
By David Futrelle
Another day, another batch of atrocities and embarrassments, from Donald Trump challenging his secretary of state to a public IQ-test bakeoff to the release of a vomit-inducing tape of Harvey Weinstein demonstrating his, er, pickup technique.
Let’s start with that one, huh, because it’s somehow even worse than it sounds — so much so that you may want to think twice before listening to it.
Weinstein, in conversation with Gutierrez, admits to groping her. Here’s the audio: https://t.co/zSQbK5NV0c pic.twitter.com/vmrrSUp43w
— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) October 10, 2017
You can’t help but wonder how many dozens if not hundreds of times Weinstein has had similar, er, conversations with young, vulnerable women.
In other Harvey Weinstein news:
NYT: Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie say Harvey Weinstein sexually harassed them when they were young actresses. https://t.co/1n7FgrNmoW
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 10, 2017
Share some truth. Do your part. Retweet. Get loud. Push back. Bring it down. https://t.co/mEnjP7cOHy
— Rose McGowan (@rosemcgowan) October 9, 2017
Weinstein’s team issues statement saying he’s entering “counseling” to “pursue a better path,” right on cue from the ole rapist playbook
— Xeni Jardin (@xeni) October 10, 2017
In non-Harvey Weinstein News That is Not Actually From The Onion, No Really, This is the World We Live in Today:
NEW: Trump proposes ‘IQ tests’ face-off with Tillerson after secretary of state calls him a ‘moron.’ https://t.co/kuCOSALDUl
— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) October 10, 2017
How long before Trump tweets a screengrab of an online IQ test.
— Jemaine Clement (@AJemaineClement) October 10, 2017
I challenge Donald Trump to a public Buzzfeed "Tell Us Your Food Preferences And We'll Reveal Which Instagram Cat You Are" quiz showdown.
— David Futrelle (@DavidFutrelle) October 10, 2017
Still have not heard back from the White House on this one.
More news from the alternate reality we’re now stuck in: Melania Trump is feuding with Ivana Trump (yes, Ivana, not Ivanka) over who is the true First Lady.
https://twitter.com/BenjySarlin/status/917450380044390400
Blurgledsvgpo4qwbwd.
Henry Kissinger is definitely alive and absolutely not being Weekend at Bernie’s-ed pic.twitter.com/xdYNUlrwdC
— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) October 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/pattymo/status/917583613918695424
My thoughts exactly, Los Angeles Times pic.twitter.com/oIUmHz7KsF
— Erin Antifa Plane Ryan (@morninggloria) October 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/lyssfame/status/917127717820153856
Now, cats:
— ねこばす (@neko_bus2010) October 9, 2017
https://twitter.com/MeetAnimals/status/917260879430811648
Ok, some dogs too:
this made my day https://t.co/RGo8FjZEiR
— Dog and Kitty (@dognkitty) October 9, 2017
https://twitter.com/awwcuteness/status/917244228836691969
Ok, bye.
Goddammit, stop guessing my password.
FYI, the womens’ stories re: Weinstein’s sexual assaults are truly awful. I don’t usually feel too sorry for the so-called “beautiful people” but my gosh, those poor women.
In honor of the kitties & dogs I’d like to share a LOLCAT thing I made recently. It’s silly, but I like it a lot and don’t have enough opportunities to share it.
No matter what my cat says, believe me, he has been fed.
http://i66.tinypic.com/34j4nt1.jpg
Nothing lowers my opinion of someone’s intelligence more than when they brag about their high IQ.
Who would want to dress as Rick for Halloween anyway?
Hope you’re starting to feel a bit better, David! Glad to hear from you.
Anyone who brags about their IQ doesn’t understand what IQ is.
Because I spent yesterday being grossed out (while being engrossed) reading the Milo and Weinstein links, I will comment on the ‘cat being a tiny old man’ pic:
Catbeast is definitely a tiny (and fuzzy) old man; when he finishes one of his many meals, he gets up on the couch, settles himself in, and lets out a hearty belch. This must be because of his age and various illnesses, but it’s still pretty funny!
In other news, Gwen’s books is excellent! I heartily recommend it. Also, the luftwaffe dagger argument (from two threads ago) turns out to be moot because Husbeast’s father sold it shortly before he died. Bullet dodged.
@dreemr
Some cats are masters at appearing food-deprived, when it’s the last thing they are.
My cat Roscoe was indoor/outdoor, and I wonder how many people fed him, and how many names he had.
There have been rumblings about HW for years.
I have an IQ test for Trump:
Point to your head and say the two letter abbreviation for the state of Montana.
@WWTH
As a non-watcher of that show, I was trying to figure out what the szechuan sauce bullshit was all about. One of the Twitter folks I follow distilled the issue quite well.
https://twitter.com/CaseyExplosion/status/915662035869949952
One show I did watch all episodes of was House. Being a huge Hugh Laurie fan, I had to give it a peek and House’s attitude and banter was entertaining enough, but I felt that as the series went on, they seemed to forget the germ of the character much in the same way Sherlock did. It’s almost as if Sherlock Holmes was the template of the “misunderstood asshole genius” trope despite the fact that Holmes cared about his clients. The Pilot episode had House revealing himself to the patient only when she lost the will to fight her illness. Early in House, the first few episodes of Season 1 had House risking his medical license to acquire a heart for a bulimic patient and chastising Foreman for not taking necessary risks for his patient:
Fast forward to Season 7 House crashing his car through Cuddy’s home, either attempting to kill his ex or at best recklessly endangering her life and that of her family. Between those two points, it was like the writing staff fell so in love with abrasive genius House that the critical part of him that actually cared enough for his patients to risk his medical license just evaporated, particularly as the cases seemed to retreat into subplots in lieu of “Huddy”. Especially in those last two seasons, it felt like I was watching character assassination by the show’s own creators.
Then seeing dudebros throwing tantrums at McDonald’s over a condiment… if that’s not what end-stage capitalism looks like, I don’t know what does.
@Dormousing_it
Our neighbor used to have a cat like that. He’d take food from everybody.
@Gussie Jives
Thanks for that link, it is a pretty good explanation of the Rick character.
I enjoy the show, although I think the animation is only so-so. I do not get some peoples’ (dudebros mostly) insistence that one must be some kind of genius to “get” the humor. No, what you need is just a decent pop-culture familiarity and maaaaybe some idea of philosophy/general literature, etc. It’s honestly not any more complicated than “Family Guy” just with better writing and voice acting. Rick isn’t real, and non-geniuses are writing his character, people.
The humor is dark, and Rick is NOT supposed to be a hero. He’s as anti-hero as an anti-hero can BE. These are the same guys who lauded Walter White as a hero, too, when he was specifically written to be an anti-hero.
Hey, I enjoy anti-heroes! I like watching self-absorbed characters that DGAF like Daffy Duck or the cast of “Arrested Development”. I absolutely do not require any redeeming qualities in some of the characters I enjoy watching.
But the fandom of R&M is just…sigh.
ETA: Also, your friend is right – “Adventure Bros” and “Bojack Horesman” ARE both “better” shows than R&M. But they’re all pretty good.
Off topic, but not surprising:
http://www.newsweek.com/nazi-video-game-wolfenstein-angers-nazis-make-america-nazi-free-again-slogan-679530
Ftfy.
Gussie Jives,
I was actually referring to those Rick from the Walking Dead and “sassy” female Rick from the Walking Dead costumes. He’s not a good enough to be a hero, not interesting enough to be a charismatic antihero and not bad enough to be a villain. I’m sure the character has his fans somewhere out there but most people who watch TWD don’t seem to love him too much. Darryl, Michonne and Glenn are way more popular. I’m just wondering where the market even is for a season 1 Rick costume.
On the Rick & Morty Szechuan sauce thing, it seems to me to be people acting like sheep. I’ve never seen any nostalgia for this sauce online and I’ve never heard it in person. As far as I know it was only briefly available as a promotional tie in with Mulan. It gets mentioned in the show and suddenly everyone has to have it? It sets my eyeballs rolling. I’m supposed to have long since grown out of my college aged phase where have contempt for people I perceive to be jumping on a pop culture band wagon, but this one is really testing my limits.
I’ve only seen a couple episodes of the show. It was okay, but not my cup of tea I guess. With cartoons for adults, I find they’re often good for a time but wear thin quickly. There’s usually little to no character development in cartoons. At least the ones I’ve seen. One exception to that is Daria.
I said this elsewhere online: Harvey Weinstein’s photos elicit a visceral, revulsed reaction in me. He makes me want to vomit. Just so hideous, inside and out.
Shartheheretic,
They’re so goddamn stupid. And so blatantly transparent.
@Scildfreja
Yes. IQ is just a measure of how good you are at taking a specific type of multiple choice test compared with a sample of people who’ve taken a similar test.
I’ve been trying to find the Fat Freddy’s Cat cartoon where he manages to elicit food out of various sympathetic people until he gives the game away by burping.
Dogs are pretty good at feigning starvation too. It’s ten minutes till the usual critter dinner time and Bailey is staring at me with furrowed brows and whining softly.
@ Alan – pretty sure that one was in “A Year Passes Like Nothing”
Edit: No, it was in Grass Roots. My bad.
And the same people who think Skylar was a [insert gendered slur here] for reacting like any human would. Ugh.
@wwth -d’oh! Rick Grimes I didn’t even connect. I’m a fan of the show (although Neegan’s one-note characterization has diminished my enjoyment a lot) but Rick is just, eh. He’s Rick. He’s ok? I don’t hate him.
I might be just too tired of the show. I certainly can’t see dressing up as him for Halloween, and indeed I doubt anyone would realize it’s anything but a standard Sheriff costume (or “sassy Sheriff” I guess).
Re: Weinstein, after reading the accusations it sounds like his go-to move was asking women for massages (?!!?!?). When is this ever considered okay? Good grief. It’s just so gross and seedy.
The orange cat makes me think of the strange little comic Manfried the Man, which is a sort of species flip of cat ownership.
https://www.instagram.com/manfriedtheman/ (possibly NSFW for little naked cartoon men)
Just heard the H.W. recording on Newsnight. Wish I hadn’t (shudder!).
.
@David Futrelle,
My favourite foods are lobster and globe artichoke. Which Instagram cat am I?
That recording is chilling. Definitely be warned about listening to it because it is SO textbook bullying/manipulative. I mean those poor women.
@dreemr, I love the meme! Glad you warned me, otherwise a bag of the good stuff would be on its way to that poor, hungry kitty.
@Iseult 😊 That made me laugh, thank you!
http://www.vulture.com/2017/10/after-harvey-weinstein-terry-crews-shares-his-own-story.html
Holy shit, I don’t want to live on this planet anymore.
On the cat topic, because my ancient old Birman is a better man than most of those mentioned above…
When we moved, it turned out he had three – THREE – households who regularly fed his fat ass and thought he was theirs. I had been wondering why he was not losing weight…
Well they’re just so piteous you can’t help but feel for the poor, suffering dears.
I mean if I didn’t feed my fat cat MYSELF every day, I’d think he hadn’t eaten in DAYS from the way he acts.
Since we’re on the subject of pets, does anyone have good advice for helping and comforting a dog that’s missing her human? My dad is out of town for about a week and a half. Bailey is very attached to him. He’s only been gone since this afternoon and she’s already a bit upset because he’s not here in the evening like he’s supposed to be. I have a good relationship with and she likes me plenty but I’m not him. He’s her absolute favorite person.
My plan so far is to give her lots of love. Stick to her normal routine as much as possible. Sleep with my bedroom door open so she can lay down next to the bed if she wants. When the weather permits, take her down to the creek for long walks to wear her out and distract her. Anything else?
My cats are kept at home, but no doubt if they roamed they’d beg for food everywhere. We have a local tomcat who drops in every day, and acts like he’s dying of starvation. He lives next door and is very well looked after.
Speaking of animals visiting for food – last night the brushtail possum mum & baby came by as usual and I got to pat the baby while it ate its banana ohmygod.
(this pic isn’t of them, but looks exactly like)
And for no real reason, here is Shiro posing with an azalea that I haven’t managed to kill yet, amazingly.
http://78.media.tumblr.com/34ea71a62018098d7ed521c21078bba6/tumblr_oxmz5ivYgE1tp4oe0o1_1280.jpg
@wwth – those are all very good ideas, she’s lucky she has you looking after her.
I have the same issue with our dog when my son (HER BOY) is gone to his father’s. She likes me fine, but I’m not HIM. He is sometimes gone for a week at a time and she is pretty miserable the entire time. I do all the things you’re doing, just trying to give her extra love and attention. She usually has a t-shirt of his (unwashed) that she’ll lay on, and she continues to sleep on his bed even though I leave my door open in case.
Your dog friend probably won’t eat as much as usual, and probably will mope around. Keeping her tired and occupied is good. I will fill a hollow femur with peanut butter and freeze it, for a treat after a good long walk and time throwing the tennis ball.
Even with all that, this is how she spends all her time in the house – watching for her boy to come home.
http://i63.tinypic.com/vobvrt.jpg
ETA: OMG @Mish, those possum are soo cute! Lucky you! And Shiro is gorgeously fluffy.
@WWTH – sounds to me like you’re doing everything right for Bailey already. Hope she’s ok.
Holy shit those possums are adorable, we only get the o-possums.
I mean, we feed them ’cause they eat ticks and don’t hurt anything, but they’ll cut ya.
Aww, so many cute animals!
In further Weinstein news:
Harvey Weinstein’s Wife Announces She Is Leaving Him
By Madeleine Aggeler
Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman has announced
http://www.vulture.com/2017/10/harvey-weinsteins-wife-announces-she-is-leaving-him.html
^Nice.
Yeah, because not only is it not your fault that you sexually assaulted so many vulnerable women, but it’s the responsibility of the women in your life to make you do better. Got it.
Just gross. What a fellow. Glad she’s ditching him.
Did everyone see the e-mail he sent out just before he was officially fired? BEGGING and groveling for support and to give him another chance. Kind of satisfying, actually, and I’m very glad it didn’t seem to work.
Ooh. I might try that peanut butter thing. Bailey loves bones and carries them around, bats them around and chews on them even after the meat and marrow are long gone so there’s always hollow bones lying around.
As of just a couple of days ago, Georgina Chapman was sticking by Weinstein. I’m cynical enough to suspect that the change of heart has more to do with pressure from the Project Runway producers or concerns over Marchesa sales. Maybe she just got shaken out of her denial though.
Whoops, I missed the edit window. The e-mail text:
The article I used (but there are several).
@ CleverForAGirl
What the FUCK HW. With your demands of therapy and what not.
NO!
YOU SHOULD BE MADE TO SUFFER! Because you know who aren’t able to access therapy? Fucking victims of rape and sexual assault and monsters like you!!! WE get priority. NOT YOU. So until you can take your head out of your fucking entitled ass, you do NOT get to access services that are denied those of us who did nothing wrong.
Sorry for the caps, all. I’m angry, and I’m tired, and I’m hurting.
Also, those white critters are not dogs. They are floofs with little legs and cute noses. But not dogs.
Damn, if you’re going to be talking therapy, you should offer therapy to people like, ya know, your victims. This scrabbling around to find an out is just kind of transparent and pathetic.
@PoM, I once heard movement in the storage shed and went out there to make sure there weren’t any trapped ferals. The shed is super dark so I walked in and made my way to the lightswitch, flipped it on and about a foot away was a hissing opossum and her babies. I just turned out the light and backed out real slow while apologizing to Mrs. Opossum as prettily as I could. (They’re not usually agressive, but I’m not one to mess with a pissed off mama-anything, like a 20 pounds o’ demons in a 5 pound sack.)
Also left the door cracked so they could get out.
@WWTH
Make sure the dog has access to things that smell like your dad. During a time when my dad travelled a lot, my mom said their dog would go into his closet, stick her nose in his clothes and take deep breaths, and then wag her tail.
But you also need to remember that dogs don’t have the same kind of memory we do. For them it is very much out of sight (or more likely, out of smell) out of mind. I’m sure the dog misses him badly now, but in a day or so, the missing will ease up. That doesn’t mean she’s forgotten him, it’s just that the memory just isn’t as immediate. Though, when your dad gets home be prepared for a deleriously happy greeting. My son is often away for more than a year at a time, but my dog, who is very much MY dog, gets down right hysterical when my son walks in the door. They’ve been friends a long time and Jack is always so happy to see him that my son has to sit on the floor with Jack in his lap to calm him down.
As horrible as it sounds to say, I’m glad Jolie and such are on the victim list this time. It makes me hope that people will fucking listen this time because they’re “important”. Maybe this will change things faster (because they are, in fact, changing. Just unbearably slowly.).
I did laugh out loud at trumps secretary of state calling him a moron. And he goes off showing his insecurity again. Oh dear.
On the topic of dogs missing humans – there really isn’t more to do than giving them extra care and attention, keeping them tired and close to things from their favourite human. I’m the favourite human for my dog and she’s heartbroken whenever my mom takes her because of exams, but at least in her case it’s something she’s getting used to. But yeah, more snuggles. All the snuggles!
It’s like he thinks that saying “a lot of the allegations are false, as you know” and then expects a leave of absence for counseling so he can return and go back to the sexual harassment and sexual assault routine he’s been doing while enjoying a resurrection in his entertainment industry high powered career…is not showing the world how little actual concern for the effects his actions have had on others he truly has?
The Weinstein Company still has one Weinstein, a partial not-people-who-have-also-been-fired board remains, and firing Harvey is the right decision, he also shouldn’t get to come back and work in an outside or any capacity. If the revelations about him cost the company so much that it folds once it issues all the settlement payments and such, that won’t be a terrible thing either.
Rose McGowan’s ‘did I fuckin stutter?’ look in that header pic is killer. 1 down, who know’s how many to go
According to people who use IQ as an argument, I should always use my work computer (processor clock speed 3.4Ghz, 4 cores) to run my mortgage spreadsheet, because my home computer only has a processor with 2.9Ghz and 2 cores and it’s probably a lot less likely to give me accurate results.
Not quite an accurate analogy to IQ…but illustrative enough.
(Also I notice a lot of people citing their IQ seem to not truly understand that, for example, 2 in 100 people have an IQ of 130, which is…quite a lot of other people around you, especially in the Internet age)
Unrelated hilarity: This is it. I’ve finally found it. The dumbest tweet – nay, the dumbest thing – ever posted on the Internet.

Bask in its ludicrous glory.