Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

The words do not have to be perfect.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Is trump is trying to break black America over his knee? signs point to ‘yes’.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

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

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

Republicans do not trust women.

If you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love isn’t freedom, it is privilege.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Monday Night Open Thread

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I’m not going to link to it because you all know it, but I am deeply, deeply stressed about this Garcia case and El Salvador, and I will just leave it at that.

It was over cast and in the 80’s today, so I tried to catch up on moisturizing. Moisturizing in the southwest is no damned joke. Back in West Virginny if you are white like me you can skip a day or two and be ok, but down here you skip a morning or evening session you are going to wake up itchy and chalky as hell. It’s a constant struggle. If you see a black woman or any woman of color down here with glowing skin, you need to understand the amount of work they are putting in to keep their skin looking like that.

Speaking of personal care, I was on facetime with my mom the other day and before she said anything like “Hello” or “How are you” she came out the gate with “Oh God are you going to do something about that beard?” She opened strong. So, tomorrow I have a hair appointment to get cleaned up to go back to… West Virginia.

Lots going on in the news. I’m not going to think about it much the next few days. It will be there when I get back east.

Reader Interactions

76Comments

  2. 2.

    A Ghost to Most

    This is as good a place as any. If you had told me 20 years ago that this place would become the home of christian enablers, apologists, and appeasers, and that you would be their kapo, I would have laughed. But here we are. AMF.

  5. 5.

    Jay

    Beard itch, and hair itch are a thing as an old, if you have naturally curly hair.

    1/4″ is fine.

    3/4″ itches like crazy as the curls dig back into the skin.

    1 1/2″, fine, hanging down, no longer poking you constantly.

  6. 6.

    Gary K

    Hey, it was fun to figure out how to make direct contact with another occasional commenter here who goes by the nym Ohio Farmer. We’re in adjacent counties of the north central area. This is a full-service blog!

  7. 7.

    Chetan Murthy

    Damn, so I’m not the only one!  @Jay: yeah, I get beard itch, hair itch, and ….. when I swim, basically my forelegs (and some of my thighs is a desert.  Gotta slather on that moisturizer with a spatula (not exaggerating here).  Never had to do that, back in Boston.  But here in SF, yeah.

  8. 8.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @Jay: is that why curly hairs itch?

    eta I had a client who said he only shaved every third day, because it hurt. The exfoliation?

  10. 10.

    Jay

    @Chetan Murthy:

    That’s what “beard oil” is for.

    Caring for and nurturing a beard, moreso if you want to augment your SS by playing Santa, is more work than just shaving every other day.

    It’s like a garden of lost hope and food leftovers.

  12. 12.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Jay: heh, I never knew that existed.  Though, I’ll admit that I don’t have a “beard”.  What I have, is “5 days of growth, b/c I didn’t get around to shaving ….”  The solution for that is to just damn well shave daily, and hell, it’s faster and easier that way to boot.

    But when I get depressed, I don’t even brush my teeth (or get dressed) so ….. sigh.

  13. 13.

    tobie

    Deleted my post. You folks were having a pleasant discussion of self-grooming and self-care. I’ll just say I found a new skin cream that I like a lot.

  15. 15.

    Suzanne

    May I recommend making a coconut oil scrub for use in the shower? Mix coconut oil with sugar u til it’s pasty, add some extract or essential oil so it smells nice, and use it all over. Helps with that dry desert air.

    ETA: this stuff is also better than shaving cream.

  16. 16.

    Ohio Mom

    @Gary K: That makes me happy — your mini-meet-up is a result of the announcement of the upcoming meet-up which I am helping organize. I accomplished something, today was several things blowing up in my face otherwise.

  17. 17.

    Jay

    @Chetan Murthy:

    Yeah, I go in cycles. Normally, it’s a well trimmed goatee and mustache, but when I am off, I can’t bother. I just can’t. A shower is an event.

    Sucks, right.

  19. 19.

    sukabi

    @Suzanne: have to be careful though, the coconut oil tends to recongeal as it moves through the plumbing…. ALWAYS run HOT WATER for a few minutes to clear the drains / pipes until it gets far enough down to be someone else’s problem…

  20. 20.

    mrmoshpotato

    @tobie: You shouldn’t have.  It’s important to remember the horrible things the Kremlin’s orange fascist shitstain is doing.

  21. 21.

    cain

    @Suzanne:

    That’s what us Indians have been doing for a long while..we use that in our hair and then use ground lentils as an exfoliate where we use a coconut husk to apply.

    No fancy applicator and the ingredients are easily obtainable.

  22. 22.

    Suzanne

    @sukabi: Yes. I am usually in the shower for a while so it gets hot water chasing it! I also mix or substitute with olive oil in winter. I also put Vitamin E oil in it sometimes. Much, much less expensive than fancy body care stuff. Just as nice.

  27. 27.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Ohio Mom: I’ve read enough about SSRIs and SNRIs that I simply don’t trust them. I -did- employ old-fashioned means — black tea — and that seems to work.  But recently my doc told me to go off it as an experiment (eliminating variables to find the cause of a bad test result).  Hopefully I can start back on black tea b/c yeah, “better living thru chemistry” indeed.

  28. 28.

    Elizabelle

    Excellent Red Wine & Blue Zoom tonight with Heather Cox Richardson and Jasmine Crockett tonight.  I will post the link to video as soon as they send it out.  Organizers mentioned they had a lot of new people after the April 5 rallies.  Yay.

    Jasmine Crockett was inspiring and plain spoken, as always.  HCRichardson asked her how she was so good at explaining, and she answered well.

    My takeaway — on another issue — Jasmine mentioned you do not need to persuade people of your views.  It is enough to ask them how things are working out for them (bring up the things Felon and F Elon are destroying and spoiling).

    Made sense to me.  We get into fights on this blog, where we are probably 92% in agreement.  Meet people where they are, and ask how it is working out for them.  Def good advice for Texas, but for anywhere, really.

    HCR brought up how divided the Felon administration actually is.  F Elon wants immigrants.  Stephen Miller does not.  Etc.

  34. 34.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @Suzanne: what about olive oil? I’m noting the congeal in the pipes issue. But I like coconut oil on my skin, actually, a lot.

  40. 40.

    Jackie

    @Elizabelle:

    And we are, ostensibly, a political blog.  Or used to be.  Not a lifestyle blog.  But.  Carry on.

    I thought we were a full service blog? Politics, gardening, travel adventure, pets, the occasional recipes… I don’t disagree with JC’s grooming posts :-D

  41. 41.

    Jay

    @Ohio Mom:

    It’s tough. Even the newer SSRI’s can have issues, based on the individual. T’s regimen works for her. 40 years now. After 20 years, I am still looking. Some turn me into a zombie, the others make me want to kill myself.

  44. 44.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @Chetan Murthy: depression.

    here are things I’ve used, w some benefit.

    Tyrosine. Inositol. 5 htp for sleep. Or tryptophan. Essential oil of grapefruit. Writing. Ceremony/ ritual/ dance. Burning things in a fire (not actual peoples houses) L theanine, which is a happy chemical in chocolate, also available in supplements. Any kind of art, creativity, movement. Nice smells, even ground coffee.
    walks, which are very hard to initiate when it’s at th3 toothbrush I g stage.
    it’s sad that so many of us know this kind of trouble.

    if I had one, I’d try a weighted blanket.

  46. 46.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @Jackie: a Row of heart emojis and hug emojis, w frog and dolphin and mermaid ones too.

    to mr moshpotato, too. Even if that’s too darned girlie. Suck it up.
    candles as light in the darkness emojis

  47. 47.

    eclare

    @sukabi:

    That also sounds like it would make my ancient porcelain tub incredibly slippery.  I’m already scared of falling in that thing, even though I have stickers on the bottom.

  48. 48.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @eclare: i like to mix sea salt w a few drops of lavender oil, and scrub that on soapy skin. After the shower, lotion or oil after I dry off.
    there, slippery situation solved. Skin, glowing.

  49. 49.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Gloria DryGarden:

    I’ve thought of calling my Senators or Rep but they’re all Republicans now. Do they ask for personal information to verify if you live in the district/state? I recall Omnes answering me on this a long time ago, but I can’t recall what he said

  51. 51.

    Jay

    @eclare:

    Lay down a cheap, disposable plastic drop cloth, (or cotton if your are up for washing).

    Have somebody else rub the oil and scrub of your choice on all your body.

    Place a towel on the bottom of your tub, soap up and wash off.

    Take a hot bath after removing the towel.

    Sell pay per view on Only Fans.

    Clean tub after.

  54. 54.

    Jay

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    They may want an email, etc to send you blegs, but if you are coming in hard, they just want to know, at best, that you are a  voter in their district, and not a Soro’s plant

    “cause, you know,………………………….

  55. 55.

    frosty

    West Virginia deserves the best you that you can be. Me I’m getting a haircut tomorrow, first one since January.

  56. 56.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I think even republicans need to be pressured. Are they for democracy? Are they ok w tariff games as a way to create insider trading opportunities?  Is it ok to deport citizens with no due process, over beliefs, opinions or skin color? This deportation thing, into camps paid for with our tax dollars, it’s so close to the auswich nazi thing from the recent past.
    when I called,
    l think they may have asked my first name, perhaps a zip code.
    others here have called more often than me. Surely someone else knows.

  57. 57.

    frosty

    @Chetan Murthy: Shaved every day when I was working. Retired … every third day? If I let it go longer than that I have to get the clippers out to cut it down to where the razor would work.

    The clippers give me that 3-day growth hipster look. Perfect! Except that when the beard is gray it gives you that Crazy Guy on the Street with the Shopping Cart look.

  58. 58.

    frosty

    @Jay: ​Changing blades? Haven’t done that since I was in college, which was about the time I switched to a straight razor. These days I just pick up a pack of 10 Gillette throwaways, feeling bad about it.

  59. 59.

    Jay

    @frosty:

    Just For Men,………………

    I have a Gillette cartridge, about 20 years old. Change the blades about every month. Might switch to a “Green Strip” as my hair has gotten thinner and sometimes the blades don’t cut it, they just comb it.

    Have a trimmer, cut my own hair, not that there is a lot of it.

    I have more hair in my ears, back and nose, than my head.

  60. 60.

    frosty

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): ​
     Fetterman wants my name spelled out so I give him Foxtrot Romeo Oscar etc etc. Plus address and phone number. McCormick isn’t quite so anal; but yes, you have to give them something so they know you’re in their district.

  61. 61.

    frosty

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I have Republicans too. I’m taking a hint from someone here and I’ll ask (tomorrow): “Do you think the Trump administration should obey a Supreme Court order?”

    Yes or No

    ETA or some variation of “Let’s be clear: You Republicans have surrendered their power. I truly cannot explain it. Why put in all of this effort to run for office to represent your state, only to give up all of your power to a wannabe king and his billionaire friends?”

  62. 62.

    frosty

    @Jay: Reminds me of a line from the Mothers of Invention: “Hair growing out every hole in me.”

    Sorry, that should have come with a warning!

  63. 63.

    RaflW

    “Lots going on in the news. I’m not going to think about it much the next few days. It will be there when I get back east.”

    Funny, that’s about what I said to the BF tonight on the phone (except I’ll be back in the upper Midwest). I’m repatriating my Subie to Minnesota on Wed-Thurs. Today was my next-to-last day snowboarding this season, tomorrow last + cleaning up the condo.

    I generally enjoy my solo road trips, but my mind is usually less burdened by voluminous bullshit than it might be this time. I may have to skip some of my NPR binge-listening.

    Anyway, good night all.

  64. 64.

    RaflW

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I was surprised the other day that a S.C. staffer for Sen. Klobuchar didn’t ask for any details. I’m sure they have caller ID, and I do have a MN area code, but these days, people often move several times and just keep their numbers.

    If I leave VMs, I say my first & last name and my zip code, since neither Amy K nor Tina S seem to ask for much identifying info in their outgoing msg.

  65. 65.

    Melancholy Jaques

    @Elizabelle:

    And we are, ostensibly, a political blog.  Or used to be.  Not a lifestyle blog.  But.  Carry on.

    The number one reason why this is the only political blog I read is that we talk about things other than politics. I think it helps us build & maintain more human connections. Also, I’ve really enjoyed Not Max’s recommendations.

  67. 67.

    sentient ai from the future

    I have shit to do in the afternoon, but my plan is to take a pot and a wooden spoon to the ICE jail near me and just walk it’s perimeter shouting his name

    I don’t talk much at work anyway.

  70. 70.

    satby

    @Elizabelle: especially when a lot of the “lifestyle advice” is not very good.

    Waiting for the first person to breathlessly announce they’ve discovered the latest internet trend: skincare made with tallow.

  71. 71.

    Soprano2

    @sukabi: I have so many thoughts about this. I’ve seen the results of causing this problem. I saw a TV of a house connection to the sewer where it looked like the resident had poured a whole fryer full of grease down their sewer connection. Whoo boy…… they make products for exfoliation that don’t clog the pipes.

  72. 72.

    Soprano2

    @eclare: i got a mat that I can put down on the bottom of the tub. It works well, and I didn’t have to stick anything to my tub.

  75. 75.

    Gary K

    @Ohio Mom: Yes you did, and thanks! I think Ohio farmer is going top make it to the Columbus meet-up, and I may ask him to circulate my contact info there. Wish I weren’t out of the state on that date.

  76. 76.

    Seanly

    I cannot grow a beard to save my life. The best I can do is a Van Dyke..

    Off topic, my wife doesn’t like crowds so we elected to not go to the Bernie/AOC Boise rally on Monday. My wife has been on edge about the terrible things being done by the current admin and I think AOC’s speech plus seeing over 12k Idahoans cheering for AOC would’ve helped put my wife at ease. (I watched the speech last night on YT).

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