Frank Costanza: “Many Christmases ago, I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way.”
Cosmo Kramer: “What happened to the doll?”
Frank Costanza: “It was destroyed. But out of that a new holiday was born: a Festivus for the rest of us!”
Kramer: “That must have been some kind of doll.”
Frank Costanza: “She was.”
The most wonderful time of the year. I’d like to open up the proceedings with the annual airing of grievances.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
An XKCD just for you, John: Addiction
SGEW
Grievances, humbug. Most of the writing on teh internets is just airing of grievances anyway.
I’ll wait ’till the feats of strength, thanks.
slag
No good will come of this.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
It’s Festivus every day around here.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I GOTTA LOTTA PROBLEMS WITH YOU PEOPLE!
Tom65
Festivus has lost its meaning now that FDL, DU and any number of other “progressive” blogs have made the Airing of Grievances a year-round event.
Bah Humbug.
Punchy
The Cal Bears basketball team is a collection of fucking thugs.
Also, why did it take this long for me to discover hot cocoa + peppermint schnapps?
El Tiburon
I’m afraid once I started airing my grievances with you jack-offs I wouldn’t be able to stop.
But, from I sit at least I can’t smell or see any of you, so I got that going for me. Which is nice.
Rosalita
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony:
It’s Festivus every day around here.
kd bart
It’s another Festivus miracle!!!
Rosalita
@Rosalita:
block quote fail. FYWP.
Comrade Javamanphil
Still no eff-ing Pony!
gene108
I am disappointed there is no Balloon Juice fan club for Hatsune Miku :-(
LGRooney
Rahm never called me back!!
John Bird
Here’s a grievance from the inbox:
Jeff’s keeping his eyes on the ACL-Juden and their filthy DNA. That’s what we call “Taliban-style insurgency”, or at least, that’s how he described his plan for the Republicans.
bemused
If only airing grievances here was a just once a year event.
schrodinger's cat
Not enough Tunch on the front page. We need more Tunch and we need him now.
JPL
Hopefully you have a new open thread every hour, just cuz some folks are confused by that.
peach flavored shampoo
Where has E.D. Kain gone?
Legalize
Yamma hamma, it’s fright night.
The Real American Democrat
I got nothing.
Wait … nope.
I love this blog. I just wish the phony “liebrals” and power-hungry enviro-nazi “progressives” would stop polluting the discussion with their free magic and pony crap. Seriously, what else do they want? We must protect the republic and our economy from enemies both abroad and within.
Thankfully, our financial institutions and the military are strong. All praise be to him.
NobodySpecial
@bemused: Gods no, that post would be an offering to the tl;dr deities.
Trinity
@schrodinger’s cat: Second!
Crashman
This stinks of readership capture.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@peach flavored shampoo: The strike is over. He pulled a shift at the bagel shop.
John PM
I really got no grievances. Last night I finished my Christmas shopping and got myself a NookColor. I gave it to my wife to wrap and told her that is her gift to me. When I got home at 10:00 pm my 4-year old was waiting at the door in his coat and boots to go Christmas shopping with me. His brothers had done their Secret Santa shopping at school, but he was not old enough. So I took him to Walgreens and he was so excited to buy Christmas presents for his brothers and Mommy and me. So, sorry to derail the thread.
JohnR
Stop the War on Festivus! Next thing you know they’ll be coming to pry my Santa Cthulhu idol from my cold, dead fingers. Is nothing sacred anymore?
Anyway, grievances, grievances: aha! I’ve got a real problem with these damned pop-up ads. We used to have high-quality ones featuring near-naked women (or women-like entities with gigantic breast structures), but now all we have are these namby-pamby, flavorless car ads and crap. Where’s the sex? What’s happening to us – this isn’t My America! I blame Obama.
Gravenstone
@The Real American Democrat: BoB, is that you?
Odie Hugh Manatee
Why is my three minute epoxy taking five minutes to cure?
I want a fucking refund!!
ccham44
@Punchy: In my humble opinion, Hot Cocoa with Peppermint Schnapps is what Christmas tastes like. I’m glad you have discovered it.
Gotta get back to putting up the aluminum pole.
Jager
@John PM:
I have a grievance with parents who allow a 4 year old to stay up until 10pm and then indulge them by taking them shopping.
R-Jud
Why is it so fucking hard to find jeans with a 33″ inseam? This is one of three things Mr Jud asked for as a Christmas gift: new jeans. Online, they’re sold out. In the stores, they’re either sold out or have some sort of brand name spraypainted all over the ass, or that fake “fading” coloration.
eemom
@John PM:
that is lovely. Merry Christmas to you and the little ‘un and the rest of the family.
This world would be an infinitely better place if 4 year olds were in charge.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@Odie Hugh Manatee: The QuickCrete I poured on Sunday to set a fence post took 24 hours to dry. Wintertime post replacement is not fun.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@Gravenstone:
Some detector of mine is going off but I have too many to figure out which one is beeping.
Loved the first half of the last sentence though, really made me lol!
Mnemosyne
Amazon sent me a second defective Kindle with the same problem as the first one. (It likes to restart itself for no good reason, and gets into a cycle of doing it more and more.) The software update did absolutely nothing. Grr.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@Belafon (formerly anonevent):
Shhhh, you’re harshing my anger!
Anya
@Tom65: This.
schrodinger's cat
@R-Jud: Did you try Levis.com, they had a good sale with free shipping. I bought some Grey Jeans for Mr Cat
bemused
@NobodySpecial:
I kid. All the bitchin’ around here actually cheers me up at times. I can live vicariously and am less tempted to vent sarcastically on my republican friends and family.
Third Eye Open
I will forgo the Airing of Grievances, and demand to be told when the Feats of Strength begin.
mr. whipple
More hilarity.
amorphous
@Jager: Oh, I see you’ve met my wife 2 years from now.
Rosalita
I noticed BOB has been posting again, that grieves me
R-Jud
@Jager: It’s fine. The kid had plenty of coffee.
@schrodinger’s cat: Levi’s are like £60/$90 over here, and that’s when they’re on sale. He’d be horrified.
Measles Montgomery
@Punchy:
Mmmm! Syrup in coffee! Why didn’t I think of that?
h/t Elf
Bubblegum Tate
Some helpful hints for California drivers:
1) Turning on headlights when it’s dark outside is generally a good idea. Try it!
2) Turn signals do not give you incurable diseases, so use them without fear.
3) That long, skinny pedal on the right makes your car go faster. Amaaaaaaaazing!
Maude
I can’t figure out yet how to get Windows 7 to disable the password for people on XP using a shared network printer, that is connected the the Win 7 machine. I went in circles for a bit. This means I have to go looking around for the info and hope I can get this resolved next week.
Uncle Bill made it harder to do this simple step.
Captain Goto
@amorphous: and my (now-18-yr-old) child.
jacy
I was walking the dogs this morning, and was bitten by a fire ant. It’s the middle of fucking winter! I demand restitution.
Dennis SGMM
Southern California just received the equivalent of half of its annual rainfall in six days. My small, foothill, town received just over a foot of rain in that same period. To top it off, we have only today and tomorrow to clear the bodies of Mormon missionaries and Jehovah Witnesses out of the storm drains before the next storm.
Michael D.
My grievance?
Justin Bieber.
And Usher, for doing that to America.
Linda Featheringill
@Dennis SGMM:
Now, now. Be good. Santa is watching.
Eric Lindholm
Although I disagree with the political persuasion of this blog, it remains one of my favorites. So let me offer a hearty “Merry Christmas” and wish everybody here a healthy and prosperous New Year.
Jager
@R-Jud:
Sears has 501s for 35 bucks, I’m wearing a new pair right now, after 6 pre wear washings.
An additional grievance is why, just when my 501s get to the exact color I like, the knee or the ass rips?
JScott
Rather difficult to have Grievances knowing there is Rosie to join Tunch versus John Cole in the annual Feats of Strength.
Phyllis
My check from the local paper that I do correspondent work for won’t get here until after Christmas due to a new ‘corporate policy’; whereby once the check is cut, it has to be sent to another office for ‘final approval’. It’s usually here by the 16th of the month. They say if we all sign up for direct deposit, that will speed up the process.
Yay for free market efficiencies.
schrodinger's cat
@R-Jud: Really, wow! The pair I bought was $30. If you buy from Levis US website will they ship to you?
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@Eric Lindholm: I guess this place does violate “Don’t Blog, Don’t Tell.”
Third Eye Open
@Jager: Too much junk in the proverbial trunk? Ten pounds of cottage cheese in a five pound bag? A few too many Wake-n-Bakes?
I keeed, I keeed. But on a serious note, why is it that every Red Wings fan I have ever, or will ever meet has already increased my collective disappointment in humanity?
Linda Featheringill
@Eric Lindholm:
Thanks. And all the best to you and yours.
Admiral_Komack
I would like to take this time to wish everyone a very Happy holiday season.
A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours.
Oh, and…GO RAIDERS!
burnspbesq
Grievances:
Gitmo is still open.
KSM is not on trial in the United States Courthouse in lower Manhattan.
No regulatory agency or US Attorney’s office has landed on the ratings agencies.
The Mets are going to suck again in 2011.
Kyrie Irving’s toe is not healing quickly.
Neithe Real Madrid nor the New York Yankees has been wiped from the face of the earth by a just and avenging God.
I could come up with more, but this is enough for now.
catclub
@Jager:
The fault is not in the seams, but in ourselves.
Actually, it is also in the seams.
different church-lady
I’m pissed off about how everyone else is so pissed off.
Nellcote
@eemom:
The House of Representatives will be testing that theory starting in a couple of weeks.
BGinCHI
@burnspbesq: Waiting patiently for Liverpool transfer news.
Also, new manager for next year, plz.
R-Jud
@schrodinger’s cat: Nope. I might be able to get Mom to pick some up at the local outlet mall, though.
Probably, I’ll just wait until our next trip to the US.
twiffer
@Bubblegum Tate: i’ll add a note to the drivers in my neck of the woods: when driving on a subarban road with streetlights, TURN OFF YOUR FUCKING BRIGHTS.
ah, thanks.
sven
Pat Robertson (yes, that Pat Robertson) appears to have endorsed decriminalizing marijuana.
Seriously
My head just exploded.
In the included video Robertson actually sounds…. sensible.
burnspbesq
@Dennis SGMM:
Pile them all in the parking lot of Brooks Berdan in downtown Monrovia. If you can manage to keep one person from spending $150K on a turntable (yes, non-audiophiles, it is possible to spend $150K on a record player) by blocking all the parking spaces, you will have done the world a service.
BGinCHI
@Nellcote: I can’t wait to see them eat their young in public.
Plus new GOP Senators with excellent fresh scandal potential.
Watch for Mark Kirk’s new military history roll-out too.
Yutsano
My damn car pick-up is an hour late. Mumble grumble. And of course the rental agency won’t pro-rate the day. I’m gonna go shower and bitch to my kitten.
Michael D.
@sven:
And, oddly, sincere.
R-Jud
@sven: I saw that yesterday. I wonder what happened? Did someone in his family get busted?
srv
BJ Festivus from 2005, to see how far we have progressed.
Alwhite
OMFG! PAT F’ING ROBERTSON HAS COME OUT FOR DECRIMINALIZING POT! (he’ll probably ‘come out’ in that other meaning later)
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/shock-christian-leader-pat-robertson-favors-marijuana-legalization/
Yutsano
@R-Jud: Any chance Bean is still available for chauffeur duty? Granted she’ll have to adjust to the steering wheel being on the “wrong” side.
Wall Street Banker
My salary only doubled and I got no bonus this year!
Cain
Because I’m a dirty fucking hippie, I think it’s appropriate that we listen to this:
peace train – Cat Stevens
The Yusuf Islam version I thought was better..
Peace train – Yusuf Islam
Peace train take this country. Word.
cain
Jager
@catclub:
I get that hip ripped knee look, except I’m way the hell too old to wear Levi’s with ripped knees!
I have an additonal grievance I’ve harbored it for years…I was an only child and grandchild for 7 wonderful years. One Christmas long ago I recieved an entire Roy Rogers outfit, hat, shirt, scarf, belt, pants, boots, six guns and the watch. But, no my shitty parents didn’t get me Trigger! So like them, to raise my expectations and then crush me!
Gravenstone
@R-Jud: My first thought as well, which of the old bastard’s relatives just ran afoul of the drug goons?
Yutsano
@Cain: Oops Only one linky work. U fix.
Rosalita
@twiffer:
I’d add to that actually stopping at stop signs, not blowing through, cutting you off and then slowing down… I had one of those this morning and yesterday morning too.
Oh and I hate those xenon headlights…fry your retna’s they will
sven
@R-Jud: I had the same thought. It is a shame that it takes first hand experience for some people to feel empathy on these issues. Hopefully it is just a case of someone talking sense to him.
I will be very interested to see the reaction from the right…
MikeJ
@Jager: Had they only used the bully pulpit you could have had the pony too.
Cain
@Alwhite:
Hey probably smoked some and saw Jesus.
cain
Rosalita
here’s a possible grievance, courtesy of LieberLoser.
Yeah I know he did good this week, but on the whole…
tomvox1
A little stocking stuffer from Larison:
Is there anything that goes better with heavily fortified eggnog than John Kyl being pantsed publicly? Don’t think so… Merry, merry.
P.S. Also too, the oft-(and puzzlingly-)maligned Gail Collins comes up with yet another winner today:
Cain
@Yutsano:
Woops, that was wierd..
here you go:
Cat Stevens – Peace Train
cain
Comrade Dread
@Jager: My favorites are the parents who take their kids to R-rated movies at 10pm (or later). Find a *@#$ing babysitter, douchebags.
And a hearty Merry Christmas to all.
burnspbesq
I have a new grievance.
All that is standing between my beloved Nottingham Forest and promotion to the English Premier League is a consistent goal-scoring forward. This was true last season, and it’s true this season.
So management goes out and signs a forward. A forward who appeared in three of his team’s four matches in the recent World Cup.
Sounds great so far, doesn’t it.
Well, no.
It’s Robbie Fucking Findley from Fucking Real Fucking Salt Lake. The biggest bust in the history of US participation in the World Cup. Not even an MLS All-Star. Only 24 goals in three seasons.
Just shoot me. I can’t take it any more.
Comrade Dread
MikeJ: They threw my pony under the bus!
Christin
Michael Moore. I can’t believe I used to like this guy. And paid for some of his movies. And his one book.
He more than annoys me now. I get shivers of revulsion running through me when I see him. or Hear him.
I know it’s the end times because my right wing Teabag relative defended him recently. While I shivered in revulsion. And called him an asshole.
He’s full of himself and a asshole. That is my bottom line.
That is my only grievance at this time.
Oh. And the fringe left wing now officially bores the crap out of me. Which as someone I love said not too long ago. That is the ultimate sin.
I am going to the mall. This might be the last written text from me if I don’t make it out alive.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
@R-Jud:
Clearly Mr Jud needs to become fat like the rest of real ‘Murka, that way, he’d have an easier time finding pants that fit him.
Yutsano
@tomvox1: This grievances thing, u r doing it wrong. Having said that, could our journalists be learning?
@Cain: I break links all the time. Usually I just blame WordPress and move on.
And in the Muslim theme, a Sooner Lawyer who also amateur boxes. Oh and he sings pretty damn good too. H/t wifey and Emily Hauser for this.
kdaug
“I’m not locked in here with you – you’re locked in here with ME!”
cmorenc
@Maude:
Microsoft has always had the general annoying habit that every time they undertake to bona fide simplify or make some aspect of Windows more ergonomic, they add two kludgey complications that make it needlessly more difficult to use. Simple example: if you have a version of MS-Word newer than about 2007, and try to attach a copy of a word document to an email to someone who is still using an earlier version, by default you’ll be sending them not something in the .doc format, but the .docx format, and what they’ll receive attached is an utterly useless piece of gibberish.
The Republic of Stupidity
Oooooooooooooo…
Grievances…
Hooooooooookay…
I think it’s time to retire the phrase ‘game changer’…
Like last week… or the week before, even…
And along w/ it, ‘robust’…
Suffern ACE
I pretty much have the same grievance this year as I do every year.
Delaware is still a state and that makes no sense to me. It’s too darn small.
I feel alone in my cause and know that my pony will never come. They even put a pony on the back of their state quarter, just to rub it in. :-(
Phyllis
@John PM: That brings back memories. Until I was about sseven, I thought all Christmas shopping occurred at 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve at Walgreens. Sometimes Publix. But Publix closed earlier.
J.
Anyone else HATE “Seinfeld”? If I hear the word “Festivus” one more time, I’m going to throw up. Oh wait – BLEEEEEEEEEEEECH
Seriously, could someone explain what was/is so funny about a bunch of losers constantly kvetching? For this Jerry Seinfeld earned, like, a billion dollars?
Feh.
Jager
@MikeJ:
Well, they certainly could have tried harder! Instead of just telling me my pony wouldn’t be happy living in the garage with Mom’s car, my bike and the lawn mower.
Comrade Javamanphil
I’m aggrieved that I cannot change my user name to Wall Street Banker, make a
cleverlame joke about being annoyed my salary only doubled and I get no bonus this year and have the whole thing eaten by moderation. Humph.NeenerNeener
@Mnemosyne: Have you got your Kindle in one of Amazon’s “non-lighted” cases? There’s some speculation that the little hooks on the case that you stick into the Kindle are causing it to short out, so if you have that case take it out and see if it helps. And if not…send it back to Amazon again. Bezos just got that extension of the Bush tax cuts that he lobbied for; he can afford to replace a few (hundred thousand) Kindles.
Mnemosyne
@Jager:
Meh. There’s a difference between dragging the kid to the store against their will and taking them because they want to go Christmas shopping. If nothing else, you can plan a nap for them beforehand to minimize crankiness.
Comrade Dread
@cmorenc: MS made up a conversion add-on for earlier Office users.
Though, I would have thought they’d include it automatically with an update to older versions.
WarMunchkin
@gene108: I’ll join you in starting a fan club :)
Mnemosyne
@NeenerNeener:
I do have one of those cases! I hadn’t heard that, so I’ll give it a try. Thanks!
It was pretty painless to return last time, so it’s really more the annoyance and inconvenience that bugs me.
bookcat
Hmm. Well the south needs to get over the Civil War. Yeah, that’s right The Civil War. Not the “War of Northern Aggression” or whatever else you losers call it.
also, Trader Joe’s won’t put a store in my ghetto ass city.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@cmorenc: Any time I touch Word 2007 I add the “Word 97-2003 Document” icon so that I have a simple way to make sure I save it in .doc format. For the other apps you have to add their version of this icon.
What’s really annoying is that in order to change the default save for Word 2007, you have to have a server setup so that you can install the group admin software which allows you to change it for everyone. In OpenOffice, you go to settings.
bookcat
@J.:
Yeah, I hate Jerry Seinfeld. But I love Festivus.
R-Jud
@Yutsano: Yes, just let me tear her away from her nth viewing of “The Muppet Movie”, and she’ll be right over. Just pay her in string cheese and cookies.
MikeJ
@bookcat:
Why would you want one? I don’t buy much packaged processed food from any other grocery store, why would I want packaged processed food from trader joe’s? When even the fruit is shrink wrapped I can pass.
Dave
People who can’t acknowledge this is the most successful Democratic Administration since the Beatles were still together piss me right off.
That, and “pink-hat” fans who jump on team bandwagons and spend all their time at a game chatting on a cellphone.
Gravenstone
@J.: I can proudly say I’ve never seen a single episode of Seinfeld. Of course, having worked nights for nearly 20 years, I missed out on basically every “must see” prime time television show since about 1991. Not exactly torn up over it, though.
cckids
@Dennis SGMM: Amen! Here in Vegas, we’ve gotten more rain in the past 4 days than in the previous 2 years. If we had hills, they would be sliding.
The Republic of Stupidity
@bookcat:
Ya know… I was recently in Austin, first time ever, and there’s actually a big frickin’ statue outside the state capitol building w/ that verbiage – “War of Northern Aggression” – on it… something about acknowledging the heroic bravery of native, land-stealin’ Texans, defending the homeland against the carpetbagging Yankees during blah blah blah…
In other words… the attitude would appear to be a bit more, ah, embedded and officially codified than one might realize…
tomvox1
@Yutsano:
I am still giddy from the week of win and drunk from last night (bourbon and tequila–a lot like the Alamo in your skull). Even the loss on DREAM can be hung like an anchor around the neck of the GOPers. Good times.
KG
@bookcat: I have started referring to the Civil War as the War of Southern Treason in certain settings. I think it’s a better description of what happened.
BGinCHI
@burnspbesq: At least it wasn’t Robbie Fowler.
cmorenc
@Comrade Dread:
Yes, I know because I’ve installed this conversion utility on an older notebook I have that runs MS Office 2000. The problem is that if you’re running newer versions of MS Office on other computers around your house and office, the change in formats is transparent to you, and you have to either change the default format each computer saves documents in back to .doc, or else be aware anytime you attach a document that your potential recipient might not have the conversion utility or newer version installed. Not so easy to keep in mind when you’re in a rush to get several things done.
Davis X. Machina
My first response to the picture at the top of the post was “Look, a pay phone!”.
Maude
@cmorenc:
I am networking public access computers to a printer.
It is fine except the permissions on Win 7
I think most of the machines have MS Office 2007. Any machines with older MS Office, I installed sp1 and the converter.
I had no trouble with Open Office, ever.
It is in Win 7 that I am having the problem of how to allow all XP and the 2 Win 7 machines to use the printer without the username/password.
@Belafon (formerly anonevent):
OMG. Of course.
I may have to check that our too next week.
I did come home with a box of candy that they were kind enough to give me.
Davis X. Machina
@BGinCHI: Liverpool sit ninth.
The good news, they could crack the top four given a good run of form. A lot of paper tigers in front of them.
The bad news, they could get their sorry non-performing asses relegated given a bad run of form.
With the same personnel.
Roy is toast. QED.
NeenerNeener
@Mnemosyne: If taking it out of the case actually works, call Kindle CS and complain and see if they will refund the cost of the case.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
@J.:
This. Count me as another person who never “got” the show and hated all the characters. But look bookcat, Festivus has always been appealing despite it’s source.
Suck It Up!
So Pat Robertson smokes weed in private? Man is old, some things must hurt.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
@The Republic of Stupidity:
I’d be happy for them to keep their quaintly provincial naming convention if they expanded it out a bit:
“The War of Successful Northern Aggression and Don’t You Ever Forget It You Ignorant Cracker-Ass Motherfuckers” works for me.
Jager
@Mnemosyne:
My girls are two years apart and because Christmas had to be “even”. I made the worst mistake of my life when I bought them both stereos for Xmas…one liked dance music the other head banging rock, the hall between their rooms was a sonic war between Madonna and AC/DC.
tomvox1
In other news, will Joe Miller finally give up on the possibility of a gubmint job?
The Republic of Stupidity
@ThatLeftTurnInABQ:
Yeah… but do you realize how hard that’ll be to fit on money or the plaque of a statue?
Huggy Bear
@sven: He’s probably stoned.
Linda Featheringill
Hey Guys!
I got a job! I start next Tuesday!
I’ve been unemployed for 2 weeks. This is a record for me. I guess that last job I had [that I complained about bitterly] actually gave me some marketable experience.
Christmas will happen!
twiffer
@Rosalita: the cut-off and slow down frustrates the hell out of me. if you’re going to cut me off, at least be quick about it and drive fast. if you’re going to be slow, then you could have waited.
ditto on the xenon headlights. awful. there is so much light pollution anyway, there is no need to attach searchlights to your damn car. eat some fucking carrots people.
PeakVT
Not only are there not enough Tunch/Lily/Rosie pics, we haven’t had a video in ages.
liberal
Nun excommunicated due to involvement in saving a mother’s life:
liberal
@KG:
IMHO “treason in defense of slavery” is even better.
Just Some Fuckhead
I’ll start with my usual grievance. The commentariat – no, it’s so lame it doesn’t deserve such a highbrow name anymore – the commenters here just absolutely suck. Every year I think it can’t get worse and it always does.
Folks, this is a snark site. John does funny things and we say funny shit. You come for the spectacle of the mildly to wildly entertaining ex-Republican bloghost and stay for the comment thread snark.
Ya used to, anyway.
Now it’s half resentment half fail, always spoiling for the same fight day after day ground hog movie style. Read a normal 200 comment thread and notice the awesome lack of anything remotely humorous.
Note for example
In response to some random non-political occurence: “Obama should have used the bully pulpit!”
This is not funny, particularly after the 1200th time by the same dumbass. You all suck and I don’t know how much longer I can hold out. I’m going to give it one more year.
twiffer
@Suffern ACE: dogfish head brewery is in delaware. that qualifies them for continued statehood and almost absolves them of the deleware memorial bridge, and actually shutting down I495 and routing interstate traffic onto backroads.
lol
@Belafon (formerly anonevent):
I’m fairly certain there’s a setting for default save format in Word/Excel/etc, no server software required.
freelancer
I hate the South. I hate all of Fox News. I hate talk radio.
I hate firebaggers. I hate religion. I hate both parties. I hate winter, and all it’s fucking shit.
Boomdeyada Boomdeyada Boomdeyada Boomdeyada
I hate the whole world, and all the crap that’s in it. I hate the banksters. With a rusty pitchfork! And all the trolls that talk like they benefit from wingnut victories. My list is simple, but I probably hate you too.
Boomdeyada Boomdeyada Boomdeyada Boomdeyada
Omnes Omnibus
@Just Some Fuckhead: You suck as well. So there.
TooManyJens
My immune system is so busy going after imaginary threats (pollen, mold, my OWN SKIN, wtf) that it can’t be arsed to fend off germs. Thus, I get every cold and case of strep that comes down the pike. And I have a three-year-old in daycare, so you do the math.
This grievance is brought to you by the sore muscles I have from coughing so much for the last three days.
Alwhite
@KG:
Turgidson
I’ll air the grievance that SF Muni is a pathetic joke that made me 20 minutes late for a conference call today.
I gave myself 20 minutes more than usual to get to work, so of course it took 40 minutes longer than usual. Of course.
bookcat
@MikeJ: Oh I don’t buy veggies there. Pshhh. No, my good man. More like sea salt caramels, baked brie and whatever other yuppie crack I can score. That shit is addictive and cheap.
mr. whipple
@Linda Featheringill:
Awesome.
TooManyJens
@Linda Featheringill: Congratulations!
bookcat
@Alwhite:
yeah, i’m stealing it too. just my yankee carpetbagger way.
Gary Farber
Okay, “code” is this:
The Republic of Stupidity
@Alwhite:
And it’ll fit on money too…
gene108
@Jager:
Here’s something to grouse about. My last two pair of Levis didn’t have ripped knees. They started ripping in the crotch and a little bit in the rear.
I’m not into letting the world see my underwear, for which I think the world is grateful.
Perfectly good, comfy, jeans made worthless by a very odd place for them to rip, in my opinion.
I think the quality of Levis has gone down. They used to very durable.
TooManyJens
@Gary Farber: I’ve been here at least two and a half years and I can’t remember seeing anyone ever use the code tag.
I never use “close tags”, because I hardly ever use tags except for links and it’s quicker to just put them in by hand. You don’t have to tag every paragraph — if you hit enter twice in between paragraphs, the [p] and [/p] (pretend those have angle brackets) are added automatically. Except within blockquotes. If you haven’t learned the Lexicon term FYWP, you will soon enough.
In theory there was a site rebuild a couple of weeks ago, but I’m fairly sure it didn’t happen.
Gary Farber
Sigh, and separating out the tags by spaces doesn’t work, either.
Cain
@Just Some Fuckhead:
I think you should really give it another 6 months.
cain
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@bookcat: I live in Texas, and I’m working on a t-shirt for next year that as part of the Texas declaration of secession on the back. I have been trying to think of what to put on the front, and I am now trying to decide if that should be what goes on the front.
The Grand Panjandrum
@Just Some Fuckhead:
I’m sticking around for that GBCW comment. Should be epic.
So Cole how come no grievances, or are you just too embarrassed after a few dozen “I’m going on hiatus/vacation” posts this past week?
shadow's mom
My current grievance: People who complain about negativity from others on specific issues, who then display negativity about the exact same topics, and who do not see that they are replicating the behavior of which they complained.
I have no grievance with this , particularly if action that benefits the legislative process results.
Happy holidays to everyone!
catclub
@sven: Senility presents in different forms in different people.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
@Cain:
Does this mean we have our own internal version of the “Friedman Unit”?
slag
@MikeJ: They have good olive oil. And reasonably priced too.
MikeJ
@Just Some Fuckhead:
When the person in question is literally complaining of a lack of ponies, it’s pretty much the only response.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
@ThatLeftTurnInABQ:
This wins Teh Internetzezzzzz for today.
Don’t make no difference if it fits on money, the whole turn of the phrase just rolls off the tongue, particularly if you add a certain Lewis Black-esque tinge to the delivery.
Gary Farber
Trying an alternative method: what < code /code > do is non-obvious without my taking a bit of time to study a bit more HTML. Explanation?
TooManyJenss:
Legacy? Working or broken?
Okay, if everyone ignores it, I’ll go back to ignoring it. Thanks muchly, TooManyJen.
Is there a post on this you could link to?
If not, never mind. I’ll sample as time allows, and pick it up as need be.
Ditto whatever “close tags” is for. I’ll just go on writing my own tags, as ever. It’s pretty hard to break the habit after fifteen years, in any case. And I prefer to know what I’m doing, rather than rely on software I don’t understand, wherever possible.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ! That’s where you’re hiding!
Would love to see you and other former commenters back at Obsidian Wings!
Miss ya, and so many disappeared regulars! Where ya been? Besides here?
IrishGirl
Still no unicorn pooping rainbows, pots of gold and progressive legislation! Wahhhhhhhhhhhh
/snark of course
catclub
@shadow’s mom:
Just remember, it will take keeping the following senators voting together (for something the DFH’s really really want)
to make this happen:
Max Baucus
Kent Conrad
Ben Nelson
Mary Landrieu
Claire McCaskill
Jim Webb
It could happen, but I am not getting my hopes up.
Lieberman is already no way as far as I can tell.
Jager
@gene108:
I bought a pair of “pre-washed” 501s when they first started selling them, they had a dark spot on the fly. Looked like I had a serious piss dribble. Mrs J bought me a pair of those horshit relaxed fit Levis…they are the ultimate “Dad” jeans, I wore them once and tossed them into the Goodwill bin.
You’re right about the quality, in the old days 501s were so thick and stiff it took a year of washing before they softened up…now that’s a damned grievance!
TooManyJens
@Gary Farber:
I’m guessing it just came with the WYSIWYG editor module.
Here are a couple of posts on the site rebuild:
https://balloon-juice.com/2010/11/09/site-rebuild/
https://balloon-juice.com/2010/11/19/site-rebuild-reminder/
Anya
@Linda Featheringill: Congratulations. I am so happy for you. Also too, you’re one of my favorite commenter.
Just to piss off @Just Some Fuckhead: shit happens when the President uses the bully pulpit.
Sasha
John, why the hell can’t your site attract a better quality of troll?
bookcat
@Belafon (formerly anonevent): Do it. I know several Texans who’d buy it. Most are in Austin.
Gary Farber
@ThatLeftTurnInABQ:
ThatLeftTurnInABQ! That’s where you’re hiding!
Would love to see you and other former commenters back at Obsidian Wings!
Miss ya, and so many disappeared regulars! Where ya been? Besides here at BJ?
And how do you approach commenting to others on BJ?
Clearly trying to read most of the comments in an Open Thread Doesn’t Work unless one is devoting one’s self to it as a fulltime moderator, or monitor.
“Finds” on one’s own name, to look for responses among the many comments? Or…?
catclub
@ThatLeftTurnInABQ:
How about:
The War of Northern Aggression Succeeded.
Don’t Forget _THAT_ , Crackers.
R-Jud
@IrishGirl: At least you have your cute little son to keep you from despair.
The Bobs
@R-Jud:
I have the same issue as your husband. It’s pretty much impossible.
Omnes Omnibus
@Sasha: Is there a better quality troll available on the open market? Do they need to be special ordered? I always figured each troll sucks in its own way.
protected static
Some douchenozzle/s is/are stealing packages in our neighborhood. For us, a minor inconvenience, but for others I could see it being a major thing.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@lol: You would think, but in order to do that you first have to get the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) installed, and then you install the Office 2007 Administrative Templates. The GPMC requires that you have a server with Group Policy Objects on it that you can modify. I’m pretty sure my company won’t let me do it. Information here.
kdaug
@Just Some Fuckhead: Make sure you cut and paste this for next year.
ruemara
I would like a new pair of shoes. The shoes I wear 90% of the time are losing tread. I probably won’t get a new pair of shoes, which could be seen as a grievance, but I have an emergency alternate pair. I would also like to win the mega jackpot tonight. It’s about the same chance as getting a new pair of shoes. No Christmas card from the family yet, but, still haven’t received my Octo birthday card yet either. Ah well.
But, I made a few dozen cookies and packages of toiletries and extra clothes up for the homeless. You have marvelously few grievances after that. I think I’ll go find an aluminum pole and decorate it.
R-Jud
@The Bobs: You damn men, always growing your legs to weird sizes. Think of someone else once in a while, huh?
MikeJ
@Belafon (formerly anonevent): http://www.technixupdate.com/change-the-default-files-save-format-from-docx-to-doc-in-word-2007/
Mnemosyne
@protected static:
Are you sure it’s human douchenozzles? One year my mother-in-law’s annual box of See’s candy got eaten by raccoons (or some other chocolate-loving animal) when it was left on her doorstep by UPS. I was actually able to get See’s to replace it for free because I had been ordering from then for a few years, and “it got eated by raccoons” was just weird enough to be true.
2liberal
my grievance is that the Arizona Cardinals suck this year, and our supposed whiz of a coach (who is an ex-Steeler BTW) doesn’t have a clue. He has loaded up the team with ex-Steelers who suck (and not just because they are ex-Steelers) and started a noodle armed UPFA who obviously can’t play in the NFL. He dumped our former #10 overall pick just when it was time he would be needed.
His ex-Steeler OL coach pushed to draft Levi Brown #5 overall. Profootball focus has him ranked at the bottom of their list of OTs due to his poor passblocking.
He built an OLINE that is meant to run, with Levi Brown who can’t pass block, Alan Faneca who can’t pass block, and he WON”T RUN THE FUCKING FOOTBALL.
This team obvously can’t pass block and doesn’t have a competent QB but he won’t give the run game a fair chance.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
@Gary Farber:
Thanks for the kind thoughts and nice to see you ’round about these parts.
Ironically (given the topic you are asking about on this thread) I was demoted from posting to lurking-only status at O.W. after a site redesign which disabled the commenting features of that site as rendered using the antique browser which I’m stuck with on my even more antique home computer. Not that I should complain too much seeing as how I’m slowly turning into something of an old fossil myself. At this rate who knows, in a 1000 years even I may be worth something, someday.
mr. whipple
I have many grievances, but I’m so happy this week I don’t feel like ranting.
Bubblegum Tate
@twiffer:
Oh man, I forgot to mention that one. Drives me up the freakin’ wall.
Comrade Mary
@Just Some Fuckhead: Are you grouchy because you’re hungry? I bet you’re hungry. Here, have a little snack.
TooManyJens
@twiffer:
How are those even legal? You’d think blinding other motorists at night would be considered a hazard.
burnspbesq
@freelancer:
I love the South. It just needs to be depopulated and turned into a national park.
WyldPirate
I’m pissed about most things. Almost all of them are things that I hold Obama responsible for. These are some of the things that I don’t hold him responsible for:
I’m out of weed and will be for a while. This is the landlords fault.
Weed is illegal. This is not Obama’s fault. I blame William Randolph Hearst for this. And Richard Nixon. And drunken racist fuckwits who can’t satisfy their women.
Getting old pisses me off. Seeing my parents get old pisses me off and makes me sad.
Wall St bankers and people working in the financial sector piss me off. They should die in a fire. I don’t care if some of them that may be good people are caught up in it either.
Even though I argue with some of you Obotomized fuckwits, I still like you. That pisses me off because it makes me feel as if I’m getting soft.
The TSA sucks big schwetty balls and airport security is about as useless as teats on a boar hog.
I’ll think of more stuff latter. I am a literal font of pissed-offedness. I have a fusion reactor to generate rage within my soul. Weed calms it.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
@Gary Farber:
Based on my limited experience BJ is pretty fast paced with lots of threads and lots of comments, more than I can keep up with, so I don’t/can’t read all of the threads but instead pick and choose depending on the topics, and I do a certain amount of judicious skimming of the comments, which gets easier once you’ve memorized the cast of characters and can recognize when we’ve gone off the rails and into full metal Firebaggers vs. Obots Waiting-for-Godot meets West-Side-Story, as choreographed by the 3 Stooges and directed by Sam Peckinpah mode. Which happens with some frequency, so watch yer back. IMHO, YMMV, etc.
protected static
@Mnemosyne: Oh yeah, I’m sure…
Yesterday there was an empty Amazon box on our porch, with the invoice still inside: garden shears. The billing and mail-to address on the invoice was six blocks away. I took the box over there and found… another empty Amazon box, but this one had been stripped of all identifying information.
I checked our Amazon account, and a package had been delivered to us at 2PM. I found the empty box at 3PM, so it looks like someone might be following the OnTrack vans…
Also, in following up with relatives, it looks like a package of LEGOs was stolen from our porch on the 17th as well. I know raccoons are clever, but LEGO-and-garden-shears clever?
Davis X. Machina
@TooManyJens: Classic collective-action problem. Remind me to use it in class.
(The usual tragedy-of-the-commons example about overfishing is difficult to use in Maine, where you can’t get anyone to say a good word about groundfish catch limits, while the minatory example just to our north of the Grand Banks cod fishery seems to have made no impression.)
Davis X. Machina
@protected static:
Wait till spring…just wait. All will become clear.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Comrade Mary: I’m not grouchy, doll. Just being my usual charming self.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
@protected static:
This sounds like a bad science fiction story:
Once the raccoons got a hold of the garden shears and the LEGOs, the poor humans never knew what hit them. They never had a chance…
ETA: Never mind, I like Davis X. Machina’s version better. More ambiguity = more ominous.
Mnemosyne
@protected static:
They are very smart and have working thumbs, but I doubt they would bestir themselves for non-food items. They’ll do almost anything for food.
Either that, or Davis X. Machina is right.
KG
@2liberal: a few of my good friends are Cardinals’ fans, so I’ve sort of adopted them the last couple of years (the joys of living in the LA market), and I know I should be shocked/surprised by the personnel moves, but I’m not. The coach was an undrafted free agent type in his playing days, he saw Lienart as a pretty boy, overpaid draft pick that was having everything handed to him. It was never going to work… it’s like Jeff Fisher and Vince Young, same dynamic. Sure, Lienart needed to do some growing up, but there are very few quarterbacks who can come in as rookies and contribute right away (off the top of my head, the Mannings, Bradford, and maybe Big Ben in the last decade did it). But I knew during the preseason that Lienart was going to get bounced, he’d get one or two series in the preseason games, and then we’d hear that he wasn’t doing what he needed to be doing (yeah, because you can really base a decision on who your starting quarterback should be when a guy gets 10 plays in), while Anderson was getting the bulk of minutes (another aside, in the NFL if your answer is “Derek Anderson should be our starting quarterback” you got the question wrong). So, now the Cardinals, having released a potential franchise quarterback (and who wants to bet that some team is going to take a flier on Lienart and watch him be the quarterback they knew he could be) and are behind at least two or three other teams that may be looking to draft quarterbacks this year, in a year with thin talent at that position. And not running the ball, that’s just dumb, given Wells and Hightower in the backfield.
Cat Lady
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Shorter: the food’s terrible and the portions are so small!
Mike Kay (Democrat of the Century)
why do leftys fetishize the mythical “bully pulpit”?
Is it because blogs are a kind of pulpit and a lot of bullying goes on within blogs, so projection occurs?
Even last night, after a day of great victories, there were people whinning that obama didn’t use the “bully pulpit”. I swear, he could cure cancer, and lameos would whine that he didn’t use the “bully pulpit”.
bookcat
@WyldPirate:http://www.hulu.com/watch/4156/saturday-night-live-nprs-delicious-dish-schweddy-balls
sorry i don’t know how to embed.
Jager
@KG:
the Mannings, Bradford, and maybe Big Ben in the last decade did it).
Forget about a guy named Tom Brady?
WereBear
We are ready. I just picked up (at the drugstore) a Chuck Norris Triple Feature (Lone Wolf McQuade, The Hero & The Terror, and Breaker! Breaker!)
This covers the Feats of Strength.
And I caught Tristan sampling my spiked nog just now. As if he wasn’t enough of a Nick Nolte kind of kitten…
Gary Farber
@<a hre@TooManyJens:
Ah. John:
I’m taking “blog links” to mean “blog roll.”
Yes?
I know the problem; I’ve been trying to get to a template update since 2005.
Real Soon Now. Though less so if I’m reading and commenting on other blogs than the two I already try to do, and don’t go ahead with the other offers, which I have no intention of doing for now.
<a href="TooManyJens, again:
The “reply” function doesn’t seem to be very useful if one wishes to reply to more than one person at a time, yet blog etiquette calls for trying to make as few separate comments as possible and put in as many as possible.
Blog etiquette also calls for supporting assertions with links to one’s cite. Unsupported uncited assertions make for, well, assertions that appear to have no support or citation.
This wouldn’t seem to be helpful for productive conversation about facts.
When four links, including to a previous message, gets one dumped into moderation, this would seem to make it quite difficult and time-consuming to attempt to address more than two comments, and then still only use two other links per comment, and, well, interesting system.
I’ll make what of it I can, as ever. Thanks again.
One has to hand-write tags into the “corrections” anyway. Meanwhile, no time to back up and add the second URL to second comment, or fill in the quote I was trying to respond to.
RedKitten
My grievance right now is that work and motherhood are interfering with my valuable internet bitching time.
I miss you guys.
Gary Farber
And then I was told I didn’t have permission to edit my prior comment, with a minute left, 50, 48, okay.
KG
@Jager: actually, he only threw three passes as a rookie. it wasn’t until his second year, and a Drew Bleedsoe injury that he got a chance. I was thinking more of guys who came in as rookies and didn’t have completely disastrous years (though Eli’s 55.6 passer rating rookie year in 7 games isn’t exactly ROTY-type numbers). I guess my point is, you don’t start a rookie quarterback unless: a) you have no other choice and the rest of your team is solid (see: Big Ben); b) you’ve got not other choice and you want him to have game experience (see: Troy Aikman); or, c) he’s a once a generation player that you’d be stupid not to start (see: Peyton Manning).
Mike Kay (Democrat of the Century)
@RedKitten: nothing like a warm cup of venting.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
@burnspbesq:
I’m going to soooo steal this. Will insert “Missouri” for the South and I’m set.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@MikeJ: Thanks. I searched and searched for that.
J.
@comrade scott’s agenda of rage + @bookcat + @gravenstone: I can respect that. And thanks for making me not feel so alone this Festivus. :-)
Gary Farber
@TooManyJens:
Unnecessary; this is hardly the only blog that uses WordPress, or TypePad, or Blogger.
Specialized lexicons per blog cause further silofication and shibboleths, but that’s apparently internally preceived as a feature, not a bug. Noted.
Thanks again.
Yer second link to John:
Thanks.
186
December 23rd, 2010 at 1:59 pm
ThatLeftTurnInABQ:
I take it you were posting at ObWi during 2009, the year I chose to devote my writing attention elsewhere?
That, or my memory of 2010, and 2003-2008 are far worse than I thought.
I had no idea you’d ever posted on the front page. Was your name added to the sidebar? Links? When was this?
And how did you get “demoted”? By who? And in any case, you’re fucking repromoted. Come back, please.
Gary Farber
@ThatLeftTurnInABQ:
186
December 23rd, 2010 at 1:59 pm
ThatLeftTurnInABQ:
I take it you were posting at ObWi during 2009, the year I chose to devote my writing attention elsewhere?
That, or my memory of 2010, and 2003-2008 are far worse than I thought.
I had no idea you’d ever posted on the front page. Was your name added to the sidebar? Links? When was this?
And how did you get “demoted”? By who? And in any case, you’re fucking repromoted. Come back, please.
KG
@Mike Kay (Democrat of the Century): because, like everyone else when it comes to politics, they believe that the vast majority of people will agree with them if someone (like, say, the president) would just make the case more forcefully. The bully pulpit, like the cake, was a lie. It is a political myth, created around Teddy Roosevelt (in a very different time, politically), and used whenever a president isn’t seen to be doing whatever people want them to do. The fact is, a lot of people, across the political spectrum in this country, have no idea how the system actually works… they think the president can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants.
Gary Farber
@ThatLeftTurnInABQ:
Thanks. This system seems to require the effects you describe.
Form follows function. Community follows form.
Okay, gotta go.
Davis X. Machina
@Mike Kay (Democrat of the Century): Poli-sci tends to agree. On the bully pulpit see: On Deaf Ears: The Limits of the Bully Pulpit, George C. Edwards, Princeton Univ. Press, 2006. Short version: It’s over-rated, even in the hands of ‘great communicators’. The Reagan myth, again, has warped reality.
Maude
@RedKitten:
Have really missed you with the Palin front pages. You always have the best on her.
Gary Farber
“once you’ve memorized the cast of characters”
Doubtful. Too many, changes too fast, and I have blogs of my own, and need to be spending my reading time on keeping up with the news and such so I can blog myself.
Plus a new life, adjusting to mostly being not able to walk, new State, city, housing situation, need to find new one by July, other minor details.
How many BJers live in the Bay Area?
I was kinda figuring to start expanding our in-person meetings, and BJ was one of my first thoughts, but it would be nice to have some sense of whether 2 people or 20 might show up from here.
See, again here.
Go to posts for links that would kill this comment if included; ditto formatting.
I/we should be doing another on January 15th. Announcements to be posted circa January 2nd-5th, I hope.
It’s been so long since John asked me if I used IM, which apparently was his main method of being reached at that point, that, well, that was a few hard drives and email accounts ago. These days, I have no idea how to reach John, but I have a sense of how much he has to pay attention to, given my own blog correspondence, trying to keep up, get back to, etc.
Which is to say, I’d ask him if he’s interested in a front page post or not, if I knew how to reach him, or had a way to reach any of the other front-pagers, but I’ll just try some future open threads, and hope I can hit a sweet spot between too few and too many attempts, to maximize chances of someone relevant seeing such and minimize pissing too many people off through inappropriate repetition.
Any guidance on what would be appropriate around here as regards that, appreciated.
Email to gary underscore farber at yahoo dot com is a lot more apt to be seen by me than trying to hunt back through this open thread, or go looking for however many number of future open threads replies might appear upon, but que cera.
Thanks again, any and all.
Oh, yeah, we had nine people at the first one. The next? Anyone here interested? Kinda need to know if we definitely need to move to the larger place or not, because Crepevine won’t well handle more than 20 of us, and even that might be problematic, and 36 seconds to see if this gets in, 31, 23.
protected static
@Davis X. Machina: Awesome. Well, the opossums have been getting uppity, so hopefully that’s their target…
Mike Kay (Democrat of the Century)
I miss not being able to blame RAHM! for everything :^(
2liberal
@KG:
thanks for your comments – it is good to see I am not the only one with grievances about Whuz (formerly Whiz for Whisenhunt)
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
@Gary Farber:
No, no, no. I’m using the term “post” in the colloquial sense of being able submit comments to a thread as distinct from merely lurking, not in the formal sense of being a top level blog post author, which I have never been nor do I resemble even on TV. The “demotion” was purely a technical matter – the revised site stop working for me as a commentor, not an administrative decision, so I’m using the term with deliberate irony. Sorry about the confusion.
Mnemosyne
@WereBear:
Charlotte once got a couple of laps up of G’s coffee before we could stop her. It probably took her a couple of hours to stop bouncing off the walls, and she’s already a high-energy cat.
WereBear
@Mnemosyne: LOL! I don’t know if it affected him; he got rowdy, but then, he does. But it never occurred to me he would get past the rum to have a taste of the cream.
Napping normally, now. I keep checking him!
Maody
it took Feats of Strength to put together my newly presented Festivus Pole in our neighborhood Mexican restaurant last night. a Festivus Miracle took place because we didn’t get kicked out when I couldn’t stop laughing at a 4′ aluminum pole sitting next to me in the booth. my best friend’s SO made it for me from leftovers after building his Dog Majal.
i have no grievances except maybe my achin’ sore ribs from laughing so hard.
Happy Holidays.
Tattoosydney
My grievance is that the grievance thread started without me.
Fuckin’ time zones – how do they work?
Mnemosyne
@WereBear:
I have succeeded in finding the cat-related Wodehouse short story “The Story of Webster” available to read on Google Books. Happy Festivus!
licensed to kill time
Grievances? Grievances?! Don’t get me stahted heah!
Ah, I just wish each and every Balloon Juicer a safe and happy holiday, whatever flavor you prefer. This is just the best place on the toobz, and I am thankful for that. May his noodly appendage touch us, each and every one!
asiangrrlMN
@J.: Me. I never got the popularity. I saw one whole episode (was forced to watch), and I’ve seen snippets of other. I wouldn’t want to spend two minutes with these people, so why would I want to watch a show about them?
Grievances. Not enough Tunch. Not enough Alan Rickman. Not enough chocolate. John McCain is sapping my will to live.
ruemara
@Linda Featheringill: YAY! Congrats for you!
And, I adored Seinfeld. There are about 3 black people in the world that can say that without cracking up.
Downtown Dan
Happy Festivus to the rest of us! Can’t think of a better holiday than one that allows “the airing of grievances”. We should be allowed to do that every day!
Platonicspoof
@Gary Farber:
My impression from your questions here and in a previous thread is that you are interested in, or accustomed to, writing tags yourself within your comments.
Since I don’t know much about writing html tags, and sometimes the people doing so turn succeeding comments into italicized or strike-through text when they don’t close tags, or they invoke the hyphen demon, I only use the buttons above the comment box. Are you using a device or browser that doesn’t show these buttons?
WP has it’s idiosyncracies, as I’m sure you know from having blogged for a long time. To answer one question, if I understood it, you can make a reply to more than one person simply by clicking their reply buttons in succession and their comment links will appear at the start of your comment.
You have mentioned that you know the three link WP limit here. I just say “to be continued” at that point, and continue in a new comment. Since I too like to give citations, I’ve submitted one comment in as many as three parts before.
The edit function is unpredictable, so I have to double check before I submit.
I copy my comments before submitting myself unto WP, but it is easy to forget to do it.
As you say, “I’ll make what I can of it, as ever.”
And personally, I appreciate the effort and enthusiasm behind the relatively large number of posts and comments here. Some very good blogs have very few comments.
But I share your Grievance with WP.
shadow's mom
@catclub: It’s probably too late for you to see this, but oddly enough, my grievance was not directly related to our national politics.
Rather, I am president of a resident’s association, which was turned toxic by some of our residents over the past few years. Our group, which is trying to resuscitate the organization – now that the two key offenders have left the community – has two members who are unwilling to put a damper on their personal grievances as we try to restore a positive community environment. Both have now resigned from our board, but it saddens me that they prefer holding tight to their hostility and negativity over setting personal inclination aside in order to cultivate greater community participation. Guess that is the national environment in microcosm though, isn’t it?
Dr. Psycho
@burnspbesq: Oh, don’t go gettin’ all genocidal, dude. We know how that movie ends.
“First they came for the stupid, racist recalcitrant assholes, and I said nothing because fuck, would you have…?”