It is just a beautiful spring day here, and Tunch is letting me know it. He’s walking around chirping and generally acting all frisky. He also is sporting his super pink nose and puffy cheeks, so I know he is up to no good:
For some reason, his cheeks (where the whiskers come out, not sure what those are actually called) get puffy and his nose turns really reddish pink when he is ornery.
Also, I was told tea recommendations were being withheld until I posted a Tunch picture. I need a good serviceable Assam and I need some decaf options for the night.
JCT
Happy spring, Tunch — he looks quite handsome.
Spring is definitely here — our bad cat resumed “feeding” his kitten (our teenage son) — left him a nice dead bird next to his bed this morning. Heard the screaming in the basement when he stepped on it.
The kitteh always looks so surprised at the reactions to his gifts.
Joey Maloney
Decaf – there’s a really nice ginger peach decaf black tea my ex-wife used to buy. I can’t remember the brand name but it comes both loose and in round sachets, in a very distinctive tall, thin cylindrical container.
…one quick Google later: Republic of Tea.
BGK
Pink nose and whiskers right here.
BGK
Here also.
Xoebe
Maybe has has allergies, and they make him cranky?
Thought about Tunch this morning when I saw this.
Mnemosyne
@Joey Maloney:
From your description, it’s probably the Republic of Tea’s ginger peach decaf. They have that tall, skinny canister.
ColleenMary
Good Assam: from Upton Tea, their River Shannon Blend. My absolute favorite morning tea.
Quicksand
Whisker pads.
My cat, a bengal, puffs his out too when he’s feeling, I don’t know what the right word is here, “active.” I think it’s a sensory thing associated with hunting instincts.
Joe Beese
http://www.chris-floyd.com/component/content/article/1-latest-news/2114-success-stories-the-imperium-strikes-back.html
You Don't Say
He looks mad.
Are you watching Hines Ward on ‘Dancing with the Stars’?
Mnemosyne
@BGK:
Tuxedo cats rule.
fasteddie9318
Circular firing squad assembled! Ready, aim, FIRE!
Studly Pantload, Vibrant Trollbot for Obama
Whoa – pissy cat looks pissy. I don’t think he’s forgotten your little stunt with chasing Rosie with the vacuum cleaner and all the merriment that beget, Cole.
On the other hand, if that’s really his chirpy and frisky look, I’d hate to seem him grouchy.
Handsome little devil, though.
Captain Goto
…Hmmm…
-Handsome kitty [check]
-Copy of Charlie Pierce’s “Idiot America” [check]
-Terrible Towel [check]
-NFL paraphernalia w/ black & gold trim [check]
-Spray bottle of Febreze [check]
…yep, gotta be Cole’s digs, all right.
/bagnewsnotes
Menu
@Mnemosyne:
You meant torties I’m sure. (those are some fine looking cats, though)
Studly Pantload, Vibrant Trollbot for Obama
@Xoebe:
I can haz NSFW warning?
Ann Marie
Tunch looks very handsome. I haven’t tried any Assam teas (although Republic of Tea makes an “Assam Breakfast” tea that might be worth trying). There are two decaf teas I like: Twinings’ decaf English Breakfast and Celestial Seasonings decaf Green Tea.
cleek
our cats do that too.
it’s how we know to prepare to be bitten
BGK
@Mnemosyne:
Cat pile seen and raised.
Ana Gama
Try White Peony tea.
liza
I’ve recently become a fan of chrysanthemum tea. It’s a nice change from chamomile.
oondioline
Does that cat have a gland problem?
You should have this looked into.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
Kitteh!!! Has he lost a little weight or is it just the photo angle?
Amir_Khalid
@JCT: The kittehs mean well when they do that, so I guess you can’t really get mad at them for it. Mine killed the odd sparrow or two before they learned to keep away. Then she used to bring me disemboweled mices, but we seem to have run out of those around the house. So now she has to make do with showing off the occasional house lizard or cockroach.
Arclite
Fixed.
Medicine Man
Awww… handsome kitteh. Do you still have the crazy JRT, John?
RoonieRoo
Our cat Gracie is similar in that when she is feeling very frisky or excessively happy/mad her nose gets really bright pink.
We call it her “mood nose”
mick
very dark, quite caffeinated, stinky and delicous: Lapsang Souchong. ask for it by name:
拉普山小種/正山小种
Svensker
Joe Beese = The Fat Everyman
WaynersT
sad kitten in a bucket
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD16Y9hFjWQ&feature=player_embedded
Poopyman
@Mnemosyne: @Menu: Having two tuxedos and a tortie, and having had/known several others of both persuasions, I’ll just say that B/W cats always have strong personalities — not always for good, mind you. Torties, OTOH, are just sweethearts. End of story. I love my B&Ws to death, and they love me too, but they don’t love me like Max does.
Morbo
Is it really safe to have that much weight on a glass coffee table?
J.
When it comes to looking ornery, no one does it like Tunch.
suchislife
Verveine is my favorite of the very few decafs I like.
Blue Neponset
Tunch doesn’t look too chubby in that picture. He can almost sit with his paws together. That is something our heavy set cat still isn’t able to do, even after losing two pounds.
He does look super pissed about something though.
kdaug
Do believe that Tunch is mulling your demise in that pic, Cole. Ain’t love in those eyes – it’s like staring into the abyss.
I’m going to look at some pictures of flowers now.
James K. Polk, Esq.
Awesome Assam Tea for a decent price. (Loose Leaf of course!)
http://www.peets.com/shop/tea_detail.asp?id=64&cid=2001
schrodinger's cat
Tunch kitteh FTW!!!
Thanks, I greatly appreciate it.
Suggestion for Assam Tea
Brooke Bond Red Label
I also like Trader Joe’s Irish Tea.
Rosalita
About damn time we got a picture of our feline overlord.
PaulW
I’m looking for a comic book artist to commission a book cover for an estory I’m publishing. visit my blog for contact info. thanks.
schrodinger's cat
@Morbo: The Hovercat has landed.
Josie
Wow, he is absolutely regal. I’ll bet it’s all a front, though, and he is really secretly a cuddle bunny.
Mary G
To keep my head from exploding, I have been trying to stay off the news/blogs/Internet in general/TV/etc. It’s nice to check in quickly and see that excellent photo of an excellent cat. He does look slimmer, I think it’s the posture. Thanks to everyone else for cat pics and cartoons, too.
I imagine the look on his face is saying “if you ever take a computer apart again, John Cole …”
Marisa
Commander Tunch looks very dapper.
The best nighttime decaf tea is loose chamomile. Helps put me right to sleep.
Steven desJardins
I ran across an ad for a tea sommelier the other day:
http://stratfordtealeaves.com/home.php
Her business is in Canada, and I was planning to stop by her store when I visit the Stratford Shakespeare Festival later this year. She has a “tea bar” where she asks about your preferences and brews up samples, but you could probably get some decent recommendations by e-mail. I haven’t actually worked out how her prices work out on a per-ounce basis, though.
socialissimo
A decaf option? It’s called water.
Just Some Fuckhead
@You Don’t Say:
What happened? Did he trip one of the other dancers?
Satchel
This Assam is my daily tipple:
http://www.harney.com/Irish-Breakfast-Tea/products/98/
If I ever win the lottery I will drink Murchies Assam:
http://murchies.com/wwww/coffee.php?wCat=tea&sCat=3&lst=long
Dom Phenom
Rooibus tea is a pretty awesome caffeine free alternative. There are some blends that have coconut in them that are, IMO, delicious.
debit
The pink skin around Oliver’s eyes turns red when he’s feeling frisky. I really do think he’s almost all Turkish Van. This morning I found him sleeping in the bathroom sink.
Tim, Interrupted
Great picture of the handsome Tunch. Unfortunately, it is clear from the deep loathing evident in those beautiful eyes that your days are numbered.
He really is a gorgeous cat, but the best pics feature his distinctively colored tail, which contrasts so dramatically with his pure white coloring everywhere else.
And yes, it really is OK that you are a cat lady, John. Embrace it.
Cat Lady
WTF Red Sox?!? WTF!
Ash Can
Tunch is just trying to decide which of John’s shoes he wants to crap in.
Tim, Interrupted
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Oh please…YOU try supporting the combined mass of Kirstie Alley’s ass, thighs, ankles, and gut on YOUR leg, and then we’ll see what happens. The man should be awarded a medal.
Gina
@JCT: Does kitty leave it in one piece? Our guys usually gobble them down, then barf up the melange (looks like cherries jubilee with bones, fur, whiskers, etc.). My husband is most often the beneficiary of their gifts, as he’s up the earliest and doesn’t always pay attention to where he’s walking.
Just Some Fuckhead
@debit:
Sounds like a catnip hangover.
Menu
@Poopyman:
I lost my tortie early last summer and I miss her every day. It is the hardest cat loss I’ve endured.
TheOtherWa
I suggest Twinings cranberry, raspberry & elderflower tea. I buy it through Amazon. Haven’t seen it in any local stores.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Tim, Interrupted:
OMG, that was a cool way for them to get sympathy for the dirtiest player in football.
Tim, Interrupted
@Cat Lady:
I live in Jamaica Plain. It is my firm conviction that it would be best for the mental health of the pathologically overwrought Red Sox Nation if the team never again won a game.
I love most sports, but find baseball a tad boring anyway. But when I moved to the area four years ago I found a metro area full of people whose “fandom” is obnoxiously out of proportion to the rest of their lives.
I quickly became a Yankees fan, as far as my baseball preferences go.
Studly Pantload, Vibrant Trollbot for Obama
Breaking News: The Republican House just passed a one-week temp. spending bill that cuts $12 billion from current spending, which figures to *$500,000,000,000* in cuts annualized, but just happens to fund the military through the end of the fiscal year for, you know, the good of the troops.
I’m shocked that the Republicans would use the troops as pawns in their quest to drown the rest of the gov’t in a bathtub.
Shocked.
debit
@Just Some Fuckhead: We gave him catnip once. Once. I still have the scars.
singfoom
I’m going to have to disagree with those suggesting he looks angry. I think he looks imperious. He’s looking at the camera, deciding he will allow the picture to be taken, but petting must occur immediately afterwards.
Also, John, glass tables? Is Tunch all declawed? If not, how do you prevent glass table scratches?
gogol's wife
@Mnemosyne:
Yes they do. I have one who dwarfs Tunch.
I recommend that John Cole look at yesterday’s Times in the Dining section, the notes by Florence Fabricant. There was a picture of a pretty woman who was a “tea concierge” or “tea consultant” or something like that.
JGabriel
OT (Open Thread) (via PBS[Powder Blue Satan]) (Damn, that’s an awful lot of parentheses), but Fox & Friends — I like how they give it such a friendly Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood kind of title — have an objection to capitalists capitalizing on people’s desire to draw other people in more than one skin tone, i.e., Crayola’s Multicultural Markers & Crayons.
I’m guessing they won’t be happy until Crayola cuts costs by reducing their entire line to a Crayola Conservative Crayon Set, consisting of five crayons: black and white for drawing people, red and blue for drawing states, and yellow for drawing Megyn Kelly’s, Gretchen Carlson’s, and Steve Doocy’s hair-dye
.
srv
Why haven’t we been trolled on Libya lately?
Martin
@JGabriel: I think the GOP color set is:
Jesus White
Lazy Brown
Patriotic Red
Traitor Blue
Worship Green
schrodinger's cat
Another title for Tunch photo:
You want a piece of me, punk?
Tone in DC
The dirtiest players in football play for the Cowboys. Erik Williams, Flozell Adams and Roy Williams were bad. The current crop is no better.
Compared to those idiots, Ward is positively clean.
Ash Can
@singfoom: I can’t imagine a cat’s claws being hard enough to scratch glass. Even Tunch’s.
JGabriel
By the way, while researching the above post, I discovered something rather disturbing.
Apparently, there is an entire genre of You Tube videos devoted to Fox & Friend’s Gretchen Carlson Upskirt vignettes.
Yes, for real.
I find myself once again agog and perplexed by the multifarious banality and variety of Rule 34.
.
joeyess
Here’s my Rocky. I entered him in a contest about creationism.
You Don't Say
@Just Some Fuckhead: Wrong dancer.
The ladies love Hines. How is he the dirtiest player in the NFL?
srv
Why don’t bloggers read other bloggers?
http://www.teaviews.com/
WaterGirl
@Morbo: Just when you think there’s no new way to say it, along comes a comment like yours! I am conflicted… I have to admire the comment, but I do think Tunch has lost some weight.
Edit: Tunch just looks intense, not pissed. This beautiful photo made it to my desktop collection.
Mnemosyne
@Poopyman:
@Menu:
My late tortie Natasha was the cat who turned my husband into a cat person. (Sorry, no pics online.) Within a couple of weeks of us dating, she decided that he was her own personal human and devoted herself to him. She died of cancer six years ago and we still miss her.
But she did have “tortitude.” My favorite was, when she was mad at you, she would follow you from room to room and then turn her back on you so you knew you were being ignored wherever you went.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@Martin:
Excellent, but there’s a worrisome possibility that this could be confused with green as the symbolic color of Islam. I propose:
WaterGirl
@debit: That is too sweet. I
demandpolitely request a photo!@singfoom: My cats are not declawed and there are no scratches on my glass tables. (knock on wood)
Martin
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: Ah, yes, that’s much better. I was worried about the same thing.
Mnemosyne
@JGabriel:
The best part, of course, is that the markers first came on the market in 1992. Fox & Friends is outraged — outraged! — about a product that’s been on the shelves for almost 20 years.
Gin & Tonic
@srv:
They do. Everybody reads Sullivan, apparently.
Menu
@Mnemosyne:
Ah yes: “tortitude”.
Mavis was big on “the glare”. And random paw thrashings directed at the other kitties.
She was so loving though.
Studly Pantload, Vibrant Trollbot for Obama
@Gin & Tonic:
I loved the mother-in-law’s character in that series.
moops
allergies.
first warm weather is murder on some allergies.
if you skilled enough you can cut a benadryl into 1/8 and medicate your cat. I checked with the vet on this one.
themann1086
I think that the results from the recent PPP poll of Mississippi Republicans needs widespread coverage. The eye-popping stat: Mississippi Republicans think interracial marriage should be illegal, 46-40 w/ 14% not sure. Post-racial America!
singfoom
@Ash Can: Then I had a really shitty glass table top or something, because my cats which are front declaws scratched the hell out of it.
Not a lot, but 3 or 4 unable to repair gouges….
Ash Can
@singfoom: Holy mackerel. I never woulda thunk it. Learn something new every day, I guess.
geg6
Cole, you are seriously the only straight man I know who folds his Terrible Towel into a nice little package and who keeps a bottle of Febreeze on his coffee table (or even in his house).
This is only one of the many things that make me have so much affection for you.
mcd410x
@srv: Excellent link. Thanks!
Cheryl from Maryland
@You Don’t Say: Yes, Cole, we want to know if you are supporting Hines Ward!
Judas Escargot
A WI question: Clearly the election results are going to court.
If it gets to the WI Supreme Court, will Prosser be required to recuse?
(I guess I’m asking if there’s a written statute on the matter, or if the folks in WI will have to depend on Justice Prosser’s good faith).
geg6
Just finally read through the whole thread and, even as someone who grew up with two grandparents who were born and bred in England, I gotta say what the hell is wrong with you people? Tea? Seriously? Tea? “Sick” food, tea? People actually drink that shit when they aren’t sick?
And no, I don’t want to hear about the amazing virtues of Lapsang Souchong or Wuyi Oolong or even Earl Grey. I drank plenty of every variety of that stuff at my grandparents’ Sunday teas for my entire childhood, brewed to exacting specifications using special tea balls and pots for each. Swill, every one of them.
The only tea I drink since then is some Red Rose in a bag with a big shot of Jameson’s if I have a head cold. That’s the one and only reason to drink tea.
/rant
Poopyman
@Judas Escargot: Prosser? He’d have to recuse. I’m wondering about all the other judges who may have to recuse for one reason or another. Is personal friendship grounds for recusal?
Mike in NC
@themann1086:
No worries. President Barbour’s first initiative will be a Constitutional amendment along those lines. Just another part of the GOP grand strategy to turn back the clock 150 years, or as they’re calling it this week, “The Path to Prosperity” (sounds so much nicer than “Road to Ruin”).
geg6
@Poopyman:
Or the Chief Justice who Prosser refers to as “That Bitch,” maybe? In that case, I hope no recusal is necessary, just for shits and giggles.
PeakVT
@Gin & Tonic: What Silly Sully runs isn’t a blog because he doesn’t have comments. He runs an online diary in which talks about his man-crushes on various conservative politicians.
JPL
OT..in the OT
Ezra posted a link to the riders that the GOP want included in the budget..
link
I’m shaking my head in disbelief. Why are the democrats not screaming about this.
Mark S.
Moore Award: Paul Krugman
It just hits too close to home.
Martin
@Mike in NC: Ah, what you missed in the title was that under ‘The Path to Prosperity’ in teeny-tiny little letters was written ‘for Me’.
Mnemosyne
@JPL:
Uh, dude, they are:
What, is Harry Reid supposed to personally come to your door and tell you these things instead of talking to the press?
Tim, Interrupted
@geg6:
Gay!
Studly Pantload, Vibrant Trollbot for Obama
@geg6:
I actually gotta hand it to folks who find day-to-day pleasure in plant-flavored water. If only I had as much faith in a cup of chamomile to soothe me at the end of the day as I do in beer or wine.
Gin & Tonic
@Studly Pantload, Vibrant Trollbot for Obama: Since beer and wine are not plant-flavored water?
Mnemosyne
@Gin & Tonic:
You beat me to it.
lllphd
cute kitty.
ok to bring up WI here?
seems the sec of state is withdrawing the appeal on the bill publication issue because he did not appeal it himself and he was the one who originally filed the case. instead, the AG filed the appeal, and it does not appear they have standing, under these circumstances. i believe his case was regarding the bill’s publication issues.
this is the case that is currently before the supreme court there, and he has filed this …motion or whatever in that court. IANAL, but on the face of it, why would the AG’s office be able to appeal the publication case that the sec of state originally filed?
at any rate, this could get very interesting, given that prosser remains on that court until the end of july.
on a related note, someone listening to WI public radio just shared with me the info that the number of votes kloppenburg got tuesday in the election is almost half again the number of signatures they need to file a recall petition. granted, that doesn’t happen till next jan., but he’s gotta be sweating bullets.
JGabriel
@Poopyman:
It can be. That doesn’t necessarily mean a judge will recuse himself under the circumstance, even when warranted, c.f. Scalia and Cheney.
.
Studly Pantload, Vibrant Trollbot for Obama
@geg6:
I’m fuzzy on the details, but Maddow (I’m assuming it’s still safe to type her name without worrying about an unfamiliar knock on the door late at night) reported yesterday something along the lines that the judge Prosser call that name gets to appoint whoever will oversee the recount process.
Cuz payback’s – well, a bitch.
geg6
@Studly Pantload, Vibrant Trollbot for Obama:
Well, that just proves you’re alive and conscious. Anyone expecting tea to do what only a good lager or a nice cool glass of Reisling can manage to do is as crazy as my very proper Brit grandma was. Hell, they, too, probably like kidney in their pie or blood in their pudding.
Judas Escargot
@JPL:
Sec. 4015:
..i.e., power plants. Gift for the Kochs. Wonder why seven months, though (GFY ends Oct30, which is sooner than that).
Sec. 4030:
Um… WTF? isn’t that exactly one of ATF’s core functions?
Sec 3002:
This one’s obvious: Don’t remind people that ARRA has created construction jobs.
I love this one, right at the top:
Yeah. That’s not personal at all.
Studly Pantload, Vibrant Trollbot for Obama
@Gin & Tonic:
Bacterial waste product makes all the diff, donchaknow.
geg6
@Studly Pantload, Vibrant Trollbot for Obama:
That? Is too fucking awesome for words.
You Don't Say
@JPL: Unreal. Why isn’t the press making more of it is more to the point.
Martin
@JPL: You scream about that stuff after the government is shut down. Until then, it’s just negotiating tactics. On Sunday it’ll be ‘the GOP shut down the government because they wouldn’t back down on the consumer database. And you put numbers on that: “it would cost only a million dollars, but they would rather shut down the government than let consumers tell us about financial institutions that might be breaking the law”
Dems learned from the ‘Clinton wouldn’t let me sit up front’ fiasco. And Boehner can do nothing here. There are 48 more Repubs than Dems in the House. Boehner has almost twice that many new tea party freshmen that have never been involved in a budget deal and weren’t in politics when Gingrich fucked up. There’s a wise saying about those who fail to learn from history…
lllphd
cute kitty.
ok to bring up WI here?
seems the sec of state is withdrawing the appeal on the bill publication case (as opposed to the open meetings law case) because he did not appeal it himself and he was the one who originally filed the case. instead, the AG filed the appeal, and it does not appear they have standing, under these circumstances.
this is the case that is currently before the supreme court there, and he has filed this …motion or whatever in that court. IANAL, but on the face of it, why would the AG’s office be able to appeal the publication case that the sec of state originally filed? especially given the conflict of interest that was established in sumi’s court.
at any rate, this could get very interesting, given that prosser remains on that court until the end of july.
on a related note, someone listening to WI public radio just shared with me the info that the number of votes kloppenburg got tuesday in the election is almost half again the number of signatures they need to file a walker recall petition. granted, that can’t happen till next jan., but he’s gotta be sweating bullets.
JPL
@Mnemosyne: Thanks but they also want to shut the government down over the TSA hiring new employees or funding for wetlands. Reading the entire list makes me think that the repubs are really crazy.
Violet
Twinings Assam is perfectly serviceable. The good thing about Twinings is it’s relatively easy to find. I think the Assam is only available online and not in US shops, though. Weird.
Poopyman
Ah! I smell Republicans!
Lifted from Kos:
Mnemosyne
@Judas Escargot:
@JPL:
Howzabout blocking the US from exiting Iraq and/or Afghanistan?
There’s also the “Guantanamo Bay Forever!” provisions:
And, of course, they had to bring the crazy at the end, just to wrap things up properly:
JPL
Reid mentioned that there were several riders they could agree to… I can’t imagine agreeing to any thing on that insane list. If I were a democrat, I would insist they put in a rider to fund mental health care for the republicans who agreed to the list.
jwest
@geg6:
Now that Prosser has the lead again, I doubt he’ll recuse himself from anything.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/119421429.html
JGabriel
@themann1086:
Jeepers. It continues:
That Mississippi racists don’t like Mormons either is no surprise, but what makes them so fond of the only woman in the race? I wonder what the split was for Barbour.
.
Comrade Mary
I feel so, so guilty now about my — well, perfectly reasonable demands now. But I get to see TUNCH! Thanks, John.
Assam: I’m a little concerned about the current state of any Assam tea. I’m about to go out and buy some Yorkshire Gold, which is heavy on the Assam, but I saw a recent review on Amazon where someone said that the YG didn’t taste of anything really, which goes way against its reputation.
However, there seem to be some weather issues in Assam that have led to near-flavourless leaves for at least one year. I noticed that my usual brand of Assam-heavy tea was inoffensive, at best, last time, and the latest box is as pallid, but maybe more recent harvests and/or the blending of YG and similar brands has overcome this.
I’ll report back on the YG shortly, but I’d recommend trying out any Assam in small quantities to start. Get the best you can in loose leaves. And if Assam really is toast, you’ll find that Kenyan tea is almost as good, with a similar round and assertive flavour profile. Like Tunch :-)
Teas with no caffeine: any black or green tea that has caffeine extracted will taste like a pale shadow of itself, unless you are already a devotee of wimpy teas. I am not, so in good conscience, there is no decaf green or black tea I can offer you.
So we move on to herbals and tisanes, which aren’t really teas, but we all know what you mean: some kind of plant matter put into near-boiling water.
Flavour profiles:
1) Woody, warm, spicy:
a) Rooibos (aka bush tea, redbush tea, red African tea, etc.) is your first choice here. Go to a good tea shop that stores their wares properly and try a small amount. It will probably have a fairly strong cinnamon, spicy note, so you’ll have to experiment with adding sugar, honey or lemon.
b) Bengal Spice from Celestial Seasonings is a bit overwhelming for some people — it seems as if they’ve hit every sweet spice jar in the kitchen — but if you get one of the CS sampler packages, you should find this and a few others you can try. It’s kind of like chai tea without the tea and a little added vanilla.
2) Greeny and minty:
a) You can’t go wrong with a good green tea combined with a peppermint, spearmint or mint (or even catnip). If you choose the latter, expect to be wrestling Tunch out of your mug. (I used to have a little black cat who would hoover up my strong black tea with milk.) This will be half the caffeine, not caffeine-free, but could still work for you.
3) Sharp and citrus-y:
a) Rose hip tea and/or hibiscus, often found blended with lemon, are great wake-up teas. Tazo markets hibiscus, orange peel and licorice as Passion.
b) If you like raspberry, try Raspberry Zinger from Celestial Seasonings. I just checked the ingredients list: Hibiscus, Rosehips, Roasted Chicory, Orange Peel, Blackberry Leaves, Natural Raspberry Flavor With Other Natural Flavors (Contains Soy Lecithin), Raspberries and Raspberry Leaves. So it’s a little fakey — “flavors” added to a tisane? — but hey, it might show up in a CS sampler.
c) I’ve seen but have not tried lemongrass and ginger. If you like Asian food, this may work for you.
singfoom
@geg6:
As a person who grew up with two English grandparents and an English mom, I can say that I fucking hate coffee and cannot stand it. It it’s place, I drink Yorkshire Tea, which is the bombest tea in the world.
I have no time for this Earl Grey or Oolong bullshit. Black tea, with milk and sugar. And it must be strong. Irish Breakfast works if I’m out of Yorkshire, but it should be so strong it’s almost orange.
So stop being a tea-hater, hater. :)
Cris
via GOS, one Wisconsin county’s latest results may flip the statewide election to Prosser.
Obviously this isn’t over until the recount is in. But you know what’s good about this story?
It means DougJ can frontpage a Dead Kennedys song!
singfoom
@Comrade Mary: Yorkshire Tea FTW!!! The red is best, gold is more mellow. It’s strong if you make it by the cup.
geg6
@jwest:
We’ll see how the recount goes. Sadly for Prosser, That Bitch apparently gets to appoint who oversees the recount.
lllphd
@Poopyman:
excuse me?? “latest vote count”??
wasn’t the counting over? have they begun the recount? what is this, exactly?
ah, yes; stinky repugs.
(see my comment at 114)
Cris
14% not sure.
Not sure.
Because, you know, you have to think about it for a while.
Seriously folks. It’s not 46-40 with 14% undecided. It’s 60-40. If you have to think about it, you’re against it.
Brachiator
@themann1086:
Among the odd residue of the racial anxiety caused by Obama’s election is the apparently burning need for some Americans to get in touch with their inner racists once again. And so, you have George Allen making insensitive remarks:
These people just can’t help themselves. They need help.
geg6
@singfoom:
Disgusting stuff, tea. And to be honest, I don’t drink much coffee, either. I use it the same way I use tea: as a tool. Tea is for when you are sick. Coffee is for the early morning to help wake up, a cup or two only. Otherwise, I don’t drink either and don’t really enjoy or make a fetish of either (for instance, I detest Starbucks and all the coffee insanity and made up words that go along with it that they’ve foisted on the nation).
Beer and wine, OTOH…
JPL
I found a rider that I could accept if I were the dictator of the world..
Prohibits funding for upgrading Congressional committee rooms.
Cris
That’s because you haven’t had Monkey Picked Tie Guanyin.
CynDee
Lots of nice teas out there, but the BEST cuppa tea I ever found is Taylor’s of Harrogate Yorkshire Tea (Red Label).
O MY GOSH. Spoiled and ruined for life. I first bought a box of it when I was visiting Oxford. Far as I can tell, everybody there drinks it. Back in rural Florida, I get it from The English Tea Store on line and dream of traveling to England again.
I love the bags, and the Mr, who is no tea slouch, likes to brew the loose leaves in his Bodum coffee press.
It’s the perfect thing whether you’re herding sheep, reading, writing, computing, petting the animals, or just want to feel REALLY GOOD and lead an uncomplicated life forever.
lllphd
@Poopyman:
this graf caught my eye:
suspicious?
Cris
The Starbucks-pioneered latte revolution is not about coffee, it’s about milk and sugar. The coffee shops are packed full of people who don’t actually like coffee. Don’t believe me? Go order an espresso and look at the blank stare you get from the barista. “What, just the coffee? Nobody orders that.”
JGabriel
@JPL: And the House Republicans want another urban terror attack because of course they do:
Assholes.
.
FlipYrWhig
@lllphd: Why all this talk about the AP results anyway? The AP isn’t doing the vote-counting for the state, is it?
FlipYrWhig
@JGabriel: Probably that’s because they think “urban” is code for “black.”
Studly Pantload, Vibrant Trollbot for Obama
@jwest:
I’m sure it was filling your dark little heart with joy to be the one to break that news to us, but Poopyman had already beat you to it.
Better luck next time, eh?
joes527
@lllphd: The fact that it takes a couple of days to get an accurate count within ~.03% from an election with a historically high turnout is not surprising.
Yes, it is possible that this the result of someone messing around, but it is also possible that this is a perfectly honest correction that no one would have even noticed in a normal election where the front runner was ahead by tens of thousands of votes.
CynDee
@JCT: Our sweet little small kitteh once caught an magpie in the middle of the night (18″ wingspread). Holding it in her mouth, she leaped with it into our son’s window (5 ft. off the ground – had the screens off for cleaning.).
She brought it into the dining room. There was crunching in the dark. Next morning we found a big file of feathers. And that’s it. No blood, no, beak, no feet, etc. Kitty was beautifully clean and sleeping sweetly next to the pile. Can’t remember about bones. There must have been some. All I remember is the feathers.
Mnemosyne
@JPL:
I would survive if the mohair farmers couldn’t get their nonrecourse marketing assistance loans anymore (Sec. 4026), though it seems kind of dumb to cut off one tiny subsidy and ignore the gigantic subsidies that Big Ag gets.
ETA: Hey, what a shock, Republicans hate schoolchildren:
Violet
@geg6:
Do you like iced tea?
lllphd
@FlipYrWhig:
no no; look at the link. the AP noticed that the winnebago cty numbers had changed after 10:30 or so yesterday!
i wondered your same thought at first, but the county’s website is showing the change, not AP. they merely brought the world’s attention to it, which is what they’re supposed to do.
someone should give them a goddam medal, doncha thin?
singfoom
@CynDee: Not sure if you’re aware, but Amazon has Yorkshire for sale in 6 80bag box packs. I’ve got mine on a 3 month timer :)
ruemara
@JGabriel:
I am blown away by the insanity in the riders. It’s…beyond comprehension. And yes, I think the only thing that could be agreed to is ending funding for redecorating the Congressional meeting rooms. Who’d let these nuts be responsible for good taste?
lllphd
@joes527:
i guess i had thought the counting was over, but then again, given it wasn’t really over in the wee hours, i suppose it shouldn’t surprise me that folks were still or again counting at 10 am.
meanwhile, wondering if there might be any other changes.
hm. wonder how this will play out. clearly, recount city.
Poopyman
@lllphd:
HELL YEAH! Will anyone actually call them on it? I ain’t holding my breath.
demz taters
@Martin: Back in the day, when the schools still issued crayons in the eight basic colors, orange was what we used for skin tone. In that spirit, I’d suggest adding Boehner Orange to the palette.
JGabriel
@FlipYrWhig:
More likely it’s because the GOP knows the most likely vector of terror attacks for the next few years is their conservative fanbase, riled to violence by their own rhetoric, and they don’t want anyone getting in the way of it.
.
jwest
@Studly Pantload, Vibrant Trollbot for Obama:
Curses! Foiled again.
Poopyman
@CynDee:
Nope! Sweet little Maxie (noted upthread) is the quickest, surest killer of our lot, and there’s always a mess of feathers, but never a bone or anything else left.
Fortunately the urge doesn’t strike her that often, and the birds are very wary these days.
FlipYrWhig
@lllphd:
I guess this is what I had in mind:
I don’t know why the official tally has anything to do with the AP in the first place. Was there no official state count at the end of the night?
geg6
@Violet:
Even more disgusting than the hot stuff. I wouldn’t drink it if I was dying and it was the only thing that could save me.
Elizabelle
Just took Andrew Sullivan’s Dish off my bookmarks bar.
Replaced it with Ta-Nehisi Coates link.
Aaaaaah.
Mnemosyne
@ruemara:
I would luuuurve to see the reaction of the oil companies if they put Sec. 4023 into effect. (Bans foreign aid to Saudi Arabia.)
Karl Rove would tear out what little hair he has left.
Mnemosyne
And if Paul Ryan’s budget didn’t make it perfectly clear that Republicans hate old people:
FlipYrWhig
@lllphd:
Someone on one of the MSNBC prime-time shows was saying that Wisconsin election officials prefer to reconvene in the morning to avoid making errors from being too tired and out of it.
Cris
There never is. The SOS usually doesn’t certify results for at least a couple days. Until then, all published tallies are considered “unofficial” and may be revised.
joes527
@Mnemosyne:
Section 19 must be the part about serving the students aborted fetuses.
Oy. Remind me never to try to understand what politicians are saying by reading the actual legislation.
From the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (which doesn’t seem to have a section 19 any more)
Yeah – that makes it clear.
FlipYrWhig
@Mnemosyne: I’m telling you, the Republicans’ overarching theory of government is that Democrats use it to buy off and/or reward their supporters. Projection, of course.
FlipYrWhig
@Cris: Ah, OK, makes sense.
Ash Can
@jwest: Weren’t you the genius who told us a couple of days ago that no one would vote for someone with the name of Kloppenburg?
justawriter
I would recommend Upton Tea’s Assam Sampler here. Upton also sells a decaffeinated Assam.
HTH
philarete
There was an inquiry in a thread earlier this week about whether the Federal Courts would close in the event of a government shutdown.
I’m a Court employee, and we have been officially told that the Courts have access to enough non-appropriated funds to remain open for two weeks in the event of a shutdown.
After that two weeks, the Courts are committed to discharging their responsibilities under Article III of the Constitution, but exactly how that’s going to work we have not yet been told.
Mnemosyne
@joes527:
Nope, I found a PDF of the act on the USDA website, and it does have a Section 19 (see p. 82).
Section 19 provides funding for schools to make fresh fruits and vegetables available to schoolkids for free. I guess those slacker 3rd graders need to earn their apple instead of having the big bad gubbmint give it to them.
Cris
Good for them. Considering that election results don’t take effect until the beginning of the next term of whatever office is at stake, there’s no legal reason to certify the results on election night or the next day. (One of the many things that made Bush v. Gore so odious was Scalia’s assertion that prolonging a vote count casts doubt on the election’s legitimacy.)
We just love the thrill of instant reporting, so we expect to have official results pronto. Can you imagine how it was in the 19th century, when you probably had to wait weeks before hearing how an election went?
Martin
@FlipYrWhig: Private enterprise can do everything better than government.
Studly Pantload, Vibrant Trollbot for Obama
Ranking House Budget Committee (Dem.) confirms it: The Man of a Thousand Tears carries little actual negotiating authority, he’s just the reluctant mouthpiece for the teabaggers.
It’s like you’re trying to negotiate a price for a car with a salesman who seesm eager to come to terms, but he keeps having to go check at the manager’s desk each time you try to move the price point, because it’s never the salesman who can sign off on the final price.
Of course, Boehner’s soul is already double mortgaged, so this probably isn’t a big deal for him.
Cris
A conservative colleague of mine told me in 2004 that Kerry’s strategy would be to keep the race “close enough to steal.” No sense of irony. It’s all projection, all the time.
Cris
Well, he never done this before, but seein’ as it’s special circumstances and all, he says I can knock a hunnert dollars off that TruCoat.
Brachiator
@Mnemosyne:
Actually, I would bet good money that there is some snack food company upset that their target market has been usurped by someone pushing fresh fruits and vegetables.
And I’m someone who doesn’t think that kids will inflate into little balls of obesity if allowed a little junk food now and then. But still.
And I also bet that this little budget cut is inspired by someone filled with rage that Michelle Obama would dare to suggest to Real Americans(tm) that eating a healthy diet might just be a good thing.
Studly Pantload, Vibrant Trollbot for Obama
@Cris:
Fargo FTW!
Violet
@geg6:
LOL. Guess that’s pretty definitive, then. No tea for you!
lllphd
@FlipYrWhig:
AP “has anything to do with it” because they can and do report the results as a press outlet. evidently, they were monitoring the numbers that were posted on each county’s website (which each of us has the right and wherewithall to do on our own, but that’s what the press is for), and noticed this discrepancy yesterday.
what is of interest is that window when the numbers changed. but someone here (joes527 at 140) pointed out that it’s not unusual for numbers to change slightly in any and all races, except we don’t notice them when the margins are larger, only when it’s this close.
at this point, i’m disinclined to call foul until i hear more about how this change happened in that county.
lllphd
@Poopyman:
um, i’m not so sure there’s any reason to be aghast here. i mean, they were up till the wee hours counting, and then came back to finish (at least i saw that this was the case in several counties), so making a change late wednesday morning is not that bizarre, i suppose. just curious what prompted the change. did they find more ballots? did they add wrong? had their previous totals not actually been the final tally?
inquiring minds beg to know.
JCT
@Studly Pantload, Vibrant Trollbot for Obama: Well that’s a great negotiating strategy – announce that your “negotiator” has no authority. Boehner’s going to break all records for the weakest House Speaker ever.
So now the inmates do have control of the asylum. Hey guys, how’s that “embrace” of the insane teabaggers going now?
lllphd
@FlipYrWhig:
ah; typical WI level-cheeseheadedness.
(how did walker miss out?? oh yeah, isn’t he from chicago??)
Efroh
He really does have a pink nose. Looks sort of like the Easter Bunny if the Easter Bunny were a cat.
elmo
The one and only cat I’ve ever had would bring chipmunks into the bathtub for sport. He liked to play with them as they tried to get out. I’d usually get there in time to rescue them, but not always.
One day he was playing in the bathroom, but I didn’t hear any squeaking or any little claws on the porcelain. I thought that was odd. I went to check.
Payback (that was the cat’s name, which is a whole other story) was happily perched in the bathtub, batting a little ball back and forth and chasing it around. A little fuzzy ball, about the diameter of a quarter. It looked for all the world like a solo game of air hockey. So cute!
Except that I’d never bought him any fuzzy balls. So I looked closer. And damn if a decapitated chipmunk head doesn’t look just like a little kitty toy.
lllphd
@Cris:
yeah, this pronto push is what made it so easy for the HAVA (help america vote act, remember that??) to load up on the electronic voting machinery that the republican scalawags were drooling over. interesting how that never got media attention, yet most of those machines are now for sale on ebay.
Mike E
John, don’t quote me on this but you can “decaf” your regular tea by steeping for about 45 secs, dumping the resulting broth, then pouring in fresh hot water over the used leaves–this apparently brews out a majority of the caffeine.
joes527
@Mnemosyne: Hmmmm…. The one I found was out of date then.
In any case, I’m sure that the objection was to “fruits and vegetables.
Vegetables are elitist and fruits are gay.
Besides, free fruits and vegetables would crowd out the sugary drinks that the kids buy at the vending machines and that would mean a loss of profits. WHY DO YOU HATE AMERICA?
jl
thanks for Tunch pic. He looks healthful and slim, at least from that strategically chosen angle.
Common Sense
This one’s gonna cause fireworks:
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/264209/breaking-computer-error-gives-prosser-7381-more-votes-almost-certain-victory-christian
SiubhanDuinne
@JPL:
The best part about that whole four-page list of Policy Riders? The introductory line: This list is not comprehensive.
jl
@Mnemosyne:
I clicked up the chain of links to see what the fuss was about.
Thanks for that disgusting information. I guess the bit axing mohair subsidies was put in so the GOP’s army of hacks could claim that the TeaGOPpers were taking on agricultural subsidies.
And fruit flavored drinks for school kids is the American Way. What is with this commie ‘apple a day’ stuff, anyway?
lllphd
oh no.
A very fluid situation in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election where, for the moment, challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg has retaken the lead. But — and it’s a big but — Waukesha County is holding a press conference at 6:30 p.m. ET at which it will reportedly be announced that an entire city went uncounted on election night. It’s in a heavily Republican area, which should give incumbent Justice David Prosser a substantial number of additional votes, perhaps as many as 7,000.
tess
@Mnemosyne: That is awesome. My tortie just looked at us with that “I’m not upset, just so very disappointed” expression. It’s like she knew I’d been reared Catholic.
FlipYrWhig
@lllphd: I was (erroneously, it turns out) assuming that there was some kind of official statewide count, and thus that whatever errors AP might have made from moment to moment would be corrected by whatever the state came up with on its own.
Judas Escargot
@Common Sense:
How fucking convenient.
asiangrrlMN
TUUUUUUUUNCHIE! There’s my little white fuzzball! He doesn’t look cranky at all. What a cutie. And, after reading roughly forty comments, I must say this:
@BGK:
@Mnemosyne:
You both have some VERY cute tuxedo cats.
And, Cole, in thanks for the Tunch picture, The Republic of Tea Pomegranate Green Tea. Not decaf, but totally yummy. Put in a little sugar and yum.
Pat
That’s the best darn pic I’ve seen of the boy yet!
Sarah in Brooklyn
Good kitty!
Here’s an Assam I’m enjoying quite a lot. Very affordable, too.
For caffeine-free, try this nice chai
or
Rooibos Earl Grey – try it with a little milk. Yum.
Steeplejack
Cole:
Those are the quarter-panels.
maye
African Red Bush tea (no caffeine). Also known as Rooibos.
socialissimo
For a night tea, try Golden Monkey – very mild, but still has the black tea taste, and it won’t keep you up.
TheMightyTrowel
@suchislife: I’m totally with you on the verveine – verbena to most english speakers – i’m planting one in my garden this spring so that I can have a permanent source.
Trinity
Tunch is King!
Best moment of this awful week.
Paul in KY
@singfoom: English mother, grew up with tea, dislike coffee.
Just bought some tea from the Rishi people out in Cali. Thanks to whomever posted a link to the compamy.
Paul in KY
@Cris: I can drink a latte when it has hazelnut syrup, etc.
Straight coffee, yick :-)
Paul in KY
@geg6: Boy, you’d fit in well around Central KY ;-)
poi
Re: withholding info until tunch
John you should tell Sully that you wont respond on Ryan until we get more beagle picture–there should always be a carrot to go with the stick.
poi
fasteddie
I love the tea from Ahmad of London –
http://www.ahmadtea.com
I used to buy a Ceylon tea from Adagio ( now $19/lb plus shipping ) when I found this at my local mediterranean foods/falafel/Pita store. Ahmad Ceylon is $6 per half-kilo ( 1.1 lbs ) and I like it better, regardless of cost. ( but being less that 1/3 the price is a nice benefit.
Their
I have never found a plain decaf that is very good – which is why you have to go flavored. The Republic of Tea Ginger Peach Decaf is good – but you can just buy any plain decaf and flavor it yourself. Run a vegetable peeler over some citrus fruit and let it dry with the oven light.
Tazo orage herbal tea is good – I mix with 2 decaf bags ( because I have never found any decent decaf, I just buy cheap bags ) and make a nicely flavored pot.
Good luck!
Ahamad is available from here ( in OH ) and they even have a decaf!!! Really good stuff.
http://www.teawithgrace.com/Ahmad-Tea/
品缘
Business Tieguanyin, Tanzanian foreign efforts, Lapsang Souchong, Kim Chun-mei, green tea, tea and other tea, pound is also a wholesale price, welcome to inquire
mail: [email protected]