Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
From commentor Jeffery:
Philadelphia PA. These only last a day or two.
On Leonard Nimoy Day in Boston, Museum of Science announced as location for Live Long and Prosper statue https://t.co/l8E7CTcIfO pic.twitter.com/rNB47tsiVo
— Adam Gaffin (@universalhub) March 26, 2021
Saturday Morning Open Thread: EvanescentPost + Comments (148)
There’s a funny little daily drama that plays out in the house. The video is of Neighbor Cat, Ginger. I believe that is a girl but it could be a boy. Ginger is fascinated by my house as I have 2 cats. Which means he/she gets to pick fights safely from the outside of the window and attack the window until I tell Ging to bugger off. Odo has decided this challenge shall not stand, so he is eternally vigilant by my shoes, so he doesn’t fall off the window sill again (& again) when Ginger attacks the window (again). Hime, as any sensible female would feel, thinks both of these 2 are silly, so she focuses on her obsession with… me. At this point, I’m glad everyone has a hobby, I just wish it involved a space not right next to my computer & my recording mic.
And in other news, trying to organize myself before the big debut movie script table read on Saturday and I’m hoping to get all the pre-panic done today so tomorrow is relatively calm. How’s your day going? Open thread!
While trying to work this morning, I was distracted by the sound of a woodpecker hammering away at a nearby tree. I’d look up when I heard it but did not see the bird. I tried to stay on task, but the pecking was so loud, I figured it must be a big old Pileated Woodpecker. Sure enough, when I went outside to investigate, I spotted her on a cypress tree at the shoreline:
Gorgeous redhead, huh? And damn near the size of a chicken! I also took a video of her breakfast efforts, which I’m sharing here via tweet:
Gorgeous female Pileated Woodpecker having breakfast on a cypress branch. pic.twitter.com/WE2NV0tPPh
— Betty Cracker 🐊 (@bettycrackerfl) March 24, 2021
These are the only type of pecker pics I enjoy. YMMV.
Open thread!
PS: Bonus Ruby-Throated Hummingbird video I got over the weekend:
Cool things about this Ruby-Throated Hummingbird: it's a gloomy day, so his ascot looks black until the light catches it and you can see the brilliant red. Also, it looks like he's sharpening his beak on the branch? And maybe catching gnats with his vermicelli-like tongue? pic.twitter.com/RLwftLXQju
— Betty Cracker 🐊 (@bettycrackerfl) March 21, 2021
Apologies to Twitter followers as the pics/vids are reruns…
First Xiao Zhen Xie beat off her attacker and sent him to the hospital.
Then she donated all her GoFundMe money to Asian American community causes.
The Asian grandma we all need.https://t.co/3E1KJnudvl
— Viet Thanh Nguyen (@viet_t_nguyen) March 24, 2021
Wednesday Morning Open Thread: An Inspiration to Us AllPost + Comments (158)
Reddit users investing in gorilla conservation https://t.co/kC8r653ePu
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 18, 2021
“Apes Together Strong” is a popular saying in Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum, and some users are taking that seriously.
Reddit users have been symbolically adopting apes and donating to foundations including The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and the World Wildlife Fund.
Some users are naming GameStop, or GME as they’re known on the New York Stock Exchange, as the adopter.
Donations have exceeded $350,000 (£250,000) in less than a week.
The foundation tweeted that the funds will go towards their field programmes where they track, monitor and study gorillas in their natural habitats…
The trend started when the user Pakistani_in_MURICA posted an adoption certificate in WallStreetBets on Friday.
The user had adopted a gorilla named Urungano and listed GameStop as its sponsor.
The post won a bevvy of awards and karma – Reddit’s way of liking content – and inspired a number of fellow users to adopt or donate.
“I have three adopted infant Gorillas now. Sorry but animals are my kryptonite,” one Redditor commented…
On the other hand, I’m not sure about giving fellow primates Zoom access…
Chimp’s zoo Zoom call: Chimpanzees at two Czech zoos go wild for video calls https://t.co/fGrFq2G2Tw pic.twitter.com/dtd4S3SIKR
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 18, 2021
Sunday Night Open Thread: Well, *Something* Good Came Out of Gamestonks…Post + Comments (68)
Vice President Harris swears in Deb Haaland as Interior Secretary. "History is being made yet again," Harris said after Haaland took the oath. (WH photo / Peter Velz) pic.twitter.com/70YqbDbFwp
— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) March 18, 2021
Bella Abzug (may her shadow never grow less) started wearing a hat as a young lawyer in the 1950s, so that people wouldn’t assume she a secretary. The hats became her trademark, because “When I got to Congress, they made a big thing of it. So I was watching. Did they want me to wear it or not? They didn’t want me to wear it, so I did.”
Nobody is going to mistake Secretary Haaland for any other legislator, either:
… Standing in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to Vice President Kamala Harris to take the oath of office, Ms. Haaland wore a dark jacket over a sky blue, rainbow-trimmed ribbon skirt embroidered with imagery of butterflies, stars and corn; moccasin boots; a turquoise and silver belt and necklace; and dragonfly earrings.
Against the flags and dark wood, the former Democratic congresswoman from New Mexico stood out, her clothes telegraphing a statement of celebration and of self at a ceremonial moment that will be preserved for the record. It was symbolic in more ways than one.
According to an Instagram post from Reecreeations, that company that made the skirt for Ms. Haaland’s swearing-in, the ribbon skirt is a reminder of “matriarchal power”: “Wearing it in this day and age is an act of self empowerment and reclamation of who we are and that gives us the opportunity to proudly make bold statements in front of others who sometimes refuse to see us. It allows us to be our authentic selves unapologetically.”…
Wearing traditional dress has become something of a signature for Ms. Haaland during big public moments. In 2016, she wore a classic Pueblo dress and jewelry to the Democratic National Convention; in 2019, when she was sworn in as one of the first Native American members of Congress, she did the same, including a red woven belt that was more than a century old. And in January, at President Biden’s inauguration, she also wore a ribbon skirt, one in sunshine yellow, with a burgundy top and boots.
As she told Emily’s List on her first day in Congress: “I just felt like I should represent my people. I thought it would just make some folks proud out there.”
Indeed, when Ms. Haaland posted a photo of herself at the inauguration on her Instagram feed (she has 124,000 followers), it was liked more than 45,000 times, with many comments applauding her attire. Not in order to diminish her achievements, the charge often leveled at commentary on a female politician’s wardrobe choices, but to underscore them…
Standing Out Open Thread: She Is Not TheyPost + Comments (96)
Lions at Denver Zoo frolic in the snow after historic blizzard https://t.co/uiGIrN0y1Q pic.twitter.com/B8jExmhHwo
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 16, 2021
I envision these lions celebrating ancestral memories of the days when shivering primates huddled in caves, producing amazing art of the apex predators who ruled their world…
(Yes, it’s the anniversary of a commercially-supported ‘holiday’ that encourages people to get drunk in public while cosplaying the worst ethnic stereotypes about my people. I loathe St Paddy’s Day, begorrah, every bit as much as MisterMix loathes Cinco de Mayo, and for much the same reasons. This year in particular, if you *must* celebrate, at least have the common decency to do it in your own homes, ‘kay?)
Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Never Bet Against the LionessesPost + Comments (121)