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Ramadan Mubarak! to all Muslim members of the Balloon Juice community. May you always have kindred spirits to share your Iftar!
FREAKOUT
Tell me why I am supposed to be freaking out right now. I’m remarkably calm, and not used to it. I don’t even feel angry at the moment. I’m not drunk. Am I having a heart attack?
Open Thread
Needing this right now.
We will need two loveseats if he gets any bigger. For comparison’s sake, as of Thanksgiving last year there was still room beside his lazy butt for an adult-type person to sit.
It’s Not Me, It’s You
Here’s a breakup song for all of you who have finally had it with Obama, the Democrats or our political system, whichever is appropriate. Believe me, I understand the feeling. I have house guests coming for a couple of days, so I won’t be around to feel and/or share your pain, but here’s an open thread before I go.
Early Morning Open Thread: Lammas Greetings
Per Wikipedia, “August 1 is Lammas Day (loaf-mass day), the festival of the wheat harvest, and is the first harvest festival of the year. On this day it was customary to bring to church a loaf made from the new crop.”
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Neotraditionalists prefer some variation on Lughnasadh, either because Lammas is ‘too Xtian-centric’ or because everything looks more traditional when you throw in a bunch of silent consonants (/snark, but with love).
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So: the day on which we start to reap what we have sown, which in my neighborhood is going to be fresh local corn-on-the-cob and home-grown tomatoes. Tragic metaphors reworking the pathetic fallacy can wait for business hours; may your late summer be gentle and all your harvests prosperous!
Early Morning Open Thread: Lammas GreetingsPost + Comments (21)
Open Thread: Send In the Clowns
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Because I couldn’t find a clip of Collins singing
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You can’t get out of the game;
You shouldn’t stay, but you ain’t leaving
‘Cause your luck… could change again…
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And besides, who doesn’t love Muppets?
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Speaking of which, I am not quite the target demographic for Elizabeth Stevens’ Weekend At Kermie’s: The Muppets’ Strange Life After Death (too old for Sesame Street; but Muppets in Space and Muppet Xmas Carol are among my favorite movies) but I found it both informative and enjoyable nonetheless…
Pit bulls and greyhounds
I don’t have anything political to talk about, but I read this article this morning, and I know you-all know a lot about dogs:
For any animal, a stay at a shelter or dog pound is often a harrowing experience. But for one type of dog, the “pit bull,” admittance to a government-run facility in Ohio such as the Lucas County dog pound is almost a guaranteed ticket to oblivion.
Strict state laws regarding ownership of “pit bulls” coupled with widespread public mistrust of the general breed have made it extremely difficult to find homes for these animals. That, together with an overabundance of “pit bulls” because of overbreeding and abandonment, means that when such dogs enter a pound they are the least likely to leave.There’s just nowhere for them to go,” Ms. Lyle explained recently. “There’s just way too many being born and becoming homeless.”
Similarly, the Toledo Area Humane Society destroys more “pit bull”-type dogs than other kinds of dogs, although officials there maintain this is a result of stricter behavior testing for the animals. Kill rates for “pit bulls” at the Humane Society are 18 percent, compared with the overall dog euthanasia rate of 10.5 percent. The society takes in some of the “pit bulls” from the Lucas County pound as well as from people who surrender them.
The situation is mirrored at pounds and shelters across the country, according to Adam Goldfarb, director of the Pets at Risk program for the Humane Society of the United States. An informal survey conducted by the society found that, on average, 30 percent of dogs entering shelters are “pit bulls” — with the rate shooting past 70 percent in some urban shelters, he said. In turn, kill rates for the dogs are high.
I have had only had one dog. She was a rescue greyhound that my daughter insisted we adopt. She was an absolute pleasure to have around, just the sweetest thing, and she lived with us for 16 years. She died fairly peacefully, when we had to put her down. I don’t know how old she was when we adopted her, but she was full grown, so I think she lived to 18 or so years.
Her racing name was “Helloooo Jilly!” We called her “Jilly”. I used to pretend that she spoke to make my kids laugh. I gave her a southern accent.
You can talk about dogs or anything else you’d like.