FIVE SECOND STORIES

In the neighborhood:

11/25: We've had several days in the low-50's that begin sunny turning cloudy by late afternoon:

Neighbor Johnny's oak leaves are the dominant feature this time of year. Oaks are notorious for hanging on to their leaves at the end of the season which leaves one with a dubious choice: either go out and rake/mow several times or wait to do it once but risk having early snow burying them til Spring. Johnny is quite fastidious about his yard so he is out there nearly every day...and he just turned 80. Me, nearly a decade younger, meh. I'm lazy these days.

We're entering the season of lights, commemorating the long darkness and cold of Winter and the coming of light, warmth and rebirth of Spring. 

Old Man Winter, in the form of a polar vortex, is paying us an early visit for Thanksgiving. This weekend will feature cold and potentially several inches of snow. Hopefully, no freezing rain, thank you very much!

Bright overcast evening sky: 

Komfykatter-Buddy's newest favorite way to hang out with his Mum:

He's been pesky about treats with a level of determination rivaling any K Street lobbyist in Washington, DC. The other evening while persuading C, he emphasized his wish with his tail. The result is 2025's seasonal tagline: 

This holiday, more twitching for treats! 

 ~

Water ice crater found in the far northern latitudes on Mars:

ESA/DLR/Freie Universitat Berlin (G. Neukum)

 Flying peacock:

Tropical islands appear to be floating:

A rare cat-meet the Andean Mountain cat (Leopardus jacobita), a small feline found in the high Andes of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, as well as the northern portion of the Patagonian steppe in Argentina. It is considered the most threatened feline in the Americas and is counted among the five most endangered cats in the world with less than 1,500 individuals thought to exist. It is a monotypic species, meaning that there are no subspecies in its group.

J. Reppucci

Meet the Diatoms: Diatoms are microscopic aquatic plants found in all fresh, brackish, and salt waters on the globe. Diatoms, after the bacteria, are the most common forms of life on earth. Living diatoms make up a significant portion of Earth's biomass and generate about 20 to 50 percent of the oxygen produced on the planet each year. They are generally of a golden-brown color, and many are able to move about. Each diatom, in addition to its vegetable structure, is formed of a beautiful siliceous box, having a lid over the bottom part, and an ornamented rim (girdle). Throughout the world there are thousands of kinds of diatoms with thousands of shapes assumed by their respective boxes. Some are round, like a pill-box, some are triangular, and others are boat-shaped; all are marvelously decorated. 

A pink grasshopper: A rare pink grasshopper is a result of a genetic mutation called erythrism causes an overproduction of red pigment and the lack of the usual green or brown pigments. While it can happen in various species, pink grasshoppers have recently been spotted in places like New Zealand and Wales.

Teeth of a Crabeater seal: these are highly specialized for filtering, with a unique lattic-like shape that allows them to eat large quantities of krill.

  ~

Fun vids:

Bald Eagle mating ritual:

The bald eagle mating dance, called the"cartwheel courtship flight" or "death spiral" involves two eagles flying high into the sky, locking their talons, and tumbling downward in a cartwheel-like freefall. They release from each other just before hitting the ground. This spectacular aerial display tests their compatibility, coordination, and trust, and helps them form a strong, lifelong bond.

 

                                                  ~

Ringing rocks in SW Montana:

When you don't invite your neighbor to your dinner party:

 Smallest monkey in world-pygmy marmoset baby:

Ad for new male fragrance from Giorgio Armani —"Acqua di Giò Profondo"—The name evokes the fragrance's marine and mineral notes, capturing the mysterious depths of the ocean:

 

 

Ok, splash on this cologne and before you know it, you run and jump off a cliff and swim with a whale. Only in your wet dreams, Pete Hegseth.

 

Michigan meteorite! This shot was captured in Allegan.

 Flying Draco or flying lizard

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Fun fact: Anjelica Huston, Larry David and Bernie Sanders are distant cousins according to DNA from the show Finding Your Roots.

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FUBARland: 

Visual metaphor of Roach's regime: destroy or denigrate everything that makes America great-a exemplary example of the constant use of irony by his administration. 

~ 

Marjorie Taylor Greene has announced that she is resigning January 2026 after splitting from the Roach over the Epstein Files. As a result, Roach labeled her a traitor to the cause.

From the NYT: ...Ms. Greene said she had made the decision to leave because she did not want to endure a “hurtful and hateful primary against me by the president we all fought for, only to fight and win my election while Republicans will likely lose the midterms.” She added: “I refuse to be a ‘battered wife’ hoping it all goes away and gets better.”

One wonders what pushed her into this come to Jesus moment? A break from a fever-dream? Realization that she was in a cult? Was it truly a reaction to how Roach/Epstein etal treated girls and women?

~ 

Roach merch: A latest entry by gun manufacturers to use the Roach as a marketing point is from Bond Arms: the DT47 Living Legend pistol.

Now, several companies have created such things, apparently without direct links to the Roach. However, it is hard to believe that he or his people don't know about them. You can bet your Mama's last nickel (no pennies anymore) that Roach's reps have been in contact with their palm out for a cut, under threat of a lawsuit. It has been wryly noted that as a convicted felon, Roach is banned from owning one. Nevertheless, it's a twofor: make some cash and enjoy the fact one of his nutty supporters will use one of these weapons in an act of violence against enemies of the MAGA state. It's a J6 microcosm.

~

A nice op ed from the Guardian concerning the shift in the Right's view of Jesus:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/nov/23/america-christian-evangelical-discrimination-immigration 

~ 

Ode for the Epstein files from Leonard Cohen: Everybody Knows from 1988:

 

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows 

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died
Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long stem rose
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that you love me baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that you've been faithful
Ah give or take a night or two
Everybody knows you've been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
And everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

And everybody knows that it's now or never
Everybody knows that it's me or you
And everybody knows that you live forever
Ah when you've done a line or two
Everybody knows the deal is rotten
Old Black Joe's still pickin' cotton
For your ribbons and bows
And everybody knows

And everybody knows that the Plague is coming
Everybody knows that it's moving fast
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman
Are just a shining artifact of the past
Everybody knows the scene is dead
But there's gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows

And everybody knows that you're in trouble
Everybody knows what you've been through
From the bloody cross on top of Calvary
To the beach of Malibu
Everybody knows it's coming apart
Take one last look at this Sacred Heart
Before it blows
And everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Oh everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows