Thank you! The artwork was done in Procreate and the masking and compositing was done in Resolve. For post-processing generating the gifs I use Photoshop. Could use Resolve for that too, but I like the control of manipulating each individual frame as an image, plus I get more compression and flexibility in sizing with Photoshop.
Excellent article from 2018 about the excellent Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 version). Here's the part that resonated with me:
"There’s a scene where Donald Sutherland throws out the line about [Driscoll’s husband] Geoffrey: ‘Maybe he’s become a Republican.’ There’s some validity in that line. Some of the best Republicans I know have moved away from being Republicans because there is a kind of a pod conformity and hysteria and looking down at more complex, compassionate, humanistic people. San Francisco is still viewed in that way by a lot of people, that it’s somewhat outside of the ‘pod-requisites’ for the advancing of that kind of horrific civilization. I feel that poddiness has taken over a lot of our discourse. I don’t want to make this a political diatribe on what’s disturbing me in today’s world, but it certainly is there."
I just got a call out of the blue from my father's cousin who I haven't met since I was in diapers. For that matter, Dad hadn't seen him since then, either. (the info he had already checked out. but damn that was odd.)
So the ketamine kid wants to build and run a robot army and robo-taxis, etc. That's a lot of work, I thought he was going to Mars? Being the commanding general of a robot-army seems like it would take up a lot of his time. Maybe that's why he's losing out on the moonrace. Why are we wasting taxpayer $$$ going back to the moon again?
This brought more than an ugly cry for me. I am hysterically fucking fighting badass fucking fighting MAD! (Trigger Warning Incoming Pissed Off Rant) His fucking shit assed 'Pedophile Ballroom' while kids with cancer are told right to their little sick faces they and there families and friends can fuck all the way off.
I flew those kids with cancer and their families and friends home from Shriner's Hospitals where some of them had spent months getting treatment. That period of my life was fucking awesome.
The look on their faces and the joy....the joy....I will hold on to those memories for the rest of my life.
I will not let this fucking fuck take any of that from me.
Send this to everyone you know. Especially to the idiots you know.
The nation’s on fire and Elon’s worried his robot army might not love him enough. Trump’s building a ballroom over democracy’s grave. Somewhere Darth Vader’s theme is now a protest anthem. Blessed be the ones still laughing through the absurd. They’re the only ones keeping the republic from becoming a sitcom rerun.
Still waiting for that NCPS general counsel legal opinion that Karoline promised yesterday, the one that says demolition is not construction so they don't need to review it.
"When does the NCPC usually get involved in a project?
The NCPC normally approves a project before demolition can begin, according to Bryant.
The White House has suggested that they do not need to seek approval to demolish the East Wing because construction is distinct from demolition.
Multiple former NCPC officials, however, told ABC News that approval must be obtained before demolition can begin.
Past presidents have made big changes, Trump White House argues
"The demolition element is inherent in the overall project. Demo is not separated from construction. It's part of it," Bryant said. "What's being demolished impacts the site design, what's being constructed in its place, the change in views, and more."
"In my nine years at NCPC, I don't recall ever separating -- not considering -- what might be demolished from what might be constructed," said Bryant. "Indeed, there may be some parts of a new construction projects that merit salvaging parts of what's currently there and incorporating that salvaged part into the new design." https://abcnews.go.com/US/demolition-white-houses-entire-east-wing-stopped/story?id=126788526
Well, OBVIOUSLY!!! Of course approval must be obtained before demolition can begin. Everyone knows that. Donny even knows that. But he also knows that the GOP will let him get away with ANYTHING. He incited an insurrection against our Capitol, and was re-elected.
I know. Since the only source cited for the theory that demolition didn’t count was the Goon Head of NCPS appointed by Trump, until Karoline’s LieFest yesterday, you have to think they’d have produced it earlier. IF it existed, which of course it does not.
Morning wonkers. Openly soliciting wise words from those of you who've maybe dealt with similar times:
Stepdad is dying (96 years old), has been formally moved to comfort care; Mom is very very sad (of course)(90 years old), and it's a hard time. He's in the hospital, in no pain and being treated with kindness by a skilled and gentle team. Sorta cognizant, but not altogether here. Mom is a rock, but today is finally breaking a bit (and maybe more as the day goes on). I'm pretty stable myself, though sad too. But it's a painful time, and damn! being human is a rollercoaster.
I know many of you have been either the adult children or the spouse in similar circumstances. Any wisdom you can share will be much appreciated.
One more thing. Even in hospice care the actual death can be ugly. It happened to Mrs. C twice, with her sister and dad although she wasn't there to witness her dad firsthand.
What I'm saying is that you need to prepare for it to be hard in possibly unexpected ways. Some people just don't go easy. Honestly, I don't know what "preparing" means in this case but maybe give it some thought and ask questions.
Thank you, and we have, to some degree. The nurses and docs at the hospital have been great about given us straightforward answers to our questions about what we can expect, and what the variables are.
i'm so sorry. i'm in the middle of an adjacent situation.
for my 91 year old parents (after we lost my special needs brother), it's been wine for dad and company for mom. neither of which really help you except in the sense that those are things that bring them joy.
My stepdad, who is pretty out of it at this point, now gets to eat whatever he wants since he's on comfort care - for him, this means all the vanilla ice cream he wants, and that's been the thing he's eaten the most this past week (he went into a critical care unit last Friday). A little applesauce one day, a bit of cottage cheese another, and probably at least a cup of ice cream every single day. More power to him 😊🍦❄️ that's what I say. And apparently the doctor agrees!
Try to talk to your mom in terms of quality of life and how your dad would prefer to go out. I found it helped to think that further suffering wasn't what mom wanted, that she was ready to go. Peace & strength.
Fortunately my mom and stepdad talked extensively about this over the years, so we've headed into this with a clear picture of how he wanted things to go. It's still a hard time, but so much eased by being confident that were on the right path. ♥️
My Dad passed away last summer, about a month before what would have been his 96th birthday.
He was in good health for someone that age, but had to be moved to a place because his vision and balance had declined so much. It was the same place where Mom had lived for awhile, so he knew everybody there from when we used to go visit her, and had lots of friends and people who he already knew.
I called him every day, and my family members who lived within a day's drive went to sit and talk with him for at least an hour or so every day.
It's difficult, and sometimes heart-wrenching, but all you can do is spend as much time with your family members as you possibly can, and try to stay positive. Talk to them about whatever they want to talk about (we used to keep it upbeat, family vacations from when we were kids, etc.). Tell stories about the good old days. Do things that they like (Dad still liked to listen to football even though he couldn't "watch" the game). If the weather is nice, sit with them in the sun and fresh air. Bring family pictures for their room. Bring their favorite take-out if they can have it, or a modified version (e.g., cut into bite-size pieces). Bring their clothes so they can wear something familiar that they like. Bring a couple of those plush fleece throws so that they can stay warm and have a soft texture to hold on to.
When the worst is over, you'll know that you did everything you could.
I will add to the great music ideas with any photos or magazines from his youth. When my MIL was dying, the photos of her old house/she and her friends elicited wonderfully coherent conversations
This is an excellent suggestion. Mr. Garnet was nearly non-verbal in his last days, but still managed to say Chorus Line, which was his favorite Broadway musical. I put on the soundtrack. Lost track of how many times we played it through. We were in the middle of At the Ballet when he died.
Today is my FIL's funeral, and we are the support for my wife's mom, who's moving in with us, so I'm right in the later stages of what you're facing. It has been transformational. We've been torn in so many directions and have taken turns being the strong one. Extend grace and love. Take each day as its own. Practice self care, and know you are supported here.
"During last week’s mayoral debate, Sliwa scoffed at Cuomo’s assertion that he’d actually stand up to Donald Trump. “The president is going to back down to you?” Sliwa said. “Andrew Cuomo, I know you think you’re the toughest guy alive, but let me tell you something, you lost your own primary. You were rejected by your Democrats. You have a difficulty understanding what the term ‘no’ is.”"
Your spooky hed gif info: https://martiniambassador.substack.com/p/surprised-owl
And meme chat: https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/66f67744-41b3-41ac-89f9-568112f6f52e?utm_source=share
One of your best!
Wol!
🎶Owl be looking at the moon, but owl be seeing booo.🎶
I don’t think I have ever heard a bad version of that song. This is not a challenge or dare, mind you.
It has a special place in my heart.
🎶In all the old familiar graveyards......🎶
Well now I'll be singing that in my head all day 😉
My work is done here.
That's the cutest gif yet!
So cute!
So this is the Superb Owl I keep hearing about.
It's not just a party for weird vampires!
Damn, why didn't I have that?
It was RIGHT THERE.
Love it. What software did you use?
Thank you! The artwork was done in Procreate and the masking and compositing was done in Resolve. For post-processing generating the gifs I use Photoshop. Could use Resolve for that too, but I like the control of manipulating each individual frame as an image, plus I get more compression and flexibility in sizing with Photoshop.
My first thought was Peter Max Halloween! I am awfully fond of owls. That one, his displaying is awesome... "Face my wrath or begone!"
There's an owl nesting close by. He's remarkably tough on the small mammals, and this allows us to invest in extravagant bird feeders...
I woe the day when he moves on to new territory.
Love owls, and really appreciate Peter Max art.
Boo whooooo
Don't cry; it's just a picture.
The wise old owl wants his Tootsie Pop!
Three. The owl said three.
I thought it was 42.
Three licks. That’s it.
♫ ♪ ♬ Owl be seeing you
In all the old familiar places... ♫ ♪ ♬
https://youtu.be/Ujn-ETzKQYA
Excellent article from 2018 about the excellent Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 version). Here's the part that resonated with me:
"There’s a scene where Donald Sutherland throws out the line about [Driscoll’s husband] Geoffrey: ‘Maybe he’s become a Republican.’ There’s some validity in that line. Some of the best Republicans I know have moved away from being Republicans because there is a kind of a pod conformity and hysteria and looking down at more complex, compassionate, humanistic people. San Francisco is still viewed in that way by a lot of people, that it’s somewhat outside of the ‘pod-requisites’ for the advancing of that kind of horrific civilization. I feel that poddiness has taken over a lot of our discourse. I don’t want to make this a political diatribe on what’s disturbing me in today’s world, but it certainly is there."
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/invasion-body-snatchers-ending-still-haunts-director-1170220/
ICYMI, from Colbert’s monologue last night:
𝘈𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰.
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵. 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.
𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦. 𝘐𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘢, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯.
I just got a call out of the blue from my father's cousin who I haven't met since I was in diapers. For that matter, Dad hadn't seen him since then, either. (the info he had already checked out. but damn that was odd.)
Thanks, Brad Lander. I am very happy that my pension fund is full divested from fossil fuels.
That "dude" that ripped those agents a new butthole is my hero today along with the polka dot lady in New York. Give them HELL!
So the ketamine kid wants to build and run a robot army and robo-taxis, etc. That's a lot of work, I thought he was going to Mars? Being the commanding general of a robot-army seems like it would take up a lot of his time. Maybe that's why he's losing out on the moonrace. Why are we wasting taxpayer $$$ going back to the moon again?
Mars??
What happened to the tunnel under the ocean?
This brought more than an ugly cry for me. I am hysterically fucking fighting badass fucking fighting MAD! (Trigger Warning Incoming Pissed Off Rant) His fucking shit assed 'Pedophile Ballroom' while kids with cancer are told right to their little sick faces they and there families and friends can fuck all the way off.
I flew those kids with cancer and their families and friends home from Shriner's Hospitals where some of them had spent months getting treatment. That period of my life was fucking awesome.
The look on their faces and the joy....the joy....I will hold on to those memories for the rest of my life.
I will not let this fucking fuck take any of that from me.
Send this to everyone you know. Especially to the idiots you know.
I have to finish my ugly cry now Wonks.
https://substack.com/profile/317512196-holly-yep-its-me/note/c-169764722
rage yam wouldn't even understand the imagery. He's not really human.
Great, but sad cartoon. It does sum up everything about this mal-Administration's priorities.
Quitting smoking is ALWAYS good for you.
The nation’s on fire and Elon’s worried his robot army might not love him enough. Trump’s building a ballroom over democracy’s grave. Somewhere Darth Vader’s theme is now a protest anthem. Blessed be the ones still laughing through the absurd. They’re the only ones keeping the republic from becoming a sitcom rerun.
Still waiting for that NCPS general counsel legal opinion that Karoline promised yesterday, the one that says demolition is not construction so they don't need to review it.
"When does the NCPC usually get involved in a project?
The NCPC normally approves a project before demolition can begin, according to Bryant.
The White House has suggested that they do not need to seek approval to demolish the East Wing because construction is distinct from demolition.
Multiple former NCPC officials, however, told ABC News that approval must be obtained before demolition can begin.
Past presidents have made big changes, Trump White House argues
"The demolition element is inherent in the overall project. Demo is not separated from construction. It's part of it," Bryant said. "What's being demolished impacts the site design, what's being constructed in its place, the change in views, and more."
"In my nine years at NCPC, I don't recall ever separating -- not considering -- what might be demolished from what might be constructed," said Bryant. "Indeed, there may be some parts of a new construction projects that merit salvaging parts of what's currently there and incorporating that salvaged part into the new design." https://abcnews.go.com/US/demolition-white-houses-entire-east-wing-stopped/story?id=126788526
Well, OBVIOUSLY!!! Of course approval must be obtained before demolition can begin. Everyone knows that. Donny even knows that. But he also knows that the GOP will let him get away with ANYTHING. He incited an insurrection against our Capitol, and was re-elected.
I personally would not hold my breath waiting for that
I know. Since the only source cited for the theory that demolition didn’t count was the Goon Head of NCPS appointed by Trump, until Karoline’s LieFest yesterday, you have to think they’d have produced it earlier. IF it existed, which of course it does not.
Today we are all Wheeling, Illinois guy.
Morning wonkers. Openly soliciting wise words from those of you who've maybe dealt with similar times:
Stepdad is dying (96 years old), has been formally moved to comfort care; Mom is very very sad (of course)(90 years old), and it's a hard time. He's in the hospital, in no pain and being treated with kindness by a skilled and gentle team. Sorta cognizant, but not altogether here. Mom is a rock, but today is finally breaking a bit (and maybe more as the day goes on). I'm pretty stable myself, though sad too. But it's a painful time, and damn! being human is a rollercoaster.
I know many of you have been either the adult children or the spouse in similar circumstances. Any wisdom you can share will be much appreciated.
One more thing. Even in hospice care the actual death can be ugly. It happened to Mrs. C twice, with her sister and dad although she wasn't there to witness her dad firsthand.
What I'm saying is that you need to prepare for it to be hard in possibly unexpected ways. Some people just don't go easy. Honestly, I don't know what "preparing" means in this case but maybe give it some thought and ask questions.
Thank you, and we have, to some degree. The nurses and docs at the hospital have been great about given us straightforward answers to our questions about what we can expect, and what the variables are.
i'm so sorry. i'm in the middle of an adjacent situation.
for my 91 year old parents (after we lost my special needs brother), it's been wine for dad and company for mom. neither of which really help you except in the sense that those are things that bring them joy.
my best for your family.
Nothing wrong with bringing a bit of joy.
My stepdad, who is pretty out of it at this point, now gets to eat whatever he wants since he's on comfort care - for him, this means all the vanilla ice cream he wants, and that's been the thing he's eaten the most this past week (he went into a critical care unit last Friday). A little applesauce one day, a bit of cottage cheese another, and probably at least a cup of ice cream every single day. More power to him 😊🍦❄️ that's what I say. And apparently the doctor agrees!
Comfort and peace and strength to you. It’s hard watching someone die.
Try to talk to your mom in terms of quality of life and how your dad would prefer to go out. I found it helped to think that further suffering wasn't what mom wanted, that she was ready to go. Peace & strength.
Fortunately my mom and stepdad talked extensively about this over the years, so we've headed into this with a clear picture of how he wanted things to go. It's still a hard time, but so much eased by being confident that were on the right path. ♥️
My Dad passed away last summer, about a month before what would have been his 96th birthday.
He was in good health for someone that age, but had to be moved to a place because his vision and balance had declined so much. It was the same place where Mom had lived for awhile, so he knew everybody there from when we used to go visit her, and had lots of friends and people who he already knew.
I called him every day, and my family members who lived within a day's drive went to sit and talk with him for at least an hour or so every day.
It's difficult, and sometimes heart-wrenching, but all you can do is spend as much time with your family members as you possibly can, and try to stay positive. Talk to them about whatever they want to talk about (we used to keep it upbeat, family vacations from when we were kids, etc.). Tell stories about the good old days. Do things that they like (Dad still liked to listen to football even though he couldn't "watch" the game). If the weather is nice, sit with them in the sun and fresh air. Bring family pictures for their room. Bring their favorite take-out if they can have it, or a modified version (e.g., cut into bite-size pieces). Bring their clothes so they can wear something familiar that they like. Bring a couple of those plush fleece throws so that they can stay warm and have a soft texture to hold on to.
When the worst is over, you'll know that you did everything you could.
I will add to the great music ideas with any photos or magazines from his youth. When my MIL was dying, the photos of her old house/she and her friends elicited wonderfully coherent conversations
Sending light and strength.
If he was particularly fond of a piece or genre of music, see if you can have it playing softly in his room
This is an excellent suggestion. Mr. Garnet was nearly non-verbal in his last days, but still managed to say Chorus Line, which was his favorite Broadway musical. I put on the soundtrack. Lost track of how many times we played it through. We were in the middle of At the Ballet when he died.
Tell him you love him. It's the biggest thing I feel guilty over after Mom passed, beyond trying to reassure her she'd be okay.
Every day, every damn day 💕
Today is my FIL's funeral, and we are the support for my wife's mom, who's moving in with us, so I'm right in the later stages of what you're facing. It has been transformational. We've been torn in so many directions and have taken turns being the strong one. Extend grace and love. Take each day as its own. Practice self care, and know you are supported here.
From the Curtis Sliwa posting:
"During last week’s mayoral debate, Sliwa scoffed at Cuomo’s assertion that he’d actually stand up to Donald Trump. “The president is going to back down to you?” Sliwa said. “Andrew Cuomo, I know you think you’re the toughest guy alive, but let me tell you something, you lost your own primary. You were rejected by your Democrats. You have a difficulty understanding what the term ‘no’ is.”"
>>This Saturday night’s Wonkette movie night with your friend ZiggyWiggy is Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)<<
donaldsutherlandpointing.gif
Invasion of the Snotty Batchers
From the ACLU complaint about the Darth Vader theme music arrest:
"The law might have tolerated government conduct of this sort a long time ago in a galaxy
far, far away. But in the here and now, the First Amendment bars government officials from
shutting down peaceful protests, and the Fourth Amendment (along with the District’s prohibition
on false arrest) bars groundless seizures."
Star wars Andor becomes more insightful each passing day, and it wasn't even written about our current circumstances.