The comedy show last night was a lot of fun, and Matteo Lane has much of the same energy as a young Kathy Griffin, so if you liked her, you will love him. The LGBTQ community was out in full force, and at some point in the show Matteo asked the straight men in the theater to clap, and all eight of us did. Let me put it this way- this is the first time I have been to a large public event and there was no line for the women’s bathroom and the men’s was a mile long. At any rate, we arrived early, and it made for some great people watching.
We were out so late that we slept in and I accomplished absolutely nothing today and it was lovely. Joelle went out and did some things and picked up a reindoor costume for Thurston, and he looks instead like a despondent qanon shaman:
Haven’t checked the news today so I do not know what kind of awfulness has been sprung on us and I am going to keep it that way.
Kristine
I love Thurston the Morose Reindog!
lowtechcyclist
@Kristine:
Hey, that scans! Now we need to fill out the rest of the song:
Thurston, the morose reindog,
had a very _______ ______ ….
Miki
Oh. Love, love, love, Thurston. You? Not so much.
Ruckus
You accomplished nothing?
You didn’t breathe in and out?
You didn’t eat?
You didn’t use the facilities?
You didn’t take a walk?
You didn’t do the weekly food replenishment run/charge up the car battery?
Because that is a fine and very full day in my world.
But then I do have a few years on you.
emrys
I had the same bathroom experience at a Christmas performance by the Gay Men’s Chorus in DC. One of the highlights was when they did Someday My Prince Will Come.
Kristine
@lowtechcyclist:
“Thurston the Morose Reindog
Had a very lousy day
His momma showed him a present
And told him it was time to play
Thurston got all excited
As he dreamed of chewies galore
Someone really should have warned him
It was more like decor”
I’m done.
Josie
Thurston knows you are laughing at him and is planning your demise. Be very vigilant.
Melancholy Jaques
The only time that happened to me was at a Clapton concert, the Journeyman Tour, back in Cleveland. (Richfield, actually) Sad to say the men did not handle it well.
Old Dan and Little Ann
I took my daughter and her buddy to see a traditional Iroquois Longhouse. Fun. Then we to a fabric store. Unfun. I said I hope you enjoy this because it is NEVER happening again. Place was packed.
Greg Ferguson
So fking glad you are having fun! Traveling from Tucson, I had an unexpectedly long layover once and spent most of it in Tempe, and found it cool (it was a Taco Tuesday…). If I had a reason to visit PHX Metro, I’d go there again.
Glad to have you back here, man….👍👍❤🤠
[love Thurston in that getup….💋]
Nononan
Matteo Lane? Love his TikToks.
EntroPi
I made the mistake of sleeping in. I woke up to being punched by the Doodle, even though she had already been medicined, fed, and outside.
The second I put on a shirt she lay down and did her child’s pose in front of me.
As soon as I went downstairs, she went and sat in front of the door.
So no pre-walk coffee. I had clear instructions.
Elizabelle
@Kristine: that is quite good. 🦌🦌🦌
Kristine
@Elizabelle: Thanks—I found Thurston’s expression an inspiration.
CliosFanboy
Thurston is such a cutie!
mrmoshpotato
Sooners are currently holding back the Tide.
Army is not doing as well against Notre Dame.
Regardless, less talky, more dancey! Bundlé! Savé!
eclare
Has anyone seen Humboldt Blue around recently?
BenInNM
This is all fine, but I’m waiting for the thread where Ms B. Cracker extols the virtues of the Gators beating Ole Miss and two ranked opponents in a row!
NotMax
Raindoor? Almost a-feared to enable images in the browser.
:)
narya
As noted on bsky, I had that bathroom experience at a Rush concert; the women’s bathroom was deserted.
ETA gonna try this for Thanksgiving bread
eclare
@narya:
I’m in the latest season of GBBS and this bread was the technical challenge in the Bread episode! He even did a demo to the bakers of how to plait the seven strands, and wow, he was so fast. Needless to say, none of the bakers came close to the plait, and some were comically off. If you have Netflix, highly recommend, and if you don’t, I think you can sign up for a free week. It’s worth it just to see this bit!
narya
@eclare: watched that episode tonight, which is what inspired me! Might do an herbed butter to go with it.
NotMax
@Old Dan and Little Ann
But- but – Fox yammers at us that folks are economically destitute and can barely scrape together two thin dimes for an egg.
//
Chacal Charles Calthrop
@eclare: apparently there is such a thing as Instapot no-knead bread: https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-bread/
no idea how good it may be
Trivia Man
My theory is busted. T’s surgeon general has a complicated, long name. I was betting that every pick would be short and easy to spell. I am confident that Ramaswamy had an uphill VP battle because of his name. Had he been vivek Singh it would have been easier for him.
eclare
@narya:
That sounds good! May your plait be as gorgeous as Paul’s.
Eta> I wondered if you watched that show.
eclare
@Chacal Charles Calthrop:
I’m not really a bread person myself, I was amazed at how quickly Paul plaited seven strands of bread.
narya
@eclare: I’ll post a pic on Breadsky! Even if it’s a fail.
mrmoshpotato
LOL! I can attest that Rush fans are mostly dudes.
eclare
@narya:
Please do! Let us know.
You could never be a fail compared to the baker who, in a vertical direction plait, started some strands horizontally halfway through.
Joelle
@NotMax: If anything’s a “”raindoor”” it’s Thurston.
karen marie
@narya: It looks lovely! But if it fails, try this orange-cranberry corn bread. I made it today, and it is delicious. It barely qualifies as corn bread – it has 1 cup of corn meal and 1 cup of AP flour, plus the orange zest, so you are hard pressed to taste any corn. It is a lovely bit of bread/cake though.
Sister Golden Bear
Thurston looks like the long suffering dog from “Nightmare Before Christmas.”
Kayla Rudbek
“ no line for the women’s bathroom and the men’s was a mile long” is a typical Tuesday in Silicon Valley or at the Patent Office, those two places being the only ones where they had to advertise at the gyms for women to take dance classes. The only time in Silicon Valley I ever saw that line ratio for the bathrooms reversed was at the big knitting/yarn show they used to run in Santa Clara.
RevRick
@eclare:
@narya: I don’t get the appeal of the various competitive cooking shows. My wife used to watch them all the time, but that choice seems to have faded. I guess what bothers me is that they require the sense of vicarious eating.
I’m a lot like Epicurus. Give me a serving of cottage cheese and I am happy. I enjoy savoring it and I enjoy the satiation of my hunger. Watching other people talk about food or eating it just doesn’t do it for me.
Don’t get me wrong. I love fine dining. But I’m doing it with my family.
I suppose it stems from my experience as a child growing up in low-income housing. We had a regular weekly schedule of meals. Sunday was our fancy dinner of pot roast with carrots, celery, onions, potatoes, and gravy. It tasted heavenly.
narya
@RevRick: I really only like GBBS and Top Chef. They both inspire me.
eclare
@RevRick:
I never thought of it that way. I don’t really see it as vicarious eating, although some things do look tasty, but I like to learn how certain flavors go together, why you let eggs come to room temp before baking with them, to see the awesome technique of sugar work.
I grew up lower middle class, eating a lot of Mississippi steak (bologna). Beef was a rarity in my house, and if we had it it was in meatloaf form.
But like I said, I watch the shows to learn (Alton Brown’s show was great for that) and to get inspiration for different flavors. GBBS bakers are incredibly diverse, and you learn a lot about spices and foods from around the world. GBBS is the only one I watch now.
Origuy
Question for discussion. My Primary Care Physician is retiring. He listed four doctors in his medical group that are accepting patients. Three of them are MDs and one is a DO. I’ve never seen an osteopath before. I have some issues with neuropathy and an iliotibial band syndrome. Other than that, I’m in generally good health for 68. I’m wondering if a DO might be better for me than an MD. Anyone have opinions?
CaseyL
Back in the 1980s, when I was young and went clubbing quite a bit, my friend Tim and I went to a lot of gay bars (he was gay). I loved them because I could dance and drink and no one would hit on me.
But one night, at one club, I eventually needed the bathroom, and there was no women’s bathroom at all. There had been one, which was in the process of being turned into something else: the door opened onto an empty room, containing only a wheelbarrow full of ripped-up flooring.
I told Tim, who smiled and said, “Use the men’s room,” so I did. There were stalls, thank FSM, and I about gave one fellow a heart attack as he was coming out of one of them and saw me. It was funny.
OCD
lol I needed that picture of Thurston.
Kristine
@Origuy: My endocrinologist is a D.O. I’ve been going to her for a few years, and really like her. I’ve never had the feeling that I’d have been better off with an M.D.
Melancholy Jaques
@Origuy:
They have the same basic medical training.
Kelly
We started “The Empress” season 2 tonite. We enjoyed season 1. Set in the Austrian Empire mid 1800s. I suspect it only vaguely follows history. An engaging costume drama. Good actors I don’t think I’ve seen anywhere else. Originally in german the dub to english is OK
Netflix
RaflW
First of two Thanksgiving feasts was today. Quite successful and delicious, even using some ‘cheats’. If you’re on Bsky, here’s my well-loaded plate. Mmm.
Cheats were: A Kirkland 4.5 lb. turkey breast. Heat it in a 350 oven in a foil-sealed pan with some water. Tender and really quite good. Trader Joes GF turkey gravy (in a shelf-stable box), thinned with a few ounces of TJ’s turkey bone broth and simmered gently. Nothing like the very mediocre Heinz gravy in a jar (or the even less appetizing gravy powders in a pouch), I’d gladly use the TJs gravy any time.
Pictionary game was lots of laughs, and I won the annual “screw your neighbor” (aka: one-card poker) game, which also was a goodnatured bit of fun. Oh and pumpkin pie of course!
We get to do this all again in five days, but the next one is in TX and my gourmet sister in law is cooking. Yay!
geg6
THURSTON!!!!
OMG, I love that picture so much I want to marry it.
YY_Sima Qian
Many of us have highlighted how Trump’s tariff regime presents tremendous opportunities for corruption, here is how it worked in his 1st term:
geg6
@narya:
Agreed. Both are excellent.
Gloria DryGarden
@Origuy: my bestie from high school is a DO. IVE Known SEVERAL AND BEEN treated by them. Their medical training is equivalent to MD training, and they do all the same residencies and internships. You would need to ask if this particular DO dies the manipulations or better yet the cranio sacral work that some of them train in deeply. I adore that work. I’ve been to practices where the DO only does allopathic medicine, nothing different at all. You would have to inquire.
NotMax
@RaflW
Pumpkin pie?
Perfect way to bring an otherwise edible meal to a calamitous, indigestible close. Mucilage on a crust
People ooh and ah over t because they’re expected to. The rest of the year, who chooses to eat it?
As always, YMMV.
;)
prostratedragon
Some people might want to check out Chorus, a new social communication effort that’s starting up.
Baud
@prostratedragon:
Not much information about what it is.
TBone
Donold, Jr. xits out the news story to Elno that MSNBC is going up for sale and how funny it would be for Elno to purchase MSNBC (The Onion redux). Elno xits out:
Betty
@eclare: He posted pictures in bluesky yesterday.
Rugosa
@Kristine: Brava!
Geminid
CBS’s Face the Nation will host Rep.-elect Sarah McMcBride this morning, along with Senators Tammy Duckworth, Rand Paul and Chris Van Hollen.
I expect Senator Duckworth will have something to say about Defense Secretary nominee Peter Hedgseth. Senator Van Hollen will like be asked about his votes last week to restrict military aid to Israel.
TBone
Today’s small act of resistance mood music is from Bozz Scags 🎶
living is the best revenge
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uc9_bTWHGxo
Gloria DryGarden
Im happy that last night we had the monthly drum circle. around the fire.
The moments of community building there can be profound.
The drums call me to dance and weave my prayers, pulling energy up, and beaming it where it can build.
TBone
@Gloria DryGarden: 💜✌️
TBone
I am dyslexic and foggy today, but no matter. I know what I meant 😆 trying to put sugar into my water instead of fiber supplement
eclare
@Betty:
Thanks!
TBone
Random comment of the morning for those who participate:
Apparently he has been lonely there, according to additional comment.
Geminid
This item about Pennsylvania politics in yesterday’s Politico Playbook caught my attention:
I had not known about Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court elections, but I expect this will be a major battle next year.
TBone
Getting out of the house this morning gonna be a true struggle even with coffee over and above usual intake. Gah, all holiday preparatory actions will have to wait for another day, again. I choose not to be depressed by this, but to take it in stride and try to enjoy even more down time with movies, books, snuggling with fur babies, and eating whatever the hell I want for solace. Motto: go with it.
TBone
@Geminid: ten year term limits mean three Dem Justices’
retireterms end by 2025.Reelection is called retention
https://billypenn.com/2023/11/02/judicial-retention-elections-philadelphia-pennsylvania/
TBone
John Pavlovitz with a good talking to.
https://johnpavlovitz.com/2024/11/22/christian-if-youre-celebrating-deportations-you-shouldnt-be-celebrating-christmas/
Yes, I am aware it falls on deaf ears.
Ramalama
@TBone: Cool. He just posted an excellent cover of “Not Dark Yet,” by Bob Dylan.
TBone
@Ramalama: 💙
Trying to sing my way to church this morning, where I don’t know any of the hymns!
🎶😎😍
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3t2su8xEDEU
Geminid
@Geminid: When I checked out the number of Amish in Pennsylvania Wikipedia told me it’s alittle under 48,000. There are over 130,000 Mennonites and 91,000 Church of Brethren members, so together these groups would add up to a sizeable voting bloc.
There’s a small Brethren church 4 miles from my house, on the way to Charlottesville. Brethren, Mennonite and Amish were among the many German settlers who came down the Shenandoah Valley from Pennsylvania starting in the 1740s.
As they filled up the rich Valley farmlands some crossed the Blue Ridge and settled its eastern foothills. The English started coming west from Jamestown in 1607, but those lazy bums still hadn’t made it to the Blue Ridge.
Elizabelle
@RaflW: Thank you for the “turkey cheats.” I shall try that, in December. Will grab the TJ’s products soon, though.
Your plate looks delish!
lowtechcyclist
@NotMax:
MMVs. :-) I’ll bake pumpkin pie at any time of year. Actually, what I’m doing this year is baking and freezing several small ones, so I can thaw one out whenever I want one.
I find most pumpkin pies, especially store-bought, to be pretty boring. Under-spiced, hence bland. And same thing when people make their pumpkin pies per the traditional recipe on the Libby’s can, or any similar recipe.
I take that Libby’s recipe, double the cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, and pour the filling into a store-bought graham cracker crust, and the result is a pumpkin pie worth eating. My wife, who otherwise will have nothing to do with pumpkin pies, will cheerfully eat mine.
Elizabelle
@karen marie: I have been saving your baking links. Haven’t tried either yet, but they look wonderful. Thank you.
Geminid
@TBone: When I looked up Pennsylvania religious demographics I found there were only around 10,000 Quakers in the Keystone State; this despite it’s founding by Quaker William Penn.
That reminded a William Penn story I heard in an American history course. Penn had been hauled into court over his agitation for Quaker rights, and he had questions.
Penn: Under what law am I being charged?
Judge: The law against illegal assemblies.
Penn: Can you show me this law ?
Judge: No. Its the Common Law.
Penn; Well if it’s so common, why can’t you show it to me?
Judge: You are a saucy rascal.
lowtechcyclist
@TBone:
IIRC, the hymns in the Episcopal hymnal don’t have titles, just the name of the tune up top, like “HYFRYDOL” or “ST. PATRICK.” There’s an index of first lines in the back, for those of us who are more apt to remember those than the tune name. (Although clearly I remember a few.)
lowtechcyclist
@TBone:
I may order myself a few “WWJD” t-shirts for wearing around the in-laws in Florida at Christmas. Just to remind those allegedly bible-believing evangelicals that their new orange savior is planning to do stuff that Jesus would be dead set against.
Kathleen
@TBone: Thank you! I just followed him. ETA: I warned him I was a Social Media Z Lister and resided in the Home For The Demographically Irrelevant (I’m an old).
Kathleen
@lowtechcyclist: My mother added a shot of bourbon to the filling and her pumpkin pie was amazing.
TBone
@Geminid: 💜
I wish I had time to respond to everyone here this morning but I had to choose.
A saucy wench! was my nickname when I volunteered at the Ridley Creek State Park Colonial Plantation as a teen, and was assigned kitchen wench duties including being ankle shackled and forced to cook for the Red Coats during Revolutionary War Reenactments.
I was also fortunate to work in a rare law office in Media years later filled with Dems (truly a rarity), that included a female Quaker attorney who’d attended Berkeley.
Geminid
@TBone: That William Penn story made me think of you for some reason.
NotMax
@Tbone
“My specialty is chicken sashimi.”
;)
lowtechcyclist
@TBone:
Got into kink early, did you? ;-)
Michael Cain
Thurston’s expression is the epitome of “But I trusted you…”
Joelle
@lowtechcyclist: this is our new song!