Willow has a reputation for seeking out water pipes.

    E.g. CBC:

    When a storm drain backed up in Osoyoos, B.C., over the weekend, a 12-metre tree root was the last thing crews expected to find.

    “We just wrestled that anaconda out of there, two hours, one inch at a time” said Grant McCulloch, property manager of Village on the Lake, a condominium complex on Lakeshore Drive.

    McCulloch said the area backed up with water after a recent heavy rainfall and he thought the drain might have been clogged with sand or a dead animal.

    When crews realized it was a willow tree root, he says everyone was shocked at the size.

    The two-hour job was “exhausting,” he said.

    [ video]

    It took crews two hours to remove a giant, 230-kg willow root from a storm drain in Osoyoos, B.C. 0:32

    ETA: Happy Birthday, whippersnapper.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  88. 88.

    dexwood

    June 22, 2018 at 9:40 pm

    Happy Birthday, John. I can almost remember 48, hazy and distant, but not entirely forgotten. Truly, thanks for this place. It’s a daily gift to us.

  89. 89.

    jharp

    June 22, 2018 at 9:41 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Willows are worse than mulberries in my opinion.

    Try Bald Cypress.

    And I’m currently at war with a new found enemy. Golden Raintree.

    God I hate that fucking tree.

  90. 90.

    qwerty42

    June 22, 2018 at 9:41 pm

    Happy birthday, John.

    The garden looks great. Enjoy the tacos and cake.

  91. 91.

    frosty fred

    June 22, 2018 at 9:42 pm

    @trollhattan: Also hellaceous pollen in the spring.

  92. 92.

    Virginia

    June 22, 2018 at 9:43 pm

    Happy B-Day ya old grump! We love you nonetheless.

  93. 93.

    Gravenstone

    June 22, 2018 at 9:44 pm

    @TenguPhule: You do recall that John wasn’t in the Subaru the time it went 4-wheeling, right?

  94. 94.

    NotMax

    June 22, 2018 at 9:45 pm

    A smattering of folks who share your birthday:

    Billy Wilder
    Prunella Scales
    Cyndi Lauper
    Bruce Campbell
    Dianne Feinstein
    Elizabeth Warren

  95. 95.

    Adrift

    June 22, 2018 at 9:45 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    The Reaper is still confused as to how John survived that last incident with the car and the field.

    Naked mopping accidents run a close second there.

  96. 96.

    Beeb

    June 22, 2018 at 9:46 pm

    Happy, happy birthday, JC! I am considerably older than you are and I still can’t figure out how my grandmother’s arms got attached to my shoulders. It’s a puzzlement.

  97. 97.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    June 22, 2018 at 9:46 pm

    @NotMax: It’s DiFi’s b-day? She’s 102, right?

  98. 98.

    The Ancient Randonneur

    June 22, 2018 at 9:46 pm

    @Mary G: @Ruviana

    Eloquent, savage and entertaining, all at the same time.

  99. 99.

    Villago Delenda Est

    June 22, 2018 at 9:47 pm

    Happy Birthday, John, and positive vibes to Tavernwench!

    Not so positive vibes to McAffee, OTOH.

  100. 100.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    June 22, 2018 at 9:47 pm

    @TenguPhule: He wasn’t driving the car that ended up in the field.

  101. 101.

    The Ancient Randonneur

    June 22, 2018 at 9:49 pm

    Speedy recovery to tavernwench!

    Happy birthday to the whippersnapper.

  102. 102.

    Mary G

    June 22, 2018 at 9:50 pm

    I know a lot of the people around here don’t love Charlie Pierce, but his last paragraph in a column this week struck me:

    The dysfunction is massive and general. Nobody in a position of authority in the Republican Party seems to have the faintest idea how to govern the country. And, on the border, children who once were hostages to political gamesmanship have traded that status for being hostages to political incompetence. Cruelty has many faces. This one is the one wearing a clown nose.

  103. 103.

    PPCLI

    June 22, 2018 at 9:50 pm

    Sorry to graft in a long rant. I had written it for the earlier open thread, but the thread became moribund before I was finished my cri de coeur

    Commenting on:

    @JenniferDokes
    5h5 hours ago
    More
    Great. Time mag gave forces of evil legit reasons to gloat, preen and be indignant. Very bad day for journalism. The nation can’t afford mistakes like this. Not now. The crying Honduran girl on the cover of Time was not separated from her mother

    Comment:
    It’s frustrating when the left rushes to self-flagellate in response to right-wing phony outrage, after accepting without any critical reflection the right-wing framing. Does the Time cover say the girl was separated from her mother, or depend for its message on that claim? No. It says “Welcome to America”. That is all. Is this young girl going to be detained? She will be. Is the experience going to be made more traumatic because of intentional acts resulting from consciously designed policies by Trump and his people? It will indeed be made far more traumatic, because by design they want to punish people who have done nothing to deserve the harshness that they are being hit with. So, yes, the picture of the young girl with Trump towering over her, with the message “Welcome to America” is 100% appropriate. THE COVER CAN BE PRESENTED AS MISLEADING ONLY IF YOU BELIEVE THAT THE ONLY BAD THING BEING DONE BY THE ADMINISTRATION TO ASYLUM SEEKERS IS FAMILY SEPARATION. BUT THAT IS NOT THE ONLY VINDICTIVE THING THE ADMINISTRATION IS DOING, IT IS ONE OF MANY. THE ENTIRE PROCESS HAS BEEN SET UP SO AS TO CAUSE AS MUCH PAIN TO ASYLUM-SEEKERS AS POSSIBLE. So I repeat: the cover is 100% appropriate and accurate. It isn’t Time’s fault if Trumpists insist on reading the issue with a perversely narrow focus that the Time cover itself nowhere indicates. True, family separation as the administration has been handling it is a particularly grotesque manifestation of the administration’s cruelty and malevolence toward asylum-seekers. But it is far from the only one. So again: Why should we accept the Trump propaganda claim that the cover refers to separation when it doesn’t?

    Let’s pause a moment over the Trumpist framing of the issue of the Time cover. Again: The cover doesn’t mention separation, and the most natural interpretation is that it is talking about an entire, inhumane process that has been initiated. But the Trump-propagandists want to insist that family separation is the only thing the cover could possibly have meant. Why? Lots of reasons, but here are two in particular:

    i) Because they can then claim that everything is fine if they can just (implausibly) claim that families have been reunited, or (implausibly) that they are going to be reunited real, real, soon..

    ii) Because they are desperately grasping for some reason, any reason, to dismiss the picture of the crying toddler. This is a group that has a visceral urge to conjure up a “Camp of the Saints” nightmare vision in order to sell what they are doing. And they are profoundly aware of the need to control the images to make that vision stick. Why are there no pictures of girls or girls’ quarters coming from the government, or even any information from government sources as to the whereabouts of the girls? People are demanding to know and see. Why not tell them and show them? Where are the babies and pictures of the babies? After all, the government has had no hesitation about giving out photos of older teenage boys sitting around wearing dark jackets, so that Steve King can tweet out comments about how threatening they are, and how they will be terrorists in no time just because of where they come from. It is part of the Trumpist strategy to smear asylum-seekers as violent criminals. So they can’t afford pictures of infants, of toddlers and little girls, of loving parents and children facing horrific tribulations, etc. to get out. The rare picture that does make it through the embargo on gentle images has to be sent down the memory hole somehow.

    So please: be aware of how propagandists try to get you to accept a way of setting up an issue not only to put you on the defensive but to ensure that the subsequent “argument” will actually have conceded the point they want you to concede, before any discussion even begins.

    Bear in mind Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations, on how you can be lost before you even begin:
    ” The first step is the one that altogether escapes notice…But that is just what commits us to a particular way of looking at the matter… (The decisive movement in the conjuring trick has been made, and it was the very one that we thought quite innocent.)”

  104. 104.

    Adrift

    June 22, 2018 at 9:52 pm

    @efgoldman

    the cats that wander thru our yard are old and lazy and don’t stalk anymore – they just want the sunny rocks.

    I would be comlpetely satisfied with that.

  105. 105.

    Genine Tyson

    June 22, 2018 at 9:53 pm

    Happy Birthday, John!

  106. 106.

    Gravenstone

    June 22, 2018 at 9:54 pm

    @Another Scott: Oh yeah, and the guy I (stupidly) bought this place from actually planted a fucking willow right on top of the septic tank. Fortunately, the pre-sale inspection found the roots infiltrating the tank so he had the tree yanked out prior to the sale. Actually ended up having the same septic service clean me out one year and they noted that they were pulling roots out by the wheelbarrow full at the time they discovered his folly.

    Fuck willows.

  107. 107.

    rikyrah

    June 22, 2018 at 9:55 pm

    James Corden and Paul McCartney

    https://youtu.be/QjvzCTqkBDQ

  108. 108.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    June 22, 2018 at 9:55 pm

    @PPCLI: Good point, thanks.

  109. 109.

    tomtofa

    June 22, 2018 at 9:56 pm

    Happy birthday, John. I’ve got 20+ years on you, and thinking about it, in those 20 years I’ve added into my life:
    -wife (with pre-existing kids)
    – 3 grandkids
    – advanced degree
    – professional career
    – extensive world travel
    – house (with enough fruit trees, vegetables, bushes, and upkeep to make even you feel like you had it easy)
    Things don’t necessarily settle down as you get ready to leave your 40s…

  110. 110.

    patternmaker

    June 22, 2018 at 9:57 pm

    I really like how much you yell/all caps. It’s cozy.

  111. 111.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    June 22, 2018 at 9:57 pm

    @rikyrah: Just finished watching that, good to see Sir Paul has a new album coming out. I really liked his last one, “NEW”.

  112. 112.

    lamh36

    June 22, 2018 at 9:57 pm

    Happy Brithday John!

  113. 113.

    bluefish

    June 22, 2018 at 9:58 pm

    Happy Birthday! 48? Spring chicken. No more complaining on that score, please! Sorry to learn of the poster’s accident. Super scary.

    You have some kind of mad green thumb. And the lady in the picture with you is to be commended. Good to see a photo like that. Cheers.

    Plus … I looked and looked for that mold but no it simply wasn’t there.

  114. 114.

    rikyrah

    June 22, 2018 at 9:58 pm

    Happy Birthday,Cole ?????????

  115. 115.

    efgoldman

    June 22, 2018 at 9:59 pm

    @Adrift:

    It’s frustrating when the left rushes to self-flagellate in response to right-wing phony outrage, after accepting without any critical reflection the right-wing framing.

    Long rant not necessary. This would have been enough.
    I don’t know how many times I’ve said this:
    STOP FUCKING COWERING!!
    Te RWNJ noise machine is gonna’ do what it does, truth, lies, whatever. There’s nothing we can do about that, but the WORST thing we can do is validate their bullshit by trying to parry it with logic.
    The flying monkey mouth breathers won’t be persuaded; nobody else much believes them UNLESS WE HELP THEM

    Stop cowering

    Fuckem

  116. 116.

    DanF

    June 22, 2018 at 9:59 pm

    On the plus side you’re punching above your weight (Beauty and the Beast indeed). Happy Birthday you old goat!

  117. 117.

    Ruckus

    June 22, 2018 at 9:59 pm

    @efgoldman:
    Beat me to the punch.

  118. 118.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 22, 2018 at 9:59 pm

    @Gravenstone: And then there is the whole thing with Frodo.

  119. 119.

    zhena gogolia

    June 22, 2018 at 10:01 pm

    @PPCLI:

    You are correct.

  120. 120.

    Adrift

    June 22, 2018 at 10:02 pm

    As an open thread, thought this might be of interest : Trump flips on North Korea, calling country an extraordinary threat — https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/22/trump-north-korea-extraordinary-threat-nuclear-program

  121. 121.

    middlelee

    June 22, 2018 at 10:02 pm

    Happy Birthday!
    If there is a Permaculture designer in your area might be she or he could help you with your back yard. they are water miracle workers. Granted, it’s usually where there is very little water but they do know how to move it around.

    Hope the taco and cake was tasty as hell.

  122. 122.

    Frankensteinbeck

    June 22, 2018 at 10:03 pm

    @efgoldman:
    I would like to know more about where the girls and babies are, and what condition they’re in. Trump’s presser is useless. The revelations of this horror have barely begun.

  123. 123.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    June 22, 2018 at 10:04 pm

    @Adrift: Yeah, heard the DPRK said no to his beach front condos.

  124. 124.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    June 22, 2018 at 10:06 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Trump’s presser is useless.

    That could be a rotating tag line.

  125. 125.

    Adrift

    June 22, 2018 at 10:06 pm

    @efgoldman: Excuse me? Exactly what the hell are you taking about? I’m talking about cats.

  126. 126.

    Ruckus

    June 22, 2018 at 10:08 pm

    @Gelfling 545:
    If I’d had kids at 21 and they had kids at 21 and they had kids at 21, my great grandkids would be 5.
    In a few days I will be hopefully celebrating being 21 yrs old(er) than John.
    Does that count as being 21?

  127. 127.

    Mike in NC

    June 22, 2018 at 10:08 pm

    @Adrift: What a sap Trump is. Probably figured out the North Koreas weren’t interested in his protection racket.

  128. 128.

    weavrmom

    June 22, 2018 at 10:11 pm

    My goodness, I didn’t realize you were such a cutie! I’d never seen a pic of you–must have missed them before. And first thought: “OMG, he’s CUTE!” And you look young to me, bc I’m really old.

    So anyway, Happy Birthday! Enjoy your day!

  129. 129.

    B.B.A.

    June 22, 2018 at 10:11 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Does this mean the Ryugyong management contract is up for grabs?

  130. 130.

    NotMax

    June 22, 2018 at 10:12 pm

    @Mike in NC

    He must have finally gotten around to opening that letter Kim sent.

    ;)

  131. 131.

    Josie

    June 22, 2018 at 10:14 pm

    Happy Birthday, John. Let me just say you don’t know shit yet about being old. You are only getting started. There are lots more surprises waiting for you out there. Heh.

  132. 132.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    June 22, 2018 at 10:15 pm

    @B.B.A.: I’m sure that Trump just wanted branding rights.

  133. 133.

    No Drought No More

    June 22, 2018 at 10:15 pm

    Cole: Nice job, beautiful veggies. I’ve actually given some thought to landscaping your yard since you posted photos of the flood plain the other day. So I run this by you now free of charge: why not raise those beds 2-3 feet, and build a plank walkway running their entire length, i.e., all built above the pooled water? For example, if it were practical to grow veggies on both sides of the yard (considering sun, shade, etc.), you might place two rows off each side off the porch stairs, with both running, say, 10-15 yards (or another length altogether), with planking raised above the water line at high tide as well. At the spot where the beds and planking ended, you might then plant an equal number of small fruit trees on either side, and even, perhaps, plant a line of trees against the back fence to enclose the entire yard with trees you can also eat. The space that’s left over (between the two rows and trees and the bak fence) could then be planted as you choose.

    Like I said, I just gave it some thought. I don’t say it’s necessarily good thinking..

    Or should you decided to more intensively farm your land, you could run the beds and the planking along the entire length of yard. Here in Sonoma, that’s how people raise their cash crops. Your lucky, you know, in any event. You’ve got a ton of space to do a lot of cool things . .

    And, oh yeah: happy birthday, and many happy returns..

  134. 134.

    Adrift

    June 22, 2018 at 10:16 pm

    @efgoldman: I can’t remember the last time I used the word flagellate. I am going to assume you aren’t addressing me and made some type of error. Unless you didn’t which would make me completely insane and possibly senile. All things considered that wouldn’t be so bad.

  135. 135.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    June 22, 2018 at 10:17 pm

    @Josie:

    There are lots more surprises waiting for you out there.

    More cars in a farmer’s field?

  136. 136.

    ellie

    June 22, 2018 at 10:17 pm

    Happy Birthday! The only thing I grow is mint, for my mojitos.

  137. 137.

    Mary G

    June 22, 2018 at 10:18 pm

    Charlotte Clymer did a photoshop of the famous jacket, but instead of I don’t really care, do U? it says “November is Coming.” A company that makes jackets contacted her and wants to produce them, with 100% of proceeds to RAICES. Order information coming soon.

  138. 138.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    June 22, 2018 at 10:18 pm

    @Adrift: I think EFG may have hit the wrong reply button, PPCLI’s comment has the quote.

  139. 139.

    Mnemosyne

    June 22, 2018 at 10:20 pm

    @PPCLI:

    Co-signed. Every word. ✊?

  140. 140.

    Alain the site fixer

    June 22, 2018 at 10:23 pm

    Happy birthday John!

  141. 141.

    Adrift

    June 22, 2018 at 10:23 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Thanks, Bill I was doubting my own sanity for a moment although the older I get, the more things slip through the old colander.
    ETA: I read PPCLIs comment and completely agree. The picture of the child could have been a cartoon and the point is exactly the same. There is no room for wavering here. And damn, to think this started out about cats and sunny rocks!

  142. 142.

    phein58

    June 22, 2018 at 10:23 pm

    @jharp: We have some kind of tree-like lifeform in the buffer strip behind our fenceline, grows 20 feet high and up to six inches across the multi-trunks. No matter what we do to the aboveground emanations, it doesn’t affect the plant system itself, which apparently exists as an underground root system covering about a quarter acre. My colleagues who do biology research say you’ve got to poison the roots, not just cut down, poison or burn the trees themselves.

    Good luck.

  143. 143.

    Another Scott

    June 22, 2018 at 10:24 pm

    @Mary G: The latest I’ve seen is that RAICES has raised over $18,000,000 in the last week or so, after hoping to raise $1,500.

    I hope they raise even more.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  144. 144.

    stinger

    June 22, 2018 at 10:25 pm

    Happy birthday, John Cole!

  145. 145.

    jl

    June 22, 2018 at 10:26 pm

    @phein58: Shh… Cole will want one of those for his birthday so he can complain more.

  146. 146.

    HRA

    June 22, 2018 at 10:30 pm

    Happy Birthday, John!

  147. 147.

    B.B.A.

    June 22, 2018 at 10:32 pm

    So what was the status quo before Trump’s order to imprison babies? I thought CBP/ICE were just immediately deporting anyone they found without papers, whereas now they’re arresting and jailing them until a court date (which since kids can’t go to grown-up jail, meant creating the current kindergulags). The wingnut argument I’m seeing is that they used to just give them a summons to appear in immigration court and let the immigrants stay in America until then, which gave them a huge window to jump bail and flee to the interior. But that doesn’t sound like the workings of our Einsatzgruppen at all, even during the “sanctuary” Obama years.

    Obviously I want open borders. Instant unconditional US citizenship for anyone crossing the Rio Grande, because FUCK THE FASCISTS. But I know this is a pipe dream, and I want to know what the border situation is “supposed” to look like.

  148. 148.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 22, 2018 at 10:35 pm

    @rikyrah: Thanks for that. A bunch of grins, but a few times there was a bit of dust that got in my eyes.

  149. 149.

    Yarrow

    June 22, 2018 at 10:41 pm

    Happy birthday, John!

  150. 150.

    Dan B

    June 22, 2018 at 10:45 pm

    John
    Happy birthday! Wishing you a good digestion outcome from your gustatory choices.
    In drier climates willows and mulberries remove water from soil. In humid summer climates they do squat. There ate dwarf willows but that is relative, 20 feet by 20 feet… A permaculture expert might work.

  151. 151.

    jl

    June 22, 2018 at 10:47 pm

    @B.B.A.:
    ” The wingnut argument I’m seeing is that they used to just give them a summons to appear in immigration court and let the immigrants stay in America until then, which gave them a huge window to jump bail and flee to the interior. ”

    That is not true. Check out this link from full service BJ blog post earlier today:

    @Chrislhayes
    If only there was some alternative to family detention. Wait: There is one! A successful case management pilot program that the Trump admin shut down.

    Check out this statistic: “99 percent of participants successfully attended their court appearances and ICE check-ins.”
    https://twitter.com/chrislhayes/status/1009567580288438278

    Die hard Trumpsters will just say those are bogus Deep State statistics from Nobama’s secret time machine police, though.

    Edit: link to article describing the program is at the bottom of the linked tweet.

  152. 152.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 22, 2018 at 10:50 pm

    @B.B.A.: Anyone who showed up asking for asylum was given a hearing – people were paroled until their hearings.. Kids on their own could not be held for more than 20 days without being paroled to family or foster parents. 99% showed up for their hearings.

    ETA:

    Einsatzgruppen

    Yeah, they are fascists, but you may want to save that term. You do know what they did, right?

  153. 153.

    BruceFromOhio

    June 22, 2018 at 10:51 pm

    Happy Birthday, JC! Sto lat!

    I’m 48. How did I get so fucking old?

    It just turns out that way. You’ll get used to it.

  154. 154.

    Ben Cisco

    June 22, 2018 at 10:55 pm

    Wow, Cole, you’re younger than me? You do have a very old soul, and I mean that in a good way. Happy Birthday!

  155. 155.

    Mandalay

    June 22, 2018 at 10:57 pm

    @PPCLI:

    But the Trump-propagandists want to insist that family separation is the only thing the cover could possibly have meant.

    Sorry, but in your thoughtful post (which I mostly agree with) I think that you may be missing a key element of the story: putting the matter of the cover to one side, the Time article itself incorrectly claimed that the child was separated from her parents. There is a correction at the very end of the long article (which should have been much more prominent IMO):

    Correction: The original version of this story misstated what happened to the girl in the photo after she taken from the scene. The girl was not carried away screaming by U.S. Border Patrol agents; her mother picked her up and the two were taken away together.

    That is why the journalist’s tweet you quoted stated “Very bad day for journalism”, and it is entirely reasonable to ask why Time (hardly a left wing publication) reported that the girl was “carried away screaming by U.S. Border Patrol agents” when that never happened.

    Regardless of the brouhaha over the cover, it was the factual error in the article that was the core problem, and gave the right the ammunition to claim “Fake News!”.

  156. 156.

    The Ancient Randonneur

    June 22, 2018 at 10:58 pm

    Tom Arnold just said p***y on MSNBC live. This interview is fucking futz.

  157. 157.

    Joe Miller

    June 22, 2018 at 11:03 pm

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHN!!!

  158. 158.

    B.B.A.

    June 22, 2018 at 11:03 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Paroled where, and with what kind of monitoring? And where were those not claiming asylum held?

    You do know what they did, right?

    They killed everyone in my great-grandfather’s hometown. I use the term very intentionally.

  159. 159.

    middlelee

    June 22, 2018 at 11:03 pm

    @rikyrah: Thank you! I sang and cried all the way through.

  160. 160.

    Mandarama

    June 22, 2018 at 11:04 pm

    Happy birthday, John Cole. We’re about the same age. May you find a good drainage solution, may your tacos be plentiful, and may your compost tomatoes soon bring you BLTs.

  161. 161.

    Study pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    June 22, 2018 at 11:05 pm

    Happy Steve Day (since everyday Is Steve Day, I’m sure), Cole, on this, your 48th birthday, which just coincidentally is also today.

  162. 162.

    WaterGirl

    June 22, 2018 at 11:12 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: @Omnes Omnibus: Mulberry – the fruit – is the devil’s spawn. Messy, messy, messy. I have never heard of a fruitless mulberry tree, not around here, at least.

  163. 163.

    PPCLI

    June 22, 2018 at 11:12 pm

    @Mandalay: Ah, yes that is a genuine, and serious error. Thanks. I had only seen discussion of the cover.

  164. 164.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 22, 2018 at 11:14 pm

    @B.B.A.: Paroled. And they showed up for hearings. People not claiming asylum were admitted or not based on their visa status, etc. Don’t try to push any of this onto prior admins. There was no border crisis until Trump created one.

  165. 165.

    WaterGirl

    June 22, 2018 at 11:16 pm

    @jharp: After the silver maple fell on my house, I put in a bald cypress. Shawnee Brave, which is skinnier than the standard bald cypress. I am very happy with it. After 4 years, it has grown quite a bit.

  166. 166.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 22, 2018 at 11:20 pm

    @WaterGirl: I like mulberries. I used to pick them as a kid in Island Park in Geneva, IL.

  167. 167.

    Neldob

    June 22, 2018 at 11:25 pm

    Happy b-day old bean!
    And many tomatoes to you (not at you, for you).

  168. 168.

    frosty fred

    June 22, 2018 at 11:29 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Me too. My grandmother had a tree that was good for climbing, and the fruit was a bonus. But fruitless mulberry is a well-known thing at least in the west; I read years ago, so the details may be off, that it was planted so much in Arizona the pollen became hazardous to asthma etc. subjects who’d moved there because of the clean air.

  169. 169.

    Mnemosyne

    June 22, 2018 at 11:29 pm

    @B.B.A.:

    There’s a link to the story that explains the parole system in detail directly above the comment of OO’s that you replied to. Do you need to me re-link it a second time so you don’t hurt your scrolling finger?

  170. 170.

    Johannes

    June 22, 2018 at 11:30 pm

    Happy birthday, young man! (What? I’ve got 4 years on you…)

  171. 171.

    WaterGirl

    June 22, 2018 at 11:30 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: We get volunteer mulberry trees here – I have no idea if they are different than a regular planted mulberry tree, but they are like weeds here. Messy, disgusting trees with berries everywhere on the ground and purple bird poop everywhere.

    I have never eaten a mulberry, but I do love pretty much all berries except blackberries.

  172. 172.

    Tams

    June 22, 2018 at 11:31 pm

    Worst pic of me ev-ah!!! Regardless, Happy Birthday. You’re my forever bestest and I love you.

  173. 173.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 22, 2018 at 11:33 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    I do love pretty much all berries except blackberries

    Oh dear god.

  174. 174.

    satby

    June 22, 2018 at 11:35 pm

    Best of luck to Tavernwench, get better soon!

    Happy Birthday John! For all you do keeping this pub open for the jackals, thank you!

  175. 175.

    satby

    June 22, 2018 at 11:40 pm

    And for all our sanity, just say no to willows or mulberries, both of which are lovely in fields near streams but are nightmares in regular sized back yards. Do the rain garden, and maybe see if a small deep pond would collect enough of the water.
    Though you’d probably be fishing Thurston out of it every day.

  176. 176.

    Steeplejack

    June 22, 2018 at 11:46 pm

    Happy birthday, Cole!

  177. 177.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 22, 2018 at 11:47 pm

    @B.B.A.: You are getting ahead of yourself. We are fighting this. Or are you back to being a troll?

  178. 178.

    jacy

    June 23, 2018 at 12:37 am

    Happy Birthday, Cole! I was out with The Boyfriend eating Caribbean Tacos, drinking rum punch, and watching dinosaur movies. so I am late and a little tipsy.

    Take comfort in the fact that you are still younger than me!

  179. 179.

    Comrade Nimrod Humperdink

    June 23, 2018 at 12:40 am

    Happy birthday Cole. Hope you enjoyed your night, and that you know where to get a machete if those unruly tomatoes really do launch a full scale Glorious Revolution

  180. 180.

    ema

    June 23, 2018 at 12:43 am

    @Wapiti: And only eight items (out of ~292,226) are protected by attorney-client privilege.

  181. 181.

    RedDirtGirl

    June 23, 2018 at 12:44 am

    Hippo Birdie Two Ewe, John Cole. I just turned 53 on Wednesday.

  182. 182.

    ema

    June 23, 2018 at 12:44 am

    Happy Birthday!

  183. 183.

    RedDirtGirl

    June 23, 2018 at 1:02 am

    Testing, testing.

  184. 184.

    cain

    June 23, 2018 at 2:46 am

    48? I thought you were already 48 and going on 49? Well shit. I’m older than you. 49 is doing okay for me thus far. It’s only been about 5 weeks though. Not much change.

  185. 185.

    eldorado

    June 23, 2018 at 4:15 am

    don’t trust anyone over 47.

  186. 186.

    SWMBO

    June 23, 2018 at 5:24 am

    Happy Birthday!

  187. 187.

    Nancy

    June 23, 2018 at 8:16 am

    John Cole, you actually look kinda, not too unfriendly, tolerable in the picture. I wish you many future years of wondering how you got to be whatever age. I do it whenever I notice my age. If it weren’t for the arthritics and the cataracts, getting older would be easy to ignore. I feel like the same person I was way back when I was 48.
    Happy days.

  188. 188.

    Miss Bianca

    June 23, 2018 at 8:50 am

    Meanwhile, In Colorado it is dry as toast. We could use a little of that rain that’s flooding your garden, JC…

  189. 189.

    Gregory

    June 23, 2018 at 9:24 am

    Happy birthday, John!

  190. 190.

    The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion

    June 23, 2018 at 9:39 am

    Happy birthday, John! From where I sit, you are a badass mofo at 48, still on your feet and in your “right “ mind. Big love, mi hermano.

  191. 191.

    Exurban Mom

    June 23, 2018 at 12:11 pm

    Happy birthday, blogfather, from a long time lurker. Wishing you many more years of cranky blog output!

  192. 192.

    JenJen

    June 23, 2018 at 5:41 pm

    Thanks for the support and the kindness, John and Balloon-Juicers. And Happy Birthday!!

    – JenJen, aka TavernWench

  193. 193.

    Baquist

    June 24, 2018 at 11:27 am

    @JenJen:

    Best wishes TavernWench, sorry to hear of your incident. Miss a day on this site and you never catch up.

    Happy Birthday Cole!

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