This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly.
Status: Heavily Moderated; Previous thread
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly.
Status: Heavily Moderated; Previous thread
Sorry for the early closure, but I’ll be getting on a plane to England shortly, and will be disappearing off the net until I land at 6am GMT tomorrow morning. And I might not be getting back on instantly even then.
Fly safely, PZ. And in anticipation, a very warm welcome to (not-as-fair-as-they-like-to-pretend) Albion.
And here I thought the early portcullis was simply because I was commenting again. :) I am wildly jealous – I loved London and never got a chance to go anywhere else. Safe journey.
Thanks everyone for the support
It was raining yesterday when I left to pick up my daughter so there was no chance that I was going to try the same route again. And yes *blush* I was staring at a motorcyclist’s butt – sorry – his pockets made a nice contract with the overall dark color of his clothing so it gave me a fixed point to look at. Terribly embarrassing.
I found another route that only involved a short section of slightly elevated highway and then a zig zag jog though a semi-shady area. It took 40 minutes, and I did my focus trick on the logo on the back of a delivery van, but I did not have to deal with an anxiety attack this time so I call that a win.
The good news is that my daughter loves the camp – they paint in the morning and play and plant flowers in the afternoon. She has just been a bundle of sunshine when I pick her up and the artwork she has produced is wonderful. I will just keep focusing on that.
Dark chocolate and red chai tea for anyone who would like some.
I am thoroughly convinced that only Cthulhu or a truly deranged mind could have designed the highways here – you have on-ramps before off-ramps so that cars are winging wildly back and forth in the quarter mile as the cars trying to get on jockey for position with the cars trying to get off. Sections of highway will suddenly turn into exit only lanes with less than a half mile of warning. Sections of road will have car merging from the left and the right at the same time.
Weird, I could have sworn that I cut off that last paragraph since it was just whingeing. And I did preview.
Oops. Sorry. I have no idea what happened.
I do still think it is true. The roads here have whatever is the exact opposite of highway design.
Safe journey PZ it’ll be great to have you in our fair country.
pHred, sounds like Dallas and every other metro freeway, lol. Glad you’re managing to deal. Took me years to learn to drive on a freeway because of organizational idiocies like you describe with the layout of on/off ramps.
Weird:
“Steve Baldwin calls on Sarah Palin to lead new party to replace Republicans”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
“Baldwin believes that Republicans in leadership positions have done little more than “propose ways to manage socialism more effectively”
(facepalm)
pHred
Yay for alternate route, and anything that gets you through the stress – as long as it works!
Sounds like a fantastic camp for your daughter, too.
Safe travels, PZ!
Daily Kos link.
Charles Koch, former member of the John Birch Society and current member of the Love the Billionaires Club, quoted Martin Luther King, Jr. in his August 5th op-ed for USA Today. Laughable, and disgusting.
From Daily Kos, here are a few more things Charles Koch got wrong.
O.o
…the film.
Which one is orbiting backwards in high heels?
Hekuni Cat!
*pouncehugs*
Sorry the migraines are laying you low.
–
bluentx!
*also pouncehug*
This…is The New FTB™!
–
–
Safe travels, Most Squidly Overlord!
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pHred: Hurray! for Alternative Route!
Nonono! They are designed…just not intelligently.
;)
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Crip Dyke:
:D
–
@Azzy, #11, re: finding “Lucy” uninspiring (that comment on previous Lounge)…
Ah. So. There’s a film.
The only thing that made sense to me on a biology website was Lucy.
I just got a telegram that read in full:
Crip Dyke
Why, the one in the purty little dress, of course!
And I’ve been watching this news approach on my Twitter feed for about a week, and it makes me excited, because comets! spaceships! math-that-works! SPACE AGE! Way beyond cool.
@blf:
Someone take the teletype away from cicely!
To put it out of its misery, I presume?
–
I deny, with Vast Dignity, that I had anything to do with that telegram.
And harpoons are not for rubber ducks.
Harpoons are for walruses.
–
If anyone is interested, there’s a thread at WhyEvolutionIsTrue about the latest Richard Dawkins twitter debacle and how his points were so rational and people reacted like radical, berserker, emotional feminazis. Some of the comments are the usual crap about how FtB is full of bullies, etc, etc…nothing really new, but as obnoxious as ever.
Esteleth groots “I may or may not be an Entwife…”.
Yer bigfoot ?
from blf’s link to blf:
Okay, how do I book a room in the guerrilla suites? Can I name my own price? And if there’s a pool, is it filled with blood? Or can I just get some clean, chlorinated water, thank-you-very-much.
More nefarious doings on the part of far rightwing Republicans, this time in Mississippi. A Tea Party dunderhead (Chris McDaniel) who refuses to accept the fact that he lost in the primaries, has accused his Republican opponent (Thad Cochran) of arranging for voter fraud by paying black voters to cast votes for Cochran. Turns out that the Tea Party dunderhead is likely to be wrong on all counts, and that he suborned fraud himself (or his staff did so on his behalf). So glad this asshat is likely to be caught in a lie by an investigation that is ongoing.
Who knows who paid whom for what. It seems likely that no black voters were paid to vote one way or another, and that one man was paid to feed a story to the media that would smear Cochran.
Republicans live in a swamp. I don’t think there’s enough oxygen in there. Their brains are deteriorating.
Talking Points Memo link.
Guerilla suites?
Like that time my TA from Columbia was telling us how he once got kidnapped by guerillas in the South American jungle, but science saved him (the leader was a science fan and they had a lovely, night-long chat about his research at the time), and someone from the class, rather incredulously, asked, “You were kidnapped by gorillas?”
Black men are more likely to be HIV positive? No. Turns out some of the first-hand accounts fed to the Washington Post were fabricated.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/washington-post-hiv-article-fabrications
Crip Dyke
Also, the pools in the guerilla suites no doubt alternate: you take a dip in the blood, then the water, back and forth. All that layering of liquids does wondrous things for the energy, and your circulation and the softness of your skin, plus if you do it right, you can magnify the vital vibrations from all that blood and create your own quantum bubble of happiness for the rest of your life, because superstrings and we are all connected.
Oh, please, no. A third grade teacher in South Carolina is using faux history books written by Rush Limbaugh to teach her students about slavery and the Civil War. [head desk]
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/third-grade-rush-limbaugh-book
Damnit, Cochran’s spokesman paid McDaniel’s spokesman to pay Fielder to get the blogger to say that someone anonymous had said that Cochran would pay black voters, at least according to McDaniel’s chief of staff. Though there are allegations that McDaniel’s chief of staff only knew about Cochran’s spokesman’s payments to McDaniel’s spokesman because McDaniel’s chief of staff paid Cochran’s spokesman to make those payments to make Cochran look bad.
But don’t blame it on McDaniel, because I heard the money originally came from a superPAC, who was only able to give the money because Obama’s secret insistence to the supreme court that they decide Citizen’s United in favor of unlimited corporate expenditures freed up money otherwise earmarked by the superPAC for direct electioneering. And Obama only did THAT to make all republicans look bad.
So it’s democrats who are REALLY corrupt.
A few too many fermented potatoes tonight, eh?
Crip Dyke @28, brilliant satire. Well done.
In other news, David Barton wants to further reduce the number of Christians (not exactly the way he put it, but I’m looking at the end result if he is taken seriously).
Right Wing Watch link.
@rq:
Umhmm. The worst part?
There is nothin’ he can do about it, unless you want him to infringe on their civil liberties: which he will be glad to do, if all good Christians will just trim a little fat off the Constitution.
Crip Dyke
*whoosh*
No fair, I’m short, that one went right over my head!
blf
What do you mean, ‘a few’?
Good day fellow Loungers!
pHred:
You have nothing to apologize for. Nor a reason to feel embarrassed. There is nothing wrong with what you did.
****
bluentx:
Good to see you again. I’ve missed your nym around here.
****
Crip Dyke:
Yes. It is based on the 10% of the brain myth.
@rq
Are you saying my aim is a bit off?
Crip Dyke
Your aim seems fine. I think I threw myself in front of the target, though.
I hate people and I hate staying in a hotel and I hate that I will probably have to postpone my vacation so I will miss the opportunity to spend a week or two in Slovenia with mum and I hate everything.
*takes a deep breath*
Stupid everything.
/whine
Crip Dyke (#14)
Well, I was wondering why you were so enthusiastic about a movie that many people have been pulling apart for its multiple social justice fails.
Beatrice, I’m sorry. *hugs*
Thank you, Anne.
Beatrice:
Hugs.
::passes plate of muffins, croissants, and danishes around the room, starting with Beatrice::
Offer of supportive physical contact and perfect-temperature beverage to Beatrice.
rq, “What do you mean, ‘a few’ [fermented potatoes]?”
There’s still some in my unopenable cupboard.
Well, I think they — multiple voices — are potatoes, and probably so well fermented by now the fermented byproducts have probably fermented and are home to a robust colony of Latvians. Not completely sure if they are potatoes (the original inhabitants, not the Latvians), however, as every time I try to open the cupboard, there are screams “Putt oot thy bleedingfecker leets yeas eejit” and “hic” and “Freeeee tooblers!” and the door is yanked shut. Hence “unopenable…”.
But the last thing I can recall putting in there was a bag of potatoes.
Oh, and a stotting drummer.
rq
Snorful – that’s great! Thanks for the laugh.
I am just about to embark on trip three to pick my daughter up. I hope I will have less of an extreme reaction.
Oh, Tony, rq and everyone. Thanks for the support. It is helping a great deal to be able to vent about this.
Question.
Can anyone provide me with an interpretation of the phrasing “AA does not define alcoholism” that is not actually absurd enough to render “What.” a reasonable response?
Since when did you join the
republicansthugs ?Are… are those warm?
*stuffs face with danishes and gulps down coffee*
Wasntme.
blf,
Don’t call me a republican.
http://www.outtraveler.com/cruises/2014/08/06/newest-lgbt-cruise-sets-sail-transgender-travelers-taking-center-stage
Don’t they just give warning signs ?
A list of things to watch out for isn’t a definition per se.
Beatrice:
Why yes, they are warm. I’m not serving a generic continental breakfast here.
I adore a warm blueberry muffin or lightly buttered croissant as an early morning snack.
Kind of ‘rupt, haven’t been on the computer much b/c it’s been too hot to think and my tendinitis is flaring up. Apologies to anyone I miss:
Brony
*hugs* and other supportive gestures.
Right there with you.
Re the relationship/sex issues, it sounds to me like you’re starting in the right place, and where it goes from here depends on the outcomes of what you’re already doing. It’s a hard place to be, and you have my sympathies.
JAL
Incompetent hacks everywhere. *hugs* to you and the little one.
Phred
Highways are dreadful, and also an extremely poor infrastructural decision for many reasons (not all of which are easily visible except in hindsight, but some certainly were), especially the specific way that the infrastructure was built in the U.S. Moreover, private automobiles as the primary mode of personal transportation is also an extremely poor solution to the problems of transportation, for nearly as many reasons as the highways, only some of which overlap.
Lynna
FTFY
Beatrice
*hugs*
*hugs* for Beatrice. I’m sorry about your ruined vacation.
–
blf
Well, if they’re Latvians, they’re very tiny, so you shouldn’t have anything to fear. The worst they could do is nibble on your ankles, and honestly, they’re not nearly as fast as the MDP, so I hope you’ve been keeping your reflexes in shape. Give them a bit of air*, no cheese, and the sunshine should finish them off. Voila, pest-free, openable cupboard!
* Just remove the door completely, by force if necessary, and watch them scramble around in confusion!
Beatrice
*hugs*
It’ll all be over soon, and hopefully you’ll get some time with your mum in Slovenia (yes?).
I think I’ll go toss some of blf‘s overdone, tiny, cupboard-sized potatoes-cum-Latvians at all those annoying people. Don’t worry, I have very bad aim, and Latvians that size cannot be hurt or destroyed by impact alone.
pHred
Good luck and safe travels!! May your trip be free of idiots.
Dalillama
*hugs*
With you on the heat. :P I hope your heatwave ends soon.
Why are there no Danishes left????
*evil glare in Beatrice’s direction*
These aren’t the words you’re looking for.
These are up for sale, if you want them:
You can go about your business.
Move along.
But you “hate everything.”
Well, Ok, the thugs more fear everything (or at least everything they are told to fear / hate / oppose), but that is perhaps a distinction without much a difference.
Of course, one advantage of hating everything is you hate hating everything, and hate hate hate hating everything, and… It’s not turtles all the way down (which you hate), but hate (which you hate). This is an admirable simple viewpoint, which, um, well does suggest a place in politics…
I have no idea why rq is looking at me like that. Must be some strange Latvian thing.
*whistles innocently*
( I would so love to throw small potatoes at some of these people.)
They certainly don’t hate money. They just hate that some of it is in somebody else’s pockets
–
rq:
I swear! A man’s work is never done.
Back to the kitchen I go to prepare fresh danishes for rq.
Beatrice
Here and here.
… maybe even big potatoes. But I would take care to miss with those.
Anyway, good night. Thanks for the laughs. I’ll just read* for a bit until I drop off.
The left hand of darkness was often suggested here. I like it.
Aw, geez, Tony, you’re the bestest and you make the bestestest Danishes!
And thanks for the hugs, of course.
Mmmmm, throwing rotten potatoes at people, using a sling. I like how your mind works, rq.
Beatrice
That’s an awesome book. It has one of my favourite lines about religion in it, but I can’t remember what page it was on. Something about the existence of gods or some such.
Anyway, good night. :)
rq:
Oooh, that slingshot looks cool.
Let me go find a bag of rotting lemons. You know the kind-mushy, squishy, and nasty. That would make the perfect weapon. And it was leave a mark.
On the plus side, the target would smell lemony fresh.
That should read “and it would leave a mark”.
Sigh.
Tony
Rotten lemons smell lemony-rotten. I hate that smell. *evil cackle*
Mother Jones published an interesting article that shows a map of non-medical vaccine exemptions by state. The state I live in is one of the worst.
A second map at the link illustrates how hard it is to get a vaccine exemption in your state.
@rq, 65:
Perhaps,
?
Crip Dyke
Mm, no, not completely – it’s that entire section, that ends with the bit about life being intolerable uncertainty. I loved it in high school, still love it now:
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/08/un-convention-rights-child-migrant-spanking
Best practices are once again refused, foiled, by rightwing doofuses in the USA. If the USA followed the “best interests” provision of the treaty, uniting the kids with family members would be the priority. Also, detention conditions would have to be improved.
::quickly scarfs a Danish while nobody is looking::
.
Beatrice, I’m sorry you are having to endure this shitty work-related stuff at the moment, and I hope you soon get free (possibly in one mighty bound).
.
pHred, all my sympathies. I can actually no longer drive at all, because of stuff sortofkindofabitlike this. I take my hat off to you for coping so well.
.
Esteleth, I’m still waiting for a friend to hopefully sort out my personal email address settings (that I have somehow managed to mess up royally – hi rq! Hi CaitieCat! It now seems unable to receive or send). In the meantime, I’m sort of borrowing one (I can’t use my work-related email, because, well, work-type stuffs … ). I’m sort of borrowing this: a*p*o*s*t*i*l* AT googlywoogly dot com (without the stars etc).
I remember you have an address you use for Pharyngular type stuff, but I can’t find it – sorry! Hope you see this instead.
Michele Bachmann really wants to impeach somebody, anybody, as long as they are a member of the Democratic Party.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/08/michele-bachmann-impeach-obama-cabinet
Damnit. I missed out on the Danish.
Seconded. >.>
Corporate head honchos with questionable ethics are using Tea Party PACs to change politics in the USA. Some of this veiled influence mongering is coming from outside of the USA, and much of it is homegrown.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/07/freedomworks-switzerland-richard-stephenson-matt-kibbe
Well I know for the next continental breakfast that I can prepare all the croissants I want, bc they’ll be for me. I won’t need to prepare any muffins, since those have gotten hard and would make great weapons for rq’s slingshot. I will need to make a fuckton of danishes though. They appear to be popular.
Lynna
Tony’s making more. Or he was. :/ Those may be gone, too.
Tony!, if you discover a way to make croissants, and danishes, and other bread products, that are gluten-free but have all the flavor and texture and general all-over Awesomeness of normal bread products, I will never leave your breakfast buffet.
Call it a promise, or call it a threat, just so’s you call me for breakfast.
–
Please, Tony, fucketonne. FtB spelling.
And Danishes are awesome, especially fresh from the oven.
Fewf. Last five for tonight, and I can go home.
After all the signing, stamping and label-taping, of course.
*sigh*
I just wanted to mention that my wife was actually pretty happy with the advice that I got (and the level at which I was discussing her). She felt that the advice by Pteryxx and Crip Dyke in particular had a lot of useful things. With respect to Crip Dyke’s concerns she thinks that even if we are still figuring out if we are properly keeping myself out of her attempts to figure out her relationship with sex, the way we are proceeding should enable us to get there. So now we get to collect data as it presents itself.
@ Tony (previous post)
I’m probably just a little defensive so I’ll try not to be so repetitive. I’ve dabbled in the thunderdome but given the theme here I was worried about being abrasive. But if I’m doing fine that is good to know. Still if anyone here notices or feels that I have been insensitive or something else they should feel free to tell me.
@azhael
I’m starting to get tired of the folks complaining about emotion and I’m thinking of ways to show them how mistaken they are.
Use and presence of emotion is ultimately neutral. If a person is implying or arguing that the use or presence of emotion is a negative they have an obligation to demonstrate that by the rules that apply to any stated or unstated claim. The general idea that emotion can be a problem in being logical is a good concern in general, but a person worried about that still has to avoid prejudice and bigotry. People that can be emotional and logical without that affecting the logical content of their arguments do exist and if they can’t functionally demonstrate that they understand that, they are pretending that everyone has problems being logical and emotional and are thus prejudiced at the least.
Logically (to skewer them on their own weapon) if a person is offering an argument and emotion the logic remains regardless of the emotion present. The soundness of an argument is independent of the emotional content and can be addressed despite the emotion. If a person does not address the actual argument of another and instead focuses on the emotional content (basically manipulating the flow of the discussion via distraction and similar) I’m fine with suspecting that they in fact have problems handling emotion themselves, and using this strategically if is in fact true. They see the emotion and their own biases allow them to be pulled in by it and be manipulated. I also see some people react by demanding that people should respond to their logic as if we are demanding that we only pay attention to emotion when that is not even what is being done. I see complaints about demands that emotion be excluded.
If a person says they have problems with the presence of emotion in an argument that is a thing that should be treated respectfully. But most of these folks can’t bear to admit that they have a flaw, let alone deal with it functionally or give you the chance to accommodate it. If such a person has a problem with emotion in an argument and does not tell you (and has associated defense mechanisms or engage in projection) this is literally not your problem. It’s their problem and everyone up to Dawkins himself can screw off, I’m not going to cooperate. If you can handle argument and emotion there are appropriate times to use that to every advantage and let them destroy themselves on their own flaws.
rq:
Nay. I shall not hop aboard that train. Tis fuckton and that’s all there is to it. So :P
Next thing I know you’ll be pushing your metric system agenda on me.
Would it have fucking killed any of the “professionals” I saw over the years to mention that “rejection sensitivity” and “emotional reactivity” were specific, explicit symptoms of atypical depression, 5-15 years ago?
It wouldn’t have?
Damn. :(
Now waht…
/”Mood reactivity” because apparently I have to type hyper-fucking-precisely today.
Tony
I sense a rift developing here.
Azkyroth
I have nothing to offer you (I wish I did), except *hugs*, if you wish.
This applies in general – sometimes I don’t know what to say/reply to you, but please be assured that you have my support and attention, and yes, I read your comments.
Crip Dyke
I also have *hugs* with your ‘nym on ’em here, whenever you wish to collect.
I should also mention that if someone suspects that an opponent in an argument might have problems with emotion, there is a risk of making that problem worse, and they are unwilling to face that, that is something worth thinking about. Weighing the damage done by an opponent that is wrong versus the damage that you might do to an opponent is not a simple issue. I’m aware of the way that this seems contradictory to the subject of sensitivity to emotion with respect to people with painful lived experience. But emotion is a part of argument everywhere and one can only go so far in preventing damage.
I’m sure that there are other aspects to this that should be considered as well, but this issue is one that needs confronted because there is a lot of ignorance about how emotion relates to lots of problems.
It’s hot!
*sweats in everyone’s general direction*
Today in class, we learned about delirium tremens and alcohol detoxification. As part of this learning experience, we watched a Sandra Bullock movie.
Yee haw.
Opposablethumbs, if you like, you can email me at my nym at the google.
@Tony!, 84:
Hah! The metric system has already decimated its opposition.
I’m sorry to hear that you have been impacted by professional ignorance Azkyroth. I hope the problem is something that you can deal with. You have my sympathies.
3100 words! So far yesterday and today, I’ve put 3100 words down on my Firefly Board Game review, and I think at most 400 more will finish it. I’m happy with that, I think it’s thorough and fair at that length, and gives the player a good sense of whether it might be something they’d enjoy.
Once I’ve started the new blog, I’ll let y’all know where it’ll be. We already have another game to review, one that came in a few days ago, which will be released at GenCon, and in which the players are stuck in a mystery within a time loop, and must try to escape it before the loop collapses and the supervillain wins. It’s an anime-based concept, and looks like a lot of fun.
Forgive me being a bit ‘rupt, I’ve been spending most of my vertical time writing and shit. So yay! Productivity! Creativity! Writing! That’s like a win-win-win, for me. :)
Hugs and buka-brollies all ’round, my dear Loungerie.
Crip Dyke:
That’s what we want you to think. We’re lulling you into a false sense of security. At some point in the not too distant future, we shall regain the offensive and take from thee all thy metric terms. They shall be consigned to Cthulu’s dustbins to be seen again only when christ once more walks the earth.
CaitieCat:
What does ‘buka-brollies’ mean?
Tony
Jesus loves the decimal system. He told me so.
(Not sure about the buka-brollies, though I think it has something to do with umbrellas.)
CaitieCat
RAH RAH RAH!!! *cheers&confetti*
Go productivity, go you! :D :D :D
Sorry – too obscure. Buka – subordinates/minions, in Japanese. Brollies – umbrellas.
Buka brollies = minion umbrellas. :)
I like, CaitieCat. I got half of the equation. ;)
Decimated?
Someone?
At least read the rollover text, c’mon!
RE Continental breakfast
Have you noticed? It’s always the same continent!
I got it.
On the other hand, eating an insular breakfast can be a bit lonely.
I find the archipelagic breakfast is really the only alternative to those two, though I admit it’s hard to pin down what an Aussie brekkie really is.
Crip Dyke
Okay, I did not read the rollover text because the rollover signal seems to be invisible in the new FtB incarnation, but I certainly got behind your point this time.
Well, then, thank you Azzy. You have preserved my sanity for one (1) more day.
Okay, I can really tell that the bike ride home knocked the electrolytes out of me – I just had a massive craving for pickles.
This craving came as I was eating cheese.
Either that, or I’m preggers.
Crip Dyke
There’s also the sub-continental breakfast option, if you’re into that kind of thing.
Esteleth
Only if you’re topping up with chocolate ice cream. :)
At least the crust usually isn’t rich in silica…
@Esteleth:
I vote for preggers. More grootlings is always good. There’s nothing cuter than a little twig running around saying, “I am Grootling!” before realizing you’ve made your doors and tables out of wood and punching you through a wall for it.
rq:
Thanks. I wasn’t alone in not seeing the rollover text.
Speaking of continental breakfast…I wonder how that got named. What’s continental about that type of breakfast (which in my limited experience seems to merely be an assortment of fruits and pastries along with coffee or juices–a very, very light breakfast).
Speak for yourself, I’ve had that kind, too.
@rq:
Oh, you know I am. But what would my dom eat?
But, Crip Dyke, if I’m pregnant, how’d it happen?
*frets*
Immaculate Sequoia Procreation?
Besides, a Grootling would still be potted and dancing to Jackson 5.
Esteleth
You work/learn in a hospital/university with women on staff, right? I’m sure there’s some free-floating sperm that someone released into the air-system after ‘jacking it from the nearest male doctor.
Crip Dyke
The super-continental breakfast?
Presumably it referred to a style that was perceived as popular in continental Europe, as contrasted with a typically British breakfast.
@Esteleth:
When a Groot and a Groot love each other very much, pollen goes fucking everywhere …and if it can go up my nose after lingering in the pocket of my jacket for 7 weeks, who knows what will happen next.
Esteleth
Speaking of preggers, in Latvian, a rather archaic colloquialism for a pregnant woman is ‘[viņa] ir grūta’… So the phrase ‘Esteleth is Groot’ is a suggestive one, indeed! Can also be reverse-faux-translated as ‘Esteleth is being difficult’ (because ‘grūts’ also means ‘difficult’).
I am very difficult.
When I was an Estelethling, my mommy told me that every day.
“Estelething”? I thought you ‘Grooted’.
Wait, does this mean that I’ve ‘Shooped’ before or that sometime in the future I can go ‘Shooping’?
Tony, you Shoop all day long.
(yeah you do!)
*rimshot*
Not a verb, Tony!.
It’s a noun, diminutive of “Esteleth” created by adding L-I-N-G. I think you dropped the L.
Ah, I did indeed leave off the ‘L’. Drat. I guess that means I was once a ‘Shoopling’ then?
****
We’re apparently getting a ‘Kickboxer’ remake:
Tony Jaa?
I thought the Kickboxer was supposed to have sucked. How are they going to draw in the die-hard cult following of the original with Tony Jaa on board?
[Looks at his bowl of Sultana Bran*. Gets skewer. Stabs wildly.]
Looks like you’re right Crip Dyke! The sucker is slippery, must be the soy milk. Mind you, being an ex-pat I might be doing it wrong.
*actual breakfast being eaten as I type this.
The true American breakfast is a burrito stuffed with eggs.
Just saying.
Content warning for depression:
I write. Unable to get a job and lacking a car and actually lacking much in the way of clothing (ah, poverty + house fire), I started writing erotica and romance about two years ago. It wasn’t a lot of money, but it was just barely keeping me from being homeless again, so I stuck with it. The stuff that I probably could have made a good living on was also exploitative, so I made less than I was strictly capable of by sticking to content that didn’t make me want to cry. I kept at this at a frantic pace, but eventually it just wasn’t working any more.
There wasn’t enough money. I was making a lot less than I needed every single month and even with how phobically frugal I am, my wee buffer was disappearing. I was getting pushed further and further into a niche that I really hated. I spent a month staring at an empty word processing file, feeling the rising tide of dread and panic. The mantra I woke up repeating every morning was, “I hate everyone and everything, especially me.” I didn’t feel suicidal so much as like I was tied to railroad tracks, watching a train approaching and really wishing I could be put out of my misery in a more palatable way first.
And then the depression turned to anger. Because, you know, fuck everything. Just fuck it all to hell. Everything I owned was burned to the goddamn ground and I worked my ass off everyday and it was just. not. getting. better. Since there’s a delay on my royalties, I can figure out months ahead of time where I’m going to be financially and so I figured out that unless something dramatically changed before October, I’d be penniless by December.
The panic came back and I tried to figure out if I could possibly write enough of the stuff I hated to get by. Then there was this weird moment of comprehension. I mean, I had to be honest with myself. It’s hopeless no matter what I do. So say the train hits in December. Say I’m left with no more options. All the books I’ve been planning and hoping to write once I’m financially secure were never going to get written, because I was never going to get there.
So…I’ll write them anyway. Because fuck it all, right? If everything is just going to keep falling to pieces around me no matter what I do, then why run on a treadmill when I could be skipping through the daisies? It’ll end the same way regardless.
And this is how I came to the decision to at least enjoy the next few months before everything implodes. I’m writing my social justice-y, epic-y fantasy series that’s better than a regurgitation of patriarchal racist fantasies of medieval Europe. Maybe it’ll sell well enough to divert disaster, maybe it won’t. But I guess if I can’t stop the oncoming train and I can’t get away from it I might as well dance on the tracks.
Esteleth:
Thanks to you, when I get back from walking my dog, I’m going to have a breakfast burrito for dinner :)
****
Mellow Monkey:
I’m so sorry. My sympathies.
Mellow Monkey, I can’t offer you anything but hugs and good wishes, but you’ve got all of those.
Esteleth, in this American household, weekday breakfast is as follows:
Husband: Trader Joe’s force primeval bar and tea
Me: either toast or cereal, usually with fruit, and tea
Elder Daughter: at the moment, some kind of Puffins cereal, and coffee with milk
Younger Daughter: varies. Sometimes it’s cheddar Chez mix, sometimes leftover mashed potatoes from last night’s dinner, sometimes cookies, sometimes peanut butter toast. Today she had leftover French fries with cheese. Always tea with milk.
The cats have their pricey catfood from the vet, before anybody else, so I can eat in peace.
The Mellow Monkey, yeah, grokked, but I expect you knew that.
I hope the light doesn’t turn out to be a train. *fistbump of solidarity*
@CD #118, you owe me a new keyboard.
Well, to be fair, my usual breakfast is a bagel with onion-and-chives cream cheese and some tea.
*hugs, or other appropriate non-intrusive gestures of comfort and support and sympathy* for Azkyroth.
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Crip Dyke:
What were the other nine systems of measurement?
What is this “rollover text” of which you speak?
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CaitieCat:
*raising glass*
Productivity! Creativity! Writing!
Waitwaitwait…umbrellas…made of minions???
*paling & looking queasy*
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Esteleth:
I am loyal to the Sausage Biscuit. Mind you, it’s a sad, pale substitute for pecan waffles drenched in Genuine Maple Syrup—but then, most things are.
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*hugs* and encouragement for The Mellow Monkey. I wish I could help.
I can’t.
:(
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OK, this just showed up in my gmail box courtesy of either a dumbass who didn’t even know what his/her e-mail address was, or a bored data entry clerk:
The following is the text of the attached .docx document:
Feel free to pass this on to anyone you might think might be interested.
Cliff:
I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do with that. I don’t know any atheists that would be interested in working for the LDS.
****
Ophelia had a headline that grabbed my attention, so I chose to end (however briefly) my avoidance of her blog to read the entry. Apparently Richard Dawkins has apologized for Dear Muslima.
https://proxy.freethought.online/butterfliesandwheels/2014/08/good-bye-dear-muslima/#more-14993
Tony:
I suppose if one is interested, one could listen in and hear current Mor(m)on dogma. A little bit of oppo research, perhaps. If anyone could suggest more targeted ex-Mormon groups, I’d gladly pass on the same information.
Mellow Monkey
Hugs if you want them.
Uhm, I know I’m a little naive, but I thought Groot sex was a bunch of Ents getting their kink on.
@cicely, #134:
I used to put rollover text in many of my comments quite routinely. I quit for a long time, because no one really notices*. But about a month ago I randomly started up again. There’s almost always rollover text in my hyperlinks these days, but also it allows me to make jokes in the middle of otherwise very serious comments that I wouldn’t want broken up with jokes. They have their own rhythm and mood which shouldn’t be disrupted. But there’s sometimes an opportunity for cynical humor in the midst of these that is too good to waste. Thus rollover text.
*FtB does not now, nor has FtB ever, used a template that makes the text linked to rollover text distinct in the way that a hyperlink does (it’s possible, but FtB doesn’t choose to do it). So you kind of have to leave your cursor in random places on my comments and hope you get lucky. If you get lucky a few times, you will probably get a sense of when I tend to put them in and start to get luckier. There is a pattern.
@rq, 88:
Thanks. Melting into them now. Earlier I wouldn’t have been able to appreciate them.
By-the-by, was that because of the TDome comment, or just on general principle. Cuz I’m okay about my choices. It makes me a bit sad to open up around that, but I deal with the reality of it every day in how I interact with my kids, so it’s not like it’s some long-buried thing that can only be shown by ripping open semi-healed scars or anything.
@Tony!, #136 (re: Dawkins)
Yowza! That’s big news. Good for him.
People using mobile devices cannot see the existance of alt text, acronym and the like, let alone read them.
chigau:
I’m on a laptop and I scrolled all over CD’s earlier comment and never say any rollover text.
Ok. I see it now.
I didn’t keep my cursor in place long enough!
Not every comment includes them, but if you didn’t see anything in #139 (which is chock full of them, on purpose) then there’s something in settings that is making you not see them.
They do work for me without a problem.
I guess I’m more accustomed to rollover text when the text in question is highlighted in some way.
@Tony! –
yeah, it does tend to work better that way. But for planting easter-egg jokes in text, it’s not so bad.
CD:
I counted 9 in your #139. Now that I know that you use them, I’ll probably search for them all the time…
Tony! The Queer Shoop
That might be one of those browser differences or something because I’m on Firefox and see them underlined with a dotted line.
Ditto Opera.
TMM
*hugs*
Crip Dyke
See, the rollover shows up on the home screen (underlined with a dotted line). But it was invisible on the work screen (explorer). Someone’s trying to keep me from reading so much…
As for my #88 to you, well, some of this, some of that – not that you’re sad about your choices, but it seemed like a good time. Plus, in general. Because. Something about your awesome razor-sharp cynical wit and amazing insight, blah blah blah. *strokes CD’s ego*
Mellow Monkey
*hugs* and all the best of luck, may it pay off more than you could have imagined at the moment. As in, everything.
I hate it when I injure myself in ways that are relatively minor but very hard to stop noticing. Constantly noticing things is a huge problem for me (which is part of where my ‘nym comes from). This afternoon, I smashed a 0.84cm² divot into my heel on the faucet of the bathtub. It’s not a huge wound, but it’s right where I put my foot down when I walk. Also, there’s a bruise the size of the faucet opening around it.
In other news, I have attempted to create my first wholly fill-in-the-blank-based worksheet for the English class and will put it to the test tomorrow. The other two worksheets I made were circling-based.
Before I started this worksheet, I spent some time looking at English teaching resources on the web. It made me appreciate our not-so-great textbook a lot more. Even if some of the exercises in the textbook are badly designed and even more poorly explained, at least the representations of people are diverse and a lot of effort was put in to avoid passing on lazy cultural or racial or gendered assumptions.
Random resources on the web, however, are full of unexamined and unpleasant assumptions. Like implicitly associating the adjectives “bossy” or “attractive” only with women. Or making an example dialogue about how boyfriends are boring “because they talk about sports too much.” I’m just glad that reading so much material related to social justice has made me aware of how easy it is to accidentally perpetuate that sort of thing so I can try to notice and subvert it in my own creations.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Azkyroth (#150)
Totally misread that as “dildo opera.” And I’m sure if there was such a thing, I’d hear about it here.
Ah, dildo opera.
A genre still insufficiently valued and insufficiently populated.
Though, depending on the director, any reasonable production of The Transfused should qualify.
@rq:
CD’s ego quivers, shudders, smiles, rolls over and gets some much needed sleep.
G’night all.
Morning animals: how to get your cat indoors.
Native Alaskans create their own video game – with female protagonist and stunningly gorgeous artwork.
Good morning
I still have no phone, but whi cares when you have internet?
Hugs all around. I see that we are in dire need of them
And for a smile: Little one: “Ghosts are people dressed up in sheets!”
I really need to close the laptop and go to sleep, but I keep coming across new and wonderful art. Paul Sizer has some fantastic art on his design blog.
Here is his reinvention of pulp hero The Shadow (as a woman).
::waves:: Hi Esteleth, you have email (I think)!
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ETA Oh bloody hell! Esteleth, my email bounced back. Did I get the address wrong, maybe? Should your nym have a capital letter, or should it be all lower case?
.
.
TMM, also huge hugs. I … think I have some idea what you mean. I have a train on my track. Not sure how big it is yet.
I admire what you decided to do. I send you all the hugs!
.
Hello Horde, my best greetings to you. It’s sunny today. CD is funny as well as awesome.
Lays a huge plate of danish pastries fresh out of the oven onto the table. Vainly hopes that some will be eaten before Beatrice appears.
Hugs to all, especially TMM & pHred . I hope your predicaments don’t last long.
CD keep up the rollover text it’s fun!
CaitieCat great to hear that you seem to be in a good place at the moment.
I can’t remember if I’ve asked this before, but has anyone got tips on washing a two-year-old’s hair? My daughter has suddenly developed a phobia. She’ll get into the bath and get washed but then repeats ‘No wash my hair’ between sobs. She doesn’t stop you doing it, but obviously doesn’t like it. Maybe we just have to persist and she’ll grow out of it.
Hi to everyone I haven’t mentioned!
bassmike – it may be as simple as she got water in her eyes the last time and doesn’t like it. If you can, try washing her hair in the sink instead (if you have a sprayer attachment) and see if she goes for that. You can also buy visors to wear in the tub to keep the water out.
Opposablethumbs, my email is as follows:
esteleth
at
gmail
Minus the line breaks.
And with an ampersand.
bassmike
Oddly enough, while loving the water all other times, each of our three kids developed a fear of water-on-the-head at around the same age (for the younger two, I suspect it was partially a learned response). How we dealt with it was more or less as follows: have a bottle (like an empty shampoo bottle, one that’s squeezable) as a toy, and let them play with it, then when it’s time to shampoo and rinse the hair, use the bottle, with small squeezes and (of course) a large hand over the eyes (this can work if you agree with her to press her face into your palm, the pressure keeps the water off her eyes, and you agree to rinse for a set number of counts (whose speed can be varied according to amount of suds to wash out). Later, we used the shower head (removable, on bendy hose) the same way, not at full blast.
In addition, we did a lot of talking and comforting and explaining (though you can always make it a game of chasing bubbles out of her hair), and it turned out they just hated water on their faces. Even though the boys had swimming lessons (daycare for the win!), once in the tub, water was a whole other animal to deal with, but the more they played around themselves (including splashing each other in the faces), the better they dealt with water-in-the-eyes/nose/elsewhere. Just took some time, and now they know the routine: tilt head way back, hands tight on eyes, count to 10.
[/rambly reply]
“Lord of the Rings meets Visby Medieval Week” http://www.thelocal.se/20140806/lord-of-the-rings-meets-visby-medieval-week
The smith that made Narsil!
Cliff @137, for ex-mormon groups see:
http://www.exmormon.org
http://exmormon.org/phorum/list.php?2 (this is probably the best place to post — does not require sign-in)
Mr. Kitties made it through the surgery okay! They think they got everything. Initial pathology reports of the frozen sections of his surgical margins look clear. There was one awful moment when one of the surgeons called us back and told us that since the tumor was larger and more invasive than they had originally thought, they were going to have to remove his entire bladder instead of doing the partial cystectomy we’d originally planned. Thankfully that turned out not to be the case, but I swear time slowed down while we were waiting for the frozen section results on his bladder. It’ll be a week before we get the final pathology reports, so we don’t know if his lymph nodes are clear, but for now everything looks good. Thanks for your well wishes and support, Horde. It helped during a very stressful time.
Conga Rats for ButchKitties!
Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was coughed up by a giant space cat: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26006-rosetta-arrives–and-sends-images-of-superstar-comet.html
Thanks for all the suggestions about washing my daughter’s hair. It’s reassuring, as we’re doing quite a few of those things anyway. It does sound like something that will pass. It may well be the water-in-the-eyes issue, but she still can’t articulate it at the moment. We’re hopefully taking her swimming soon, so maybe that will help…….or make things worse!
Good news ButchKitties ! I hope Mr Kitties recovers well.
Maddow Show link, with guest host Steve Kornacki.
This segment is 12:16 long, and it starts out kind of slowly, with a lot of history and background. At about the two minute mark, we get into the Brownback story. Kornacki’s analysis of what has gone wrong in Kansas, and how it applies to the death of moderate Republicanism across the USA, is excellent.
The most important point the segment makes is that Kansas put the Tea Party experiment of cutting taxes for corporations and the wealthy into action. The details of how drastically this tactic has failed should put the fear into Republicans and Tea Partiers everywhere. It will take a particularly skillful application of self-delusion on their part to ignore the fact that Republican financial policies guarantee disaster.
As a follow up to my comment #171, I just wanted to note that Governor Sam Brownback’s flavor of self-delusion includes blaming his failures on Barack Obama.
Britain: Government weighing up pros and cons of ebola virus http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/health/government-weighing-up-pros-and-cons-of-ebola-virus-2014073089097
Morning?
*hugs*chocolate*pumpkin spice mead* as needed.
@mellowmonkey *sympathy*
@butchkitties *confetti* for proto-good-news, i hope it continues to be good.
@CD i had *no idea* you put tooltips (hover text) in your comments. I feel like I’ve missed out on years of jokes now. And I’m always on my phone or ipad, so i can’t see them. *sigh*
—–
My 4 year anniversary w/ my husband is in a week and a half.
Which means I’ve been commenting here for 4.5 years. Damn it’s gone by fast.
Hooray and all the good wishes for Mr. Kitties – hope the news is all good and getting better!
.
Esteleth, I just tried again (I had made a mistake first time, of course!).
.
bassmike, sounds similar to what we used to do (wow, a long time ago now :-) ), with talking-through-the-procedure to make sure nothing came as a surprise, and a hand over the eyes. Hope it becomes more acceptable!
Stephen Colbert introduces the Rand Paul-eo Diet
Daily Kos link. Includes several Colbert videos.
Oh, this is ridiculous! Esteleth, I just got my attempt bounced back at me again and I have no idea why. I copied the address very carefully this time, and I’m sure that this one was just as you wrote it!
Should it have “.com” or something else on the end?
(clutching at straws here, because I don’t know what I’m doing wrong)
Butchkitties, that’s good news!
Huzzah for Mr. Kitties! My poor long-held thumbs will appreciate the release, and I’ll be glad to getting back to having hands again. :)
Really, I can’t say how pleasing that is to hear. Fuck cancer.
Mouse’s mom is currently in the very last stages of a stomach and blood cancer that’s metastasized everywhere. Five years ago, they figured she had three months, and she just keeps hanging on, in misery, mindless with pain and painkillers. I don’t know if she would avail herself of it, but it really makes me want to see a death with dignity law everywhere. No way I’d want to go that way.
Now, in Mouse’s mom’s case, it’s (I think) because she’s just too damn ornery to let go, but it’d be a huge relief to Mouse’s Mommom (grandmother, in her 80s, and having to watch her only remaining child go like this) and to Mouse, and probably at this point to Mouse’s dad, too, though he’s been holding on to hope until very recently. The very experienced hospice nurse now attending her says her experience tells her that it’ll be a few more weeks at most. Thankfully, there’s no god to hate me for saying that I hope she’s right, at the longest.
So yeah. Mr. Kitties, thank you, for reminding me we don’t always lose to this evil scourge.
O’thumbs, yes, gmail.com. :)
Daily Kos link to Jon Stewart segment “Battle Hymn of the Republicans,” and a Wu-Tang Clan interview (scroll down).
ButchKitties,
yay for mister and best wishes for his recovery
ButchKitties
May the proto-good news turn into actual good news, hooray for success!!! And I hope all further tests come back clear and clean. And best wishes for MisterKitties’ recovery!
Hooray for MisterKitties! Here’s hoping for a swift and full recovery.
Opposablethumbs, I received your email and replied. :D :D :D
Crip Dyke:
But ya see, I rolled over and over all over your text in search of rollover, but no overs rolled.
At all.
No matter how many turns over I rolled.
Okay, I caught a few of them, that time. Not so much “rollovers”, as “park-your-cursor-over-’em-for-an-unreasonably-long-time-overs”.
Could be that my computer is Slow of Mind.
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rq:
Looks interesting!
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ButchKitties:
Hurrah!
May the final pathology reports be ever in your favor!
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Lynna:
I am confident in their collective ability to maintain both their self-delusion, and their willful ignorance.
Of course it does! Obama stubbornly persists in being 1) black, 2) a Democrat, and 3) black.
(All delivered in exaggeratedly-sarcastic tones.)
(With Optional Gestures.)
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birgerjohansson:
If I were British, and it was up for a vote, I believe that I would vote against it.
I feel that welcoming ebola would just be taking this “multiculturalism” thing way too far.
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Happy Imminent-Anniversary, Rawnaeris!
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Fuck Cancer.
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@ A. Noyd
Sorry about your annoying injury. Gendered unflattering terms are sticking out at me more and more as well. I saw examples while watching Warehouse 13 yesterday when one character referred to two of the women working under him as nagging. Outside of avoiding such myself I’m not sure how to handle it in others. I was considering making sure I use the terms on both sexes equally but someone here at Pharyngula pointed out that will still affect any women more. Though I do occasionally use “hysterical” on the more over-the-top men’s rights supporters that overreact to things like elevator gate. Criticizing selective use in others is still one I’m trying to get more effect at.
@ rq
That’s a sensible approach. You got them to associate an object used in the problem situation with fun and that helped to bridge into a better routine.
@ ButchKitties
I’m glad to hear that your cats surgery went well. I hope that they manage to get all the tumor. I recently had one the best cats companions ever go from liver cancer from FIV, but not time was wasted and he was let go right when he stopped living life. He was a domesticated feral and one of the most fascinating creatures that I have ever been friends with. So very different from most cats. Enjoy all the time you can just in case.
@ CaitieCat
I’m sorry to hear that. Cancer is a terrible thing and seeing my grandmother and grandfather get the vitality sucked out of them was painful to see. I also want to see death with dignity laws get more support. All the little ways that religion tires to force people outside of the religion to do what they do are unacceptable at best. I hope that quality of life was as good as could be expected.
I’m sorry, CaitieCat. Fuck cancer. Here’s hoping that Mouse’s mom has an easy and painless passing as possible, and can make the most of the time she has left.
Regarding dying-with-dignity laws: Can someone explain to me why religious folk oppose them so? I mean, there’s the sanctity of life bit, yes, but at the same time – eternal life with god? Hello? These people are obviously being called by god to be with him – who are these mere mortals that can decide to keep them hanging on for many, bitter, pain-filled years? By the time they’ve been tortured through to their ‘natural’ end, I bet many of them have turned away from god.
So way to go, religious folk – you’re actually keeping souls from salvation. :P
Brony
I believe it was ButchKitties’ husband (partner?) who underwent surgery… (Some people tend to vary their ‘nyms to point out partners – oh boy, did I ever get confused one time with Crip Dyke and Ms Crip Dyke!)
Nah. You can change settings somewhere, I’m sure, to speed it up, but there has to be some lag or just moving the cursor would cause things to blink in & out of existence and if you were trying to read the main text and just moving your cursor to scroll down, that would be annoying. So they have a relatively long lag as default (to defend against new/incompetent users).
No, really. I went a couple years without doing even one. It’s only a month of jokes, and it kind of ramped up, so there more in the last 2 weeks than in the previous 2.
And *hugs* for CaitieCat, along with a third, resounding Fuck Cancer. :(
Oh dear! If that is the case ButchKitties I am sorry. I would have given you a response more like I did CaitieCat. I missed something in the context somewhere.
Love to ButchKitties, Mr Kitties, CaitieCat & CatFam.
Serious hate to cancer.
I so remember that. Thanks for the smile, rq.
@ rq
On what level? There are the social instincts to make everyone like them underlying everything (something we all do on some level), and the specific excuses that are convincing to each other and other religious folks that get laws passed.
Brony
There was context in the previous thread (before your time?), Page 1, comment 13, in case you were interested. And I believe some more context the thread before that, so don’t worry about missing information. It happens!
Brony
Not sure about the level. More from a christian-love (HAHAHAHAHAHAHA) view, I guess. I know on one level that suffering = saintly and Jesus-like, but at the same time… God sent a horrible disease to your loved one. He’s not curing it (though I suppose there could be a last-minute miraculous reprieve with all lost faculties returned instantly). Obviously, he wants that loved one with himself. And these people are preventing that. No? (I suppose this ties in with the issue that if someone gets ANY kind of sickness, is treatment really the religious answer, because if god didn’t want them sick, he wouldn’t have made diseases at all, which in extremis leads to people refusing transfusions and the like… So confusing. I’m so glad for science and for being taught that science works, strong catholic background/upbringing notwithstanding.)
Less on the laws, because if they changed their attitude, the laws wouļdn’t be as much of an issue. More on the personal level, I suppose, then. What’s their logic? If any?
The most basic excuse that I see involves “god decides how everything in life turns out”, which conveniently maps onto “my group decides how everything in life turns out”. Which ties into controlling sex through abortion and birth control and similar. Mother Theresa and her affection for suffering also comes to mind. I see Religion in it’s most basic form as a means for social organization and competition.
The hypocrisy of that lies in the fact that practically everything in medicine is meant to change how life turns out. They can only go so far with that angle.
ButchKitties
I’m glad things went well! I hope you both can kick back a bit while Mr. Kitties recovers. Take care of yourselves :)
Brony
I struggle with this too. I’m the only female in an otherwise male workplace, and I’m not sure how to handle misogynistic language and behavior from my coworkers. I’m careful about policing myself, but on the occasion that I’ve made even gentle or humorous comments about this issue, people get very defensive. I’m not sure how to handle it without coming across as an oversensitive woman, so I usually just put on some headphones. But I don’t help anyone by doing that.
A brief outline of the CatFamily: MyMouse is my main partner, who herself has two other partners (her – legal – husband, WolfBoy, and her other woman partner, FoxyJenny; WolfBoy has several girlfriends of his own, one of whom he counts as a partner, yay polyamoury and braided families!), and my other partner is RayRay, who is a union steward and activist on many fronts up in Toronto. RayRay has her own constellation beyond that. MyMouse, WolfBoy, and FoxyJenny all live together in Baltimore, in the US, while RayRay and I are up here in Canada. MM and I have been together eight years next month, with the other relationships varying from 27 years for WB and MM, to 3 years for FJ and MM. MM spends about 7-10 days a month with me, on average. There was a plan to move the whole famn damily to Soviet Canuckistan, and some initial moves were made (like background checks and such), but then the economy went up the arse of the 1%, and now their house/mortgage is underwater (barely, but enough to mean selling and moving isn’t much of an option). So that’s all on hold.
So there. That’s the CatFamily in a small bag. And no, most of those people (including me) are not furries, it’s just a convenient way to express who the different folk are without compromising their privacy. :)
It’s hard toska. On one level we need to model the morals we want to encourage others to follow, eliminating irrational different treatment by gender (rational treatment being things like socially accommodating the fact that women have babies). That will trigger some pushback by others with different morals who don’t want to change them and don’t want to feel the criticism. When I see a woman complaining of such I try to use my role as a man to break that group category in any other men that might be watching.
On another level we need to break current social habits and I’m hoping that by selectively using words like hysterical on over-emotional reactions towards women (there is still the risk that the person being over-emotional on an issue is a woman, a social/individual conflict balance problem) some of that happens. But this still runs the risk of continuing a new gendered application farther down the road if the problem ever gets better (I would have to stop the habit myself at some point).
On still another level solid tools to create empathy in people that don’t see the patterns need to be created. There are elements of this above but they are not directly targeted at creating empathy.
If it has value, btw, Brony, some folk use “testerical” as an antidote and enlightener for “hysterical”. Y(L/100km)MV, of course.
Brony
That makes sense.
Though I wonder – because terminally ill patients are, well, terminally ill. So they’re going to die anyway. Where’s the religious use in keeping them alive just to have them suffer through magnitudes of pain and indignity?
I suppose this is where the conflict of suffering vs. eternal life with god comes to be. I just wonder why suffering seems to win out most of the time.
re: sexist language
Yeah, since I’ve been a pharyngulite more or less regularly, sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, rapey, etc., language sticks right out of everything. Sometimes awareness sucks (Moulin Rouge, for example, is no longer a fun romantic romp, but a rather rape-y ‘if you keep up the pressure, she’ll say yes’ near-Stockholm-Syndrome possessive-toxic-masculinity type of movie…). But I’d have the awareness over ignorantly enjoying shit, any day.
How to deal with it / combat it? Since I’m not brave, I try to do it on a personal level, one-on-one (got Husband to stop using gendered slurs, for instance), in social situations where I can gently educate rather than be accused of being overly aggressive (though this backfires sometimes, but might still have an effect). What was my line? Oh yes, “One inadvertent handshake at a time”. (Because men in this country don’t tend to shake hands with women, but I’m on a subtle campaign of education in this respect, and hopefully by doing it myself, I can spark other men into inadvertently doing so in the future, thus spreading the action throughout the population.)
Does ‘testerical’ shorten to ‘testy’?
@ rq
The use may be in supporting their social order via tradition. I think that because religion has collectively let go of so many other little things over the centuries and millennia it’s not specifics that matter as much as the utility of the specifics in the current social and political conflicts. They don’t really love suffering (and I try to avoid that rhetoric because it will shut down some otherwise reachable religious folks), but they care about tradition even when at some point it becomes “because I said so” for adults.
As for inappropriate gendered language, it might be useful for women to use the gendered terms on men if it can be effectively pointed out that any over-reactions at such have are not justified. But I’m probably wrong about this (unless the woman has immediate social support in the conflict) given elevatorgate, and I’m only so effective in imagining what it might be useful for a woman to do. Rather any skill I have is more in mentally simulating what is going on in the heads and emotions of the sexist ones that are making things difficult.
It sounds like you have wonderful group there CaitieCat. Canada seems interesting and I have always wanted to visit. I tend to like most Canadians that I encounter online. “testerical” is interesting. I’ll have to think about that.
Oh,CaitieCat, between scrambling around running errands I missed your post about Mouse’s mother – bloody hell but it must be horrible beyond imagining. For her, for Mouse and for all of you in Mouse’s family. I’m so sorry. Yes, there should absolutely be other options – as a lot of people have said (including Pterry, I believe) we wouldn’t force a beloved pet to suffer like that, why the hell must we force it on people. I’ve always been grateful that – awful though it was – neither of my parents had long-drawn-out illnesses. I totally get what you said about hoping the time is shorter rather than longer.
All the hugs to all of you
CaitieCat I’m so sorry to hear what Mouse’s mom, and everyone who loves her, is going through. It cannot be said enough: Fuck cancer.
Brony Don’t worry about it. The context was on a different thread. These things happen.
Reading borderline personality disorder.
http://www.onnovdhart.nl/articles/persona2.pdf
How has my wife endured this? It’s just monstrous what biology can do.
Brony
I’ve personally found that gendered languaged (that tends to be female specific) is treated as a joke or insult among men. They will tease each other about being on their periods or being a girl or something similar. So it doesn’t seem to get the point across in my own situations. I’ve talked to close friends and my partner on a personal level, like rq described, and that works. I’m just too introverted to be comfortable doing that with my coworkers, and on the few instances I’ve tried, I’ve found that I get a pretty big backlash, which made me uncomfortable at work for a couple of days. However, I have been able to criticize other derogatory speech and ideas, as long as they aren’t about women (I guess being a woman takes away my objectivity on the matter in their eyes?). I can address race and homophobia and transphobia and ableism, so hopefully I can still make a difference in some areas without being “that girl.”
[raised eyebrows] Ann Coulter is more of a train wreck than usual:
Uh, WTF? Obamacare? I just don’t …
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ann-coulter-ebola-doctor
toska
Sympathies on your situation, it really sucks. I’m with you, though – using the gendered terms on men doesn’t seem to have the same kind of effect, at all. I wonder if there’s any way to turn them around at all, like “If you really knew what it was like to have a period, you wouldn’t be so whiny about [thing]”, or similar (that’s not an excellent example). Sort of like… trying to show how what they think is an insult is actually completely different? Though if you’re experiencing backlash for just pointing shit out, ugh. I’m sure you’ve tried to think of ways to say things “less confrontationally” yourself. I hope you’re not too uncomfortable at work, though – is there anything like an HR department or something you could talk to? Or suggest sensitivity training? (I have no idea where you are in the world or how common these things are – me, I’m in former Soviet-bloc territory, and HAHA sensitivity training???? Don’t make me laugh.)
Brony
No, I don’t think religious people like suffering. I think they just have a lot invested in the act of suffering (being like Jesus, all those martyrs, etc.) that they can’t always see the cruelty behind their actions – because the suffering is all for the good of the soul of the sufferer, and all that (see: self-flagellation, etc.).
I guess I’m just not really seeing where “because I said so” falls into the topic of dying with dignity.
I think there is some idea (from religious folk) that sick people aren’t capable of making their own decisions by virtue of the fact that their faculties (whether physical or otherwise) might be impaired, and that pain/medication/[thing] is clouding their judgment and not letting them make the right kind of choice (i.e., it’ll get better, it’s really not that bad, etc.). But again, that’s denying agency to the sick person, and holy hell, but religious folk like to deny agency to all kinds of people because god.
rq:
Because suicide is a Sin. Your suffering is something you are supposed to embrace, because God Is Testing You. And I think martyrdom comes into it, somewhere.
Possibly there is also cross-contamination by insurance policies not paying out on life insurance, in the case of suicide. At the very least, those insurers would be Interested Parties, if any form of suicide were to become legal.
(Later)
That’s where the martyrdom comes in. It’s more readily available to the masses, now that crucifixion has gone out of fashion, and stoning is only regionally available.
–
Crip Dyke—I would be one of those ‘incompetent’ users they are trying to defend against. :)
If there are settings to be reset, I have no slightest notion where they would be; and since it’s the office’s machine and not mine, I am deeply hesitant to fuck with it.
I’ll have to see how my At Home machine does with the rollingovers. That machine is mine.
–
opposablethumbs:
That’s because pets are mere animals, hence have no souls, and are therefore disqualified in the Martyrdom Stakes.
–
cicely
Speaking of animals, at summer’s beginning, I wrote up a little vignette about black robobees that I wanted to type up and send to you for critique/collaboration, but I lost the notebook in which I wrote it, which makes me oodles of sad because I’d also added some terrible (but not for public perusal) poetry (to the notebook, not the story!). Which means, more or less, that I tried to write again (a Good Thing?). Either way, once I find the notebook, I’m going to pass the text along to you, if you’re interested.
re: dying-with-dignity
I never factored in the insurance companies, actually…
Republicans have proven over and over again that welfare recipients in the USA do not measure up to the conservative myths. That is, they don’t do drugs at a higher rate than the general population, they don’t fail to love their children more than non-welfare recipients, and they don’t eat out at restaurants more frequently. There are more myths, such as the “lazy” label, but we’ll stick with just a few for this post.
It is Republican-passed laws that usually disprove their own myths. Nevermind that, though, they’ll go right on demonizing welfare recipients.
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/08/07/3468610/tennessee-welfare-drug-test-positive/
Funding for welfare programs have been reduced so much that they are worth less now than they were in 1996, and yet eleven states are spending some of the precious funds to drug test welfare recipients.
CaitieCat, so sorry about Mouse’s mum. Cancer sucks dead bears. I am glad you have family to support you both. I’m here if you’d like a gentle hug or just a cuddle.
rq
Thanks for the advice! Contacting HR would still make me feel like the “girl” who came into their manly office and ruined everyone’s fun (I am the first woman to work in this position at my workplace), but I know that is my own problem with how I want to be perceived by my coworkers. The path of least resistance on these issues is, unfortunately, not the most ethical. Talking about it with people who understand is always a bit relieving though ;)
While I do not live on your hemisphere (I’m American), Slavic Studies was my area of study in college, and still one of my passions, so I know enough to know that you definitely understand how frustrating this can be.
I’ll just join rq in the laugh regarding sensitivity training.
Story I heard a little time ago:
this person has a friend who has a daughter who used to do some sport. She played for a while in US. They are so oppressed by politically correct feminists and afraid of being accused of sexual harassment that, when she had some trouble with weights in the gym, a guy first asked her whether it was ok if he helped her.
Cue “hurhur, weights falling on her and he’s waiting for her permission to help so that he wouldn’t appear sexist” jokes.
toska
The path of least-resistance is so appealing, though. *sigh*
I did manage to educate my co-workers on being racist assholes one time, though. They were pretty receptive, because it was such a foreign concept to them. “You mean giving a watermelon to a black lecturer from America would not be perceived as a joke?” Yeah, that. But I get the feeling that a personal approach is better to get results, and I have no idea how to go about changing the institutionalized crap around here… Plus, as I mentioned, I’m not brave. :)
Can I say well done on being a first? I feel silly about it, while I feel it must be acknowledged, just because of the way the world works.
@ toska
That seems to be what I see too. On one hand jokes used to defuse tension over behavior that they are uncomfortable with and can’t functionally deal with without connecting it to someone other than them. On the other end trying to deny them that ability to depersonalize the tension makes them get crazy. I guess that might be why I feel a bit safer in using hysterical on over-reactions to female issues. I’m still not sure about the usefulness though. You need to do what you need to do.
This will probably where the best results lie.
That’s another thing I detest. The claim that someone is biased because the issue is directly relevant to them makes me a bit crazy. Accusations that someone is biased have to be demonstrated to mean anything. Everyone can speak on things that are directly relevant to themselves and that would negate the person using the excuse from being able to say anything about what they care about themselves.
@rq, cicely
I did not think that you thought that the religious like suffering, that was more of an aside.
I think that they contextualize the suffering with other things (jesus suffering, etc…) to make it a good thing so that they can do the politics to maintain their social group and spread it’s values. It’s a way to counter the emotions that make the suffering seem like a thing meant to be avoided. I think the narratives of religion are a convenient means of taking issues and shaping emotions socially. It’s why you see tons of uses and interpretations for just about every bible verse.
It’s why you see victims of sexual abuse in religion treated badly. They need to counter the negative emotions associated with an authority figure (or just men since they see them as inherently more authoritative) as being a threat so they can either find an excuse to raise up the victimizer, or they can bring down the victim.
The individual and their suffering are sacrificed for the sake of the group. It’s a general thing that I think also applies to other social groups and is involved in problems getting sexual and other victimization respected here in the atheist/skeptic community, it’s just that our narratives have a different source and are less “flexable” (a long term advantage).
There is a level where perhaps (or not) every action is simultaneously a felt thing to the individual, and has a larger function.
Beatrice
… Because it’s just so terrible if someone asks you if you need help, before pulling all that awfully heavy stuff out of your hands. :P Ugh.
toska
Had a brilliant idea: next time one of your male colleagues laughs at someone for being on their period, snicker loudly and say, “At least I learned not to whine / get so emotional / eat so much chocolate / [supposed girly reaction thing] when I’m on mine, why don’t you woman up?”
Maybe it’s not so brilliant, I’m pretty sure it can backfire terribly. (Sorry, sitting at work, writing reports which are repetitive and brainstorming. If inappropriate, let me know, I’ll stop. :) )
Brony
That would fall into my perceptions of religion, as a denial of emotions and individuality and individual emotions, ostensibly for some ‘greater good’. Just doesn’t feel like the right way to do it, though, especially the groupthink aspects. I agree that, as members of rather large herds, we all have some responsibility to ensure the general well-being of the group (within our abilities), but at the same time, I’m a huge fan of diversity, and acknowledging it, because that just increases the general pool of usable knowledge, and one never knows when extra knowledge might be handy.
Anyway, thanks for the discussion. :)
(I still don’t understand why their principles of mercy and love don’t let them see beyond the potential and not-so-potential harm they might be doing by reinforcing these traditions and rules. But that’s rules for ya, I guess.)
toska
Also, my suggestion @221 pretty blatantly reinforces the idea of a gender dichotomy, so I’m sure there’s better comebacks out there. :/
David Barton offers some simple advice when it comes to deciding which candidate will get your vote.
Right Wing Watch link.
rq:
When your whole frickin’ religion is based on a martyrdom, and martyrs are venerated, and martyrdom is to be actively sought out—or your particular sect derives from one using such a system—I’d say this is pretty much what you could expect.
–
Ted Wafer has been convicted of murder for his shooting of Renisha McBride.
Excellent news – it seems the criminal-justice system is capable of upholding the rights of some women of color victimized by white men.
I hope that the news brings McBride’s family and friends some peace and comfort.
Umm, yeah, I don’t think so. Rick Wiles thinks Ebola could be a good thing because it will make all of us, we atheists, turn to god. Rick thinks there will also be salutary effects on homosexuals. Oh, yes, I almost forgot: christians will be protected by the hand of god and the blood of Jesus.
Right Wing Watch link.
I would suggest playing it straight and offering handling a difficult period advice to teh person, but I’m afraid that would only cause
a) transphobic jokes
b) ew, woman talking about womanly thigns (that we first brought up)
That doesn’t look like Comic Sans to me….
Test.
.
Basically because ‘mercy’ and ‘love’ mean different things to them. They use ‘love’ the same way that abusers do, and mercy only refers to eternal hellfire and how merciful god is to not just chuck us all there right now. It’s a deeply dysfunctional outlook.
rq, more oddness on the email front for me – just wanted to let you know that I do now appear to be able to send but only to certain tranches of addresses! I can send to anybody who’s got a gmail address, apparently, but I just tried yours again and got bounced. Sorry :-(((( (CaitieCat, I may have been able to answer you though)
rq
Any good ideas on how to turn them around on their ideas that all women’s duty is to be good looking for them? :)
re: periods,
I’m not shy about topics that make others squeamish, so I did once make a comment (during a conversation about the inadequate bathroom supplies) about the toilet paper in our building being very unsuitable for menstruating women, and I received looks of horror and protests of “TMI!” Though I was amused by this (I’ve enjoyed the power to gross others out since childhood. Perhaps I should be a bit more mature…), I did note the double standard that male masturbation is a totally acceptable topic.
rq, toska et al on stupid sexist period jokes – How about “That’s nice, dear, what’s your excuse?”.
Not that I’d ever think of it fast enough.
Lynna
Even if it’s infected blood…?
cicely
Yes on the martyrdom – one would think, as supposedly compassionate human begins, they would grow beyond that, but… guess not. Religion sucks.
Dalillama
Dysfunctional indeed.
Beatrice
Which basically just comes around to the idea that using gender as an insult, or gender-related things, just doesn’t work without causing harm to someone out there.
@ rq
No problem! That conservative protestant upbringing has to be good for something :P
It’s not the best way to do it. It’s just the way that worked for a long time. And “tradition” is just an anchor that slows the change to better ways. “because I said so for adults” references the fact that the reasons make no sense and often they just want the rest of the world to go along with them by any means necessary and they will come up with any excuse they can to ignore more rational reasons in favor of the comfort that their culture has provided them. Change is difficult and we all want a recognizable, predictable environment to function within. Including social environments with familiar social tools.
Me too. Don’t think any of this are excuses for the past and present. They are meant to be explanations. Excuses are meant to deny responsibility, explanation provide useful information. The social and political convenience of ignoring the diversity that exists in humanity is not only destructive to the different people that will continue to exist regardless of what anyone wants, it sabotages our ability to understand ourselves as a group.
That would depend on the specific examples. The specific reasons seem less important since the narratives are not supported by reality, and instead the larger social goals are the underlying point. The actions and changes the ” principles of mercy and love” are meant to accomplish are the point.
rq,
Yeah, that.
—
I ate 120g of rum chocolate in the span of an hour. I think I might get sick.
Chocolate at factory prices for the win!
toska
“Until you start looking good for me / all those women out there, honey, keep dreaming!” (And make sure not to tell them what would make them appealing in your eyes. If they really ask, ‘not being a sexist asshole’ comes to mind.)
or
“I see you haven’t put in the effort to look good for me this morning. Do better, please.”
re: male masturbation vs. menstruation
Inadequate toilet paper for menstruating women sounds like inadequate toilet paper for constant men-with-penises masturbation, too. Remind them that you’re perfectly capable of leaving bloodstains on all the chairs, should the TP run out. See how that grosses them out (“At least I bother to clean up after myself. But I might not be able to, if…”). TMI? Sure. But it might make them think. :)
Anne
I’m rarely fast enough for any of these comebacks. Which is why I type them out from the comfort of my deskchair and keyboard.
Brony
Protestant? Heathen. (Lapsed catholic, here.) :)
Thanks for all the advice (and occasional laughs) rq, Brony, Anne, and Beatrice!
When I was growing up in my baptist church, they told us that we would all spread God’s word, and we’d individually be like ripples in a pond, but all of us together would make big waves. Well, I’d prefer to make social justice ripples with you guys :)
No problem toska! I hope that it proves useful.
*ripples around the Lounge*
Hey, works for me!
*takes Fourier transform*
rq:
Sure thing!
:)
–
I should mention that despite this,
The emotions associated with an individual religious (or any) person’s reasons for pushing for something are still just as powerful and legitimate. It’s tricky figuring out how to keep the social/political context in mind, and deal with a particular religious persons feelings. Finding the magic words that let them see that you understand their feelings while you disagree with them is hard to do.
Hi Lounge!
****
Beatrice:
I take it this is supposed to be a lot of chocolate? Here’s hoping your don’t get sick. I imagine chocolate doesn’t taste as good coming back up.
****
Brony:
I’ve been meaning to dig a ditch out back and bury “because I said so” and “because tradition” for ages now. If anyone wants to help out, you’re more than welcome.
****
Esteleth:
Good. There is some measure of justice in the world.
Tony
You mean you’ve never puked up chocolate???
*hearkens back to memories of that one fateful Easter, following which rq was unable to eat milk chocolate for years and years and still finds it difficult at times to stomach the smell…*
Also, hiding the bodies of “because I said so” and “because tradition”? I’m so in. We can put them out behind the Lounge shed, after I smash them to bits with my trusty sledgehammer. If that’s okay.
*switches back from OKCupid tab* ….is it terribly ignorant of me to wonder why a person who identifies as asexual would be seeking casual sex? O.o
@ Tony
I buried them for myself long ago, but I’ll help you with yours. Want to say a few words before we finish?
I’m not quite sure why (probably nearly pathological levels of curiosity) but asking why about everything is something that the church could never quite remove from me. I can recognize that there are things in society that are vital and critical for us, but they still need to be justified. For our children and giving them understanding if nothing else.
Simple words to get people to do things are useful, but never without some level of self-awareness.
Oh, I don’t know, Azzy. I think that’s a normal reaction.
I wonder why atheists seek “soulmates”.
rq:
By all means!
That has not been one of my experiences, no.
****
Amusing image of President Obama and his family mashed up with the Incredibles.
Oh, if only his presidency were actually, y’know incredible.
****
I can’t remember if I posted this, but here’s the latest video by Janelle Monae. It’s called ‘Electric Lady’. It’s quite nice.
…is that a yes? I have no idea how to parse this. :(
Brony:
I wasn’t raised religious, but my parents did raise me to question things, which led to me searching for justifications for the actions we take (as individuals or society at large).
It grates on me in job environments that I often have to do things “just because”. I understand that there are times when we can’t expect to get immediate reasons for why a particular action is requested/demanded, but I’d like an explanation at *some point*. Too many bosses and owners like to play the “because I said so” card.
Crip Dyke:
I think it’s derived in large part from the idea that there’s one person in all the world that we’re meant to be with. It’s an example of how much religious belief permeates society. It’s fucking everywhere. Messages like “God’s match for you is out there. Try eHarmony to find the lords match for you today.” I think it also has something to do with rigid gender roles that imply women must have a man, and that their lives are not complete without a husband. Then there’s the idea that reality caters to our wishes. If we believe that there’s one person in all the world with whom we are a *perfect* match, then the world, the very universe even, thinks we are each special snowflakes. The implications behind having a soulmate are often that the universe is very orderly and there’s a purpose in everything we do and for everything that happens.
bleeeeeech!
Crip Dyke:
Another answer to your musing-for all that some atheists reject a belief in god, as we’ve seen by anti-feminists, MRAs, libertarians, PUAs, and the like, a lot of religious baggage remains unexamined even as god belief is rejected. For many people, it seems that atheism starts and ends with “I don’t believe in a higher power”. The baggage, such as the treatment of women and homosexuals, how immigrants should be treated, how government should be run, what we should do with our money, how we should dress, what we should eat, how we should handle crimes, and yes, “what does this mean for the belief that souls exist” remains unexamined for many.
Esteleth:
Here’s an excellent Groot costume. In case you had thoughts on Halloween.
Tony
Yup, that mentality is everywhere – you know, there’s ‘one love’ out there for you, so if you let it pass you by, you will NEVER EVER FIND LOVE AGAIN. That saying ‘plenty of other fish in the sea’ is fucking annoying sometimes, but at the same time, it’s more true than the one-and-only idea. I think it was in the Ever After movie, there’s a scene where the prince wonders about that bit, which was kind of nice. Because it leads to the idea that being with a particular person comes down to personal choice, not some weird fate.
I wonder if part of that attitude is what leads to the shunning of widows in some societies. Like it’s her fault her husband died, and the gods forbid she should meet another man.
Azkyroth
I think it’s okay to wonder, but everyone has a right to sexy-happy-times, no matter how they may identify. Maybe they get something different yet still somehow asexual out of it. *shrug* Does it matter, in the end?
Right, but I’d like to understand, Google’s not being super-helpful, and I don’t want to cold-ask someone on OKC to explain their identity to me. :/
To expand upon my previous, Wafer has been convicted of:
(1) murder in the second degree
(2) voluntary manslaughter
and
(3) improper use of a firearm.
For those not up to par on US criminal law, murder in the second degree is committed when one person attacks a second person with malice and intent to cause harm, resulting in death. It is distinguished from murder in the first degree by the absence of premeditation: a first-degree murderer planned beforehand how they were going to kill, the second-degree murderer did not. In some cases, killing without premeditation is automatically catapulted to first-degree, such as when the dead person was a law-enforcement officer. Voluntary manslaughter, sometimes known as murder in the third degree, is the “heat of passion” killing: person A attacked person B and person B died, but person A could be argued to have not necessarily been thinking rationally at the time or have intended person B to die. It is not uncommon in the US for a person to be simultaneously charged with murder (in the first or in the second) and manslaughter simultaneously, in an effort by the prosecution to underline the fact that deliberately or not, the defendant killed the victim. Sometimes you see acquittal on the murder but not the voluntary manslaughter (which is the jury saying, “yes, the defendant killed the victim, but didn’t really mean for them to die”). Acquittal on both charges is the jury saying, “the victim died, but the defendant isn’t responsible for it, or “the defendant killed the victim, but had a good reason (e.g. the victim was trying to kill the defendant) for it.”
(there’s another thing, involuntary manslaughter, which is “the defendant killed the victim, but this was an accident”)
The firearms charge is a separate thing.
@ Azkyroth
Research? No really. I suppose it might only be ignorant if you are not interested in their personal reasons. Maybe one of the asexuals here can answer both questions (for me too, I don’t want to try to speculate and accidentally be insensitive).
@ Crip Dyke
Metaphorical convenience. Even Einstein referred to god once in a while (as inconvenient as that has been).
@ Tony
My wife is dealing with similar things where she works. The company culture is taking a change for the worse and their attempts to deal with problems seem unreasonable and don’t have any good explanations for what the people trying to problem solve are basing their attempts on. Without understanding there is a lot of frustration. It may be that there are no good explanations. “Because shareholders” is not likely to go over well.
I wish more managers and owners understood the value of explaining the context of requests (orders in this case). It helps the whole company move forward better. It’s possible they are getting pressure from somewhere and can’t or don’t want to take the time to explain for lots of possible reasons.
But I don’t understand the logic of a simultaneous conviction. I get why the simultaneous charges were laid, but why the double-conviction? If the jury established that Wafer wanted to kill McBride, why simultaneously conclude that he didn’t?
Esteleth
That sounds pretty comprehensive, and more or less legally appropriate for the crime. How much time will he get?
rq:
Years ago, long before I’d heard of FtB or the atheist movement, I realized that the whole idea of one person in all the world is meant for YOU was a bogus one. For on thing, I realized that most people forge relationships with a variety of people throughout their lives. Some of those relationships are deep and meaningful, some aren’t. Realizing that I could meet multiple people over the course of my life that I could conceivably well and truly LOVE made me realize that there’s no limit to the number of people I could theoretically meet and forge a strong, meaningful relationship with. Yes, a lot depends on timing, chemistry and other factors, but this planet has *billions* of people on it. Thinking like that made me realize how silly it was to think that out of 7+ billion people, I would only have chemistry with one person. For all I know, in the course of my life, I could truly love 10 people. Or 20 people.
This was also at a time when I realized that the idealistic model of relationships “meet one person and spend the rest of your life with them” isn’t the only way to have relationships. I realized there isn’t a relationship rule. For some people, a lifetime bond with one person is not only possible, it’s what they really want. For others, they can be content with forging a series of relationships over a period of time. Who’s to say that being with someone for 7 years and ending that, only to be with another person for 15 years is somehow wrong? Being with two people that you love for varying amounts of time doesn’t negate the shared experiences and the depth of emotions felt. It just means you had two separate loving relationships. Perhaps you might have more. Perhaps not. I had to consciously make myself stop thinking about relationships in terms of “find that one person”, and think more about “I’d like to find a person to spend time with and get to know and develop something from there. If it works, it works, for however long that lasts.”
Obviously my success in the realm of love is pathetic, but that’s a separate issue.
Italian basketball player: “I’d only listen to a woman trainer if she was attractive.” This, following the news that the NBA has hired their first woman head coach (linky when I get home). No, no sexism here, move along.
Tony
*hugs*
I really wish you could find someone, who sees everything that is special and fantastic in you, and more, for as long as you both want, to share those feelings and wonderful thoughts that you (and they will probably) have. You deserve that kind of happiness, and I hope it comes along for you sooner rather than later.
@Azzy, i have two guesses:
1) would be they identify on the Ace spectrum, but for sake of simplicity just use asexual rather than demi or grey or whatever
2) they just enjoy sex. Asexual=/=dislike of sexytimes
rq
Sentencing is a different thing, and hasn’t happened yet, but probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 years.
@Esteleth:
I can’t speak to the specifics of the law in this case, but it is possible for a person to commit 2 lethal acts.
Imagine I am a reckless shooting enthusiast and I shoot almost straight up into the air. A like-minded soul here’s the shooting, assumes I’m a bad guy, and fires in my general direction, killing my dog. I’m super pissed, though the person now realizes the mistake and drops their own gun in horror. Crying with hands over eyes and unarmed, the other reckless person is no threat. But I decide to shoot them in the torso anyway.
A tiny bit later, the original bullet comes speeding back to earth and penetrates that person’s torso again.
We now have 2 bullet wounds, one accidental and one deliberate. Should the person bleed out from the **combined** effects, the state is still entitled to charge me for each separate act. Otherwise someone chased by a hit man into traffic, then shot in the head after being struck by a car could argue reasonable doubt for causation – perhaps being hit by the car killed the victim? Or at least the bullet was insufficient to kill on its own?
But no, we have a dead victim. An unlawful act was a contributing cause of death. That results in a charge. Another unlawful act was also a contributing cause of death? That results in another charge. You can convict on both simultaneously.
I think what you’re thinking about is the concept of “lesser included charge” where there is only one illegal act that was a contributing cause to death, but this might be charged as first degree murder (if the state can establish this was premeditated or the illegal act was performed in furtherance of a separate illegal activity, e.g. bank robbery, home burglary, etc.) AND a crime where all the elements of THAT crime are also elements of 1st degree murder…but some of the elements of 1st degree murder are not elements of that crime. For instance, 2nd degree if the prosecutor is worried about proving the separate crime that forms the basis for the 1st degree charge.
That way if you prove a bunch of elements, but not all, of the most serious charge, those elements may add up to a still serious crime for which the defendant can be held liable instead of walking away.
Brony (#188)
Yeah, it’s hard to express things equally when people don’t hear them that way thanks to biases.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Azkyroth (#247)
Maybe the only way they can make money right now is as a romance writer (like Mellow Monkey) and need some experience in how fucking works so they can write about it more convincingly. Maybe they’re curious about how other people’s genitals work during sex. Maybe they aren’t interested in sex for their own sake but want to get practice in order to accommodate a future romantic partner who isn’t asexual.
Threadrupt.
Had teeth cleaned today.
Gonna go hide for the rest of the day.
One of the few kinds of marketing emails I let through my spam filter are ones from the Japanese bookstore in my city. They have announcements for sales and author signings and new releases, which are nice to know about. They also sell books in English (and Chinese) as well as in Japanese.
Recently they sent out an email about the “new Haruki Murakami novel,” which confused me when I first opened and read it because the book wasn’t new. And then I realized that the email was about the English translation, and that edition is new. The Japanese edition came out like a year ago, but I read about that in Japanese.
I guess I don’t store information by the language I read or heard it in.
WMDKitty, at least now you’re ready to bite anyone who bothers you.
Brony, in 188, said:
Blockquote stopped working on Pharyngula, although it works elsewhere on FTB’s.
<blockquote cite="I tried blockquote cite= and that didn't do anything."
raven:
It’s been working for me. I’ve never used the ‘blockquote cite’, just the regular ‘blockquote’ function.
Still not working for me on Pharyngula. I just tested Dispatches and it did work.
Oh well, this must be some new magic of the internet. Maybe Pharyngula or my computer is haunted by demons.
raven:
There’s a joke about ‘quoeth the raven nevermore’ in there somewhere…
One more try and I’m giving up.
raven:
Your blockquote worked in #274.
Esteleth:
Good news, indeed!
I was almost positive that in our current, gun-nutty world, it’d be another George Zimmerman travesty.
–
Tony!:
Not even.
I remember this one time when I was a kid, I threw up the better part of a bag of chocolate chips (which I had unwisely eaten that afternoon, as well as a box of jawbreakers). The mess fountained up out of the bath tub (aka, Ground Zero) and hit the ceiling, as well as lavishly spraying the wall. My mother was vexed.
There was no Chocolate-y Goodness involved.
–
Azkyroth:
Did they specifically say they were after casual sex? Or is it possible they’re looking for a likewise-asexual person to share presumably-non-sexual intimacy with? Or a partner for “I’ll help keep your parentals off your back, if you’ll keep mine off mine”?
I don’t know the rules of these dating sites—are they expressly for sex hook-ups?
–
What if there was only one “perfect soulmate” per person?…and yours was living on the other side of the world…and you never had any prospect of meeting them, or even knowing they existed?
Sounds hellish, to me.
–
*scritches&catnip* for WMDKitty. My sympathies for you and your teeth.
At least they should be nice and sniny!
:)
–
cicely:
O.o
the ceiling??
cicely:
Or what if your perfect soulmate dies before you get the chance to meet them?
Or what if there’s an odd number of humans on the planet?
Or what if you encountered them, but for whatever reason nothing became of it, and you never saw each other again?
Yup. Sounds hellish to me too.
OKCupid requires you to check at least one of four checkboxes under the “Looking For” heading; the options are New Friends, Long-Term Dating, Short-Term Dating, and Casual Sex (“Activity Partners” and “Long-Distance Penpals were formerly available but removed, along with a number of other useful features, over the last year). The person who piqued my interested had all four indicated.
*nodding*
The ceiling.
I’m not sure just how that happened, but as the dust was settling post-barf, the ceiling was dripping.
–
@ Tony
I don’t know if I have anything to offer. I found love, but obviously life has lots of other things that can complicate everything.
“Soulmate” is a really short and simple way of suggesting that in the big constellation of experiences, sensitivities, preferences, goals, and other big things that shape us, there is one person out there that compliments you and who you can work through life’s crap with.
A flaw in the concept is that there is more than one person out there that can do this so many get disheartened after the initial powerful couple of years wears off and life’s problems start getting louder in contrast to the affection. Research I have read identifies at least three processes that are important, lust, romantic attraction, and attachment. They don’t all operate the same at time goes on.
A second flaw is that when people think of soulmate they always put a big fairytale optimistic spin on it. But what few think about is the idea of finding a partner is compliments your flaws as well as your interests. We all have baggage. We all are shitty in our own way and finding a partner that can stick around while both of you work on your shit is a thing that most people don’t really get good information on in society. Mostly because our religious history tries to force people to stay together no matter how bad things get. My wife and I have gotten by in part because we don’t really bullshit ourselves or each other, and have a respect for reality and communication.
I don’t really have any assumptions about other people and relationships anymore. As long as people are honest about what they are and want (as best as they can figure out) and don’t try to force anything or manipulate anyone, the only thing I want to see changed are social means for all the different types of folks to figure out what they want and who they can find it with. I hope that you can find that.
@ Rawnaeris
Thanks for that. It’s important to know.
Azkyroth,
If none of the checkboxes worked for me, I might also check all just to be safe, thinking I would clear it up with anyone who answers later.
So maybe that’s the reason?
toska, I think it was you who asked what my polyglottishness was, specifically. I speak French, German, and Russian well enough to work as a translator in each (not an interpreter, but a translator), and can understand Spanish, Japanese, and I discovered the last few weeks, apparently Dutch too, or at least Flemish. Watched a Belgian TV program, and by the second show, I turned off the subtitles. Everybody was speaking French and Flemish, and I had no problem following either.
I can speak some Spanish and Japanese; Spanish I can watch TV shows without subtitles, Japanese I keep the subs on for the vocab I don’t know yet, but I don’t need to look at them much anymore, and I’m starting to recognize different regional accents (and levels of formality) as well, which I always take to be a good sign of my increasing fluency.
Synthesis orally in all is my weakest area; my accent tends to be excellent, but I don’t formulate sentences well in my head on the fly in other languages than English. Russian’s probably my best there. My undergrad was a triple major in linguistics and two languages, and my Master’s was Russian Lit (though I never finished).
I suspect Beatrice has me beat for languages, though, and I’d not be surprised to find a couple of others around here who can do so. They may not (or they may, too!) be able to understand as many, but their fluency in synthesis of non-native language(s) is out of my reach in either case.
I suffer from a high anxiety level, which makes me very anxious about my production, which I ridiculously insist must be perfect. When I was in Bangkok a few years ago, I met a German businessman with whom I had a nice chat in German and English, and then when we shared a cab the next day with his daughter, he said something about my having practically perfect German, and I completely froze up, turning into a mumbling fool. He just laughed, cause I think he knew it was just stage fright, but I’m sure his daughter thought I must be thick.
CaitieCat,
Nope, definitely not.
Really, Beatrice? I’m quite honestly surprised. But your fluency WAY outshines any of mine, so I’m still gonna say you get the edge. :)
If anyone feels like some sniny entertainment, pick is flailing like Excited!Kermit over on the “good day for no heroes” thread. In his latest clear-eyed missive, he says that I of course am Jewish, and this is why I’m defending Israel and the Jews, and diverting him into silliness about religion (like calling him on his blood libel, for instance).
This, the comment after I posted, literally, NO ONE HERE IS DEFENDING ISRAEL. The Foolish is strong with this one.
CaitieCat
Same here. In fact, I’m not very good at speaking on the spot in English either. Writing is much better for me, across the board.
Russian is also my strongest non-native tongue. I only feel competent in 3 languages, but learning languages really is my passion, so I hope to improve upon that. People like you certainly inspire me to keep going :)
CaitieCat
I definitely identify with this. I get ridiculously nervous about making mistakes, and so don’t tend to say much, which of course means I don’t get the practice and so stay nervous. I’ve started going along to meetups for French and Spanish recently and I’ve been trying to make myself just fucking say something already, because I know that if I can get started and relax I’ll be okay, but it’s still pretty tough. The French group isn’t too bad, and I found I was more fluent than I thought and managed to have some decent conversations. The Spanish group is harder; it’s a larger group and the level of Spanish is generally lower, with much more of a tendency to switch to English, so I’m finding it simultaneouly more scary and less useful. I need to find a group or something for Russian, but that’s proving tougher.
People like you and Beatrice and everyone else around here fluent in so many languages make me jealous. I can barely speak enough French or Japanese to be able to order a coffee or maybe buy a train ticket, but that’s about it. Then again, I never worked hard enough at it or really went out of my way to keep up the skills for either language after finishing my uni, so that’s hardly surprising.
Speaking of Japanese and oral synthesis and mistakes…
So, I’m not too terrible at speaking, but I have this bad habit of mixing up the syllables in my Chinese-derived compounds. A habit not at all helped by my hobby of reading fantasy comics and novels. Like this one time I meant to mention “Westerners” (西洋人, seiyōjin) and instead came out with “fairy people” (妖精人, yōseijin)¹. Or this other time I was trying to talk about an “old folks home” (老人ホーム, rōjin hōmu) and only realized a day later that I had been talking about a “werewolf home” (人狼ホーム, jinrō hōmu)² the entire time.
Good job, me.
………….
¹ Not a real term, but you can stick “jin” on anything as a suffix.
² Also not a real term. Wouldn’t a story about a home for geriatric werewolves be kind of awesome, though?
A. Noyd
So, homes for werewolves, and fairy people are from the west. Good to know.
I got nothing. Except these emergency kittens here.
cicel and Tony!
There’s an xkcd about exactly this, that works out the actual odds. Of course I can’t remember the number … maybe you know it?
opposablethumbs: You mean this one? https://what-if.xkcd.com/9/
Reading the stuff above about viewpoints on especially gender stuff being dismissed because of perceived bias, I started wondering if this could be turned back on people later in the day – things like, “of course you think drivers need to pay more attention to bikes, and try not to run cyclists over – you’re clearly biased and emotionally invested in the subject, and nobody should ever make policies or decisions based on your views on the subject”, or “I know you have a lot of experience in this particular problem we’re trying to solve in our meeting today, but that experience makes your views worthless, because of course you would say that, wouldn’t you”. That way, you don’t have to come up with a quick retort immediately, just wait for the conversation to move on a little and look for an opportunity to turn the tables. I feel as though people might start to get it a little bit, and at least think next time they say something similar, but I’ve got no evidence to back this idea up. Has anyone tried it?
Yay, blockquotes now have a blue line to indicate! At least on the white comments.
No one is allowed to speak of soulmates without linking to Tim Minchin’s If I didn’t have you. lyrics
Sorry to refer to conversations upstream, but as it’s something that recently happened I’d like to add my contribution.
*TW for cancer suffering*
As many of you know my father died earlier this year from cancer. It was not a pleasant way to go. To be reduced from someone who ran marathons in his sixties and still skied and dance into his final years to a virtual skeleton who required assistance to use the toilet and, in the latter stages, to simply stand up and put on clothes was a hideous and degrading experience for him. There were many occasions when he asked how long he would have to put up with it. At one point he queries whether the morphine dispenser was prolonging his life or just reducing his suffering. If the option to end his suffering had been available I’m certain he would have taken it.
I’m sure that he would have preferred to be in control of when he died so that he could have all his family around him and say goodbye while he was still in a position to communicate. The whole experience was cruel on him and probably even crueler on my mum. So this has reinforced my view that assisted dying should be available to those who would benefit from it.
So CaitieCat my heartfelt sympathies to Mouse and her family. I can empathize hugely with their situation.
Sorry for the long depressing post, but I needed to get it off my chest.
Fiancee shared this Buzzfeed video:
What Men Are Really Saying when They Catcall Women
Yes, jste, that was the one I was (hazily) remembering :-)
.
bassmike, I so agree – assisted dying would enable a lot of people to choose their time, perhaps to decide for themselves with regard to pain, and so on. My grandmother had often said she didn’t want extraordinary measures taken to prolong life when it was a question of the last few days. When it came down to it, thought, only my mother wanted to consider those wishes; her siblings insisted that everything possible be done. I can see how that would be a horrendously hard thing to cope with, though – accepting that only palliative measures should be taken. It would be hard not to feel guilty, I guess. I’m glad it was only about a week, but my grandmother’s final week was not a pleasant one. bassmike I’m so sorry your father, and you and yours had to go through that. Here’s hoping and wishing we and ours are fortunate enough to make a good end when our time comes.
Hugs to everyone with cancer in the family. It sucks.
— — —
This looks interesting…but did not Leo Smolin say someting similar years ago?
“The black hole at the birth of the Universe? ” http://phys.org/news/2014-08-black-hole-birth-universe.html
— — —
Let’s sequence the DNA! “US cave explored for now-extinct animals’ bones (Update)” http://phys.org/news/2014-08-ancient-bones-wyoming-cave.html
— — —
Nooo! “World’s oldest eel dies in Swedish well at age 155” http://www.thelocal.se/20140808/worlds-oldest-eel-dies-in-sweden
bassmike
*hugs*
Indeed, when there’s not enough of a person left for them to recognize themselves / the loved ones around them, what’s the purpose of keeping them around to suffer even more?
katybe
I’ve never had opportunity to attempt something like that. I will file it away for future use, and yes, it does eliminate the quick comeback aspect of these conversations – which is nice. :)
Thank you opposablethumbs . One extra thing to add is that it seems to me to be a double standard that there is no assisted-dying, but you can specify ‘Do-Not-Resuscitate’ in the event of a heart attack or such.
Heya
Sorry for not being around more, I’m just not very internet-y at the moment
Giliell, hugs are available if you want ’em. I hope you’re getting some creative time for yourself, or at least some quiet to plan the next project.
@ katybe
In my experience things like that bias excuse take the form of logical fallacies. So getting more practiced in fallacious and biased reasoning in general makes one better at responding to them. There may not in fact be a specific fallacy for an example you see because not all of them have been discovered, and people likely make up new excuses to avoid what another is saying all the time. Look at how fast #notallmen popped up, there is an instinct to it.
In my case I started by arguing with creationists a couple of decades ago. You learn to get a feel for what people do when they get emotionally intense and just want to “win” independent of acknowledging reality and being consistent with reality. There is a structure to things like that and you can get used to it in the long term.
As for coming back later in the day, that would depend on the people in question. Some people might consider (or prefer) the matter dropped after the first encounter and might find coming back later as “badgering” or even “bullying”, but others might not. I tend to think about it and come up with responses for when they or others bring up the issue again because there are few examples of dumb logic like this that don’t have other examples elsewhere. Depending on their personality type if they think they scored a “victory” in the previous encounter, they may give you another opportunity.
@ bassmike
No problems here bassmike. As far as I am concerned you can express what you need to. I’ll join others in saying Fuck Cancer. Hopefully we can get closer to a society where we can respect the desire of others to avoid that. I wish that your father’s right to decide if he wanted to endure that was respected.
My grandmother was a woman that did not really get any personal agency in her life, let alone the end when she lingered for four days. Now it’s all a blur of miserable images. Maybe she would have chosen that, but it would have been her choice and that might have made a big difference in how I experienced that.
Florida pastor’s behavior is despicable:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/08/1320026/-Florida-church-cancels-gay-man-s-funeral
Local Florida news coverage of the Baptist church that refused to host the funeral of a gay man:
http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/08/florida-church-cancels-funeral-gay-man/13764107/
bassmike, thank you for telling that, it wasn’t inappropriate at all. *hugs* offered, and I hope you continue to feel better from your illness.
Oh, and those quote above on “badgering” and “bullying” are not meant to deny that badgering and bullying exist. They are only meant to imply the fact that there are grey areas here and that what one person experiences as badgering/bullying may not be that to another. I can take a lot more criticism than many and If someone expresses that they feel badgered or bullied by me, I need to change what I am doing.
birgerjohansson @301:
Following a long eelness.
Anyone have cute images of animals, or awe inspiring pictures of nature? I need to calm down b/c pick has pissed me the fuck off.
Rob:
That was awful. Please make your way to the front of the Spanking Parlor line.
bassmike @298:
You’ve nothing to be sorry for. I’m glad you were able to get that off your chest, and I gladly add my name to the list of people offering you support and empathy.
Tony!
Here’s some pictures of our dachshund.
Dalillama:
That worked!
Thank you.
Such a beautiful dog. I really liked the first image with the cape.
@Azkyroth it occurs to me (unfortunately belatedly) that I should have asked your permission to use the diminutive of your ‘nym. My apologies for using “Azzy” without your permission.
@Brony, 283; are you referring to my #264? Because that’s one of those things where it varies from person to person. Also, feel free to email me at my ‘nym prior to the comma at teh gmails if you want to ask any questions about my grey-ace-ness.
Tony!
I totally understand. I stopped engaging pick because of their frustratingly complete lack of reading comprehension and other bullshit. *passes delicious cookies*
Tony! I’m too inert to go hunting pictures of the Resident Felines. So how about the rest of my silly felt birdies? I guarantee, one of them is excessively silly indeed.
http://anne-d.dreamwidth.org/196906.html
Also too, hugs and chocolate!
Anne:
I love the crown on Queen Elizabird!
Owch Rob.
@ Rawnaeris 317
Yes. I somehow got out of the habit of using post numbers when responding to a persons most recent comment. I’ll change that.
I’ll email you before the day is out. I am curious about this for a lot of reasons.
Tony! Thank you!
@Brony, no problem with the #s thing, I was just making sure I was replying correctly. And I look forward to your email.
I got done with work early to clean before my friends arrive tonight, so I’m alternating between actual cleaning and attempting to unknot a ball of yarn my dog turned into a rats nest. Which naturally is also attached to my most recent crochet project.
Which is a very long way of saying, if you email me before late this evening I’ll probably respond pretty quickly.
This made I larf. Caution! Contains mild to moderate feminism and thought.
For which, obviously, I can only apologise.
Louis
On the “down-low,” I assume?
Louis:
What means this word ‘larf’?
Tony @326: It’s eye dialect for ‘laugh’.
Tony
Did you see the kittens @293?
+++
Went to see what the local ‘highland’* games are all about. Heh. Local strongmen throwing stuff around in kilts – I’ll take that.
* The highest highland in Latvia rises an impressive 312m above sea level. I don’t think it counts…
@ Rawnaeris 323
If I’m too late just respond when you can. No problems.
rq:
Thanks for reminding me of the emergency kittens. I’d forgotten to check that out. Such an adorable image. Is that some type of milk they’re skimming off the top?
****
Albert Ching of Comic Book Resources expressed a mild degree of frustration that Guardians of the Galaxy was yet another movie with a lead character who was a white male. Other than that, he lavished great praise on the movie. Guess what kind of responses he received? If your guess is “people complained about him being racist”, please have a moist chocolate chip or oatmeal cookie that is fresh out of the oven. Even if you guessed wrong, you can still have a cookie, bc I’m nice like that.
As an aside, it provided great fodder for a new blog post. I can’t believe I was once afraid that I wouldn’t have enough material to talk about in a blog. Sheesh, if anything, there’s TOO much in the world that I’m interested in talking about.
Been a bad week for the Redhead. A bunch of things slowly happened, including her high blood pressure getting so it was low blood pressure, and a sore developing on her leg due to sitting for too long in the wheelchair. Possible treatment was delayed due to her parents visiting.
We spent Monday in the emergency room getting evaluated, and since then in ICU getting her hydrated, her blood pressure under a semblance of control, and getting her leg debrided of necrotic tissue. She’s perked up more with every step. Since it was a deep tissue wound, extended wound care will be required. We’re looking into options.
Nerd:
Sorry to hear the Redhead has been having a bad week. I hope things get better for her (and you) as soon as possible.
****
I forgot to mention that the job interview that I had last week has pushed back their hiring til next week. I called on Tuesday to inquire if they’d reached any decisions, and they said it would be Friday or Monday. ::le sigh::
@ Nerd of Redhead 331
I’m sorry to hear that. I hope you have the support you need and that the outcomes look good.
@ Tony 332, 332
I’ve learned that getting the perspective to recognize other people issues (that often do intersect with my own) create the ability to see a lot more than I thought was going on around me.
Good luck with the job hunting. I’m in a similar place myself. At some point I’m going to ask for some advice on that around here but it’s another complicated one where I need to line up all the little parts.
A. Noyd:
Of course, my brain being what it is, I immediately went to, “Hmm…interesting RPG scenario….”
:D
–
Little orange babby kittehs on tippy-toes around a pail of milk!
*squeeeeee!*
–
Ah, xkcd!
Few questions so weird that it doesn’t have you covered!
–
*hugs* for bassmike.
–
Giliell:
*hug*
‘Salright—attendance isn’t compulsory. Just…desirable.
:)
–
Lynna:
I got to go to a surprise wedding today! :)
We were out of town on a college visit, and got back home at 3:30. Message on the machine from a friend said he needed a favor if we got back before 4. Called, turned out the favor was being a witness at a wedding. He had found two people, but I went anyway to take pictures. We all met up at the courthouse, the judge did the ceremony in a little gazebo, and then we took more pics near the fountain in front. A lovely time was had by all. :D
Luckily Hawaii Island knocked the teeth out of hurricane Iselle before it could even waft rain in my direction. Honolulu is very quiet today with most people at home. While we are basically out of danger, we will all breathe easier when both storms have passed us. All my friends on the Big Island are fine, and I’m glad that all the preparations were thorough but not needed.
carlie:
Glad you have a good time at the surprise wedding. I must say, that’s incredibly short notice!
****
dutchgirl:
I’m glad no bad weather came your way. How is Hawaii this time of year (hurricane related weather effects notwithstanding)?
Brony, let me know here when that email is inbound, I haven’t seen anything yet, and so I’m getting paranoid it got lost in the ether.
This almost seems like a Sunday in the Lounge…
Tony! I know, it’s so quiet!
My friends are stuck on a bus in traffic, so I’m bored and ancy waiting for them. And a quiet Lounge means I can’t waste time here…
@Nerd:
Ugh. I’m sorry about that. I know a couple of people who have been through similar and it is far from fun. Pass on the good thoughts to the Redhead, will you?
I just sent the email! I had a late night.
It is Saturday, so bound to be quiet.
Nerd
Best wishes for the Redhead and you in recovery from the sores, hope all goes as smoothly as possible!!
Giliell
*hugs*
Tony
Sorry for the extra waiting re: the last job interview. :( I hope they figure things out in your favour, or, if not, can refer you to someplace that really needs you.
Dutchgirl
Glad you’re okay!
How’s DutchBaby growing?
carlie
Yay surprise wedding! :D
You know what’s weird, though? Used to be, every time someone says ‘wedding’ I’d picture the classic bride-and-groom, with at least a vague resemblance to being in white dresses and suits. Now, someone says ‘wedding’, and about 5 different combinations and variations of people/clothing go through my head – which just means that a wedding is a wedding, no matter who is getting married.
For certain values of “it”, “Saturday”, and “quiet”, at least on some of the more harmless planets they would really be better demolished to make way for a hyperspacial bypass.
Here, this afternoon, is the annual fishingperson’s joust †, were the small traditional fishing rowboats charge each other in duels, with suicidal kneehgits high up on the boom which normally has something to do with the net attempt to knock their opposite number off into the water to be eaten by the sharks. Unfortunately they have shields and mostly used blunted poles instead of harpoons, so you don’t get that charming effect of a blood-curdling scream of agony before they hit the water and are bitten in half. (I guess that’s what makes a planet only mustily harmless…)
Then there is a bathtub-ish race. Actual bathtubs are rare, usually it’s anything which something thinks might float. It most cases, they do float — like a brick. The ones which aren’t bricks float worse.
The idea is to paddle the rapidly-sinking imitation brick down the old harbour and back again, through the sea of uneaten fishingperon’s parts and hopefully-satiated sharks.
The first craft (with crew) which makes it back over the start line wins, and is served a healthy meal of fresh shark steak.
† Video is of a similar event elsewhere in France. The local boats are smaller versions of the ones in the video.
Unfortunately, in this year’s race, none of the
bathtubsbricks sank before crossing the starting line. I’m unsure if any of them sank after crossing (I could not see the entire course, lacking the mildly deranged crowd clearing penguin), but one of them was so impossible to propel the crew gave up perhaps all of three metres from start. They were, literally, going nowhere…The most amusing incident, however, was during the jousting. One of the kneehgits was a petite woman. Her opponent was a big man. The result was more-or-less predictable, WHACK! and she goes spinning off — flying off — to land in the water quite some distance away. Usually, the kneehgits basically just fall into the waiting sharks’s jaws, being essentially just pushed or knocked off, or loose their balance.
House Whip Sends Bible To Every Hill Office For ‘Decision-Making’ Guidance
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/steven-palazzo-sends-bibles-to-every-hill-office
Uh, yeah. Not a good idea. Advice and guidance from the holy babble could get even fundie christians in trouble, if implemented.
Wiccan victory, sort of, in New Mexico:
http://www.readingisforsnobs.com/2014/08/judge-rules-ten-commandments-monument.html
Dafuq? Talk about state-sanctioned religion:
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1568209/china-will-create-own-christian-belief-system-amid-tensions-church-says
Refresh your disgust with fundamentalist mormons here:
http://www.nbcnews.com/video/dateline/53005764#53005764
All 12 segments are available at the link.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/58276431-78/lds-women-eubank-faith.html.csp
Lot’s of nice-sounding, but essentially meaningless word salad in that article. It’s a sign that male LDS leaders are plenty worried about the mormon feminists kicking up a fuss. They are so worried that they have recruited some
faithfulgullible, true-believing women to spin out more garbage in an attempt to placate women that have decided to stay in the LDS church, but who want leadership roles.For example, Sharon Eubank thinks like a Republican when she says that LDS leaders can solve a lot of the problem just by relabeling things:
She also thinks mormon women should work even harder than they already do:
Meanwhile, all this blather is based on concepts like “daughter of god,” “wife of Jesus,” “mother of all living,” etc.
From the reader comments section associated with the article linked to in comment #351:
Live updates from the anti-LGBT, anti-immigrant Family Leadership Summit
Daily Kos link.
Yeah, so not much of a “leadership” conference then, and also not much of a policy or political discussion. More like a religious revival.
Lynna, re: 347. I wonder how well it would go over if Rep. Ellison were to send around a copy of the Qur’an to everyone in Congress, so as to help them with advice from a Big Holy Guy (Just Like Jesus, Only Beardy-er!)? Actually, I don’t wonder, the bigots would be holding a book burning on the Capitol steps within ten minutes.
If there were such a thing as an out atheist member of the US legislatures (is there?), maybe they could send around copies of an introductory textbook – perhaps even a children’s primer, given the confidence I have in many of the legislators’ ability to comprehend it – on reasoning logically.
See Spot run.
See Dick walk.
Running is faster than walking!
So, Spot will probably get there first.
or:
See Jane reason.
Think, Jane, think!
Jane needs bread.
Bread is found in stores.
Jane will go to the store to get bread.
It’d probably still go over the head of at least some USan national legislators (I’m thinking Gohmert, for a start), but maybe one or two of them would gain an insight?
…
Nah, not even I can be that pie-eyed optimistic. They’d just throw them on the Qur’an fire, wouldn’t they? And then say a prayer or something, asking for some of that sweet sweet Jesus love for attacking that dangerous “logic” stuff. :/
Just another day, and another way, in which Republicans make sure the government cannot function by holding up funding.
Daily Kos link.
Consider this a long and detailed dump of the thoughts depression makes one think about oneself.
I don’t want to share the actual thoughts. They suck.
It is so considered, CD. May I offer hugs to someone I admire greatly (spoiler: it’s you)? You are bright, funny, dedicated, empathetic, kind, loving, fierce, knowledgeable, and each of those qualities is something I have great respect for. To have them all in one person is a true gem.
So yeah. *hugs* and a bit of grokkage about the self-injurious thoughts that depression puts in our heads.
Crip Dyke:
My sympathies.
Depression sucks. I feel it is my duty to inform you that all those thoughts that depression is telling you are 100% untrue.
All of this, from CaitieCat’s description of you however, *are* true:
More “pro-white” ideology shows up, this time in Connecticut:
This dude sounds semi-okay until you find out that he attends neo-Nazi rallies.
CaitieCat @354:
Yeah, I had the same thought. If someone did mail a copy of the Qur’an to every congress critter, Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, and Michele Bachmann would not wait five seconds before declaring it a plot by President Obama to convert the USA to a Muslim caliphate.
CD, I offer hugs and full agreement with CaitieCat and Tony. Depression sucks and your inner critic is lying to you.
Daniel D’Addario disses Atheist TV:
http://www.salon.com/2014/08/09/i_spent_a_day_watching_atheisttv_and_it_was_horrifying/
This is the most offbeat news I’ve read today (maybe this week; perhaps this month; not this year):
http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2014/08/09/sdcc-mike-tyson-mysteries-comes-to-san-diego/
Well, once you get gerrymandered voting districts set up so that Republicans are guaranteed to win why would you change a thing?
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/08/08/3469129/new-florida-maps-gerrymander/
Tony – please tell me you were kidding, that that isn’t a real thing. That they’re really not putting a convicted rapist who bit a chunk out of a man’s ear as the name-brand on a kids’ TV show?
Fucking hell. Rape culture? What rape culture? (this isn’t a criticism of you at all, Tony, just stunned disbelief at the news). I guess this is the “survivor privilege” that George Will was rattling on about? Renee Washington gets to see the man who went to prison for raping her become the star of a childrens’ TV show. W00t, feel the privilege.
Fuh. King. Hell.
CaitieCat:
Sad to say, but it appears the Tyson story is true. At least it will be on Adult Swim, so it won’t target children, but still, this is Cartoon Network.
Well, it appears the restaurant that was giving the ‘prayer discount’ is discontinuing that policy:
tip of the hat to Joe.My.God.
I couldn’t believe it when I saw Tyson on stand-up comedy show the Redhead had on, and he wasn’t doing to bad.
Well, yeah, but how likely it is that kids aren’t going to end up watching it? And even if it’s adults, convicted rapist and known man-biter. WTF about that combo screams “hey, let’s make a Scooby-Doo clone!” to anyone?
Notice in the interview, he mentions how it’s not really based on his life, because he never adopted a Chinese girl – then goes into some “ching chong” racist bullshit about how such a Chinese girl would talk.
Of course, the show has a Korean girl as his adopted child, played (inevitably) by a white woman. WOC can’t get a break even as a voice actor. :/
I want to stress, Tony, that in no way am I upset that you brought it up, just…absolutely croggled that someone thinks this is a good idea.
The logical endpoint of neocon imperialist adventures in Iraq: the US is now bombing its own equipment, which it left in Iraq to make Iraqis ‘safer’, and which it is now destroying because the people who took it are using it against the Kurds and Iraqis, who in turn only have crappy old Soviet weapons to use against ISIL’s lovely new USan gear, and so the equipment left to make them safer has to be destroyed to keep them safe.
Smell that sweet, sweet USan freedom and democracy, Iraqis. Aren’t you glad the US liberated you?
CaitieCat:
No worries. I knew what you meant :)
It also bothered me that he made those racist comments.
I tend to agree with you, in that children will probably wind up watching the show.
I want to know who thought “Scooby Doo meets the A-Team meets Iron Mike Tyson” was a good idea.
Heya
Naaaa, I can’t do without all of you.
Just needing all my reserves for dealing with kids on school break (who invented that shit?) and a bad back pain (I think it’s the ischias and I think it’s my beloved armchair)
Butchkitties
Yay for Mr. Kitties and chocolate for you!
+++
I haz questions
Since many of you a re pet-savy: Any idea about what to do with two rabbits who hate each other?
The kids’ rabbits used to live in perfect castrated bachelor harmony for about three years, and now they try to kill each other whenever they share the same space, no matter if the “space” is the 10 squarefeet enclosed run or the whole garden…
Rabbit stew.
Giliell:
Glad to have you back :)
I wish I had advice for your rabbits, but I’ve never owned any. Hopefully someone here has good advice.
blf:
I’m fairly certain that’s not the solution to her problem that Giliell is looking for.
Giliell, my partner is a rabbit aficionado and would probably know…but he is also at work and I can’t ask him. If you haven’t been deluged in awesome suggestions by the time he gets off work, I’ll ask him.
—
CaitieCat
Ugh.
Argh.
*angry monkey flailing*
—
CD
Understood. Massive sympathies.
Here’s something that might brighten your day:
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2014/08/07/artists-paints-a-disney-world-of-lgbt-characters-here-are-our-favourites/
This is hilarious:
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/a7d90ea992/star-wars-jizz-a-ken-burns-documentary
I need to smash something.
Today started with “the problems of Africa are the after-effects of colonialism (including national borders that cut across ethnic/religious lines), poor infrastructure, and being the punching bag of American foreign policy; the solution is for everyone to become Christian.” Also, Islam is bad, because Somalia is the ideal Islamic state, and because Iraq is falling apart.
Today continued with “mentally ill people should be forcibly restrained for their own good, so that they learn to obey.”
Today ended with, “I don’t understand why a woman would feel unable to care for her severely disabled child and mentally check out as a result of exhaustion – isn’t that what mothers are for?”
All same person, by the way.
Ugh.
Crip Dyke
What CaitieCat and Tony and Anne already said, plus additional *hugs*.
Giliell
I guess telling them to stand in two different corners until they settle down won’t work, huh?
Lynna
I still keep misreading LDS as LSD. Weird how that works out.
*hands Esteleth the sledgehammer*
Yeah, I was reading your tweets. :/ Like holy shit, people are assholes sometimes. :(
Esteleth
Ugh.
First person charged under Colorado’s revenge porn law:
I hope more people are charged, bc this shit happens too fucking often.
*hugs* for Crip Dyke.
Depression Lies. It knows all of your vulnerable spots, and uses that knowledge in fabricating its untruths.
Believe nothing It says.
Do believe what CaitieCat said, because she is right. We’ve all read the evidence.
–
Mike Tyson Mysteries???
:(
Do.
Not.
Want.
–
*hugs* and encouragement for Giliell.
Unfortunately, I have no ideas for your rabbit problem.
–
*hugs* for Esteleth; sounds like you’ve got a real winner, there.
–
@Crip Dyke Depression lies. *hugs*
FWIW, you’ve helped me and taught me so much the last couple of years, I can’t even list it all.
@Brony /AOLvoice “You have mail” /AOLvoice
Thanks Rawnaeris! I just responded. I was hanging out with my wife’s friends last night and I wanted to think about questions and such before I sent anything.
Sometimes I see something kind minor-league horrible in the media that nonetheless attracts my attention, like, “Oh, I’d totally watch that show.”
Dexter was almost like that. I think the shock value of it got me through 2.5 episodes. Then I was done. But there’s also a toleration for sexism that lurks in even many of the most feminist of us. We separate out a good movie from its context so that even if **this movie** doesn’t pass the Bechdel test, it’s still a good movie and still totally not sexist enough to boycott, much less to actually protest, because it just **happens** to find raccoon/tree relationships more compelling than woman/woman relationships. Idiosyncratic choice of the director, based on idiosyncratic choices of a few creative comic types. And sure these were influenced by sexism, but as individual choices they’re okay, and what am I going to do, protest, like, everything?
So, yeah, color me imperfect, I do want to see GotG, and last week I finally saw X-Men DOFP, where the women really were sidelined compared to a fucking 1980s comic book.
A 1980s mainstream, big 2 comic book. And I paid money to see it.
But y’know, there’s making a decent movie that suffers in comparison to the relatively progressive presentations, characterization, and emphasis of a fucking 1980s comic book and then there’s Mike Tyson Mysteries?!? starring Mike Tyson as Woody Allen in a fedora rushing off to save the children from clever, twisted villains.
When I saw DOFP, I could recognize it as a good movie *and* more sexist than a fucking 1980s comic book. THGLRPH? No. Just fucking no. It’s that kind of thing that makes you realize why hunter gatherers used concentrated shit as fire fuel.
CD
Right?
What?
Depression is a filter Crip Dyke. It only gives part of a picture. I hope you feel better.
Crip Dyke, I hope the lying depression-dog gets gone soon and leaves you in peace. Just going on the evidence, you are compassionate, extremely intelligent, well-informed, perceptive and exceptionally skilled at writing clearly. Dog is telling fibs.
.
Esteleth, WTF? Who is this gem, this diamond among human beings? Ugh doesn’t begin to touch it.
.
Giliell, I wish I knew what on earth goes on when good rabbits go bad. Will it mean one of them has to be re-homed? I hope not, that would surely be hard on everyone :-(
Hey book lovers:
http://www.themarysue.com/gillian-anderson-wrote-a-science-fiction-book/
****
Looking at the blockquote inside a blockquote, I really do think it would look better if a black line or bar was there.
Oh, I forgot it doesn’t show up in preview.
::smacks himself with a wet noodle::
I seem to be slipping back into the sleep pattern I used when the Redhead was in the hospital/rehab two years ago. To bed about now, and wake up around 5-5:30 am.
‘Night all.
Goodnight, Nerd, I hope you and the Redhead sleep well.
A. Noyd:
If you’re around, I’m curious about your nym. For some reason, it just occurred to me that it when spoken, it sounds like ‘annoyed’. Was that deliberate?
Yes, Tony! it was quite deliberate.
A Noyd has been around a long time, long enough to remember a dominos pizza marketing campaign (which might be unfamiliar to you if they didn’t have dominos around where you were living in 1990 or so.
It involved a clay-mation “Noyd” that kept ruining pizzas, IIRC. Something about satisfaction guaranteed or something, I don’t really remember what it was about. But I remember the “Noyd” was a serious grumpasaurus that tended to be pissed about anything and everything in the whole world.
Did they follow up with a commercial featuring two of them, taking every precaution, reasonable or otherwise, to prevent ruining the pizza?
Tony (#394)
Yep yep. I have sensory processing issues. I’m hypersensitive to basically everything (smell, touch, taste, sound, temperature, brightness, contrasting colors, movement, etc.) and have trouble tuning things out. Which means I’m almost always being annoyed by something. Like, right now I’m bothered by the throbbing in my injured heel (even though it’s not painful) and the reek of dryer exhaust.
The ‘nym is also a reference to how I get annoyed by terrible arguments and people being wrong.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Crip Dyke (#395)
Well, I guess I can’t rule out subconscious influence from decades ago, since I was around and watched a lot of TV when those commercials were on. Though, I didn’t remember what you were talking about until I googled it. (Which is also how I found this article [cw: suicide] about why Domino’s stopped using the Noid.)
A. Noyd:
I can’t believe it just dawned on me as often as I’ve seen your nym before.
Have you had your sensory issues all your life, or was it something that developed over time?
****
As for the ‘Noid, I vaguely remember the character. Clicking the link above, I almost felt the twinge of familiarity, but nothing firm (I’ve never had the best long term memory). I’m almost certain I saw the character as I was in junior high in 1989 and watched a lot of television during junior high school and high school.
Tony (#398)
I can believe it. Lots of people read without sounding out words in their head. I’m not sure if many people do that at all with their native language(s) if they learned to read while young. I didn’t get Aratina Cage’s ‘nym till it was pointed out by someone else. As for the sensory issues, they have been around my whole life but have gotten worse over time.
Oh, and if you want an idea of the extent of what sort of ridiculous things can bother me: Sometimes I get annoyed when print on a page randomly aligns to make a significantly larger white space than usual. The annoyance only lasts till I turn the page or scroll past it, of course, but the entire time my eyes are drawn to the space as it floats noticeably right outside my immediate focus.
A. Noyd:
I didn’t get this until just now. I didn’t know there was anything to “get” until I read what you just said. I kept trying to say the nym out loud, and then I looked at it and it finally dawned on me! D’oh!
I guess part of it is that people have a variety of reasons for choosing a nym, and unless you have some clue, it’s like shooting in a dark. For instance, one of the regulars mentioned a few years back that they finally “got” anteprepro’s nym. That one’s still in the back of my mind. Although in that case, it might not be a pronunciation thing. And of course there are more than likely some people that have nyms that don’t mean anything in particular.
None of this is to say that I’m lying awake at night trying to figure out the source of peoples’ nyms, but as frequently as I comment here, the thought is in the back of my mind.
****
(Azkyroth, you’ve another nym I’ve been curious about)
Tony (#400)
Ante-, pre-, and pro- are three prefixes meaning “before” or “in front of.” Anteprepro will have to tell you if there’s any greater significance than that.
And then there are those strange people who use their meatspace names.
A. Noyd:
What people are you talking about?
::whistles innocently::
@Tony!:
You know, people like Giliell.
@Tony (#402)
Muahahaha.
Well, the thought of going around online with a meatspace name does seem weird to me. By now, I’ve gone by so many ‘nyms, I can’t remember even a tenth of them. Many of them were MMO characters, though. Besides 2-3 mains, I always had a ton of alts and would sometimes spend days coming up with the perfect names for them all. They were nearly always female and I would try to avoid giving them names that ended in “a” or “i” sounds because that’s just so damn common in fantasy naming that it’s practically obligatory. So I’d come up with things like Nachlafel (with the “ch” pronunced German-ish) or Veth or Iminwyr.
I find it less weird to go around in meatspace by an online ‘nym, like I did plenty of times back when I went to comic book and anime conventions and would meet up with people who knew me from online. In fact, I once managed to make a drunken Dave Finch fall off an ottoman at an Image party just by introducing myself by my ‘nym of the time. I’d talked with him in the Wizard chat room on AOL¹, but apparently he thought I was made up by people pranking him. Such is the extent some people will take their belief that women don’t exist on the internet, I guess.
Anyway, I’m off to read for a bit before I go to bed.
……………
¹ That’s how long ago this was. Artists and writers would come hang out there sometimes, often in secret, but the regulars knew who they were.
I like the way Brony described depression:
@ Beatrice 405.
I’ve had reason to read about depression. It’s seemed consistent with what I read, and have experienced.
Good morning
MM
THat would be really nice. So far all the advice we could get was “that soetimes happens”.
opposablethumbs
No, it would just mean that my dad would have to buils a second insulated winter box. ATM there’s the summer box and the little enclosed run and the winter box and the complete garden, so usually the smarter one of them gets to use the garden and the winter box and the other the run and the summer box. But it would be sad because rabbits shouldn’t be alone. Though those two choose to be alone…
CD
Depression is the fucking monkey brain. It’s a rotten liar and it’s evil.
*hugs*
I find it’s often simply a lack of alternatives. And the more you know the more you notice. By now I find it almost impossible to watch anything without getting frustrated…
A. Noyd
In my mind, I always read A-dot-Noyd. This might have to do something with German, because you kind of never use initials the way people say “PZ”.
Does it count that I react to “Giliell” in meatspace?
Hah! New posts in our timezone. Take that, Americans!
Um… I’m sure it’s healthy to sometimes let your inner 12-year-old out.
Good news: I reversed my mood on Friday afternoon about 180°, from utter despair to giddiness, and decided to meet a friend (same from last weekend) on the seaside. Spent yesterday at the beach. First time I swam in the sea in at least 4 years (5, 6? Dunno, I never remember when “last time I was….” was).
Worries are creeping in, which is probably why I woke up at 7:30 even though I’m very tired and it’s Sunday so I could have slept in.
But I’m hanging on the good mood train. With fingernails and teeth and whatever is necessary. When it goes, it will go with wailing and gnashing of teeth, as reality sets in, so that won’t be pleasant.
Don’t blame me. I worry and I panic, and cry and go into “no one loves me” moods when I walk around the room contemplating my own awfulness… and then I pick the pieces up and laugh. I’m weird.
Giliell:
Me too.
Sure, if you want it to count :)
I imagine if I ever meet any of you folks in meatspace, I’ll likely respond to Shoop.
(but only if there’s a nice honorific, like ‘Mr’ or ‘Señor’ accompanying…j/k)
Ok, that sentence makes no sense (about timezones). I meant PZ is in Europe, so posts are going up on “our” mornings.
Beatrice
I cackled evilly with you, about the posts. :)
I have yet to go to the beach this year. We kind of have to go – last year, we didn’t make it out there, and all winter it was “Why didn’t we go to the beach this summer? Now we can’t because it’s winter! Can we go next summer?” at unexpected (and usually peaceful) moments.
Tony
I’ll go with “Lord” Shoop, then. :)
Giliell
I think I actively avoid watching mainstream movies, these days. And when I do, it’s with a vague, disquieting sense of looming disappointment. :(
beatrice
Sending you sunshine so the happy mood will prevail.
rq
Yep, something like that. And then, even when you’ve found a movie that gets women right, you suddenly notice that it’S only white women. Damn you intersectionality!
Tony
Weirdest thing I ever had was on a different forum, where I also went by “Giliell”. Now there’S another nick I used at a LoTR forum. I admit that “Elbereth” isn’t a very creative one, but it stuck. One day, on that “Giliell” forum somebody complained about “Elbe” and I was like “WTF? I didn’t do anything to that person!” Until I realized that she was talking about the river, which had just flooded her basement….
Ah, Ok, ragoût de lapin, then.
Giliell
Yeah, or the lone woman, or just an all-white main cast.
I mean, it’s nice that black people are included in movies and all*, but when they’re always the sidekick? A far more impressive, muscular, interesting and generally awesome sidekick?
(I just watched Pompeii last weekend, and yeah, the black friend was a far better character. And that poor slave, who gets swallowed up by the earth – all he gets is one line of “Where’s Felix? What happened?”, but no search party…)
* Some mild snark went into the phrasing of this phrase.
And a new <abbr title="pižiks“>winter hat, of course.
Hanging around here and learning things that were only incoherent, vaugely shaped thoughts before, or I was not aware of them at all, has spoiled many nice things.
I take it as a worthwhile trade.
(but really, sometimes it would be nice to be oblivious.
For example, I just took a walk around town. Away from turists, there are local bars where locals are enjoying their coffee. When I say locals, I mean men because those make about 90% [POMA*] of guests.
Realization: oh yeah, women are at home preparing Sunday lunch)
* number Pulled Out of My Ass
::quiet cheering for Beatrice’s good-mood train::
.
Yes, this. I’ve also become much more aware of who’s visible and who isn’t when news and documentary cameras catch crowd scenes. The voice you hear is often talking about e.g. “local people” when it’s noticeable that you’re only seeing one specific half of local people.
And also what y’all said about films.
.
In the sadly astronomically unlikely event of my ever being in the right place to walk into a Tony!’s bar, I am totally going with Señor Shoop at first meeting, and Tony thereafter if permitted :-)
opposablethumbs
I see you’ve already pictured it as a world-wide franchise. :) (So have I.)
Well, tbh I was thinking of “any bar that happened to be lucky enough to have Tony! in charge” :-)
But if it weren’t so damn far away, that would be good!
Shit, shit, shit!
Islamic State Killed 500 Yazidis, Buried Some Victims Alive http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/10/yazidis-islamic-state-massacre_n_5665655.html
Religion is soo cool (sark)
pretty cool:
“Carbon dioxide ‘sponge’ could ease transition to cleaner energy” http://phys.org/news/2014-08-carbon-dioxide-sponge-ease-transition.html
Imposter http://satwcomic.com/imposter
Hahaha, poor Estonia.
Morning, Horde. *yawn*
Yes, it is not quite 6:30 in the AM on Sunday morning. I had to get up to feed the cats, and I couldn’t get back to sleep, so here I am. At least I can enjoy the quiet for a bit, as I let the cat out. And in. And out. And in…
On ‘nyms, well, I used what is basically my email address front end as one but I got tired of explaining it. One of those “seemed like a good idea at the time” things. My own boring name with the occasional addition is easier.
*refills basket of hugs, sets out tea supplies, wanders back to comfy chair and mug of Yorkshire Gold”.
Anne
Your cat is a true despot. You’d think being atheist would save you from those torturous early Sunday mornings, but no…
I’m so confused. I thought last month was a super-full-moon. Now it turns out there’s one this month (according to local media). Is there a werewolf among us who can maybe explain to me which month has the super-full-moon – and if maybe they’re all super-full-moons?
(I’ll just mention that last night’s almost-full-moon was pretty darn golden and awesome.)
Aren’t all cats despots? Ours are fed on a schedule, and Patches gets very concerned if it looks like her meal might be a few seconds late.
HAL takes over passenger aircraft? “Who’s flying this thing? End in sight for pilots” http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22329810.400-whos-flying-this-thing-end-in-sight-for-pilots.html
In regard to cats, the shirt I am wearing is full of claw-sharpening-related holes…
Anne
Ours just doesn’t do a good job of it – he’s mostly confused and defies the cultural stereotype that all cats are elegant. Indecision is his key characteristic.
… When an inspector has to specify the driver’s side steerin wheel, I have to start wondering what kind of car was stolen…
g
… unless it was an instructor’s car for learner drivers, with dual controls??? (kidding, I think. Never seen them to have an extra steering wheel, just extra brakes afaik)
rq, your cat isn’t confused, he’s showing you who’s in charge by making you stand by the door while he dithers on the threshold.
Nah, wearing fur is cruel.
Whether or not you remove the animal first.
rq, The cat isn’t confused. He’s just thinking “Not bloody potatoes again!”
blf
But the cat loves potatoes.
Vomiting them up counts as ‘love’, right?
Anne
He doesn’t just get confused at the door. He gets confused at his food bowl. And his water bowl. And outside. And at the curtains. It can’t all be a plot to put me in my place, can it?
Note: I do not actually feed potatoes to my cat. He once ate some peels that someone *points both elbows at Husband* left lying around beside the chicken bones on the counter.
I know dogs are notoriously more omnivorous than cats are (in terms of things they’ll actually eat, that is, as opposed to shred, swallow and promptly and spectacularly throw up (preferably into your shoes or on your pillow) but ours will eat pretty much anything edible (especially if we’ve touched it). Including lettuce and tomato, which really don’t seem much like dog food to me :-\
Rabbity Advice for Giliell from The Partner Monkey
I’ve done the vanilla extract thing before when introducing rats to one another and it does tend to work. They smell the same and that territorial edge dies down.
rq, yes.
That’s why he’s confused! He’s thinking “Not bloody potatoes again!” and you are not feeding him potatoes. So of course he’s confused. Case solved. Ipso facto. Q.E.D.
It just occurred to me that one of the rabbits really is, this time, a Zygon.
The other rabbit is defending the Earth…
rq @379:
A common freudian slip. Even mormons know that LDS church services are deadly boring, so the mind finds refuge in hope of some LSD instead of stale bread as a substitute for the body of Christ.
Mormon history and theology, on the other hand, can be quite trippy. A sizable minority of historians, believers and non, think that Joseph Smith came up with the whole story while tripping on mushrooms. That would explain a lot.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/19/republicans-cpac-conservative-media-bias
Ah, yes, that alternate universe is bigger, and more insular, that we would like to think.
Conservative alternate reality starts with the children.
Extremism gone mainstream in the state of Maryland:
Daily Kos link.
Right Wing Watch link.
YouTube link.
That church that refused, at the last minute, to hold funeral services for a man because they found out he was gay?
It’s getting quite a bit of backlash:
http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/church_that_canceled_funeral_because_deceased_was_gay_gets_hundreds_of_negative_reviews_in_24_hours
Yeah, I wouldn’t worry about it too much, Lynna. MyMouse lives in Arundel County, and said that every Democrat she knows is going to the polls to make sure this jerk doesn’t end up taking an office. Frankly, I’d expect a lot of Republicans to avoid voting for him, because the moderates (and there are, among their voters) won’t vote for that kind of fool in a basically progressive state. The Republicans in that area tend to be executives, NSA bureaucrats, defence tech workers, that kind of thing; not the extremist Moral Majority type.
MD has (as you noted) passed a bunch of legislation that is clearly progressive in nature, and the measures are popular, in recent years. So, the uberloopy Tea Party religiofascist dude is very unlikely to get very far in MD politics, for all that his outrageous retrogressive policies draw lots of news attention. I suspect that, like most of these extremists, he’s only running so that after he’s rejected at the polls, he can get on the Wingnut Welfare train as a persecuted Christian, find a nice spot in a think(ing-forbidden)-tank, and suck at the direct-mail money teat for the rest of his misbegotten days. Maybe get a radio show on Clear Channel, or Sirius, where he can rant for a few hours per day on a massive media stream, about how the liberal-controlled media are keeping him silent because of his courageous truth-telling.
Oh, pet stories. I haven’t shared much of those. But last night we discovered something fun with Little One’s cat, Sa.
Sa has this favorite toy which is really just a window decal that fell off and rolled into a tube. No other toys can compete. Well, that toy got stuck near my comp so I told LO to throw it down the hall. She did and Sa went racing for it. Several minutes later, she brought the toy back to LO. Curious, she threw it again.
We officially have a cat that plays fetch and acts more like a dog than my mother’s dog, Sh. All Sh does is sleep constantly, try to get on the table for food and prefers cat food to dog food.
Little One is playing fetch with Sa again right now. I wish we had some treats to encourage the behavior and see if we can get her to do other objects too. I really don’t know how that toy has lasted so long and am honestly worried what happens if that thing gets lost.
Content Warning: police brutality
I’m fucking furious. Yet another unarmed black teenager was killed. This time by a police officer who wasn’t content that the teen had his hands in the air. Nor was the douchebag of an officer content with shooting the victim one time. No, he had to do it multiple times:
I know there are good cops out there. I know there are people who seek to do their job properly. These people are being overshadowed by those who wreck havoc in the streets. The police brutality in this country is a massive problem. Those good officers…those good police departments need to speak up about this shit. They need to condemn these actions. They need to ensure (as much as humanly possible) that they adhere to the strict code of ethics that police officers are supposed to uphold. They need to hold their fellow officers and departments accountable.
Fuck this fucking shit.
Sorry, I forgot the link to that story: http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Heavy-police-presence–270609091.html
Asking your friend a hundred times to go and do some thing with you, just for her to always decline, until you stopped asking.
Boyfriend appears, she goes and does it.
I’m not going to feel hurt, that’s selfish. I’m not going to feel hurt, that’s selfish. I’m not going to… Oh fuck it.
What a friend does when their friend starts a serious relationship?
It’s hard to get used to the change. A lot of fun stuff is now done with SO. Important things are now first celebrated with SO. Plans for vacations and like are made with SO.
… isn’t that like losing your friend a bit?
Not trying to be depressing, I just want to figure this out.
JAL:
I have a bunch of mini bags of Temptations cat treats. I don’t feed my cats treats that often, so I’d be happy to send them your way if you’d like.
Beatrice:
Hugs.
I know what you mean.
It’s hard to not feel hurt by those actions, and to be honest, I think the hurt is justified.
I understand (hypothetically; again, I’ve been single so long, this hasn’t been an issue with me) why someone would want to do all the things with their new SO, but I don’t understand the idea of not also doing stuff with your friends. Perhaps you’ll spend less time with that friend bc you’re with your SO, but that doesn’t meat cutting them out of your life, or reducing your interactions with that friend to a weekly text. I’d like to think that if I were in a relationship, I’d still make time for my friends (with and/or without SO).
Otter!
Tony,
Oh no, I’m not getting cut out of my friend’s life.
But we were closest friends for so long, and we did everything together. Now suddenly she has this new person taking a huge chunk of her time, and I had to lose some time with her simply because a day has only so many hours.
I feel it’s a bit mean to complain, when I know my friend is really trying to see her sisters and me often enough, but it still feels like a loss.
Beatrice
*hugs*
Oh, easy solution: Superglue it to the cat’s tail.
Extra benefit: Connect spinning cat to a generator and get an endless supply of electricity…
beatrice
*hugs*
I remember how it was when my BFF got a SO. It sucks. I was happy for her, but also sad for me.
MM
Tell your partner thank you very much.
Reintroducing them would be difficult.
they are:
A) garden rabbits
B) at my parents’ (you may remember that this is a place I try to avoid…)
So, scrubbing the garden might be unfeasible …
Flamethrower. Universal solution to (b) Basic hygiene; and (a) Places to avoid.
Place to avoid:
Scary photos at the link.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/58279144-80/lds-expo-com-campau.html.csp
From the many sarcastic reader comments:
Beatrice, I sympathise. I don’t really see how one would not experience at least a bit of loss :-(
Maybe things will get a bit more back to the former balance after some “honeymoon” time …. ?
Ouch! A $6,500 fine? Seems excessive.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/58272659-90/com-companies-driver-drivers.html.csp
There’s a poll at the link, so you can weigh in if you like.
Giliell (#407)
I guess an online ‘nym could become a meatspace name after a while. And now I have to wonder how many people if any formalize such a thing by getting an official name change.
Animated gifs of X-rays of joints moving – BB link
Pteryxx:
Kinda freaky and cool all at once.
I have so much work to do for work before tomorrow, and all of it sucks.
So instead I made curtains. I’ve been meaning to all summer, because the ones in our living room are 11 years old and incredibly ratty at this point, but never found the time. So I did it today, and then wrote about it, to avoid work. :) Extra bonus is that this material is thicker than what it replaced, so we get even more privacy. Bad part is that it makes the curtains at the other side of the room look even worse. Sigh. So those went into the washer to at least freshen up, and then I had to take down and clean the light fixtures, and the fan needed to be taken apart and cleaned, and all of a sudden I’m in the middle of late summer cleaning without realizing it.
(the super easy kind – buy the cheapest flat twin bed sheets you can find, measure and fold over, sew together at regular intervals. This is an improvement over what they replaced, which involved safety pins instead of sewing. I often use fusible interfacing, too, just not this time. The hardest part is measuring evenly, and the most tedious part is ironing. I put a picture up on the twitter.)
Carlie
They really do look great, well done!
You’ve been far more productive than me, today. :)
Giliell, ahh, that’s too bad.
blf
Cover the garden and the rabbits with carrot pudding. That way everything smells the same.
(A friend actually put pudding on her rats to get them to bond. They groomed one another quite happily. It was hilarious and a horrific sticky nightmare at once.)
I hate hospitals on weekends. When I arrived for lunch duty, the Redhead had just started a bit (usually 20 minutes) of respiratory therapy. The tech disappeared for over an hour before returning. Then, we, at the Redhead’s insistence, were waiting for her bandages on her leg to changed. The nurse was waiting for her to have lunch first. After this was sorted out, lunch was ordered, took a while to arrive, and was duly ingested, with the cream of broccoli soup being eaten “baby bird” style (me spooning it into the Redhead’s mouth when ready). I finally got to my lunch back at home two hours later than expected.
I can use my iPad there to keep up with threads as the hospital has a guest WiFi service, but the iPad isn’t that user friendly at times, like when I get a “click” that a virtual key has been struck, and nothing happens in the comment window, pure frustration. And the iPad has a very aggressive spellchecker, that without my knowledge, turned Jmzsil into Jessie. I don’t know what is worse, a huge offering to Tpyos, or having to watch each “key” stroke as it is entered. To add to the problem, since she is under infection restrictions, I’m sitting there in a gown with vinyl glove trying to use the iPad on my lap.
Life after Death by PowerPoint. It had its moments. Lots of charts.
Nerd
Hope things improve rapidly. Wishing you and the Redhead all the best!!
Where are these images of the curtains? Or do I have to be a Twitterer to see them? I’m already a Facebooker, isn’t that enough?
****
Mellow Monkey:
Carrot Pudding???????????????????
****
Nerd:
Stuff like this makes me so happy that the Redhead has you in her life. You’re a good guy.
Tony!, what kind of pudding would you put on a rabbit?
I like my Bugs, Buster, or Babs grilled with salt, pepper, and garlic, with no pudding thank you.
Oh, sorry, you were talking about getting wabbits to bond. I got nuthin’ then. Still *carrot pudding*? Gives the shivers that does (but in all honesty, *all* pudding gives me the shivers).
Also, forthcoming movie about Stephen Hawking. Didn’t know one was in the making.
Tony
I’ll let carlie herself share, though I have a link to the photo. DUNDUNDUNNNNN!!!
Redhead update.
She is still in ICU, probably due to weekend inertia at this point. Her kidneys are fine, her bp has stabilized (near normal actually, shock of shocks), her infection is almost cleared up, her wound is healing, and she is the perkiest she has been in months. They are looking to transfer her upstairs to a regular floor probably tomorrow. Then off to extended care for her wounds, and some rehab, as soon as the social worker can arrange it.
Tony – I think I can link directly, here.
Nerd, glad the Redhead is doing better. Sorry about the ipad woes.
carlie:
Nice curtains. How long did it take you to make them?
Tony – about 3 hours or so. Would probably have been faster if I were a bit more dexterous.
carlie, very nice work! That sort of fabric is really tricky, in my experience, and they look lovely.
Anne – Thanks! The trick is to get the cheapest sheets possible, and then they’re so stiff it’s more like upholstery fabric. :)
*hugs* for Beatrice, and may the Good Mood Train linger on your siding.
:)
–
opposablethumbs: The dog we had back when I was a kid was very usefully omnivorous; carrots&peas, succotash, Brussels sprouts—he’d eat ’em all. *Much safer than the “dump ’em all in an empty saucer in the empty seat” trick; even better than the “tuck them in the window sill behind the curtains and hope Mom doesn’t see ’em” trick.
*big, toothy grin*
–
JAL, we had a cat that would fetch and return the plastic caps from 2 liter bottles. In fact, it was his favorite before-bed pass-time; he’d bring them to the bed and give them to The Husband, who would throw them to the foot of the bed, to be returned and re-thrown; lather, rinse, repeat.
One night, The Husband under-estimated his strength, and the cap went over the end of the bed, with the cat Already In Motion. He caught it—in the air—and I swear he just hung there in the air for a moment, Wile E. Coyote style, before gravity took notice of him.
It’s been…shoot, approaching 10 years, now…and in spite of our best efforts, we still occasionally find one of his bottle cap hoards.
–
Nerd, it’s good to hear that the Redhead is perking up.
:)
–
Nerd, I’m glad the Redhead is doing better.
I can sympathize with the iPad typing frustrations. When I leave out formatting it’s because I’m on my iPad, and it’s just too much of a pain in the ass.
****
First attempt at crockpot beef stew tonight. We shall see. I admit I was lazy, and bought grocery-store “post roast” cubed beef, but as long as it’s been cooking, I think it shouldn’t be too tough.
The smell has been heavenly and driving me mad for the last several hours.
Rawnaeris, I use the cheapest cuts of beef I can get for my crock pot potroasts, and they come out fine. Apparently the slow cooking process tenderizes them.
I know what you mean about the aroma – the first time I did a pot roast after we’d gotten the cats, I started to lift it out to put on the plate and had kittens levitating onto the kitchen table.
The Redhead did a lot of crock-pot cooking when we were first married and living on a graduate student stipend. They were some of the tastiest meals we had, amongst the standard poor fare like tuna fish casserole, etc. Always cheap cuts, and always tender.
Ugh, weekend at the hospital, and I had to assist the RN due to staffing shortages, and held the Redhead while the bandages were changed. Even used a pinkie assist to hold the dressings in place before they could be taped down. Got a look at the big wound. Deep, but looking good, without obvious signs of infection, but in need of good care.
The stew was a success! Husband liked it, I liked, the dog wanted it.
Also, staffing shortages in the ICU is disturbing.
What I found most disturbing was that the CNA had been on the job for less than a week, and was doing ICU, where practical experience can mean a lot in how one handles emergencies.
One of the Redhead’s cousins is a nurse (male) who manages/assists a couple of joint replacement ORs. The tales he would tell if he didn’t need his job….
Glad the wound looks good, Nerd – but assisting in the ICU? Yikes!
Y’all are making me want to try a slow-roasted pot-roast sometime soon. Trouble is, it’s still too hot to have the oven on for that long. :/ But I’m salivating here.
I heard of a room carpeted with rats, but hung with curtains of rats?
Normal-sized, cat-sized, or 40-foot-killer-sized?
And wouldn’t 11yo rats be a bit, um, whiffy by now? Skeletal, in fact?
rq, I’ve never heard of using an oven for slow roasting. AFAIK, it’s always done in a “crockpot” or slow cooker. They don’t get very hot on the outside and — based on experience — aren’t a problem in hot weather.
We had winter stew the other night – red beans, lentils, little bits of bacon, pork and spicy chorizo, over rice mixed with spring onion (OH is a good cook, unlike me) … yum. Northern hemisphere Horders thinking of/making/consuming winter-style stew in August – coincidence? Pshaw. As if. Nope, clearly the Grand High Poopyhead is experimenting with mind control, there is no other explanation.
.
Nerd, I’m sorry the Redhead has been having a tough time lately, though glad she’s on the mend, and sorry you’ve had so much to cope with. You’re remarkably resourceful! But echoing the others, staff shortages in the ICU (or in hospital generally) is a bit alarming.
.
:-) (and that sounds like a wonderful cat. I love the idea of the bottle cap hoards). I sort of still miss our first dog, though it’s been that long too (and we still find the occasional hair in his distinctive colour … in odd places such as inside the speakers of the old (for want of a better word) “sound system” (high fidelity it ain’t)).
Funny, I don’t think either of the Spawn ever tried slipping unwanted food to the dog when they were little (yeah, we would have noticed). When DaughterSpawn came home from visiting the far-flung relatives a few weeks ago, she commented that she likes her dad’s cooking better than any of theirs and – most heartwarmingly – she actually said she was glad we always insisted they at least try a taste of everything when they were little; seems almost everyone she stayed with were finicky eaters in one way or another (despite one of her cousins studying nutrition) and she told us how surprised she was, and how glad she was now that she has got the habit of trying things. Felt quite the thing, to be told by a Spawn that at least we got something right! :-)
.
Good morning Horde. Package of hugs and tea, as wanted.
Tell the fates/pixies/whatever to send me some more work soon, plz? Thx!
blf
I do not own a slow-cooker, or a crock pot, so improvising by putting things in a lidded ceramic roasting pan in the oven. It gets slow-cooked, but unfortunately, requires oven.
opposablethumbs
Yay on getting One Thing Right ;) (in addition to a whole lot more, judging from your family stories in general!).
This is also good news, in that I can continue my Campaign of Terror against the children’s taste buds by insisting they Try Everything, and I will no longer feel bad about it. (Actually, they’re pretty good about it anyway.)
blf – yeah, after awhile the insulating power of them goes down, too.
rq :-)
we suspected that a lot of kids finickiness (not all, I wouldn’t go that far! but quite a bit) is a self-fulfilling prophesy – some adults are always saying “you/s/he/they won’t like that, will you darling?”. If kids don’t know they’re not “supposed” to like garlic/spicy food/”grown-up” food, sometimes they just like it.
We also re-named things, so as to try to avoid their getting attached to Big Brand Names for their own sake: cereals, for example, were always referred to in generic terms (“cuadraditos”, “copitos”, “arroz inflado”) instead of by brand names, so they wouldn’t care whether it was an own-brand or a Name brand. Yeah, well we weren’t exactly subtle … don’t think it did any harm, though :-)
Here’s to the Campaign :-D
opposablethumbs
[long pointless text about children’s eating habits – you have been warned]
We don’t brand foods, either, and honestly, they don’t know the difference. Cereal? They go to the store and pick the nice pictures, or, in the case of Eldest, by what looks healthiest (and he does ask, too, plus, as a bonus, he works on convincing Middle Child if he believes that a selection would be healthier for them both, since MC is pretty much all about chocolate cereals). Other foods? We sort of push the healthy-vitamins angle, especially in the case of garlic in winter. And you know what? They’ve learned to love it all. Sometimes, if they really don’t like something, I give it a break and try it again a few months later.
What shocked me to no end a few years ago was when Eldest came up to me and asked ‘When are we going to eat broccoli again?’ Now they all delight in chewing up the little trees (as the little elves living in them scream in pain, yeah, dinner gets interesting), plus anything out of the ordinary (like food from other cultures, or my feeble attempts at imitating them) get their own weird little backstories – but they do get tried and/or eaten.
The only thing we’ve labelled as ‘grown-up’, really, is alcohol and coffee (because I do not want any of those three on coffee before they actually need it!!!).
And I think it has paid off. Eldest is already sensible enough to know that, going to a party, he has to eat some un-sweet stuff (either sandwiches or other finger foods that have little to no sugar and reduced salt content – chips don’t count!) before he can hit the cakes and cookies, and does so voluntarily. Middle Child knows this, but still has difficulty implementing the practice because of an overbearing sweet tooth. Youngest has taken to rejecting the sweet ‘children’s’ foods in favour of smoked meats. pickles and fancy cheeses. I have no idea where he gets that from.
Oh, re: cereal. We once spent several weeks buying one brand of cereal because they were offering superhero figurines in the box – Batman, Green Lantern, and WonderWoman. We spent about 4 weeks buying boxes because the boys wanted to get Wonder Woman. :( Sadly, we have ended up with an excess of Batmen and Green Lanterns. They were really, truly, disappointed every time we opened that box.
So yesterday I threw out my back while vacuuming the floor. This is the second worst pain I’ve ever been in (the first was when I pulled a groin muscle sitting down in a chair.) I’ve taken some Aleve and basically rested all day yesterday, but I’m at work today sitting in a chair. As long as I don’t have to get up at all, I should be okay… I hope.
I haz disappointment.
I bought a grilled chicken. It’s a rare treat. It’s too much time for a weekday meal and Mr. hates it, so it#s not a weekend meal either, but today we came past a diner and since it was lunchtime anyway, we bought a chicken and ate it at home. It had the distinct taste of meat that got into contact with air while being frozen :(
rq
We don’t do brand stuff either. Or only in the few cases where it really pays to buy it. Like chocolate.
We buy “food-item X”, not “brand-item X”
I have no trouble to get them to eat fruit and veg. Though I need to stop #1 from over-indulging on sweets.