Weekend Open Thread
When you have different news agencies trying to “break from the crowd” to compete for attention, there’s a possibility that an independent press is at work. On the other hand, if you have different news agencies using very similar phrases, words, context, etc., there’s a possibility that the press isn’t free. Fortunately, many of us are willing to search for what is happening. Enjoy your weekend!
Category: Open thread
FIRST!
Fourth!
I was hitting the F5 key until 1:05, saw that nothing was happening, and left.
I come back 10 minutes later, and BOOM.
Ah, well. Too impatient.
(besides, I have work to do)
Better late than never I’ve been on the road getting kids and dogs.
Happy Friday but solemn weekend, even though we get three days.
I started something yesterday that I’m gonna pass on from a guy whose name on Facebook is Stick Vet that who writes a Stick Figure comic strip for Veterans that’s kind of funny for those that have a book of faces.
He does a thing where he reaches out to a veteran buddy on the 22nd of every month just to check in on somebody to try to alleviate the problem of Veterans suicide, the 22.
Just like not picking up a drink that made me not want to eat a bullet yesterday even though I’m not even remotely close to wanting to do that… it’s just an opportunity for me to be thankful and have a reminder about my blessings so I reached out to one of my friends who I haven’t talked to in six or eight months who’s a chief retired and he’s OK. I’m gonna start doing that now once a month just like every day or two I try to find a reminder not to pick up a drink.
Happy weekend you bunch of fuzzy faggots
Don’t get arrested don’t add to the population. Don’t commit a felony.
Don’t pet stray dogs.
DON’T whizz on the electric fence.
First!
Sheesh … I get an afternoon away from the office and the King of Battle beats me to the coveted FIRST. I take second gladly, though.
Nothing but pure luck got me into position by one (1) second into the Coveted (EARNED NEVER AWARDED) FIRST on the Vaunted TAH Friday Weekend Open Thread, CW. Baby Sister and one of my Health Care Providers, LMC, had just helped me hobble back into Fire Base Magnolia after my Chancre Mechanic visit and the provision run (Man THAT struggle was reeeely realz) Baby Sis handed me my lap top and said, “Sit right there, catch your breath, and I’ll unload the Prime Mover.” I opened up Mr. Chromie and low and behold the WOT was just sitting there…orphaned. As I scrolled down to type in the comment block I was thinking…”No way in hell can I get this today”, but The Gods of FIRST smiled on me. No one was more surprised than I that it happened. We will celebrate today’s victory with some God’s Holy Chicken, from Mr. Truett Cathy’s House, that I picked up on the way out of the Little Big Town. The refreshing beverages offered up today includes a #2 washtub of his fresh squeezed lemon juice. Baby Sis has the Prime Mover unloaded, the provisions in the pantry and LMC got my meds in me. Each day I have now is a Blessing…or a curse, whichever way I want to look at it.
Hoping the chancre mechanic is doing a good job for you, brother.
Deo Vindice, Graybeard. The ONLY Healer I put any Faith in. Low BP, twinges of a headache, and generally run down. I requested an MRI for the torso area for a shortness of breath thing, so naturally, they scheduled me for a brain pan scan (because of the past TIAs). While talking with the MRI Tech as to what was going on with me, she said the torso scan was what I needed but she could only do what the order was for. She did make sure that a notation was made to have another order placed for that to be done. “Practicing” medicine. I’m gonna endeavor to persevere, somebody has to be a burr under our Beloved AW1 Ed’s Saddle.
I did cut the dosage of one of the BP Meds in 1/2 last week and the BP has crept up from the very low 100s to around 118 over the last few days.
Because of a recent a-fib event, my heart doc put me on metoprolol, at first 1/2 tablet 2x daily.
The caution is my normal heart rate is usually pretty low – a resting bpm in the 50s. But with supraventricular tachycardia occasionally showing up. Then that one known a-fib event.
My average resting pulse rate fell to 42 bpm – even while replacing #1 Son’s breaker box (exciting – the circuit was overloaded and the 1/0 copper blew out the side of the conduit).
Anyway, I’m back to 1/2 pill 1x/daily unless my average resting bpm stays in the bradycardia range.
As you say, Deo Vindice. We just keep trying to keep it between the ditches on the highway of life.
4TH
You would be third, Sparks. I can’t be second and third too.
My arm is now out of the cast, and that is wonderful! With the King on the throne, I guess I’ll go ahead and drop the trivia for the week. Enjoy!
DID YOU KNOW…?
Have movies about a popular comic strip character not been made since 1990 because of an actor’s anger?
By Commissioner Wretched
didyouknowcolumn@gmail.com
Copyright © 2025
Take a deep breath.
Smell that?
It’s summer in the air, coming in just a few short weeks.
Yes, I truly believe that we can smell summer approaching. What does summer smell like, you ask? To each of us, it’s different.
For me, it’s fresh-cut grass, hot dogs, and the smell of a baseball field. That’s summer in a nutshell.
(Nutshell, how appropriate. I’m a nut.)
Another thing that you can tell is approaching is trivia. How? You’re here, aren’t you?
Let’s dive into this week’s hand-sorted selection of information!
Did you know …
… a California town actually has a thousand times more dead people in it than live people? The town of Colma, California, has a population of about 1,500 people. It also has seventeen cemeteries, and the total number of people interred there is estimated to be 1.5 million. That’s one thousand times more dead people in Colma than live people. (Living it up has a new meaning in Colma, doesn’t it?)
… you may suffer from rhinotillexomania? I kind of hope that you don’t, however. Rhinotillexomania is a phrase that means a person is obsessive about picking their nose. (As for what level would be obsessive, I think I’ll let you figure that one out.)
… a well-known writer was the teacher of another well-known writer? H.G. Wells (1866-1946), author of classics such as War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man and The Time Machine, was a science teacher at London’s Henley House School from 1889 to 1890, one of several teaching positions he held. During that time, one of his students was A.A. Milne (1882-1956), who wrote the children’s classic Winnie the Pooh. (The best teaching the best.)
… a 1972 television program muted the microphone of a live singer? On February 16, 1972, The Mike Douglas Show had as its guests John Lennon (1940-1980), his wife Yoko Ono (born 1933), and singer Chuck Berry (1926-2017). During the performance of the song “Memphis, Tennessee,” Ono began to perform her trademark scream into her microphone, while Lennon and Berry were performing. Sound engineers immediately muted Ono’s microphone, and viewers at home saw her mouth moving but didn’t hear her. For his own part, Berry’s eyes widened in shock with Ono began her screaming; Lennon had not told him in advance of her particular way of performing. (If you’ve ever heard her, you’d understand.)
Listed 3 classics by Mr. Wells. Notice a pattern? 3? Just sayin’.
Mark David Chapman killed Lennon…Yoko killed John’s career. (for most of us) Chapman had the wrong target. Chuck was THE Man.
I think it was Denis Leary who made the observation about how unfair life is: Yoko was standing right next to John, yet didn’t get hit by even one fucking bullet.
Even when she “sings”, IMHO Yoko ono sounds like a feral tomcat getting a root canal without anesthesia.
Yeah, John definitely was thinking with the wrong head when he hooked up with Yoko.
… a popular comic character hasn’t been featured in movies since 1990 because of an actor’s anger? In 1990, Warren Beatty (born 1937) starred in Dick Tracy, a movie based on the popular comic strip detective created by Chester Gould (1900-1985), which won three Academy Awards™ – for Art Direction, Makeup, and Original Song. For whatever reasons, however, the movie did not do the business expected, and the studios involved – Walt Disney Studios and Touchstone Pictures – would not let Beatty make a sequel, even though he owned the film and television rights to the character. They even tried to use the character in a television show without Beatty, and that steamed the actor something big. Since then, Beatty has used a loophole in his contract to enact a kind of petty revenge. From time to time, Beatty releases a 20-minute television “special” in which he appears as Tracy, complaining about the way he was treated. They’re pretty much unwatchable, but they do serve to keep the film rights to Dick Tracy with Beatty, and no one else can use the character for anything. (I’ve heard of carrying a grudge, but this is ridiculous.)
… whitening your teeth can actually weaken them? Most dentists I know will vehemently disagree with this, but the natural color of a human being’s teeth is a light yellow. These are the stronger teeth; whitening them removes outside layers of enamel and actually weakens teeth. (Remember the jingle? “You’ll wonder where the yellow went …”)
… Pinocchio cannot say “my nose will grow now”? It’s a classic paradox. Pinocchio’s nose only grows when he tells a lie. But if he says his nose will grow, that would be a true statement – thus, the nose does not grow. (Short-circuits his brain, too, I’m told.)
“…but the natural color of a human being’s teeth is a light yellow…”
I kept this in mind when I got my dentures. I made sure that the teeth were not “pearly white”. I had them made in a shade that looked more natural, more “dim”. The result is, for me, more satisfactory because it is more realistic.
Yeah well phuque WB. Typical self centered, egotistical, control freak, demonrat POS. Hollywierd sure brushed over his attraction to teenaged girls. *spits* ’bout the only thing I ever watched that he was in was the B&C picture and that was only ’cause I had the hots for Faye D.
The dentist’s nose will grow when they tell you that lie. Healthy teeth aren’t good for their business plan. Now do “Fluoride”.
… one of the first company-wide pay raises given was done for a base purpose? When Henry Ford (1863-1947) doubled the pay of his workers in 1914, from $2.50 per day to $5 per day, he only did it to decrease employee turnover rates. His total work force that year was 14,000, but to keep the jobs filled he’d had to hire 52,000 men. New workers on the auto assembly line needed a long training period and many would quit, forcing the production line to slow down. Doubling salaries kept the turnover rate low.
… a famous scene in a classic movie is tied to three other classic movies? During the filming of Gone With the Wind in 1939, the script called for depicting the burning of the city of Atlanta. To achieve the effect, the filmmakers burned the old sets from three classics – 1933’s King Kong, 1936’s The Last of the Mohicans, and 1936’s Little Lord Fauntleroy. (Hot information indeed.)
… a Texas university has a statue that pokes fun at a rival? On the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, stands a statue of humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935). Rogers is astride his horse Soapsuds in a casting of the famous photo, “Into the Sunset.” The rear end of the horse points directly toward College Station, Texas, home of rival school Texas A&M. (Which tells you what Rogers thought of Texas A&M.)
… the average American eats an amount of fat equivalent to one whole stick of butter every day? (I’m way above average once again.)
Now … you know!
Another one of Ford’s “Better ideas”. Too bad some of their current ideas aren’t as good…or their work force.
Where is ‘Cump now that Atlanta needs him? I’d loan him the use of my Zippo. Film at 6 & 11.
Yeah well, the Aggies had a lot of grads that mounted their steeds of steel and lead the Charge on The Field of Battle.
Now you got me wanting to put on a skillet of cornbread and slather it with sweet butter. I like fat grams.
Another fine trivia job today, CW. Not that we expected any thing less. We Thank you, again…Good Sir!
Colma….sounds like Coma….
Hmm. That’s where the Zombie Apocalypse is gonna start.
One has to wonder how many Colma voters who voted in 2020 while residing at those cemeteries.
Welp…with your wing out of the cast, me entertaining the Lovey Lois of late, and you not having to ride herd on the cats you shoulda been able to make some progress on “Book III”.
Magnolia Blossoms, Mint Juleps, grilled beast of beef, and coconut oil coated Ms Thangs.
You can pick your burial place, you can pick a friends burial place…you can pick your nose (not that you should, get a kleenex/hanky), but you can’t pick your friend’s nose.
Top 5 I think.
Monday we shall have a rifle salute at the post and, just as we do before every rifle salute, we call the cops to give them heads up. ‘and every year the cops show because someone heard gun fire. I wonder how many cops will show up this year.
You should set up a pool…
Depends, now, upon where in Texas, but hearing gunfire is common, the difference is whether it is gangbangas or good ol’ boys target shooting.
On station.
Y’all might enjoy this
Wouldn’t wanna drive it in that configuration during a Minnesota winter.
Wouldn’t wanna drive that death trap anyway!
I ‘spect he is from the local Veteran’s Museum:
https://heartsmuseum.com/index.html
Surplus M151’s weren’t supposed to be sold to the general public, they were cut in half and sold for scrap. But… enterprising Jeepers promptly welded them back together.
Had a jeep driver roll one over on me in Germany in 1970. The ruts in the snow precipitated the loss of control at Graf.
Back in the 1950’s, Pop Science or Pop Mechanics magazines had ads for WW2 surplus jeeps for sale which came in crates that the buyer had to put together including French WW1 machins guns for sale with the front of the barrel plugged.
Here’s the modern day version:
https://thejeepsterman.com/products/jeep-in-crate-mb-1942-willys-jeep?_pos=1&_psq=jeep+in+a+crate&_ss=e&_v=1.0
For the guy on a budget…
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/massimo-gkd350-all-terrain-300cc-go-kart-green
For the guy that’s REALLY on a budget…
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/massimo-mini-jeep-green-y540125716
Hey, they both come with motor/drive train so there is that.
Missed again, Still didn’t buy a Magic 8-Ball
At least I didn’t type in FIRST SEVENTEENTH or did I?? Only the Shadow knows.
Happy weekend!
Ooof. That hit right in the: Allergies, Seasonal, 1 Ea.
Too:
My son gets to drive an M24 Chaffee tank this weekend at the American Heratage Museum, with me in the turret.
gpdGyL01GT8
Remember…only fire on liberals.
It’s in Massachusetts, target rich environment,
May all your MREs be Chili Mac.
Off to debauch before some duties.
Have an Honorific weekend yall!
You should know better
…..you have used the words of the ancient incantation… you have now summoned the evil and the demonic one… and now you shall pay the price…..BEHOLD!!!
Hiking over a mountain with a 1000 pound pack on my back, a 60 pound rifle on my shoulder, a 10 pound helmet on my head, 5 pound boots on my feet, and utilities soaked with every ounce of water I had in my body left me with an appetite that made the items IN the cans look like a five star meal at the Ritz, but also made me want to eat the cans. So, MREs don’t look all that bad.
Man, I’d take the Chicken All La King (sp?) over those.
The old Tuna with Noodles and Corned Beef hash were my two favorites during my first enlistment!
That was always my fav.. along with Tabasco liberated from the chow hall
Some are a case of not whether it’s feasible but whether it should’ve been done:
P.S. That’s the pepperoni pizza MRE (sorta like elementary school pizza only smaller and preserved in a foil pouch) and worse than Tuna with Noodles held under my armpit to make it warm out in the field during Winter in Germany.
Last Hurricane season I got the MRE meals A and B and when the season was over, my Sister takes the case with the good stuff from meals A leaving me the belly burners from B… When I ordered, I specified that I wanted just 2 A meals but got the B with the A.
Hack had more pressing matters to attend to instead of waiting on the Open Thread to drop. That Red Hat Software ain’t going to sell itself. Maybe next week.
The False Commander “Phony” Phil Monkress (CEO of All-Points Logistics) works balls.
Which is like saying that water is wet, fire is hot and shit stinks!
About 40, present and unaccountable as I award myself yet another Honorary First.
((((OVER))))
We STILL haven’t seen Epstein’s list, I wonder who’s on it that still has it locked away?
His name was Epstein so that’s why the list is all LOXED up.
Another KoB victory.
Seriously, he is cheating somehow.
I don’t have the time or resources to start digging on the Elias Rodriguez family (teething baby and all), but here’s a link for anyone who feels like doing some research:
https://tinyurl.com/bdcvcbez
Basically, the Jewish couple’s shooter’s dad was a guest at Trump’s not-SOTU. He says he’s an Iraq war vet and works at the VA, and he’s anti-DOGE.
Ooof. Teething baby time.
R.E.S.P.E.C.T. pookeysgirl
Hope it goes well.
Bourbon is the answer for teething babies. Rub a little on their gums, a shot for mom. Everybody sleeps.
Present and unaccountable as ever.
Also Presently cooking Mrs. GB’s birthday cake.
As long-timers know, I have cooked a from-scratch (no boxes!) cake every year of our marriage but one – when I was in Houston but had moved the family out of that sink-hole. So this is my 50th cake and, as far as we can determine, I’ve not used the identical recipe twice.
So, in honor and gratitude for Mrs. GB’s 75th completion of an orbit of the sun, and in memory of The Lioness of TAH and her love for recipes, I present this years cake:
Oatmeal – Apple Spice Cake
1.5 c all-purpose flour
1 c quick-cooking oats
1 c brown sugar (packed)
½ c granulated sugar
1.5 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
½ tsp nutmeg
1 small apple finely diced
½ c shortening
1 c water
2 eggs
2 tbsp dark molasses
Topping
¼ c butter, melted
2/3 c brown sugar, packed
½ c flaked coconut
½ c chopped pecans
3 tbsp light cream
Mix topping ingredients thoroughly.
Cake
Heat oven to 350°
Grease and flour baking pan 13x9x2 inches.
Measure all ingredients except topping into a large mixing bowl.
Blend ½ minute on low speed, scraping bowl constantly.
Beat 3 minutes high speed, scraping bowl occasionally.
Pour into pan.
Bake 35-40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool slightly.
Spread topping over cake.
Set oven on broil or 550°.
Place cake 3 inches from heat.
Broil 2-3 minutes or until topping is golden brown.
Note, this is slightly altered from a recipe in Betty Crocker Cookbook, p103 “Oatmeal Spice Cake”
Further note, Mrs. GB’s birthday is tomorrow.
Many happy returns of the day to Mrs. Graybeard!!
Reason #50 why she put up with you all these years. HB, Mrs Graybeard!
I have a stock of vanilla bean ice cream we can scoop on top of that cake, Good Sir. Jus’ sayin’…
BREAKING NEWS: Slaw Dog wins the first annual Wiener mobile Indy race with a late pass of Vhi Dog on the last lap.
That last lap was a real nail-biter!
In my little area of the country, cbs is the least offensive of the main media broadcasters. They are still obviously biased and in the throws of TDS but the local news is mostly OK. We tend to turn off the national “news” broadcast when it comes on. We got real tired of everything being Trump bad. The little dust up with the SA president was a great example. Trump bad for doing the “ambush” on live TV making the press conference into a “spectacle” and of course totally ignoring the genocide going on in SA.
I’m so tired of the gas lighting and outright manipulation by the media. I am glad I was taught critical thinking and about “yellow journalism” in HS and later on in college.
The WOT is like the Super Bowl of NFL Football, if The Green Bay Packers aren’t in it, it isn’t official.
If the WOT doesn’t have me competing, it’s not an official WOT !!!
So there !!!
PPPPFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTT !!!!!!!!!
So I tell my itinerant Veteran musician friends about not being able to practice on Memorial Day and right on cue the guitarist tells us how he holds everyday special for Veterans…
Where do these clowns come from.
The Coco Puffy Puppy has convinced me that breaking a treat in half means that it is still just one (1) treat.
Hate to post this on an otherwise nice weekend (at least here anyway).
I wonder if they realize what this weekend means, or they do realize and it’s just a yuge middle finger to America.
https://victorygirlsblog.com/providence-raises-the-palestinian-flag-and-a-middle-finger-to-america/
Idiots… left/libtards don’t realize it’s this:
For Monday:
Is anyone here from OBX, the North Carolina Outer Banks ??
Near towns such as Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head, or Duck ??
Aren’t at least 1 of the VG site admins from this area ??
Is THIS who you want to be your new County SHERIFF in 2026?
Well, here you go.
New con, by this serial conman
(who I’ve told ALL you about, repeatedly, over the past 2 years).
Now running for Dare County Sheriff.
Complete with PHONY BIO, repeats old lies and embellishments,
using a long outdated 2021 photo with Trump,
and now including his FAKE 2024 Trump thank you letter
(supposedly from the same time he was BANNED from Trump rallies).
Get your popcorn !!!
https://www.obxlawman.com/
Oh, and this…. Too itchy here (and pissed off)
to wait for Monday’s Holiday Open Thread.
How would you feel,
if the Grand Marshal of your town’s 2025 Memorial Day Parade,
was recently outed and exposed as a PHONY Navy SEAL ???
Saint Floyd of Fentanyl has just completed five (5) years of being drug free…