Small Talk: Out of Genoa

[valleycliffe]

can you picture newt as secretary of state, rudy attorney general and pence taking care of business cause donald is off inspecting his golf courses and making deals with putin.

what a nightmare.

[boes]

I'm already hearing people say shit like, "I agree it's awful, but I won't be affected".   Fuck them and the self-centered justification they rode in on.  And the equally assholish variations of "oh, it won't be so bad.  Remember this is AMERICA".  

La de fuckin da.

[NinjaPenguins]

So my regional daily newspaper decided a good headline would be He's Hired. Because boiling a national disaster down to a reality show catchphrase is the height of journalism. 

While we're discussing things I don't want to hear out of people, how's about "well think of how conservatives felt under Obama." A successful black man made them feel angry and uncomfortable, so give me a break. Why does everyone try to make things equivalent between the two sides? "Orange might want to deport Muslims and Mexicans, but gays are getting married so we're even." No. 

Boes, you are so right about "I won't be affected." Some people even mean well and use that as a preface to explain how they're worried too. It really doesn't strike a chord. If you're privileged enough to afford to leave, just do it and don't tell us about it. Hop that flight to London or check out that expensive waterfront property in Canada. I would too. I'm really not trying to be hateful, but the words "I'm not affected" don't help. 

In a similar vein, "The world won't end." It will for some people. 

"Put on your big boy/girl pants and accept it." People have accepted it; that's why we're scared shitless.

"You have to get behind him and respect the office." Really? Do tell. Tell me what respecting the office means. I haven't heard an explanation yet that didn't sound like a word salad straight out of the Jingoist's Thesaurus. 

[peacheslatour]

Quote

"You have to get behind him and respect the office." Really? Do tell. Tell me what respecting the office means. I haven't heard an explanation yet that didn't sound like a word salad straight out of the Jingoist's Thesaurus.

You mean like how Republicans respected the office by making pictures of Obama with a bone through his nose and Michelle as a gorilla? Throwing watermelons on the front lawn at the White House? Calling him a Kenyan gay Muslim dictator feckless empty suit community organizing Nazi Commie? Threatening "second amendment solutions"? "We came unarmed......this time!" That kind of respect?

[radishcake]

Guuuuyyyysssss. There is a whole space on the site for political rants and postmortems of the election. I hid a bunch and I love your passion but take this chat over to the political threads. 

 

[Anna Yolei]

16 hours ago, crowsworks said:

Like minded people ... women, minorities, sane people... Band together and vote in every election. Midterms, local, state. Put together a good voter guide and post it everywhere.  State senates are often decided by a few votes and they do the gerrymandering to keep minority areas from representation. So vote. Some of the the swing states in this mess were decided by a few thousand votes. Make sure any judge (in Florida you vote for judges BUT there is no party affiliation or record so unless they do something really gross that gets reported you just guess) is not a right wing freak.

Don't protest, bide your time and build a real coalition of the sane.

Currently, I'm looking into this. As I said upthread, the DNC didn't care about their supporters either. This mess was their fault as much as the anyone else.

I was gonna get together links for my other board regarding how people can get involved anyway, but I'll post the info here, too. Particularly the Green Party and Libertarian Party stuff, too. 

 

ETA: Sorry mods, didn't see the post, I'll stop now. 

Edited November 10, 2016 by Anna Yolei

[jewel21]

3 hours ago, boes said:

I'm already hearing people say shit like, "I agree it's awful, but I won't be affected".   Fuck them and the self-centered justification they rode in on.  And the equally assholish variations of "oh, it won't be so bad.  Remember this is AMERICA".  

La de fuckin da.

I saw some asshat, in response to how some of Trumps actions could cause Mexico and China to go into a recession, say 'Who cares about them? Worry about us. "

 

ETA: Sorry, I posted before I saw the angry, meatloaf bunny.

Edited November 10, 2016 by jewel21

[Capricasix]

And now Leonard Cohen has gone and died. Eff you, 2016!

[jewel21]

Say what you want about but I just feel like 2017 is going to be so much worse. Like we're all going to be sitting here crying for 2016 when the time comes. And, that thought frightens me.

[Petunia13]

Damn

Edited November 11, 2016 by Petunia13

[radishcake]

Quote

Angry meatloaf bunny

lol ? 

[TVForever]

18 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

I feel your pain everyone. Nobody hates Donald Trump more than I do. You know how you feel right now? Do you want to not feel this way again? Then VOTE in the fucking mid-terms! The reason Obama had so much trouble getting shit done is because people stay home during the mid term elections. But the RWNJ"s didn't. We have got to get both Houses of Congress. With the SCOTUS in jeopardy, we could see marriage equality, voting rights women's rights and a myriad of other gains go away.

AMEN!!

[NinjaPenguins]

When I feel really anxious and overwhelmed, I like to immerse myself in sports programming. Even that is being tainted by you know what. A lot of it is even positive, with athletes and commentators expressing disgust. I feel like a hypocrite, because I actually really admire athletes who stand up and advocate for social issues. I just don't want to hear from the mushy fence straddlers trying not to offend anybody. You might as well say nothing at all. 

You know, I think at least half the country might be genuinely traumatized.

So, my dad put a bird feeder outside the house, and of course it attracted a squirrel. One squirrel. It also attracted plenty of birds, including a pair of doves and a ginormous blue jay I find a little intimidating. At first, the squirrel and the birds would feast at separate times or one would shoo the others away. Over time, I think the squirrel began to imagine he was a bird or the doves adopted him. Squirrel would climb on the bird feeder and shake loose the seeds, and then all three would eat together. The little birds tolerate the squirrel as long as he doesn't get too close, and everyone avoids the monster blue jay. Ladies and gents, my boring stress relief.

[miamama]

14 minutes ago, NinjaPenguins said:

So, my dad put a bird feeder outside the house, and of course it attracted a squirrel. One squirrel. It also attracted plenty of birds, including a pair of doves and a ginormous blue jay I find a little intimidating. At first, the squirrel and the birds would feast at separate times or one would shoo the others away. Over time, I think the squirrel began to imagine he was a bird or the doves adopted him. Squirrel would climb on the bird feeder and shake loose the seeds, and then all three would eat together. The little birds tolerate the squirrel as long as he doesn't get too close, and everyone avoids the monster blue jay. Ladies and gents, my boring stress relief.

This is beautiful. :)

[pearlite]

Here's something pleasant from the Canadian side of the border.

It's nice to see the students at the university where I teach wearing poppies today. No attitude, no nothing. Just the melancholy and gratitude that characterize today for us.

[Cupid Stunt]

One of the most arresting images I've ever seen to mark the centenary of the start of World War I was the "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red" installation by Paul Cummins at the Tower of London in 2014. Yeoman Warder John Donald walks through the ceramic poppy field.

 

Our country remains at war ... please remember our veterans.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

So, my dad put a bird feeder outside the house, and of course it attracted a squirrel. One squirrel. It also attracted plenty of birds, including a pair of doves and a ginormous blue jay I find a little intimidating. At first, the squirrel and the birds would feast at separate times or one would shoo the others away. Over time, I think the squirrel began to imagine he was a bird or the doves adopted him. Squirrel would climb on the bird feeder and shake loose the seeds, and then all three would eat together. The little birds tolerate the squirrel as long as he doesn't get too close, and everyone avoids the monster blue jay. Ladies and gents, my boring stress relief.

I have a huge rhododendron outside my living room window that I have pruned into a tree. I have a hummingbird feeders hanging there so I can sit on the sofa and watch them. I swear, it doesn't matter what kind of animals you feed, you end up with a bunch of other animals hanging around. Now I have three blue jays living in the rhododendron and about eight squirrels that I feed peanuts to. And the peanuts attract crows, so now whenever I walk out my front door, forty or so crows land on the fence waiting for peanuts. My DH says I'm abetting a murder. :) Plus we're going broke buying peanuts. I used to give carrots to the bunnies, but that attracted rats so that had to stop. Now we have a deer coming around. My son calls me Snow White.

[pearlite]

And now Robert Vaughn has passed.

An interesting actor and person. Many years ago, before the professoring, I was in the china business [as in Wedgwood, Spode], and Vaughn [a customer] was one of the actors with a nice, reserved quality in person. And very good, unpretentious taste in china.

[PatsyandEddie]

2016 has been so heartbreaking and unkind. : (

[Anna Yolei]

3 hours ago, Cupid Stunt said:

One of the most arresting images I've ever seen to mark the centenary of the start of World War I was the "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red" installation by Paul Cummins at the Tower of London in 2014. Yeoman Warder John Donald walks through the ceramic poppy field.

 

Our country remains at war ... please remember our veterans.

As a former sailor, the best way to honor our veterans is to work to stop creating so many :(

As someone pointed out on my FB feed, we're got servicemembers who have been at war for more than half or even three-fourths of their careers. The high school class of 2020 will have known nothing *but* war.

Too many kids sign up for service to get school benefits or put a roof over their families' heads...benefits they never live to use, spouses that are widowed, children that grow up without a mom or dad. This is why I don't agree with the "join the service and work for college" line of reasoning. Why would we want our kids to put up with what we had for a better life?

[Petunia13]

I think for many many it's what they feel is their only choice for money, travel, or to provide structure and discipline. Esp if they're young and naive and from a disapointing background or culture. Also people can be naive or hopeful. I remember when I was a kid hell I wanted lots of things that didn't pan out the way I hoped. Like in the movie it's a wonderful life when the old man says "kiss her already, youth is wasted on the wrong people." I can relate to George Bailey sometimes that my dreams passed me by and the person I was then has become a stranger while I spin my wheels crunching numbers for little reward. 

My grandpa who passed was a veteran of the Korean War, which was hot fighting. I respect veterans but honestly unlike many I don't hold them to a lofty standard. Many veterans can be dicks or morally repugnant just like cops and doctors can be too. A profession even an honorable one doesn't mean that person is peerless. I think there's merit in looking beyond titles and surfaces. 

[Petunia13]

Holiday craziness has already started. The holiday lights are going up in my city and Sephora is selling out of gift sets ⬅️ That is annoying me big time: a couple days ago I saw 3 brand new ones and I literally refreshed my page and poof gone. And all their rewards are out of stock too and redeemed in seconds. I already bought entires sacks of pet toys for my friends pets and customers for the holidays and some boxes of candy. 

Has anyone else started their shopping? 

[boes]

9 hours ago, Petunia13 said:

My grandpa who passed was a veteran of the Korean War, which was hot fighting. I respect veterans but honestly unlike many I don't hold them to a lofty standard. Many veterans can be dicks or morally repugnant just like cops and doctors can be too. A profession even an honorable one doesn't mean that person is peerless. I think there's merit in looking beyond titles and surfaces. 

Well said.   My Dad was a WWII vet - European front - and he'd do a slow burn until he erupted when he'd hear the "Greatest Generation" stuff.  He'd say that most of the guys like him were just young men who got put into a situation, not even of their own choosing and then did the best they could, the same anyone would do.  He hated the sentimentality that people would, as he put it, "hang on him".  

[PatsyandEddie]

Sending healing vibes to France today as they face the first anniversary of those terrible attacks. 

I had no idea that 20 people are still in hospital! 

[Snaporaz]

7 hours ago, Petunia13 said:

Holiday craziness has already started. The holiday lights are going up in my city and Sephora is selling out of gift sets ⬅️ That is annoying me big time: a couple days ago I saw 3 brand new ones and I literally refreshed my page and poof gone. And all their rewards are out of stock too and redeemed in seconds. I already bought entires sacks of pet toys for my friends pets and customers for the holidays and some boxes of candy. 

Has anyone else started their shopping? 

I only wish I was that organized!  I did order one gift the other day, and it was just delivered.  In addition to that, my brother's birthday is tomorrow, my mother's is on Monday, my dad's is New Year's day, and they're each impossible to shop for.  So I have to come up with too many gift ideas within too short a span of time.   

[valleycliffe]

LOL  i think i am just going to give out gift cards to everyone this year...just not in the holiday spirit this year and if i could, i would skip it completely.

[peacheslatour]

I bake a lot. Everyone except my DH and kiddo are getting baked goods. Of course, they're getting baked stuff as well. Chocolate chip cookies, Chex mix, gingerbread men, chocolate covered peanuts, home made turtles, cranberry nutbread and sticky buns. DH will make probably 12 to 14 pumpkin pies.

[valleycliffe]

sounds delicious peacheslatour....wish i lived near you, i'd come over for tea and goodies....

[NinjaPenguins]

Chocolate chip cookies, especially ones unsullied by wayward nuts, are a delight. When they first come out of the oven and all that warm chocolate just flows through the cookie and into your gob...

Must be how Nick feels when he peels a fresh banana.

[peacheslatour]

24 minutes ago, valleycliffe said:

sounds delicious peacheslatour....wish i lived near you, i'd come over for tea and goodies....

And you would be more than welcome! Do you like Constant Comment or Earl Grey? I also make killer cream puffs and eclairs.

[Petunia13]

@peacheslatour that sounds ahaaaahzing. Homemade from scratch cooked in oven Chex Mix is the shit! And the fresh pastries and cookies. You sound like you have a black belt in cooking. 

[valleycliffe]

i've never had constant comment tea but i do like earl grey.  i typically drink orange pekoe.

love both cream puffs and eclairs...i think i've just gained 5 lbs.....

i'm sorry for being so foreward as to invite myself to your place..that was very rude of me. "

even if it is just making small talk.

[Anna Yolei]

I'm gonna try to make pumpkin pie from scratch this year.  My family tried ages ago and it was a disaster cuz no one knew Jack-o-lantern pumpkins and pie pumpkins are way different in water content! But I figure I'll bake the pumpkin and go with the Libby's recipe.

[valleycliffe]

i've made it from scratch before.  takes a while but it's delicious.

now i just buy the pie from the grocery store.

[peacheslatour]

23 minutes ago, valleycliffe said:

i've never had constant comment tea but i do like earl grey.  i typically drink orange pekoe.

love both cream puffs and eclairs...i think i've just gained 5 lbs.....

i'm sorry for being so foreward as to invite myself to your place..that was very rude of me. "

even if it is just making small talk.

Constant Comment is a Bigelow black tea made with orange rind, cloves and cinnamon. It's really good. You are always welcome at my house, no invite needed!

Quote

   I'm gonna try to make pumpkin pie from scratch this year.

I've made sweet potato pie from scratch before but I admit I am impressed that you're gonna try this. I've made pumpkin soup before and it was terrible, :)

[valleycliffe]

20 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Constant Comment is a Bigelow black tea made with orange rind, cloves and cinnamon. It's really good. You are always welcome at my house, no invite needed!

Quote

oh, that sounds very delightful and quite delicious...

i always tell my friends that too, you never need an invite...

has anyone ever gone to a "high tea"?  very english.

we have a tea house here in nanaimo.  it's in a victorian house.. they even have tea leaf and tarot card readers who are quite expensive if i may add...still waiting for some of her predictions to come to fruition.  something tells me i may have a long wait.

[peacheslatour]

Lol. I used to read tarot cards. It was fun, but much like a Ouija board, it tells you what you want to hear.

[Snaporaz]

2 hours ago, Anna Yolei said:

I'm gonna try to make pumpkin pie from scratch this year.  My family tried ages ago and it was a disaster cuz no one knew Jack-o-lantern pumpkins and pie pumpkins are way different in water content! But I figure I'll bake the pumpkin and go with the Libby's recipe.

FWIW, Martha Stewart, who almost always recommends making things from scratch, says that pumpkin is one of the few things that tastes practically the same out of a can as it does fresh.  She did show how to do it from scratch, but implied it wasn't worth the trouble.  She is crazy, but she sure can cook. 

(ETA:  of course, she meant canned pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.)

Edited November 13, 2016 by Snaporaz
do NOT use pumpkin pie filling!

[peacheslatour]

Have you seen her new show? Martha and Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party? OMG! It has to be seen to be believed. It is the most surreal thing I've ever seen in my life!

[Snaporaz]

I only saw half of it and meant to watch the rest On Demand.  She's actually a pretty good sport!

[Tippi]

I guess you could call this a "hack" (I said hack, not Pratt.)  Get a box of Spice cake mix, stir it up with a can of pumpkin (not pumpkin pie, just canned pumpkin.) Mix in some chocolate chips. Spoon it onto an ungreased cookie sheet (or can use muffin liners in the muffin baking pans.) Bake at 350 for approx. 15 minutes.  These easy peasy cookies taste like the ones I have bought in grocery store bakery/deli departments (Kroger in my area.)  Super simple, really tasty, and scatches that pumpkin itch.

[peacheslatour]

3 hours ago, Petunia13 said:

@peacheslatour that sounds ahaaaahzing. Homemade from scratch cooked in oven Chex Mix is the shit! And the fresh pastries and cookies. You sound like you have a black belt in cooking. 

Thanks! There is literally nothing easier to make than Chex mix. There is just the basic recipe on the cereal boxes and you can go nuts on adding whatever you like. Heavy on the Worcestershire! 

[Petunia13]

True but where I live no one has ever done that. Thanks I'm going to ask my mom to give me that for Christmas in a big ziploc slider bag. Do any of you remember this weird butterscotch drop candy/cookie thing made with chow mein noodles? Ha. 

I like well made gingerbread cookies or bread as well. When it's chewy or buttery fluffy  but not overkill on the spicy. 

Im going to get a vegan gluten free dessert for Christmas or two from a bakery that's not gonna be cheap and will probably taste...interesting. I probably will be "rah rah mmm!" on them then the food restricted person. 

[peacheslatour]

I don't put cloves in mine (or my pumpkin pie, for that matter) I think they are overpoweringly spicy. I'm a wimp, I know.

[crowsworks]

6 hours ago, Snaporaz said:

FWIW, Martha Stewart, who almost always recommends making things from scratch, says that pumpkin is one of the few things that tastes practically the same out of a can as it does fresh.  She did show how to do it from scratch, but implied it wasn't worth the trouble.  She is crazy, but she sure can cook. 

 

I always thought it was funny that Martha could shrug off being a political prisoner but got physically sick watching the first episode of Mad Men. She was a model in those days. I always say they should take girls in High School aside and make them watch that.

[crowsworks]

4 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

I don't put cloves in mine (or my pumpkin pie, for that matter) I think they are overpoweringly spicy. I'm a wimp, I know.

I love cloves. I used to love clove lifesavers but they don't make them anymore. I bought some of that hard-candy flavor from the drug store and made taffy and hard candy but doubled the very concentrated flavor. (Such a tiny bottle...) and created something amazing. Candy that could both give you a toothache and cure it. My lips were so numb.

Edited November 13, 2016 by crowsworks

[pearlite]

16 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Constant Comment is a Bigelow black tea made with orange rind, cloves and cinnamon. It's really good. You are always welcome at my house, no invite needed!

I've made sweet potato pie from scratch before but I admit I am impressed that you're gonna try this. I've made pumpkin soup before and it was terrible, :)

Funny, my daughter loves Constant Comment, and buys it in New Haven. It just reminds me of those "whole-earthy" days after undergrad. What's called "caravan tea" is much the same.

Sweet potato pie and pumpkin pie [and squash pie] are the same idea--a custard with a cooked, pureed orange vegetable in there. The only trick is to fill the pie shell in the oven, not to try to carry it filled from the counter.

[boes]

13 hours ago, Petunia13 said:

True but where I live no one has ever done that. Thanks I'm going to ask my mom to give me that for Christmas in a big ziploc slider bag. Do any of you remember this weird butterscotch drop candy/cookie thing made with chow mein noodles? Ha. 

I do!  My mom made a variant of those, mixed melted chocolate, chow meing noodles and marshmallows.  It tastes a lot better than it sounds - how could it be worse, right?

[Petunia13]

@boes yep ! I wonder if it was an Iowa thing. My mom still has the cookbook my grandma got when she married, which was written and complied by old church ladies in the mid fifties. They made everything back then even candy bars. There's a note in it about "a new invention from California called a Caeser's Salad that seemed weird but try it your husband will like it." Also some of the recipes were breathtakingly stupid like a piece of white bread, cream cheese, Marachino cherries stabbed on top w toothpick or lime jello w canned veggies floating inside. I have to get it out there was some strange pies and drink recipes too. 

[valleycliffe]

i was just reading about the earthquake that struck the south island of new zealand.  it was a 7.5 one...in the comments part, someone posted a post from nov. 6 warning of a possible earthquake around nov. 14 in the south pacific area because of the supermoon..and it happened.. prayers go out to them.