MR & MRS REDBIRD

In the warm early evening sunlight, Slick and Iona taking turns at the diner.

Slick taking off.

 

BUDDY ENCOUNTERS A NEW SOUND

The other day I was in the kitchen getting some grub. Buddy happened by, heard a rustling he could not see from floor level, his ears went back a bit, his eyes widened as he looked up at me "Dad, what the hell is that??!!" and hit the gas and flew out to the library like a rocket. Sorry dude!

The noise offender with Chester, the Kannabis Kitty looking on.

 Luckily, he gets over such things quickly these days. 

Our tiger showing off his stripes

Ole Green Eyes on the hearth.

Chillin' with Mom and Dad and enjoying the warmth

 

ESL TRANSLATION GEMS

 

Both C and I adore MAD magazine which spoke to our sense of humor when we were kids: satire, parody, silliness and ridiculousness.

C bought me a MAD compilation containing one of our favorite pieces from 1993- a parody of poor yet hilarious translation of menu items from a Chinese Restaurant. My favs: "Eggplant prepared under mysterious circumstances" and "Baby corn with adoption papers."

C shared a couple of her favorites she's come across over the years of teaching ESL.

A Swiss wine ad trumpeted: Our wine leaves you nothing to hope for. Gosh, we know alcohol is a depressant...

A sign in a Chinese laundry in Paris: Ladies, leave your clothes here and spend the afternoon having a good time. Ooo la la! Afternoon delight! 

FRIENDS

 "...they are mainly focused on food and lying in the sun."

Sounds like a plan to me.

SATURDAY, MARCH 25

Cold, rain mixing then changing over to snow. High winds in the afternoon. Outside, Kieran was over for about two hours. Most was spent at the diner. The joint was empty, not a soul around. Even the chickadees were hunkering down. For about 20 minutes, he went up the birch and progressively went into higher branches. There, he turned his tail to the wind, which curled it up his back. And he watched. I wonder if he's thinking of staking a claim here. We have at least 4 fox squirrels in residence and a occasional red squirrel (nutkin) who stops by now and then. Gawd, an impending feline/squirrel conflict and what could very well be a turf battle amongst the Sciuridaes (sci-uri-daes)

 Meanwhile, inside by the fire:

Señor Bliss

 

Here, his legs and tail are "melting" (according to C) over the edge of the hearth.

SUNDAY NIGHT MUSIC-2 GROUPS

Naturritu (Dejan) and his album "Criollo". Listed under the "folktronica" genre, the tagline is "medicine music from the heart of nature". I would add "wild psych" as the blurb says the album name comes from the criollo cacoa which is cited for its healing powers. Certainly, the music could also be used as a sleep aid, a pleasant background for study, reading or yoga. After a long instrumental start, a Dejan's vocal comes in. It begins to have a Nick Drake on mushrooms feel about it. Earnest and mellow. Nice cover of the criollo plant and its seed.

 

"Hazy Summer Vibe II" by Hermonos Gutiérrez (spanish for Gutiérrez Brothers), a Ecuadorian/Swiss brother act. Their music is a rather moody electric guitar mix of latin and western styles. Not for all tastes and a bit goes a long way. I don't know where the cover pic is from but it reminds me Tucson in my brother's neighborhood.

FIVE SECOND STORIES

Wood, being a combustible, can be problematic to handle. Gloves are recommended. Wood bites and slivers are its stinger. Sometimes it is simple and painless to remove; other times it is a painful challenge. One wonders if there is some culture on the planet that at one time, had a myth about wood and bees being related because they share this attribute.

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I was waiting for a grinder and the local news was on. One of the ads was for a junk removal service. It began with some "authoritative medical" quote that too much clutter impacts on person's mental health and well-being. Then it swung into the pitch that this company is here to help. 

Hmmm. My cynical antenna immediately began to quiver as this seemed to be yet another example of our culture's crazy monetization of suffering. And the pitch that these nice people are providing a FUCKING MENTAL HEALTH service for (cough) a fee. WTF!!

The next moment, I flipped the pitch: so, if you DON'T use this service, then you are responsible for your own suffering. And let's take this a step further: you're a victim of toxic capitalism that constantly, every damn moment you are online or watching something or out and about: BUY SOMETHING! NEED IT, DON'T NEED IT, BUY! BUY! BUY! YOU'LL FEEL BETTER!

We're here to help. Operators are standing by.

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The other day as I was out and about and witnessed some public rudeness, an old Slovak word that my parents used came to mind: Honjak (hon-yuk)

 

From the urban dictionary:

 "A low-class person who values neither social graces nor kindness. From the Ukrainian word гоняк, Slovak "honjak", and Bavarian German "Honjak", all of which originally meant "bloodthirsty pursuer" as a deprecative of the word for "Hun". The word is a relic of the Hunnish invasions of Central Europe." 

 

Or a rude asshole. Here's a classic: My Father died and I organized a memorial service/luncheon at the Catholic Church his father helped build in the tiny village near Grandfather's farm about 40 miles North of here. I'm doing a meet and greet in the Narthex, the gathering space outside of the church proper. I'm approached by a middle-aged man I barely recognize who proceeds to bust my chops for my lack of appearances at family functions. I later figure out he is not blood relative, he's married to a first cousin. WTF pal, you're doing this at my father's memorial? That's a Honjak.

This kind of behavior is commonplace up there in these small towns. It used to infuriate my mother because she generally endeavoured to be polite even in the face of rudeness. And to do this at a funeral, where Honjaks often behaved poorly figuring they could get away with it. Yet another reason why we lived in the Lansing area and not there.

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We have the Sirius XM 50s/60s channel on our car radio. I've noticed a genre of songs regarding women, clearly indicative of how that culture viewed them. On one hand, lot's of "Angel" songs although some are about guys (Johnny Angel). Good girls. No sex before marriage. On the other, many, many songs, generally sung by males, about girls achieving the age of 16, therefore legally able to have sex in most states. (hello Chuck Berry!) This genre pretty much vanished or was transformed during the 60's cultural revolution although, sadly, the perception of woman has not.

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TYRE PURPLE

 

This is Tyrian purple that began to appear c.1200 BC. It takes its name from Tyre, a major seaport and trading center in the Phoenician empire.

The purple dye was manufactured by extracting the secretion from the hypobranchial gland of murex sea snails. The carnivorous molluscs release a bromine compound when attacked, so dye could be extracted by poking and prodding the snails, thus keeping them alive for further production. Much more common, however, was the destruction of the snails and removal of the gland. It was resource-intensive, time-consuming and, according to ancient chroniclers, eye-wateringly smelly work that required processing literally thousands of murex.

Because of the time consuming nature of obtaining this dye, purple fabrics were extremely expensive and could only be worn by the wealthy elite. It became known as "royal purple" for its wearers often were rulers whether in Rome, Greece or Egypt. 

Recently, a dye production facility (lots of murex shells) was unearthed on the Eastern coast of Crete, the home of the Minoan civilization. This site was dated c.1800 BC so the origin for the purple dye now has shifted to Crete. The Minoans suffered a catastrophic disaster due to the volcanic explosion on Thera c.1600 BC followed by another, possibly an earthquake c.1450 BC after which the civilization slowly collapsed. As seafarers in the Eastern Mediterranean, undoubtedly, they came into contact with peoples who later went on to become the Phoenicians and the mechanics of dye production was passed on.
 

THOSE DARN SQUIRRELS

We have one very insistent squirrel. He first appeared at the diner mid-late Summer last year. He is missing the final quarter of his tail so we dubbed him Stubblefield or Stub for short (forgive the pun). This guy seemed to get along with the siblings as there didn't seem to be a lot of aggressive behavior between them. One thing he picked up on very quickly was the habit of the siblings particularly Izzie to come up by the deck slider and prairie dog for peanuts. This made us wonder if he is an old visitor or even Rolla. Throughout the mild times during the Winter and especially now, Stub and the others are at the screen. 

It has not gone unnoticed. I've witnessed at least 3 nose to nose encounters separated by a screen and glass door between Stub and Buddy. Last evening before supper, I was on the couch hanging out when I heard Buddy make a series of high pitched calls. I turned around and outside, sitting upright with one claw in the screen, staring at Bud was Stub. It was straight out of a Sergio Leone flick where two strangers, one newly arrived in town, take an immediate dislike to each other. They engage in a series of escalating public encounters: few words are ever spoken, it's all in their eyes, the hard glances, the body language. In a meeting in the street, both men are in motion, never stopping and as they pass, one spits out tobacco juice. This will come to a head and will not end well for one.

Buddy hasn't gone outdoors yet-we're waiting for warmer weather. We have no idea how he is going to behave but all indications point to Bud being a major predator. But, we have witnessed in the past how squirrels delight in tormenting kitty kats. We hope that they will, at best, come to some sort of detente.
 

ANCIENT WISDOM: TRAIL TREES

 

Eddie Lanham

From Wiki:

Trail trees, trail marker trees, crooked trees, prayer trees, thong trees, or culturally modified trees are hardwood trees throughout North America that Indigenous Americans intentionally shaped with distinctive characteristics that convey that the tree was shaped by human activity rather than deformed by nature or disease. A massive network of constructed pre-Columbian roads and trails have been well documented across the Americas, and in many places remnants can still be found of trails used by hunters and gatherers.Trail Marker Trees were an ancient form of land and water navigational aids, as well as a marking system to denote areas of significant importance such as ceremonial sites, springs, food. One unique characteristic of the trail marker tree is a horizontal bend several feet off the ground, which makes it visible at greater distances, even in snow.

These vestiges of our past are disappearing as those remaining trees are 150-200 years old. One close to home:

White Oak Marker Tree in Downtown Traverse City, MI

Located in the Grand Traverse County Civic Center Park at the base of Old Mission Peninsula, close to Northwestern MI College.
 

REASON 452 WHY NOT MOVE TO FLORIDA

 

Who knew? This incident is from 2020. When I ran a search in YT, ohhhh, many, many more were found WHEREVER GATORS ARE FOUND. Effin' scary! So, why did the alligator climb the fence? A girl gator sent him a hot pic on GatorTinder? Or the jungle drums sent out an invite that there was some gooood eatin' on the other side of that fence? Mmmmm BBQ! Poolside buffet with young humans in the water! Nuthin' like a good chomp and roll.

FIVE SECOND STORIES

Billy Idol with his patented Elvis sneer. 

I was YT surfing and came across the old vid of Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself" (1981) and was surprised to see, in this futuristic setting, ZOMBIES! Yep, long before modern culture became obsessed with the Zombie Apocalypse.

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This surreal ad turned up on YT. The gentleman greets the animated bee and the woman inquires. "Oh, this is Buzz and he appears everytime you eat Honey Nut Cheerios" her friend replies. 

Man, I do not want this to happen!! Things are strange enough with Roach talking about Freedom cities and flying cars for crying out loud. Really? You eat something and some animated creature appears? WTF!!

The gentleman reminds me of Family Guy's Cleveland Brown:

Evidently, Mr. Buzz has been an animated mascot for Cheerios since the '80s. I've forgotten about it as I haven't eaten any version of Cheerios since I was a kid. Neva cared for them. And I have not really kept up with popular stuff having cut the cable c. 2006. Gee, the things I have missed.

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Seen while out and about: a bumper sticker in memoriam with a image of a lady bug and the name Lena "Bug" (last name) and life dates. She lived only 5 years. 

I was behind a small SUV at a long stoplight and in the backseat were 2 youngish dogs: a yellow lab and a German shepherd. What was notable was that each had his head outside through the backseat window-lab to the left, shepherd to the right. Like the car had dog ears. The shepherd elbowed his way over to the left and joined the lab sticking his head out the window as well. One can imagine the conversation:

Lab: Bruh!-come over and smell this!

Shep: Ohhhhh dude, that's top shelf! What is that?

Lab: Tangy Crab man, Tangy Crab

Shep: (Homer S shudder) oohhh tangy crab. Grease and fish!

Lab: Dude! You're drooling on the window!

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Malian guitarist Ali Farka Toure's "Heygana". Killer opening licks launching into a hypnotic rhythm. One can hear the living roots of American Black Music from the Delta to Memphis to Chicago.

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Unlike our other 3 cats, Buddy is entranced by the fire. C notes that it's another example of him responded to his wilder instincts-the fire seems alive: it moves and it's warm.

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Opening lines of Hernán Zin's 2018 doc "Dying To Tell" concerning the experiences of Spanish war journalists who covered conflicts across the planet.

 

"In war, a week is a whole life condensed.

There's no tricks, no masks.

There's excitement, ecstasy

There's fear, moral commitment, empathy.

But without denying the essence of life

Everything is random and fleeting.

And that's very attractive."

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There is something quite enduring and poignant about C and her favorite coffee cup featuring Lisa Simpson with her Angela Davis/Gloria Steinem Right On! fist in the air declaration that she is a Smart Girl and Lisa's joyous pride and comfort with that fact. 

 

A wellness strategy for her on many 5 am mornings, waking up to a warming cup of joe and this affirmation. Smart, proud and worthy. For a woman, a smart woman with a PH.d, a daughter of a malignant narcissist.

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I've noticed many times where lazy subtitlers describe any background noise as "applause." Now, perhaps it's a ESL issue but with the frequency of the occurrence, one would think someone would have pointed it out. After all, the subs exist in part for the hearing challenged. You can imagine the perplexing and sometimes hilarious circumstances. I just saw one for an English period drama in a transition outdoor scene where there is no dialogue, just the clip clop of horse's hooves and the bleating of sheep which were described as (applause)!

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Buddy's tabby lineage goes back to the first group of wild cats (felis silvertris) who began to live with humans perhaps 10,000 years ago so he has many, many years of remembered experience embeded on how to deal with the Apes. His stripes are magnificent.

 

I've never had a cat who enjoyed mutual cheek bunting like this guy. Only Bin would get this close but preferred sitting on my chest. 

 

Curiously, unlike the crew and especially Bin, Bertram does not care to eat the "ends" of a can of food. C  thought the crew viewed this as an extra treat or like kids licking the frosting beaters. Nope, not our boy. He'll walk away. Perhaps out of a can is how he was fed during the traumatic years. 

 

He continues to join Mom during her yoga sessions and in fact, is beginning to take on the role of trainer. When she is on her back and doing a bridge pose, he'll climb up on her tummy-all 14.5 lbs of him. "Ok Mom, a little bit of weight resistance, let's do a set of 15 pelvic thrusts!"

 

He's just adorable. I'm a few steps closer to grasping how woman fall in love with their babies. It's something men can never truly know. The closest we come is the connection to the child who came as a result of our sperm. This pales in comparison to the Mom who carried and sustained the baby for nine months inside her body.

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2057-The Minister of AR (AI relations) Elizabethe 2MB41-AR1ZA wearing a vintage Demna Balenciaga designer coat from his Winter 2020 collection.

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Another black squirrel stopped in at the diner. Smaller than the one featured on the Equinox post. A female? Wife of Kieran?

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C gave a reading at Women's Voices, Women's Visions on 3/20. It was held at and sponsored by the First Congregational  United Church of Christ in Charlotte. All participants received a card of thanks and a packet of unidentified seeds. Curious, we thought. I wonder if it's a metaphor-to take that leap of faith, plant the seed and witness the rewards of its growth? 

HAPPY EQUINOX!

Sunny and blustery, more like early March, although the temps nearly reached 50.

Mr. Black Squirrel came by to the diner for lunch. His settlement is to the East in the big woods beyond the cul de sac. I see him over at Benny's and sometimes he or his family make it as far as our place. Both Benny and I have diners.

What a handsome fellow.

 

The main East/West route through Lansing and East Lansing is known as M-43 or Saginaw St. During the Spring/Fall Equinoxes, the sun rises on the horizon directly above Saginaw as you drive eastbound.

WILD WEATHER 3/18

 

We had wild weather on this Saturday with most of the day featuring high winds and frequent snow squalls as seen on a radar image from the afternoon. There were times when I could not see the Farm Bureau building, 200 yards away. The whiteouts caused a 150 car pileup on East bound I-96 that took 5 hours to clear. It was a good day for a fire.

 

APPROACHING THE IDES OF MARCH

Snowing, again

Brick pattern

Blinding blue late Winter sky and blue shadows

Crocus laugh at the puny will of snow

 

CAT PORTRAITS

English artist Astrid Brisson specializes in pet portraits where they are dressed in fancy garb. Here are some feline examples.

BERTRAM AND ERNEST

 

 

Last night, C commented on her admiration of Buddy's white chin whiskers. I immediately thought of Hemingway.

BERTRAM HAS AN ADMIRER

 

A Russian Blue

 

We arrived home yesterday early evening to see Russian Blue perched on the portal's entry looking into the house. When she spotted our car, she knew it was time to mosey which she did. We found Bertram under the desk which is where he hid the last time she visited recently. Now, Blue has always been friendly. She has been around for years and often would stop by when C was in the East Garden and flop for a scritch. And she has always tried to become pals with the crew especially Bin. So, is she lonely? Curious? Pretty bold to go and plop down by the portal but I have to wonder how often she had done this in the past? C and I are wondering how Bertram will react when he meets her outside. We are in agreement that we think he won't be a fighter given his past of being bullied and seeking small safe places for avoidance. Stay tuned.

STAR LING

The constellation Orion found on a starling's back as Spring approaches. The spots disappear during Summer.

 

FIVE SECOND STORIES

Willibald Feivel Cornfed aka Cornfed Pig is a character from the early 90's cartoon series "Duckman" about a private detective duck. Cornfed is his business partner and plays the straightman opposite the manic Duckman. He channels his inner deadpan Joe Friday with a philosophic twist. One of my favorite quotes: "Am I mad or is the world simply a mystery too complex to understand?" The series is a hoot, dripping with ironic satire with non-stop cultural winks and observations akin to "The Simpsons." If you want to time travel and get an idea what societal concerns, mores and fads were during the 90's, watch this show.

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"He's a pusher!!" C declared the other day informing me about Bertram. Pens on her desk, the salt spoon on the dining room table. All must be cleared!! Either he just likes the stimulation and play or he has a rather specific aesthetic about tidiness on flat surfaces. 

Pure evil

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Seen while out and about: It was 9.30 am and I was traveling across town and in an older neighborhood I drove past a middle-aged man clad in a t-shirt and Hawaiian shorts running his mower over his postage stamp sized lawn. While sunny, it was 33° with an inch of snow on the ground. Drunk? Early onset dementia? On drugs? He's responding to a dare from jackass roommates? Odd.

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When she got home after working another 14 hour day at the clinic, she made a fire and popped the frozen pizza into the oven to heat. Henry, her orange tabby waited patiently by his food dish until she opened a fresh can and served. While he was eating she took a quick shower to get the grunge, sweat and blood off her body. Getting into her sweats and big fluffy socks, she checked on the pizza and uncorked a bottle of red. She was off tomorrow (well, it already was tomorrow) and took her glass into the living room. The fire had taken off well. She turned on her laptop and found a favorite jazz instrumental compilations for some background music. She sat by the hearth feeling the warmth, feeling the stress of the day flow out of her body, feeling the merlot take hold. Grateful. No alcoholic husband anymore who had been more of a kid than a partner; no kids (pang): he had died of SIDS at 6 weeks and she was blamed; she had a good roof over her head and a good job. The oven alarm went off and she brought in a slice and a fresh glass over by the fire. Henry came over purring and snuggled. She gave him a belly rub and he draped over her feet and rolled to give them a much needed massage.

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When my buddy Lowell moved to Sarasota FL, he scrounged for a job eventually getting work as manual labor in construction. He was the only white guy on the crew and naturally, questions were asked and when they found he had gone to college, his nickname became "Fess", short for professor.

I went to visit him and he picked me up in a convertible. Very Florida I thought but in reality, having the top off was for my own health as the exhaust system was shot and I would have suffocated otherwise. 

Until recently, as many of the newest generation are eschewing cars, it was a rite of passage for American males to own as their first car, a barely reliable beater. Another roommate had a VW that was an oil burner requiring him to carry a constant supply of oil cans in the back seat. My Nova, which was purchased new, within a few years rusted out under the driver's floor boards and became known as the Flintstonemobile. Yeah, remember Ziebart rustproofing? A whole industry designed to deal with, aftermarket, the shitty quality of American automobiles. 

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It began in late Fall, the homeowner noticed a small hole dug in by the bird feeder. By late Winter, it enlarged and once the ground had thawed a bit, the homeowner took a shovel and collapsed the hole. Within days the hole reappeared even larger. The homeowner returned with the shovel. Is this going to turn into a ridiculous inter-species spat reminiscent of Caddyshack?

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I've noticed that the geese are pairing up. Goslings arrive April/May.

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We were watching a show about Springtime in England and they brought up the importance of protein in pollen in a bee's diet. Somehow, I had missed the memo about pollen protein. And, not all pollen has the same amount of protein. I guess I need to take a look at what I plant for our bee buddies.

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Another fun fact learned from the Spring in England show: the rapid pecking, known as drumming, is the male (forgive the pun) drumming up a mate. Most birds vie for mates with song. Most prominent here is Mr. Redbird who often perches at the top of a tree and belts out a tune. "Hey baby, I make the best eggs in the neighborhood!" You know guys trying to impress the chicks, big egos are at work here. On any given Spring morning you have The Battle of the Bands in the treetops with Carusos going beak to beak with Sinatras; Moons vs Bonhams.

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Every cat is a mix of "I like to be with you, Ape" and his inherent wildness. Buddy has some striking differences from The Crew. He quickly established physical intimacy with us, something that took Tomi practically a lifetime to enter into and at least for me, Molls only late in life. None would allow, without some restraint to have their claws clipped. Belly rubs if allowed were brief.