This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly.
Status: Heavily Moderated; Previous thread
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly.
Status: Heavily Moderated; Previous thread
This is good news from California. Chalk up a win for science:
Daily Kos link
I’m checking right now, but I don’t think the Godzilla tourists-as-sushi article has a comments section (not all Grauniad articles do).
(Update: No, I don’t see one either…)
I note that neither group is barred from marrying.
In comment #1, I may have celebrated too soon:
Quacks weighed in.
http://www.mercurynews.com/health/ci_27873768/vaccine-foes-rally-at-california-capitol
In keeping with the descriptor attached to my ‘nym:
“An unbirthday is an event that is typically celebrated on any or all of the 364 or 365 days in which it is not the person’s birthday. It is a neologism coined by Lewis Carroll in his Through the Looking-Glass, giving rise to “The Unbirthday Song” in the 1951 Disney animated feature film Alice in Wonderland.”
/pedant
Thanks, everyone, I wouldn’t have the right words to explain how great and understanding y’all are – and how thoroughly flattered I am to think I would have my own fan club (though it’s a bad idea, it would go to my head eventually and make me utterly unbearable).
Gen, very good questions/suggestions. Some of which I already do, which has helped, but I’m starting to think that just me isn’t enough anymore. We’ll see.
FossilFishy, you can write me a theme song. A short one. But you don’t have to perform it. :)
I’m being terrible at responding to everyone, because I’m being lazy on account of the time. But *hugs* or *higs* as preferred to everyone! Long Live the Lounge!
Tony
No, I kind of meant that – grow a salad bar: lettuce, radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers, all kinds of greens and herbs. Middle Child has already suggested that it will be cheaper in the summer because we won’t have to buy stuff for salads, we’ll have our own. And beans, they have a thing for beans. Probably no tomatoes or cucumbers this year (they’ll have a special spot that will be cleared out by next growing season but isn’t ready yet), but the greens and lettuce? Definitely. :) Grow a salad bar.
South Carolina is arguing that the Constitution enshrines discrimination against women, so, by extrapolation they can also discriminate against gays.
Pretty low, ugly, nonsensical approach, but, hey, we’re talking rightwing dunderheads here.
Slate link
I would like to graze at rq’s salad bar/garden spot. I don’t want to do any of the work, I just want to enjoy the fruits of the labor of rq’s children.
A belated happy birthday to you, chigau!
Hugs to all who need them, and all who want them!
rq @6:
I wish I knew anything about growing veggies. I’d like to grow some of the items you talk about, bc while I love salads, whenever I buy a bag of salad mix at the supermarket, half of it inevitably goes bad bc I don’t eat the rest in time. If I had a garden, I could pick the stuff I wanted on an as-needed-basis.
No idea if the soil in my yard is the right stuff for growing anything come to think of it though.
When I lived in NYC umpty years ago we decided we should grow some tomatoes on the roof of our 4th floor walkup. You can see the end of this story in advance, I’m sure. After spending umpty dollars on containers, fertilizers, soil, plants, hoses, etc, etc, etc, we figured our paltry harvest ended up costing about $35 per tomato.
But it was fun.
Tony 10
You could always dig up a patch and mix in some humus or topsoil to make it better.
I now have 4 planting beds in my back yard (two new ones put in this year because my tomato plants were exploding all over each other and becoming mostly useless). I’ll be getting some radish and carrot seeds and onions to get started tomorrow, I think. In another couple of weeks, I’ll put in tomatoes and peppers. Maybe a squash. I’ve tried cucumbers twice and they haven’t turned out well. I also use other containers for herbs — rosemary, thyme, basil.
ajb47 @13:
Don’t I need to know what humus is before I use it?
When I say I’m ignorant of gardening, I’m really ignorant about gardening.
Tony!
First off, it’s vital to make sure you get humus, and not hummus. You probably don’t want to eat anything that grows on the latter. :)
Also also, thanks Nerd for expanding on my Learning A Thing.
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Anne:
You and me, both.
:D
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Crudely Wrott!!!
*pouncehug-with-armflailing*
I was thinking/worrying about you just the other day.
Glad to know that you and the mancubs are doing well; sorry that your daughter and SIL are doing less well.
*moar hugs*
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FossilFishy!
*poucehugging-with-armflailing* a second time
I hope we ‘see’ you well?
No guilt-tripping yourself if you can’t hang out here, y’hear? There is no compulsion in Pharyngulizationing.
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Tony!:
He’s in my “want nothing to do with” file, too.
And in the same company.
(Later)
I am 10% conservative and 90% liberal. It says.
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birgerjohansson:
Indeed!
And Noah drools.
*fist-bump*
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*manyhugs* for rq.
*tea*? *chocolate*? *Pepperidge Farm gingermen*?
You are, as opposablethumbs says, and others concur, exceptionally good people.
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ajb47:
*shaking head sadly*
Oh, ajb47…your children would be, if not more, then at least as deserving of protection as said bigwigs are, if your children were in as good a position to vote the NRA more milk and cookies.
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Lynna:
I know.
I can only say that all my friends voted against bigotry. I’m out in the county, so I couldn’t vote on it.
Many of the churches really seem to have been pushing that repeal, in some cases from the pulpit—but good luck getting anything done about it. After all—various people want their votes to stay in their nice, cushy political posts.
*sigh*
Great big signs everywhere.
And voter turn-out was poor.
–
439
You should read this guy.
Thanks carlie @17. That looks hilarious. I just downloaded it to my kindle.
Fuck.
I’m about at my wits end.
For weeks now, Kayta (my orange tabby) has been eating erratically. As I mentioned months ago, she stopped eating dry food, but I found that she would eat moist food. But it had to be pate. She wouldn’t touch anything else. Now, for at least a week or two, even the pate I’ve gotten her, she won’t eat. I feed her twice a day, in the morning as soon as I wake up and at night as soon as I get home. Sometimes she’ll eat the food and sometimes she won’t. I thought maybe it was the flavor of pate, so I switched from chicken to fish, but that wasn’t it. Today, I put out two cans of different cat food and she barely touched either one. I’ve been off all day long and been monitoring her.
I just opened *another* can of cat food, and as I type this, I’m watching her. She’s eating some of it. She *has* an appetite, but it’s like she won’t eat what I give her. But I’m not rich. I can’t keep opening can after can hoping she’ll eat what I give her.
I also can’t afford to go to the vet and have her examined. I have no idea how much that’s going to cost, but it’s never cheap.
And of course, last week, I had a conversation with a guest (call her E) about Kayta. When I told E about Kayta’s eating issues and her age, she said it could just be a decreased appetite with age. She also mentioned that I may need to mentally prepare myself for Kayta’s death, since she’s so old. There could be anything wrong with her, and I don’t know what to do. That wrecked my night. I don’t blame E, but thinking about my cat dying while I’m at work-at the beginning of my shift at that-was not what I needed. It ruined my night. I was not in the mood to talk to anyone. I had to step off the bar a few times to go cry.
I’m crying now.
I just feel like I’ve failed as her owner, and I don’t fucking know what to do about this.
Tony, you haven’t failed Katya. I don’t know how old she is, but as long as she’s not in pain and she’s enjoying life, you’re doing everything right for her. Hugs are offered.
An afterthought – I’ve heard that sometimes a cat who’s lost its appetite can be tempted with strained babyfood meat. It might be worth a try.
Anne @20:
Sadly, she’s at least 15 years old. I rescued her back in 2000 when I lived in North Alabama. I’d come home from a New Year’s celebration in Atlanta and saw her roaming the halls near my apartment. She was young, but I’m not sure how young. If I had to guess, she was in her first year of life.
The other part of the problem is that she weighs so little and I can feel some of her bones. I can’t tell if she’s in pain either.
If I wasn’t so scared that she’s suffering, it might be ironic that she’s so thin. For years, she was huge. She was nearly 20 pounds for the better part of a decade. Her belly dragged the floor and everyone thought she was pregnant. It wasn’t until last year that I noticed that she was losing weight. At first I thought it was because I fed her and Cassie (my other cat) together. So I began feeding Kayta in my room. Sure enough she ate her food. But now, as I said, things have deteriorated. I fear coming home from work and finding her unresponsive or limp. I don’t know what the fuck I’d do if that happened.
Maybe I’m just freaking out, but I had a cat-a really loving, wonderful kitty named Kara-who developed kidney problems several years ago. She stopped eating her food and I was faced with the choice of trying to feed her intravenously for the few months the vet said she had left or putting her down. Given my schedule, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to feed her on a regular schedule. Plus I didn’t want her to suffer as she came closer to dying. So I chose to euthanize her. I’m really scared I’m going to have to do that for Kayta.
I just want to crawl into a ball and cry. But even that’s not going to help her.
Oh, Tony!
The same heart that is breaking over being unable to do more for her is the heart that gave her so much for so many years. it’s terribly difficult. I took it very badly when my husky died. But we’ll be here for you. As many times as you need.
Belated thank yous for belated birthday greetings.
also unbirthdays
Tony!
*hugs*
I went through similar a few months ago.
CD @22:
Thank you.
Something else bothered me at work the other day as I thought about Kayta dying. There I was being emotional and striving hard not to cry while trying to bartend, and employees kept asking me what’s wrong. I didn’t want to tell anyone, bc I was afraid I’d be mocked by people for caring about my cat. I’ve encountered strange looks before, by people who can’t seem to comprehend the idea of having a deep emotional attachment to a pet. That was the last thing I wanted to deal with at work.
Tony!
Big *hugs*.
Tony
*hugs*
Sometimes I wish pets wouldn’t age at all, and it’s so very sad to see them go, but at least Kayta has you to care for her and to make sure she is comfortable in her last years of life.
(Also, for what it’s worth, Dana Hunter has had a few old-kitty posts in the last month or so, it might help to read them or it might not? Mostly just about old cat getting older and less hungry and all that…)
re: the gardening, What about growing something in a windowbox? Things like lettuce and herbs don’t need too much space. Plus they grow pretty quickly and aren’t as expensive to raise as tomatoes. :P
Lynna
You’re welcome to stare at the budding salad bar, but I’d have to ask you to do some weeding from time to time, too. And some pruning, while you’re out there… And… But I guess that doesn’t count as the fruits of my children anymore, then, does it? :)
Thanks for the hugs ya’ll.
I hope I’ll have the money for a visit to the vet by the end of the month. That way I can find out for sure if anything is wrong with Kayta.
****
rq @27:
A window box might work. Of course I don’t even know how to set one of those up or if there is some special type of soil you need. I guess I could ask someone at Home Depot or Lowe’s.
Of course I once killed a cactus (overwatered it), so I wonder about my green thumb (and now I’m wondering where the phrase ‘green thumb’ comes from).
Before I hit the sack (need to check on the origins of that idiom as well), an article from Gizmodo:
This Craigslist ad for a genetic engineer is pure wonderful madness:
Since there are all kind of scientifically inclined people around here (as well as actual scientists), I thought this might amuse someone.
‘Night all. This Shoop is tired.
Since we’re back to gardening…
Tony!
As your entry-drug to gardening:
grow herbs in pots
Oh, Tony!
My friend, all pets go away. They live so much faster than we do. Happiness is in their presence, not their absence. Thinking further, happiness is in recalling their presences. They really were here, with us, in our lives.
Perhaps the curse of humans is their longevity. We see so many small lives blossom and then wilt. Reminding us.
Take a moment and remember with me, Buttons and Zipper, T’Chaka and Mercury, Big Guy, Lewis and Lestat, Whitey P. Dog, Tristar, Ming Ming and Sirikit . . . oh, the list is so long . . . still, beloved they all were and in their own distinct ways returned love. That’s what it’s all about.
Tears are allowed.
Tony!
Hitting the sack and hitting the hay both date to a time when a cheap mattress consisted of a literal sack of straw or hay. A green thumb (or fingers, which is apparently a popular phrasing in Britain) is less clear, but probably related to greenish stains from plant juices found on the hands of avid gardeners.
Tippy.
I had a friend in high school nicknamed Tippy, because she was naturally clumsy.
Tippy was my first kitty
me 6 years
Tippy was a outdoor kitty
got bit by something
Tony,
I didn’t know Tony Stark uses craigslist, but it somehow wouldn’t surprise me.
—
Having and caring for pets is such a normal, common experience, I feel a bit strange not being able to related to something like that (never having owned/been owned by a pet).
The new dress:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3032007/Forget-dress-s-CAT-Picture-shows-pet-walking-upstairs-downstairs.html
It should be really obvious that the cat is going down the stairs.
Tony!, all my sympathies re Katya’s loss of appetite. 15 is quite elderly for a cat, I suppose … it sounds like you’re doing all you can. Caring for her and looking after her – company, cuddles and catfood – they just have shorter lifespans than we do, and maybe she’s just getting on in years?
All my sympathies and hugs. And gentle skritches for Katya if she’ll have ’em.
I am thinking of you Tony! and I hope that Kayta recovers. I think it’s perfectly normal to be emotional about the well being of a pet. If you have one for any length of time they truly become part of the family. I’ve only ever had a rabbit and he was a great comfort to me when I needed it and I was very sad to see him go, when it happened. Rabbit’s lifespan is much shorter than a cat’s, so I can only imagine the worry you’re experiencing at the moment.
With regard to gardening I agree with Chigau : start with growing some herbs in a pot and see how you get on from there.
Homophobic asshat Ben Carson flaunts textbook example of privilege:
Shoot. Here is the article.
“It seems to be a topic — a person’s religious affiliation — that is of fair amount of concern to you. I don’t find it to be anywhere near as interesting,” Saad said Friday. “I think it’s a personal issue and we ought to leave it as a personal issue.”
Meet Tippy Agogo He’s the most musical person I’ve ever met. Hand him damn near anything, instrument or not, and he’ll do something musical with it.
He’s also fantastically nice person, which is all the more remarkable because it doesn’t seem to come easily to him. He was in the commercial music program at my college while I was in the Classical program. I saw him time and again get angry, annoyed and down right pissed off, usually for good reason, and every single time he dialled it back, and twisted it round until you’d never know it bothered him in the first place. It was amazing to watch.
Actually, it’s quite easy:
● Stick things into the ground (seeds, baby planets, a spare zombie, …).
● Watch them (1) Die (except for any zombies), (2) Do nothing; or (3) Get eaten by hedgehogs or dragons. (Tip: Dragons are the bigger critters, and tend to roast the garden before consuming.)
You can, if you want, play-about with watering, weeding, fertilizing (especially if you like weeding), various sorts of soil-moving activities (easier to wait for the dragon), and even massacring roses if you’re into that, but it all doesn’t matter. Gardening is all about the two items listed above.
Cue the next — well, another — foolish fruitcake fecking frothing freakout, White House opens all-gender restroom. Well, Ok, so it does increase the probability of spreading / catching cooties…
chigau
Belated happy birthday. Have some rum!
Tony
*hugs*
I do balconing. Be warend, it’s addictive.
+++
Company tells mum they don’t feature girl characters ’cause girls are icky
Aren’t conservatives always going on about how the White House should be running its budget the same way everyone runs their own household? (“You can’t run your household with a deficit, you have to balance your budget, so the White House should too!”) One would think that goes for the bathrooms, too.*
*unless most conservatives actually have multiple gender-segregated bathrooms in their houses. I wouldn’t put it past Mitt Romney.
I’m so angry with myself!
I failed my driver’s examination. And now I have to dish out another significant sum to retake the exam, and for the obligatory extra hours. I also have to wait at least two weeks for the next exam.
Such a stupid mistake, and I was nearly done with the exam and heading back.
So angry right now, stupid me.
beatrice
My sympathies. You are, however in good company. Well, scrap good, but you’re at least in my company.
Beatrice, [hugs] it happens. Sounds like you were tired. You’ll ace the test next time.
Tony! [more hugs] for you, skritches and pets for Katya.
+ + +
In the “my life gets weird” category, I’m currently tracking the progress of a package from me to my brother who lives in Toronto*. Which wouldn’t be weird, except that the package contains a sword. An ancestral (dad’s side of the family) Masonic sword, not a weapon, but apparently that scares some shipping companies.
UPS tried to ship the box for me a couple years ago; it got as far as LA and then came back with a note that UPS Does Not Ship Swords. Which isn’t what the UPS store guy said, but never mind. So the box sat in a corner gathering dust while I kept forgetting to load it in the car and try USPS, until Monday last, when I shoved it in the car and schlepped it to the local PO.
The nice PO clerk helped me with the customs form so that it was clear that there were no actual weapons in the box, just an old ceremonial sword and pocket watch. I’ve been watching it progress across the continent. It cleared customs in Canada yesterday, and today it’s out for delivery. If all goes well, my brother should have it later today. We’ve been trading emails with the subject “the sword is in the mail”. I find that amusing.
*He was visiting Aged Mum while he was out here for a conference. He wanted the sword. But he couldn’t take it with him because he won’t drive, and he won’t fly. He bicycles, he takes trains, he takes buses. Fortunately his employer is very understanding. Also fortunately, I am a nice big sister. I’ve already had to ship boxes of books and records (vinyl) across country to him, because he can’t carry much on the train. At least he makes the effort to visit Aged Mum, unlike my ratbag sister.
Giliell,
Then it’s good* company.
*today’s amusing offering to Tpyos: on the first try I typed goof
Tony!
Sorry to hear about your kitty. I wish I could provide comfort with words. But instead, supportive hugz.
Beatrice
I’ve failed a driver’s test. (Not sure what that does for “good” company). Sometimes you just have an off day.
Was this company CFI? /ba-dum-baaaaaaaa
rq @27
Sigh. I suspected as much. There’s no free salad bar. rq, how about photos? I just take photos of your garden, and of your child labor.
I commented recently on the implosion of Kansas in financial terms. The state’s governor, Sam Brownback, had engineered the financial disaster by giving tax breaks and other goodies to the wealthy. Brownback is not alone.
The Washington Post recently profiled one of the economists responsible for the Kansas financial meltdown, and it turns out the same economist is buddy-buddy with a lot of powerful Republicans, including presidential candidates.
Laffer also met with Rand Paul. And Laffer said out loud, in public, that he thinks Kansas is doing just fine. That’s the same Kansas where some public schools will have to close early this year because they can’t keep the lights on, the same Kansas with the downgraded credit rating.
This is a followup to comment 55.
Paul Krugman neatly summarized Arthur Laffer’s economic myths, and provided a thumbnail sketch of the source(s) for Republican love affairs with the myths.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/04/10/the-laffer-swerve
What troubles me is that the current Republican presidential candidates are in agreement on one thing: they all want to duplicate the Kansas “experiment” of Governor Sam Brownback. They want to run the experiment on the entire USA. Proven recipe for disaster.
Rightwing politicians harp on and on about reducing the deficit. And yet, most of their top policy recommendations, (not to mention legislation they’ve already passed), raises the deficit.
Here’s what the Congressional Budget Office, a non-partisan service department, says about the Republican proposal to scrap the estate tax:
Other Republican initiatives that would raise the deficit:
– changes to the work-week definition in Obamacare = $53.2 billion rise in the deficit over 10 years
– banning abortions after 20 weeks increases Medicaid costs, and increases the federal deficit by $225 million over ten years
– reversing President Obama’s immigration policies = increasing the deficit by $7.5 billion over ten years
The federal deficit is not the boogey-man that it is made out to be by Republicans, but at the very least they should stop shouting about making deficits illegal, robbing our children’s children, etc. when they are the ones pushing lots of deficit-increasing policies.
By the way, you and I are not likely to be affected by the estate tax. This is a tax on property (cash, real estate, stock, or other assets) transferred to your heirs when you die. It kicks it if your estate exceeds $5.43 million ($10.86 million per married couple). Wealthy households get large tax breaks; the estate tax is a kind of lame attempt to level the playing field. In 2015, 99.8 percent of estates in the USA owe no estate tax, none.
Estates that are taxed pay less than 1/6th of their value in taxes anyway. The effective rate is 16.6 percent, while the statutory rate is 40 percent. Loopholes and assholes. Think Mitt
Lynna
I could settle for photos. Dramatic shots of the radishes, a bit of melodrama with the brassica – mood-setting the basil. Sounds like it could work!
Beatrice
*hugs*
Sometimes driving tests are failed for the stupidest of reasons, but rest assured, people far less competent have succeeded, so you should have no problem at all, next time out!
Okay, photo tour of a single garden in rq’s neighborhood needs to be planned.
In not-so-nice news, Bruce Rauner, Republican Governor of Illinois, cut the funding of the state’s autism program. He cut it on World Autism Day.
http://abc7chicago.com/society/state-funding-for-autism-program-cut-on-world-autism-day-advocate-says/612111/
Yay! Moderate Republicans still exist in Montana. They finally kicked the Koch brothers to the curb and passed a Medicaid expansion bill.
Poison pill amendments from Tea Party legislators were rejected. “Witnesses” from the Koch’s Americans for Prosperity (AFP) dominated committee hearings, but their tactics did not prevail.
Montana is a big state with about a million residents, most of them clumped in a few mid-sized cities. 70,000 of these Montanans were uninsured. Now they will have health insurance. (One source says 45,000.)
http://www.kaj18.com/story/28765991/house-set-to-vote-on-montana-medicaid-expansion-thursday-evening
Police tasered and beat another unarmed man. This time in San Bernadino County, California. NBC Los Angeles link
They chased him down and beat the crap out of him. The man fled on a horse, but he then gave up by placing himself face down on the ground with his arms spread out, obviously surrendering. The police tasered him and beat him anyway, including kicking him in the head. A horse kicked one of the policemen according to the report. The suspect was not armed. A news chopper got the video.
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Man-on-Stolen-Horse-Stunned-by-Sheriffs-Deputies-in-IE-299250951.html
Oddly enough I’ve actually had a lot more success with tomatoes and squash than I have with herbs. On the other hand, herbs don’t need like a 12-14in pot minimum… (I was lucky to get some hand-me-downs).
This is a followup to comment 57, which focuses mostly on the estate tax and how it may or may not affect wealthy citizens of the USA.
Here are a few details to back up my statement that wealthy families enjoy a lot of tax breaks and other goodies, and that the estate tax is an inadequate attempt to level the playing field.
– if you are a US citizen who earns money, you only pay into Social Security for the first $118,000 of your income
– investment income is taxed at a lower rate than income for which you work
– you get a tax deduction for your yacht or boat if you claim it as a second home
– retirement savings fund subsidies go mostly to the top 20% of taxpayers
– you get tax deductions for business meals (meanwhile food stamp recipients in Missouri are banned from buying steak and seafood) — for example, if one dinner for executives costs $1,600, $800 of that is deductible, an approximate savings of $280 in taxes. Public food assistance for welfare recipients averages $279 per month per household.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/04/09/the-rich-get-government-handouts-just-like-the-poor-here-are-10-of-them
Crudely Wrott:
I’d read that.
:)
Please do!
:) :) :)
(Later)
Merlin. Runt. Arioch. Bast. Merp. D’Artagnan. Midnight.
*sniffle*
–
Happy recent birthday, chigau!
If I’d known, I’d’ve eaten a cake.
:)
(It’s okay—I’d’ve brought plenty for everyone.)
–
Hi, bassmike!
*pouncehug*
(Later)
Fractally violent?
–
Lynna:
*vigorous applause*
It really is a public health issue, people.
Like not allowing people to let their Sewage Containment Overflow into the public water supply.
–
*hugs* for Tony!.
Katya’s (not)eating habits sound familiar.
We’re steeling ourselves for the certainty that one all-too-soon day, we’re going to either wake up to, or come home to, a dead Pixel-cat.
She’s sixteen or seventeen years old.
Getting old is, as has been noted Elsewhere, a motherfucker—and not just for humans. The clock runs down, all the water ends up in the sea.
*additional hugs*
On the more cheerful subject of killing cactuses (cacti? I’m sure Google could tell me, but I just can’t be bothered) and “green” thumbs, the mint I successfully grew last year and the year before is inexplicably continuing to thrive in my proximity…and I seem to be keeping a begonia alive. Miracles are real!
–
Saad:
I was about to say that very same thing!
–
carlie, some congresscritters seem to think that it’s a moot point. If you scroll down a bit, here, you’ll find the priceless quote:
Representative Frank Artiles, everyone—Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 118th District.
Feed that man a Big Gulp and send him on a long car trip.
–
I’m back home, looking forward to my own bed tonight.
Rawstory link: Big banks require tellers to use predatory practices
DAREDEVIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I read that as “…looking for my own bed tonight” and wondered what veggie or which aliens keep removing / transporting your bed, and whether or not you were in it when it (usually) happens.
It was the Horses.
It’s always the Horses.
–
Night mares are like that, aren’t they?
For the knitters in the Lounge-
Cosplayer creates a fully knitted Captain America costume that includes a red, white, and blue handbag shield.
Jackie
As promised, some hugs for you. Chocolate covered.
+++
Herbs, herbs, herbs, HERBS!
I must remember to put them on the balcony and water them!
Me too! Big hugs!
Ophelia, I thought you to be many things, but not a troll.
Whatever.
For all that I’d like to respond to Opehlia’s comment @73, the Lounge isn’t the place.
What, you’ve never been unsure which bed you were going to end up in? :P
JPL astronomer Amy Mainzer names asteroid after Malala
With a mildly deranged penguin in the near vicinity, the proposition that one wakes up in the same Universe as one when to sleep in it disproven. The current working hypothesis is one wakes up before, at the same time as, or after one goes to sleep, albeit evidence is lacking and the proposition itself is quite contentious.
A Triffid a day keeps the long pigs at bay.
Rand Paul ends Q&A when pressed on GOP voters’ views on race and policing:
Typical thug: When asked to explain, blames the reporter.
After seeing “bonsai” pepper plants today, I’ve got a craving for some spicier container gardening.
The cruddy fluffy “motherfucking, power hungry self-aggrandised bigot in the stupid fucking hat” shows how nice and reasonable he is (again), Vatican suspected of rejecting gay French ambassador:
That was supposed to be cuddly fluffy, albeit cruddly fluffy also seems appropriate…
Oh no! :(
Transgender teen who was bullied commits suicide
Fuck this culture.
Well, so much for boundaries. Mom’s moving in temporarily since her husband is locked up for a bit. We’ll find out how long next Wednesday, and she’s thinking it’ll be awhile. She still hasn’t told me exactly what happened either. :/
Turns out, we’ll be moving units next week and I’m pretty sure it’s a smaller 1-bedroom. :/
Probably going to need Mom to pay rent next month, since she agreed, because apparently Roomie’s student loans are split up. So the one that isn’t on the repayment plan is going to yank his refund. She also said she’d help us move to another place at the end of May because this place isn’t worth 739.50, even if we could pay it. I’m pretty sure the new management is going to find that out soon enough since everyone who can is moving, everyone who can’t is getting kicked, and no one is moving in. The complex is pretty fucking empty.
I also finally could go grocery shopping again. As I was in line, two people behind me left because I was using ads to get discounts. For all of 4 items. It took like a minute to ring up. I explained it wasn’t a lot, and my cart is tiny anyways but they still turned their noses up and fled. Whatever. At least I didn’t get shit for being on food stamps this time.
And the two yay things I’ve got: the giant mass has fled and I’m feeling much better, only got to complete the antibiotic treatment now, and Little One got all her A.R. points for reading and is going to get a pizza party at the end of school. Of course, she’s still devouring books and now the teachers are coming up with ways to spend the points for kids who don’t complete the goal and the ones like Little One with more. (She’s the first to hit the mark too.) :D
—————
Tony, I’m so sorry about your kitty. :(
*hugs for you and scritches for her*
———–
#84 Saad
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. :(
*hugs* and *higs* all ’round.
+++
How 100 Years Of Advertisements Created The ‘White American Woman’. This is actually incredibly interesting, a closer look at the imagery behind all the advertising in the 20th century. It’s… yeah.
Using no as yes – What Part of “No, Totally” Don’t You Understand? For language nerds. And everyone else, too. Warning: cilantro on pancakes discussed within.
Fuck fucking Fox corporation in every possible way; they’ve completely destroyed L’s business. Ever since we had to take down the Firefly costumes, business and traffic have both been in the shitter, and I don’t have nearly enough hours to make up the lost income.
Dalillama
Fuck, I’m sorry.
+++
Me, I’m just whining.
I needed to get the liquid detergent that is on top of the cupboard. Of course I’m too small, it slipped my fingers, fell, broke the lid, pushed something else off the washing machine which landed on my toe to leave a big cut. The only good thing is that now the whole bath smells of the liquid detergent.
If you need me, I’m over in the pillow fort.
‘They want to erase journalists in Mexico’:
The [USA] government will hide its surveillance programs. But they won’t eliminate them:
As this opinion piece goes on to point out, neither the Stingray devices nor how they work is particularly secret. What is sort-of secret is how extensively they are used, and the extent to which they vacuum up information (for which there is usually not a warrant) on essentially anyone in-range who happens to be carrying a mobile device. What then happens to that sucked-in data is unclear, but there is no particular reason to think it isn’t stored, searched, and monitored. In addition, there is a presumption the people (agents) with access to the information are honest and won’t use it for personal (or professional) gain, which is simply ludicrous, even if “only” a “few” rotten apples exploit the obvious blackmail potential. Plus the possiblity of it being “hacked” (most likely, stolen, albeit sabotaged cannot be ruled out) by outsiders specifically for the purposes of blackmail and similar…
Were Lincoln and Nixon gay? The ‘history’ book that is dividing America: “Award-winning author and gay-rights activist Larry Kramer’s new book aims to counter the exclusion of homosexuality from history”:
Cue another nutter explosion, over both the hypothesis in the book (and the book and the author and the reporting of the book and it’s hypothesis and yadda yadda…) and the very concept that some historical figures (with a handful of undeniable exceptions, such as Turing) weren’t stereo
typicalfictional heroes.Read this today. Thought of the folks ’round these parts.
– Pablo Neruda
I’m sorry about Katya, Tony. That’s how my kitty went in the fall. If it makes you feel any better, I hid in my room and sobbed over him when he died even though I thought I was prepared. Sixteen years is a long time to love somebody. It doesn’t matter if they’re a cat.
Yes, Saad. Fuck it very much. That poor kid.
… All those poor kids.
It is really to bad that a mother had to go through the awful experience of having all seven of her children get whooping cough before she changed her anti-vaxxer mind.
http://thescientificparent.org/learning-the-hard-way-my-journey-from-antivaxx-to-science/
Giliell,
Thanks for the chocolate and hugs. What are they for?
I missed something, didn’t I?
From Ophelia’s “hug” I’m assuming it has to do with me saying that I’m not much into her blog anymore. I haven;t been back to that thread. I guess that’s a good thing.
That’s really quite sad. I have a great deal of respect for her. I’m disappointed, but probably only momentarily. Sooner or later, we all disappoint someone. I’m not going to take it personally. I did bother me, but I have real problems. A writer’s bruised ego isn’t about to become one of them.
I’m going to try and forget it ever happened.
Anyway, thank you so much. I need those hugs and chocolate for totally unrelated reasons, but having them for this is nice too.
I’m now-ish reading some of comics poopyhead pointed-to in his recent Only a slight exaggeration post, and found this witty apparent tribute to Terry Pratchett.
Forcing African American kids into the justice system, often with trumped up charges, is a specialty of the USA. Actions for which a white child would be forgiven, or for which a white kid would be offered treatment and supervision, those actions put kids with darker skin in the school-to-prison pipeline.
http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-04-10/how-kicking-trash-can-became-criminal-6th-grader
The authorities dealing with Kaleb, said that the need him to “man up.” They also said that “he needed to start controlling himself or that eventually they would start controlling him.”
Wacky political protests that grabbed the world’s attention:
Walter Scott: county sheriff punished with trash collection after dog attack on suspect (the title is misleading, this is not about Mr Scott’s murder, but the sheriff of the country where Mr Scott was murdered and the sheriff’s involvement in a different case of over-the-top
policegoon reactions to poor decisions by the suspect):Lynna @97
Want to put that up on Reagan’s Morning? Needs more depression. :P
rq @100, I cross posted the #97 comment.
http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2015/02/17/reagans-morning-in-america-has-acquired-a-different-resonance/comment-page-2/#comment-931414
The National Rifle Association’s conference was turned into an anti-Hillary-Clinton rally. The right-wingers must be afraid of Hillary, very afraid. They are also making stuff up.
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2015/04/11/3645931/nra-meeting-leadership/
Arresting 17 year old kids [Amos Yee, for example] for violating stupid laws that really do restrict free speech — that’s the latest move from Singapore’s conservative authorities. My emphasis in the excerpt below.
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-arrest-of-a-teen-aged-youtube-star
Whale and dolphin meat sold by Yahoo! Japan ‘exceeds safe mercury limits’: “Samples tested by Environmental Investigation Agency contained mercury levels up to 47 times higher than recommended safe level… The UK-based EIA said every one of the 20 samples it tested contained unsafe levels of mercury…”.
What else is new? That’s pretty much how the American Civil War got started; the slaveholders had worked themselves up into a fine froth convincing each other that Lincoln was going to free the slaves as soon as he was in office (he wasn’t), freaked the fuck out, and started shooting.
Have your Thug Sickness Bags© at the ready!
…
Ok, ready? Remember, the vomit goes in the bag (or on the thug if you have the appropriate USB adapter). GOP hopefuls use NRA convention to bolster 2016 presidential platforms: “Bobby Jindal calls NRA country’s ‘most effective’ civil rights group…”.
(Sorry about the mess, my Thug Sickness Bag overflowed and, well, let’s just leave it there…)
By that standard, the KKK is the country’s best law enforcement agency, the Creation Museum is the country’s primary center of scientific excellence, the Earth is flat, and the mildly deranged penguin does not cheese. Peas, however, are still horrible.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Just got a text from my best friend’s roommate. He had to call an ambulance for her.
Could this please stop already? Could somebody in my life here actually have good things happening?
Swedish tobacco company to challenge FDA demands for warning labels: “Swedish Match argues moist powdered tobacco product snus should not have to carry warning labels, citing studies that say it is less harmful than cigarettes”.
Snus has a weird status in the EU. The stuff is legal (I’m unsure what sort of warnings it carries), but it is illegal to sell it (except in Sweden (and, if I recall correctly, Denmark), which has a special exemption from the EU).
Rebranding bran: teaching nutrient-rich cooking in Mali: “A Malian project to teach mothers about nutrition and encourage them to cook with wholegrain cereal is improving child health and freeing up women’s time”.
Is this the right place to talk about sexist, racist, ableist, or other language in posts?
maddog
Depends?
There is no strict “off topic” here, but if you feel it would be of the nature that could make a dinner party uncomfortable, try Thunderdome instead.
I’ve noticed people have been cautioned to be careful of saying things like “that’s stupid” or “that’s dumb” or anything with “-tard” as a suffix as ableist language. I have tried to be more sensitive to things that might be “-ist” in speaking about another person. But something that tends to persist here is reference to “clutching pearls.” Is that a sexist term? For me, it brings to mind uptight Victorian women who are made aghast at anything the slightest bit offensive. “Fainting couch” the same. Has that kind of term been dealt with here before?
PSA
If you or someone you know should bleed through twelve menstrual pads in the course of a few hours, that’s not a normal period. And if someone you know is experiencing this and tells you what’s happening, don’t suggest that the solution to the problem is to calm down and deal with their anxiety.
Yeah, my friend going to the hospital was delayed by her dad literally pulling the hysteria card.
If you’re talking about an action or a belief or a claim, saying “that’s stupid,” then you’re not calling the person that. I’ve said and done and thought plenty of stupid things, which simply doesn’t mean the same to me as calling myself a stupid person. However, anything with “-tard” (or similar) clearly is punching down on mental disorders and disabilities, which are things people have. Ideas do not have those. One thing we should be sensitive to is the difference between criticisms of people/groups/characteristics on the one hand, and criticisms of their false/ridiculous/bullshit ideas on the other.
Yes, they’ve both been discussed before. Indeed, “monocle popping” was an equivalently Victorian term, suggested for men, although the general pattern of “fainting” (if not the couches) or being overwrought about trivialities seems to me like a generic feature of a lot of Victorians regardless of their gender. They took themselves too seriously and said/did a lot of silly things as a result. Now, if you’re also going to take the “monocle” example too literally, as ridiculing visually impaired men who are suffering anxiety or something absurdly specific like that, I really don’t know what to say. It seems like you’re really trying to misunderstand the point of the imagery/metaphor. I don’t think anybody actually goes there, as their first pass at interpreting it.
The Mellow Monkey
*hugs*
I hope she gets adequate and successful care – that certainly doesn’t sound healthy by any means; the fact that some people with uteri bleed during their periods does not mean that they do so excessively.
I would even go so far as to say that her dad is stupid and probably an asshole.
maddog1129
Well, those are both terms that originally apply to Victorian ladies who go weak at any sign of excitement and outrage, but really, anyone can clutch pearls and anyone can have a fainting couch, if they feel the need for it.
I can’t really answer better than that.
Geologists Unearth Fully Intact Rock.
Damn, TMM, I hope your friend is OK. And her father is an ignorant fool.
Fuuuuuuck. I had my battery tested when I changed my oil a couple of weeks ago, and the battery failed the charge test. Yesterday the car wouldn’t start, so I figured yep, battery’s gone. So i just spent $100 on a new one, put it in, and… car no starty. I’ll have to have it towed to the mechanic and whatever replaced. And I was surprisingly low on coolant, which was full last week if the oil change people are to be believed, so that’s probably a problem too. This is on top of a few other big unexpected expenses in the last couple of weeks, and finding out that after this winter we now have a big crack in the outside foundation that’s going to take a loan to deal with (after we pay a lot for an analysis of what’s wrong, of course). It always all comes at once, doesn’t it?
FuuuuuuUUUUuuuuuUUUUUuuuuk. I just put two and two together and realized that potential bad compression + no coolant = bad head gasket. I really, really, really hope it’s just spark plugs. Really.
TMM, I hope your friend will be okay.
carlie, hugs, and I hope the car fix is a cheap one.
TMM. Fucking hell. I know that bad people have children, it’s simple statistics that tells me that, but I can’t wrap my head around a father being that uncaring. I just can’t. I hope she recovers well and quickly.
carlie, ugh cars. They’re tricksy beasts whose perfidy knows no bounds. I hope things end up being cheap and easy.
*runs in!*
*distributes hugs generously!*
*giggles!*
So I have a question that I’d appreciate some input on.
An acquaintance of mine is dying. I know him from the open stage I play at, in fact that open stage was resurrected to give him something to do while he waited to die. He’s in palliative care now and not expected to recover.
I really like him, but we only really interacted once a month for the last year or so. We were friendly but not friends if that makes any sense. One of the things that impressed me was that he was living, rather than waiting to die. He borrowed my e-bow* a couple of months ago, never mind that he didn’t have enough time left in his life to master it. Living, not dying.
So here’s my question. I’m going to go visit him, assuming he wants visitors. I thought I might ask him if there was any idea for a song or piece of music that he’d always meant to write. I thought I might offer to write that for him. The idea being that it could be a useful distraction and possibly be something that he could see as a continuation of himself after he’s gone.
Is this a stupid idea? I mean, none of us can know how he might feel about it. But does it strike anyone as insensitive? I can see a case being made for such an offer kind of rubbing the terminal person’s nose in the fact he’s dying and I’m not.
Thoughts?
Er, forgot about that *
*e-bow is an electronic device that vibrates guitar strings without plucking them. Much like a bow for violin but far more space-age.
Sounds like a lovely sentiment to me, fishy.
AUDLEY!!!!!!!!
How are you? How is DarkToddler? Is she in school yet? Is she in college now? : ) WE MISS YOU
FossilFishy – that is a lovely and touching idea. I might modify it a bit to ask him if he’d be willing to let you compose something in his honor, and then ask him what kinds of music he likes, rather than offering it as taking over a job he meant to do but can’t now.
Audley! So good to see you here again.
consciousness razor@114
I am not clear with this, in part because the perception of what is ableist language varies a lot from blog to blog (e.g., “We Hunted the Mammoth” is stricter than Pharyngula, but I’ve read commenters over there criticize some Tumblrs for being over the top on this matter). What I don’t understand is this: If “what you’re saying is retarded” is punching down on retarded people, how is “what you’re saying is stupid” not punching down on stupid people? Admittedly, stupidity is not a mental disorder, but that’s still a condition one usually cannot do much about.
Hiya, Carlie!
DarkToddler is good good good! Big and strong and smart and wonderful, and so ready for spring to start that it’s not even funny. No school yet, but we’re already weighing our options and considering some of the private schools in the area- which feels hella weird because I am so pro- public schools in general, but I’m sure you’re aware of the plight of NY schools.
For the most part, I’m pretty good. I’m at the tail end of a 5 day long (I hope) stomach bug (I would only wish this agony on my worst enemies), but other than that I’ve got no complaints (except the weather. Have I mentioned the weather? Our weather sucks). Been reading a lot, started watching Daredevil on Netflix, you know: same shit. :)
How are you? How’s everything?
*waves at FossilFishy!*
carlie, excellent suggestion, cheers. That helps with my misgivings. It also allows him to choose his level of participation. Smarts: you’ve got ’em.
Sorry to hear about the stomach bug Audley, but just wait until the DT gets to school. There’s nothing like loving a cuddly disease vector for giving the old immune system a workout. [remembers the snuffling and nose rubbing at breakfast, runs off to wash his hands again]
A Kickstarter: Beyond: The Queer Sci-Fi/Fantasy Comic Anthology
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Bravery By Any Other Name, by The Bloggess.
–
This Octopus Was Trained by Sony to Take Pictures of Aquarium Visitors
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Saad:
:( :( :(
Fuck this culture, indeed.
–
I’m so sorry, Dalillama.
*hugs*
–
*hugs & kittens* for The Mellow Monkey.
O.O
No.
It is not.
My best wishes for your friend, and a dead fish up-side the head for her dad.
With peas.
–
rq:
*snortle*
–
Audley Z Darkheart!
*running pouncehug*
How’s the DarkKid?
–
FossilFishy, it sounds like a lovely tribute to me—and one that the tributee will be in a position to appreciate (unlike the usual kind of post-mortem tribute).
–
sff9, to me, ideas may be stupid, independently of the cognitive abilities of people. I don’t see ideas as being capable of being “retarded”. Or intrinsically characteristic of “retarded” thought processing.
I’m saying this poorly.
*leaving to search for better words*
–
One of the reasons why I’m glad the Darkling isn’t in daycare!
CICELY!!!!
She is wonderful! How are you?
Hey, FossilFishy (NOBODY, and proud of it!)
Gosh, that doesn’t sound like a stupid idea to me at all! Sounds very thoughtful and caring and warm. Something that’s likely to be meaningful to your fellow musician and to you.
Aaaand, i’ve been ninja’d by Carlie and maddog1129
My only suggestion, FWIW, would be to find a way to make your offer sort of open-ended. Along the lines of “I know how much your music means to you. If there’s any I can be supportive or helpful, I’d really like to be here for you. Like with (X or Y composition-related thingie), or even just talking and/or listening together.”I suspect if he’s feeling in need of distraction or thinking of trying to leave a more permanent musical legacy, then that would be enough of an opening for him to tell you what he wants and if he wants help with anything specific.
Anyway, hope this helps. I suspect it will be pretty clear that you’re genuinely concerned and really trying to be sensitive. Just make it as much as possible about what _he_ wants. If that’s just some conversation…there’s nothing stopping you from writing a memorial song of your own later on.
As a (lapsed) violist, the e-bow thing sounds…interesting-but-weird. Because a guitar has all its strings in the same plane–there’s no curve at all to the bridge, unlike with the violin and double-bass families, where you can hit one, maybe two strings at once, and it’s harder to hit more than that!
Tony! The queer shoop
Hey, I’ve just caught up with your unhappy news about your Katya kitteh.
That’s so hard. I’m so sorry and wanted you to know you’re in my thoughts.
As you can tell from the many responses here in Teh Lounge, there are many, many of us who see nothing strange in shedding tears at such a time. (Though, of course, preferring not to do so at work is also perfectly understandable.)
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Shoop, you are Good People. Katya’s lucky to have such a good hoomin to love her and look after her.
FunnyDiva
who’s also had her heart broken by the loss of a beloved kitteh…and gets tearful for friends going through the same.
Tony, I’m giving my cats extra scritches tonight for you. “Can feel some bones” is healthy weight (my cats are on a diet to keep them there), and skinny bony cats can live long happy lives — but weight loss is rightly concerning. Best of luck for you two!
Thanks Funny Diva. That’s helpful too.
An ebow doesn’t work at all like a violin bow. You don’t move it to create the vibration, an electro-magnet in the thing does that.
Take a look here:
http://www.ebow.com/lessons.php?cat=3
Click on “How to Postition the Ebow” for a better idea how they sit on the strings.
And electric guitars do have a bit of curve to the string height. The bridge is usually set up to match the radius of the fret board so each string is the same height over the frets. On older electrics that radius can be 7″ or so, quite noticeable. I had mine re-radiused at 16″ so it’s much flatter.
I came here to get off my brain a nagging nuisance that struck me last night.
After being done climbing at the rock gym, I turned the corner into the locker room and my heart gave a little flip — there was a big scary BLACK MAN right there, next to my locker. Within a split second my conscious brain was able to shut up that bullshit; I’m moderately certain I didn’t have time even to skip a step. But I definitely felt fight-or-flight response going on at first, and it was conscious effort to nuke that.
Just to put the cherry on the sundae of shame, said formerly-scary black man put on his spiffy work clothes, put away his shiny climbing gear, and got on the phone with a graduating engineer he was evidently mentoring to answer her questions about her rights and responsibilities as a member of the Order of Engineers.
So this is an upstanding engineer who does a yuppie sport in a yuppie neighbourhood and takes time out of his Friday night schedule to mentor new engineers.
And my lizard brain goes into fight-or-flight because society convinced me he was a threat on account of his skin colour.
Fuck that brain weasel.
Note: rock climbing is not entirely yuppie. It’s actually much better integrated than other sports I’ve partaken of — indeed it’s where as a younger man I discovered that education was only loosely related to intelligence and largely uncorrelated to being a good human being.
….it is?
Audley, I’m doin’ okay. I’m not sure whether you’ll have missed The Announcement, but since the first day of September, I have been rejoicing in the existence of my Grandson, who is made entirely out of 100% pure, fine-grained Awesome.
:) :) :)
–
And fucking hell. Once again death out-races me. I had the notion this morning on my ride to work. And just now I found out that he’s gone. I guess I got complacent because he wasn’t suppose to make it to Christmas. Shit, piss, damn, fuck.
He’s out of pain. That matters. Those closest to him can now mourn and heal. That matters. My gesture, empty and incomplete doesn’t.
just caught up
.
.
.
hugs for everyone
.
Tonight’s event at the community hall was a success.
The Mellow Monkey,,
*hugs* for you and your friend. I hope she recovers quickly.
chigau,
What kind of event?
Completely threadrupt. So here’s some general *hugs* for the taking.
******
Now for the w(h)ine. My birthday was yesterday (checks to verify it’s after midnight), and my dad took Husband and me out to a winery local to him. He bought us a bottle of wine, didn’t help us drink it, and I wound up drinking 2/3 of a 12% bottle of wine.
This is officially the drunkest I’ve ever been. And fuck me, but I’m not doing this again any time soon. I’m right on the edge of sleep it off or puke and get it over with. And I loathe vomiting, so I’ve avoided that so far, but sleeping ain’t working out real well right now, either.
Yes, I’m drinking water, probably not as much as I need too, but as much as I can handle without upsetting my stomach further, since too much water at night has been known to do that also.
Lesson learned: don’t let Dad pick the alcohol.
FossilFishy
*hugs*
Damn. Do you think you might still write a song in his honour? Or write one to dedicate to him?
+++
I have also determined why women love shopping all the time and are so good at it: they must have accompanied men on their hunts, else how would the men have known which mammoth hide would be suitable for cavepeople outfits? “No, not that one dear, the coat is too ratty… wrong shade of dark brown… that pattern’s not in this season…” You can’t learn much about fashion if you’re wandering around picking berries.
Admittedly, on yesterday’s semiannual clothing hunt for the kids, I had a lot of time for stupid ideas. Because stupid is a universal trait.
*hugs* and *higs* for everyone, some names that haven’t been in the Lounge for a while! Lovely to see everyone.
I got smacked in the arm by an old woman yesterday for making her think I was a guy. She was behind the counter at the bookstore across from the cafe where I was going to have dinner. I went in to buy a magazine to read during dinner, and she started chatting with me in fairly rapid Japanese. Apparently at some point she said I was “pretty like a woman.” I didn’t quite catch the implication of that because I was struggling to keep up with even half of what she was saying.
So then I bought a women’s magazine and she’s like, “Wait, are you a woman!? And I’m like, “Uh, yes?” Then she scolded me (not harshly or anything, despite the arm smacking) for fooling her and not correcting her when she said I was pretty as a woman. Meanwhile, I’m wondering what an actual Western guy would think of that compliment. Bit of a cultural divide there.
Then she gave me a free catalog of men’s clothes because she’d been planning to before she figured out I was a woman, and if I was going to be all confusing, then why not?
‘morning
Audley
*pouncehug*
So happy to see you!
FossilFishy
*higs*
and
*hugs*
+++
TMM
Unless it is. My body sometimes thinks that “let’s get over with this within the next 4 hours” is a good idea. Which, for me, is completely normal.
Let’s phrase it as “if somebody you know has an unusual period and is worried, support them in getting help.” Your friend’s dad is an asshole.
++
carlie
Urgh, sorry about the car and house woes
+++
Ahhh, I love people who think that concepts they don’t understand are false because of that. And they’re from all walks of rifts. First this week there was the Nugent fanboy who thought that he got a “gotcha” by inserting himself in a conversation I had with somebody about cultural apropriation and enjoying and celebrating different cultures. Dude’s obviously oblivious that “cultural apropriation” is a term with a meaning and that liking curry does not fall under it.
And then there was the TERFy feminist* who argued that the real definition of woman is the godsdamn patriarchal one of “having baby making facilities.” Basically, #whitefeminism “universal sisterhood of oppression”. I suggested she read some Foucault and Butler to which she replied “I’m not going to read PoMo, that’s just nonsense!”
Ehm, not that I would file Butler under Postmoderism, but acting as if refusing to
know something, whether you agree with it or not is a viable intellectual stance is so creationist.
*I’m not even sure what her point was, since she was at least smart enough to realise that it’s the perceived baby making ability and admitted that this covers trans* women as well….
Made me cry.
Want to know more about kissing? Here you go.
rq,
Made my cry too. Must be sorcery.
Beatrice
Actually, I think it’s feminism. ;)
FossilFishy – I’m so sorry. If you still wanted to do it, though, I think his family would be really touched by it. But if you don’t want to do it because your main reason was to comfort him, that’s fine too.
My favorite on the kissing article:
“A court case of 1837 involved a man named Thomas Saverland who had kissed a Miss Caroline Newton at a party “by way of a joke” and in return she’d bitten off a chunk of his nose. Saverland took her to court but lost as the judge ruled, “When a man kisses a woman against her will, she is fully entitled to bite off his nose, if she so pleases”, to which her barrister added, “and eat it up, if she has a fancy that way”.”
Notice that there was no whining that it was impossible for him to know that she wouldn’t want to be kissed if she hadn’t explicitly told him so beforehand, or that she should be much more tolerant of him and his personality.
Audley! Good to hear things are going ok. Life sucks in several ways here, but all of them being minor problems in the big scheme of things, and I’ve been frustrated rather than depressed lately, which is a welcome change. We’ve started going out on college visits for Child 1, which is exciting and scary in its own way! (scary mainly being the cost). Overall good, but I am quite looking forward to after the semester ends. Oh – could you re-link to the blog that you helped start? The one with all the awesome women writers with the honeycomb logo? I keep losing the information on it.
My friend’s losing a lot of blood. They started giving her transfusions at 4:30, D&C scheduled for later this morning. Considering some of the stupid shit these doctors have already told her (she’s a lesbian and was told this made her vagina too tight for a pelvic exam), I’m a bit…worried.
The Mellow Monkey,
That’s horrible. Both the blood loss and the incredible stupidity of her doctors. I hope everything goes well.
WHAT????? By similar logic, any woman who’s a virgin, or any teenaged girl, is too tight for a pelvic exam. I mean, what?
I don’t supposed there’s any other hospital/medical centre she can transfer to? That attitude is incredibly worrisome.
Oh ye gods… So twitter. I follow this one guy who does interesting TV shows locally, he’s got some on driving, cars and rules of the road (laws, too!) and he often investigates transportation incompetence from the government – badly repaired roads, weird signage, incompetent law-making, etc. He also does a local travel show where his segment examines the tourism information centres and tourism opportunities of more out-of-the-way places. It’s really quite awesome and usually educational, with a good dose of (proper – by which I mean non-sexist, non-homophobic, non-racist, etc.) humour.
ANYWAY. He just posted a tweet with a picture of himself with a couple of other men, featured in a (I think home improvement?) magazine… and the title of the article is ‘Woman-Free Zone’.
It’s about garages.
I just tweeted at him re: how it must not be important for women to learn to use tools. I’m dreading my response a bit, but okay – feeling brave. :P
Stephen Hawking Sings Monty Python… Galaxy Song (Music Video) , found via The Grauniad.
(Adjust either the knobs, or if they are set correctly, the cootie-to-rationality ratio…) Sorry, this is not a laughing matter. Much more seriously:
(2) File a complaint (almost (see below)) immediately with the hospital and relevant medical licensing board, with, if you know them, the names of the complete incompetents “treating” her. Point out that, by this logic, all bleeding children (especially girls) cannot be examined / are hard to treat (unless they have been had “private lessons” with priests).
(1) Of more immediate importance is getting her treatment by actual, you know, medical professionals. Not whatever quacks are currently involved. (Extremely uselessly, I currently don’t have any ideas here.)
Milk, caffeine and chocolate.
TMM
WTF? My friend gave birth vaginally. If a lesbian’s vagina can birth a baby it can more than fit a pelvic exam.
Hope the D&C goes well
Umm, the statement ‘If only it were that easy.’ appended to the previous comment link.
[hugs everybody]
[leaves more hugs for anyone who wanders in later]
Please amend above post to include “offers”. Hugs not mandatory, just offered if/when needed or wanted.
Also, fuck, my car loses oil. :(
You might be safe. The last person who hugged the mildly deranged penguin has possibly been found, albeit They are still reassembling that person’s Universe in an attempt to find enough atoms to absolutely confirm. (The current evidence is mostly based on that person’s last known whereabouts, and a lack of cheese in what is thought to be the same former Universe.)
carlie:
Sorry to hear about your car. Hope you dont have to spend an arm and a leg to fix it.
****
Dalillama:
My sympathies about L’s business. I wish I could offer concrete help.
****
Mellow Monkey:
I hope your friend gets the proper medical help she deserves.
****
Awesome!
Our washing machine is dead. Doesnt work. E ran a load a few days ago and it wouldnt finish. Theres half a machine worth of water that wont drain. Outlet is fine. Checked the breaker too.
So dont have the money for a new one.
Sigh.
You mean as a very effective method of subduing the
malesslaves? Dragging them around to look at one thing which seems identical to the last thirty-seven things they’ve been forced to look at and agree, for the two thousand and something millionth time, “Yes, it’s not quite right” and then going back to what seems to be the same shop albeit possibly in a differenttimezoneUniverse for a repeat performance is not only quite effective, it (usually) doesn’t leave any marks.Either that, or the accompanying cheese deprivation. My theory is the reason woman carry handbags / purses (depends on which side of the Atlantic you are on) is to hide the cheese so they don’t also suffer from cheese deprivation.
Mother dangled todder [sic] over cheetah pit at Cleveland zoo — and he fell in:
“● The two-year-old’s parents jumped into enclosure and pulled son to safety
● Cleveland Metroparks plans to seek child endangering charges”.
Funny enough, that sounds like the times my family forced me to go shopping with my dad to make sure he doesn’t come home with green trousers and a red jacket…
+++
Tony
I’m sorry to hear. Your washing machine should have an emergency drain, at least if it’s somewhat similar to ours. Look at the bottom, usually close to the thing where forgotten coins accumulate
Hey! Wait a minute here: My favorite trousers are green, and my favorite jacket is red. (Both are now, sadly, defunct — worn out.)
Well, the difference is that he’d never have known. He would have thought he’d bought perfectly matching grey clothing…
UK one of world’s least religious countries, survey finds: “Two-thirds of global population have a faith but in UK 30% of people are religious compared with more than 90% in countries such as Thailand”.
President Obama is to blame for “blood moons.” More rightwing folderol:
Link
Kind of funny … if you don’t care that many of the rightwing dunderheads running the USA read WorldNutDaily religiously.
Ah, I see, a clothing must match fetishist. Me? I find a lump on the floor that looks like it might be a shirt, chisel it free, shake off the loose dirt and termites, try it on as trousers first to make sure it really is a shirt, then put it on as a shirt (bonus points if the collar is adjacent to my neck, and the pockets are on the outside). Similarly for the trousers, albeit they are usually stuck to the ceiling for some reason. I think they’ve dissolved through from the upper floor. Most important thing is to put the left shoe on the left foot in no more than three tries. The unshod foot is then a clew as to where the right shoe goes.
Except for the time consumed by the chiseling free, it’s fairly simple. However, the clothing does tend to be a bit itchy, and it’s annoyingly hard to bend over, sit down, or ascend/descend stairs. On the other hand, peas and horses usually bounce off, and there’s no problem getting a seat on the bus.
Moments of Mormon Madness, raising children category.
So, I guess you are supposed to teach your children that OBEDIENCE is not optional, along with other advice guaranteed to make mormon children miserable. The goal for mothers and fathers is to produce good missionaries for the cult.
http://ldsliving.com/story/78481-7-mistakes-lds-parents-make-and-how-to-avoid-them
cicely:
AWESOME! *throws a baby party!*
Giliell:
*squeezes!*
Carlie:
Sadly, that blog is lost to the mists of time. 1) Mr Darkheart has been without a job for over a year now and I can’t afford the hosting costs and 2) I had… some frustrations getting timely content.
Sorry. :(
I promised you some more holiday pictures:
Storks
Storks are a nice example how nature conservation and economy can go hand in hand. In the 1970’s they were nearly extinct in the region. Programs to reintroduce them and to educate the population were established. Now there are more breeding pairs than ever and they are THE animal of the region and a main tourist attraction.
Mulhouse Zoo
Quite a nice zoo. Huge area.
Re: my friend. They think it’s cancer. I’m not sure if there’s anywhere better to get care for her, especially since she doesn’t have insurance.
Fuck.
Oh, TMM. Oh shit. My heart goes out to you, and to your friend.
Audley, it’s lovely to see you again! And my respects to DarkToddler (or should that be DarkChild?)
Is anyone else following the progress of NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft? It’s about 100 days away from it’s tryst with Pluto. It’s been on the way for nine years.
http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Mission/Where-is-New-Horizons/index.php
The craft speeds along at 37,000 miles per hour after being sent on a direct solar-escape trajectory. It stopped by Jupiter for a gravity assist in 2007.
Oh no! We can’t shut them up! This is basically the response of Bill O’Reilly and Ann Coulter to atheists that speak their mind. Atheist’s speaking out includes, to O’Reilly and Coulter’s horror, criticizing christianity.
O’Reilly bemoaned the fact that people in the USA have “a free pass to bash people of faith.” He characterized this behavior as “vicious.”
Coulter weighs in with: ““It’s Christianity that the Left hates most of all because that is the foundation of our country . . . and all of our freedoms come from that, freedom of association, freedom of speech.” She goes on to say that liberals/atheists want to, “tear down the heart of this country by going directly at the heart of America, which is Christianity.”
http://www.billoreilly.com/b/The-War-on-Christianity-Getting-Even-Worse/115657420798136553.html
Moments of Mormon Madness, white supremacy category.
Cliven Bundy hosted a party this weekend. It was a reunion of all the white supremacists, mormon former sheriffs, etc. who backed Bundy when he fought the “tyranny” and “totalitarianism” of the federal government that was trying to get him to pay the same grazing fees everyone else in Nevada pays for grazing cattle on public land.
Bundy owes $1.1 million in grazing fees, but so far he and his mormon and/or white supremacist buddies have succeeded in facing down federal law enforcement officers. They are still calling for new range wars.
Ex-military men, former sheriffs, etc. are protecting an indicted criminal, Cliven Bundy.
From last April, a description of the militiamen.
NEW THREAD.