Open Thread

Hosting a party for Jill’s birthday, so you are on your own.

I’m the fat guy taking the picture.

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July 24, 2010 9:23 pm Posted in: Open Thread  178 Comments

178 Responses

  1. Calming Influence - July 24, 2010 | 9:27 pm · Link

    Why wasn’t I invited?

  2. Calming Influence - July 24, 2010 | 9:28 pm · Link

    Are you having cake?

  3. Corner Stone - July 24, 2010 | 9:28 pm · Link

    Actually, I enjoyed being on my won last night, and would prefer to try that again.
    Guessing all the mayhem was used up last night.

  4. Calming Influence - July 24, 2010 | 9:28 pm · Link

    How about ice cream?

  5. Calming Influence - July 24, 2010 | 9:29 pm · Link

    You got any beer?

  6. Calming Influence - July 24, 2010 | 9:30 pm · Link

    Who’s Jill?

  7. Corner Stone - July 24, 2010 | 9:33 pm · Link

    This site has developed a severe case of the slowloads.
    pixel.quantserve.com
    change-productions.s3.amazonaws.com
    log10.something

    All kinds of shit are killing this site from loading

  8. Ross Hershberger - July 24, 2010 | 9:34 pm · Link

    It’s my birthday today too. I got a nice sushi lunch and ginger ice cream. Barry Bonds, Jennifer Lopez and Anna Paquin’s today as well.

  9. RedKitten - July 24, 2010 | 9:38 pm · Link

    Happy birthday Jill!

    I see you moved the dining room corner cabinet into the living room. It looks good in there—offsets all those earth tones.

    And I see that Lily has made herself quite comfortable in between Dude with Laptop and Girl with Impressive Armband Tattoo.

    Where’s Tunch—off shitting in their shoes?

  10. db - July 24, 2010 | 9:39 pm · Link

    Why is there a lady throwing gang signs next to a guy with a toupee?

    And why is there a girl with a tattoo hiding her thong sitting next to blind guy surfing the intertubes?

    And why is there a girl sitting on the lap of a young Santa Claus?

    That is one rockin’ party!

    P.S. – And why does the elf sitting next to Santa Claus look so happy? I think he’s taking a dump on the couch.

  11. General Stuck - July 24, 2010 | 9:41 pm · Link

    Wide Angle Cole

  12. Jim, Foolish Literalist - July 24, 2010 | 9:42 pm · Link

    mmm…... cake

  13. stuckinred - July 24, 2010 | 9:44 pm · Link

    Lily got’s the devil eyes!

  14. ihop - July 24, 2010 | 9:45 pm · Link

    if’n it weren’t for her green glowing eyes this is a decent where’s lily? picture.

  15. Cat Lady - July 24, 2010 | 9:47 pm · Link

    Bipeds! W00t! Greetings from just west of Boston!

    I even see Lily. It’s like Where’s Waldo!

    Cheers, namaste, skol, and may all beings be happy.

    +4

  16. southpaw - July 24, 2010 | 9:49 pm · Link

    Is that fellow on the floor wearing a wig?

    +2

  17. demo woman - July 24, 2010 | 9:50 pm · Link

    I like your new liquor cabinet. The blue definitely looks better in the living room. Did Tunch eat Rosie?

  18. mr. whipple - July 24, 2010 | 9:52 pm · Link

    The guy with the pretty brunette sitting on his lap is grinning from ear to ear.

    Understandable.

  19. robertdsc-PowerBook & 27 titles - July 24, 2010 | 9:53 pm · Link

    Lily’s laser eyes crack me up.

  20. kwAwk - July 24, 2010 | 9:55 pm · Link

    Tis what makes this place fun. I can’t think of any other blogger who’d put up a picture of his party guests on his blog for public critique.

    You should tell the last guy on the couch on the right to uncross his legs. He looks rather dainty from the waste down.

  21. kommrade reproductive vigor - July 24, 2010 | 9:57 pm · Link

    I’m the fat guy taking the picture.

    Aha! Tunch and John Cole are the same man/cat/inter-dimensional entity wearing an earthly form as a glorified glove puppet!

  22. slag - July 24, 2010 | 10:02 pm · Link

    I’m trying to determine the era of that big white picture thingy in the background. Eighties? And is that a jaguar in there?

  23. South of I-10 - July 24, 2010 | 10:03 pm · Link

    Happy Birthday Jill, whoever you are. I will drink this margarita in your honor.

  24. slag - July 24, 2010 | 10:05 pm · Link

    @kwAwk: You can critique those people when you put a picture of yourself up for critique. Until then, you can be nice and say Hi.

  25. SIA - July 24, 2010 | 10:06 pm · Link

    Everyone looks relaxed and happy. Where’s Rosie?

    The blue cabinet should be painted, IMO.

  26. Church Lady - July 24, 2010 | 10:08 pm · Link

    Isn’t Jill your sister?

  27. slag - July 24, 2010 | 10:10 pm · Link

    @SIA:

    The blue cabinet should be painted, IMO.

    2nded. And a more colorful oriental-style rug would be nice. If there were more color in the room, the cabinet wouldn’t stick out so much.

  28. kwAwk - July 24, 2010 | 10:14 pm · Link

    @slag:

    C’mon I didn’t start it.

    And besides I’m sure the party isn’t sitting around waiting for me to say Hi!.

  29. SIA - July 24, 2010 | 10:16 pm · Link

    @slag: Great minds think alike. I’d love to pull that carpet out and put in wood at least in the “public” rooms, maybe keep cpt in the bedrooms. If he doesn’t want to change the area rug, he could paint the walls a silvered-out green (“sage” green) and paint the cabinet to match. Also, put some more stuff in the cabinet – plates, books, photos etc. Right now everything is brown, brown, beige, brown and COLONIAL BLUE sticking in the corner not relating to anything else. New art over the sofa too. The size of the art is good, but it’s not doing anything for/in the room.

    Still, it’s damn good for a single guy, I must say.

  30. Cat Lady - July 24, 2010 | 10:16 pm · Link

    Hey guy with the laptop refreshing Balloon Juice – let’s Skype. :-D

    +5

  31. Polish the Guillotines - July 24, 2010 | 10:22 pm · Link

    Looks like a happenin’ fiesta, Senor Juan. Hey, Ladies!

  32. SIA - July 24, 2010 | 10:27 pm · Link

    @Ross Hershberger:

    Happy birthday to you.
    Happy birthday to you.
    Happy birthday dear Rooo-ssss,
    Happy birthday to you!

    You also share a birthday with Wonder Woman, Bella Azbug, & Amelia Earhart. Good company.

  33. jeffreyw - July 24, 2010 | 10:29 pm · Link

    Pool party

  34. SiubhanDuinne - July 24, 2010 | 10:29 pm · Link

    @Ross Hershberger: Happy birthday! And mmm, ginger ice cream. Love it very much.

  35. slag - July 24, 2010 | 10:30 pm · Link

    @SIA: Agreed on the carpet. Although I have a thing against carpet in any room, so I would pull it up everywhere.

    And you’re right. It would be awesome to see some nice hardbound books in that cabinet. Hardbound books and an oriental rug would definitely add some depth to the space, which would work well with the current lighting and other furniture. Because beige, while not always bad, can be really hard to pull off. Especially when you have that carpet. That carpet needs a room with more depth and color.

  36. Ash Can - July 24, 2010 | 10:31 pm · Link

    I’m the fat guy taking the picture.

    Of course you are. We’d recognize you anywhere.

  37. Cat Lady - July 24, 2010 | 10:33 pm · Link

    @SIA:

    Charlie Crist, Kristin Chenoweth, Steve Grogan, Barry Bonds, Gus Van Sant and Ruth Buzzi. Also.

    ETA: Chief Dan George and Zelda Fitzgerald. Too.

  38. Cat Lady - July 24, 2010 | 10:39 pm · Link

    @SIA:

    Shorter SIA: Cole is not gay.

  39. SIA - July 24, 2010 | 10:43 pm · Link

    @Cat Lady: Ok, you made me look up Steve Grogan, and I got this:

    Not to be confused with the murderer Steve “Clem” Grogan, member of the Manson Family.

    Well. That’s good to know!

    Also, Zelda Fitzgerald, Cootie Williams, & Claire McCaskill.
    I share my date with Buckminster Fuller & Milton Berle.

  40. SIA - July 24, 2010 | 10:44 pm · Link

    @Cat Lady: Correct.

    ETA: @jeffreyw: Great picture! Love goldfinches.

  41. eemom - July 24, 2010 | 10:48 pm · Link

    John Cole, you are like the ONLY big-time blogger in bloggerdom who consists of a pair of feet facing a television and an elbow out a car window.

    We demand a full Cole photo-op. If you have issues with thinking you’re fat you can always get some kid to stand in front of your tummy, like I do.

  42. General Stuck - July 24, 2010 | 10:48 pm · Link

    nightbird

  43. slag - July 24, 2010 | 10:49 pm · Link

    @Cat Lady: I don’t know about this. I’ve known at least one gay man with questionable taste.

  44. SIA - July 24, 2010 | 10:50 pm · Link

    @General Stuck: That is absolutely stunning.

  45. SIA - July 24, 2010 | 10:51 pm · Link

    @eemom: We do know he has good legs from the knees down (all I’ve ever seen as in the TV pics), as does his sister. Must run in the family.

  46. scav - July 24, 2010 | 10:56 pm · Link

    @eemom: I don’t know that I’m ready for the great denouement and reveal. And the thought of people showing up in WV and examining random guy’s elbows and shins with great attention does have its charm, do admit.

  47. Yutsano - July 24, 2010 | 10:58 pm · Link

    Sigh. I only share my birthday with Grace Slick. And now Google owes me a check for the traffic spike.

  48. MikeJ - July 24, 2010 | 11:05 pm · Link

    @eemom:

    We demand a full Cole photo-op.

    I tried to give him an out when he injured his shoulder. I wanted him to pose with an anti-licking cone over his head, so we wouldn’t be able to id him.

  49. PeakVT - July 24, 2010 | 11:05 pm · Link

    We demand a full Cole photo-op.

    No we don’t. I much prefer not knowing what assorted bloggers look like.

  50. Yutsano - July 24, 2010 | 11:09 pm · Link

    @PeakVT: Wifey apparently has seen a picture of our esteemed host. She says he’s a blond haired blue eyed rather handsome gent. And she doesn’t think he’s fat. And she has an eye for these things.

  51. slag - July 24, 2010 | 11:11 pm · Link

    @PeakVT: I agree. I think it helps eliminate a potential source of bias when I don’t know what people look like.

  52. John Cole - July 24, 2010 | 11:13 pm · Link

    @eemom: I’m a fat guy with blonde hair and blue eyes. Gotta face for radio.

  53. MikeJ - July 24, 2010 | 11:13 pm · Link

    @Yutsano:

    I only share my birthday with Grace Slick.

    Mine is shared with Bugs Bunny. This week. But I will celebrate tomorrow when I go see the Red Sox beat up the Mariners and eat ballpark sushi in the hot, hot sun.
    I’ll be at the end of the third base line.

  54. John Cole - July 24, 2010 | 11:14 pm · Link

    @Yutsano: I like your wife.

  55. Jim, Foolish Literalist - July 24, 2010 | 11:24 pm · Link

    This is weird. I accidentally clicked on FoxNews, and they’re airing Al Franken’s speech at netroots nation. They’re the only network that is. Trolling for more out-of-context soundbites, I suppose.

  56. SIA - July 24, 2010 | 11:27 pm · Link

    @John Cole: You’ve said that before – a face for radio. A man can be extremely attractive without being pretty or handsome. In fact, many women including myself, do not like pretty men. So there.

  57. That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal - July 24, 2010 | 11:29 pm · Link

    @John Cole: You’d better like her, or it’s a rusty pitchfork for you.

  58. SiubhanDuinne - July 24, 2010 | 11:30 pm · Link

    @SIA: Oh! You had a birthday a couple of weeks ago and didn’t tell anybody! Or maybe you did and I missed it. Anyhow, happy belated :-)

  59. SIA - July 24, 2010 | 11:31 pm · Link

    @SiubhanDuinne: Yes I did, thank you. Came and went without a murmur.
    So who do you share a birthday with? :)

  60. eemom - July 24, 2010 | 11:32 pm · Link

    @SIA:

    same here. I also like a guy with a little meat on his bones.

  61. Cat Lady - July 24, 2010 | 11:33 pm · Link

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    When someone complains that they’re not fair and balanced, that’s the one and only example they’ll be able to trot out. It’s 11:00 on a Saturday night, so their regular viewers are long in bed dreaming their wingnut dreams, safe from that heartland subversive comedian Al Franken’s confusing influence.

  62. SiubhanDuinne - July 24, 2010 | 11:36 pm · Link

    @SIA: Martin Sheen, Rupert Brooke, Jay North, Martha Stewart, P. D. James, the opening of La Scala and the date Columbus set sail for India.

  63. MikeJ - July 24, 2010 | 11:36 pm · Link

    @Cat Lady: Yes, they have Al on, but when I pull up the on screen guide for fox, it says, “a weekly series looking for media bias in the news.” So showing Al “proves” their point.

    On edit: Alert mrmix. Al’s talking about Netneut.

  64. kommrade reproductive vigor - July 24, 2010 | 11:36 pm · Link

    If you have issues with thinking you’re fat you can always get some kid to stand in front of your tummy

    Or he could hold Tunch.

    No wait, then we wouldn’t be able to see Cole at all.

  65. slag - July 24, 2010 | 11:38 pm · Link

    Wow. Lots of birthdays happening this week. Happy bday to all of you birthday people. You all look like monkeys and you smell like them too.

  66. General Stuck - July 24, 2010 | 11:40 pm · Link

    I share a birthday with Satan. AKA Hillary Clinton.

    I didn’t really mean that, mostly.

  67. Cat Lady - July 24, 2010 | 11:42 pm · Link

    @MikeJ:

    showing Al “proves” their point.

    Epistemic closure – they haz it!

  68. demimondian - July 24, 2010 | 11:45 pm · Link

    @John Cole: Oh, phooey, Cole. I doubt that you’re any uglier than I am.

    Oh. Wait.

  69. Yutsano - July 24, 2010 | 11:45 pm · Link

    @slag: Uhh…dude…that’s a chimp.

    @MikeJ: Waitaminute…if they’re the only one showing Al, how can that be media bias? If Franken were on every channel then maybe (and even then it doesn’t pass the smell test) but it’s just them. R I overthinking this?

  70. SIA - July 24, 2010 | 11:45 pm · Link

    @SiubhanDuinne: Don’t forget Mario Montes de Oca (Mexican poet) plus apparently numerous composers on your date.

  71. Jim, Foolish Literalist - July 24, 2010 | 11:45 pm · Link

    Too funny. FOx news has Ann Coulter on to discuss ‘media bias’ and Al Franken’s speech. It does seem the only place the old ghoul can get TV time anymore is al Foxeera. I don’t think she’s ever been on Maher’s HBO show.

  72. slag - July 24, 2010 | 11:49 pm · Link

    @Yutsano: Really…We’re going to quibble on this? It’s the thought that counts.

  73. MikeJ - July 24, 2010 | 11:49 pm · Link

    @slag:

    You all look like monkeys and you smell like them too.

    Do I?

    Pic taken here.

  74. slag - July 24, 2010 | 11:52 pm · Link

    @MikeJ: Beautiful! Google Map it, please.

  75. Yutsano - July 24, 2010 | 11:53 pm · Link

    @slag: It’s Balloon Juice. I’ve never seen such a gathering of pedants and grammar nags on the Interwebs in my life. If I didn’t say something someone else would have. Possibly even a primatologist. Which would be hella cool.

    @MikeJ: Somewhere on the Gorge? Possibly near Multnomah Falls?

  76. SiubhanDuinne - July 24, 2010 | 11:55 pm · Link

    @SIA, Yes, a shitload of composers, most of them pretty obscure. But Tony Bennett! How could I forget to mention him? Especially as I actually met him on our shared birthday many years ago.

  77. bago - July 24, 2010 | 11:57 pm · Link

    Tats and laptops, totally west coast. Demon dogs and bud light cans? Real america.

  78. MikeJ - July 24, 2010 | 11:58 pm · Link

    @slag: Somewhere near here.

  79. slag - July 24, 2010 | 11:59 pm · Link

    @Yutsano: That would be hella cool.

  80. Dan - July 24, 2010 | 11:59 pm · Link

    lol

    John I have the same exact lamps as you. Got em for 10 bucks on Craigslist. That made me laugh.

  81. MattR - July 25, 2010 | 12:00 am · Link

    Anna Nicole Smith, William Blake, Gary Hart, Ed Harris, Judd Nelson, Paul Schaffer, Jon Stewart, Sam Seder

  82. slag - July 25, 2010 | 12:02 am · Link

    @MikeJ: Amazing! Looks like a nice trek. I’ll definitely be going at some point. Thanks for the info!

  83. Yutsano - July 25, 2010 | 12:05 am · Link

    Just looked again, also share it with Harry Hamlin, Ahmed Chalabi, and John Adams. Never knew about the Adams one.

    @bago: I left you a message earlier. My e-mail address melloguyy at hotmail dot com.

  84. arguingwithsignposts - July 25, 2010 | 12:10 am · Link

    Late to the party as usual. sigh.

  85. Cat Lady - July 25, 2010 | 12:12 am · Link

    Louis XVI (yes, that Louis XVI), Gene Kelly, Barbara Eden, Lee Majors, Keith Moon, Rudy (from the movie “Rudy”), Kobe Bryant.

  86. Yutsano - July 25, 2010 | 12:17 am · Link

    @arguingwithsignposts: The only time being late to the party is a problem is if you arrive for clean-up. Otherwise it’s all about what you can get poured, especially when you’re late but arrive right after the fill-up booze run.

  87. arguingwithsignposts - July 25, 2010 | 12:19 am · Link

    @Yutsano: I’m assuming the BJ commentariat birthday party will need more than one fill-up. :)

  88. Just Some Fuckhead - July 25, 2010 | 12:21 am · Link

    I’ve seen him too and he ain’t ugly. But it never hurts to maintain a sense of mystery and wonderment. Especially with this freaky crowd that knows when you’ve moved furniture in yer house. No names.

  89. gbear - July 25, 2010 | 12:22 am · Link

    You need more coasters.

  90. Corner Stone - July 25, 2010 | 12:23 am · Link

    Why does that woman have “ring around the posey” tattooed on her arm?

  91. arguingwithsignposts - July 25, 2010 | 12:25 am · Link

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    Especially with this freaky crowd that knows when you’ve moved furniture in yer house.

    whose bloghost has naked shower cleaning sessions, or something like that.

    We should examine Cole’s countertops!

  92. Yutsano - July 25, 2010 | 12:27 am · Link

    @arguingwithsignposts: Well they weren’t his per se, but we did see the ones his sociaIist lobster eating friends had. I think we should get Malkin on the case immediately.

    BTW Canadians haz invaded my baseball and I’m loving every second of it.

  93. Corner Stone - July 25, 2010 | 12:28 am · Link

    @arguingwithsignposts: You should also notice that there are two bottles of spray cleaning solution in this pic.
    There’s probably a third one stationed somewhere out of sight, by the fat man.

  94. slag - July 25, 2010 | 12:31 am · Link

    @MikeJ: Also, if you haven’t been, you should definitely check this place out.

  95. arguingwithsignposts - July 25, 2010 | 12:31 am · Link

    What a bunch of DFH’s. Worse than Bush! It’s Rahm’s fault!

    (just getting that out of the way)

  96. Yutsano - July 25, 2010 | 12:35 am · Link

    @arguingwithsignposts: Internet traditions must be observed. Or you’re channeling your inner firebagger. Either way.

  97. Steeplejack - July 25, 2010 | 12:37 am · Link

    @MikeJ:

    So you’re the Laughing Man from Ghost in the Shell? Wow. Didn’t see that coming.

  98. arguingwithsignposts - July 25, 2010 | 12:37 am · Link

    @Yutsano:
    Well, nobody has faxed their credenzas yet. and we haven’t seen … the … helicopters … laughing.

  99. Jim, Foolish Literalist - July 25, 2010 | 12:38 am · Link

    @Yutsano: “Voices from under the bus” was the title of a panel at Netroots Nation

  100. 4jkb4ia - July 25, 2010 | 12:41 am · Link

    These are the saddest of possible words: “Pitcher Change: Manny Delcarmen Replaces Jon Lester.” And Lester had nothing anymore.

    After a long break for Hiroshima, I finished reading “Retribution” to my husband! This process was so drawn out that I have no memory of the things I wanted to know. “Wolf Hall” is probably next.

    The people in the picture seem to be generally enjoying life.

    (Delcarmen gets the third out. The world is coming to an end.)

  101. Steeplejack - July 25, 2010 | 12:42 am · Link

    What I especially love about the picture is Lily being the good hostess, just hanging with the guests, all is cool. She has so acclimatized to having a real home in the last year. Good work, Cole.

  102. Yutsano - July 25, 2010 | 12:44 am · Link

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: The poutrage, it is strong with those ones.

    @Steeplejack: I think he’d look more like this.

  103. Keith G - July 25, 2010 | 12:47 am · Link

    A bear nekid party

    http://www.boingboing.net/2010.....dwich.html

  104. 4jkb4ia - July 25, 2010 | 12:48 am · Link

    Amazon: “Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944-45” The WaPo review is fair IMHO.

  105. Anne Laurie - July 25, 2010 | 12:53 am · Link

    @Corner Stone: I noticed that, too. Germanic hospitality—food, pets, your choice of beverages, and some spray cleaner handy in case some guest gets the irresistable urge to shpritz something.

  106. TaMara (BHF) - July 25, 2010 | 12:59 am · Link

    @Just Some Fuckhead: Hello stranger. Did you know I keep the (BHF) moniker just for you?

  107. Steeplejack - July 25, 2010 | 1:00 am · Link

    @4jkb4ia:

    Linky no work. I fix. Because that’s the kind of guy I’m.

  108. TaMara (BHF) - July 25, 2010 | 1:06 am · Link

    John Cole is the coolest blog host ever. He throws a party and we’re all invited.

    I’ve been gone for days, has anybody missed me? I missed all of you.

  109. bago - July 25, 2010 | 1:08 am · Link

    @Yutsano: More accurate email address has sent you a message.

  110. slag - July 25, 2010 | 1:09 am · Link

    Damn me for using the s-word! Sorry.

    @Anne Laurie: And who doesn’t get the irresistible urge to shpritz from time to time?

    I, for one, thought Cole was finally succumbing to his inner soc.ialist and throwing a work party.

    I hope those are environmentally-friendly cleaning solutions.

  111. cckids - July 25, 2010 | 1:13 am · Link

    I have to say, my b-day list is kind of sad; lots of also-rans:
    Keisha Knight-Pulliam, Jesse McCartney, Kristen Stewart, Elle Fanning, soap opera & Gossip Girl or French “new wave” actors I’ve never heard of.

    But to make up for it, Paul Robeson, Dennis Quaid & Avery Schrieber.

  112. Yutsano - July 25, 2010 | 1:16 am · Link

    @TaMara (BHF): So was your Thursday night thread on automatic? Sweet!Although I would swear I saw you post something there. I could be wrong however.

  113. handy - July 25, 2010 | 1:22 am · Link

    Damn you Cole. I thought for sure you had finally come out from behind that cloak of obscurity and revealed yourself to the world. And GTFO with that “fat” BS. I was pushing 3 bills a few months ago before wifey did me the favor of putting me on a diet—that is fat, sir.

    Then again, Kommrade Vigor just may be on to something. The big, bad secret of this blog is that it’s run by a cat with laser eyes.

  114. asiangrrlMN - July 25, 2010 | 1:32 am · Link

    @Yutsano: ‘Tis true. He is a tall, cute blond, and he is NOT fat. Very cuddly-looking. Plus, he cooks and cleans and loves animals. Any single ladies out in WVA should snap him right up.

    @John Cole: Feeling is mutual! And, you really should paint the cabinet.

    @That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal: Damn right. Enforced admiration at its finest.

  115. asiangrrlMN - July 25, 2010 | 1:38 am · Link

    @TaMara (BHF): Did. Glad to see ya.

    @arguingwithsignposts: Damn. That was CLASSIC Balloon Juice. I am really sorry I bailed on that thread before it got really funny.

    @jl: Hiya! I’ve been pretty much MIA during the day. Night is better for me, anyway. Wow. That’s a lot of hiking. I’m surprised you’re coherent and able to move right now! Do you hike that much on a regular basis?

    My bday: The amazing Billie Holiday, the Barber twins (from football), Francis Ford Coppola, Hall’s lesser known partner, Oates, James Garner, and Ravi Shankar to name a few. I deliberately left two names off the list.

    How is everyone? I am extra-bitchy tonight! Yes, it’s possible. Be very very afraid.

  116. jl - July 25, 2010 | 1:38 am · Link

    Looks like a nice party. I can’t see the fat guy taking the picture though. Lily is there and has borrowed Tunch’s laser beam eyes for the evening. I assume the white expanse in the background is part of Tunch.

    No Rosie.

    Hey! Hi there my fake internet wife AsiangrrlMN. I have been looking for you, like a sorry bfriend checking out a familiar roadhouse bar circuit. But then I am only fake husband number 4, so I guess that makes sense. How are things?

    Hiked 25 miles today cross hill and dale, so I may collapse soon.

  117. asiangrrlMN - July 25, 2010 | 1:43 am · Link

    @jl: Just in case you don’t refresh, I answered you in my comment above yours. I can bend the time/space continuum.

  118. Steeplejack - July 25, 2010 | 1:44 am · Link

    @cckids:

    I have to say, my b-day list is kind of sad; lots of also-rans.

    Get out of town!

    Your birthday is a veritable treasure trove. Let’s start with Cynthia Nixon—Miranda on Sex and the City. Remember her?

    And it just goes on from there.

    – Joe Scarborough—Morning Joe himself!

    – Hugh Hefner. Playboy magazine.

    – Carl Perkins. “Blue Suede Shoes.”

    – J. William Fulbright, Arkansas senator. “Fulbright scholarships”—ever heard of those?

    – Michael Learned (actress). The mother on The Waltons.

    – Seve Ballesteros. Great professional golfer.

    – Gene Parsons. Musician—the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers.

    – Jean-Paul Belmondo! Great French actor of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Breathless, Le Doulos, Mississippi Mermaid and one of my favorites, That Man from Rio.

    – Nathaniel Branden, noted fuck-buddy of Ayn Rand and genuine authority on self-esteem.

    – Tom Lehrer, satirical singer-songwriter. That Was the Week That Was, etc.

    – John Presper Eckert. Co-inventor, first electronic computer, ENIAC.

    – Ward Bond. Actor in many John Ford movies, also Wagon Train on TV.

    – Earl “Curly” Lambeau, NFL coach for the Green Bay Packers. “Lambeau Field”—ring a bell?

    – Paul Robeson. Noted black singer and actor of the ‘30s and ‘40s.

    – Eadweard Muybridge. Pioneering photographer.

    – Charles Baudelaire. French writer, Flowers of Evil.

    – Theobald Böhm. Gave us the modern flute (although no one was really asking for it).

  119. Yutsano - July 25, 2010 | 1:45 am · Link

    @asiangrrlMN: I must be spent or something, cuz all of sudden I got nothin’. Other than I sooo want to ditch on the old job all next week. Even though it is my last week. Come 9 PM on Thursday I am gonna be one happy kid.

    @Steeplejack: My birthday sharing list is boring. There really is no getting around that. Though I dare you to prove otherwise.

  120. asiangrrlMN - July 25, 2010 | 1:49 am · Link

    @Steeplejack: Holy crap. You went to town, didn’t you? So who makes your birthday list? How you be?

    @Yutsano: Party on BJ after you’re done wit work! We’ll get nekkid and swing from the chandeliers! P.S. Check your email!

  121. Steeplejack - July 25, 2010 | 1:50 am · Link

    @asiangrrlMN:

    I deliberately left two names off the list.

    Posh Spice and Russell Crowe. Hee-hee-hee-hee.

    Or maybe Jackie Chan and Janis Ian.

  122. Yutsano - July 25, 2010 | 1:51 am · Link

    @asiangrrlMN: Heh. Yeah, I read that. Needed to answer bago so I decided to give that a glance as well. I iz proud of you hunny!

  123. jl - July 25, 2010 | 1:52 am · Link

    @asiangrrlMN: Gwarsh, your reply appeared before my comment did. You are a witch, not a bitch, apparently.

    I like to hike and have been doing a ten to twenty plus miler every weekend in prep for some Sierra trips planned later this summer. This time went out with some hikemaniac triathalon type friends and have gotten in good enough shape to more than keep up with them (for hiking, not triathaloning).

    Did the coastal trail. Kind of didn’t work out in places since some of it closed for construction, so spent some time wandering around some streets near the SF zoo. Headed towards Lands End at the Presidio because weatherman said it would be sunny and thought it would be nice to see sunset. But it wasn’t sunny. We could see where it WAS sunny several miles away east of the GG bridge and looks like Muir Beach to the north. But a nice hike, and perfect temp. Sun came out of the mist for about fifteen minutes around four thirty.

  124. jl - July 25, 2010 | 1:54 am · Link

    @asiangrrlMN:

    “Party on BJ after you’re done wit work! We’ll get nekkid and swing from the chandeliers!”

    Hey, how does that work. I only learned how to send beers over the e-mail on this here blog.

  125. asiangrrlMN - July 25, 2010 | 1:54 am · Link

    @Steeplejack: One from the first couple and one from the second.

    @Yutsano: Yeah, well, harrumph. I am hot, sticky, and grumpy.

    @jl: With a lot of imagination. If you’ve figured out how to send beers over the internets, then swinging nekkid from the chandeliers should be a snap.

    Commenting: Yep. Like I said, I bent the time/space continuum. And, I am a bitch AND a witch! Why not be both?

    Wow. You must be in really good shape with all that hiking! Impressive.

  126. Yutsano - July 25, 2010 | 2:00 am · Link

    @asiangrrlMN:

    I am hot

    Yes you is.

    sticky

    I told you to stop rolling around in the honey. The bears might like it.

    and grumpy

    We’ll work on this part some. At least you’re here and talking.

    And, I am a bitch AND a witch!

    And yet another reason why I married you.

  127. Steeplejack - July 25, 2010 | 2:02 am · Link

    @Steeplejack:

    Damn! I forgot what a great song “Society’s Child” is.

    They say I can’t see you any more, baby,
    Can’t see you any more

    One of these days I’m gonna stop my listening
    Gonna raise my head up high
    One of these days I’m gonna raise up my glistening wings and fly
    But that day will have to wait for a while
    Baby, I’m only society’s child
    When we’re older things may change
    But for now this is the way they must remain.

    I say I can’t see you any more, baby,
    Can’t see you any more

    And Janis Ian, she hot.

  128. jl - July 25, 2010 | 2:06 am · Link

    OK, I am collapsing now. Good night.

    Hang in there on your last week at the crummy old job. Or ditch it if you can, whatever works, Yutsano. I look forward to hearing obscure references to your better new secret mission, whatever it is.

    In the past I have thrived in the hot humidity, all the way from PA/WV/MD nexus down to New Orleans. Love to hike in that too. Wonder what would happen now? It is hotter and I am older. I guess I would either get in shape, or collapse like a fool and die from heat stroke.

    Not sure what the bd thing is. BD wishes? Maybe it is hunger from hiking but right now, my BD is pancakes! And waffles! And pancake and waffle eating music, whatever that is.

    I hope everyone does well in the heat.

  129. asiangrrlMN - July 25, 2010 | 2:06 am · Link

    @Yutsano: I fake-married you because you never fail to cheer me up; you’re cute; you cook. You are the Cs, bay-beeee!

  130. Yutsano - July 25, 2010 | 2:09 am · Link

    @jl: Chicken and waffles. If you’ve never had you’ve never lived. I should have had some when I was in Atlanta, but such is life.

    @asiangrrlMN: I made corn-avocado-black bean salad for work tomorrow and stuffed roast chicken for dinner tonight. I still haven’t made that dessert yet.

  131. asiangrrlMN - July 25, 2010 | 2:16 am · Link

    @Steeplejack: Nice! And she isn’t one I was avoiding.

    @jl: Um. BD…oh, maybe it’s best to leave it to your imagination. In this case, though, I am sure it means birthday. Please do not stroke out. While I look very good in black, I do not want to be a fake-widow, thankyewverymuch. Sleep well.

    @Yutsano: YUM!

  132. Yutsano - July 25, 2010 | 2:27 am · Link

    @asiangrrlMN: The salad isn’t quite finished. I still need to do a few tweaks (like seasoning and adding the avocado) but for the most part it’s ready to go.

  133. asiangrrlMN - July 25, 2010 | 2:41 am · Link

    @Yutsano: Um, isn’t this a little late for dinner? Then again, I am not one to talk as I have yet to have lunch.

  134. Yutsano - July 25, 2010 | 2:45 am · Link

    @asiangrrlMN: Oh I done ate the chicken awhile ago. And salad is for work tomorrow just because I said I would. I’m not doing nothing but chilling my tail off right now.

  135. asiangrrlMN - July 25, 2010 | 2:52 am · Link

    @Yutsano: Well, don’t lose your tail completely. That would be sad.

  136. Steeplejack - July 25, 2010 | 2:53 am · Link

    @asiangrrlMN:

    You also share your birthday with Freddie Hubbard, one of my favorite jazz trumpeters.

    Can’t find a clip of my favorite song, “À Bientôt,” but here’s “First Light.” (Song gets moving at 0:30.)

  137. That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN) - July 25, 2010 | 2:53 am · Link

    @asiangrrlMN: it isn’t even two o’clock yet. Lunch is hardly even late.

  138. asiangrrlMN - July 25, 2010 | 2:59 am · Link

    @Steeplejack: Excellent. I will add him to my list.

    @That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN): Lunch for Saturday, not Sunday. Got up around 11:30 a.m., went to taiji, ate breakfast around 5 p.m., had a snack around 11 p.m., and that’s it so far.

  139. That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN) - July 25, 2010 | 3:02 am · Link

    @asiangrrlMN: I can’t believe that you, of all people, is falling into the bourgeoisie tyranny of set days of the week. Where is the proud woman I stalked for all of those months?

  140. asiangrrlMN - July 25, 2010 | 3:09 am · Link

    @That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN): Ha! Obviously, I don’t neatly fall into the mindset because I have yet to eat my lunch. And, I don’t eat breakfast when I first get up. So, yes, you are right. FUCK the tyranny of proscribed mealtimes! With a rusty pitchfork.

  141. Yutsano - July 25, 2010 | 3:13 am · Link

    @That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN): See that’s the funny thing about wifey there: just when you think you know what she’s going to do, she goes off in a totally different direction. She is a slick one. But you know it’s teh awesome and you know you luv it.

    @asiangrrlMN: My point is made. The prosecution rests Your Honor. Speaking to His Lordship Tunch of course.

  142. Steeplejack - July 25, 2010 | 3:15 am · Link

    @Yutsano:

    My birthday sharing list is boring. There really is no getting around that. Though I dare you to prove otherwise.

    Puh-leeze. Just a quick search yields:

    – Nia Long, actress. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Boiler Room, Third Watch, etc.

    – Diego Maradona, Argentine soccer dude. Maybe you remember that whole World Cup thing last month. He was the Argentine manager. And also the “hand of God” thing in ‘86?

    – Monica Bellucci. Hot, hot, hot Italian actress. Really, Google her.

    – Peter Hoekstra, R-MI. Namesake of my favorite entry in the Balloon Juice lexicon, Hoekstroika.

    – Harry Hamlin. Expressionless actor.

    – Henry Winkler. The Fonz. Or Der Fonzer, if you’re into that whole German thing.

    – Claude Lelouch. French director, A Man and a Woman. Classic ‘60s cinema.

    – Ken Berry, Mayberry RFD and Mama’s Family. Classic cheesy ‘70s TV fare—if your arteries can stand it.

    – Michael Dukakis. Ineffectual Democratic presidential candidate.

    – Louis Malle. Another French film director (maybe best known here for Pretty Baby, Atlantic City and My Dinner with Andre). Also Mr. Candice Bergen.

    – Joan Ganz Cooney. Sesame Street.

    – Charles Bronson. Tough-guy actor.

    – Ted Williams. Baseball’s greatest hitter.

    – Ruth Gordon. Screenwriter and actress. Harold and Maude.

    – Charles Atlas. Bodybuilder.

    – Ezra Pound. Crazy American poet.

    – William F. “Bull” Halsey, World War II admiral.

    – Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Big-time 18th-century English playwright. The Rivals, The School for Scandal. Scored the coveted burial slot in Westminster Abbey.

  143. Steeplejack - July 25, 2010 | 3:17 am · Link

    @asiangrrlMN:

    I share my birthday with the greatest hockey player ever and Valerie Bertinelli’s ex-husband.

  144. asiangrrlMN - July 25, 2010 | 3:19 am · Link

    @Yutsano: You are saying I’m unpredictable? I think I am entirely predictable. Think about what you would expect me to do, then think of the exact opposite, then turn your expectations forty-five degrees, then flip them upside down. It works every time.

    @Steeplejack: You are a birthday machine. And yet, you haven’t divulged your own (unless I missed it).

    @Steeplejack: OK. Now I will have to Google it and use my subjective criteria of who the greatest hockey player ever was. Aha. Wayne Gretzky, it is.

  145. Yutsano - July 25, 2010 | 3:27 am · Link

    @asiangrrlMN: I knew about the Gretzky thing. But then again I dated a hockey player. You learn a lot of the lore really quickly.

    @Steeplejack: Never knew about Maradrona and Monica. Most of the others I am unfamiliar with. But I can sometime be an uncultured lout.

  146. NobodySpecial - July 25, 2010 | 3:31 am · Link

    Alyssa Milano is exactly two years younger than me. That’s what I get for sharing a birthday with Bobby Layne.

  147. Yutsano - July 25, 2010 | 3:34 am · Link

    Chapter # 2498 of “Commercials That Will Never Air in the US Because We Are a Bunch of Prudes”:

    http://www.youtube.com/user/Ai.....%20youtube

  148. Steeplejack - July 25, 2010 | 3:35 am · Link

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Also Douglas MacArthur (“I shall return”), Paul Newman, Maria from The Sound of Music, jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli, Paul Drake on Perry Mason (William Hopper), Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, French director Roger Vadim (Barbarella), Catwoman (Eartha Kitt), baseball personality Bob Uecker, actor Scott Glenn (The Right Stuff), black activist Angela Davis, cellist Jacqueline du Pré, film critic Gene Siskel, singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, Ellen DeGeneres, Anita Baker (“Street Life,” “Sweet Love”), NBA star Vince Carter and the “Octomom” octuplets (eww!).

  149. That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN) - July 25, 2010 | 3:37 am · Link

    @Steeplejack: The School for Scandal isn’t nearly as interesting as it sounds like it should be from the title.

  150. asiangrrlMN - July 25, 2010 | 3:39 am · Link

    @NobodySpecial: I had to Google Bobby Layne. I didn’t know who he was.

    @Yutsano: Well, I wasn’t sure he meant Gretzky or Bobby Orr.

    @Steeplejack: Now I know your birthday. You share a bday with Octopussy? My sympathies.

  151. asiangrrlMN - July 25, 2010 | 3:43 am · Link

    FYWP.

    Cock (just checking mod).

    @NobodySpecial: I had to Google Bobby Layne. I didn’t know who he was.

    @Yutsano: Well, I wasn’t sure he meant Gretzky or Bobby Orr.

    @Steeplejack: Now I know your birthday. You share a bday with Octopu**y? My sympathies.

  152. Yutsano - July 25, 2010 | 3:46 am · Link

    @asiangrrlMN: Did someone say…cock?

    And Orr was a good player and is a huge legend, but The Great One will always be Wayne.

  153. asiangrrlMN - July 25, 2010 | 3:52 am · Link

    @Yutsano: You have a beautiful cock. And, I know that Gretzky is considered the Great One, but not everyone agrees.

  154. Steeplejack - July 25, 2010 | 3:53 am · Link

    @That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN):

    Hey, I saw a really good production at Spring Hill College in Mobile, AL, back in the ‘70s that I still remember. It’s all about the casting and the production values.

  155. Steeplejack - July 25, 2010 | 3:57 am · Link

    Attempt to evade moderation:

    @asiangrrlMN:

    If only it were Octopu**y. That would be so much better.

  156. Yutsano - July 25, 2010 | 3:59 am · Link

    @Steeplejack: Comme ci comme ca.

    I’m outtie y’all.

  157. cckids - July 25, 2010 | 3:59 am · Link

    @Steeplejack: wow, my google-fu must truly suck tonight, I missed most of those. I deliberately left Hef off, though. And Morning Joe? Now my birthday is ruined.

  158. asiangrrlMN - July 25, 2010 | 4:00 am · Link

    @Steeplejack: Oh, hells yeah! She would go perfectly with the mango sorbet I am now enjoying.

    @cckids: Yeah. He did the same to me by mentioning the two I left off my list.

    @Yutsano: Night, hon.

  159. Steeplejack - July 25, 2010 | 4:07 am · Link

    @cckids, @asiangrrlMN:

    Hey, it’s like a divine gift bestowed by the gods. I am compelled to speak the birthday truth, regardless of where it smites. (Pretty sure that’s how it was explained to me after the lightning strike and the trance-like coma.)

    Either that or the champagne is talking.

    Steep + some integer number

  160. Steeplejack - July 25, 2010 | 4:09 am · Link

    @Yutsano:

    Night-night. Wuss.

  161. arguingwithsignposts - July 25, 2010 | 4:18 am · Link

    GRRRR. Neighbor’s fire alarm went off, fire department out, everyone evacuated, now I’m awake. :(

  162. asiangrrlMN - July 25, 2010 | 4:22 am · Link

    @Steeplejack: Champers again? Elitist!

    @arguingwithsignposts: Man, that sucks. I hope it was a real fire and not just a false alarm.

  163. arguingwithsignposts - July 25, 2010 | 4:23 am · Link

    @asiangrrlMN:
    LOL. No, just a false alarm. And someone’s alarm is still beeping like hell. Just not mine.

    Hopefully this origami documentary on netflix instant will put me back to sleep.

  164. asiangrrlMN - July 25, 2010 | 4:26 am · Link

    @arguingwithsignposts: Well, that double sucks in my mind. I mean, at least if it’s real, you’re awake for a reason. You can hear an alarm outside your place? You must have batlike ears. Unless you are referring to car alarms, which are the work of the debbil.

  165. arguingwithsignposts - July 25, 2010 | 4:29 am · Link

    @asiangrrlMN: No, just the high-pitched squeal of the fire alarm from another apartment. I think they actually are on some kind of external circuit. And it’s stopped for the moment.

    I am so glad I’m moving in a week.

  166. asiangrrlMN - July 25, 2010 | 4:46 am · Link

    @arguingwithsignposts: Ah. Got it. Yay for the move. I bet Lady Smudge is happy about it, too.

    Origami documentary? Name please. Thx. Then, I’m outie.

  167. arguingwithsignposts - July 25, 2010 | 4:48 am · Link

    @asiangrrlMN:
    “Independent Lens: Between the Folds” – might be available elsewhere online. Very interesting and not helping me sleep.

    re: move – hardwood floors and ceiling fans ftmfw!

  168. asiangrrlMN - July 25, 2010 | 4:50 am · Link

    @arguingwithsignposts: I haz Netflix. I will put it on my queue. Ta. Woot-the-muthafuckin’-hoot on hardwood floors and ceiling fans. Night. I hope you’re able to sleep fairly soon.

    P.S. No swinging nekkid from the chandeliers while I’m gone.

  169. chicago dyke - July 25, 2010 | 5:04 am · Link

    i was depressed to learn i share a birthday with a very famous nazi. good thing i’m an atheist and don’t believe in astrology.

  170. SRW1 - July 25, 2010 | 5:12 am · Link

    @John Cole:

    I’m a fat guy with blonde hair and blue eyes. Gotta face for radio.

    But have you got the voice for it? That is so sexy.

  171. RedKitten - July 25, 2010 | 8:24 am · Link

    @John Cole:

    @eemom: I’m a fat guy with blonde hair and blue eyes. Gotta face for radio.

    ‘Tis true. He is a tall, cute blond, and he is NOT fat. Very cuddly-looking. Plus, he cooks and cleans and loves animals. Any single ladies out in WVA should snap him right up.

    I agree with asaingrrl. I’ve only ever seen the one photo of you, but I would definitely classify you as “cuddly”, not “fat”. And a lot of women LOVE a man who’s big and solid—it makes them feel all tiny and cute.

  172. Just Some Fuckhead - July 25, 2010 | 9:59 am · Link

    @TaMara (BHF): I did. But I just assumed I’d forgotten yer new name.

  173. John Cole - July 25, 2010 | 10:57 am · Link

    @RedKitten: That picture is ten years old. Shit went downhill.

  174. General Stuck - July 25, 2010 | 11:32 am · Link

    but I would definitely classify you as “cuddly”

    Awwe ain’t that sweet. Cuddly like a Porcupine maybe.

  175. Comrade PhysioProf - July 25, 2010 | 3:02 pm · Link

    Dude, why’s the fucken Laphroig still in the cabinet?

  176. Corner Stone - July 25, 2010 | 3:05 pm · Link

    @Comrade PhysioProf:

    Dude, why’s the fucken Laphroig still in the cabinet?

    There are so many things wrong with this pic that I decided not to go into them all as it would probably convince Cole to never post another one and also destroy the archives.

  177. RedKitten - July 25, 2010 | 3:51 pm · Link

    @John Cole:

    @RedKitten: That picture is ten years old. Shit went downhill.

    Well yes…I’m sure the last 10 years haven’t made too many of us look YOUNGER. Or thinner.

  178. Steeplejack - July 26, 2010 | 2:41 pm · Link

    Test comment in a dead thread.

    ETA: Yee-haw. I appear to be back in action.


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