Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When the time comes to make an endorsement, the pain of NYT editors will be palpable as they reluctantly whisper “Biden.”

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

If marriage is the equivalent of selling yourself into slavery, women with self respect should reject the offer.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

‘Museums aren’t America’s attic for its racist shit.’

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

…and a burning sense of injustice to juice the soul.

The problem people have with Biden’s age is the color of the VPs skin.

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

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

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Somebody needs to explain to DeSantis that nobody needs to do anything to make him look bad.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

This blog will pay for itself.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

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

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

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

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

People are weird.

“That’s what the insurrection act is for!”

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Friday Afternoon Open Thread

Reader Interactions

125Comments

  8. 8.

    Anyway

    @WaterGirl:

    Setting up my Jack’O’Lantern and orange lights on the front porch.  Stocked up on candy on the way home – ready for the monsters kids.*

    *Halloween isn’t til Tuesday but I’m busy all weekend

  10. 10.

    WaterGirl

    Too funny.

  12. 12.

    piratedan

    going to be watching the World Series…..  hoping for some quality play, will likely be watching with the mute button on because if there’s any group that can give political punditry a run for their nuanced coverage, its baseball analysts.

  14. 14.

    Josie

    I’m figuring out how to make a BookBub ad for my book. It’s similar to making an Amazon ad but slightly more difficult. This book thing has definitely brought me into the 21st century, from using the Scrivener program to write it and format it, to getting it up on Amazon, to creating the ads for it. I wind up talking severely to my computer at times, and Duncan, the sensitive corgi, leaves the room at my language.​

  15. 15.

    lowtechcyclist

    @WaterGirl:

    So what’s everybody up to?

    Just finished up my work week.  Seven more weeks to go.

    Going to carve a jack-o’lantern.  The kiddo already did one, but that was at a party at a friend’s house a few weeks ago, and it was starting to decay, and we tossed it into the woods.

  16. 16.

    Jay

    @WaterGirl:

     

    I’m in Phoenix AZ, visiting with SWIMBO her best friend and her husband.

    No cell service so piggy backing on their wifi, so reading the blog when I get a chance, barely commenting.

  17. 17.

    Old School

    Oldest daughter Middle School is having friends over to watch the Five Nights At Freddy’s movie.  So pizza and lots of tweens for me.

  18. 18.

    Quinerly

    @WaterGirl:

    Stuffed full of Al Pastor Tacos and pineapple from Coyote Cantina…playing tourist in my adopted city. Now drinking the house margarita that comes in a martini shaker at one of my favorite horseshoe shaped bars….Del Charro at The Inn of the Govenors. Getting out of town next week….Zuni Pueblo, Grants,  El Morro, Ramah, Farmington, Shiprock, and Blanco, NM. It’s been 7 years since I have been over Zuni Pueblo way. Less than year on Farmington….hope to get to Chaco Canyon.

  21. 21.

    Alison Rose

    BTW it’s almost Nonfiction November, and if anyone is looking for a stunning book to read, may I recommend How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith. The synopsis:

    Beginning in his hometown of New Orleans, Clint Smith leads the reader on an unforgettable tour of monuments and landmarks—those that are honest about the past and those that are not—that offer an intergenerational story of how slavery has been central in shaping our nation’s collective history, and ourselves.

    It is the story of the Monticello Plantation in Virginia, the estate where Thomas Jefferson wrote letters espousing the urgent need for liberty while enslaving more than four hundred people. It is the story of the Whitney Plantation, one of the only former plantations devoted to preserving the experience of the enslaved people whose lives and work sustained it. It is the story of Angola, a former plantation-turned-maximum-security prison in Louisiana that is filled with Black men who work across the 18,000-acre land for virtually no pay. And it is the story of Blandford Cemetery, the final resting place of tens of thousands of Confederate soldiers.

    A deeply researched and transporting exploration of the legacy of slavery and its imprint on centuries of American history, How the Word Is Passed illustrates how some of our country’s most essential stories are hidden in plain view—whether in places we might drive by on our way to work, holidays such as Juneteenth, or entire neighborhoods like downtown Manhattan, where the brutal history of the trade in enslaved men, women, and children has been deeply imprinted.

    Informed by scholarship and brought to life by the story of people living today, Smith’s debut work of nonfiction is a landmark of reflection and insight that offers a new understanding of the hopeful role that memory and history can play in making sense of our country and how it has come to be.

    It was absolutely incredible. Very harrowing at times, of course, but so exquisitely written and conveyed. My rambling rave review of it.

  22. 22.

    coin operated

    @WaterGirl: This afternoon…putting in change requests to finally decommission a couple of storage arrays that were EOL a decade ago. A cheer went up on the team call when I made the announcement.

    World Series later tonight. I’ll watch a T20 cricket match over a regular season baseball game but post-season baseball is the best.  ETA: the pitching clock is the best thing to happen to baseball in a long time. Might try to sit through a few regular season games next year.

  23. 23.

    debit

    @WaterGirl: I miss having a dog. I can cuddle one cat like that, but the other two make me feel like we’re roleplaying a Pepe LePew bit and Im the skunk. Meanwhile, they frantically scrabble to get away.

    The only upside to this is if Dani is doing something she shouldn’t, I just have say, “Don’t make me come over there and love you.”

  24. 24.

    piratedan

    @Quinerly: Spouse and I really enjoyed the scenery around El Morro and Ramah.  Had a cool visit to the ice caves there, spouse did the walk up to the cinder cone volcano top.

  26. 26.

    RevRick

    My wife and I got our COVID boosters yesterday, and she’s feeling punk. Me, hardly anything except soreness at the injection site.

    We’re looking forward to the hundred kids who will show up for Trick or Treat night between 6 and 8.

  33. 33.

    BC in Illinois

    Just finished mowing the lawn. Now I’m having a cold brew, and watching last night’s late night monologues on Youtube. All the while, Mrs BC has been taking five of the seven local g’kids to a pumpkin farm in Red Bud IL.

    Mowing the lawn is my excuse to get out of the event. The g’kids are fun; the pumpkins . . . meh.

  36. 36.

    Quinerly

    @WaterGirl:

    It’s a 4 year birthday celebration for JoJo las Orejas. They grow up so fast.

    “Driving around and looking at and sniffing things. Talking to strangers along the way.”

  39. 39.

    Cameron

    @Alison Rose: That sounds really interesting.  My friend on Siesta Key reads a lot of nonfiction; I think I’ll order her a copy.  Thanks for the recommendation!

  40. 40.

    Jay

    @WaterGirl:

    yup, it’s been 6 years since we got to see them both.

    SWIMBO and Bun are a handful when they are together.

    They have been besties since SWIMBO was 17, so 40 years.

  41. 41.

    Quinerly

    @piratedan:

    I love that area. Have not done the Ice Caves. Spent 4 nights in a cabin at Ancient Way Cabins and Cafe back in January, 2016. Ancient Way at that time was for lack of better words, “gay men’s commune.” I didn’t know it when booking and I guess it’s changed now over the years. During that period,  Redwulf and Dancing Bare (not a typo) were doing these fabulous gourmet community meals on the weekends. The wolf sanctuary is nearby in Candy Kitchen, NM and I hung with that volunteer crowd for the dinners. I was traveling with my dog Poco on that trip for a month stay in an old miner cabin in Madrid, NM.  We stayed an extra night at Ancient Way and had a fabulous time….made lots of acquaintances. I was the only woman there in the dead of winter….the guys who lived on the “commune” were mostly older survivors of the 1980’s AIDs era. Lots of lost souls that found the Ramah area and formed a family. Many had lost their partner to AIDs….and were outcasts. I am curious to see how it has changed. Redwulf and Dancing Bare now live in Albuquerque.

  47. 47.

    Dan B

    Sending out invites to a very very delayed birthday brunch at a local brewpub.  My brother was in North Carolina on my B-day so this us so he can celebrate.

  48. 48.

    Mo MacArbie

    Nonfiction November? I guess we’ll add it to the pile with NaNoWriMo when we’re writing books all November long and Movember when we’re all growing moustaches all November long. Any more? Why does November get all this stuff?

    OK, I’d vote all November long.

  49. 49.

    Sure Lurkalot

    Expecting the first snow and real freeze tonight through Sunday morning. It’s a bright, beautiful day if a bit brisk but weather on the Colorado front range can change in minutes.

    Planning on some World Serious watching and comfort food cooking (meatballs, matzoh ball soup…)

  50. 50.

    Dan B

    @Quinerly: I went to quite a few gatherings of gay men in the 80’s and 90’s.  Some local groups formed unofficial families.  We lost people over the years.  There were retreats at Breitenbush hot springs in the central Oregon Cascades and in Northern California.  There was time spent maintaining eroticism abd sexuality at a time when the danger meant many people shut down.

  51. 51.

    WaterGirl

    @Dan B: I thought at first you were inviting us, but without a location :-) but I see that you are telling us what you are up to!

    Have a happy birthday!

    P.S.  Did you see that I had written to you (email to your phone) saying that satby has been trying to reach you with no luck?  It’s unusual for you not to answer when I write, so just checking in.

  52. 52.

    Jay

    @WaterGirl:

    the I is a typo,

    twice married, 6 years the first time, divorced, this one 26 years and going strong.

    we went up to White Tank Mountain Park, got to see cactus, (no monsoons this year, so they arn’t doing well), mule deer, ( which our  friends have never seen in the park), bunch of new to us birds, some old friend birds, lizards, ancient rock art and one hike, which our friends couldn’t go, his health isn’t good.

  56. 56.

    Quinerly

    @Dan B:

    💚💙💜❤️🤍

    I didn’t get into the entire background of the commune while I was there. I just wanted to drive around that part of the state before landing outside of Santa Fe for my month stay. Found the cabins on line. They were close to Zuni Pueblo. But for the winter, communal dinners and the wolf sanctuary folks chatting, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the entire history of how it originally formed and who all was there. But you are right…the forming families aspect.

    I was just getting out of law school when AIDs hit in the 1980’s. Living in the city of St. Louis in my old neighborhood during that period.. had  lots of Gay men friends who had AIDs and/or lost someone with AIDs. That period was terrifying, for sure.

  58. 58.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Quinerly:

    Stuffed full of Al Pastor Tacos and pineapple 

    Mmmmmmmm

    Debating what to do for dinner here.  Thinking about thawing a steak.

  59. 59.

    Scout211

    @Alison Rose: My book group read that book last month.  It was very well written and a powerful book.  Most of us had some difficulty getting through parts of it, but we all thought it was a very good book.

    My book group celebrates our 40th year together next month.  We have tackled some hard to read books over the years, but like this one,  we always feel better for having read them.  It definitely is a powerful book.

  60. 60.

    Dan B

    @WaterGirl: Google shut down my email so I do messaging.  I’ll check my messages.  Thanks for the heads up.

    The brewpub is Perihelion Brewery.  Good menu to make a person hangry!

  65. 65.

    Gin & Tonic

    Sitting by the outdoor fire, in my t-shirt, drinking a beer. It has been unseasonably warm here in southern New England. One more day of that, then fall.

  68. 68.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    Musings on a Friday afternoon: What fraction of an average plumber’s business is something the homeowner tried to do himself and screwed up?

    Not wondering about this for any particular reason.

  71. 71.

    Dan B

    @Gin & Tonic: We went from the mud 60’s to waves of downpours, not Seattle drizzle, to highs in the 40’s and lows in the low 30’s.  Brrr!

    Jet Stream gone crazy.

  72. 72.

    FelonyGovt

    Had a lovely lunch at our local Thai restaurant, did a bit of shopping (finally starting to get rid of some old clothes which got me through the pandemic but are too stained/ripped/embarrassing to leave the house in). Planning to take it easy and avoid doing some work I really should get started on this evening.

  74. 74.

    RandomMonster

    We are on day 5 with a pair of 6 month old standard issue tabby brothers we adopted. They are handsome boys. We named the Teddy and Franklin. Yeah, they are Bro-osevelts.

  76. 76.

    Ken

    @BethanyAnne: Scientists at LIGO have surpassed the quantum limit.

    I thought this might be some hideous new way for science to accidentally annihilate all existence, but after reading the article and seeing “lasers”, “colliding black holes”, and “quantum entanglement”, I’m sure of it.

  78. 78.

    brantl

    won an unemployment claim because a hearing examiner determined she was too incompetent to be fired for cause?

     

    Incompetence IS cause.

  81. 81.

    HeleninEire

    Henry!!! I need a Henry picture. Thinking of turning off the news for a while. It’s just too much with that and Dad (who is fine, but it’s just, well, a lot) I need some stress free time.

    Luckily exactly 1 week from now I am wheels up for Dublin. Can’t wait to see my friends. 😊

  82. 82.

    Dan B

    @FelonyGovt: August is the driest along with the end of July.  With El Nino it’s likely to be June through mid October.  Typical July is 1.5 inches of rain. August is typically 1 inch.  September is 1.7 inches.  We’ve been getting nasty smoke from fires in August.  July and June have 16+ hours of daylight. Long twilight extends it by alm9st an hour.

  86. 86.

    Dan B

    @FelonyGovt: The west coast gets very little in summer compared to the east and Midwest.  Seattle gets 1/3 what New York gets.  The difference is we can get a full day of nonstop drizzle and only 1/4 inch of precipitation.  That’s rare in summer

    November. December, and March: deluge + darkness.  Reading and eating weather.

  87. 87.

    Rachel Bakes

    Big kid has a night off from rehearsal so she’s watching The Mummy with her dad. Made amazing brisket paninis (panini?) for supper. Busy weekend.

  88. 88.

    FelonyGovt

    @Dan B: More like here in L.A. then- where rain in summer is very rare (although no longer unheard of, thanks, climate change). Thanks again!

  93. 93.

    mali muso

    It’s been one week since I completed the final 114km portion of the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Walking in the steps of pilgrims who have gone before for 1000s of years and interacting with others along the way from all around the world was pretty darn cool. I’m not at all religious and just did it for the mental and physical challenge. WG, if you need some content for a future OTR series, let me know. I have lots. And it includes some cats and dogs along the Camino route as well. :-)

  98. 98.

    Trollhattan

    At our tony you-can’t-afford-this locale for kiddo’s cross-country conference championships.

    Definitely get why people like living here, but I think you need a helicopter.

  100. 100.

    Van Buren

    I’m troubleshooting a nonfunctioning dishwasher and cursing. Guess the ratio of the two.

  104. 104.

    eclare

    Thank you for the Henry photo!  Watching Ina Garten to escape the news.  It is 81 now in Memphis and is supposed to cool down on Sunday.  I can’t wait.

  105. 105.

    Dan B

    @eclare: It’s 43° in Seattle and dropping to 34° with steady breeze.  My partner put on longies to go sit in the large tool shed, now clubhouse with woodstove, lounge chairs, TV,  and adult beverages.  His big orange kitty Wobbles, will be on his lap as he watches the news.  15 – 20 mph “breeze” at present.  The shed / clubhouse is sheltered from the wind out of the north, fortunately.

  106. 106.

    WaterGirl

    @mali muso: You can have up to 10 photos per post.

    I suggest that you write your intro – plus whatever you want to say about each photo – in Word or something like that, and then copy it into the form.

    That way if you are the 1 in 100 who has a problem, you won’t have to recreate your text, you would just have to paste it in again.

  109. 109.

    Trollhattan

    @Dan B:

    70 in Malibu. Brrrr.

    Your beverages will fix things. We would get Rainier quarts and hang in parks by Lake Washington in winter, because HS metabolisms just don’t notice.

  111. 111.

    lowtechcyclist

    @RandomMonster: ​
     

    We are on day 5 with a pair of 6 month old standard issue tabby brothers we adopted. They are handsome boys. We named the Teddy and Franklin. Yeah, they are Bro-osevelts.

    My wife just had a Facebook memory pop up – today is the fourth anniversary of when we welcomed our two cats into the family as 6 month old kittens. Four years later, they’ve long since settled in and become family.

  113. 113.

    Dan B

    @WaterGirl: Wobbles has rear leg stability issues but he is good at jumping up onto the arm of the sofa and racing around the garden.  He doesn’t seem troubled by the crystals so the pricey diet – $10 per pound for dry food – may be working.  He’s not straining to pee, yay

    The $1,800 vet bill also seems worth it.

  114. 114.

    Skepticat

    Doing? Just waiting to see whether they can find the mass shooter so Maine can come out from under the bed.

  116. 116.

    WaterGirl

    @Dan B: I took Mr. Bear in for a recheck a month after discovering that he had crystals and bladder stones.  A month on the new food, and stones no longer showed up on the x-rays – there were so many big ones that a month before you could even see them on the x-rays – and only 3 stones showed in the ultrasound, many fewer than on his ultrasound one month before.  And the ones that were there were smaller than before.

    So my vet figures that in a couple more months, they will all be gone.  Fingers crossed for all our kitties.

  119. 119.

    Dan B

    @WaterGirl: Good to know.  The problem is that my kitty who has no problem with stones or crystals is eating some of the pricey food.  But he much prefers Friskeys canned food.

  122. 122.

    WaterGirl

    @Dan B: I am giving both kitties the pricey special crystals food.  There’s no way I could keep Mr. Bear from eating Miss Willow’s food, so they both get the prescription stuff.

    I did not know this until a month ago, so i will share it in case you don’t know.  You basically have to ONLY feed them the special food for crystals.  You an’t do half and half and even treats are supposed to be the special stuff for crystals.  No other food.  I had to give Bear his pills in cheddar cheese, and once the pills were gone the vet said the since he LOVES the cheddar cheese, he can get 1 shred of cheese a day.  sigh.

  123. 123.

    karen marie

    @RandomMonster: I would love to have two but I have to wait for the dog to shuffle off this mortal coil. The bathroom is too small for a second pan, and it’s the only suitable space that can be gated to keep the dog out.

    The one cat I do have is very cuddly, so it’s not a huge hardship.

  124. 124.

    karen marie

     

     

    @SFBayAreaGal:

    I bought “Miuphro KN95 Disposable Face Mask 25 Pack 5-Ply” for $15 through Amazon. They work well.

     

    Got my booster today. Still covid-free, and I hope to stay that way.

Comments are closed.