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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Seasonal Open Thread: Simple Gifts

Seasonal Open Thread: Simple Gifts

by Anne Laurie|  December 8, 201911:36 am| 34 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Readership Capture, Trumpery

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No pushing. No shouting. No assembly required. Just real news that matters.

With a digital subscription, you gain unlimited reading access to 2020 election analysis, in-depth investigative reporting, and coverage you need to stay informed.

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 26, 2019


Local news subs (assuming you have a local paper) make good gifts, too.

The Warren campaign has made cross-stitch patterns available featuring the slogan “Capitalism without rules is theft” and, of course, Bailey based on popular merch designs https://t.co/tKkdw4Xiwc pic.twitter.com/0FvcRhkXJx

— laura olin (@lauraolin) December 5, 2019


Free for downloading, at the link. The motto patterns are pretty simple — they could be worked up in a couple of hours, even by a beginner. You could even use waste canvas to cross-stitch them onto a sweatshirt or the back of a denim jacket…

(If I can ever find my cross-stitch pattern books, I may work up ‘Capitalism without rules is theft’ in a florid pseudo-Victorian script. Which is not the Warren style, but the concept pleases me.)

Anybody want to share gift suggestions?

******
Or if you’re looking for a *gag* gift… emphasis on the gag…

The undocumented housekeepers told us they had to check @realdonaldtrump's supply of orange face makeup. Now, the company that makes that makeup — @bronxcolors — is running a sale where you can get a discount on Trump's exact shade. ("BHC06").https://t.co/bGJfQs7Z8N

— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) December 5, 2019


(Not a big makeup consumer, but as I understand it, concealer is properly used for small areas, to disguise dark undereye circles or hide blemishes. Normal users would cover the patch with a dusting of foundation, like blending paint over spackle. If the Occupant is too lazy or too ignorant not to slather it on like street-mime slap, that would help explain why it looks so extraordinarily unnatural.)

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Reader Interactions

34Comments

  1. 1.

    JPL

    December 8, 2019 at 11:40 am

    Wait just a sec, just the other day he said it was the light bulb that made his look orange.    hmm who to believe  hmmm

  2. 2.

    Baud

    December 8, 2019 at 11:46 am

    Neoliberal Warren suggests capitalism with rules is not theft. #RoseTwitter

  3. 3.

    hells littlest angel

    December 8, 2019 at 11:51 am

    @Baud: Capitalism with rules is a board game.

  4. 4.

    Baud

    December 8, 2019 at 11:56 am

    @hells littlest angel:

     

     

    Socialism needs family friendly game.

  5. 5.

    VOR

    December 8, 2019 at 11:57 am

    @JPL: Why not both?

  6. 6.

    Amir Khalid

    December 8, 2019 at 12:02 pm

    If the Occupant is too lazy or too ignorant not to slather it on like street-mime slap, that would help explain why it looks so extraordinarily unnatural.

    I suspect that, same as with any expert, Trump thinks he knows better than his make-up person.

  7. 7.

    The Dangerman

    December 8, 2019 at 12:03 pm

    …is running a sale where you can get a discount on Trump’s exact shade.

    Hmmmm … deep thoughts on first coffee … I wonder if you bought a shitload of the stuff and disposed of it appropriately, it would all go down the toilet on the first flush … deep thoughts ….

  8. 8.

    WaterGirl

    December 8, 2019 at 12:08 pm

    I love those cross-stitch patterns!  When we were little, when we were sick my mom would give us these  little needlepoint projects, which were very fun, with a round wooden hoop and cotton cloth stretched between them. I think we made them with little x marks, is that what cross stitch is?

  9. 9.

    germy

    December 8, 2019 at 12:15 pm

    @Amir Khalid:  All this time I thought it was a spray-on tan.

  10. 10.

    EthylEster

    December 8, 2019 at 12:22 pm

    I followed the link to see what the offer is and then read a dozen comments trashing WaPo relentlessly. I don’t think you can beat a year for $30.

     

    A thought experiment: Imagine a world with no NYT and no WaPo. Which publication would you then read? I get really tired of the regular bashing here of both papers, especially when many FPers frequently link to articles in each to inform their posts. Some people want to have it both ways.

     

    My chief complaint about these newspapers is that they cover pretty much exactly the same thing in about the same order. So when I fire up my browser in the am and check them out, I am struck by the similarities in even headlines. Of course these are not the only sites I read. But many other newspapers cite their articles. And Reuters and AP and the Guardian can be equally annoying. In fact no one publication can always “do it right”. Duh.

     

    AND because this thought has been in my mind for years:

    I originally came here for the politics (in 2005) and stayed for the politics. I have always been a bit put off by the extra quantities of snark here, about snark for the sake of snark. Oh, well.

  11. 11.

    Amir Khalid

    December 8, 2019 at 12:24 pm

    @germy:

    It could be. Has anyone checked his bathrooms in NYC for unexplained orange stains?

  12. 12.

    Another Scott

    December 8, 2019 at 12:32 pm

    Everyone who uses Amazon should be on Smile.Amazon.com and associate it with the charity of their choice.  I use it to support VoteRiders.  It costs you nothing, works with Prime, and takes 0.5% from Bezos’s pocket.

     

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  13. 13.

    RSA

    December 8, 2019 at 12:37 pm

    Not a big makeup consumer, but as I understand it, concealer is properly used for small areas, to disguise dark undereye circles or hide blemishes.

     

    So this stuff is called “concealer”? I think the President is not using it nearly enough.

  14. 14.

    Another Scott

    December 8, 2019 at 12:40 pm

    @EthylEster: I don’t stop by either the WaPo or FTFNYT web pages.  I do stop by Reuters and the BBC and Al Jazeera and News.Google.com and several other sites every day for news.  I rarely do more than scan the headlines at any site.  (We subscribed to the WaPo for 10+ years but dropped it in W years.)

     

    I use ad blockers on every site I visit because ads are so disruptive.

     

    Yes, I do post links to WaPo and FTFNYT when relevant stories show up in a Google search.

     

    Yes, we (as a society) need to pay for news.  But there’s much, much more out there there than WaPo and FTFNYT.  And I don’t feel guilty at all about not subscribing given how little I use them, myself.

     

    I send money to Balloon Juice Intergalactic Industries, CEPR, Wonkette, Eclectablog, MotherJones, and several other news-like places out there every year, myself.

     

    My $0.02.

     

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  15. 15.

    Sister Golden Bear

    December 8, 2019 at 12:51 pm

    @Amir Khalid: I suspect that, same as with any expert, Trump thinks he knows better than his make-up person.

    I’m sure he does. A make-up artist would’ve also told him that you apply foundation around your eyes and on your eyelids.*

    Methinks he’s intentionally leave it off around the eyes to mimic the look of using a tanning bed, where they give you little goggles to protect your eyes. Which was probably a status-y look in the ’70s (i.e. you could afford to do it), since he seems stuck in that decade in a way of other ways, e.g. crime is out of control and the Bronx is always burning.

    *If you’re wearing eye shadow, the foundation helps keep it in place, if you’re not it, avoids the “reverse raccoon” look that he’s got.

  16. 16.

    Mousebumples

    December 8, 2019 at 1:07 pm

    @WaterGirl: yup, that’s cross-stitch.

     

    I have what I’ve decided is a too complicated pattern that I was going to make for my baby girl, to list her vital stats from her birth, and now I’m thinking I want to turn it in for a new (easier) pattern. I’d love to find one that says, “Though she be but little, she is fierce.” Seems like a good girls kick ass message I’d love for her to take to heart.

  17. 17.

    Mousebumples

    December 8, 2019 at 1:07 pm

    Double post. Didn’t show up after 2 refreshes,so I back arrowed and hit submit again… And then I had 2 posts here.

  18. 18.

    FelonyGovt

    December 8, 2019 at 1:11 pm

    I like to give gift boxes of Penney’s Spices to any gift recipients who cook. I really admire the anti-Trump, pro-immigrant, pro-Liberty stands they’ve been taking.

  19. 19.

    waysel

    December 8, 2019 at 1:16 pm

    Penzeys.@FelonyGovt:

  20. 20.

    FelonyGovt

    December 8, 2019 at 1:19 pm

     

    @waysel: yeah, I caught that, but was unable to edit it in time. Penzey’s. Stupid autocorrect

  21. 21.

    mrmoshpotato

    December 8, 2019 at 1:20 pm

    If the Occupant is too lazy or too ignorant not to slather it on like street-mime slap, that would help explain why it looks so extraordinarily unnatural.

    Unnatural? You mean that’s not The Dotard’s natural orangeness?

    Seriously, what use would that shade have outside of a clown college? Completely serious question. I’m damn curious.

  22. 22.

    mrmoshpotato

    December 8, 2019 at 1:23 pm

    @Amir Khalid: “I’m luxurious at putting makeup on with a bricklayer’s trowel!”

  23. 23.

    John

    December 8, 2019 at 1:33 pm

    Maybe there is lead in his makeup as in Victorian times? This would explain everything.

  24. 24.

    EthylEster

    December 8, 2019 at 2:29 pm

    Hi Scott at #14 (somehow I screwed up the reply linky),

     

    Regarding your 2 cents, I have to say that I always find your comments substantive (and well-composed, which I really appreciate). And always worth more than your estimate.

     

    Your reading targets overlap mine to a large extent. I just get tired of the relentless ragging of these two newspapers. It appears to have become a form of virtue signaling.

  25. 25.

    TomatoQueen

    December 8, 2019 at 2:35 pm

    @Mousebumples: Etsy has a lot of this sort of thing; one finished project I saw was $80! Here is a downloadable pattern: https://www.etsy.com/il-en/listing/250489032/fierce-cross-stitch-downloadable-pattern

  26. 26.

    Ruckus

    December 8, 2019 at 2:56 pm

    trump looks extraordinarily unnatural because he’s an extraordinarily unnatural specimen. The make up hides the scales and warts.

  27. 27.

    Ruckus

    December 8, 2019 at 3:04 pm

    @EthylEster:

    Snark can help one stay sane. When there isn’t a lot that can be done to change a bad situation other than wait. Like a military enlistment. As one ages, one seems to either get accustomed to the shit raining down as the realization that it rains shit often, or uses snark to deflect some of it.

    Now how much sanity can be gained is valid question. But often it’s not how much is gained as cutting the continued loss.

  28. 28.

    Percysowner

    December 8, 2019 at 3:08 pm

    I subscribe to WaPo. They are somewhat balanced although they have way too many conservatives on their oped page. I also support BJ, Wonkette, TPM, Mother Jones and Raw Story. And my local paper.

  29. 29.

    Bex

    December 8, 2019 at 4:02 pm

    Are you Catholic, Orthodox or even High-Church Protestant?  Or maybe just looking for something to wear on St. Patrick’s Day?  Try SockReligious for Christmas gifts.  https://sockreligious.com/

  30. 30.

    mrmoshpotato

    December 8, 2019 at 4:09 pm

    @Bex: Lent socks!

  31. 31.

    mrmoshpotato

    December 8, 2019 at 4:38 pm

    Everyone on your list needs a remote control hippo

  32. 32.

    Sister Golden Bear

    December 8, 2019 at 4:50 pm

    @mrmoshpotato: It’s a color corrector (to counteract blue skin tones, such as bags under the eyes) that’s supposed to be used for spot treatment with a layer foundation over it.

    Leave it to Boy Blunder to trowel it on all over his face.

  33. 33.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 8, 2019 at 7:52 pm

    @RSA: I sometimes use concealer because I tend to get dark circles around my eyes. A little goes a long way. Can’t he hire a good makeup person?

  34. 34.

    Mousebumples

    December 9, 2019 at 8:50 am

    @TomatoQueen: thanks! That one might be more complex than what I want to sign up for, but I’m have to investigate my options.

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