Spendable Encouragement
The time is upon us when I rashly appeal to the better nature of my patrons, with a reminder that this establishment is made possible by the kindness of strangers. If you’d like to ensure this place exists a while longer and remains ad-free, there are three buttons below the fold with which to monetise any love. Debit and credit cards are accepted. If what happens here is of value, this is a chance to show it.
If one-click haste is called for, there’s a QR code in the sidebar, at which you point your phone camera, and my PayPal.Me page can be found here. There are also SubscribeStar and Ko-Fi accounts, via which love may be monetised, whether as one-off donations or monthly subscriptions. Should you be gripped by an urge to express encouragement via currency, by all means succumb.
Additionally, any Amazon UK shopping done via this link, or via the button in the sidebar, results in a small fee for your host at no extra cost to you.
Sordid business, I grant you, but it’s what keeps this place here.
For newcomers wishing to know more about what’s been going on here for nineteen chuffing years, in over 3,500 posts and hundreds of thousands of comments, the Reheated series is a pretty good place to start – in particular, the end-of-year-summaries, which convey the fullest flavour of what it is we do. A sort of blog concentrate. If you like what you find there… well, there’s lots more of that.
Do take a moment to poke through the discussion threads too. The posts are intended as starting points, not full stops, and the comments are where much of the good stuff is waiting to be found. And do please join in.
As always, thanks for the support, the comments, and the company.
Consider this an open thread. Share ye links and bicker.
Thank you, o gracious host. *ping*
Bless you, sir. May your kitchen towel be plentiful and triple-layered.
*does Amazon shopping*
Please keep up the good work. Hope this helps.
Bless you, madam, and bless you, sir. May you always have baking parchment. To stop the bloody pizza sticking.
A familiar tune rendered fugue.
Some years ago, on a hot summer day, I was standing by the kitchen window, which was open, idly washing some mugs and looking out at the nearby strip of woodland. My pot-washing reverie was interrupted by the sound of the Imperial March wafting over the trees. It took me several seconds to process what was happening. Turns out there was a brass band rehearsing, unseen by me, on the other side of the trees.
It was surreal and rather charming. Due in part to the occasional bum note.
The royal ‘we’? 😄
btw PING
No, but I do think of this place as a collaboration. It wouldn’t be anywhere near as interesting without the comments, which often inspire new posts. As I say, the posts are intended as starting points, not full stops, and much of the good stuff is to be found in the comments. That’s the general idea. So yes, we.
Bless you, sir. May your washing machine be remarkably quiet.
I remember discussing with the late Norm Geras whether blogs are better with a comment section. Norm wasn’t keen, quite emphatically so, but a comments section has always struck me as a rather important component of what blogging is. It’s a place for elaboration, clarification, and pushback when I screw-up.
“Famine resistant”
Ah, the euphemism treadmill, as I believe it’s called.
He he. Playing your song?
Ker-ching!
It was just wonderfully incongruous. Hot summer afternoon, very chill, just trees and tweeting birds. Then suddenly… that. The fact that it was hard to say where it was coming from – and a brass band – and the bum notes – was the icing on the cake.
Bless you, sir. May your sink be entirely free of debris and residue.
That ought to be a song by Tom Lehrer.
from the comments:
Very welcoming, if there are any hungry carnivores around.
“Famine resistant”
Calorifically Challenged
Ping! (And wife now Amazon shopping through your link.)
Bless you, sir. And blessings be upon your good lady. May your sofa cushions be adequately up-fluffed.
Thanks to all who’ve chipped in so far, or subscribed, or done shopping via the Amazon link – including all those much too shy to say hello. I sometimes forget how many of you are lurking in the bushes, being very, very quiet.
It’s much appreciated and is what keeps this place here.
Thank you, David.
For time served… Ping!
This lady is disturbed and uncomfortable.
I know this is a radical thought, but I am guessing the pub was there first.
Istanbul was Constantinople.
Bless you, sirs. When defrosting chili, may you discover that there is in fact sour cream and chive dip lurking in the fridge.
And yet I’m guessing that as a result she will be less likely to be robbed.
Q: How could someone see a mountain and not know what it was?
A: Her name is Natisha.
I do hope she’s good at [ squints ] basketball.
“Nine angry lesbians”
If it’s not sports, or rap, or “black history”, black kids don’t pay attention in school.
And they don’t read at home. And neither do their parents.
Band name.
*ping*
Bless you, sir. When visiting friends or relatives who own dogs, may you always have lens wipes. Because the buggers will always, always, want to lick your specs.
[Eats all the pretzels] Ping!
Ping!
Blessings upon you both. May your under-sink cupboard not look like random landfill.
#TrueLifeDrama
Were it not for their occasional bursts of stupidity and highlight reels of missed layups, would we even know the wnba exists?
also, ping.
also, this is your threadly reminder that apparently there is an election in Virginia today, or so someone tells me, and the next election (AFAIK) after today in this country is in Indiana and Ohio on TUESDAY, May 5. There are also ones coming up in Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Oregon and maybe even other states on TUESDAY, May 19.
Pro-tip that is apparently necessary for republicans…If you look at your watch and see that it is a TUESDAY, ask yourself…”Do I need to vote today? If not, what upcoming TUESDAY will I need to vote, who are the candidates, and what are the issues?” Hope this helps!
Bless you, sir. May you know a mess-free way of getting crumbs from the Before Times out of the toaster.
I have this slightly irrational fear when working in my workshop that if I were to put forth the effort to train an AI to interpret the sometimes incessant woodpecker woodpeckering around us into Morris Code I might stumble onto information I would be better off not knowing about. That’s usually when I realize I forgot to turn on my Bluetooth speaker.
Would only work in an ironic/non-literal sense. Imagine nine lesbians cooperating with each other, or anyone really, to accomplish a synchronized task. I can’t.
More of a ratchet. The euphemisms get more elaborate, and elaborately desperate, with every increment.
Those weren’t pretzels.
Quiet, you.
I’ll just leave this here.
And yes, the spoon costs extra.
You *are* talking about the dogs…?
Now there’s a mental image I’m going to have to live with.
Damn, it happened again???
“What is cruel and unusual punishment?”, Alex!
STOP NOTICING!
Septum ring, clown glasses, crazy eyes … my shocked face.
David’s henchlesbians were never angry, merely strict. And they did seem to enjoy their work.