Bin's Crazy Ape Tales

Hello there! Well, it's a crazy ole world especially anything where apes are involved. The rest of the species are sick to death of hearing about your thumbs and going to the Moon etc etc. Meanwhile, you regard the entire planet as a toilet and this is killing an alarming number of the rest of us as a result. You fucking bastards. But, you do weird stuff that is worth noting and having a bit of a chuckle (my less tolerant friends say "Well, this is like slapping your knee and guffawing at the zany antics of SS guards at Auschwitz. What a bunch of jokers! Point taken, brothers). Still, apes are entertaining and Jeff and I want to share stuff we come across and just shake our heads and say "Man, weird or that's fucked up". Just a note: the F-bomb often is liberally employed--sometimes, nothing else is as appropriate or precise. Immediately stop whining, will you--if it bothers you, go away to your safe place.

Mike Pence's Mackinaw Adventure

Evidently, Pence was so fearful that enraged late season peasants might hurl molten vats of fudge at him that he decided to violate a 121 year old tradition and transport via motorcade on his recent visit to Mackinaw Island. Yep, the Secret Service had 8 (yes, eight) black SUVs ferried over to pick The Anointed One at the helipad and drive him to the annual Republican suckfest at the Grand Hotel. The only other # 1 or #2 (perfect scatological designation for Mikey)to visit while in office was Gerald Ford, who chose to go by horse-drawn carriage. Oh, such  different times! What got our attention was  leading the motorcade were Michigan State Police on bicycles! (see photo above) Someone on the State level decided to make a statement here (which we applaud). A very curious (and Pythonish) juxtaposition.

 

You don't see this every day in Lansing.

Jeff spotted this WTF Thing while out and about: a 36 foot tall wooden statue of Nebuchadnezzar. Which cult has this, I asked? 7th Day Adventists. Here is a quote from their website:

"Nebuchadnezzar, ancient king of Babylon, had a dream that changed his life and is changing the lives of people still today. He saw the future as only God can reveal it. This prophecy is increasingly relevant for our time, showing where we are and how to prepare for the future, It accurately foretells the contour of world empires, giving reasons to believe the promises of God's Word. The story of Daniel 2 is history from 6th century BC you cannot afford to be ignorant of". 

Hmm, this is why ape species ain't making any progress when you have wackados hollering that you're ignorant if you don't pay attention (no less believe) stuff allegedly said by some king 2600 years ago. How do you know this wasn't spun back then-ole' Neb wasn't having bad dreams because his mind was troubled (that's from Daniel 2 for those who keep up with things biblical), he was in the grips of a bad case of the clap, administered by a member of his concubine. Well, the grey men (Britspeak for palace bureaucrats) couldn't have that come out so they spun it. And now, knuckleheads in modern times take every single word as literal truth and trot this nonsense out. Why do you folks have to continue to endure this stuff from people who keep looking backward. I mean, really backward. 2600 years of backward. Like those were the good old days? 

Sharpies

We have some other uses for magical sharpies besides altering NWS Hurricane maps...

 

Wooly Caterpillar predicts....

A mild winter according to the first one I have seen this season. The brown band is bigger than the black ones.

Trafficker of Despair

 Periplaneta Insuasum Trumpi

 That which flees from the light of truth and reason.

I was reading a New York Times article concerning the efforts of the people and government of Iceland to address the rapid changes in their country due to climate change. Their president, Gudni Johannesson said "Let's look at practical solutions instead of being filled with despair." My first thought was good on them to take this on instead of wasting time engaging in ideological wars and getting nothing done as is happening here. I then thought what a simple and great attitude--let's GIT R DONE!--to use a popular catchphrase from a good ole' boy comedian from 20 years ago. A very American can-do spirit we used to have or at least what we thought we had as part of our culture's identity myth. 

Not anymore. Despair and anger seem to be the common ailment throughout the country and the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is directly responsible. He obviously enjoys sowing despair-one could argue that he feeds off the negative emotions like a parasite. The more he can rile folks up, the stronger and better he feels.

This made me think of an old Star Trek (Day of the Dove) where the crews of the Enterprise and a Klingon warship are overpowered and manipulated by an alien who lives off violent emotions. Old deep-seeded prejudices and hatreds are inflamed in both crews at each other's throats until Spock figures out what is going on. He convinces Kirk and the Klingon commander to change their emotions and literally laugh the alien into a shrinking, impotent force that finally leaves that part of space.

We couldn't be so lucky.

Post Retail Hell Decompression Dream

I dreamt I was working in a market that sold shark but insanely, kept them live on the premises so they would be as fresh as possible when they finally were put out for sale. They were 6-8 footers and kept in huge tanks of salt water. Something happened and the side doors on the tanks burst open. Image: me running for my life down a grocery aisle with sharks body surfing on the expelled water snapping at my body as they went by or come up behind me. I woke up. Ouff, intense.

Gardening

“After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, love, and so on — have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear — what remains? Nature remains; to bring out from their torpid recesses, the affinities of a man or woman with the open air, the trees, fields, the changes of seasons — the sun by day and the stars of heaven by night.” -Walt Whitman

Critter pix: grey tree frog

Cat hygiene as depicted in medieval manuscripts

So you're a monk stuck in some god-awful dark and dank church building making holy manuscripts all day long and probably hectored by some PIA Bishop. Years and years you have been doing this and you began to think: Dear God, if I have to do Deuteronomy one more time, I'm gonna lose my shit. One day, you look over and one of the cats (oh, there are plenty around. Uhh, vermin issues) and he is doing what cats do. On a lark, you decide to take a break from the thees and thous and draw him. You show it to the guy next to you who happens to have a good sense of humor. You both begin to draw cats at work on the QT and the subversion spreads. Sometimes you insert an small image on one of the texts. Bad lad!

https://www.sadanduseless.com/funny-medieval-art/?fbclid=IwAR3Ni50C-txe5BPCDEcjVn3ozr-ns8ulV_oFxlQd27CCKJjUrvLhgyZd3S4#Q01yP4Z7XZTP7sgQ.01

C's 60th Birthday Celebration

Critters, swimming and books: a winning combination to celebrate my sweetie's 60th. We spent a couple of days in the Holland/Saugatuck area. Avoiding the mobs at Saugatuck's Oval Beach, we opted for Saugatuck Dunes State Park which is midway between the two towns. The park info warned of a 2/3 mile walk from the parking lot to the beach. I worried that this was gonna be a tough slog through the dunes but we were pleasantly surprised: the walk was entirely through the woods. The weather was clear and warm with a good breeze but alas, Lake Michigan was too frigid for the Watergirl. We hung out under our beach umbrella for a couple of hours until it was clear that the biting flies were going to be relentless. On the walk back:

Lil' Bucky! Before we left, someone had posted a short vid on FB about this fearless guy and there he was! In the flesh, velveted antlers and all! Just extraordinary--the park is protected land so the deer are not afraid of humans. Walking back through the woods, I spied a doe and motioned C to be still. The doe saw us and sauntered in front of us about 30 yards away. Then, a couple of spotted fawns appeared! Mom was leisurely walking down the trail seemingly unconcerned about her little ones. The fawns were in high spirits as they often are, playing games with bushes and jumping around. No worries with these folks! Normally, if a doe had spotted us, she would have immediately bolted along with her kids. What a treat!

After heading back to the hotel in Holland, C went for an hour swim in the pool while I rested. That evening, we had supper at The Wild Dog Grille in Douglas which is just to the south of Saugatuck. Relaxed upscale place with vegan offerings. Do check out if in the area. 

The next morning and early afternoon, we spent in Saugatuck wandering through the shops. Nothing particularly extraordinary but C enjoys a good nosing around. A striking feature of the village was its dog culture. A good number of people had them and they seemed to be welcomed in most shops. In fact, cafes with outdoor seating had bowls of cool water for their canine visitors. We lunched at Fresh Basil Cafe and it was cool enough to sit outside. The counter was staffed by a couple of young ladies from Ukraine. More vegan grub and very tasty gelato and sorbetto.


That afternoon we went back to Holland to visit Centennial Park. A section of the park was being turned into a celebration of the Wizard of Oz which is one of C's favorites. Oz's author, L. Frank Baum vacationed frequently in the Holland area. The park will feature a combination of bronze and horticultural sculptures bordering a yellow brick road. The first piece has been completed--it is a living sculpture:



Across the street was the Holland Museum-they have a nice collection of 16th, 17th Century paintings by Dutch masters and a tiny Rembrandt etching, maybe 1"x2". In the gift shop, C spotted an A-Z compendium of Victorian illustrated children's books. That evening, we leafed through it in bed and I thought of one I had as a child. The book has been long lost, I made a mental note to look for it in Ann Arbor.


The next day we traveled to the Battle Creek area to visit Binder Park Zoo. We were there 9 years ago and remains one of our favorite places.

Cheetahs

Snow leopard

Lynx

Black Bear

Tortoise

The real Mr. Tortoise was undergoing medical treatment on a foot so we visited his bronze doppelganger.

Chinese Red Panda

B/W Ruffed Lemur

Peacocks

Peacocks wandered freely around the grounds. At the cafe, a couple of peahens panhandled for food. One readily ate french fries from C's hand while the other enjoyed a nearby family's pepperoni.

Llama

Mr. Llama enjoyed all sorts of scritches and here, C said he seemed to be sniffing her breath. His wasn't bad either.

Brachiosaurus Sculpture

This life-sized sculpture was pretty cool and getting close, it is astonishing just how large these creatures were.

The path to the trolley that takes one to Wild Africa.

You arrive at a replica trading post that over looks a savannah-like expanse.

For many, this is the highlight of the park-feeding the giraffes. Feed is romaine lettuce that costs $2/leaf. Oh, stop clutching your chest, it's a profit point for the organization.

"Say, do you have something for me?"

I asked where do the animals go during the winter. They said that they have a huge facility about 7 miles away and noted that the building looks quite out of place in it's surroundings. To accommodate giraffes, I bet it is!

That afternoon, we drove to Ann Arbor where C was born and lived until age 10. We got up bright and early to have breakfast at Zingerman's, a notable bakery/deli/cafe. Barely a block away is the Farmers' Market which is always fun to peruse. Waiting for shops to open downtown, we visited C's childhood home. Her elementary school is nearby, accessible by crossing the street from her home, then following a 20 yard tree-and- shrub-lined path. 

Once downtown, we visited our favs: Crazy Wisdom Bookstore & Tea Room which offers selections on traditional and alternative religions and spirituality, feminist and LGBTQ and all sorts of oils, teas, incense, crystals; Ten Thousand Villages which sells international handcrafted items; Dawn Treader Book Store-one of C's most favorite book stores, it can only be described as a mix of something found in a Dickens novel or at Hogwarts. Books are jammed everywhere, floor to ceiling in a labyrinth of rooms with barely navigable paths. Someone recently commented to me that there's always a gem to be found there and indeed, I found one. I headed for the children's section, with only a vague memory of my childhood book and its cover. I immediately found it!!

The True Mother Goose-published in 1916, illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright.

Fabulous, inventive imagery with strong colors that appealed to me as I began to make art. Somethings never go out of style and I would highly recommend this as a reading book to any parent with a youngster.

Finally, we came across a hole-in-the-wall book store called West Side Book Shop. Like Dawn Treader, it is wall to wall books with much towering from the floor like stalagmites. I was nosing around when C came up and told me I needed to check out the back room as there were photos and prints I would enjoy. Indeed. I was astonished to find on the walls a good number of original Edward Curtis photographs. Mr. Curtis received a grant in the early 20th Century from J. P. Morgan to document Native American life before it disappeared.

Beautiful sepia tones, shot on glass plates. And, they could be yours...if you had $1500 on hand. I chatted with the owner wondering how he obtained these museum quality pieces. "Oh, I've been collecting them for 40 years now". He was quite a character. Upon hearing that C teaches at MSU, he recounted the time when his professor invited him to a party. The guest of honor was Argentine author Jorge Borges who was giving a talk at Jocundry's Book Store in East Lansing!

We finished the celebration on C's Birthday with a meal at the State Room, practically the only upscale restaurant in town that offers vegan fare.

A fun-filled send off as my sweetie enters her seventh decade on the planet. Happy Birthday and I wish you many, many more.

Barking Dog Blues

With apologies to Johnny Cash

I hear that doggie barking
He's barking all the time
I swear he's been barking since
1959

I went to get my gun out
But my wife said
No

It's 3am and I ain't slept
And I'm feelin'
Low

Melting Molls