Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Dinky Hocker shoots smack!

How do you get liars to care about the truth?

I swear, each month of 2020 will have its own history degree.

Shock troops for the Unitarian Jihad.

Han shot first.

This blog will pay for itself.

I can’t take this shit today. I just can’t.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Too inconsequential to be sued

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

All your base are belong to Tunch.

Deploy the moving finger of emphasisity!

This is a big f—–g deal.

… down to kool-aid drinkers and next of kin at the trump White House

We can agree to disagree, but i’m right.

False Scribes! False Scribes!

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

It’s not even safe to go out and pick up 2 days worth of poop anymore.

Screw the Judean People’s Front. Splitters.

Just a few bad apples.

Naturally gregarious and alpha

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Friday Morning Open Thread: A Chance to Breathe Again

Friday Morning Open Thread: A Chance to Breathe Again

by | 179 Comments

This post is in: , ,

A sincere and personal thanks to our indispensible WaterGirl, whose holiday labors gave all of us so much joy… and gave me a chance to spend the day mostly loafing, which was wonderful!

Back in this ugly reality… I’ll admit my first thought, upon seeing the top pic, was Bastid better not have tried to sell off the Resolute Desk. More likely, though, either Melania booted him out of the Oval Office to finish her holiday decorating, or else the NSA transition team is already busy tearing the office down to the studs, looking for bugs (including the kind spread by fecal contamination & long-neglected fast food detritus).


Swan, or turkey?

Courtesy of commentor Tenar Arha, another Thanksgiving leftover, because who doesn’t love those leftovers?

Reader Interactions

179Comments

  1. 1.

    Geo Wilcox

    Was he going for the optical illusion of being bigger than he is due to a smaller desk or is someone pranking the fuck out of him?

  2. 2.

    Baud

    A sincere and personal thanks to our indispensible WaterGirl, whose holiday labors gave all of us so much joy

    QFT

  4. 4.

    Baud

    Someone should photoshop in crayons.

  5. 5.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think it’s nice to call Tenar Arha another Thanksgiving leftover.

  7. 7.

    RSA

    I’ve already seen the photo of him sitting on a concrete swan, indoors, in a white suit and bare feet.

    Peter Stormare wore that look a lot better.

  8. 8.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    I kept trying to settle down for one of yesterday’s zooms and being phoned by everyone I ever knew. I think all of them were a little lonely and didn’t have jackals to zoom with. Anyway, I’m sorry I missed it. Sounds like a good time.

  9. 9.

    Betty Cracker

    Apparently that tiny desk has been around for a while, and normal presidents use it when they’re signing important legislation where they want a photo op with a ton of people witnessing the signature. No surprise that a narcissistic sociopath like Trump wouldn’t grasp the importance of including others in images using that desk, so he looks like a whiny toddler banished from the grownups’ table.

    Friday Morning Open Thread: A Chance to Breathe Again

  11. 11.

    p.a.

    You know there’s one crew sweeping the WH for bugs and another crew doing inventory on the valuables while also scanning online sales and swap sites.
    “Goddamnit if I have to peel another ‘Property of Donald R Trump’ sticker off the Gilbert Stuart…”

  13. 13.

    SFAW

    @Patricia Kayden:

    I assume that tiny desk will be one of the many White House items that Orange Bigot tries to steal when he’s finally kicked out.

    Probably easier to catalog the things he doesn’t try to steal.

  15. 15.

    germy

    Corrupt U.S. oil executives

    They thought they were going to a business meeting. “A corporate jet shuttled them to Caracas and they were told they’d be home for Thanksgiving. Instead, a cadre of military intelligence officers swarmed the boardroom, taking them to jail.” https://t.co/rjf5owJ4q4— @tiffanydcross (@TiffanyDCross) November 27, 2020

    Maybe we can tell Trump he’s going on a “business meeting”

  16. 16.

    SFAW

    @p.a.:

    while also scanning online sales and swap sites.

    The key question: would he post them on the NYC, the WDC, or the Mar-a-Loser Craigslist?

    Hah! Trick question, he wouldn’t do any of the actual work required to post them.

  18. 18.

    Betty Cracker

    No one really knows how bad the coronavirus spread is here in FL because the governor 1) lies and manipulates the level of testing the state controls to rig the count, 2) has been hiding from the press since the election (issuing official communication via video instead of news conferences),  and 3) hired at least one COVID-denier crackpot for the state data team.

    But it’s not possible to cover up overwhelmed hospitals, and that’s coming home to roost in my county. There’s an article in the local paper about the county’s public health official contacting the two towns that are planning Christmas parades and begging them not to assemble crowds because the two hospitals are already hard hit and wouldn’t be able to handle an influx.

  19. 19.

    SFAW

    @germy:

    Maybe we can tell Trump is going on a “business meeting”

    at a “farm upstate, where he can run around as much as he wants”?

  22. 22.

    SFAW

    @Tony Jay:

    Piss off, President Pettygrift.

    What’s the difference between “piss off” and “sod off”?

    Asking for a bunch o’ Yanks who wish you Brits would learn to talk good English.

  25. 25.

    germy

    I know we're focusing on Biden winning over and over every day. But have some perspective. Please don't forget to focus on Trump losing over and over every day.

    — Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) November 24, 2020

  26. 26.

    Tony Jay

    @SFAW:

    “Piss off” is ruder and is more likely to be said in anger, while “Sod off” is a bit lighter. Otherwise they’re pretty much interchangable.

    Now “Shove it up your pygmyhole or I’ll choke you with your own ballsack“, that’s something you could say to Granny on her birthday and still get a spoonful of jam. 8-)

  28. 28.

    SFAW

    @Tony Jay:

    Now “Shove it up your pygmyhole or I’ll choke you with your own ballsack“, that’s something you could say to Granny on her birthday and still get a spoonful of jam.

    Thanks for the pro tip.

  38. 38.

    Luciamia

    Forgot to listen to Arlo Guthries ‘Thanksgiving Masacree’ yesterday. Gonna have to hunt it down.

  40. 40.

    Anne Laurie

    @SFAW: Linguistic history:  In traditional British usage, sod was short for sodomite.  And during the first world war, British conscripts were required to check off a box indicating their religious affiliation:  Church of England, Methodist, Roman Catholic, or Other Denomination.  The ODs were perceived to be mostly pacifists, Quakers or similar.

    The ranks assigned to headquarters tended to be, it was said, those who wouldn’t survive the trenches — ODs and sods.  Which is still widely used in Commonwealth countries where we Americas would say ‘odds and ends’…

  41. 41.

    JMG

    Good morning everyone! Just finished the breakfast of champions. Black coffee and a slice of leftover apple pie with a slice of Emmenthal on top.

  42. 42.

    grandmaBear

    Thank you everyone for the zoom meetings yesterday. I stopped in at the end of the 2 pm one on a break from cooking and just to see if it was working, and a bit longer at the 6 pm one but was slipping into my turkey-stuffing-wine coma by then so not contributing really, but it was great to attach faces to the names I’ve been reading for so long. Hope you all had a wonderful day.

  43. 43.

    germy

    Tried my new mask argument with a taxi driver. Wasn't wearing one & was angry about mine. 'I like the anonymity,' I said. ‘We’re the most surveilled country on earth. They’re listening to us through our phones to sell us shit. I don't wanna be watched’ Put his mask on. Outcrazied

    — Oobah Butler (@Oobahs) November 25, 2020

  44. 44.

    Brachiator

    I know we’re focusing on Biden winning over and over every day. But have some perspective. Please don’t forget to focus on Trump losing over and over every day.

    Remember that no matter how much he rages and howls, the Orange Beast cannot get away from this central truth, as embodied in this brief song,

    Trump is Gone.

    I can imagine Trump running through a White House corridor and blubbering “I don’t wanna go!” as he is chased by security.  They may have to drug him before they load him into the helicopter and haul his ass back to Mar a Lago.

  45. 45.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Mustang Bobby:

    Thanks, WaterGirl, for putting together the Zooms, and thanks to the moderators who ran them.  Lots of fun. 

    Seconded.  It was nice to put some faces to names, and to hear people taking intelligently about governing instead of just reading discussions in the comments.  I look forward to when we can do in-person meet-ups again.

  46. 46.

    p.a.

    @germy: mention facial recognition tech too!  Also too, don’t know the poster’s situation at the time, but I would consider getting another cab if possible.

  47. 47.

    dww44

    @Baud: I honestly thought it was photoshopped when I first saw the tweet above. But then I saw Walter Schaub’s tweet confirming that it was indeed real, and was kind of awed. That green carpet and that desk. He really has no taste in anything.

  48. 48.

    Brachiator

    @Anne Laurie:

    The ranks assigned to headquarters tended to be, it was said, those who wouldn’t survive the trenches — ODs and sods.  Which is still widely used in Commonwealth countries where we Americas would say ‘odds and ends’…

    Going down the word history rabbit hole on “odds and ends”

    Odds and ends probably derived from an earlier term from the mid-1500’s, odd ends, referring to short leftovers from bolts of cloth and then later to short leftovers of any material, such as “odd ends of chain” or “odd ends of lumber.” By the mid-1700’s it had morphed into ‘odds and ends‘ and become more generalized, …

  49. 49.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @dww44: I’m trying to figure out why he looks so weird at that desk. I think his height must be all in his legs so when he sits, he looks like he fits the desk except we can see that the desk is really small.

  50. 50.

    Jeffro

    @Mustang Bobby:Thanks, WaterGirl, for putting together the Zooms, and thanks to the moderators who ran them.  Lots of fun.

    I’m bummed that I couldn’t get to the 2pm or 6pm ones (and was asleep before the 10pm one rolled around) but thanks WaterGirl for all the time & effort it took to set up the Zooms!

  53. 53.

    Tony Jay

    @SFAW:

    Some things are just too important not to know. (both thumbs up)

     

    @NotMax:

    It might be, but I know it best from singing the National Anthem every morning before breakfast.

  55. 55.

    Tony Jay

    @raven:

    Like with Anne Laurie’s bit of linguistic history below, there’s always a reason for these things hidden in the mists of time which, when you find out about it, makes you slap your forehead and go “Of course!”

  57. 57.

    Phylllis

    @JMG: Mine was coffee and two of the deviled eggs, that I forgot to put out with dinner yesterday afternoon. Also forgot to buy rolls; hubby said it didn’t matter, as I would have forgotten to cook/serve them anyway. I hate it when he’s right.

  59. 59.

    germy

    @Tony Jay:

    And that will continue into the far future.

    A hundred years from now, people will say “Did you know ‘KFC’ stands for ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken’?”

  61. 61.

    Betty Cracker

    @debbie: No idea. I’ve seen stories about long lines in more populated areas, but not recently. AFAIK, there’s only one place in my county where anyone who wants one can get a rapid test, but access is limited and it costs $90 out of pocket.

    I suspect what’s happening in FL is like what played out in the country — cities were affected first, then those local governments took action, which was effective at first, but then the disease spread to rural areas governed by dumb fanatics who failed to take any effective measures, so now there’s a vicious circle.

  62. 62.

    SFAW

    @Anne Laurie:

    I have (of course) heard “ODs and sods,” but had mistakenly assumed it was “odds,” not ODs. I had also assumed “sod” had something to do with land/ground/ground cover.

    So, thanks very much! for the lesson. It’s a pretty interesting etymology.

  64. 64.

    Kristine

    Adding my thanks to @Watergirl for the Zoom get-togethers. I attended the 6pm meeting—great to match faces to familiar nyms.

  65. 65.

    WereBear

    I am so sorry I missed Zooming! I meant to, but got caught up in couple time with Mr WayofCats and lost track of time, then crashed early from all the festive intake :)

    I think it’s a fantastic idea I hope will come again. Thank you, WaterGirl!

  66. 66.

    germy

    When cheap postage stamps came out in the 1800s suddenly people could send Christmas Cards.

    Since the medium was new, the visual language didn't really exist yet.

    Their symbolism is all over the map and it's fantastic.#MerryChristmas #History #VisualArt pic.twitter.com/DFlsBZT80m

    — 🤨 BreadTube's Native Great Grandfather 🌸 (@RabbitThoughts) July 2, 2019

    Notice the 'themes' of the cards are recognizable: root veggies, roast, snow, gathering together, feasting, tiny people like elves, birth and rebirth… Even though the combinations and individual items are almost nonsensical.#anthropology pic.twitter.com/43O4TE1pbC

    — 🤨 BreadTube's Native Great Grandfather 🌸 (@RabbitThoughts) July 2, 2019

    Interesting history thread

  67. 67.

    Tony Jay

    @germy:

    A hundred years from now, people will say “Did you know ‘KFC’ stands for ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken’?”

    As opposed to the commonly understood “Keep Fighting Covid“?

    Gloomy, yes, but the shower of Cannibal Diner rejects running things over here do love them a three word slogan.

  70. 70.

    Lacuna Synechdoche

    Combover Caligula via Anne Laurie @ Top:

    Impossible for Biden to have overcome these, and even greater, odds!

    Is it me, or does the GOP argument seem to be:

    Democrats must have cheated, because there’s no other way they could have overcome OUR cheating! Look at our record! No one cheats better than we do!

  71. 71.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Betty Cracker: All my Doc appointments are getting changed to phone consultations and any procedures I am in need of are getting rescheduled for January and later. The clinic I go to is also the Covid diagnostic/treatment center for this area and that is all they do in the afternoons.

    I am just trying to stay as far away from all of them as I can.

  74. 74.

    debbie

    @Betty Cracker:

    anyone who wants one can get a rapid test, but access is limited and it costs $90 out of pocket

    This alone would suppress numbers. Here, everyone has access (though there’s a wait) and testing is free.

  75. 75.

    Spanky

    I’ve been struggling to articulate why, to me, this is so funny

    The bullying father of the class bully hearing it from the teachers at Back To School Night.

  76. 76.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Interesting observation about why he looks so misshapen and disproportional to the desk.

    That whole picture is weird. It doesn’t look like a photograph at all. It looks like a painting of Trump by a Jon McNaughton-type artist, except with a bit more talent and skill but with a faulty mastery of perspective.

    Also too, the random undecorated Christmas tree is just an odd thing to include in an image that’s meant to feature the President of the US.

  77. 77.

    Shakti

    @Betty Cracker: Ah, so that’s where I’ve seen that desk before! The way Trump has it staged it looks like he’s sitting at a random desk with the Presidential logo someone got at an office supply store.

  79. 79.

    mad citizen

    So Hillbilly Elegy–the movie–appeared on our netflix home screen last night (we had planned to watch the Dolly Parton Xmas movie).  I explained to my normie wife about the book (as much as I knew from these here parts–have not read it), its hated status by liberals, etc.  We watched it.  No politics, just a F-ed up family story.  Glenn Close chews some scenery, but that is the character/person.  It’s only a horrible movie in how depressing the story is, and that it’s a Ron Howard movie, etc.

    Started googling, found out Middleton Ohio is between Dayton and Cincinnati.  Most of the movie is based there–so I don’t think Appalachia has much to do with how F-d up his mother/family was/is.

    Anyhoo, wiki tells me J D Vance co-founded/works with Narya Capital.  Did you know that Narya Capital does this: “Narya is a thesis-driven, early-stage venture capital firm based in Ohio. Our LPs include some of the most successful investors, entrepreneurs, innovators and institutions in the world. We invest long term capital in people who use technology to solve significant challenges.”

  80. 80.

    raven

    @Tony Jay: I love it! We are immersed in British TV and you can’t not notice.   We’re just finishing up “Save Me” and I had never heard of Lennie James and then I find out my entire family loves him from “The Walking Dead”!

  81. 81.

    dmsilev

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Also too, the random undecorated Christmas tree is just an odd thing to include in an image that’s meant to feature the President of the US.

    Melania is on a “work to rule” protest. Since “decorate Christmas trees” wasn’t in her contract, she ain’t doing it.

  82. 82.

    NotMax

    @Amir Khalid

    Used to be a British web site with the same name (and that spelling) filled with frequently updated snippets of the weird and the trivial. Long gone now.

  85. 85.

    Quinerly

    @rikyrah: I just bought some on sale Oboz brand hiking boots on line from REI (actually 4 pairs to try, we have a REI here that I can return the ones I don’t like, curbside), plus Merrill site has some great deals. Enjoy your shopping! Have a great day.

  86. 86.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Lacuna Synechdoche:

    Is it me, or does the GOP argument seem to be:

    Democrats must have cheated, because there’s no other way they could have overcome OUR cheating! Look at our record! No one cheats better than we do!

    Not just you. I’ve noticed it as an implicit Trumpian/GOP admission for weeks now.

  89. 89.

    Amir Khalid

    @Brachiator:

    Trump is clinging to the delusion that the election is not over. He gets upset when anyone brings up that it is over, and he’s already lost. He’s the person you tell your four-year-old not to be. How he imagines that he is saving face is beyond me.

  90. 90.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @dmsilev:

    Melania is on a “work to rule” protest. Since “decorate Christmas trees” wasn’t in her contract, she ain’t doing it.

    Hahaha. I love that whole passive-aggressive “work to rule” attitude. I’ve also heard it called “malicious compliance,” which always strikes me as a fine descriptive phrase.

  92. 92.

    Quinerly

    Late to the thread. I’m on the hunt for a second vehicle for travel/hauling/utility use. Was thinking of a used Tacoma with camper shell to outfit for sleeping and some living. Can’t afford the new Ford Transit AWD and must have AWD/4 WD. Looking on line at 2 pretty good deals… AWD 2017 Toyota Sienna mini van. One is an Enterprise lease coming off a lease in Florida, 36,000 miles. Other is 1 1/2 hrs away, 31,000 miles. Take out the seats and build out storage sleeping area. Anybody have/had Toyota Sienna AWD? A bit concerned about clearance but there’s a very good reviewed lift kit made for it that gives over 3 inches more in clearance. Not sure I would go that route but spent the day yesterday educating myself on this. Any thoughts/suggestions much appreciated. JoJo las Orejas gives this idea 4 paws up!

  93. 93.

    Another Scott

    @mad citizen: Thanks.  I didn’t know that it was set in Middletown.  I lived there for a while as a kid in the early ’70s.  Not far from the USSteel plant.  In a rented house with bubbling painted-over wall paper.  Thoroughly depressing time, but it got better.

    Don’t plan to see the movie.  ;-)

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  97. 97.

    burnspbesq

    @germy:

    Corrupt U.S. oil executives

    I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion. Venezuelan courts don’t have much of a reputation.

  99. 99.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Quinerly: What are you planning to do? Just back roads? Some light off road? Something tells me you are going to avoid axle breaking serious off road.

  101. 101.

    germy

    @burnspbesq:

    From the NYTimes article:

    The so-called Citgo 6 — employees of the Houston-based Citgo refining company, which is owned by Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA — had been lured to Venezuela three years ago for a business meeting and arrested.

    Corruption has been a chronic and well-known problem for years at PDVSA and has helped to undercut its operations and profits. With the arrests of the six men, President Nicolás Maduro’s government began a purge in Venezuela’s once-thriving oil industry, built on the world’s largest crude reserves. It later arrested the head of PDVSA, a former oil minister and dozens of others.

  102. 102.

    germy

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I used to assume that, too.  But I suspect when the time comes for them to line us up for the firing squad, my cries of “But I’m a balloon-juice commenter!” will not sway them.

  103. 103.

    Brachiator

    @Amir Khalid:

    He’s the person you tell your four-year-old not to be.

    Trump is acting worse than an angry, willful child. But since he is a grown ass man, his continued lying and denial are signs of mental instability. The GOP leadership should pull him aside and tell him that enough is enough. But both Trump and the rest of the GOP seem to believe that they can benefit politically from Trump’s tantrum.

  104. 104.

    Betty Cracker

    @mad citizen: Haven’t seen the movie yet, but I suspect what happened is that Ron Howard made a typical Ron Howard film, without making overt the book’s controversy assertion, i.e., that these folks’ misfortune is due to their own bad choices.

    I’m not completely unsympathetic to Vance’s argument — I could write “Swamp Elegy” and recount similar tales about my own relatives whose lives have been blighted by a dysfunctional culture. But Vance ignores so many causal factors, including racism and sexism, in favor of warmed over “boot straps” BS.

  105. 105.

    burnspbesq

    So a small sign of progress: Ali Stroker got cast as a romantic lead in a Lifetime holiday movie. Wheelchair and all.

  107. 107.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @germy: I think you miss my point. I don’t care what they think, so I always interpret their words in a way that suits me. It’s not like they are trying to have a conversation or anything, so fuck ’em..

  111. 111.

    burnspbesq

    @germy:

    You’re assuming, without the benefit of evidence, that the corruption at PdVSA extends to CITGO.

    I stand by my position that “convicted in a Venezuelan court” is not the same thing as “guilty.”

  113. 113.

    Suzanne

    The Guardian described that desk as “designed for a leprechaun”. LOL.

    Maybe Biden can get a sit-to-stand version of Resolute made.

  114. 114.

    Jeffro

    @debbie:Trump was convinced the USPS would never be able to deliver the backlog of ballots from DeJoy’s machinations.

    Exactly right.  That plus he must have genuinely thought he could get thousands of ballots thrown out ‘just because’

  115. 115.

    germy

    @Betty Cracker:

    As a parent of young children and a nationalist who worries about America’s low fertility I can say with confidence that daylight savings time reduces fertility by at least 10 percent.

    — J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) November 2, 2020

    need moar white babies is how I translate it.

  116. 116.

    mad citizen

    @Another Scott: Yes early on the family is shown driving by the rusted-out hulk of a steel plant (my wife even said “steel plant” as we’ve driven by Gary Indiana many times)–so that must have been the U S Steel.

    To Betty: Yes, you guessed it.  I read online that Ron Howard pitched it to Vance as a family drama film and nothing else.

  117. 117.

    evodevo

    @Brachiator: That’s because his “base” exhibit a lot of the same personality characteristics he does…I know a lot of them here in rural KY, and they LOVE this stuff…and GOPers know that if they don’t worship at the altar, they will be shunted aside in the next primary by a QAnoner or worse…so…we are where we are…

  118. 118.

    There go two miscreants

    @Luciamia: Thanksgiving Massacree

    A nearby college radio station I listen to (WTMD at Towson U) played a 30th anniversary version. It was actually painful — obvious he was so tired of it by then (quite naturally). Live performance; he should have followed it with Rick Nelson’s Garden Party.  So my advice is find the original one. Still funny to me after all these years, although I know folks who hate it.

  120. 120.

    Quinerly

    @OzarkHillbilly: probably mostly NM dirt roads which can be rough. I’m just so used to my old Subaru and this 5 year old Escape. Probably overthinking, researching as I’m prone to do. It seemed easy when it was a truck with a camper shell but so many people who know me were really against that for a lot of reasons. A friend in NM suggested the Toyota Sienna b/c mini van with AWD. I’m not planning to live in it full time but am putting together a 4-6 month trip starting in Sept. Wouldn’t be living in it over 5 days at a time. Parks, some off grid, etc. The mini van thing just came out of the blue. Build it out with great storage, bed, Yeti cooler space, storage for my Coleman camp stove.

  121. 121.

    snoey

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Had a boss once who learned about raking the leaves in the Army.

    If ordered to rake the leaves you did so, and kept right on raking until they wore out.
    If they wanted them raked up into a pile and disposed of that should have been in the orders.

    Anytime upper management got extra silly we were told to start raking.

  122. 122.

    Elizabelle

    Is Trump wearing a codpiece underneath in that photo in the white suit, atop the concrete, uh, swan?  Impossible not to speculate.

    @germy:  Those early Christmas cards are incredible.

  123. 123.

    OGLiberal

    Maybe others have asked but is he in a cheezy Oval Office replica at one of his golf courses?  This fucking guy….

  125. 125.

    Brachiator

    @germy:

    As a parent of young children and a nationalist who worries about America’s low fertility I can say with confidence that daylight savings time reduces fertility by at least 10 percent.

    Is this supposed to be serious? I can think of so many snarky responses.

  128. 128.

    Brachiator

    @evodevo:

    That’s because his “base” exhibit a lot of the same personality characteristics he does…I know a lot of them here in rural KY, and they LOVE this stuff…

    Their amusement may be turning into anger and permanent resentment. Trump lost. There is no doubt about it. His claims of voter fraud is about on the same level as asserting that the world is flat. Time is running out and hard reality is about to kick him in the ass.

  130. 130.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Quinerly: It seemed easy when it was a truck with a camper shell but so many people who know me were really against that for a lot of reasons.

    ???? I did it for decades and never had a problem with it, other than having to remove everything from inside it so my boys and I could sleep back there which was rarely a big deal because I tended to get way off the road and stay put for awhile and wanted to be comfy, but that was me. YMMV.

    If you are just going to drive back roads, I would skip the 4WD (unless you expect to see snow) and go for the better gas mileage of a smaller 2WD p/u or SUV, ideally with a limited slip differential. I drove mostly high clearance 2WD p/u’s, only recently getting a 4WD 1/2 ton in my dottage.

    I think my favorite off road truck was an old Chevy S10. My wife called it “the goat” because even tho it was only 2WD it had decent clearance and I could drive it up, over, and thru damn near anything. I only spent a $1,000 on it and if it broke, so what?

    A friend in NM suggested the Toyota Sienna b/c mini van with AWD.

    A buddy of mine has a large 4WD van for his family that he and I tricked out for them. They love it, and I know I liked the one van I had for a few years (2WD with LSD). I know a # of folks like 4WD vans and if you are leaning towards the Toyota I’d say go for it and get the lift package, because you won’t ever be sorry you did but might very well be sorry if you didn’t.

  131. 131.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Sorry I missed the zooms yesterday.

    We decided to go to the LA Abroretum to see a small dose of Fall Color.  Unfortunately a wind storm kicked up just as we were heading over there, so whatever small amount of color that was left (it was supposedly nice a week ago) was pretty much gone.  Every time we go to the Arboretum or Descanso Gardens we end up just wishing we had gone to the Huntington Gardens instead.  But it was still nice to get out and get some air.  Then we came home and between doing family zoom, dinner etc., we just got wrapped up in other stuff and by the time the 10pm zoom session was about to start I was too relaxed (buzzed/stoned) to do a zoom with so many people.  Besides we had to start our annual tradition of watching various versions of the Nutcracker :p

  132. 132.

    frosty

    @Quinerly: I will avoid AWD after getting a flat tire in a Ford Edge and having to replace the flat, plus all three other tires,  because there would be too much difference in the diameter of the new tire. I looked it up in the tire store and they were right. Three good tires scrapped, $900 down the drain. Stick with FWD, it’s not an issue. We have a Jeep Grand Cherokee now.

  133. 133.

    🐾BillinGlendaleCA

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    Every time we go to the Arboretum or Descanso Gardens we end up just wishing we had gone to the Huntington Gardens instead.

    I generally prefer The Huntington as well(I’m a member), but they were closed yesterday.  When I visited the Arboretum, they had lovely green fencing around the Queen Anne cottage, have they finished what ever construction they were doing?

  136. 136.

    MomSense

    The zooms were very nice yesterday!  I’m sorry I missed the BJ after dark one.  The events of the day caught up to me and I slept through it.

  137. 137.

    mvr

    Yes, many thanks to Watergirl (and several helpers) for putting that together yesterday.  It was fun!  And good to put some faces with some nyms.

  138. 138.

    Quinerly

    @OzarkHillbilly: thanks for all of this. It’s mostly the men I know (who actually have trucks) are anti truck with campershell for me. I travel off season. They are very hung up that it would be too cold, not as safe for my stuff (easy to break in) , and me. I really kinda need the AWD.. Sometimes just to get out of the hilly portion of Soulard I’m in if snow/ice. City doesn’t plow as you probably know. I struggled for years with another car until I went the Subaru route and now Escape. I also have gotten into quite a bit of snow and ice in NM and Utah in my old Subaru and the Escape.

    So with that said the lift package I found on line is what the Sienna Van Life types suggest. It’s $750, then find someone to install if I went that route. People were saying $1000-$1500 for the mechanic to install but I’m into something I know nothing about at this point. I drive vehicles until I wear them out. I figure if this would work out for me (whatever I decide vehicle wise) I would have the Sienna, whatever 10-15 years. Hopefully. Thanks for everything. Feel free to get my email from a front pager if you have time to chat some more. Everyone has ideas. Everyone who knows me was very anti truck with camper shell. Most laughed, rolled eyes.

  139. 139.

    Suzanne

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    by the time the 10pm zoom session was about to start I was too relaxed (buzzed/stoned) to do a zoom with so many people 

    You’d have fit right in. 420 and what-you-drinkin were early topics of discussion.

  140. 140.

    Quinerly

    @frosty: thanks. Been thru a flat tire with Subaru in NOLA years ago. Know that story well. Escape I have now (which I actually love more than Subaru) has AWD. Tires are always expensive and a worry.

  141. 141.

    Quinerly

    @germy: Van Morrison’s entire new CD is mostly anti lockdown songs. First new music of his that I didn’t even listen to. He’s a real Ass in real life. No interaction with audiences at his shows… At least when I have seen him at festivals.

  142. 142.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Suzanne: Oh I’m sure.  And it wouldn’t have been my first drunken/stoned zoom.  But we also had just had some drama with neighbors over people in our complex repeatedly not closing the dumpster or tying their trash bags, so we just wanted to chill in front of the tv to settle our nerves.

  147. 147.

    narya

    Adding my thanks to the mix! Was fun to see you all–didn’t realize just how much I’d enjoy it, and it definitely made my day. Thanks to WG and the hosts and Our BlogFather!!

  148. 148.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Quinerly: Yeah it gets cold, but the insulation in a van is all but nonexistent as well. Sleeping in a vehicle is going to be cold no matter what. Hence I had a good down bag that went to -20 F with a full length pad under it. I would be a little surprised if the installation of a lift kit cost that much, but what do I know? I did most of my own work for years until recently. Now I just do brakes.

  149. 149.

    Matt

    @Lacuna Synechdoche:

    I had a really paranoid thought early after Nov 3rd when prominent Republicans were whinging about “turnout was unrealistic” and it was revealed they were calculating turnout as “votes / registered voters” instead of “votes / eligible voters”: what if they _did_ stuff the ballots for Trump but they didn’t stuff them ENOUGH?

    There’s absolutely zero evidence for that, but it would be so completely in-character and explain the utterly shambolic “OMG we gotta go to court” response.

  150. 150.

    Kathleen

    Just want to and my thanks to WaterGirl, the moderators and BJ Zoomers  I met at 10 and 2. I really enjoyed it and especially appreciate WG’s coordination. I was going to join 6:00 session but I had a nice long chat with my grandsons in Tampa instead.

  153. 153.

    Quinerly

    @Baud: I’m very said to hear about Clapton too.

    Related, I saw him in the late ’80’s. He was so strung out, he played 45 mins and just left the stage. I think it was close to the last show before he kicked heroin. Terrible show.

  155. 155.

    Quinerly

    @OzarkHillbilly: ask him about lift packages for Sienna Toyotas.

    I had a dust up with my mechanic on Loughborough over him refusing to wear a mask in his checkout/waiting area. He lost me as a customer after 10 years.

  157. 157.

    mad citizen

    @Quinerly: My wife has been selling used cars at carmax for many years and approves of the Sienna idea–she said that or a Honda Odyssey.  She loves the vans, although we’ve never had one–we went the SUV route.  Great idea, though, I fantasize about a camper van trip/lifestyle around the parks.  Very envious.

  159. 159.

    mad citizen

    Dang you guys are hard on Van the Man and Clapton.  I like and own a lot of Van, some Clapton.  I recall a couple autumns ago or so Van and Willie Nelson were recording some tunes together–I think in Pittsburgh.  Waiting for that to come out.

    What do coffee and Eric Clapton have in common?

    Both suck without Cream.

  160. 160.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @NotMax: Definitely, though that one can be hard to find online (but a friend has the dvd).  Yesterday we discovered this amazing version by the National Ballet of China.  It is based on the Chinese Zodiac and has some really incredible costumes, set design etc.  It’s on Youtube but the quality is only good enough to watch on a computer (tv would be too much loss of definition).  I wish they would release/sell and HD version because this thing was really fantastic.  And really refreshing to see a ballet that isn’t a sea of white/european faces.

  162. 162.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Quinerly: My guys don’t wear masks in the office/waiting room  either. Hence, I dropped my truck off for an oil change and steering column work last night and will most likely pick it up tomorrow AM when my wife wakes up.

  164. 164.

    Quinerly

    @mad citizen: thank you for this!

    There are 2 over priced ones here in St. Louis. I thought I would go out and test drive just to get a feel for it. Enterprise has a no haggle price on this one in Florida. Out of 600 minivans in its fleet turning over for sale, it’s the only AWD van for sale. Yesterday, I found one cheaper (mostly because of that Enterprise $1500 transfer fee to get it here) on a lot in Urbana, IL. That one is red (JoJo looks good in red❤️) and has 31,000 miles. Still trying to figure out why the price is so under Kelly Blue Book, etc.

    Thank your wife for her vote of confidence!

  165. 165.

    Quinerly

    @OzarkHillbilly: my guy wanted to argue with an older lady about masks while breathing all over her in her mask. That’s how I got involved. City has been pretty strict re masks and everywhere I have been, people complying… But there.

  169. 169.

    Chris Johnson

    @Matt: How is that in any way paranoid? Voter suppression is interference. If I was them I would be doing everything possible, and would be rudely surprised when it turned out not to be enough.

    I think you nailed it.

    That was the WHOLE POINT of us trying for landslide levels of voting and turnout. This is what it looks like when they can’t quite cheat out an election ‘win’ this time.

    Still did in a whole bunch of senate and house races, mind you.

  170. 170.

    N M

    @Tony Jay: Cannibal Diner is *so* going to be real, once they figure out how to do vat-grown man-flesh*.  Who could resist that sweet, forbidden flavor?

    *h/t to Tolkien/Jackson

  172. 172.

    laura

    • @Quinerly: Ex bil was tour manager for Van back in the early 90’s. On tour in Ireland, Van related a wee tale about driving along a country road and he suddenly heard the voice of a wee leprechaun spirit and that wee spirit cursed him in a most abusive fashion. What actually happened, Van was driving along a country road and ran a bicyclist into the ditch and the cyclist was very much not amused.
    • BTW. has you doggy learned to speak english yet?
  174. 174.

    bluefoot

    @germy: I have often fantasized that if I were really rich, I would throw an exclusive party on a super-high-end ship and invite all the high-ranking people in government who need to be tried for war crimes from GWB on down, tip off Interpol, and “accidentally” sail into international waters.

    Unfortunately, I work for a living so I’m not rich.  Still, it’s a nice fantasy.

  176. 176.

    StringOnAStick

    @Quinerly:  Another reason to avoid a pickup\camper combo is it’s makes the whole thing really top heavy, and that can be an issue on rough, angled roads and in high winds.  Depending on how tall you are, the van conversion can be just right; we have friends doing a lot of travel in that kind of setup and it is quite tempting.  Better mileage too.

  177. 177.

    Elie

    I am really sorry to have missed the Zooms.  Just couldn’t get it done with family phone calls and the way too big a deal dinner for hubby and I.  Just bit off more than I could chew but what a grand idea!  Look forward to participating in the future if y’all do Zoom again..

    Thanks for caring WaterGirl and all your hard work on this and everything!

  178. 178.

    Ruckus

    @Brachiator:

    trump may be the oldest child in the room. The rest of the kids think he’s great, he’s managed to get a position they will never be even able to dream about. And he’s a racist supreme, so they want to protect and endorse him for what they think a leader is. They are only slightly less delusional than trump.(they know that they would never be able to pull off the con that he did 4 yrs ago.

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