Monday Afternoon Links and Things To Come

by | May 9, 2022 | Daily Links, Things to Come | 260 comments

 

I am trying to stick with the links and preview format for Monday – it helps make up for the lack of creativity in my links. So here is the week, in brief.

Monday – Having enjoyed Animal’s Part II of his latest story (Part III next Monday) you can see RJ discuss… a possible misinterpretation of “hold music”.

Tuesday – ron73440 continues the epic restoration of the Truck with 350K miles. Tulip will introduce some help to a topic that has been grating at many of us – rising food prices.

Wednesday – SugarFree… *shudder* Best just experienced and seek help afterward. Gadfly digs into Minimum Wage and Unemployment. Normally I would have put this later, but at an 1100 slot. Schedule is jammed up, and as with Tulip’s Tuesday post, I wanted to get this in front of you ASAP.

Thursday – Part the Second of “Saving Face” by UCS. [BTW, UCS – I see Parts 2, 3, and 4 of the next story…but no part 1?] R.J. is back for GlibFlick with a fun one… “Black Sheep”.

Friday – The Daily Stoic should help us with all the bad news of the week. And Tulip returns with the “May Pantry Challenge” – see how clever I am to tie that in with the Tuesday article? *struts around Glibs HQ*

Weekends continue with Not Adhan and Chafed, and our TPTB misfits.

A shout out to Nephilium, Tulip (and Tonio) who make sure there are Zooms for our Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

And now the almost-afterthought Links

  • Oh, this is just the start, I am afraid.
  • I…uh…am not sure about this one.
  • In case you thought bandits were still impoverished Gentlemen who proclaimed “Stand, and Deliver”.
  • “If we start doing that, other countries will ask for this as well. The internal market would become full of holes,” he said.

The comments are all yours.

About The Author

Swiss Servator

Swiss Servator

Currently serving at the pleasure of a Swiss multinational. Previously a Soldier, rugby player, lawyer, bouncer, bartender, substitute teacher, risk manager, and cubicle mushroom. Will work for raclette.

260 Comments

  1. Tres Cool

    whaddup doh’

    HAIL CASCADIA !

    • Tres Cool

      “Sri Lanka was Ceylon” isnt as catchy as “Istanbul was Constantinople”.

      • SDF-7

        But now they have a Plan

      • Yusef drives a Kia

        Cylons? you called?
        Didn’t even need to click,

      • robc

        No Four Lads wiki?

  2. Gustave Lytton

    Oh, this is just the start, I am afraid.

    They’re teeing it up in Ceylon?

    • Shpip

      Tamil tell how long it takes you to get a narrowed gaze.

      • Swiss Servator

        How about …now.

        *narrows gaze*

      • SDF-7

        Shoot… I was hoping for a “And here we… Go!“.

    • Pope Jimbo

      Trying to start a pun thread with ‘Ceylon’?

      Swiss will go full Battlestar Galactica on you!

      • SDF-7

        I tried with my link — but Dr. Fronkensteen and others decided they’d rather be a star. Buck the trend, I say….

      • Pope Jimbo

        That’s Adama shame.

      • Ozymandias

        *golf clap, head nodding*

      • SDF-7

        Ok, Boomer.

      • db

        Go get a vanilla soy latte from Starbucks, Millenial.

      • SDF-7

        Now now… I’m Gen X — don’t Tigh me to that generation.

  3. Shpip

    “The single market is a key strength of the EU. We would weaken the internal market if we allowed a friendly [non-member] country like Switzerland exceptions that the EU member states don’t have,” Mavromichalis told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper in an interviewExternal link.

    ALL OUR RULES ARE APPLY TO YOU.

    I guess the U.S. Constitution isn’t the only document with a hidden FYTW clause.

    • Gustave Lytton

      Look to the imposed gun control rules.

    • Lackadaisical

      Looks like the Swiss are making a good choice here. It may hurt economically in the short run, but it has to be better long term. The UK didn’t descend into chaos and destruction after leaving. Interesting that isn’t mentioned much now. Maybe I’m just not paying all much attention to the UK as I did during and just after their votes.

  4. DEG

    Officers arrived at the home and chased the suspect, who pulled the lawnmower behind him before ditching the lawn equipment in a nearby alley and continuing his escape.

    Bad Guy Mistake #23515: Don’t mow the lawn.

    • Chafed

      That’s a very strange story. I’m guessing mental illness. You don’t mow a lawn because you are on drugs.

  5. Yusef drives a Kia

    Yesterday gas was 4.41, like waves crashing on the beach,
    and today it’s 4.33, Reprieve!

    • Plisade

      A reprieve, but for one desperate moment.

      • Yusef drives a Kia

        Cheap gas is just a Memory,

      • R.J.

        Did you get your Kia going? Last I saw you were close to hunting down the wiring issue.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      I predicted over 6 bucks with this began and I didn’t mean in California

    • The Last American Hero

      5.25 by my house in WA. I’m sure the Caliglibs will laugh at my cheap gas.

      • Rat on a train

        $4.25 in Spotsyltucky.

      • rhywun

        $4.49 for regular in Crooklyn.

      • rhywun

        That’s where I got the info.

      • db

        $4.30 here last time I checked. $3.90 7 miles away across the OH border.

    • MikeS

      Still under $4 up here.

  6. Not Adahn

    Dunno if it’s true but I’ve read that the crisis in Sri Lanka started with them banning artificial/chemical fertilizers, which led to lower yields of rice and cash crops (tea, rubber), so the gov’t needed to spend money on buying rice, but didn’t have money because of the aforementioned lower yields…

    • Drake

      The Green New Deal did for their economy what the original New Deal did for ours.

      • Bobarian LMD

        This ends in another world war?

      • Fatty Bolger

        Looks like they tried to become a developed country quickly by doing all the stupid crap that developed countries have been doing lately, instead of doing what developed countries did to become developed countries in the first place.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Sounds about right.

      Probably at the urging of some European NGO who thinks everyone should go organic.

      • Chafed

        Ding ding ding!

    • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

      If our betters have their way, it’s coming here too.

      “And even though fertilizer is not sanctioned, less fertilizer is coming out of Russia. As a result, we’re working with countries to think about natural solutions like manure and compost. And this may hasten transitions that would have been in the interest of farmers to make eventually anyway. So never let a crisis go to waste…”

      https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/may-01-2022-administrator-samantha-power-abcs-this-week-george-stephanopoulos

      Granted, she was talking about farmers in other countries, but I doubt they will want it to stay there.

      • Compelled Speechless

        Something about how the interview refers to her as “Administrator Power” perfectly encapsulates her whole Orwellian “war is peace” world view. Administrator of peace – no many how many bodies have to pile up to get it. I think perhaps “Darth” or “Grand Moff” Power would be more accurate. I will be referring to her that way from now on. She really is the worst kind of scum – the kind of benevolent dictator that C.S. Lewis warned us about.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Kind of surprised that they uncovered the rock she’s been hiding underneath ever since Russia invaded Ukraine.

      • Compelled Speechless

        Unlike most blood sucking parasites, she can’t stay out of the light. That woman has never said no to having a camera and microphone shoved in her face to endorse the full force of THE EMPIRE as the solution to whatever ails the world.

      • ron73440

        Not even one slightly challenging question.

      • Compelled Speechless

        She’s not there to answer questions. She’s there to perform talking points. Like a good little apparatchik.

      • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

        George isn’t there to be a journalist. He’s there to be a facilitator.

      • Compelled Speechless

        In a sane world, working for the federal government or directly for a politician in any capacity would immediately disqualify you from being able to reenter the world of “journalism”.

      • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

        Or better yet, people should just acknowledge that the media are biased and adjust their perceptions accordingly. Just this weekend I had someone tell me that CNN was unbiased, middle of the road news. I couldn’t even.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Absolutely not a single fucking clue about how the agricultural supply chain works and what happens when it doesn’t.

        I hope she hangs.

      • ron73440

        What do you mean?

        She knows it’s Putin’s fault.

        PUTIN!!!

      • Compelled Speechless

        She is the ultimate symbol of the authoritarian technocracy that the elite want to become. All the hubris, arrogance and power worship with none of the competence, conscience or self-reflection.

      • db

        “Someone once asked me: ‘How do you write government bureaucrats so well?’ And I said ‘I think of a King and take away reason and accountability.'”

  7. pistoffnick

    Pantry Challenge

    Does anybody else find “pantry” to be a funny word?

    No? Just me?

    My mother always asks for trouser socks for Christmas. I find “trousers” to be a funny word too. Why are there no dungaree socks? Capri (are the pants or are they shorts? SHants? Ports?) socks?

    • SDF-7

      Nah… for most of us, we just don’t get our pantries in a wad or anything.

      • Tonio

        [golf clap]

      • Bobarian LMD

        Pantrie Raid!

    • Rat on a train

      For the same reason there aren’t dungaree or capri snakes?

      • pistoffnick

        Rat on a train gets me.

    • EvilSheldon

      Forgot to set the alarm, and left the door unlocked. Not exactly the brightest star in the nighttime sky, this one…

    • R.J.

      I thought it was going to be a Babylon Bee parody.

  8. Tres Cool

    “May Pantry Challenge”

    Oh…..panTRY. I mis-read that initially.

    • Rat on a train

      pantry raid!

      • TARDis

        You can laugh, but my daughter raids our fridge and pantries every time she visits. Yes, we approve and I dare say, encourage. We can’t help it. I’ve been stockpiling stuff and she is welcome to clean out the older inventory.

      • ron73440

        Don’t get your pantries in a bunch.

    • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

      Are you in your sexy pantries now?

      • Fourscore

        Do I have to change pantries twice a day?

      • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

        At least once a week, whether you need it or not.

      • SDF-7

        Unless you’re TARDis apparently — can’t imagine what gets stockpiled and then cleaned out in those pantries…

      • Rat on a train

        Does he get your pantries wet?

      • SDF-7

        Just when he thinks about the cans in his granny pantries….

      • slumbrew

        The pantries your mother laid out for you?

      • MikeS

        SLUMBREEEEEEWWWWWW!!!!!!

        /in best Shatner voice

      • slumbrew

        I shall now retire and rest upon my laurels. Truly, I have no equal.

      • Zwak,The Baddest Johnny on the Apple Cart

        That should really be in Costanza’s voice.

        “We are liVING IN A SOCIETY!!”

      • MikeS

        You mean the pantries your mother laid out for you?

      • Pope Jimbo

        sexy pantries

        Are sexy pantries defined as croutonless pantries?

    • Pope Jimbo

      Oh…..panTRY. I mis-read that initially.

      There is no panTRY, there is only PanDo

      — Ancient Chinese Proverb.

  9. grrizzly

    Institutional rules such as free movement of persons and the European directives shouldn’t be excluded from agreements, said Mavromichalis.

    It’s really bizarre that the EU is already back to bragging about “free movement of persons”. There are still travel restrictions (mostly tests) for unjabbed EU citizens within the EU. You can play with the restrictions here, don’t forget to uncheck “Covid-19 vaccinated.”

    • Rat on a train

      They’re more accommodating than Canada.

      My wife wanted to take a vacation to Canada until I told her the restrictions.

      • SDF-7

        If they made it easy, they might actually get stuck with all the libs that keep insisting they’re going to move there….

      • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

        I keep seeing ads for Canadian tourism. I would have thought they’d have loosened restrictions.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        I’ll visit Canada just as soon as I can go see an exhibit of THTWLAM hanging from a lamppost .

      • grrizzly

        A couple of weeks ago the Bruins played in Montreal. The coaches had to wear masks, most spectators had their muzzles on. I’m not sure I would even go there now even if they lifted all the restrictions. And I have NEXUS.

  10. SDF-7

    Brussels wants all market access agreements to include a legal mechanism for dispute settlement, said Mavromichalis. Some sectoral agreements could include regulations such as safeguard clauses, but this should be the exception. Institutional rules such as free movement of persons and the European directives shouldn’t be excluded from agreements, said Mavromichalis.

    I must be reading that wrong — that sounds awfully like “If you want to do business with the EU, Switzerland — you have to let migrants into your country like we do and act how we want.”

    Did the whole morphing from EEC to the EU go to their heads? They think anyone doing business with them is surrendering to Brussels?

    Because if I’m not reading that wrong, I know full well what my response would be if I were Swiss — and it would sound awfully akin to paternal elderberry fragrances….

    • Chafed

      I think that’s why the talks were broken off.

  11. Lackadaisical

    “In case you thought bandits were still impoverished Gentlemen who proclaimed “Stand, and Deliver”.”

    That’s… A very interesting welcome sign: The home of farming and sharia. Sounds like heaven.

    • Fourscore

      “Dozens of gunmen on motorcycles entered the three villages”

      I saw that movie in ’53, Marlon Brando had a motorcycle, I had my brother’s hand-me-down bike with no fenders. Other than that it was me and Marlon, he was the guy with the sideburns.

      • pistoffnick

        What are you rebelling against?

        Whaddayagot?

      • Animal

        +1 Kryten

    • db

      At what point do the villagers arm themselves? The police and military seem to be rather ineffective, if not, er, involved.

      • Lackadaisical

        Sounds like they have to some extent, but clearly they need a better militia system.

  12. db

    “In case you thought bandits were still impoverished Gentlemen who proclaimed “Stand, and Deliver”

    STEVE SMITH FIRST PRODUCE PISTOL
    THEN PRODUCE RAPIER
    SAY “STAND AND DELIVER”
    THEN STEVE SMITH-O HE TAKE YOU

    BY “TAKE” MEAN…

    • MikeS

      STEVE SMITH LIKE SLEEPING, SPECIALLY IN HIM’S MOLLY’S CHAMBER.

      BY SLEEP MEAN…

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      No

    • Drake

      Kick-backs for everyone!

      After they audit the Fed, an audit of foreign aid would be most entertaining.

      • Dr. Fronkensteen

        Nothing to see here. Move along.

    • Bobarian LMD

      Just how is the Big Guy getting his 10%?

      • Compelled Speechless

        As crack rock…..shit Hunter! Is this parmesan again? How have you not figured out the difference?

    • db

      Arms manufacturer executives love their children too, and need to send them to the best universities.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Scott Horton had an excellent rant on POTP last week about DC and all the people who get rich on death and theft.

      • Tundra

        That was pretty amazing. He’s quickly becoming my favorite gabber. Anyone who can put Jocko back on his heels is impressive.

      • Compelled Speechless

        Yep. He’s amazing. Probably the most impressive human encyclopedia I’ve ever heard. He is always prepared with every name, date, location, detail ect… about any subject he’s going on about. I’ve heard him get a few impressive people on their heels, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him unprepared with a counter. His analysis track record is about as good as anyone else’s too.

      • db

        I like what he has to say, but when I read “Enough Already” I was disappointed at his lack of references. It’s not a book you can hand to someone who hasn’t already decided the War on Terror was a bad idea and expect them to buy what he’s saying without documented references.

      • Tundra

        And yet he rarely gets challenged. Why is that, do you think?

      • db

        I’m not saying he’s wrong, but his audience is firmly already in the anti-war camp. It gets sort of echo-chambery there.

      • db

        By that I mean he needs to be heard by a wider audience. Some of the limitation there might be because he’s so good and right the opposition know they can’t stand up to his facts and rhetoric, so they don’t let him have their much larger platforms.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        That is exactly it. Horton looks like a meth-addled hillbilly, but he regularly hands people their asses in debates. Ask Bill Kristol about the pounding he got.

        The regime does not debate. They assert and slander. Steve Kirsch has been offering millions to debate anyone on the vaccines, no takers.

      • The Last American Hero

        He told us Russia won’t invade Ukraine.

      • Compelled Speechless

        That’s exactly why I said his track record is as good as anybody. Nobody is right 100%. He copped to being wrong about it immediately. What other pundits do that?

    • rhywun

      Would Democrats care to explain to the American people why we are pouring billions of dollars that we don’t have into a war that does not concern us, thereby posing a significant danger to us – and without the propaganda?

      • Fatty Bolger

        Not concerning us is what makes it so appealing to them. Wars where we actually have an interest are icky.

      • grrizzly

        Only a Putin bot would pose such a question. Real Americans never question the current thing.

      • Rat on a train

        They would be willing to reduce the amount if they get to keep it all.

    • Ted S.

      Won’t open for me; I get a “secure connection failed” error.

      Does it actually link to Scott Morrison or Anthony Albanese threatening to invade?

      • Chafed

        You aren’t missing anything. It’s an opinion piece from someone I’ve never heard of.

      • grrizzly

        Based on this article from RT.

    • SDF-7

      Yeah — a naval battle in the Eastern Solomons doesn’t sound like a good enterprise or anything.

      • Rat on a train

        I know a spot the Australians should be familiar with.

      • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

        I see what you did there.

    • R C Dean

      Well, as I vaguely recall, the Solomon Islands are well positioned to interdict trade to/from Australia. Still seems a bit of an overreaction, though.

      I don’t recall Ukraine ever submitting an application to join NATO. Ukraine was pretty solidly unaligned until Russia started getting frisky in Crimea and the Donbas (and no, I don’t think the autnomy/secession movements were even close to purely internal). But unravelling a tit-for-tat escalation is a fool’s game. Near as I can tell, Ukraine, Russia, NATO, and the US are all being run by idiots. Ukraine should never have played footsie with NATO, Russia should have kept its dick in its pants, and the US/NATO should have done the needful to keep them both from going off the rails, as best they could. But, hey, Raytheon has stockholders and lobbyists to feed, so . . . .

      • ron73440

        Ukraine, Russia, NATO, and the US are all being run by idiots

        This distills the problem to its most basic explanation.

      • Drake

        As soon as Blinken became Sec State last year, the Ukraine NATO talk went into high gear.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Ukraine was pretty solidly unaligned until Russia started getting frisky in Crimea and the Donbas

        Ukraine has been a member of PfP, NATO’s development league/hospitality suite since 1994 (so has Russia).

  13. Lackadaisical

    Thanks to those mentioning a spring house in the last thread. Never contemplated they method of storage and cooling. Makes sense, like a natural geothermal system.

    • R C Dean

      Redundant systems, backup plans, etc. are never a bad thing. But consider: a 50% collapse in GDP would roll us all the way back to the economy we had in the ’80s. At a macro level, that’s not exactly subsistence level.

      • db

        Maybe, but is that adjusted for population?

      • R C Dean

        Roughly. Our GDP was half what it is now, adjusted for inflation, in the mid-90s. I haven’t done the math to get to per-capita, inflation-adjusted GDP ex government borrowing. But I think that might move it from late 80s to maybe early 80s.

      • R C Dean

        Excellent. Thanks. I wonder what the ex-government borrowing numbers would look like.

      • robc

        Even with a 50% drop in GDP, we would still have access to smartphones much cheaper than in the late 1970s.

        Its a really hard calculation to make.

      • kinnath

        Did you ever finish Arcane?

      • R C Dean

        I did. Really good. I enjoyed the way every character, even the “bad guys”, was a mixed bag of flaws and understandable, at least, aspirations. Did not see the ending coming. And it was just gorgeous. Can recommend.

      • Compelled Speechless

        I think Arcane is the only new show in the last year or more that I really enjoyed. There were actual characters that existed for reasons beyond just checking boxes. There’s nuance and letting the audience decide how they feel about characters and situations. Now that it’s successful, I’m sure the woke execs at Netflix will smother it with their “notes” and fix it by putting “the message” front and center. Because we can’t have one single thing that isn’t about the “the message”.

      • slumbrew

        I started Arcane but got sidetracked for $reasons – I’ll get back to it, for sure.

        I’ve enjoyed Upload quite a bit – just starting season 2.

        I’ve laughed out loud, repeatedly, which is always a good sign. There’s a bit of wokeness, of course, but not so much that it detracts from the enjoyment.

      • Compelled Speechless

        That’s in my queue – that’s up to about 50 shows now…. BTW, Anyone who isn’t watching Barry on HBO is wasting their life. It may be the darkest humor I’ve ever seen. It’s also mean to Hollywood in a way that almost seems genuinely disdainful of it. Very Glib.

      • slumbrew

        I’ve watched Barry – I just kinda hate everyone on it (I know, I’m supposed to).

        Other than NoHo Hank, of course. He’s the best.

      • kinnath

        I watched a season and a half of Barry. I recognized everything that was good about it, but I just didn’t care enough to keep watching it.

      • kinnath

        I’m glad you liked it. I loved it for all the reasons you mentioned.

    • TARDis

      Late!

    • Tundra

      Refresh, Tundra!

      • Bobarian LMD

        Time to change your pantries?

  14. grrizzly

    An American in Russia.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Still so many dipshits who believe he’s in Russia by choice.

    • DEG

      Quote from the above article:

      An interesting thing happened in Croydon on Saturday. At a special school district meeting, 377 people decided that the voters who attended the annual meeting in March hadn’t offered enough charity ($800,000) to parents of school-aged children, so they gathered to extort more (an extra $900,000) through the threat of force (give us the money, or we’ll take your house).

      One parent, who had already been offered $27,000 for tuition for his children at nearby public or private schools, insisted that he needed an additional $27,000. After the end of the meeting, he said that he had ‘never been prouder’ of his town.

      He didn’t seem very concerned about the people from whom the money would be taken, or that over the course of their schooling, his children would cost the town more than $700,000.

    • DEG

      I tried posting this link in an anchor tag with the quoted text in my other comment. I received a 500 internal server error.

    • db

      heh. I wondered earlier how it could possibly be that there were only two “no” votes at that meeting. This article offers an explanation. I didn’t realize there was an organized boycott, nor that it would work so well.

      The problem with a boycott of a vote like this is that you are guaranteed to lose. And it can be taken as a signal that you expected to lose anyway (as evidenced by the article’s saying the boycott covered 40% of the registered voters).

  15. Shpip

    Morning link follow-up, since I overslept after running aroung Daytona and Sebring all weekend…

    In Pope Jimbo’s Daily Ray of Sunshine, a Toronto Blue Jays fan catches a home run off the bat of the Yankees’ Aaron Judge, celebrates a little, then turns and hands the ball to a very young Yankees fan wearing a Judge t-shirt.

    But wait, it gets better! Since the game announcers had noticed and acknowledged the fans interactions, the front office made some fast moves, and the home run ball kid got to meet his hero.

    • SDF-7

      Nice. Reminds me of one of the memorable moments from F1 in 2016.

    • Pope Jimbo

      Huh. I was on the fence about making that a DROS because:

      1) The boy cried. There’s no crying in baseball!
      2) Yankees

      Then I realized the little crybaby was a Yankees fan and I thought that things made as much sense as they could.

      Now, introducing the kid to an actual Yankee? Where are the anti-groomers when you need them? This seems very suspect to me.

    • rhywun

      Mask theater. ?

  16. Necron 99

    Last week I announced the expected arrival of my second grandchild, second grandson. Happy to announce he was born on May 4th, 6 lbs, 7 oz and 18.75 inches long and a head full of red hair. Mom and baby are doing great and at home. Thanks for all your well wishes, I’ve been busy watching the other grandson but wanted to make my proud announcement here.

    Cheers, all.

    • Tundra

      Sorry about the ginger, but otherwise CONGRATS!

      Enjoy, Gramps!

      • Necron 99

        Thanks, maybe I’ll talk him into a roofing job. (evil laugh)

      • Tundra

        Niiiiice.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Us gingers are the best!

        You can’t be the One True Libertarian if you have a soul.

        *I hope you are teaching Grandson #1 the responsibilities that go along with being the Oldest Kid. (My daughter still has the bully on the two Altar Boys because of the random beatings she put on them when they didn’t obey the Will of the Oldest).

      • Zwak,The Baddest Johnny on the Apple Cart

        Hay! We do have souls, all the rumors are false. It is just the fake reds that have no soul, like Peppermint Psaki!

      • Gender Traitor

        If I was born a real red but have been driven by circumstances to become a fake red, do I still have a soul? ?‍?

      • MikeS

        It’s my understanding that if a redhead has a soul it’s because they took it from someone else.

    • Pope Jimbo

      So what you are saying is that you’ve been a Granny Fucker for some time?

      • SDF-7

        Must be always getting into her pantries.

      • Compelled Speechless

        I know there was always something delicious waiting for me in my granny’s pantries.

      • Tundra

        ?

      • Necron 99

        Hey, gas ain’t cheap.

    • DEG

      Excellent!

    • Count Potato

      Congrats!

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Congratulations on the soulless grandchild!

  17. UnCivilServant

    Thursday – Part the Second of “Saving Face” by UCS. [BTW, UCS – I see Parts 2, 3, and 4 of the next story

    I’m afraid that’s bnecause Tonio already scheduled Part One Back on April 8

    • UnCivilServant

      So… Switzy left before I got here?

  18. Evan from Evansville

    Up WAAAAAY too early. Having fun in my hotel. I’ve got about 4.5 hours left here before I need to bounce back to Lady’s. She wants food. This is an old routine for us. I am going to smoke up in the hotel and…probably make an excuse to go to the store and more legal and illicit substances to go with my vacation.

    I think I can technically leave today if I really wanted to. Midnight Run and avoid any possibility of…issues surrounding me. But I kinda like it here. I can’t just disappear on Lady and my other friends. I should. But I’m safe and secure. It’s kinda nice. The world is a strange place. Best to look on the bright side. Otherwise you spiral downward.

    I’m a little speck in Saturn’s rings, spiraling around, adrift, but with a constant gravitational pull towards the center, the goal, which is to again be on my own. I miss kitty. Stability is nice. So is Lady. I want to be my own swirl. Right now, though, every bit of assistance is crucial. I’ll soon spiral off into my own galaxy. For now, holding pattern continues. More like “aiming” and “planning” rather than “holding,” though that’s a part of it.

    Life is odd. Look for the best in everything. To do otherwise is wasteful. I plan on something interesting to happen today.

    • UnCivilServant

      I think I can technically leave today if I really wanted to.

      Does that mean the legal shenanigans have run their course? I’m still worried.

      • Evan from Evansville

        I am confused about it, as well. I went to immigration on Friday and they said, which I have paperwork for, is that I’m free to leave as of tomorrow. I have police papers, but no court date has been set and I’m guessing that my boss doesn’t at all want to go through with it. Bluster to avoid paying her debts.

        Today, I gotta relocate back to Lady’s, but checking in with immigration is probably my biggest goal for tomorrow. I kinda want to stay for my own reasons, but I also know that I should bounce ASAP, just in case. I’m confused and adrift. If I buy a ticket, there’s a solid chance that they will stop me at the airport and put me in a box, with x amount of money wasted. I’d like to avoid all of that.

        This is yet another odd chapter/scene in Evan: The Movie. Sin City Jessica Alba (same birthday!) will be appearing as my love interest soon. (It will get fierce.)

      • DEG

        I hope for the best.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      I need a banana in the photo for sizing.

      • Compelled Speechless

        Phrasing??? That’s not going to help. With Sean providing the banana, the knife is going to end up looking like a broadsword.

      • Compelled Speechless

        Phrasing??? That’s not going to help. With Sean providing the banana, the knife is going to end up looking like a broadsword.

      • Compelled Speechless

        Well now I look like a double asshole.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Two are better than one.

      • Compelled Speechless

        Are you back to talking about the “bananas”??? I’m not judging, but that sounds exhausting.

      • SDF-7

        Certainly sounds like a pain in the ass to me.

      • Sean

        I have no bananas.

      • Ted S.

        Nah, you get this instead.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Is that the Australian outback version of Veggie Tales?

      • db

        Do you live in Scranton, PA?

      • Sean

        Eww, no.

      • Count Potato

        Maybe you just don’t remember.

  19. The Late P Brooks

    I saw a headline about Pulitzer prizes for fiction and drama. Those went to the NYT and WaPo editorial boards, I presume.

  20. Count Potato

    Follow-ups:

    “BREAKING NEWS: Escaped Alabama murder suspect Casey White is in custody and his prison guard lover Vicky White is in hospital after 11 days on the run”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10799023/Escaped-Alabama-murder-suspect-seen-surveillance-video-car-wash-Indiana.html

    “Cops confirm Molotov cocktails were used by Antifa goons to firebomb Wisconsin pro-life charity’s office whose wall was sprayed with message saying: ‘If abortions aren’t safe you aren’t either'”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10798813/Two-Molotov-cocktails-anti-abortion-group-office.html

    • R C Dean

      I did find the apparent antifa involvement (judging by the graffiti) to be interesting. Abortion seems outside their usual hobbyhorses.

      I dunno how that affects the “false flag” theory of this attack. If it was them, then this pretty well nails them down as the militant wing of the DNC, though.

      • db

        They’re looking for an excuse to go hot again this summer, mark my words. The response to this will be a signal as to whether TPTB will allow it or not.

      • DEG

        It’s another Color Revolution.

  21. Count Potato

    “WARNING: SPOILERS FOR MAY 9 WORDLE BELOW…

    The New York Times admitted it changed the answer of Monday’s Wordle for being too politically-charged after users complained of two possible solutions.

    Times bosses, who own the popular word-guessing game, say they changed the planned May 9 answer from ‘fetus’ to ‘shine’ after the original solution was flagged last week.”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10796809/Wordle-removes-fetus-answer-response-Roe-vs-Wade-ruling.html

    • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

      Probably a good idea to change it. Though I’m surprised they didn’t change it to “abort”.

      • SDF-7

        Or ‘clump’.

    • MikeS

      I got FETUS in 4.

    • ron73440

      I met a guy with that issue once in a restaurant.

      Said he got it from a tick bite.

      Growing up on a farm, ticks never overly concerned me, I would just pull them off.

      The thought of that makes me nervous about them.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        My neighbor got it from a tick a couple years ago. He started breeding rabbits so he could have another source of meat besides poultry.

        I cover myself in deet now when going into the fields or woods. Next year I’m buying a flock of guineas to free range around the house and the fields.

    • Urthona

      This story is also an excellent lesson on science.

      When it first happened, the scientific and medical community laughed their asses off and worked to suppress research on it.

      Heavily respected and high brow folks insisted that something like a meat allergy just could not happen — much less from a tick bite.

      Turns out it is very real.

    • MikeS

      A friend at work may have this. Still running tests, but the doc’s bet is he got it from a tick.

    • rhywun

      Another reason to stay the hell out of “nature”.

  22. LJW

    Has anyone seen 2000 Mules? I’m curious to know what proof it provides. Doesn’t take an idiot to know that mail in ballets are a moronic idea. The biggest problem is most of the fraud is hard to find when you have a system that enables it.

    • LJW

      Ballots* derp

      • ron73440

        Mail in ballets sounds pretty stupid also.

    • DEG

      I’m watching now. I’m about half-way through.

      There is video evidence of people dropping multiple ballots off in ballot boxes. The folks interviewed combine this with cell phone tracking data to show that these people dropped off multiple ballots at multiple boxes.

      One area I’m skeptical is the assumption that all such ballots were for Biden.

      • LJW

        Yup goes both ways. As long as there are mail in ballots I’ll never trust the outcome.

      • rhywun

        As long as there are mail-in ballots I’ll never vote.

      • UnCivilServant

        Don’t worry, the party representative has been voting on your behalf.

      • Urthona

        Yes. One thing they’ll do is target old people who are likely to vote democrat (they did to to my mom) but it’s dangerous for them to tell people how to vote. So even though they skewed heavily democrat, i don’t know we can assume all votes were democrat and republican votes were discarded.

      • db

        I think there’s a strong case to be made that regardless of who did it, if it can be proven that people deposited multiple ballots at multiple locations, that is clear evidence that any voting other than in-person, verified one–voter, is insecure. Mail-in balloting should be strictly reserved for the verifiably sick and infirm, and people who certify that they have to be away from their polling location that day for work, or medical treatment, or similar.

      • Urthona

        agreed.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Mail-in balloting should be strictly reserved for the verifiably sick and infirm, and people who certify that they have to be away from their polling location that day for work, or medical treatment, or similar.

        Early voting + a mobile precinct. I trust electronics over this bullshit.

        Anywhere to get the video for less than $20?

      • DEG

        Here.

      • Ted S.

        Downtown?

    • Urthona

      Well…. haven’t seen it but .. it relies on cell phone geolocation data. That means they’ll never be able to prove anything.

      I think it’s highly likely democrat operatives tracked down old people and got their votes and then dumped them in boxes.

      The numbers are probably exaggerated. It assumes everyone who was both near a polling place and a drop box 10 times from Oct 1 to election is a mule. That’s a heavy assumption.

      Best thing republicans can do is move to eliminate drop boxes (which they did in georgia) and start the same thing as democrats in blue states. They started figuring out this out in california (think: churches) and flipped back some places.

      • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

        The fact checking is along the lines of what you said. Geolocation isn’t accurate enough so you can’t prove these people actually went to a dropbox. You can’t prove that all of them were mules. Which is probably true, but it is one fishy coincidence.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        assumes everyone who was both near a polling place and a drop box 10 times from Oct 1 to election is a mule.

        My understanding from the snippet I heard was it was people within a certain distance of 10 separate dropboxes AND 5 flagged “organization” sites.

        When they cut it down to only 5 separate dropboxes, the number of suspect votes went up to 800k.

    • Rat on a train

      Two Thousand Mules For Uncle Joe?

      • Zwak,The Baddest Johnny on the Apple Cart

        Well, two of them were for his sister, Sarah.

  23. MikeS

    A couple semi-regulars haven’t submitted scores yet, so I’ll give last call for Quordle.

    • Raven Nation

      I’m not going to make it today, thanks.

      • MikeS

        ??

    • Rat on a train

      Did you include the scores posted on GilbFit this morning?

      • MikeS

        Yup. I always start with the early risers.

    • Brochettaward

      I came in First, I presume.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Are we talking about Winston’s Mom?

      • Brochettaward

        I don’t know what you’re talking about I only know what I’m talking about, buddy.

        That’s the rules of any game I play. I’m First.

      • MikeS

        But you don’t play this game.

      • UnCivilServant

        It’s the only way to win.

      • Brochettaward

        Are you saying you are going to cheat me out of what I’ve earned?

      • Ted S.

        He can’t cheat you out of nothing.

      • MikeS

        ☝?

        Two peas in a pod

      • UnCivilServant

        So what you’re saying is, you won’t give peas a chance?

        /Cathy Newman.

      • Brochettaward

        I tolerate a lot of sass from you, but I will not be compared to UCS.

      • UnCivilServant

        Because it turns him green with envy.

      • Ted S.

        I don’t think UCS wants to be compared to you.