Althouse: At the Seedling Cafe...

July 8, 2011

At the Seedling Cafe...

...there are 1,000s of little things to talk about.

32 comments:

Terry said...: Little late for seedlings in Wisconsin. Next month the frost will come & kill the little beggars dead.; 7/8/11, 10:54 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Plenty of time for basil to grow and for us to eat it, said Meade.; 7/8/11, 11:04 PM
coketown said...: Basil grows in seed trays like guilt in the souls of the unrighteous.

My tomatoes were horribly stunted this year. Didn't grow at all! It's my first year in the area, and my plot was poorly managed, so I grew them in poor, sandy soil.

Potatoes did incredibly well. Marijuana was as tall as an elephant's chin but some kids ran off with it. They left the beets though.; 7/8/11, 11:15 PM
Sal said...: Not for me. I'm on the east coast and I'm sleepy. BTW, this is exactly when my ex-wife wanted to start arguments: when I'm just about to doze off. What a twat. Not that I'm bitter. (Okay, a little).; 7/8/11, 11:15 PM
Luther said...: "ex-wife wanted to start arguments: when I'm just about to doze off. "

Not an ex, here... but I hate that shit nonetheless.; 7/8/11, 11:20 PM
Hagar said...: It isn't just that the job numbers are bad; it is also that they are for May and June, which is when they normally would be picking up.; 7/8/11, 11:23 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: I just posted my first pure cult item for today.

Don't make me do it again.; 7/8/11, 11:33 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: It's been raining quite a lot around here lately. It's funny because the dry air cannot hold its water so it downpours then suddenly stops. Today it did that twice. The wind and driving rain beat the poop out my chili plants that I grew from grocery store chiles. They're about done anyway. Would you like to see 'em?

Here's the beef filet I had for dinner tonight.; 7/8/11, 11:34 PM
Luther said...: That looked delicious, Chip. How I wish I enjoyed cooking, alas.; 7/8/11, 11:53 PM
Penny said...: "...there are 1,000s of little things to talk about."

You're SO right.

Enjoy!; 7/9/11, 12:28 AM
chickelit said...: Sown together seeds soon grow asunder; 7/9/11, 12:42 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: The Orioles went.. I should say an Oriole pitcher went after big papi at tonight's game at Fenway. There was what in known as a bench clearing incident with ejections and fines to follow in the coming days..

(They went after big papi because his been pounding their pitchers)

I was thinking after 'chokegate' and the colorful way the professor described her wavering rooting* at Milwaukee's Miller Park, I believe her description of a 'bench clearing brawl' would be priceless.

*I couldn't really tell which team I was rooting for, so I mainly drifted back and forth, between Meade's team and the home team. I tried to examine the nature of my allegiance. Sometimes I felt like I had a tendency to favor whoever was winning (because they were doing well and therefore deserved to win) and sometimes it seemed that I had a tendency to support the underdog (because I felt sorry for them or because if they gained ground it would make the game more exciting).; 7/9/11, 1:05 AM
Fred4Pres said...: A Friday Night Fable...

A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude
and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse me, can you
help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know
where I am ."

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air
balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2,346 feet above
sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100
degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.

"She rolled her eyes and said, " You must be a Republican".

"I am," replied the man. "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically
correct. But I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still
lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."

The man smiled and responded, "You must be an Obama Democrat."

"I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?"

"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are going.
You've risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made
a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your
problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but
somehow, now it's my fault."; 7/9/11, 1:08 AM
chickelit said...: She lowered her altitude
and spotted a man in a boat below...

I read that and supposed that you had written a female masturbation fantasy. I can't figure the rest out though. :(; 7/9/11, 1:34 AM
edutcher said...: Since The Blonde left for Canada, Quantum is alternately hideously insecure, as in on my heels or just in front of me constantly, or very morose. I keep worrying I'm either going to trip over or step on her.

Sherlock, OTOH, never changes.

Guys.; 7/9/11, 5:32 AM
Anonymous said...: Mike the Headless Chicken (April 1945 – March 1947) was a chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been mostly cut off. Thought by many to be a hoax, the bird was taken by his owner to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City to establish its authenticity.’; 7/9/11, 6:01 AM
HT said...: Just make sure you have all the OTHER ingredients on hand: garlic, tomatoes, cheese, pine nuts, what have you. You want to be ready when it's time to bring in a load of basil.

Oh, and pasta.; 7/9/11, 6:31 AM
Deborah M. said...: Be careful if you decide to grow thosein your front yard.; 7/9/11, 6:43 AM
Toad Trend said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/9/11, 6:44 AM
Toad Trend said...: Last night a story was spalshed across TV screens all across WNY about a man with no legs that fell to his death from a roller coaster ride.

I have a question for the person or persons that allowed this man on the ride:

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING???

Is this a case of war vet sympathy that went very wrong?

Just awful.; 7/9/11, 6:47 AM
Toad Trend said...: @Fred4Pres

Beautiful. Heard a variant of that one before, but it still makes the point.

A man was granted 3 wishes by a generous genie. The man was very fond of Hawaii, so his first wish was to have a bridge built from San Diego to Hawaii...

The genie looked at the man with doubt and said it would likely be a nightmare of governmental red tape, union/labor negotiations, etc. Maybe he could choose another wish....

The man thought a moment, and said he had another. He asked the genie if he could be made to understand women.

The genie thought for a few seconds, and asked if now was a good time to get started on that bridge...

wv - implo; 7/9/11, 6:59 AM
Toad Trend said...: Beware the giant hogweed.; 7/9/11, 7:03 AM
KCFleming said...: Is that picture another color sorting quiz?

Because those all look pretty much the same to me, and I can't find the Score button anywhere.; 7/9/11, 7:08 AM
HT said...: well that's a whole can of worms in Oak Park. I'm somewhat sympathetic to people who say it might not "fit in." And I'm sympathetic to wanting to grow veggies. What she might have considered doing is putting up some hedgerows first around the yard to block it. Maybe a few years ago, she should've done that, planned ahead for the day to plant the wooden boxes of vegetables. She could have scouted around for cheap bushes. I mean, inexpensive. There are probably ways around these things. Doesn't have to be all or nothing. She could have made it a bit more attractive, so that it would have been impossible for people to say no.; 7/9/11, 7:23 AM
Anonymous said...: @Don't Tread: That sounds like yet another variant. Here's my fave:

General Norman Schwarzkopf was walking along in the desert in Iraq, and came across an old bottle. He picked it up, and of course dusted it off.

Poof! A Genie appeared, and said,

"Thank you, master, for releasing me from the bottle. As a reward, I will grant you anything you wish!"

General Schwarzkopf pulled out a map and unrolled it. It was a map of the Middle East. He said,

"It has always been my wish to see peace in the Middle East in my lifetime."

The Genie shook his head sadly, and said,

"Sorry boss, but we Genies have been trying to fix that for thousands of years, and it just can't be done. Please, wish for something else."

General Schwarzkopf then said,

"It has also been my wish to see, before I die, the Chicago Cubs win the World Series."

The Genie rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and said,

"Let's take another look at that map."; 7/9/11, 8:03 AM
FedkaTheConvict said...: I wonder how Oprah feels now as The One attacks private jets....

Oprah: Its Great to Have a Private Jet

By Robert Frank

The private-jet industry may have finally found its savior.

During a speech to Duke University’s graduating class, Oprah talked about the secrets and joys of success. Among them: owning a mansion and a jet.
lear0511_E_20090511134521.jpgBombardier

“It’s great to have a nice home. It’s great to have nice homes! It’s great to have a nice home that just escaped the fire in Santa Barbara,” she told the students. “It’s great to have a private jet. Anyone that tells you that having your own private jet isn’t great is lying to you.”; 7/9/11, 9:06 AM
HT said...: I thought we were talking about basil.; 7/9/11, 9:23 AM
HT said...: Oh, and I like it that you all are growing it from seed. The best way to go.; 7/9/11, 9:24 AM
Paddy O said...: A woman in Oak Park, MI is facing 93 days in jail for planting a vegetable garden in her front yard.

City officials mandate a lawn, or common plants or shrubs in a front lawn. Vegetables aren't common enough, it seems.

I think this is a job for New Media Meade!! The mild mannered horticulturist and the roving internet reporter can be united in one grand exploration of public justice!!; 7/9/11, 10:33 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "A woman in Oak Park, MI is facing 93 days in jail for planting a vegetable garden in her front yard."

Don't you think suburban neighborhoods can have rules relating to aesthetics, given the shared interests people have in the way surrounding property looks?

Isn't the jail time contingent and just used to force her to get rid of the garden?; 7/9/11, 10:51 AM
Paddy O said...: I think there should be rules, that's part of living in a community. Indeed, in an earlier post, she notes the list of rules that she follows, even though she would prefer not to.

But here, the situation seems to be 'the rules are whatever we arbitrarily decide they are,' adapting definitions on a case by case basis, rather than initially specifically rejecting vegetable gardens.

There should be standards that prohibit properties from being junk homes, but when it comes down to aesthetic distinction it becomes the tyranny of a few crabby neighbors over everyone else. Plus, such restrictive codes can easily become abusive and tools for corruption.

We should have standards, not conformity. It's a neighborhood, not a collective, and homeowners should have the right to create their own aesthetic/usefulness on their property.

Imagine if this was spread to other aesthetic expressions such as aural. Only certain kinds of music can play, no conversations. I'm bothered by loud machinery, so no lawn mowers or trimmers. But the fact is that just because my neighbor bothers me or makes different choices doesn't mean it should be illegal.

Egregious violations should be addressed. Varying interpretations of land use that fit into the specified codes should not be.

It's aesthetic tyranny to insist that every front yard should have a fixed lawn, shrubs from a small list of accepted varieties, or other highly limiting, and seemingly arbitrary, rules.; 7/9/11, 11:06 AM
Toad Trend said...: @Jess

Yeah, good one...poor Cubbie fans...; 7/9/11, 3:47 PM