talkpolitics | Member Posts

It was in the 90s (F) today, with feels like the 100s. We stayed inside in the air conditioning.

Got up at 11:00ish, and had iced coffee. [Bad username or unknown identity: mashfanficchick"] got up and got me cereal for breakfast.

During the day we alternated working on zer apartment with watching the Mets game on TV. They won this one, yay. We also bought the train tickets for the trip to the cottage, me for two weeks, zer for a little over one week.

We had dinner of burrito bowls.

Finally at 6:00ish I took a shower and got dressed since I was coming home tonight. At 7:00 I Teamed the FWiB. We talked til 8:30 when I got off to call Middle Brother.

He is fine, he went to 7-11 today, and got a large Pepsi and a Devil Dog. He enjoyed that.

After that we did some more work on the apartment, and finally ended up watching the final episode of the season of 911:Nashville, which I saw already but ze hadn't. We agreed that Blythe and Dixie are both psycho and Don should leave both of them.

Then I Ubered home, and fed the pets. I got an approval letter from my insurance company for something, I think it's the test that my oncologist wants me to have, so I have to ask her about that, scheduling and etc.

Now the thunderstorm we were promised has hit, and it sounds like it's pouring out there.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. Air conditioning.

3. Got the tickets.

4. Mets won for a change.

5. Middle Brother having fun.

6. Fun TV.

Mood: cheerful

neonvincent

I liked the other image more for'Prime Minister' wins two News & Doc Emmy Awards including Best Documentary for Throwback Thursday.

Mood: hungry
Location: House in the woods at the edge of town
Music: Sims 4

fridi

In my view, Putin's Russia is heading toward an inevitable breakdown: economically, politically, administratively, and socially. The crisis is already here, and the system neither has the tools nor the willingness to deal with it.

Why am I so convinced that the regime is doomed?...

silver_chipmunk

I overslept a little, I meant to get up at 9:30 but it was closer to 10:00 so I had to rush through breakfast and coffee, and showering and dressing, and packing to go to

mashfanficchick and be there by 11:30. But I was only a few minutes late.

The reason for the early start was Liz G was taking us to Ikea. She arrived a little after 12:00 and we went out to Long Island to Ikea.

We ate lunch at Ikea's restaurant first thing. I of course got the Swedish meatballs. It came with lingonberry jam, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and the meatball sauce. Delicious.

Then we started shopping. I spotted something I wanted to get for the Kid for Christmas, a large yellow plush octopus, very cute. She likes octopuses. Octopi? Whatever.

So I took one of those while

mashfanficchick investigated wall storage units. Ze eventually found the combination of components ze wanted, and we checked out, and Liz G brought us back to

mashfanficchick's place.

When we got here, we were just hanging out and ze was napping when I realized at 4:40 that I should call the CPAP vendor because they never got back to me. So I did, and they told me that they hadn't heard from the insurance company and I should call them.

So I did that. And they said that the change in my insurance was taken care of, but they hadn't gotten anything from the CPAP vendor. So I gave them the number of the CPAP vendor and they called while I held on, and apparently everything should be fixed in a day or so. I hope.

By that time it was about 5:30 and

mashfanficchick decided we should wait til 6:00 and then take a Lyft to CitiField for the Mets game instead of going by subway.

(Larry gave us two tickets to tonights game cause he had to work. I skipped D&D for the game.)

So we went to CitiField and there were barely any fans tonight, everyone was probably watching the Knicks game at home on TV. And they didn't miss much, the Mets were very sad tonight. I don't mind losing, but it was a very bad game. score 9 to 2.

But it's fun going with a friend so I'm not sorry I went. I got a hot dog and ice cream. I also had a few bites of

mashfanficchick's chicken nuggets and French fries (gluten free).

We took the subway back and then a Lyft from the subway station here because it was raining.

I Teamed the FWiB for just a few minutes, and then we caught the final 5 seconds, the winning basket, of the Knicks game. So that was exciting.

So that was a very busy day. Oh, I texted the Kid to tell her about the calls about the CPAP, and she replied.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. Found a Christmas present for the Kid.

3. Yummy Swedish meatballs.

4. Hopefully the CPAP situation is straightened out for real.

5. Larry's Mets tickets, even though they lost.

6. The Knicks won and we saw the final basket.

Mood: cheerful

mellowtigger

I'm not sure what to make of it. Yesterday, there was a press conference (YouTube, FOX 10 Phoenix news) on the steps of the USA Congress. People who have supposedly-trustworthy titles and credentials stepped in front of microphones and cameras to declare that the USA has both technological devices and biological creatures from non-terrestrial origin. David Grusch also talked about foreign nations monitoring our programs to reverse engineer that alien technology. Otherwise, I don't know that anything new was said yesterday, anything that we haven't heard before and under oath. It's wild to think that China and Russia know more about the USA's UFO program just from their surveillance of us than we do as the USA's own citizens or the USA President.

Over the years, there have been officials of foreign nations who stated similar things with similar certainty. I recently learned that actor Kurt Russel was the civilian pilot (YouTube, Russel tells the tale) who first reported the Phoenix lights back in 1997. Closer to home, local news recently reported (YouTube, WCCO - CBS Minnesota news) the Feds investigating an issue reported last year by local police tracking something strange in the sky. There is even a rumor (which I can't confirm) that former USA President George H.W. Bush was caught on a hot microphone saying something about "if people knew what I know" about the UFO topic before the occasion was interrupted, separate from what is claimed that Bush said among his last words to someone he knew.

These familiar news figures (YouTube, 5 minutes) discuss Tuesday's event. Whatever is going on, I'm certain that the USA government is lying to the citizens of the USA and the rest of the world. No matter what it is they are lying about, it's a huge issue and violation of law that someone is keeping something important in the federal government from the oversight of Congress.

I still want answers. Real answers.

neonvincent

I had the following video in Randy Rainbow sings 'A Very Stable Genius Part Two!' for Wayback Wednesday, but replaced it with one from the stage.

Modern Major-General | The Pirates of Penzance | TUNE.

Watch on YouTube

When the Pirates of Penzance attack Mabel (Linda Ronstadt) and her sisters, their father, the Major-General, arrives! What is The Pirates of Penzance (1983) about? Frederic (Rex Smith), who has spent his formative years as a junior pirate, plans to mark his 21st birthday by breaking free from the Pirate King (Kevin Kline) and beginning his courtship of Mabel (Linda Ronstadt). But because he was born on Feb. 29, a date that only arrives every fourth year, Frederic isn't technically 21 -- and the Pirate King is still his master. Unless something gives, Frederic will soon be on a collision course with the Pirate King's new nemesis: Mabel's father.

Randy didn't include the parts where he rhymes himself into a corner then has to rhyme himself out. That would have been even funnier, but apparently it's only in this movie. The original didn't have those, and it's the original Randy is parodying.

Mood: awake
Location: House in the woods at the edge of town
Music: Apollolol Twitch Stream

silver_chipmunk

I got up around 10:30, and did not have breakfast or coffee, because I was having blood tests today. I did my reading on the internet and then took my shower and dressed.

I still had some time so I called the CPAP vendor and told the woman about the call I got yesterday. She wrote a memo to another department and said they would call me. Spoiler alert: They never called.

So anyway at 12:30 I called for an Uber and went over to Quest for my blood tests. The traffic was very bad and with a half hour I almost didn't make it in time! But I did,

They were just as fast as they always are, in and out. So I took the 20 bus home, and had my Cheerios and my coffee when I got here.

Then I got out the email addresses Denise sent and started emailing my four cousins who I hadn't already told about the memorial service for Oldest Brother.

Four emails. Should not have been a problem. But there is something about the interaction of the webmail I use for my email, and this crappy computer, that always messes up. I got through two emails, Linda and Sue, with a minimum of fuss, but could NOT get through Nancy's. Finally I gave up and did it on my phone rather than the computer. I do most of my emailing through my phone now.

So I got the four emails off that way. I've heard back from Sue, not the others.

I also Facebook messaged Mari S, even though she's not a relative, and Bob Eschelman cause Diane doesn't seem to get online as much any more. I still need to contact Janet and remind Steve.

After that I didn't do anything constructive, though that all took a lot longer than it should have because of the email issues and this computer. I So I didn't have that long to wait til 7:00 when I Teamed the FWiB.

We talked til I had to get off for my meeting. M and S were both there, M had a lot of technical difficulty, but her helper got it straightened out.

After the meeting I had dinner and went into the bedroom and played solitaire.

mashfanficchick called to discuss plans for upcoming days. I'm skipping D&D tomorrow and going to a Mets game with zer, then staying over til Thursday.

Then it was pet feeding time and I fed the pets, and started here.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. My cousins.

3. Got to the blood tests on time.

4. Lovely day.

5. Mets tickets.

6. My meetings and the people there.

Mood: good

l33tminion

Clover Food Lab is somehow reopening after getting a last-minute bailout from a mystery investor. Real curious what the details of that are and if they'll manage to hold on, but at least I'll get some more chances to eat there.

This weekend, there was a party at former ITA Software CEO Jeremy's house, celebrating 30 years of ITA Software. Was quite a get-together. Really enjoyed catching up with many people. I sure had a great time on that project, and it was great for my career.

I finished reading Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World by Henry Grabar. Highly recommend if you're interested in urbanism / urban design. Worth reading even if you've already read Shoup's The High Cost of Free Parking, or if you'd rather get fascinating knowledge about the subject from a 300-page popular-nonfiction book as opposed to a 600-page academic text.

I started reading (rereading? I would have sworn but if so my memory of that is very faded) the third book in Sean McMullin's Greatwinter Trilogy, Eyes of the Calculor (I keep misreading that title and the in-book eponymous massive human-powered computing machine as "the calculator", but it is in fact rendered differently in the story's speculative future-Australian dialect). Great post-apolcalyptic fiction of the very-far-post (though in some cases ongoing) thousand-apocalypse-pileup variety.

Mood: busy

neonvincent

I could have used this in Marsh Family sings 'Bile and Lies' about JD Vance for Tuneful Tuesday, but decided to stick to a song about a U.S. politician.

Watch on YouTube

Mood: hungry
Location: House in the woods at the edge of town
Music: Gremloe Twitch stream

tcpip

"Rodents" are the featured article on Wikipedia today, so it's appropriate that my "animaux de compagnie", Mayday and Mayhem are mentioned. Last week, I took them to a specialist vet to get a general check-up and some medications for mycoplasma infection, which, unfortunately, is pervasive among the species. Mayday had incessant sneezing, and Mayhem was snortling, so the visit was rather overdue, but apart from that, they are in very good condition. Mixing crushed doxycycline with rice cream is a certain method to get rats to eat their medicine, and now, a few days later, they are pretty much cured. Despite their age (almost two, which is 60 in rat-years), these brothers are very active, chasing each other about, tails held high (a sure sign of a healthy rat), climbing where they shouldn't climb, and generally being highly intelligent and playful balls of chaos. I attribute their excellent health in part due to their very extended free-range time and their healthy diet of steamed vegetables, a little protein powder, leafy greens, brown rice and oats. I'm not sure how they managed to convince me that their free-range time now consists from when I get up, that they are fed on a mat by the study door, and they can sleep in a kitten bed underneath my bed during the day, being returned to their oversized cage only when I turn in. Rat cunning, that's what they have.

The other member of the household, who is not of order Rodentia, i.e., myself, is apparently also in good health, perhaps due to similarities to my companions in diet and exercise. On my doctor's inquisitiveness, I've undertaken a range of blood tests, which all came back in good order and, after putting on a few kilos from the extraordinary culinary adventures in South America, on the cruise, and then Sichuan province, I am finally shedding my way back towards last year's levels; my body is curiously elastic. For those who are able (and I recognise my good fortune in this regard), a good diet, plenty of exercise, and good sleep, applied with time and consistency, make a world of difference. Still, one doesn't get all the benefits; I recently recall being in good spirits after a great punk gig, finding a smoochy cat on the way home, all purrs and head-butts, and then taking a few steps forward muttering under my breath, "I wish I didn't exist". Ahh, my brain, with its quadruple dose of depression, you take me such places. I even let the mask slip at work at a staff meeting, when I cheerily suggested to all that if we didn't exist, we wouldn't have any problems. That would solve everything for all time! Thank goodness I have my Haustiere to retain a semblance of sanity.

Mood: cheerful
Location: The Rookery
Music: Ascendant, Particle Horizon

silver_chipmunk

Set my alarm this morning for 11:00 but was awake earlier. I didn't get out of bed though, I just played on my phone.

Then just after the alarm did go off, the phone rang. It was my insurance company, but it was a robocall so I couldn't ask questions. It said that I had been approved for something my doctor had requested. I assume this is the CPAP, cause I don't know what else it could be. I will call the vendor tomorrow.

I also got an email from Denise with the email addresses I requested.

I had iced coffee, and was just preparing to take a shower when

mashfanficchick told me that Liz G was there to take us.

So I quickly pulled on clothing showerless, and we went shopping to Long Island.

First we ate at Noodles and Company. I forget what I had was called, but it had garlic sauce and asparagus and artichoke with rigatoni. And grilled chicken.

Then we went to The Container Store where

mashfanficchick got a closet setup. We spent a long time there while ze checked out everything.

Then we loaded that into Liz G's car and went to Blick Art Supplies. We took our time there, and I bought a cute little penguin figurine for my collection.

Then Liz G drove us back to

mashfanficchick's apartment where we dropped off the stuff ze bought at The Container Store. Then she drove us to U-Haul and dropped us off, as she had to get home in time to get a parking space.

mashfanficchick bought boxes for storage and then we called an Uber to get back to zer place.

We hung out for awhile, and I texted the Kid about the call from the insurance company and about Denise's email. She replied. Then we did some cleaning work. Then finally we went out for dinner because it was a really nice day.

We walked down Austin street and went to an Indian restaurant. I had lamb korma and a mango lassi.

Tonight is the Knicks basketball game, the finals, which Trump went to. As we walked down the street we could hear the fans in the restaurants that had TVs playing it. I understand that when they showed Trump on the Jumbotron the booing was so loud it drowned out the National Anthem.

Anyway, after dinner I took an Uber home. I was worried Oreo might have run out of water but he hadn't though he had eaten all his food. I fed him and Christie.

I called the FWiB on the phone because he wasn't answering his email. He had fallen asleep in his chair again, so we Teamed but only a quick 15 minutes and then he went to bed.

Now I see the Knicks lost by 4 points. Bummer, but what do you expect? Trump was there.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. The phone call from the insurance company.

3. Got the family email addresses.

4. Cute penguin.

5. Oreo had not run out of water.

6. Bed soon.

Mood: good

neonvincent

Watch on YouTube

Mood: awake
Location: House in the woods at the edge of town
Music: Sims 4

luzribeiro

Donald Trump loves to say women are "too emotional" to be president, but the second a female journalist calmly challenges him on his election lies, he turns bright red, rips off his mic, and storms out of the room. Like a toddler denied a toy, he threw a tantrum and crashed out of an NBC interview rather than answer a basic question about his own claims.

( Read more... )

Mood: impressed

grail76

( Less WF below here )

silver_chipmunk

Slept very late today though I wasn't up that late last night. Had iced coffee.

mashfanficchick got up when I did and we did some stuff around the apartment, then called in food from a diner. I had blueberry pancakes. Delicious.

We did some more things and then started watching the Mets game on TV. They won very handily, 7 to 2. Very nice.

By the time the game was over it was time to Team the FWiB so I did that while

mashfanficchick did some organizing stuff.

At 8:30 I got off with the FWiB and called Middle Brother. He went to a movie on Friday, he doesn't know the name but it was scary. Then yesterday they lost power for awhile in the afternoon but it came back.

Since then we've just been hanging out and I decided to stay another night. Oreo should have enough food to last, and Christie the Turtle is fine missing a day.

We're getting towards time for a late dinner. That's all.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. Blueberry pancakes.

3. Middle Brother is fine.

4. Amusing stuff on Facebook.

5. Dinner soon.

6. Pasta choices.

Mood: cheerful

neonvincent

I could have used this video in 'The Mythology of the Backrooms Explained' by Storied plus 'Backrooms' box office, but decided to contrast ABC and CNN instead.

Watch on YouTube

Mood: full
Location: House in the woods at the edge of town
Music: Star Wars: The Old Republic

silver_chipmunk

Got up this morning at 9:00, had breakfast and coffee, showered and dressed, and packed for staying tonight with

mashfanficchick.

Then went to my Al-anon meeting. I thought I was going to be late but I got lucky with getting a bus quickly and made it on time. The meeting was very good.

Afterward I went to the diner as usual, though not with S, with someone else. I had a bacon, egg, and cheese on an English muffin, and an iced coffee.

Then I took the 13 bus to Flushing and the subway from there to

mashfanficchick's place. On the train I got a call from cousin Cliff and I was able to tell him about the date for the memorial for Oldest Brother.

When I got to there, ze was working on zer apartment. We worked on that for several hours and then ordered Thai food for dinner.

I put an announcement of the memorial on the Facebook group for Outing Park, and emailed John to ask for email addresses of the cousins so I could tell them directly.

While dinner was coming I Teamed the FWiB for awhile. When dinner got here we got off. Then after dinner, we got back to working on the apartment.

Finally settled down to watching the Mets game, and that's what we're doing now. I borrowed the use of zer laptop to write here.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. My meetings and the people there.

3. Heard from Cliff.

4. Thai food.

5. Texted the Kid and heard from her.

6. The Mets are winning at the moment.

Mood: good

edelsont

There's this funny little man who lives inside my head who's always asking me questions. Recently, he asked me one which was tangentially related to my most recent journal entry.

Q: So, you've been having some trouble getting an appointment with a psychiatrist. But why did your doctor refer you to one in the first place?

A: Because I asked him to.

Q: Uh-huh. And why'd you do that, Tom?

A: I've been having some short-term memory issues Like, I go upstairs to get something, and by the time I get there, I've forgotten what the “something” was.

… (That's not entirely a bad thing, of course. I get more exercise that way.)

… But it's still, on the whole, a pain in the butt, given that it's been happening more and more often.

Q: You have my sympathy. But you still haven't said why you wanted to see a psychiatrist.

A: Um, I sorta thought that was obvious. I thought maybe a change of medication would help with the memory problems.

He didn't have any more questions, so I guess I'll post this, and go on to the next item on my to-do list.

If only I could remember what that was.

Mood: explanatory

abomvubuso

Watch on YouTube

Mood: energetic
Location: villiersdorp
Music: Kamelot - Sacrimony

neonvincent

Watch on YouTube

Mood: full
Location: House in the woods at the edge of town
Music: Sims 4

Credits & Style Info

Monthly topic:
Political Comebacks Nobody Expected

Dailyquote:

"The NATO charter clearly says that any attack on a NATO member shall be treated, by all members, as an attack against all. So that means that, if we attack Greenland, we'll be obligated to go to war against ... ourselves! Gee, that's scary. You really don't want to go to war with the United States. They're insane!"

(edelsont)

June 2026

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Talk politics.

A place to discuss politics without egomaniacal mods.

Member Posts

Sitting out a hot day

Unused image for Emmys post

Russia: The collapse has begun

Shopping and Mets game

another ufo statement from USA Congress

Replaced video for Randy Rainbow post

Blood tests

Fourth Leaf

Unused video for Marsh Family post

Rodent Happiness, Household Health

Shopping with Liz G

Latest SWTOR short

Big Baby throws a tantrum. Again.

Photo Dump with some advice from Groucho

Staying another night

Unused video for Backrooms post

Helping out

Why a psychiatrist in the first place?

Kamelot - Sacrimony

Yokohama Scouts

Credits & Style Info

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June 2026

Summary