Looking over the last couple of posts I’ve written and participated in, I realize I’ve been a bit of a jerk the past few days. Sorry. Got a lot to do, it is hot as hell, my battery was dead in the car this morning because I left a domelight on, I need a root canal, it is becoming pretty clear the economy is screwed for a decade and we are going to be bombing Iran soon and there is nothing we can do about it, and Rosie is driving ME INSANE with her constant need for attention. I actually crated her for a time out this afternoon so I could get some work done.
This did make me laugh, though:
John: maybe you should institute a color coded system like Homeland Security had. You could post it on the top of your homepage and give us liberals a quick way to judge whether we’ve stepped over any lines.
Green: John Cole is Serene. Liberals are quietly accepting whatever shit comes their way.
Yellow: John Cole is Aggravated. Liberals are grumbling about quality of shit forced to eat.
Orange: John Cole is Ticked. Liberals won’t hush up and let me get back to pruning my tomatoes.
Red: John Cole is Goddamned Mad. Liberals are risking losing my support. Or maybe I’ll just hold my breath until I turn blue. Stop it you mouthy Liberals.
I should never have gone to peaceful, blissful Madison. Maybe I should just go back.
*** Update ***
On the other hand, I have not completely lost my shit like this guy:
Police in Buffalo arrested 51-year-old Gary L. Korkuc after they pulled him over for blowing through a stop sign, and found four-year-old Navarro marinating in his trunk in a mixture of oil, crushed red peppers, chili pepper and salt. Spicy! So why would Korkuc want to eat his cat? According to a memo from the staff at the local SPCA, obtained by the Buffalo News, Korkuc said he no longer wanted Navarro because the cat was “possessive, greedy and wasteful.” He told police that Navarro was mean to him. The memo added, “Do not under any circumstances adopt to this man ever again.” Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. Navarro has already been adopted by a family, and his new name is Oliver.
WTF….
*** Update #2 ***
Not even going to go into the specifics of this McMegan post about retirement, I’ll leave that for the professionals, but I will let you all savor this typo for all ages:
I spent a lot of years trying to spread the bounty of my pubic sector.
Stuck in the Funhouse
I was going to send you an email the other day, but glad I dint, cause you would have flushed it. But, have you considered adding a Forum onto this blog to deal with progressive (cough cough) issues. I’ve seen those before, like maybe with TPM. You could equip it fire extinguishers, fainting couches, and maybe some Unicorn enemas.
I don’t know who could baby sit them, but that’s for your big brain to figure out Mr. bossman.
And I know the issues with the WP format held together by FSM prayer and ceiling wax.
sven
Or try Portland, Oregon!
On this blog I’m positive there are enough readers in the area to keep you entertained!
Also, great beer…
just sayin’.
HumboldtBlue
@sven: And he could sqing through here on his way up, I have just the right smoke to mellow his country ass out.
Seriously, the latest crop up here is fucking awesome.
cat48
Root Canal, Dead Battery, Rosie, Work to do, plus grouchy liberals. I’d rate you orange/reddish!
Violet
Oh, no. Does this mean that Rosie better keep an eye on the spice cabinet? She is being a bit of a pest lately. Never know when someone in the Cole household might snap…
J sub D
I wanted to roast a cat or two myself. After all, they are selfish ungrateful critters.* Realizing that your primal wants may be immoral when you try to make them a reality is what separates man from beast.
* Fish gotta swim, dogs gotta bark and cats gotta be self-centered. You have to learn to accept these realities.
Felanius Kootea (formerly Salt and freshly ground black people)
I’d be very afraid to be one of Korkuc’s neighbors right now. Sounds like a guy you don’t want to piss off inadvertently.
mr. whipple
Sounds like he’s a dog person.
Stuck in the Funhouse
Four year old cat must be marinated, for at least 4 hours. Otherwise, the meat is much too tough for chewing.
Emma
Every time I think I’ve reached insanity something like this comes along to demonstrate that I am not even within shouting distance of its borders…
jnfr
Generally you marinate meat =after= it’s dead, not before.
morzer
If he does that to a cat, what on earth will he do when he realizes what the GOP are really like?
West of the Cascades
@sven: Yeah, we have over 40 microbreweries in town here in Portland and enough liberal weirdos to make Madison seem like Macon, Georgia.
Stuck in the Funhouse
@jnfr: This is true. Probly why they arrested him.
JenJen
Poor Rosie. :-( Doesn’t she like Kong toys or anything of that nature? When my Aussie shep Rocco was still a puppy, he had his moments, and a kong filled with peanut butter would at least give me a short break from his incessant death-stare and “let’s go do somethin’ let’s go do somethin’!!” general attitude.
FoxinSocks
Poor, poor kitty. Glad they got to him in time. I read more on the story and it sounds like the guy has a very serious mental illness.
numbskull
Sure. Whatever. Yap yap yap. Apologies, talk; it’s all cheap. Now whattayagonna DO fah me?!! Me Me Me!!!! Here we am now, entertain us!…Mofo!
Or not.
SWOH
Cole, love ya buddy, and please don’t take this the wrong way….but when was the last time you got some lovin’?
sven
@West of the Cascades: Seriously, I am in year 1 of a 2-year plan for moving to Portland. I hope the beer is still cold when I get there…
I do worry sometimes about this trend. I live in a fast-growing red state where half the people I work with left California, Washington, and Oregon to get away from all the hippies and I’m trying to move to Portland (or Hood River if I can find the right job!). At least on the west coast I keep wondering if we’re just going to hit some weird tipping point soon.
Jess Sane
Oh, no. Does this mean that Rosie better keep an eye on the spice cabinet?
3 kg dog meat
1 1/2 cups vinegar
60 peppercorns — crushed
6 tablespoons salt
12 cloves garlic — crushed
1/2 cup cooking oil
6 cups onion — sliced
3 cups tomato sauce
10 cups boiling water
6 cups red pepper — cut into strips
6 pieces bay leaf
1 teaspoon tabasco sauce
1 1/2 cups liver spread
1 whole fresh pineapple — cut 1/2 inch thick
1. First, kill a medium sized dog, then burn off the fur over a hot fire.
2. Carefully remove the skin while still warm and set aside for later (may be
used in other recpies)
3. Cut meat into 1″ cubes. Marinade meat in mixture of vinegar, peppercorn,
salt and garlic for 2 hours.
4. Fry meat in oil using a large wok over an open fire, then add onions and
chopped pineapple and suate until tender.
5. Pour in tomato sauce and boiling water, add green peper, bay leaf and
tobasco.
6. Cover and simmer over warm coals until meat is tender. Blend in liver spread
and cook for additional 5-7 minutes.
beltane
Hey, do you mind keeping McMegan’s pubic sector out of this?
For all of you complaining about summer, we have had our first fall foliage sighting today. It is a reminder that dark, cold, gloomy, icy winter will be here soon.
RedKitten
And like Jon Cohn, were you also engaging in wishful thinking?
Jay in Oregon
I hear ya, brother.
beltane
@Stuck in the Funhouse: Give the guy credit for being a foodie. Most people would just use Hamburger Helper and be done with it.
Violet
@beltane:
That phrase makes my stomach turn. Just don’t need to think about that at all. Urgh. And I fear it’s going to be used frequently here.
RedKitten
@Jess Sane: Um, I’ll take “Really Fucking Disturbing” for $1000, Alex.
Jay in Oregon
@beltane:
… OK, maybe I’m just twelve years old emotionally, but reading those two sentences back-to-back made me snicker.
Alwhite
It’s not just you John, It seems to me everyone here has been a lot meaner, more short tempered & less forgiving or understanding the last few weeks.
For me its the sense of impending doom. I keep feeling like we are all in the scene from “Hunt For Red October”. We all realize that the torpedo we fired has been turned on us and all that’s left is to turn to the politicians and say “You arrogant ass, you just killed us!”
numbskull
@beltane: Winna!
Anne Laurie
@beltane:
Was it “fall foliage” or “drought-stressed trees desperately shedding leaves in an attempt to keep roots alive”?
Yay, anthropogenic climate change! (I’m glad I’m old and don’t have kids.)
Jager
@Jess Sane:
Sounds great, I’d gut the thing before I cooked it though and that hair burning wastes a good dog pelt, skin it, tan it and make a hat!
Violet
@Alwhite:
It’s partly the heat. It makes everyone short-tempered. Doesn’t crime increase during heatwaves? Everyone’s annoyed with everything.
John O
It’s your freaking blog, John, and you’re not always going to be having a nice day. I’ve devolved into this blog being the only place I bother with the comments, and I’m not religious about it here. Inner peace is upon me.
(That’s because I have the power of the keyboard!)
Plus, the heat is giving a lot of people a serious case of the crab-ass.
These days, I’d bet more cats are being eaten than saved from being eaten on the internets, but your only excuse for eating them is starvation. Guy’s out of his mind, or didn’t understand cats very well when he got one, which makes him guilty of criminal ignorance and stupidity. Off ’em.
13th Generation
Appreciate the mea culpa.. was starting to worry about you the way I do matoko_chan.
Delia
@sven:
I am aware of many who have been Left Behind, so to speak. The Letters To The Editor page of the Eugene newspaper is filled with the rantings of many candidates for Wingnut of the Year. And in all seriousness, California, outside of the Bay Area and portions of the Los Angeles Basin (and maybe Santa Barbara), is filled with wingers. All your ex-Cali colleagues could have just gone to Fresno if they wanted to get away from the DFHs.
stuckinred
Ya’ll need to get up off this whiny bullshit. The fucking world is always about to end. It don’t mean nuthin. . .does it Jeff?
Litlebritdifrnt
@Anne Laurie:
Anne in my case it is trees desperately shedding leaves to keep roots alive. The heat index was 110 again today. We are doomed.
Cat Lady
Not that I want to do it, but how does one get a cat to sit still in a marinade? And what about the hair? If he was going to grill the cat, … oh never mind. Looney tunes – he haz it.
ETA: everyone and everything does suck. The world is running down.
Anne Laurie
@JenJen: Or John could just ask his excellent local butcher for a couple of “soup bones” full of marrow. Rosie only gets the bone when she’s crated, so (a) the carpets stay intact; and (b) she’s got no reason to start fighting being crated. Trying to reach the center of a cow thigh almost too large for her to lift kept our Rescue-with-Issues occupied during a couple of phases where it seriously looked like it we’d have to give her up… and because of those issues, we’re almost certainly her last stop before a lethal injection.
Betsy
@jnfr:
That was my first thought, too.
Poor kitten – that’s so horrible I have trouble even laughing about it. I hope it didn’t have any skin lacerations, or the salt and red pepper would have been torture.
BombIranForChrist
Speaking of hippie punching, my brother in law was once a neo-hippie, traveling with Phish, selling grilled cheese sandwiches to make money, etc. etc.
One day, he just stopped doing all of that. And he told me: “I just hate hippies now. They don’t pay for anything.”
He’s not a right-winger. He is very, very much the opposite, but it made me chuckle.
Dirty fucking hippies, angry white men, soccer moms, trustafarians, firebaggers, wingnuts … these are all ridiculous over-generalizations of groups of people who are working through shit via the broken wheel of basic human thought, but the generalizations have to be made, because our brains are too small to encode the intricacies of every motherfucker on the planet.
So we get angry and frustrated at these groups of people who are, in some sense, illusions but illusions with enough of a real world interface / reality to fuck things up and therefore piss us off.
But because some of the generalizations are basically illusory, it’s sometimes hard to find a proper home for ourselves. I too get annoyed at hippies, because I too have had a lot of experiences where “hippie” = “they will gladly take your shit and drop the Hammer o’ Hippie Morality on you if you wonder openly why they shouldn’t pay for their own shit” BUT BUT a lot of my views are, essentially, those of a dirty fucking hippie. I just use money to pay for my sandwiches instead of dry humping Susie Moon Unit under the Mooness Sky for my daily ration of pot-corn balls.
So where do I belong? Am I a hippie? A capitalist pig dog? It’s all very frustrating, so I try to focus on the issues rather than the groups that support the issues, because the groups just piss me off, because they suck, and I fail because I come to Balloon Juice and it’s all Cole’s fault.
debit
It’s not just you, Cole. I had one of my clients tell me today, “You make me hate myself! You make me want to kill myself!” I wish it was Friday so I could drink heavily.
Stuck in the Funhouse
@13th Generation:
Not me, it’s the mea culpas that are unnerving. That’s when we get a flurry of obligatory Greenwald posts about all the mysterious and phantom evil Obama is up to.
beltane
@Anne Laurie: I’m in northern Vermont; it’s normal for some of the trees in cold pockets to start turning by now. By the time I hear the geese flying south, I’m about ready to hide in a closet with a bottle of vodka.
Stuck in the Funhouse
@debit: Therapist? If so , would you shrink my head some more? :-)
mr. whipple
Food belongs to The People, man.
matt
Anthropormorphizing a bit, I think Rosie thought she was being abandoned again when John left for Madison. Hence the neediness now.
Betsy
@beltane:
I’m in MA, and this is the time of year that I always start to have such contradictory emotions – ready for the heat to end and the fall leaves, the sweaters and cider and baking, but not remotely ready for summer to be over, for the days to be shorter than the nights, for the flowers to fade, or for tomato season to end. Not to mention the start of the academic year, for which I am ENTIRELY unprepared.
sven
@debit: I can’t even imagine saying something like that to another person. Wow, how do you go on with your day after that?
suzanne
@beltane:
You talkin’ about winter, or McMegan’s pubic sector?
Violet
@debit:
Sheesh, that’s tough. Hope you can enjoy a bit of relaxation this evening.
Anne Laurie
@John O:
Guy’s at least a little out of his mind, at the moment. Pretty clear that putting the cat in the car trunk was a cry for help. He’d gotten a pet as a misguided attempt for sympathy, found himself further overwhelmed, and had just enough restraint to “pull back” from the edge after coating the poor cat in oil & spices. Sticking the cat in the trunk and driving through red lights until he got stopped by the authorities was probably the best outcome for all parties. Not that I’d let him bring another pet home, but he did however bizarrely TRY to do the right thing.
It’s like the “sanctuary” laws where overwhelmed mothers are encouraged to drop off their newborns at a hospital or fire station rather than killing them. You don’t want people to treat babies, or animals, as disposables… but punishing the poor souls who do their best not to do the worst is counter-productive as well as cruel. Odds are Korkuc couldn’t help himself; the rest of us don’t have that excuse.
debit
@Stuck in the Funhouse: Sadly, no. I process payroll for about 40 companies. This particular client has not paid payroll liabilities for 3 years and owes the IRS a half a million dollars (before penalties and interest). She thinks I should be able to make the IRS just forget about the debt. I just…I don’t know what more I can do. I got the assigned agent to stop the levies, so she can at least keep the doors open and pay her employees, but if she doesn’t at least make the attempt to pay current liabilities, the levies come back. By insisting she do so, I make her want to kill herself.
I think I’d rather be a therapist at this point. I’m pretty sure they make more money than I do.
13th Generation
@Stuck In The Funhouse
Angry left arguments aside, I was concerned that he seemed a little high strung lately..
John O
@Anne Laurie:
I agree, AL. The silicon switch inside his head was switched to overload, and he basically handled it, albeit bizarrely.
I just felt sorry for him when I read it here.
Stuck in the Funhouse
@debit:
I can attest to that from seeing LCSW weekly for ten years in the 80’s. It seemed like all I was working for was to pay her.
But it was money well spent in the end. Well, mostly.
Little Boots
cranky’s gonna happen. On both sides. You still run a very interesting site. thanks for that.
debit
@sven: You get used to it. Mostly. Many of my clients are highly strung and fond of shouting. The good news is that I’m now fairly unflappable. The bad news is that statements like still that get to me. It’s her own doing that she’s in this mess (didn’t want to pay out the money despite being told she MUST) but I still feel bad for her.
suzanne
@13th Generation:
See, I picture Cole more like the JetBlue guy, stomping off in a curmudgeonly rage. Screw you guys, I’m going home. NYAH NYAH.
matoko_chan is going to end up drunkenly tumbling off her stilettos down a manhole while drying to drunk-dial her therapist, slur-screaming about how Republicans have been genetically selected for stupidity all the way down, hitting the bottom of the sewer but completely missing the irony.
Anne Laurie
@matt:
You are probably correct. Also, rescue animals, like kids who’ve been in foster care, have a tendency to over-react / react badly when the people they depend on are under stress. They’re hella sensitive to the atmosphere when the Big People are tired, cranky, sick, overwhelmed — but their impulse is to make things worse by clinging, whinging, acting out. Because they’re scared, they know from experience that bad things are due if the Big People are stressed, and sometimes it just seems easier to push the system until it breaks rather than curling up in sick dread & waiting for the hammer to fall.
demo woman
On the open thread I left a comment about my recent purchase at the Balloon Juice Store.
I’m going to copy it here because I was impressed with the design of the product and the customer service at Cafe Press.
I ordered two coaster from the Balloon Juice Store and I’m so pleased. Originally I ordered one of Lily and one of original logo. The one with the logo was cracked and Cafe Press immediately replaced it but I had them replace it with the Lily one.
Special thanks to John, Laura and crew for the nice selection of items.
Stuck in the Funhouse
@suzanne:
That’s pretty good!
John O
OT: I think I’m going to watch Body Heat tonight, as an homage.
gnomedad
We still grumble about the previous owners who declawed our cat; I’m not sure how we’d react to a marinated one.
ulee
I think Cole is one short step away from serving Rosie on a bed of red pepper and garlic. All the signs are there.
WereBear
@matt: Why would that be anthropomorphizing? She was abandoned!
Seriously, though, she needs something besides John Cole to keep her occupied. I used the Kongs full of peanut butter and marrow bones, both good suggestions for growing puppies, but perhaps not for a chubby grown dog. She needs a back yard to dig up, some teenager to give her agility training, or a bunch of rats loose in the basement.
Give her a mission!
Wordsmith
The man had his cat marinating while STILL ALIVE! Was Navarro supposed to mulling over his neediness?
I don’t know – cows are pretty fucking thankless and ungrateful. And I’ve had plenty of those marinated although I do find as I age (/smirk/) I’m really getting away from meat or at least beef.
birthmarker
@debit: You can’t take emotional responsibility for someone else’s failure to obey the law. Give her all the professional help you can but don’t let work stresses seep over to your personal life.
My dad used to say he always left his work problems at the front door. I tried to do that too.
It’s been between 95 and 102 here almost daily for about two months now with virtually no rain. Everyone is cranky. I have utmost respect for the men and women who have to work outside or push through hard physical labor day after day after day in this freakish heat. We are used to hot in the deep south, but not unrelenting with no breaks.
Wordsmith
@John O: I got ‘The Station Agent’ again to watch ‘cuz it was so quirky and I need a quirky lift. Plus there’s Bobby Carnivale, which may not work for you. :-)))
Litlebritdifrnt
@beltane:
I have often said that the sound of the geese flying south is the saddest thing I have ever heard. However, to hear them flying North! Greatest noise on the planet!
Omnes Omnibus
For what it’s worth, I just picked up Tom Levenson’s book Newton and the Counterfeiter. Just started it, but I think I will use it to escape from all you complainers and complainers about complainers, both here and in the real world. Harrumph.
13th Generation
@suzanne:
Spot on. Don’t forget the rant about abortion=slavery. Or something to that effect.
Larkspur
This is hardly a novel consideration, but taking some time to carefully and compassionately find Rosie a new home would not exactly be a horrible crime. Sometimes these relationships don’t work out. Talk to a rescue group (or several) – they are very patient with people who want to re-home a pet in a responsible way. Hell, it could even be an open adoption, where the new family could send you photos of Rosie and Santa every year.
On the other hand, if a Rosie rant a day enables Rosie to stay, then rant away, and I will be content knowing that she’s cared for, and that, since she cannot read (I assume) she cannot read this blog and will not know that she serves as a psychological release valve.
BTW – debit: have you ever felt a compulsion to kill a nasty client with kindness? I am not being judgmental and treacly here. I mean, you get one who goes off on you like that, and you make your eyes big and commiserative, and you nod just a little, and you murmur, “I understand this is very hard for you”.
Then the nasty client might feel a teensy bit ashamed. She won’t apologize, but she might go away. I realize this is unlikely. It could in fact provoke a physical attack. But at trial, when you explain how you had to release the flying killer monkeys, it was totally self-defense, that little bit of compassion might just hang the jury.
geg6
Don’t worry, Cole, I still love you and actually, I love you even more when you’re cranky and pissed at us. I say sit back and turn on NancySMASH guest judging the quickfire challenge on Top Chef, like me.
Oh, and if it makes you feel better, it’s 90ish here in the ‘Burgh right this minute and my apartment’s a/c is on the fritz. I live on the third floor and the apartment used to be the house’s attic, so it’s pretty fucking ridiculously hot. I’m camping at my John’s for the duration because all the HVAC guys must be booked solid and the landlord says no fix until next week. Fuck me.
LanceThruster
[the President calls the Soviet Premier]
President Merkin Muffley: [to Kissoff] … I’m sorry, too, Dmitri… I’m very sorry… *All right*, you’re sorrier than I am, but I am as sorry as well… I am as sorry as you are, Dmitri! Don’t say that you’re more sorry than I am, because I’m capable of being just as sorry as you are… So we’re both sorry, all right?… All right.
Betsy
@Wordsmith:
Love that movie.
demo woman
@Wordsmith: That was a great movie and the casting was perfect I’ve always been a big fan of Patricia Clarkson.
cmorenc
@John Cole:
When you do get around to getting that root canal:
1) make sure the dentist you go to offers nitrous oxide as an option
2) TAKE THE OPTION to have nitrous, and insist that they crank it up to “11” (like the rock musician’s guitar in “Spinal Tap”). It helps if you have a dentist whom you correctly suspect is still a closet hippie, so they won’t be inclined to be so cautiously stingy with the level they’re willing to give you.
Nitrous actually makes the root canal itself an oddly enjoyable experience while you’re really good and high on it. However, the aftermath is still a PITA for a day or two afterward.
Larkspur
Oh, by the way, our tomatoes here in the SF Bay Area are not doing so well because instead of our usual summer pattern of three day blistery heat waves followed by the blessed return of cool grey beautiful fog for a few days has totally been disrupted, and it’s been unusually cool, hence the tomato problems, although I am very very comfy in the cool. But it’s not our fault. Y’all have some kind of stubborn front that’s just sitting there and not moving and it’s frying you. But the tourists are buying more sweatshirts, so…. Hell, it’s weather. I can’t do anything about it.
Meanwhile…
US Ambassador: [over the phone] I can hear the sound of explosions from the north east. The sky is very bright. All lit up.
[phone melts and high pitched whining sound starts]
SIA
CAN. NOT. WAIT.
Little Boots
Actually, everyone seems on edge lately. It’s not easy, and this is one tough election season, especially for progressives.
Citizen_X
Oh my, that’s got “my future S.O.” written all over it.
SIA
I’d be very happy if no one would discuss marinating and/or cooking cats or dogs. But that’s just me.
@Alwhite: There’s a reason for all the widespread crankiness & ill will. Transiting Pluto squaring Saturn & Uranus/Jupiter. Things will ease up in a few weeks. There’s more, but that’s the main one.
/dfh
Litlebritdifrnt
You want to talk cranky by the way? I went to Lowes the other day to buy another window A/C unit (my mother is visiting on Sept 2 so I need one for her bedroom) It is August in NC, the heat index today was 110 AND GUESS WHAT LOWES ARE SELLING IN THE A/C AISLE? Space heaters, and electric log fires, and fire logs. I kid you not. SPACE HEATERS in August. I spoke to the guy in charge of the department and he was utterly pissed, he said he has to stock what corporate tells him to stock, his quote to me was “if I got six pallets of a/c units in this week we would be sold out by Friday” I spoke to the on duty manager and she said exactly the same thing she, as a store manager is losing a boat load of money due to the corporate HQ mentality. It would appear that everything is stocked as to what is selling in Alaska right now. This also happened to me in February when it was down right freezing, I went to Lowes to get a space heater and they were selling Patio Furniture on the space heater aisle. WTF?
Larkspur
@SIA: Wait, can Pluto even do that any more? Oh no, wait. If Pluto can’t do that any more, would that be worse?
Older
@mr. whipple: “Food wants to be free.”
Older
“Do not under any circumstances adopt to this man ever again.” Also, do not under any circumstances eat any food this man has prepared.”
Turgid Jacobian
82: future ex-wife sounds better.
Little Boots
Reading Mcmegan is contraindicated when fighting crankiness. That much I know.
Omnes Omnibus
@suzanne:
The sheer amount of win in this is staggering.
Older
@Litlebritdifrnt: One year my 10-year old lost his winter coat and I went shopping to find him a replacement. There were none to be had. I was told they were “out of season”. Winter coats. Out of season. In December. Merchandising folks are fucking crazy.
demo woman
@Litlebritdifrnt: Last time I was in Lowe’s the sales rep kept saying also, too. I wanted to smack him, also, too.
John O
@Litlebritdifrnt:
Jesus, some people can’t tell when the Invisible Hand is doing them a favor by assuming you have the money to buy everything out of season to save said money.
They literally don’t comprehend. They all have AC.
Betsy
@cmorenc:
When I had my 3 wisdom teeth out, the dentist suggested to me that nitrous was not really necessary; Novocaine would be sufficient. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA funny guy! Bummer for me that I thought he was telling the truth!
Roger Moore
@Jess Sane:
You might want to consider adding the pineapple to the marinade. The bromelain in fresh pineapple (fresh only! cooking the pineapple to can it destroys the enzymatic activity) is an even more effective meat tenderizer than papain. Given Rosie’s age, some extra tenderizing is likely to be in order.
mr. whipple
@LanceThruster:
LOL.
Montysano
@ John Cole
The era of, as Kunstler puts it, Happy Motoring (and all that comes with it) is coming to an end. Wherever we’re going, we’re not going back to where we were. But I’m fine with that. We may discover that there’s more to life than Jersey Shores and KFC Double Downs. Bring it on….
SIA
I just discovered there are hundreds of free movies & TV shows you can live-stream from IMDb. They have everything from foreign films to Kojak episodes from 1973. Fer free.
Is the GA contingent around? I didn’t realize until today that our GOP candidate for guvnor might be indicted? Or at least has “ethical issues”. A round of applause for the GOP for the help they’re providing us in NV, GA, CO, FL etc.
mr. whipple
@SIA: Whoa! Thanks, I didn’t know that.
eco2geek
What’s all this about marinating live cats and McMegan’s
Delta of Venuspubic sector? Geesh. Remind me not to read this blog while I’m eating.Svensker
@Anne Laurie:
This. Oh, this. I’m praying for a mild winter, cuz otherwise there are going to be a lot of dead trees and shrubs.
Roger Moore
@Larkspur:
We’ve having something similar in Southern California. August is supposed to be so blisteringly hot that your brain short circuts and you forget how freaking hot it gets here in the summer. Instead, the marine layer is still here a couple of months after it’s supposed to have dissipated. We had one very short stretch where it got over 100, but otherwise it’s been more like spring than summer. I’m not complaining- I love the cooler weather- but it’s freaky.
Michael
Navarro sounds like a lot of ex-wives out there.
Just saying.
Dee Loralei
@suzanne: That made me giggle much more than it should have.
Delia
This talk of wanting winter to come gives me a sad. The Northwest basically didn’t get spring this year. It stayed cool, rainy, and gloomy until early July when all of a sudden it was summer. My tomatoes didn’t even set until the middle of July. I’m hoping my slicers have a chance to ripen before fall hits ’em. I’m even mad that the days are already getting shorter.
:(
Gus
@jnfr: That was my first thought. He’s marinating a living cat? Did he get his recipes from Bugs Bunny cartoons?
demo woman
@SIA: The House was investigating him for ethics violations and he resigned before the results were released. Smart man. He and Cagle worked together to have Deal’s co. get a state no bid contract. I wish they would both go.
We do know that he dabbled in birthism and is homophobic but that’s his base anyway.
jwb
@SIA: For real. Can you imagine what sort of losses the Dems would be looking at in November if the goopers were even close sane?
Mike in NC
@Litlebritdifrnt:
Also starting to see Halloween and even Christmas stuff in the stores.
Our a/c (heat pump, actually) crapped out from the summer stress and we had to replace it today. I’m unemployed again and we have a lovely $5500 bill.
SiubhanDuinne
A few years ago I was in a drugstore the day after Thanksgiving and at the cash register up front they had a display of Valentine’s candy.
Yes. It was either three months early or nine months stale.
I observed to the checkout clerk that it seemed to be the wrong time of year for heart-shaped chocolates. She said that they simply put up the displays and merchandise as instructed by HQ, whether or not it made any sense.
My birthday is in early August. I’ve noticed that all the stores celebrate that august (heh) occasion by putting out their Hallowe’en stuff.
kdaug
@Anne Laurie: Roger that.
SiubhanDuinne
@SIA #98: /waves madly/ Yep, I’m here!
SIA
@mr. whipple: This is the link for the movies. I think the other one was TV. Think I’ll hunt up an old black and white murder mystery.
@SiubhanDuinne: @demo woman: Because it’s GA, I’m assuming Deal has a shot at winning? Even with the shady past? Ugh.
@jwb: I’ve never felt the losses would be as bad as the media loves to forecast, but this is just dumb luck (and plan dumb on the other side) working in the Dem’s favor, yes?
SIA
They put me in moderation hell. Too chatty I guess. Let’s see what happens when I divide the comments.
@mr. whipple: This is the link for the movies. I think the other one was TV. Think I’ll hunt up an old black and white murder mystery.
joe from Lowell
Dude!
I usually just get ’em with the spray bottle.
SIA
@SiubhanDuinne: @demo woman: Because it’s GA, I’m assuming Deal has a shot at winning? Even with the shady past? Ugh.
@jwb: I’ve never felt the losses would be as bad as the media loves to forecast, but this is just dumb luck (and plan dumb on the other side) working in the Dem’s favor, yes?
SIA
@mr. whipple: WP ate my response. I think I gave you the IMBd TV link. Here’s the full length movie link.
ETA sorry for similar posts – first comment disappeared then reappeared but in moderation. Hmmm.
SiubhanDuinne
@SIA: I really have nothing to add to the discussion about the ethically-challenged Nathan Deal, except to observe that if Roy Barnes can’t get reelected against *this* candidate, well, we get what we deserve, I guess.
SIA
@SiubhanDuinne: I hope not. I thought Sonny Purdue was bad.
SiubhanDuinne
@SIA #117: By “we,” of course, I mean “they.”
Xanthippas
Don’t apologize! Some of us like it, and some of us deserve it.
(I’m with the former, to be clear.)
I really like this analogy. Can I quote this elsewhere on the internet, with attribution?
suzanne
@Betsy:
Aw, SHIT. Are you a masochist?! Better living through chemistry!
Of course, I’m so anti-pain and suffering that I had an oral surgeon remove mine—no ordinary dentist who cannot put me under full anesthesia would do. Whatever doesn’t kill me just pisses me off.
asiangrrlMN
@demo woman: I own this movie (The Station Agent). I watched the commentary, and it turns out that the writer wrote the script with the main three actors in mind, which is one reason they all just worked. This is easily in my top five faves.
A friend of mine posted the news about Navarro on my FB wall. At first, I didn’t see the ‘live’ in the headline, and I was sick to my stomach. Then, I read the link, was relieved he was alive, but was still sick to my stomach.
Going to a Saints game tomorrow in 90+ heat. If you see a fat Asian chick with big tatas and tats arrested in MN, it’ll be for indecent exposure ‘coz I’m gonna wear as little clothing as possible.
@suzanne: Loved your matoko_chan description. I had a root canal with only Novocaine with no problem. In fact, I’ve had teeth cleanings that have hurt more.
P.S. Cole, you haven’t been any crankier than usual. Forget about it.
snarkyspice
Rosie is just scared. You went away and she thought she had been abandoned again. Now you’re back, she doesn’t want to let you out of her sight.
I know it must be hard to deal with, but I’m so glad she found you. Most people wouldn’t be able to deal with it but you have enough love in your heart, even for Rosie with all her needs.
Cain
@HumboldtBlue:
You need to share it with your other Oregon buddies. :)
cain
Cain
@sven:
Fuck that.. we don’t his fat ass here do we??
What people don’t know is that going topless in Portland is legal. You can imagine my suprise when a walk with my MIL ended with a bunch of topless girls at a fountain to the sound of drumming. Damn hippies.
I love this state… please visit, but get the fuck out after a week.
cain
MattR
@Cain:
But did you know prostitution is legal in Rhode Island?
Cain
@sven:
I can’t think of a better way of reducing our unemployment in Oregon. They can enjoy their low taxes and no public services until things get to a head. Then let’s see what happens to them.
We aren’t liberal per se here, pretty progressive I think.
cain
sven
@suzanne: I had all four wisdom teeth removed and flew cross-country on the same day. It’s a really bad idea in case anyone is considering it. Needless to say, tiny bottles of alcohol were consumed.
Thank god I had friends picking me up on the other end!
Cain
@BombIranForChrist:
You should respond “it’s free love, not free money, dipshit”. Trying to re-create the garden of eden (which still sounds like work since you have to actually farm, and eat an all raw diet of vegs and fruits) on earth is fine as long as everyone is on it..
cain
Jebediah
@Roger Moore:
I have been loving it – but what does it mean we have coming later? Will we get summer in November or something?
sven
@Cain: It’s legal here too, I do it all the time!
Sorry Cain, I’ve spent lots of time in Portland and I know you have good beer, good coffee, good ramen, a casual dress code, reasonable cost of living, and better weather than Seattle… you can’t change my mind!
Jebediah
@HumboldtBlue:
Whattayagot? And will any be making its way to West L.A. dispensaries?
matoko_chan
hmmmm….i dont wear stilettos, i don’t have a therapist and conservatives have been memetically selected, not genetically selected.
There are four paths of inheritence– genetic, epi-genetic, behavioral and symbolic.
i suppose we could consider assortative mating for low IQ…that would be genetic but it does take generations.
if im crunk and walking around in LoDo im out clubbing.
i would be wearing these.
Cain
@SiubhanDuinne:
I was in Costco today. They were selling Halloween items. It’s 10 days into August and they are selling stuff for a one day affair 12 weeks from now. God, ridiculous.
cain
Cain
@MattR:
Yeah, but legal topless is a sign of gender equality! I should be able to stare and anybodys nipples.
cain
MattR
@Cain: In that case you should come to New York. As of last year,
asiangrrlMN
@MattR: Oh snap, for real? Another reason for me to move to New York! I have been bitching about this for ages.
suzanne
@matoko_chan: Once again… completely missing the irony.
MattR
@asiangrrlMN: National Go-Topless Day is a week from Sunday.
As one New York Justice wrote in his concurring opinion, “One of the most important purposes to be served by the equal protection clause is to ensure that ‘public sensibilities’ grounded in prejudice and unexamined sterotypes do not become enshrined as part of the official policy of government.”
asiangrrlMN
@MattR: Oh, hell, yeah. I may just have to participate locally–and get arrested, of course, for indecency.
I gotta say, though, the website made me wrinkle my nose. Noble part of the body? Yeah, not. Natural? Yes. I hate that crap. So, while I agree with their purpose, I don’t agree with their language. Still, if it gets me the right to bare my tatas, I’m for it!
matoko_chan
@suzanne: there was irony?
the undetectable kind?
eco2geek
@matoko_chan:
You mean, with Tonya Harding?
matoko_chan
@eco2geek: dude…did those look like skates to you?
silentbeep
@SWOH:
Um, I assume the “gettin’ lovin'” part of John’s life is over.
See John Cole here:
“I spent a lot of years trying to spread the bounty of my pubic sector.”
Spent is past tense, dude.
heh.
And to John: i kid! i hope it’s not over!
lol
silentbeep
@Delia:
“California, outside of the Bay Area and portions of the Los Angeles Basin (and maybe Santa Barbara), is filled with wingers” Seriously!
I live in SoCal, and L.A. is surrounded by repubs: Inland Empire (meaning both San Bernardino and Riverside counties), Ventura, Orange County and even San Diego county, all heavily republican in varying degrees.
Mike D.
If you’re referring to your recent “Nobody Could Have Predicted” post, please don’t apologize for expressing those extremely justified feelings. “Professional Left” is a f*cking brilliant phrase as far as I am concerned. Those offended seem really not to know what to do with themselves, like he busted out the c word or something, when in fact they (not heir views, though, Gibbs did lose it with that Pentagon thing, but he was just riffing at that point) were just pretty much straight-up fairly pegged, in many cases at least.
cckids
@Litlebritdifrnt: Yes, the corporate mentality. This is why clothing stores here in Vegas sell Halloween sweaters, turtlenecks & sweatshirts for the holiday, when it is still 85 degrees every day. Also why they stock many many pairs of children’s RAINBOOTS every spring. Because–it’s spring, it rains in the spring!! Yes, we get at least 1/10 of an inch each year.
It is all on clearance, 90% off, three weeks later.
Roger Moore
@asiangrrlMN:
Bear in mind that the site was put together by a bunch of religious nuts. Admittedly, the Raelians appear to be mostly harmless nuts, but they’re still nuts.
MattR
@Roger Moore: Hmm. Interesting. Thanks for pointing that out. I got distracted by the boobies.
Roger Moore
@MattR:
I completely understand. The first time I went there, I almost missed the religious aspect. And I’m probably being unfair to the Raelians by calling them religious nuts. I don’t think their religious beliefs are much nuttier than plenty of mainstream religions. It’s just that they’re a new religion, so we haven’t gotten used to their strangeness yet.
YellowJournalism
@cckids: I was visiting my parents in Washington State at the end of June, and I needed to buy a sweatshirt for my son so we could go to the beaches on a windy day. I went into Wal-Mart (I know.) and there was not a single goddamn sweatshirt in the entire store for a little boy, a teenage boy, or even an adult. There were a few little girl ruffled sweatshirts that wouldn’t do anyone any good on a cold day, but there were also no long pants or shirts of any kind in the toddler boys section. I thought this was limited to Wal-Mart, but I was wrong.
This was Washington State. You know, the one that has all the rain all friggin’ year long. The weather was terrible while I was there, but it became super hot for a while after we left. Of course, that was when they started getting their winter coats in and took a lot of the summer stuff off the shelves.
ETA: My local Michael’s store got their Halloween stuff in a few weeks before the end of July. And no, it wasn’t the craft supplies to use to make things ahead of time. It was the decorations and trick-or-treat bags.
asiangrrlMN
@Roger Moore: Makes much more sense now. The language is consistent with new-agey goddess-based religions and such. No wonder it rubbed me the wrong way.
@MattR: No kidding.
Nethead Jay
@John O:
Ooohh, nice reference. One of my all-time favorite songs.
debbie
Jeez, I made that same typo years ago, when I was typing up a memo from my boss the sales manager to sales reps. Our sales conference was in NYC, and in an effort to control costs, he asked them all to go easy on the cab rides as they gallivanted around the big city, and he requested they rely on pubic transportation. No one in the office caught the typo, but the reps (lechers all) certainly did. I never lived it down.
Deb T
You have my sympathy John, but don’t feel bad about crating Rosie. I had a demon Skipperkee that I loved very much. Sometimes she just couldn’t contain her inner Tasmanian Devil. I found crating her at those times prevented dog abuse, calmed her down and made me love her all the more. She usually settled down as soon as she was in the crate but if she was being super obstinate, I used to put a towel over it — like you do with birds. I’d never crated a dog before either, but Bonnie actually liked her crate, if not necessarily enforced crating. I was asserting my place as leader of the pack! A constant job with a bossy little Skipperkee like Bonnie (not even 10 pounds!).
Alice Blue
A root canal? Bless you, John. Have it taken care of ASAP, ’cause if you’re not in excruciating pain now, you will be soon. Once that’s done, everyhing else that’s bringing you down will look a whole lot better. Really!
matoko_chan
@suzanne: O suzanne, don’t hate meh
because im beautifulbecause you’re stupid.:)
Tonybrown74
@matoko_chan:
I think he was referring to the “clubbing” part …
matoko_chan
@Tonybrown74: clubbing? you don’t get clubbing?
please tell me i dont have to explain battle sneakers and hip hop dance to the commentariat here.
Natural Foods Guy
@sven: Hood River? What do you do? I’ve got a food manufacturing biz and I’m hiring