The Motley Moose - Recommended Diaries

Saturday Morning Herd Check-in: Greetings of the Moosekin

JanF — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:37:47 GMT

Make sure you let your peeps know where to find you!
The morning check-in is an open thread posted to give you a place to visit with the meeses. Feel free to chat about your weather, share a bit of your life, grump (if you must), rave (if you can). The diarist du jour sometimes posts and runs, other times sticks around for a bit, often returns throughout the day and always cares that meeses are happy ... or at least content.

For those new to the Moose, Kysen left a Moose Welcome Mat (Part Deux) so, please, wipe your feet before you ~~walk in the front door~~ start posting.

The important stuff to get you started:
- Comments do not Auto-refresh. Click the refresh/reload on your tab to see new ones. Only click Post once for comments. When a diary's comment threads grow, the page takes longer to refresh and the comment may not display right away.
- To check for replies to your comments, click the "My Comments" link in the right-hand column (or go to "My Moose"). Comments will be listed and a link to Recent Replies will be shown. (Note: Tending comments builds community)
- Ratings: Fierce means Thumbs Up, Fail means Thumbs Down, Meh means one of three things: I am unFailing you but I can't Fierce you, I am unFiercing after a mistaken Fierce, or Meh. Just Meh. (p.s. Ratings don't bestow mojo, online behaviour does).
- Finally, the posting rules for a new diary: "Be excellent to each other... or else"

(Some other commenting/posting/tending notes for newbies can be found in this past check-in and, of course, consult Meese Mehta for all your questions on meesely decorum.)

You can follow the daily moosetrails here: Motley Moose Recent Comments.

Let the greetings begin!

Friday Coffee Hour: Check In and Hangout for all Moosekind

iriti — Fri, 17 May 2013 07:15:44 GMT

Good morning, Moosekind. TGIF! Don't forget to let your peeps know where to find you.

Friday Coffee Hour and check-in is an open thread and general social hour. Come back when time allows through the day - the conversation continues.

It's traditional but not obligatory to give us a weather check where you are and let us know what's new, interesting, challenging or even routine in your life lately. Nothing is particularly obligatory here except:

Always remember the Moose Golden (Purple?) Rule:

Be kind to each other... or else.

What could be simpler than that, right?

Posting in the wee hours because I cannot sleep.

The Daily F Bomb, Friday 5/17/13

Floja Roja — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:59:49 GMT

Interrogatories

When you go shopping, do you have brand loyalties, or do you buy whatever is cheapest?
What language do you wish you spoke?
It's National Pizza Party Day, what do you want on your pizza?
Do you have pack-rat tendencies at all?
What is the last thing that made you really laugh?

The Twitter Emitter

Being popular on Twitter is like dating Lennay Kekua. It's nice to go along with the fantasy, but it's probably a dude talking in falsetto.
— William K. Wolfrum (@Wolfrum) May 16, 2013

I have to agree with Wolf Blitzer. Hundres of people dying every day is way less important than a discussion about talking points.
— Frank Vdl (@fvdlfvdl) May 16, 2013

Has anyone checked Benghazi's birth certificate yet? Pretty sure he's not even American.
— Nita Chaudhary (@nitalovesmiles) May 16, 2013

Sometimes that silver stuff lining the inside of your cloud is asbestos.#DailyAffirmationTweet
— Joseph Scrimshaw (@JosephScrimshaw) May 16, 2013

It appears that Tea Party outrage and exploding foamy pigshit are two separate subjects despite the remarkable similarities.
— TBogg (@tbogg) May 16, 2013

"And no, I'm not racist." -- A racist.
— Chris Dashiell (@cdashiell) May 16, 2013

Why do very smart people spend so much time talking about what's been said that day by very dumb people? Not very smart, if you ask me.
— Jordan Birnbaum (@JordanBirnbaum) May 16, 2013

Being gay ruins marriage but cheating on your 2nd wife with your 3rd mistress can be forgiven #GOPBible
— jimmy streich (@streicher187) May 16, 2013

Dear GOP - you elected Mark Sanford and David Vitter so you lost moral grounds on Anthony Weiner #tcot #p2
— jimmy streich (@streicher187) May 16, 2013

Tea Party wants to game the political process without contributing any taxes. The moocher class par excellence.
— Chris Dashiell (@cdashiell) May 17, 2013

Someone just asked Me, "Can I have a Ferrari and a huge cock?" No one's got both, My friend.
— God (@TheTweetOfGod) May 17, 2013

Republicans know that a lie, once it's released to the 'wild' can never be recalled. It's how they operate.
—UltraVerified (@UltraVerified) May 17, 2013

On This Day

In 1792, the New York Stock Exchange was founded by brokers meeting under a tree on what is now Wall Street.

In 1875, Aristides won the first Kentucky Derby.

In 1946, President Truman seized control of the country's railroads to stop a threatened strike by engineers and trainmen.

In 1954, the Supreme Court issued its landmark Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka ruling, which declared that racially segregated public schools were inherently unequal.

In 1973, the Senate began hearings into the Watergate scandal.

In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed "Megan's Law," which requires residents to be notified when sex offenders move into the neighborhood.

In 2000, two Ku Klux Klansmen were finally arrested on murder charges in the 1963 church bombing in Birmingham, that killed four young black girls.

Born on This Day

1587 - Esaias van de Velde, Dutch landscape painter (d. 1630)

1682 - Bartholomew Roberts, Welsh pirate (d. 1722) (not to be confused with Dread Pirate Roberts)

1758 - Sir John St Aubyn, 5th Baronet, English fossil collector (d. 1839)

1854 - Karl Schweninger II, Austrian painter (d. 1903)

1861 - Maxime Maufra, French Impressionist landscape and marine painter (d. 1918)

1866 - Erik Satie, French composer (d. 1925)

1868 - Horace Elgin Dodge, American automobile manufacturer, co-founder of Dodge (d. 1920)

1889 - Dorothy Gibson, American actress and survivor of RMS Titanic (d. 1946)

1898 - Alfred Joseph Casson, Canadian painter (d. 1992)

1904 - Jean Gabin, French actor (d. 1976)

1911 - Lisa Fonssagrives, Swedish model (d. 1992)

1911 - Maureen O'Sullivan, Irish actress and Mia Farrow's mum (d. 1998)

1912 - Archibald Cox, American lawyer and politician (d. 2004)

1936 - Dennis Hopper, American actor and director (d. 2010)

1942 - Taj Mahal, American singer-songwriter and musician

1944 - Jesse Winchester, singer-songwriter, musician, and producer

1946 - Udo Lindenberg, German singer, musician, and composer (Passport)

1947 - Andrew Latimer, English singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (Camel)

1948 - Dick Gaughan, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and composer (The Boys of the Lough)

1949 - Bill Bruford, English drummer and songwriter (Yes, Genesis, King Crimson)

1955 - Bill Paxton, American actor and director

1961 - Enya, Irish singer-songwriter

1962 - Craig Ferguson, Scottish comedian, actor, and television host

1963 - Page McConnell, American musician and songwriter (Phish, Vida Blue, and Phil Lesh and Friends)

1965 - Trent Reznor, American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and producer (Nine Inch Nails)

Died on This Day

1510 - Sandro Botticelli, Italian painter (b. 1445)

1622 - Leonello Spada, Italian painter (b. 1576)

1635 - Domenico Tintoretto, Venetian painter (b. 1560)

1656 - Dirck Hals, Dutch painter (b. 1591)

1695 - Cornelis de Heem, Dutch still life painter (b. 1631)

1717 - Bon Boullogne, French painter (b. 1649)

1750 - Georg Engelhardt Schröder, German painter (b. 1684)

1829 - John Jay, American statesman and diplomat, 1st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (b. 1745)

1838 - Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, French diplomat (b. 1754)

1875 - John C. Breckinridge, American lawyer and politician, 14th Vice President of the United States (b. 1821)

1889 - William Roxby Beverley, British painter (b. 1814)

1992 - Lawrence Welk, American musician and bandleader (b. 1903)

1996 - Johnny "Guitar" Watson, American singer and musician (b. 1935)

2004 - Tony Randall, American actor (b. 1920)

2005 - Frank Gorshin, American actor (b. 1934)

2012 - Donna Summer, American singer-songwriter (b. 1948)

Today is

National Cherry Cobbler Day
Pack Rat Day
National Bike to Work Day
World Information Society Day
Endangered Species Day
International Virtual Assistants Day
National Pizza Party Day

Sunday Morning Herd Check-in: Greetings of the Moosekin

JanF — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:38:44 GMT

For those new to the Moose, Kysen left a Moose Welcome Mat (Part Deux) so, please, wipe your feet before you ~~walk in the front door~~ start posting.

(Some other commenting/posting/tending notes for newbies can be found in this past check-in and, of course, consult Meese Mehta for all your questions on meesely decorum.)

You can follow the daily moosetrails here: Motley Moose Recent Comments.

Let the greetings begin!

Happee Caturdai Pootie Diaree

triciawyse — Sat, 18 May 2013 16:33:10 GMT

Those of you who already either know me or know of me know that I am a massive pootie person. We have just moved into an apartment and now have a pootie, named Jenny; however I grew up with both cats & dogs and I love both. I do not discriminate against any animal & love animal photos of all kinds. Please enjoy the following and add any photos that you think the community would like to see. Now, enjoy the photos & have some fun.

I would like to thank the ICHC website for the majority of these photos.

Coded by BirderWitch

Word clouds by ccmask

Weekly Address: President Obama "Building a Rising, Thriving Middle Class"

JanF — Sat, 18 May 2013 11:04:36 GMT

From the White House - Weekly Address

President Obama talks about his belief that a rising, thriving middle class is the true engine of economic growth, and that to reignite that engine and continue to build on the progress we've made over the last four years, we need to invest in three areas: jobs, skills and opportunity.

Transcript The President Talks About How to Build a Rising, Thriving Middle Class

Hi, everybody. Over the past few months, I've laid out a series of commonsense ideas to reignite the true engine of our economic growth: a rising, thriving middle class.
The way I see it, there are three areas where we need to focus. One: making America a magnet for good jobs. Two: making sure our workers have the education and skills they need to do those jobs. And three: making sure your hard work leads to a decent living.
I've also been visiting cities across the country that are doing some interesting and creative things along these lines.
On Friday, I stopped by a factory in Baltimore that's creating good jobs here at home by exporting digging equipment abroad.
I read with young kids in a pre-K program, where kids are getting a head start learning the skills they'll need to succeed in life.
And I stopped by a program that's helping folks in tough circumstances - especially low-income dads - get the training and guidance they need to find work and support their families.
That's why I like getting out of the Washington echo chamber whenever I can - because too often, our politics aren't focused on the same things you are. Working hard. Supporting your family and your community. Making sure your kids have every chance in life.
More than anything, the American people make me optimistic about where we're headed as a nation. Especially after all we've been through the past several years. And that should encourage us to work even harder on the issues that matter to you.
In a little over three years, our businesses have created more than 6.5 million new jobs. And while our unemployment rate is still too high, it's the lowest it's been since 2008. But now we need to create even more good, middle-class jobs, and we need to do it faster.
Corporate profits have skyrocketed to all-time highs. But now we need to get middle-class wages and incomes rising too.
Our housing market is healing. But we still need to help a lot more families stay in their homes, or refinance to take advantage of historically low rates.
And our deficits are shrinking at the fastest rate in decades. But now we need to budget in a smarter way that doesn't hurt middle-class families or harm critical investments in our future.
So in a lot of sectors, things are looking up. The American auto industry is thriving. American energy is booming. And American ingenuity in our tech sector has the potential to change the way we do almost everything.
In the coming weeks, I'm going to visit more cities like Baltimore, and Austin, Texas - where I was two weeks ago; places where Americans are coming together to strengthen their own communities and economies - and in the process, making this country better for all of us.
And I'm going to keep trying to work with both parties in Washington to make progress on your priorities. Because I know that if we come together around creating more jobs, educating more of our kids, and building new ladders of opportunity for everyone who's willing to climb them - we'll all prosper, together.
Thanks. And have a great weekend.

Baltimore, Friday, May 17, 2013

President Obama delivers remarks at Ellicot Dredges about growing the economy, creating jobs, and improving U.S. competitiveness by investing in 21st century infrastructure.

Transcript: Remarks by the President at Ellicott Dredges