Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

We still have time to mess this up!

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

In my day, never was longer.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

It looks like winning debates is a black job!

Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

Everybody saw this coming.

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

This country desperately needs a functioning Fourth Estate.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Republicans don’t trust women.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

White supremacy is terrorism.

Every day Vance writes another chapter in the book called “Worst VP Pick Ever”.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Cat Blogging / The Most Interesting Cat in the World

The Most Interesting Cat in the World

by | 164 Comments

This post is in: 

It’s chilly, but my heat is off because I am cheap, so I have the space heater on in the office, and all four animals are in here with me. Every now and then I look away from the computer and see something like this:

The Most Interesting Cat in the World

He doesn’t drink beer, but if he did I am sure it would be Dos Equis.

BTW- I know this is allegedly a political blog but everything I have had to say in the past few days has been so fucking dark and depressing I just kept it to myself.

Reader Interactions

164Comments

  2. 2.

    japa21

    everything I have had to say in the past few days has been so fucking dark and depressing

    So say we all.

  3. 3.

    Mnemosyne

    I appreciate that our small city is taking this opportunity to do roadwork on streets that are normally busy, but did they have to break out the fucking jackhammer to do it?

    Good morning, all y’all.

  5. 5.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I know this is allegedly a political blog

    I remember those days. How about if besides respite and restricted threads, we have the occasional: “Go ahead and wallow in it like swine” thread?

  8. 8.

    Mnemosyne

    @rikyrah:

    A lot of times, that look is accompanied by a very loud purr, at least with my cats. It’s usually a demand of some kind, whether it’s for petting/attention or kitty treats. ?

  9. 9.

    Nicole

    I went out to the park with my son and our downstairs neighbor (who had Covid-19 in March) and her son, and another friend and son who have been seeing no one except for us, to eat lunch… and… wouldn’t you know, along comes the Parks Department with A CAMERA and we get filmed and I didn’t have my mask on because I was eating and the (very nice) Parks Department Employee stopped to talk with me about it because I wasn’t a full six feet from my downstairs neighbor. We made the calculated risk in April to let our kids continue to play together because we live one floor apart, so we’re kind of a family of 5 in isolation, instead of one family of 3 and another of 2, but that seemed like a lot to explain. Now I’m afraid I’ll become internet famous for looking like an asshole without my mask, even though I wear it EVERYWHERE, and only took it off to eat outside because these 4 individuals are pretty much the only people outside my immediate family I see, and not indoors without a mask (frankly, not outside without a mask, either, other than this ONE time). Sigh.

    I should have just told them we were sister-wives out with our kids.

  11. 11.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Sometimes I feel really out of place here.  I have no desire to wallow in misery or any of that.  It’s not that I don’t see the problems; I just don’t see the point of dwelling on them. I know everyone copes differently, but fear and depression just don’t motivate me.

  12. 12.

    Ruckus

    @Mnemosyne:

    They know what you did, they don’t ever forget, and the only thing that saves you is that you feed them.  If they were 3 to 4 times their normal size, they would be dangerous, not just scary.

  13. 13.

    Redleg

    Dark thoughts, huh?  Reminds me of some Chaucer: “Derk was the niht, as the pich or as the cole, and ____”

  15. 15.

    Ruckus

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Depression doesn’t need to be feared, but it does need to be respected. It can do a lot of harm if one isn’t careful. And situations like what we are going through can and does bring on depression very easily – and often.

  16. 16.

    Amir Khalid

    We were all thinking dark and depressed thoughts already, anyway. So go ahead and vent if you feel the need.

  18. 18.

    WereBear

    Bud and Lou are turning out to be the most delightful teen cats. They are one year old now! But far, far from adult. And I am happy they are taking their sweet time about growing up. That heedless sweetness is just what I need right now.

  19. 19.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Ruckus: I agree with you, and I suspect I have been borderline or mildly clinically depressed for quite some time. Not sad or wallowing at all, and I’ve always been a solitary type, comfortable with my own company, so it’s not that. It’s just an increasing sluggishness, lack of motivation. I sleep WAY more than I used to. It’s not healthy, I do know that, but I’m not quite sure what to do about it.

  20. 20.

    sukabi

    Dark and depressing seems to be in the zeitgeist these days. Join the club John. Hard to be snarky these days. ?

     

    Steve looks nice in his halfashaved state.

  21. 21.

    E.

    I am struggling with this. I lost someone very important to me yesterday (day before, I learned yesterday), dead in a hospital, alone, no one even knew he was there.

    There’s just no upside to this thing. It will also probably cost me my business (though we are sort of hanging on for the moment with take out sales).

    I live alone so when I’m not in the (now very limited hours) shop I’m in my house staring at a wall. I really feel for people who don’t get to go to any kind of work, and who live alone. It is very difficult for me as it is, and I am one of the “lucky” essential workers.

    Then you turn on the f*cking news and all it does is confirm, in all caps, that everything is shit.

  24. 24.

    Mnemosyne

    @Ruckus:

    Neil Gaiman wrote a story for his Sandman comics called “The Dream Of A Thousand Cats” that kind of touches on that. ?

    Also, I don’t know if you ever saw the Pixar movie “Inside Out,” but they did a lot of psychology research and discovered that (of the 5 emotions they used in the film), depression is not sadness, but a mix of fear, anger, and disgust. Sadness and grief are not actually the same thing as depression though they can sometimes start off feeling the same.

  25. 25.

    rikyrah

    I have a friend.

    she just lost a second family member in 6 weeks. One was in his early 40’s. The cousin today was in his 70’s. This phucking plague doesn’t care.????

  27. 27.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Omnes Omnibus: I meant less “wallow in misery and despair” than a tongue-in-cheek way of saying “talk about current events”, responding to what I took as Cole’s somewhat tongue-in-cheek reference to the change in this blog over the past few weeks.

  28. 28.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @E.: I’m so sorry. That’s brutal. May your friend rest in peace, and live on in your memory.

  29. 29.

    Nicole

    @E.: I’m so sorry about your friend, and about the struggles you’re dealing with.  This sucks, for sure.  And you’re right; there is no upside.

  33. 33.

    Josie

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    My daughter-in-law belongs to a law mom’s group online.  When I described my feelings, exactly what you are feeling, she said they discussed it as a natural reaction to what we are experiencing.  I’ve been trying to write and my creativity has just dried up.  It’s reassuring to know that it’s common, but I still don’t know what to do about it.

  35. 35.

    leeleeFL

    @sukabi: Outright rage, snarky and/or downright snotty are the only notches on my meter just now, unless you count fake smile, so good to see you at my server job, which was re-started on 5/5/20.  Still not a word besides Yes, we received your application from Florida Re-employment.  Thought they might cut off my benefits if I didn’t go back.

    Steve looks Mahvelous!  I would love to come back as the pet of my Daughter, or you, Cole!  Life would be ver excellent!

  36. 36.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Baud: I haven’t, and probably should. One of those things where I wouldn’t hesitate to suggest anti-depressants, therapy, etc. to others but am ludicrously reluctant to take my own advice for myself.

  37. 37.

    Mnemosyne

    @E.:

    I’m so sorry. Are there any people that you can talk on the phone with or do a video call with? It’s not as good as in-person, but it does help.

    Also, check with your city or county and see if they’re making any mental health resources available by videoconference or phone. I’ve been getting Facebook ads for those lately, though luckily I already have my own mental health team in place.

  38. 38.

    frosty

    Thank you for keeping it to yourself. There are plenty of other sources. I can barely get through the headlines, let alone read the articles.

  40. 40.

    Miss Bianca

    @SiubhanDuinne: I’m sleeping a lot. Not a lot more than usual, but when it gets dark, I’m just kinda done. Can’t even read in bed anymore.

    At least I’m sleeping pretty well. I love how pitch-dark and quiet it is where I live.

    Also, to tie in to the thread, a remarkable cute little grey tabby kitty showed up at the house yesterday – saw him/her twice! Shy – scooted away quickly when s/he noticed me watching –  looks too sleek and well-maintained to be a stray, and doesn’t match description of any of the neighbor cats, but holy Hannah, how did s/he get up to the house? We live on top of a freaking mountain!

    And yes, I did put tuna out after the second sighting – though the packrats probably ate it. Come on, kitty! Hang out and poach the vermin, and TUNA shall be thine!

  41. 41.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Josie: I feel that if it were ONLY Trump or ONLY Coronavirus pandemic, I could cope. It’s the combination, the combination being infinitely worse than the sum of its parts, I think, that demotivates me.

  42. 42.

    leeleeFL

    @E.: Very sorry for your loss!  I can only try to imagine how you feel!  One of the most important things we humans usually do is let a loved person know they will be remembered and missed.  Sorry that was denied to you.

  43. 43.

    Nicole

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I sleep WAY more than I used to. It’s not healthy, I do know that, but I’m not quite sure what to do about it.

    We’re all just trying to get through this fucking thing the best we can, and for you, if you sleep, hey, that’s how your body wants to handle it.  Sometimes I think sleep is the best self-defense we have right now.  The depression is normal.  The sleeping is normal.  Right now, whatever is getting you through is normal. You’re doing fine.

    My stepbrother got on my stepmom’s case recently, because she’s awake from about 3PM-6AM these days, telling her to stop spending so much time on her iPad at night, and all I could think was, she’s widowed, she’s all alone, for God’s sake, if the iPad is what’s keeping her connected to the world, leave her alone about it.  She’s 70 years old; what else is she going to do during the day (or night)?  Who cares if she’s sleeping 3PM-6AM right now?  It doesn’t matter!  None of it matters!  She can get back on a more traditional sleep schedule some other time when she can actually see people during the day.

  44. 44.

    Amir Khalid

    @E.:

    We’re all sorry for your loss, especially given the circumstances of your friend’s passing. It does underline the darkness of these times.

  46. 46.

    Mnemosyne

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I put off getting professional treatment for years, and that was a big mistake because I lost a lot of time right in the middle of my 20s. It took me almost 10 years to pull myself back out of the hole I had dug because I didn’t realize it was so deep. So now I’m a huge advocate for just starting. Find a professional you like working with and just talk to them.

  48. 48.

    Omnes Omnibus

    I did not intend to denigrate anyone’s coping methods or to suggest that emotional responses that anyone is having are not legitimate.  I was just noting that my coping methods and emotional responses seem to differ.  As I said, sometimes I feel out of place here.

  49. 49.

    Chacal Charles Calthrop

    @E.: I hear you.  I live alone in NYC and what’s keeping me sane is that I’m taking care of a neighbor with cancer who also lives alone in my building.

    When this thing happened, because she was far from family, I made sure to practice social distancing and mask wearing before it was cool so that I could still get her groceries and clean her apartment etc. She has friends but with the virus she can’t really see them either, so we’re coronavirus buddies for now.

    You know what you should hang in for?  The sh*tshow that will happen when things reopen.  I’m a lawyer so I know a fair amount about how finance works and frankly it works like agriculture in India:  a lot of long fragile supply chains all based on the equivalent of meltwater from the glaciers in the Himalayas (i.e., resource extraction & the underpaid labor of the asset-free working class).  That’s failing, just as it’s failing long-term due to climate change, but it’ll all hit as soon as there is a vaccine and the rich reopen the courts and start demanding their money.

    Hang in there for the war or the revolution, whichever we get.

  50. 50.

    zhena gogolia

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Oh, if Obama or H. Clinton were president, I’d be coping with the pandemic much better. We all would, even those who don’t realize it.

  52. 52.

    Mnemosyne

    @rikyrah:

    Oh, no! My condolences to your friend. The ongoing problem of medical racism is NOT HELPING right now. ?

    Among other things, it’s giving idiot white people the notion that they’re going to be immune to this plague, and they’re not going to be convinced otherwise until it’s too late. And then they’re going to whine and blame everyone else instead of blaming themselves. ?

  56. 56.

    Emma from FL

    @E.: God, I am so sorry. It seems that it never stops raining, doesn’t it? Hang in there. We need all the good ones we can get.

  57. 57.

    Mnemosyne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    FWIW, I know that wallowing in fear/anger/disgust is a bad habit of mine that I’m trying to overcome, because it holds me back from being productive and actually taking action on those things. I took a time out from here for a few days because I was getting too angry at people who were coping by wallowing in despair. So I do get it, since I’m wavering on that border.

  58. 58.

    Baud

    @SiubhanDuinne: I’m the same way.  At various points in my life, I’ve self-diagnosed myself with depression, ADHD, and/or anxiety, but the symptoms have never been severe or persistent enough to convince myself to bother with doctors.

  59. 59.

    trollhattan

    @Mnemosyne:

    Heh. We just last week had to replace about 25 feet of “our” sidewalk the city condemned because it was old and uneven. They cut it with a powersaw, then jackhammered, then dug out with a loader and hauled the mess away, all on a hot morning when one really wanted the doors and windows to be open. This was just a few months after the several-month process of replacing the water mains and laterals, and installing water meters.

    Can’t wait for that invoice.

    Learned today they’ll be back to make the street corners accessible then probably replace the storm drains. Maybe I’ll be back in the office before that happens.

  60. 60.

    Chacal Charles Calthrop

    @Omnes Omnibus: we wouldn’t be jackals if we weren’t snarling at each other, would we?

    Feeling out of place is what we have in common!

    although I must admit that when I disagree politically I just don’t comment.  So call me a coward — I’m a jackal, we’re not known for our courage

  61. 61.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Mnemosyne: I had a terrific therapist for years. She was particularly helpful after my father died. But she moved to Tybee Island in 2000 to commune with the dolphins. Since then, I’ve tried several others, but they all turned out to be either woo-masters or proselytising Christians. Not my style at ALL.  Haven’t checked lately, and in any case would want to see what Medicare guidelines (if any) are.

  62. 62.

    Emma from FL

    @rikyrah: Every time I hear someone say well, I’m not at risk, because…I want to lunge at their necks. Yes, you are. Good people, bad people, black, white, pink with green polka dots… All of us.

    I am so sorry for your friend and her family and friends like you that share the burden.

  65. 65.

    Mnemosyne

    @Josie:

    There are a ton of free writing classes online if you can get on the right mailing lists. I’m doing one with Paper Raven Books in about an hour.

    I did a really cool one recently where she read us a poem and then had us do a freewrite based on some of the lines from the poem. We did three rounds and, by the third round, I was writing about my characters instead of myself. So that may be a fun writing exercise to try.

    Geez, my #Restorative strength is really coming out to play today. I want to Fix All The Problems! ?

  66. 66.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @WereBear:

    Bud and Lou are turning out to be the most delightful teen cats. They are one year old now!

    They grow up so fast! Seriously, I’m amazed they’re a year old — it feels as though they acquired you only a few months ago. This weird timeline.

  71. 71.

    Mnemosyne

    @Baud:

    Also FWIW, there is a specific kind of depression called dysthymia that is strongly associated with ADHD. It’s basically getting depressed at the fact that you keep screwing up because you don’t realize you keep screwing up because you have ADHD. IOW, it’s a situational depression and the “situation” is having untreated ADHD.

  73. 73.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Baud: Apparently only if we can convince Jared to let us have an Election Day, and he’s not committed yet.

  75. 75.

    MoCA Ace

    @E.:

    @rikyrah:

    So sorry to hear this.  I’m trying to brace myself for I fully expect that, before the year is out, this will be the lived these experience for many of us.

  77. 77.

    Mudbrush

    Oh man I love it when Cole lets loose a dark sarcastic rant! In fact this blog would improve like 100% if he would commit to writing at least one a day!

    Not that there is anything wrong with the blog as is.

  79. 79.

    Josie

    @Mnemosyne:

    This is what I decided to do recently.  I belong to the Writers’ League of Texas, and they had to cancel their summer convention.  In its place they are putting all their classes online, so I am using part of my refund to sign up for a couple of those.  I’m hoping that one will spark something for me.

  80. 80.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Emma from FL: Our neighborhood is still mostly maskless when people are outside, just social-distancing. And some people are more responsible than others about the distance.

    I had an encounter last night that scared the shit out of me while walking the dog, and I realized I’m no longer comfortable being without a mask while dog-walking. I’m trying to put the fear out of my mind but I’m now counting down the 2-week clock before I fully decide I dodged the bullet.

  82. 82.

    Mnemosyne

    @Baud:

    Aktually, it’s all one thing: the untreated ADHD causes the depression and anxiety because you don’t understand why you’re having problems, so if you treat the ADHD, it helps ease the depression and anxiety. It’s a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey … stuff.

    ETA: Usual disclaimer that I am a patient, not a psychology professional, so this is based on my experience and things that I’ve read, not any kind of training or clinical experience.

  84. 84.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Nicole: You are wise. I’m a couple of months shy of my 78th, and I suppose even in normal times my sleep patterns would be a bit cattiwampus just because of age. It happens.

    (Thinking out loud here): maybe that’s part of it. Just as millions of youngsters are being cheated out of their childhood, I kind of feel I’m being cheated out of my old age. I had looked forward to it with curiosity and interest, but now I have no idea what part is “normal” and what is artificially imposed by Trump/pandemic.

    I could be overthinking this.

  85. 85.

    Miss Bianca

    @SiubhanDuinne: @Mnemosyne: Amen!

    Re the depression: I’ve had a couple pretty crippling bouts with it over the course of the years. The last time it got really bad I actually went to the clinic and the doctor there suggested an anti-depressant. I was reluctant, partly because my ex had been on Paxil the entire time we were together and I saw how terribly he struggled whenever he tried to get off it (he had been diagnosed with ADHD, coincidentally enough, so yeah – the two things can definitely go together!), and I was afraid of that happening to me. Fortunately, the doctor said, “try it on a super low dose – like, half a pill per day of the lowest dose I can prescribe – and see how it works for you.”

    It worked really well, as it turned out. I took them for about a year – it was generic Zoloft, as I recall – and then, when I felt ready, I just…stopped. And that was it. No ill effects, no recurring depression. I mean, I have got depressed, but not to the stage of “I just don’t want to get out of bed, maybe I can just sleep till I die”, which is what it had been like.

  87. 87.

    WaterGirl

    @Omnes Omnibus: I don’t think you are alone in that Omnes.

    Some people want or need to be immersed in it; information can be calming, and some people process it by talking about it.  For them, the focus on that helps.  It’s productive.

    Other people cannot be immersed in it all the time; it gets overwhelming.  For these peeps, of which I am one, all the focus on that, all or most of the time, does not help.  It’s not productive.

    The great thing about BJ is that we all get to skip the threads that don’t work for us.

  88. 88.

    Josie

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Yes!  This very thought has crossed my mind.  Time is passing while we are doing nothing or very little, and those of us past 70 have a limited amount of time left.  I feel cheated.

    ETA: I know this sounds whiny, so I am going to try turning it around in some way.  I’ll let you know how that works out. ;-)

  91. 91.

    Mnemosyne

    @Miss Bianca:

    I feel very lucky that I’ve had good prescribing doctors. My first psychiatrist/prescribing doctor must have suspected I might have underlying ADHD, because he prescribed a non-SSRI (Wellbutrin/bupropion) rather than an SSRI like Prozac that doesn’t work nearly as well for ADHD-related depression. This was, like, 25 years ago, so no way to really know now.

  94. 94.

    Mnemosyne

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    @Josie:

    Maybe you each need to grieve for what you’ve lost (freedom in retirement, etc)? If so, that sounds like it’s a totally normal thing to be upset about and maybe you should just let yourselves feel that grief and work through it.

  95. 95.

    Fair Economist

    @E.: I am so sorry for your loss.

    If you can get together with a very small clique, all of whom can be trusted to be responsible and only socialize or live with with other clique members, then interaction is fairly safe, pretty much like associating with live-in family. For those who live alone, strict adherance to shelter orders is pretty harsh, especially for those suffering losses like yours, and you can soften it in sensible ways.

  100. 100.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @zhena gogolia: Both Obamas, both Clintons, both Bidens have more empathy in their pinky fingers than every member of the entire extended Trump family, including Barron. Yeah, I went there.

  102. 102.

    Miss Bianca

    @Mnemosyne: I remember when my ex went in to get diagnosed for the ADHD (he went to a University of Chicago clinic, as I recall), and at that time (this too was about 25 years ago or so), he said the doctors told him, “well, we can give you meds to treat your ADHD or we can give you meds to treat your depression, but we don’t have one pill that will do both – so, do you want to do better in school (he was in grad school at the time), or do you want to feel less depressed?” He opted for feeling less depressed.

    Now I’m wondering whether that wasn’t a bit of a false dichotomy.

  104. 104.

    Tdjr

    @SiubhanDuinne: This. I was laid off in January which I was grateful for (still am). But my retirement was supposed to be traveling with my also-retired sister. Now I can’t even join her for breakfast or a movie.

  106. 106.

    satby

    @SiubhanDuinne: @Josie: I’m only 65 (next week) but my friend and I have talked about this too. They bought an RV last year after retirement and has looked forward to several years of traveling in the U.S. and Canada; I was planning on travels a little further afield to see for probably a last time some of the kids I’ve hosted. That was going to be our retirement lives until we couldn’t travel, and it’s gone for the foreseeable future. By the time it’s a possibility again, it’s possible one of us may not be around anyway. We all have health issues.

    And yet, we’re grateful we don’t have to go to what would have been considered essential jobs and are very aware we’re lucky we can mostly stay home. Our kids can’t.  Staying home, worrying about loved ones, reading about people we knew passing away… this wasn’t in anyone’s plan. It’s totally reasonable to mourn the circumstances we’re all in. And to feel robbed because we should never have been put into them.

  107. 107.

    eemom

    I think it is important to distinguish between “wallowing” and dealing. Suppressing fear, anxiety and/or depression or pretending not to feel those things when you do can be toxic. Better to admit they’re there and deal with them however works for you….meds, talking, whatever.

    Count me among the anxious and terrified.

  108. 108.

    Mnemosyne

    @Miss Bianca:

    It’s a relatively recent discovery, so the doctors may have been operating on the knowledge that they had at the time. I was also a very good candidate for Wellbutrin for other reasons (no history of seizures, no drinking problem, no history of eating disorders, no suicidal ideation, etc) which is another reason I was prescribed it.

    The psychiatrist was recommended to me by my therapist as someone who was really good at prescribing, so I think I mostly got lucky. ?

  110. 110.

    zhena gogolia

    BillinGlendale just shared some amazing poppy pictures on his Patreon.

  111. 111.

    joel hanes

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I run on about a two-week cycle: for about a week, I’m obsessed with following the details of the atrocities (and, if I’ve been drinking coffee, commenting on them), and then I have to disengate for a week.   I can’t seem to omit either phase.

  112. 112.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @satby: Exactly. I should be in Canada now, with my beloved cousins, after a leisurely drive through New England and N.Y. State. And planning on a possible relocation to Arizona next year. None of that is happening, or seems likely to happen anytime soon.

    Thank dog for this place.

  114. 114.

    Mnemosyne

    @eemom:

    I have absolutely had moments (days) of wallowing, which I think is pretty normal. I’m trying not to feed that too much, because I know that it’s a bad road for me personally.

    I have to say that reading a lot of the folks on Black Twitter has been helping. They’re pretty good at going from being angry to being snarky to grieving, and it’s been helpful to see that I don’t have to be one or the other.

  115. 115.

    piratedan

    what I hate about this current administration and the party that enables them is that I used to be a lot more patient and willing to allow some latitude for folks that don’t share a similar viewpoint.  Now I feel, well… vengeful, even though I have been affected in much smaller fashion than millions of others, I’m enraged that so many have to die because of how these people treat other people and consider us all as expendable and not even worthy of notice.  The casual cruelty sickens me and in this day of blurring the lines of what constitutes illegality and who and when laws themselves are even applicable, I find myself wanting retribution against all transgressions big and small.

    and I don’t like feeling this way and I understand that I am the one who controls how I feel but I have a very difficult time trying to be dispassionate and turning off that part of my brain regarding who these people are and what they are doing.

  118. 118.

    Matt McIrvin

    Loomis is being super-defeatist over on LGM, trying to tamp down any expression of hope anyone has in his comment section, and I know I don’t have to read this stuff but there’s a part of me that says I’m a coward or an oblivious fool if I try to shield myself from it.

  120. 120.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    To lighten  your mood, Graham ducked Trump’s request that he subpoena Obama. He said he didn’t know what Trump had in mind but urged him to be careful what he wished for.  lol

  121. 121.

    Miss Bianca

    @Baud:

    @Matt McIrvin: I find Loomis insufferable except when he’s doing his “This Day In Labor History” or his “American Graves” series

    ETA: And some of his compatriots over at LGM are also sliding into “insufferable” territory for me as well, so I don’t hang around there much any more.

  125. 125.

    Nicole

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I kind of feel I’m being cheated out of my old age.

    I think that’s really profound.  I read your comment right before I turned on Cuomo O’Clock and I thought about it the whole way through his briefing.  We focus a lot on what kids are missing out on right now, but our lives are valuable at every stage, and our experiences are important and it sucks to have that taken away, whether we’re an 18 year old missing their high school graduation ceremony or an 85 year old missing a visit or a vacation or hell, even just a weekly trip to a beloved diner.  We give it up, for the good of all of society, but it’s still sad, and worthy of being grieved.

  128. 128.

    Mnemosyne

    @debbie:

    I think the movie lumps that in with fear. They actually did a lot of research with brain and psychology experts while they were working on the film.

    Now I want to re-watch it. Maybe tonight if we don’t watch a few more episodes of “The Crown”

  129. 129.

    J R in WV

    @E.:

    So sorry for your loss. I know how hard it is, I lost a dear cousin not long ago, and it was a real blow.

    We will all have lost someone important before this is all over with, the way things look. Take care, be active, keep in touch with friends, relatives, and Jackals.

  130. 130.

    Miss Bianca

    @Baud: Dude just seems *so* unaware of his own privilege and *so* pissy when he’s called out on it. Reminds me of a lot of the lefty guys I went to college with. (Most of whom I’m still friends with, oddly enough, but probably only because I feel a lot more comfortable calling them on their shit than I did back in the day.)

  131. 131.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Oh just supersubpeona a beloved former President that was light years better than the orange shitstain you nominated and elected, you Russthuglican morons.

    Hell, subpoena Jimmy Carter too just to be extra trashy!

  132. 132.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Baud: In this instance, Loomis is more likely to get what he wants from Republicans, because he’s basically pushing for the herd-immunity strategy. He thinks mass infection to the 60-70% level is inevitable, and better vaccines or treatments clearly aren’t coming in the time frame necessary to prevent it, so we should lock down just enough to keep that from overwhelming hospitals (which is mostly the case already)–a suppression strategy beyond that is futile. Keeps stressing “I will probably get COVID, you will probably get COVID.”

  133. 133.

    Miss Bianca

    @Mnemosyne: Who are you following on Black Twitter, btw? I don’t have an account, so I depend on the kindness of strangers (and friends!) to point me towards the cool stuff. Rikyrah’s turned me onto some, but I’m always on the prowl.

  134. 134.

    Baud

    @Miss Bianca: I’m at the point where I just skip over people (or articles) like that.  I have enough experience to recognize when the discussion is leading nowhere positive.

    @Matt McIrvin: I assumed Loomis was brought up in connection with something he said about policy or elections.  On the herd immunity point, I’m not sure he’s completely wrong given that we know we’re not going to get any real leadership from the national government or from many of the Republican state governments. No real good answers there.

  135. 135.

    eemom

    @piratedan:

    Now I feel, well… vengeful, even though I have been affected in much smaller fashion than millions of others, I’m enraged that so many have to die because of how these people treat other people and consider us all as expendable and not even worthy of notice.  The casual cruelty sickens me and in this day of blurring the lines of what constitutes illegality and who and when laws themselves are even applicable, I find myself wanting retribution against all transgressions big and small.

    Totally with you on that. What I said last night after that Wisconsin supreme court abomination came out was that I wish every fucking republican scumbag in that state drops dead before November.

    And indeed, every time I hear of one of the fuckscum deniers dying I rejoice.

    Of course, being Greek, vengeance is in my blood.

  136. 136.

    Miss Bianca

    @Matt McIrvin: I don’t think, despite what he may say, that Loomis, like most white people, really grasps what *might* happen to him if he actually gets COVID-19, and that his white maleness may not protect him from actually drowning in his own lung fluids. So this “yeah, let’s just get it and get it over with” attitude is part of what I find – what’s the word I used? Oh, yeah, “insufferable” – about Loomis.

  137. 137.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Baud: Loomis seems to think that mass infection to the herd-immunity level is inevitable for every country in the world, though. Stresses how some countries that seemed to have it under control had later outbreaks.

  138. 138.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Miss Bianca: I suspect that it’s more that he’s really depressed and his way of coping is projecting his depression onto other people. Which you may have noticed I have a touch of myself.

  139. 139.

    Baud

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I mean, people shouldn’t inject themselves with COVID. But people will probably have to take greater risks of exposure than the should have had to in a more ideal scenario, given economic pressures. But giving up completely is dumb.  No one really knows what will happen with this disease.

  140. 140.

    raven

    @Baud: I’m in and out what with the afternoon nap, third coat of paint on the rebuilt window sill, making a screen for the basement window in the rental, doing the dogs eyes, getting dinner ready. . .

  141. 141.

    satby

    @eemom: well, I’m Irish and right there with you. Because in a bizarre way it just seems only fair; they’re willing to consign many people they don’t know to severe illness, pain, and death, so I’m just offering the same wishes back to them. In triplicate.

  142. 142.

    mrmoshpotato

    @J R in WV:

    Take care, be active, keep in touch with friends, relatives, and Jackals. 

    @E.: Sorry for your loss, E.

    I second what J R says.  I live alone too, so I can empathize with being cooped up inside by yourself.  Not sure if video games interest you, but I’ve got back into playing my XBOX after years of not using it.

    Movies too.  Netflix, Hulu, Amazon all have some great movies and shows available (and glorious trash too!)  YouTube too.  Especially cooking shows for me.

    I’ve been suiting up late for a nightly mile loop walk (gloves, mask, jacket).  It’s strange feeling like I live in a small town doing my walk late because normally people are always out and about in Chicago.  But I enjoy the solitude of it even with cars passing by on major streets.

    Books too.  Get lost in something you haven’t read recently.  Buddy of mine recently bought Jurassic Park on Kindle, and I have an old hardcover around here that I haven’t read in 25+ years.

    I hope you can use some of these ideas.  Take care.

    Oh, and music.  Any instruments around?  Can you rock out or make a racket without bothering neighbors? :) Or get lost in an album?

  144. 144.

    Miss Bianca

    @Matt McIrvin: OK, I shouldn’t be laughing at this, Matt, but from one Eeyore to another – ha ha!

    And in other news…speaking of depressing…I just found out a guy I used to hunt with has been killed in a car wreck. Damn. Just fucking damn.

  145. 145.

    joel hanes

    @Miss Bianca:

    agree wrt Loomis

    His open contempt for all opinions other than his own eventually grates.  In the area of labor history, that attitude may be justified, if unattractive, but he is apparently convinced that his own tastes in music, food, and beverages constitute some immutable standard of goodness, and often replies to pushback with angry insults.

  146. 146.

    debbie

    @eemom:

    I can’t remember if it was a clip I saw on Colbert last night or on the actual local news, but Trump minimizing the danger of reopening schools almost sent me through the roof at the heartlessness.

  147. 147.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Baud: A thing that actually surprises me is that so far, there doesn’t seem to be any place anywhere in the world that has just let this burn to 60%+ infection. New York City is probably the worst-affected metro area in the entire world, and they only got to something like 20% infection. Chelsea, worst hotspot in Massachusetts, got to about 38% 32%. When it gets really bad, people do voluntarily clamp down and it eventually subsides.

    I suspect that for many places the endpoint is going to be a state of generally low infection and some level of restrictions far short of a total lockdown, testing, tracking, etc. with recurring sporadic outbreaks. And that will continue until there’s a vaccine, maybe a few years from now.

  148. 148.

    ThresherK

    My cat upchucked food with a hairball behind it, and I used what was the last two paper towels in our apartment to (almost) clean it up.

    At the first store, no paper towels. At the second store, I got to choose from either (1) or a (12-pak), limit one per customer. I went with the 12-pak, and now we sorta have a fallout-shelter amount of paper towels to last us some months.

    Has anyone rewritten the Trolley Problem for modern times?

  152. 152.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    To lighten  your mood, Graham ducked Trump’s request that he subpoena Obama. He said he didn’t know what Trump had in mind but urged him to be careful what he wished for.  lol

    suggests that whatever you want to say about lindsey’s character, he’s not stupid

  155. 155.

    laura

    We are all going through a trauma, and it’s duration is unknown. Some of us have experienced the loss of a loved one, or someone known to us – and all of us will likely have to face losses yet to come. I wish that there was a comforting space that fills each of our needs – we could sure use one.

    I’m avoiding watching the news. I can’t handle inviting the negativity into my brain. This and a few other sites have really good information about CV19 and I grateful to be able to keep up in a controlled space. I’m trying to be as gentle with myself, family friends and all I am in contact with. We can all use a little tenderness.

  159. 159.

    Skepticat

    Every time I see Steve, I so miss my Maine coon cat, Bigelow, who died too early of a brain tumor, and I envy you, Cole. Maine coon cats are fabulous. One of the most precious things I found in the rubble of my house was the container with Bigelow’s ashes. I now have three Holsteins (all black and white, born feral here in the Bahamas) plus the 56 free-range cats we feed every day, but I still envy you, JC.

    Spent part of the day battening down for what may be a tropical storm booming this way. Have you noticed that like Christmas, hurricane season is nearly year-round now? Now they’re also talking about a disturbance in the Gulf next week too. Mother Nature is some peeved.

    There was a minor uptick in COVID-19 on a Bahamian island (fortunately not close by), and they reinstituted total lockdown there (as opposed to general lockdown here)—the day after saying residents, citizens, and homeowners could return if they could show a negative test and would be quarantined for two weeks.

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