TaMara

Friday Late Afternoon Open Thread: NRA Protests

This journalist was denied access, despite having credentials.  So instead he covered the protests. I think his time was better spent there. Click on any of his tweets to read his full report.

Protesters chase away impotent white NRA supporter:

Continue reading…

May 27, 2022 by Open Threads Politics

Friday Open Thread: Good Things, Obama Edition

From one of the best presidents ever:

Do you remember this photo?

I sure do.

In 2009, Carlton Philadelphia, a National Security Council staffer, brought his wife and two sons to the Oval Office for a departure photo. Carlton’s older son, Isaac, asked me a few questions about policy, but a more surprising question came from his younger brother, five-year-old Jacob.

“Is your hair like mine?” he asked.

It wasn’t the kind of question a president gets every day.

So, I bent down and told him, “Go ahead, touch it.”

He replied, “Yeah, I think that’s pretty much what I’ve got. ”

White House photographer Pete Souza captured that moment and for years the photo hung in the halls of the West Wing. It was a reminder of one of the reasons I first ran for president: that if I were to win, young people—Black kids, Hispanic kids, kids who may not have always felt like they belonged—might see more possibilities for their own future.

It’s hard to believe 13 years have passed. Today, Jacob will graduate high school and continue on to the University of Memphis to study political science. And I couldn’t be more proud of him.

Congratulations, Jacob, and best of luck to the Class of 2022.

—Barack

Just a reminder there are good things, good people, and hope in the world. Some days it’s hard to remember.

My new morning reminder:

May be an image of coffee cup and text that says 'SCATTER KINDNESS'

This is an open thread

May 27, 2022 by Open Threads

Wednesday Afternoon Open Thread: Don’t Say Curly

This was brilliant, if not sad that this is where we are:

Full speech here:

We see you, Zander. In all your curly hair bravery and greatness.

I do not have it in me to do a kindness post tonight. We’ll see how I’m feeling tomorrow. I have a few set aside, but can always use more.

This is an open thread

May 25, 2022 by Open Threads

Sunday Morning Open Thread: A Little Distraction

I don’t watch SNL very often, but I do catch up with sketches on Youtube occasionally. But for reasons, last night I actually caught the cold open live. I’m glad I did. Kate McKinnon is a gem and I hope we see her in fun things for years to come, now that she’s unleashed from her weekly gig.

Her work in this skit was…otherworldly

 

 

And rewatching the skit this morning led me to this…

 

Which is really the reason I even wrote this post. If I’m grabbing for the box of tissues, well, I’ve got to share. This was the cold open after the horror of the election of 2016.

Still hits hard.

I’m busy packing up the house so I can get new floors in a week. What a PITA, but it’s given me the chance to do a big purge. 5 bags of clothes to the homeless shelter and I’m up to 4 boxes for donation and I’m only 1/3 of a way through the house, so I’m assuming there will be more. I’m not a packrat, but still things crept up over the last 5 1/2 years – when I purged before I moved to this house. Gonna be a busy few weeks, with painting on the agenda before all the stuff gets moved back into the house from the garage.

What’s on your plate this Sunday?

 

 

May 22, 2022 by Open Threads Popular Culture

Saturday Open Thread: F*@k Around, Find Out

Christen Bouchard was the town clerk in Passadumkeag, Maine, since 2020. She requested a two-week vacation about a month and a half ago. Her plea was denied by the board of selectmen. They claimed that no one was available to step in for her.

She left on April 7. The town has had no one to register vehicles, keep crucial records, or communicate with the state Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The position of town clerk isn’t the only important opening in Passadumkeag. The town of 356 people also lacks a code enforcement officer, an assessor, an animal control officer, and a school administration official, according to The Bangor Daily News.

The town office shut down to in-person visitors until further notice, according to a statement sent out on April 19.

 

It’s Saturday! What’s everyone doing today?

This is an open thread

May 21, 2022 by Open Threads

Friday Night Recipe Exchange: Orange, Orange, Orange

:::taps mike::: This thing on?

Boy, it’s good to be back. I thought since we are winging it, I’d throw us back to when we had actual recipes and shared recipes.

It’s snowing here. My garden is completely planted, my iris, peonies and poppies are blooming, so of course it is. The veggies are protected, the flowers are on their own. I did bring in enough lilacs to fill every vase in my house. I would have brought in irises, but I’m allergic.

Snow makes me want sweet and spicy. So tonight is all about oranges.  I’m not sure what the capabilities are here, so I’m providing links to the recipes, instead of posting them directly.

orange-chicken

First up is Stir Fry Orange Chicken and Broccoli: Recipes here

This recipe uses potato starch to make the chicken super crispy without using a ton of oil. I used breasts, but boneless thighs will work just as well.

And since it’s suddenly cold (we are probably going to break low temps records tonight…my poor plants) I’m craving sweets. And Orange Bread is the perfect combination of sweet and tart. Continue reading…

May 20, 2022 by Nature & Respite Open Threads Recipes
Balloon Juice
This is our home away from home while the extended outage at "352" data centers gets sorted.

Voting Access for All Coalition

Watch their one-minute video. You won’t regret it.

Twitter Feeds

John Cole
Betty Cracker
DougJ
TaMara
@Actual_Citizens
@365 Data Centers

Highlights