Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

He really is that stupid.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

No one could have predicted…

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

There’s always a light at the end of the frog.

“Why isn’t this Snickers bar only a nickel?”

I conferred with the team and they all agree – still not tired of winning!

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

Republicans don’t trust women.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

So many bastards, so little time.

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Cat Blogging / Saturday Morning Open Thread: Chill-Out Assistance from A Past Master

Saturday Morning Open Thread: Chill-Out Assistance from A Past Master

by | 136 Comments

This post is in: , ,

Shakespeare, Nap Master

Update from Deb S:

Shakespeare invites the community to curl up with him for a nap. He does not necessarily recommend that you emulate his posture.

He wants you to know he is doing well in his new home, and that he enjoyed getting up from his nap on the rug this morning to watch the snow. When it stopped snowing he headed for his favorite bed on the heating vent for another nap.

Watching the Snow

His new mom says he is healthy and putting on weight. Obviously napping is good for you.

Shakespeare's Favorite Bed

Reader Interactions

136Comments

  10. 10.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud: Yep. Panic seems to be setting in. I feel like I spend half my time talking people off the ledge.

  12. 12.

    WaterGirl

    @OzarkHillbilly: I feel like I spend half my time trying to get people to take this seriously.

    Occasionally, I occasionally have to talk myself off the ledge.  :-)

    So I guess this is a team effort, with lots of parts to play.

  14. 14.

    Betty Cracker

    My husband had to tell his crew the company is cutting their hours to 30 per week. The guys barely make enough to live on with 40 hours, so this is bad news for them, but maybe better than getting laid off altogether? Maybe. Unemployment insurance in Florida is a joke. The company is betting they’ll stay on because finding another job now would be hard. Unregulated capitalism sucks.

  15. 15.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @WaterGirl: No, not sick herself. And not likely to get it either, as long as she practices good social distancing, etc. And she is. The problem is she has had to pick up most of the load on this, because I quite literally am a dead man if I get it.

    So I am here sheltering in place while she goes out among the great unwashed masses and worries herself to death because she is terrified she might bring it home to me.

  17. 17.

    Baud

    @Betty Cracker:

    Unregulated capitalism sucks.

    I’m not sure how regulated capitalism would solve this problem.  The unemployment insurance situation sounds awful though.

  21. 21.

    WaterGirl

    @OzarkHillbilly: I’m sorry.  That’s hard for both of you.

    I literally leave my non-perishables in the car for 10 days before I bring them into the house.  I leave my perishables outside, come in, wash my hands, bring the perishables in, take the bags outside and throw them in the trash, Wash my hands again, walk to the laundry area, strip down, start the laundry and immediately take a shower and wash my hair.

    Is that overkill?  I have no idea.  But it costs me nothing, and it adds to my peace of mind.

  22. 22.

    WereBear

    @Betty Cracker: I feel for them.

    One reason I fled North to live with the damyankees was my third class status as a Florida citizen. My local government’s attitude was “Why are you getting in the way with your needs? We only care about the tourists.”

  23. 23.

    Betty Cracker

    @Baud: I’m no economist, but I think the awful unemployment insurance situation results from partial deregulation of capitalism.

  24. 24.

    Betty Cracker

    Time to go for a walk before it gets too hot. One good thing about living in the middle of nowhere is the ability to walk a long distance without encountering another potentially infected human being. Yesterday, I saw three deer. Hope to see them again this morning. :)

  25. 25.

    OzarkHillbilly

    The post takes aim at a section of the bill that allows big restaurant and hotel chains to take advantage of the small business relief money for any of their individual hotels and restaurants that have fewer than 500 employees. Critics argued that these big chains will take more than half of the allocated funds, leaving many smaller businesses without the cash they need to stay afloat. “Masquerading these franchisees as small businesses will pull the rug out from under independent bars and restaurants,” the post says, inviting followers to speak out against this loophole.

    Other restaurants across Washington, DC, where I live, posted identical messages. When I asked one of the restaurants where the image had originated, they directed me to the DC Hospitality Coalition, whose ally organizations in Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, and New York had posted the same thing. (I reached out to the DC group; I haven’t yet received a response.)

    An earlier version of the legislation had reserved the whole pot for independently owned small businesses, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) slid in the provision allowing restaurant and hotel chains could qualify. So a pot of money that was supposed to support more than 30 million small businesses and their nearly 60 million employees—which, by the way, is almost half of the entire US workforce—will now be split with companies like McDonalds, which took in a record $100 billion in sales and returned more than $8 billion to shareholders through stock buybacks and dividends last year.

    To be fair, the issue is complicated. Many of the name-brand hotel and restaurant locations that will benefit from the loophole aren’t actually owned by multinational corporations but are instead run by franchisees. But couldn’t company’s like McDonalds make those franchise owners and their employees whole without the help of the American taxpayer? Seems like the kind of thing that the $25 billion McDonalds doled out to shareholders over the last three years would have been good for.

  27. 27.

    JPL

    @OzarkHillbilly: Yesterday I started streaming Ozark, because it was more calming than out daily situation.   Who knew that watching brutal cartel members being murdered was soothing.   First time I slept eight hours in two weeks.    My normal wake up time have been three.

    It gonna be no news Saturday for me also.

  30. 30.

    debbie

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    It’s tough not to panic when you can’t change what you did 14 days ago. I started coughing yesterday and am really hoping it’s only the beginning of allergy season.

    As much as I’d like to assume The Shakespeare Posture, I’m girding to venture out in a bit and hopefully find more than empty shelves AGAIN.

  33. 33.

    debbie

    @Baud:

    That’s been my working theory. The only time I’ve gone out around people is early Saturdays. Less crowded, but still tougher to socially distance. I’ve been holding my breath a lot if someone impinges my space.

  35. 35.

    Mai naem mobile

    @OzarkHillbilly: I don’t know about the restaurants but I can tell you a little about the hotels. I have extended family members who own the brand name hotel franchisees. The vast majority of the Comfort Inn/Ramada/Motel 6/Best Western etc name brands you recognize are franchises owned by individuals not national company owned. The owner pays a franchise fee annually(at least $50k/yr) and fees for branded stuff you have to buy at a premium price(the soap/lotions)  The national company also gets IIRC 30% of the booking $$.  The franchisee also eats all the points rooms. Bookings made through Priceline etc also get a big chunk. Honestly when it was explained to me I thought it was a scam and all because Americans want the same same everywhere. People will pay $180 for a room and think the hotel owner is making a killing so they try and get comp’d/scam the hotel for stupid stuff and they don’t realize when all is said and done the hotel owner may get $80/ rm from which they have to pay the housekeeping/laundry etc.

  36. 36.

    WereBear

    @JPL:@OzarkHillbilly: Yesterday I started streaming Ozark, because it was more calming than out daily situation.   Who knew that watching brutal cartel members being murdered was soothing.

     
    Yes, yesterday we watched Chernobyl. We are very much of the at least we aren’t dealing with that school of coping.

  37. 37.

    p.a.

    I find that as far as reading goes, my current mid-level anxiety (the new normal?) has given me the attention span of a toddler.  Have a modest collection of poetry: brief helps.  Can’t get through even modest length short stories or nonfiction.

  43. 43.

    raven

    @p.a.: I have a weird thing, I almost never read a book that someone gives me. I don’t know what it is but I just don’t get interested no matter what the topic.

  44. 44.

    Robert Sneddon

    @WereBear:

    The death toll from coronavirus, even now as it’s ramping up worldwide, vastly exceeds the number of deaths from the Chernobyl “disaster”. Coronavirus is not as pretty or as cinematic though and there probably won’t be any disaster tourism visitors dressed in hazmat suits traipsing though deserted COVID-19 hospitals afterwards.

  47. 47.

    Mai naem mobile

    I think the whole franchising thing is a cancer on this country. Why do you need printing company franchisees and plumbing franchisees? I have a friend who’s always looking for a good franchise business to get into. Just so that you folks know there is a franchise for  those electronic light  aquariums you see on the walls at medical offices. You’ve probably seen one at a dental franchisee office or a medical spa franchisee office!

  48. 48.

    Amir Khalid

    I know we all have worries we need to vent, but I urge jackals to respect the respite. Keep things light in thread like this. AL’s daily pandemic thread is downstairs.

  49. 49.

    raven

    @Mai naem mobile:

    Franchising, as an alternative form of capital acquisition, offers some advantages. The primary reason most entrepreneurs turn to franchising is that it allows them to expand without the risk of debt or the cost of equity. First, since the franchisee provides all the capital required to open and operate a unit, it allows companies to grow using the resources of others. By using other people’s money, the franchisor can grow largely unfettered by debt.

    Moreover, since the franchisee — not the franchisor — signs the lease and commits to various contracts, franchising allows for expansion with virtually no contingent liability, thus greatly reducing the risk to the franchisor. This means that as a franchisor, not only do you need far less capital with which to expand, but your risk is largely limited to the capital you invest in developing your franchise company — an amount that is often less than the cost of opening one additional company-owned location.

  50. 50.

    blackcatsrule

    I was just thinking about this sweet boy yesterday!  So wonderful to see this happy update.  Deb S, you are an incredible person, hope you are doing as well as possible with your personal upheaval and the world’s.

  51. 51.

    Mai naem mobile

    @raven: supposedly Nancy Pelosi says there are multi layers of oversight and Orange Asshole is not supposed to be able to get about it. I guess as Orange Asshole would say ‘we’ll see.’  I personally think the next time Stephen Mnuchin or any other cabinet officer refuses a subpoena to show up they need to be arrested and stuck in the Capitol jail. Or make them pay a financial penalty and actually freeze their personal bank  accounts.  They don’t understand anything else.

  52. 52.

    Lee

    Want to freak yourself out? Catch a cold right now. Yesterday I was feeling achy and had a slight temp.

    Went to bed think ‘I wonder how long I can make it before going to the ER’. Fever broke overnight and I’ve never been happier to wake up with full sinuses and a runny nose!

     

    Whew!

  56. 56.

    p.a.

    @raven: I’ll give books, but not really as ‘unOKed’ presents for holidays/birthdays.  If it’s a subject the giftee is interested in, I’m afraid they already have/have read it.  If it’s something I like, why assume they’ll like it too?

  57. 57.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @raven: Fuck you. Just fuck you. Like I don’t have enough to do every damned day, now I am going to lose several chunks watching, and then rewatching. ;-/ (stern look)

    Gawd, I’d always wanted to build a boat. A dream for me. 60″ wide slabs of mahogony, apparently 30′ long or more. Steam bending that 2″ mahogany… Kind of amazing how nearly all of those techniques they use I have used as well, or variations there of. Just goes to show, wood is wood.

    LOVE the lazy susan for the planer. Once I get the shop expansion built, I’m gonna make one for mine. Just makes too much sense.

  58. 58.

    Elizabelle

    Good morning, jackals.  A short story for you.

    B jacques comment yesterday:

    The permanent residents of Cape Cod, the Lake District and other holiday getaways dealing with the unseasonal onslaught of vain city folk can take inspiration from Shirley Jackson’s “Summer People” (meanwhile practicing social distancing of course).

    So:  link is free online source for “The Summer People.”

  60. 60.

    Mai naem mobile

    @raven: I totally get the reason for why the franchiser does it but it again pushes profits up to the few.  I didn’t really care when it was a few fast food places but now its infected every business. A lot of this I blame on the American consumer who wants the same same everywhere. My parents used to take us on road trips and we rarely stayed a name brand hotel and about the only brand name restaurant we would eat at if we did was Pizza Hut because we are vegetarians and we knew we could get veg pizza. We are in the age of the internet. We should have more non franchise businesses not fewer.

  61. 61.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @p.a.:

    It’s hard for me to accept that when I recommend a book I love to someone, they might not like it. I know it happens! It’s just always a surprise.

    We’re having a thunderstorm. I like thunderstorms.

  66. 66.

    donnah

    So, I’ve posted recently about my latest rug hooking project, which is a tribute to Helen Keller. I have always loved her story, and wanted to portray her courage and kindness in one of my art rugs. So I drew this pattern, dyed the wool, and am working on it during this period of isolation.

    https://imgur.com/gallery/MatHLgs

    One of her quotes is contained in the rug and across the bottom I’ve included the quote in Braille. When it’s all hooked, I’m going to sew small round beads on the dots so it can be “read” with your fingers.

    Here’s hoping it all turns out!

  70. 70.

    Jo Jo las Orejas

    @rikyrah: ¡Hola! ¡Buenos días a ti! Dormí tarde con mi nueva mamá. Nos acurrucamos. Ella había estado muy triste.

  72. 72.

    Immanentize

    @rikyrah: That is very sad.  But what a well-spent near-century.  I got to meet him a few times: in Nashville, Atlanta and Montgomery in that order.  He spoke, I listened.

  73. 73.

    Spanky

    @OzarkHillbilly: Same reaction here. Damn you, raven! I spent about 15 years volunteering in the Alexandria Seaport Foundation boat shop, doing all of those things at a much smaller scale – boats were <20′, generally.

    And which billionaire is funding this thing, anyway? Mahogany planking and silicon bronze fasteners. At today’s prices the fasteners may cost just as much as the planking.

    And yeah, the planer on the lazy susan is genius. Saves untold amount of time and energy humping planks back and forth.

    Maybe if I start at Episode 1 I could find out the background, ya think?

  77. 77.

    Spanky

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I woke last night to the sound of thunder

    How far off? I sat and wondered

    Well, actually I counted. It was a mile and a half. First thunderstorm of the year. Me like’em too.

  83. 83.

    Immanentize

    @Spanky: Bob Seger?  Really?  You just chased me away. 

    Gotta go make buttermilk cakes of the pan with blueberries for me and the Immp.

  85. 85.

    Immanentize

    @donnah: It is fabulous. I liked your Pooh one a lot, but this feels more present somehow and wonderful.  I smiled at Christopher Robin, but I’m thinking about hearing and sight and smell and thorns with Keller.

  93. 93.

    donnah

    Thanks, all. I have never forgotten seeing “The Miracle Worker” and I am not sure how many people remember what a courageous and inspiring woman she was. I hope this rug will remind those who knew her story and about her spirit as well as those who don’t know about her might be interested to find out more.

    And having the time to sit and work on it is good!

  94. 94.

    Jo Jo las Orejas

    @donnah: Eso es hermoso. ¿También haces juguetes para masticar? Estoy dentiendo Mi nueva mamá encontró 3 de mis dientes ayer.

  99. 99.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Betty Cracker:

    Yesterday, I saw three deer. 

    I hope they weren’t sitting around eating a gator, because then things will have gone completely ass over tea kettle.

  105. 105.

    Elizabelle

    Happy to see that Shakespeare had a soft landing and is thriving in his new home.

    @ Deb S:  hope you are well too.  A lot to process this year.

  108. 108.

    bemused

    Our gray and white, long hair kitty has the same, super soft throw that is his favorite thing to nap on. It’s the only thing I’ve seen him knead on before taking a snooze.

  110. 110.

    danielx

    Good friend’s daughter is a Navy nurse on USNS Comfort, going to NYC. As I understand it, ship’s role is to act as hospital for all the other things aside from covid-19 – heart attacks, car crashes, etc. 1000 beds will help with that, but not too far.

  111. 111.

    Jo Jo las Orejas

    @Baud: Mi nueva mamá dice que no es una persona cachonda. No estoy seguro de qué significa eso. Sé que ella tiene 59 años humanos y yo soy su primer cachorro. Ella dice que pensó que iría a un lujoso spa para almorzar el día que me conoció. Lo siguiente que supo fue que la rescaté.

  113. 113.

    NotMax

    @danielx

    All well and good, but car crash survivors, heart attack victims, etc. are just as likely to test positive for the virus and bring it aboard.

  114. 114.

    Elizabelle

    @Steeplejack:   Loved your recon report yesterday.

    Heart swelled to hear of the bodega owner who did not want to charge your brother for groceries, once he learned Bro Man is a doctor.  The gratitude of those who struggle too, with such a sincere and generous act.  Teared up a little.

  116. 116.

    donnah

    @Steeplejack: The quote is, “Knowledge is love and light and vision.”

    There are many memorable quotes from her, but this really seemed to fit the image. Her hand is resting on a Braille book, and I will also be creating small raised bumps on the pages as I hook it to match the texture.

  117. 117.

    Jo Jo las Orejas

    @Elizabelle: Adiós. Voy a acurrucarme con mi nueva mamá y ver a Joy Reid. Creo que ella es bonita. ¿Tienes un perrito para acurrucarte hoy?

  118. 118.

    danielx

    @NotMax:

    Truth. Could be worse, she was head nurse on the Harry S Truman for a couple of years. If there’s one location where social distancing won’t work, it’s on a warship. Just can’t be done.

  128. 128.

    danielx

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    my friend and I were talking about that. Not a regular port of call for carriers.

    eta: social distancing is just about impossible anywhere in the devices, come to think on it.

  129. 129.

    Tony Jay

    I originally popped this Link ‘n’ Vent in the thread below, but it fits here just as well and I’m plain old lazy today.

    Interesting but depressing piece in the Shitbag Guardian by Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet medical journal.

    Basically, the British Government’s determination to ignore the warnings until it was too late and subsequent refusal to follow the WHO guidance on testing means the NHS will not be able to cope and Britain is about to take a brutal egg-pounding. Johnson’s oh so convenient diagnosis at least spares him having to smear his puffy, ‘condom in a washing machine’ face all over the PR disaster to come. Priorities!

    OTOH didn’t we all do so well by standing outside and clapping? Sorted out all of the problems, that did. Undoubtedly the Greatest National Moment of People Power since the Paedogeddon Militias scourged the country clear of kiddie-fiddlers (and paediatricians) back in the 90’s.

    Why the British Press isn’t hounding the fuck out of these blinkered spunk-buckets on the topic of testing – should – be a mystery, but it’s not. This is the Government they worked so hard to install, it’s their bastard offspring, they can’t bash it too hard without risking a national rejection of the brand, and then who will protect their owners from.a slightly higher rate of taxation?

    These fucking people.

  131. 131.

    Sab

    @Jo Jo las Orejas: I had been intending to learn Spanish in my retirement. Now I have my English/Spanish dictionary out reading canine comments on the internet. Respite indeed. Gracias.

  136. 136.

    catclub

    @OzarkHillbilly: 

    Seems like the kind of thing that the $25 billion McDonalds doled out to shareholders over the last three years would have been good for.

    That money is gone.

Comments are closed.