Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

“I never thought they’d lock HIM up,” sobbed a distraught member of the Lock Her Up Party.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Take your GOP plan out of the witness protection program.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

Thanks for reminding me that Van Jones needs to be slapped.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

You are here: Home / John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House" / Saturday Night Open Thread

Saturday Night Open Thread

by | 110 Comments

This post is in: 

So what is everyone doing this summer? What are we watching and reading and what video games are we playing?

I’m about to start episode 3 of the Silo, which is good but the lighting is so dark and everything is kinda dingy. Gamewise, I am playing a good bit of Red Dead Redemption 2, which I really like.

Fuck Republicans.

Reader Interactions

110Comments

  2. 2.

    TheronWare

    I’m reading “The Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett, I’m watching season 2 of “His Dark Materials” and I’ve played the beta of Diablo 4.

  3. 3.

    Kristine Pennington

    i have been watching “9” – very interesting movie about futuristic puppets/dolls with a dark message – I just happened upon it channel surfing….

  4. 4.

    dww44

    CNN seems to be trying to reclaim some of its journalist legitimacy as they are showing their own production about January 6 and all that led up to it.  Jake Tapper is the narrator and he is pulling no punches.  Interestingly this showing isn’t on the cable listings.  Supposed to be a show about the kidnapping of Madeleine McCann.

    And, like Cole, I really hate Republicans.

  5. 5.

    Quiltingfool

    I’m watching Agent Carter and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (I’m in a Marvel mood).

    My 2 month knee replacement hiatus is over.    During recovery I had zero interest in working on anything in the quilt cave and I worried that I might not want to make quilts anymore.  That has not happened, thank the Quilt Goddess (one of the Fiber Arts Goddesses…Knit, Crochet, Weave, Sew and Embroider are the others, lol).

    I never realized how much pain affects your daily life, how much energy it saps from you, until that pain was removed.   My new knee was worth every nickel!

  8. 8.

    Kelly

    Today was the 7th good river swimming day. The water is about 70f and there’s a spot where the current is perfect to swim in place. I used to lap swim regularly but at about 60 my skin began to object to swimming pool water. Swimming feels so good and my skin is very happy in river water.

  9. 9.

    Yutsano

    @Quiltingfool: ​ I remember when I got my left hip replaced they encouraged me to try to move it. I was reluctant at first because I thought it would hurt. Then they kept insisting so I did.

    I looked right at the nurse. “Go do the other one!” Now I’m contending with the degenerated discs in my back. No surgery plans yet…

  11. 11.

    Mowgli

    Took the kids to see Across the Spiderverse today in an actual movie theater. Although I am totally cheap, in this case the visual experience alone was worth the price of admission. Amazing “living comic book” styling.

  12. 12.

    dmsilev

    Silo is pretty damn good, though kind of depressing to put mildly. An entire society living in a giant mine shaft …forever.

  13. 13.

    Viva BrisVegas

    Is anybody concerned about Aileen Cannon getting the Trump trial gig?

    I just find it curious and less than random.

  15. 15.

    mrmoshpotato

    @dww44:

    CNN seems to be trying to reclaim some of its journalist legitimacy as they are showing their own production about January 6 and all that led up to it. Jake Tapper is the narrator and he is pulling no punches. 

    The Empty Dump Podium network can forever go fuck itself.

  16. 16.

    Hoppie

    Never got into video games.  Rereading The Wild Road by Gabriel King (Tunch would approve).

  22. 22.

    Narya

    Reading the Three Pines series as the ebooks are available from the library. Getting ready for camping and pointy cars. Beer 5ks. Hanging out. Still decompressing from Worklife.

    ETA: starting to do fancy needlework again

  24. 24.

    Kayla Rudbek

    Resting after a 35-mile tandem ride in St. Mary’s County, MD (over half of that on a rail-trail). Only two TFG flags spotted on the bike ride, so not bad considering we were in rural/exurban Maryland. One of the good things about biking in Maryland is seafood for dinner, although the place we were at offered frog’s legs on the menu. Mr. Rudbek decided to stop at Target on the way home, so we now have blackberries to make cobbler, and he had a root beer float for dessert tonight.

    Now on to knitting while I am trying to figure out what the next weaving project will use. The interesting thing is that there are a fair amount of weaving groups on Facebook and I’m getting more ideas and tips. I’ve joined some weaving groups on Ravelry as well, but I honestly think so far that more of the weaving activity is on Facebook or blogs.  So far The Rogue Weaver looks interesting, and Gist Yarn, Lone Star Loom Room, The Woolery are probably going to start getting some of my money.

  25. 25.

    JaySinWA

    Repeating a story I mentioned in the Saturday Afternoon Open Thread. West Virginia State Patrol Academy appears to have been filming their own reality video show in the women’s locker room – including underage women.

    https://www.wtrf.com/west-virginia-state-police-investigation/west-virginia-state-police-investigation-10-more-minors-42-more-women-in-total-to-sue-west-virginia-state-police-over-hidden-cameras/

    Earlier reporting on the anonymous letter that exposed this and other WVSP alleged illegal behavior:

    https://www.wowktv.com/news/west-virginia/west-virginia-state-police-under-investigation-for-alleged-theft-sexual-assault

    ETA more detail here:

    https://mountainstatespotlight.org/2023/04/03/wv-state-police-scandal-explained/

  29. 29.

    Narya

    @Kayla Rudbek: for food inventory (I have a chest freezer, hunter friend, and bean and fish shares) I use a white board. I list proteins by weight so I know what I have, and I record portions (of beans, stock, whatever) with a dot. I erase dots or weights as I use things.

  30. 30.

    oatler

    Just finished Jane Arden’s “Separation” from 1967. It seems to be the source of both “A Safe Place” and “Play It As It Lays” but better-looking than those. Also has Matthew Fisher/Procol Harum soundtrack.

  32. 32.

    Citizen Alan

    @Viva BrisVegas: I don’t know if “less than random” is the right way to put it. She shares a division with only one other judge and that’s where Shitgibbon is domiciled. So the odds of her getting the case were 50-50. Of course, the real issue is her obstinate refusal to simply recuse herself from any cases involving Trump on account of the fact that he’s the guy who nominated her to the bench to sit in the division where he is domiciled and where any civil or criminal actions against him would likely be filed. Aileen Cannon, IMO, has all but declared herself Trump’s pet judge, for whom “the appearance of impropriety” are nonsense words.

  34. 34.

    Hoppie

    @Devore: I remember talking to Larry many years ago when he insisted you couldn’t tell who wrote what part. So I said “you mean like where the ships’ engineers are all Scottish?”  And he almost yelled “that was Jerry!  that was Jerry!”  ‘Nuff said.

  35. 35.

    Brachiator

    @Mowgli:

    Took the kids to see Across the Spiderverse today in an actual movie theater. Although I am totally cheap, in this case the visual experience alone was worth the price of admission. Amazing “living comic book” styling.

    I may try to see it this weekend. I was debating whether to go out to the movies or waiting for Spidey to stream on Disney plus.

    Otherwise, I am waiting for the second season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to begin.

  36. 36.

    RaflW

    I seem too distractable to start a new novel at the moment. Streaming, I feel like I’m way behind the average viewer (and we have limited subscriptions).

    I was at my brothers place a couple weekends ago and started The Peripheral on Prime, but it was different enough from the book that I let it go after two episodes. I may read the second book soon, the first one was a bit intense to be reading it early in lockdown a couple years ago.

    But I appreciate threads like this to look for new things to maybe watch or read!

  37. 37.

    Jackie

    I don’t have a subscription to the NYT, so here’s the RawStory version:

    “From Kari Lake to congressmen throughout the United States, violent rhetoric following Donald Trump’s federal indictment has reportedly been steady and is now officially raising red flags with experts.”

    “The violent messages from Trump’s supporters are not exactly new, as they have arisen before, including after the FBI raided the former president’s property at Mar-a-Lago. But they do appear to be escalating, according to a report by Michael S. Schmidt, Alan Feuer, Maggie Haberman, and Adam Goldman of the New York Times.”

    “The federal indictment of former President Donald J. Trump has unleashed a wave of calls by his supporters for violence and an uprising to defend him, disturbing observers and raising concerns of a warlike atmosphere ahead of his court appearance in Miami on Tuesday,” according to the article. “In social media posts and public remarks, close allies of Mr. Trump — including a member of Congress — have portrayed the indictment as an act of war, called for retribution and highlighted the fact that much of his base carries weapons.”

    https://www.rawstory.com/trump-supporter-violent-rhetoric/

    I do have to admit to some uneasiness. Hopefully, the MAGA turnout will be a dud, just like TIFG’s NYC arraignment.🤞🏻

  38. 38.

    cope

    1) This summer? Still settling into our CO house after 33 very long years in FL.

    2) Watching? Watched Champion’s League final today, resting up for Monday’ chance to see the Nuggets finish off the Heat.

    3) Reading? During quarantine, I subscribed to too many dead tree magazines so I am still digging out from under a backlog.

    4) Video games? None since a rather severe Tetris addiction a long time ago.

    5) Fuck Republicans.

  39. 39.

    dww44

    @Jackie: ​
      Yes it is. And it was actually pretty good. Factual and lots of interviews with Republicans. About the only Dem to get any airtime was Jaime Raskin. Takes it all the way through to the documents indictment. Kinda the opposite of the unopinionated bent that Malone wanted from the new CNN. Ends with Tapper talking about the coup being averted because there were principled Republicans.

    It still is kinda off to me that Democrats never get any credit fortheir role in protecting democracy, cause that seems to offend not only the MAGA types but the big pocket types. I think part of it is because all of them, including many in the media, have a hard time admitting that Republicans are solely responsible for foisting this degenerate moral person on to the country, voting for him twice, and almost taking down the republic in the process.

  40. 40.

    Tenar Arha

    @Mowgli: Freaking awesome art, great characterization, & narratively satisfying. I refuse to spoil anything, but I’m going to have to see it again just to pick up more of the fun references.

    ETA Watching Poker Face & We Are Lady Parts on Peacock, & recently re-reading some of the later Earthsea stories & novels.

  42. 42.

    Steeplejack

    @Devore:

    God, Jerry Pournelle. I had to look him up on Wikipedia. He died at 84 in 2017. I used to read his “Chaos Manor” column in Byte every month, and I read many of the novels he did with Larry Niven (still alive at 85). “Chaos Manor” was a lot of ineffectual sawdust-sawing with different computers and items of equipment that manufacturers sent him, but it was interesting to at least see what the new items of equipment were.

    Could have given his Wikipedia bio a miss—staunch Reaganite and general right-wing asshole.

    On the topic of science fiction, I just finished binge-reading Martha Wells’s Murderbot series. Recommended. Right now I’m back to Miss Marple’s début in The Murder at the Vicarage.

  43. 43.

    The Oracle of Solace

    Summer is turning out to be a time of healing for me. To counteract the various horrors Republicans seek to enact, I’ve found attempting to build a multicultural, secular society in Victoria 3 quite a balm. I also broke down and bought Crusader Kings III, and have been figuring out how to play that. Still getting quite a kick out of the old MMO City of Heroes, too.

    Re-reading some old favourites during my recovery: Douglas Adams and Iain M Banks.

    Netflix and chill with Bee and Puppycat, and also revisiting my classic Doctor Who DVDs for relaxation.

    Oh, and I’m getting married.

  44. 44.

    Brachiator

    Trump is a strange man. Speaking at some event in Georgia, he lied about his mishandling of classified documents and in effect defiantly declared that he is above the law. When energized by a crowd of supporters, he acts as though he doesn’t care about being indicted.

    He has got his con game down cold. I wonder if he has any help coming up with his lies and evasions?

    And the crowd of course cheers him on. But ask them and they would all swear that they believe in law and order.

  45. 45.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Steeplejack: Pournelle.  Ugh.  His entire Falkenberg series (the prehistory of the universe of Mote in God’s Eye) is such libertarian *dreck*.  The man doesn’t understand economics or politics at all.  It’s pathetic.  And sure, he does fun-to-read-for-a-non-military-guy military SF.  But knowing even a modicum of economics really tarnishes the thing.

  47. 47.

    Keith P.

    I’m playing the new Zelda right now.  Looking forward to The Righteous Gemstones and The Boys starting up new seasons soon now that Succession and Barry are over.

  48. 48.

    Tenar Arha

    @dww44: Do you ever feel like we deserve an apology for all of it? I know I’ll probably never get one from the Republican voters who’ve gone full MAGA, or their leaders; we’ll just have to wait for them to join Pat Robertson in hell. But the news media acts so much like a sense of shame should still matter, I can’t help but wonder why they won’t apologize for their coverage choices?

    Yesterday after I went to the movies, I made the mistake of playing catch-up on the indictment news. & I got so angry. We deserve an apology from all the bastards that foisted that traitorous criminal on us FOR their ratings & clicks. We deserve an industry wide full accounting & some apologies from the news for their misogynistic choices, definitely some firings and resignations. Yeah I know,  not gonna happen, but a gal can dream.

  54. 54.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Picking up the new Amnesia game tomorrow.  Today I thought I was finishing Warhammer 40k: Boltgun, but that was only chapter 1.  I ended the boss fight by chainsawing the sorcerer in his face, so I’m sure the Emperor is proud.

  55. 55.

    xephyr

    Putting stakes in for my tomatoes, chasing deer out of the yard, getting stung, mulching the little spruce trees, feeding my cats, reading the news… Fuck Republicans.

  56. 56.

    RaflW

    We had a small group of friends over this evening for Saturday Sundaes. The only effort was a bit of shopping, making stewed rhubarb (15 mins, tops), and cleaning and paring strawberries.

    I am now got to be an evangelist for fun, silly little parties with good friends. Sure, we will still hold bigger, more complicated parties a couple times a year. But since we don’t do cocktails, a low-effort but delicious dessert party? Uh huh!!

  57. 57.

    dww44

    @Tenar Arha: Yes, I think all of us who voted for Dems and did our best to support democracy deserve a big mea culpa from the GOP (not gonna happen) and from so very much of the main street media who still to this very day and minute report on Trump as a candidate.  If they were a bit braver and up front about the clear criminality of the man,  there just might not be a current candidate Trump.  They are scared, not of Trump, but of the big monied pockets who may not be MAGA types but would definitely vote for Trump again because he’s not a Democrat who just might raise their taxes. and most of the media types who must kowtow to them for their paychecks aren’t going to rock the boat too much.

    I no longer get angry at Trump. just those who continue to support and/or excuse him.  That includes a lot of my relatives and friends.

  58. 58.

    dww44

    @xephyr: My most effective weapon against deer is a product called Invisible Fence.  Smells horrible but is entirely safe for vegetables and other.  Just don’t forget to reapply during the growing season, particularly after heavy rains.

  59. 59.

    Major Major Major Major

    This summer, idk, gonna try to drag the husband to the mountains a bunch. Write a lot… garden… the usual!

    I finished installing all the plants I got, which is not ending up covering a huge amount of ground, haha. So the rest will be rocks and mulch for now. It’ll look better next year, right now the planting distance looks pretty silly. (I guess I can’t put ground cover near the tree transplants that the builders put in, this first year, so… well, nothing wrong with some rocks and mulch.)

  60. 60.

    frosty

    Not watching anything, not playing any games. Reading a very eclectic bunch of books from my list. The only thing series-related is the Slough House books. I’m starting the fourth one and I’m still not sure whether I like them or not. The author seems to like to have his characters kidnapped and thrown in the back of a car.

  61. 61.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    Been playing the remake of System Shock. Really liked the original when it came out in 1994, but the remake is now pretty much the definitive version for me. New Zelda is on my wish list for later.

    Not watching much of anything at the moment – been meaning to look at Muppets Mayhem.

    And as for Republicans, not even if they were offering to cater to my every kink dating back to adolescence.

  63. 63.

    Leto

    @Tim in SF: WoW player your age here. Starting mythic Aberrus progression on Monday, trying to knock out more 20 keys for portals, and almost all the people I knew who were raiding in Wrath have come back to retail.

    Wrath is dead as evidence of them launching “hard core servers” (lol), as well as the gold buying services. Come back to retail; we have actual content :p

  67. 67.

    Jackie

    @dww44: Just finished watching it. I so hope Jack Smith will indict TIFG for inciting a coup to overthrow the peaceful transfer of power.

  68. 68.

    thruppence

    I signed up for a 5K fun run tomorrow morning, or in my case a fun stroll – I’m an old and not a runner (yet) and in the evening I have tickets for a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater. Thunderstorms predicted, but they seem to come and go fairly quickly and they could make for a great light show looking east over Denver. Fingers crossed.

  70. 70.

    Fair Economist

    Just finished The Hourglass Throne, an urban fantasy novel in an ongoing series. For gaming I find I end up with my familiar mainstays – I’m back to playing, journaling and modding Minecraft.

  71. 71.

    otmar

    I’m playing the new Zelda.

    And right now I’m in Stockholm, Sweden. Mon/Tue/Wed for EU cybersecurity business, so we tacked 3 days of sightseeing with the family in front of it.

    Gotta show the kids Europe.

  72. 72.

    Sister Golden Bear

    I’ve gotten back into photography — this time iPhoto focused, where at least gear acquisition syndrome is far cheaper. So far mostly just some filters, an adapter for them, and a lens hood, plus several photo apps that are far more capable than Apple’s, and some photo-editing apps.

    Consequently, I’ve been watching a lot of photography-related videos on YouTube, and hoping to get out to do more shooting as I get over the last of the post-Covid syndromes, maybe even a couple out of town trips.

    Unfortunately, mid-July I’m gonna have to restart the job hunt so that I have something lined up when my current contract runs out. Which also means no real vacation, since I need to keep my spending frugal, given the tech job market still sucks, and it might be a while before I get work this Fall.

  73. 73.

    prostratedragon

    @Viva BrisVegas:  Among other things I’ve been playing enough backgammon lately to be reminded that the one thing you don’t want to happen, can happen randomly. But for this court case, it.might be a manageable risk, and it’s hardly the end of court business with TFG.

  74. 74.

    Amir Khalid

    @prostratedragon:

    We’re all still waiting for Jack Smith’s J6 indictments, aren’t we? I expect something juicy to be revealed when those are finally unveiled.

  75. 75.

    piratedan

    @Amir Khalid: I am, I’m hoping for a list of co-conspirators that will likely shake the foundations of the RW influence structure to collapse.

    granted, I am an optimist, but hoping that this will be a national Augean Stables moment.

  76. 76.

    Tim in SF

    @Leto:

    I might come back to Vanilla some day. But I’ve been looking forward to Ulduar for years. That’s no exaggeration. I’ve been running it every chance I get. It’s not coming back around again in my lifetime. This is it.

    I have no interest in the Call of the Crusade patch due soon. I have some interest in the Fall of the Lich King later but, really, nothing like the love I have for Ulduar.

    I not enthusiastic about this new Dragon chapter. I think Pandaria was the last release I really loved as much as Wrath.

  79. 79.

    lgerard

    @Jackie: ​
     

    One weird trick
    Many NYT and Wapo stories are republished on Yahoo’s homepage.

    If you copy the headline and plug it in there you can come up with the story

  80. 80.

    TriassicSands

    @Brachiator: Trump is a strange man.

    That is probably the most flattering adjective that can honestly be used to describe the man. But there is great truth behind it.

    He may be unique (at least historically) in being alone in having his despicable words and actions actually increasing the intensity of support for him. At least among the cult members. Given the political abyss that exists today, that may become more and more common in the future for Republicans.

  81. 81.

    Chris T.

    @dww44:

    I never realized how much pain affects your daily life, how much energy it saps from you, until that pain was removed.

    This is why medical marijuana is such a godsend (or whatever term you prefer). It’s not for me so much as the Spousal Unit, at least so far. As my arthritis worsens over the years, perhaps it will be for me as well (though much of this is knee arthritis and, unlike S.U., I am a candidate for knee replacement surgery someday, ideally as far in the future as possible).

  82. 82.

    Patricia Kayden

    Reading “Black Cake” by Jamaican American author Charmaine Wilkerson.

    Finally watching the movie “Heat”.  May watch the new Transformers movie because of all the hype.

    Playing Homescapes.

    Still ecstatic that Trump has finally been charged WITH CRIMES.  And more charges are coming from NY and Georgia.

  83. 83.

    anastasio beaverhausen

    Kids had an “early release” day from school last week so at the spur of the moment we decided to see Disney’s Little Mermaid. Theater had reserved seating, which reclined.  Classic story, well told (duh! it’s Disney) and these comments from my little reviewers:  Girl child (huge grin), “She looks like me! and Boy child, marveling at the CGI: “Is this real?!” Added bonus, Melissa McCarthy as the octopus.  lol

  84. 84.

    NotMax

    the lighting is so dark and everything is kinda dingy

    Could well be related to one of your TV’s settings. Without delving into variations among TV brands, some possible fixes to try, any one of which might provide remedy.

    In your TV’s settings menu,

    1) If Power Saving or Eco Mode is enabled, turn that off.
    2) If Dolby Vision is enabled, turn that off. If it is already turned off, try enabling it instead.
    3) If HDR mode is enabled, turn that off. If it is already turned off, try enabling it instead.
    .

  85. 85.

    raven

    We watched “The Triangle of Sadness” last night and thought it was pretty funny despite a too long and  graphic seasick scene!

  86. 86.

    Tony Jay

    Wowsers. Stormy night here on Bad Choice Island, but sleeping in until 10.30 got me through it. Immediate breakfast and coffee and BJ – which is exactly what it sounds like, you mucky people.

    Picked up The Last of Us remastered for pennies at a charity shop a bit ago and I’m grinding my way through a second run through on Normal so that I can maybe experience not dying eventually-billion times before I try the harder levels.

    Truly great game. I’m not normally a cut-scene viewer (gimmee the action!) but TLOU is so well made that I genuinely lose track of which scenes are from the game and which from the show.

    Also, rationing out Stranger Things 4 so we don’t watch it too fast. We were supposed to be saving it for our summer holiday last year, but it turned out not to be that kind of holiday, so we’ve jumped in now and it’s just great. The love the writers feel for these characters is infectious.

    To fill in the TV watching gaps I suggested Monk, since I’ve heard good things, there’s lots of it, and socially Ill-adjusted people solving puzzles while around them people are often arseholes has been happy joint watching since House.

    I did try to get Lady Jay watching something a bit sillier with the first episode of Preacher, but when Cassidy did his thing on the plane she just turned to me and said, in a tone heavy with disapproval, “And what was that?”

    Only straight horror from then on.

    Also, watched a documentary on the great English stand-up/sketch show/quiz host Les Dawson last night. There are only a handful of comedians who came out of that variety hall/working man’s club era who lasted through the Alternative Comedy era to be acknowledged by all and sundry as a titan of the field, and Dawson, with his face like someone tried to mould Adonis out of bread dough and his layers of musical and wordplay skill sits right up there. He could make you laugh five minutes straight without opening his mouth.

    John Cleese can fuck off, though.

  87. 87.

    Central Planning

    We were looking for something to watch last night and Deadloch (Prime) showed up as a comedy. It’s a murder mystery but has some funny parts. My wife was unimpressed; I’m finishing up episode 4 now. Hopefully they are being released weekly.

    I play Star Trek Fleet Command on my phone, although it exists for Mac/Windows. Thinking about slowing down though, it’s turning into a grind at higher levels.

  88. 88.

    prostratedragon

    Just watched a Prime documentary, Invisible History: Middle Florida’s Hidden Roots from 2020. It’s an overview of the history of the panhandle area whose center is Tallahassee, from setllement by plantation owners under slavery to recent times, illustrating the roots of modern-day voter suppression and the racial wealth gap. You get a lot for your 3/4 hour; full of the woke.

  89. 89.

    Cjcat

    We are sanding down and refinishing the deck and front porch this summer. This is the end of a remodel that started with a tree falling on our house two years ago. The old home place looks great and it was almost worth the turmoil it took to get to this point.

    Silo is my present obsession. Many of the series I have enjoyed ended this year and with the writers strike I don’t have expectations of good tv for the summer and fall.

    I am playing Hogwarts Legacy. I have also read Hemingway and gone to Picasso exhibitions. Artists Behaving Badly can overshadow their art but a video game is a collaborative project and this is a beautifully rendered world. The level of creativity here is really high and you can tell many people put their hearts into making the game.  They use they/them pronouns and allow you to be a witch or wizard regardless of gender. It is definitely geared to younger teens though and I am bothered by the goblin bankers and house elves more than I was in the movies and books.

    I am also doing a summer art camp for my youngest grandson. He is very creative and I am looking forward to teaching him some techniques.

  90. 90.

    evodevo

    @Quiltingfool: ​
     I’ve got a very bad left knee that is becoming more and more non-functional with time…thinking about a replacement…would like to hear some opinions on getting one from you all…

  91. 91.

    The Oracle of Solace

    @Steeplejack: Apparently it was routine. Now if someone complements my pelvis, I can say, “Thanks! It has pockets!” Recovering from The Surgery has been more fun than working, too; this, in combination with the anti-trans laws sweeping the American South, has me looking at early retirement and a plan to GTFO.

  93. 93.

    HumboldtBlue

    There is something very sterile about Manchester City winning the Champions League, what with their financial doping and shameless purchasing of not one, but two complete 11s that would win the title in any of Europe’s top five leagues.

    Soulless it is, devoid of joy — unless you’re a Man City supporter — and without any of the drama that normally accompanies the extraordinary transformation of a middling English side launched into the stratosphere of European club champions.

    Money, money, money in the immortal words of the Bar-kays.

  98. 98.

    Tony Jay

    @zhena gogolia:

    Very pro-Brexit from his trans-Atlantic Orthanc. Since then he’s doubled-down on the anti-Woke, anti-diversity, anti-cancel culture bellowing all over GB News (the embryonic UK version of Fox News) where he’s apparently started or is going to start his own show.

    Oh, and he’s going to bring back Fawlty Towers as a vehicle for his angry old white man views.

    In short, fuck him. And Eric Idle too.

  100. 100.

    Tony Jay

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Aye. It’s like, wow, look at the beauty of our product and celebrate the perfection of our machine. Celebrate us for our achievement, just don’t ever mention the way we got here.

    They may desperately want to be thought of as just another football team that got there the hard way, but in reality they’re a cynical sportswashing husk of a club that has cheated and bullied their way to dominance.

    Sure, the football can be exquisite, but that’s due to the vast sums they’ve splurged on great players, coaches and facilities, plus the very heavy thumb on the scales they’ve been afforded over the years by a Premier League establishment that will be oh so happy to leech off the money and spreadsheet success Citeh provide – right up until it all goes away.

    Like United decades ago, it’s very easy to play great football with enormous confidence when you know there’s always a 12 man (or men) making sure you don’t have to play by the same rules as the little people. Where United had Fergie Time, Citeh have the Half Way Line Fog where metronomic fouling to prevent the other team attacking them on the break is as much a part of their game as endless passing and Haaland tap-ins.

    Baaah. Fuck ‘em. Their tears will be all the sweeter when we take the League Double back next season and they end up stripped of everything they’ve ‘won’ in court.

  101. 101.

    Tony Jay

    @zhena gogolia:

    Yeah, it’s sad, but sooooo many public figures have revealed themselves to be pieces of shit over the last decade or so that I’m actually more surprised to hear that someone isn’t a gobshite.

  102. 102.

    kalakal

    Reading Alastair Reynolds Prefect Dreyfus series, playing Sins of a Solar Empire – Rebellion, and practicing guitar

  104. 104.

    xephyr

    @dww44: Yes, I’ve used it often, as you say it works! Unfortunately it needs to be reapplied fairly often and the price has doubled. Even so, I still use it. When I had dogs, deer in the yard was a non-issue… Maybe I need to go out there and start barking at them.

  105. 105.

    xephyr

    @Kelly: Thanks for the idea. It would take a lot of sprinklers to cover the few acres the deer “occupy” here. Also a lot of trees and undergrowth in the way since I stopped mowing much of it. Ah well…

  106. 106.

    Denali5

    I have been reading Hell of a Book by Jason Mott. It received the National Book Award. The first time I started it, I put it down; the second time I am really enjoying it. We’ll see what my Book Club says.

    I am also not winning The War on Weeds.

  107. 107.

    FridayNext

    @Cjcat:

     

    I have only just started the Silo series. Read the books last year Hugh Howie and was instantly enthralled. So far I am enjoying the show but  the books got complicated with lots of flash backs and forwards.

     

    Howey’s Sand books good, too. Some similar themes, but different timeline/universe/reality?

    Finishing some Adrian Tchaikovsky trilogies and playing Chicken Invaders 5.

  108. 108.

    Chris Johnson

    @Tony Jay: Well, that’s fucked up. And I thought Roger Waters was the only Brit to take such a dive.

    In Fawlty Towers, he was THE JOKE. I don’t think it will come off at all if he no longer gets the joke.

    Pretty much fuck any old men who were good once, and totally blew it. You don’t have to fuck up being good just ‘cos you’re old. Ridiculous.

  109. 109.

    Joelle

    @raven: That explosive diarrhea at sea scene was off the friggin hook.  I think of it whenever anyone tells me they are “cruising” and smile.

  110. 110.

    Hannah

    We still play Minecraft. I’m addicted to playing Hidden City on my iPad.

    We’re excited to watch the second season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which starts this week on Thursday, and season 3 of The Righteous Gemstones that starts on 6/18.  I’m looking forward to something that isn’t bleak and depressing (Silo, Succession), especially now that we’ve finished Ted Lasso and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. I highly recommend all of the new Star Treks:  Discovery, Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, Picard, and Prodigy. We watch the original series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise several times a week. The original series is a classic and my favorite, but DS9 is the best. And if you like Succession, Gemstones is the same thing but funnier and with Walton Goggins.

    Reading:  every mystery cozy I get my hands on

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