FIVE SECOND STORIES

8/21-we finally got some rain on 8/19-20 from systems that  again fell apart when they reached the black hole of central MI. It was also highly localized: my rain gauge showed nearly a half inch where the official reading at the airport was .80". Not much but better than nothing. I've been deep watering the honeysuckles in the Back 40-the first time in 15 years. This year's Rose of Sharon continue to struggle with the drought and pruning from the deer. I continue to see a lot of leaf drop and deceased younger trees when I am out and about. I have dubbed the season as The Summer of Dying Trees. A cold front swung down and will bring a spell of early Fall weather with warm days and cool nights-a couple going down into the hi-40's! At least this will provide relief from the intense sun and heat. On the other hand, this will not help out the tomatoes who having lost the first wave of fruit to bottom-end rot, the second wave are having issues with ripening. How strange is this year? It's the end of August and we have yet to enjoy our ritual of eating BLTs with the first ripe tomatoes. Waaa!

Earlier, to celebrate what could be one of the last pool days with C going back on contract, I cooked a fun feast. An Andalusian white bean and red pepper stew from Jamie Oliver, a romesco sauce, garlic naan from Horrocks and MI fresh peach, n/a Bellinis. Yum! 

C later used the leftover romesco added to pasta and asparagus to make a tasty supper.

꩜

How Buddy communicates: when C went out to do some deck yoga and was setting up her session on her laptop, Buddy walked up and cheek-rubbed her bare foot, tailed her knee then lay down next to her leg. I wuv you Mommy. 

꩜

Our new handsome Stampy-his territory extends across the street as they have a feeder in the front yard.

Last night, we had a visit from a grown adult (sex unknown) who galumphed in from the West. Short, less fluffy tail with a subtle area of beige on its side and, like the younger Stampy, has a nice white blaze on the forehead. Could this be a parent? It lumbered over and had a snack at the Diner while MamaC and one of the LongTail squirrels were nearby. No freak-outs, just folks doing their thing and everyone stayed calm:

Fun vids:

Freezing soap bubbles:

 Kinetic wooden whale sculpture (whale sounds dubbed):

Space Lounge Night: curious mix of post-war fashions, Jetson's futurama with friendly aliens-far classier joint than the one Han Solo walked into during the first Star Wars film.

 Man encounters male Great Pacific Octopus:

 

I did not know about the special arm that these critters have. This modified arm is called a hectocotylus and is used to mate with a female, transferring a packet of sperm called a spermatophore into her mantle. This arm has grooves to store the sperm and a spoon-shaped tip that helps in the transfer process. The arm is often shorter than the others and may remain curled to protect it.

꩜

 Critter Dragnet: cop questions a cat

Cop: I want to know where you were around 1.35 am yesterday morning.

Cat: You're boring and when are you gonna give me those treats you promised if I came in?

Cop: I'll give you those treats after you start answering my questions.

Cat: No, treats first-then answers.

Cop: This isn't how things work, kitty-kat. Start talking.

Cat: Meow.

Cop: Cute. You can end this "I'm just a dumb kitty-kat routine". You've already proven that you can speak English. We know you were in the park from security cameras. We have spoken to a couple of your associates who were with you. We want to know who ate the fish outta the park pond. Your pals said that you were the instigator of this act. Start talking, fur butt.

Cat: Meow.

Cop: Ok wise guy, I'm gonna put you in with the pooches at the pound. We'll see how tough you are with those characters. They'll just love to kick your tabby ass and there is no place to hide. Enjoy. "Guard, bring in the transfer restraints"!

Episode ending: The cat was found guilty of eight counts of  piscicide, malicious destruction of city property with the killing of the fish, defecation on said property and willful failure to cooperate in a police investigation. However, he managed to escape while being transferred back to the pound after the trial and remains at large to this day.

꩜

Nazi summer camps for kids in 1930s America:

 

 ꩜

Cold War Tales: the BBC reportedly had a policy that in the event of an outbreak of nuclear war, they would broadcast the "Sound of Music". The idea was that the family values portrayed in the film would reassure and improve the morale of viewers. Hmmm. Now if Britain was attacked, it's doubtful that anyone would have electricity to watch TV as one of the first strikes would be an airburst electromagnetic pulse that would take out electronics. If the attack was elsewhere with Britain unscathed, would this silly film really help? Guess it would depend on the direction the winds were taking the fallout. 

꩜

Colloquialism origins: 

The saying "worth your weight in salt" goes back to Roman times where payment especially for soldiers was made in the form of salt.

The term "hillbilly" is thought to have been brought to America by Scottish and Scots-Irish immigrants who settled in the Appalachian Mountains. The term combines "hill" (referring to the mountainous terrain) with "Billy," a common Scottish diminutive for William. In Scotland, people who supported William of Orange (King William III) were called "Billy Boys".

Creature Feature: 

The producers of this film helped put the term "low budget" into low budget films: one of the worst "creature feature" I have seen-from 1959 The Giant Gila Monster. Following in the footsteps of The Blob, The Thing From Another World, Them!, and Creature From the Black Lagoon, this film surpasses all with unbelievably cheesy special effects and nonsensical plotting. For one thing, they used a Mexican beaded lizard, instead of a Gila monster. They never filmed any human next to the lizard to show its scale. Instead, scenes with the lizard looked to be filmed as it wandered around inside a terrarium. In a sequence where the lizard derailed a train, they spliced in shots of a real train with those of a model train where indeed, the lizard looked quite large! The humans were generally horny teenagers cruising around in hot rods (one couple were killed at the beginning while necking in a lover's lane. That lizard turned into one helluva cock blocker!), idiot authorities, ranchers with guns and upset parents. Here, the lizard punches a hole into a balsa wood structure after clumping through model cars:

Truly, one of those movies where it's so bad, it's funny.

 ꩜

Fun Fact: there is a fourth kind of chocolate along with dark, milk and white: it is Ruby Chocolate made from ruby chocolate beans:

They are grown in Ecuador, Brazil and Ivory Coast. Ruby chocolate was first introduced in the market in 2017. It has a distinctive pink color and its flavor is said to be similar to white chocolate with fruity tones and a light tart finish.

 ꩜

More horror for Palestinians with real tribal shit going down:

 

This has been a longtime wet dream for Israeli hard-Right extremists and is yet another example of extremist parties/policies making their move for power across the planet. 

You hear in certain quarters about how mainstream media is not covering such things and I can verify from the sources I read: not a peep specifically in either The Times, The Guardian or Washington Post. They might allude to it within reporting about the whole Gaza mess, but nothing like what the BBC has done. 

The West as a whole has been shockingly meek and inactive in the face of sunken-eyed, ribby children starving to death. Somehow, this narrative has been imposed: any criticism of Israel for the behavior of the Netanyahu government is considered anti-Semitic. This is bullshit and the Israeli government has learned from our current bunch of idiots in Washington: just lie and gaslight. Roll things back on the accusers and make them the enemy. Meanwhile, you go on and do whatever you wish no matter if people are hurt or killed. They do not care.

Yet, on the other hand, this type of brutal conflict over land happens throughout history, most likely from the beginning of our tenure on the planet. When my first wife Michele was researching her family history, she came across some a tale about her central Ohio ancestors in the 19th Century. It seems neighborhood men went out on a lengthy hunting foray and when they returned, they found their families living rough in the bush. Their cabins had been attacked and burned down by a raiding party from Pennsylvania. I don't remember the cause of the dispute, how long it lasted or how it was resolved. This story stuck in my memory as this isn't the sort of thing you learn in school-those tales are almost always about conflicts between Indigenous tribes and European settlers.
 

FUBARLAND: ALASKA

 

THE END OF SUMMER

Deck yoga pals C and Buddy with their last session before work begins: 

C'S PAINTING

C took online painting classes this Summer focusing upon color. She enjoyed painting and the season culminated with this beautiful piece:

The subject of the class were images from the Pyrenees. 8" x 10" acrylic on canvas board. 
 

FIVE SECOND STORIES

8/9: another string of hot days and we're getting some pool time in. Our friend Chana came over for a dip although she is a non-swimmer like me. Nevertheless, it was refreshing for all. Our resident cicada droned and a monarch stopped by the East Garden for a bite and honored us with a flyover the pool. This lone monarch and a pair of tiger swallowtails are all we have seen so far this season. 

A tiger swallowtail at the butterfly bush outside the main bath:

Meanwhile, the lack of rain is concerning. NOAA drought monitor lists our area as experiencing abnormally dry conditions. I looked back at my records which I have kept since 2019 and made a startling discovery: since August 2024 to present, there have only been two months that have shown above average precipitation-December 2024 +.56" and April 2025 +.09". This is the longest stretch of constant below average readings in my records. When I am out and about, I've noticed a lot of small trees dying around shopping centers; small evergreens half-browned; on campus, several stressed mature trees are dropping their leaves like it is Fall. We're currently in a neutral pattern-neither in a La Nina or El Nino. Some forecasters feel a La Nina might form late Fall/early Winter which will mean less precipitation. Others are thinking it will be a cold, snowy season. We'll see.

8/13-a long series of storms hit MI yesterday evening. By and large, again, they missed us. We got a 5 minute shower which got stuff wet but accumulated little. At least it cooled things off and it was a good sleeping night. 

Diner news: we have a new neighbor!: 

A new Stampy with a nice fluffy tail. Just as MamaC's kids have left home, so have the Stampy's. This one is looking to establish his own territory with thoughts of finding somewhere to overwinter. He might get an apartment under the shed or go more au naturel with a burrow in the brush pile. 

One of the young Nutkins at the spa:

Plant of the year goes to the Transcendia, here sharing a pot with the Persian Shield. We love the colors, its flowers and hardiness to the sun:

The tomatoes have had a tough year. I've discovered that my compost needs amendments as it does not hold moisture very well and there are fertilizer issues. I've had to play around with the watering and the result is blossom-end rot on the first wave of big tomatoes. The cherry toms are doing so-so but the yield is down. Plus, MamaC has been coming on the deck and pruning. Well, that's gardening.
 

A refreshed Watergirl coming from hanging up the swimsuits on the clothesline:

When I retrieved them this morning, I found a cicada shell on a clothespin-he had rested up on when he emerged:

A Sky Janitor coming in low:

I found this guy on the garage-side steps:

This is a orange woolly bear caterpillar, which I have never come across. He is related to the brown and orange ones we see in the Fall whose brown and orange banding, according to folklore, can predict what kind of Winter we will have. When asked about his thoughts about the upcoming season, he replied that he did not have a clue. 

Some late callas in bloom:

Buddy, chillin' on the dining table. He likes to be elevated and still keep an eye on the Back 40. Good lad!
 

I witnessed an unusual sight: I saw MamaC chasing something behind the honeysuckle in the Back 40. All I saw of were shapes. 3 Mississippi later, I see her running back and chasing Buddy! He is a lot swifter and had a good 20 yard lead when she broke off pursuit by the hammock. Bud came up to the garage-side door and I let him in. He had no explanation for this event other than to vociferously lobby for a meal.  

꩜

C related a tale of finding a bakery in St. Louis, MO while at a conference with a funny sign in their window:

꩜

Strange Places: 

 

Mexico's Island of Dolls (Isla de las Munecas)

Located in the canal-heavy Xochimilco section of Mexico City, Isla de las Munecas is an artificial island whose only inhabitant for decades was a man named Don Julián Santana Barrera. After discovering the body of a drowned girl in the 1950s, he decided to festoon the plot with hundreds of dolls in a well-intentioned and/or insane attempt to satisfy the girl's ghost and keep malevolent spirits at bay. He then spent the next half-century adding to the collection. To make the story even creepier, in 2001 Santana Barrera reportedly drowned in the exact same canal where he found the body of the young girl. Despite his death, the dolls still hang on the island today, and local lore goes so far as to suggest that they come alive at night. 

 

Lake Tele, Republic of Congo

Located amidst one of the least explored areas in the world, Lake Tele is rumored to be home to the Mokèlé-mbèmbé, a Brontosaurus-like creature that is the Congo's answer to the Loch Ness Monster.

꩜ 

Dragonflies

We were having supper when I spotted one doing his thing above the pool. He swooped and turned on a dime, doing amazing loops. More about them in the following vid. Some fun facts: their earliest ancestors ones came out around 325-350 million years ago and were the size of a small crow! Yikes!

꩜ 

 

8/12-5.50 am-Jupiter and Venus get close in a planetary conjunction:

꩜ 

FUBARland:

We highly recommend the latest, deliciously brutal season of South Park and I loved the bit about his official portrait: pretty much naked Roach, doing a Caesar impersonation with a slight toga, showing off his tiny weiner. I couldn't find the entire pic so I took what I could off a clip:

The extended joke is that this is the official State portrait. This means in every federal office in the country, you'll see this awful thing. Imagine, walking into SSA and where in normal times in the past, you'd see a portrait of Carter or Bush or Obama. Now, you see this. 

 

We also dug the routine concerning Kristi Noem's artificial face, which over time sloughs off and oozes along the floor until it can be caught and reglued. As well as her knee-jerk shootings of any canine who comes into range. These skits for me, really have a MAD magazine/Looney tunes feel to them.

 

The Roach exerted federal control over Washington, DC, replacing civilian police force with National Guard under the false reason that the city was lawless. He did the same thing in LA. Commentators opine that this is part of a plan to get the public use to troops occupying large cities. In this case, I think it is also to create a security zone around the government buildings and employees-the White House, Capitol Hill, Treasury, SCOTUS. This will make it easier to clear and deter protesters-for national security reasons. And prevent another January 6 from happening, only this time, it's the forces for democracy who are leading the charge. 

 

Something I have a hard time getting my head around is the level of sheer destruction this one man is doing-to us, our country, our culture and the world. And, he's just getting started. 

 

 

NEW FROM IS BOOKS!

I was trying to cook one day and inevitably, Buddy came in from patrol and wanted to be fed. I was busy but he was hungry and started to tail me with intent. Or, for those who don't have felines, their habit of getting tangled in with our feet and rubbing their tail on you: "oh, Daddy, I love you so much and know you would just love to feed me". Oy. Of course, I fed him just to get him outta my hair so I could get on with my main objective at the time: making my food so I could get fed. While I was cooking, I thought of a silly detective tale. New from IS Books:

  

The Detective #24:  "The Case of the Missing Pierogi"

 
An elderly man was found dead in his kitchen. Evidently, he fell and hit his head on the stove, which knocked him unconscious. The wound bled out and he succumbed. It was a hot August day with temps in the mid-90s. His daughter, who lived there as well, found him upon arriving home around midnight after working 2nd shift at a convenience store. Their cat was found in the kitchen as well, mewing. The initial police reports ruled out foul play.

The Detective surveyed the scene having arrived a bit past 8 am the following morning. He generally worked on cold cases but occasionally was assigned those deemed odd or baffling.  The body had been removed and forensics had done their work. It was a small kitchen, around 12 foot square, with a counter running the entire length of the room on one side with a sink and window over it in the center. To the right of the counter was a stove and frig. Continuing right was a doorway out to a hall, a water fountain for the cat, a couple of small tables, one of which had a mini-garden and a microwave. To its right were the cat’s food dishes, both empty; a free-standing dish cupboard and another doorway leading to the dining room. On the stove top was a frying pan. He called the sergeant in charge who was first on the scene to see if the burner was on when they arrived. “It wasn’t on” he replied. An empty box of frozen pierogi sat on the counter but no pierogi could be found. “Where did they go?” wondered the detective as he drove back to the office. Hopefully, results from the coroner and labs would be back in a day or two.

“Why did the man fall?” This was a main question in the investigation but the detective received no help from the coroner. Stroke, heart attack, aneurysm, hypoglycemia or drugs were ruled out. The Department wanted to wrap this up since no foul play had occurred and they had no problem listing this a death unknown. The detective however, which was his nature, felt obliged to provide an explanation to the man’s loved ones. He talked to his boss about taking a couple of days to try and solve this. His captain agreed, recognizing the Detective’s history of successfully clearing cases. It also played well with the public.

“Did the man trip over the cat?” The Detective had one and like so many cats, it loved to wrap itself around his human’s feet especially when it was feeding time. He requested and was granted a visit with the daughter at the house and he asked about the cat whose name was Socks. “Did Socks often get under her father’s feet in the kitchen?”  She said yes but thought her Dad was pretty good maneuvering around his amorous feline. His biggest issue, however, was the arthritis in his hands. “How hungry was Socks when you came home?” The Detective had noticed that both the bowls for wet food and kibble were empty. The woman had come home early in the morning and one would have thought that the cat would be starving and very vocal about it. “Well, you know” she said “that was odd. Socks didn’t really bug me at all at the time. I hadn’t paid too much attention, for obvious reasons”. “Was food left out on the counter?” the Detective asked. “No, we try not to. He’s not a counter jumper and we didn’t want to give him a reason” the daughter replied. “Is Socks an indoor/outdoor cat?” ”No, she said, strictly indoor”. 
The Detective paused. A thought was forming in his mind.

“Where is is litterbox?” he asked. “In the basement.” the daughter replied. “Has it been cleaned since the incident”. “No”, she said “with the funeral and all, I haven’t had time”. “May I see it?" he asked. “Sure, down the stairs and hang a right into the furnace room” she replied. The Detective felt excited as he ran downstairs. He found the box and a scoop nearby which he used to clear out the clumps and place them into several evidence bags. He went back upstairs and thanked the daughter, expressing hope that there might be answers in the bags.

Indeed, they solved the case.

In the cat’s poop, there were remains of pierogi.The Detective theory was this: the man was getting ready to pan fry pierogi for lunch. What puzzled the Detective was why the burner had not been turned on yet. Nor was there any butter or oil in the pan. Upon research and asking the daughter about it, he found that some folk start out with a cold pan and fry warm and slow. While taking more time to cook, this method insured that the frozen pierogi cooked all the way through without burning them. 

The other puzzle was what happened to the pierogi? He noted that the box was not brand new-it had been opened on one end and the cardboard had been rolled to close. Why not take the box and shake the pierogi out onto the cold pan? He theorized that for some reason, the man was transferring them by hand. Odd, he thought, considering the man’s arthritis. He had asked the daughter how good or bad the her father’s hands were just before the accident. “No better, no worse than usual” she replied. “Took tylenol every morning when he got up”. The Detective returned to his earlier question: why not use the box and shake the pierogis out while standing right at the stove rather than to grab a handful and take 2-3 steps over to the stove? Was he in a hurry? Was the cat under his feet lobbying for some chow? He never figured this out. 

At any rate, the Detective’s theory was that while stepping over to the stove with a handful of frozen pierogi, the man had lost his grip on them and they fell to the floor. As he moved (probably startled) to get out of the way, one of his bare feet (it was a hot day) stepped on a frozen pierogi and much like stepping on an ice cube, he slipped and hit his head.

Meanwhile Socks the cat, having eaten all his kibble, was getting very hungry as the day turned into night. The pierogi thawed on the floor during the hours of 90° heat (no a/c in the house) and since they contained cheese and Socks loved dairy products, the starving cat ate them all. Weirdly, none had ended up under the man’s body when he fell. 

The Detective was quite pleased that he had figured out the mystery. The daughter was happy as were his superiors. He felt above all else, that the living deserved answers about how and why their loved ones died. This was his calling. 

DEER ATTACK!! AND A BIN MEMORY

Bastards! Just what we need: deer gourmets. Evidently there is not enough variety in the food available to them in the creek and neighborhoods-no, these folk desire something special. Like hosta blooms feet away from C's room:

Or sunflowers and morning glory in the East Garden-devastated:

A view from the main bath gives a better perspective on the destruction:

Cyril and Michal are freaked out, poor lads. Imagine being awakened in the middle of the night by huge monsters eating your house! I don't know if knee-high fencing will deter the deerskis enough so they will go elsewhere or not. If I fence the raised beds, I might as well fence in the small Sharons that are being pruned as well. I think this is the last year of growing from seeds. For the East Garden, I'm planning to bring over the coneflowers from the pool area to make room for the new mini-deck and hopefully, save them from MamaC. I'll plant other perennials as well and just have the salvia for annuals-they seem to escape attack.

꩜ 

I've gone through this before several years ago when our black cat Bin was alive. He had warned me about a group in the deer population, which as in all species, has tribes with distinct behavior and characteristics. This group is known as The Pruners and they aren't your typical cute grazers you see out in the fields at dawn and dusk. The Pruners have specific eating habits and are extremely destructive. However, unlike locusts who eat everything in sight, these guys love to sample a lot. If they were human, you'd see them flocking to buffets. 

"You should consider getting a dog-they are one of the best deterrents" Bin offered. "You'll still have deer but the groups will be small. Unfortunately, you can have bad luck and happen to have Pruners as part of your neighborhood group." 

I was gobsmacked to hear my dear feline friend, who has never held dogs in high regard, recommend that I get one. "Well, then be less irritated when the pooches in the 'hood start barking. They are being helpful, you know how they are. Even occasional barking will be heard as deer have excellent hearing. If they hear enough on a continued basis, some deer will be wary to stop by." "Well" I replied, "that is a Hobson's choice indeed." Thanks.

The late Bindiwankatterpi

 

NEW FROM W & B

Part of the IS Books family, a page from a Danish literary magazine Wilde & Beardsley devoted to erotica for human men.

Danish Version:

English version:

 

 

FIVE SECOND STORIES

First ripe tomatoes of the season! I made an appetizer out of thinly sliced baguette, vegan Boursin cheese spread, basil leaves and sliced cherry toms. Yum!

The butterfly bush is blooming:

Cherry toms and the two surviving blooming cosmos;

Buddy chillin', which he does quite well. However, the other day I saw him display a bit of kitten behavior-he was reaching up off his hind legs to bat at some flying bug with his paws.

 Some serious cuteness here with his tail between his legs:

The seashell from Bimini amidst the callas:

Business at the Diner has been booming as folks are beginning to bulk up for Fall. Mr. Chickadee enjoying the spa

No sighting of Chuckette Jr so I believe MamaC is alone. She enjoys peanuts:

She was prairie dogging and DHS was keeping an eye on her:

Yep, that's a half-eaten green tom next to Bud. MamaC comes up on the deck, stands up and starts pruning. Bad Chuck!

The hydrangeas have pretty much turned except for a few areas of white bloom:

We had finished up watching the Tube and it was getting dark out when I noticed Bud in the back watching the fireflies who are still around. 

꩜ 

Extraordinary design and tile craftsmanship: Shah mosque, Isfahan, Iran built in the 17th century:

Three species, three environments, similar shapes: 

From left to right:

Fly agaric mushroom, Jellyfish, Dragon's Blood Tree

꩜ 

Fun vids:

A very trippy AI piece from Kelly Boesch:

Dreamlogic:

 Visions:

 

Interesting talent:

 The mystery of the 3 hare symbol:

Huge gator taking a stroll in a FL neighborhood. Count yur blessings living in MI!:

 Frost flowers in China:

A long vid from Simon Whistler's Side Projects: 50 Most Mysterious Places on Earth complete with his dry English humour. Fun to dip into:

 

FUBARland:

One of the things that most annoys me about the Roach is that there is no break from him. Every single effin' day, his 5 year old narcissistic mentality demands attention. Good or bad-it doesn't matter and it is like the old show biz joke about publicity playing out in real life. Gawd, with normal people as presidents, you'd hear about them a couple of times a week. He's signing some bill or on an overseas trip or visiting a natural disaster. Not with this needy fuck-I want, I want, I want! 

How long before the trigger (oh, perhaps a poor choice of words) is pulled on the 25th? And then who will we have? I would not assume it's gonna be dumbassJDvance. No, I think there's gonna be a huge internal struggle and it ain't gonna be pretty. You only have to look at history in the past century to learn that these things never end well. 

Meanwhile, our own piece of shit, professional ex-soldierboy Tom Barrett, has been targeted by a PAC going after State Level GOP reps with some heavy airplay on my YT feed basically saying "you voted for Roach's BBB, so YOU personally OWN the fact that now OUR prices are going up, healthcare is gonna be a shitshow etc". I've been getting emails and FB posts from him wanting my opinion on things.

Nope. I have enough paranoia to wonder if this is part of an info gathering scheme that will put a target on my back down the road because I expressed "disloyal" opinions towards the current administration's policies. I realize that they will find this blog but why hand it to them?

The warnings are out there-several news sites are reporting that Palantir Technologies, a data mining tech giant is gonna be given access to all our information. The CEO and co-founder, along with Peter Thiel, is Alexander Karp:

Once again, the brilliant prescience of The Simpsons emerges with a fine example of how satire truly is based on real life. Their own narcissist: 

And finally, the sad case of Jackie Kennedy's Rose garden. Yet another part of our history and culture that the Roach has delighted to urinate on. The garden has been paved over and is a porch. A weird aspect has come to light-the drain grates are designed to look like American flags:

Did none of these idiots put together the symbolism: America's going down the drain and who's responsible? Got the presidential seal right next to it! WTF!

Apropo: From the Australian band The Avalanches Frontier Psychiatrist 2001: