No such thing?
July 11, 2022 2:48 AM Subscribe
Aaand it's time for another pop quiz! See if you can answer the following ...
The best Things in life are: A) Stranger, B) Needful, C) Wild, D) this thread
Yep, it's that time again gentlefolk, please enjoy!
The best Things in life are: A) Stranger, B) Needful, C) Wild, D) this thread
Yep, it's that time again gentlefolk, please enjoy!
Shoot the hostage.
posted by adept256 at 3:04 AM on July 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by adept256 at 3:04 AM on July 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
Freethread costs £20, same as in (London) town.
posted by chavenet at 3:05 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 3:05 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Clafoutis
(Pronounced cla-foo-tsee)
You need some sour cherries, a pint/2 cups/ roughly a two-cupped-hands ful. You keep the pits in because then they… uh roast and give off more flavor cause see they got aminotydes which contain almond flavors under the right heat also cyanide if you eat too many (I’m fuzzy on this science).
Three eggs, a third of a cup of sugar, a cup of flour a cup of whole milk, a big pinch of salt and maybe some vanilla. An oven, heated up to 175celsius. And a stove top. And a pan you can put in the oven and also on th stove, one that is deep enough to bake this tart/pie thing in.
Mix together all the ingredients not the cherries thoroughly. Butter the pan, pour half the custard into the pan and put it on the stove, on low, for just long enough so that it starts solidifying at the bottom - like a minute or two. Take it off the stove.
Strew the cherries around the pan so that they are everywhere but not too bunches up in any one place. Pour the rest of the custard/batter onto into the pan and put the thing in the oven for 45 minutes (until a chop-stick sunk in the middle comes out clean) and THAT’S IT! It’s like a miracle Dutch baby because it has cherries in it.
You can sprinkle powdered sugar on top or I served it with whipped cream (into which I like to mix a little vanilla sugar).
Spitting out the cherry pits because like eating watermelon used to. Delicious but also a touch ruminative and reflective.
posted by From Bklyn at 3:20 AM on July 11, 2022 [11 favorites]
(Pronounced cla-foo-tsee)
You need some sour cherries, a pint/2 cups/ roughly a two-cupped-hands ful. You keep the pits in because then they… uh roast and give off more flavor cause see they got aminotydes which contain almond flavors under the right heat also cyanide if you eat too many (I’m fuzzy on this science).
Three eggs, a third of a cup of sugar, a cup of flour a cup of whole milk, a big pinch of salt and maybe some vanilla. An oven, heated up to 175celsius. And a stove top. And a pan you can put in the oven and also on th stove, one that is deep enough to bake this tart/pie thing in.
Mix together all the ingredients not the cherries thoroughly. Butter the pan, pour half the custard into the pan and put it on the stove, on low, for just long enough so that it starts solidifying at the bottom - like a minute or two. Take it off the stove.
Strew the cherries around the pan so that they are everywhere but not too bunches up in any one place. Pour the rest of the custard/batter onto into the pan and put the thing in the oven for 45 minutes (until a chop-stick sunk in the middle comes out clean) and THAT’S IT! It’s like a miracle Dutch baby because it has cherries in it.
You can sprinkle powdered sugar on top or I served it with whipped cream (into which I like to mix a little vanilla sugar).
Spitting out the cherry pits because like eating watermelon used to. Delicious but also a touch ruminative and reflective.
posted by From Bklyn at 3:20 AM on July 11, 2022 [11 favorites]
Today marked the first day since my kidney stone began to pass that I haven’t felt a flash of excruciating pain. It’s definitely still in there though, lurking… I managed to buy some groceries, do some dishes, make some reasonable choices, but most of today was me being like “oh, I can actually lie still for more than sixty seconds and I’m not incredibly uncomfortable? ZZZZZZZZ” now it’s three thirty in the morning and I’m still awake. Oh well, I’ll take it.
Bright side: I spent many hours in two different packed ER waiting rooms last week (long story) and I tested negative for covid. Wore a kn95 the whole time. Masks fucking work. Meanwhile my other best friend is isolating away from her two toddlers and husband because she’s super sick after having the audacity to take the bus one single time without a mask, apparently (it was the only thing she did that they didn’t). Lesson learned!
Is this too morbid for a free thread? Look at these birds.
posted by Mizu at 3:29 AM on July 11, 2022 [16 favorites]
Bright side: I spent many hours in two different packed ER waiting rooms last week (long story) and I tested negative for covid. Wore a kn95 the whole time. Masks fucking work. Meanwhile my other best friend is isolating away from her two toddlers and husband because she’s super sick after having the audacity to take the bus one single time without a mask, apparently (it was the only thing she did that they didn’t). Lesson learned!
Is this too morbid for a free thread? Look at these birds.
posted by Mizu at 3:29 AM on July 11, 2022 [16 favorites]
There was a murder in my neighbourhood this morning. About 100m from where I type this. I went out to get some OJ and the whole place was taped off, there were some TV cameras. They let us into the supermarket through the loading dock. I came home to find out what was happening;
Man charged with murder over fatal stabbing at Fortitude Valley station
Violence isn't exactly unknown around here, we are in the entertainment precinct which means we get about 50000 people every weekend visiting the pubs and clubs. It's a good scene, but of course there's alcohol and the trouble that causes. That's on friday and saturday night though, monday morning is about as quiet as it gets. This happened opposite the strip clubs which are popular all week, I wonder if they were patrons.
I'm ok, I've lived here for 20 years and seen some stuff. I got my OJ. Very sorry for the poor fellow, no-one deserves that.
posted by adept256 at 3:36 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Man charged with murder over fatal stabbing at Fortitude Valley station
Violence isn't exactly unknown around here, we are in the entertainment precinct which means we get about 50000 people every weekend visiting the pubs and clubs. It's a good scene, but of course there's alcohol and the trouble that causes. That's on friday and saturday night though, monday morning is about as quiet as it gets. This happened opposite the strip clubs which are popular all week, I wonder if they were patrons.
I'm ok, I've lived here for 20 years and seen some stuff. I got my OJ. Very sorry for the poor fellow, no-one deserves that.
posted by adept256 at 3:36 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Geography Quiz:
1. What countries border on China?
2. What are the land-locked countries of Africa?
posted by Bee'sWing at 3:46 AM on July 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
1. What countries border on China?
2. What are the land-locked countries of Africa?
posted by Bee'sWing at 3:46 AM on July 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
I used to smoke. Cigarettes, cigars. Also: chewing tobacco, dip. I was serious about it, I had nice, heavy brown glass ashtrays. I had a nice zippo lighter, the kind with the florentine design cut into it. Using tools I learned in dealing with another substance addiction, I was given the gift of a smoke-free life. I last smoked May 31, 1984, tobacco clean date June 01, 1984. 38 years ago last month.
I used to drink -- not because I was thirsty, though some people consider it another kind of thirst, a thirst that hits closer to home. I did some drugging also, never IV, I guess mostly smoking left-handed cigarettes, and considerable amount of bath-tub speed. I never, ever met a downer I didn't love. But drinking is where it always started, and drinking was involved pretty much whatever else I was doing. I've heard this attributed to Native Americans, which is almost certainly bullshit but the aphorism works -- "Man takes drink, drink takes man." It damn sure took me.
July 10 1982 I came to sprawled on my living room floor, a half bottle of Jack Daniels not far from my hand. I was 27 years old. I was broken. I was beaten into a state of reasonableness. No more drinking. No more drugging. No pills that don't come out of a bottle with my name printed on it. My clean/sober date is July 11 1982, 40 years ago today.
One Day At A Time.
posted by dancestoblue at 3:58 AM on July 11, 2022 [140 favorites]
I used to drink -- not because I was thirsty, though some people consider it another kind of thirst, a thirst that hits closer to home. I did some drugging also, never IV, I guess mostly smoking left-handed cigarettes, and considerable amount of bath-tub speed. I never, ever met a downer I didn't love. But drinking is where it always started, and drinking was involved pretty much whatever else I was doing. I've heard this attributed to Native Americans, which is almost certainly bullshit but the aphorism works -- "Man takes drink, drink takes man." It damn sure took me.
July 10 1982 I came to sprawled on my living room floor, a half bottle of Jack Daniels not far from my hand. I was 27 years old. I was broken. I was beaten into a state of reasonableness. No more drinking. No more drugging. No pills that don't come out of a bottle with my name printed on it. My clean/sober date is July 11 1982, 40 years ago today.
One Day At A Time.
posted by dancestoblue at 3:58 AM on July 11, 2022 [140 favorites]
1. Afghanistan Bhutan India Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Laos Mongolia Myanmar Nepal North Korea Pakistan Russia Tajikistan Vietnam
2. Mali Burkina Faso Niger Chad Central African Repuplic South Sudan Ethiopa Uganda Rwanda Burundi Malawi Zambia Zimbabwe Botswana Eswatini Lesotho
posted by DreamerFi at 4:01 AM on July 11, 2022 [8 favorites]
2. Mali Burkina Faso Niger Chad Central African Repuplic South Sudan Ethiopa Uganda Rwanda Burundi Malawi Zambia Zimbabwe Botswana Eswatini Lesotho
posted by DreamerFi at 4:01 AM on July 11, 2022 [8 favorites]
I made gooseberry clafoutis on Saturday, but it didn't turn out well - had a layer of grease floating on the top. My recipe included butter (but skimmed milk) so maybe that is why. I also made this cake, but with raspberries, which turned out better.
Very hot here and too many flies. Was searching the tag for flies in Ask yesterday. It is a bad time to be an overweight cat in a black fur coat (I refer to my cat, not to me. She is shown here).
posted by paduasoy at 4:04 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Very hot here and too many flies. Was searching the tag for flies in Ask yesterday. It is a bad time to be an overweight cat in a black fur coat (I refer to my cat, not to me. She is shown here).
posted by paduasoy at 4:04 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
1. Afghanistan Bhutan India Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Laos Mongolia Myanmar Nepal North Korea Pakistan Russia Tajikistan Vietnam
I saw that and immediately tried to sing it Yakko Warner style.
posted by Foosnark at 4:15 AM on July 11, 2022 [18 favorites]
I saw that and immediately tried to sing it Yakko Warner style.
posted by Foosnark at 4:15 AM on July 11, 2022 [18 favorites]
It is peak deerfly season where I am. When I go out for a walk, only my face and my hands aren't covered with two layers of cloth. Even the dog gets 2 or 3 on him at a time.
posted by Bee'sWing at 4:33 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Bee'sWing at 4:33 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Joe’s dad is so stupid he thought the SAT test was about chairs. Bill’s dad is so stupid he glued pictures to his high school diploma and tried to pass it off as a college diploma. X Æ A-12’s dad Is so stupid he singed an ironclad agreement to buy Twitter at 54.20/share and waived diligence. Whose dad is the most stupid?
posted by interogative mood at 4:41 AM on July 11, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by interogative mood at 4:41 AM on July 11, 2022 [7 favorites]
E) all of the above.
This weekend has been weird. I spent more time talking with a crush and less time hiring piano movers than I probably should have. Now to search for apartments during a week long collaboration meeting. I'm only running it for one day, so I can pretend to pay attention the rest of the time.
I did walk 50 km while listening to every Camille album three times on repeat. That part was good. Et je suis allé danser au bord du'n lac. J'ai effrayé les canards sauvages. Quite literally. While listening to the track, 'cause how could one not? No geese were injured.
Sympathy and best wishes, Mizu. I've never had that, but I've seen what it's like in other people. I'm glad you're nearly past (passed) it.
posted by eotvos at 4:48 AM on July 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
This weekend has been weird. I spent more time talking with a crush and less time hiring piano movers than I probably should have. Now to search for apartments during a week long collaboration meeting. I'm only running it for one day, so I can pretend to pay attention the rest of the time.
I did walk 50 km while listening to every Camille album three times on repeat. That part was good. Et je suis allé danser au bord du'n lac. J'ai effrayé les canards sauvages. Quite literally. While listening to the track, 'cause how could one not? No geese were injured.
Sympathy and best wishes, Mizu. I've never had that, but I've seen what it's like in other people. I'm glad you're nearly past (passed) it.
posted by eotvos at 4:48 AM on July 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
I signed a lease for an apartment in a new city on Friday and promised myself I wouldn’t sweat the logistics til today. Time to sweat the logistics!
posted by sixswitch at 4:52 AM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by sixswitch at 4:52 AM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
The worst thing in the world is the Twitter "What's Happening" sidebar. Regularly the Stupid Right pushes the most awful things to trend there. It's such a trash fire that it casts doubts on anything else that makes it there by showing how easy it is to game. It's a big heap of dumbonium.
posted by JHarris at 5:02 AM on July 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 5:02 AM on July 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
I was a little sad that I was unable to be with all friends at a huge festival of tournaments in my sport in Minneapolis this past week, and then I found out yesterday that many of my friends have come down with COVID because they attended a banquet honoring new Hall of Fame electees. As a non-drinker (congratulations, dancestoblue!), I find such banquets excruciating enough without the threat of viral infection, so on the whole I'm glad I didn't go.
For that and for various other reasons, I started re-reading THE HANDS OF THE EMPEROR by Victoria Goddard. The book is, among other things, a sentimental paean to progressive socialism and cultural celebration within the framework of a hereditary magical monarchy, but mostly it's a comfort read. I didn't get to bed until 4:00 am.
posted by Peach at 5:10 AM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
For that and for various other reasons, I started re-reading THE HANDS OF THE EMPEROR by Victoria Goddard. The book is, among other things, a sentimental paean to progressive socialism and cultural celebration within the framework of a hereditary magical monarchy, but mostly it's a comfort read. I didn't get to bed until 4:00 am.
posted by Peach at 5:10 AM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
I've been tobacco free since July 2013, feels good man.
posted by djseafood at 5:23 AM on July 11, 2022 [27 favorites]
posted by djseafood at 5:23 AM on July 11, 2022 [27 favorites]
I foolishly accepted a 2:00PM appointment for a colonoscopy, thinking that it was available right away and then the whole thing would be over with.
Now it has arrived (it's tomorrow), and I am taking a more macro view. I realize I screwed up by passing on the 9:00AM timeslot, because I am facing like 30 hours without eating -- and I love to eat. Always hungry, always, no matter what I scarf down. I am blessed that my weight is stable and I am healthy, but...I am going to be MEAN for the next 29 hours.
Sorry, world: this one's for my butt.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:40 AM on July 11, 2022 [16 favorites]
Now it has arrived (it's tomorrow), and I am taking a more macro view. I realize I screwed up by passing on the 9:00AM timeslot, because I am facing like 30 hours without eating -- and I love to eat. Always hungry, always, no matter what I scarf down. I am blessed that my weight is stable and I am healthy, but...I am going to be MEAN for the next 29 hours.
Sorry, world: this one's for my butt.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:40 AM on July 11, 2022 [16 favorites]
"I'm a Cranky Old Yank in a Clanky Old Tank on the Streets of Yokohama with my Honolulu Mama Doin’ Those Beat-o, Beat-o Flat-On-My-Seat-o, Hirohito Blues." --- Hoagy Carmichael.
posted by SPrintF at 5:43 AM on July 11, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by SPrintF at 5:43 AM on July 11, 2022 [7 favorites]
We're on a day trip to Nuremberg (from Munich) on the last day of holiday proper before heading north for home. It's never occurred to me to do this but my SO just went into tourist info just to find out what the best cake shop in town is. Apparently it's the neef confiserie. I can now confirm they are very good. Back off the cake after this trip.
posted by biffa at 5:44 AM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by biffa at 5:44 AM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
My husband and I organize all our trips around eating local pastries. If we happen to get to a museum or a scenic trail or something, great, but every trip, we are officially there for the pastries.
posted by BrashTech at 5:53 AM on July 11, 2022 [17 favorites]
posted by BrashTech at 5:53 AM on July 11, 2022 [17 favorites]
Congratulations to dancestoblue also: not easy to do, and I applaud your will and success.
One of the three major telecoms here (Canada) had a system-wide crash across the entire country a few days ago, leaving millions of people without phone or internet. And the knock-on effects of everything being networked was in effect for even those of us who are not customers: many businesses had no point of sale machines working and so were reduced to cash-only transactions*, a lot of ATMs were out of service, a bunch of performances — including one by The Weeknd in Toronto, cancelled thirty minutes or so prior to the gates opening leaving many thousands of people standing around outside — and finally, a lot people in apartment buildings found their buzzers did not work, so their visitors/pizza delivery drivers/ambulance services had no way to let them know they had arrived.
And because this is an era of folly where people declare that vaccines are a trick so that Bill Gates can put microchips into your bloodstream, the comments sections are alive with the sound of theorizing. It’s to reset the telecom’s system to make it easier for them to track us; no, it is a hacker attack by China; no, it is the federal government preparing for a cashless society by... making people lose the use of their bank cards for a few days?
*In March I spent a couple of nights staying at a facility of the accommodations chain I used to work for. I learned they have gone entirely cashless and you now cannot even get change for the laundry machines or snack dispensers. I hope this outage makes them revisit the wisdom of this.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:55 AM on July 11, 2022 [6 favorites]
One of the three major telecoms here (Canada) had a system-wide crash across the entire country a few days ago, leaving millions of people without phone or internet. And the knock-on effects of everything being networked was in effect for even those of us who are not customers: many businesses had no point of sale machines working and so were reduced to cash-only transactions*, a lot of ATMs were out of service, a bunch of performances — including one by The Weeknd in Toronto, cancelled thirty minutes or so prior to the gates opening leaving many thousands of people standing around outside — and finally, a lot people in apartment buildings found their buzzers did not work, so their visitors/pizza delivery drivers/ambulance services had no way to let them know they had arrived.
And because this is an era of folly where people declare that vaccines are a trick so that Bill Gates can put microchips into your bloodstream, the comments sections are alive with the sound of theorizing. It’s to reset the telecom’s system to make it easier for them to track us; no, it is a hacker attack by China; no, it is the federal government preparing for a cashless society by... making people lose the use of their bank cards for a few days?
*In March I spent a couple of nights staying at a facility of the accommodations chain I used to work for. I learned they have gone entirely cashless and you now cannot even get change for the laundry machines or snack dispensers. I hope this outage makes them revisit the wisdom of this.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:55 AM on July 11, 2022 [6 favorites]
Halfway-ish through July and I'm making Good Strides 'gainst the Mighty Phragmites. (I cut 'em to the ground in July, then return and spray the regrowth with herbicide in September. This forces the plant to make two sets of growth per year, removes most of its ability to set seed, and puts the herbicide on when the plant is drawing nutrients back into the rhizome system. It's a multi-year project even if I do it perfectly because Phragmites has massive, resource-storing rhizomes that are not easy to kill.
I'm working in a marshy, permanently wet area (about a third of an acre) where machinery use is impossible, so it's work done by hand, in full sun and the kind of humidity you get in a marsh in full sun in July. I'm alternately stooped over (to cut at, literally, ground level) and then standing to sweep my handful of graceful, if abhorrent, blue-green reedy stalks into the pile. Stoop, slash, stand, sweep, sweat, squish, stoop, slash, stand, sweep, sweat, squish. Pause to remove gnat from eyeball. Stoop, slash, stand, sweep, sweat, squish. Did I mention there are mosquitoes? Because there are mosquitoes. Of course there are mosquitoes.
This is year 3 of the Mighty Phragmites war. This year, many of the phragmites are only about 5' tall (instead of the 10 feet that they were when I started) and there are frequent defective, multi-stem sprouts that look like the watersprouts that a stressed tree produces. I never used to see those. The defective sprouts only get about knee-high. The patch is also thinner than it used to be. So, I'm making headway. It's not super fast, but it is headway.
Anyway, I can only do an hour and a half of cutting in a day before I get sore and/or tired. I use a Japanese grass knife that I sharpen to wicked-sharp before I go to the swamp and it slices through the stems with ease. I've got about two more days of effort to finish the patch for July's cutting and then I'm free until September. Should get it knocked out next weekend. Fingers crossed!
posted by which_chick at 5:59 AM on July 11, 2022 [14 favorites]
I'm working in a marshy, permanently wet area (about a third of an acre) where machinery use is impossible, so it's work done by hand, in full sun and the kind of humidity you get in a marsh in full sun in July. I'm alternately stooped over (to cut at, literally, ground level) and then standing to sweep my handful of graceful, if abhorrent, blue-green reedy stalks into the pile. Stoop, slash, stand, sweep, sweat, squish, stoop, slash, stand, sweep, sweat, squish. Pause to remove gnat from eyeball. Stoop, slash, stand, sweep, sweat, squish. Did I mention there are mosquitoes? Because there are mosquitoes. Of course there are mosquitoes.
This is year 3 of the Mighty Phragmites war. This year, many of the phragmites are only about 5' tall (instead of the 10 feet that they were when I started) and there are frequent defective, multi-stem sprouts that look like the watersprouts that a stressed tree produces. I never used to see those. The defective sprouts only get about knee-high. The patch is also thinner than it used to be. So, I'm making headway. It's not super fast, but it is headway.
Anyway, I can only do an hour and a half of cutting in a day before I get sore and/or tired. I use a Japanese grass knife that I sharpen to wicked-sharp before I go to the swamp and it slices through the stems with ease. I've got about two more days of effort to finish the patch for July's cutting and then I'm free until September. Should get it knocked out next weekend. Fingers crossed!
posted by which_chick at 5:59 AM on July 11, 2022 [14 favorites]
After about three years, I finally saw a doctor face-to-face. A couple of those years I'd just been using our telemedicine service out of COVID worries, but then I found I was getting more and more scared to even see someone in person, because what if they found out some horrible diagnosis? The fact that the doc I made an appointment with couldn't see me for three months added to the suspense. What if he was awful, what if he wouldn't refill my Ativan, what if he was like, wow, that's a lot of deadly diseases you have!
So anyway, I went, and he turned out to be really nice, and didn't make a big deal of refilling my Ativan, and he did a lot of tests which did add some horrified suspense for a couple days, then everything came back normal so I can stop holding my breath. I also got a tetanus shot, so now I can roll around in rusty nails with impunity.
Now if I can just work up the nerve to go back to the dentist.
posted by mittens at 6:00 AM on July 11, 2022 [22 favorites]
So anyway, I went, and he turned out to be really nice, and didn't make a big deal of refilling my Ativan, and he did a lot of tests which did add some horrified suspense for a couple days, then everything came back normal so I can stop holding my breath. I also got a tetanus shot, so now I can roll around in rusty nails with impunity.
Now if I can just work up the nerve to go back to the dentist.
posted by mittens at 6:00 AM on July 11, 2022 [22 favorites]
Metafilter: roll around in rusty nails... with impunity!
posted by othrechaz at 6:06 AM on July 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by othrechaz at 6:06 AM on July 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
Starting this week I'm doing hybrid WFH -- Mondays in the office, the rest of the week at home. The pandemic lockdown made me realize how much more I prefer WFH and that I'm just as productive that way.
I foolishly accepted a 2:00PM appointment for a colonoscopy...
I wasn't given a choice of time slot, but mine will be at 10:30 in a couple of weeks.
posted by Foosnark at 6:43 AM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
I foolishly accepted a 2:00PM appointment for a colonoscopy...
I wasn't given a choice of time slot, but mine will be at 10:30 in a couple of weeks.
posted by Foosnark at 6:43 AM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
... sigh...
Metafilter: Sorry, world: this one's for my butt.
posted by Nanukthedog at 6:55 AM on July 11, 2022 [10 favorites]
Metafilter: Sorry, world: this one's for my butt.
posted by Nanukthedog at 6:55 AM on July 11, 2022 [10 favorites]
these mighty phragmites? - i got curious and looked it up and wow those are huge
posted by pyramid termite at 7:01 AM on July 11, 2022
posted by pyramid termite at 7:01 AM on July 11, 2022
Yep, those are the mighty phragmites. They do get huge, though in my area mostly they top out at 10' or so.
posted by which_chick at 7:04 AM on July 11, 2022
posted by which_chick at 7:04 AM on July 11, 2022
I met a young person from Seoul as a volunteer ESL tutor and we've been meeting for a year, once per week, and now they're off to a better job in a community 4 hours away. I'm anxious and hopeful for them. So I will use this freethread to direct good energy their way.
posted by elkevelvet at 7:11 AM on July 11, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by elkevelvet at 7:11 AM on July 11, 2022 [7 favorites]
So I've been following all the shenanigans around the Boris Johnson thing, which as a non-Brit, non-political junkie means learning who all the players are beyond the famed few, and it strikes me (until now, privately) how all the names sound like they leapt from the pages of some picaresque drama, or perhaps a Harry Potter novel, and then I think, no, I'm just being provincial (relative to UK normalcy, anyway). Like, "Guto Harri"? What a fabulous name especially for someone in a novel. But no hey he's Welsh! You're just stupid about Welsh things! Okay, but Chris Pincher? Chris PINCHER? The molester? Come on. And Dominic Cummings (I was already aware of, but does he go by Dom Cummings among friends? I need to know). Liz Truss? They'd make a cute couple. ("Hush!" I say to myself; "now you just sounding dirty. ugh. Come on.") Right, right, yes, but "Sajid Javid" is ridiculously poetic, don't fight me, and Penny Mordaunt HAS to be dating Bertie Wooster, right? etc. And I tell myself, no, you're being dumb. Don't embarrass yourself. Keep your mouth shut. And so but today, I learn that someone named Tom Tugendhat is also throwing his hat in the ring for party leader / PM. He's a backbencher. Tom Tugendhat broke me.
posted by taz at 7:21 AM on July 11, 2022 [11 favorites]
posted by taz at 7:21 AM on July 11, 2022 [11 favorites]
yesterday: 'Dick Palmer' made me stupidly happy
edit to add: not just for actors of a certain genre
posted by elkevelvet at 7:25 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
edit to add: not just for actors of a certain genre
posted by elkevelvet at 7:25 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
If Dick Palmer can't make one happy, there's no happiness to be found.
posted by taz at 7:30 AM on July 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by taz at 7:30 AM on July 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
For those interested: my strawberry plants are booming! Wow, I've been amazed over the years how every one of my plants (strawberries, rosemaries, lavender) just explodes after a hard pruning. I've often thought about the resiliency of my plants. They are admirable.
posted by SPrintF at 7:32 AM on July 11, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by SPrintF at 7:32 AM on July 11, 2022 [9 favorites]
On Tory MP names - there are also Sir Robert Goodwill and Rebecca Pow.
posted by paduasoy at 7:36 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by paduasoy at 7:36 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Discovered yesterday that the newest COVID variant had indeed got me so I'm wfh for the foreseeable. Right now it's mostly a more-intense cold but of course you never know what symptoms you'll end up with.
My cat is both delighted I am home and frustrated I don't feel like playing. I had to boot him from my bedroom a few times yesterday because Dude I Need Some Space. Honestly I think if I put him in a baby Bjorn and carried him around he'd be thrilled.
posted by emjaybee at 7:37 AM on July 11, 2022 [13 favorites]
My cat is both delighted I am home and frustrated I don't feel like playing. I had to boot him from my bedroom a few times yesterday because Dude I Need Some Space. Honestly I think if I put him in a baby Bjorn and carried him around he'd be thrilled.
posted by emjaybee at 7:37 AM on July 11, 2022 [13 favorites]
shenanigans around the Boris Johnson thing, which as a non-Brit, non-political junkie means learning who all the players beyond the famed few
I am likewise at an ocean’s remove from the drama and despite years of watching and listening to British news regularly, I occasionally have to look up who people are to keep up. I mentioned to a Scottish friend that the recently dismissed cabinet minister Michael Gove holds what may be a singular distinction — not just in the UK but among Westminster parliaments on the whole — of being canned by three different PMs.
My friend suggested that the tiniest of tweaks would render Gove’s name as Michael Gone.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:41 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
I am likewise at an ocean’s remove from the drama and despite years of watching and listening to British news regularly, I occasionally have to look up who people are to keep up. I mentioned to a Scottish friend that the recently dismissed cabinet minister Michael Gove holds what may be a singular distinction — not just in the UK but among Westminster parliaments on the whole — of being canned by three different PMs.
My friend suggested that the tiniest of tweaks would render Gove’s name as Michael Gone.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:41 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Spent yesterday getting sunburn while watching my beloved Mariners sweep the Blue Jays outta town. Getting ready to take Vonnegut in for his first checkup. Today is a good day.
posted by calamari kid at 7:41 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by calamari kid at 7:41 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Still not completely convinced that someone named Jacob Rees-Mogg whose job title includes "Minister for Brexit Opportunities" isn't fictional, myself. (And I guess that a number of people wishes that he were.)
RAGBRAI is in less than two weeks, and I don't feel fully prepared for it, between having had my own COVID infection, then something that could have either been knock-on effects from that or just a lingering sore throat. I finally got enough distance from that to get my second booster, so hopefully that will keep me from getting infected on the ride. I'll probably do fine on the ride itself, although this year there's a mandatory century ride as one of the stages.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:42 AM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
RAGBRAI is in less than two weeks, and I don't feel fully prepared for it, between having had my own COVID infection, then something that could have either been knock-on effects from that or just a lingering sore throat. I finally got enough distance from that to get my second booster, so hopefully that will keep me from getting infected on the ride. I'll probably do fine on the ride itself, although this year there's a mandatory century ride as one of the stages.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:42 AM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
In this thread I learned that Swaziland was renamed to Eswatini in 2018.
posted by flamewise at 7:44 AM on July 11, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by flamewise at 7:44 AM on July 11, 2022 [8 favorites]
Bee’sWing: Lee Valley sells a fake dragonfly that sits at the end of a wire that in turn clips onto a hat brim. It’s supposed to terrify the murderous little fuckers (which I remember from trips to the cottage in Quebec).
I don’t live in an area where I see horseflies or deer flies but it always seemed like a cool solution to the problem
(I ask my daughter for this every Father’s Day and earnestly promise I’ll wear it when we’re out shopping together, along with my black socks and sandals combo and my Registered Bikini Inspector crop top. So far no luck.)
posted by Turtles all the way down at 7:45 AM on July 11, 2022 [15 favorites]
I don’t live in an area where I see horseflies or deer flies but it always seemed like a cool solution to the problem
(I ask my daughter for this every Father’s Day and earnestly promise I’ll wear it when we’re out shopping together, along with my black socks and sandals combo and my Registered Bikini Inspector crop top. So far no luck.)
posted by Turtles all the way down at 7:45 AM on July 11, 2022 [15 favorites]
YES! Rees-Mogg is like the arch-character! I meant to mention him!
posted by taz at 7:46 AM on July 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by taz at 7:46 AM on July 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
The whole Rogers outage thing here in Canada this past Friday was wild. My carrier is Virgin (which is really just a Bell reseller) so my phone service wasn't affected but my debit card was! I couldn't even get money out. It was surreal walking past so many businesses, big and small, with hastily lettered signs requesting CASH ONLY OR CREDIT on the doors.
Gee, it's almost like having two massive telecom companies own everything in Canada is a bad thing.
posted by Kitteh at 7:55 AM on July 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
Gee, it's almost like having two massive telecom companies own everything in Canada is a bad thing.
posted by Kitteh at 7:55 AM on July 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
Last night I had two of my best friends for dinner. I hadn't seen them in a couple of months. I made crabcakes for dinner and peach pie for dessert. We drank gin cocktails and contemplated the rain before dinner. They told me they'd booked at trip to the UK in September at roughly the same time, with a similar itinerary as my own and that another set of local friends had also booked a similar holiday critically we'd be passing through the same small inn on Isle of Skye within literal hours of each other. It felt improbable to the point of raising my hackles a bit. I'm superstitious as all hell, which is hard to explain to people given that I technically don't really believe in anything (I typically chalk it up to cultural osmosis or mental illness or genetic predisposition or all of the above) and so I was like, "Whoa that's cool," but I'm pretty sure my face communicated "Jesus Fuck, I hope this doesn't mean we're doomed. Or at the very least doomed to get our trip canceled because of Covid or whatever." Will update.
The crabcakes were excellent, by the way, as was the peach pie. Saturday was tomato day at my local farmer's market. I spent too much money. I came home weighted with bags of tomatoes and peaches and great armfuls of coral colored zinnias and armfuls of blue and purple and greeny-white wildflowers that I feel silly for paying money for in bunches with the cultivated ones, but I've reached an age at which I feel too self- (and snake-)conscious pulling off to pick Queen Anne's Lace and Black-Eyed Susans in the ditch on the side of the highway . Since then, I have been eating sungolds by the handful and gorgeous juicy heirlooms with ogreish coloring with a sprinkle of salt the way my Nana did. I left out a colander of tomatoes as appetizer, by a plate of basil and burrata. They were/it was divine.
I love summer--this part of summer, when it's super melty green and super bug/frog noisy at night. Everything tastes better. A bunch of my already favorite things feel better--like standing in the rain or jumping in the water or or fresh haircut or a middle of the night breeze on the back of your neck when you've decided to take a spate of insomnia might be best solved by eating watermelon on the porch at 3am. Also the world has not yet invented a more perfect item of clothing than the sun dress with pockets. These are facts.
Nana loved summer and we talked about that over dinner because I used her silver to set the table. It was almost the first time I've ever used it and certainly the first time since Covid and since she died. It felt totally impractical, a little preposterous and would only create extra work during clean-up (I will admit that I enjoy polishing silver- - likely the result of spending too much of my youth working at Nana's antique shop. There's something deeply gratifying about it, and I'm not otherwise a person that enjoys cleaning chores) . But so do many of my favorite things and I think it's safe to say we collectively enjoyed the sparkle on a soggy night. The counterbalance of the dated fancy and the fact that I accidentally added most of the new Bad Bunny album onto my dinner party playlist ended up creating kind of a hilarious vibe.
I'm all in nights like days because it can feel so overwhelming and shitty to be a person alive in the world right now. When you get the stray moment of delicious or silliness or warmth, it almost feels like you're doing it wrong because it's been a whole hour and half a bottle of Sancerre since someone freaked out about politics or pandemics or whatever. As a person who operates under a consistent thrum of guilt (another predisposition, I suspect, see Superstition, above) , these moments stolen joy and pleasure almost feel shameful, like I should be apologizing to somebody, like it's weird when the world lets you feel so good, even/especially when it's so fleeting.
But I'm not apologizing, and here we are. And I had a great weekend is what I'm trying to say.
On the bonus: I have leftover peach pie, which is a glorious way to start a work week.
posted by thivaia at 7:58 AM on July 11, 2022 [24 favorites]
The crabcakes were excellent, by the way, as was the peach pie. Saturday was tomato day at my local farmer's market. I spent too much money. I came home weighted with bags of tomatoes and peaches and great armfuls of coral colored zinnias and armfuls of blue and purple and greeny-white wildflowers that I feel silly for paying money for in bunches with the cultivated ones, but I've reached an age at which I feel too self- (and snake-)conscious pulling off to pick Queen Anne's Lace and Black-Eyed Susans in the ditch on the side of the highway . Since then, I have been eating sungolds by the handful and gorgeous juicy heirlooms with ogreish coloring with a sprinkle of salt the way my Nana did. I left out a colander of tomatoes as appetizer, by a plate of basil and burrata. They were/it was divine.
I love summer--this part of summer, when it's super melty green and super bug/frog noisy at night. Everything tastes better. A bunch of my already favorite things feel better--like standing in the rain or jumping in the water or or fresh haircut or a middle of the night breeze on the back of your neck when you've decided to take a spate of insomnia might be best solved by eating watermelon on the porch at 3am. Also the world has not yet invented a more perfect item of clothing than the sun dress with pockets. These are facts.
Nana loved summer and we talked about that over dinner because I used her silver to set the table. It was almost the first time I've ever used it and certainly the first time since Covid and since she died. It felt totally impractical, a little preposterous and would only create extra work during clean-up (I will admit that I enjoy polishing silver- - likely the result of spending too much of my youth working at Nana's antique shop. There's something deeply gratifying about it, and I'm not otherwise a person that enjoys cleaning chores) . But so do many of my favorite things and I think it's safe to say we collectively enjoyed the sparkle on a soggy night. The counterbalance of the dated fancy and the fact that I accidentally added most of the new Bad Bunny album onto my dinner party playlist ended up creating kind of a hilarious vibe.
I'm all in nights like days because it can feel so overwhelming and shitty to be a person alive in the world right now. When you get the stray moment of delicious or silliness or warmth, it almost feels like you're doing it wrong because it's been a whole hour and half a bottle of Sancerre since someone freaked out about politics or pandemics or whatever. As a person who operates under a consistent thrum of guilt (another predisposition, I suspect, see Superstition, above) , these moments stolen joy and pleasure almost feel shameful, like I should be apologizing to somebody, like it's weird when the world lets you feel so good, even/especially when it's so fleeting.
But I'm not apologizing, and here we are. And I had a great weekend is what I'm trying to say.
On the bonus: I have leftover peach pie, which is a glorious way to start a work week.
posted by thivaia at 7:58 AM on July 11, 2022 [24 favorites]
Nothing says Monday like having a dental appointment for a teeth cleaning first thing in the morning!
posted by briank at 8:25 AM on July 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by briank at 8:25 AM on July 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
The solution to phragmites might be cows. There are a bunch of Caney Creeks in Texas, but none of them have canes anymore. The reason, I read, is that cows love to eat them. They prefer them over any other grass.
posted by Bee'sWing at 8:28 AM on July 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Bee'sWing at 8:28 AM on July 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
But then what do you bring in to solve the cow problem?
posted by hippybear at 8:32 AM on July 11, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 8:32 AM on July 11, 2022 [6 favorites]
In-N-Out?
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:34 AM on July 11, 2022 [16 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:34 AM on July 11, 2022 [16 favorites]
Seriously, dense herds of cows that move along regularly might be the trick. (So the answer is: a cowherd!)
posted by clew at 8:36 AM on July 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by clew at 8:36 AM on July 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
It took me many months of reading Private Eye magazine to realize that "Tugendhat" was a name and not a madeupname. As for Rees-Mogg, he's more slouch than arch.
posted by chavenet at 8:40 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 8:40 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Back at work today after a week of vacation, my first since September. My wife and I and our adult daughter meet for a week every summer with two other couples from other states: old friends of mine. We've been doing this since 2000, except 2020-21. We gather in a small city that hosts a months-long theater festival. We saw 5 plays in 5 days. I enjoyed 3 and thought 2 were terrible. I ate an insane amount of food and drank a large amount of fantastic wine. Managed to read about half of a giant novel while sitting by the pool.
Wife picked up the dog from boarding and he and I spent a long time on the floor with our faces pressed together, him whimpering with joy. But he's now got a little rectal prolapse so he's off to the vet today. I picked up the cats from their boarder where they can access an outside pen surrounded by bird feeders. They were both asleep outside and--as usual--did NOT want to go home.
posted by neuron at 9:05 AM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
Wife picked up the dog from boarding and he and I spent a long time on the floor with our faces pressed together, him whimpering with joy. But he's now got a little rectal prolapse so he's off to the vet today. I picked up the cats from their boarder where they can access an outside pen surrounded by bird feeders. They were both asleep outside and--as usual--did NOT want to go home.
posted by neuron at 9:05 AM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
Bright side: I spent many hours in two different packed ER waiting rooms last week (long story) and I tested negative for covid. Wore a kn95 the whole time. Masks fucking work.
Hahahah, I was in the ER last night myself with a N95 on. Will have to test myself today sometime anyway but fingers crossed on that one. I'm feeling a little nervous after the fact having gone to one, but it was pretty dead when I went (even if one doof couldn't figure out masking or keeping his clothes on), so hopefully all will be well.
In my case, it wasn't me feeling ill--the crush wanted to do dinner with me last night (yup, that happened :) before we had rehearsal and apparently despite it being an Asian cuisine restaurant, some surprise dairy probably ended up in his pork buns, he started having an allergic reaction, and we ended up skipping most of rehearsal when I drove him to the ER. He was turning red/itching/in pain/falling over on the floor briefly there, then he threw up and felt a lot better. They gave him some drugs and then in a few hours he was fine, thank goodness, and he didn't go into major shock or anything. We even went to the tail end of rehearsal, where he made a surprise dramatic entrance (I told him he'd get a standing O for showing up) and finally did his solo song. Because of course this happened the one night they were rehearsing his big number :P
I'm pretty proud of myself for my ER behavior. I had water at the ready, managed to drive his big car, grabbed supplies just in case, took care of him to the best of my non-medical ability and did not freak out at all. Clearly I am exactly who you want to have taking you to the ER :P
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:42 AM on July 11, 2022 [12 favorites]
Hahahah, I was in the ER last night myself with a N95 on. Will have to test myself today sometime anyway but fingers crossed on that one. I'm feeling a little nervous after the fact having gone to one, but it was pretty dead when I went (even if one doof couldn't figure out masking or keeping his clothes on), so hopefully all will be well.
In my case, it wasn't me feeling ill--the crush wanted to do dinner with me last night (yup, that happened :) before we had rehearsal and apparently despite it being an Asian cuisine restaurant, some surprise dairy probably ended up in his pork buns, he started having an allergic reaction, and we ended up skipping most of rehearsal when I drove him to the ER. He was turning red/itching/in pain/falling over on the floor briefly there, then he threw up and felt a lot better. They gave him some drugs and then in a few hours he was fine, thank goodness, and he didn't go into major shock or anything. We even went to the tail end of rehearsal, where he made a surprise dramatic entrance (I told him he'd get a standing O for showing up) and finally did his solo song. Because of course this happened the one night they were rehearsing his big number :P
I'm pretty proud of myself for my ER behavior. I had water at the ready, managed to drive his big car, grabbed supplies just in case, took care of him to the best of my non-medical ability and did not freak out at all. Clearly I am exactly who you want to have taking you to the ER :P
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:42 AM on July 11, 2022 [12 favorites]
Recently learned a life tip: if you get a vasectomy, make sure you get the non-hematoma version.
If anyone needs me, I'll just be lying down over here.
posted by SunSnork at 9:58 AM on July 11, 2022 [10 favorites]
If anyone needs me, I'll just be lying down over here.
posted by SunSnork at 9:58 AM on July 11, 2022 [10 favorites]
Wait, wait ... Clafoutis is pronounced cla-foo-tsee? Really?! omg.
posted by taz at 10:15 AM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by taz at 10:15 AM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
Why? How's it pronounced in town, "twen-tee bucks"?
posted by k3ninho at 10:26 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by k3ninho at 10:26 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Pronouncing "ti" as "tsi" in French words is a Quebec French thing which you can read more about here if you have an institutional JSTOR subscription or enough curiosity to spend $15, and is also discussed in this e-book on the pronunciation of Canadian French.
posted by Jeanne at 10:30 AM on July 11, 2022 [12 favorites]
posted by Jeanne at 10:30 AM on July 11, 2022 [12 favorites]
Wow. I am learn a thing.
posted by taz at 10:33 AM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by taz at 10:33 AM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
Hot and humid here. Songdo (where I live and work) is a wonderful place for kids. This past Saturday the taekwondo gym my kids attend had a big water gun fight in the park for all the kids that attend, their siblings, neighbors, etc. We dropped the kids off at the gym and went for a walk in the park not really thinking about the consequences and got ambushed by like fifty kids with water guns. Lesson learned, but we only live about 100m away so no biggie.
Songdo also has these wild "water playgrounds" that are like miniature water parks with slides and spraying things and whatever else. I had heard online that they would open July 1, so promised the kids I would take them on Sunday. Turns out they open July 15 this year, so we took a last minute trip to the beach instead. This past weekend I've hit my yearly quota on water and sun.
So anyway, my kids are happy living here, but for me it is pretty boring. The area has developed a lot in the eight or so years we've been living here, but still I miss living in Seoul. Every so often I get mopey about it, sorry.
posted by Literaryhero at 10:42 AM on July 11, 2022 [6 favorites]
Songdo also has these wild "water playgrounds" that are like miniature water parks with slides and spraying things and whatever else. I had heard online that they would open July 1, so promised the kids I would take them on Sunday. Turns out they open July 15 this year, so we took a last minute trip to the beach instead. This past weekend I've hit my yearly quota on water and sun.
So anyway, my kids are happy living here, but for me it is pretty boring. The area has developed a lot in the eight or so years we've been living here, but still I miss living in Seoul. Every so often I get mopey about it, sorry.
posted by Literaryhero at 10:42 AM on July 11, 2022 [6 favorites]
all the names sound like they leapt from the pages of some picaresque drama, or perhaps a Harry Potter novel
On a loosely related note, I have always thought Wolf Blitzer sounded like a compatriot of Duke Nukem.
posted by Foosnark at 12:03 PM on July 11, 2022 [6 favorites]
On a loosely related note, I have always thought Wolf Blitzer sounded like a compatriot of Duke Nukem.
posted by Foosnark at 12:03 PM on July 11, 2022 [6 favorites]
Delicious but also a touch ruminative and reflective.
Subtle :)
posted by Zumbador at 12:24 PM on July 11, 2022
Subtle :)
posted by Zumbador at 12:24 PM on July 11, 2022
Met a beautiful sheepdog called Flex.
We were walking on her farm and she came along.
I've never met a dog who likes cuddling as much as this one. She climbed into my lap and buried her head against my stomach, eyes closed, perfectly still. Just blissed out.
After the walk she went back to her favourite activity, stalking Nandos the rooster. Seconds after that photo was taken Nandos lost his temper and flapped at Flex, who got a fright and ran into a pole with a loud "bong" just like a cartoon dog.
Nandos apparently showed up on the farm having hitched a ride on the back of a truck. No one knows where he's from.
posted by Zumbador at 12:41 PM on July 11, 2022 [9 favorites]
We were walking on her farm and she came along.
I've never met a dog who likes cuddling as much as this one. She climbed into my lap and buried her head against my stomach, eyes closed, perfectly still. Just blissed out.
After the walk she went back to her favourite activity, stalking Nandos the rooster. Seconds after that photo was taken Nandos lost his temper and flapped at Flex, who got a fright and ran into a pole with a loud "bong" just like a cartoon dog.
Nandos apparently showed up on the farm having hitched a ride on the back of a truck. No one knows where he's from.
posted by Zumbador at 12:41 PM on July 11, 2022 [9 favorites]
Flex looks like the best girl.
Roosters are mean
posted by Windopaene at 12:49 PM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Roosters are mean
posted by Windopaene at 12:49 PM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Pronouncing "ti" as "tsi" in French words is a Quebec French thing
Yes, it is the Correct French way of pronouncing it - it also sounds better... and tastes better...
posted by From Bklyn at 1:16 PM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Yes, it is the Correct French way of pronouncing it - it also sounds better... and tastes better...
posted by From Bklyn at 1:16 PM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
On Tom Tugendhat, now he's thrown his hat in the ring presumably he's just Tom Tugend?
It's warm, guys, I didn't even bring a coat to get, I'll just show myself out.
posted by deeker at 1:47 PM on July 11, 2022 [8 favorites]
It's warm, guys, I didn't even bring a coat to get, I'll just show myself out.
posted by deeker at 1:47 PM on July 11, 2022 [8 favorites]
I sometimes do some music recommendations in these threads so here's a couple to make up for my last post. (All links to Bandcamp.)
Kin by Field Glass, an electronica/ambient album made with analogue electronics coupled with unusual acoustic instruments - an antique Victorian travelling organ features prominently, along with a dulcitone and some other instruments I can't quite make out.
Strange Mornings in the Garden by The Loyal Seas. A collaboration between Dylan in the Movies' Brian Sullivan and Tanya fuckin' Donelly. This 90s indie kid bought it just because Donelly is in it and it did not disappoint.
Psychonautic Escapisms by Heat Crimes. This is not for everyone but if the thought of a genuinely strange mix of dub techno, gabber-style high-BPM beats, industrial hard-core and speed death metal sounds intriguing, give it a shot.
posted by deeker at 2:00 PM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Kin by Field Glass, an electronica/ambient album made with analogue electronics coupled with unusual acoustic instruments - an antique Victorian travelling organ features prominently, along with a dulcitone and some other instruments I can't quite make out.
Strange Mornings in the Garden by The Loyal Seas. A collaboration between Dylan in the Movies' Brian Sullivan and Tanya fuckin' Donelly. This 90s indie kid bought it just because Donelly is in it and it did not disappoint.
Psychonautic Escapisms by Heat Crimes. This is not for everyone but if the thought of a genuinely strange mix of dub techno, gabber-style high-BPM beats, industrial hard-core and speed death metal sounds intriguing, give it a shot.
posted by deeker at 2:00 PM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Seriously, dense herds of cows that move along regularly might be the trick. (So the answer is: a cowherd!)
not gonna happen...
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 2:05 PM on July 11, 2022 [8 favorites]
not gonna happen...
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 2:05 PM on July 11, 2022 [8 favorites]
I'm moving to Scotland! (Ok, that was decided a while ago, but I haven't posted in one of these before.)
More exciting, I figured out how to stretch my ADHD medications supply to 5 or 6 months from the 3 I can bring in, which is important, given just how much of a mess getting psychiatric care there is (I'm going to be going from GP to GP to find one who will take a letter from my American psychiatrist and keep prescribing me meds until I can find one in the UK).
We've shipped out all the boxes, we're down to some suitcases and all the stuff we need to get rid of. Also, if you know of anyone in NYC who needs furniture, hit me up.
I am looking forward to not being the in US anymore. I am not looking forward to leaving everyone and everything I know.
posted by Hactar at 2:21 PM on July 11, 2022 [6 favorites]
More exciting, I figured out how to stretch my ADHD medications supply to 5 or 6 months from the 3 I can bring in, which is important, given just how much of a mess getting psychiatric care there is (I'm going to be going from GP to GP to find one who will take a letter from my American psychiatrist and keep prescribing me meds until I can find one in the UK).
We've shipped out all the boxes, we're down to some suitcases and all the stuff we need to get rid of. Also, if you know of anyone in NYC who needs furniture, hit me up.
I am looking forward to not being the in US anymore. I am not looking forward to leaving everyone and everything I know.
posted by Hactar at 2:21 PM on July 11, 2022 [6 favorites]
Phragmites, according to one of my many sources will grow, where nothing else will, it is a symptom of abused wetlands. I miss Great Salt Lake. We are gonna have the over 100° hotness for the next several days. My neibs in this duplex seem to respond by staying up most of the cool nights, and sleeping through the cool mornings. I heard the equatorial Uruguayans are in the cafes until 3-4 in the mornings in the hot months. One thing, when Biden reversed and reinstated the methane restrictions, the valley air cleaned right up, and the nights stay in the mid seventies, even if the days are in the 100's. Methane must make a heat cap, nights, would often be in the mid eighties this time of year. The air had a sickly yellow pall, no more. It is nice again. Thanks!
posted by Oyéah at 2:30 PM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Oyéah at 2:30 PM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Good luck and bon voyage, Hactar!!
posted by wenestvedt at 2:30 PM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 2:30 PM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
BoJo’s Lament (a poem):
There once was a gormless buffoon
Hair combed by a static-charged balloon
Unable to handle
A surfeit of scandal
His tenure as Premier went “Boom!”
(Too soon?)
posted by New Frontier at 2:33 PM on July 11, 2022 [5 favorites]
There once was a gormless buffoon
Hair combed by a static-charged balloon
Unable to handle
A surfeit of scandal
His tenure as Premier went “Boom!”
(Too soon?)
posted by New Frontier at 2:33 PM on July 11, 2022 [5 favorites]
Nah, they'll only answer the question of who won the battle royale in September which is enough time for the opposition to realise (but do nothing about) there's a headless punchbag that's currently showing the country their worst side (the stuff which impresses insiders and repulses minorities) ahead of an election currying favour with the people they repulsed.
posted by k3ninho at 2:52 PM on July 11, 2022
posted by k3ninho at 2:52 PM on July 11, 2022
Turtles and Bee's wing: when I was a teenager in Michigan (IN MICHGAN) I made a fake dragonfly to scare off deerflies and wired it to my hat and then would ride my bike. I can confirm that this works, at least if you are in motion.
posted by acrasis at 3:14 PM on July 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by acrasis at 3:14 PM on July 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
Bye Bye Boris - Jonathan Pie
Sums up my feelings entirely.
posted by adept256 at 3:23 PM on July 11, 2022
Sums up my feelings entirely.
posted by adept256 at 3:23 PM on July 11, 2022
I am watching The Parallax View, in which Warren Beatty walks into a country bar, orders a glass of milk, gets in a long barfight, then sits down and continues drinking milk. I'm gonna let that be the guiding energy behind next month's plan to quit drinking.
posted by derrinyet at 4:00 PM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by derrinyet at 4:00 PM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
Years and years ago when I was a teenaged cashier, one of my favorite customers was a man named Mr. Brown. He was old when I knew him; his eyes had that bluish look to them. He always dressed in three piece suits. He'd ride his bicycle 20 miles round trip to a local horse racing track. He lived in the house he was born in, one of 16 kids, on Brown's Lane, one of the very few Black families in what was very tony Rumson, NJ.
He died at in his 100th year, in 1994. I STILL have his obituary I clipped from the newspaper.
I am a lover of old cemeteries, and like to stroll unfamiliar ones. I found what I am sure is Mr. Brown's final resting place.....in a quiet, wooded cemetery, known as a Black cemetery. It breaks my heart that he only has a "temporary" metal marker, the kind a funeral home leaves at the place of burial. It bears the name of the funeral home that buried him; they have gone out of business and the one that replaced them won't return my messages.
His obituary states he was an Army Veteran of WW1. I am now corresponding with someone in Veteran's Affairs, because I really want to get him a decent headstone. He deserves so much more.
I don't know how far I'll be able to get this: I can't get a death certificate; I don't know anything other than his name and his date of death (July 14, 1994). If nothing pans out, maybe I'll make him one!
posted by annieb at 4:17 PM on July 11, 2022 [23 favorites]
He died at in his 100th year, in 1994. I STILL have his obituary I clipped from the newspaper.
I am a lover of old cemeteries, and like to stroll unfamiliar ones. I found what I am sure is Mr. Brown's final resting place.....in a quiet, wooded cemetery, known as a Black cemetery. It breaks my heart that he only has a "temporary" metal marker, the kind a funeral home leaves at the place of burial. It bears the name of the funeral home that buried him; they have gone out of business and the one that replaced them won't return my messages.
His obituary states he was an Army Veteran of WW1. I am now corresponding with someone in Veteran's Affairs, because I really want to get him a decent headstone. He deserves so much more.
I don't know how far I'll be able to get this: I can't get a death certificate; I don't know anything other than his name and his date of death (July 14, 1994). If nothing pans out, maybe I'll make him one!
posted by annieb at 4:17 PM on July 11, 2022 [23 favorites]
Today's the day we finally get to see final images from the JWST. 5pm ET presented by Biden.
I'm kinda expecting a smiley face. The preliminary images are impressive enough, areas that previously appeared as white noise are full of galaxies!
I'm also hoping someone has a thorough post with a million links ready to go.
posted by adept256 at 4:56 PM on July 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'm kinda expecting a smiley face. The preliminary images are impressive enough, areas that previously appeared as white noise are full of galaxies!
I'm also hoping someone has a thorough post with a million links ready to go.
posted by adept256 at 4:56 PM on July 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
Here is a view of the swamp. The phragmites patch is almost directly behind the photographer in this picture.
Note that there are tulip poplar trees and black gum (tupelo) trees. There is winterberry holly. There are ferns (interrupted, cinnamon, and royal). There is quite a lot of sundew. There is quite a lot of skunk cabbage. There are many native sedges. There are cattails in amongst the phragmites (not shown). There is he-huckleberry and some sort of edible blueberry-style thing though I don't know which one. There are also invasive barberries, multiflora rose, autumn olive, and of course, the phragmites. I'm working on that stuff. Like a lot of the rest of the midatlantic US, my swamp is in no way pristine and untouched by human hands. That said, it's still a pretty neat swamp with a lot of nice things growing in it and it will be neater still in about ten years when I get the phragmites gone.
posted by which_chick at 5:05 PM on July 11, 2022 [6 favorites]
Note that there are tulip poplar trees and black gum (tupelo) trees. There is winterberry holly. There are ferns (interrupted, cinnamon, and royal). There is quite a lot of sundew. There is quite a lot of skunk cabbage. There are many native sedges. There are cattails in amongst the phragmites (not shown). There is he-huckleberry and some sort of edible blueberry-style thing though I don't know which one. There are also invasive barberries, multiflora rose, autumn olive, and of course, the phragmites. I'm working on that stuff. Like a lot of the rest of the midatlantic US, my swamp is in no way pristine and untouched by human hands. That said, it's still a pretty neat swamp with a lot of nice things growing in it and it will be neater still in about ten years when I get the phragmites gone.
posted by which_chick at 5:05 PM on July 11, 2022 [6 favorites]
Heh, the best things in life at various different times have been all of Wild Things, Needful Things and Stranger Things. Now I guess this thread has its turn, if only for a few brief moments ;-)
Wow, annieb, that's an incredibly sweet thing for you to do and I hope it works out :-)
posted by dg at 5:06 PM on July 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
Wow, annieb, that's an incredibly sweet thing for you to do and I hope it works out :-)
posted by dg at 5:06 PM on July 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
Here's the first image from the JWST.
Gravitational lensing! Those circular smears are galaxies billions of light years away, and are being magnified by the gravity of something supermassive in between.
posted by adept256 at 6:25 PM on July 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
Gravitational lensing! Those circular smears are galaxies billions of light years away, and are being magnified by the gravity of something supermassive in between.
posted by adept256 at 6:25 PM on July 11, 2022 [3 favorites]
The spots with eight large lens flares are stars ~100 light years away. Everything else are GALAXIES billions of light years away, each with billions of stars.
Mind blown.
posted by adept256 at 6:27 PM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Mind blown.
posted by adept256 at 6:27 PM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Like, there are so many galaxies in that photo, there must be more galaxies in the universe than there are stars we can see at night in a dark sky area.
"Space is big." -Douglas Adams
posted by hippybear at 6:37 PM on July 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
"Space is big." -Douglas Adams
posted by hippybear at 6:37 PM on July 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
Over the weekend, I asked a question on AskMe. I read the answers over and over again and cried a lot.
Yesterday, I went outside on my back patio. There is a swallow's nest tucked in my apartment building, and I watched the adults flit back and forth from their nest. This morning, I looked outside and saw 4 or 5 tiny swallows perched all around the building. It probably wasn't the chicks from the nest since these were fully fledged, but it made me smile nonetheless. I looked at the sky and smiled at how beautiful it was. Then I went inside and hugged my dog.
It was my first genuine smile in months. It feels like the weight that has been crushing me has the tiniest bit, just enough to let a ray of light past all the clouds.
Thank you, everybody.
posted by keysonthetable at 7:09 PM on July 11, 2022 [15 favorites]
Yesterday, I went outside on my back patio. There is a swallow's nest tucked in my apartment building, and I watched the adults flit back and forth from their nest. This morning, I looked outside and saw 4 or 5 tiny swallows perched all around the building. It probably wasn't the chicks from the nest since these were fully fledged, but it made me smile nonetheless. I looked at the sky and smiled at how beautiful it was. Then I went inside and hugged my dog.
It was my first genuine smile in months. It feels like the weight that has been crushing me has the tiniest bit, just enough to let a ray of light past all the clouds.
Thank you, everybody.
posted by keysonthetable at 7:09 PM on July 11, 2022 [15 favorites]
"Space is big." -Douglas Adams
Tell me about it! It’s a long way down to the chemist!
Anyways, on my first vacation in two years. Sitting outside next to a fire at the end of a beautiful summer day, slightly stoned. Sometimes the world just comes together.
posted by nubs at 7:23 PM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Tell me about it! It’s a long way down to the chemist!
Anyways, on my first vacation in two years. Sitting outside next to a fire at the end of a beautiful summer day, slightly stoned. Sometimes the world just comes together.
posted by nubs at 7:23 PM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
I’ve read the long form story several times about the 20111 mass shooting in Norway and there are moments in it that are so horrific they stay with me.
Tonight I discovered there’s a Netflix doc. It’s a LOT like the true story. Everybody needs a h ug.
posted by bendy at 1:20 AM on July 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
Tonight I discovered there’s a Netflix doc. It’s a LOT like the true story. Everybody needs a h ug.
posted by bendy at 1:20 AM on July 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
The documentary lost credibility- the shooter now speaks perfect English with a British accent.
posted by bendy at 1:30 AM on July 12, 2022
posted by bendy at 1:30 AM on July 12, 2022
"Space is big." -Douglas Adams
"space is deep" - hawkwind (cw - some flashing lights)
posted by pyramid termite at 8:22 AM on July 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
"space is deep" - hawkwind (cw - some flashing lights)
posted by pyramid termite at 8:22 AM on July 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
Space is big
space is dark
it's hard to find
a place to park
Burma Shave
--from the internet about thirty years ago
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:04 PM on July 12, 2022 [7 favorites]
space is dark
it's hard to find
a place to park
Burma Shave
--from the internet about thirty years ago
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:04 PM on July 12, 2022 [7 favorites]
love is sweet
but oh how bitter
when you kiss the lips
of a tobacco spitter
burma shave
posted by pyramid termite at 12:18 PM on July 12, 2022 [6 favorites]
but oh how bitter
when you kiss the lips
of a tobacco spitter
burma shave
posted by pyramid termite at 12:18 PM on July 12, 2022 [6 favorites]
Though through space
You may be zooming
Do not neglect
Your daily grooming
Burma-Shave
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:32 PM on July 12, 2022 [7 favorites]
You may be zooming
Do not neglect
Your daily grooming
Burma-Shave
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:32 PM on July 12, 2022 [7 favorites]
i really just need people to stop fucking needing me for like ten goddamn seconds ever so i can take a single free breath in my one life.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 12:37 PM on July 12, 2022 [10 favorites]
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 12:37 PM on July 12, 2022 [10 favorites]
It's said that space
Is really big
I say it can go
Stick its head in a pig
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:39 PM on July 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
Is really big
I say it can go
Stick its head in a pig
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:39 PM on July 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
I love the way
these free threads grow
like large scale structure
and sastrugi snow
posted by eotvos at 11:28 PM on July 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
these free threads grow
like large scale structure
and sastrugi snow
posted by eotvos at 11:28 PM on July 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
The documentary lost credibility- the shooter now speaks perfect English with a British accent.
I cannot speak to this particular case, but I can tell you there are Swedes with perfect English who have British accents because they’ve been learning English since fourth grade and they have going to the UK for language programs. I’m not gonna claim that’s everyone but it’s a fair number of folks I have met here in Sweden and I can’t believe it’s all that different in Norway.
I am badly behind in work but I have stolen some time here and there to go pick blueberries anyway. I’m still amazed that I live in a place that has both wild strawberries at the right time of year and then wild blueberries. That part is wonderful.
posted by Bella Donna at 12:38 AM on July 13, 2022 [4 favorites]
I cannot speak to this particular case, but I can tell you there are Swedes with perfect English who have British accents because they’ve been learning English since fourth grade and they have going to the UK for language programs. I’m not gonna claim that’s everyone but it’s a fair number of folks I have met here in Sweden and I can’t believe it’s all that different in Norway.
I am badly behind in work but I have stolen some time here and there to go pick blueberries anyway. I’m still amazed that I live in a place that has both wild strawberries at the right time of year and then wild blueberries. That part is wonderful.
posted by Bella Donna at 12:38 AM on July 13, 2022 [4 favorites]
me: Sorry, world: this one's for my butt.
OK, so, I am through my first colonoscopy, and I must say that with the help of the AskMe community, everything came out great!
Sorry, sorry -- I should have said, "It was all right in the end!"
Sorry, sorry. Actually, I was in the waiting room and a nurse called my name to do the intake paperwork. She honesty said, "Just a few questions then we can get you in the back." Like, maybe that wasn't the best choice of words?? But[t] they called me back this morning at 7:45 AM to ask whether I was feeling good and all right, so that was kind, and I just got a message about a survey, so they do seem like caring folks.
Anyway, in that AskMe someone suggested using witch hazel after every visit to the toilet, and that turned out tosave my ass be a game-changer, comfort-wise. So thanks, MetaFilter!!
posted by wenestvedt at 6:21 AM on July 13, 2022 [7 favorites]
OK, so, I am through my first colonoscopy, and I must say that with the help of the AskMe community, everything came out great!
Sorry, sorry -- I should have said, "It was all right in the end!"
Sorry, sorry. Actually, I was in the waiting room and a nurse called my name to do the intake paperwork. She honesty said, "Just a few questions then we can get you in the back." Like, maybe that wasn't the best choice of words?? But[t] they called me back this morning at 7:45 AM to ask whether I was feeling good and all right, so that was kind, and I just got a message about a survey, so they do seem like caring folks.
Anyway, in that AskMe someone suggested using witch hazel after every visit to the toilet, and that turned out to
posted by wenestvedt at 6:21 AM on July 13, 2022 [7 favorites]
A colon exam
Can be quite harsh
So be sure
To be kind to your arsh
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:49 AM on July 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
Can be quite harsh
So be sure
To be kind to your arsh
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:49 AM on July 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
Rectum?
Barely knew him.
I claim to hate puns.
But this thread is fun.
posted by eotvos at 9:13 AM on July 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
Barely knew him.
I claim to hate puns.
But this thread is fun.
posted by eotvos at 9:13 AM on July 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
Also envious of the blueberries. There are a surprising number of mulberries here, which I feel silly for not having noticed until this summer but am eating with wild abandon. (I come from blackberry country and never really considered tree berries.)
posted by eotvos at 9:16 AM on July 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by eotvos at 9:16 AM on July 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
Mind blown, eotvos! I grew up with mulberry trees, or so they were called, but I have zero memory from childhood of any actual berries on those trees or that they were edible. Wonder how many other things I've been oblivious to over my long life. Nice to get this update on mulberries at least!
posted by Bella Donna at 9:47 AM on July 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Bella Donna at 9:47 AM on July 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
God fucking damnit. My mentor/not-technically-father just tested positive for COVID. He's doing okay, but also 75 and has other health complications. My mom and her partner had it two months ago. My romantic interest had it last month and still can't climb stairs without a racing heart. Three grad student have gotten it in the last month. Eight undergrads have told me about having it in the last three months. A colleague's entire lab has shut down because everyone has it. I seem to be the only person who somehow hasn't gotten it yet. Not because I'm more careful. BA.4/5 fucking sucks.
But, at least I only know three people who've died. (All elderly people living in Italy during the first surge. I didn't know them terribly well.) Why the fuck is nobody else taking this seriously? Wear a mask, people. It's not that hard.
I guess we're just returning to the historical/pre-historical normal. It's not as bad as smallpox. I think I'm going to wear a mask in public for the rest of my life.
posted by eotvos at 5:47 PM on July 13, 2022 [4 favorites]
But, at least I only know three people who've died. (All elderly people living in Italy during the first surge. I didn't know them terribly well.) Why the fuck is nobody else taking this seriously? Wear a mask, people. It's not that hard.
I guess we're just returning to the historical/pre-historical normal. It's not as bad as smallpox. I think I'm going to wear a mask in public for the rest of my life.
posted by eotvos at 5:47 PM on July 13, 2022 [4 favorites]
I'll be right there with you. A couple weeks ago I told my best friend in the world I'd visit them in Florida in November, thinking things will surely have gotten better at that point; now I"m beginning to regret committing to it. If there aren't Omicron-specific vaccines available before then, I may have to go back on my word... Not happy about that thought.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:53 PM on July 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:53 PM on July 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
The best Things in life are
To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and girls with freckles on their tits.
I actually said this once. Senior year of high school and my BF of years had roped me into being the fourth wheel for a double date with a couple of sophomore girls. My BF was a freckled red head and so was his girl (to whom the statement was directed). We had fun that weekend, don't remember what we did earlier but we ended up parking (at a park no less). My BF and his girl go off and sit on a picnic table and are talking, my girl an I are left in the back seat of the car. We went from zero to frisky in sixty seconds (this is the girl from the mysteries of women's undergarments thread). My BF and his girl come back and are shocked. There was no second date. Later that year I was roped into being her older sister's senior prom date. Took me a couple of days to realize the fact that they were sisters. Always wondered if prom date knew about that night in the back seat of a car. A couple of decades later and the three of us are having brunch at a Cracker Barrel and bringing up old time memories. I explain the what for and why (an even longer never ending story) and my prom date says "you should have tried, you'd have probably gotten lucky". So all's well that ends well I guess.
Yep, that story starts with a riff on Conan the Barbarian... girls with freckles on their tits.
posted by zengargoyle at 7:56 PM on July 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and girls with freckles on their tits.
I actually said this once. Senior year of high school and my BF of years had roped me into being the fourth wheel for a double date with a couple of sophomore girls. My BF was a freckled red head and so was his girl (to whom the statement was directed). We had fun that weekend, don't remember what we did earlier but we ended up parking (at a park no less). My BF and his girl go off and sit on a picnic table and are talking, my girl an I are left in the back seat of the car. We went from zero to frisky in sixty seconds (this is the girl from the mysteries of women's undergarments thread). My BF and his girl come back and are shocked. There was no second date. Later that year I was roped into being her older sister's senior prom date. Took me a couple of days to realize the fact that they were sisters. Always wondered if prom date knew about that night in the back seat of a car. A couple of decades later and the three of us are having brunch at a Cracker Barrel and bringing up old time memories. I explain the what for and why (an even longer never ending story) and my prom date says "you should have tried, you'd have probably gotten lucky". So all's well that ends well I guess.
Yep, that story starts with a riff on Conan the Barbarian... girls with freckles on their tits.
posted by zengargoyle at 7:56 PM on July 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
Last night my friends' cat Kiku fell asleep on my lap. Apparently this is Highly Unusual.
They were impressed when she just approached me and allowed me to stroke her.
They were astonished that she got on my lap. Apparently she never does that.
She settled down on my lap and fell asleep. There was a brief interlude where she woke up and bit me gently to let me know I was stroking her too much, then she fell asleep again.
She's a beautiful cat, dark tortoiseshell with a very thin, high cheekboned face and enormous slanted eyes.
I suspect a lot of the reason she sat on *my* lap was because I was fairly near the fire, but I don't think that alone was enough to explain it if she didn't also trust me.
I feel so pleased and honoured.
posted by Zumbador at 11:33 PM on July 13, 2022 [5 favorites]
They were impressed when she just approached me and allowed me to stroke her.
They were astonished that she got on my lap. Apparently she never does that.
She settled down on my lap and fell asleep. There was a brief interlude where she woke up and bit me gently to let me know I was stroking her too much, then she fell asleep again.
She's a beautiful cat, dark tortoiseshell with a very thin, high cheekboned face and enormous slanted eyes.
I suspect a lot of the reason she sat on *my* lap was because I was fairly near the fire, but I don't think that alone was enough to explain it if she didn't also trust me.
I feel so pleased and honoured.
posted by Zumbador at 11:33 PM on July 13, 2022 [5 favorites]
This thread really cheers me up. Both awesome cats (convincing a cagey cat to like me always makes me unreasonably, stupidly proud of myself) and learning that freckles exist below the neck. (Of course they do, but it just never occurred to me.)
posted by eotvos at 3:23 AM on July 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by eotvos at 3:23 AM on July 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
(I hope the way I phrased that didn't seem offensive, Zumbador. In case it's not clear, I enthusiastically empathize.)
posted by eotvos at 3:29 AM on July 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by eotvos at 3:29 AM on July 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
No no! No offense. That's exactly right. Unreasonably, stupidly proud :)
posted by Zumbador at 3:45 AM on July 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Zumbador at 3:45 AM on July 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
Doom hacker gets Doom running in Doom | PC Gamer
Ah, like 1994 or so I played so much DOOM it was ridiculous. I dual-booted and installed packet drivers to play multiplayer over the modem to a friend. We both had dual lines and sat around for hours craning necks to hold the phone in place to chat while playing. I built maps in Linux with the Purple Frog map editor, Had the whole house and outside pool mapped out. I ran a serial cable out the window around the house back in a window to my housemate's room so he could play too. Way too much time spent playing DOOM.
Bonus: Gir - The Doom Song - YouTube
posted by zengargoyle at 4:33 AM on July 14, 2022 [4 favorites]
Ah, like 1994 or so I played so much DOOM it was ridiculous. I dual-booted and installed packet drivers to play multiplayer over the modem to a friend. We both had dual lines and sat around for hours craning necks to hold the phone in place to chat while playing. I built maps in Linux with the Purple Frog map editor, Had the whole house and outside pool mapped out. I ran a serial cable out the window around the house back in a window to my housemate's room so he could play too. Way too much time spent playing DOOM.
Bonus: Gir - The Doom Song - YouTube
posted by zengargoyle at 4:33 AM on July 14, 2022 [4 favorites]
I confess, I screen shot my Twordles. Got one today!
posted by Oyéah at 11:08 AM on July 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Oyéah at 11:08 AM on July 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
10 hours of the song that never ends
an even worse 10 hours of the song that never ends
i mean, i think they last for 10 hours - i didn't really check it out - so if there's something else in these 10 hour files, i don't know
you will probably be in no condition to report it by the end of it anyway - especially the 2nd one
posted by pyramid termite at 1:34 PM on July 14, 2022
an even worse 10 hours of the song that never ends
i mean, i think they last for 10 hours - i didn't really check it out - so if there's something else in these 10 hour files, i don't know
you will probably be in no condition to report it by the end of it anyway - especially the 2nd one
posted by pyramid termite at 1:34 PM on July 14, 2022
also the wikipedia page for this had a book co-written by noam chomsky as one of the references
no, this is not an invitation to a political argument, pleeeeze
posted by pyramid termite at 1:40 PM on July 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
no, this is not an invitation to a political argument, pleeeeze
posted by pyramid termite at 1:40 PM on July 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
no, this is not an invitation to a political argument
It's the debate that doesn't end
Yes it goes on and on my friends
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:54 PM on July 14, 2022 [3 favorites]
It's the debate that doesn't end
Yes it goes on and on my friends
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:54 PM on July 14, 2022 [3 favorites]
This evening I intended to get a sandwich and go to the post office, and instead spent 1.5 hours searching the bushes beside the river helping a really strung out meth addicted unhoused person search for their lost bag, 'cause I had a flashlight. I promised I'd call his grandmother to express his love tomorrow, but I'm dreading the followup questions.
Then I got home and had a phone call with my mother mostly about childhood sexual abuse. (Of her, not me.) But, also briefly about seeing Elvis on stage. That part was fun.
The world is cruel. Metafilter is nice, though.
posted by eotvos at 9:20 PM on July 14, 2022 [4 favorites]
Then I got home and had a phone call with my mother mostly about childhood sexual abuse. (Of her, not me.) But, also briefly about seeing Elvis on stage. That part was fun.
The world is cruel. Metafilter is nice, though.
posted by eotvos at 9:20 PM on July 14, 2022 [4 favorites]
So in other news, I saw Kiss Me, Kate, a show I've always wanted to see, and finally got to, and it was as good as I was hoping it would be. I ran into a bunch of people I know there (including castmates from B&tB also taking advantage of the night off), which was also fun.
Also: my mother apparently has extra Lion King tickets for next month she bought by mistake, and I asked the crush because he's an LK original movie fan, though I dunno if he can go since he normally would be working during that time and it's a long ways away. He said he'd have to see what the schedule looks like and get back to me, which is officially a lot better than running screaming into the night, ignoring the text, or asking if I am inviting the entire gang along. So, we'll see.
On the way over to the theater tonight, I saw license plates saying "8ND THEN" and "U222GO" (you two go!), so...I'm thinking that second one in particular might be a sign :)
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:25 PM on July 14, 2022 [2 favorites]
Also: my mother apparently has extra Lion King tickets for next month she bought by mistake, and I asked the crush because he's an LK original movie fan, though I dunno if he can go since he normally would be working during that time and it's a long ways away. He said he'd have to see what the schedule looks like and get back to me, which is officially a lot better than running screaming into the night, ignoring the text, or asking if I am inviting the entire gang along. So, we'll see.
On the way over to the theater tonight, I saw license plates saying "8ND THEN" and "U222GO" (you two go!), so...I'm thinking that second one in particular might be a sign :)
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:25 PM on July 14, 2022 [2 favorites]
Cheers, jenfullmoon. You two go! (These threads really make me feel like I'm getting to know people here in a way that is new.)
Today I found out that the only close IRL friend I know who hasn't gotten sick (some not from communicable diseases) in the last 6 months sure seems to have gotten monkey pox. Not medically diagnosed, but all the textbook symptoms are present and there are few other likely explanations. She's recovering quickly and will be okay. I'm either very lucky or actually immortal; expecting the former. But, for me, things have been almost entirely good recently. Though, I've been less diligent at apartment hunting than I should have been.
posted by eotvos at 10:32 PM on July 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
Today I found out that the only close IRL friend I know who hasn't gotten sick (some not from communicable diseases) in the last 6 months sure seems to have gotten monkey pox. Not medically diagnosed, but all the textbook symptoms are present and there are few other likely explanations. She's recovering quickly and will be okay. I'm either very lucky or actually immortal; expecting the former. But, for me, things have been almost entirely good recently. Though, I've been less diligent at apartment hunting than I should have been.
posted by eotvos at 10:32 PM on July 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
Peaches are all over the local farmer's market and we (daughter & I) are experimenting with Rosemary Peach Cobbler variations.
posted by kingless at 12:42 PM on July 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by kingless at 12:42 PM on July 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
The squirrel was at my front door this morning for the walnuts, and to amuse my cat, and to charm me with their every aspect.
posted by Oyéah at 3:24 PM on July 16, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by Oyéah at 3:24 PM on July 16, 2022 [5 favorites]
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posted by Scattercat at 3:01 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]