The Fluffbucket Diaries

Are the Bernie bros descending into Trump cult tactics? Apparently, according to this Washington Post article.

“The pro-Sanders forums focus on a range of themes, including the senator’s independence from corporate interests and his opposition to President Trump. At the same time, many of the images that fill the groups and pages are strikingly negative about rival Democrats, depicting former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg as a wine-swilling CIA plant with Republican leanings and Biden as a feckless politician who preys on women.”

“… there are already, in my view, worrisome signals that (today’s new left) are repeating some of our biggest mistakes.”

“(Louisiana state Rep. Katrina) Jackson’s presence at the event was a reminder of the importance of pro-life Democrats — that the right to life ought to be too important to leave at the mercy of partisan politics.”

I’ve never read anything by novelist Charles Yu. (I’m more of a nonfiction reader.) But his interview with The New York Times on his reading habits just delighted me, particularly the part about reading with his kids.

“More than three in five Americans are lonely, with more and more people reporting feeling like they are left out, poorly understood and lacking companionship, according to a new survey released Thursday. Workplace culture and conditions may contribute to Americans' loneliness.”

Woke up to the news that Terry Jones had died. He was Monty Python’s Spam waitress, the mother of a would-be savior, and a naked organist. He played the funniest women (“He’s not the Messiah! He’s a very naughty boy!") – or “screeching harridans,” as the BBC put it – and directed the finest piece of religious satire, “Life of Brian.”

John Cleese had perhaps the finest tribute: “I shall remember him as Mr Creosote. He is so funny in it and it’s one of the funniest things we did. So I shall think of him exploding.”

Robin Abcarian: “Almost everything he wrote in his MLK proclamation was at odds with who he always has been and what he has done since becoming president.”

("Trump’s legacy will be brutal but simple: He made it OK to be racist again," L.A. Times)

“I used to fantasize about fitting punishments for … morning people, but in the last two years I’ve seen the (morning) light, and I’ve become one of them.

“If you love staying up late but hate crawling through your mornings in a haze, here’s how you can do it too.”

I am pretty sure there’s twice as many unread work emails waiting for me. And because I’ve been cramping up and steeped in the reek of pain patches for the past couple of days, I’m hunkering down at home to sift through the post-vacation mailbox for a while.

Brought this 1970s kitchen artifact from my childhood back from California and got some fresh Tang powder from the supermarket. Needs more diluting, but it’s still drinkable.

Day off. (And yes, yay MLK, friends.) Blogging a lot this morning. Now it’s time to lie down to re-read a printout of “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” and wait for the ibuprofen to kick in. As one does. Several times a day.

Recently, I learned that a former colleague of mine – the graphic designer in the office next to mine who was laid off unexpectedly several weeks ago – was diagnosed with lymphoma. This all happened as his wife prepares for breast cancer treatments.

It amazes my colleagues and me how upbeat he seems to be. But we’re no less heartbroken and feeling helpless. Fortunately, New York Times health writer Jane Brody provides ideas on what to say and do when someone you care about is diagnosed with cancer.

There are practical ideas (“meal trains” to deliver family meals and school lunches, gifts of massages, help with child care), but also this from Lynda Wolters, cancer patient and author of the book “Voices of Cancer,” speaking of those who have no idea what to say and often avoid the patient in their lives:

“I would rather see your face and the pain and fear in your eyes than to have you feel too unsure and awkward to see me. I would rather hear about you, your work, your life, your kids and your puppy’s antics than I would about my sickness.”

I generally ignore most celebrity culture these days, but I will say that for this alone, I heart Chrissy Teigen.

A writer at Museum Hack explores whether Pope Gregory IX ordered “a medieval purge of black cats,” thus leading to the Bubonic Plague. The short answer appears to be no.

Still, says the writer: “Even those among us who love cats (not me, I like dogs) freely admit that they are mercurial and probably evil animals that deal death for fun and would eat our eyes if they got the chance.”

Deleted my Politics list on Twitter. Been so sucked into it in recent weeks, and it has depressed me and distracted me from far more important things in life. On this last day of a 3-day weekend, I desperately need to cleanse my brain and my soul.

Incredibly sad to see Philip Rivers is moving his family out of San Diego permanently. I get the idea of wanting to be close to family, but it still represents the end of an era with my former NFL team — and my hometown.

Proud of my long erstwhile colleagues who are speaking up as another death by a thousand cuts looms at the Chicago Tribune.

“Adults with high-pressured jobs are telling us they’re using Lego to disconnect from the mania of the day. They’re looking for a relaxing, calming experience.”

“What stands out about our era in particular is a distinct kind of institutional dereliction — a failure even to attempt to form trustworthy people, and a tendency to think of institutions not as molds of character and behavior but as platforms for performance and prominence.”

There are worse things in life than wrapping pills in cheese and hand-feeding them to the dog. At least it makes the dog happy.

And now that I’m back home and annoyed with winter, it’s time to make monkey bread with the tween.

Went out this past week for Filipino food with my sister and aunt: putong, bibingka, tocino and egg, lumpia, arroz caldo, and (not shown) dinuguan. I was also smitten with a large mural of street life in the Philippines.

There’s a supermarket in my hometown that offers an odd mashup of Middle Eastern and Mexican food. Went there a couple of times. (Carne asada tacos for breakfast!) Terrific aguas frescas and tacos.

And they have keto tamales. Didn’t try them, but they looked interesting.

Now that I’m frozen shut inside my home for much of the day, I can post foodie snapshots of my short visit to California.

First stop from the airport: In-N-Out. And yes, I shelved my intermittent fasting and vaguely vegan-before-6 routines during my visit.

Home late after 4 days in San Diego to spend time with family. Reserved taxi flaked on me, so I ended up using Lyft for the first time. Happy to report it was a success.