I came across a piece about the Cincinnati zoo being closed due to the weather and how some animals were out having fun in the snow. One shot (seen above) was of a cheetah picking her way through the white stuff. A chuckling, unseen voice is heard asking the cat "What do you think, Krissy?". Here is what Krissy thought:
"How the fuck do you think I'm doing? I hate the fucking snow. My feet are wet and cold. My nose is cold. I hate it here. I want to go back to my jungle".
To which the chuckling zookeeper replies: "Now Krissy, we've had this discussion before. You have the distinct honor of living in our zoo where you have everything you need for a happy life. Most animals in the wild don't have such an opportunity and I'd like to point out..."
The rest was "blah, blah, blah" as Krissy walked away. In the shelter overlooking her outside pen, she sat and angrily ruminated. She hated that condescending apebitch. "At least back home, I was revered and recognized as a queen. Here, I have that fucking name they gave me, which I hate, a name some dumbass apemale thought was glamorous. Here, I am compared to some hard porn apebitch they saw in a magazine. Neither porn girl or that zoobitch could hold their own in a fight" she hissed.
Krissy sighed and put her chin on her paws. "I could just eat one of that apebitch's arms and a side of her face. They would give me the needle for that but my problems would be over. My spirit would go back home, my nice warm home". She made a sarcastic snort-"yeah, if I am sooo like the ape porn star, then how come I haven't had a nice piece of manmeat in a long time"? She let out a grunt. "They just don't get it. That is the farthest thing in my mind or any other female for that matter. We're fucking busy. All those kids I have to teach because they're dumber than a water buffalo. All that going out to hunt, risking my tail getting food for everybody. It's such a grind, everysingleday. Oh yes, throw in the unexpected demand by his royal highness who shows up now and then. Gawd, at least it's a short encounter, not like those dumb apebitches who do it for 20 minutes. A couple of thrusts and he's outta there, stinking of all the other females he's had today. Piece of shit".
She heard a metallic rattle and knew that meant breakfast was coming. She could hear that obnoxious apebitch braying like a zebra to her co-workers. She opened her mouth to taste the air and her face turned into a sneer. "Well, let's see how her majesty is doing" brayed the apebitch as they opened Krissy's enclosure.
All the animals in the zoo and surrounding area went quiet and all that could be heard, at that moment, was a light rustle of leaves.
This exchange was the result of a landmark ruling by the World Court stating that all living entities appearing in film, stills and documentaries would be paid the same as humans. The suit was brought by The League, an organization comprising of all living things on the planet. You may remember that my late cat Bin had introduced us to the existence of The League and its work. Attenborough has produced over a hundred of docs in which many beings have appeared, uncompensated. His company now has to spend much time and treasure communicating with entities about payment.
He is rumored to be close to retirement-he is 98 years old!!
A dark night (click on the pics for better viewing)
Buddy was sprawled out by the fire
We were up calling it a night when I noticed deer coming down to visit the Diner
A doe mom and her two girls evidently had heard there was corn on the menu
We stood motionless at the windows watching them. Something caught Mom's attention and she quickly moved towards Johnny's. One of the girls lingered for a bit but then dashed off. We moved over to the garage side door which has a big window. They were quite close to Johnny's slider and were nibbling on a tall evergreen. Mom reared up on her hind legs to go after some tasty bit while the girls went for the low hanging goods. I think it's a variety that has winter berries such as a juniper.
PS: They returned the following evening with a third doe who was smaller than her siblings. With the new snow, they didn't find much corn so they went back onto the berm and moseyed over to Benny's Diner.
Cold and wet outside, we were snug in front of the hearth. We watched a magical animated fable "The Red Turtle", 2016 from Ghibli Studios. It tells the story of a shipwrecked man on a small island who is frustrated in his attempts to escape by a large red sea turtle. Wonderful visuals throughout-highly recommended.
New Year's Day
We got maybe an inch from yesterday afternoon to this morning.
As I do at the beginning of each month, I noted our precipitation and today tallied the totals for 2024. We received 2.27" above average and for the first time since I began observations in 2019, we have had two years in a row of above average moisture. The Farmer's Almanac is predicting a hot/wet Summer. Stay tuned!
1/4-cold with light snow at times. Temps going down into the teens for the next few nights. The turkey bros were making their rounds:
Later, a flock of starlings came by, mainly hanging out at Johnny's next door. This happened 1/10 last year.
Starling with winter plumage:
Chris Bosak
Some wandered over to the Diner to see what is on the menu. At the same time, in the Back 40 under the honeysuckle, were a handful of robins!
Again, back in 2023 when C and I took a long walk on xmas day-we saw robins then as well.
For both instances, we wonder if it is by chance we come across them or are they stopping by to refuel? Are they heading South because it's just too darn cold where they were or are they in a yearly pattern moving from one area to another looking for food?
Another cold early evening:
Buddy enjoys being by the tree and will spend some time facing it. We refer to this as Buddy doing his meditation.
1/5-I got up just before 8am. It was +12° at the airport.
1/6-Epiphany-very cold-got down to 0° at the airport. I put away the holiday decorations, untrimmed the tree and put it out by the Diner-we're going to hang goodies for the critters. The turkey posse were out and about. The sun appeared for a bit in the late afternoon.
1/8-monochromatic bright overcast with snow showers starting in the early evening:
1/9-bitterly cold morning +3° but bright and sunny.
A couple of squirrelies at the Diner:
1/10-more snow. The Diner was v busy with squirrels, nutkin, a variety of birds including starlings and robins stopped by. A robin on the roof:
1/11-we picked up a good 3" of snow overnight. The day started overcast.
By mid-morning, the sun had come out and so did the critters
It was in the low-30's after noon. Buddy went on the front porch to catch some rays before going on his rounds:
Tiger in my backyard
It was one of those typical Michigan January afternoons although clouds were coming in. Another overcast day predicted for tomorrow with an inch of snow predicted.
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Buddy in his sphinx pose:
His Lordship heartily endorses these vids:
Nothing like chillin' with some cartoons after a big holiday meal
Doggie gets a feline masseuse and dog whisperer
Feline hyperbole
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I've been a long-time fan of David Lynch and have seen most of his work except for Twin Peaks Season 3. Well, I'm in the middle of the 18 episodes and yikes! it's a head-spinner. Peculiar, surreal, creepy with numerous threads, rabbit holes and just strange stuff. Lots of experimentation in mini-segments, storytelling. The series came out in 2017, a year into Roach 1.0 and there are several rather oblique references to life in America during his administration. Many of the actors from the original series continue their roles in season 3-which takes place 25 years after Laura Palmer's murder.
Potential drinking game: track how many times "ambient whooshing" appears in the captioning.
Throughout the episodes, there is a thread featuring Dr. Lawrence Jacoby played by Russ Tamblyn, who was Laura Palmer's shrink. 25 years later, he is a ranting QAnonesque podcaster bitching about the swamp:
Like so many of his ilk, he hawks ridiculous items to make a buck off his "followers". The good doctor bought a bunch of cheap shovels and spray painted them gold. Sound familiar? These vids explain what the shovels are for.
Fun stuff:
The Vinicunca Mountain, Peru aka The Rainbow Mountain
Michaelbrawn
The mountain used to be covered by glacier caps, but these melted and by the mid-2010, mass tourism came, attracted by the mountain's series of stripes of various colors due to its mineralogical composition on the slopes and summits.
Passo Giau, Italy-high mountain pass in the Dolomites
Fun Facts:
-Human red blood cells live on average 120 days.
-In 2024, Los Angeles had more rain than Seattle-15.77" vs 12.94". While it refilled the reservoirs, it has not alleviated the dry conditions which were exacerbated by strong Santa Ana winds resulting in major wild fires that flared up in the LA area.
-Deer and boar have dichromatic vision meaning they cannot distinguish between red and green so a tiger's orange fur to them would read as greenish.
-There are more castles in Germany (25,000) than there are McDonald's in the US (14,300).
-Both of Jack Black's parents worked for NASA.
-The term "alpha" which first appeared 100 years ago did not pertain to lions or men in suits-it was about chickens. "Pecking order" also comes from chicken life.
-The oldest chicken on record lived 23 years, 151 days. A recent Guinness world record holder died on Christmas Day, 2023 aged 21 years, 238 days and lived on a farm near Chelsea, MI.
-Peregrine falcons are the fastest animals on the planet with dives reaching 200+ mph.
-Jaguars in South/Central America are known to eat vine/root of the ayahuasca plant which has hallucinogenic properties. It is theorized that this enhance their senses for hunting.
-Ducks are among only 3% of avians who regrow their penises. As daylight hours increase signalling mating season is on the way, they develop their penises anew.
-Speaking of ducks, farmers in Bangladesh have begun switching from growing chickens to ducks. Ducks are more resilient than chickens and can survive better in floods and cyclones which are more frequent due to climate change. Currently, ducks bring in a better price than chickens. Double-bonus!
-The largest prehistoric bird was the Quetzalcoatlus,a giraffe-sized pterosaur that lived 70 million years ago with a 40 foot wingspan. It lived along the Rio Grande River in Texas, and nested on mountains and cliffs.
-Turkeys blush when they are excited. This can range from anger to horny with hormones during the mating season.
C and I were just wondering what they do in the Winter to sleep. They roost in trees, especially in pines, which gives them shelter with their year-round needles from snow and being in a tree provides safety from predators.
-Abraham Lincoln loved cats. He was the first president to have cats in the White House. It is said that they helped relieve stress. He often had a place set for them at the table and once fed one at a formal dinner.
-Apes don't ask questions. They don't realize that another individual such as another ape or a human, might know something they don't. They lack metacognition or put simply, thinking about one's thinking.
More precisely, it refers to the processes used to plan, monitor, and
assess one's understanding and performance. Metacognition includes a
critical awareness of a) one's thinking and learning and b) oneself as a
thinker and learner. In human children, "metacognition" begins at age 2-3 years with significant development ages 5-7.
-Three dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic. They were all in First Class and were carried by their owners to the lifeboats.
-The logo for the online browser Firefox is actually a red panda. Firefox is a nickname for the critter.
Fun vids:
Shrew conga line-how mom shrews keep the kids together:
Tallest statues and future projects across the world with reference size to humans:
Red Bananas:
Bubble rings:
Snow devil:
Sandpipers murmuration:
The flashing between black and white is caused by their white fronts and dark backs.
On Christmas night, there was a bun couple out in the Back 40. Hopefully, there was some corn and sunflower seeds left for them on the buffet.
Later, around 2am, C was up and saw a doe at the Diner.
12/26-it was warming up and the snow was going fast.
A nutkin was the main visitor to the Diner. I think it is a female.
Our friend Chana came over for supper celebrating her birthday and Hanukkah which began this year on 12/25. I made cottage pie and challah, a traditional Jewish braided bread.
12/28-already in the 40's as the sun rose. The snow is gone.
Mid-morning the turkeys were out and about. I have picked up on a pattern of theirs as they are making their rounds of neighborhood Diners: while they were leaving Benny's on their way across the street, they sent a scout over to our Diner to see if there are any goodies left-like corn.
Alas, no corn so they moved on.
In the afternoon, the sun peeked out frequently. The temps were pushing the middle 50's and it felt like mid-March.
12/29-it was raining in the morning.
Buddy was snoozing on the couch.
12/30-beautiful sunny day with temps in the high 40's-again, it felt like mid-March. In the afternoon, I could hear someone in the neighborhood mowing over their leaves.
12/31-old man Winter returns. He's been particularly bi-polar this season even by Michigan standards. Sheesh.
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We were watching "Lifeboat", a 1944 film directed by Hitchcock based on a novella by John Steinbeck concerning survivors of a U-boat attack in a lifeboat. The phrase "good lord Harry" was used which neither C or I had heard before. From what I can glean, "Harry" is a euphemism for Satan. The origins are sketchy but seem to point to one of England's monarchs and here, Harry is often used in lieu of Henry particularly Henry IV or Henry VIII.
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The US Fish and Wildlife Service recently purposed that the Monarch butterfly be placed on the endangered species list.
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You pass the anniversary of your death every year.
I'll be seeing you, one of these days.
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I'm often terrified when driving on campus because of this!
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The mysterious Ksar of Draa in Timimoun-Located in central Algeria, a Ksar is a fortified village consisting of granaries and houses. Little had been recorded about this place although a Jewish symbol is found on one of the walls. One thought is that it was built 12th-14 Century by Jewish merchants as a Caravanserai were roadside inns providing lodging, food and water for travelers.They were also centers for the exchange of goods and culture.
Abuna Yemata Guh-located in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia, it is one of the most inaccessible places of worship in the world. Perched 650 feet above a cliff and created in the 5th Century, the interior is adorned with frescos.
Uyuni salt flats, Bolivia:
Nordic wild ice skating:
New pictures of Jupiter from NASA:
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Midlake, a curious alt folk rock band from Texas founded in 1999. Here's a cut "Roscoe" from the 2006 album "The Trials of Van Occupanther" with a wonderfully surreal cover:
The inimitable Tom Waits: "Jockey Full of Bourbon" featured on Jim Jarmusch 1986 film "Down By Law":
Edna Million in a drop dead suit Dutch Pink on a downtown train Two-dollar pistol but the gun won't shoot I'm in the corner on the pouring rain Sixteen men on a dead man's chest And I've been drinking from a broken cup Two pairs of pants and a mohair vest I'm full of bourbon, I can't stand up
Hey little bird, fly away home Your house is on fire, your children alone Hey little bird, fly away home Your house is on fire, your children alone
Schiffer broke a bottle on Morgan's head And I've been stepping on the devil's tail Across the stripes of a full moon's head through the bars of a Cuban jail Bloody fingers on a purple knife Flamingo drinking from a cocktail glass I'm on the lawn with someone else's wife Admire the view from the top of the mast
Hey little bird, fly away home House is on fire, your children alone Hey little bird, fly away home House is on fire, your children alone
I said hey little bird, fly away home Your house is on fire, your children alone Hey little bird, fly away home House is on fire, your children alone
Yellow sheets on a Hong Kong bed Stazybo horn and a Slingerland ride "To the carnival" is what she said A hundred dollars makes it dark inside Edna Million in a drop dead suit Dutch Pink on a downtown train Two-dollar pistol but the gun won't shoot I'm in the corner on the pouring rain
Hey little bird, fly away home Your house is on fire, your children alone Hey little bird, fly away home Your house is on fire, your children alone
Danny Elfman, the prolific composer for film and TV, notably creating The Simpsons theme, began with a music theater group called The Mystic Knights of Oingo Boingo in the early 70's. In 1979, he reformed the group into Oingo Boingo, a new wave band. In 1976, The Mystic Knights appeared on the Gong Show talent contest and won. The Gong Show was strange for the time with host Chuck Barris. Here is that segment just as gonzo as it's host: whoa!
I stumbled across this original gem: The Pink Floyds performing a 1950s jazz version of "Wish You Were Here": It's an interesting concept especially when you consider the Pink Floyd name came from an amalgam of Pink Anderson and Floyd Council-both Piedmont style bluesmen whose albums were in Syd Barrett's collection.
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