Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Let me file that under fuck it.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

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

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

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

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

The press swings at every pitch, we don’t have to.

If you can’t control your emotions, someone else will.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, it’s door #2)

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Dog Blogging / Respite/Readership Capture

Respite/Readership Capture

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You like dogs? Why, I believe a few of us do!

If you count yourself among the canineophiles (or just like cool science), you’ll want to read this by the excellent science writer, Christie Wilcox:

When a person is overcome with emotion, their feelings stream down their cheeks. Even positive emotions can turn on the waterworks, as people bawl when they win awards, express love for their partners, or are reunited with a long-lost friend.

But these feelings-driven tears may not be a wholly human experience. Dogs can also cry happy tears, according to a study published today (August 22) in Current Biology. Although the animals’ eyes don’t overflow, they well up when they’re reunited with their owners after spending even just hours apart, the researchers found. And they have hunch as to why: a sudden increase in oxytocin, the so-called love hormone, named for its predominant roles in social bonding.

Respite/Readership Capture 1

Much more at the link.

If your tastes are more cosmic, enjoy the latest from the giant mirror hanging out at L2:

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured new images of the planet. Webb’s Jupiter observations will give scientists even more clues to Jupiter’s inner life. 

“We hadn’t really expected it to be this good, to be honest,” said planetary astronomer Imke de Pater, professor emerita of the University of California, Berkeley. De Pater led the observations of Jupiter with Thierry Fouchet, a professor at the Paris Observatory, as part of an international collaboration for Webb’s Early Release Science program. Webb itself is an international mission led by NASA with its partners ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency). “It’s really remarkable that we can see details on Jupiter together with its rings, tiny satellites, and even galaxies in one image,” she said.

Respite/Readership Capture

Now here’s one specifically for Raven, but I bet a bunch of folks will be as gleefully amused as I was.  An utterly English account of the history of fishing rods in the first three-quarters of the twentieth century:

 

And last: I double-dog-dare you to try archery while steeplechasing on the horse equivalent of a Caterpillar D9.  Click through to see Adriana Della Frank up on Darkmoor Jackson, five years old, 17.3 hands high, and all Shire horse.

This thread could not be more open.

Images: John Charles Dollman, Table d’Hote at a Dogs’ Home, 1879

NASA, ESA, CSA, Jupiter ERS Team; image processing by Ricardo Hueso (UPV/EHU) and Judy Schmidt. Webb NIRCam composite image from two filters – F212N (orange) and F335M (cyan) – of Jupiter system, 2022.

 

Reader Interactions

37Comments

  2. 2.

    Betty Cracker

    I see a lot of social media posts about people reuniting with their dogs after the pet was lost for an extended period of time, or the owner was returning for a lengthy overseas deployment, etc. They videos are heartwarming, but I always think to myself that my dogs act like that when I get back from the grocery store. :) Definitely emotional creatures!

  4. 4.

    Kent

    This upcoming weekend is the last weekend with no football until February.  So be advised.

    We currently have our old exchange student visiting from Dortmund Germany with her wife (she lived with us for a year some time ago).   She was looking to buy an authentic Seahawks jersey for her younger brother who is apparently a MASSIVE NFL fan.   Apparently Dortmund is something of a blue collar industrial city and the NFL is hugely popular among a certain set of younger men.

    What I found amusing?  She says her brother uses a VPN to get the US version of NFL Network or some such even though he could get the German version for cheaper.  Why?  Because he and his friends think it is way more LEGIT to get US broadcasts with all the US TV ads.  Yep, they go through a lot of expense and trouble to get American TV ads in order to make their NFL viewing experience more “genuine”

    You learn something new every day.

  8. 8.

    Tom Levenson

    @WaterGirl: Yup.

    And it might also be one of those articles I save up so I can post it here with a piece of art that gives me the giggles.

    I cannot confirm or deny.

  10. 10.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Kent: One year I watched the Superb Owl live at the Arena club in Kyiv – don’t ask me which year or who played – but the place was full of expats, though it was, IIRC, a Sky feed, so no American commercials.

    Luckily for Arena (but not for me) there’s no such thing as “last call” or “closing” there. I had a lot of difficulty attending a 10:00 am meeting. The -22 or -24 or something temps helped a bit (that’s in C.)

  12. 12.

    WereBear

    We got back from voting and ice cream to cats who missed us.

    But cats are subtle.

    For the record, I have seen cats’ eyes well up with emotion.

  14. 14.

    Kent

    @Paul in KY: I can kind of see it I suppose.  If I were a serious fan of the English Premier League it would probably be more interesting to watch with the British commercials.

    But I found the whole thing amusing.

  15. 15.

    geg6

    @Betty Cracker:

    True, to a certain extent.  My dogs are nuts every day when I come home for sure.  And we have a welcome home ritual we follow.

    However, I have noticed that it’s a truly happy, happy, joy, joy event that is on a whole different scale of intensity when I am away on a business trip or an overnight girls’ trip.  Even my very dignified and aloof kitty Cleo gets in on the act when I’ve been away longer than a few hours.

  16. 16.

    Old School

    @Ken:

    So, not “Dogs Playing Craps”?

    I did not know until today that this existed.  I was only aware of the more famous poker version.  Thank you for furthering my knowledge of art.

  17. 17.

    Ken

    @Old School: I didn’t know about “Dogs Playing Craps” either!  Figures, there being no end to the bounty kitsch of the capitalist system.

    I was actually joking about Tom Levenson’s original picture, because the feeding trough looks a bit like a green baize craps table.

  18. 18.

    Old School

    @Ken: Ahhh, I see.  I read it as suggesting alternative artwork.

    I guess the punchline works with multiple interpretations.

  19. 19.

    Greg Ferguson


    Yup. This is Panda, and she is begging me to play with her (she’s only 1.5 y.o., and indefatigable…). 👍🤠👍
    [O yeah – 1/2 poodle, 1/2 OE sheepdog…..LOL]

  20. 20.

    oatler

    That telescope Jupiter image has some defects; it is not as busy and colorful as the one in my National Geographic map of the Solar System.

  21. 21.

    Paul in KY

    @Kent: Maybe so, but you’d only get the commercials at halftime.  Ours are all thru the damned game.

    Brit commercials would be interesting to watch 1st time. Not so much 3rd 4th etc etc.  But I HATE commercials.

  23. 23.

    Ken

    @oatler: I think that’s because this is false color. That’s Jupiter in infrared, if infrared were blue.

    And I see from my google search, there are of course people claiming that this shows city lights on Jupiter. Send, o Lord, thy asteroid….

  25. 25.

    evodevo

    Love that pic of the Shire going over jumps…they were first bred to carry armored knights, who could weigh250 – 280 lbs when kitted out…introduced into England with Wm the Conqueror.

  26. 26.

    tybee

    for Raven if he wanders through here:

    referencing that article that was posted regarding the kemp-ridley turtles nesting ( https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/21/louisiana-sea-turtles-chandeleur-islands-new-orleans ) :

    a friend of mine, Tim, who lives on the Mississippi coast said:

    “Actually, that article is untrue. The ridleys have been nesting there as long as I’ve been fishing there. It’s just been 75 years because none of the biologist have been out there looking.
    We see ridleys and loggerheads every time we fish there. We don’t really think about it as big deal, because there’s nothing odd about it.
    I have been fishing on the east side of the island (wading) for reds and monster trout and have seen the tracks leading to the nests…or tracks from the young heading back to sea.
    It’s kind of like permit. We’ve been catching them for years mixed in with pomps. I have a good friend that is a renowned marine biologist named (Big Jim, he’s 6-7) tell me I was full of shit….they didn’t come this far north.
    A week latter he had to certify a permit for a state record….Hell, none of us ever thought about applying for the record….Three months latter he had to certify another record….I just told Jim that just because you and your troops have never seen or caught one doesn’t mean they aren’t out there.
    The way I see it, announcing that the turtles are nesting there is not a good thing….
    We’ve had loggerheads nest on Biloxi beach and then watched how people would flock to the nests…”

    Tim was related to some folks who had a three barge setup anchored in the Chandeleur islands and he would go down there a few times a year, guide some fly fishing trips and would get a day or so to himself to fish the area.
    The operations was sold a few years back: https://www.chandeleurpelican.com/
    supposedly there is also a FaceBook page but i don’t face book at all.

  28. 28.

    CaseyL

    The linked story about the Jupiter images is very interesting.  I knew “amateur” astronomers do a lot of heavy lifting for the pros, but never knew they were an essential part of even NASA’s work.

    Since the ESA contest, [Schmidt] has been working on Hubble and other telescope data as a hobby. “Something about it just stuck with me, and I can’t stop,” she said. “I could spend hours and hours every day.”

    Way to go!

  29. 29.

    cope

    @CaseyL: When I was teaching astronomy in high school, one of my points of emphasis was the fact that anybody could go out and “do” astronomy.

    Until automated systems looking for threatening asteroids entered the picture, almost all comet discoveries were made by amateurs.  The famous supernova SN 1987A was first discovered by an observatory assistant outside looking at the night sky during a break for fresh air.  NASA contributes enormously to the egalitarian nature of astronomy through the shear volume of raw data they allow anybody to access.

  30. 30.

    sab

    @Betty Cracker: My husband just spent a week in the hospital, and the dog’s enthusiasm was way beyond her usual glad we were back from an afternoon out without her. The cats were relieved but sulky. I still think they think I took him off for his last trip to the vet.

  31. 31.

    Steeplejack

    @Betty Cracker, @TaMara:

    I went over to Sighthound Hall to let the non-sighthound Chip out to take a whiz, because no one is home all day, and I got the same reaction, even as part-time pack member Uncle Steep.

  32. 32.

    Steeplejack

    @sab:

    The cats were relieved but sulky. I still think they think I took him off for his last trip to the vet.

    😹

  33. 33.

    eachother

    Not lying.  I’ve done some crying.

    I last cried for joy on the night Obama was elected president.

    I could never run for office.  I’d get (Edmond) Muskied the first day.  (got criticized for shedding a tear)

    It’s usually some sad shit that does it.  (tear emoji here.)

  34. 34.

    artem1s

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    This summer, a cabal of a least 15 extremists meeting in Dublin, Ohio began crafting a violent plan to “storm” the Michigan state Capitol and kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, law enforcement officials say…. What brought the men to two meetings in central Ohio is unclear: The suspects are all from Michigan and Delaware

    I wanna know whose house they met in. And why DeWine wasn’t notified of the plot by the FBI. I suspect it was funding that brought them to Ohio and the home belongs to a prominent, wealthy GQP/MAGAt donor.  And the FBI didn’t inform DeWine because they suspected he might leak the surveillance.

  35. 35.

    BigJimSlade

    Wonderful video on the fishing rods! You definitely want your rod stiffened up at the bottom (at least).

  36. 36.

    currawong

    My word, that Jack Hargreaves video brings back memories. He was on a kid’s TV program in the UK with a guy called Fred Dineage on a show called ‘How’ which explained how things worked back in the 70’s. I’d watch it every week.

    He later had a show about country life which I assume this video is from.

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