Bobservations

Carlos was having trouble with his iPad last night. With his eyesight, he can still read some things on the screen, but he needs it to be in dark mode, and he had done something to change it back to light and asked me to fix it. And I did because I’m nice like that. Then he said the volume needed to be increased because when he was dictating to the iPad he said, and I’m quoting:

“I like to hear the clink clink clink of the dictation.”

I fixed the volume and said to him:

“You know what  like to hear? The sound of your feet moving you out of the office.”

I swear it’s pure comedy gold around here.

Whobert? Honey? It was thing 45 who closed the schools back in 2020, you dimbulb. But then what do you expect from a “Good” Christian woman who, earlier this week, prayed that that Joe Biden would die. Again.

I caught some of the Grammy’s and here’s what I thought … I loathe Beyoncé. I don’t find her the Second Coming in music and I find her a lying pandering hypocrite. As she won an award she thanked God, her dead Uncle, her parents, her husband, her three kids and, wait for it, the hypocrisy stings, the “queer” community. This after doing a concert in Dubai and being paid tens of millions of dollars to perform in a country that outlaws homosexuality. Fuck off, Bey.

Cheers to Kim Petras for being the first out--Thanks Jon--transgender person to win a Grammy in the best pop duo/group performance category, and for Sam Smith to win as the first non-binary artist; they won for their song ‘Unholy.’

Lastly, Madge’s face. Now people are playing off the outrage over Madonna’s appearance as ageism, but it’s not; it’s WhatTheFuckism. I missed the intro so I saw this person walk onstage, speak in a strange voice, not Madge’s usual British accent, and look just odd. As I began to realize it was Madge, my thoughts went from ‘Egads, her face’ to ‘Is this why her Madonna film was shelved? So she could star in the reboot of 'Hellraiser’?

With people calling it ageist to comment on Madge’s new face, I thought, let’s contrast and compare, using Cher, Madonna’s BFF as an example. This year Madonna is celebrating 40 years in music, and has a tour planned to commemorate that feat, so up top is a picture of 24-year-old Madonna from the early days alongside 64-year-old Madonna from last weekend.

Below that is Cher, also from 1983 when she was 36-years-old and contrasted with Cher, who’s been in show business for sixty-plus years,  from 2023 at age seventy-six.

Both women have had work done, but only one has crossed a line, and, again, that’s not ageism, but WhatTheFuckism.

PS And don't give me the line that Madonna looks like that because she shaved her eyebrows; t's the lips and eyes and cheeks and chin, too.

As Tyre Nichols sat propped against a police car, bloodied, dazed and handcuffed after being beaten by a group of Memphis police officers, Officer Demetrius Haley sent a photograph of Nichols to at least five people, including two fellow officers, a civilian employee of the department and a female acquaintance.

Demand police reforms.

Pete Santilli, conservative rightwingnut,  has blamed the earthquake in Turkey and Syria on Sam Smith’s demonic Grammy performance.

Yes, he says that God was so incensed at an Englishman wearing a horned hat and singing a song on TV in California that She sent an earthquake to the other side of the world and murdered over 10,000 people.

Let that sink in.

It’s almost Valentine’s Day and you know what that means: revenge gifts … like having your ex’s name engraved on a cat litter box.

The Animal Friends Humane Society , an Ohio animal shelter, offers this service to fundraise and, more importantly, help the heartbroken by letting them be petty! So, if you’ve been dumped or scorned, cheated on or mistreated, dedicate a litter box to the one you used to love. The gesture will cost $5 per box; the promotion will run until February 12, and the shelter will then reveal all the sponsored litter boxes, names included, in a Facebook post on Valentine’s Day.

Ain’t Revenge Grand?

I really need a pair of socks like this, just to see the looks on people faces as I cross and uncross my legs.

Y’all know what a fan I am of the professional sportsball stuff, right? And I especially like that this year the Quarterbacks for each team are both Black men for the first time in history with Kansas City Chiefs Patrick Mahomes, top left, going up against Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, top right. And then there are two brothers playing on opposite teams in the big game. Bottom right is younger brother from the Chiefs, Travis Kelce, while bottom left is the older brother from the Eagles Jason Kelce. All that means nothing when the real question is: Which One Would You Hit?

I hate to boast, but I really think my response to Large Marge was sheer perfection and, dare I say it, even more comedy gold?

Architecture Wednesday: Suspension House

Much like a more modern Fallingwater, the Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece, this ultra-modern three-bedroom, three-bath plus guesthouse California remodel is suspended between two hills, spanning a creek, with a waterfall in the backyard.

In this part of California, it is no longer legal for homes to be suspended over a creek, so the architects followed strict guidelines on how to use the existing structure as the basis for design and have the new home follow the exact outline of the existing house and decks. Rather than bearing down and disturbing the creek below, the new structural system has been anchored to the bedrock within the flanks of the hill, suspending the home completely over the water. By opening sight lines and using transparent materials, floor-to-ceiling windows, see-through floors, and open-concept outdoor spaces such as floating staircases, the natural water features are visible from the front and back of the house.

The remodel retains 50% of the existing wood structure, a steel frame was inserted beneath the original floors and now anchors the home to the rocky hillside, allowing for the removal of supporting columns from within the creek bed; this new support system is exposed on all the floors.

The first two floors follow the existing house, but the new third floor rotates 90 degrees to better relate to the site and views; this shift also breaks up the mass of the structure, giving it some height, while differentiating itself from the lower floors. Atop a steel frame, the roof—like the home itself—hovers, creating a dynamic space with lots of natural light.

And before y’all come for me, I know it’s not Fallingwater; it lacks the warmth of that house. This one is very sterile and very hard, but it is a sleek ultra-modern cousin of the FLW original.

As always, click to emBIGGERate ...

Dwell

Meme Dump

Ron DeSantis Chooses Guns Over Women's Rghts

I never thought Florida could sink lower—though, to be fair, it’s been sinking figuratively and literally, for years now—after last week’s announcement allowing Floridians to openly carry a weapon without a permit and with no training; in the land of Stand Your Ground the blood will soon flow.

But also last week the Florida High School Athletics Association [FHSAA ] announced its decision to require student athletes to give their schools detailed information about their periods if they choose to sign up for a sports team.

In October the FHSAA changed its annual physical form for student athletes to a digital version and this new form includes optional but detailed questions about students’ menstruation cycles, including when they got their first period, when they had their most recent one, and how many weeks pass between periods. Previously, only one page of the paper form—on which a pediatrician would sign off on a student being allowed to play—would be submitted to a school. But the entire digital form will now be submitted.

Oh, it’s optional, okay them  guess I got all riled for no good reas—and then this: the FHSAA has since changed the optional requirement to mandatory. The recommendation now goes before the FHSAA board of directors, which will meet in late February to make the final decision.

While students’ medical history is necessary for doctors, should the athlete be hurt while playing their sport and require medical attention, but no one knows why any school would need menstrual cycle information other than Ron DeFacsist’s anti-transgender bias and pregnancy and abortion information.

And controlling women’s bodies.

There are parents, and doctors, who worry that schools will use the menstrual data to monitor students for late or missed periods, a possible sign of pregnancy, or to out transgender students by watching for girls who don’t get periods or boys who do.

Florida school administrators say the information will stay private, but there’s no guarantee it will. The platform that hosts Florida’s new digital athletics form are not owned by medical institutions and therefore are not subject to health privacy laws. If subpoenaed for someone’s data, particularly in a state where abortion has been made illegal, companies would be required to hand it over.

Florida has been subjugating women and gender minorities since Ron DeSantis was elected; the state has banned abortion after 15 weeks, forbidden transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams, and barred Floridians from using Medicaid to pay for gender-affirming treatments.

Funny, or sad, Florida has given all the freedom in the world to people who want guns, but keep restricting the freedoms of women.

Remember, though, women vote, guns don’t.

Cast a goddamned vote and vote Blue.

New Republic

The Funny Papers

David Horsey, Jack Ohman, Michael de Adder, Christine Sharp, Ted Littleford, RJ Matson, Bill Day, Mike Luckovich, Clay Bennett, Steve Sack, Tim Campbell, Deb Milbrath, Ed Hall, JD Crowe