I’ve been not blogging much because I am busy with the new house (dumpster has been there since the other day and it looks like I am going to need a second one) and because I am alternating between freaked the fuck out about Trump winning and furious at people who might vote for Trump, Stein, or Johnson. I am also focusing on a new genre of photography, which I call “My Pets Being Assholes Jumping on Me While I Am Asleep.” I’m keeping my phone by the bed with the ringer off so I can catch pictures:
I should note you will never see Lily in one of these, because she is a perfect angel sleeping right to my side curled up in between my torso and my right arm underneath the covers.
In other pet news, Rosie has taken to licking Steve from neck to tail in a two inch wide swath down his back. He just sits there and lets her, so this leads me to believe he likes it. The first thing I thought of was licking toads, but she is not acting high, so it isn’t that. The only problem with this is that later on, after it dries, it gets matted, so I have to brush Steve thoroughly several times a day now. You can see the spittle matted hair in the picture of him here.
Big Walter update coming up later tonight.
Trentrunner
Some unspecified explosion in NYC. No identifying cause yet, whether gas line, IED, whatever.
Meanwhile, Trump, speaking at a rally in CO, says “A bomb just went off in NYC, nobody knows what it is.”
Jesus Christ.
ETA: NYC Official says 15 people have minor injuries.
Jerzy Russian
Possible caption to the top photo: Pass the mustard please.
JPL
Can’t wait for the Walter update…
Trump in Colorado said there was a bomb in NYC. Someone might have put a pipe bomb in a trash can but it’s still unclear .. anyway I’ll share a tweet I saw online
Guidelines when there’s a sudden crisis:
The news tries to be accurate
Twitter is sometimes accurate
Trump just says shit
redshirt
Cole, can you explain how/why your photography skills are so much improved? New phone? Training? Not drunk? Would love to know. Because your photos are worlds better then they used to be.
Felonius Monk
Stop freaking out about the election, John. GOTV and Fuck Trump.
ETA: Go Buckeyes.
JMG
John, the people who brought you the dumpster will empty it for you. It’ll cost, but less than another one.
SiubhanDuinne
@Trentrunner:
@JPL:
I am still trying to figure out if there were two separate bombs today — one in New Jersey this morning, and one in NY that Trump is talking about — or if he’s conflating the two.
Peale
@SiubhanDuinne: no. There were two. My friend from Chelsea who lives on 24th and 7th confirmed the New York one.
JPL
@SiubhanDuinne: There was a pipe bomb in a trash can in NJ earlier today. The explosion tonight was in a dumpster in the Chelsea area of Manhattan. Several people had minor injuries but there is no word about how the explosion occurred.
debbie
@Felonius Monk:
At least the game finally started.
SiubhanDuinne
@SiubhanDuinne:
Apparently two separate incidents. The NYC bomb is recent.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@redshirt:
Fuck you. Cole has been sober for two years—which is none of your business anyway. Take your cheap “drunk” jokes and get out of his house.
And you owe him an apology.
debit
I swear,every time I see a picture of Steve I think, “Wait. Is that Julian?”
redshirt
@Steeplejack (tablet): Excuse me? I asked a sincere question.
rikyrah
Democracy is on the ballot.
—POTUS @ the CBC dinner tonight
rikyrah
Steve still scares.
But, your pictures are great.
gogol's wife
So cute. I love Steve’s licked fur.
Elizabelle
Thurston looks like a little crocodile.
Pets are wonderful. When they’re not being asshats.
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: FWIW, I had the same reaction that Steep did. It seemed like a cheap dig.
Mnemosyne
Charlotte is going to be very cranky after this weekend, because her favorite weekend activity is to lay on my left arm and be cradled for a minimum of an hour while I’m laying down in bed, and I have activities outside the apartment all weekend. Poor kitty, her life is so hard.
JPL
CBS NYC live feed for the explosion link
okay not really live sorry
EllenH
@rikyrah: He was awesome tonight! I want to watch it again!
Villago Delenda Est
The caption for the Steve pic should be “Go ahead, punk, make my day.”
JMG
If Obama campaigned every day, that’d be great. If when challenged about who’s minding the store he said, “Joe’s got it,” that’d be greater.
SiubhanDuinne
@rikyrah:
Loved him!
(Have you bought your copy of the new Essence yet? Twelve pages of POTUS/FLOTUS photos and interview.)
John Cole
@redshirt:
Bifocals.
PhoenixRising
My Dane likes to groom the cat. The cat is 3 years old and has learned to tolerate this, as it’s been going on for 2.8 years. He’s a regular old short haired striped kitty from the pound, though, so we don’t have to groom him. Just baths once a month or so–to keep his dander less troubling for the humans.
As to the dumpster, not Trump but the actual physical one–I’ve sometimes called and pled stupid, as in, Boy was there a lot more demolition than we spec’d so can you swap this out? They’ll charge you but you get the space to move around in the yard, vs moving up a size.
The Golux
@JPL:
Interesting factoid: The neighborhood of Chelsea is named after the estate owned by the family of Clement Clark Moore, author of “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (AKA “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”). He made a fortune subdividing the estate, after vehemently opposing the grid plan for Manhattan, which made it possible for him to subdivide at great profit.
hovercraft
@rikyrah: @EllenH:
Repost from downstairs.
Obama, “Hillary’s opponent says there’s never been a worse time to be a black person, well he must have missed that whole civics lesson about slavery and Jim Crow, but we’ve got a whole museum for him to visit.”
Steeplejack (tablet)
@redshirt:
Cole’s photography has improved only very recently. To ask a “sincere question” linking it to something years in the past is bullshit. You are skating on the edge of the Asperger/asshole/”Moi?” zone pioneered by Little Boots.
debbie
@The Golux:
I think that’s the Toy District also?
debbie
.
rikyrah
@SiubhanDuinne:
I got Essence and In Style this week. ??
No One You Know
@redshirt I think there are kinder, truer, and funnier ways to compliment John on his photos. And not in mocking a problem beaten and beaten every day.
The skill is in the photographer, not the equipment.
Steve still does not suffer fools.
JPL
@The Golux: Wow.. Thank you for that info.
redshirt
@John Cole: Really? You got new glasses? Good reason if so.
redshirt
@Steeplejack (tablet): Whatever.
hovercraft
@EllenH:
He was excellent.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
ObFirstWorldBlogProblem: I understand Cole and the FPers have no control over the ads, but the autoplay HTML5 ad in the box that recently showed up (for me) on the right margin is annoying. UBlockOrigin lets me block it pretty easily, but I fear that the annoying ad people are going to be “more creative” in finding ways to annoy us with their stupid autoplaying videos…
/rant
Thanks again for this place.
Cheers,
Scott.
SiubhanDuinne
@rikyrah:
Yup, I got In Style at the same time :-)
Mary G
@Elizabelle: That’s exactly what I thought – is that a toy alligator with lit-up eyes? I had to look three times.
Great photo of Steve frowning at you for moving to get the phone and disturbing his rest, John!
When the tenant from hell left the house I’m in now, we ended up using four big dumpsters. At some point point, it’ll feel like it never ends, but just power through.
CaseyL
I’d like to know when, during a lifelong association with companion animals, I became conditioned to believe that nothing is worse than disturbing a sleeping kitty.
When I get out of bed in the morning on weekdays- long before I want to, because I gotta go to work and all that – FSM forbid I disturb the fur persons who share the bed with me. I have basically crab-walked backward up over the pillows, then slid out from the very tip-top edge of the bed, in order to disturb not so much as a hair on Jeannie or Oscar’s head.
Why do I do that? How did I get conditioned to do that? When did this happen??
dmsilev
Obama back in the “jab at Trump and his hair-thing” mode:
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack (tablet): Ok, had something to say but used a different stalkers name and got the old heave ho.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Muhlenberg College poll
in other news…
the explosion, i.e.d. experimental device or improperly disposed of propane tank or the like, was in a dumpster, which I gather made it very loud.
Redshift
Don’t freak out, it doesn’t do anything to help. Steady on, and do more of whatever you can do that does help.
I’ve definitely learned to read polls better. The Clinton campaign sent me an email about polls from last week vs this week, intended to motivate me to give money, and the first thing I noticed is that they’re different polls between the two weeks. This week’s “bad” polls include two Rasmussen polls and the LA Times, which has had a strong Republican lean for months.
It’s not that there’s nothing to worry about, but there’s definitely not as much to worry about as the media says. It also helps to know that “momentum” in polls, so beloved of the media, actually doesn’t exist. It’s just a statistical illusion.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Mai.naem.mobile
I am having problems posting tonight. Anyhow,John, there’s a thread on Reddit with good advice from people on home remodelling. Stuff that they would do if they had to do it again or stuff they learned from mistakes and stuff they did right. Really worthwhile thread.
Villago Delenda Est
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yes, but our “if it bleeds, it leads, and our ratings go up!” media will sensationalize anything for another few eyeballs.
schrodinger's cat
@Mnemosyne: Yogi Kitteh is traumatized from the 911 call for smoke in the basement, we have two fire trucks and 8 firemenz (and wimmenz) stomping through the house.
redshirt
@Mai.naem.mobile: Link it up!
Helen
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Here’s a theory pulled right out of my ass. There’s a Home Depot right there. Caustic chemicals disposed of incorrectly.
The Mayor’s gonna speak shortly.
Pogonip
Cole, may I ask how much trouble you had getting used to bifocals?
Also, have your fleas fled?
Mnemosyne
@CaseyL:
It was probably after the second or third time they dug their needle-sharp claws into your flesh to make you stop moving, and you’ve blocked out the trauma.
daves09
@Steeplejack (tablet): Since Cole doesn’t seem to be bothered why are you? Do you think that whole portion of his life is just gonna vanish? How Victorian of you. It’s a part of his life, not something to be ashamed of. It happened then and this is what he is now, but it is still a part of what he is today.
It’s not PC, but it’s oversensitivity to everything in the damn world.
JPL
There appears to be to ied’s that have not critically injured people, but will get lots of news. Who does this benefit? Do we know where Trump’s kids are? Just hoping they are safe.
EllenH
@hovercraft: Several people have posted a short video excerpt (~2 min) where he talks about his legacy being on the ballot etc. I think I’ve watched it 3 times and I made my daughter watch it. It is so inspiring! I’ll try to link it.
rikyrah
A tv junkie’s happy moment : EW’s Fall TV Preview Issue. About to begin reading it.???
Mnemosyne
@schrodinger’s cat:
Poor Yogi. Our kittehs had to ride in the car and get their nails trimmed this morning, which they would like you to know is the WORST THING THAT CAN EVER HAPPEN TO THEM.
Poor Charlotte had to get two car rides this week (she had a vet appointment on Tuesday), so she’s still annoyed about that.
schrodinger's cat
@Mnemosyne: Our landlord is also getting the roof replaced, so all that noise is making him antsy too.
Miss Bianca
@Trentrunner: Trump is (or was) in CO? Gag. And here I was having a lovely evening.
CaseyL
@Mnemosyne: Excellent theory!
Pogonip
@Mnemosyne: yogi Cat: “Hey! Nobody goes to the vet any more! It’s too crowded! So put down those keys!”
J R in WV
@Pogonip:
I now have F’in tri-focals. I use the middle part for the computer, and bottom part for phone book / medical fine print, and the rest to look at the world and drive. It took me about an hour to get used to it.
You can’t see where you’re walking clearly, because looking down you’re looking through the up-close focus part of the glasses, but really, you don’t need to see every ciggy-butt you step over, just curbs and steps. That was the biggest thing for me.
I worked with a guy who couldn’t adjust – he had three pairs of glasses, one focused to look at his computer monitor, one focused for reading, and one for driving. Would drive me nuts. I have prescription sun glasses, I have myopia, which can make you extra sensitive to bright light.
Manyakitty
@CaseyL: Three words: sweet baby kitties
Ken
@Felonius Monk: Go Buckeyes, indeed. A good 1st half for them.
John Cole
@Pogonip: I don’t even remember it was so easy, really. Like maybe a couple of days of tnoticing I move my head a little to get things to focus. I got progressive and have no problem.
@J R in WV: I have three pairs. One normal prescription sunglasses for driving and yard stuff and outdoors. One progressive bifocals. One set of computer glasses that are perfectly set for the distance from my head to the monitor.
hovercraft
@EllenH:
Here’s the whole thing.
via C-SPAN
J R in WV
@schrodinger’s cat:
Well, the fire department knows what they’re doing. You did the right thing to call them instantly !
And Yogi-cat is better off not on fire, too.
Take care, and Best of luck!
frosty
@John Cole: I got progressives a few years ago and they’re a pain to get used to. Almost everything is out of focus, although just by rocking your head up and down you can bring what you’re looking at into focus.
Better than the alternative though. I guess.
Omnes Omnibus
@hovercraft: He is stone cold.
schrodinger's cat
@J R in WV: This incident happened day before yesterday, kitteh is still jittery.
frosty
@frosty: FYWP no reply?
Anyway, I like your approach to just distance-only sunglasses and that’s what I’ll do next time. My days of reading at the beach are over.
columbusqueen
@Ken: O-H-I-O! How’s that basic defense workin’ out for you, Sooners?
Omnes Omnibus
@J R in WV: I spend 70% of my time not wearing glasses. I would never adjust to multiple prescriptions in one lens. I have one pair for driving at night and watching movies (just renewed my DL and passed the test with no problems) and one pair for reading. Computers and modern TVs are no issue.
Omnes Omnibus
@daves09: Someone thought someone else was rude. It happens.
Mike E
@Omnes Omnibus: Just got contact lenses (specs still good tho not bifocal) and the transition hasn’t been smooth as I’d hoped…might opt for more comfy lenses, they now make bifocal contacts also. Too
workworkwork
@Mnemosyne: Had to take Emma, our five-year-old tuxedo kitty, to the vet on Friday for her annual physical. She was a complete brat for the entire session, though our vet is very gentle and loves cats. I almost felt bad for her because each time she managed to escape, she would climb into my arms and glare at him and his assistant.
Henry, our ginger, is a complete gentleman – very relaxed and patient. He seems to be mellowing with age.
Omnes Omnibus
@Mike E: Not buying it. I’ll stay with what I have. It also means that my 30-something Wayfarers are still in play.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
Some good news from NoVA today – Washington Post:
It’s far past time that the statue was moved, and the road renamed. Progress though!
Cheers,
Scott.
ThresherK (GPad)
@Mnemosyne: You don’t trim kitty nails? I am the designee for this task in our home. My wife’s cat-who bites me, too much-tolerates it better than mine, whom I have to bribe with treats during the chore.
Ken
@columbusqueen: can, that was a heck of a game, wasn’t it? :)