So it turns out two ants did manage to cross the Great Barrier (actually, the hall) into the kitchen.
I found one drowned in the dregs of a jalepeno martini. That’ll teach ’em.
Archive for Deborah Lipp
Republican Scandals Interactive Map
Via Slate, a pretty picture of a not-so-pretty picture.
Hint added
Slight correction and a little hint for the last remaining clues.
Update: Turns out there were two clues remaining. All hinty now.
There IS something worse than mouse droppings.
Ants.
Fucking ants. Why did it have to be ants?
Big ol’ pile of them crawling all over the last remaining cat food kibble when I went to fill the bowl this morning. Also another big hunk o’ ants under the bowl. So I killed me a bunch of ants and cleaned the floor and washed my hands three times and moved the cat food into the kitchen because in the past, the ants have not followed. (I normally feed them in the downstairs bathroom.)
Then I make my coffee and sit and drink and by the way, this morning I lost a pair of shoes. I know, that’s weird. Last week I wore these cute black sandals with a gold ring that would go perfectly with what I’m wearing today and this morning I couldn’t find them in my closet. So after I drank my coffee I went to see if I’d left them in the living room and I notice Fanty poised at the bathroom door looking Very. Alert.
So I look and sure enough the floor is crawling with ants. Very busy ants. They appear to be building a city. Some have little hard hats.
So this isn’t the first time I’ve had ants in that exact spot, and what that means is I know where to find the Raid. Fuck you if you think I shouldn’t spray poison because hey? Ants.
Looks like the Pagans and the feminists outlasted him
An evil man is dead. I’m not shedding any tears.
Tuesday Trivia: Costumes
1. A velvet neck ribbon, a bed sheet, and nothing else.
Solved by MJ Ray (comment #8).
2. A pink taffetta gown with matching crown and wand.
Solved by Evn (comment #1).
3. A pair of two-tone shoes, checked in at tourist attraction.
HINT: The movie is named after the tourist attraction’s location.
4. A red ball gown at an all-white ball.
Solved by Roberta (comment #4).
5. A “Blue Sun” t-shirt.
Solved by witless chum (comment #5).
6. A pair of giant pretzels worn as a bra.
Solved by Evn (comment #2).
7. High black boots, an ammo belt, and a red bikini.
HINT:On close examination of movie stills, I realize I should have said two ammo belts, criss-crossed. And it’s maybe more of a red diaper than a red bikini; sort of a matter of debate. 1974.
Dinosaurs of Misogyny
Yesterday morning I heard a commercial on the radio for a “news” show on “Women in the Military.” I actually meant to blog it yesterday, but sometimes ideas leak out of my brain and get all over the floormats in the car.
The gist of it was: Is it really okay for women to be in combat? Cuz, y’know, weak and girly and they get their stinky perfumes all over their guns. Or something. The thing is they used all these clips of soldiers saying how women are great, and professional, and in every way as good as men, and then the Ominous Voiceover comes on and asks Ominous Questions: Are women really tough enough? Should they be there at all? Do they menstruate all over their military equipment? Do they have cooties?
(I made some of that up.)
All I could think was, “Why aren’t we done with this yet?” I mean, This is a done deal, it should be old news. Fuck, women in the military is old news, and questions about their fitness doesn’t exactly “support the troops,” does it? I mean, how far back do we want to question? I half expect the Ominous Voiceover to come on and say “Women and the Vote: Is Suffrage Really a Good Idea?”
I am reminded of one of Isaac‘s favorite sayings; that dinosaurs make a lot of noise and tear down a lot of trees as they die. Because they know they’re dying out.
So then last night I see this post on Pandagon, talking about how scientific studies that bash women’s freedoms get media attention (like the so-called “dangers” of daycare) but studies demonstrating the opposite are never reported on. (She’s riffing on a piece Echidne wrote.)
It’s all of a piece. The “culture wars” are dying dinosaurs thrashing about trying to stop the changes that will make them extinct. Unfortunately, dinosaurs still have a lot of power to hurt us; to reduce reproductive freedom, to diminish opportunities, to lay some mighty fucking guilt trips. But it does help, from time to time, to remember that they’re dinosaurs.
The true meaning of Spring
It’s when you go to clean the kitchen counter, and you see these little black specks, and then they move and you realize they’re bugs.
And you think, “At least they’re not mouse droppings.”
Yippee.
Monday Movie Review: Intolerable Cruelty
Intolerable Cruelty (2003) 8/10
Divorce lawyer Miles Massey (George Clooney) is famous for his winner-take-all litigation skills and “the Massey prenup” (they devote a semester to it at Harvard Law). Gold digger Marilyn Rexroth (Catherine Zeta-Jones) catches Miles’s eye when her (soon-to-be) ex-husband becomes Miles’s client. Antics ensue. Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.
Intolerable Cruelty was unfairly maligned upon its release. A Coen brothers movie brings with it a certain set of expectations, and my sense is that no one quite knew what to make of this one. It’s more a screwball than a romantic comedy: I’d define a romcom loosely as a genial journey towards lovers getting together, whereas a screwball is more of a madcap journey of two lovers who are impossible together. Clooney and Zeta-Jones have the fundamental insanity of Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby.
Of course, being a Coen product, it’s dark and cynical, with some very amusing violence and sarcastic camera angles (I don’t know how else to describe that, but you know what I mean). The comedy is mostly the craziness of marriage, lawyers, gold-digging, infidelity, the legal system, and greed, but there’s some marvelous slapstick and the funniest death since The Fantasticks. There’s also a bit of “Who’s on First” dialogue in a courtroom that had me hysterical.
Intolerable Cruelty isn’t a work of genius, but it’s a lot of fun.
Sunday Meditation: Gifts
Today is a day when I’ve been given a wonderful and unexpected gift. So that’s our meditation subject.
As you notice your center, notice that it glows with a beautiful light. That light flows from you, out into the world.
Take a deep breath.
Now notice that the light comes into you from the outside as well. Feel the lovely, giving light of the world coming towards you, and mingling with your own.
Breath the light in and out. The light from your center goes out into the world, and the light from the world touches your center.
Think about the people who love you, and the people who are kind to you. Even if you sometimes feel alone or isolated, you know there are such people in the world. Feel the gift of their light coming into you. Love is a light that bathes you. Kindness is a light that bathes you. It works the other way as well: The light that bathes you is love and kindness, and a beautiful gift.
Think about the gifts, and the kindness, that you have received. Remember opening a gift, and let the love and light pour out of that gift and into you now. Remember a kind word, and let the love and light pour out of that word and into you now. Remember a hug, and let the love and light pour out of that hug and into you now. Allow memories to flow over you and fill you with light.
Look again at the light that surrounds you. Some comes from within you, and some is given to you freely. Notice that this light is pulsing. It moves in and out, like a heartbeat. You are receiving…and you are giving. Allow yourself to know that you can give without draining yourself, and that you always receive as much as you need, and more.
Bask in the pulsing light for a while.
