I Present a Baby Kicking and Hitting a Cat

People, who the hell knows with cats? The cat in this video clearly dislikes being hit and kicked by the baby and yet, he seems to be making an effort to tolerate it. I think it’s because cats have such low opinions of people already that a little one that can’t really control its extremities [...]

I Found a Spot!

The places in this city where you can get right down to water level at the river and enjoy it are very few in number unless you’re looking at the end of a boat ramp. There’s Lock One Park, if you’re steady on your feet and… and… Until today, I would have had no good [...]

This is What I Mean

Does the man understand that he does not know better than women what they should do with their lives? See? Once you get what the problem is, it’s impossible to deny that it’s still fundamental to who he is as a person.

The Tennessee State Library and Archives of Awesomeness

So I played hookey this afternoon and went down to the Tennessee State Library and Archives. I finally got a chance to look at the Jack Macon petitions, of which there were two. In the 1830s, right as Tennessee was passing a law forbidding slaves from practicing medicine, Doctor Jack’s patients wrote in and asked [...]

More on Our Friends, the Baxters

So, you know that it’s my contention that Ed Baxter–Sue’s brother-in-law–who is the lawyer Hamlin Harland heard from Itta K. Reno and Judge Dickinson ran from The Thing. Another candidate has presented himself–Colonel Baxter Smith. Let us stop and note with pleasure that Col. Smith’s first name is Baxter. Col. Smith’s mom was Sallie Baxter, [...]

The Wampus Cat

Writing took a strange turn last night. I ended up with almost a 2,000 word discussion of various mystery animals in the woods of Tennessee–the dog with the face of a rabbit that was the first manifestation of the Bell Witch, the Thing (obviously), and the Wampus Cat. For those of you unfamiliar with the [...]

The Baby Blankets are Done!

My mom tried to steal one of these and then made googly-eyes at another. I finally finished the third. I took these pictures and then put them in the washer to block them. The cat was unimpressed. But I think all of these turned out fine and would not embarrass any hip fathers.

I Wouldn’t Want to Live Like That

There’s a very long article in the New York Times about fat. I just want to say up front that the idea of exercising two hours a day and constantly thinking about and monitoring my food intake seems like my own personal hell. No judgment against you if that’s your thing. But holy shit. I [...]

The Impending Deer Skull

So, even though I live in Tennessee and even though I know people who claim to be gun nuts, my attempts to track down a deer skull with antlers to put in my room has been filled with “Why don’t you get your license and shoot your own deer?” Well, dear gun nuts, if I [...]

Beef and Noodles

Instead of turkey at Christmas (after Thanksgiving, you can imagine why some of us were not very excited about another pass at the bird), we had roast beef with noodles. The roast beef was nice (if a little dry), but the noodles… oh, the noodles. The Butcher and I have been eating on them for [...]

Big Harpe’s Head

I finished up my story about the witch who ground up Big Harpe’s head and fed it to her nephew–”Sarah Clark.” I really hope I can find a home for it because I hadn’t read it in a couple of months and rereading it to make sure I was ready to submit it made me [...]

The Borrow Pit

People, do not even fight me on how awesome this is. I can’t wait to inflict this knowledge on someone. And “borrow pit”? What a great name. Engineers. They try to play all “Oh, I’m all science-y. Look at my math. Look at my calculator. Look at my logic. I’m practically a scientist.” But every [...]

I Just Realized…

I already knew I go towards something, even though it’s only necessary to go toward it. I learned that little tick working on the first book. But I just realized, writing an email, that I unthaw things. And I think I use it like an action verb. So, I would take the chicken out to [...]

Five Years, Already, Again

So, I know I said I was going to give it some time, but, eh, fuck it. It’s actually not worth spending a lot of time on. Here’s the thing: there are a ton of drug addicts in the world out there doing shitty things. Some drug addicts even kill or try to kill other [...]

Oh, Christmas

This was a weird Christmas. I had a very nice time. It was a little rough on the Butcher. But we lived and here we are. Hope all of you had a nice holiday as well.

Deep Inside I’m Free

NM introduced me to this song and I’d like to request that we all spend some portion of the weekend working on listening to this song and developing an appropriate strut. We can meet back here early next week to plan when we’re going to walk/roll across the world doing our “Everything I Do Gonna [...]

One Thing about Large Families

Not that the Phillipses are incredibly huge, but large enough that you can both see how things play out in similar ways among people with similar temperaments and how “similar” is not quite the same as “the same.” Last night I was at dinner with my parents. We went to El Rey Azteca, which I [...]

Five Years, Already

It’s cool watching my cousin’s kids living their lives on Facebook. For all its drawbacks, it is nice to keep up with family you probably don’t have the right to barge in on. The other day, his daughter, who found him dead, mentioned that it had been five years, and I look back here at [...]

Okay, Tennessee Republicans. It’s Time for Someone to be the Grown-Up Here.

I know, I know. It’s the holidays. You’re busy with family. You’re enjoying the thought of poor people who don’t have jobs struggling under the burden of providing Christmas for their families. Why do I want to so cruelly ruin that by asking you to do right by the State. Well, I’m sorry. But honestly? [...]

Twain is a Close Second

But after studying this for a while, I’ve decided the best picture of a writer and his cat is William Carlos Williams, who somehow manages to look slightly confused and debonair with a crotch full of kittens. I also feel like I may have had a brief affair with Philip K. Dick in a former [...]

Blue-Left, Green-Right

Holy cow, I completely forgot to tell you the niftiest thing my eye doctor did. So I went to get my yearly contacts and rather than just putting a little dot on the right one, which always washes away in a couple of weeks, she’s now started ordering two different color contacts–a blue one for [...]

Cooter Psychic?

I feel like this not-safe-for-work link proves that I am a cooter psychic. There are so few things about which one needs a cooter psychic, but I will attempt to live up to my gift. Here are some other psychic cooter predictions! 1. Unless you are in physical discomfort, you do not need surgery to [...]

1867 is Going Swimmingly

Sue has had her first run-in with The Thing. It goes not quite well. Lee Overton’s grouchy ancestor makes another appearance. Sue’s mom gets pissed, lays down the law, and tells Sue a story about their Devil-fucking ancestor. So, yes, the Devil’s in it, briefly. They go to the time-traveling cave. A dog is inadvertently [...]

Never Before Have I Been so Relieved to be Aging Out of the Feminist Blogosphere

This, this, this. I have lots of thoughts on this crap, but none of it is coherent. I wonder, for instance, not just whether you should quote extensively from people without asking when you’re writing about an instance in which people felt that there was a lot of “borrowing” without asking. I wonder if it’s [...]

The Best is When I Make Myself Laugh

My favorite Pith posts of mine are the ones I still laugh about when I read them the next day. And this morning I laughed at both “God’s Lesbian Loophole” and “Spinach: Muscle-giving Power Food or Too Close to Arugula for Its Own Good?” We’re not at all ready for the arrival of my parents. [...]