We had to say goodbye to my darling pug after nearly 18 years on Monday. This made my day. Hopefully, Rumble and Phoebe are running around and eating peanut butter toast together today.

Did you read the story?

Yea, as Jon Lovett eloquently put it: the problem with working at the White House is that you are surrounded by the kind of people who would take a job in this White House.

It makes sense. I work in communications in a media/public relations capacity in the public sector. I’ve been fortunate and done some good work in my career and have managed to ascend up the ranks in my field. Being White House press secretary would essentially be the mountain top, and if I were offered that job…

I’m still hoping Inanimate Carbon Rod runs in 2020.

Pile of Tic Tacs: 2020!

Why is she gray? Why is she the shade of a No. 2 pencil sketch?

I agree. I like Michelle’s portrait for its general aesthetic, but I don’t know if it really captures her essence. She’s such a charismatic person and this image is a little icy.

His is terrific. Hers looks like the kind of graphic art portrait that might accompany an article in Harper’s or Vanity Fair; fine for a page flip, but not for her legacy.

The artist was in a real tough spot, you have to admit. She had to paint Michelle’s portrait, but also leave enough wiggle room so it can be used to paint Melania’s face over it in a few years.

I really enjoy the portrait of Obama; the colors are so vibrant and as a result the man himself comes off with the kind of inherent warmth that we know he exudes in real life but that a serious portrait would likely fail to capture. By painting him with a very serious expression against a background of vibrant green…

I do wish the face looked more like Michelle. I mean, it’s a cool painting, I love the contrast of the grey and the blue, and I think the inclusion of the flying geese pattern on her dress is playful and fun (as a quilter I am a big fan of that pattern), but the face is just... off. Michelle Obama is a genuinely…

I want to be positive but I don’t think that looks like Michelle’s face at all....

I really like Obama’s portrait! But... Anybody else think the Michelle portrait kind of looks like a talented high school senior’s portrait of Kerry Washington?

This is a perfect burn except for the technical flaw that they probably don’t actually fuck.

North and South Korea(who are our allies, btw) are a unified delegation for the Olympics. Maybe being the bigger man and standing for our allies should mean more than trying to stick to ole’ Un, no?

Fuck that literal mother fucker

What’s the endgame for these edgelords? Suicide is a problem. It devastates families. You don’t see me out there telling recovering alcoholics “Pick up the bottle YOU PUSSIEZZZZ.”

I couldn’t finish the article. I can’t watch movies like this, they trigger the hell out of me. I had a deep conversation last night with a good friend about my sexual abuse as a child. I let myself go all the way there last night and it was tough. Too raw today. Disembarking.

Jesus, this sounds like my story. At 46, I’ve also begun to unpack my sexual history and what I thought was consensual at 14 (losing my virginity to my friend’s 28 year old brother after doing cocaine one evening) was not. I was a child. It’s confusing and I’m interested to see how this film handles it.