I’m tired. Lily and I went 5-6 miles this morning, then I worked all day, came home, had a quick dinner, and just walked another 6-7 miles. I didn’t mean to, but I kinda forgot what I was doing while walking and was thinking and lost track of where we were, and when I realized how far we had gone, I knew the walk back was going to be fun. Was out there from about 5:15 until just a minute or two ago, and on the way back, I have to admit all I could do was pull a Nooners and just keep a walkin’.
At any rate, here is an open thread for you with some surrogate pets. Not Tunch:
I can’t describe what it is about this picture, but it is my favorite one in a long time. The expression on their faces is priceless. I’m getting a Matthau/Lemmon vibe or something:
And this picture came in recently, but I bumped it ahead because this dog has the must ridiculously long tongue I have ever seen.
It’s really almost obscene.
At any rate, here be yer thread. Behave.
Krissed Off
Number three: a German Shorthaired Pointer x Gene Simmons?
leaningtowardundecided
I love the dog pictures. I love the cat pictures. But for God’s sake, how long is the cow picture going to stay on the upper left side of this place?
Incertus
Anyone in south Florida want a kitten? We’ve got a momma and two kittens in our front room right now, and we’ll be taking them in to be fixed and get their shots this week, and trying to adopt them out soon.
And speaking of Florida, this might be the biggest dumbass in the state, and that’s a high bar to clear.
jl
Nice cat pic. Very relaxing. I think third Tunch clone we have seen lately. He’s up to something. FYI.
AhabTRuler
I like in the first picture, the titles of the supporting documents, such as they are, appear to be Country Living and Coast magazines. Surf & Turf!
@Incertus: Do you deliver to the Nation’s Capitol? ;-)
JD Rhoades
@Incertus:
This is the kind of story I tell my kids to warn them off weed, rather than the standard scare tactics. It’s worked great so far.
AhabTRuler
Not quite. That cat has a multicolored tail, whereas Tunch is clearly sitting on a different colored cat in all photos where we can see “his” tail. Although it’s possible that the other cat is lodged in his rectum, not sure.
demkat620
@Incertus: This one’s not a criminal, just criminally stupid.
Bet he was really good friends with L’il Ricky.
Sometimes I hate being from PA.
Colette
@Incertus: Florida does seem to breed a special kind of stupid. California probably can’t compete, but here’s the biggest dumbass in my state:
would you buy a used car from this guy?
Comrade Stuck
I don’t really need a 4 legged pet of my own, there are so many surrogate critters that hang around. Cat’s, dogs and yer odd lizzard are always available without the responsibility of ownership. Right now there’s a trio of adolescent pitbull/boxer mix pups hanging around that are all about klutzy mischief. Chasing the cat’s and butterflies and tagging along when on my daily walks. I don’t know where they come from or who their owner is, but I bet they are glad for the time out of someone else to entertain them and I am happy to oblige.
lutton
I gotta send in some pix; I just found one my kids took on the digital…
Cain
I wonder how much weight you’ve lost, John from all that walking? :-)
cain
Nikki
My first thought was Archie and Edith Bunker.
Johnny B. Guud
Just read an interesting article on the psychology of market bubbles.
This excerpt sums up the last bubble perfectly:
inkadu
To defend the stupid guy, don’t people have a reasonable expectation to privacy if they are talking about medical conditions in an emergency (sorta) situation? And, if not, isn’t reasonable for 911 operatives to tell them that they don’t?
Comrade Stuck
I’d go with Laurel and Hardy.
robertdsc
The Not-Tunch is great. I am always amazed at how cats are able to squeeze themselves into the smallest of places.
dr.hypercube
Tongue-girl is mine – she’s sweet (and goofy – 2 years old).
jl
@AhabTRuler: Tunch is subtle. We all know that. The Tunchforce is vast and subtle.
gex
@Cain: Has it been long enough for that to be noticeable? I suppose at the distances John and Lily have been walking it probably has.
John, how’d Lily do on that long of a walk. Was she dragging by the end or still going strong?
JenJen
Yay!!
After such a weird-ass news day (ie, Al Franken Victory = excellent news for Republicans; America a center-right country now more than ever, obvs.), what a joy to see happy puppies and kitties!
The two guys in the middle are just to die for! Look at them. Ohhhh.
Lily is a little champ with the long walks! I think it’s great, and she must be loving life with you, as if anyone ever thought she wouldn’t. To her, two long walks = a nice day’s work. No wonder she came along so quickly, John.
inkadu
I don’t have enough friends with dogs I could borrow. If I approached strangers, like the guy owns the bull mastiff that spends his entire life barking at pedestrians from the roof, and asked to walk their dog occasionally, they’d probably call the cops.
And that’s a lot of subordinate clauses. I am sure I messed up somewhere. Oops. Dangling modifier. But it has comedic value.
BDeevDad
The unions are getting into the parody business.
Healthy Americans Against Reforming Medicine (HAARM)
Comrade Stuck
Weren’t the wingnuts crowing about the righteous canning of the Honduran elected commie dictator Zelaya. Looks like Obama called it right to condemn the coup as illegal.
From Committee to Protect Journalists
Sounds a lot like the government of a certain central Asian country wingnuts love to hate.
jl
@Comrade Stuck: Thanks. The situation becomes clearer now. Zelaya’s plans may have sketchy in some ways, but not coup d’etat and exile-worthy. Certainly no reason for a domestic crackdown that I have read about.
RedKitten (formerly Krista - the Canadian one)
I absolutely luurrrve the one on the right — Tatey? He’s got that terrier scruffiness to him that just melts my heart.
Comrade Stuck
Raw Story
sab
You need to get a snugli to carry that poor little dog home if you wander too far afield. Dogs won’t complain. They just drop dead in their tracks if you ask too much of them.
Lesley
I didn’t mean to, but I kinda forgot what I was doing while walking
I did that once while walking a dog and I nearly had to carry him home. He was so tuckered and PO’d, he strolled up to someone’s working lawn sprinkler, draped himself over it and refused to budge. I stood for a good fifteen minutes on the sidewalk pleading with him to “get offa that stranger’s lawn!” No would do. That taught me to keep track of the time.
Btw, for long walks you might want to carry a water bottle and bowl (for Lily!) and some energizing biscuits (for Lily!) and oh yeah, whatever you need to eat and drink (though you can also share these with Lily).
James K Polk, Esq.
Thanks again, John for the inspiration to adopt an adult animal.
Sir Claude is settling right in here and becoming quite comfortable.
See Here
We’ve only been friends a week, but he already feels like family. He’s a strange fellow, loves to be picked up like a doll, loves to have his tummy scratched.
Thanks for the FURminator tip, too. I pulled another cat’s worth of hair off Sir Claude within 10 minutes of receipt.
Rosali
I love the 2 dogs, especially the one on the left. He looks cynical, as if his bullshit detection meter was registering an 11 when the picture was taken.
Violet
Wow, you walked 10-12 miles today! Are you losing weight? Maybe Tunch should try your exercise regimen.
@Nikki:
Yeah, me too. The little terrier-ish one looks so eager to please. They’re just adorable.
That tongue is wack. I don’t think that picture would be allowed on a wingnut blog. Definitely a sign you’ve crossed over, John.
I just love the kitty pic. So relaxing. Makes me want to take a nap.
asiangrrlMN
All the animals, they are cute.
@James K Polk, Esq.: I love love love Sir Claude and how he’s settling in with you!
Oh yeah, TUNCH!
AhabTRuler
@James K Polk, Esq.: Oooooh! Pretty black kitty!
Hob
Hey, my dog has a longer tongue than that. Okay, now the gauntlet has been thrown down, I need to find some good pictures.
jl
I kind of skipped by the middle (two dog) pic at first. That is a funny dog pic. Definitely two different dog mindscapes on display there. I saved it. Might make a nice screensaver.
One old disgusted fart dog and one happy happy dog.
steve s
@inkadu:
I’d guess that’s why the operator didn’t carry out the arrest the first time. Some part that, some part knowing the guy was just high and emergency resources didn’t really need to be expended on his dumb ass.
D-Chance.
Huge developing story on CNN: Michael Jackson… he’s still dead. Updates at 6. And 6:15. And 6:27. And 6:34. And…
CynDee
I know people who walked a dog to death. She was fine until she wasn’t.
Does your vet really think this far is OK in a single day for a four-year-old animal who has been mostly confined until last month?
pika
“One old disgusted fart dog and one happy happy dog.” That’s hilarious. Onion is old disgusted fart dog; Tater is happy happy dog. You made my night.
And F*** Cute Overload–they never accept pix of my dogs. John is much cooler. And doesn’t use baby talk.
MikeJ
D-chance, how’s Generalissimo Fransisco Franco?
Litlebritdifrnt
Speaking of dogs, Lucky, my cocker spaniel/black lab cross (13 years old) has been afraid of thunderstorms since he was confined to the vets for heartworm treatment and there were bad storms while he was in there. Anyhoo, my DH has surround sound, which he loves to use when watching movies. It now appears that he is not only terrified of thunderstorms he is now terrified of the surround sound and reacts the same way. It is going to be a long summer (while DH is getting home at a reasonable hour and watching loud movies every night).
JK
Bill Kristol is hot and bothered http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2009/06/kristol_liberal_media_and_gop.asp
that Todd Purdum has a well-written takedown of obnoxious dumbass Sarah Palin
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/08/sarah-palin200908?printable=true¤tPage=all
Comrade Stuck
Caprica just arrived from NF. wonder if it’s any good.
jl
@pika: Well, it *looks* like a happy happy dog. Not sure what is going on under those whiskers. Kind of like Tunch in that way. Not that Tunch ever looks happy happy, but same difference.
in Edit: sweet about Kristol -sticking up for his project. But then, he sticks up for all his projects, no matter what.
JK
@D-Chance.:
You want CNN to report real news? CNN doesn’t need to report any stinking news as long as they can boost their ratings by going to wall to wall with this goddamn Michael Jackson story. Fuck CNN. They should change their name to TMZCNN or EntertainmentTabloidCNN.
Jesse Jackson Urges Suicidal Michael Jackson Fans to Live
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b131971_jesse_jackson_urges_suicidal_michael.html
wonkie
I used to have a big fat hug. When I first got him, he was good for a walk of a mile or so. Graduallly his pace slowed, then his range,. By the time he was eleven “walkig the dog” meant him walking for four or five blocks and me carrying him home. He weighed thirty pounds, so I got good exercise.
I miss my big fat pug.
JK
Minnesota’s biggest mistake Michelle Bachmann lies about Census’ American Community Survey
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/30/bachmann-acs-citizenship
gex
@CynDee: Seriously? Was it from heat stroke? How long/far was the walk?
gex
@Litlebritdifrnt: I’d get some sound effects to play on the surround, and do some positive training. Play stuff softly and treat/praise, then slightly raise, etc. Maybe you can fix the problems they sent back with your dog.
Cat Lady
The two dogs – one is saying oh shit, we’re busted, and the other one is like what? we didn’t do it!
Good doggies. Woof!
MikeJ
Any more word on Waxman?
Demo Woman
@JK: For those of us that will not link to Kristol, can you share what he says.
Rommie
Man, Sanford was in *Wuv*… in the old days he’d be making an appearance on the Love Boat with Charo. Nowadays it’ll be some reality show of the month.
asiangrrlMN
Hey, anyone here got a hotline to God? Bachmann has said that she will run for governor if God tells her to do so. If any of you know this God, please kidnap it or something so it can’t say shit to Bachmann. Thank you.
JK
@Demo Woman:
Bill Kristol
Todd Purdum’s article reveals that Republican political consultant Mark McKinnon was a fucking liar when he stated that he wouldn’t work against Obama in the general election. He actually helped prepare Sarah Palin for her debate with Joe Biden.
ninerdave
Rant:
On my way home, I stopped to fill up the car, before handing it off to my wife so she could go to work. I paid at the pump and then walked in to the station to get a bottle of water. I gave him my debit card he said you need to purchase $10 or more to use that. I said, what do you mean? I’m filling up my car right now. He said, well each charge has to be over $10.
Are you kidding me? Needless to say, while I used to go to that station quite a bit, that was my last time.
end rant
dmsilev
@asiangrrlMN: Per Vanity Fair, Sarah Palin apparently believes that she’s God:
Bachmann probably listens to Palin, so that fits.
-dms
JK
@asiangrrlMN: God is busy feeding Mark Sanford other bible stories he can use to justify not resigning.
gex
@asiangrrlMN: Gonna have to disagree here. I won’t mind watching that train wreck at all. There’s too many media clips of objectively bat-shit insane stuff that will look nice on political ads during prime time network television. Show everyone but the 28-percenters who these guys think should be in charge.
I choose to believe she cannot win. Put it this way, if Minnesota elects her, it’s good to know, so I can get out and move somewhere sane.
gex
@ninerdave: And screw them for having a limit in the first place. I use my checkcard for everything. If someone doesn’t want my money, they don’t need my business. Apparently they are doing well enough to refuse business.
jl
@JK:
Thanks for that link to CAP. I forgot where I saw that and have been looking for it. I’ve been having an argument with the two official family wingnuts about Bachmann’s insane rantings on the census.
The wingnut line is that anything other than a count of people is unconstitutional, and all them new fangled questions put us in danger of totalitarian new world order black helicopter total domination.
Interesting to look at the first time many census questions were asked:
Race 1790
Relationship 1880
Marital Status 1880
Tenure 1890
Age 1800
Gender 1790
Place of Birth 1850
Language spoken at home 1890
School enrollment 1850
Military service 1840
Disability 1830
Occupation 1850
Rent 1880
So, from this, I guess the founding fathers were corrupted and went New World Order exactly one year in.
And those liberal fools wanted to know about disability in1830! Disability!? Har har. No wonder the U.S. failed. What a bunch of mediocre-o-crat victimologist wussies.
jl
I cannot believe Jackson fans are committing suicide because he died. I hope that news is not true-that would be a ghastly thing. I would prefer to think the corporate press messed up again rather than believe people would do that.
gex
@jl: Unfortunately this information is useless. They don’t know it, won’t learn it, and won’t believe you if you tried to tell them. Tire rims and anthrax, baby.
kay
@JK:
Bill Kristol fervently believes that Sarah Palin represents a huge coalition of rural women.
Which tells you all you need to know about the arrogance, elitism and complete cluelessness of Bill Kristol.
He should get out more.
JK
@dmsilev:
Palin/Bachmann 2012
Possible Bumper Stickers
The Dimmer Twins
Dumb and Dumber
Ignorance Is Strength
Competence Isn’t Everything
Johnny B. Guud
Kos’ message for Harry Reid regarding the Franken victory today:
D’oh!
JGabriel
Bill Kristol via JK:
This is not at all surprising.
.
JK
@kay:
This is one possibility. Another possibility is that Palin simply makes Kristol horny as she clearly does with Rich “Starbursts” Lowry http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NDYzMGFiNjQ0MWRjNmI0ZTlkYjgwZTExMjA3MWNiZTk=
@jl:
I feel bad for Minnesota. They gave us Eugene McCarthy, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, Bob Dylan, and Prince. Now they are stuck with the poster girl for Wingnut America. Apparently, Bachmann’s seat is very safe so she has little fear of being voted out of office.
steve s
Starbursts / Hormones 2012!
JGabriel
JK:
Given the outcome, how do you know McKinnon was lying?
.
RedKitten (formerly Krista - the Canadian one)
Just got back from seeing some awesome fireworks. Our small village always does them the night before Canada Day, and we’re the only place around that does that, resulting in our population experiencing a temporary jump from about 800 people to about triple that. They put on a hell of a fireworks show for a tiny little place like this. (Mind you, the noise of the fireworks was startling the hell out of Spawn of Krista — s/he was kicking me the entire time.)
jl
@JK: I guess they had to ask about race, for congressional apportionment (3/5s and all that nastiness). But why gender? Then they nose their big totalitarian noses into age in 1800. And wantin to know about R schoolin in 1850?
Been downhill towards dictatorship a long time.
Demo Woman
@JK: So that was the debate that she did acceptable by not answering questions. Did Kristol dispute the fact that the Vanity Fair article made Sarah look like a vicious, egomaniac?
JK
Fuck you Anderson Cooper. Again you’re leading with Michael Jackson. What do you know, he’s still dead.
Have you no sense of decency, you goddamn ratings whore.
Demo Woman
@RedKitten (formerly Krista – the Canadian one): The first born had a touch of colic, certainly not the full blown episode that many a mom would burn the motor of a vacuum motor out, and the only thing that would soothe him was Willy Nelson. It will be interesting to see how yours reacts to sounds now that he/she has heard the loud booms. Happy Canada Day.
demkat620
@JK: Yeah, I forget where I saw it originally but, she might be safe politically but she could get axed by redstricting. From the census. That she is telling people not to participate in.
Dumbass. Her, not you. :)
Rey
Just flipped over to CNN AC360 to hear about Franken finally winning or maybe some more Mark Sanford crying over his beloved mistress, but nooooo they were actually interviewing his nurse that admitted MJ needed pills to go to sleep. WTF?? I think CNN is trying to make up for the fact they weren’t on the air when Elvis died on the toliet.
jl
@Rey: CNN drop Iran? One of the reformist candidates, the cleric Karoubi, released an open letter today. the headline tweet on it from an iran blogger was “I cannot accept this government.”
I read it, as well as I could, from the Google translation. Pretty rough translation, and I could not make out what all of it meant, but looks like it will be real barn burner.
Any room for that between MJ nurse and Sanford wuv weepery?
demkat620
@Rey: What irritates me is the oh so smarmy post mortems they’ll do on themselves(the Media) and they’ll hem and haw and decide they went off the deep end with their coverage and they’ll promise to show more restraint and as soon as possible they’ll react just like this again. Remember Iraq? The Financial Meltdown? Swine Flu? No?
Neither do they. Every story is now the end of the world.
What does it take to knock this off the front page? It took the Iraq War to knock off 9/11.
So what knocks this off?
Rey
@jl
I completely forgot about the Iran situation see, that’s what happens when the King or Queen of something dies in this country, especially an entertainment personality. I heard Brittney Spears is back on the crazy train let’s hope she lives until atleast March 2010.
The Pale Scot
That’s great John,
Walking a dog u trust is the best way to clear your mind, nobody questions that you’re milling about aimlessly and you can get pulled over by the cops at 3am & “I’m walking my dog” is an all around excuse. I know that I wrote I best my songs that way, at least the meter and chords.
Demo Woman
@demkat620: Let’s not forget Chandra Levy.
JK
@JGabriel: I’m angry at myself for believing that Mark McKinnon was being on the level.
@steve s:
This is a winner.
@jl:
@Demo Woman:
I’d love to volunteer Palin and Bachmann to be part of the 1st manned mission to Mars. Palin and Bachmann prove that as long as you possess broad sex appeal, basic intelligence is optional for holding elective office. I want to see more women holding high elective office, but I’m disgusted by women who use sex appeal to win votes.
Rey
I think someone mentioned on this blog or maybe some other blog, a Jon & Kate murder suicide. Or, God forbid Obama caught grabbing some intern’s ass.
JK
@demkat620: @Demo Woman:
Smarmy post-mortems – See Kurtz, Howard
I’m finding the wall to wall coverage of the aftermath of Michael Jackson’s death far more obscene, tasteless, and objectionable than a few seconds of Janet Jackson’s bare breast during a Super Bowl halftime show.
Rosali
John Cole- I just want to take this time to express my appreciation for your website. I’ve been reading blogs for many, many years but I don’t remember when or what exactly drew me here. I know that I was reading liberal blogs when they referred to you as a rightwinger. I also remember references to John Cole, “the other John, not Juan Cole”.
+2
Anyway, somehow I wandered over here and found a website with a consistently thoughtful, insightful host and with good commenters. Thank you.
anonevent
@Comrade Stuck: I haven’t finished it, but one warning: Not safe for the science fiction channel. If you have kids and trouble with nudity around them, save it for yourself.
anonevent
@ninerdave: Call the card companies on the gas station. They’ll make him change his mind.
asiangrrlMN
@gex: Oh, you misunderstand me. I know she would not win if she ran (there aren’t THAT many bat-shit crazy people in this state). I just could not put up with the campaign she would run. I can’t stand her as it is. You are right. From a political point of view, it would be pure gold. From a personal point of view, it would be hell.
ninerdave
@Johnny B. Guud:
Um…Ben Nelson comes to mind.
ninerdave
@gex:
Yup, agreed. I also sent a note out to my neighborhood email list. Quite a few people got worked up about it. Woo hoo! Less buisiness for them. I do feel bad for telling the clerk off, he’s just doing his job. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to dig up the owners phone number or email.
@anonevent:
Can you please expand on this comment?
Bad Horse's Filly
@James K Polk, Esq.: Great cat! Congrats on the adoption, may you have many happy days/months/years together.
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
Cute pics! Someone mentioned cats getting into tight places, so here is Tommy our Two-Toothed kitteh and here is Tommy in a jam he couldn’t get out of. You are looking straight down at him (about five feet) in that shot. He is a huge cat but likes to pretend he is small and still a kitten.
Maybe he’s going through his second childhood.
anonevent
@ninerdave: Take a look at this. Most of the credit card companies restrict businesses from requiring minimums.
JMN Is Now asiangrrlMN's Official Stalker
@James K Polk, Esq.: Claude looks just like Eddie would, if Eddie had two ears and four legs.
asiangrrlMN
@DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal): Aw, Tommy is a big, beautiful boy! So cute.
Ash Can
That’s what he thinks.
Bill E Pilgrim
Testing an accent, fail.
E Schneider
Hah! You want tongue, here’s tongue. :)
Paul in KY
John, don’t overheat Lily. Dogs are not as good at people in walking/running long distances (without any kind of break/water). We regulate our body temperature much better than they do.
Also, given differing stride lengths, 6 miles for her is much more than it is for you.
I’m sure you already know this…