I posted a photo of this year’s butter lamb in comments in yesterday’s morning open thread and on Twitter, but here it is again since people have asked and it looks like we could use a fresh thread:
It didn’t get its own thread yesterday because I was short on time. This year, we actually attended the family Easter dinner instead of dropping the lamb off and skedaddling back home as we’ve done since 2020. By the time dinner was over, only the head was left!
As I mentioned in the morning thread today, the normies at our Easter dinner trashed DeSantis! These folks are my husband’s snowbird family and family friends, not my Trumpy Florida relatives, who still love Trump and DeSantis. But the dinner guests included people I’d classify as small-c conservatives, and they all now believe DeSantis is a far-right loon.
It’s anecdata that confirms a growing feeling: DeSantis has bent so far to the right to impress the MAGA dopes that he’s lost the middle, perhaps irretrievably. Make of it what you will, but I found it encouraging.
Open thread!
Tenar Arha
Love the lamb, & also, that sounds hopeful 👍👍
Suzanne
Have been texting back and forth with Spawn the Elder today, and I saw this and am in hysterics.
Conservative Boycotting Bud Light Forced To Drink 6 Cans Of Something Else Before Hitting Kids
There was also the meme I saw this morning about helping conservative white people get sober by printing a rainbow on the Sudafed box.
rikyrah
Lamb looks cute, BC :)
Almost Retired
I hope you’re right about DeSantis. Loved it that my Governor made a quick trip last week to New College to needle the bastard.
opiejeanne
I love the lamb! I’m a little too chicken to make one myself.
And in case anyone hasn’t located the recipe for the almond tart, it’s posted in the proof of life thread near the bottom, and in the Balloon Juice meetup 4/4, and here:
https://flic.kr/p/2mRtTwr
https://flic.kr/p/24CFyL3
opiejeanne
@Almost Retired: Who is your governor?
Baud
I wonder if the golden calf in the Bible was actually a butter lamb.
Leto
Because we all need a hearty laugh: After Matt Taibbi Leaves Twitter, Elon Musk ‘Shadow Bans’ All Of Taibbi’s Tweets, Including The Twitter Files
Just L-O-f’ing-L
Edit: Betty, I do look forward to seeing your lamb every year and this one is just as cute as a button.
Betty Cracker
@Suzanne: LMAO!
Old School
Only the head? No one bit off the ears first?
Oh wait, that’s chocolate bunnies.
MattF
I think DeSantis’ back-and-forth oscillation on the war in Ukraine shows that he is completely unprincipled. Not a good look.
UncleEbeneezer
Some loser on Twitter wrote a post shaming/criticizing a thirsty pic that Halle Berry posted on Instagram, saying she’s too old and should be hanging out with her grandkids. Dude’s getting dragged hard, and rightfully so, lol!
Baud
@Leto:
Man, what a pathetic creature.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@UncleEbeneezer: She looks great and personally I love the idea that people should be able to have their naked image out there without being disparaged for it or suffering professional consequences.
Baud
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation:
Agreed!
C Stars
Oh gosh, funny. I dip in and out of here and had heard about the butter lamb but DIDN’T KNOW IT WAS A BUTTER LAMB. As in, I thought it was a real lamb you cooked with butter. So then when you mentioned saving its head in your fridge I was thinking about some kind of Eraserhead monstrosity sitting there in your refrigerator and I was thinking “Well, it takes all types…”
So, very glad to know it’s just a cute little lamb made out of butter.
Raoul Paste
I am very impressed by that butter lamb.
Serious skills.
Darkrose
The lamb is adorable.
Dan B
@Suzanne: Rep. Dan Crenshaw R-Rx w/eyepatch was on TikTok stating he was going to throw out all his Bud Light because it’s pro-trans. Fridge had zero Bud Light so he drank the beer he had which was an inbev brand. Inbev owns Budweiser. Ha Ha!
Steeplejack
@opiejeanne:
I believe Almost Retired lives in California.
Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg
@UncleEbeneezer:
Good for her! That pic is on fire.
Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg
Betty’s lamb looks better every year.
Suzanne
@UncleEbeneezer: I am always amused by the physical attractiveness level of the kinds of dudes who make statements like this. Like, dude, I bet you’re so gross you haven’t been touched by a willing participant in years, if ever.
Almost Retired
@opiejeanne: oh, sorry…duh. Shoulda mentioned it. Governor Newsom in California. He seems to enjoy tormenting Ronnie.
Baud
@Suzanne:
I hope a bunch of 80 year old women are sending him private messages of their privates.
JML
@Suzanne: I’m gonna just laugh at the idea that some rando on the internet can neg Halle freakin’ Berry.
She’s awesome.
opiejeanne
@Old School: How to Eat a Chocolate Bunny was a student-written essay that was in our English textbook when I was in HS. Did you read that too?
Betty Cracker
@C Stars: Hahaha! I’d never heard of butter lambs until I met my spouse in the 1990s and also thought at first it had something to do with formerly alive lambs! I was also relieved when it turned out to be a butter sculpture.
West of the Rockies
@Leto:
One of those times when rooting for injuries (to both jerks) was successful.
Warblewarble
Butter lamb is all very well. Butteremails?
Dan B
@Baud: 80 year old guys too
Pile on!!
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
Doesn’t technically reach my standards of professional behavior; but turnabout being fair play; please proceed, Governor.
opiejeanne
@Almost Retired: Good. I don’t live in California now, but I remember wondering what kind of governor he’d be. After a couple of minor missteps, I think he’s done pretty well, and him twitting de Santis is just icing on the cake.
Dan B
@Warblewarble: Buttery males! Think those Turkish wrestlers.
UncleEbeneezer
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation: As a Sex Positive, Feminist who stands with Black Women, all I can say is that I fully support Ms. Berry sharing this and as many other stunning photos as she sees fit, lol.
And that dude needs to delete is MFing account for that slander!
Dangerman
No butter lambs yesterday, but one helluva Peep show. No singles or 5ers spent on the experience.
PaulB
I dunno… that lamb looks like it might be trans or non-binary or gender-fluid. You’re trying to groom the young ‘uns, aren’t you?
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@UncleEbeneezer: I’ll grant you all that. But I don’t care if we were talking about a hundred something year old Vivian Vance, if she were alive today.
It’s her body. She can share if she wants. Mind your goddamned business.
Princess Leia
Justin Jones just reappointed – 34-0
36-0
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Princess Leia: Awesome. He was elected to represent his district. He was cast out for doing that, he should go back and continue nonetheless.
Origuy
I missed the thread this morning about Biden and Bill Clinton going to Ireland. I thought it is interesting that former San Jose mayor Tom McEnery has turned his hand to playwriting, and has a play about the Irish town that erected a statue to Clinton, “A Statue for Ballybunion”.
Another Scott
@Princess Leia: Excellent. Thanks for the news.
Cheers,
Scott.
UncleEbeneezer
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation: Exactly. It’s just extra funny that he thought “Put Some Clothes On, Halle Berry” was going to be a popular sentiment! Whoops, talk about not reading the room…
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@UncleEbeneezer: Now let’s get some Jane Fonda. Rrrrawwwr
I’ve met a photographer online putting together portfolios of body positive nudes. The focus was on larger bodies, but that kind of work applied artistically to the elderly could be a revelation.
hueyplong
Cameron
Sassy Boots thrills the blood-drinking knuckle-walkers, but he can perform retail politics about as well as Ben Stein performs Shakespeare.
sab
Haven’t read the thread. Just read the earilier on when you wanted his head on a pike in your fridge.
I will never mess with you again!
Cameron
@UncleEbeneezer: “Let’s go, Halle?”
sab
Are their eyes raisins or something else?
karen marie
@opiejeanne: Thank you! It’s gorgeous!
sab
@karen marie: They is gorgeous.
J.
Praise the Lamb!
Another Scott
Phys.org:
(Emphasis added.)
The monsters screaming about exploding crime rates are directly helping the gun lobby. Cynical me thinks that it is intentional.
Much more at the link.
Cheers,
Scott.
sab
@opiejeanne: Almond tart will be delicious. Eating a butter lamb will be murder although I eat critters all the timw.
kindness
@opiejeanne: Couple mis-steps? I only recall the French Laundry dinner he had about 6 months into the pandemic shut down. The thing is, Newsome’s staff called the French Laundry and they said sure come on down, we’re open. Which was true, they were open. Maybe shouldn’t have been but…. and then the press had a field day with it.
I love the guy myself. He’ll be on the national stage one day. I’ll vote for him then too.
MomSense
Justin Jones was just sworn back in!!!
Miki
The BIL did the lamb butter this year at our small family gathering (the fleece never made it on, so it’s nekkid). Note the cute little bent leg ….
The Alien Lamb Cake appeared again this year. (I am not the only one who finds it impossible to decorate this cake. )
I was the photographer, so not in the pic (except blurred-out in the mirror, thanks to the portrait filter on my Pixel 6). Something to remember for future avoidance occasions.
Ramona
Your butter lamb is beautiful! I laughed in surprise and pleasure when I saw this picture! I had assumed that when you said “butter lamb”, you meant lamb cooked to such tenderness, it melted in your mouth like butter…
Cameron
Do butter lambs scream, Clarice?
trollhattan
@UncleEbeneezer: Halle Barry too old?
As if.
Random dude full support here, Ms. Barry. Do carry on and never mind the noise.
trollhattan
@Cameron: Heh, although from a different film I’m thinking “I’m melting, I’m melting.”
Betty Cracker
@sab: Peppercorns this year. Sometimes I use cloves.
Ohio Mom
I just saw that Al Jaffee, of MAD fold-in fame, has died. He was102.
I’d say it was the end of an era but he retired and MAD stoped publishing new material several years ago. But definitely a reminder that that era is over.
Cameron
@trollhattan: “Pay no attention to Dr. Lecter behind the curtain.”
Montanareddog
I was reading an article about the latest Clarence Thomas kerfuffle today and it mentioned that Harlan Crow’s yacht is called Michaela Rose, and a light bulb flashed in my aging brain. So I contacted one of my oldest friends, who now lives in Barcelona. He crewed luxury yachts for 10 years or so after our university days and he confirmed today that he did work on the Michaela Rose for a few years. Long enough to circumnavigate the globe a couple of times. As well as cruising the Med and the Caribbean in their respective seasons.
Thomas was never a guest during his time, though Bush the Elder was (who was gracious and tipped well). As for Crow, no juicy gossip. Just a bit odd, liked his JD and a stereotypical rich Texas Republican.
Skepticat
Is that the only thing that gave you a hint? And unprincipled may be an overly generous assessment.
Ohio Mom
@Ohio Mom: And up above, Anne Laurie pays proper respects.
MattF
@Skepticat: The question I’m asking is what principles lie behind his actions. And there don’t seem to be any.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@MattF: The principles are drive to power and the willingness to trample over any “unimportant” group of people he needs to pursue that end.
WaterGirl
@opiejeanne: its also in the sidebar in the Seattle meetup link.
sab
Betty Cracker will make us kill that sweet lamb, even though its head is already in the fridge.
ETA American here. Howling wirh laughter altough a tiny critter survived you sociopaths. Cheerio.
Geminid
@MattF: I thought DeSantis’s original statement about Ukraine was imprudent. The war appears deadlocked right now, but that could change in a month when Ukraine will likely go on offense. Republican naysayers could end up on the wrong side of public opinion if Ukraine has battlefield success. Maybe someone pointed this out to DeSantis; in any event, he walked it back.
Aside from questions of principles, etc., it was one of several misteps that make me think DeSantis is not ready for this run. I think he’s too far in to pull out now, though.
WereBear
I knew it was the head of a lamb made of butter but if I opened a freezer and saw it in there staring at me through the freezer bag…
MattF
@Geminid: My guess is that he was just blindly parroting Tucker Carlson.
bbleh
@Raoul Paste: concur
@Warblewarble: omg some reasonably talented butter sculptor/tress has GOTTA do that
@Princess Leia: watched on TV. lolololol
JoyceH
Nashville City Council meeting covered on national TV. And Justin Jones has returned to the legislature, at the head of an enormous crowd.
Meanwhile, FAFO, Speaker Sexton. The fellow who spearheaded the temper tantrum that expelled two legislators for violating The Rules appears to not actually reside in his district, but somewhere in the Nashville area. And since he draws non-resident per diem when the legislature is in session, there appears to also be a pretty hefty financial fraud going on.
https://popular.info/p/where-does-the-tennessee-house-speaker
Citizen Alan
Okay, I am kind of freaking out here. I was just offered the Fresno job. The only downside (other than, you know, Fresno) is the guy who I will be working for will only be in that job for 6 years, so I’m debating whether to move 3000 miles to “the conservative rural part of California” without knowing if I’ll be unemployed again in 2029 at the age of 60. OTOH, it gets me out of Mississippi. Give me your wisdom, Jackals!
Steeplejack
@Citizen Alan:
Get the fuck out of Mississippi and away from your toxic family
ETA: Worst-case scenario, you will establish a foothold in the Golden State and have six years to plan your next move (if necessary).
Sister Golden Bear
@Ramona:
One of the Indian restaurants near me does both a butter lamb (as well as butter chicken) and a lamb tikka masala. Forget to get it yesterday.
Sister Golden Bear
@WereBear:
Or worse yet, you wake up to discover a lamb’s head made of butter in your bed.
sab
Well my little lamb is asleep after major surgery. Everyone says she should be fine but she isn’t quite. Pisses me off and I blame all of you who have been lying to me.
Welcome to my world.
cain
@Sister Golden Bear:
I’m going to br-enter the UK in a few days! So perhaps I will be able to try an authentic chicken tikka masala. I did have it the last time I was in London but dunno if that was any better than what I had in the U.S. (honestly, i just think the dish is unhealthy)
cain
@Citizen Alan: Get the fuck out of Mississippi – I mean, sure it’s a conservative rural part of California – but once your there – I bet you can find plenty of other opportunities after a few years. If anything it’ll be safer than being in Miss..
karen marie
@Miki: I love the Xs of the clove eyes. Looks like your butter lamb got hit upside the head.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@Citizen Alan:
I would say GTF outta Ol’ Miss and spend the next six years finding a new job in an area that you are now familiar with!
@Steeplejack:
What that person said! 👍
sab
Ponyo is commenttiing. That dog ia an idiiot.
divF
@Ramona: Or, as Handel put it, “All we like sheep!”
Quinerly
Interesting Mother Jones piece on Crow’s collection of Nazi and slavery memorabilia.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/04/harlan-crow-nazi-american-academy-of-arts-and-sciences/
Leto
@Citizen Alan: here’s my pearl: you should’ve fully packed an hour ago. Fresno is infinitely better than Mississippi. At the end of the six years, if you need to move them make that decision then. You’ll be in a better state (physically/mentally) to facilitate that transition. If there’s one thing I miss about the military, it’s the moving. Always someplace new, always something interesting. Sending good vibes your way.
grandmaBear
@Citizen Alan:Go. It’s rather conservative but not as much as Bakersfield or the more rural parts. It’s definitely not Mississippi.
Scout211
@Citizen Alan:
Move to California. I have family in Fresno and it really isn’t that bad. It’s a mid-sized city in the middle of the valley but it has an airport with some major carriers and it is big enough for entertainment and restaurants. It’s close to the mountains and not far from the coast.
My son, his family, his in-laws and all of his friends are Democrats and live in Fresno. It’s not all Republican and conservative. It’s not mostly liberal like the Bay Area but it’s far from conservative Mississippi and it’s in California!
Take the leap. The first year in any major move is stressful but I do think California will be full of potential for you, unlike Mississippi.
Geminid
@Citizen Alan: Go West, Young Man.
You’ll find good people in Fresno.
JPL
@Quinerly: Thank the lord, he only had a portrait of Hitler and not a rainbow. Think about the shame that would cause.
WaterGirl
@Citizen Alan: Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good!
Pack up and get going! SERIOUSLY
And big congratulations on getting the job!
You might take the perfect job in the perfect location with the perfect boss and then one day your wonderful boss leaves or you have a psycho office mate or your awesome boss gets a shitty boss about him, and everything changes.
Geminid
@Geminid:
@Citizen Alan: And if you can, spend a few days in New Mexico on your way out. They don’t call it the Land of Enchantment for nothing.
cmorenc
@Skepticat:
On the contrary, DeSantis is a highly principled man His principles are;
1) Me me me me!
2) Fuck you if you cross or disagree with me me me!
3) Especially FU if you act woke around my sheep.
Another Scott
@Citizen Alan: Six years is a long time. A lot can happen in that period of time.
Are you waiting for any other offers? Would the other offers be better?
There are a lot of benefits to living in California (state government not trying to kill half the population is at the top of the list; not having to worry about hurricanes is near the top).
You would get good experience that could enable you to have a leg up if you decide to move on.
Think very hard about taking it, IMHO.
Good luck, and congratulations!
Cheers,
Scott.
Ksmiami
@Citizen Alan: Actually Fresno has a lot more diversity than you think and there’s a university there. Plus you’re really close to Shaver and Huntington lakes and China peak. Go for it
Quinerly
@Geminid:
@Citizen Alan
Get out of MS. If you decide to stop off in the Santa Fe on your escape, we can do a SF Meet up. There are at least 3 of us BJers here.
Citizen Alan
@Another Scott:
TBH, the only job for which I have applied (but not even been offered an interview yet) which I would prefer over the Fresno gig is with a Judge in Newark. I would rather have that because (a) I could live in NYC and (b) she is younger and will be on the bench longer before her term ends. But another part of me feels like it is almost hubristic to hold out for an interview when I have a job offer in hand.
Kay
@Citizen Alan:
The county has slightly more registered Ds than Rs – 39 to 32.
(pdf)
Baud
@Citizen Alan:
Can you call the Newark judge to check on the status of your application? Tell her you have another offer.
Citizen Alan
So here’s another question for Fresno-knowledgeable people. I have until the 24th to decide, and I am thinking of just flying out to Fresno next week to check the place out. Would two days be enough time to get a feel for what Fresno is going to be like? Or should I make it three?
Citizen Alan
@Baud: I would not feel remotely comfortable in doing that. I can think of a dozen ways that could bite me on the ass. :)
Baud
@Citizen Alan:
Then I would not hold out for that possibility in making your decision. It’s tough to pass up an opportunity for something better, but it’s too speculative
kalakal
@cain: There are lots of really good Indian resteraunts in the UK. There are great ones all over, espescially Birmingham, Leeds, and Bradford. You can get a good example of almost any type of food in London
Enjoy yourself
Ramona
@Sister Golden Bear: Yum!
Kay
The lamb is cute Betty. His big horsey head looks like the lambs I saw in a childrens book, I think- one I read more than once. It’s vaguely familiar.
Baud
I’ve actually heard nice things about Fresno but I’ve never been.
Origuy
@Citizen Alan: Have you taken a look at the website for the local paper, the Fresno Bee? I don’t know much about it except that John Scalzi used to write for it.
Ruckus
@Citizen Alan:
I agree with Steeplejack at #78
Jackie
@Citizen Alan: The saying: A bird in the hand…
Take the job!!! Getting away from the poison is goal #1. If it turns out you don’t like CA, you can still job hunt😊
Ruckus
@Citizen Alan:
I’d do 3 days. You can see all of it in one day but you have to get the feel of it, to see if you want to live there, if it’s better than where you live now. I’d bet it is.
I had a job for 11 years in that I traveled all around the country and lived in OH. I’ve seen a lot of this country and some parts are really very nice. To look at. But the other 63 yrs of my life I’ve lived in CA. I’ve lived north of SF Bay for a few years and I’ve lived in SoCal for the rest of it. I’m not planning to move to another state unless forced. At gun point.
WaterGirl
@Citizen Alan:
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. :-)
EarthWindFire
@Citizen Alan: A lot can happen in six years. The Newark job hasn’t even come through with an interview. GTFO of Mississippi like you wanted. If you take the leap of faith, the net will appear.
WaterGirl
@Baud:
The smartest response yet!
edit: and now I see your reply – not remotely comfortable doing that.
So I’m with Baud again.
WaterGirl
Betty, your lamb is very pretty again this year. I liked the cloves, but I think the peppercorns work really well!
Chris T.
@Ruckus:
Plus, this gives you time to look for housing.
Jackie
@WaterGirl: Great minds… 😉
Scout211
@Citizen Alan: Here’s a guide from visitcalifornia.com
Visit California – Fresno
I’m familiar with Fresno but deciding whether to spend two or three days there would depend on what you want to see and do. Is there anyone you know there who could give you a tour and pointers for housing, etc?
Manyakitty
@C Stars: ahhh, thank you for my first real laugh of the day. 😂😂😂
Manyakitty
@Betty Cracker: that lamb is (was) winsome AF. Did you use an icing tip for the wool?
Manyakitty
@Citizen Alan: go immediately and start looking for the next step once you get settled.
Ruckus
@Scout211:
As I’ve said here before I was born in LA, in the first half of the last century and I’ve lived in other states and traveled extensively around this country for work in a professional sport. Once when the clerk ran my Hertz card so I could pick up the car she said “You are in the top 5% of Hertz renters!” I’ve traveled extensively around this country, 47 states. Haven’t been to Alaska, North or South Dakota. My take is that there are a lot of nice places to travel to and visit. And some you can tell are not for you in a very short time. Others you could live in if you had a reasonable reason to be there. Others still you could tell you might live in one part but not another. And others you don’t want to live in, even if you are getting paid to.
If he is going to live there, 3 days is nothing. And even if he has little to do, it’s a good idea to look around, get at least slightly acclimated, find a couple restaurants, grocery stores, a place to live, etc.
Timill
@Citizen Alan: “Stand not upon the order of your going, but go at once.”
If the Newark job turns up, you can talk to both to get improvements*. If not, you have a job that’s not in Mississippi.
*I got a 50% increase in pay like that once.
mrmoshpotato
@Sister Golden Bear:
With a note – “Sorry. Even making just the horse’s head out of butter looked like too much work.”
AlaskaReader
@Geminid: What DeSantis gets up to simply can’t ever be considered ‘missteps’…
DeSantis cannot be granted the benefit of doubt.
That’s the same kind of folly that gave us Trump.
rikyrah
@Citizen Alan:
Leave Mississippi if you can find housing in CA