FIVE SECOND STORIES

Interesting vid about living and growing vegetables in oases located in South-Central Algeria which may be a vanishing way of life. The practice of pouring tea from a height caught my eye. Found in many Arab cultures but prominent in Morocco, tea pouring is an involved ritual: sugar and tea must be mixed to just the right amount and pouring into the glass has a certain significance-it not only aerates the tea and infuses the mint flavor-but pouring from a height in a stream into the glass is considered an act of respect towards the guest.

꩜

I read a snippet in the papers that perms for men is popular again.

I never got into this style in the late 70's-early 80's. I was born with naturally curly hair and was the favorite target of hair conditioner ads promising to "fight the frizzies".

꩜

Tiger in my backyard

DHS was in a mood last evening. The previous day, I saw that he had been thwarted in catching a prey by the edge of the deck. We've noticed that he gets quite frustrated when failing (takes after his Dad). So, he decided to park himself intimidatingly at the Diner. I said to him "Dude, we're running a giving outfit here. You are scaring off folks". He replied: "I want to kill something, Jeff". He was unsuccessful and had to be content with using a leaf as a proxy. C saw him batting one around on the deck and picking it up and throwing it into the air-typical predator behavior. 

If we were in a similar situation as our customers, it might be meeting up with a tiger at Kroger:

Yikes!

꩜

Thanks to C who posted this on FB:

Something whimsical from the evil empire of Google.

꩜

His Lordship is a toe-sniffer!

꩜  

It's footsball season and living in the Lansing area means fall is inundated with MSU and Big Ten as well as local high school news. I used to watch it as a kid but I grew bored with it as an adult. Sure, there is the potential for spectacular plays but often it is First Down-run it up the middle, Second Down-run it up the middle etc. 

Worse is soccer. Back and forth, back and forth and you spend 3 effin' hours with the final score of 1-0. Exciting!

You want action, bunky? You want brutal hits? You want high scoring? Well my friend, check out Australian Rules Football which seems to be a hybrid of soccer and rugby. Bounce the ball, underhand pitch the ball, kick the ball which looks like an American football. No protective equipment-players are dressed like in soccer. Play barely halts for injuries-the player is dragged off the field while is replacement goes in. Fabulous scoring-not uncommon to have games end 89-67 and the play is non-stop. The game's history dates back to the 1850's! 

One very funny visual are the refs.

There a variety of signs and motions to communicate his decisions.

When there is scoring, one or more flags are used.

꩜

Weird and amusing short about Wile E. Coyote's go-to company for Roadrunner removal:

 ꩜

Wallace and Gromit compilation of Cracking Contraptions!

  ꩜

Back in the day when you went to a ballgame, you'd hear barkers shout "You can't tell the players without a scorecard". It's an appropriate sentiment when viewing the latest film from Wes Anderson. Lots of characters, some connected with each other, depicted at various stages in space and time. You have to go zen on this film, sit back and let it flow. 

With his usual stock players and patented "look", Asteroid City is a gumbo of references: "Mars Attacks", Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond, The Theatre while delving into grief, love, childhood and much, much more. 

I won't attempt to get into this further-there is so much on many levels. It is one of the a most whimsical, bewildering, thought-provoking, visually packed and delightful film that I have seen in some time. A rare one where a second viewing might be desired just to catch all the little stuff that goes on or some visual thing in a corner that is a clever joke.

When I googled the film, there was a section for audience reviews. Ohhhhhh, not well received. 2.1 audience rating with a lot of WTF whining and demands for a refund. Tough for those folks who need everything spelled out for them. You see it on D movies on Netflix where the dialogue repeats the obvious of what you have just seen-just in case the audience needs to break out the crayons to connect the dots for crying out loud.

꩜

We go back together for a long, long time:

In 2004, a Neolithic grave was excavated in Shillourokambos, Cyprus that contained skeletons, of both a human and a cat, buried facing each other.The grave is estimated to be 9,500 years old, pushing back the earliest known feline-human association significantly. By contrast, cats probably didn't arrive in Eqypt until 2000 BCE aboard trading ships.

꩜

 

Along with our squirrel pals LT and Freddie, the Jays are daily peanut customers at the Diner. One will fly in and perch on the shepherd's crook or birch and holler. When I toss out the peanuts, the Jay always replies as if to say "Thank You". He will then let loose a series of calls to his wife: "Baby, it's peanut time!"

꩜

Mike Blevins

We heard RWs last evening off to the East. We had not heard any for weeks. It seems males migrate south in the fall after the females and return north in the spring ahead of the females. Stand up guys, for sure!

꩜

Fun MI fact: Over 350 species of birds fly over MI while migrating.