Small Talk: Out of Genoa

[jpagan05]

6 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Eeeek! I feel like I need to follow this up with a festering boils story!

[Cupid Stunt]

In her series “opsec and beauty”, artist Addie Wagenknecht efficiently combines two YouTube genres into one, giving tips on cybersecurity while reviewing beauty products. In this video, Wagenknecht recommends using pass phrases instead of passwords while reviewing a Korean facial sheet mask:

11 high-fiber foods to help America close the fiber gap

**Cute Overload Warning** Corgis on call at Bangkok café

"Unendurable Line" is a short film by Daihei Shibata which shows the hidden movement and thresholds of everyday objects like springs, magnetically attracted objects, spinning tops, and stacked blocks accompanied by a real-time graph of the movement. 

[Cupid Stunt]

Anita Hill Is Not Waiting for an Apology -- There’s an Eleanor Roosevelt quote that Anita Hill once hung on her office door: “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face,” it begins. “You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

Fashion News:

The Original Sin of NASA Space Suits

A decade of leggings controversy, explained

More Amphibians --

The Toad Mountain harlequin frog is endangered and at risk from the Bd fungus -- B. Gratwicke / Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

The Worst Disease Ever Recorded

This video by Nukazooka of Grand Theft Auto being played by Lego characters looks more or less like the Lego Movie but made with a fraction of the budget.

Glacier melt on Everest exposes the bodies of dead climbers

Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska faced severe flooding after recent storms. Planners knew the base was vulnerable but hadn’t completed upgrades in time -- US Air Force

Extreme weather has again damaged a major military base

[Cupid Stunt]

The Passionate, Progressive Politics of Julia Child

Anthropology Today --

How to build a dinosaur

Snapshot of extinction: Fossils show day of killer asteroid

Stricken With the World’s Oldest Affliction

Why disaster relief is so hard

[Cupid Stunt]

On International Women’s Day, these female journalists and activists are behind bars

Video captures curious cockatoo giving traffic camera a bird's eye view

They must be carefully taught: 

US judge: School’s rule for girls to wear skirts breaks law

Columbine students start campaign to share images of their death if they're killed in gun violence

Joel Sartores Photo Ark

‘Breaches Everywhere’: Midwest Levees Burst, and Tough Questions Follow for Infrastructure

[jewel21]

Aww, cockatoos are my favourite birds! 

[bannana]

14 hours ago, Cupid Stunt said:

On International Women’s Day, these female journalists and activists are behind bars

Video captures curious cockatoo giving traffic camera a bird's eye view

They must be carefully taught: 

US judge: School’s rule for girls to wear skirts breaks law

Columbine students start campaign to share images of their death if they're killed in gun violence

Joel Sartores Photo Ark

‘Breaches Everywhere’: Midwest Levees Burst, and Tough Questions Follow for Infrastructure

Re: the ruling that girls cannot be forced to wear skirts, I am elated, and yet I am dismayed that this is still something that we have to fight for.

[peacheslatour]

8 hours ago, bannana said:

Re: the ruling that girls cannot be forced to wear skirts, I am elated, and yet I am dismayed that this is still something that we have to fight for.

When I was in sixth grade we had a sit in in the principal's office so we could wear pants to school. That was in 1969. WTF?

[Cupid Stunt]

A Previously Unknown Portrait of a Young Harriet Tubman Goes on View

In this short film, you can see the geometry -- shapes, curves, and outlines -- of a ballet dancer as her arms, legs, and body move through the studio.

Let's redo lunch

How to Talk Minnesotan -- Visiting or moving to Minnesota? Learn the native language and customs and feel right at home with these simple lessons.

Husqvarna motorbike rider Jan Brabec of Czech Republic left, and KTM rider Cesar Pardo of Peru fall during the stage nine of the Dakar Rally in Pisco, Peru, Jan. 16, 2019 -- AP photographer Ricardo Mazalan captures Dakar Rally

[peacheslatour]

I love that picture of Tubman and I hope it's the one they end up using....someday.

[Cupid Stunt]

On ‎3‎/‎31‎/‎2019 at 10:58 PM, jewel21 said:

Aww, cockatoos are my favourite birds! 

It's amazing to see flocks of them in the wild.

On ‎4‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 1:03 AM, bannana said:

Re: the ruling that girls cannot be forced to wear skirts, I am elated, and yet I am dismayed that this is still something that we have to fight for.

Retrograde rules from a Christian charter school? No surprise. Monitoring the worth of girls and women by their clothing is a common jeremiad, a special hobby horse to ride in Christian circles, where the hearts and minds of male domination hangs by the modest and godly thread from women's clothing. Modesty is a virtue named in the New Testament, and lust is a sin. The Bible does not include illustrations, but there is a slew of Old Testament rules to live by, cherry-picked for their utility in limited Christian contexts. No more cotton/poly blends for you. Drop that lobster roll, it's delicious!  

Modern modesty requires long sleeves, covered neck and hair, long skirts, and a neurotic behavior pattern of trying very hard not to draw any attention that will incite lustful thoughts in the weak-willed males of your prayer circle, while balancing precariously on the fine line of traditional femininity. Your sex is entirely responsible for Original Sin and look where that got us! When mainstream American Christian culture is almost indistinguishable from the secular mainstream culture, and taking great pains to imitate it for commercial purposes, the result is that many young Christian women are comfortable wearing pants, jeans, yoga pants and leggings. Slippery-slopers bray that pants are not just unflattering but immoral, and unruly females must be brought to heel. Good luck with that.

I've been bored with fundagelical traditionalist female hectoring forever. Frothing over women's clothing is the least of my concerns when the stranger is berated with invectives by church leaders, when the church bureaucracy allows child and parishioner abuse, when science fiction-spouting apostates are welcomed for political expediency, when the least are abandoned to build greater political power and larger tabernacles, when the Gospel contravenes preferred dominionist doctrines …

Yeah, I have no time for churches that embrace corruption as a means to crush the very people the Gospel is there to serve.

Edited April 4, 2019 by Cupid Stunt

[peacheslatour]

Calling all Preverts who have moved and sold a house! We finally got my dad with Alzheimer's into care. Now we have to figure out what to do with his house. Here are the problems I'm hoping and praying some of you can help me with.:

The realtor wants me to put thousands of dollars into renovations including $950.00 a month to rent her stager's stuff.

Therefore I have to move all of his furniture, artwork and my mom's extensive doll collection into storage.

I have no idea how to do this. Does anyone have any experience or ideas?

[PatsyandEddie]

Congrats peaches! Your Dad will be much safer and you will rest easier. 

When my mother made the move out of her own home and into retirement, she was still able to take some of her own pieces. What she couldn’t take we divied up and then sold the remaining things to an auction house. We paid for the belongings we took and put the money into her bank account. We staged her place with a few pieces because the realtor told us that any new owners would want to make changes to modernize the decor. Mom was a great housekeeper right until the end so we lucked out that way but make sure it’s clean and obvious problems are taken care of. If you don’t then you will have to discount appropriately. Really personal items like your mother’s doll collection should be stored. People have to be able to envision their own belongings. I wish you luck! We had to wait awhile because the market hit the crapper right after but it did go for a good price so she was able to pay for her retirement suit. Big hugs as it’s all stressful. 

Edited April 1, 2019 by PatsyandEddie

[peacheslatour]

8 minutes ago, PatsyandEddie said:

Congrats peaches! Your Dad will be much safer and you will rest easier. 

When my mother made the move out of her own home and into retirement, she was still able to take some of her own pieces. What she couldn’t take we divied up and then sold the remaining things to an auction house. We paid for the belongings we took and put the money into her bank account. We staged her place with a few pieces because the realtor told us that any new owners would want to make changes to modernize the decor. Mom was a great housekeeper right until the end so we lucked out that way but make sure it’s clean and obvious problems are taken care of. If you don’t then you will have to discount appropriately. Really personal items like your mother’s doll collection should be stored. People have to be able to envision their own belongings. I wish you luck! We had to wait awhile because the market hit the crapper right after but it did go for a good price so she was able to pay for her retirement suit. Big hugs as it’s all stressful. 

Thank you so much P&E! The realtor wants me to paint inside and out, replace all the carpeting, re-landscape and of course pay the stager $950.00 a month on renting her stuff. This is a high end neighborhood so I guess it will be worth it but geez it is super stressfull.

[Cupid Stunt]

(((Peaches))). That had to be difficult. PatsyandEddie make some very good suggestions.

If you haven't signed anything with the realtor, I would consider staging the house yourself. As you make repairs, cosmetic changes and sort through your parents collection for storage, you can choose the furniture you will need to make the house look salable. You might consider having a stager use the furniture and décor available, instead of renting their furniture; it would be a one-time expenditure. It depends on if it's worth $950 a month until the house sells. 

81 Staging Tips That Help Buyers Fall in Love -- From Realtors Houselogic Not all of the suggestions are nessesary, but it makes for a good To Do list (I preferred empty cupboards and closets when we were house hunting for Thing1).

If the plan is to paint, make sure you have the closet interiors painted. Interior walls marked up from hangers and shoes look scungy.

If there's wallpaper and depending on condition, it can be cleaned with wallpaper cleaner putty. It's a time suck, but it works.

It's inexpensive to have carpet, tile and grout steam cleaned.

Have all the windows and sills washed inside and out. Any window treatments need vacuuming, washing or steam cleaning (where applicable).

Lawn care and gardens need to be maintained. If there are weeds or over growth, spray and trim early in the season.

Edited April 4, 2019 by Cupid Stunt

[PatsyandEddie]

We definitely had to discount my mother’s place but we didn’t  want to waste money painting and changing carpet to have someone come in and change it anyway but each situation is unique so what works for one may not work for another. 

[peacheslatour]

19 minutes ago, PatsyandEddie said:

We definitely had to discount my mother’s place but we didn’t  want to waste money painting and changing carpet to have someone come in and change it anyway but each situation is unique so what works for one may not work for another. 

See this is what I'm thinking. She is right about the carpeting and some other things. My mother always insisted on wool carpeting and it is sun faded. I found that out when I moved a coveted plant stand and the carpet underneath was about ten shades lighter than the rest of it. According to my calculations it will cost about ten to twenty K to do all the stuff she wants me to do but if it adds two or three hundred K to the asking price it might be worth it.

[Cupid Stunt]

16 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

See this is what I'm thinking. She is right about the carpeting and some other things. My mother always insisted on wool carpeting and it is sun faded. I found that out when I moved a coveted plant stand and the carpet underneath was about ten shades lighter than the rest of it. According to my calculations it will cost about ten to twenty K to do all the stuff she wants me to do but if it adds two or three hundred K to the asking price it might be worth it.

You might be able to replace the carpeting cheaply going through a remnant store, and big box hardware stores have sales on carpet, with some discounting for large square footage purchases. Do you know what kind of flooring is under the carpeting? Wood floors are very desirable; refinishing and sealing is expensive, but might be worth it if it adds the purchase price.

One thing I noticed in a few homes we toured -- Dirty light fixtures, dead lightbulbs, switch plates that didn't work or weren't marked for wall plate use, and circuit boxes incorrectly marked. If property inspections are mandated for home sales in your location, or if there's any question on the wiring, have a licensed electrician inspect the house. The circuit box should be mapped out and correctly marked by the electrician, with a certified inspection report.

[Cupid Stunt]

You’ve heard that women make 80 cents to men’s dollar. It’s much worse than that. -- Every year on Equal Pay Day, we hear that women in America make about 80 cents for every dollar men earn. For many women of color, the number is lower — black women make about 61 cents on the dollar compared with men, while Latina women make 53 cents. 

Americans Consume Almost All of the Global Opioid Supply

The Opiate Map

The opioid epidemic is increasingly killing black Americans. Baltimore is ground zero.

Burger King’s new Whopper is 0% beef. That’s a big deal -- The fast-food chain follows in the footsteps of White Castle and Carl’s Jr. in offering a meatless burger.

For 30 years, China took in the world’s plastic. What happened when they stopped? -- America’s new recycling crisis, explained by an expert

[boes]

Peacheslatour, I asked a neighbor of mine who's a successful realtor here in the Bay Area and she said that so much depends on what the market is like where you're selling and what the neighborhood is like.  She suggested that if you can, to hit a few homes for sale in your neighborhood and see what other sellers are doing, regarding staging, repainting, etc.  

Out here with the market so hot all the time, people have to do very little to move their property and get top dollar for it because supply is so limited and the money people will pay is ridiculous.  But she said that's not true, even here, the higher market you go, the more things need to shine.

One thing she did say, is not to spend much time or money on landscaping, that it adds very little to the ultimate sale value of a home, BUT, to make sure yards are neat and tidy, mulch any planting beds and, most important for the yard, make sure that any fence is in good shape or be prepared to knock off a few bucks over that, since prospective homeowners who hate pets or kids will be eyeballing that for safety and security reasons.  

All very general, I know.

When my dad sold his place, we separated out the items he wanted to keep or we wanted and had an auctioneer come in and sell off everything else.  Bonus was, he also disposed of junk.  Back in the midwest, he sold his house with minimal staging from the things held back from the sale.  Clean yard, clean, clean house and it sold fast.

[MollyB]

19 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Calling all Preverts who have moved and sold a house!

I sold my place in WA last August.  It was a breeze because I had a good realtor,  Eric Pulkka with Coldwell Banker.  I recommend him highly.  He helped my get my place in top condition without putting a lot of money out.  My personal thoughts on renovation and storage:

You won't get your money back on the sale and it just delays it.  Also, construction is a headache.

Unless you have definite plans for the stuff, don't waste your money on storage.  Say goodbye and sell it.

Edited to add: fire the stager.  Either use your own stuff or show it clean.

Edited April 2, 2019 by MollyB
afterthoughts

[peacheslatour]

I want to thank everybody for their advice and encouragement. I will definitely be doing what you suggest. You guys are the absolute best!

[Cupid Stunt]

Rapper Nipsey Hussle’s death put an inspiring life in the spotlight by Allegra Frank of Vox

Grammy-nominated rap artist, entrepreneur and community philanthropist Ermias Asghedom, better known as Nipsey Hussle, was shot and killed March 31. He was 33. 

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's office confirmed Monday that he died of gunshot wounds of the head and torso. The shooting took place in South Los Angeles, outside The Marathon Clothing, a store he owned on West Slauson Avenue. A suspect in the killing of rapper Nipsey Hussle is in custody. 

L.A. Police Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday that the suspect got into a verbal altercation with Hussle on Sunday afternoon. The suspect  walked up on multiple occasions and engaged in conversations” with the rapper, Moore said. “He came back armed with a handgun” and opened fire. Moore said investigators believed the shooting was the result of a "personal matter between the two of them" but would not elaborate.

Hussle was widely respected in the hip-hop world, not just for his musical contributions but for the hustle ethic personified in his chosen stage name. He overcame the obstacles of an unforgiving environment, made famous by generations of West Coast rap legends, to become one of the most beloved and inspirational figures within the culture.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. -- Matthew 5:9

[Cupid Stunt]

The first African-American female mayor in Chicago history will be Lori Lightfoot

Biomimicry: Turning to nature for technological solutions

If you take a bin full of sand and blow air up through the bottom of it, the sand behaves like a liquid. The bubbles were freaky enough when I watched this for the first time, but when the guy reached in to submerge the ball and it buoyantly popped right to the surface, my brain broke a little bit. This video from The Royal Institution explains what’s going on.

[Snaporaz]

That parrot made my week!

[Petunia13]

@peacheslatour good luck on the house sale and well wishes/congrats to your dad on moving ❤️ It sounds like a big job. Speaking for myself I consider you a personal hero, so I’m sending all the vibes. 

@jewel21 how is Steve? 

When I was a child we had a very sassy cockatiel named Peepers and he didn’t care to be touched or stared at by other animals. I had a rabbit who’d occasionally boing past him (while he was in cage and she on ground. She was a STUNNING large huge eared with giant eyes & eye lashes an inch long French lop) and each time he hissed and flapped his wings ferociously. Same if there was a delivery man. Cockatiels are  gorgeous and smart but don’t want anyone to even consider fucking with them, like “don’t confuse this delicate beauty w weakness”. 

Thats funny @Cupid Stunt you posted about wage day. My friend went to a job fair w a guy and they had the same resume and applied to the same position and he got offered on the spot .80 hr more. She emailed HR and the manager who made the offers and negotiated the same and they acted like it was a favor to her. I totally believe her and encouraged her to always stand up for herself or any inequality she witnesses or receives. She’s pretty astute and mentioned some problematic things we both were present at that even I didn't pick up on or excused so we’re all in this together and helping each other. 

I delet stuff I write sometimes or edit or since I think it’ll sound boring (more dull than what is left 😂) or random!

[Snaporaz]

Best wishes for a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY, @peacheslatour!  💕💕

I'm lighting a gold candle and invoking the goddess Lakshmi to watch over you during your real estate adventures.  I did the same for my sister in November and her house sold in five days for the full asking price!

[Petunia13]

Happy Birthday @peacheslatour I hope you have a wonderful day!   💐🎂🍾🎈🎊 

[Cupid Stunt]

Happy Birthday Peaches!

[valleycliffe]

happy happy joy joy peacheslatour...

[Cupid Stunt]

A tree on Instagram

For the past few years, Patrik Svedberg had been taking photos of a beautiful Swedish tree he dubbed The Broccoli Tree. In a short time, the tree gained a healthy following on Instagram, becoming both a tourist attraction and an online celebrity of sorts. Someone vandalized the tree in 2017 by sawing through one of the limbs. Very soon after, it was decided by some authority that the vandalism meant the entire tree had to come down. 

Oscar Wilde once wrote that “Each man kills the thing he loves”. I don’t know exactly what Wilde meant by that, but our collective attention and obsession, amplified by the speed and intensity of the internet and social media, tends to ruin the things we love: authors, musicians, restaurants, actors, beloved movies, vacation spots, artists, democracies, and even a tree that became too famous to live.

The tree was cut in that way and the stump left so that new sprouts might form that life might find a way.

[pearlite]

Happy birthday, Peaches!

[boes]

Wishing you a spectacular Birthday and a

great resolution to your dad's house.

[PatsyandEddie]

Have a wonderful birthday Peaches! 🥂

[peacheslatour]

Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes! You're all the sweetest bunch of darling lunatics in the whole world!! 😥😍

We meet with realtor #2 today. He is all about "selling the address, not the house" so he probably won't ask me to put what my dad's financial guy told me would be much higher than my estimate. More like 75K. Bleh.

Love you guys the most! And thank you for your kind words Petunia!

[valleycliffe]

good luck with selling the house peaches..

if you run into any problems tho, try burying a statue of st. joseph the patron saint of selling homes, upside down in the front yard....

[peacheslatour]

8 minutes ago, valleycliffe said:

good luck with selling the house peaches..

if you run into any problems tho, try burying a statue of st. joseph the patron saint of selling homes, upside down in the front yard....

Thanks valley, I haven't tried that yet. 😋 TBH, I haven't even listed it yet. Not until I find the right realtor. I am not in the best health and I do not want to deal with contractors and the kind of mess and stress that would go along with a major remodel. The house is in a neighborhood that's so exclusive you literally have to wait for someone to die to get a house there. The house is mid twentieth century modern which is very big around here right now so fingers crossed. I want my dad to get the best of care but as we all know, that doesn't come cheap.

[paisley]

Best birthday wishes Peaches.

[peacheslatour]

30 minutes ago, paisley said:

Best birthday wishes Peaches.

Thank you. Gawd, I'm old. 

 

Edited April 4, 2019 by peacheslatour

[Petunia13]

I live on the North Shore of Chicago and houses in geographically desirable places get sold for tidy profits to tear down and build McMansions or do personalized renovations for transplants. In fact several x a year one of my step dad houses, which is a run down ranch style by a country club not even on the market, gets sent million dollar offers by developers. I saw one in with his junk mail when I took out his recycling and trash about a month ago. So I think you’re onto something @peacheslatour. 

[peacheslatour]

4 minutes ago, Petunia13 said:

I live on the North Shore of Chicago and houses in geographically desirable places get sold for tidy profits to tear down and build McMansions or do personalized renovations for transplants. In fact several x a year one of my step dad houses, which is a run down ranch style by a country club not even on the market, gets sent million dollar offers by developers. I saw one in with his junk mail when I took out his recycling and trash about a month ago. So I think you’re onto something @peacheslatour. 

That sounds great. The only drawback is that the Village has some of the most restrictive construction laws in the land. However, I have seen some pretty big house built on lots that I never would have thought would have been allowed. Keeping a good thought. My DH should be back from his meeting with the new realtor. Will update soon.

[jewel21]

On ‎4‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 8:44 AM, Cupid Stunt said:

That is by far the cutest little guy, ever! And that is the cutest sounding peekaboo, aww!

19 hours ago, Petunia13 said:

@jewel21 how is Steve? 

When I was a child we had a very sassy cockatiel named Peepers and he didn’t care to be touched or stared at by other animals. I had a rabbit who’d occasionally boing past him (while he was in cage and she on ground. She was a STUNNING large huge eared with giant eyes & eye lashes an inch long French lop) and each time he hissed and flapped his wings ferociously. Same if there was a delivery man. Cockatiels are  gorgeous and smart but don’t want anyone to even consider fucking with them, like “don’t confuse this delicate beauty w weakness”. 

Steve is doing well enough, I think. He's currently molting so there are feathers everywhere, but he's flying and squawking. I still want to bring him for a biochemistry at the end of the month and to get his nails clipped. 

That cockatiel you're describing sounds precious. And what a cute name, hee! The rabbit sounds delightful as well 😄

8 hours ago, valleycliffe said:

happy happy joy joy peacheslatour...

Aww, the dance of joy! I used to love Perfect Strangers. Deja View used to air the repeats but stopped awhile back. They ended on the episode where Balky accidentally gets hypnotized and thinks he's Elvis. If you've never seen it you should, it's AMAZING! 

8 hours ago, Cupid Stunt said:

A tree on Instagram

For the past few years, Patrik Svedberg had been taking photos of a beautiful Swedish tree he dubbed The Broccoli Tree. In a short time, the tree gained a healthy following on Instagram, becoming both a tourist attraction and an online celebrity of sorts. Someone vandalized the tree in 2017 by sawing through one of the limbs. Very soon after, it was decided by some authority that the vandalism meant the entire tree had to come down. 

Oscar Wilde once wrote that “Each man kills the thing he loves”. I don’t know exactly what Wilde meant by that, but our collective attention and obsession, amplified by the speed and intensity of the internet and social media, tends to ruin the things we love: authors, musicians, restaurants, actors, beloved movies, vacation spots, artists, democracies, and even a tree that became too famous to live.

The tree was cut in that way and the stump left so that new sprouts might form that life might find a way.

The tree thing makes me sad. People suck. 

Oh, and happy happy birthday, @peacheslatour! I hope it was a good one 😄

[peacheslatour]

Dammit you guys, quit putting adorable animal vids and depressing news about how shitty people are in the same post! I don't know whether to hit the sad button, the like button or the funny button. Also, we need a d'awww button. Hmmph.

[bannana]

15 hours ago, Cupid Stunt said:

A tree on Instagram

For the past few years, Patrik Svedberg had been taking photos of a beautiful Swedish tree he dubbed The Broccoli Tree. In a short time, the tree gained a healthy following on Instagram, becoming both a tourist attraction and an online celebrity of sorts. Someone vandalized the tree in 2017 by sawing through one of the limbs. Very soon after, it was decided by some authority that the vandalism meant the entire tree had to come down. 

Oscar Wilde once wrote that “Each man kills the thing he loves”. I don’t know exactly what Wilde meant by that, but our collective attention and obsession, amplified by the speed and intensity of the internet and social media, tends to ruin the things we love: authors, musicians, restaurants, actors, beloved movies, vacation spots, artists, democracies, and even a tree that became too famous to live.

The tree was cut in that way and the stump left so that new sprouts might form that life might find a way.

This breaks my heart and makes me cry.  Stupid, stupid people. 😢

[bannana]

15 hours ago, Cupid Stunt said:

A tree on Instagram

For the past few years, Patrik Svedberg had been taking photos of a beautiful Swedish tree he dubbed The Broccoli Tree. In a short time, the tree gained a healthy following on Instagram, becoming both a tourist attraction and an online celebrity of sorts. Someone vandalized the tree in 2017 by sawing through one of the limbs. Very soon after, it was decided by some authority that the vandalism meant the entire tree had to come down. 

Oscar Wilde once wrote that “Each man kills the thing he loves”. I don’t know exactly what Wilde meant by that, but our collective attention and obsession, amplified by the speed and intensity of the internet and social media, tends to ruin the things we love: authors, musicians, restaurants, actors, beloved movies, vacation spots, artists, democracies, and even a tree that became too famous to live.

The tree was cut in that way and the stump left so that new sprouts might form that life might find a way.

@Cupid Stunt, where did you find the info that the tree was cut down?

[crowsworks]

On 4/2/2019 at 11:00 AM, Cupid Stunt said:

You might be able to replace the carpeting cheaply going through a remnant store, and big box hardware stores have sales on carpet, with some discounting for large square footage purchases. Do you know what kind of flooring is under the carpeting? Wood floors are very desirable; refinishing and sealing is expensive, but might be worth it if it adds the purchase price.

One thing I noticed in a few homes we toured -- Dirty light fixtures, dead lightbulbs, switch plates that didn't work or weren't marked for wall plate use, and circuit boxes incorrectly marked. If property inspections are mandated for home sales in your location, or if there's any question on the wiring, have a licensed electrician inspect the house. The circuit box should be mapped out and correctly marked by the electrician, with a certified inspection report.

sometimes you can get three rooms of carpet installed (Last thing ) by Lowes or Depot on sale. Buy the nice cheap plain colored rug and sometime the install and delivery is free.

[AngelKitty]

13 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Dammit you guys, quit putting adorable animal vids and depressing news about how shitty people are in the same post! I don't know whether to hit the sad button, the like button or the funny button.

This is what I'm saying. It's so funny that now we have the different buttons that we wanted but we still want more. 😜

Dear Peaches, I thought I wished you a Happy Birthday yesterday. 😥 I hope you had fun. ✨🎁🎀🍾🥂🎈🎂

16 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Thank you. Gawd, I'm old. 

It's better to laugh than cry since we can't stop them (birthdays).

Good luck selling your dad's house. My advice, not knowing anything about your circumstances, is to stay away from remodeling.  Unless you're a professional flipper, the whole situation is stressful enough without adding construction to your plate. List the house for the max, decide what's the lowest you will go, and then reduce the price as appropriate. When I sold my mom's house I listed it so I could reduce the price by $20,000 for the first buyers and they ended up buying the house. (The house was 20 years old and needed a new roof so I just took off the cost of a new roof.)  

[Cupid Stunt]

8 hours ago, bannana said:

@Cupid Stunt, where did you find the info that the tree was cut down?

I've been cleaning out my tablet of old sites and feeds; getting prepped for a replacement. I followed the Instagram account from a recommendation from a friend, and he emailed me the info and picture of the stump a few years ago. 

[Cupid Stunt]

This untidy business has been going on for about a month. When our country station manager brought this up at his budget meeting, he was put out that this very popular song was on heavy request, but it didn't "fit in" with the regular programming. He squirmed uncomfortably when he couldn't explain why it didn't "fit in."

"Hmm … The listeners are mistaken about what they like?"

(squirming)

"It's a good gooseneckin' song -- Play it anyway." <disgusted why Old Town Road didn't "fit in">

Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ Was a Country Hit. Then Country Changed Its Mind -- Billboard did not publicly announce the change, but in a statement released to Rolling Stone, the publication said that “upon further review, it was determined that ‘Old Town Road’ by Lil Nas X does not currently merit inclusion on Billboard‘s country charts. When determining genres, a few factors are examined, but first and foremost is musical composition. While ‘Old Town Road’ incorporates references to country and cowboy imagery, it does not embrace enough elements of today’s country music to chart in its current version.” Through a representative, Lil Nas X declined a request to comment on Billboard‘s decision.

Expelling Lil Nas X’s single from Hot Country Songs points to a complicated racial dynamic. The music industry still relies heavily on old-fashioned definitions of genre, which have always mapped on race — Billboard’s R&B chart, for example, was originally titled “race music,” while the Latin songs chart lumps together a myriad of genres and languages under one ethnic umbrella.

In today’s streaming world, however, songs can go viral before labels, radio programmers and playlist curators can sort them into genre buckets. When the music industry enforces genre borders after the fact, it becomes part of a power struggle about who has the right to make what and, in this case, whether black artists can fit in predominantly white genres. “When do we get to the point where [black artists] can be accepted and played on other formats?” the insider says. “That’s still the question.”

Now, it's been indemnified and back on the Country Charts because Lil Nas X recorded a remix with Billy Ray Cyrus.

Edited April 5, 2019 by Cupid Stunt

[peacheslatour]

3 hours ago, AngelKitty said:

This is what I'm saying. It's so funny that now we have the different buttons that we wanted but we still want more. 😜

Dear Peaches, I thought I wished you a Happy Birthday yesterday. 😥 I hope you had fun. ✨🎁🎀🍾🥂🎈🎂

It's better to laugh than cry since we can't stop them (birthdays).

Good luck selling your dad's house. My advice, not knowing anything about your circumstances, is to stay away from remodeling.  Unless you're a professional flipper, the whole situation is stressful enough without adding construction to your plate. List the house for the max, decide what's the lowest you will go, and then reduce the price as appropriate. When I sold my mom's house I listed it so I could reduce the price by $20,000 for the first buyers and they ended up buying the house. (The house was 20 years old and needed a new roof so I just took off the cost of a new roof.)  

This is what I want to do. No way am I in any shape to deal with contractors, millions of decisions or the inevitable delays, b.s and mess. Thank you!